AWN Headline News

A free, limited edition read-along CD of SHREK AND FIONA'S HONEYMOON STORYBOOK will be given away to every child attending during the opening weekend of DreamWorks' SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS. The exclusive giveaway lasts July 2-6, for as long as supplies last.

The read-along storybook, which has an estimated value of $9.95, will be given away, one per child, with each paid admission. Theater managers will also have a limited number of rain checks on hand with instructions on how a child can receive his or her CD if the supply runs out before the end of the weekend.

Dan Lombardo has been named president of Cinesite Hollywood, and Jerry Pooler is stepping up to a new role as exec director, creative. Lombardo will also continue in his new role of general manager. He joined the facility two years ago as vp of production. He succeeds Ruth Scovill as president. Pooler joined Cinesite in 1992 when the facility pioneered the use of digital technology during the restoration of SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS.

HP's Linux-based technology played a critical role in the creation of DreamWorks' SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVEN SEAS, which opens theatrically July 2, 2003. The first film ever created entirely on Linux, SINBAD was developed on HP workstations and servers.

With the August, 2003 release of MOTIONBUIILDER 5, Kaydara offers a next generation solution for 3D character animators with wide ranging implications in feature films, series broadcasts, TV commercials, VFX, gaming and other interactive 3D media. With a realtime photorealistic rendering engine and Kaydara's "smart" character technology (HumanIK), complex character set-ups and animation can be created in minutes instead of days, according to president Michael Besner.

After THE MATRIX RELOADED: THE IMAX EXPERIENCE climbed to an unprecedented $903, 241 in North America in its third weekend, IMAX Corp. and Warner Bros. are continuing to discuss other possibilities for DMR conversion, including a day-and-date release of THE POLAR EXPRESS on Nov. 19, 2004, according to a recent Dow Jones Business News story.

That elusive kangaroo from down under made his DVD debut on June 24, 2003, when KANGAROO JACK (Warner Home Video, $27.98) hit stores with a host of supplements. With VFX by The Secret Lab and animatronics by Neal Scanlan Studio, you can get a closer look at the celebrated work. Visual effects supervisor Hoyt Yeatman contributes audio commentary to go along with segments on animal casting sessions, gags and outtakes and marsupial magic.

Just as it gears up for more VFX feature work, Blur Studio (www.blur.com) has moved into a new, 20,000 square-foot computer animation studio that is nearly triple the size of its former Venice, California headquarters. Through an international talent search, it has also increased its artistic staff to 65, with additional talent to come.