Animation World News:Business
Bohbot Branches Out.
Bohbot Entertainment & Media, purveyors of children's media properties,
has named top level executives to head up its three subsidiaries. George
Baratta will be President of BKN Kids Network, which distributes syndicated
children's programming blocks which include shows like Extreme Dinosaurs.
Bruce Kravetz will be President of Quantum Media, which handles media buying,
planning and research. Nadia Nardonnet has been promoted to President of
the International Division, which has been renamed BKN International.
Disney Opens Shop In Toronto. Only two years after announcing their
intent to open Canadian production facilities, Disney has created a fully-functional
animation unit with two studios, and has produced a full-length animated
video. Walt Disney Animation Canada Inc. has expanded its production service
capabilities, by officially opening its' permanent studio in Toronto, in
addition to the one which has been operating in Vancouver since 1996. The
Toronto facility, which was "unveiled" in October, will operate
in conjunction with the Vancouver studio as one co-existing production
unit referred to as "the Canadian studio." The announcement was
made by Walt Disney Television Animation, which until now, has overseen
development and pre-production of direct-to-video titles produced in Canada.
Pre-production, such as storyboarding, character design and layout, will
now be handled by the Canadian studio, creating the first full-service
facility in the Walt Disney Television Animation family. It was also announced
by Disney TV's Senior VP of International Production Lenora Hume, that
Walt Disney Animation Canada is "on target to triple production in
the coming year," by simultaneously working on three films in various
stages of development and production. To accommodate increased production,
the total staff between both facilities is expected to expand from 200
to 225 by 1998. "The Canadian studio is central to Disney Television
Animation's expansion strategy," said Joan Fischer, the recently appointed
General Manager of Disney Animation Canada. Walt Disney Home Video will
release Disney Animation Canada's debut direct-to-video property, Beauty
and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas on November 11. For an inside
look at Disney's home video division, don't miss our feature article on
Buena Vista Home Entertainment in this issue of Animation
World Magazine.
Will Vinton Studios' Toys commercial
for Nissan has got Mattel worked up.
© Will Vinton Studios.
Mattel Takes Issue With Toys Spot. Mattel, Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the Nissan
Motor Company Ltd., over a complaint that the car company's animated commercial,
Toys, features unauthorized use of the toy company's trademark and
brands. The 30-second spot in question, produced by Will Vinton Studios,
features "Roxanne" and "Tad" dolls, which resemble
Mattel's Barbie and Ken properties a little too closely for comfort. In
addition, Mattel is taking issue with other props in the commercial which
resemble Mattel toys, including a doll house, a race track, a dinosaur
and even a hula hoop. However, "Nick," the army cadet doll featured
as the Nissan-driving hero, is not an issue with Mattel, as G.I. Joe is
a property is owned by another toy company, Hasbro. The case, filed in
the U.S. District Court's Central District of California, is now in litigation,
and has yet to be resolved. Mattel's Senior Vice President of Corporate
Communications, Sean Fitzgerald, said on behalf of the company, "We
are hoping for a mutually beneficial resolution through negotiation."
Neither the ad agency, Chiat/Day, or the production company, Will Vinton
Studios, involved in the commercial are liable in the suit, which is strictly
between Mattel and Nissan.
Nelvana Divvies Up Divisions. Nelvana Ltd. has recently restructured
operations at its Toronto-based studio, creating four new divisions: Animated
Television Production, Domestic Production, 3-D Animation Production and
Feature Film Production. In the restructuring, two Nelvana producers were
moved up into the executive ranks; Stephen Hodgins has been named Senior
Vice President, Production and Patricia Burns has been named Vice President,
Production. "Our goal is to build depth of management to support a
substantial increase in proprietary animation production," said Patrick
Loubert, who is co-CEO of Nelvana with Michael Hirsch. The Animated Television
Production division, headed by producer Jocelyn Hamilton, will handle the
core series work that is Nelvana's staple. The Domestic Production Division,
headed by supervising producer Vince Commisso, will concentrate on mixed
media and non-traditional animation. The 3-D Animation Production Division,
announced in June and headed by supervising producer Pamela Slavin, is
already in production on the series Rolie Polie Olie, based on William
Joyce's children's book. Lastly, the Feature Animation division, managed
by supervising producer Merle Anne Risley, plans to produce at least one
feature film a year, such as the limited theatrical and current home video
release, Pippi Longstocking. The next feature project, Babar,
King of the Elephants, is based on one of Nelvana's popular television
series, which is, in turn, based on a line of children's books.
Sunbow Launches Into Licensing. New York-based independent production
company Sunbow Entertainment has launched an in-house merchandise licensing
division, in a move to broaden the scope of their business of both animation
and live-action production. The division will be headed up by Vice President
of Licensing and Merchandising, Glenn Weber, who was most recently Vice
President of Licensing and Brands at Meridian Worldwide, an independent
licensing agent. Sunbow, which owns rights to more than 1,100 half-hours
of children's programming, is currently licensing three of their animated
television properties: The Tick, Salty's Lighthouse and Brothers
Flub.
Viacom Sells Its' Half Of USA. The Seagram Company, Ltd. and Viacom,
Inc. came to an agreement regarding the ownership of USA Networks, a cable
network which has, until now, been jointly owned by the two companies.
Seagram will acquire Viacom's 50 percent interest in USA, for $1.7 billion
in cash. This will bring USA Network (72 million subscribers), The Sci-Fi
Channel (46 million subscribers) and USA Networks International, with networks
in South America, Europe and Africa, under complete ownership of Seagram,
which is perhaps best known as a distributor of alcohol products. As this
decision has been deliberated for quite some time, USA Networks' Founder,
Chairman and CEO Kay Koplovitz said "I am very gratified that the
ownership of USA Networks has been successfully resolved." USA Network
has been airing original episodes of Klasky Csupo's animated series, Duckman
in prime-time since January 1994.
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.
Send your newsworthy items, press releases, and reels to:
Email: wendyj@awn.com
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Mail: Animation World Magazine
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