Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • KIDS’ WB! On The CW Unveils Lineup

    “Too Big For Your TV” is the slogan being used by Kids’ WB! to brand its 2006-2007 Saturday morning schedule, which will feature four new original programs and four returning favorites. Set to kick off this September on freshly founded fifth network The CW, the five-hour block for kids 6-11 will offer Legion of Super Heroes, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue! and Tom and Jerry Tales, all from Warner Bros. Animation, as well as a new show titled Monster Allergy from Rainbow S.p.A.

    Based on characters from D.C. Comics, Legion of Super Heroes has a group of futuristic super heroes going back in time to recruit the greatest hero of all, Superman, and enlist him their fight against evil in the 31st Century. Created expressly for the Too Big For Your TV block, the show introduces Lightning Lad, Saturn Girl, Brainiac 5, Phantom Girl, Bouncing Boy and Timber Wolf, who end up going too far back into the past and meeting up with young Superboy instead of the mature Man of Steel. Together, this unlikely Legion of Super Heroes bands together to defend the rights of all free worlds and uphold the laws of the newly formed United Planets. The series is exec produced by Sander Schwartz, and produced by Linda Steiner and James Tucker for Warner Bros. Animation.

    Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get A Clue! finds the sleuthing duo living in the blinged-out mansion of Shaggy’s Uncle Albert and solving mysteries with the help of a transforming Mystery Machine. By ingesting some new Scooby Snacks infused nano-technology, Scooby can fly, become a towering robot or even turn himself into a giant magnet. The top-secret doggie biscuits are also highly desired by evil masterminds, so keeping them out of the wrong hands is a full-time job for our heroes. The series is exec produced by Sander Schwartz and Joseph Barbera, co-founder of Hanna-Barbera, and produced by Eric Radomski.

    If the new Scooby-Doo show seems like a radical departure from the classic series, fans of Tom and Jerry will be happy to know that producers Frank Molieri and Tom Minton stick to the basics with Tom and Jerry Tales. The cat-and-mouse game continues with wild chases, slapstick gags and over-the-top mayhem in the first new U.S. television series featuring the iconic archrivals in more than 13 years. Schwartz and Barbera serve as exec producers.

    Monster Allergy is based on the international best-selling comic book series of the same name, in which 12-year-old Zick discovers he has the exceptional ability to see what no other kids his age can’the invisible supernatural monsters that live among us. With help from next-door neighbor Elena and his talking cat, Timothy, Zick learns to harness his powers in hopes of one day following in his father’s footsteps as a monster tamer. The show is exec produced by Iginio Straffi for Rainbow S.p.A.

    Returning favorites filling out the Too Big For Your TV block include Warner Bros. Animation’s Johnny Test, The Batman, Xiaolin Showdown and Loonatics Unleashed. Two additional series, to be announced at a later date, will comprise the Pillow Head Hour, a one-hour block of programming that will kick off the Saturday schedule. The block will be hosted by hosted by a youth correspondent who roams the red carpet at entertainment events, interviewing celebrities about their own pillow hair experiences and pillow fights.

  • SAG Board O.K.s Basic Cable Toon Pact

    The Screen Actors Guild National Board has unanimously ratified the recently negotiated Basic Cable Animation agreement, which will give members on the contract a 20% increase in residuals, their first hike in 16 years. The new pact goes into effect immediately and is retroactive to January 1, 2006. Expiration is set at June 30, 2008.

    SAG is calling the bump in residuals a major win for actors performing in animated programs made for basic cable. The increase reflects the typical run pattern where each animated episode is followed by an average of 25 repeats.

    The development will affect performers working for Walt Disney Pictures & Television, Warner Bros. Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, among others.

    ‘This is a significant and well-deserved victory for the many actors who work under this contract, specifically day performers,’ says Screen Actors Guild president Alan Rosenberg. ‘I’m proud of the work done by our negotiating committee and staff who were able to improve this contract for the first time in two decades. This demonstrates that producers and performers can work together to achieve results that benefit both sides and keep our industry moving forward.’

    Under the new animation deal, residual rates for actors willincrease from 12% to 17% of the minimum pay rate, which is currently set at $716 for a four-hour recording session. That percentage would then drop to 1.5% beginning with an episode’s 13th rerun. SAG has also negotiated a shift from single-production contracts to an all-inclusive contract for animated basic cable productions, which has the potential to generate more covered work for Guild members.

  • Cartoon Net, VIZ Launch Toonami Jetstream

    Cartoon Network and leading anime licensor VIZ Media announced plans to debut a new broadband service dubbed Toonami Jetstream. The joint venture will provide on-demand, full-length streaming episodes of such hit animated series as Naruto and Samurai Jack, as well as Hikaru No Go, M’R, The Prince of Tennis and other offerings not currently available on U.S. broadcast or basic cable television. The two entities will jointly manage and administer acquisitions and programming.

    Scheduled to launch on on July 17, the ad-supported Toonami Jetstream will be available free of charge at http://ToonamiJetstream.com. New episodes will be added to the each week and previous installments will be available in the Toonami Jetstream archive.

    Written by Yumi Hotta and drawn by Takeshi Obata, Hikaru No Go tells the story of Hikaru Shindo, a young student who stumbles across a dusty old Go board while exploring his grandfather’s attic. Trapped inside is Fujiwara-no-Sai, the ghost of an ancient Go master who enters Hikaru’s consciousness, allowing him to communicate with the spirit. Sai, newly awakened, wishes for nothing more than to play Go again. Urged on by Sai, Hikaru reluctantly begins playing Go. As he begins to appreciate the complexities of the game, Hikaru makes it his quest to become the ultimate Go champion.

    M’R is created by Nobuyuki Anzai and revolves around Ginta, an average 14-year-old boy who enters a portal and is to the fairytale realm he envisioned in his dreams. In M’R, Ginta acquires super human strength and embarks on a quest to save the world from total domination by evil chess pieces.

    Created by Takeshi Konomi, The Prince of Tennis is a coming-of-age sports drama that follows the on-and-off-the-court adventures of Ryoma Echizen, who joins the Seishun Academy tennis team, one of the most competitive clubs in Japan.

    Toonami Jetstream will also feature the Cartoon Network original production IGPX and VIZ Media’s Megaman NT Warrior, as well as the all-new Zoids Genesis. Additional series will be announced in subsequent months. The broadband service is an extension of Cartoon Network’s action-adventure television programming block Toonami, which airs Saturdays from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET, PT) with such hit shows as Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans, Zatch Bell!, Naruto and DragonBall Z.

  • Final Fantasy Leads Anime DVD Blitz

    Having topped the pre-order chart on Amazon.com, the eagerly awaited Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children arrives on home video today, giving fans a chance to obtain it legally after a pirate got nailed for posting it online. Anime aficionados can also pick up the new anime title Karas: The Prophecy, a two-disc limited collector’s edition of the 1990 favorite Patlabor: The Movie and the live-action feature adaptation of Peter Chung’s 1995 MTV anime series, Aeon Flux.

    Directed by Tetsuya Nomura and Takeshi Nozue, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was animated in CG by Square Enix and features the voices of Ayumi Ito, Takahiro Sakurai, Maaya Sakamoto, Miyuu Tsuzuhara. The futuristic action thriller takes place two years after Cloud Strife and company saved the world from Sephiroth, and finds Strife living a secluded life, haunted by his past. Meanwhile, a strange disease is spreading throughout the planet and old enemies are hatching schemes, forcing Strife back to go back into action.

    The two-disc special edition from Sony offers both the original Japanese-language film with English subtitles and an English-dubbed version. Bonus features include a making-of featurette, deleted scenes, footage from the Venice Film Festival premiere and a sneak peak at upcoming Final Fantasy VII video games. The release lists for $26.96.

    Karas: The Prophecy takes place in a Tokyo where humans and ghostly beings co-exist via a balance between dimensions kept by the city’s guardian crow, Karas, and his masters. That balance is upset when Eko, a former Karas, attempts to seize power and an entity named Yurine must lead a newly risen Karas in battle to stop him and save humainity. The English-language dub features the voices of Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo) Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) and Jay Hernandez (Hostel). Extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette titled Montage: The Making of Karas, concept/animation comparisons, original Japanese trailers and TV spots and interviews with the Japanese voice actors, directors and producers. There’s also an exclusive 24-page Karas mini-comic from Dark Horse Comics. The disc from Manga Ent. carries a suggested retail price of $19.98.

    Patlabor the Movie is available as a single-disc ($29.99) and and a two-disc limited collector’s edition ($89.99) from Image Ent. The anime classic from acclaimed director Mamoru Oshii (Ghost In The Shell, Jin-Roh, Avalon) centers on the adventures of the heroic Special Vehicles Division 2, a mecha police force that investigates suspicious forces, government cover-ups and citywide destruction around Tokyo Bay. The collector’s edition, limited to 10,000 numbered sets, features illustrated cover designed by illustrator Yutaka Izubuchi, Japanese trailers and television commercials, a making-of featurette and two books: Archives (184 pages) and Storyboard (300 pages). Two different editions of Patlabor 2 will be available this summer.

    Also hitting retail today is the Paramount Pictures’ attempt to recapture the anime appeal of Aeon Flux with star Charlize Theron. Marton Csokas, Jonny Lee Miller, Sophie Okonedo, Frances McDormand and Pete Postlethwaite also star in this tale of a top underground operative at war with the totalitarian regime governing what appears to be a perfect society. Bonus materials include commentaries by Theron, producer Gail Anne Hurd and writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and the featurettes Creating a World: Aeon Flux, The Locations of Aeon Flux, The Stunts of Aeon Flux, The Costume Design Workshop of Aeon Flux and The Craft of the Set Photographer on Aeon Flux. The Paramount Home Entertainment release lists for $29.95.

  • American Dad, Inspector Gadget Hit Disc

    Fox Home Entertainment and series creator Seth MacFarlane are hoping the DVD market is as kind to American Dad as it has been to Family Guy. American Dad Volume One arrives on home video today as a three-disc set offering 13 episodes from the FOX primetime toon series. Meanwhile, fans of 1980s animation can get their claws on Inspector Gadget: The Original Series.

    Co-created by MacFarlane and Family Guy scribes Mike Barker and Matt Weitzman, American Dad revolves around Stan Smith (voiced by MacFarlane), a CIA agent and proud family man based in Langley Falls, Virginia. Stan’s seemingly conservative wife, Francine (Wendy Schaal), is a closeted party girl and his 18-year-old daughter, Hayley (Rachael MacFarlane), is always at odds with her 13-year-old brother, Steve (Scott Grimes), a hapless geek. Sharing the Smith household are Roger (MacFarlane), a sarcastic space alien rescued from Area 51, and Klaus (Dee Bradley Baker), a German-speaking goldfish born of a botched CIA experiment.

    MacFarlane, Barker, Weitzman and others provide commentary tracks on 12 of the episodes. Other DVD extras include 42 deleted scenes, an animatic-to-episode comparison, a table read with animatic and two featurettes titled All in the Family: Creating American Dad and Secrets of the Glass Booth: Behind the Voices of American Dad.’ The set carries a suggested retail price of $39.98.

    By now, everyone knows the story of how DVD sales prompted FOX to bring Family Guy back from cancellation. And while American Dad has continued to pull solid ratings with the Family Guy lead-in on Sunday nights, moving a good number of discs will help ensure that the show stays on the air. American Dad is now in its second season.

    Bumbling Inspector Gadget (voiced by the late Don Adams) battles the forces of M.A.D. with the aid of the various gadgets, his niece, Penny, and her dog, Brain, in a new four-disc set containing 22 episodes of the 1983 DIC series. Extra features include a “Wowsers” retrospective featurette with co-creators Andy Heyward and Mike Maliani, an original art gallery and results of an Inspector Gadget fan art contest. Released by Shout Factory, the DVD set lists for $34.98.

  • DAZ Acquires Eovia U.S.

    Draper, Utah-based 3D model and software developer DAZ Prods. Inc. today announced that it has acquired Eovia Corp., developer and publisher Carrara and other leading 3D animation, modeling and rendering solutions. Effective immediately, DAZ has taken ownership of the Mountain View, Calif.-based company, including its entire development, marketing and sales divisions. The acquisition also gives DAZ all technology rights to Carrara and Hexagon, a 3D modeling software from Eovia Europe S.A., though that company will not be acquired by DAZ.

    ‘This move provides an important step forward in achieving our vision to expand the 3D market to the masses by providing high-quality 3D software that is economical and easy to use,’ says Dan Farr, president of DAZ Prods. ‘By bringing together Carrara and Hexagon with the Bryce, Mimic and DAZ|Studio solutions, we will provide a compelling suite of 3D software tools with a unified vision.’

    Eovia and DAZ have been partners since 2004, when Eovia became the exclusive representative for all DAZ products in Europe. DAZ assures the passionate Eovia user community that it will continue to support and develop Eovia’s most popular products.

    Terms of the acquisition have not yet been released. Additional information and an FAQ on the acquisition are available on the DAZ website at www.daz3d.com and the Eovia website at www.eovia.com.

  • DECODE, Aardman Give French Sketch

    France 3 and Nickelodeon France have both acquired broadcast rights to Planet Sketch, an animated sketch comedy show co-produced by Aardman Animations in the U.K. and Canada’s DECODE Ent. Since its debut at MIPCOM, the 13×11 series has been picked up by Cartoon Network Asia Pacific, Cartoon Network Latin America, ABC Australia, Jetix Europe and South African broadcaster M-Net.

    Commissioned by CiTV and Teletoon, Planet Sketch is aimed at kids 7-11 and features a quirky collection of madcap new characters including the Street Rappers, the Gnaughty Gnomes and the flatulent Parping Ponies. Aardman and Decode have produced 13 episodes to date and are at work on a second season.

    Decode and Aardman are also co-producing a CG-animated comedy series titled Chop-Socky Chooks. The show about Kung Fu-fighting chickens will get a big push at this year’s MIPCOM in Cannes.

    Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in London, DECODE Ent. produces and distributes such popular animated television programs as Naughty Naughty Pets, Bromwell High, The Save-Ums, Franny’s Feet, King and Angela Anaconda.

  • DIC Mints Ad Sales Arm for CBS Block

    DIC Ent. has created an in-house advertising sales division to oversee all broadcast and new media initiatives for CBS’s Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party, a new children’s programming block that debuts on Sept. 16. Karl Kuechenmeister has been named senior VP of advertising sales and marketing, and will be based in New York City. Eric Greenwald will work out of DIC’s Burbank headquarters as senior VP of new media sales and marketing. Both will report to DIC chairman and CEO Andy Heyward and DIC president Brad Brooks. David Danowski has been appointed VP of advertising sales and marketing, reporting to Kuechenmeister.

    Kuechenmeister will be responsible for overseeing the national broadcast strategy. Over his 30-year career, he has served as senior VP of Cartoon Network for Time Warner-Turner Broadcasting, senior VP of One World Ent. for Viacom-MTV Networks, VP of Time Warner Interactive Group for Time Warner Cable and senior VP of media sales and television distribution for Warner Bros. He has also held key exec positions at NBC and CBS.

    Greenwald will be the lead advertising sales executive responsible for all of DIC’s online and new media activities, in addition to overseeing the operating budget. He previously served as VP of immersive advertising and business development for Neopets Inc., focusing on the establishment and development of a client base for the successful virtual online community targeting a global youth audience. He has also served as exec director of national advertising at Paramount Pictures.

    In his new role, Danowski will manage the national ad sales operation to maximize revenues for the programming block. Prior to joining DIC, he was an account executive at Disney-ABC Kids Networks (ABC Kids Saturday Morning, Jetix, Toon Disney and Disney Channel), and was dedicated to sales for the Disney Kids television properties.

    ‘We are thrilled to have a team of respected industry professionals onboard to lead our advertising initiatives,’ comments Heyward. ‘We have created a unique opportunity with the new programming block for advertisers to reach children through broadcast and new media in a responsible environment.’

    CBS’s Saturday Morning Secret Slumber Party is a three-hour, branded programming block for kids 6-12 that will feature new series Horseland, Kooky Kitchen and Littlest Pet Shop, as well as established favorites Sabrina: The Animated Series, Trollz and Madeline. DIC is also in pre-production on two new live-action, reality-based shows titled CAKE and Dance, Dance, Dance!

  • PBS Rules Daytime Emmys

    Public broadcaster PBS dominated the 33rd annual Creative Craft Daytime Emmy Awards on Saturday, winning a total of 12 awards including Outstanding Children’s Animated Program with Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks from Mike Young Prods. and Entara. But most of the kudos went to long-running kid favorite Sesame Street, which collected a total of seven statuettes, nearly twice as many as closest competitor The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

    With its winning combination of puppets, animation and live actors, Seasme Street continued a long history of Emmy recognition by snatching awards for art direction/set decoration/scenic design, costume design/styling, multiple-camera editing, music drection/composition, sound mixing and writing. In addtition, actor Kevin Clash was named Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series for his work as the character Elmo. The award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program went to the talented Maile Flanagan for her title role in Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks.

    Also representing proudly for PBS was Zoom, which was named Outstanding Children’s Series and earned helmer Bob Comiskey the award for Outstanding Directing in a Children’s Series.

    Warner Bros. Animation’s The Batman was also a big winner, taking the awards for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and Achievement in Sound Editing’Live Action and Animation. The series currently airs Saturday mornings during the Kids’ WB! block.

    The Daytime Emmy Awards in additional categories will be awarded at the 33rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, broadcasting live on ABC from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Friday, April 28, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). This will mark the first time the Daytime Emmy Awards will be broadcast from Hollywood in the 33-year history of the ceremonies. For a complete list of Creative Craft Daytime Emmy winners, go to www,emmyonline.org.

  • Queer Duck Movie Floats in July

    First announced late last year, the feature film based on Showtime’s short-lived Flash-animated series, Queer Duck, is slated to arrive on home video on July 18 courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment. Queer Duck: The Movie is written by series creator Mike Reiss, a former Simpsons scribe, and brings back such beloved characters as Openly Gator, Bi-Polar Bear and Oscar Wildcat.

    Queer Duck debuted as an Internet short on www.icebox.com and was eventually picked up by Showtime to air after the popular series Queer as Folk in 2003. The show featured Jim J. Bullock as the voice of male nurse Adam Seymour ‘Queer Duck’ Duckstein, who learns it’s okay to be who he is with a little help from his friends. A total of 20 episodes were produced before Showtime decided it didn’t want to be branded as a gay channel and dropped the series.

    Described by producer Tal Vigderson as ‘Madagascar for the Daily Show crowd,’ Queer Duck: The Movie is directed by Xeth Feinberg and produced by Paramount in partnership with Icebox, a new-media company with a library of more than 170 animated shorts. The film’s makers say the project breaks new ground by being the first Flash-animated feature film from a major studio. Exec producers include Howard Gordon (24), Rob LaZebnick (The Simpsons) and John Collier (King of the Hill).

  • A for Adobe

    Fresh off releasing the public beta of the XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform Toolkit Version 4.0, Adobe will have a huge presence at the event. Jim Guerard,

    Adobe’s VP of product management for web and video solutions will share the company’s post-Macromedia acquisition vision for reshaping the future of the video and the Web at two NAB sessions.

    On Tuesday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., Guerard will discuss the business-related benefi ts of new digital media applications at a session titled ‘Earthquake Insurance: Are You Ready for the Tectonic Shifts in Film and Broadcast?’ Then, on Wednesday, April 26, from 9 to 10 a.m., he will deliver a keynote focusing on ‘Casting a Wider Net: Capturing Viewers with Rich Media Experiences for Broadcast, Web and Mobile.’

    The company will also demo its brand spanking new Adobe Production Studio (launched in January) in Booth #SL3732, along with the newly acquired Macromedia products in Studio 8 (includes Dreamweaver 8, Flash 8, Flash Professional 8, Fireworks 8, Contribute 3 and FlashPaper). The Adobe Production Studio includes Adobe After Effects 7.0, Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0, Adobe Audition 2.0, Adobe Encore 2.0, Photoshop CS2 and Illustrator CS2. For more info., visit www.adobe.com/motion.

  • Caring for the Masses

    Fans of vfx-heavy blockbusters such as King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings trilogy already know about the amazing virtual crowds that Massive Software can produce for a movie. At NAB 2006, Massive will unveil how visual effects and post-production companies in television and commercials can leverage the artifi cial intelligence-driven 3D crowd.The company will demonstrate its flagship product Massive Prime for projects that require realistic crowd action with a high level of customization of characters and their movements. Massive will also showcase Massive Jet, which introduces out-ofthe-box virtual crowd capabilities using Massive’s pre-built Ready-to-Run Agents. Facilities can use this product to easily automate production of the most common crowd scenes (fans in a stadium or people milling on streets). For more info, visit www.massivesoftware.com.

  • Vizl3G Delivers Real-Time Vizl3G Delivers Real-Time

    Vizrt will unveil its new Viz|3G graphics motor for mobile telephones and other mobile devices at NAB. Viz|3G, based on Vizrt’s Viz|Engine renderer and Adactus’ MPEG-21 standards-based multimedia delivery platform, marks the first integration of a graphics engine for mobile phone video viewing applications.

    Using the Viz|3G platform, graphics are sent as meta data (description of data) in a separate stream from the video, producing a much higher quality visual experience than compressing the graphics as part of the video stream. Currently, cell-phone screens are too small and the video is too compressed for the graphics embedded within the video to be legible. With graphics as a separate stream and its enhanced readability, this creates ample opportunity for the customization and localization and personalization of targeted advertising placements.

    Viz|3G will be available as part of a package installed on phones, or it may be downloaded and installed. It will be available worldwide, but with a select set of customers initially. You can visit them at Booth #SL1323 at NAB or on the web at www.vizrt.com.’

  • Z Animation Helps Microsoft Realize Potential

    Z Animation has created and produced the entire animation package for the third installment of Microsoft’s global ‘Realizing Potential’ corporate branding campaign. The live action/animated TV, print and Internet initiative was launched by ad agency McCann-Erickson/San Francisco in 2002, but this is the first time the campaign has been produced entirely in HD.

    Featuring English-language narration by acclaimed actor William H. Macy, the ‘Realizing Potential’ project specifically highlights Microsoft’s education and economic development efforts in 32 countries throughout Europe, Asia and America. Z Animation collaborated with live-action production company Anonymous Content to produce the six spots in the campaign, created by the McCann-Erickson team of creative director/copywriter Dante Lombardi and creative/art director Chris Toland. Editing was handled by Mad River Post, final compositing by A52 Post and music by Elias Arts.

    As with the previous campaigns, the familiar Microsoft animated ‘white line’ is used as a transitional device, metaphorically turning dreams to reality. ‘Production wise, we were looking for an animation studio that would take the campaign into the CG world but still maintain the hand-drawn animation look of past campaigns,’ says McCann-Erickson executive producer Matthew Winks.

    Led by producer Michael Pierce, co-directors Joel Parod and Claire Armstrong-Parod, and animation technical director Joseph Emerling, the Z Animation team used Bauhaus Software’s Mirage 2D animation software to complete their portion of the work. ‘We went with Mirage because it could give us that soft pencil, hand-drawn look the agency wanted, and could also handle the huge animation files required for HD ,’ says Parod. ‘Many of our animators actually preferred Mirage over traditional animation, because it allowed us to import the live action footage and draw the white line right over the screen, while also creating mattes and composites.’

    The new spots in Microsoft’s ‘Realizing Potential’ campaign are initially airing in the U.S., France, Germany, South Korea, Japan and China, and other nations in the EC, Asia and Pacific Rim are able to tailor their own versions. More information on Z Animation is available online at www.zanimation.tv.

  • Massive Software Ready for Primetime

    Massive Software’s Academy Award-winning 3D animation system has been used in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and other major blockbusters, and now the software is making it’s episodic television debut. CBS Digital recently purchased Massive to create digital crowds for a number of primetime productions.

    CBS Digital has been using Massive on The Twelfth Man, a pilot being

    produced for FOX Television. The software’s autonomous agent capabilities are being employed to efficiently fill large stadiums with realistic, AI-enabled characters for the basketball-themed show. Other projects CBS Digital plans to use Massive on include The Pope and Cat7.

    “Everyone wants full-on feature film-level effects for TV, and with tools

    like Massive, you can now do huge-scale effects with a high degree of

    realism, a small team of artists and rapid turnaround,” says CBS Digital founder and director of VFX Craig Weiss. “Massive is a perfect piece of software for us.”

    The Twelfth Man follows the life of a basketball player as he bounces

    between pro teams. When scenes called for legions of cheering fans, CBS Digital used Massive’s Ready-to-Run Stadium Agent to incorporate hundreds of individual digital characters that stand up, cheer and eat popcorn automatically in the scene.

    “Massive characters act autonomously, with a ‘brain’ that allows them to

    react in ways that mirror real life,” comments Diane Holland, CEO of Massive

    Software. “Using a Ready-to-Run Massive Agent like our Stadium Agent, a

    single animator can quite easily populate a scene with characters that

    respond realistically. As it did for feature films and TV commercials,

    Massive is ushering in the ability to develop and realize effects for

    primetime television programs and mini-series that were not possible

    before.”

    Designed by programmer Stephen Regelous specifically to fill Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films with thousands of digital extras, Massive received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2004. Today, Massive Software develops a family of standalone, commercially available products used by leading digital production and effects studios. For information on Massive Prime, Massive Jet, Ready-to-Run Agents and Massive in television, film and commercials, go to www.massivesoftware.com.

  • Doctor Who’s K-9 Adopted by Jetix Europe

    The robotic dog from the classic Doctor Who television show is getting its own spin-off series. K-9 Adventures, a comedic, half-hour space fantasy that blends CG animation and live action, is being developed by Jetix Europe, distributor Park Ent. and Doctor Who veterans scribe Bob Baker and designer Paul Tams.

    Baker, whose writing credits include the Oscar-winning Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers and Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave, co-created the K-9 character with Dave Martin for the 1977 Doctor Who episode ‘The Invisible Enemy.’ He recently brought the bionic pooch back in an upcoming episode of the BBC’s new Doctor Who series, which airs in SCI-FI Channel in the U.S. Baker and Tams are co-developing K-9 Adventures Through their K-9 Films shingle.

    ‘I am absolutely delighted to be giving K-9 a new lease of life and a new look for his own series on Jetix, and it’s thrilling to be able to offer younger Doctor Who fans the chance to get to know K-9,’ Baker comments. ‘I believe they will love the 21st century K-9 as much as past generations did when he appeared in Doctor Who.’

    In the classic Doctor Who series, K-9 was designed as a robotic pet by Professor Marius, who gave him to the good Doctor. The character appeared in episodes that aired between 1977 and 1981, then showed up in a 1981 spin-off series titled K9&Co and the 1983 Doctor Who anniversary special, The Five Doctors.

    K-9 Adventures is being written by Baker and Tams, along with Andrew Nicholls and Darrell Vickers, who scripted episodes of the Jetix show W.I.T.C.H.

    Jetix is the global kids entertainment brand launched in 2004 by Jetix Europe and The Walt Disney Com. Jetix Europe’s 14 Jetix television channels serve kids ages 6-14 in 58 countries and 18 languages, reaching more than 43 million households. The company recently launched GXT, a pay-TV channel in Italy that targets teenage boys.

  • Silent But Deadly at Box Office

    Sony Pictures video game-based horror flick, Silent Hill, slayed the competition at the North American box office over the weekend, scaring up an estimated $20.2 million to claim No. 1 status. Meanwhile, two animated features remain in the top five as Fox Animation/Blue Sky’s Ice Age: The Meltdown continues to enjoy a warm reception and Disney’s The Wild manages to hold onto its meager audience share.

    Directed by Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf) and co-written by Roger Avery (Pulp Fiction), Silent Hill employed a small army of visual effects teams to bring the popular, seven-year-old video game franchise to the screen. The pic features some creepy visuals provided by BUF, Luma Pictures, Mr. X Inc., MOKKO Studio, C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, Intelligent Creatures Inc., Frantic Films and Invisible Pictures.

    It’s a bit ironic that a horror film dethroned last week’s box office champion, Scary Movie 4, which has raked in an estimated $67 million by poking fun at popular fright flicks. Perhaps Silent Hill with get skewered next year with the inevitable release of Scary Movie 5. The franchise’s fourth installment dropped to No. 2 with around $17 million in its second weekend. Though the spoof lost approximately 57% of its audience, it earned enough to trump newcomers The Sentinel from 20th Century Fox and American Dreamz from Universal.

    The Sentinel, an espionage thriller starring Michael Douglas and Kiefer Sutherland, debuted at No. 3 with an estimated $14.6 million. Meanwhile, American Dreamz, a satirical look at U.S. politics and the television phenomenon known as American Idol, opened at No. 8. Universal didn’t show much faith in the movie, giving it a weak, 1,500-theater rollout that generated approximately $3.6 million.

    Ice Age: The Meltdown is still performing strongly in its fourth week. The CG comedy sequel earned a cool $12.8 million according to estimates, driving its cumulative domestic take to around $167.8 million. Worldwide, the film has brought in more than $443 million. Disney’s The Wild, animated by C.O.R.E. Feature Animation in Canada, hasn’t faired so well. The $80 million toon took in approximately $8 million over the weekend to bring its two-week domestic draw to just $22 million. Overseas markets have contributed another $9.3 million.

  • Square Enix Settles in Final Fantasy Piracy Case

    The eagerly awaited animated feature Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children arrives on home video on Tuesday, but some fans apparently couldn’t wait that long. Tokyo-based digital content creator Square Enix Co. Ltd. has reached a settlement with a pirate who uploaded an unauthorized full-length copy of the movie to the Internet. The company also announced that it is stepping up its anti-piracy enforcement by taking aggressive action against those who infringe upon copyright laws.

    The perpetrator uploaded the pirated movie to the Google Video website, where it was discovered by Square Enix. The company then demanded that Google remove the link and launched an investigation to track down the culprit. The pirate admitted to illegally uploading the movie and agreed to pay Square Enix an undisclosed monetary sum for damages.

    “In connection with the release of the movie, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, we are actively pursuing those who commit intellectual property infringement against our company,” says Yasuhiko Hasegawa, Square Enix’s general manager of legal affairs. “Any illegal activities, including the illegal uploading of Square Enix content to Internet sites and the unauthorized copying of Square Enix games, music, movies, images and other intellectual property, will be prosecuted.’

    The English-language version of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children will be released on DVD and UMD in North America and the U.K. on April 25 and April 24, respectively. For more information on the upcoming releases, see http://www.square-enix-usa.com/dvd/ff7ac/.

  • McGowen to Head Kids’ WB! on The CW

    Betsy McGowen, who has served as senior exec at Kids’ WB! since its inception in 1995, has joined The CW as senior VP and general manager of Kids’ WB! on the newly minted network, a joint venture between Warner Bros. Entertainment and CBS Corp. McGowen will report to Dawn Ostroff, who will become president of entertainment for The CW, which launches as a fifth network this fall.

    McGowen will oversee all series development, current programming and scheduling, as well handling branding, image and marketing for Kids’ WB! on The CW. Prior to the appointment, she served as senior VP and general manager of Kids’ WB!, overseeing all programming and marketing aspects for the leading children’s block. Since starting at Kids’ WB!, she held the top marketing position and eventually worked he way up to senior VP of marketing.

    Before The WB, McGowen worked as a freelance writer, producer and editor for such clients as FOX and the Disney Channel. From 1992-1993, she was a staff promo writer and producer for FOX Kids Network, and previously worked as an offline/online videotape editor at NBC and FOX.

    The CW will offer a six-night, 13-hour primetime lineup running Monday through Friday nights from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. (ET/PT), and Sundays from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (ET/PT). Outside of primetime, the network will program for Sundays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ET/PT) and will host a Monday-Friday afternoon block from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (ET/PT). In addition, a five-hour Saturday morning animation block will air from 7 a.m. to 12 noon. Altogether, the network will program 30 hours a week over seven days.

  • Disney Characters Stamped Again

    The U.S. Postal Service has unveiled a new set of postage stamps depicting the romances between select Disney animated characters. Featuring Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse; Lady and the Tramp; Belle and the Beast; and Cinderella and Prince Charming, the ‘Art of Disney: Romance’ stamps were dedicated during the kick-off of the 13th annual Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival at Walt Disney World Resort. They will be available to postal patrons nationwide on April 22.

    ‘We decided to take our cue from one of the most celebrated couples of all time’Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse,” says Jo Ann Feindt, VP of Great Lakes Area Operations for the U.S. Postal Service. In her dedication speech, Feindt revaealed that another set in the Art of Disney series will be released next year.

    Joining Feindt in unveiling the stamps was Al Weiss, president of worldwide operations for Walt Disney parks and resorts, along with some Disney characters featured on the self-adhesive, 39′ stamps.

    Walt Disney’s relationship with the U.S. Postal Service began in the summer of 1918 when he sorted and delivered mail in the Chicago Post Office. He would later make Mickey Mouse a postal employee in the 1933 short Mail Pilot. The achievements of the animation pioneer were first recognized on a stamp in 1968. That particular issue featured a parade of children representing many nations surrounding a portrait of Walt Disney.

    ”The Art of Disney: Friendship’ stamps were issued in 2004, featuring Mickey Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck and a host of other Mouse House favorites. The set was followed in 2005 with the release of ‘The Art of Disney: Celebration’ stamps that coincided with the company’s anniversary. For each stamp set, Postal Service art director Terrence McCaffrey teamed with Disney artist Peter Emmerich and creative director Dave Pacheco to create the designs.

    To see ‘The Art of Disney: Romance’ stamps and collectors items, visit the online Postal Store at http://www.usps.com/shop. Custom-framed prints of original stamp art are available at http://www.postalartgallery.com.