AWN Headline News

Kids' WB! has announced it will pick-up five animated series for its fall 2002 line-up. Beginning its fifth season, 52 all-new episodes of 4Kids Productions POKÉMON: MASTER QUEST will air six days a week. Both Sony Pictures Family Entertainments JACKIE CHAN ADVENTURES and X-MEN: EVOLUTION, produced by Marvel Studios in association with Film Roman, return for their third seasons, with 13 new episodes each.

New models are now available for Softimage Co.s flagship SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.2.0 nonlinear animation (NLA) system. The expanded product line introduces new Workstation and Enterprise variants to the SOFTIMAGE|XSI Essentials and Advanced packages, with the new models replacing all earlier versions. The Workstation and Enterprise options introduce both a new, lower-priced entry point for smaller production operations, and more flexible and extensible networked models to meet the needs of operations with distributed workflows and/or large-scale 3D pipelines.

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

Troubled childrens television producer Cinar Corporation avoided criminal prosecution from tax-fraud charges brought against the company by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). After completing an analysis of the evidence presented, the Crown prosecutors' office claimed an investigation could not go forth. The charges stemmed from allegations back in 1999 when Cinar was accused of illegally obtaining Canadian tax credits by forging Canadian names on scripts written by U.S. citizens.

Three new films held the top spots this weekend, with Arnold Schwarzeneggers terrorist drama COLLATERAL DAMAGE leading the pack. The film, with visual effects by Digital Film Works, earned $15.1M in its first weekend out. A remake of the 1975 film ROLLERBALL managed to debut in the number three spot despite generally lackluster reviews. The futuristic actioner took in $9M. BLACK HAWK DOWN, last weeks number one film, fell to fourth. The war epic, with visual effects by The Mill and Asylum, earned $8M for a total of $86.7M to date.

Here is the full list of the nominees for the British Animation Awards (BAA).

Best Pre-School Childrens Series

BOB THE BUILDER: MUCKY MUCK Directed by Sarah Ball

BILL AND BEN:THE RAINBOW Directed by Tim Collings

64 ZOO LANE: KEVIN THE CROCODILE Directed by An Vrombaut

Best Childrens Series

THE CRAMP TWINS Directed by Becky Bristow, Produced by Cartoon Network

ALBIE Directed by Francis Vose,

A Fox network representative confirmed that FUTURAMA has not been renewed for the 2003 - 2004 season. The Annie Award winning comedy series from Matt Groening was renewed in January 2001 for 18 episodes and a 4th season. Those episodes have all been completed by production company Rough Draft and will air during the next year. The network says there is a possibility they will order more episodes, but the current plan is to air only what they have.

Boomerang UK is adding more classic cartoon characters to its ranks. 30 half-hours of PRIME TIME PEANUTS SPECIALS and 18 half-hours of THE CHARLIE BROWN SHOW have been acquired by the network from Patrick Sinfield Ltd. The Charlie Brown series join Boomerangs recent acquisitions THUNDERBIRDS, THE PINK PANTHER and DANGERMOUSE. "This is another very valuable acquisition for Boomerang as Snoopy's appeal spans generations and is an extremely well-known franchise," said Jo Sweby, acquisition manager for Cartoon Network Europe. The shows will launch in August.

Hold on to your sorting hats. Warner Home Video has announced the release of HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE on DVD and VHS. A two-disc DVD including additional scenes that have never been seen before, self-guided tours, interviews with the filmmakers and interactive features will be available May 28, 2002. The VHS will also include five minutes of additional footage. 2001 saw one record-breaking DVD release after another and all were effects heavy or animated releases.