AWN Headline News

The Japan Business Federation proposed June 21, 2004, holding an animation and robot exhibition to help boost the number of foreign tourists to Japan to 10 million by 2010, reports Yahoo.com.

The nation's biggest business lobby, known as Nippon Keidanren, recommended Japan host an animation and robot exhibition as early as 2009 between the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai to introduce Japanese pop culture and state-of-the-art technologies to the world.

Nickelodeon comes to Licensing Show at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City with a brand-new licensing program for AVATAR, Nickelodeon's newest animated series that is already the number-three animated program on television, third only to powerhouses SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS. The network also brings new plans for animated hit show DANNY PHANTOM, live-action tween favorite ZOEY 101 and hotter-than-ever SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS.

Screenwriting Expo 4 Screenplay CompetitionWorld Wide WebNovember 13, 2005Deadline: August 22, 2005

The Screenwriting Expo 4 Screenplay Competition is giving away $80,000 in cash and prizes. The Expo 3 Screenplay Competition is supported by the Writers Guild of America, west.

Shane Acker from University of California, Los Angeles won the Gold Medal for his film, 9, in the animation category in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 32nd Annual Student Academy Awards competition June 12, 2005. He was among 12 winning film students that participated in several days of industry-related activities and social events prior to the awards presentation ceremony at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Walt Disney Pictures and Spyglass Ent. are currently not fearing the potential for a possibly transforming the classic TV cartoon UNDERDOG into a live-action franchise, reports VARIETY. Spyglass' Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber and Jonathan Glickman are producers on the project, along with Jay Polstein (FRIDA), who initiated the deal. Spyglass optioned the rights from Classic Media three years ago with a preemptive bid of mid-six figures against north of $2 million.

BUFFY star Sarah Michelle Gellar and director Marcus Nispel (THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE remake) have signed on for the film adaptation of American McGees videogame ALICE for Universal Pictures, reports VARIETY. Collision Ent. originally secured the rights to the game, which then when to joint venture partner Dimension after their partnership was ended. Dimension shopped the project, which landed at Universal. Electronic Arts is the publisher of the game.