AWN Headline News

ASIFA-Hollywood has released the list of nominees for its 26th annual Annie Awards, which will take place at Alex Theatre in Glendale, California on Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m. For information call (818) 842-8330.

For a complete list of nominees, click here.

MARK SIMON, president of Animatics & Storyboards, and author of the book Storyboards: Motion in Art, and producer DAVE KALLAHER have joined forces to start a new company, AARGH! ANIMATION, INC. Based in Orlando, Florida, the company will specialize in cel and stop-motion animation, character design and storyboards. JEANNE PAPPAS SIMON, co-owner of Animatics & Storyboards, will be head writer for AARGH!

Warner Bros. Family Entertainment has released a new, direct-to-video animated title, Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island. The production was done at Hanna-Barbera (now a part of the Warner Bros. family), executive produced by Jean MacCurdy, produced by Cos Anzilotti with supervising producer Davis Doi, directed by Jim Stenstrum and written by Glenn Leopold. The video was released today and is priced at U.S. $19.96. A huge promotional push for the video includes tie-ins with 1-800-COLLECT, Wendys Restaurants, Cartoon Network, LEGO and Nascar.

* Thursday, September 24 - Saturday, September 26. Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

The University of the Balearic Islands presents ANI.MAR 98, short for the Amateur Animators Focused International Festival. This competitive festival has three categories: 3D animation short films, traditional animation films less than 15 minutes and traditional animation films more than 15 minutes. The event will also offer workshops, retrospectives and exhibitions. For information contact info@studio1.uib.es.

* Friday, September 25. Utrecht, Netherlands.

The Utrecht School of the Arts faculty of Art, Media & Technology holds their annual presentation of the European Media Master of Arts, including Computer Animation. The event will take place at Baby in Amsterdam. Admission for Baby members is free, All others are admitted by invitation only. Contact hans.mertens@kmt.hku.nl for more details.

* Friday, September 25 - Sunday, September 27. Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.A.

* Saturday, September 26. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

From 5 - 8 p.m., Los Angeles art gallery and book store Every Picture Tells A Story hosts a reception with Michael Bedard, illustrator of the new childrens book Sitting Ducks. Bedards work is currently being adapted for an animated TV series and feature film by Polygram. The exhibition of Bedards illustrations will run through October 18. To pre-order signed books or to RSVP for the reception, call (310) 932-6070.

Czech production and distribution company Kratky Film Praha a.s., which owns the Bratri v triku and Jiri Trnka animation studios, has been substantially restructured. The company has been struggling financially since 1994, and has been facing possible bankruptcy since 1997, a measure prevented by a recent investment from insurance company Ceska Pojistovna, now the majority shareholder in Kratky Film. The restructuring has also caused a management shake-out.

Recycling is alive and well in Hollywood. An astounding number of animation properties are being optioned for adaptation as live-action films, such as "Inspector Gadget" and "Sailor Moon." This week, two more such deals have been announced. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," a book by Dr. Seuss and then an animated feature directed by Chuck Jones at MGM, will have its next reincarnation as a live-action feature starring Jim Carrey. Universal, which already owns the theme park rights to Dr. Seuss properties, and Ron Howard's Imagine Films paid Dr. Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel nearly U.S.

MARIE-LINE PETREQUIN will leave ProSieben and join another German company, IGELFILM as managing director of animation and development in the area of production/co-production of animation. She was previously vice president and head of the animation department at ProSieben Media AG, where she has worked since 1990.

The National Film Board of Canada (NFBC) has entered into a license agreement with Los Angeles-based producer Jean Madar to develop new TV series and films based on a collection of popular animated shorts from its library. Madar, a Montreal native whose background includes work with Pixibox and Medialab, will use the animated shorts as ready-made pilots for new projects. He has grouped the NFBC films into four collections: "Kids" for children's animation, "Tunes" for musical shorts, "Crazy" for more adult-oriented films, and "Insane" for late-night fare.

Palo Alto, California-based PACIFIC DATA IMAGES (PDI) has hired PAUL COOK as corporate controller, a role in which he will report to CFO John Batter and be responsible for implementing internal financial controls. Cook was previously corporate accounting manager at Adobe Systems.