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Geographical Region: Australia

Headline News

THQ Inc. Investors Win Three-for-Two Stock Split

Investors must be glad they got in the game with THQ Inc. which today (Aug. 9, 2005) declared a three-for-two stock split of the company's outstanding shares of common stock to be dolled out as a 50% stock dividend.

On or about September 1, stockholders will receive one additional share of common stock for every two shares owned on the record date of August 19 with cash to be paid in lieu of any fractional shares.

After the split, THQ will have approximately 62 million shares of common stock outstanding.

Television Headline News

Animal Logic Creates Cast of Thousands for the Big Ad

Huge crowd scenes were needed for Carlton Draughts latest advertising epic, the BIG AD, a hilarious parody of pompous beer ads, with an ode to BRAVEHEART comprised of unlikely armies of choral-robed gladiators singing about the glories of beer, accompanied by the bombastic CARMINA BURANA.

Animal Logic created 3D computer-generated human extras for all the large, aerial crowd shots, clothed them in flowing robes and then brought them into Massive, the award-winning AI-driven crowd simulation software from Massive Software.

Interactive Headline News

Midway Acquires Ratbag, Pacts with Ant Bully

Midway Games Inc. announced that it has acquired Ratbag Holdings Pty Ltd., a game development studio based in Adelaide, South Australia. Midway acquired the privately-held developer in a primarily stock transaction for 418,570 Midway shares. The studio is currently working on several unannounced Midway products for both current- and next-generation systems. The studio will be renamed Midway Studios - Australia.

Headline News

Stash Announces GSAA Winners

STASH DVD MAGAZINE has announced the winners of its First Annual Global Student Animation Awards. Animation award went to Don Pans CONEHEAD (Bournemouth University). The Motion Design winner was Andrew Grahams MIND/MATTER (National Institute of Design Victoria Australia). The VFX prize went to Jan Mathias Steinforths FUNKSTORUNG - PUNK MOTHERFUCKER (HAWK Hildesheim).

Entertainment Headline News

CCI, Collingwood O’Hare Ent. & Silver Fox Partner on Bucket Full of Animati

By Guest (not verified) | Friday, August 5, 2005 at 12:00am

Two U.K. animation companies are partnering for the first time to produce HARRY AND HIS BUCKET FULL OF DINOSAURS, a 52-episode preschool animation series based on the best-selling books by Ian Whybrow and Adrian Reynolds.

Collingwood OHare Entertainment and Silver Fox Films are joining forces for the production, along with Canadian production and distribution company CCI Entertainment. Directors are Collingwood OHares Tony Collingwood and Silver Foxs Graham Ralph.

Digital Headline News

Massive Jet Launched

Massive Software announced Massive Jet, a new autonomous agent 3D animation application that enables the creation of large-scale, believable digital crowd shots "out of the box" with high quality and a low learning curve. A full-functioning package priced under $6,000, Massive Jet leverages the company's Academy Award-winning artificial life-based technology, pre-built Ready-to-Run Agent library and GPU-accelerated rendering support to allow animators and artists at any facility to quickly and easily produce highly realistic Massive scenes.

Headline News

Daniel Battsek to Head Miramax Films

Daniel Battsek, a veteran film exec in the Buena Vista International Organization, has been named president, Miramax Films, reporting directly to Dick Cook, chairman The Walt Disney Studios. Battsek, has been serving as evp/md of distribution and production for BVI UK.

Film Headline News

Monster Dist. Books Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello

Monster Distributes has picked up international distribution rights to another big Annecy winner, THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO, and will be launching the short feature film at MIPCOM Junior.

Funded by the AFC, Film Vic and SBS Independent, animator Anthony Lucas JASPER MORELLO won the top honor at the festival, the Grand Prix award le Cristal DAnnecy, out of the 1,709 films that were entered.

Animation Headline News

Disney to Close Down Australian Animation Studio

After producing an ambitious slate of direct-to-video movies, The Walt Disney Co. has decided to close its animation studio in Sydney, Australia and notified its 250 employees there this will take effect next year.

Entertainment Headline News

THQ Wants to Destroy All Humans! on the Big Screen

THQ Inc. announced that it has engaged United Talent Agency (UTA), a leading Hollywood talent and literary agency, to expand the brand of THQ's recently-released, top-selling DESTROY ALL HUMANS! videogame title. UTA aims to guide the property through its development into major motion picture and television projects, overseeing activities related to development, financing, production and distribution. This is the first time THQ has secured agency representation for one of its own original properties.

Animation Headline News

Daniel Jeannette Named Animation Director on Happy Feet

Daniel Jeannette has been hired by Animal Logic as the animation director on George Millers 3D-animated feature, HAPPY FEET, a musical comedy/adventure about a tap dancing penguin that cant sing.

For HAPPY FEET, Jeannette will be ensuring that the performance arc of the characters from motion capture and animation through to their on-screen presence fulfills Millers creative vision.

Film Headline News

Comic-Con Highlights Feature Big Surprises

Comic-Con is more than half over and the masses of comic, sci-fi and genre fans have been treated to a cornocopia of delights. On Thursday, horror master David Cronenberg gave the attendees a sneak peek at his new film, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, which was adapted from a graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke. Josh Olson wrote the screenplay, which he said is loosely based on the graphic novel.

Cartoon Headline News

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.

Headline News

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.

Nick Headline News

Nick Offers Full Length Series TurboNick Broadband Platform on the Net

Nickelodeon will offer full length series via the Internet for the first time as it launches TurboNick, a broadband video platform available on Nick.com. TurboNick will feature up to 20 hours of new programming every week and includes advertising. In its soft launch phase that commenced July 1, 2005, TurboNick has garnering more than 1.25 million streams and will officially launch with a full advertising and promotional campaign on July 17.

Game Headline News

Fantastic 4 Videogame Ignites in Stores Nationwide

Activision Inc.'s FANTASTIC 4 videogame is now available in retail stores nationwide. Based on Twentieth Century Fox's highly anticipated FANTASTIC 4 feature film, the team-based action adventure game lets players take on the role of Marvel superheroes, Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing to overcome the evil Doctor Doom.

Festival Headline News

Kid-Friendly Flicks Wanted for San Diego Children's Film Fest

San Diego International Children's Film Festival San Diego, California, USAOctober 21 - 30, 2005Deadline: August 31, 2005

San Diego International Children's Film Festival will showcase full-length films for children of all ages & teens, shorts for children ages 7 & under, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego's historic Balboa Park.

The festival held its first-ever event in April, showing 65 short films from around the world. Actor-director LeVar Burton appeared at the festival, as did several other filmmakers.

Books Headline News

Dragon Booster Scorches with New Licensing Deals

Alliance Atlantis has secured North American publishing and apparel deals for its children's CGI animated property, DRAGON BOOSTER.

Hyperion Books for Children, having acquired the U.S. and Canadian publishing rights, will launch a series of DRAGON BOOSTER books beginning in fall 2005. Extreme Concepts, who will begin rolling out the clothing line in fall 2005, has licensed the DRAGON BOOSTER apparel rights in the U.S.

Headline News

Batman Posts Strong Opening

BATMAN BEGINS posted strong if not super debut numbers for Warner Bros., grabbing $48.7M for the weekend ended June 19, 2005, and $72.8M overall for its first five days. Also impressive was the record-breaking $3.1M from IMAX. Vfx from Double Negative, MPC, Rising Sun Pictures and BUF certainly contributed to the visual success of Chris Nolans back to basics approach. Meanwhile, overseas, BATMAN BEGINS took in a good if not spectacular $41.7M on 8,000 screens, and was actually outperformed by MADAGASCAR in Australia, Spain and the Netherlands.

Series Headline News

BBC Worldwide Showcases Latest at L!censing International

BBC Worldwide unveils two new properties at this year's L!censing Show. DOCTOR WHO is about an intergalactic adventurer who, with his companion, travels through time and space witnessing things beyond our imagination. CHARLIE AND LOLA is about a funny four-year old little girl who knows her own mind and "will not ever, NEVER eat a tomato" and her imaginative older brother who persuades her they are really Moonsquirters from the land of Moon. At L!censing International 2005, New York, running June 21-23, 2005, BBC will be located at booth #3933.

Headline News

Director Mostow Joins Swiss Family Robinson

Disney has hired Jonathan Mostow to direct its remake of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, according to VARIETY. Mostow will also rewrite Greg Poirier first draft with Sam Montgomery, Mostow's writing partner on his directorial efforts, BREAKDOWN and U-571. Mandeville's David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will produce the flick.

The remake will take the tale of the shipwrecked family back to the book's 19th-century period.

The film is set to go before cameras in Australia next year. Disney svp Karen Glass is overseeing.

Film Headline News

Resident Evil 4 Gets Greenlight

Germany's Constantin Film and Impact Pictures have already begun pre-production on RESIDENT EVIL 4 before even filming the third film in the series, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The fourth film will take place in Tokyo.

The third film, RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE, will begins shooting in Australia in either Nov. or Dec. AFTERLIFE will be set in the Nevada desert and then shift to Japan in the third act, setting up the fourth installment.

Award Headline News

Mysterious Geographic Voyage of Jasper Morello Takes Annecy

The coveted short film grand prize at the 29th International Festival of Animated Film at Annecy went to THE MYSTERIOUS GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATIONS OF JASPER MORELLO by Anthony Lucas from Australia. The awards were presented at the closing ceremony held on Saturday, June 11, 2005 in Annecy, France. Congratulations to all the winners!

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