AWN Headline News

This weekend's syndicated episode of SISKEL AND EBERT AT THE MOVIES, Roger Ebert's weekly movie review show in the US, is an animation special entitled "That's Not All Folks!," during which the film critic will explore the past, present, and future of animation.

Los Angeles-based Class-Key Chew-Po Commercials has created a series of"Agent M" spots for McDonald's. Directed by Walter Santucci (EVIL CAT), the2D animated spots feature two characters, Agent M and his partner Sidecat.Their goal is to find and acquaint the public with the great food bargainsat McDonald's. Agent M, voiced by Adam West (BATMAN), is a detective withthe cool confidence of James Bond, but with the clumsiness of InspectorClouseau. Sidecat, voiced by Taurean Blacque (HILL ST. BLUES), saves theday when his boss screws up.

IN SEARCH OF THE MIGHTY REPTAR, an audio adventure based on THE RUGRATS,the Nickelodeon TV series, will be released by Nickelodeon and Kid Rhino onJuly 20th. The release contains two separate stories, "Reptar On Ice" and"Journey To The Center Of The Basement." "Reptar On Ice" takes the Rugratson a quest to meet Reptar, the giant lizard beloved by Tommy Pickles andhis pals, at the Reptar on Ice Show. "Journey To The Center Of TheBasement" tells how the Rugrats summon up their courage to rescue baby

A building at 2449 Charlotte St. on Hospital Hill, former home of theKansas City Slide Co., where A. Vern Cauger hired Disney in 1920, wasbought last year by the University of Missouri-Kansas City, which plans todemolish the site to make way for a life-sciences facility and parking lot.Disney worked for more than two years at the Charlotte address, helpingproduce slides and one-minute films shown as advertisements in movietheaters. He worked alongside other Kansas City artists who, like him,

Pre-production on STAR WARS EPISODE II (Lucas reportedly has a title inmind, but it has not been released) has already begun. Shooting is set tostart in June 2000 with locations at Fox Studios Australia, Tunisia, andItaly, and the release is scheduled for summer 2002. The story will focuson the romance and marriage between Anakin Skywalker (the future DarthVader) and Queen Amidala, and the Siths' attempt to gain control of thegalaxy. Whereas the budget for EPISODE 1 was $115 million, Lucas says he

San Francisco-based (COLOSSAL) PICTURES has created a hand-drawn 2D :30animated spot for Old Navy Tie-dye shirts that is done in a retro-style.George Evelyn directed "Pool Party," which features a pastiche of early1930s rubber-hose style animation, and is especially reminiscent of UbIwerks and color Van Beuren shorts. The spot opens with a black and whitescene of children and animals moping around a deflated backyard pool, andbegins to change to color when two kids arrive wearing Old Navy Tie-dye

LucasFilm and 20th Century Foxs visual effects-driven STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE took in $61.8 million gross over the three-day weekend. Its five-day total of $102.7 million since its Wednesday debut broke the previous five-day record of $92.7 million set in 1997 by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK, but its three-day weekend gross failed to challenge the $72.1 million record still held by THE LOST WORLD.

As expected, STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 - THE PHANTOM MENACE set a record forsingle day gross on Wednesday with $28.5 million, breaking the previousrecord of $26.1 million set by THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK in 1997 on theSunday during the three day Memorial Day weekend. The previous record for aWednesday opening was $17.4 million, set by INDEPENDENCE DAY in July 1996.Despite reaching a new record, the film failed to fulfill early predictionswhich were in the range of $30 to $40 million and were based on early