AWN Headline News

Mike Young Prods. has signed a co-production deal with Asian online multiplayer publisher Gamania Digital Ent. for comedy/action property, HERO:108. The deal marks the first time a U.S./European based studio and Taiwanese content creator have joined forces to produce an original 22x30 animated series, aimed at kids 6-11 a show that will be designed to work seamlessly with online gaming.

Garfield is rolling into the holiday season in his first-ever collectible DVD gift set, including nine Emmy award-nominated GARFIELD primetime television specials. Released by Fox Home Ent., GARFIELD CAT TALES GIFT SET includes GARFIELD AS HIMSELF, GARFIELD TRAVEL ADVENTURES and GARFIELD FANTASIES. The three-disc set is available for $29.98 on Oct. 18, 2005.

Free Houdini TrainingVenice, California, USANovember 7-11, 2005 Deadline: October 21, 2005

Digital Domain will be offering a free one-week Houdini class. Attendees must have experience at a production level with 3D programs such as Maya, Softimage or 3ds Max. Student Project reels are acceptable as well. Some exposure to Houdini is a plus.

Cartoons on the Bay 2006Positano, ItalyApril 5-9, 2006Deadline: January 15, 2006

Cartoons on the Bay is an international event with awards, workshops, lectures, TV and theatrical previews, and events centering on the ever-changing world of television animation. The Pulcinella Awards Competition is open to all products in animation for television and the Internet, including pilots of series. The Competition is also open to short films.

The remake of John Carpenters THE FOG (with vfx by Hydraulx) debuted at number one at the box office for the weekend ended Oct. 16, 2005, with Sony/Revolution collecting $11.7M. Coming in a very close second with $11.5M was DreamWorks/Aardmans WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT. The stop-motion gem (with vfx from MPC) now has a two-week cume of $33.1M. Debuting in third place was Cameron Crowes romantic comedy, ELIZABETHTOWN (with vfx from Digital Filmworks and Flash Film Works), which offered up $10.6M to Paramount.

DIC Ent. has gone public on London's AIM market under the symbol DEKEq.L. The stock became available on Oct. 14, 2005, and by closing was up 3% at 255-1/2 pence, giving DIC a market capitalization of about 108 million pounds ($188.8 million). DIC raised 17.4 million pounds as part of the listing and shareholders saw a further 13 million by selling down their stakes. Bridgewell serves as an adviser and broker to DIC.

Results airing coming out of MIPCOM Jr. with Millimages and Method Films SKYLAND topping the list of the most requested series at the event, taking place in Cannes, France. The series holds the top two spots with Millimages screenings at #1 and Method Films at #2. Marathons TEAM GALAXY come in third followed by Planet Nemos BALI at #4. Rounding out the top ten were BRBs BERNARD, Warner Bros. BEN 10, Animation Collective and MTVs KAPPA MIKEY and Breakthrough Ent.s CAPTAIN FLAMINGO.

VIZ Media Llc. (VIZ Media) announced the further expansion of its popular SHONEN JUMP brand with the launch of the SHONEN JUMP Home Video Line. This new line will offer several highly anticipated anime titles on DVD, based on popular series that originally appeared in the SHONEN JUMP monthly manga anthology. The first two titles offered will be HIKARU NO GO in Dec. 2005 and NARUTO in March 2006.

Anchor Bay Ent. has named Kaoru Mfaume as managing director for Manga Ent. He recently held the post of vp acquisitions for the company.

Anchor Bay is proud to have Kaoru as part of our team, stated Ted Green, ceo of Anchor Bay. He is a true leader within the anime world and has co-produced a number of top-selling anime titles including STREET FIGHTER: ALPHA GENERATIONS, DEAD LEAVES and GHOST IN THE SHELL: STAND ALONE COMPLEX. His unparalled vision and leadership will help us develop this genre to its fullest potential.