Buena Vista Home Entertainment is releasing remastered versions of THE SWORD IN THE STONE and BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS on VHS and DVD on March 20, 2001. THE SWORD IN THE STONE is Disney's humorous rendition of the King Arthur tale directed by four of Disney's Nine Old Men Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnson, Milt Kahl and John Lounsbery.
Norma Macmillan, the voice of UNDERDOG's Sweet Polly Purebread, has passed away. She suffered a heart attack and died Friday afternoon at her home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was 79. Macmillian also provided voices for Goo and other characters on THE GUMBY SHOW, Davey's sister Sally on DAVEY & GOLIATH and Kokette on MEAN MOE. During John F. Kennedy's presidency, Macmillan contributed voices to the popular Kennedy family parody album, THE FIRST FAMILY. She also appeared in such live-action features as HEAD OVER HEALS and BIG BULLY.
Berlin-based Greenlight Media and Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein are about to launch the second Berlin Animation Film fund (BAF) to raise US$100 million for the production of up to five international animation features. Greenlight's COO Nickolaus Weil said that BAF II will fund two $30 million-budgeted features from U.S. studios and three $10 million-budgeted features from European-based companies. The studios working on the films have not yet been announced. However, Greenlight president Andre Sikojev said, "The U.S. partners with whom we are preparing the U.S.
Threshold Entertainment, a multimedia and intellectual property management company, announced that Dimension Films has acquired the project DUKE NUKEM: THE MOVIE. The film will be produced by Larry Kasanoff (TRUE LIES, MORTAL KOMBAT) and Threshold Entertainment. Based on the US$1 billion gaming franchise by 3-D Realms, NUKEM follows the politically incorrect title character as he travels into space to intercept an alien ship on a collision course for Earth.
The newly renamed AtomFilms and Shockwave combined company, AtomShockwave Corp., has announced the closing of its latest round of financing of US$22.9 million. Leading the round was Macromedia, parent company of Shockwave, along with Sequoia Capital, JPMorgan Entertainment Partners, Arts Alliance, Waterview Partners and affiliates and Intel Capital. The new company plans to retain its two distinct brands, AtomFilms and shockwave.com, as well as strengthening its offices in Tokyo and London.
* Saturday, April 21 Thursday, April 26, 2001. Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.
The NAB Marketplace and Conference showcases the world of TV and Web convergence. The event allows people in the technology, television and Internet industry to meet and work out deals. The expo starts on April 23 with over 1,500 companies exhibiting. The conference will focus on the hot topics of combining the worlds of TV with the Internet. For more information contact NAB at: (202) 429-5419; or Web: www.nab.org.
* Wednesday, April 25 Thursday, April 26, 2001. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
* Wednesday, April 25, 2001. Burbank, California, U.S.A.
* Thursday, July 19 Sunday, August 12, 2001. Glen Ellen, California, U.S.A.
Early Entry Deadline: April 1, 2001
Final Entry Deadline: April 31, 2001
* Saturday, September 1 Thursday, September 6, 2001. Linz, Austria.
Entry Deadline: April 7, 2001
AWN's stock ticker features the most prominent publicly traded companies in the world of animation. AWN, Inc. makes available certain financial information from third party information providers. AWN does not give advice in any such fields, and has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of such data. This information is provided solely as a means to keep our readers informed of the market performance and trends of certain companies. AWN strongly suggests that one seek advice from a competent professional regarding any investment or financial issues.
On Sunday Fox aired a rerun of THE SIMPSONS, which placed #34 for the week, pulling in a 7.7 rating/12 share. KING OF THE HILL climbed into 62nd place with a 5.6 rating/9 share. Fox aired two special episodes of THE SIMPSONS on Wednesday from 9 10 pm. The 9:30 pm broadcast finished 65th with a 5.4 rating/9 share and the 9 pm broadcast placed 71st with a 5 rating/8 share. FUTURAMA fashioned a 4.5 rating/8 share in the 76th slot. At 109th, THE PJS hocked a 1.5 rating/3 share.
* Thursday, March 29 - April 5, 2001. Newport Beach, California, U.S.A.
* Friday, April 20 - Saturday, April 21, 2001. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
* Friday, May 24 Sunday, May 26, 2001. Hornu, Belgium.
Entry Deadline: May 10, 2001.
The 8th Edition of the Festival Synthesis is a festival dedicated to CG movies and animations. Last year the event had 10,000 visitors. This year's Synthesis will feature a retrospective on the work of ILM. The event will also include screenings, discussions, company presentations and product demos. For more information contact the festival at: 360 Amphitheatre d'Hades, 7301 Hornu, Belgium; or E-mail: arboit@hotmail.com or sigridjarz@hotmail.com.
* Tuesday, June 26 Sunday, July 1, 2001. Melbourne, Australia.
Entry Deadline: April 30, 2001
Numerical Design Ltd. (NDL) has announced NetImmerse 4.0, the latest version of its 3D game-development toolkit. The new version will boast support for Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo Gamecube, a new tool for previewing keyframe animations, new rendering capabilities and performance increases for the core product and free plug-ins. Already two titles for the much hyped Microsoft Xbox are in development: ODDWORLD INHABITANT'S MUNCH'S ODDYSEE and an as yet unannounced title from Totally Games.
U.K.-based Criterion Software recently announced its new RenderWare Platform - a middleware solution offering game studios a tightly integrated game development framework incorporating 2D/3D graphics, audio and physics modules. The RenderWare Platform builds on Criterion's highly successful 2D/3D graphics toolkit RenderWare3 to provide developers with a powerful, truly multi-platform development environment. Built on an open and flexible architecture, the RenderWare Platform initially incorporates 2D/3D graphics, audio and physics modules, with additional modules to follow.
With Steven Seagal and rapper DMX's EXIT WOUNDS topping the charts in the U.S., ENEMY AT THE GATES shot into second. The WWII sniper saga, with primary visual effects by Das Werk, Die Nefzers, Double Negative, The Computer Film Company and AudioMotion Ltd., collected US$13.81 million in its debut. Warner Bros.' SEE SPOT RUN slipped to fourth, grossing out audiences to the tune of $5.01 million. The gaseous giggler has amassed $24.81 million thus far. In sixth, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON secured another $4.04 million.
Cornerstone Animation has signed a deal with Colorado Springs-based Focus On The Family to create the animated sequences for a 48 volume videotape series entitled, YOUR CHILD. The series will serve as a general guide to child rearing and will feature 3 minutes of animation on each fifteen-minute tape. The animation will be traditional however some manipulation will be done in Flash. "We commend Focus On The Family for utilizing the magic of animation to entertain while informing the target audience," said Cornerstone's CEO Larry D. Whitaker Jr.
BKN International has rolled out 52 episodes of the animated fantasy adventure series ULTIMATE BOOK OF SPELLS. The story begins when friends Cassy, Gus and Verne discover the Ultimate Book Of Spells, which takes them on a journey to Earths center, where they must use their special powers to thwart the evil wizard, Zarlak. The series was originally titled JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH and so far BKN has completed 26 twenty-two-minute episodes. "Im tremendously excited about the prospects for this series," said Leslie Nelson, managing director, BKN Television Sales SAS.
* Wednesday, March 28, 2001. Burbank, California, U.S.A.
Larry Lauria will be conducting a "hands on" interactive animation fundamentals and character design workshop. The event will be taking place at the International Academy of Design and Technology.
Want to learn more about Larry Lauria and his workshops? Then visit his Website at http://www.awn.com/tooninstitute.
March 25, 2001 will be the Big Night: the 73rd Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This year's nominations for best animated short are: Michael Dudok de Wit's lyrically elegant "Father & Daughter," Steffen and Annette Schaffler's moody puppet film "The Periwig-Maker" and Don Hertzfeldt's humorously chaotic short "Rejected." For a few moments when the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film is presented, animation is given its just place next to the likes of mainstream blockbusters.
* Thursday, July 12 Sunday, July 22, 2001. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Earlybird Entry Deadline: April 13, 2001
Final Entry Deadline: May 11, 2001
