William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, creators of some of television's most memorable cartoon characters and animated series, will have a wall sculpture of them dedicated during a ceremony at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame Plaza in North Hollywood on at 11:00 am on March 16, 2005.
Seth McFarlanes Emmy Award-winning animated comedy series FAMILY GUY celebrates its historic return to primetime network television with the U.S. premiere of the unprecedented live stage event, FAMILY GUY LIVE!, starring the cast of the series. The show features a live reading of a classic episode, a live performance from the eagerly anticipated FAMILY GUY LIVE IN VEGAS comedy album, a sneak peek at the new FAMILY GUY episode and a Q & A with the cast/creators of the series.
Bryan Cranston, star of the FOX series MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, will emcee the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundations 26th Annual College Television Awards at 7:00 pm on March 13, 2005, at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. The winning entries will be showcased at the annual College Television Awards Festival, hosted by Martin Bruestle, producer, THE SOPRANOS, on Monday, March 14 at 7:00 pm at the Television Academys Leonard H. Goldenson Theatre, which is open to the public.
Daniel Taylor has been appointed president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., following completion of the sale of MGM to the consortium now acquiring the film/TV studio and its library. The investor group consists of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, DLJ Merchant Banking, Sony Corp. of America and Comcast Corp.
Albie Hecht, president of Spike TV, announced his resignation today (Jan. 31, 2005) due to creative differences.
Disney/Pixars THE INCREDIBLES soared to victory for Best Animated Feature as well as taking the nine other categories it was nominated in, including three personal achievements trophies to Brad Bird for Writing, Directing and Voice Acting for the 2004 Annie Awards, held Jan. 30, 2005, at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, California. The Nickelodeon series, SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS, won the top TV category, Best Animated Television Production at ASIFA-Hollywoods formal fete.
A precursor for where television is going, on the first day of NATPE, DIC Entertainment and SmartVideo Technologies Inc. announced they are joining forces to create DIC Kids Network, the worlds first animation channel for cell phones.
Corus Entertainment is shuffling around its television division, as Peter Moss, evp of programming takes on the role of creative consultant; Joanna Webb becomes vp, programming, W Network; and Phil Piazza joins Corus as vp, programming, childrens television.
Moss will now help guide Corus original productions and advise the senior programming team on scheduling and buying strategies, while he spends more time on directing and producing.
BFC Berliner Film Companie has partnered with Brooksfilms and MGM Domestic Television Distribution, a unit of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. to create an hour-long pilot and 13x30 animated television series based on the classic Mel Brooks 1987 feature, SPACEBALLS.
Brooks and Thomas Meehan, authors of the original screenplay, will write the pilot and supervise writing on the rest of the series. Brooks will provide the voice of two main characters, President Scroob and Yogurt.
David Hulbert, former president, Walt Disney Television International, will be leaving the company in the wake of the Disney-ABC Television Group reorganization its television businesses in the European, Middle Eastern and African territories, promoting of two key executives to oversee this new organizational structure.
John Hardie, former svp/md, branded television, EMEA moves up to evp/md, Branded Television, EMEA while Tom Toumazis, former svp/md, Buena Vista International Television, EMEA advance to evp/md, Buena Vista International Television, EMEA.
Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television handed out its Gemini awards for television on Dec. 13, 2004. DOODLEZ took home the Best Animated Series prize. Producer Gretha Rose was present the award,
American Film Institute's annual AFI Awards has named THE INCREDIBLES and SPIDER-MAN 2 amongst its top 10 films of the year and SOUTH PARK one of its top 10 TV shows. Other films in the top 10 included: THE AVIATOR, COLLATERAL, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, KINSEY, MARIA FULL OF GRACE, MILLION DOLLAR BABY and SIDEWAYS, which will be honored during a ceremony in Beverly Hills on Jan. 14, 2005.
In order to increase its network and cable programming portfolio, The Jim Henson Co. has hired Eric Poticha as vp of Television and Halle Stanford as head of children's television. Poticha will develop new comedy and drama series, miniseries and features for television as well as develop future Muppet projects to be produced by Henson for The Walt Disney Co. Stanford will lead development and production of all preschool and children's programming for both television and direct-to-video projects in animated and live-action formats.
The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) unveiled the agenda for its 2005 Conference & Exhibition, scheduled to take place Jan, 25-27, 2004, in its new location at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.
The 9th annual Asian Television Awards has announced its nominees. The 34 awards will be dolled out on Dec. 2, 2004, in Singapore. The Best Animation nods went to GOKUSEN from Nippon Television Network (Japan); JOURNEY TO THE WEST from Eastern Broadcasting and YOYO TV (Taiwan); LEGENDS OF THE RING OF FIREWHY THE SUN CHASES THE MOON from Walt Disney Television (Singapore); and THENALI RAMAN from MediaCorp TV 12 and Vasantham Central (Singapore).
Janet Eng joins Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) as sales director, Asia. Based at SPTI's offices in Singapore, Eng will provide a number of markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines, with a closer, more systematic presence. She will also pursue the sourcing of local content, and will maximize the licensing of formats and support the development of production arrangements in those markets.
Danny Goldman has been promoted to the created position of vp/gm London Sales for Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI). Goldman assumes direct management of the team of London-based international sales executives and the oversight of Northern and Central/Eastern European sales territories, as well as Africa and the Middle East.
His portfolio already includes sales distribution of SPTI product throughout the U.K. and Ireland. He continues to be based at SPTI's European headquarters in London.
The Disney-ABC Television Group has instituted a new communications structure by promoting two key execs Sue Binford, who will now oversee all corporate communications and Kevin Brockman, who will now oversee all entertainment communications.
Former Paramount TV exec Robert Friedman has joined Spike TV as svp, programming, and will be responsible for all program planning, strategic acquisitions, media initiatives and original series launch projects for Spike TV.
TripleTake Media has optioned the screenplay PEN DRAGON from first-time screenwriter Christopher Canole for film, television and comic book/graphic novel publishing. PEN DRAGON is the story of Leo, a teenager who obtains Leonardo Da Vinci's actual drawing set from an old illustrator by the name of Merle Lin that brings to real life anything that the pens draw.
Hema Govindan has been appointed head of marketing & communications for Walt Disney Television International (India), a division of The Walt Disney Company (India) Pvt. Ltd. in Mumbai. She will be responsible for putting in place an integrated marketing communications strategy and driving key research initiatives for Disneys television business in India, including its proposed pay TV channel operations as well as Disney branded programming blocks on mass entertainment channels.
TUN (The U Network), a new national cable network catering toward university students will begin broadcasting eigoMANGAs television program, ANIME MIX on its network starting Sept. 6, 2004.
Look out PBS, Nick Jr. and Playhouse Disney, Cartoon Network and the Warner Bros. Television Group are putting together a new weekday morning franchise of original and acquired television targeted for preschoolers to premiere on Cartoon Network in spring 2005. The unnamed joint venture between WB and CN will mark both companies' first major production foray into the preschool market.
The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) will hold its second annual "Television Producers' Boot Camp -- Workshops & Pitch Pit." The "Boot Camp" will serve as a full run-through of the television development and production process, providing attendees with a unique view into industry trends through a series of workshops, demonstrations and networking events. The event also will allow attendees to formally pitch their program ideas to development executives from major talent agencies, networks, as well as production and distribution companies.
Pauline Bohm joins NBC Universal Television Distribution in the newly created post of vp, international marketing. Bohm will work closely with Dan Weiss, evp, marketing, to whom she report, developing marketing strategies for international markets serviced by NBC Universal International TV Dist., which includes a client-base in more than 200 countries.
