AWN Headline News

For January 2005, Kids' WB! will see the exclusive U.S. premiere of POKÉMON THE MOVIE: DESTINY DEOXYS as well as the third season premiere of WHAT'S NEW SCOOBY-DOO?

The Global Gaming League (GGL), the leader in competitive videogaming entertainment, announced a strategic partnership with ClanBase.com, Europe's leading competition organizer for online gamers. The partnership will see the two companies working together to take competitive online videogaming to the next level by combining their respective communities and talents. Together, they form the world's largest online gaming community with more than a million players from 190 countries around the world.

Animation and creative solutions company, Synergy Images, has announced that it would be partnering with Australia's Edith Cowan University, to offer its employees a masters degree in interactive multimedia technologies, reports CYBERMEDIA NEWS.

Synergy president/ceo, Malini Subrahmaniam said, "This master's degree would enable us to have a world class animation team in our company."

CaféFX used its CG skills to recreate the 1935 world speed record-setting flight for THE AVIATOR, as well as additional shots of Howard Hughes reviewing a fleet of Lockheed Constellation aircraft.

CaféFX artists additionally used NewTeks LightWave 3D in the production of content and shots for FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX and BLADE: TRINITY.

Hayao Miyazakis lastest HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE drew 1 million viewers in South Korea in its opening weekend, reports ASIA PULSE.

"Never before has any Japanese film reached such numbers in such a short period of time," Kang Eun-gyeong of Laughing Boa said.

The film opened on 237 screens in Korea on Dec. 23, 2004, becoming the first Japanese movie that ranked first in the local box office in its debut week (Dec. 23-26) with 770,000 viewers. Miyazakis last film SPIRITED AWAY was only seen by 2 million viewers in its entire run in Korean theaters.

Now that I, ROBOT is in the running in the vfx bakeoff, its a good opportunity to check out this underrated action film with Will Smith on DVD (Fox Home Ent., $29.98), particularly Digital Domains first foray into 3D characters.

Actor Jerry Orbach, who voiced Lumiere in Disneys BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, has died of prostate cancer at 69 in Manhattan on Dec. 28, 2004. Orbach is best known for his work on TV and the stage. He starred as veteran cop Det. Lennie Briscoe on LAW & ORDER and was the original narrator in the off-off-Broadway hit THE FANTASTICKS, which ran for more than 40 years.

SCI FI celebrates 2004, with the channels highest-rated and most-watched year yet. This is the third consecutive year SCI FI has garnered recor- breaking primetime ratings. The channel also delivered its best-ever primetime rating, with 1.0 HH rating/1.2 million P2+ average for the year. Now fully-distributed to 84 million homes, SCI FI scored with viewers in nearly every key demographic, ranking within the Top 10 of all basic cable nets for ratings among P25-54, M25-54, P18-49, M18-49 and F25-54.