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AWN Headline News

Special Headline News

Fox set to air Halloween special

NIGHT OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN, an hour-long animated special, will air onFox on Thursday, October 28, at 8 pm. Featuring the voices of Luke Perry(BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER), William H. Macy (FARGO), and Tia Carrere(WAYNE'S WORLD), the special was produced by Dallas, Texas-based ComputedAnimation Technology (CAT) and Wimberley, Texas-based Locomotion Studiosusing performance (motion-capture) 3D animation. It was written by JohnShirley (THE CROW). The special, like the upcoming Tim Burton film, SLEEPY

Headline News

HEAVY METAL rough cut comes to DVD!

Columbia-Tri Star Home Video is releasing a collector's edition DVD ofHEAVY METAL which was supervised by Gerald Potterton and released in 1981.Those who bought the laser rot-prone laserdisc that was released threeyears ago will want to purchase this new release even if their LD remainsin pristine condition. The movie is digitally remastered and in widescreen,with anamorphic video. Hopefully, that means it has a new transfer that,unlike the previous widescreen release, does not cut off the top and bottom

Imax Headline News

IMAX appoints MARY PAT RYAN

Toronto, Canada-based IMAX CORPORATION, which operates a chain of largeformat film theaters, has appointed MARY PAT RYAN to the new post ofExecutive Vice President of IMAX Ltd. and Network Group President. Ryanwill oversee the ongoing development of the Network Group, which is chargedwith ensuring the success of all theatres in the worldwide network of IMAXtheatres and the development of the IMAX brand. Based in New York, Ryanwill have responsibility for all areas of the Network Group including brand

Entertainment Headline News

CHEQUEMATE appoints DANIEL R. THOMPSON to board

Los Angeles-based CHEQUEMATE INTERNATIONAL INC., doing business as C-3DDigital Inc., a 3D media company that provides broadcasting andentertainment companies with the technology to deliver 3D entertainment toany standard television 24 hours a day, has appointed media marketingexpert DANIEL R. THOMPSON to the C-3D Digital Board. Thompson is thefounder and head of Hollywood entertainment agency A Creative Group (ACG)which specializes in product placement, promotional advertising, programsponsorships, and distribution.

Film Headline News

BARDEL hires CAROLE DUCHARME and DEBORAH REES-LEE

Vancouver-based BARDEL ANIMATION has added executive producer CAROLEDUCHARME and business affairs executive DEBORAH REES-LEE to its businessaffairs department. DUCHARME began her career in the film industry as alawyer specializing in film financing and as a legal advisor fororganizations such as the Quebec Film Classification Board. She moved intothe role of producer with the Paris, France-based company Les ProductionLazennec, negotiating and drafting agreements for international

Disney Headline News

WALT DISNEY COMPANY names LITVACK vice chairman

SANFORD M. (SANDY) LITVACK has been named vice chairman of the board of THEWALT DISNEY COMPANY. Litvack joined Disney in April, 1991, as senior vicepresident and general counsel, and was promoted to executive vice presidentthe following December. In May, 1992, he assumed the additional duties ofexecutive in charge of human resources. Before joining The Walt DisneyCompany, Litvack was a member of the executive committee and chairman ofthe litigation department of the international law firm Dewey Ballantine.

Headline News

Rhino releases GO SIMPSONIC WITH THE SIMPSONS

On November 2, 1999 Rhino Records will release GO SIMPSONIC WITH THESIMPSONS, musical selections from the often very musical THE SIMPSONS.Consisting of more than 50 tracks of songs, themes, and underscore music,GO SIMPSONIC not only picks up where its predecessor, SONGS IN THE KEY OFSPRINGFIELD, left off, but also digs deep into the first nine seasons,capturing selections that didn't make it onto the first collection. GOSIMPSONIC also makes available for the first time four never-before-heard

Animated Headline News

Jedor releases Viscosity

Waterloo, Ontario-based Jedor Inc. has released Viscosity 1.0, a newsoftware package that puts the process of 2D image editing and animationinto one application, and enables both novice and advanced graphicdesigners to create, edit, and view animated graphics for web sites, videoclips, and multimedia presentations. Viscosity differs from traditionalimage editing software by totally integrating highly visual animationtools, animated effects, and real-time playback directly into Viscosity's

Free Headline News

Lipsinc offers free Ventriloquist download

Cary, North Carolina-based LIPSinc. is offering a free beta version ofVentriloquist for MAX, a new lip-synching plug-in for 3D Studio MAX R3.0.Ventriloquist for MAX automates the process of synchronizing correct mouthmovements to dialogue for animated characters. For more information visitwww.lipsinc.com.

Live-action Headline News

AARGH! co-produces Cold-Eeze spots

Orlando, Florida-based AARGH! ANIMATION, INC. (not related to the abovecompany) is co-producing a series of :10 and :30 spots for Cold-Eeze coldmedicine that combines live-action with cel animation. Mark Simon and DaveKallaher directed the animation. The three :10 spots consist of a celanimated plane that swoops into frame over a six layer multi-plane ofmoving clouds. The computer generated product packages fly out of the planeand are presented close to camera. In the :30 spots, live-action passengers

Official Headline News

CINANIMA '99 announces their nominees!

The Cinanima International Animated Film Festival (held November 8-14,1999, in Espinho, Portugal), announced their '99 nominees. The selectionjury consisted of Menno De Nooijer (Netherlands), Manuel Matos Barbosa(Portugal), Antonio Melo (Portugal), Rodolfo Pastor (Spain) and PedroSerrazina (Portugal). Discover this year's official competition program, aswell as the retrospectives, exhibitions, and more. All is included on theFestival's official web site!

Cartoon Headline News

A Closer Look: Cartoon Forum, A Success Story

The "Cartoon d'Or" 1999 was announced at the Cartoon Forum this pastSunday. The winning film is "Migrations" by Constantin Chamski (France), a4-minute CGI film. The director received 25,000 ECU (approximately U.S.$25,000) to spend on a new animation project. This year the forum welcomeda record attendance of 620 participants, which included producers,distributors and broadcasters. Sixty-nine projects seeking partners wereoffered to potential investors and producers. Since its start ten years

Story Headline News

TOY STORY 2 trailer debuts on web

The new trailer for TOY STORY 2 will play online for one week beginningFriday, October 1 at www.toystory2.com before it screens in theaters. Thesequel, which features Buzz, Woody and the gang, plus new characters suchas Mrs. Potato Head and Emperor Zorg, debuts in US theaters on November 24,1999. The eagerly awaited sequel to the 1995 Pixar/Disney groundbreakingCGI feature, TOY STORY, continues the story of pull-string cowboy doll,Woody, and his action figure Space Ranger friend, Buzz Lightyear. The new

Headline News

Sony Wonder Technology Lab hosts ALL EYES ON CGI

Sony Wonder Technology Lab, a center for high-tech entertainment andeducation, will host ALL EYES ON CGI. The presentation will feature arepresentative from Sony Pictures Imageworks, whose talent and technologycontributed to the upcoming feature film STUART LITTLE in which for thefirst time ever, audiences are introduced to a three-dimensional,photo-realistic, performance based, computer generated movie star.Admission is $10. The events takes place Thursday, September 30, 6:30 pm in

Animation Headline News

October's Animation World Magazine now on-line!

This month: Licensing And Merchandising.

As the holidays approach our minds turn to licensing and merchandising andwhat is going to be on the shelves this winter. In this issue TarletonGillespie takes us on a trip through Toys R Us to determine the meaning oftoys to kids. The French licensing and merchandising market is detailed byValerie Rivoallon. Sharon Schatz profiles toon loving Rhino Records andKaren Raugust looks at how "Sesame Street's" content changes as the popular

Studio Headline News

Studio B moves to new facility

Studio B Productions has moved to a custom designed studio at 190 AlexanderStreet in Vancouver, British Columbia. The three-floor, 27,000 sq. ft.facility is home to Studio B's animation studio and production house aswell as Mercury Filmworks, a fully equipped digital animation facility, andDick and Roger's, a fully equipped sound studio which means that thefacility now has the ability to produce an animated show or series in itsentirety from script to post-production. The move to larger, custom

Animation Headline News

NETTER DIGITAL hires JAY FUKUTO

North Hollywood, California-based NETTER DIGITAL, which provides 3D andspecial effects animation services, has named JAY FUKUTO to the newposition of senior vice president of animation. Fukuto has been senior vicepresident at MGM Animation since 1997, where he oversaw the development andproduction of MGM's animated theatrical features and direct-to-video moviesincluding THE SECRET OF NIMH II, AN ALL DOGS CHRISTMAS CAROL and TOM SAWYER.

Headline News

Rhino Records releases Stan Freberg collection

Los Angeles-based Rhino Records has released TIP OF THE FREBERG, a four CDbox set that also includes a video and a booklet. Stan Freberg is probablybest known to animation fans as the voice of Junyer Bear, Bertie the mouse,and Pete Puma in various Warner Bros. shorts, as well as the beaver in LADYAND THE TRAMP, but Freberg, who has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,has also won many awards for his comedy records and commercials. This greatcollection spans Freberg's entire career, 1950 to 1998, and includes many

Disney Headline News

Disney plans second Paris theme park

Euro Disney has announced plans to open THE DISNEY STUDIOS, a second themepark in 2002 near the existing Disneyland Paris theme park inMarne-La-Vallee, east of Paris. The park will include attractions based oncinema, animation and television, similar to the Disney-MGM Studios at WaltDisney World in Orlando, Florida. Visitors to the park will be able toobserve animators working, special effects demonstrations and the filmingof TV programs. "The goal is that visitors pass through the movie screen

Headline News

J.J. Sedelmaier's final TV FUNHOUSE aired on SNL season premiere

HESTON, animation director J.J. Sedelmaier's final TV FUNHOUSE segment forSATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, aired Saturday, October 2 on the comedy show's seasonpremier, which was hosted by comedian Jerry Seinfeld. Sedelmaier's finalvignette, which concludes his three-year collaboration with writer RobertSmigel, lampooned the NRA's pro-gun position by using real audio of NRApresident, actor Charlton Heston, addressing Congress combined withdialogue from his PLANET OF THE APES movies and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, in

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