Search form

AWN Headline News

Headline News

Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis Now Available On DVD

The Special Edition 2-disc DVD release of Osamu Tezukas METROPOLIS is now in stores. Based on the classic manga by Osamu Tezuka and directed by Rintaro (X, GALAXY EXPRESS 999), METROPOLIS features a newly subtitled version of the film along with the dubbed version. Other features include: new fold-out packaging with outer sleeve, widescreen and full screen presentations, "The Making of Osamu Tezukas Metropolis" and "Interview with Rintaro Katsushiro" featurettes, animation comparisons and more. Suggested retail price: DVD $27.95.

People Headline News

Marlin Studios Releases People N Motion

Graphics studio and publisher Marlin Studios released PEOPLE N MOTION, two new libraries in its series of texture libraries created for use by 2D and 3D graphics artists. The texture maps can be used in any 3D program that makes use of animated textures, and can be composited onto backgrounds in 2D programs. No special software is required beyond the user's particular 2D or 3D program. Each PEOPLE N MOTION library has a set of sequential animation files that allows the graphics user to create the illusion of moving or standing people.

Animation Headline News

Cartoons On The Bay Announces Pulcinella Winners

The 6th Pulcinella Awards were presented in Positano, Italy, April 22, 2002 at Cartoons on the Bay, the international festival and conference on television animation. 38 programs were in competition for this year's awards. The international jury was made up of Bob Balser (president of Cartoon, Belgium), Eve Baron (head of the childrens department, France 3, France), Bill Kroyer (senior animation director at Rhythm & Hues, USA), Phillippe Jacot (director of children's programming UBE, Switzerland) and Gianfranco Noferi (director of RAI, Italy).

Million Headline News

Monsters, Inc. Becomes Second Highest Grossing Animated Film

Disney/Pixar's MONSTERS, INC., has usurped SHREK to become the second highest grossing animated film of all-time (behind only Disney's THE LION KING). The film has earned $504 million to date, comprised of $253 million in domestic box office receipts and $251.2 million in international box office receipts, where it has set records in Japan ($59.1 million, the most successful U.S. animated film ever), England ($53 million), Mexico ($20.1 million) and Spain ($13.5 million). Commenting on the announcement, Dick Cook, chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, said, "MONSTERS, INC.

Series Headline News

Varga Licenses Mr. Bean To RTL Klub Hungary

European animation studio Varga, which owns the Hungarian TV, video and DVD rights for the animated MR. BEAN, has concluded a deal with RTL Klub Hungary to air the 52 x 11-minute series, making it the first country to air the series outside the UK. MR. BEAN premiered in Hungary on April 6, 2002 and will air weekly. Varga has over 420 crew working on the animated MR. BEAN, making it one of the largest animation series currently in production in Europe. Vargas Alexei Alexeev is the series director for the Tiger Aspect, Richard Purdum and Varga co-production.

Games Headline News

TDK Mediactive And Mattel Debut Robotech Video Games

Entertainment publisher TDK Mediactive, Inc. and Mattel, Inc. are releasing video games based on the 1980s animated series ROBOTECH. In ROBOTECH: BATTLECRY for the PlayStation2, Xbox and GameCube, and ROBOTECH: THE MACROSS SAGA for Game Boy Advance the player pilots the Veritech Fighter, a giant transformable mechanized robot that can convert into a jet fighter, a 40-foot tall humanoid robot and a combination of both. Each transformation mode offers new movement options, special abilities or weapons.

Headline News

Adobe Ships Photoshop 7.0

Adobe Photoshop 7.0, the latest version of Adobe's image-editing software, is now available. Major enhancements to the new version include the File Browser, an image organization tool that allows users to browse image thumbnails, quickly rotate, sort, rank and batch rename images as well as view EXIF (Exchangeable Image File) information from digital cameras. The new Healing Brush feature simplifies the photo retouching process by allowing users to remove flaws while preserving the shading, lighting and texture of the original image.

Headline News

The Gnomon Workshop Releases New Training Videos

The Gnomon Workshop has released new titles in their training video series and cut prices on existing video titles. Video titles previously priced at US $69 are now US $59 and many of the Workshop's titles are available for purchase in discounted bundles. In addition, the Workshop is scheduled to release four new titles on April 30, 2002 in response to customer demand. "We've gotten so many requests for tapes on Character Skinning. It was time," said Alex Alvarez, director of the Gnomon Workshop, who also developed and teaches the material on the new videos.

Film Headline News

Pixar and Disney Announce Upcoming Feature Film Slate

Coming on the heels of an announcement that the latest Disney/Pixar collaboration, MONSTERS, INC., has become the second highest grossing animated film of all-time, the two companies have announced their next three films. First up is FINDING NEMO. Set in Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the film follows two fish, a father and his son Nemo, who become separated undersea. FINDING NEMO is set for release in summer 2003, and is written and directed by Andrew Stanton, co-director and co-screenwriter of A BUG'S LIFE. It stars the voice talent of Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres and Willem Dafoe.

Effects Headline News

The Scorpion King Rules The Box Office

With the largest April opening in history, THE SCORPION KING, with visual effects by Centropolis FX, topped the box office this weekend. Starring The Rock, this "prequel" to THE MUMMY franchise earned $36.2M in its debut. The weekend's other new release, MURDER BY NUMBERS, debuted in third with a tepid $9.5M while last week's number one film, CHANGING LANES, took second place with $11.2M and $32.8M to date. Disney's THE ROOKIE climbed a notch to fourth place with $6.3M and a four week total of $53.7M, while ICE AGE dropped two spots to land in sixth place with $5.7M and a cume of $159.5M.

Animation Headline News

Don't Miss Bristol's Animated Encounters

Don't Miss Bristol's Animated Encounters April 25- 28, 2002. The 3rd Animated Encounters Festival runs April 25-28, 2002 at the Watershed Media Center in Bristol, England. Showcasing dozens of British and international cartoons, this year's event also includes IMAX screenings and discussions with representatives from DreamWorks, Cinesite and Varga. Among the highlights will be an appearance by THE SIMPSONS creator Matt Groening, who will talk about his ten favorite cartoons.

Events Headline News

New Additions To AWN's Calendar Of Events

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

Dan McLaughlin & June Foray Headline Animation Panel: Wednesday, April 24, 2002, Hollywood, California USA . . . Lunch With Martha Sigall and Jerry Beck -- Warner Bros. Animation History: Saturday, April 27, 2002, Glendale, California USA . . . FMX/02: Thursday, May 23 - Sunday, May 26, 2002, Stuttgart, Baden-Wuerttemberg Germany . . . Richard Williams Master Class 2002: Tuesday, May 28 - Sunday, June 02, 2002, Ebeltoft, Denmark.

Anime Headline News

This Week's Animation Trivia Quiz

Test your skills and challenge your brain with AWN's Animation Trivia Quiz. This week, we're asking more questions about anime. What film was Mamoru Oshii credited with directing the first made-for-video anime in 1983? What was Yellow Dancer in the original Japanese version? What film portrayed the Japanese Imperial Navy as brave, cute anthropomorphic animal sailors? Good luck...you'll need it!

Effects Headline News

New 3D Animation & Visual Effects Studio Launched

3D animator and visual effects artist Mark Glaser has launched Sway, a 3D animation and digital effects studio serving the commercial and film industries. A two-time Clio Award winner, Glaser was a former CG supervisor at Digital Domain and was co-founder and visual effects supervisor for Station X Studios. Glaser's specialties include photo-real rendering and 3D animation. His credits include spots for Dodge, Nike, Chevy, Sony and Duracell.

Headline News

PBS Signs On With Cinar To Produce New Episodes Of Caillou

Canadian-based entertainment company Cinar Corporation has reached an agreement with the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) to produce 16 new episodes of the preschool series, CAILLOU. The new episodes, to air on PBS beginning January 2003, join the existing 40 episodes currently airing Monday through Friday on PBS KIDS. Based on the series of best-selling children's books, CAILLOU is created using a combination of animation, puppets and live-action, and chronicles the adventures of a little boy as he encounters the ups and downs of four-year-old life.

Entertainment Headline News

Corus Entertainment Completes Sale Of Klutz To Scholastic Inc.

Canadian-based media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment Inc. announced that it has successfully completed the sale of Klutz to Scholastic Inc. Klutz was sold for approximately US$43 million in cash plus a three-year earn-out based on revenue. The proceeds of the sale will be used to repay debt. Corus acquired Klutz, a publisher of children's books and related products based in Palo Alto, California, through its acquisition of Nelvana Limited in November 2000. âº

Animation Headline News

Wild Brain Animates Wall Street

Independent animation studio Wild Brain, Inc., has completed an animated commercial campaign for The Wall Street Journal promoting the redesign of the paper and the introduction of their new consumer-oriented "Personal Journal" section. San Francisco agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners conceived a combination live-action and animated spot and teamed with Wild Brain for the animation. The goal was to bring to life the proprietary stippled illustration style that has long been associated with the publication.

Games Headline News

Dora The Explorer Discovers Video Games

NewKidCo International Inc. has entered into a worldwide multi-year agreement with Nickelodeon to publish video games based on the Nick Jr. show DORA THE EXPLORER. The agreement grants NewKidCo the rights to create interactive products for all leading video game systems. The series follows Dora, a young Latina who lives inside a computer and uses her knowledge of English and Spanish to communicate with her friends, overcome obstacles and reach her goals. The series currently airs 11 times a week, both on Nick Jr. and as part of CBS' weekend programming.

World Headline News

This Week At Animation World Magazine

THIS WEEK AT ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE.Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, special features and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry of animation. New this week:

ATI Fire GL4: A Solid Contender

Continuing with his reviews of the market's leading graphics cards, John Edgar Park takes on the ATI Fire GL4. This BMW of the graphics card world definitely has its high points.

Animation Headline News

The Acrobat Issue Of Animation World Magazine Is Now Online!

The March 2002 Acrobat issue of Animation World Magazine is now online! In this issue, Greg Singer takes an in-depth look at Weta, Ltd., and uncovers the secrets of the company behind the Academy Award-winning visual effects for THE LORD OF THE RINGS. John Edgar Park explains how to build your own animation workstation, and the best way to learn Maya at home. John C. Donkin, Blue Sky's associate producer, reminisces about the studio's transformation from small boutique to major feature film competitor with the production of ICE AGE.

Animation Headline News

Job Opportunities For Animators, Interns, Programmers, Instructors And More

Van Nuys, California's Brain Zoo Studios is looking for a MAYA CHARACTER ANIMATOR . . . Washington, DC's Capital Children's Museum is looking for an INTERN . . . Culver City, California's Creative Oxygen is looking for a MAYA ANIMATOR/CHALICE COMPOSITOR . . . ezx is looking for a HEAD ANIMATOR/CARTOONIST . . . Mumbai, India's Famous Cine Labs & Studios Ltd. is looking for an AGENT / REPRESENTATIVE . . . Canton, Connecticut's Funnybone Interactive is looking for a MAYA ARTIST . . . Philter Media is looking for a FLASH ANIMATION (UNPAID) . . .

Animation Headline News

AWN's Discussion Forums - What's New?

Visit all of AWN's Discussion Forums to stay in touch with the animation community! This week, hot forum discussions include a "spirited" talk about SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON, animation production in HDTV and what's not hot in animation. Plus, a special forum edition of The Animation Pimp. Over in Show and Tell, check out Simeon Rex - The Monkey King, and some new Flash animation from slycoart and zodiacmedia, plus demo reels and portfolios posted by Forum users.

Pages