(Colossal) Pictures will ceaseoperations on August 31, 1999 after 23 years in business. According to theSan Francisco-based production and design studio, the decision was made inorder to liquidate property and honor outstanding debts. (Colossal) hasfiled for Chapter 11 protection before on May 30, 1996, and emerged frombankruptcy on December 1, 1997. It enjoyed a successful year in 1998,employing a lean work force. However, the beginning of this year saw adownturn in revenue. Financially weakened by the bankruptcy, as (Colossal)waited to be awarded some significant contracts it could not sustain itsoverhead. (Colossal) first made its mark in branding and design,cultivating a youthful expression for clients such as Levi's, Sega, andMTV. Film work followed, with special effects and opening sequencesproduced for such films as THE RIGHT STUFF, TOP GUN, and BRAM STOKER'SDRACULA. In 1990, for MTV, (Colossal) developed the animated anthologyseries, LIQUID TELEVISION, and in 1995 it produced Peter Chung's AEON FLUXseries, a spinoff of LIQUID TELEVISION. The company has won every majorindustry award, including the Clio, Emmy, Grammy, Cannes Gold Lion, andInteractive Academy Arts & Sciences Top Honor. In the past few years,(Colossal)'s Chief Creative Officer and co-founder, Drew Takahashi, hasfocused on melding his experience in advertising, branding, and new mediathrough strategic creative design for emerging, cross-media technologies,with projects for Excite, Americast, WebTV, Microsoft, Real Networks, andReplay Networks. He will continue to work on ongoing interactive projectsoriginated at (Colossal), participating with Creative Director MargeighJoy, and will announce more formal plans at a future date. Other employees'plans are varied, but a core group of directors and digital artists areforming their own production shop. CFO Jan Bauman says, "We tried our bestto keep the company afloat. What we feel good about is the integrity wehave maintained all along, and the lessons we learned. And, of course,there's the massive, fine body of work that (Colossal) Pictures contributedto almost a quarter century of American media culture, sure to beremembered and respected for many years to come."
