FUNimation Ent., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Navarre Corp. and the market share leader for home video sales of Japanese animation in the U.S., announced today (June 16, 2006) that the FUNimation Channel is now live in Los Angeles via digital broadcast on LA 18.3. The FUNimation Channel provides 24-hour digital programming featuring top anime brands in the U.S. to more than five million households in the Los Angeles area.
Wrapping up its run on June 17, 2006, the 17th Zagreb, World Festival of Animated Films, awarded its Grand Prix to Joanna Quinn's multiple-Annecy winner, DREAMS AND DESIRES FAMILY TIES. Her short was a two-time winner, also taking home the Jury International Film Critics prize. The top audience award went to PRO IVANA DURAKA, (IVAN THE FOOL) by Mikhail Aldashin and Oleg Uzhinov.
Below is a complete list of winners:
GRAND COMPETIONGrand Prix DREAMS AND DESIRES FAMILY TIES, by Joanna Quinn, U.K.
Golden Zagreb Award
Nick Jr.'s will "sneak peek" its newest preschool show, WOW! WOW! WUBBZY!, across several media platforms, beginning Tuesday, June 20, 2006. The 26-episode series premieres on Nick Jr. on Aug. 28.
Cartoon Network Enterprises (CNE, Cartoon Networks worldwide consumer products division) struck a long-term global partnership with the worlds leading toy company, Mattel Inc. for a multi-year, multi-property deal. The master toy license agreement covers original Cartoon Network properties for the 6-11 age group and also carries a first-look option on all newly created original series and programming.
Mississippi-based Maris, West & Baker is launching a new ad to teach children about the harmful effects of tobacco. "Candy Factory" is the latest :30 spot for the award-winning creative agency to begin airing this month throughout the state of Mississippi. "Candy Factory" is the second recent anti-tobacco spot that Maris, West & Baker has produced for its client, The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi.
A survey of 100,000 U.S. members of Casino Fortune, the oldest online casino, revealed Homer Simpson as the Craziest TV Dad. Sixty-seven wild TV fathers, nearly all from sitcoms, were nominated, and 20 of those were voted onto the Craziest TV Dad list.
Post Logic N.Y. has signed well-known commercial colorist Milan Boncich. Boncich has worked with some of the most prominent directors and dps in the worlds of advertising, film and visual effects. He was the longtime senior colorist at Tape House Editorial until 2002 when he joined Moving Images.
The addition of Boncich to Post Logic N.Y.s talent roster reinforces the companys ongoing commitment to the commercial market and its intention to compete for that business at the highest levels.
Rainmaker Ltd. Partnership (Rainmaker) completed 170 CG shots on the new Fox release, GARFIELD: A TAIL OF TWO KITTIES. Full CG face replacements were completed on the film's new character, Winston the bulldog, and on eight other talking animals. Completing the task in just eight weeks, the Rainmaker team was led by visual effects supervisor Charlene Eberle and visual effects producer Jinnie Pak.
Target Ent. has germinated a batch of new licensing deals for Chapman Ent.s preschool property, FIFI AND THE FLOWERTOTS.
Although the property was only launched at the UK Brand Licensing Show in October 2004, the licensing team at Target has already amassed 34 separate agreements for the U.K., in addition to the master toy, publishing and home entertainment deals already done by Chapman Ent.
Boomstone Ent. Inc. is in production on a new childrens all Canadian animated project, LITTLE MELODY, featuring the musical adventures of Little Melody, her magical flute, Toot, and best friend and narrator Mrs Quill, a friendly Bluebird voiced by Margot Kidder (SUPERMAN, SMALLVILLE). Little Melody is slated for fall 2007 release.
Image College of Arts, Animation and Technology (ICAT), a division of Chennai-based Image Infotainment Limited, will launch a three-year full-time program in digital media, which includes animation, visual effects, game design or game development, reports THE BUSINSS STANDARD.
Philip Thomas, manager (admissions) of ICAT, said that the digital media industry across the world was in need of more fusion artists, those who combine artistic and technical skills.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
New animation studio, Amputee Chicken, has launched with its first short film, IF I HAD A HAMMER. Downloadable from the Web (www.amputeechicken.com), IF I HAD A HAMMER is now set to make the festival scene worldwide in the coming months.
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."
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.
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.
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.
