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AWN Headline News

Games Headline News

fmx/06 Announces Program

fmx/06, the 11th International Conference on Animation, Effects, Realtime and Content, will take place May 3-6, 2006, in Stuttgart, Germany.

Topics include the latest animated movies and vfx features, the convergence of games and movies, new fields of work for animators, the latest use of realtime graphics and current trends from the Far East. There is also new cooperation with the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, with overlapping programs, in addition to the festival award ceremony coinciding with the opening of fmx/06 on the evening of May 2.

Digital Headline News

NAB2006 Digital Summit to Focus on Real World Applications

NAB and partners ETC-USC (the Entertainment Technology Center at University of Southern California) and SMPTE (the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) announced that immediate and near future applications will be the focus of the Digital Cinema Summit at NAB2006. Set for April 22 and 23 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Summit will feature case studies, expert tutorials, keynotes and panels that examine practical issues arising from the production, postproduction, distribution and presentation of digital cinema.

Business Headline News

United Airlines To Unveil New Super Bowl Ad in Stop Motion

Business travelers watching the Steelers and Seahawks battle for the coveted Super Bowl title will be inspired to charge the boardroom and challenge corporate foes with United as their ally. The first United Super Bowl ad in more than a decade and its first to use stop motion, DRAGON, will debut during the Feb. 5 Super Bowl XL game, just prior to the start of the much-anticipated halftime event. The television advertisement will appear in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Animated Headline News

Animated Shorts Awarded at Sundance & Slamdance

With the close of Sundance and Slamdance this past weekend, animated shorts snatched up coveted prizes at the Park City, Utah events.

At Sundance, where animated and live-action shorts compete against each other, Adam Parrish King's animated, THE WRATH OF COBBLE HILL, tied with Carter Smith's live-action BUGCRUSH for the animated jury prize for shorts.

Studio Headline News

Friday the 13th Prequel Fast Tracked

New Line has put a FRIDAY THE 13TH prequel on the fast track, reports VARIETY. The studio has greenlit the script development of a story that would chronicle the origins of hockey-mask wearing killer Jason Voorhees. The studio hopes to have the 10th film in the franchise ready for a Friday, Oct. 13, 2006, opening.

Exec Headline News

CBS Greenlights Ultra Comic Pilot

CBS has greenlit a pilot for a new live-action TV program based on the comicbook, ULTRA, reports VARIETY. JOAN OF ARCADIA creator Barbara Hall will exec produce the pilot. CBS Paramount Network TV is producing the show.

The comic is a spoof of celebrity magazines and follows a female superhero who must balance saving the world, advancing her career as super model, Pearl Penalosa, and developing a love life.

David Engel and David Alpert are co-exec producers on the project.

Games Headline News

Grand Theft Auto Lawsuit Creates Turmoil at Take-Two

After the city of Los Angeles filed suit against Take-Two Software for selling pornographic videogames to children, the game developers stock plummeted on Friday. At the close of Friday, Take-Two share were at $14.69 down 13.7%. Earlier in the day, the stock had hit a three-year low of $13.68.

The game named in the suit is GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS, which had its rating changed from MA "Mature 17+" to AO "Adults Only 18+ after it was discovered that it contained hidden sex scenes.

Music Headline News

Create Flash Video — Win Xbox 360

Taking Back Sunday Flash Video Contest World Wide WebFebruary 18, 2006Deadline: February 18, 2006

Create an original Flash Animation music video for the song Error Operator by rock band Taking Back Sunday and you could win an Xbox 360, music from Warner Bros. Records, and a chance to have your animated music video used by the band. For more information, visit www2.fanscape.com/contests/ifilm/takingbacksunday/contest.html or contact Christy Wise at christyw@fanscape.com.

Headline News

Big Momma’s House 2 Tops Box Office

Foxs BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE 2 debuted in the top spot at the box office with $27.7M for the weekend ended Jan. 29, 2006. Universals new entry, NANNY MCPHEE (with vfx from Framestore CFC), was a distant second with $14.5M. Screen Gems UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION (with Luma Pictures as the lead vfx house), last weeks winner, slipped to third place with $11.4M for a two-week cume of $44.6M. Buena Vistas ANNAPOLIS bowed in fourth with $7.6M. HOODWINKED, the hot 3D-animated indie from The Weinstein Co., dropped to fifth with $7.4M, good enough for a cume of $37.7M.

Film Headline News

T-RIFF Beckons!

Tahoe Reno International Film Festival (T-RIFF) Lake Tahoe & Reno, Nevada, USAAugust 23-27, 2006Deadline: May 31, 2006

Tahoe Reno International Film Festival strives to produce an annual international film festival that brings independent filmmakers exposure, innovative means to gain resources and artful career growth choices. T-RIFF promotes film both as an art form and a catalyst for positive social change. For more information, visit www.t-riff.org.

Animated Headline News

Golden Globe Awards to Get More Animated

The Golden Globe Awards have jumped on the animation bandwagon, announcing next year's Golden Globes will offer a new category when the awards are announced in January 2007.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Assoc. voted last month to establish Best Animated Feature Film commencing with The 64th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2007, it was announced by Philip Berk, president.

Animation Headline News

Animation Exec Vet John Carey to Head CritterPix Studios Production

John Carey, a 30-year show business veteran, joins CritterPix Studios in northern California as svp of production.

Carey has established and maintained CG pipelines for several animated feature productions and companies. Most recently he was vp of production and technology at Walt Disney Pictures, where he led a team of some 150 professionals that managed both technology and film production. Previously Carey was cto for Toronto-based, C.O.R.E Ent.

Super Headline News

HIT Strikes Super Deal with German Broadcaster

HIT Ent. Ltd. (HIT) has concluded a six-year landmark licensing deal with German TV station SUPER RTL for a number of its properties, it was announced by Alison Homewood, evp of worldwide television distribution for HIT and Frank Dietz, head of acquisitions and co-productions for Super RTL.

Super RTL has also secured the worldwide phenomenon, THOMAS AND FRIENDS, licensing series 1 through 5 and series 800 and 900 and the special, CALLING ALL ENGINES. Super RTL will also debut series 5 (26x11) of FIREMAN SAM.

Disney Headline News

Team Disney Building Renamed After Michael Eisner

Disney ceo Bob Iger, chairman of the board Senator George Mitchell, the board of directors and hundreds of Disney employees gathered at The Walt Disney Studios on Jan. 27, 2006, to honor former ceo Michael Eisner at a dedication ceremony for Team Disney The Michael D. Eisner Building.

Open Headline News

Slamdance's Mirvish Strikes Videogame Deal

Culver City-based Bugeater Films announced the first Park City deal ever of a videogame based on an independent film. Slamdance co-founder and OPEN HOUSE director Dan Mirvish struck a deal with Slamdance Guerilla Gamemaker Competition (GGC) winners Joe Bourrie and Patrick Hackett. Bourrie and Hackett, whose game RUMBLE BOX won this year's award for innovation in programming, will design a web-based java game for Mirvish's real estate musical, OPEN HOUSE, which Wellspring Media recently released on DVD.

Headline News

Robin Williams Has A Night at the Museum

Robin Williams has joined the star-studded cast of 20th Century Foxs NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The funny man will play Theodore Roosevelt opposite Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Kim Raver, Mickey Rooney, Dick Van Dyke and Bill Cobbs.

Angry Headline News

Oxygen Breathes Life Into Angry Little Girls Toon

The book/web comic strip ANGRY LITTLE GIRLS has snagged a pilot order from Oxygen, reports VARIETY. GHOST WHISPERER star Jennifer Love Hewitt is set to exec produce the show.

The weekly comic strip centers on the exploits of a group of girls living in an increasingly angry world.

ANGRY LITTLE GIRLS was created by Lela Lee in response to what she found to be insulting Asian characters in other cartoons. Lee has appeared in shows such as CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, WILL & GRACE and SCRUBS.

Mobile Headline News

Miami 85 Toon Wins MoTV Award at NATPE Mobile ++

iHollywood Forum, Fun Little Movies and NeTV announced the winners of the first MoTV Awards. Comedian Eddie Griffin (DEUCE BIGALOW: EUROPEAN GIGOLO) congratulated the winners in person last night in a gala ceremony at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

Headline News

Dance Dance Revolution Added To School Curriculum in West Virginia

Konami Digital Ent. Inc. announced a three-year partnership with the state of West Virginia that will help the states public school students get in shape while also having fun. Through the program, all 765 West Virginia public schools will be adding DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION (DDR) to their physical education or health related curriculum based program within the next two years. In the first phase of the program, all of the states 103 middle/junior high schools will incorporate DDR into their curriculum in the coming months.

Animation Headline News

VIZ Media Serves Up U.S. & Int'l Menus at NATPE

VIZ Media Llc., one of the entertainment industrys most innovative and comprehensive manga and animation licensing and publishing companies, has brought an array of new shows for both U.S. and international broadcasters. VIZS is located at booth 1344 in the Kids Town grouping the anime specialist has sponsored during NATPE at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

For U.S. broadcasters, VIZ is offering MÄR, ZOIDS GENESIS, HIKARU NO GO, THE PRINCE OF TENNIS, FULL MOON, GRANDPA DANGER and CROKET.

For International broadcasters, VIZ is offering:

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