Former Disney, DreamWorks and FOX TV exec David L. Simon joins the Noodlesoup Productions Inc., board of directors to held guide the privately held, full-service animation studio based in New York City.
Fox Filmed Ent. upped Peter Levinsohn to president, Digital Media and Worldwide Pay Television. In this new role, Levinsohn will be responsible for managing digital media strategy for Fox, including leading the effort to establish robust content protection measures in the digital media marketplace; identifying content distribution opportunities; pursuing long-term strategic initiatives with major technology players; and developing opportunities to maximize the value of film and television product in emerging digital platforms. In this capacity he will work closely with the Fox Ent.
The Banff Television Festival is Canada's premier international event for program makers and content creators in television and new media. Hundreds of television professionals from around the world will take part in this annual event, which celebrates excellence in international television programming and explores the issues, challenges, creative and business opportunities in the industry.
The Southwest Arts, Film & Television Convention is the Southwest region
NBC Universal, recently formed through the combination of NBC and Vivendi Universal Ent. puts Bob Wright at the top of the organizational structure as chairman/ceo, while retaining his position of vice chairman/exec officer of General Electric, NBC Universal's parent company.
TOKYOPOP Inc., one the leading U.S. publishers of Japanese-inspired graphic novels has enlisted former Craven-Maddalena president of production René M. García as vp, film & television. This move is a natural progression for the company as it plans to produce and package the fresh narrative energy of manga for Hollywood. García, along with exec director of development Steve Galloway, will help lead that charge.
Doug Miller has been appointed evp/md of Walt Disney International (Asia-Pacific), as well as svp/md of Walt Disney Television International (Asia Pacific), overseeing all Disney television activities in the region. Miller will continue to lead television development for the company in Asia and is based in Hong Kong.
Longtime senior television exec Ed Wilson, who recently left his position as president of NBC Enterprises, has joined the FOX Broadcasting Co. as president of the FOX Television Network. Wilson will be responsible for supervising all affiliate relations, advertising sales, legal, broadcast standards and Fox Ent. Group (FEG) integrated marketing operations for the network. He will also work closely with FEG on business development opportunities for the network.
The Walt Disney Co. has made some sweeping changes this week in the top executive ranks at the ABC network. Anne Sweeney and George Bodenheimer have been named co-chairs of Disney's Media Networks unit. Sweeney will be adding the ABC Television Network, which includes ABC Entertainment, ABC Daytime, ABC News and Touchstone Television to her portfolio of responsibilities, while Bodenheimer remains head of ESPN Inc. and ABC Sports.
Dean Valentine, former UPN president/ceo and president of Walt Disney Television, has partnered with prominent entertainment execs Richard Cohen and Nicolas Van Dyk to form First Family Entertainment in Los Angeles. The new company will develop and produce niche-oriented, direct-to-DVD/video programming for family audiences. The new venture already has inked a home video distribution deal with MGM.
RUGRATS composer and artist Mark Mothersbaugh will receive the 2004 Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding Career Achievement at the BMI Film & TV Awards to be held May 12, 2004 at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills. The black-tie event will be hosted by BMI president/ceo Frances W. Preston and will honor the composers of the past year's top-grossing films and the top-rated primetime network television series and cable programs.
Cal Art students swept the traditional animation category at the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation's 25th Annual College Television Awards Competition. Cal Arts' David Derrick, ByoungJik Lee and Chris Choy took first, second and third respectively for their toon work. Ringling School of Art & Design students did well in the non-traditional animation category taking second and third with first place going to Craig Van Dyke of Brigham Young.
Shuffle Inc., an international television commercial production company with offices in Venice, California, and Tokyo, Japan, has launched Shuffle USA as a new operating unit.
INTERNATIONAL FILM & TELEVISION FINANCE SUMMITMARCH 22
Alliance Atlantis rolls into MIP-TV 2004 with three animated series. The company will be located at Stand G3.14 and can be contacted by calling 33-4-92-99-8348.
POKO (32x30) is a stop-motion animation series. The light-hearted, pre-school series follows a fun-loving three-year-old, who is just beginning to discover the world around him with his dog, Minus, and his stuffed toy, Mr. Murphy.
MarVista Entertainment, a newly formed distribution and production company, will make its first visit to MIP-TV in 2004. It will offer family-oriented entertainment, ranging from live-action television series, new and original TV movies to digitally re-mastered classics available for broadcast and DVD distribution.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has promoted Carolyn Stalins to svp, international television distribution, overseeing distribution in the important French and U.K. markets for MGM's features and TV series and NBC Studios' TV series, as well as the catalogues of MGM/UA, Orion, Polygram and NBC.
The WB announced it has cancelled the BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER spin-off ANGEL after five seasons on the air. With nine episodes left in the season, the announcement was released early to allow "the show's creators time to wrap up the season appropriately." The cancellation doesn't spell the complete end of the character, which the network might give special movie events to next year.
Upon the success of the networks mini-series, SCI FI Channel has given the go ahead for the production of a new BATTLESTAR GALATICA TV series. Based on the top-rated December miniseries, which was based on the 1970s TV series, the one-hour drama is scheduled to begin production on 13 episodes in Vancouver next month.
FINDING NEMO cast no doubt that Pixar Animation Studios (Walt Disney Pictures) continues to ride the biggest wave in animation as it won in nine out of the nine categories it was nominated in at the 2003 Annie Awards held Feb. 7, 2004 at the Alex Theater in Glendale, California, culminating in the big kahuna, Best Feature. While it competed against 2D entries, including the beloved TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, animation professionals and fans, who comprise the voting membership of ASIFA-Hollywood that doles out the awards, favored the 3D production.
Nickelodeon has announced the nominees for 17th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, which will be hosted by previous Kids' Choice winners Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz. The event will take place April 3, 2004 from 8:00 - 9:30 pm. Topping the list of nominees was FINDING NEMO with three nods for Favorite Movie, Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie (Ellen DeGeneres) and Favorite Video Game.
FX has hired former Jersey Television president and partner John Landgraf as president of entertainment. At FX, he will oversee of all development and production for original programming including series, films and new media.
Peter Liguori, president and ceo, FX Networks, said, "John Landgraf is the perfect fit for FX and a great addition to the network. I'm excited about working with someone of John's impeccable reputation and great programming instincts, and I'm confident that he will be an excellent creative partner."
Sci Fi Channel and Tribune Ent. Co. have entered into a program license agreement for the GENE RODDENBERRY'S ANDROMEDA, starring Kevin Sorbo. In addition to presenting the fifth and final season of ANDROMEDA (with VFX by Northwest Imaging & FX, Rainmaker Digital Pictures and Lost Boys Studios) next fall as an original series, Sci Fi will also have the television rights to the series' first four seasons. The Tribune deal also includes all 66 episodes of BEASTMASTER, starring Daniel Goddard and Monika Schnarre, which will begin airing sometime in 2004 exclusively on Sci Fi.
Steven A. Hobbs will join Hearst-Argyle Television Inc. in the newly created position of svp/chief legal and development officer, effective January 21, 2004, reporting to Hearst-Argyle TV president/ceo David J. Barrett.
Reference links to help ASIFA voters make more informed decisions
