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AWN Headline News

Headline News

Omen Remake Finds Stars For a 6/6/06 Release

Damien gets a mommy and daddy for Foxs remake of THE OMEN, according to VARIETY. Liev Schreiber (SCREAM series) and Julia Stiles (MONA LISA SMILE) have been hired to play the roles of the anti-christs unknowing parents, who were originally played by Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. John Moore (2004s FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX) will direct the film, which is set to start filming in October. Dan McDermott (SELLING TIME) has adapted the script. In a marketing ploy, THE OMEN 666 will be released on Tuesday, June 6, 2006.

Live-action Headline News

Underdog Gets A Director

Disney Pictures and Spyglass Ent. are in talks with RACING STRIPES director Frederik Du Chau to direct the live-action adaptation of UNDERDOG, reports VARIETY. The film will combine CG and live-action to make a real dog talk and appears to have superpowers. Spyglass Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber and Jonathan Glickman are producing aside with Jay Polstein.

Headline News

Magical DoReMi To Cast Spell On U.S. Audiences

On Saturday, Sept. 10, 2005, MAGICAL DOREMI will make its long-awaited U.S. debut at 8:00 am (ET) on 4Kids TV on Fox affiliates nationwide. The brainchild of Toei Animation (DRAGONBALL, DIGIMON and ONE PIECE), MAGICAL DOREMI has already become one of Japan's most popular and longest running girls series with more than 200 episodes airing over a four-year span.

Headline News

Stash Announces GSAA Winners

STASH DVD MAGAZINE has announced the winners of its First Annual Global Student Animation Awards. Animation award went to Don Pans CONEHEAD (Bournemouth University). The Motion Design winner was Andrew Grahams MIND/MATTER (National Institute of Design Victoria Australia). The VFX prize went to Jan Mathias Steinforths FUNKSTORUNG - PUNK MOTHERFUCKER (HAWK Hildesheim).

Headline News

Jim Kennedy New Sony Pictures Ent. SVP of Corp. Communications

im Kennedy joins Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) as svp, Corp. Communications, responsible for developing and directing the company's communications strategy, overseeing media relations and issues management, and serving as communications counselor to the executive team. He will replace Susan Tick, who announced her resignation last May.

Film Headline News

Anchorage Film Fest Issues Call For Entries

Anchorage International Film FestivalDecember 2-11, 2005Deadline: September 1, 2005

The Anchorage Film Festival is going into its 5th year. The event strives to bring the world of independent cinema to the far reaches of Alaska. As part of the event, the festival holds the Golden Oosik Awards Gala. Regular screenings are held throughout the festival at the Alaska Experience Theatre. It boasts a half dome screen, plus the intimate Earthquake Theatre with 25 shaking seats. As well Alaskan talent is highlighted in the Snowdance Showcase.

Headline News

Justine Bannister to Head Int'l Distribution & Acquisitions for TV-Loonland

The latest in a flurry of appointments at Munich-based production/distribution outfit, TV-Loonland is the appointment of Justine Bannister to head of international distribution and acquisitions, responsible for managing the television, video/DVD and licensing sales and pre-sales worldwide for the extensive TV-Loonland catalog. Bannister will be based in the companys London office and report directly to Olivier Dumont, TV-Loonlands recently appointed coo.

Headline News

THQ Inc. Investors Win Three-for-Two Stock Split

Investors must be glad they got in the game with THQ Inc. which today (Aug. 9, 2005) declared a three-for-two stock split of the company's outstanding shares of common stock to be dolled out as a 50% stock dividend.

On or about September 1, stockholders will receive one additional share of common stock for every two shares owned on the record date of August 19 with cash to be paid in lieu of any fractional shares.

After the split, THQ will have approximately 62 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Headline News

What’s New Scooby-Doo? Vol. 6 Monster Matinee Comes to DVD

WHATS NEW SCOOBY-DOO? VOL. 6 MONSTER MATINEE features episodes from the hit TV series, including four episodes selected for Halloween viewing for DVD viewing. This 88-minute offering of Hanna-Barbera produced SCOOBY episodes is a Warner Home Video is a release and streets Aug. 9, 2005, with a SRP of $19.97.

One of the episodes, A Scooby-Doo Halloween, includes an amped-out performance by KISS and a ghost seeking revenge for wrongs done to him 100 years ago.

Digital Headline News

Mark Spatny Named Supervising Producer at Stargate Digital

Mark Spatny has been appointed supervising producer at Stargate Digital to manage the producers and coordinators at Stargates Los Angeles facility, and help coordinate schedules and staffing company-wide. He will also continue to work on select projects as a visual effects supervisor.

Spatnys recent work for Stargate includes supervising the effects for the pilots THE BOOK OF DANIEL and AMY COYNE, and producing for the FOX feature IDIOCRACY. He is also working with Indian director Anubhav Sinha on visual effects for the Bollywood film DUS.

Animation Headline News

IDT Ent. Names Nick Foster CTO & Robert Taylor Animation Finance VP

Nick Foster was formerly head of Global FX at DreamWorks Animation, will take over as cto at IDT Ent., effective Aug. 15, 2005, with responsibility for unifying the technology and staff of the FX departments at the Los Angeles and Bay Area production studios. Robert Taylor has joined IDT Ent. as vp, animation finance, to oversee all production finance matters related to the animated slate.

Headline News

Lasseter & Barron Among 5 New Governors Elected to AMPAS Board

Animator John Lasseter and VFX Artist Craig Barron are among five new governors, three of them serving for the first time, who have been elected to represent their branches on the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nine incumbent governors were reelected.

Television Headline News

Animal Logic Creates Cast of Thousands for the Big Ad

Huge crowd scenes were needed for Carlton Draughts latest advertising epic, the BIG AD, a hilarious parody of pompous beer ads, with an ode to BRAVEHEART comprised of unlikely armies of choral-robed gladiators singing about the glories of beer, accompanied by the bombastic CARMINA BURANA.

Animal Logic created 3D computer-generated human extras for all the large, aerial crowd shots, clothed them in flowing robes and then brought them into Massive, the award-winning AI-driven crowd simulation software from Massive Software.

Headline News

Framestore Handles Photoreal CG Squirrels for Charlie

In helping realize Tim Burtons vision for the Nut Room factory sequence in CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, Framestore CFC delivered photoreal digital, working closely with vfx supervisor Nick Davis. Combining its artistry with footage of both real and animatronic squirrels, Framestore CFC delivered 130 shots for the film, including some 64 featuring CG squirrels.

Headline News

Calling Ghostbusters Again on DVD

VFX have obviously come a long way since the two GHOSTBUSTERS movies hit the screen in 84 and 89. Indeed, you can witness the vast differences between the two movies themselves, supervised by Richard Edlund and Dennis Muren, respectively, and created by EEG and ILM).

In fact, the vfx evolution is much more evident, thanks to the remastered DVDs that comprise the GHOSTBUSTERS I & II DOUBLE FEATURE GIFT SET (Sony Pictures Home Ent., $19.94). Welcome back to slime time with Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and co., courtesy of Ivan Reitman.

Working Headline News

eyeon Has a R!OT With Fusion 5

eyeon Software announced at SIGGRAPH 2005 that Santa Monica-based R!OT confirmed its decision to introduce Fusion 5 into its workflow.

R!ot is a vfx studio specializing in digital imagery, commercial, feature, music video, HD and television productions.

We are excited to add Fusion to our compositing pipeline, said R!OT vfx artist Andrew Wilkoff. The speed and functionality of Fusion 5, coupled with eyeons stellar support, will make it easy for us to deliver world class visual effects shots.

Headline News

Steamboy Flies Onto DVD

Katsuhiro Otomos STEAMBOY has now arrived on DVD from Columbia TriStar Home Ent. This original directors cut of the film is available in both a single disk edition ($26.96) and a special gift set ($49.95). The first feature Katsuhiro Otomo has written and directed since his watershed AKIRA (1988), STEAMBOY offers a fantastic, sepia-toned vision of the past-as-future. In place of the dystopic Neo-Tokyo of AKIRA, STEAMBOY is set in England in 1866. Young Ray Steam receives a Steam Ball, a mysterious, powerful device, from his inventor grandfather.

Interactive Headline News

Midway Acquires Ratbag, Pacts with Ant Bully

Midway Games Inc. announced that it has acquired Ratbag Holdings Pty Ltd., a game development studio based in Adelaide, South Australia. Midway acquired the privately-held developer in a primarily stock transaction for 418,570 Midway shares. The studio is currently working on several unannounced Midway products for both current- and next-generation systems. The studio will be renamed Midway Studios - Australia.

Headline News

EA’s Madden NFL 06 Spirals Into Stores

Electronic Arts has shipped MADDEN NFL 06, the newest iteration of the EA SPORTS best-selling football franchise. Reflecting the focus on the passing game in the NFL, MADDEN NFL 06 has changed passing for the first time in ten years with the all-new QB Vision Control and QB Precision Placement and introduces the all new NFL Superstar mode, where you can live the life of an NFL Superstar.

Film Headline News

Shopgirl Director Negotiates His Golden Compass

New Line Cinema is in talks with British director Anand Tucker (SHOPGIRL, HILARY AND JACKIE) to helm THE GOLDEN COMPASS, the feature film adaptation of the first installment of author Philip Pullman's popular HIS DARK MATERIALS trilogy, which includes THE GOLDEN COMPASS, THE SUBTLE KNIFE and THE AMBER SPYGLASS. HIS DARK MATERIALS is being produced by Deborah Forte of Scholastic Media, the publisher of the books.

Headline News

YTV Goes Camping in August

Beginning Aug. 8 at 5:30 pm and running until Aug. 12, YTVs The Zone celebrates camping with themed episodes of SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS, JIMMY NEUTRON and ALL GROWN UP.

Then starting Aug. 20 at 6:00 pm until Aug. 21 at 9:00 pm, YTV will air back-to-back episodes of YTVs most peculiar programs, featuring four new episodes of DANNY PHANTOM as well as hair-raising favorites MARTIN MYSTERY, SMALLVILLE and MYSTERY HUNTERS.

Time Headline News

Final Call for Free 7 Month VFX Course

Escape Studios, Skillset and six major U.K. post houses are still looking for entries to the Visual Effects Production Grade. Starting in October 2005, the VFX PG combines five months full time training and a two-month work placement in the post-production industry. Throughout this time not only will the training be free, but students will also be paid.

To be eligible you must be an experienced Maya user and an EU National.

Universal Headline News

Cartoon Network to Air Land Before Time Series

Marking the first major milestone for Universal's newly formed family entertainment label, Universal Studios Home Ent. Family Prods. (USHEFP) announced that it has commenced production on 26 episodes of a new animated TV series, THE LAND BEFORE TIME. The series is slated to debut on Cartoon Network in 2007 and will be subsequently distributed on DVD by Universal.

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