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Some fans, who are still shaking their heads over the poor boxoffice performance of the critically acclaimed THE IRON GIANT, director Brad Bird's adaptation of the children's book by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, have suggested that Warner Bros. should re-vamp their publicity campaign for the film by targeting a larger audience than the young kids that were originally targeted, and re-release THE IRON GIANT theatrically. Such a scenario appears unlikely now that Warner Home Video has announced THE IRON GIANT for home video and DVD.

Craig Miller and Marv Wolfman, who created and produced POCKET DRAGON ADVENTURES, are offering THINKING VISUALLY: HOW TO WRITE FOR TV ANIMATION, a single session class at The Learning Annex in Los Angeles. Topics to be covered include what's required to break in; what extra things you need to think of when writing animation; writing the premise, outline, and script; writing with your intended viewers in mind; working with story editors; and humor and action, how far can you go. Handouts will include a sample story premise, outline, and script.

San Francisco, California-based Mondo Media, Inc. has announced a one-year deal with Netscape Communications, a subsidiary of America Online, Inc., to provide Netscape's Netcenter Web site with two weekly animated shows which will be presented under the banner of MONDO MINI SHOWS. LIKE, NEWS is written and directed by Don Asmussen, a regular cartoonist for TIME and GEORGE magazines, and features a sarcastic teenager with a nose ring who "interviews" newsmakers such as Saddam Hussein and Al Gore.

Montreal, Canada-based Toon Boom Technologies Inc. is now shipping version 2.3 of TicTacToon. Some of the features included on this new version are the ability to: customize and modify the aspect ratio of each scene at any stage of production; work on up to three levels of animation simultaneously; drag and drop entire columns of drawings with their cel names and timing to and from the Animation and Exposure Sheet modules; make order and timing changes quickly in either module through insert, replace or append options; and draw paintable rectangular zones to close outer edges of any drawing.

Italy, Rome-based Digital Video S.R.L. has announced Toonz version 4.3,which provides 2D users with new tools to be more creative and efficient ontheir job. The digital exposure sheet is much more user friendly, includingmany new special effects, complete keyframe capabilities on all parameters,and enlarged number of mathematical expressions for more controllablemotion. Enhancements of display features include icons in the level headerarea for quick reference of elements. Texture mapping has been strengthened

London, UK-based RICHARD PURDUM PRODUCTIONS has completed three spots forNestle Polo mints. In "Aliens," which was designed by Robin Heighway Bury,the mint is chased by aliens. In "Cement," which was designed by John PaulEarly, the Polo mint is hounded by a mob, and in "Beach," which wasdesigned by Adrian Johnson, the mint is chased by muscle men into a ladies'changing room. The three designers brought their individual styles to eachof the spots, which were all directed by Richard Purdum for agency J.Walter Thompson.

The Harvey Entertainment Company has selected New York-based Xceed, Inc., amarketing and communications company that specializes in interactiveservices, to develop a family oriented portal to exploit Harvey's brands onthe Web. Harvey Entertainment owns the rights to an extensive list ofwell-known cartoon characters, including Casper, the Friendly Ghost, RichieRich, Baby Huey, Wendy the Witch and Hot Stuff. Potential programming forthe portal include Harvey's classic animation library, stories from Harvey

The 19th Brussels Cartoon and Animated Film Festival takes place February28-March, 11 2000. The deadlines for entries is November 1, 1999. Each yearthe Brussels Cartoon and Animated Film Festival programs the crème de lacrème in international animation, and chooses its candidate for the Cartoond'Or. For more information contact The Brussels Cartoon and Animated FilmFestival, Rue de la Rhétorique 19, 1060 Brussels, Belgium. Tel: 32 2 534 41

San Francisco-based CURIOUS PICTURES has finished "Decide & Conquer," a :30spot for Lugz athletic shoes. Directed by Jerry van de Beek, the spotresembles a video game and features Fantm Sklz, a hip male character, whomaneuvers through the obstacles of New York City, scoring points as hemakes his way to his final destination. Curious used 3D Studio MAX, AdobeAfter Effects and Discreet Paint for this project. New York-based AmsterYard was the agency.

New York City-based THE ATTIK has created the new visual style for UnitedParamount Network (UPN), the sixth largest network in the US, to help brandits new identity for its fall season. This includes promos, opens,transitions, and ids. To create the package, The Attik developed a seriesof models formed from translucent plastic and glass, and photographed themon an animation bed. The elements were edited to generate a sense offluctuation in the energy of the UPN logo, which was then combined with a

Los Angeles-based WinStar, which has recently released a number of publicdomain titles under the CARTOON CRAZYS heading, is releasing a "fullyrestored" version of the Fleischer Bros. 1939 feature, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS,on DVD and VHS on September 28, 1999 in the US. Transferred from a newlystruck print taken from an original negative, this version featuresenhanced audio remixed in Dolby Digital and Dolby Surround sound. Themusical score also has been remastered with additional scoring and