Geographical Region: Asia

Los Angeles, California-based Iwerks Entertainment, which specializes inhigh-tech entertainment systems, support services and film-based softwarefor Giant Screen, ride simulation and specialty venue attractions, recentlyopened a sales and support office in London, England. The office, which islocated at 59 South Audley Street, will be led by John Schreiner, VicePresident, Managing Director for Europe. The company is in the midst of aEuropean growth period that has included the addition of Iwerks Extreme

The Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong SAR Government have reached anagreement for a proposed Hong Kong Disneyland, a theme park development tobe built as the anchor of a tourism center on Lantau Island. Overlookingthe water at Penny's Bay, and on a main transit route from the new HongKong International Airport, the project will make Lantau Island aworld-class tourist destination and take advantage of the location's easyaccess by rail, highway and ferry to attract guests to the Park. Currently

Toonz Animation India, a new animation production studio and full-servicefacility, will host "A Week with the Masters," which will bring the topnames in international animation pre-production together to discuss theimportance of story boarding, character design, and story development.Among the guests will be keynote speaker Rob Coleman, Industrial Light &Magic's Animation Supervisor on STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE;producer-director-writer Derek Lamb; Ian Diamond of Cartoon Network;

SEGA GAMEWORKS, a location-based entertainment venture formed by StevenSpielberg and DreamWorks SKG, Universal Studios and Sega Enterprises, hasnamed leisure entertainment industry veteran, RON BENSION, as president andCEO. As Chairman and CEO of MCA/Universal Studios Recreation Group from1992 to 1996, Bension was responsible for running all aspects of UniversalStudios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida in addition to developinginternational theme park joint ventures in the United Kingdom and Japan.

MIPCOM: International Film and Programme Market for TV, Video, Cable, andSatellite. Starting next week, thousands of producers, programmers andbroadcasters will converge on Cannes, France for the MIPCOM and MIP Juniormarkets. From Reed-Midem, the organizers of MIP-TV, MIP Asia and MILIA,MIPCOM is known as the place where international television deals happen.Among the properties being offered are Sony Wonder's LION OF OZ AND THEBADGE OF COURAGE, an animated musical prequel to THE WIZARD OF OZ;

Santa Monica, California-based SIMEX DIGITAL STUDIOS has completed "IceCliff," a spot for Dunlop Tires and agency Dentsu, Inc. of Tokyo, Japan. Inthe spot, five luxury sport cars race on rapidly eroding, digitallygenerated, ice covered cliffs. The camera moves back to reveal that thecliffs are created by a giant digitally created Dunlop tire. CGI ArtistJeff Chung used Alias Power Animator and Maya Media Illusion to create theeffects.