This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include:- The State of the Industry: Friday, January 18, 2002, Burbank, California USA.- Moondance International Film Festival: Thursday, January 24 -Sunday, January 27, 2002, Boulder, Colorado USA.- Hollywood Cartoons Author Michael Barrier in Person: Thursday,February 07, 2002, Burbank, California USA.- The Second Annual Puppet Short Film and Video Festival: May 2002,Los Angeles, California USA.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. This week...
Interactive software developer and distributor THQ Inc. has completed its acquisition of digital entertainment creator Rainbow Studios by issuing 858,203 shares of common stock. These shares are subject to adjustment pending the determination of Rainbow's net book value. THQ also assumed existing Rainbow stock options providing for the further issuance of 106,259 shares of THQ common stock. Rainbow Studios is now a wholly owned subsidiary of THQ. Mark DeSimone and Tony Sutterheim will continue to manage Rainbow Studios as president, games and president, animation, respectively.
Previously available for PlayStation2 and Xbox, Electronic Arts THE SIMPSONS ROAD RAGE can now be played on the Nintendo GameCube. Developed by Radical Entertainment and co-published with Fox Interactive, THE SIMPSONS ROAD RAGE is a witty and wild arcade-style racing game set in the town of Springfield. Players can take the wheel as their favorite Simpsons character and wreak havoc through six expansive Springfield neighborhoods with the ultimate goal of buying back the Transit Corporation from the diabolical Mr. Burns.
R!OT provided visual effects and post-production services for a new 30-second spot for Honda that delivers a message about the new Accord in two languages. Conceived by Los Angeles ad agency Muse Cordero Chen, the spot shows a red Accord gliding back and forth across a white background. As it rolls along, the car leaves a black trail. It's only when the camera pulls back at the end of the spot that it becomes apparent that the car's path had a purpose, as the black lines form an elegant calligraphy character.
California SUN International Animation Festival: Thursday, April 04 - Saturday, April 06, 2002, Northridge, California USAEntry Deadline: Thursday, January 31, 2002
The 2nd annual Sundance Online Film Festival featuring animation, live-action, documentary, interactive and new form shorts is available for viewing until January 20, 2002. Selected works of animation from the Online Film Festival will also screen on January 15 and January 19 at the Sundance Film Festival Animation Spotlight: Online on Screen. The screening will be a compilation of the online animated works shown on a big screen and will feature a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Iwerks Entertainment Inc. and Toronto-based SimEx Inc., have had their previously announced merger approved by Iwerks shareholders. When the merger is completed, Iwerks will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SimEx Inc. and cease being traded on the OTC Bulletin Board. The merger was expected to close December 28, 2001 but did not, and no new date has been set. Iwerks and SimEx continue to discuss the merger and related activities. Iwerks Entertainment Inc., founded in 1986, is the number one provider of 8/70 Large Format Theater systems worldwide and the industry leader in ride simulation.
Here are a few of the notable special effects and animated films being released this month:
JEEPERS CREEPERS - January 8
JEEPERS CREEPERS was a surprise summer hit in 2001. The story of two teenaged siblings running from a flesh-eating monster gets the double-disc treatment from UA/MGM home video. Available on January 8, 2002, the 2-sided DVD features screen-specific audio commentary with director Victor Salva, a 59-minute documentary THE MAKING OF JEEPERS CREEPERS and deleted scenes. Suggested retail price: 2-sided DVD $26.95.
As a first step in the companys plan to expand their broadcast design department, R!OT Manhattan has hired Sari Rosen to serve as the broadcast design groups executive producer. Rosen, an Emmy-winner and former executive producer at Attik and Pittard Sullivan, will manage and grow the departments creative team and take a leadership role with client relationships and development. Rosen joins R!OT Manhattan from Attik, where she had served as executive producer of its New York office since last year.
McKenzie College Open House: Thursday, January 17, 2002, Fredericton, New Brunswick Canada
WinFemme Film, Video & Screenplay Festival: Monday, January 01, 2001 - Wednesday, January 01, 2003, Los Angeles, California USA
Women In Animation Writers' Seminar Group: Thursday, January 10, 2002, Los Angeles, California USA
The first installment of the LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING is shaping up to be a huge success for New Line Cinema. Already benefiting from repeat viewings, the film, with primary digital effects by WETA in New Zealand, continues its number one run, bringing in $56.9M over the five-day holiday weekend for an astounding two-week total of $174.1M.
The hour-long documentary MILL TIMES, premiering on PBS January 2, 2002 at 8:00 pm, uses four animated sequences to tell the story of a small New England community where the first textile mill in America was established. The program is hosted by author and illustrator David Macaulay (THE WAY THINGS WORK) and is based on his book MILL.
Alias|Wavefront has shipped its recently unveiled mental ray for Maya technology. As an optional plug-in renderer for the Maya 3D software package, mental ray for Maya provides an integrated rendering solution that maximizes the strengths of both products. In addition to this new rendering option, Alias|Wavefront offers mental ray stand-alone licenses for increased interactive rendering speed within Maya as well as for use in batch rendering.
Santa Monica-based effects studio Computercafe created a "living" bomb that is extracted from a human body for the upcoming Dimension Films release IMPOSTOR. Computercafes primary visual effects contribution to the film was the 3D organic bomb featured in three scenes. Because the bomb is found nestled in the chest cavity of a human host, art director Ron Honn, animation supervisor Taron and digital effects supervisor David Ebner designed the device to resemble an internal organ.
Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, specialfeatures and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry ofanimation. New this week...
New York, New York's Cartoon Pizza is looking for a DESIGN COORDINATOR . . . Tampa, Florida's International Academy of Design and Technology is looking for a MAYA INSTRUCTOR . . . New York, New York's Just 2 Guys is looking for a 3D MODELER AND/OR TD . . . KE Consult | Digital Entertainment is looking for a FLASH EXTREMIST . . . Luxembourg's Oniria Pictures is looking for an ASSISTANT DIRECTOR and a COMPOSITOR . . . SD Animation is looking for a CEL PAINTER . . . Sweden's Starbreeze Studios is looking for a 3D ANIMATOR . . .
This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include:- Marco Polo-Return to Xanadu (Academy Awards Qualifying Screenings):Friday, December 28, 2001 - Thursday, January 03, 2002, West Hills,California USA.- Cartoon Movie: Thursday, March 14 - Saturday, March 16, 2002,Potsdam/Babelsberg, Germany.
Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. This week, we're asking more questions about...
Independent animation studio Mercury Filmworks recently opened a full feature and episodic television production facility in Toronto, Ontario. The expansion has nearly doubled the companys studio capacity and increased its talent to 120 employees in Vancouver and Toronto. A deal with Nelvana Limited to work on a 13-episode season of RESCUE HEROES II allowed Mercury the resources to open the Toronto location. Mercury successfully wrapped the RESCUE HEROES II series at the end of October 2001. The series airs on Teletoon in Canada and Kids WB! in the U.S.
RTV Family Entertainment has recently signed licensing deals with German broadcasters Super RTL and ORF. ORF will be picking up THE COUNTRY MOUSE AND THE CITY MOUSE ADVENTURES, the second season of Rolf Kaukas FIX & FOXI AND FRIENDS as well as the series ROTTEN RALPH, which was successfully introduced to Germany in the branded block "Ravensburger TV" on Super RTL. Super RTL acquired the TV licenses for RTVs new animation series GNARFS.
Baby Blues has been added to Cartoon Network's line up as part of its "Adult Swim" block of programming. Aimed at adults ages 18-34, the animated block airs Sunday and Thursday nights from 10 pm-1 am (ET/PT). Adult Swim's rotating line-up includes SPACE GHOST COAST TO COAST, THE BRAK SHOW, HARVEY BIRDMAN, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE and SEALAB 2021, as well as the animé series COWBOY BEBOP.
Dimension Films has acquired the rights to develop and produce an animated feature based on BLOOM COUNTYs pantless penguin Opus, with creator Berkeley Breathed attached to write and direct. The project is the first from the newly established first look deal between Dimension and Storyopolis Productions. The character Opus debuted in 1980 in Breatheds BLOOM COUNTY comic strip, and eventually appeared in a series of cartoon collections, as well as children's books, an animated television special, and a line of collectible items.
