Oxygen Media names online executive team
New York City-based Oxygen Media, Geraldine Laybourne's media companyfounded to provide content for women, has named eight executive producers,seven of whom are new to Oxygen's team, to guide the development ofOxygen's growing online network, including building five new sites - Style,Sports, Teens, O2 Simplify, and womenshands - as well as expanding thepopular existing parenting site, Moms Online and Oprah.com. The new andexpanded sites will be rolled out this winter. Oxygen's online executive
Plympton's I MARRIED A STRANGE PERSON premieres on Cinemax
Bill Plympton's second animated feature film, I MARRIED A STRANGE PERSON,will have its television premiere on the cable television network Cinemaxon October 22, 1999 at 8 pm. The film is about a husband who discovers histhoughts become reality. It premiered at the Toronto International FilmFestival in September 1997, and was featured in Dramatic Competition at the1998 Sundance Film Festival. The film was named Best Theatrical Film at theWorld Animation Celebration in February 1998, and was awarded the Grand
STARSHIP TROOPERS falls behind schedule
Sony Pictures Family Entertainment's ROUGHNECKS: STARSHIP TROOPERS hasfallen behind schedule. Although the show is currently in syndication byBKN (Bohbot Kids Network), only nine out of forty episodes have beencompleted and several episodes have already been repeated with many morerepeats expected. Burbank, California-based Flat Earth Productions optedout of its fifteen episode production contract after completing only threeepisodes because they felt the schedule with the budget was overly
SALSA acquires GOGWANA
Paris, France-based Salsa Distribution has acquired the Latin Americantelevision distribution rights to the half-hour television special GOGWANA.Produced by London-based AARGH! Animation Ltd. for S4C, and directed byDeiniol Morris, GOGWANA is based on THE GOGS, the Stone Age family depictedin the claymation television series. In the special, after an earthquakedestroys the Gogs' cave, the family goes in search of a new home, and,along the way, encounters pygmies, dinosaur air-balloons, and pygmy-piloted
THE ATTIK completes spots for Sol Beer
New York City-based THE ATTIK has completed two :30 spots for Sol Beer andagency Amster Yard. In "Disco" a beer acts as a disco ball, emittingstrobing lights. In "Rock N Roll" the can emits electrical charges,creating a pulsing energy field. James Sommerville directed, and both spotswere created with After Effects, Infinity, Studio Pro and Media 100. JulieWatkins of New York City-based Manhattan Transfer completed the compositein Inferno.
MILIA calls for entries for NEW TALENT COMPETITION
Milia 2000, the World's Interactive Content Marketplace, which takes placefrom February 14 - 18, 2000 in Cannes, France, is calling for entries forthe Milia New Talent Competition. Since its creation five years ago, theNew Talent Competition has provided interactive entertainment and new mediaprofessionals with the opportunity of discovering students' fresh creativeideas, and offered a new forum for recruiting new talent. A jury composedof international experts will meet in Paris in December in order to select
Disney's ILLUSION OF LIFE tops best animation books poll
Animation-Books.com, in association with ANiMATO!, the animation magazine,has announced the results of an internet poll of the best animation booksof all time, and THE ILLUSION OF LIFE: DISNEY ANIMATION by Frank Thomas andOllie Johnston tops the list. While the list may be biased toward morerecent, easily available English publications, few would argue that this,for once, is a solid list, and every title belongs in one's animationlibrary. According to Animation-Books.com, "Polling for the
Humongous releases BLUE'S TREASURE HUNT
Bothel, Washington-based Humongous Entertainment, creators of children'ssoftware, and Nickelodeon are releasing BLUE'S TREASURE HUNT, a Blue'sClues CD-ROM learning adventure for preschoolers. Based on Nickelodeon'sprimetime special that aired in March 1999, BLUE'S TREASURE HUNT followsBLUE'S ABC TIME ACTIVITIES, BLUE'S BIRTHDAY and BLUE'S 123 TIME ACTIVITIES.In BLUE'S TREASURE HUNT, kids aged three to six team up with Steve and hisBlue's Clues pals to help search for the treasure chest that holds the keys
Macromedia offers free seminar
Macromedia, Inc., leading publisher of Web publishing tools such asDreamweaver, Fireworks and Generator, is offering a multi-city Generator 2Seminar and Training Series for Internet professionals seeking successfulonline solutions for e-business, e-commerce, financial services, news &information and advertising. Generator 2 delivers targeted, real-timegraphics and interactivity for Web sites that feature on-demand content.Attendees will learn how Ford Motor Company, Internet Shopping Network and
US POST OFFICE issues YELLOW SUBMARINE postage stamp
The United States Post Office has issued a Yellow Submarine stamp with TheBeatles which was illustrated by Robin Shepherd and Caleb Lawrence ofJacksonville, Florida-based The Robin Shepherd Group. The stamp wasofficially dedicated on September 17, 1999 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and thepackage of fifteen stamps will be available soon at post offices across thecountry. The "Celebrate the Century" stamp series features fifteen stampsfor each decade of the twentieth century. The final stamps were determined
SPONTANEOUS completes spot for Prestone antifreeze
New York-based SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION has completed "Cold Start," a spotfor Prestone antifreeze, for agency Grey Advertising. Spontaneous used 3DStudio MAX to create the engine and antifreeze. Live-action footage wasproduced by New York-based Zero 2 Sixty.
DISNEY INTERACTIVE promotes JAN SMITH
DISNEY INTERACTIVE has promoted JAN SMITH to executive vice president ofDisney's software-development business. Smith will be responsible forworldwide operations of Disney Interactive, including product development,marketing, finance and administration, business and legal affairs, andcustomer support.
MIGRATIONS wins Cartoon d'Or
Every year since 1991, the organization CARTOON, with the support of theMEDIA program of the European Union, selects one European short animatedfilm as the "Cartoon d'Or," or "best European animation film." This year'swinner, announced at the Cartoon Forum in Corboda, Spain (September 22-26),is MIGRATIONS by Constantin Chamski (France). The 4-minute CGI film isdistributed by France-based Heure Exquise! where it was also produced. Thisyear's other nominees were L'ARME DU CROCODILE by Eric Blesin (Belgium), EL
Don't miss MIPCOM!
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;
Special Hanna-Barbera retrospective screenings
The Museum of Television and Radio in New York and Los Angeles hosts aretrospective of Hanna-Barbera's television series with a series of60-minute screenings. The series includes SCOOBY-DOO, THE FANTASTIC FOUR,SPACE GHOST, SUPERFRIENDS, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS, MAGILLA GORILLA, TOPCAT, RICOCHET RABBIT, and YOGI BEAR. The new Spumco/Cartoon Network YOGIBEAR shorts have sparked a debate among fans regarding the quality ofHanna-Barbera's YOGI BEAR shorts in particular, and Hanna-Barbera's
Don't miss Jeffrey Scott at the WIA Writers' Seminar Series
Jeffrey Scott will speak at the Women In Animation Writers'Seminar Series at Saban Entertainment. Jeffrey has written over 450animation scripts and has won three Emmys and the Humanitas Prize. Hecurrently works on DRAGON TALES which can be seen on PBS. The event takesplace Thursday, October 14, 7:30 pm in Westwood, California, USA. This isthe last seminar in the series until January. For more information contactJean Wright at (818) 360-8321. RSVP required.
The tenth CARTOON FORUM takes place next week
From September 22 to 26, the 1999 Cartoon Forum will be welcoming 620participants, among which will be Animation World Network's own RonDiamond, in Cordoba, Spain. This record attendance shows that this event,organized over the last 10 years with support from the European Union Mediaprogram, has been established as an important industry event. This yearsixty-nine projects seeking partners will be offered to potential investorsand producers. Over 150 projects initiated at the Forum in previous years
THE SIXTH SENSE finishes third again at US boxoffice
Buena Vista's supernatural thriller THE SIXTH SENSE, with visual effects byDreamQuest, finished third for the second consecutive weekend at the USboxoffice, grossing an estimated $8.5 million over the weekend, for a totalof $221.8 million. No other animation related films finished in the top ten.
Lucas Learning releases STAR WARS: PIT DROIDS
Lucas Learning Ltd. has released STAR WARS: PIT DROIDS, a STAR WARS EPISODEONE-based puzzle game. Players must direct an endless row of pit droidstoward appropriate goals, and prevent them from falling off the edge of theworld. Players can play the puzzles at random, or work from location tolocation to achieve a high score. There are eight game levels, six gameenvironments, and more than 300 puzzles. The game is compatible with bothPC and Mac, and has a retail price of US$29.99.
PASSION PICTURES signs DAVID FEISS and EMMA CALDER
London, UK-based commercial production company PASSION PICTURES has signedDAVID FEISS and EMMA CALDER as directors. Feiss, a long time veteran, isbest known as the creator of Cartoon Network's COW AND CHICKEN. Calder'srecent film, THE QUEEN'S MONASTERY, has won prizes at film festivalsthroughout the world. . . PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS has hired ANN MATHER asits executive vice president and chief financial officer. Mather has morethan eighteen years of financial operations experience, including seven
REALNETWORKS promotes THOMAS FRANK and hires MARTIN PLAEHN
Seattle, Washington-based REALNETWORKS, a company specializing in Internetmedia delivery, has promoted THOMAS FRANK to chief operating officer andhired MARTIN PLAEHN as senior vice president of media systems. Frank, whojoined RealNetworks in January of this year, was previously senior vicepresident of media programming and publishing. Plaehn joins RealNetworksfrom Viewpoint Digital, Inc., a computer graphics company, where he wasPresident. . . UNIVERSAL PICTURES has promoted GREG SUCHERMAN to vice
Galaxy Digimation creates Spider-Man ride newscast
Glendale, California-based Galaxy Digimation has created a thirty-minuteanimated newscast for Universal Studios' The Amazing Adventures ofSpider-Man ride in Orlando, Florida. The Spider-Man ride integratesroller-coaster thrills, realistic motion simulation, and stereographic 3Dcomputer-generated effects while immersing riders in a story thattransforms them into active photojournalists. Galaxy Digimation's newscastplays on monitors while riders wait in line inside the newsroom of The
Phil Roman announces THE GAUDINS
Studio City, California-based Phil Roman Entertainment Company hasannounced that it is co-producing THE GAUDINS: A CHRISTMAS SPECIAL withBarcelona, Spain-based ABCN Concept. S.L. The 22-minute animated specialwill use designs inspired by early twentieth century Spanish architectAntonio Gaudi. According to Phil Roman, the show will create a whimsical,fantasy world for family audiences. The show will be available Christmas2000, but has yet to be picked up. As previously reported, Phil Roman
MARSUPILAMI goes into production
Montreal, Canada-based Motion International has started production onMARSUPILAMI, a 26 episode, half-hour animated television series based on acomic strip by Belgium artist Andrè Franquin. French producer Marathon isco-producing, and the series will be aired by Tele-Quebec, as well asother, as yet undetermined, international broadcasters. Marsupilami is afunny animal-type character with yellow fur, black spots and many talents.He first appeared in 1952 in SPIROU MAGAZINE, a Belgian comic book. A
Experienced animators offer seminar for animators
On October 29 and 30 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Wayne Gilbert, Kyle Clark,and Mike Ford, who work as animators for feature film projects atIndustrial Light + Magic, will be giving seminars on classical and computeranimation principles. The three animators have started their owncorporation, Animation Foundation and Anamie, providing consulting,training and seminars for corporate and academic clients. This event iscoordinated by The Florida Center for Electronic Communication, The Fort