BERNARD STOLAR was named president of MATTEL INTERACTIVE, the division that
includes The Learning Company and other software and high-tech products.
Stolar joins Mattel from Sega where he helped engineer the launch of the
Sega Dreamcast video game console in the United States. At Mattel, he will
try to mend the ailing Learning Company division, whose unexpected $105
million loss in the third quarter shocked investors and diminished Mattel's
* Thursday, February 10, 2000. Westwood, California, U.S.A.
The Women In Animation Writers' Group will meet at Saban Entertainment at
7:30 pm. This month's topic is the animation premise and general animation
structure. The charge for the workshop is US$5. RSVP required. For more
information please contact Jean Ann Wright at: Tel.: (818) 360-8321 or
E-mail: jjwright@gte.net.
* Saturday, January 29 - Sunday, January 30, 2000. Ontario, Canada.
Cinematheque Ontario will present a series of screening of
animator/filmmaker Stan Brakhage's work. Since 1952, Brakhage has
experimented with manipulating celluloid by directly scratching,
hand-painting, etching and collage on its surface. What makes these works
so exquisite is the precision with which they are made. Brakhage's abstract
films are rewarding viewing for anyone interested in cameraless filmmaking
* Saturday, February 5, 2000. Ontario, Canada.
Cinematheque Ontario presents a screening of Canadian animator Norman
McLaren's work. McLaren was one of the most prolific and inventive figures
in abstract cinema and experimental animation. McLaren's greatest abstract
films from five decades of work will be shown like: BEGONE DULL CARE,
SPHERES, BLINKITY BLANK and SYNCHROMY. The event will be held in the Art
Gallery of Ontario's Jackman Hall at 2 pm. Jackman Hall Box Office opens 30
* Sunday, February 6, 2000. Ontario, Canada.
Cinematheque Ontario will present "Round-Up: Recent International Gems"
featuring animation and experimental films. The screening will include
British Columbia-based animator Richard Reeves' LINEAR DREAMS. Other works
on the programme explore different areas of abstraction outside the realm
of animation. Jackman Hall Box Office opens 30 minutes prior to the first
screening of the day. All screenings restricted to individuals 18 years of
* Tuesday, February 8, 2000. Glendale, CA, U.S.A.
Women in Animation, ASIFA-Hollywood and Glendale Community College proudly
present the Fourth Annual Lecture Series "Careers in Animation." This
year's presenter will be Frank Gladstone, head of Artistic Development at
DreamWorks SKG Animation. Gladstone has been a professional animator,
producer, director, writer and teacher for more than twenty-five years.
Between 1973 and 1989, he managed his own award-winning studio, Persistence
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology in Canada has become the
first institution to bring ORAD video technology into the classroom.
Originally designed for the Israeli military's virtual reality training,
ORAD places real-time people into a virtual set. The ORAD system removes
the bluescreen behind a person and replaces it with a computer-generated
environment. Located at the Seneca York campus, students in the television
broadcasting, 3D arts and advertising programs will have the opportunity to
CLAIRE ROBINSON has been named senior vice president, intellectual property
law, for THE WALT DISNEY CO. Robinson will oversee Disney's intellectual
property group, which is responsible for intellectual property matters for
the company and its subsidiaries worldwide. Previously, Robinson held the
position of vice president in the same department. Before joining Disney in
1989, she was with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington,
ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Expo 2000 will be held at the Glendale Civic
Auditorium in Glendale, California, USA on March 3 and 4, 2000. This 7th
annual animation trade and technology show focuses on the recruitment of
animation related talent and personnel, demonstrations of computer
technology, animation related products and services, and the sale of
animation art and collectibles. In addition, the Animation Expo offers
industry seminars and workshops, digital tutorials, and a showcase of
Three new Scandinavian markets surrendered their airwaves to Pokemania.
Worldwide sensation Pokemon was recently sold to TV4 in Sweden, TV2 in
Denmark and TV2 in Norway. The show will hit the new territories in January
and February 2000. The international distributor, Lacey Entertainment, also
announced the sale of the Pikachu-vehicle to ATV in Turkey and Noga
Communications' Children's Channel in Israel.
The Pokemon phenomenon began in America in 1998 with the release of the
NEW! * Friday, February 25, 2000 - Thursday, March 2, 2000. Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.
CARTOON NOIR comes to LA. This multi-technique film is a feature-length
compilation of animated shorts from American and European artists. Featured
in CARTOON NOIR are: APE, Julie Zammarchi's darkly comic critique of
monogamy, meat eating and the daily pattern of human brutality; ALTAIR,
Lewis Klahr's collagist elegy on New York nightlife; CLUB OF THE DISCARDED,
* Wednesday, January 26, 2000. Toronto, Canada.
TAIS, the Toronto Animated Image Society, will present "Creating Appealing
Cartoon Characters" with Peter Emslie. In the evening's presentation, the
long-time Disney animator will explain his personal theory on what makes
for good cartoon character design, by referring to videotape and sketching
on the spot to illustrate various points. Since 1979, Emslie has spent much
of his time drawing for the Walt Disney Company. On staff for 10 years and
Toronto-based RED ROVER's directors Andy and Linzi Knight created the
"subliminal" message for the Molson Export "Subliminal" spot. The 30-second
spot slyly transforms the bubbles in a glass of beer into the image of
three go-go girls dancing to "And the Beat Goes On." The spot was produced
for McClaren McCann of Toronto. Linzi Knight said, "This is the kind of
commercial people look forward to seeing because they're always looking to
see if they notice anything else going. That kind of viewer attention is
AWN is pleased to welcome ASIFA-Canada to the AWN family.
ASIFA (International Animated Film Association) was
founded in 1957 in France by a group of professional
animators to promote the art of animation. Today, there are
ASIFA chapters in nearly thirty countries worldwide, but
Canada was one of the first countries to form its own
national chapter, ASIFA-Canada. Through its publications and
activities, the organization seeks to foster communication
Bill Plympton has updated his
page. This month, "Surprise Cinema" will be appearing in
various festivals and other events in the US, Canada, France,
Belgium and Germany. Bill will be appearing at the Comics Festival
in Angouleme, France, January 26-31, and at the Zagreb World
Festival of Animated Films in Zagreb, Croatia, June 12-25, 2000.
Several animation studios in Santiago, Chile, including Arce Studios, EMU
Ltd., ROOS Film S.A., and Trimedia S.A. have formed a partnership to
promote the animation business in Santiago. The partners are looking for
co-producers and/or investors for their products. Alvaro Arce, President of
Arce Studios, worked in the animation industry in the United States for
many years at Hanna-Barbera, The Walt Disney Company, and others. Alvaro
has several original series currently in development. Arce Studios is now
* Friday, January 28, 2000. Los Angeles, California, USA.
Art In Motion focuses on innovative content and diversity. The criteria for
entry is time rather than medium based, and therefore video, film and
digital projects, animations, Websites, CD-Roms etc. are all eligible.
Hybrids are particularly welcome. There will be a $1000 "Best of Show"
award and "first place" allocations in each exhibition category. For more
information contact Jim Keller or Janet Owen, festival organizers at:
* Thursday, February 10, 2000. Chicago, Illinois, USA.
The 29th Mobius Advertising Awards is a yearly event recognizing
outstanding television and radio commercials, as well as print advertising
and package designs. The competition is open to television commercials and
campaigns which have been produced, screened or aired in the past 12
months. The animation-related categories include: Animation-Computer,
Animation-Non-Computer, and Animation-Computer & Non-Computer. For more
On Wednesday, January 12, 2000, Walt Disney's legendary animator Marc Davis
passed away at Glendale Memorial Hospital shortly following a stroke. He
was 86 years old. Davis was a member of Disney's inner circle known as the
"nine old men." During his 43-year tenure at the studio, Davis brought to
life such classic characters as Bambi, Cinderella, Alice, Briar Rose,
Maleficent and Cruella DeVil. In addition to creating many of Disney's
female characters, he served as a key player in the development of many of
* Friday, January 14 - Sunday, January 16, 2000. Boulder, Colorado, USA.
The Moondance International Film Festival's objective is to promote and
encourage women screenwriters and women who make independent films, in any
genre, including animation. There will be one winner in each category:
Filmmaker, Screenwriter, or Documentary Filmmaker. Awards: $2000 for best
original screenplay, $2000 for best independent film, and $1000 for best
documentary film. There will be 2 semi-finalists in each category. All
London-based Link Entertainment Television has sold the rights to
TEDDYBEARS to U.S.-based Trio Channel, a new satellite channel broadcast on
Direct TV and TCI Hits. Trio's 26 episode purchase comes on the heals of
another recent deal for Link with Canada's SCN for all 52 episodes of the
lovable bears television adventures.
On December 2, 1999, USA Networks' Live Telecast of IMPROV-ICE, debuted
graphics done by Pinnacle Systems' Rocket for FXDeko. Rocket for FXDeko is
a template-based tool that allows the generation of real-time 3D elements
which can be automatically updated by live data streams. Rocket integrates
with Pinnacle's award-winning FXDeko character generators and adds further
dimension to live broadcasts including textured, reflective and transparent
* Tuesday, January 25, 2000. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Canadian Drawn, a screening of animation from the Canadian Film Board, will
be presented at 7:30 pm. The event highlighting the amazing work of the
Film Board will be held at Macquariam, 1800 Peachtree St. NW. This
screening is sponsored by ASIFA-Atlanta, a social organization for people
interested and professionally involved in animation. For information
contact Joni Strandquest at (770) 457-3455.
New York-based EYEBALL created 10 second ID tags for seven USA Network
shows including: BAYWATCH, LA FEMME NIKITA, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS and LAW
AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT. A circular frame opens around footage from
the USA program as the tag line "You Are Here" appears amidst flag stripes
and flashes. Brighter colors were used for the more light-hearted shows,
while a grittier mood was created for the more serious dramas. Daniel Fries
was the Creative Director at Eyeball.
Popeye the Sailor makes his newest appearance in the Toronto-based
TOPIX/MAD DOG, Chuck Gammage Animation and Generator Film produced spot for
Campbell's Soup. The 30 second spot for new Chunky Prime Rib features
integrated 3D animation, live-action and cel animation. Our hero Popeye
opts for a can of Chunky soup over his standard spinach to save the lovely
Olive Oyl. The spot was produced for Toronto-based ad agency Young &
Rubicam. TOPIX/Mad Dog producer Anne Deslauriers oversaw the 3D animation
