Noodlesoup Prods. has moved into a new facility in New York City at 489 5th Ave., 26th Floor as of Aug. 1, 2005.
Our new, state-of-the-art facility brings together our extraordinary and diverse team of animation professionals and client-devoted project managers with stunning views of Bryant Park. Its a great place to practice the delicate business of creativity, said Noodlesoup ceo Nathan Graf.
Time-Warner (www.timewarner.com) announced a tentative settlement with a group of shareholders who claimed the company had put forth inflated revenue figures and had accounted improperly when it merged its operations with those of AOL in 2000. The company is setting aside $3 billion to settle shareholder lawsuits. It also authorized a program to buy back $5 billion of its shares over two years.
Axel Springer Verlag, the largest German publishing company, has purchased a majority stake in ProSiebenSat.1, Germanys largest commercial broadcasting network, from Haim Saban and an investment group including Quadrangle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Bain Capital and Providence Equity Partners, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
Two U.K. animation companies are partnering for the first time to produce HARRY AND HIS BUCKET FULL OF DINOSAURS, a 52-episode preschool animation series based on the best-selling books by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds.
Collingwood OHare Entertainment and Silver Fox Films are joining forces for the production, along with Canadian production and distribution company CCI Entertainment. Directors are Collingwood OHares Tony Collingwood and Silver Foxs Graham Ralph.
Zygote Media Group, a provider of 3D content for the biomedical, animation and other markets, announced the launch of the 3D Female Anatomy Collection, available at its new online store (www.3dscience.com). The 3D Female Anatomy Collection features 3D content, including scientific models, images and animation, that helps viewers better understand female anatomy.
THE MOON AND THE SON: AN IMAGINED CONVERSATION, the 28-minute animated short by animation historian/professor John Canemaker, is screening in Los Angeles Aug. 5-7, 2005, for its Academy qualification. The animated autobio pic screens at 11:30 am and 12:10 pm at the Laemmle Sunset 5, 8000 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood, California.
DreamWorks Pictures has extended head of production Adam Goodmans contract term for an additional four years through 2009.
"Adam Goodman has been an integral part of our production team since the inception of the studio and, over the past year and a half, he has more than proven his capability to lead that team, said DreamWorks principal David Geffen. We are very happy that he plans to continue to spearhead our live-action slate."
Playhouse Disney is serving up some education and advice about food allergies in and episode of JOJO'S CIRCUS, airing Aug. 8, 2005, at 8:30 am on the Disney Channel. JoJo, star of the Playhouse Disney hit, can't resist eating just a few of the season's best merryberries, although she knows she is allergic to the special summertime treat, in the episode entitled "Tinkled Pink.�
ACM SIGGRAPH presented three awards at this weeks SIGGRAPH 2005 conference (which attracted more than 29,122 participants to Los Angeles) to recognize individuals who made a significant contribution to the computer graphics community:
* Tomoyuki Nishita of the University of Tokoyo received the prestigious Steven Anson Coons Award for Outstanding Creative Contributions to Computer Graphics for his inspirational work on rendering of natural phenomena.
Warner Home Video announced that its long-awaited DVD debut of the legendary KING KONG (1933) will hit stores on Nov. 22 in multiple sets: a two-disc special edition, a two-disc collectors edition and a four-disc collectors edition along with THE SON OF KONG and MIGHTY JOE YOUNG, reports THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
The two-year DVD project (digitally restored and mastered from the best surviving film elements) coincides with the release of Peter Jacksons remake from Universal Pictures, opening Dec. 14.
Alias has lots to demonstrate and talk about at its SIGGRAPH 2005 booth #1312 at the Los Angeles Convention Center with the release of its Maya 7 and MotionBuilder 7 software packages.
Maya 7 builds upon the architecture and performance enhancements in Maya 6.5 with new and improved tools for fast, realistic character animation, streamlined modeling and texturing, stunning visual effects and increased productivity. It also incorporates Pixar's patented technology.
NewTek (SIGGRAPH 2005 booth #1529) has released a free upgrade to its VT [4] integrated production suite. VT [4] version 4.5, which can be downloaded at www.newtek.com, includes new features, production-ready content and maintenance and workflow improvements. Among the many enhancements are technologies for projector output with scaling and software scan converting, which allow input users to capture screen data from remote computers. The product is optimized for a range of Intel processors for better performance.
Stan Lees POW! Entertainment forged two deals to further the companys brands in the consumer product arena. One is for a line of high-tech toys and gizmos, starting with digital jewelry, while the other covers apparel and accessories.
Paramount Pictures announced on Aug. 3, 2005, that its film WAR OF THE WORLDS, starring Tom Cruise and directed by Steven Spielberg, has grossed over $500 million at the worldwide box office, including $218.3 million domestically and $310.7 million worldwide.
The picture has set several box office records for both Paramount and Cruise, including largest opening day, largest single day and largest opening weekend for both star and studio, and has broken several international records. The film is also Cruises biggest hit to date, passing MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: II.
We turn our attention to technology this month good timing with SIGGRAPH 2005 happening this week in Los Angeles (for those attending, please stop by our booth, #1069). Editor Bill Desowitz is making the rounds of the booths and briefings and will have his take on the proceedings soon. Managing editor Rick DeMott opens up the pages of the new coffee table book, THE CINEMA OF GEORGE LUCAS and Mary Ann Skweres will highlight what played at the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater.
Turbo Squid (SIGGRAPH 2005 booth #1051) has introduced Hairtrix, a 3ds Max plug-in for creating hair and fur.
In an unusual collaboration, Turbo Squid, the publisher and worldwide distributor for the Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-In Program, worked with Dimension dESIGN Animation Group and EPHERE to create an integrated product that combines the features of Dimensions hairfx and EPHEREs Ornatrix packages. Hairtrix offers superior rendering times compared to other 3ds Max hair solutions. Hairtrix offers users:
Luxology took the opportunity at SIGGRAPH 2005 to announce the new version of its flagship modeling product, modo 201, as well as outline its future development plans.
modo 201, which is designed for games, films, TV, print, architecture and Web productions, integrates modeling, painting and rendering and allows artists to focus on more on creating and less on process, said company executives. The new version features advanced modeling technology, integrated painting tools, accelerated rendering technology and workflow boosts.
MAXON has introduced a new MAXON Production Bundle for studio visual effects, along with upgrades to CINEMA 4D (Release 9.5) and BodyPaint 3D (Release 2.5) during SIGGRAPH 2005 at its, booth 913.
One-year-old digital animation studio SciClone Motion Graphics (www.sciclonefx.com) has been adding experience in high-end 3D graphics as of late, reports Anand Gurnani in ANIMATION XPRESS. Focusing mostly on television commercials, SciClones recent clients have included Underground Music Movement, for which it created a high-end TV ad featuring a 3D ant, fluid simulations and a lot of compositing. Other brand clients include Colgate SciClone has animated a dozen commercials for this brand alone as well as Tide, Fair & Lovely, Samsung, Nutrine and ABN Amro Bank.
REALVIZ (SIGGRAPH 2005 booth #1161) is introducing a new range of tracking products employing the companys Scalable Matching Architecture for Tracking (SMART). All will be identified as being Powered by SMART.
Samuel L. Jackson has been signed to star and co-produce a live-action feature to be adapted from the manga property AFROSAMURAI, created by Takashi Okazaki, according to trade reports.
Japanese animation studio GDH K.K. Gonzo, Fuji TV and Mosaic Media in Los Angeles will produce the flick. Jackson will also provide his voice for the animated TV series due out on Spike TV next year.
TiVo, the leading brand of digital video recorder (DVR), announced that five advertisers have agreed to use its new direct-response advertising solution, which lets companies insert a call to action or branded tag into their commercial spots. By clicking on the tag, more than one million TiVo Series 2 subscribers can respond directly to ads while theyre in progress.
Illuminate Labs introduced Turtle 2, the next-generation version of its core renderer, at SIGGRAPH 2005. The technology focuses on the needs of gaming studios and others using Maya it is fully integrated in the Maya GUI and uses native Maya shading networks and allows users to quickly open and render large scenes with advanced lighting effects. Turtle 2 begins shipping worldwide this month.
Fox 2000 Pictures has signed a seven-figure deal with John Fusco (SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, YOUNG GUNS) to write screen adaptation of WOLF BROTHER, the first book in the CHRONICLES OF DARKNESS books by British author Michelle Paver, VARIETY reported.
HypeFest, a unique festival held July 30-31, 2005, at the CineSpace in Hollywood to unite and showcase independent filmmakers with commercial communities, concluded its weekend-long screenings and festivities with an awards show and party sponsored by the Tucson Film Office. The festival showcased approximately 75 original short-subject works from filmmakers around the world.
MADGA, by Chel White, received STASH MAGAZINE'S Animation Award, which honored the best-animated project.
