Following its very successful BIONICLE: MASK OF LIGHT release ($25M), Miramax Home Ent. has acquired the North American distribution rights to IN SEARCH OF SANTA, a new 3D-animated feature co-produced by Tundra Prods. and Colorland Animation Prods.
Turbo Squid's Stitch has been updated and renamed clothfx as a new Discreet-certified 3ds max plug-in. clothfx provides users with a multitude of advanced tools necessary to create realistic fabrics and tailor-made clothing for their characters and creatures.
TeamWorks Digital recently completed work on Warner Bros.' TORQUE, the hyper-real motorcycle racing film that opens Jan. 16. "TORQUE is a project that enabled us to provide constant input to the visual effects of the show," says TeamWorks Digital owner David Allen. "We contributed in such a way that translated the director's unique style and vision to the screen." TORQUE is directed by music video honcho Joseph Kahn, making his first feature film debut.
Final Draft, Inc., publisher of Final Draft, the top-selling scriptwriting software, and Entertainment Partners, publisher of the Movie Magic production software product line, will be previewing new software at Booth 1174 at the NATPE show from Jan. 18-20, 2004.
Final Draft will be previewing Tagger, which enables a user to break down a Final Draft script into its various elements (components). The tagged script can then be exported into Entertainment Partners' Movie Magic and EP Scheduling software. Final Draft and Final Draft AV software will also be demonstrated.
Buena Vista International Television has an original new animated show to sell at NATPE 2004, DISNEYS DAVE THE BARBARIAN, which debuts at 5:30 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2004 on the Disney Channel. Produced by Walt Disney Television Animation, the 21x30 comedy series was created by Doug Langdale.
Reassured that major American studios are back at NATPE, TV France International (TVFI) will be at the market with 15 French production and distribution companies, including 21 foreign sales executives.
Grace Animation Studios ceo Christopher Turner is assembling a production team to produce 26 new animated half-hour series of the THE AVENGING APES OF AFRICA (AAoA) for worldwide distribution. Grace will be showing a promo and first episode of the series at NATPE.
THE AVENGING APES OF AFRICA is an exciting action/adventure series for kids 6-12, where five transmuted ape brothers, and their exploration friends span the globe protecting and defending all animals of the world from the dreaded Mr. Harry B. Richborne and his worldwide band of pitiless poachers.
GDC Entertainment Ltd. will be showcasing, at booth 1271, its recently completed CGI feature, THRU THE MOEBIUS STRIP, funded and produced entirely in China.
Exec producer and ceo of GDC (Global Digital Creations) Raymond Neoh will be on hand to take attendees from the MOEBIUS concept he optioned from renowned illustrator Jean Moebius Giraud only a few years ago through the production steps at GDC's IDMT studio in Shenzhen. The 74-minute movie is also being developed as a TV series.
ValCom Inc. is presenting the 3D animation series, NEW ZOO REVUE at NATPE 2004 at booth 473. The original people-in-suits series debuted in syndication in the U.S. in 1971 and reached more than 100 million viewers.
Vince Vellardita and Barbara Atlas are co-exec producing the project with Dotan Koskas serving as animation producer and co-producton partner O Atlas Enterprises. The musical show follows the adventures of Charlie the Owl, Henrietta Hippo, Freddie the Frog, Freeda the Frog and humans like Mr Dingle, Doug and Emmy-Jo.
ASTRO BOY has zoomed back into action in the U.S. on Kids WB! with 25 all new anime adventures that debuted Jan. 17, 2004 at 8:30 am ET and 7:30 am PT. The day also marked the fourth season of STATIC SHOCK (11:30 am ET and 10:30 am PT) with 13 new episodes. STATIC SHOCK is also part of the weekday lineup, airing in its new 3:30 pm slot.
Cybergraphix Animation recently announced its co-production agreement with Mumbai-based Animation Bridge and Padmalaya Telefilms for 26 half-hours of its action-adventure series GUARDIANS OF LUNA, which it will be bringing to NATPE.
Pixologic's ZBrush 1.5 software received GAME DEVELOPER magazine's sixth annual Front Line Award for Excellence and Innovation in Tools for Game Development. Selected by a panel of industry-leading game developers, ZBrush 1.5 receives this award in the art category based on criteria such as utility, innovation, value and ease of use.
The National Film Board of Canada will be at NATPE this year with NOËL NOËL, an animated Christmas special narrated by Leslie Nielsen, that revives the great tradition of children's fairy tales.
The title character in this whimsical half-hour is a misguided billionaire, who falls in love with Beatrice, a bespectacled fairy who prefers words of love to rivers of diamonds. Thanks to little Zoey, her dog Snooze and a blue-eyed reindeer, Noel Noël finally realizes that money doesn't bring happiness, and that to be happy, you have to listen to your heart.
In its debut as a NATPE exhibitor, Playhut Entertainment, the entertainment and programming subsidiary of toy manufacturer Playhut Inc., will introduce buyers to Chinamation, five new series featuring the distinctive artistic style of China's top independent animators and premiere the pilot episode of its first animated pre-school series, LITTLE SIGNZ.
Playhuts branded Chinamation properties are DECHENG, WAY OF THE WARRIORS, LITTLE MONK, MIGHTY BUNCH and BIRD ISLAND.
DIC Entertainment (DIC) will be bringing four new STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE specials, two SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH series and a sneak peek at the new TV series STAN LEE'S SUPER 7 to NATPE at booth 1246.
As part of a new marketing agreement with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), DandG Licensing, LLC will be bringing the DAVEY AND GOLIATH series to NATPE in Las Vegas at booth 1128. Mark Bannon founded DandG Licensing exclusively for work on DAVEY AND GOLIATH.
Paramount Home Ent. will be PBS Home Video's new video distribution partner for the U.S. and Canada. Beginning April 5, 2004, Paramount will bring PBS DVD and VHS releases to retailers across the country. The PBS Home Video library features award-winning titles such as THE CIVIL WAR, BASEBALL, JAZZ and many other acclaimed films from Ken Burns, AMERICAN EXPERIENCE's portrait of SEABISCUIT and the popular children's franchises, CAILLOU, SAGWA THE CHINESE SIAMESE CAT and TELETUBBIES, among others.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has produced its fifth high school teaching kit to promote understanding and appreciate the art of animation. The kit is being mailed to 18,000 high schools throughout the United States will all production and distribution-related costs to be paid by the Academy.
AWN and Animation Cafe moderator Larry Lauria have declared the winners of 2003's Holiday Character Design Contest, which centered Charles Dickens and the Ghosts of Christmas.
Do to the resounding amount of new entries and updates, we have extended the deadlines to update your company profile in the Animation Industry Database for inclusion in our upcoming Animation Directories.
This week in the Theatrical Release Database, we have a bunch of date shifts and a handful of new pages.
AWN recently launched the Educator's Forum and this what's being said.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz.
