This month, VFXWORLD once again looks at global market trends, so Bob Swain reports on how Cartoon Movie is helping to facilitate animation production in the EU, and Janet Hetherington talks to Canadian vfx pros about the tremendous upswing in their industry. Meanwhile, in terms of movie coverage, Tom McLean explores Weta Digital's latest innovations for FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER.
Bill DesowitzEditor
Bob Swain reports on the continuing efforts of Cartoon Movie as a facilitator of animation technology, finance and development in the EU.
Disney Channel won the award for the Best Children's Channel at the Broadcast Digital Channel Awards held June 6, 2007, in London, as it beat off competition from CBeebies, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr and CITV, which were also short listed for the award.
Cities across the U.S. are competing to be chosen the real-life "Springfield" in a USA TODAY promotion for this summer's theatrical release of THE SIMPSONS MOVIE.
USA TODAY is inviting its readers to vote for communities across the U.S. named Springfield, competing to win a special "Hometown Premiere" of the film on July 26, 2007.
Each participating Springfield has approximately 30 days to submit a short film, 3-5 minutes long, showcasing the community's "Simpson Spirit." USA TODAY readers may vote for their favorite "Hometown Movie" online at USATODAY.com.
On June 3, 2007, the MTV Movie Awards had at its golden popcorn statuettes with PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST taking home the most booty. The film won for Best Movie and star Johnny Depp took home the prize for Best Performance. Other vfx features to win include 300 for Best Fight and TRANSFORMERS for Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet. A complete list of winners can be found at www.mtv.com/ontv/movieawards/ma07/winners.jhtml.
Prior to the Disney/Pixar Ratatouille presentation at WonderCon earlier this year, Andrew Farago was granted a one-on-one interview with comedian/actor/writer Patton Oswalt to discuss his starring role in the upcoming film.
Japanese director Satoshi Kon sat down with Greg Singer to discuss the making of his latest animated feature, Paprika.
Anime director Rintaro (METROPOLIS, X: THE MOVIE, SPACE PIRATE CAPTAIN HARLOCK) and Japanese production house Madhouse (X/1999, X: THE MOVIE, METROPOLIS, TRIGUN) along with Paris-based Denis Friedman Prods. have announced a new CGI-animated feature, YONNA YONNA PEGUIN, reports VARIETY. The film is set to debut in Japan in December 2008.
The story features a little girl who gets sucked into a fantasy world populated by goblins who believe that their savior will be a penguin.
Lucasfilm and AtomFilms announced the 19 official selections in the annual "Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge," their long-running celebration of the best videos created by STAR WARS fans, for STAR WARS fans. The movies, which include short parodies, epic works of fan fiction, world premieres and Internet classics, are now available for viewing and Audience Choice voting at the Fan Movie Challenge site, starwars.atomfilms.com.
Tickets are available now to the special, one-night-only theatrical engagement in 160 select theaters nationwide of the first NARUTO feature film, NARUTO THE MOVIE: NINJA CLASH IN THE LAND OF SNOW, from VIZ Media, on June 6, 2007, in North America.
NARUTO THE MOVIE is rated "T" for Teens and will play in select theaters through National CineMedia's Fathom in every major market across the U.S. A complete list of cities is located on VIZ Media's website at www.VIZ.com. Tickets to the general public are on sale through the Fathom website at www.FathomEvents.com.
300 and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST are the most-nominated flicks for this year's MTV Movie Awards, leading all films with five and four nods, respectively. The adrenaline-fueled action films will vie for Best Movie, while stars from the films will battle in the Best Performance and Best Villain categories.
For Best Movie, 300 and PIRATES 2 must contend with BLADES OF GLORY, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE and BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN.
Building on the success of the TV series, award-winning animation companies Xilam (France) and Zinkia (Spain) are launching the 75-minute SHURIKEN THE MOVIE at MIPTV.
The movie is in production, with delivery due August 2007.
Mumbai-based entertainment powerhouse UTV Software Communications announced that its is moving its film activities to an overseas subsidiary, UTV Motion Pictures, which will be listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER.
UTV has recently dipped into co-productions on English languaged productions, including THE NAMESAKE, I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE and M. Night Shyamalan's forthcoming thriller, THE HAPPENING.
Craig J. Clark chats with Aqua Teen Hunger Force creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis about bringing their Adult Swim hit to movie film theaters.
Joe Strike uncovers the end of the line for Disney direct-to-video sequels and how the studio is moving forward under the new corporate climate.
Alain Bielik uncovers the role of CG in meticulously recreating the infamous serial murders and period look of San Francisco in David Finchers Zodiac. Includes QuickTime movie clips!
Tara DiLullo Bennett goes behind the scenes of the CG-intensive 300 with director Zack Snyder, vfx supervisor Chris Watts and others to find out how they pulled off the painterly Frank Miller look. Includes QuickTime clip!
With the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union, CARTOON initiated Cartoon Movie to establish a synergy between distributors, investors and producers and thus accelerate the financing and distribution process of animated features in Europe. Cartoon Movie was designed along the lines of the successful Cartoon Forum, which aims at facilitating the financing of animation TV series. But Cartoon Movie also offers improvements in the management of cross border film distribution systems in Europe.
Dream Balloon Ent. has announced the completion of a 15-minute short titled, ONCE UPON A CHRISTMAS VILLAGE, which combines motion capture with live-action backgrounds. The voice cast includes Jim Belushi, Tim Curry and Amanda Davis.
In 1999, with the support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union and the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, CARTOON initiated Cartoon Movie to establish a synergy between distributors, investors, producers and new platforms in order to accelerate the financing and distribution process of animated features in Europe.
The 31st Annual UCLA Entertainment Symposium is considered one of the leading conferences in the entertainment business. As usual, attendees will include a Who's Who of top industry executives, lawyers, agents and investment analysts. This year, their theme is "Superstar Dealmaking," and the keynote guest will be Clint Eastwood.
Brainwash Movie Festival 2007Oakland, California, USAJuly 6-7, 2007Deadline: May 10, 2007
The creative minds at Adult Swim responsible for the wildly successful musical collaborations "Dangerdoom" and "Chrome Children" now bring you the soundtrack for Adult Swim's first-ever theatrical release - AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE COLON MOVIE FILM FOR THEATRES. The new release, which will hit stores on April 10, 2007, just prior to the film's theatrical debut on April 13, will feature skits and sound bites from the movie as well as original recordings from some of the best-known names in music.
Marco Consoli reports back from the Future Film Festival, where he experienced some tasty digital delights, both large and small, from around the world.
For the ninth consecutive year, the German city of Potsdam is hosting an annual gathering for European animation with the celebration of Cartoon Movie 2007, a business forum organized by the European Association of Animation Film. Some 500 professionals will meet in the Babelsberg Studio on Mar. 7-9, 2007, for this event aimed at boosting the financing and distribution of European animated films.
