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AWN Headline News

Headline News

Digital Musings From the Editor:

Foxs remake of THE OMEN opened auspiciously well with $12.5M on 6/6. Alain Bielik recounts how Cinesite digitally recreated those legendary death scenes we remember so well. Meanwhile, Fred Galpern reviews modo 201, the latest version of Luxologys 3D modeling, painting and rendering software. According to early reports, 201 makes it easier to model and render all in application without worrying about the mechanics. Theres also the latest excerpt from LEARNING MAYA 7 FOUNDATION, which continues the series on rendering.

Bill DesowitzEditor

Series Headline News

AWN Debuts 4th Lesson in High-End Animation Directing Series

AWN has launched the latest free video lesson in its exclusive video learning series taken from Hollywood Camera Work: The Master Course In High-End Blocking And Staging, a comprehensive and ambitious six DVD training series for animation and live-action directors.

Interactive Headline News

WB Interactive Brings Justice League Heroes Games To Gameboy & DS

Warner Bros. Interactive Ent. will launch JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES: THE FLASH for Game Boy Advance and JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES for Nintendo DS in fall 2006. Distributed by Eidos Interactive, the games will release simultaneously with the JUSTICE LEAGUE HEROES games for PlayStation 2, Xbox and PSP.

Film Headline News

Weinsteins Do Monster Sales For Igor In Cannes

The Weinstein Co. has sold most of the world on Exodus Film Groups CG-animated feature comedy IGOR, following Cannes.

Key territorial sales include the U.K. to Momentum, in France to TF1, in Germany and Switzerland to Constantine, in Spain to Aurum, in Russia to West Film Group, in Eastern Europe to EEAP, in Benelux to RCV, in Brazil to Europa, in the Middle East to Italia, in Portugal to Lusomundo, in South Korea to Jung-A Ent., in Turkey to Film Pop and in Taiwan to Applause.

Animation Headline News

aniBOOM Launches Online Animation Competition with $50,000 in Prizes

Interactive animation company aniBOOM announced the First aniBOOM Awards. Fans of animation throughout the world will be able to vote on their favorite submissions from professional and independent participants alike and help determine the winners of $50,000 in prize money.

Headline News

Tom Goes to the Mayor Returns to Adult Swim With Guest Stars

TOM GOES TO THE MAYOR makes its basic cable homecoming with a new season on Adult Swim this June. The small-town politics, poor decision making, delusional thinking and curious guest stars that have become the Adult Swim shows hallmark started up again on June 4, 2006, at 12:30 am.

Turbo Headline News

TurboSquid & ILL Clan Forge Machinima Cartoon Series Partnership

Animation studio ILL Clan and 3D objects provider TurboSquid have partnered up to present TRASH TALK, which employs the use of machinima in the production of the latest talk show host to grace computer and iPod screens. This animated 3D game character wannabe named ILL Will, a cross between Jay Leno and Duke Nukem, reports on the latest gaming news and talks trash each week on the Internet with his sidekick, a missile named Mal Content.

Headline News

Nicolas Coppermann to Head Télé Images

General secretary/deputy program director in charge of drama production at M6, Nicolas Coppermann, will soon take over as head of Télé Images. Coppermann will team with Pascal Breton (Marathon), Vincent Chalvon Demersay (Marathon Media) and Denis Mermet (Adventure Line Prods.), who joined forces in January 2006 with the fusion of the temporarily named Finhera group, currently presided over by Pascal Breton.

Headline News

Vue 5 xStream Pre-Release Available for LightWave and Cinema 4D

e-on software announced the pre-release of two new versions of its xStream suite of plug-ins: xStream for LightWave and xStream for Cinema 4D.

Vue 5 xStream is a suite of plug-ins that enables the seamless integration of Vue environments into the industry's leading 3D applications. Versions of xStream were already available for Autodesk 3ds Max and Maya. As of June 1, versions of xStream for Newtek LightWave and Maxon Cinema 4D are also available. xStream for SOFTIMAGE|XSI is still under development.

Shorts Headline News

Warner Set to Distribute Popeye on DVD in 2007

The Popeye logjam is over. Warner Home Video (WHV) has reached an agreement with Heart Ent. and King Features Syndicate to be the exclusive worldwide DVD distributors of the classic Popeye theatrical animated shorts and the Popeye made-for-TV animated shorts.

Headline News

Alienware's New Limited-Edition Superman Systems Take Flight

Alienware celebrates June 28 release of Warner Bros. Pictures' SUPERMAN RETURNS with individually-numbered desktop and notebook systems inspired by DC Comics' iconic superhero, Superman. The desktop and notebook systems showcase masterful artwork of the Man of Steel on the outer cases. Alienware's Area-51 Superman Edition desktop and Area-51 SUPERMAN RETURNS Edition notebook come with a certificate of authenticity. Each system also includes a specially-designed Superman desktop theme by The Skins Factory utilizing Stardock's Theme Manager software.

Entertainment Headline News

Iridas’ FrameCycler Standardized at ILM

Iridas announced that Industrial Light & Magic has purchased universal site licenses of FrameCycler Professional 3.5 for its facility in the Letterman Center in San Francisco, Lucasfilm Animation in Singapore and the Skywalker Ranch in San Rafael. Now artists at all three locations will have immediate access to uncompressed frame-based playback for review and analysis of their work on every workstation.

Awards Headline News

LAIKA/house Ups Roland Gauthier to CG Manager

Roland Gauthier will now serve as CG manager for LAIKA/house division. He will oversee LAIKA/houses CG animation group for all LAIKA/house commercial projects. The CG department has successfully created memorable commercials for various commercial clients.

Roland brings great expertise and enthusiasm to this key role, remarked Lourri Hammack, president/exec producer LAIKA/house. We are very excited for him to lead our phenomenally talented CG team.

Special Headline News

NOGGIN Bonds With Dads Throughout Father’s Day

NOGGIN will honor dad on Fathers Day with themed episodes from the networks preschool lineup. On Sunday, June 18, beginning at 6:30 am (ET), fans can join the characters of OOBI, CONNIE THE COW, MIFFY AND FRIENDS, LITTLE BEAR and FRANKLIN, as they pay tribute to dad.

* 6:30 am CONNIE THE COW Connie & Her FatherConnie's mummy tells her that theyre going to have a surprise party for her daddys birthday. With help from her friends, Connie gets everything ready to make her daddy's celebration a very special one.

Series Headline News

Spider Riders To Make U.S. Broadcast Debut On KIDS’ WB!

Coliseum, the action-adventure brand of Cookie Jar Ent. Inc., will make its U.S. debut of the series, SPIDER RIDERS, on KIDS WB! on Saturday, June 17, 2006, at 10:30 am (ET/PT). SPIDER RIDERS is a co-production between Cookie Jar and leading Japanese advertising agency, Yomiko, together with celebrated Japanese animation studio, Bee Train, known for its popular cult series, HACK//SIGN. SPIDER RIDERS is Coliseums largest production since the companys inception in 2004.

Film Headline News

Weinsteins Draw Swords With Live-Action Mulan

The Weinstein Co. is in final talks on a three-picture deal with MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA star Ziyi Zhang, which includes a live-action version of MULAN, VARIETY reports. The second film in the deal would be a remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic, THE SEVEN SAMURAI.

Black Headline News

Lionsgate Drops Marvel’s Black Widow

Lionsgate has dropped the development on a live-action feature film version of Marvel Comics' BLACK WIDOW, reports IGN FILMFORCE. Insiders say the studio balked on the project after poor box office results for other recent female-driven action films like ULTRAVIOLET and AEON FLUX.

Writer/director David Hayter said, "Marvel and I then spoke to a few other financing entities, but I never felt comfortable that we had found a place that was willing to take the movie, and the character, seriously."

Comedy Headline News

Odd Todd Webtoon Lands Deal at Paramount

Paramount Pictures has optioned the pitch ODD TODD, based on the Webtoon created by Todd Rosenberg, according to VARIETY. Jonathan Kesselman (THE HEBREW HAMMER) is attached to direct.

Rosenberg independently produced the Web series and later adapted it for Comedy Central's broadband website. He will write the screenplay, which will follow the title character as he locks himself out of his apartment on the very day his unemployment checks run out.

ODD TODD will be among the first films developed by the Comedy Central Films banner. Mike Karz will produce.

Series Headline News

Monster Sells I’m an Animal for Nickelodeon UK

Monster Distributes just sold its new animated series, IM AN ANIMAL, from Oscar-nominated Brown Bag Films to Nickelodeon UK. Produced with the support of RTE and the Irish Film Board, the series has already been sold to Rai Italy, TV Ontario, Knowledge Network Canada, Cartoon Network Australia, Cable TV Hong Kong, Sanctuary UK, Hungama TV Indonesia, Malaysia and India and Al Sayyar in the Middle East.

IM AN ANIMAL was one of the top programs at MIPCOM Jr. last year, and will have all 52x2 episodes completed this month.

Headline News

FUNimation Awarded Full Metal Panic

FUNimation Ent., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corp., has been awarded FULL METAL PANIC: THE SECOND RAID by Kadokawa Pictures USA. FULL METAL PANIC: THE SECOND RAID is the third season in this popular anime series. FUNimation has scheduled Oct. 3, 2006 as the street date for the first DVD.

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