Activision To Acquire Raven Software. The ever-expanding Los Angeles-based game developer and
publisher, Activision, has inked an agreement to acquire Madison, Wisconsin-based
Raven Software. The 40-employee developer of computer games, such as Heretic
and Hexen, will have become a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision
by the end of August.
Paragon Acquires Lacewood. After months of making headlines with
a power struggle in a deal gone sour, Toronto-based Paragon Entertainment
Corp. has taken control of Ottawa-based animation company, Lacewood Group.
Lacewood, owing Paragon an estimated U.S. $1.8 million, attempted to pull
itself out of debt by arranging an investment by Canadian-descent actor
Leslie Nielsen, but was unable to come up with the funds when Nielsen decided
to avoid the legal complications of becoming involved in the situation.
Though originally planned to be a partnership rather than a takeover, Paragon's
final acquisition of Lacewood fits into the entertainment company's plan
to include animation in its children's programming activities.
NY Digital Studios Form Alliance. An aggregation of people and companies
from the New York digital production community have announced the formation
of a new, professional organization called the East Coast Digital Consortium
(ECDC). The stated goals of the organization, as defined by a group of
founding partners from member companies, are: business development, standardizing
of operations, education and the fostering of talent in the area. Founding
member Amy Jupiter, who recently left 14 years in Los Angeles to take on
an executive producer post at Blue Sky Studios in Ossining, New York, describes
ECDC as a "voice" for the emerging east coast digital production
community, and a means of fostering growth. Ultimately, ECDC plans to become
a non-profit organization, with affiliate members from visual effects companies,
educational institutions, government organizations, industry suppliers,
individual artists and producers. Member companies so far include Blue
Sky Studios, Click 3X, Curious Pictures, Image Design, Manhattan Transfer,
MacKenzie Cutler, MASS.ILLUSION, Nice Shoes, Nicholson NY, NYU Center for
Advanced Technology, Post Perfect, RGA Digital Studios (R/Greenberg), Sam
Edwards Group, SMA, Spontaneous Combustion, The Tape House Co., and Zero
Degrees Kelvin. ECDC's introductory events already scheduled include: a
post-SIGGRAPH presentation, and a seminar at Showbiz Expo East in September.
All of these events will take place in New York. For information on ECDC,
visit http://www.ecdc.org.
Comics Case Denied Supreme Hearing. The United States Supreme Court
has denied Michael Diana's petition for a writ of certiorari, thus ending
his three-year battle to have his conviction for publishing and distributing
obscenity overturned. The comic artist, whose work contains graphic imagery
and commentary on strong subject matter, was convicted in 1994 for publishing
and distributing what was deemed to be "obscenity," and has since
been working with the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) and the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to overturn the conviction. Diana, whose legal
fees and fines are thus far in excess of $50,000 is currently serving his
probationary and community service sentence in Long Island, New York. For
more information on the case and the CBLDF, read Susan Alston's article,
"Censorship
in Comics: Is This The United States?"
published in the July issue of Animation
World Magazine.
Cinar Completes Publisher Acquisition. Cinar Films, Inc. has completed
the acquisition of Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc. and its affiliates
Unique Collating Services, Inc. and The Wild Goose Company. The deal, which
was announced earlier this month (Animation Flash 7/9/97), and closed this
week, is valued at roughly $40.5 million, with an exchange of U.S. $24.5
million in cash and 465,285 Class B Subordinated Voting Shares of Cinar
Films, Inc.
Animation World News is compiled daily for publication in the AWN Daily Flash, the weekly Animation Flash email newsletter, and monthly issues of Animation World Magazine.
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