DV Expo in Pasadena
* Tuesday, October 13 - Friday, October 16. Pasadena, California, U.S.A.
Miller Freeman presents the Digital Video (DV) Conference and Exposition at the Pasadena Center. Highlights include courses on Maya and After Effects software, character modeling and animation for the web. For information visit www.dvexpo.com.
Chuck Jones in New York
* Tuesday, October 13. New York City, New York, U.S.A.
Animation legend Chuck Jones will make an appearance at the Warner Bros. Studio Store Gallery at One East 57th Street (corner of 57th and 5th). The event is by invitation only, so be sure to call first: (212) 754-0300.
Gene Deitch in New York
* Tuesday, October 13. New York City, New York, U.S.A.
Hollywood Shorts
* Sunday, October 11. Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Griffith Place Entertainment presents Hollywood Shorts, a monthly film festival dedicated to introducing emerging directors/writers and producers to Los Angeles film community. This months animated film is Exo-Skeleton and companion cartoons, a 10-minute computer animation by Pyros Pictures. The screening will take place at The Joint, 8771 West Pico Boulevard (at Robertson) in West L.A. from 6 to 9 p.m. Guests must RSVP by October 10. Call (310) 358-7634.
Mill Valley Fest gets animated
* Saturday, October 10. San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
The Mill Valley Film Festival presents an animation program including Dave Thomas A Dog Cartoon, Ryan McCullochs Without You, Frazier Bradshaws Baker, Paints, Cakes, Velvy Appletons Hervic in Cloudland, and Matt Broersma and Shari Rubins documentary on San Francisco independent animators, Meet the Mole People. For information and location, visit www.finc.org/mvff.
Anime Attacks Atlanta!
* Friday, October 9 - Sunday, October 11. Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
Anime Weekend Atlanta, the largest Japanese animation event in the Southeast U.S., takes place at the Marriott North-Central Hotel. Scheduled guests include Amy Howard, the voice of Nova on Star Blazers; George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost and C. Martin Croker, the voice of Zorak and Moltar, from Cartoon Planet; Tim Eldred, artist and animator and Steve Bennett and Kuni Kimura from Studio Ironcat. For information visit www.anime.net/~awa/.
WIA Writer’s Group meeting
* Thursday, October 8, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Jeffrey Scott, Emmy-winning writer of over 450 animation scripts (Wacky World of Tex Avery, Dragon Tales), is scheduled as speaker for the Women In Animation Writers Seminar series. The event starts at 7:30 p.m. at Saban Entertainment. Admission is $5. Reservations are required. Call Jean Ann Wright at (818) 360-8321.
Teletoon Awards Scholarships
Canadian animation channel Teletoon announced the winners of its first Animation Scholarship Competition, at the Ottawa International Animation Festival awards ceremony on October 4. The prize money--a total of Canadian $28,500--is being divided among 15 selected winners in three categories. First place winners received $4,500, second place $2,000, third place $1500, fourth place $1,000 and fifth place $500. The winners are as follows:
Entrance Category:
1st place: Liem Nguyen, Kelvin High School (Winnipeg, MB).
Salsa sales strong
Paris, France-based Salsa Distribution has sold several animated series to the international market.
Little Company making big deals
One-year-old Gloucester, U.K.-based The Little Entertainment Company (LEC Ltd.) has two new series, Magical Mystery Merlin and Charlie Marmalade. The companys first two animated shows have recently secured broadcast spots on BBC (Little Monsters) and ITV (Billy).
GLC opts for buddy system
New York-based GLC Productions is seeking partners for a computer-animated series called The Buddy System. The pilot episode, titled The Third Ticket portrays a couple of hockey fans at a game, one of whom, to the disappointment of his buddy, invited his girlfriend. Animation was produced on SGI machines with Alias|Wavefronts PowerAnimator and Maya software. The Third Ticket is also being screened as a short film at festivals such as the recent Los Angeles International Short Film Festival.
Interactive TV gets animated
Copenhagen, Denmark-based Interactive Television Entertainment is launching several new interactive game shows, including two that will incorporate animation, based on the concept used for the series Hugo the TV Troll. Tush Tush will use real-time motion-capture animation to allow viewers to interact with the program via the Internet and telephone. Yo-Yo, developed with Los Angeles-based Dream Entertainment, will offer animated carnival-type games linked to video games which viewers can play simultaneously on consoles in their homes.
Fairwater launches WWW shorts
U.K. company Fairwater Films has a new series of animated interstitials for the international market, titled World Wide Webley. The 52 one-minute shorts depict the adventures of the title character, a spider, in cyberspace, covering such topics as electronic mail and Internet etiquette.
Monster animating “Arcade”
Dublin, Ireland-based Monster Productions, an animation studio and distribution company formed in 1995 by former management and artists from the Don Bluth studios, has acquired the rights to produce a television series based on 7th Levels video game Arcade America. Monster is also currently distributing the 13-episode animated series The Storykeepers, while seeking co-production partners for several other animated projects including an animated feature film based on Jack and the Beanstalk, a series called Kwiatkowski based on detective nov
Sito joins Warner Bros.
TOM SITO has left his post as head of story at DreamWorks Feature Animation, entering a one-year development deal with WARNER BROS. FEATURE ANIMATION. At Warner Bros. he will join development on the animated feature, Osmosis Jones, which sources say will be directed by Sito if the film is green-lit. As president of the Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists Union (M.P.S.C.) Local 839 and vice president of ASIFA-Hollywood, Sito is an influential force in the animation industry.
Ottawa winners announced
OTTAWA WINNERS. The Ottawa International Animation Festival wrapped up on Sunday night with an awards show at the National Arts Center in Canadas capital city. The grand prize went to the new Estonian film, Night of the Carrots, by Priit Pärn who was on hand to accept the award as the festival also hosted a four-part retrospective of Estonian animation.
Bosustow to join Peace Corps
After 20 years in the animation industry, including Oscar and Emmy wins, animation producer and consultant NICK BOSUSTOW and his wife Julie have fulfilled a lifelong dream and accepted an invitation from the U.S. Peace Corps to work in Guatemala for the next two years, where they will assist small businesses. The Bosustows will leave the U.S. in January, after selling their home. Nick is the son of Steven Bosustow, a founding member of the legendary UPA animation studio.
ITE hires Preben Henrichsen
Copenhagen, Denmark-based INTERACTIVE TELEVISION ENTERTAINMENT has named PREBEN HENRICHSEN to the newly-created position of promotion and new business manager. He was previously sales and marketing manager for the broadcaster Kanal2/TV Denmark.
Salsa adds Del Valle to mix
Paris, France-based SALSA DISTRIBUTION has hired XAVIER GONZÁLES DEL VALLE as marketing manager, replacing Marianna Herrera-Brun. Del Valle has a background in journalism and public relations, and has worked in creating exchange programs between executives in Latin America and Europe.Paris, France-based SALSA DISTRIBUTION has hired XAVIER GONZÁLES DEL VALLE as marketing manager, replacing Marianna Herrera-Brun. Del Valle has a background in journalism and public relations, and has worked in creating exchange programs between executives in Latin America and Europe.
GSA hires Fenwick
Vancouver, Canada-based Gordon Stanfield Animation (GSA) has hired Penny Fenwick as head of program sales and co-production coordinator. She has been working in television sales and promotions since graduating from Concordia University 1997 with a masters degree in animation.
Cosgrove Hall busts out 2D toon
Manchester, England-based animation studio Cosgrove Hall, known for its stop-motion production on series such as Brambly Hedge and The Animal Shelf, is launching production on a new, 26-part, drawn 2D animated series called Foxbusters. The show is about a group of renegade chickens that challenge the process of natural selection and try not to get eaten by foxes. David Freedman and Alan Gilbey are writing scripts. The ITV Network Centre has commissioned 11 episodes for debut in September 1999.
Retro toons get energized
Sydney, Australia-based independent producer and distributor Energee Entertainment Pty Ltd., producers of the animated series Crocadoo, has acquired two cartoon series from the 1960s to sell to the nostalgia niche market. Clutch Cargo follows the seaplane travel adventures of Clutch and his friends Spinner and Paddlefoot, and Space Angel follows the intergalactic adventures of law enforcer Scott McCloud from the Earth Bureau of Investigation. Both are contained in half-hour episodes which can also be shown as five-minute daily strips or used as fillers.
Chung Designing For Samsung
Korean company Samsung Entertainment Group is launching a new animated series for adults called "Alexander." Peter Chung, creator of "Aeon Flux," is designing the characters for the fantasy-adventure show, which is set in 4th Century B.C. Macedonia, and is based on the novel "Alexander's War Chronicles" by Hiroshi Aramata. The executive producer is Haruki Kadokawa, the producers are Masao Maruyama and Rintaro, and the supervising director is Yoshinori Kanemori. Animation is being produced at Mad House in Japan. Screenmusic Studios in Los Angeles will handle post-production.
Varga charging ahead with Don Quixote
Budapest, Hungary-based Varga Studio is working on a new, stop-motion animated special, "Don Quixote de La Mancha," based on the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The 30-minute program has been in development for two years, and is now being co-produced with S4C, HBO America and BBC for Spring 1999. The stop-motion materials used--metal skeletons with rubber and clay heads--were developed by studio founder Csaba Varga, who will assume the role of director for the first time since his 1993 short, "Beasts."
Pokémon Hits The World
New York-based 4 Kids Entertainment is bringing the popular Japanese animated series "Pokémon" to the international market. The show started in U.S. syndication in September, and is signed to appear on Italy's MediaSet network, Australia's Channel 10, Mexico's Televisa, Canada's YTV and Brazil's Globo TV.
