Tristar Pictures To Release Anime Feature Metropolis
TriStar Pictures is set to release METROPOLIS, directed by Rintaro (X) and written by anime legend Katsuhiro Otomo (AKIRA), in the U.S. on November 9. Based on the classic comic by Osamu Tezuka, the film is set in the futuristic city populated by humans and robots. Amidst the chaos created by anti-robot factions, detective Shunsaku Ban and his sidekick Ken-ichi are searching for rebel scientist Dr. Laughton, to arrest him and seize his latest creation, Tima, a beautiful young female android created to succeed the leader of Metropolis. The film is a combination of cel and digital animation.
Collision Acquires Rights To Video Game Max Payne
Los Angeles-based development and production company, Collision Entertainment, has acquired the film and television rights to MAX PAYNE, one of the most highly anticipated video game releases of the last several years, from game producer 3D Realms. Dimension Films will distribute the property in the U.S., with Abandon Entertainment handling international distribution. Max Payne is a DEA operative deep undercover, torn between avenging the mafia murders of his wife and child and being framed for the murder of a fellow agent.
Whamo & Burbank Animation Finish Canterville Ghost Special
Los Angeles-based Whamo Entertainment and Australia-based Burbank Animation Studios have announced the completion of their Halloween special, THE CANTERVILLE GHOST. The special is the tale of an American family that inherits an English castle, inhabited by the ghost of Simon de Canterville who tries to get rid of the family. The film is the sixth and last animated special from the Animated Classic Gold Collection 1. The other titles from the collection include EASTER IN BUNNYLAND, JOSEPH AND THE COAT OF MANY COLORS, ANNA & THE KING, SILENT NIGHT and D4: THE TROJAN DOG.
Rainbow Studios Brings Egyptian Dinos To Life For A&E
Phoenix-based animation house Rainbow Studios has digitally cloned and animated 3D dinosaurs for MPH Entertainment's upcoming A&E Network documentary special THE LOST DINOSAURS OF EGYPT. "We did a lot of things different on this project," said director Jim Milio of MPH Entertainment.
A52 Livens Up Three New Infiniti Q45 Spots
Visual effects and broadcast design house A52 has produced the visual effects for three new 30-second Infiniti Q45 spots. The project was completed for Anonymous Content and director Andrew Douglas for ad agency TBWA/Chiat/Day LA. In "Speed Effect," a new Q45 sits motionless while smoke, leaves, wind and rain create speed tunnels around it. A52's CGI team used Houdini and Renderman to create steam that was blended with 2D elements, while visual effects supervisor/inferno* artist Simon Brewster removed reflections and composited-in rain effects and a group of girls walking around the car.
Sesame Workshop & Encore Enter Gaming Deal
Sesame Workshop and Encore Software have signed an exclusive, five-year deal to publish Sesame Workshop-owned gaming titles worldwide. Under the agreement, Encore Software will market, promote and distribute Sesame Workshop's SESAME STREET for PC and console platforms, and DRAGON TALES for PC. This year, new Sesame Workshop PC CD-ROMs will include two ELMO'S WORLD titles and two collections featuring SESAME STREET characters. In addition, DRAGON TALES: DRAGON LAND FESTIVAL and new SESAME STREET toddler and preschool titles will debut later this year.
Short Attention Span Film & Video Festival
* Short Attention Span Film & Video Festival: Friday, August 03 - Thursday, October 18, 2001, North American Tour, USA.
The 2001 SHORT ATTENTION SPAN Film and Video Festival will be a touring event bringing two hours of two minute movies from around the world. It will showcase the best of short animation, comedy, sci-fi, documentary, poetry and more. Festival locations and dates are:
PACIFIC NORTHWEST:
Side Effects' SIGGRAPH 2001 Houdini Training Seminar
* Side Effects' SIGGRAPH 2001 Houdini Training Seminar: Sunday, August 12, 2001, Los Angeles, California USA.
Fox Sues Marvel Over Use Of Mutant X
A court issued an injunction in favor of 20th Century Fox against Marvel, Tribune and Fireworks, preventing them from violating Fox's rights in its X-MEN movie. Moreover, the court also held that Fox can go to trial to recover monetary damages from Marvel and Tribune's use of MUTANT X as the title of their new television series, as well as a permanent injunction on the title of the series.
Pixar Announces 2nd Quarter Results
Pixar Animation Studios announced their financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2001. For the quarter, Pixar posted earnings of US$8.8 million, or $0.17 per diluted share. These results compare to earnings of $8 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenues for the quarter were $16.7 million, compared to $18.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Pixar also announced that it is raising projections for 2001 from the previous range of $0.40 to $0.55, to a new range of $0.50 to $0.58.
Cinar Releases Six Month Financial Report
Cinar Corporation has released a letter to shareholders providing its financial information for the six-month period ended May 31, 2001. President and chief executive officer Barrie Usher stressed in the opening of the letter that the report is unaudited because "current senior management cannot presently provide the required assurances with respect to financial periods prior to its appointment." The troubled firm had some positive developments in the past six months, including the okay by Telefilm Canada, a Canadian government funding organization, to develop official co-productions.
Ubi Soft Entertainment Posts Strong First-Quarter Growth
Ubi Soft Entertainment generated consolidated sales of US$53.2 million (60.39 million euros), up 162.5% for the first quarter of 2000/2001 ended June 30. Without taking into account the acquisition of 3D Planet (Italy), Sinister Games (U.S.), Red Storm (U.S.), and Blue Byte (Germany), and the assets of TLC's Entertainment division, consolidated sales for the quarter were $32.44 million dollars (36.81 million euros), up 60%. Highlights of the quarter were the release of MYST III: EXILE, launched in the U.S. and Australia in May.
TechnologyHelp Changes Name, Wraps 2nd Round Of Funding
TechnologyHelp, Inc. has completed a second round of funding and officially changed its name to Cinemetrix. The new round of financing came from Vanguard Atlantic, a New York-based venture capital firm. Terms of that transaction were not disclosed. George Gagliardi, president and chief executive officer, said, "We are now positioned to expand the sales and marketing of our technology and know-how to clients who understand the power of professionally produced TV-quality presentations.
Rezn8 Flips For New MTV Reality Show Opening
Rezn8, an award-winning design and communication company, has produced a graphic-intensive show open and complete graphics package for FLIPPED, a new reality-based television series on MTV. The package included the logo design, animated open, graphic bumpers and backgrounds for the show. The show opens with 30-seconds of show footage propelled at the viewer through a tunnel effect which concludes with the series logo emerging from the back of the tunnel flipping the positions of the two P's.
Creative Bubble Pops Openings For Two New Showtime Shows
Broadcast design and visual effects firm Creative Bubble has created the title sequences and promos for Showtime's SNOW IN AUGUST and GOING TO CALIFORNIA. For the TV movie SNOW IN AUGUST, the promo features a young boy walking through a snowy landscape and through an iron gate. "The film deals with a young boy in the '40s who is in love with comics and comic book imagery," explained Showtime art director Damian Mager. "We decided to make his world much like that of a comic book." Creative Bubble designer Doug Dimon said, "The producers had selected the clip for the titles.
Holy Cow Spots Rides Roller Coaster For Chex Mix
Holy Cow Spots has created a stop-motion 30-second spot entitled, "Roller Coaster," for General Mills Chex Mix and ad agency Campbell Mithun. Directed by Holy Cow Spots' Shaun Sewter, the spot starts with a lone Chex square that is joined by more pieces, finally creating two complete characters composed of Chex Mix pieces, which ride a roller coaster. For the roller coaster, a 22 foot-long, 12 foot-tall set was constructed. "It took a long time," admitted Holy Cow Spots executive producer David Lyons.
Mojo Jojo To Bankrupt The Euro!
Cartoon Network is launching a multi-media advertising campaign in Europe featuring The Powerpuff Girls' arch-enemy Mojo Jojo and his plan to bankrupt the Euro by introducing his own currency "The Mojo." Viewers of Cartoon Network's channels in Denmark, France, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. will see bulletins informing them of Mojo Jojo's replacement of real money with "Mojos." Viewers will be encouraged to log onto local CartoonNetwork.com Websites to help the Powerpuff Girls stop Mojo Jojo from ruining the European economy.
Auto.Des.Sys Releases Form.Z 3.8
auto.des.sys Inc. has released form.Z 3.8 which replaces form.Z 3.8g that was originally shipped in May. Although only a gamma version, the reception of version 3.8g has been like a "warm welcome home," said Alexandra Yessios, vice president of sales and marketing at auto.des.sys. form.Z is a hybrid solid and surface 3D modeler that combines polygonal with smooth parametric modeling under a single roof. It is complemented by drafting, photo-realistic rendering, Radiosity, walk through animation and advanced CAD capabilities.
Zona Creates Servers To Support 32,000 Concurrent Players
Zona, Inc., a massive multiplayer online game server solution provider, has announced that they has developed a new server engine called Terazona for online 3D games capable of supporting tens of thousands of users on a server. Terazona is capable of supporting a minimum of 32,000 concurrent users per server. Existing server loads can only support around 6,000 concurrent players. In addition, the servers contain fault tolerance, which prevents downgrade in game play experience within a growing base of concurrent users.
Anima Mundi Releases Winners
Anima Mundi has released the winners for its 2001 festival, which took place from Friday, July 13 Monday, July 23, 2001 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil then moved to São Paulo, Brazil from Wednesday, July 25 Sunday, July 29, 2001. The festival is the major animation festival in South America. The festival included a wide range of open activities, including workshops, lectures and exhibitions. The winners were chosen by a panel of 26 animation industry professionals from around the world. Below is a complete list of winners.
BEST FILM:
Osmosis Jones Debuts In Seventh
With strictly live-action fare taking the top four spots, PLANET OF THE APES plummeted to fifth with a gross of US$13.32 million. The sixth in the APES series, with primary visual effects by ILM, has drummed up $148.73 million to date. Falling from fourth to finish sixth, JURASSIC PARK III stomped home with another $7.30 million. The living fossil franchise, with primary visual effects by ILM, has gobbled up $160.20 million so far. Debuting in seventh place, Warner Bros. OSMOSIS JONES took in a meager $5.75 during its first weekend in release.
Anima Mundi 2001 Festival Winners
Anima Mundi 2001 took place from Friday, July 13 - Monday, July 23, 2001 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil then moved to São Paulo, Brazil from Wednesday, July 25 - Sunday, July 29, 2001. The major animation festival in South America, Anima Mundi included a wide range of open activities, including workshops, lectures and exhibitions. A panel of twenty-six animation industry professionals from around the world chose the 2001 festival winners: Best Film: "Father And Daughter" by Michael Dudok de Wit, Holland.
Plympton Appearances Page Updated!
Affiliate Animator Gogue Wins At Carton Contest 2001
Spanish artist and caricaturist Gogue won the first prize at Homer C. Davenport International Cartoon Contest 2001 in Silverton-Portland, Oregon...