AWN Headline News
Stony Brook Film Fest Looking for Toons
2006 Stony Brook Film FestivalLong Island, New York, USAJuly 20-29, 2006Deadline: May 1, 2006
The Stony Brook Film Festival is a filmmaker-friendly, well-attended festival, which takes place at a 1000+ seat theatre with a 40-foot wide screen. It features independent features and shorts in competition; premieres, special screenings, filmmaker panels and receptions. The event is held at Staller Center for the Arts on the campus of Stony Brook University. For more information, visit www.stonybrookfilmfestival.com.
Nordic Films Wanted for Nordisk Panorama
Nordisk Panorama - 5 Cities Film Festival 2006Aarhus, DenmarkSeptember 22 27, 2006Deadline: May 15, 2006
Nordisk Panorama Event is the main platform for short films and documentaries in the Nordic region, offering an annual business venue and showcase, spanning all professional focus areas from development and financing to distribution and exhibition.
IEMA & VSDA Form One Trade Group
The Interactive Entertainment Merchants Assoc. (IEMA) and the Video Software Dealers Assoc. (VSDA) have voted to merge into a single trade association to represent the retailers and distributors of video and videogame products. The merger will bring together mass merchants, video specialty stores, videogame specialty retailers, online merchants, electronics retailers, entertainment combo stores, and others that retail and wholesale DVDs, console videogames and computer videogames.
Universal & Mattel Form Worldwide Marketing & Distribution DVD Alliance
Universal Studios and Mattel today (April 11, 2006) announced an unprecedented, multi-picture, multi-year alliance for worldwide marketing and distribution of feature-length DVDs. This will commence with a new fall release for Mattels hugely successful Barbie Ent. franchise and a first-ever, feature-length movie for the successful Polly Pocket! brand.
South Park 7th Season Now on DVD
SOUTH PARK: THE COMPLETE SEVENTH SEASON is now available on DVD, featuring 15 episodes of wonderfully disturbing events such as metrosexual exploration and forced Mormonism. The compilation was released via COMEDY CENTRAL Home Ent. and Paramount Home Ent. is available in U.S. stories and is also available at www.shop.comedycentral.com.
Comedy Central & IFILM Launch Test Pilots Broadband Development Deal Contest
Comedy Central is partnering with IFILM to launch," Comedy Central's Test Pilots," an online competition in search of the next big broadband show. Would-be show creators will get the opportunity to submit one to five-minute pilots to comedycentral.com with the winner receiving a development deal on Comedy Central's broadband channel, "MotherLoad." Live action, animation, sketch or hidden camera any format is acceptable.
Ambiguously Gay Duo & Fellow Saturday TV Funhouse Shorts Special Slated
NBCs SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE presents a special BEST OF compilation featuring SATURDAY TV FUNHOUSE shorts by acclaimed comedian Robert Smigel on April 29, 2006, from 11:30 pm to 1:00 am on NBC. The special will be hosted by THE AMBIGUOUSLY GAY DUO. Ace and Gary (voiced by Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell).
It will feature new material starring the subtly homoerotic superheroes performing an SNL monologue as well as interacting live with the current cast throughout the show.
Winnie The Pooh Receives a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
In conjunction with the release of the fully re-mastered POOH'S GRAND ADVENTURE THE SEARCH FOR CHRISTOPHER ROBIN on Disney DVD April 11, 2006, Winnie The Pooh receive his Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. This being the characters 80th Anniversary the unveiling will take place at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood.
Court Used Animations May Create Jury Bias
A study from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign presents the argument that computer animation uses in court cases to re-create incidents may present a biased view depending on which side created the simulation, reports ScienceDaily.com.
Sci-Fi Boys Doc on DVD
Released to coincide with the release of Peter Jacksons KING KONG, THE SCI-FI BOYS (Universal Pictures Home Ent., $29.98, a Best Buy exclusive) is a documentary that pays homage to the lasting influence of Forrest J. Ackerman (FAMOUS MONSTERS magazine), Ray Bradbury and Ray Harryhausen. Written, produced and directed by Paul Davids (production coordinator and writer for THE TRANSFORMERS animated series), THE SCI-FI BOYS recounts how the generation of moviemakers inspired by the aforementioned trio and has made its mark as sci-fi filmmakers.
Radium Creates ‘Product People’ Party for Target
Production house Radium lent its CG and visual effects expertise to create a high-energy street-party themed spot, PRODUCT PEOPLE, for Target, a client of Peterson Milla Hooks, Minneapolis.
Directed by Spaz Williams (THE WILD), with Radiums creative director Jonathan Keeton, the spot features Target store products that merge with each other to form dancing party people. PRODUCT PEOPLE is the first in a series of Target spots Radium will produce this year with Peterson Milla Hooks. It debuted April 2.
DAZ Launches Developer Program with DAZ Studio 1.3
DAZ Prods. Inc., announced the first release of the DAZ Studio Software Development Kit (SDK) with the latest version of its free digital art software, DAZ Studio 1.3. By exposing the majority of the DAZ Studio API, the DAZ Studio SDK enables third-party developers to completely integrate their own technology directly into DAZ Studio. With this digital 3D art market now open to third-party developers, the growth potential for a variety of new DAZ Studio features, tools and plug-ins is tremendous.
Pharos Capital Invests $8 Million in Reel FX
Pharos Capital Group LLC of Nashville and Dallas, has invested $8 million in Reel FX Inc. Based in Dallas, privately held Reel FX provides computer-generated 3D animation and visual effects in the broadcast, feature film, computer and videogame and advertising industries. The company also specializes in the development, production and brand management of family-friendly programming and has a number of active projects including feature films, television and direct-to-DVD series.
ATI Offers New FireGL V7350 and FireGL V7300 Professional 3D Accelerators
ATI Technologies Inc. announced that its next generation FireGLTM V7350 and FireGLTM V7300 workstation graphics accelerators have been certified by HP as a part of the company's thorough testing process to ensure a more stable and reliable experience for workstation customers. As the industry's first one gigabyte (1GB) graphics accelerator, the FireGL V7350 is ideally suited for CAD, DCC, imaging and visualization users working with extremely large datasets.
Ice Age Sequel Cools But Still Tops
Fox/Blue Skys ICE AGE: THE MELTDOWN, hailed as the first blockbuster of 2006, cooled off by 50% in its second week, but still managed to lead the box office with $33.8M and a cume of $115.7M for the weekend ended April 9, 2006.
Latest Animation World Magazine Acrobat Now Online!
This Week’s Animation Trivia Quiz for April 10, 2006
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. Check out the latest installment from quizmaster Karl Staven, an accomplished independent animator and head of the Animation Department at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
AWN Discussion Forums - What's New? for April 10, 2006
This week in AWN's Forums, members are debating quality differences between the BATMAN series and the theatrical feature, BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM.
HIT Ent. Now Property Owners of Wobbly Land
London-based HIT Ent. has acquired the worldwide rights to WOBBLY LAND, a unique childrens property from Irish production company Brown Bag Films.
Created by Cat Little, the WOBBLY LAND story is set in a "fuzzy felt" world, a topsy turvy place that looks like a soft, bouncy play mat and where trees squeak when you hug them and houses are connected together by slides. The series celebrates play and encourages children to use their imagination to entertain and express themselves.
Production on the 26x5 series is due for completion in spring 2007.
Toonz Animation Becomes the Largest Toon Boom Harmony Installation in India
Emmy-award winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. announced that Trivandrum-based Toonz Animation India has become the largest Toon Boom Harmony installation in India. Preparing for the production of several in-house projects, Toonz is planning to explore Harmony�s wide array of capabilities to create traditional and cut-out animation in a fully integrated production pipeline.
DIY Book Festival Wants Your Indie Comics
2006 DIY Book Festival Los Angeles, California, USAOctober 7, 2006Deadline: September 25, 2006
The 2006 DIY Book Festival will host its fifth annual program celebrating the success of independent authors and publishers.
The DIY Book Festival will consider self-published or independent publisher non-fiction, fiction, biography/autobiography, children's books, teenage, how-to, audio/spoken word, photography, art, comics, 'zines, fan fiction, poetry and e-books published on or after Jan. 1, 2004.
Aardman Draws Buyers To A Town Called Panic
Aardman Animations has secured new broadcast sales for animated series A TOWN CALLED PANIC at MIP-TV 2006. ABC TV Australia and Nicktoons Network U.S. have picked up all 20x5 episodes of the series, which made its international debut at MIPCOM last year. It previously sold to Nickelodeon U.K.
Icon Animation’s Vitaminix Snapped Up By International Broadcasters
Barcelona-based Icon Animation has signed a raft of programming deals at MIPTV 2006 for its edu-tainment series VITAMINIX (www.vitaminix.tv). Panama free TV channel TV7 (Corp. Medcom), UEA cabsat channel E-Junior, TV Andorra and Digiturk in Turkey are the latest broadcasters to sign up for the animated healthy eating show aimed at kids. In addition, Icon Animation has signed an output deal with Al Sayyar Art Prod. for the Middle East and 33x26 animated series MIMI & MR. BOBO.
National Geographic Kids Sets Toot And Puddle Into Production
National Geographic Television & Films (NGT&F) Kids Programming and Production unit has commenced production on the made-for-DVD animated special, TOOT & PUDDLE: I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, also available to domestic and international broadcasters as a one-hour format. Based on Holly Hobbies TOOT & PUDDLE franchise and animated by Grand Slamm Childrens Films, TOOT & PUDDLE: I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is scheduled to launch during the 2006 holiday season.