Tagged With: Production

Madrid production house Filmax has formed a new animation arm entitled Filmax Animacion. The new arm will have three divisions: production services, production and distribution. Filmax plans to integrate its animation studio Bren Entertainment into this new venture. In October 2000, Filmax gained animation production-distribution house PPM Multimedia's Francisco "Paco" Rodriguez to head Bren. Rodriguez formed PPM Multimedia in 1990 and quickly transformed the small company into a major force in the Spanish market.

WireBreak Entertainment has restructured its business model to fight going under. As a result, the company has laid off most of its staff except for a few key executives. Started in October 1988, the company quickly moved from being a Web destination site to an online producer and syndicator. Now the firm is moving away from Web content and focusing on interactive television, television and film. Current projects will be outsourced to other production houses.

PDI/DreamWorks (formerly PDI), the animation and visual effects arm of DreamWorks SKG, has named Teresa Cheng as head of production. Cheng will oversee all of the global production efforts for PDI/DreamWorks. Previously, she has served as production manager for the DreamWorks animated feature film, SPIRIT, currently in production. Prior to DreamWorks, Cheng served as visual effects producer for Warner Bros.' BATMAN AND ROBIN.

Montreal television producer TVA International has decided to decrease its production of primetime TV content and focus on animation and international distribution. As part of the move, the company cut 20 jobs and its head of longform production, Jacques Methe, resigned. The company said it would continue to distribute primetime productions worldwide, but would stop producing them. In addition, TVA Intl. announced its has signed a three-year pact with Studio Canal + to distribute the French production house's films in Canada. The deal is said to be worth several million dollars. TVA Intl.

PBS will air a 90-minute documentary on the life and work of Chuck Jones entitled CHUCK JONES: EXTREMES AND IN-BETWEENS, A LIFE IN ANIMATION. Scheduled to air Wednesday, November 22nd at 8 pm, the special includes animated clips, archival footage and new interviews with Jones and a range of celebrity experts including Steven Spielberg, John Lassiter, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, Ken Burns, Joe Dante, Roger Ebert, Stan Freberg, Ron Howard, Leonard Maltin, Lorne Michaels and Andre Previn. The film is a co-production of CAMI Spectrum, RM Associates and Thirteen/WNET New York.

* Friday, November 3 Sunday, November 5, 2000. Mandaluyong City, Philippines.

Red Sky, an interactive solutions provider, announced the acquisition of Olive Jar Studios, a Boston and Los Angeles-based animation and film production studio, and White Noise Productions, a Los Angeles-based full service multimedia firm. "A concept we believe strongly in is 'applied entertainment,' which means that our solutions transcend mere functionality and bring emotion to interactive experiences delivered across all media, from narrow to broadband platforms and devices," said Bill Bingham, chairman and CEO of Red Sky.

AlwaysI.com, an independent content destination Website, has signed a production, development and distribution deal with comic book production company Platinum Studios. As part of the pact, Platinum will have a first look option on all of AlwaysIs independent content for development into feature or TV properties, as well as licensing and merchandising. Platinum has a production deal with Miramax/Dimension Films and owns a portfolio of over 1,000 comic book characters.