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Category: People

Television Headline News

Susanne Daniels New President, Entertainment, Lifetime Entertainment Services

Former The WB programming chief Susanne Daniels joins Lifetime Entertainment Services as president, entertainment, on Sept. 12, 2005, and will be based in Los Angeles. Daniels will be responsible for all programming on Lifetime Television and Lifetime Movie Network, the two highest-rated women's networks, as well as Lifetime Real Women.

She joins and reports to Betty Cohen, president/ceo, Lifetime Entertainment Services, who previously was founder/president of Cartoon Network Worldwide, part of Time Warner along with The WB.

Headline News

Sid Ganis Elected Motion Picture Academy President

Sid Ganis was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Aug. 23, 2005, by the organization's board of governors. He succeeds Frank Pierson, who had served the maximum four consecutive one-year terms in the office.

Ganis, beginning his 19th year as a governor representing the public relations branch, has served as first vp of the Academy for the past two years.

Headline News

Carol Laumen To Oversee DIC Retail Initiatives

Marketing veteran Carol Laumen joins DIC Entertaiment Inc. as vp, retail development to serve as the companys retail expert and liaison between the licensees and retailers. Laumen will be responsible for building relationships with the retailers and developing support for DICs brand properties, including Trollz, Classic Trolls, Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Shortcake Baby.

Animated Headline News

Amelia Bedford to Manage BKN Brands in U.K.

Amelia Bedford joins BKN International A.G. as brand manager for the U.K. responsible for licensing in the U.K. across the range of BKN's brands, including LEGEND OF THE DRAGON, KONG - THE ANIMATED SERIES and KONG: KING OF ATLANTIS. She joins the New Media team and will help coordinate and implement marketing and promotional activity.

Bedford was senior brand manager at HIT Ent., working on renowned brands Angelina Ballerina and Barney. Prior to that she worked at Jetix Consumer Products as U.K. licensing manager.

Nickelodeon Headline News

Nina Hahn to Head Int’l Development for Nickelodeon

Nina Hahn joins MTV Networks in the newly created position of vp, international development, Nickelodeon. Based in London, Hahn will develop relationships and partnerships for international kid-focused creative ideas and talent for development and placement on Nickelodeons channels around the world. She is also charged to ensure that Nickelodeons channels outside the U.S. are more closely connected to the production of key Nick series in the U.S.

Artists Headline News

eyeon Expands European Office

eyeon Software, which introduced Fusion 5, the latest in its flagship compositing software at SIGGRAPH 2005 (shipping Aug. 31), has expanded its European office, appointing Rüdiger Knoblach to director of operations for eyeon Europe, while London-based Tim Doidge has been promoted to director of sales.

The European visual effects community dominates the sales of DFX+, one of eyeons signature broadcast products, allowing the expansion to take place before the release of Fusion 5.

Headline News

Kelly Flock To Drive THQ Global Product Strategy, Sales, Marketing

Kelly Flock is joining THQ Inc. in the newly created position of evp of worldwide publishing, overseeing product strategy, marketing and sales.

Flock has more than two decades of publishing, sales, marketing and licensing experience in the videogame industry, having served as president/ceo of Sony Online Ent., president of 989 Studios and president of Sony Interactive Studios America. Flock also was gm of LucasArts Ent. Co. where he managed the game division of Lucasfilm Ltd.

Animation Headline News

Curious Pictures Expands VFX Department

Curious Pictures visual effects department in New York has selected seven new computer graphics and vfx specialists for Curious ever-growing slate of branded entertainment projects. The new talent roster includes animators Seth Lippman of PDI/DreamWorks, Weta Digital and Sony Pictures Imageworks, who worked on SHREK 2, THE LORD OF THE RINGS and ANTZ, and Dr. John Alex, a former software engineer and technical director for Pixar, who led animation teams for TOY STORY 2, MONSTERS, INC. and FINDING NEMO, and wrote software applications for THE INCREDIBLES.

Headline News

Jim Riche Joins Nice Shoes Family

Award-winning exec producer, visual effects supervisor and director Jim Riche has joined the Nice Shoes Family, consisting of Nice Shoes, Guava and Freestyle Collective, acting as head of production for both Nice Shoes and Guava. Riche will oversee the companies production staffs, work to foster collaboration between the two studios and capitalize on the natural synergies that exist between their services and artistic staffs. Riche will also serve as a visual effects supervisor for special projects on a bicoastal basis.

Post Headline News

Post Logic Expands Colorist Talent Roster

Leading post-production boutique Post Logic Studios has added to its talent roster by hiring senior colorists Mike Cosola and Eric Alvarado for its Hollywood and New York digital studios, respectively. The additions come at a time when Post Logic is poised to implement a significant capital expansion of equipment and digital intermediate services.

Production Headline News

Rhythm + Hues Commercial Hires New Production Head & Director

Rhythm + Hues Commercial Studios has gained two new additions to its staff including director Mark Dippé and Lisa White, who is the new head of production, commercial digital.

Dippé joined George Lucas Industrial Light & Magic in 1988 and was a major part of the digital filmmaking group there. His work in photorealistic computer generated characters includes THE ABYSS, the liquid metal T-1000 in TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY. He also had a principal role in creating the first living digital creatures in JURASSIC PARK.

Studios Headline News

Platinum Studios Snags Brian Altounian For COO

Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls the world's largest independent library of comicbook characters, has appointed Brian Altounian Platinum Studios as coo. Altounian brings with him more than 17years of experience in the entertainment and high-tech industry, having overseen operations of the west coast offices of National Geographic Television and Time Warner Interactive.

Headline News

Rob Moore New President at Paramount Pictures

Rob Moore joins Paramount Pictures as president, worldwide marketing, distribution and operations, responsible for domestic and international marketing and distribution, administration, legal and business affairs, and backlot operations.

Moore comes to Paramount from Joe Roth's Revolution Studios, where he served as Roth's partner overseeing the film and media production company for the past five years. Prior to Revolution, Moore served at the Walt Disney Studio for 13 years, most recently as evp of operations and finance.

Animation Headline News

IDT Names President of Feature Films & TV & CCO, Animated Features

IDT Ent. has announced two key executive appointments. Neil S. Braun, currently president/coo of Vanguard Animation and former president of the NBC Television Network, chairman/ceo of Viacom Ent. and president/coo of Imagine Films Ent., has been named president of feature films and television. Veteran animation producer and creative affairs exec Jerry Davis, whose credits include ROBOTS, ICE AGE, IRON GIANT and TOY STORY, has been named cco, animated features.

Universal Headline News

Jon Gordon Named President of Production for Universal Pictures

Veteran production exec Jon Gordon has been named president of production, Universal Pictures, joining recently named president of production Donna Langley. The two execs will work in tandem, overseeing the development and production of the studios motion pictures. Langley and Gordon will both report directly to Stacey Snider, chairman Universal Pictures. Gordon, who is currently co-president of production at Miramax Films, will start with Universal in October.

Headline News

Lucasfilm Names Joshua Katz VP of Marketing

Joshua Katz, an entertainment-industry vet, who has led the successful launch and marketing efforts behind Cartoon Network and VH1, has been named vp of marketing for Lucasfilm Ltd.

Katz will lead the global marketing initiatives for all upcoming television and feature film projects from Lucasfilm Ltd. and also guide the company's corporate-branding projects, and will report to Jim Ward, svp of Lucasfilm.

Mobile Headline News

Billy Wright to Head Mobile Activities for Warner Bros. Online

Billy Wright has been named vp, worldwide wireless, Warner Bros. Online. Reporting directly to Jim Noonan, svp/gm, Warner Bros. Online, Wright will lead the company's Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) strategic mobile teams as they develop, produce, publish and market content, including wallpapers, video and games based on the studio's world-renowned brands. The group also works to develop promotional mobile content that raises awareness for upcoming studio projects. Currently based in London, Wright will relocate to Glendale, California, in the fall.

Studio Headline News

FlickerLab Expands with New Partner

FlickerLab founder, Harold Moss, and independent producer Tammy Walters, have formalized their long-term association, as Walters becomes a partner in his fast-growing animation studio. Moss and Walters first met at Curious Pictures, where Walters was head of the companys digital division.

Animation Headline News

IDT Ent. Names Nick Foster CTO & Robert Taylor Animation Finance VP

Nick Foster was formerly head of Global FX at DreamWorks Animation, will take over as cto at IDT Ent., effective Aug. 15, 2005, with responsibility for unifying the technology and staff of the FX departments at the Los Angeles and Bay Area production studios. Robert Taylor has joined IDT Ent. as vp, animation finance, to oversee all production finance matters related to the animated slate.

Digital Headline News

Mark Spatny Named Supervising Producer at Stargate Digital

Mark Spatny has been appointed supervising producer at Stargate Digital to manage the producers and coordinators at Stargates Los Angeles facility, and help coordinate schedules and staffing company-wide. He will also continue to work on select projects as a visual effects supervisor.

Spatnys recent work for Stargate includes supervising the effects for the pilots THE BOOK OF DANIEL and AMY COYNE, and producing for the FOX feature IDIOCRACY. He is also working with Indian director Anubhav Sinha on visual effects for the Bollywood film DUS.

Headline News

Lasseter & Barron Among 5 New Governors Elected to AMPAS Board

Animator John Lasseter and VFX Artist Craig Barron are among five new governors, three of them serving for the first time, who have been elected to represent their branches on the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Nine incumbent governors were reelected.

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