ShoPro Ent. Inc. and VIZ Llc., two prominent North American-based companies specializing in Japanese content, are merging this spring to create a new entertainment company. The still unnamed venture, to be based in San Francisco, will leverage the unique collaboration, vision and ownership of three global powerhouses in Japanese manga and animation, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc. and Shogakukan Production Co. Ltd. (ShoPro Japan).
6th Annual First Boards AwardsNew York, New York, USAApril 7, 2005Deadline: January 28, 2005
The 6th Annual First Boards Awards will honor international emerging talent in the commercial production industry. Winners and runners up will be celebrated at the First Boards Awards party in New York and profiled in the April issue of BOARDS MAGAZINE.
Talent entered can only have been working in their craft for since January 1, 2003. Awarded categories include Directors, Editors, Composers, Animators, Creative Teams and Designers.
Expose Yourself 2 World Wide WebMarch 9, 2005Deadline: January 31, 2005
Since its launch on December 3, 2004, Alias Expose Yourself 2 online contest has enticed talented illustrators, designers and artists to enter their sketches for a chance to win valuable prizes, widespread exposure and community respect. This years contest is sponsored by Artificial Mind and Movement (A2M), Motion Computing, Microsoft and Wacom.
FRAMES 2005Mumbai, IndiaApril 4-6, 2005Deadline: February 15, 2005
This week we have over a dozen updates in the AWNs Theatrical Release Database.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz.
This week in AWN's Forums, the big news is the launch of the Valentines Day design contest.
DAZ Prods. has made its two most popular 3D figures available for free to the public. Michael 3.0 and Victoria 3.0 are arguably the most widely supported 3D figures anywhere and are used by thousands of digital artists, illustrators and animators in projects such as print illustration, Web design, art, animation and film projects.
Zoic Studios recently collaborated with directing team StyleWar and advertising agency McCann Erickson on a new spot that announces the opportunity to win an internship courtesy of MasterCard. Based on the visual concept of a career path being akin to a board game of choices, CAREER PATH is a stylized fusion of live-action and CG animation.
![BOXX’s HD [pro] RT Workstations Power Dust to Glory Post](https://www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/small_featured/public/image/featured/16851-boxx-s-hd-pro-rt-workstations-power-dust-glory-post.jpg?itok=1SwVkIqw "BOXX’s HD [pro] RT Workstations Power Dust to Glory Post")
![BOXX’s HD [pro] RT Workstations Power Dust to Glory Post](https://www.awn.com/sites/default/files/styles/tiny_featured/public/image/featured/16851-boxx-s-hd-pro-rt-workstations-power-dust-glory-post.jpg?itok=1akM3KCd "BOXX’s HD [pro] RT Workstations Power Dust to Glory Post")
BOXX Technologies announced that its HD [pro] RT workstations, coupled with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects and CineForms Prospect HD running on Microsoft Windows XP, fueled the post-production pipeline and DI workflow for the upcoming DUST TO GLORY documentary about the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 race.
Warner Bros. Pictures' THE POLAR EXPRESS: AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE has achieved a box office milestone, surpassing $40 million in total gross receipts in just 11 weeks of release. Already the highest grossing IMAX DMR (Digitally Re-mastered) release to date, having shattered the previous record of $14 million in just 22 weeks, the film continues to fill IMAX theaters well after the end of the holiday season.
Following the successful introduction of its line of PCI-Express products in the consumer desktop PC market, NVIDIA Corp. has launched NVIDIA nForce Professional media and communications processors (MCPs), the industry's only PCI-Express core-logic solutions for AMD Opteron processor-based server and workstation platforms.
The Sony comedy ARE WE THERE YET? debuted in the number one spot with $18.5M for the weekend ended Jan. 23, 2005. Paramounts COACH CARTER came in second in its sophomore week with $10.5M and $42.7M. Universals MEET THE FOCKERS dropped to third with $9.6M and $247.2M. Universals IN GOOD COMPANY took the fourth spot with $7.9M and $27.4M.
Portions of the Oscar presentations will be taped for inclusion in the Feb. 29 Academy Awards broadcast. Johansson will appear live on the Oscar telecast to introduce the Sci-Tech segment.
Actress Scarlett Johansson will present the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Scientific and Technical Awards on Feb. 12, 2005 at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena.
IDT Ent. Sales (IDTeS) and Imagine Ent. announced that Imagine will distribute several high profile IDTeS properties to the Australia/New Zealand markets on DVD and VHS. Titles will include a 3D animated INSPECTOR GADGET feature, two feature-length movies based on the popular REBOOT animated franchise and POPEYES VOYAGE: THE QUEST FOR PAPPY, (Australia only). All films were produced by Vancouvers Mainframe Ent.
Turbo Squid announced the launch of a new series of 3D mobile content in conjunction with face2face animation. face2face animation has launched its AniTones Mobile Character Player through the Turbo Squid Mobile Content Portal, which enables users to experience high-quality streaming animation on mobile phones.
THE AVIATOR and KILL BILL, VOL. 2 both took nominations in all three major feature film categories Dialogue/ADR, Music and Sound Effects/Foley in the top sound editing nominations in the 2004 GOLDEN REEL awards doled out by the Motion Picture Sound Editors. The awards will be presented at the 52nd Annual "Golden Reel" Awards to be held Feb. 26, 2005, at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles.
Due the positive response for the forthcoming Pitch Guide, we are extending the deadline for companies to submit information to Feb. 23, 2005. The guide will be a list of various studios from around the world that engage in development and how artists can get in touch with them to pitch their projects.
The information we need is as follows:
* Company Name* Contact Person* Contact Persons Title* Contact Persons Area of Expertise if Specified (example: Comedy for 6-12 year olds)
JibJab Media, the company whose election parodies were viewed online more than 80 million times during the 2004 election, has produced three new animated trailers, now screening at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah.
The 30- to 40-second long shorts are screening before every movie at the festival and feature absurd characters tossing off the shackles of "The Man" and striking out on their own. A LINE PAINTER, DOG CATCHER and DEMOLITION EXPERT find out just how dangerous it can be when you're "Independent."
Disney Channel debuts an original animated series, AMERICAN DRAGON: JAKE LONG, at 8:00 pm on Jan. 21, 2005. The 2D series for kids 6-11 is produced by Walt Disney TV Animation.
Cartoon Network, which until now has been a bit alien to 3D-animated series, started airing PET ALIEN on Jan. 23, 2005, at 10:00 am. The new series follows the adventures of aliens who leave outer space and land in the seaside town of DeSpray Bay to experience Earth life firsthand.
Cartoon Network presented the U.S. television debut of D.I.C.E. on Jan. 22, 2005 at 7:30 pm. The anime series was created by Bandai Ent. and animated by renowned animation studio, Xebec (subsidiary of Production I.G.), and showcases cutting-edge CG/cel animation for TV animation from Japan.
Craig McCrackens latest 2D creation, FOSTERS HOME FOR IMAGINARY FRIENDS, is back with a new season beginning Jan. 21, 2005 at 7:00 pm on Cartoon Network. The second season continues the adventures of Mac, a normal 8-year-old, and Blooregard Q. Kazoo, his imaginary friend.
Director Robert Zemeckis will team up with PULP FICTION producer Roger Avary and comic legend Neil Gaiman to bring the old English poem, BEOWULF to the big screen. The film will utilize performance capture technology like Zemeckis used on POLAR EXPRESS. Zemeckis will direct the film from a script by Avary and Gaiman with Steve Bingís Shangri-La Ent. producing. Shangri-La is in negotiations with Sony Pictures Ent. to distribute all its films. Producers will include Zemeckis, Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke.
Columbia Pictures has announced that Wes Bentley (AMERICAN BEAUTY) has been cast as Blackheart in the upcoming GHOST RIDER feature, reports VARIETY. DAREDEVIL helmer Mark Steven Johnson will direct the film based on the Marvel comic, which chronicles the adventures of stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) who pacts with Mephistopheles to save his true loveís life. Blackheart is Mephistopheles's son as well as chief nemesis. Michael De Luca, Avi Arad, Gary Foster and Ari Arad are producing. Shane Salerno wrote the script with rewrites by Johnson and David S. Goyer.
