Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Numberjacks Heads to CBeebies

    BBC kids’ outlet CBeebies will beef up its fall schedule with the October debut of Numberjacks, a new 45×15 CG-animated series from BAFTA Award-winning children’s producer Open Mind Prods. The show will blend digital characters and live-action sequences to help kids acquire early math skills.

    The Numberjacks are superhero numbers who live in a sofa in an ordinary home until they are called into action by their agents’real-life children. Journeying out into the real world, the numerical heroes investigate problems and foil the dastardly plans of villains The Puzzler, Spooky Spoo, and the Numbertaker.

    ‘This is first and foremost entertainment, mixing wild comedy and superhero adventures,’ says Chris Ellis, creative director of Open Mind Prods. ‘We want viewers to have plenty of laughs and a few good thrills, and while they are doing it develop their mathematical thinking and understanding.’

    International program distribution rights to Numberjacks have been picked-up by Sydney, Australia-based Beyond Distribution for all territories outside of the U.K. The company will include the serie in its lineup for the MIPCOM Junior mart in Cannes, France in October. All other marketing rights remain with Open Mind, which plans to begin discussions with potential licensing and merchandising partners in the U.K. and abroad. The property will make its first formal appearance during London’s Brand & License Show in the first week of October.

  • Elastic Rights Nabs Lunar Jim for Iberia

    Brand management company Elastic Rights has acquired rights to the stop-motion kids’ show Lunar Jim across all platforms in Spain and Portugal. Co-produced by The Halifax Film Company and distributed by Alliance Atlantis, the 26×30 series takes young viewers along for the ride as Jim sets out on mission of discovery with his band of astronauts: Rover the dog, Ripple the mechanic, Eco the farmer and T.E.D.

    Lunar Jim debuted last year on CBC in Canada and can now be seen on such networks as BBC and CBeebies in the U.K., ZDF and Kika in Germany, ABC in Australia and Discovery across Latin America. In addition to these TV deals, Alliance Atlantis has signed Fisher Price to produce and distribute a line of toys and games worldwide.

    Working closely with TV, home entertainment, publishing, toys, merchandising and internet companies in Iberia, Elastic Rights has handled the integrated brand management of such well-known pre-school properties as Cookie Jar’s Caillou, Taffy Ent.’s ToddWorld and CCI’s Harry and His Bucket full of Dinosaurs. The company is now mapping out an integrated marketing campaign for Lunar Jim in Spain and Portugal.

  • Little Mermaid Back on Big Screen in L.A.

    As fans everywhere await the Oct. 3 release of the Little Mermaid 2-disc Platinum Edition DVD, those in the Los Angeles area can look forward to catching the Disney animated on the big screen again. The digitally restored film will enjoy a limited engagement at the El Capitan theater in Hollywood from Sept. 7 through Sept. 24, complete with special live appearances by Ariel for the kids.

    The Sept. 7 opening night screening on will include an informative filmmaker’s panel at 6:30 p.m. Hosted by veteran Disney animation producer Don Hahn (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), the panel will include the film’s directors John Musker & Ron Clements, supervising animator Glen Keane, Ariel voicer Jodi Benson and Ariel model Sherri Stoner. Attendees will also get a sneak preview of Disney’s newest animated short, The Little Match Girl, an adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story directed by Roger Allers (The Lion King).

    Released in 1989, The Little Mermaid won Academy Awards for Best Song (“Under the Sea”) and Best Original Score (by Alan Menken), and received a third nomination for the song “Kiss the Girl.” Walt Disney Home Entertainment’s Special Editio DVD will offer deleted scenes, a making-of documentary, an all-new music video, games and ‘The Little Mermaid Virtual Ride,’ which takes viewers inside a theme park attraction. The release will be available on Oct. 3 for a limited time before it goes into the Disney Vault.

    The film will screen daily at the El Capitan at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 7:45 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the El Capitan box office, on line at www.elcapitantickets.com, or by calling 1-800-DISNEY6. Group rate tickets are available for parties of 20 or more by calling 1-818-845-3110.

  • LucasArts Taps Free Radical for Next-Gen Game

    LucasArts has teamed with U.K.-based game developer Free Radical Design to develop a new video game for next-generation console platforms. Both companies are keeping a tight lid on the project but will release details at a later date.

    Founded in 1999, Free Radical Design (www.frd.co.uk.) has emerged as one of the U.K.’s leading independent developers, responsible for three of the eight best-reviewed first-person shooters on PlayStation 2. The Company’s previous titles include Haze, Second Sight and the TimeSplitters series. ‘In the battle for videogame quality, these guys are at the front of the line,’ says Peter Hirschmann, VP of product development at LucasArts. ‘This team’s pedigree is one of the best in the business.’

    LucasArts, a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, is best know for its hit Star Wars video games, but has branched out recently with the upcoming build-a-theme park title, ThrillVille, coming this fall, and the highly anticipated next-gen Indiana Jones game, which will debut next year. The company also recently inked a deal with Chicago-based developer Day 1 Studios to create next-gen properties. More information on LucasArts and its titles can be found at www.lucasarts.com.

  • Toon Smoking Banned in U.K.

    You’ll never catch SpongeBob lighting up, but there was a time when cartoon characters smoked like just about everyone else on TV. It’s those classic cartoons that have had Britain’s antismoking lobby up in arms lately, according to a report in Daily Variety. The group has reportedly pressured Turner Broadcasting to remove all smoking references from such vintage Hanna-Barbera series as The Flintstones, Tom and Jerry and Scooby-Doo.

    The catalyst for the movement appears to be two particular Tom and Jerry cartoons, ‘Texas Tom’ and ‘Tennis Chumps,’ which aired on cable outlet Boomerang. As a result of the complaint, a total of 1,700 toon episodes, including 160 more Tom and Jerry installments, will be edited for tobacco-related content, which will involve painting out cigarettes frame-by-frame.

    Turner released the following statement: ‘Turner recognizes that it is not suitable for cartoons aimed at children to portray smoking in a cool context and has additionally pledged to review the entire Hanna-Barbera catalog to remove scenes that appear to glamorize or encourage smoking.’

    While this is the first time Turner has agreed to edit out smoking references, it’s not the first time the company has altered classic cartoons. In the past, episodes of Tom and Jerry and other favorites have been re-dubbed to replace stereotypical African-American voices with more politically correct versions.

  • Drawn Together Returns in October

    The third season of Comedy Central’s adult cartoon series, Drawn Together, will kick of on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 10:30 p.m. Seven all-new episodes will continue the animated shenanigans of a diverse group of cartoon characters picked to live in a house together and have their lives taped for a reality show.

    Created by Matt Silverstein and Dave Jeser, Drawn Together spoofs various animation genres while also poking fun at reality television. The show’s housemates include Captain Hero, a not-so-moral do-gooder reminiscent of the Saturday-morning TV superheroes of the ’70s; Clara, a 20-year-old racist fairy-tale princess; Toot Braunstein, a pudgy, black-and-white Betty Boop knock-off from the ’20s; Foxxy Love, a sexy, mystery-solving musician; Spanky Ham, a foul-mouthed Internet-download pig; Ling-Ling, an adorable Asian trading-card creature; Wooldoor-Sockbat, a SpongeBob SquarePants type; and Xandir, a gay adventurer inspired by the great video game warriors.

    Drawn Together is animated by Rough Draft. The show is Comedy Central’s first original animated series that is drawn traditionally in 2-D with digital ink and paint. Though its long-running flagship toon series, South Park, mimics 2-D cutout animation, it’s actually animated with Maya 3D software.

    It was originally announced back in November that Comedy Central had greenlit 14 new episodes for the third season, but the network has apparently scaled the order down to half.

  • Fox Falls for Joyce’s Leaf Men

    Having tapped children’s author William Joyce to help design and produce its last feature, Robots, 20th Century Fox Animation will again collaborate with the Rolie Polie Olie creator on a feature toon. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ice Age and Robots director Chris Wedge will direct a big-screen adaptation of Joyce’s kids’ book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs.

    In the Leaf Men book, an old woman takes ill and her garden falls into disorder, forcing the local bugs to summon the mythical Leaf Men to help them vanquish the evil Spider Queen and reestablish order. Joyce will adapt his book for the screen along with screenwriter Jim V. Hart (Sahara, Tuck Everlasting). The duo will also serve as exec producers, with Joyce handling production design as well.

    On the new film, Wedge will again work closely with New York-based animation house Blue Sky Studios, which animated the Fox pics Ice Age, Robots and Ice Age: The Meltdown. The shop is now in production on a toon adaptation of the Dr. Seuss book Horton Hears a Who, which Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino are directing for producer Wedge. Hayward’s credits include Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc. and A Bug’s Life. He met Martino (Oscar-winning vfx director for Total Recall) when they worked together on Robots. Horton is slated for release in 2008.

    Fox has reportedly shelved its announced family pic based on Tor Seidler’s children’s book Wainscott Weasel, which Wedge was to direct. Illustrated by Fred Marcellino, Wainscott Weasel is described as a love story between an eccentric, eye-patch-wearing weasel and a beautiful bass, who is besieged by a hungry bird of prey as her pond is threatened by a drought.

    Joyce is becoming quite the go-to guy for animated features. Disney is currently adapting his book A Day with Wilbur Robinson for its next big-screen CG pic, Meet the Robinsons, which Stephen J. Anderson (Toto Lost in New York) is directing for a March 30, 2007 release.

  • Rogue Enlists Lost Squad Comic

    Rogue Pictures, the studio that released Shawn of the Dead and Seed of Chucky, has picked up rights to the Devil’s Due comic book series Lost Squad, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Written by Chris Kirby and illustrated by Alan Robinson, the comic has a group of American Soldiers taking on supernatural Nazi forces and other spine-tingling threats during World War II.

    The film adaptation will be produced by Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter, who earlier this year brought the Devil’s Due comic book Hack/Slash to Rogue. They also have the Vin Diesel vehicle Hitman, based on a popular video game, set up at 20th Century Fox. Devil’s Due’s Josh Blaylock will co-produce the Lost Squad pic, which doesn’t yet have a writer.

  • AI Animation Lecture Gets Legal

    The Art Institute of California ‘ Los Angeles will focus on legal issues associated with animation and game development during the Aug. 31 session of its Animation 21 Lecture Series. A panel of experts will address such topics as licensing, copyrights, patenting and other related matters starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Art Institute in Santa Monica.

    Panelists lined up for the event are: Michael J. Moffatt, an intellectual property attorney with the law firm of Fulwider Patton LLP; Gary M. Anderson, a Fulwider Patton LLP partner with extensive experience in the litigation of patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secret and unfair competition matters; and Jessie K. Reider, an associate at Fulwider Patton LLP, specializing in trademark law.

    This latest installment of the Game Center Animation 21 Lecture Series will take place in the Big Room at The Art Institute of California’Los Angeles, located at 2900 31st Street in Santa Monica, Calif. Immediately following the program, the IGDA LA Chapter will hold its monthly meeting at 7:45 p.m. For more information about these events, contact Bijan Tehrani at (818) 613-4227 or email him.

  • Madden NFL 07 Kicks Off

    One of the most successful video games in history gets an update today with the eagerly awaited release of EA Sports’ Madden NFL 07 for Xbox 360, Xbox, PlayStation2, PSP, GameCube, Nintendo DS, GameBoy Advance, and PC. The Madden NFL titles have to date sold more than 51 million copies, making it the top-selling franchise in the U.S. That status is sure to be cemented with this 17th version of the gridiron game.

    Since the Xbox 360 is the only next-generation game console on the market at the start of football season, users of the Microsoft machine will get an exclusive look at the amped-up version of the game. The title boasts a more authentic running game enhanced by innovative blocking controls and a highlight stick that allows player-specific running styles and moves to match those of their real-life counterparts in the NFL. Other new features include Mini-Camp, complete with a create-a-player function; Hall of Fame Mode; Madden Gamer Level and Xbox Live online integration.

    To celebrate the launch, EA has declared today, Aug. 22, Madinoliday. In addition, NFL greats Jerry Rice, Warren Moon and Marshall Faulk surprised the small town of Madden, Miss by giving away free Xbox 360 units to all 76 residents during a special ceremony that attracted hundreds of families from surrounding communities. More information on the game can be found at www.easports.com/madden07.

  • Nick, MTV Become Paramount Labels

    For the past 12 years, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films have served as production entities on the Paramount lot, producing such hit films as The Rugrats Movie, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, Barnyard (Nickelodeon), Napoleon Dynamite and The Longest Yard (MTV). Now Viacom Inc. announces that both will become full labels under the Paramount Motion Picture Group (PMPG), joining Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG, Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics.

    Veteran producer Scott Aversano has been named president of MTV Films and Nick Movies, effective immediately. Reporting to Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman, Aversano will work on the lot handling film development, production and acquisitions for both new labels. He will also be involved with image- and brand-related matters, reporting to Van Toffler, group president of MTV Networks Music Group, and Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon and MTV Networks Kids and Family Group.

    Aversano most recently served as an independent producer for Paramount Pictures after spending more than seven years with producer Scott Rudin, rising to the rank of president of production. At Rudin, Aversano oversaw production on such films as Team America: World Police, Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events and The School of Rock. From 1997 through 1999, Aversano was director of development at Paramount Pictures, where he served as an executive on a number of movies including South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.

    Nick Movies is currently in pre-production on The Spiderwick Chronicles, an adaptation of the fantasy children’s book series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. Next up for the label is a live-action adaptation of E.B. White’s classic children’s book, Charlotte’s Web, which will arrive in theaters on Dec. 20. The film stars Dakota Fanning, Julia Roberts and Oprah Winfrey.

    Upcoming MTV Films releases include Freedom Writers, starring Hilary Swank, Jackass: Number 2, featuring Johnny Knoxville, and (with DreamWorks) the ice-skating comedy Blades Of Glory, featuring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder.

  • Stone and Parker Take on Kaiju

    Having spoofed Gerry Anderson’s ‘Supermarionation’ with Team America: World Police, South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker reportedly plan to venture into Godzilla territory. According to Daily Variety, the duo is teaming with Nickelodeon Movies to produce Giant Monsters Attack Japan!, which will combine live actors and rubber-suit monster action, a genre known as Kaiju in Japan. Production is slated to begin in 2007 during a hiatus from South Park, which kicks off its 10th Season this Wednesday.

    While Stone and Parker wrote, directed and produced their previous features, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut and the aforementioned Team America, their Paramount-based production shingle, Important Pictures, is now seeking projects from other writers and will tap other directors. Giant Monsters Attack Japan! is written by J.F. Lawton, who scripted the Julia Roberts favorite Pretty Woman, the Steven Segall hit Under Siege and the recently released DOA: Dead or Alive, based on the video game series from Tecmo and directed by Hong Kong action auteur Corey Yuen. Giant Monsters will be directed by Parker with Stone producing.

    Currently on Stone’s and Parker’s production plate is a live-action high-school comedy titled All-American, which Parker will direct and Stone will produce from a script by Jeff Roda. Both films will mark a departure for Stone and Parker, who are best known for their R-Rated, take-no-prisoners social satire. With Nickelodeon’s involvement, the new projects will obviously aim for the PG crowd.

  • DECODE’s Franny’s Feet, Save-Ums! Go to Asia, Europe

    DECODE Ent.’s Franny’s Feet continues to travel the globe with a number of home entertainment deals in Asia and Europe, while the CG-animated preschool series The Save-Ums! gets some home video mileage as well. Video Van has picked up home vid rights to both series for Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, and EBC will bring Franny’s Feet to Taiwan. In addition, Scandinavia’s Scan Box has acquired Franny’s Feet and RTE in Ireland has snagged the first season of The Save-Ums!

    Franny’s Feet, which follows the adventures of a little girl who’s able to put on other people’s shoes and experience how they live and work, is commissioned by Five in the U.K. and Canada’s Family Channel, and has recently been picked up by PBS Kids in the U.S. The show can be seen around the world on outlets including Discovery U.K., ABC Australia, France 5, Teletoon in France, Canada’s TeleQuebec, TVP Poland, ATV in Hong Kong, TV12 Singapore and Cartoon Network in Japan, Latin America and Taiwan.

    Produced by DECODE Ent. and created by the Dan Clark Company, The Save-Ums! revolves around pint-sized action heroes who use whimsical helicopters, space ships and other cool machines to solve problems and nurture an interest in technology and critical thinking. Commissioned by Discovery’s The Learning Channel and Discovery Kids in the U.S. and by the CBC in Canada, the series can be seen around the world on ABC Australia, Five in the U.K., Canal J in France and Super RTL in Germany.

    These latest home video deals follow on the heels of home entertainment licensing agreements for Franny’s Feet with Vision Video in the U.K., ABC Enterprises in Australia, C4U Ent. in Korea; Geneon signed through OLC Rights Entertainment. The Save-Ums! is available on video and DVD through Union Film Group (UFG) in France, Universal Home Video in the UK and Korea’s Wooil Sell Through.

  • Uwe Boll to Box Critics

    Many film critics and gamers have blasted director Uwe Boll for his big-screen video-game adaptations, but how many are ready to step into the ring with the maker of BloodRayne, Alone in the Dark and House of the Dead? Online casino GoldenPalace.com announced today that the German filmmaker has challenged his detractors to a three-round boxing match that will be filmed as part of his next feature, an adaptation of the video game Postal.

    “Many journalists make value judgments on my films based on the opinions of one or two thousand Internet voices,” Boll comments. “Half of those opinions come from people who’ve never watched my films.”

    GoldenPalace.com is sponsoring the event, which has been dubbed ‘Raging Boll.’ The filmmaker will take on a total of five opponents, fighting four matches on Sept. 23 in Vancouver and another earlier in Spain. Other challengers are welcome to trade their blogged barbs for real jabs as well.

    The current challengers are Carlos Palencia Jimenez-Arguello from Madrid, webmaster of www.cinecutre.com; Richard “Lowtax” Kyanka from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, webmaster/CEO of Something Awful; Jeff Sneider from Los Angeles, Calif., journalist for Ain’t It Cool News; Chris Alexander from Toronto, Ontario, journalist/radio announcer for Rue Morgue magazine; and Nelson Chance Minter from Fredrick, Maryland, a web critic.

    The Carlos Palencia/Uwe Boll fight will occur early in September in Malaga, Spain, where Boll will receive a film award from the Int’l Film Festival of Fantastic Cinema and Terror for his work on BloodRayne. More information can be found at GoldenPalace.com.

  • Tom and Jerry, Redwall on DVD

    The brand-new animated feature Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers arrives on home video today, along with the third season of the French/Canadian animated series Redwall, based on the fantasy book series by Brian Jacques. On the visual effects side, there’s plenty to be found in the Warner Home Video releases of the big-budget disaster pic, Poseidon and the video-game inspired creep-out, Silent Hill.

    Directed by Scott Jeralds (Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico, Superman: The Animated Series), Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers capitalizes on the popularity of pirate movies by setting the cat-and-mouse chase action on the high seas. When they come across a cured treasure map, Tom and Jerry each set out in search of buried booty, contending with nasty pirates and sea creatures along the way. Bonus materials incude a ‘swashbuckling menu challenge,’ according to the trailer. The Warner Home Video release lists for $19.98.

    The third and final season of Redwall tells the story of Martin the Warrior, the mouse hero of Redwall Abbey, and his journey from childhood to legendary status achieved by battling an order of villainous rats. The disc includes 13 episodes and the soundtrack performed by the Czechoshlovak State Orchestra. The release is distributed by FUNimation and retails for $29.98.

    Director Wolfgang Petersen’s remake of The Poseidon Adventure, now simply titled Poseidon, stars Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas and Richard Dreyfuss as passengers abord a cruise ship that gets turned upsidedown by a massive tidal wave. Released theatrically earlier this summer, the film features visual effects by Motion Picture Company, Giant Killer Robots, Hydraulx, CIS Hollywood, Industrial Light & Magic, Frantic Films, Lola Visual Effects, Pixel Playground and Scanline. The two-disc Special Edition includes such extras as a the behind-the-scenes featurette titled Poseidon: A Ship on a Soundstage, a film school intern’s diary, a set design featurette titled Poseidon: Upside Down and the History Channel documentary Rogue Waves. The Special Edition lists for $34.98 while the standard release can be had for $28.98.

    Based on the successful Konami video game, Silent Hill stars Radha Mitchell as a woman who encounters supernatural forces as she searches for her lost daughter in an abandoned West Virginia town that was devastated years earlier by a massive fire. Directed by Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf), the chiller features some striking and haunting visuals created by vfx houses BUF, Luma Pictures, Mr. X Inc., MOKKO Studio, C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, Intelligent Creatures Inc., Frantic Films and Invisible Pictures. DVD extras incude a making-of featurette titled Path of Darkness, six production diaries that delve into the origins of Silent Hill, casting the film, building the town, stars and stunts, creature choreography and constructing the creepy creatures. The DVD carries a suggested retail price of $28.95.

  • Looney Tunes Holiday Pic Set for November

    Warner Home Video announced today that it will release Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas straight to DVD on Nov. 14. The first-ever made-for-video Looney Tunes feature is the latest animated take on Charles Dickens’ literary classic, A Christmas Carol.

    Taking on the Scrooge character is Daffy Duck, proprietor of the Lucky Duck mega-mart, who demands that his long suffering manager, Porky Pig, and the other employees work on Christmas Day rather than spending time with their families. Now it’s up to Bugs Bunny and the ghosts of Christmas past (Tweety and Granny), present (Yosemite Sam) and future (Taz) to make sure that Daffy realizes the error of his ways.

    Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas will feature a score by Grammy Award-winning and three-time Emmy Award-winning composer Gordon Goodwin, who most recently picked up a Grammy in the “Best Instrumental Arrangement” category for his work on the soundtrack for Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles. The DVD will retail for $19.98. Following its Nov. 14 debut, Cartoon Network will air the film sometime this winter.

  • Emmy Shines on Simpsons, Dinosaurs

    FOX’s The Simpsons picked up its ninth Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (less than one hour) on Saturday during the 2005-2006 Creative Arts Primetime Emmy awards presentation at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Additional gold statuettes for animation and visual effects went to Discovery Channel’s Before the Dinosaurs, HBO’s Rome and SCI-FI Channel’s The Triangle.

    The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences honored The Simpsons for the episode ‘The Seemingly Neverending Story.’ The long running series proved it still packs a punch after more than 300 episodes, for the episode from creator/exec producer Matt Groening beat out fellow FOX toon Family Guy, as well as Comedy Central’s South Park and the Cartoon Network hits Camp Lazlo and Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. In addition, Kelsey Grammer accepted his previously announced Outstanding Voice-Over Performance win for voicing the character Sideshow Bob in the Simpsons episode ‘The Italian Bob.’

    Before the Dinosaurs earned Discovery Channel another Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program (one hour or more). Mike Milne served as director of computer animation on this latest installment of the network’s popular series of specials that explore what life may have been like in prehistoric times. Discovery previously won the category with the specials Walking with Dinosaurs and Chased by Dinosaurs.

    Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series was awarded to HBO’s Rome for the episode “The Stolen Eagle”, thanks to a crew lead by vfx producer Barrie Hemsley and vfx supervisor James Madigan. Meanwhile, SCI FI’s The Triangle snagged Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries Movie or Special. Co-written and exec-produced by Superman Returns director Bryan Singer, Independence Day scribe Dean Devlin and Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon, the production features visual effects overseen by Volker Engel and Marc Weigert, the Oscar-winning team behind Independence Day.

    Six artists were additionally chosen by the jury to receive this year’s Emmys for Individual Achievement in Animation. The awards were picked up over the weekend by animator Jarek Szyszko for his work on the ‘Hippo Dance’ segment of HBO’s Classical Baby 2; animator Sarah E. Meyer for the ‘Easter Basket’ episode of Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken; background key designer Frederick Gardner for the ‘Adventures in Babysitting’ episode of Cartoon Network’s The Life And Times Of Juniper Lee; character designer Bryan Arnett for Nickelodeon’s Escape From Cluster Prime; character designer Shannon Tindle for the ‘Go Goo Go’ episode of Cartoon Network’s Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends; and storyboard artist Mike Diederich for Cartoon Network’s The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy.

    The Creative Arts Primetime Emmys ceremony is an extension of The 58th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which will be held on Sunday, Aug. 2, with NBC picking up the telecast from the Shrine Auditorium.

  • Snakes Slithers to the Top

    Taking Thursday night receipts into consideration, Snakes on a Plane narrowly won a neck-and-neck race with Will Ferrell in a racecar over the weekend. New Line Cinema’s airborne creature feature earned an estimated $15.2 million to snatch the top spot from Sony’s Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Still, Snakes was expected to perform better considering the amount of buzz the film has generated via the Internet and general public discourse. Judging by reviews that have been rolling in since its opening, New Line may have done the flick a great disservice by not holding press screenings.

    Snakes on a Plane stars Samuel L. Jackson, who manages to avoid being upstaged by a crateful of CG-animated reptiles. The film’s numerous visual effects shots were provided by CafeFX, Hybride and Pacific Title under vfx supervisor Erik Henry.

    Talladega Nights took in an estimated $14.1 million to bring its total to a whopping $114.6 million. Set in the world of NASCAR racing, the movie clearly took the checkered flag for comedy this year, cementing Ferrell’s status as a box-office draw. Meanwhile, the events of Sept. 11, 2001, have proved less appealing to summer moviegoers. Following the tepid performance of Universal’s United 93, Oliver Stone’s World Trade Center debuted last week to $18.7 million and trailed off by more than 40% in week two. The true story of New York City police officers took in an estimated $10.8 million over the weekend for a third-place finish.

    Universal’s college comedy, Accepted, debuted at No. 4 with around $10.1 million. Buena Vista’s Step Up rounds out the top five with an estimated $9.8 million in its second week, while Paramount/Nickelodeon Movies’ Barnyard: The Original Party Animals retains a top-ten spot with nearly $7.5 million. Made for around $50 million, the animated comedy has chewed up approximately $46 million domestically over the past three weeks and has yet to open overseas.

  • Craig Seeks His Dark Materials

    Having been recruited by Her Majesty’s Secret Service as the new James Bond, actor Daniel Craig will take on a more sinister role in New Line Cinema’s The Golden Compass, the first feature film based on the bestselling fantasy book trilogy His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. Production on the film is slated to begin on Sept. 4 in the U.K.

    Adapted for the screen and directed by Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Antz), The Golden Compass revolves around a young girl who travels to the far north to save her best friend and encounters shape-shifting creatures, witches and other strange and enchanting characters in parallel universes. Craig will play Lord Asriel, a ruthless adventurer with a mysterious past. He joins a cast which includes Nicole Kidman, Eva Green and newcomer Dakota Blue Richards.

    Visual effects work in The Golden Compass is being overseen by Academy Award-nominated vfx supervisor Mike Fink (X-Men, X2: X-Men United, Road to Perdition). The film is being produced by Deborah Forte of Scholastic, the U.K. publisher of the His Dark Materials books, with Paul Weitz and Andrew Miano of Depth of Field exec. producing. New Line plans to release the pic on Nov. 16, 2007. Craig will make his Bond debut in Casino Royale this Nov. 17.

  • Hash Offers Animation:Master Version 13.0

    Hash Inc. has announced the debut of Animation:Master version 13.0, a major new release of the company’s flagship 3D character animation product. Designed with education in mind, the latest version includes enhanced rendering features such as HDRI, Image-Based Lighting, new hair rendering shaders, improved cloth and hair simulation, and physics simulation that uses the ‘Newton Game Dynamics’ engine. Also included are new group project features with an integrated asset manager that allows artists to work with others over the Internet. This system is currently being used on the CG-animated feature The Tin Woodman of Oz, a community film project sponsored by Hash.

    ‘Every year we focus our efforts in areas that will benefit our users. This year, our focus is Education,’ says Hash Inc. founder and owner Martin Hash. ‘Because of Animation:Master’s legendary ease of use, students are entering the world of animation and filmmaking with great enthusiasm and encouragement. Our school-friendly manual is partitioned into easy, inviting exercises, so it works equally well for an individual or a classroom environment.’

    Animation:Master v13 is shipping with a universal binary version for Mac OS X, which means that Mac users running MacOS 10.4 can run the software at native speeds on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs. Animation:Master is available for Microsoft Windows XP and Apple Macintosh OS X platforms for the retail price of $299.