New At Visual Magic Magazine
Check out the latest "behind the scenes" features and tutorials from Visual Magic Magazine...
In Headline News | Geographic Region: All
All AWN Content
ABC Adds Olsen Twin Toon To Saturday Line-Up
ABC has announced that a new Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen cartoon series will be joining the "Disney's One Saturday Morning" block in the fall of 2001. Mary-Kate and Ashley will play movie actresses who star in a different action/adventure, mini-movie each episode. The girls will host a live-action lead-in to each episode's animated exploits. The series will be produced by Dualstar Animation, a division of Mary-Kate and Ashley's highly successful Dualstar Entertainment Group, in association with DIC Entertainment. The Olsens will serve as executive producers with Robert Thorne.
New Additions To AWN's Calendar Of Events
This week's updates to the Calendar of Events includes: The Animated Encounters, April 26-29, Bristol, UK; The Krok International Animation Film Festival, August 20-September 2, Kiev, Ukraine; The 2nd Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF), September 25-30, Calgary, Canada; The Gemini TV Awards, October 27-29, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; BAF!: Bradford Animation Festival, November 16-18, Bradford, U.K.; and the USVI International Animated Film Festival, December 3-8, Virgin Islands, U.S.A.
Kids WB Announces 2001-02 Schedule
A new POKEMON incarnation, THE MUMMY and SHERLOCK HOLMES are all set to hit the Kids WB! for the 2001-02 season in the U.S. The Kids WB! weekday afternoon line-up has been completely renewed. POKEMON: THE JOHTO JOURNEYS, which is the network's #1 rated kids' series for the season, along with CARDCAPTORS, POKEMON and JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES will all be returning. Weekday mornings will gain new episodes RESCUE HEROES: GLOBAL RESPONSE TEAM and SHERLOCK HOLMES IN THE 22ND CENTURY. BATMAN BEYOND will also return in the Monday-Thursday 7-8 am line-up.
Cal Arts' 'The One Second Film'
Begins: March 8, 2001
Cal Arts is presenting a project called "The One Second Film," a deconstruction of animation as an art form. "The One Second Film" explores the idea of "perfect moments" in animation and magnifies the amount of labor that is put into these moments. The film is to be one second long (not counting titles and credits). The 24 frames will be reduced to 12, to be shot in 2s. Each frame will have its own director and its own crew. People attending the event will be invited to contribute a brushstroke to the various frames.
Entertainment Graphics Organization 2001 (EGO 2001)
Begins: March 8, 2001
Entertainment Graphics Organization 2001 (EGO 2001) is an entertainment industry event that will discuss the future of digital animation and filmmaking. EGO 2001 will present speakers from around the globe talking about the hot topics and technologies in the industry. Last year's event featured Scott Ross, the executive producer of TITANIC. EGO is organized by Pentamedia Graphics, one of the world's largest multimedia companies.
EM.TV Shareholders Demand $9.5M
Over 400 EM.TV shareholders are seeking an out-of-court settlement from the company for more than DM20 million (US$9.5 million) in regards to problems over EM.TV's acquisition of the Jim Henson Co. and half of the Formula One racing circuit. The investors claim that EM.TV CEO Thomas Haffa and his brother, former chief financial officer Florian Haffa, falsely represented the actual costs of the US$650 million acquisition of Henson. Moreover, the investors claim management hid key facts about the deal to buy as much as 75% of Formula One holding company SLEC.
Lady & The Tramp II Scores $50M In First Week
Disney's direct-to-video LADY & THE TRAMP II: SCAMP'S ADVENTURE has raked in an amazing US$50 million in its first week in stores. TRAMP II hit the coveted 1 million units sold mark in its first week. In comparison, DIGIMON: THE MOVIE, the second highest selling video for the week, has only sold 600,000 units since its video release date on February 6, 2001. Disney direct-to-videos have been doing extremely well of late.
Disney Calls On Teamo Supremo For One Saturday Morning
Disney has placed an order for 13-episodes of a new animated series for "Disney's One Saturday Morning," entitled TEAMO SUPREMO. The new Walt Disney Television Animation show will join the ABC line-up in the fall of 2001. The series will follow a trio of pint-sized heroes -- Captain Crandall, Rope Girl and Skate Lad as they battle the forces of evil and homework. The series' style is based on the bright, colorful themes of the mid-1960s, the comic book-style of the live-action BATMAN and GREEN HORNET television series and the architectural concepts popularized at the 1964 World's Fair.
SimEx Set To Acquire Iwerks
Toronto-based SimEx Inc., a major player in the location-based entertainment industry, has announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Iwerks Entertainment Inc., a leading special venue production firm. SimEx will pay $0.63 per share for Iwerks, which values the deal at approximately $2.2 million. Once the deal is completed, Iwerks will keep its name and continue to work out of its Burbank, California offices, under its current team.
Peter Pan II Flies To The Big Screen
Originally slated as a direct-to-video, the sequel to Disney's 1953 classic PETER PAN will now be released on the big screen. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in the spring of 2002. The project was shelved in the fall of 1999, but was revived little over a year ago. Like TOY STORY 2 and THE TIGGER MOVIE, Disney's execs liked the would-be direct-to-video so much they decided to give it a theatrical run. PETER PAN: RETURN TO NEVERLAND will be set during the World War II air raids on London, and finds Peter Pan on the trail of Captain Hook after the pirate kidnaps Wendy's daughter, Jane.
AOL Time Warner Combines TV Groups
In yet another consolidation move, AOL Time Warner has combined all of its TV operations under one roof. As a result, the WB Network's CEO Jamie Kellner will become the new CEO and chairman of an expanded Turner Broadcasting. He will oversee the WB, TBS, TNT, CNN and Cartoon Network. He replaces Terence McGuirk, who will continue as vice chairman and will assist Kellner in his transition. Kellner will relocate to Atlanta. What does this move have in store for animation?
eStreaming World
Begins: March 6, 2001
eStreaming World's goal is to connect streaming media producers with enterprise executives to help both parties generate revenue growth. Attendees can find producers who can enhance their company Websites and help move their business into the next level of Internet activity.
In Event Types: Trade Shows, New Media
The 2nd Annual Onscreen For Kids And Teens
Begins: March 6, 2001
The 2nd Annual Onscreen For Kids And Teens is a leading international event for professionals involved in developing programming for kids and teens. This two-day event will give visitors the opportunity to interact with leaders in youth entertainment from the television, film and new media industries. Topics addressed at the event will be managing rights, funding options for independents, contract pitfalls, developing and writing for youth, directing animation, anatomy of a publishing deal, negotiating a licensing contract and business strategies for small production companies.
ASIFA-Atlanta Presents Saturday Morning Cartoons Screening
Begins: March 6, 2001
ASIFA-Atlanta presents "Saturday Morning Cartoons," a screening of cartoon classics spanning three decades. Take a walk down memory lane with favorites including BEANIE & CECIL, HUCKLEBERRY HOUND, CRUSADER RABBIT, TOM TERRIFIC and ROCKY & BULLWINKLE. The event will run from 8 - 9:45 pm at Fountainhead Lounge, 485 Flat Shoals Avenue SE, Atlanta, Georgia.
Viacom CFO Steps Down
The CFO of Viacom, Fredric Reynolds, has decided to step down from his post. Fredric served at Westinghouse Electric Corp. when they purchased CBS, subsequently overseeing the purchase of CBS by Viacom. Reynolds is leaving the post for personal reasons, but will continue working for the New York-based company in some fashion out of the California offices. He will remain CFO until a replacement can be found. A Viacom spokeswoman said, "He wants to spend more time with his family in California, and it wasn't possible for the CFO to be in California."
Snuffy Smith Cartoonist Passes
Fred Lasswell, the cartoonist behind SNUFFY SMITH for the past 60 years, passed away on Sunday, March 4 at his home in Tampa, Florida. The cause of death was congestive heart failure. He was 84 years old. He continued to work on the SNUFFY strip up until his death, leaving behind 49 unpublished cartoons. In 1934, Lasswell became an assistant to cartoonist Billy DeBeck, creator of TAKE BARNEY GOOGLE, FOR INSTANCE and SNUFFY. Lasswell took over SNUFFY in 1942 after DeBeck's death. He would focus his career on the Smith character, a card-playing, moonshine-making hillbilly from Hootin' Holler.
The Career Coach: Tips for Springing into Job Hunting Action
March signals the advent of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, which means spring cleaning and renewal. Whether you are working, unemployed or about to enter or re-enter the job market, here are some tips to make sure you are in shape for springing into action.
USAnimation in Action
We take a look at how Klasky-Csupo used Toon Boom Technologies' USAnimation to deliver top quality animation for the film Rugrats in Paris...
The 14th Annual Images Festival Of Independent Film & Video Skates The Edge
* Thursday, April 12 Saturday, April 21, 2001. Toronto, Canada.
The Images Festival is an exhibition of artists' film, video and new media. The event searches out cutting-edge work from inventive filmmakers. For more information contact: Tel.: (416) 971-8405; E-mail: images@interlog.com; or Web: www.interlog.com/~images.
USC's Jacquelyn Ford Morie At The University of Washington
* Thursday, April 12, 2001. Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.
Fantasm 2001 Is A Sci-Fi Convention To End All Sci-Fi Conventions
* Friday, April 13 Sunday, April 15, 2001. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Fantasm 2001 is a leading multimedia science-fiction, fantasy, horror, art, film and gaming convention. Foundation Imaging's computer animation wizard, Mojo, will be on hand to discuss his work on the TV series BABYLON 5, STAR TREK: VOYAGER and STARSHIP TROOPERS. Visitors can bring their demo tapes and questions on how to break into the computer animation business. For more information contact Fantasm 2001 at Web: http://www.fantasm.org.
Harlock Saga Sails Onto Home Video
U.S. Manga is sailing the first installment of the HARLOCK SAGA onto video, March 6, 2001. Leiji Matsumoto, the creator of STAR BLAZERS, created the series. "Clash of the Space Pirates" begins the voyage of noble space pirate Captain Harlock to return the ancient gods' stolen gold before the universe spirals into chaos. Volume 2: "Wrath of the Gods" and the HARLOCK SAGA DVD will hit video stores on May 8, 2001. The DVD will feature a behind-the-scenes featurette, character sketches, interview with the creator and two language tracks English and Japanese with English subtitles.
ATTIK Names Monica Perez Creative Director
ATTIK, a leading all-media creative solutions firm, has named Monica Perez their new creative director at the San Francisco office. Perez replaces Simon Dixon who returned to England to assume the creative director role at ATTIK's British offices. Perez joined ATTIK in 1997 as associate creative director and has helped design spots for Microsoft, Ford, Nike, Adidas, Columbia/TriStar Pictures, Levi Strauss and LucasArts.
Black Logic Scratches For The New York Lottery
Black Logic scratched and won for its new 30-second spot for the New York Lottery. In the spot, scratching an old jalopy turns it into a new sports car, a dribbling sprinkler becomes an ornate fountain, a small abode turns into a giant palace and a loveable dog gets instantly groomed. "The spot presented a double challenge, since two environments had to register accurately and yet be noticeably different so we could see the changes through the scratching," said director Michel Suissa.
