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Fresh off the record-breaking success of the effects-heavy feature film SPIDER-MAN, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment (SPDE) has announced they will form an all CG feature animation division, to be headed by former DreamWorks executives Sandra Rabins and Penney Finkelman Cox. Rabins and Cox will be responsible for the development and production of all-CG animated features and will report to SPDE president Yair Landau.

Production company Super 78 has hired Lisa OBrien as the companys director of marketing. Formerly an executive producer at Rhythm & Hues, O'Brien honed her experience on commercials for Sunbeam, Matchlight, Kellogg's Pop-Tarts and Lexus. She began her producing career at Digital Productions then joined Rhythm & Hues in 1987 as a line producer, becoming executive producer for the studio's CGI television commercial division in 1990, where she worked until 1996.

DigiCel, Inc. has released the latest version of its 2D animation software, FlipBook version 3.1. This newest version adds curved path, multi-plane camera moves and xsheet printing to the features that are part of version 3.0, released in February 2002. Version 3 features include more speed, master color palettes, color models and copy and paste between scenes. Version 3.1 is available as a free upgrade to all customers currently using version 3. For more information visit the DigiCel Website at www.digicelinc.com.

Bionatics is now offering its 3D plant simulation and animation natFX1.1 plug-in for Maya at 30 percent off its retail market price. Bionatics with Alias|Wavefront is running this limited time offer until June 30, 2002 for new and existing customers. natFX tightly integrates into Maya enabling users to animate every aspect of the plant, while the plug-in's level of detail reduce polygon count while maintaining a richly textured plant.

Grossing a whopping $114.8M in its debut weekend, Sony Pictures' action- adventure SPIDER-MAN, with visual effects by Sony Imageworks, dominated the box office this weekend, setting all kinds of records along the way. Along with becoming the highest grossing debut in motion picture history, (besting previous record holder HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE, which debuted with $90.3M in November 2001), the film also had the best single day gross (Saturday, May 4, 2002: $43.6M vs. HARRY POTTER's $33.5M) and became the fastest film to cross $100M, reaching that milestone in just three days.

Distribution outfit peppermint has struck a first-time deal with Columbia Tri-Star International Television (CTIT) and BBC Choice for the new adult animation series PETEY & JAYDEE GO EXPLORING. The series of 52 x 45-second vignettes follow the adventures of two quirky aliens as they take viewers on an irreverent joyride. CTIT plans to air the series on Japan's all-anime cable-satellite channel Animax. They also acquired all television, merchandising and broadband distribution rights for Sony Entertainment Television (SET) in Latin America.

Magnet Media's latest training title in its Digital Media Training Series (DMTS), INSIDE FLASH MX PRODUCTION ESSENTIALS, is now available in both its Limited and Complete Versions on CD-ROM format. The 40-minute Limited Version CD-ROM is available free through the company's Website. The 3-hour Complete Version, also available from the Website, instructs viewers on the essential topics that need to be mastered in order to get up and running quickly with Macromedia Flash.

New York, New York's 3D Form is looking for a 3D STUDIO MAX POLYGON MODELER TUTOR . . . Rome, Italy's Animantis is looking for a 3D MAYA/LIGHTWAVE MODELER/ANIMATOR . . . Armada TMT is looking for a HEAD OF PRODUCTION . . . Blaze Paint Digital Ltd. is looking for an AGENT . . . Sunnyvale, California's Clay Pixel Studios is looking for a MARKETING RESEARCH TRACK LEAD and a VENTURE CAPITAL SPECIALIST . . . Salt Lake City, Utah's Division of Film Studies is looking for a VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ANIMATION . . . DreamerLand is looking for an AGENT . . .

This week's updates to the Calendar of Events include:AMPAS Presents A Visual Effects Seminar: Tuesday, April 30 - Tuesday, May 21, 2002, Beverly Hills, California USA . . . AISC and Johan Klingler (Chair of the Animation Dept.) present the 2002 Animation Graduates: Wednesday, May 01 - Saturday, May 18, 2002, Laguna Beach, California USA . . . The Kids First! Film Festival: Saturday, May 04, 2002, Hollywood, California . . . Free Screening: La Rampa: Friday, May 10, 2002, San Francisco, California USA.

MTV alum's Nick Litwinko and Peter Reichert have formed Rogue Creative, a commercial production company with interests in creative content development and documentaries. Rogue maintains offices in New York, Los Angeles and Seattle with a roster that includes many former MTV Animation creatives. Executive producer Nick Litwinko, based in New York, helped launch MTV Commercials in 1999, after almost a decade of work on various MTV series including BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD, AEON FLUX and CARTOON SUSHI.