WB Animation Gets Superpowered for Comic-Con
Warner Bros. Animation is headed to Comic-Con will a superpowered lineup of panels on its superhero series, including JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED, THE BATMAN and TEEN TITANS.
Friday, July 15
AWN Headline News
Sagarika Music Forms Culture Company for Toon Series
Mumbai-based music company, Sagarika Music Pvt. Ltd., has launched its children's entertainment brand, The Culture Company, and an animation VCD series targeting children, reports THE HINDU.
"The Culture Company is a brand under which Sagarika will produce and market educational and entertainment products for children of the target age group, 2-12," Sagarika Bam, president, Sagarika Music.
Byron Preiss, Digital Publishing Pioneer, Dies In Car Crash
Byron C. Preiss, an author and a publisher who specialized in illustrated books by celebrities, graphic novels and science fiction, died in a car accident on July 9, 2005, in East Hampton, New York, reports THE NEW YORK TIMES. He was 52 and lived in Manhattan.
Preiss, the president of Byron Preiss Visual Publications and Ibooks, was one of the first publishers to release CD-ROM's and electronic books.
Ben Burtt Tapped to Direct Chassis Film
Four-time Academy Award winner Ben Burtt will direct the live-action feature film adaptation of Hurricane Ent.s flagship comic book property CHASSIS. It is being produced by Hurricane Ent. along with Josh Morris and Kevin Cleary of Content House.
Fantastic Four Ends Box Office Skid
Twentieth Century Foxs FANTASTIC FOUR exceeded all expectations with a fantastic $56M debut for the weekend ended July 10, 2005, signifying the fifth best opening for a comicbook movie. Coupled with solid holdover business from WAR OF THE WORLDS and BATMAN BEGINS, FANTASTIC FOUR (with vfx principally from Giant Killer Robots, Stan Winston Digital and Soho VFX) helped snap the 19-week year-to-year box office skid.
Bauhaus Software Introduces Mirage Nomad Tablet
Bauhaus Software Inc. unveiled Mirage Nomad, a new tablet PC-based animation and storyboarding system for 2D artists. Mirage Nomad frees artists to draw, paint and animate anywhere. From storyboards and pencil tests, to fully-colored final animation and vfx, Mirage Nomad is a powerful, portable 2D animation studio that easily fits in a backpack.
DVD Sales Spur DreamWorks Animation to Withdrawal Secondary Offering
DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. confirmed that it has been informed by its principal shareholders that they will not proceed at this time with the secondary offering of $500 million of Class A common stock which was filed in a preliminary registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 28, 2005.
Time Warp Trio Transmits History Adventures Via Discovery Kids on NBC
TIME WARP TRIO combines humor and great stories to ignite kids interest in history in a new action-adventure animated series, which debuted on the Discovery Kids on NBC Saturday morning block on July 9, 2005. The show will air weekly at 10:30 am (ET)/8:30 am (PT) (check local listings), and also airs on the Discovery Kids Channel.
More Switch VFX's Land of the Dead Work With Exclusive Pics
Switch VFX, a Toronto-based visual effects studio, recently completed work on LAND OF THE DEAD, the latest installment in legendary filmmaker George A. Romeros DEAD horror franchise.
Switch VFX was responsible for 155 of the films more than 300 shots. Headed up by visual effects supervisor Jon Campfens, Switch VFX created complex zombie decapitations, digital gore, matte paintings and greenscreen composites.
NASA Animator Get Emmy Nom
Dan Maas of Maas Digital received an Emmy Award nomination for his animation featured in the PBS Nova documentary, MARS DEAD OR ALIVE.
The 26th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Award nominees were announced July 7 by the National Television Academy. The awards, recognizing outstanding achievement by individuals and programs broadcast during 2004, will be given Sept. 19, 2005, in New York City.
Passion & Mill Dare Gorillaz
DARE is the latest single from Gorillaz's celebrity strewn DEMON DAYS CD, and this time round the video sees the cartoon heroes being joined by the head of Shaun Ryder. Compositing involving 3D backgrounds, 2D animation and live-action footage of Shaun Ryder's head had was by Passion Pictures and The Mill ran two Flame machines for three days to finished their portion of the work. As usual all the characters have been designed by the ferociously talented Jamie Hewlett.
Olson Tapped To Adapt Monster Manga
New Line Cinema has tapped Josh Olson (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE) to adapt Naoki Urasawas best-selling manga series, MONSTER, into a live-action feature, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. In addition, Olson will write a treatment for a sequel, which he would also write.
In Films, Visual Effects, Films, Visual Effects | Headline News | Geographic Region: All, Asia, Europe
Dark Horse Rides into Comic-Con
Dark Horse Comics will be riding into Comic-Con July 14-17, 2005, with a host of signings and panels. The main Dark Horse Booth is #2715 with Dark Horse Retail at #2615 and WETA Collectibles/Dark Horse at #2621.
Signings include:Wednesday, July 13 (Preview Night):6:30 - 8:00 pm: John Landis: TEENAGE VAMPIRE
Thursday, July 14:10:00 - 11:00 pm: Stan Sakai: USAGI YOJIMBO11:00 am - 12:00 pm: Greg Ruth: FREAKS OF THE HEARTLAND12:00 - 1:00 pm: Steve Rude: NEXUS12:00 - 1:00 pm: Peter Gross: THE CHOSEN
Paramount & Columbia Ready 9/11 Pics
Both Paramount and Columbia are readying their own 9/11 films.
Paramount Pictures will finance and distribute an untitled feature about the rescue of two Port Authority police officers from the rubble of the World Trade Center. Oliver Stone will direct with Nicolas Cage starring. Double Features partners Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher will produce alongside Moritz Borman, the former Intermedia ceo who produced Stone's ALEXANDER. Andrea Berloff has penned the script.
In Films, Visual Effects, Films, Visual Effects | Headline News | Geographic Region: All, South America
Camp Lazlo Debuts On Cartoon Network
Viewers may want to camp out in from of their TV sets this summer with Cartoon Networks new offering, CAMP LAZLO, a 30-minute animated comedy from creator Joe Murray, which premiered July 8, 2005 at 8:00 pm. The series chronicles the odd and happy camping life of colorfully crazy critters, featuring a Bean Scout named Lazlo and his bunkmates at Camp Kidney.
Roy Disney & Stanley Gold Put Aside Disney Differences
The Walt Disney Company, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold announced today (July 8, 2005) that they have agreed to put aside the differences of late and has brought Roy Disney back to the company board as a diorector emeritus. Disney and Gold will not to run a rival slate of directors, submit shareholder resolutions for the next five years and have also agreed to dismiss all their pending lawsuits against the Disney Co.
Y Tu Mama Tambien Writer Launches Toon House
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN writer Carlos Cuaron has formed an animation production company, reports VARIETY. His partner in the firm will be Mexican animator Rene Castillo. Cuaron will continue to write live-action scripts.
Castillo is bets known for his award-winning clay-animation shorts, NO SUPPORT (SIN SOSTEN) and DOWN TO THE BONE (HASTA LOS HUESOS).
The unnamed companys first project could be an adaptation of a childrens play, which Cuaron wrote several years ago.
Screen-Used Light Sabers & More to be Auctioned
Beverly Hills auctioneer Profiles in History will auction treasures from the archive of filmmaker Gary Kurtz on July 29, 2005, at 11:00 am PDT. Kurtz was the producer of STAR WARS and STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, as well as AMERICAN GRAFFITI, RETURN TO OZ and DARK CRYSTAL. He received two Academy Award nominations for Best Picture (STAR WARS & AMERICAN GRAFFITI). Working closely with George Lucas from 1973-1981 as vp of Lucasfilm, Kurtz was instrumental in developing the STAR WARS trilogy and bringing the first two blockbuster films to the silver screen.
In Event, Visual Effects, Event, Visual Effects | Headline News | Geographic Region: All, South America
Fly to WIA’s Birds of a Feather Meet-N-Greet
To kick off the opening of the SIGGRAPH Exhibition, Women In Animation will host its 3rd annual Birds of a Feather Meet-n-Greet in the Convention Center, Room 506, starting at 9:30 am - 11:00 am on Aug. 2, 2005. The event is an opportunity to meet people from all over the U.S. and the world and learn more about WIA. For more information, contact info@womeninanimation.org.
DiCaprio Ices Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle
Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way production company is set to develop and produce a feature adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's CAT'S CRADLE, reports VARIETY. Appian Way will partner with manager-producer Hillard Elkins' Elkins Ent. on the project.
James V. Hart (SAHARA) and his son Jake Hart (GLENGARRY, BOB ROSS) have adapted the novel, which is an apocalyptic tale following humans race to recover the world's most dangerous substance, Ice-Nine, a new form of ice that freezes at room temperature.
Fantastic Four, X-Men & Hulk Creator's Family Announces Museum
Lisa Kirby, the daughter of the late Jack Kirby, artist and co-creator of the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America and many other comicbook characters and stories, announced the creation of the Jack Kirby Museum and Research Center (JKMRC).
Shout! Factory Adopts Heathcliff & The Catillac Cats Collector DVDs
The Shout! Factory signed an exclusive licensing agreement with DIC Entertainment to release a slate of hit animated television series from DICs catalog as collector DVD sets. The first title under the new agreement is a four-disc collection, HEATHCLIFF & THE CATILLAC CATS, which will to be released on Sept. 20, 2005. Other titles will include THE LEGEND OF ZELDA, SUPER MARIO BROS. SUPER SHOW, INSPECTOR GADGET and SABRINA THE ANIMATED SERIES.
Co-Founder of Filmation Studios Dies
Norman Prescott, chairman, co-founder and exec producer at Filmation Studios, died July 2, 2005, of natural causes in Los Angeles, according to VARIETY. He was 78.
Switch VFX's 'Land of the Dead' Work With Exclusive Pics
Switch VFX, a Toronto-based visual effects studio, recently completed work on LAND OF THE DEAD, the latest installment in legendary filmmaker George A. Romeros DEAD horror franchise.
Come See Us At Comic-Con!
Animation World Network and VFXWorld will have a booth this year at Comic-Con.
In Headline News | Geographic Region: All
