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AWN Headline News

Digital Headline News

Qi Commercials & Golden Square Post Launch Digital Production Operation

Baggy Shorts, a dedicated portfolio of directors with digital production skills and a satellite of Qi Commercials, and Disqo, a division of Golden Square Post Prod., have formed an affiliation with the aim of offering creative and production expertise in the digital arena.

Festival Headline News

Banff World Television Festival Ends On A High Note

Wednesday, June 14, 2006, marked the close of another exceptional Banff World Television Festival, with more than 1,450 delegates in attendance, and a combined 1,700 delegates taking in both the television festival and its sister-event, nextMEDIAThe Future of Digital Content. With jam-packed panel and session rooms and a whirl of special events, the festival generated the signing and greenlighting of new deals, as well as the opportunity for delegates to turn their project ideas into reality.

Artists Headline News

Veteran Disney Character Designer Opens Special Exhibit

The Creative Talent Network and Van Eaton Galleries will present SCRIBBLIN ON SCRAP WITH RIK MAKI an exhibition and sale of original art by one of the most prolific and influential artists working in feature animated films, including THE LION KING, HERCULES, A BUGS LIFE, FINDING NEMO and TREASURE PLANET.

Animation Headline News

Wallace & Gromit & Simpsons Win Reuben Award

The National Cartoonists Society announced the winners of the 2006 Reuben Awards, including the selections for the Reuben Award for Cartoonist of the Year, at a black tie dinner on May 27, in Chicago. For the animation world, awarded Nick Parks WALLACE & GROMIT: CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT the prize for feature animation. For TV animation, David Silverman won for his work on THE SIMPSONS.

Animation Headline News

Read How To Grow Your Career in Animation

For the first time, award-winning filmmaker David B. Levy has collected the insights of more than 100 professionals from the top of the animation industry into a new book titled, YOUR CAREER IN ANIMATION: HOW TO SURVIVE AND THRIVE, which tackles the most crucial issues that animation artists face today.

Headline News

Spielberg Developing Wormhole Adventure

Paramount Pictures and Steven Spielberg are developing a space travel tale about a group of explorers who travel through a wormhole into another dimension, reports VARIETY. Spielberg plans to direct with Lynda Obst producing.

Based in real science, the plot will be based on a treatment by Kip S. Thorne, a Caltech physicist who's an expert on relativity. Thorne is most famous for his controversial theory that wormholes not only exist, but can be accessed and used as portals for time travel.

Headline News

Paramount & Pitt Ready For Zombie War

Paramount Pictures has snatched up the screen rights to the Max Brooks novel WORLD WAR Z: AN ORAL HISTORY OF THE ZOMBIE WAR in a high-six-figure deal, according to VARIETY. Brad Pitt's Plan B is set to produce.

Brooks' follow-up to satire THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE spurred a bidding battle, which also included Warner Bros. and Leonardo DiCaprios Appian Way.

The story is a somber tale of the aftermath of a war fought against an army of humans who were inflicted with a virus, died and were reanimated into flesh-eating zombies.

Headline News

Conan the Barbarian Remake Swings at WB

Warner Bros. has hired Boaz Yakin (REMEMBER THE TITANS) to write and possibly direct a re-envisioned CONAN THE BARBARIAN, based on Robert E. Howards original character, VARIETY reports. WB hopes to start production in early 2007 with Irving Azoff, Jon Jashni, Richard Alexander and Akiva Goldsman producing. Peter Sederowsky and Fredrik Malmberg of Paradox Ent., the intellectual property company that owns the rights to the Howard estate, will exec produce.

Licensing Headline News

Louise O’Toole To Head Taffy Ent. New London Office

Louise OToole has signed on as md, U.K. at Taffy Ent.s new London office. OToole reports to Taffy Ent. joint ceos Mike Young and Bill Schultz, as well as president Liz Young. Her colleagues at Taffy Merchandising and Distribution include evp Regis Brown and vp of U.S. licensing Eric Stein.

Comedy Headline News

Kim Fleary New EVP, Comedy Development for The CW

Kim Fleary has been named evp, comedy development, The CW. Fleary, who will oversee the development of all scripted comedy series for The CW reports to Dawn Ostroff, president, entertainment, The CW.

"Kim's breadth of experience and vision have helped create many hit comedies in her career and we're confident she will repeat her success at The CW," said Ostroff. "She has keen creative and comedic instincts and is a wonderful collaborator on every level."

Headline News

CGI-Animated Strawberry Shortcake Film in Fall Feature Harvest

The season is ripe for beloved Girls brand Strawberry Shortcake to star in her first theatrical movie, SWEET DREAMS. American Greetings Corp. (AG), creator and owner of Strawberry Shortcake, DIC Ent. (DIC), the exclusive worldwide licensing agent and production company, along with Fox Home Ent. announced today (June 15, 2006) the STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE feature film will premiere in movie theaters across the U.S. in October 2006.

Creative Headline News

Joe Rohde to Keynote SIGGRAPH 2006

Joe Rohde, exec designer and vp, creative for Walt Disney Imagineering, will present the SIGGRAPH 2006 keynote address "From Myth to Mountain: Insights Into Virtual Placemaking" on July 31 during the 33rd International SIGGRAPH Conference in Boston.

Rohde is the lead designer of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and is responsible for driving the vision for the theme park. He was the principal creative force behind the just-opened Expedition Everest attraction, which made its debut this year.

Show Headline News

A52 Earns First VFX Honors at AICP Show

Los Angeles vfx and design company A52 was honored for the first time in the visual effects category by the AICP Show for last year's Nike Golf KID TIGER broadcast spot from Wieden+Kennedy.

The presentation of the 15th Annual AICP Show was held June 8 by the Assoc. of Independent Commercial Producers at New York's Museum of Modern Art.

Headline News

FrameCycler DI Selected by Young-Gu Art

Young-Gu Art is the latest vfx facility that has selected Iridas FrameCycler DI as its new review and approval system. The facility, based in Seoul, provides cutting-edge work for the Korean film industry, one of the largest in the world.

"We chose FrameCycler for its realtime playback and primary color correction capabilities," said Ki-Wook Shim, visual effects supervisor at Young-Gu. "We work with 2K 10-bit files so we needed an application that can handle that. Iridas has a great track-record in the industry and that made it an easy decision."

Framestore Headline News

Andy Lomas Returns to Framestore as CG Head

Framestore CFC has welcomed back Andy Lomas to the newly expanded post of head of CG, which will encompass features, commercials and longform TV.

Lomas returns at a significant time for Framestore CFC, with the recent announcement of the company's move into feature animation production (THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX) and the need to optimize CG work.

Production Headline News

ILM To Sell Physical Production Unit

Industrial Light & Magic is in discussions to sell its physical production unit, the legendary unit that works with models, miniatures and stage work, VARIETY reports. The sale would mark the end of an erabeginning as the unit that produced the effects for George Lucas' original STAR WARS moviesand solidify ILM's status as a digital effects house.

World Headline News

It’s A Big Big World For Sony & Fisher-Price

Sony Pictures Consumer Products (SPCP) has named Fisher-Price Inc., the number one infant and preschool toy company in the world, as master toy licensee for the new PBS KIDS preschool series ITS A BIG BIG WORLD. The series engages children with a diverse group of animal characters, world music rhythms and a multi-level, age-appropriate science and geography curriculum. The licensing agreement between SPCP and Fisher-Price will bring the lessons taught in ITS A BIG BIG WORLD to life with a full line of toys and plush.

Headline News

Heroes Of Might And Magic V Hits To Stores

Ubisoft announced that HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC V for PC has released and will be arriving at North American retailers this week.

Today we celebrate the return of the beloved MIGHT AND MAGIC franchise with HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC V, enhanced and revamped but still holding true to the values of the series that its loyal fans love and demand, said Tony Key, vp of marketing at Ubisoft. Ubisoft is proud to bring the series into a new realm of PC gaming with an all-new 3D universe and innovative new features such as the Dynamic Battle System.

Headline News

Carnegie Mellon Researchers Teach Computers To Perceive 3 Dimensions In 2D Image

Researchers in Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science have discovered a way to help computers understand the geometric context of outdoor scenes, making them better comprehend what they see, reports SCIENCE DAILY. The discovery promises to revive an area of computer vision research all but abandoned two decades ago because it seemed insoluble. This breakthrough could led to applications in vision systems used to guide robotic vehicles, monitor security cameras and archive photos.

Animation Headline News

LAIKA Building State-Of-The-Art Feature Film Animation Campus In Portland

LAIKA Inc. will build a state-of-the-art feature film animation campus to house its burgeoning entertainment division. LAIKA owner/chairman of the board Philip H. Knight has purchased 30 acres of land in Tualatin, Oregon, just 12 miles south of Portland, as the future site of LAIKAs world-class animation facility, scheduled to open in 2008.

With its expanding film production schedule, LAIKA anticipates its employee roster to soar to more than 400 within the next two years.

Mobile Headline News

Emdigo to Provide Supergirl Based 3D Animation Content

Emdigo Inc. has acquired the exclusive rights to develop and deploy 3D graphics based episodic SUPERGIRL animation content to mobile users in China. One of China's hottest TV productions, SUPERGIRL is China's hugely successful, AMERICAN IDOL-like television show.

Headline News

All News Corp. Units on Go for Simpsons Film

Leading up to the 20th Century Fox launch its feature version of THE SIMPSONS next year, parent company News Corp. will synergize all units throughout its empire promote the film, president/coo Peter Chernin said today (June 14, 2006), according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.

Headline News

Digital Musings From the Editor:

With THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, opening Friday from Universal Pictures, the vfx bar has been raised in that franchise to 768 shots, divided among 10 houses, with Rhythm & Hues handling the most complex sequence. Alain Bielik reports how placing the action in Tokyo necessitated creating the environment digitally for the car racing. Meanwhile, Renee Dunlop delves into Foxs GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, which also opens Friday, featuring the animation/vfx of Rhythm & Hues and Rainmaker.

Bill DesowitzEditor

Animation Headline News

New York TV Festival Seeks Animatics and Pilots

The New York Television Festival (NYTVF) is seeking submissions for the Animation category to be entered into the 2006 Independent Pilot Competition. Entries may be animated projects or animatics running 2-20 minutes in length that introduce a character or a main premise for an episodic TV series. The NYTVF, to be held in New York City in mid-September, is the first-ever Independent Television showcase, uniting prominent industry figures, artists and TV fans in one forum.

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