ANIMATION
WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 3.8 - November 1998
People
 |
| Marie-Pierre Moulinjeune. Photo courtesy of Ellipsanime. |
Musical Chairs.
Ellipsanime, Canal +'s Paris-based studio that produces the animated
series, "Corto Maltese," has hired Marie-Pierre Moulinjeune as
deputy director for international development and co-productions. She will
supervise the development and production of animated films and TV series,
and report to vice president Robert Réa. Moulinjeune was previously
in charge of coordinating animated co-productions for Télé-Images,
and prior to that she was head of program acquisitions for France 2. Her background
also includes a stint at Canal J and ten years at DIC Entertainment. . . .
The University Of Southern California (USC) has hired Internet developer
Mark Pesce to head up a new department in the School of Cinema-Television
devoted to interactive media. Pesce is cited as being the person who developed
Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), the programming code that enables
real-time interactivity on the web. He is also co-founder, with Jan Mallis,
of an Internet content company called blitcom. Pesce designed the certificate
program in 3D Arts at San Francisco State University's College of Extended
Learning, and has been teaching at the college level since 1995. He has authored
three books about the World Wide Web as well. Commenting on his new post at
USC, he said, "We'll be exploring the convergence of entertainment and
technology. We expect that the graduates of this program will generate the
best of the next generation of interactive works.". . . . Buzz Potamkin
has been named to the board of directors of Visionary Media LLC,
a New York-based company that develops online content. Potamkin is president
of an independent animation consulting firm, Project X, through which he will
now explore opportunities for Visionary Media's web properties, such as WhirlGirl,
to reach additional media including film and television animation. Since founding
Project X in 1996, Potamkin has just completed producing the direct-to-video
title Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night for Columbia Tri-Star Home
Video. "Since I moved back from Los Angeles I have been looking at the
Internet as a prime venue for emerging entertainment properties," Potamkin
said. From 1991 to 1996, Potamkin worked at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons in Los
Angeles, most recently as executive vice president, executive producer and
head of TV. A veteran of the industry, Potamkin previously worked in advertising
and founded two other companies: Southern Star Productions and Perpetual Motion
Pictures. . . .
 |
| Marjorie Cohn. Photo courtesy of Nickelodeon. |
Three executives have been promoted at Nickelodeon's New York headquarters. Marjorie Cohn has been upped to senior vice president of current series. She was previously vice president/executive producer of current series, and has been with the company for ten years. Alison Dexter has been upped to senior vice president of production operations and planning. She was previously vice president of production operations, and joined the company in 1991 as a line producer. Sergei Kuharsky has been promoted to senior vice president of brand and franchise management. He was previously vice president of marketing for U.S. television, and joined the company in 1995 as vice president of marketing, following a marketing job at Warner Bros. Home Video. . . . The Greenblatt Janollari Studio, a Los Angeles-based production company, has signed Eric Fogel, creator of the MTV animated series Celebrity Death Match and The Head, to develop a concept for a new, prime-time, stop-motion animated series. The deal gives Fogel a flat six-figure sum for developing a series concept and pilot script, which, if adapted as a series, will be executive produced by Fogel, and targeted for fall 1999. No network is attached at this early stage. Negotiations were handled by Chris Fenton and Aaron Kaplan of The William Morris Agency, Susan Grode of Katten, Muchin & Zavis, and Fogel's manager Jim Strader at Strader Entertainment. Although Fogel is currently in a first-look contract with MTV, he was able to make the deal with Greenblatt Janollari after offering MTV and Viacom Television an opportunity at the show. They passed. . . . The Harrison, New York-based East Coast office of Blue Sky | VIFX has promoted Michael Feder to associate producer. Feder came to Blue Sky | VIFX in 1997, following production stints at Turner Pictures Worldwide and Jersey Films in Los Angeles. Blue Sky | VIFX's CEO David Brown stated, "Mike really deserves this promotion and I believe with his strong production background and experience he will continue to make significant contributions to building the studio's relationships with the New York production community.". . . . North Hollywood, California-based Film Roman has hired William Shpall as chief operating officer. For the past two and a half years, Shpall has been a principal in the financial consulting firm, Inter.\comm, and was previously CFO of Carolco Pictures. Film Roman CEO David Pritchard commented on Shpall's appointment, "I'm delighted to have Bill join me in shaping the company as we continue to implement the new strategy at Film Roman. The critical ingredient of a successful entertainment company is financial planning and operating discipline and Bill brings us both.". . . . Los Angeles-based Klasky Csupo has expanded its commercials division with the signing of eight directors to its roster: Corky Quakenbush is a stop-motion animator famous for his raunchy MAD TV spots; Sweden-native Stig Berqvist is a 2D animator who recently completed working on Stressed Eric with Klasky's TV division, and also co-directed short films including Otto and Revolver; Jim Blashfield is a Portland, Oregon-based mixed-media director known for his cut-out look utilized in such music videos as Michael Jackson's "Leave Me Alone" and Talking Heads' "And She Was;" Sally Cruikshank is a Los Angeles-area 2D cel animator known for her work on Sesame Street and independent films such as Quasi at the Quackadero; Steven Dovas is a new York-based commercial director with a recent independent film, Call Me Fishmael; Debra Solomon is also a New York independent whose musical shorts include Mr. Matisse and Everybody's Pregnant; JOHN HAUGSE is a computer painting artist and director of the film Disparate Measures. Finally, Mike Johnson is a stop-motion animator, and director of the short, The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Klasky Csupo Commercials is headed up by Liz Seidman and former MTV exec John Andrews. . . .
 |
| Tom Sito. Photo courtesy of Tom Sito. |
Tom Sito has left his post as head of story
at DreamWorks Feature Animation, entering a one-year development deal with
Warner Bros. Feature Animation. At Warner Bros. he will join Piet Kroon
on development for the animated feature, Osmosis Jones, which sources
say the two may co-direct if the film is green-lit. As president of the Motion
Picture Screen Cartoonist's Union (M.P.S.C.) Local 839 and vice president
of ASIFA-Hollywood, Sito is an influential force in the animation industry.
Warner's hiring of Sito is a bold move that will send a signal to the industry
that the company is sticking with animation, even after the dismal performance
of its debut film, Quest for Camelot, and the exit of the division
president Max Howard, who left in July for a producing role at DreamWorks.
"Everyone thought they were down and out after Quest, but I think
Warner Bros. is a company that's going to surprise a lot of people,"
said Sito. He added that everyone at Warners is excited about moving in a
different direction than other animation companies, aiming for a focus that's
"urban, hip, cool and action-oriented." At DreamWorks, Sito worked
on story development for Prince of Egypt and Antz, and was head
of story on Shrek and Spirit. In a landmark six-figure deal,
Sito joined DreamWorks in 1995, leaving Disney with Jeffrey Katzenberg shortly
after he partnered with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen to form DreamWorks
SKG. This issue of Animation World Magazine includes an
article by Tom Sito about how the young crew of Disney's The Fox and the
Hound has gone on to lead the industry today.. . . . After 20 years
in the animation industry, including Oscar and Emmy wins, animation producer
and consultant Nick Bosustow and his wife Julie have fulfilled a lifelong
dream and accepted an invitation from the U.S. Peace Corps to work in Guatemala
for the next two years, where they will assist small businesses. The Bosustows
will leave the U.S. in January, after selling their home. Nick is the son
of Steven Bosustow, a founding member of the legendary UPA animation studio.
. . . Los Gatos, California-based Coryphaeus Software, recently renamed
Centric Software, has hired Neil M. Mitchell as vice president
of marketing and Edward Marchiselli as vice president of sales. Mitchell
was previously with Landmark Graphics and Marchiselli has held positions with
Applicon Inc. and British Aerospace Dynamics. Centric Software provides 3D-behavior
modeling, simulation and visualization software to the aerospace, automotive
and heavy manufacturing industries, as well as worldwide defense organizations.
. . . Venice, California-based Digital Domain has hired Enrique
Santos as director of technology, a role in which he will oversee the
company's technology department and assume responsibility for its overall
technical direction. Santos was previously senior manager of technology at
Walt Disney Feature Animation, where he managed technical support for
animated features from The Lion King to Mulan. At Digital Domain,
Santos will report to vice president of digital operations, Edward Kummer,
with whom he worked at Disney for four years. Prior to Disney, Santos worked
at Hewlett Packard and Apollo Computer. He earned a masters degree in science
from Marquette University. Santos said, "Working for the team that sunk
the Titanic is the coolest thing I've ever done.". . . . . Digital
Domain has also hired Linda Schnurer as director of financial planning
and analysis. She was previously manager of corporate strategic planning and
development at Warner Bros. She earned a masters degree in business administration
from Harvard University. . . . Copenhagen, Denmark-based Interactive Television
Entertainment has named Preben Henrichsen to the newly-created
position of promotion and new business manager. He was previously sales and
marketing manager for the broadcaster Kanal2/TV Denmark. . . . Paris, France-based
Salsa Distribution has hired Xavier Gonzáles del Valle
as marketing manager, replacing Marianna Herrera-Brun. Del Valle has a background
in journalism and public relations, and has worked in creating exchange programs
between executives in Latin America and Europe. . . . Vancouver, Canada-based
Gordon Stanfield Animation (GSA) has hired Penny Fenwick as
head of program sales and co-production coordinator. She has been working
in television sales and promotions since graduating from Concordia University
1997 with a masters degree in animation. . . . Fox Kids Worldwide has
promoted Ynon Kriez to president, Fox Kids Europe, a newly created
position. As managing director of Fox Kids Europe since its launch in 1997,
Kriez, based in London, has already overseen the launch of language-localized
children's channels in the U.K., Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Poland, as well as a program block in Spain.
Haim Saban, chairman and CEO of Fox Family Worldwide commented on Kriez's
leadership, "His success during this relatively brief period of time
exemplifies our aggressive strategy to become the prominent children's television
leader in Europe and throughout the world." Before moving to Fox, Kriez
was senior vice president of business development for Saban Entertainment,
a position in which he played an instrumental role in the formation of the
strategic alliance between Fox and Saban that resulted in Fox Family Worldwide.
He joined Saban as director of business development in 1994. . . . San Francisco,
California-based computer animation studio Mondo Media has hired Douglas
Kay as president. He was previously vice president of development for
Berkeley Systems. Before that he was chief technical officer at LucasArts,
following nine years at Industrial Light & Magic, where he was a founding
member of the computer graphics department in 1985. Mondo Media CEO John Evershed
said, "We've been looking for someone like Doug to help us propel the
company to the next level." In his new role, Kay is charged with strengthening
Mondo Media's position as a creative service company, as well as expanding
the business into the realm of original content development. . . . David
Palmer has been named vice president of marketing at Columbia Tristar
Television Children's Programming, a new position. Sander Schwartz, the
division's executive vice president and general manager, commented on Palmer's
appointment, "We know he will play a vital role in designing and implementing
strategic marketing campaigns for our current and future animation franchises."
Palmer was previously vice president of marketing for MGM's consumer products
division. Prior to MGM, he held marketing and promotions positions at Film
Roman, Turner Broadcasting System, The Walt Disney Company and Rogers &
Cowan. . . . Joe Alonso has been named international vice president
of sales and marketing for Crater Software, creators of CTP (Cartoon
Television Program), a 2D animation program for Windows 95 and NT. He will
be based in the company's Montreal, Canada office. Alonso previously held
sales and marketing positions with Toon Boom Technologies, Softimage and Discreet
Logic. . . . Marie-Line Petrequin will leave ProSieben and join German
company Igelfilm as managing director of animation and development
in the area of production/co-production of animation. She was previously vice
president and head of the animation department at ProSieben Media AG, where
she has worked since 1990. At ProSieben she arranged the company's co-production
participation in animated series such as Space Goofs, Oggy and the
Cockroaches and Ned's Newt. At Igelfilm starting October 1, she
will be responsible for sales and acquisitions of animation programs for the
company, which is in the process of becoming public and expanding into the
area of animation. Igelfilm's managing director Christian Lehmann said, "Marie-Line
Petrequin has excellent international connections which will help us to expand
rapidly into new fields of the media business, now that the company is going
public. All the more so because the future of animation in Germany will be
increasingly determined by distribution companies and investors.". .
. .
 |
| Caricature of Chris Bailey drawn by colleague Kelly Asbury. Image courtesy of Chris Bailey. |
Animation director Chris Bailey has joined the full-time staff of Dream Quest Images, the effects studio owned by Disney. He has been working with the company on a freelance basis during the past year, as an animation supervisor on Mighty Joe Young and as a creature animation consultant on Deep Rising. He will now focus on being animation director for the live-action feature film, Inspector Gadget. Bailey's long list of credits includes directing the Oscar-nominated short Runaway Brain, and animating on the Disney Animal Kingdom attraction "It's Tough to be a Bug," music videos for "Opposites Attract" (Paula Abdul) and "Hard Woman" (Rolling Stones), as well as Disney features Hercules, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, and others. . . . Paul Waxman, a former marketing executive at Irwin Toy, has branched off and formed his own company, d.e.e.p. Entertainment. Based in Toronto and Halifax, Canada, the company will focus on development of animation properties such as NuKeD and The Lugs, for which financing partners are currently being sought. . . . Mark Simon, president of Animatics & Storyboards, and author of the book "Storyboards: Motion in Art," and producer Dave Kallaher have joined forces to start a new company, Aargh! Animation, Inc. Based in Orlando, Florida, the company will specialize in cel and stop-motion animation, character design and storyboards. Jeanne Pappas Simon, co-owner of Animatics & Storyboards, will be head writer for Aargh!. . . . .Cambridge Animation Systems (CAS), creators of Animo 2D animation software, has hired Mark Watt as director of research and development. Watt co-founded Second Nature Industries, a company in Los Angeles. He was previously a senior programmer with Xaos, Thomson Digital Image and Digital Pictures. Watt will be based at CAS' U.K. office. Tom Carrigan, recently hired by CAS as director of international sales, will also be based in Glendale, California, not in the company's U.K. office as was stated in last month's news. . . . Laura Stone Walstone has joined DIC Entertainment as director of international licensing. Her previous positions include vice president of OH! NO!, Inc., director of licensing at Just Toys, and director of licensing at Extreme Studios . . . The Visual Effects Society (VES) has hired Michele Smith as director of operations. The Los Angeles-based non-profit organization was founded in 1997 by former marketing consultant Tom Atkin, now executive director. He said, "We look forward to her active participation and contribution as the society continues to grow worldwide." Smith previously worked in the accounting department at Polygram Filmed Entertainment, and has an MBA from Pepperdine University. . . . New York-based Lee Hunt Associates has hired Jane Friesen as head of production. She was previously executive producer and general manager at Click 3X, and supervising producer at Sony Music Studios. . . .
Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.
News Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Feedback?
Past Issues
About | Help | Home
| info@awn.com | Mail
| Register
| Animation World Magazine
| Animation World Store
| The AWN Vault The AWN Gallery | Animation Village | Calendar of Events | Career Connections | Forums & Chats | Home |
©1998 Animation World Network