In the midst of Spider-Man mania, Danny Fingeroth caught up with two of the most popular producers in showbiz Laura Ziskin and Avi Arad to talk about box office success, becoming a geek, creative changes and the new animated television show.
Surprised that Spider-Man is racking up such huge sums at the box office? Danny Fingeroth isn't, as he explains, there's a little Spidey in all of us.
Interactive entertainment developer THQ Inc. has gained interactive publishing rights to HEY ARNOLD! THE MOVIE, Nickelodeon's animated feature film based on the TV show, HEY ARNOLD! In HEY ARNOLD! THE MOVIE for Game Boy Advance, players assume the role of Arnold as he rallies his friends and relatives to stop an unsavory businessman from tearing down their neighborhood to build a Super Beeper Emporium. Players must help Arnold find and organize his friends so that they can complete certain tasks on different levels.
The fourth edition of the CARTOON MOVIE will take place in Potsdam/Babelsberg (Germany) from 14 to 16 March 2002.
The 4th edition of Cartoon Movie takes place March 14 - 16, 2002 in Potsdam, Germany. Organized with the support of Media Plus and the Berlin-Brandenburg Film Board, Cartoon Movie offers attending investors and distributors a complete overview of European animation feature films at different stages of production. Along with original concepts, projects in development and films in production, Cartoon Movie will screen recently completed animated features including Jimmy Murakamis CHRISTMAS CAROL THE MOVIE and Spains Goya Award-winning feature THE LIVING FOREST.
Cartoon Movie 2002: Thursday, March 14 - Saturday, March 16, 2002, Potsdam/Babelsberg, Germany. The fourth annual Cartoon Movie is organised by Cartoon with the support of the European Union's MEDIA Programme and the FilmBoard Berlin-Brandenburg. This unique event had 360 participants in 2001, and presents to investors and distributors a complete panorama of the European production of animated feature films: new concepts, projects in development, work in progress, finished film as well as a catalogue of recent European movies.
Each week, Animation World Magazine offers new articles, special features and theme-based coverage of the art, craft and industry of animation. New this week:
- Speaking For Zimself: A Conversation With Jhonen Vasquez Martin"Dr. Toon" Goodman invades the mind of Jhonen Vasquez, the creator of Invader Zim, to discuss Zim, Jhonen's ideas and inspirations, and the ups and downs of producing his first animated series.
Ron Diamond discusses Cartoon Movie 2001 and the band of U.S. delegates that attended looking to increase the opportunities of bringing European animated features to America.
Creative Planet, Inc., AWNs parent company, announced on Monday, April 30, 2001, the release of the Animation Budget Builder, a custom add-on for the industry-standard Movie Magic Budgeting software geared for the animation industry. The add-on was designed by Catherine Winder and Zahra Dowlatabadi, authors of the upcoming book, PRODUCING ANIMATION, and represents broadening interest in the development of Movie Magic software. "For years, Movie Magic Budgeting has been a fantastic tool for budgeting and managing the costs of physical production," said Winder.
Cartoon Movie (March 15-17, 2001, Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany) is the European market for animation feature film. The annual event is put together by the AEFA Cartoon (European Association for Animated Films), which has been organizing the Cartoon Forum, the co-production marketplace for TV animation, every year since 1990. Cartoon Movie gives European feature film producers the chance to meet and exchange ideas, even create co-production partnerships.
The innate pitfalls, and opportunities, in successfully adapting a television show to the big screen are many. With millions in profits going to those who achieve the magic combo, and straight-to-video relegation for those who fail, it is a tight rope more studios are trying to rush across. Gerard Raiti takes a look.
Nickelodeon has announced the nominations for its 14th Annual Kids' Choice Awards. Receiving nods for Favorite Voice From An Animated Movie were Mel Gibson (CHICKEN RUN), Kevin Kline (THE ROAD TO EL DORADO), Susan Sarandon (RUGRATS IN PARIS) and David Spade (THE EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE). Vying for Favorite Cartoon are Nick's HEY ARNOLD!, Cartoon Network's THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, Nick's RUGRATS and Fox's THE SIMPSONS. Best movie nods went to effects heavy flicks CHARLIE'S ANGELS, THE GRINCH and THE NUTTY PROFESSOR II: THE KLUMPS along with live-action comedy BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE.
Dimension Home Video is proud to present Miramax's highest grossing film of all time SCARY MOVIE on DVD. Hitting stores December 12, 2000, the sidesplitting teen horror movie spoof was directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and features visual effects by Centropolis Effects. The DVD will feature a behind-the-scenes featurette; six additional scenes; theatrical trailer; French language track; Spanish subtitles; and DVD-Rom bonuses. The film will retail for US$ $29.99.
This past week, the international box office got a bit frightful with SCARY MOVIE, WHAT LIES BENEATH and HOLLOW MAN taking top spots around the globe. In Mexico, SCARY MOVIE debuted in first place with a gross of $2.33 million. In second, WHAT LIES scared audiences to the tune of $917,416, lifting its Mexican cume to $6.23 million. U-571 thrilled audiences in third, with a gross of $648,055, raising its Mexican cume to $1.6 million. In sixth, HOLLOW MAN made $406,055 disappear from Mexican moviegoers' pockets, advancing its cume to $5.14 million.
Disneys delightful feature, THE TIGGER MOVIE, has bounced into homes. The adventures of the orange cat and his pal, Roo, hit video stores on VHS and DVD on August 22, 2000. The film was directed by Jun Falkenstein and the legendary Sherman Brothers provided the songs. On a lonely day when no one in the Hundred Acre Wood has time to bounce with Tigger, the swing-tailed tiger decides he will set out to find other Tiggers to play with. The VHS tape will sell for US$24.99 and the DVD for $29.99.
For the live-action feature SIMONE, writer-director Andrew Niccol (THE TRUMAN SHOW) has decided to go completely CGI for the title character in the New Line Cinema drama. According to the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, the CGI actress will star opposite Al Pacino, who will play a Hollywood film producer. The story centers on the life-changing challenges of an aspiring young actress who becomes a movie star overnight. In a move that marks actors worst nightmares, Niccol decided to go with the computer-generated lead after unsuccessfully testing several young, up-and-coming actresses.
Mattel Interactive has signed Scott Gorden (AN EXTREMELY GOOFY MOVIE) to write a live-action, made for television movie script featuring OREGON TRAIL characters from the successful gaming franchise. The script is scheduled for completion early this fall. THE OREGON TRAIL was originally introduced in 1971 as a text-based simulation created on a Teletype machine and mainframe computer, but has. Gordens other credits include SAVED BY THE BELL, MOONLIGHTING, A DIFFERENT WORLD and GOLDEN GIRLS.
Hoping to make big profits like Warner Bros. did on POKEMON: THE MOVIE, Twentieth Century Fox has announce they will release DIGIMON: THE MOVIE on October 6, 2000. Based on the #1-rated show on Fox Kids Network, the new flick centers on eight kids who team up with friendly monsters called Digimon, and together defend a mystical realm called the digital world from a gathering darkness. Fox says DIGIMON: THE MOVIE will contain "more lush and detailed animation than seen in the series." For fans of the series, the film will reveal pivotal continuity points linking DIGIMON seasons one and two.
* Thursday, July 6 Sunday, July 16, 2000. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
On June 9, 2000, Universal Studios Hollywood will roll out a new stage attraction based on Nickelodeons Rugrats entitled "Rugrats Magic Adventure!"
Rick DeMott reviews Disney's latest, The Tigger Movie, and reveals a true classic.
On February 29, 2000, Disney will debut its new direct-to-video feature
entitled AN EXTREMELY GOOFY MOVIE. The new Goofy flick follows Goofy and
his son Max as they both go off to college. Goofy brings some old-fashioned
ideas along that embarrass young Max. But all bets are off as both father
and son compete in the "College X Games," an extreme sports competition.
The VHS tape will be priced at US$24.99 and the DVD will be $29.99. An
added bonus is the short entitled KIDS' GOOFIEST JOKES, a collection of
On March 21, 2000, POKEMON: THE FIRST MOVIE will hit stores across the U.S.
Every DVD and video will feature a sneak preview of this summer's new
theatrical film POKEMON THE MOVIE 2000 plus THE STORY OF MEWTWO'S ORIGIN.
To promote the video release, five special "Golden Tickets" will be
included in random VHS packages. The five lucky recipients will win a
first-edition starter set of Team Rocket game cards, a trip for two to
Japan, a meeting with Mr. Ishihara, creator of the POKEMON card game and a
The Dark Knight descends into video stores December 21, 1999 with three new
BATMAN BEYOND videos and two new DVDs -- BATMAN BEYOND: THE MOVIE and
BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM. Each of the three BATMAN BEYOND VHS tapes
(DISAPPEARING INQUE, SCHOOL DAYZ, TECH WARS) all feature three episodes of
the Warner Bros. cartoon series. The BATMAN BEYOND DVD features the movie
and four bonus episodes of the series. BATMAN: MASK OF THE PHANTASM is the
first feature animated movie and has sold millions of copies on VHS
If you want to post animations on the Internet then you need to become familiar with Macromedia Flash. Here Tom Calthrop does the introductions in a very useful "how to."
