Animal Logic has worked with M+C Saatchi Sydney, Filmgraphics, and director Phil Meatchem to create a new television commercial for Optus. The :60 Brand TVC combines seamless 3D animation with a lively music track to animate the Optus animals into a new musical life.
Peter Urie joins Munich-based TV-Loonland as chief corporate development officer, culminating a succession of high profile appointments the company has made in the last week.
In what the IFC (Independent Film Channel) calls a deranged hour of programming, the channel launched three new animates series on Aug. 19, 2005 at 10:00 pm, in its Film Fanatic Fridays block. The series include HOPELESS PICTURES, GREG THE BUNNY and THE FESTIVAL. The block repeats at 1:00 am and on Tuesdays at 10:00 pm and 1:00 am.
On Aug. 12 IFC previewed the three original series on the network's Web site as a free service, streamed without download. Every episode will be available online on a weekly basis.
The Visual Effects Society has issued a last call for entries for the eDward, the 6th eDIT Film Award. The event is an international newcomer competition, intended to give young filmmakers a stage for their talent and to open up career opportunities. The competition is worldwide and is open to young creatives under 30. The theme for eDward VI is Artificial Humans. Entries should be not longer than 30 seconds and must be submitted by Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005.
Sahara Percept is set to make a major theatrical push for Silvertoons 2D animated feature, HANUMAN, reports ANIMATION 'XPRESS.
Sahara Motion Pictures coo Sandeep Bhargava said, "We are treating the 2D animated feature Hanuman as a mainstream release and will be giving it a full push on our part. We hope that the movie will be appreciated. For HANUMAN, we have a slew of marketing innovations and ground activities planned across the country. We also plan to develop and market merchandise around the movie.
Groove Games announced it has inked an agreement with Universal Studios Consumer Products Group to publish an interactive game based on Universal Pictures and Atmosphere Entertainment MM's' GEORGE A. ROMERO'S LAND OF THE DEAD, which hit theatres on June 24, 2005.
According to Ziff Davis Media's annual "Digital Gaming in America" survey of more than 1,500 randomly selected U.S. households, cell phone gaming continued its meteoric rise in 2005. The number of households engaged in cell phone gaming nearly doubled again, jumping from 16.3 million last year to 27.9 million this year.
Digital-Tutors announced the availability of PARTICLES AND FORCES IN XSI training kit, a comprehensive training resource for SOFTIMAGE|XSI and the latest release in a growing library of popular training resources for emerging digital artists. A free trial of SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.4.2 Foundation is included with training kits.
PARTICLES AND FORCES IN XSI provides more than 3.5 hours of project-driven training and guides users through the intuitive particle system within XSI v.4.2.
eyeon Software, which introduced Fusion 5, the latest in its flagship compositing software at SIGGRAPH 2005 (shipping Aug. 31), has expanded its European office, appointing Rüdiger Knoblach to director of operations for eyeon Europe, while London-based Tim Doidge has been promoted to director of sales.
The European visual effects community dominates the sales of DFX+, one of eyeons signature broadcast products, allowing the expansion to take place before the release of Fusion 5.
FISHEGGS, a motion graphics and design company, has launched in Venice, California. Heading the company is founder/exec director Chris Roe, an award-winning filmmaker and designer who has worked in all visual mediums including film, television, interactive and web.
FISHEGGS comes from Roes last name, which by definition means fish eggs. The company uses its experience and creativity to effectively interpret, visualize and communicate clients ideas to their fullest.
da Vincis 2K Plus, the leading color enhancement system and the most widely used system in digital intermediate (DI) applications, has recently been upgraded with the release of version 4.0, which includes the introduction of the ColorTrace and Toolbox2 options. Major enhancements in the new release include fingertip access to many powerful Toolbox2 features such as enhanced PowerVectors, enhanced Defocus, and realtime vfx.
3Dlabs Inc. Ltd. announced the Wildcat Realizm 500 professional graphics accelerator. The new Wildcat Realizm 500 offers high-end graphics performance to Computer-aided Design (CAD) and Digital Content and Creation (DCC) professionals for an MSRP of only $899.99.
Angelina Jolie will star as the queen of darkness in BEOWULF, director Robert Zemeckis latest feature that will rely on the same performance capture technique at Sony Pictures Imageworks (Imagemotion) used on THE POLAR EXPRESS and next summers MONSTER HOUSE, reports VARIETY.
Distribution may wind up at Paramount domestically and Warner Bros. internationally.
Jolie will play the queen that tempts the Viking that would be king. Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Brendan Gleeson, Robin Wright Penn and John Malkovich.
Wave 5 in the illustrious Walt Disney Treasures DVD series will arrive Dec. 6, 2005 (Buena Vista Home Ent., $32.99 each), according to various online sites. The four two-disc sets (packaged in collectible tins) will consist of The Chronological Donald Volume Two, Disney Rarities: Celebrated Shorts 1920s-1960s, ELFEGO BACA AND THE SWAMP FOX: Legendary Heroes and THE ADVENTURES OF SPIN & MARTY.
The 30th Toronto International Film Festival will be host to the battle of the stop-motion features as both DreamWorks and Aardman Animations WALLACE & GROMIT - THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT and Warner Bros. THE CORPSE BRIDE will be making their North American debuts at the event.
Directed by Nick Park, original creator of the Academy Award-winning clay-animated shorts, and Steve Box, THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT, stars the voices of Peter Sallis (who has voiced the role of Wallace in all of the shorts), Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter.
Lions Gate Ent. Toronto announced that it has closed its asset purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the Modern Ent. Ltd. library, effective today, Aug. 17, 2005. The acquisition had been previously announced.
The acquisition includes the rights held by Modern to leading titles from Vestron, Dino DeLaurentiis and other libraries within the Modern Ent. family, including CONAN THE BARBARIAN, HALLOWEEN II and III, RAGTIME, DEAD ZONE, AND GOD CREATED WOMAN, AMITYVILLE II, EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE, HERCULES IN NEW YORK and EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY.
Five years in the making leading U.K. commercial broadcaster ITV is now set to launch of a kids network, reports VARIETY.
The digital channel will be available on all platforms including Freeview, the free-to-air digital service backed by the BBC and BSkyB. Debuting within the next six months, the channel will offer a combination of existing programming, new commissions and acquisitions.
INUYASHA THE MOVIE 3: SWORDS OF AN HONORABLE RULER is being given a highly visible and very unique send-off to retail. It will launch as a theatrical title before going to DVD on September 6 with screenings at 15 Wal-Marts across the U.S.
Kelly Flock is joining THQ Inc. in the newly created position of evp of worldwide publishing, overseeing product strategy, marketing and sales.
Flock has more than two decades of publishing, sales, marketing and licensing experience in the videogame industry, having served as president/ceo of Sony Online Ent., president of 989 Studios and president of Sony Interactive Studios America. Flock also was gm of LucasArts Ent. Co. where he managed the game division of Lucasfilm Ltd.
Cairo-based AK Comics has established a Los Angeles area office to promote in the U.S. market its line of Middle East-themed superhero comic books, animated series based on the comic titles and extensive licensing program surrounding the companys array of brands.
Jordan L. Udko will head the office in Santa Monica, California, as vp business development for AK Comics. Udko was a distribution account exec Paramount Pictures.
The Hollywood Film Festival's Board of Advisors announced that this year's festival will honor Warner Bros.' BATMAN BEGINS with the Hollywood Sound of the Year Award, Disney's HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE with the Hollywood Animation of the Year Award," Dimension's SIN CITY with the Hollywood Make-Up of the Year Award and Paramount's WAR OF THE WORLDS with its "Hollywood Visual Effects of the Year Award.
The awards will be bestowed upon the honorees as part of the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony on Oct. 24, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Fox and Marvel have withdrawn a case filed in June against Sony and Revolution film ZOOM, reports VARIETY. The suit claimed the Tim Allen comedy is too similar to the X-MEN franchise and that its release two weeks prior to X3 was an attempt to ride the promotion of the third X-MEN film.
Konami Digital Ent. Inc. announced a multi-year agreement with Marvel Enterprises Inc. and Upper Deck Ent. that gives Konami exclusive worldwide interactive rights to develop games for current and next-generation videogame systems based on Upper Decks best-selling Marvel Trading Card Game. This is the latest addition to Konamis collection of interactive trading card based properties, which also includes the tremendously successful YU-GI-OH! series.
Taking its cue from the Motion Picture Academy, which holds a special visual effects nominees screening event shortly before Oscar ballots are due, The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Title Design & Special Visual Effects Peer Group will host a Bake-Off" showcase of Emmy Award nominees and its Nominee Reception together, on Friday, Sept. 9, 2005, at 6:30 pm at the Television Academy's Leonard H. Goldenson Theater in North Hollywood, California.
Pixar story man extraordinaire and voice actor Joe Ranft was killed in an automobile accident Aug. 16, 2005, near Mendocino, California, at the age of 45.
Ranft was head of story on the original story teams for Pixars first two films, TOY STORY and A BUGS LIFE, and was a story artist on MONSTERS, INC. He was most recently working as head of story on John Lasseters next film, CARS.
