Co-directors Lee Lanier and Jeffrey Dates and their team have created a teaser trailer to promote the 2002 release of their short film DAY OFF THE DEAD. The trailer can be viewed at...
The Eighth Annual London Effects and Animation Festival (LEAF) awards ceremony was held on November 13, 2001 at the London Hippodrome. Over 250 entries for the competition were judged by...
Incontri Arte Animazione, an art and animation conference and screenings, will be held in Torino, Italy on December 8-9, 2001. Promoted and organized by ASIFA Italia, this meeting aims to bring attention to animation as an art form with a particular stress on independent short films of research, experimentation and artistic expression.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. This week, we're asking more questions about...
The Europe-Japan Media Exchange (MEX2001) has announced the BANJA-IN-THE-WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP and is accepting submissions for animated shorts (no longer than 5 minutes) featuring characters from BANJA, the free Internet-based game. Submitted works will be posted on the MEX2001 Website, and the champion and second place finalist will win the opportunity to attend the celebration ceremony to be held in Shibuya, Japan on November 23, 2001.
It's that reindeer time of year! Jerry Beck kicks off the holiday season with some reindeer reviews!
SIMPSONS producer Film Roman, Inc. announced a revenue decrease of 26%, or $1.3 million, to $3.7 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2001. This number is down from $5.0 million for the previous year at this time. Total revenue decreased primarily because the company delivered fewer prime time fee-for-services episodes offset by more Saturday morning fee-for-services episodes.
New Line Cinema has acquired Cartoon Network's animated series SAMURAI JACK, to be adapted into a live-action feature film directed by Brett Ratner, director of the RUSH HOUR films. SAMURAI JACK tells the story of a great warrior displaced to the distant future by the evil shape-shifting wizard Aku. The world has become a bleak place under Aku's rule, segregated into fantastic tribes and policed by Aku's evil robot warlords. Samurai Jack travels this foreign landscape searching for the time portal that can return him to his home.
A new animated series called THE KANGAROO CREEK GANG is bouncing into production. Based on the books and comic strip of the same name, the 26 x 12 animated series is an international co-production between production and distribution outfit Southern Star Pacific, the Shanghai Animation Studios (China) and Australian-based company The Kangaroo Creek Gang. The series is scheduled to air in Australia on the Nine Network and will be sold internationally by Southern Star Kids.
Universal Studios is using the 20th anniversary re-release of Steven Spielbergs classic film E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL to launch a 13-month long branding initiative that includes a new Universal logo featuring E.T. According to the studio, the image of E.T. will be an integral part of Universal's identity and business activities, and will be featured in all film, television, home entertainment, theme parks, music, consumer products, publishing and online products. This corporate identity program will complement the March 2002 worldwide release of E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL.
Collaborating closely with long-time creative partner, ad agency Leo Burnett / Chicago, SimEx Digital Studios recently completed a new commercial featuring Kelloggs Froot Loops cereal and Toucan Sam. SimEx provided 2D and 3D animation, compositing and editing for the spot. The :30 commercial "Storm" commences with Toucan Sam caught in the midst of a brewing thunderstorm. Fierce gusts of wind tow the lovable character into the rainforest as he helplessly clutches onto a vine.
New York-based Click 3x has hired engineer Mike Bittle and veteran visual effects and graphics producer Todd McCammon. Bittle becomes chief engineer and will oversee all technical issues for the visual effects, animation and design studio, as well as assisting in the planning and implementation of future imaging technologies. He comes from a similar position with Post Perfect, New York. While at Post Perfect, Bittle handled engineering for film transfer, color correction, editing, compositing, animation and graphics production, as well as for a shooting stage.
Digital content creator BOXX Technologies has announced the release of Juggler, a powerful, easy to use network render management solution supporting Alias|Wavefront's Maya on Windows 2000 or Linux. To help promote Juggler to animators and creative professionals, BOXX is offering a free, fully functional two-node evaluation version for download from the BOXX Website at www.boxxtech.com. Juggler is optimized to high performance and ideally suited for RenderBOXX, BOXX's suite of rendering systems, which utilize the newest AMD and Intel processors.
The 3rd European Gathering of Young Digital Creation is focused on digital art from animation to special effects. Some of the themes of this year's event will be animation and special effects in feature films, sound in cinema and multimedia and royalties. The festival includes training symposiums, screenings and discussions. Guest speakers will include Raoul Servais, creator of KIRIKOU Michel Ocelot and co-director of Axis, Chris Delaporte.
Visit Raoul Servais' AWN Showcase.
In an aggressive attempt to discredit Nickelodeon, the Writers Guild of America, west (WGAw) has launched an advertising campaign requesting Nickelodeon Animation Studios adhere to the standards of the International Council of Toy Industries (ICTI) Code of Business Practices or the Fair Labor Association (FLA) Workplace Code of Conduct. The request is in reference to the licensing and manufacturing of toys and other merchandise based on two Nickelodeon animated characters SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS.
Director Andrew Adamson, who partnered with Vicky Jenson to direct this years blockbuster animated film SHREK, has recently signed with the United Talent Agency and is hard at work on his next project for DreamWorks. Adamson will direct TRUCKERS, a feature film mixing live-action with animation and based on Terry Pratchetts young adult novel about alien creatures called nomes who live in a department store. Adamson will write the script with Joe Stillman, one of the authors of SHREK.
The Pimp reacts to the events of September 11, 2001 and relates them to our little animated corner of the earth.
Fox Networks THE SIMPSONS stayed strong in the ratings as it embarked on its 13th season. Sundays episode ranked 29th with a stellar 8.4 rating/13 share. KING OF THE HILL was preempted by the NFL and did not air. Another Fox toon, FAMILY GUY, airing Thursday night, garnered a 3.3 rating/5 share for 94th place. An ABC special animated Thanksgiving block featuring A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING and A WINNIE THE POOH THANKSGIVING landed in 66th and 74th place respectively, with CHARLIE BROWN grabbing a 5.5 rating/10 share. WINNIE THE POOH ended the night with a 5.3 rating/9 share.
Less than a week after the two systems were released, both Microsofts Xbox and Nintendos GameCube are selling well, with a slight edge going to GameCube. The long-awaited, twice-delayed Microsoft Xbox debuted with much fanfare on November 15, 2001 at 12:01 EST at the Toys "R" Us flagship store in Times Square. Bill Gates was on hand to present the first Xbox console to Edward Glucksman of Keansburg, New Jersey. According to a CNET news brief, a Goldman Sachs survey of U.S.
Richard Linklater's latest film has caused quite a stir in the animation community. Is it really animated? Why is it "animated?" Is this just what the animated feature world needs or a sneaky imposter?
New media company Icebox is hoping that people are ready to pay for entertainment on the Web (other than porn, that is). Starting this week, Icebox is making its entire library of animation available on a pay-per-view basis through Icebox On Demand (www.icebox.com). Since relaunching the site in April 2001, Icebox has been focusing its core business on developing new content for traditional and new media, as well as the licensing of its existing library.
Korea-based Shincine Films plans to have Bruce Lee star in a new martial arts film years after his death. The film, tentatively titled DRAGON WARRIOR, will incorporate Bruce Lee into a $50 million production using state-of-the-art CGI technology. Shincine recently acquired the rights to Lees image from Concord Moon, the company that controls the rights and is administered by Lees widow Linda Lee Cadwell and his daughter Shannon Lee. This venture will be privately financed by Shincine Films and will be the companys first film for the U.S. market.
Charlex has added award-winning visual effects artist Alan Neidorf to its roster. Neidorf comes to Charlex after a sixteen-year run as senior visual effects artist and editor at Tape House and Black Logic, where he worked closely with director Michel Suissa, now of Parallax One. His credits include commercials for Coldwell Banker and Texas Instruments and work for Grey Advertising, McCann-Erickson Worldwide, MBVMS and other advertising agencies. "Charlex is well known for its unique, collaborative creative approach," Neidorf said.
Rhinoceros Visual Effects & Design animated Hasbros Talk N Pop Mr. Potato Head in "Dont Push" (:30/:15). Talk 'N Pop is Hasbro's new Mr. Potato Head toy. Rhinoceros created a five-second fantasy opening that brings Mr. Potato Head to life. In the short sequence, Mr. Potato Head's curiosity compels him to push a mysterious button which, to his surprise, makes his features fly off. The sequence leads into live-action, showing kids having fun with their new friend. The spot was produced using Softimage|XSI and rendered in Mental Ray.
