AWN Headline News

Alias|Wavefront announced that its recently unveiled mental ray for Maya technology will be available as an optional plug-in renderer for Maya before the end of the year 2001. mental ray for Maya, currently in beta testing, is an optional and fully integrated plug-in renderer for Maya that offers all the features and tools available in mental images' mental ray renderer version 3.0. It will be available to customers in either node locked or floating license configurations. Alias|Wavefront will make mental ray for Maya and the mental ray Stand Alone renderer available in December 2001.

The Gnomon Workshop has released six new training videos on inverse kinematics and dynamics in Alias|Wavefront's Maya. This series, which includes two tapes on Inverse Kinematics and four more tapes on Maya's Dynamics engine, marks the fourth round of video releases and brings the total number of titles available from The Gnomon Workshop to 24. Each tape has 110 minutes of instruction. The objective of the tapes is to explain the tools with a focus on workflow, using a wide range of example effects.

Over the next six weeks the U.K.s Channel 4 will be showing a wide variety of animation, including illustrator John Callahans new project QUADS, experimental animation from Animate! and the U.K. television premiere of the acclaimed anime feature BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE. Also premiering will be a new series called CELMATES. The animation worlds answer to reality shows like BIG BROTHER, CELMATES follows a group of animators shut in a small room, competing against each other (and the clock!) to create an animated film in a sleepless 72 hours.

Activision, Inc. has teamed with mens lifestyle magazine MAXIM and Hollywood Records on a million dollar, multi-media promotional campaign to support the launch of id Software's PC game RETURN TO CASTLE WOLFENSTEIN. In this sequel to WOLFENSTEIN 3D, one of the original first-person shooter games, players infiltrate the Third Reich to battle horrific super-soldiers, zombies and mutants forged in the unearthly experiments of Heinrich Himmler. One component of the launch campaign includes the bundling of more than 1 million promotional interactive CD-ROMs with the December issue of MAXIM.

Corus Entertainment's Nelvana has acquired all proprietary rights to BABAR. Laurent de Brunhoff, son of BABAR creator Jean de Brunhoff, made the deal through The Clifford Ross Company on behalf of the de Brunhoff family. The Nelvana acquisition includes 100 percent of all trademarks and copyrights to the BABAR property, as well as the de Brunhoff family's financial interests in the brand. The de Brunhoff family has reserved certain publishing rights, which will allow Laurent de Brunhoff to continue publishing his own BABAR books.

With the U.S.s baseball World Series over, Fox is ready to premiere the new seasons of its animated series. Look for the season premiere of THE FAMILY GUY on Thursday, November 8th at 8:00 pm, followed by the series premiere of THE TICK, a live-action sitcom based on Ben Edlund's cult comic book. Then on Sunday, November 11th beginning at 7:30 pm KING OF THE HILL kicks off its sixth season followed by the season premiere of Emmy-award winner THE SIMPSONS.

Activision, Inc. has discontinued its previously announced public offering of common stock due to current market conditions. The company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission an application for the withdrawal of its registration statement covering the 6 million shares of its common stock that were to be issued in the proposed public offering. The company has also discontinued any further marketing efforts in connection with the offering. However, the companys Board of Directors has approved a three-for-two split of its outstanding common shares.

Cartoon Network Latin America has secured television rights to CORRECTOR YUI, STATIC SHOCK, X-MEN EVOLUTION, ANGELINA BALLERINA and POPOLOCROIS to premiere on the channel in December 2001. In addition, the network will be premiering the fourth season of POKEMON beginning in January 2002 and launches the original series, TIME SQUAD in February 2002. Speaking of TIME SQUAD, TV GUIDE recently voted it one of the ten best new shows for kids in the U.S. FAIRLY ODDPARENTS and JUSTICE LEAGUE made the top ten as well.

Here are some additional DVD releases coming in late November:

November 27

WILLOW

The London Effects & Animation Festival (LEAF) in London, England Tuesday, November 13 - Thursday, November 15, 2001 is hosting a special Web Forum on Thursday afternoon, November 15 2001, from 2 pm to 5 pm, which will be chaired by AWN's Dan Sarto. Featured sessions will look at the technological developments driving animation work, the tools available for Web-based work and a panel discussion on the future of animation on the Internet. Representatives from Toon Boom, MediaPEGS and Pepper's Ghost will be participating.

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include: Japanese Animation: Anime And Its Influences: Wednesday, November 14, 2001, Los Angeles, California USA and eDIT 2001: Sunday, November 11 - Tuesday, November 13, 2001, Frankfurt am Main, Hessen Germany.

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:

- Speaking For Zimself: A Conversation With Jhonen Vasquez Martin"Dr. Toon" Goodman invades the mind of Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim, to discuss Zim, Jhonen's ideas and inspirations, and the ups and downs of producing his first animated series.