AWN Headline News

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include:

The 2003edition of The Brussels Cartoon and Animation Festival will have anew look, with a poster created by Spanish artist Carles Porta, and anew name -- Anima 2003. Since 1982, Brussels has hosted the annualevent devoted to animation and welcomed such animation luminaries asTim Burton, Paul Grimault, Kihachiro Kawamoto, John Lasseter, RenéLaloux, Peter Lord, Moebius, Yuri Norstein and Nick Park. Over thepast five years the festival organizers have initiated a

Los Angeles-based digitalanimation studio Animax Interactive has teamed with entertainer DaveCoulier (TV's FULL HOUSE) and F3 Entertainment to bring the WEAVERBEAVER AND FRIENDS characters to life. Animax designed and developeda Website to support the release of two new kids' audio CDs featuringDave Coulier with WEAVER BEAVER AND FRIENDS. In addition to creatingthe Website, Animax was significantly involved in everything frominitial character development to the jacket design used on both CDs.

Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, specialfeatures and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry ofanimation. New this week:

- Disney's Magic Returns: Lilo & Stitch There's a lot to like about LILO & STITCH!

Jerry Beck explains in his review of Disney's long-awaited summer release.

- Doing Whatever a Spider-Man Can

India's Chennai Studios is looking for an AGENT, a DISTRIBUTOR and a SALES DIRECTOR . . . Sunnyvale, California's Clay Pixel Studios is looking for a BUSINESS PLAN DRAFTER . . . Ukiah, California's Digitech, Inc. is looking for an ANIMATOR . . . Hollywood, California's Klasky Csupo is looking for a CGI ANIMATOR, a LIGHTER, a MODELER and a TEXTURE ARTIST . . . Dubai's Media Tech is looking for a COORDINATOR and an EDITOR . . . Chennai, India's MUV Media is looking for a COMIC BOOK ARTIST and a STORYBOARD ARTIST . . . Glendale, California's NeoPets, Inc. is looking for a CONTENT WRITER . . .

The CGIScooby isn't the only startling effect in Warner Bros. feature filmSCOOBY DOO. Spooky Island features a host of ghosts and SanFrancisco visual effects house Giant Killer Robots (GKR) delivered120 visual effects shots, most involving the "spirits" of the film'scharacters. When the villain Mondavarius and his team of evil-doerssteal the spirits of the Mystery, Inc. gang, the artists at GKR hadto bring those spirits to life. Working with point cloud scans of the

DreamWorks SKG and Hasbro, Inc. have announced that Hasbro willproduce a line of G.I. JOE Adventure Team figures based on theupcoming DreamWorks animated feature SINBAD: LEGEND OF THE SEVENSEAS, scheduled for release in May 2003. To support the movie, Hasbrowill offer the new line of G.I. JOE Adventure Team featuring Sinbadbattling mythological monsters. The 12" action figure line willinclude Sinbad vs. The Roq, a monstrous bird of prey; Sinbad vs.Serpens, a dragon-like sky serpent; and Sinbad vs. Scorpious, a

JustAction Group, international distributors for BUTT UGLY MARTIANS, hasrecently merged with rights management and distribution companyTarget. Just Group, which collapsed last year after CEO WilfShorrocks and commercial director Paula Shorrock were dismissed, duein part to a revision of expected revenue from BUTT UGLY MARTIANSplus a less than successful purchase of publishers MediaKey, has hada recent cash infusion of 1.85M pounds (US$2.7M) from itsshareholders, who have agreed to acquire a majority shareholding in

THQ Inc. has released SCOOBY-DOO! for Game Boy Advance, based on the live-action/CGI movie coming to theaters on June 14, 2002. Players will explore locations featured in the movie, searching for clues to complete missions and ultimately, solve Spooky Island's big mystery. The environments for the game were inspired by actual movie stills and artwork. THQ will also be releasing SCOOBY-DOO! NIGHT OF 100 FRIGHTS, for PlayStation 2 and GameCube, later in 2002.

Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival.

Melbourne, Florida, USA.

Friday, September 13 - Saturday, September 14, 2002.

Entry Deadline: Friday, July 05, 2002.

R!OT artists have teamed with creatives from the design boutique Brand New School to create two spots for a new line of Heinz EZ Squirt flavored ketchup. Conceived by Leo Burnett, Chicago, each of the spots is chock full of sight gags, nonsequiturs and silliness. "Squirrel" opens with a man in a Viking outfit carrying a princess across a cheesy set as a leprechaun tosses gold dust in the air. What follows are quick cuts of a pork chop, a squirrel, a flock of geese and a man covered in mustard.