Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • It’s Clobberin’ Time!

    Brad Bird and Pixar spoofed them in the animated smash hit The Incredibles, but now Marvel Comic’s first family of superheroes has arrived on the big-screen with an expensive, effects-driven movie of their own. Fantastic Four from 20th Century Fox has come to do battle with Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds in a bid to claim the top spot at the box office.

    Directed by Tim Story (Barbershop, Taxi), Fantastic Four follows the exploits of a set of astronauts who gain superhuman powers through cosmic radiation exposure and learn to use their newfound abilities to foil the evil plans of Doctor Victor Von Doom. Actor Ioan Gruffudd, best known as TV’s Horatio Hornblower, plays the elastic Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards. Jessica Alba (Sin City, TV’s Dark Angel) steps into the tights of Susan “Invisible Woman” Storm, while Chris Evans (Cellular, The Perfect Score) is Johnny “Human Torch” Storm and The Shield star Michael Chiklis bricks up to play Ben “The Thing” Grimm.

    To help bring the popular comic-book franchise created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to the big screen, Marvel CEO Avi Arad and fellow producers Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, Bernd Eichinger and Ralph Winter called on the talents of effects houses Soho VFX, Meteor Studios, Giant Killer Robots, Stan Winston Digital, CobaltFX, Pacific Title, CaféFX, Hydraulx, Pixel Magic, Kleiser-Walczak, SW Digital, CIS Hollywood.

    Stan Lee serves as exec producer on this adaptation of his beloved series, which has been written for the screen by Michael France (The Punisher, Hulk) and Mark Frost (TV’s Twin Peaks). Hanna-Barbera first brought Fantastic Four to the small screen with an animated series in the late ’60s, but its trip to the big screen has been about as rocky as The Thing’s complexion. Schlock genius Roger Corman took the first stab in 1994, but the pic he exec produced was never released, not even on home video. Lee has revealed in interviews that the version was never intended for release and was made only because New Horizons was going to lose the film rights if it didn’t start production by a certain date.

    Fantastic Four is set to return to TV sets with a new animated series co-produced by Moonscoop, the new umbrella banner for France Animation and Antefilms Production, and Cartoon Network Europe. The toon will blend 2D character animation with 3D backgrounds, vehicles and other elements. Moonscoop and Cartoon Network Europe plan to have the new show ready to air by September of 2006.

  • Star Wars Editor Brutt to Adapt Chassis

    Hurricane Ent. has announced that four-time Academy Award-winning sound designer/editor Ben Burtt (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T: The Extraterrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) has been hired to direct a live-action feature film adaptation of Chassis, the company’s flagship comic book property.

    Set in the world of rocket-car racing in a retro/futuristic 1949, Chassis is the story of a young woman who longs to be a rocket racer but faces opposition from her father, who knows the dangers involved and the nefarious men who run the sport. The property was created by Hurricane president William O’Neill, who founded the company with wife Jan Utstein-O’Neill in 1996.

    Hurricane and Burtt will be at Comic-Con in San Diego (July 14-18) to show off a four-minute, live-action short designed to introduce the public to the world of Chassis.

    “We have some fantastic CGI shots of the rocket cars that just blew me away,” boasts Utstein-O’Neill. “They were created by the very talented folks at Third Floor Studios, a start-up company consisting of the team that did the pre-visualization on Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge Of The Sith.”

    "I see a hint of the same magic I felt when working on the first Star Wars and Indy films," adds Burtt. "I think today’s audiences will be surprised and receptive to Chassis. It’s going to be something they haven’t seen before.”

    Burtt’s previous directing credits include the feature-length pilot for the TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Attack of the Hawkmen and the IMAX films Blue Planet and Special Effects. Most recently, he edited the Star Wars prequels and created a new sound division for Pixar Animation.

    In addition to putting out the original properties Chassis and Violent Messiahs, Hurricane recently published the comic mini-series John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken Chronicles with Kurt Russell, John Carpenter and the late Debra Hill.

    The Chassis film is being produced by Hurricane Ent., along with Josh Morris and Kevin Cleary of Content House. Comic-Con will host the world premiere of the promotional short on Saturday, July 16, at 1 p.m. in room 5-AB. Hurricane will also be premiering a special convention-exclusive Chassis comic book at booth #2205. Included is a short story written and drawn by William O’Neill, an exclusive interview with Ben Burtt, and a cover by Star Wars: Episode III artist Ryan Church. There will be a limited print run of 1500.

  • Fantastic Four Animated on Disc

    With 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four blazing into theaters today, animated TV adaptations of the classic Marvel comic book series are due to get another look. One place to start is Fantastic Four: The Complete Animated Series, a four-disc set featuring all 26 episodes from the 1994-95 Saturday morning cartoon show. The collection was released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment this week.

    This Saban-distributed series is the third to bring Satan Lee’s and Jack Kirby’s superhero creation to television, following on the heels of Hanna-Barbera’s 1967 version for ABC and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises’ 1978 NBC effort, The New Fantastic Four. A new Fantastic Four animated series is coming in the fall of 2006 via a co-production deal between Fance’s Moonscoop and Cartoon Network Europe.

    Installments of Fantastic Four: The Complete Animated Series include a look at the origin of the title superhero clan, known individually as Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards, Sue "The Invisible Woman" Storm, Johnny "Human Torch" Storm and Ben "The Thing" Grim. These mutated former astronauts combine their unique posers and work as a team to save the world from the dastardly Doctor Doom. Also featured are guest appearances Ghost Rider, Thor and other superheroes of note.

    Bonus features include episode introductions by Stan Lee, as well as Stan Lee’s Soapbox, a featurette in which the legendary comics creator speaks his mind. $49.99. Fantastic Four: The Complete Animated Series lists for $49.99.

  • 4Kids Names Grossman Exec VP, COO

    Steven M. Grossman, who has been a 4Kids Ent. board director since 2001, has been appointed to the position of exec VP and COO at the company. Grossman will take over COO duties for Joseph P. Garrity since the company found it necessary to separate the roles of COO and CFO to meet reporting and compliance requirements. Garrity will continue to serve as CFO.

    Effective Sept. 1, 2005, Grossman’s appointment will have him partnering with 4Kids chairman and CEO Al Kahn and the rest of the management team to expand the scope and reach of the company’s brands and assets.

    Grossman has resigned as chairman of 4Kids’ Audit Committee, a position he’s held since 2003, but will continue as a director of the company. He currently serves as exec VP, CFO and treasurer of R.A.B. Holdings Inc., which currently owns Millbrook Distribution Services Inc. and the R.A.B. Food Group LLC.

    Headquartered in New York City with international offices in London, 4Kids Ent. Inc. is a global provider of children’s entertainment and merchandise licensing. The company’s animated properties include Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Winx Club, Tokyo Mew Mew, F-Zero, One Piece, Shaman King, Sonic X, and Cramp Twins, to mane a few. For more information, go to www.4KidsEntertainment.com and www.4Kids.TV.

  • Roy Disney Back on Disney Board

    In an unexpected turn of events, The Walt Disney Co., Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold Friday issued a joint statement staying they have agreed to put aside their differences. The litigious nephew of Walt Disney has agreed to dismiss all pending lawsuits he has filed against the company that bares his family name, and will return to its board of directors as director emeritus. He will also serve as a consultant for the Mouse House.

    In May, Disney and Gold filed a lawsuit with the Delaware Chancery Court alleging that the Walt Disney Co. Board misled shareholders in regard to their so-called "bona fide search" for a CEO to replace Michael Eisner. The claim suggested that the Board pretended to be looking at candidates other than Bob Iger in order to get incumbent Board members re-elected at the 2005 meeting, and to keep Disney and Gold from running an alternate slate of directors.

    Under the agreement announced today, the Walt Disney Co. reaffirmed its commitment to the rotation of committee members and chairpersons on its Board committees as currently required by the company’s corporate governance guidelines. In return, Roy Disney and Gold have agreed not to run a rival slate of directors or submit shareholder resolutions for the next five years.

    Though they have publicly expressed their disappointment with the process by which Iger was selected as CEO, Roy Disney and Gold now express confidence in Iger’s leadership, according to the statement. They also put forth an effort to make nice with Eisner, acknowledging positive contributions he has made to the Walt Disney Co. over the past 21 years.

  • Anima Mundi Rolls in Rio

    Today, July 8, marks the start of the 13th annual Anima Mundi International Festival of Animation in Brazil. The biggest Latin American toon showcase got rolling in Rio De Janeiro, where it will continue through July 17 before picking up again in Sao Paulo July 20-24. Among the toon titans scheduled to participate is Canadian Chris Landreth, maker of the Academy Award-winning CG short film, Ryan.

    This year, around 80,000 people are expected to show up for screenings of animated films from 41 countries. A total of 369 flicks will compete for various prizes during the fest, which also features an animation expo and a series of workshops.

    Landreth will participate in discussions about his award-winning short and animation in general. Other noteworthy figures scheduled to give lecturers include Acme Filmworks founder and producer Ron Diamond, Ukrainian animated filmmaker Igor Kovalyov and Swiss toon crafter Georges Schwizgebel. Anima Mundi can be found on the web at www.animamundi.com.br.

  • Studio B’s D’Myna Leagues Coming to Disc

    The baseball-themed animated comedy series D’Myna Leagues from Studio B is aiming for the bleachers with a U.S. and Canadian home video deal struck with Trinity Home Video and 2450 Visual Ent. The show airs on Canada’s YTV, which is airing a one-hour special titled Rocky Racoon vs D’Mynas on July 18 at 3 pm (all time zones).

    D’Myna Leagues follows the adventures of a team of misfit baseball-playing birds as it deals with issues associated with growing up and spoofs everything from movie and sports agents to announcers and talk show hosts. The show, which combines hand-drawn characters and digital 3D backgrounds, is distributed for television broadcast by Sony Pictures Television International and can be seen in 18 countries around the world.

    In the double header TV special, The Myna birds take on the unsavory Rocky Racoon when Reggie Stainback agrees to throw the series to pay off his debt. In part two, Ebbet goes up against Rocky in a winner-takes-all competition at the video arcade in a desperate bid to release Reggie from his debt.

    Vancouver-based Studio B’s other award-winning shows include Yvon of the Yukon, What About Mimi? and Being Ian. The company’s international co-productions include Something Else and Yakkity Yak, which air on Nicktoons U.S. and TELETOON in Canada. In addition to a full slate of service work, Studio B is also in production on 26 half-hour episodes of Class of the Titans for TELETOON. The company is on the web at www.studiobproductions.com.

    To find more information about D’Myna Leagues, browse baseball fun facts and play a game with the team, go to www.mynaleagues.com.

  • Filmation Co-Founder Prescott Dies

    Norman Prescott, co-founder of prolific cartoon studio Filmation, died of natural causes on July 2 in Los Angeles. The 78-year-old former chairman and exec producer leaves behind a inheritance of TV animation involving such iconic franchises as Superman, Batman, The Archies, Tarzan, Flash Gordon and He-Man.

    Following a successful run as a Boston radio personality, Prescott went on to produce the independent animated feature Pinocchio in Outer Space in 1961, which he followed with Journey Back to Oz.

    Prescott and Lou Scheimer established Filmation in 1963, getting the ball rolling with The New Adventures of Superman. The studio picked up an Emmy for the Star Trek animated series in 1975 and was nominated for Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids. Live-action efforts included the fantasy and sci-fi series Jason of Star Command, Shazam, Isis, Ark II and Space Academy.

    In addition to many half-hours of toon programming, Prescott’s heritage lives on with The New England Institute of Art in Brookline, Mass., which he founded in 1952 as the Norm Prescott School of Broadcasting. His sons have followed in his footsteps. Jeffrey is a radio host and reporter in San Diego, Calif., and Michael is a film and TV producer. He is also survived by his wife of 53 years, Elaine, and three grandchildren.

  • Justice League Game for More Action

    Gamers with a heroic bent can soon get more kicks as Superman, Batman, The Flash, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna and other famous DC Comics characters. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is in production on Justice League of America, a new video game based on the comic-book legends and the hit Cartoon Network series. The superhero action role-playing title will release for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the fall of 2006.

    “The innovative and highly engaging combat system in the Justice League of America game will capture the strength and appeal of the characters, offering players a tremendously fun and rewarding experience," promises Jason Hall, senior VP of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

    “The joy of Justice League as a game is the chance to be your favorite characters and to interact with the rest of the team in the rich fantasy world of the DC universe,” adds Paul Levitz, president and publisher of DC Comics.

    In the game, each super hero will possess unique powers, allowing for a variety of fighting styles for players to utilize while battling the forces of evil. Gamers will have the power to customize these skills and engage in single-player action or two-player cooperative combat throughout interactive and destructible environments.

    Justice League Unlimited, the third season of the new animated action series, airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 10:30 p.m. on Cartoon Network.

  • Time Warp Trio, Catscratch Bow Saturday

    Saturday, July 9, sees the debut of not one but two new, high-profile animated series. NBC and Discovery Kids Channel will kick off action-packed history lessons with Time Warp Trio at 10:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT, while Nickelodeon digs at the funny bone with two back-to-back episodes at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

    Time Warp Trio is based on the popular book series of the same name, written by Jon Scieszka (The Stinky Cheese Man, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs) and illustrated by Lane Smith. The fun begins when 10-year-old city kids Joe, Sam and Fred get their hands on a magic book that has the power to send them anywhere in time or space. Through their adventures, they battle gladiators and march into battle with samurai when they’re not visiting historical figures like Napoleon, Genghis Khan and Thomas Edison. Each episode is created in consultation with historians to provide historical lessons while entertaining young viewers with high adventure.

    "The whole series tries to debunk the notion that maybe people were less intelligent just because they lived before us," notes Scieszka, a former school teacher. "We seem to think we’ve reached some kind of pinnacle of knowledge, and everything else that came before was just building up to us. But then you start looking back into history and realize that the Mayan calendar is actually more accurate than ours is today."

    Originally slated to bow on July 2, Time Warp Trio is produced for Discovery Kids by WGBH in association with Soup2Nuts. WGBH’s Carol Greenwald serves as exec producer, along with Martha Ripp and Jim Rapsas. Marjorie Kaplan is the exec in charge of production. Major funding was provided by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

    Another show that’s sure to be an instant hit is Catscratch, an offbeat comedy that follows the misadventures of nouveau riche cats Mr. Blik (Wayne Knight of Seinfeld fame), Gordon (Rob Paulsen from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius), and Waffle (Kevin McDonald from Kids in the Hall). When their adoring owner dies and leaves them a fortune, the mischievous felines are left to do whatever they want, if they can only agree on what that is.

    Catscratch is the brainchild of exec. producer Doug TenNapel (Earthworm Jim). The author-illustrator, video game creator and animator says the series is a throwback to the slapstick-style, character-based animal genre made popular by the likes of Tom & Jerry. The three main Catscratch characters were first featured in his epic, 150-page comic, Gear, which got the attention of development execs at Nickelodeon. His graphic novels Tommysaurus Rex and Creature Tech are being developed as feature films by Universal and Fox New Regency, respectively, and his latest comic epic, Earthboy Jacobus, is receiving bids.

    Nickelodeon has committed to six episodes of Catscratch, which will air Fridays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. with back-to-back episodes. The show is produced at Nickelodeon Animation Studios in Burbank, Calif., under the supervision of animation director Christine Kolosov and supervising director Mike Girard. Peter Hastings serves as co-exec. producer.

  • Nelvana Toons in Corus/Comcast Vortex

    Canada’s Corus Ent. and U.S. cable TV provider Comcast Corp. have joined forces to launch Vortex On Demand, a new VOD service for kids 6-12. Available mid-July at no additional charge for Comcast Digital Cable customers, Vortex programming will feature 393 half-hours of children’s animation produced and distributed by Corus subsidiary Nelvana Ltd.

    Under the multi-year deal, Nelvana will be responsible for programming the Vortex lineup of shows available each month on Comcast ON DEMAND. Offerings will include such hit shows as Jacob Two-Two, Tales from the Crypt Keeper, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, Pippi Longstocking, Elliot Moose, Dumb Bunnies, Moville Mysteries. Stickin’ Around, Flying Rhino Junior High and My Dad the Rock Star.

    Comcast ON DEMAND also offers programming for infants and preschoolers with PBS KIDS Sprout and Pre-K Kids On Demand, available to 90% of the company’s customers in markets across the U.S. Corus has also licensed a number of classic Nelvana preschool series such as Care Bears and Rupert to support Comcast’s Pre-K Kids ON Demand service.

  • Will Vinton Exhibit Coming to Art Institute of Calif.

    Oscar-winning Claymation maestro Will Vinton will be the focus of a new exhibit opening at The Art Institute of California in Los Angeles from July 11 through August 31. The Artist’s reception will be held July 21 at 6 pm. and is open to the public.

    Vinton founded Will Vinton Studios in 1976, after he and Bob Gardiner won a Best Animated Short Academy Award for Closed Mondays. The studio went on to produce the hugely popular animated California Raisins commercials and the FOX primetime comedy The PJs with Eddy Murphy. Other noteworthy projects include UPN’s brilliant-but-canceled stop-motion comedy series Gary & Mike and the 1985 feature The Adventures of Mark Twain.

    In 2003, Nike founder Phil Knight assumed majority ownership of the studios and Vinton was laid off from the company he started. Operating without its namesake, Vinton Studios is currently working with Tim Burton on the feature Corpse Bride (coming this September) and with Nightmanre Before Christmas director Henry Selick on a number of projects including an adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.

    Following a bit of a hiatus from the industry, Will Vinton is signed with the Creative Arts Agency and is focusing on developing and directing a range of animated features and other projects through a new company, which will eventually bare his name once he works out details with Vinton Studios.

  • Shout! Factory Brings DIC Shows to Disc

    Audio and home video entertainment company Shout! Factory has signed an exclusive licensing agreement to bring a number of animated shows from the DIC Ent. catalog to DVD as collector’s sets. The first offering, Heathcliff & the Catillac Cats, will be released on Sept. 20 as a four-disc set containing the first 24 episodes of the classic series. Releases to follow include The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Inspector Gadget and Sabrina the Animated Series.

    Featuring legendary Warner Bros. Animation icon Mel Blanc as the voice of the original fat, orange tabby, Heathcliff follows the practical joker as he struts through the town of Westfinster in search of new ways to torment neighborhood bulldog Spike, woo his beloved Sonja and annoy his human Grandpa. Each Heathcliff episode is followed by a Cats and Co. cartoon, starring a comical junkyard gang of feline hustlers known as the Catillac Cats.

    Bonus features on the Heathcliff & The Catillac Cats set will include original promos, a click-thru gallery of panels from the syndicated newspaper cartoon from its 1973 inception to present day and an interview with current Heathcliff comic panel illustrator Peter Gallagher. The set will carry a suggested retail price of $34.98.

    In addition to animation, Shout! Factory’s home Video projects include television programming spanning 75 years, live music concerts, sports collections and special interest documentaries. The company’s products are are distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc. For more information on Shout! Factory, go to www.shoutfactory.com.

  • Nick Shows Go Online with TurboNick

    Nickelodeon has become the first major kid’s network to provide full-length programming online with the launch of TurboNick, a broadband video platform available on Nick.com. TurboNick officially kicks off with a full advertising and promotional campaign on July 17, but the soft launch has already logged more than 1.25 million streams since July 1.

    TurboNick will offer up to 20 hours of new, ad-supported programming every week, allowing kids to watch clips and full-length episodes of Nick series. It is organized in six separate areas, each containing up to five different series with two or more episodes to choose from. Animation will be concentrated in the "Nicktoons" area, where fans can view SpongeBob SquarePants, The Fairly OddParents and other favorites on demand. The service will also host the occasional world premiere beginning with the new animated series Catscratch, which debuts on air Saturday, July 9, at 8 p.m.

    Other exclusive TurboNick content will include animated shorts from Nick Australia and the short toon series Schmutz from Klasky Csupo, the animation studio behind Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. All programming will be available in full-screen and kids can customize the look of their TurboNick players.

    The launch of TurboNick follows MTV Networks’ recent acquisition of Neopets, a global online virtual pet sensation with more than 25 million members worldwide. Nickelodoen is also rolling out two more broadband video initiatives. Nick Jr. Parents TV is intended to bring Nick Jr.’s parenting content to life through video, while a new, upgraded version of Nick Jr. Video will entertain preschoolers with more than 100 video clips from Nick Jr. shows including the upcoming Dora the Explorer spin-off series, Go Diego Go!.

  • Toon Boom Studio V3 Arrive

    Toon Boom Animation announced today the release of Toon Boom Studio V3, the latest version of its popular solution for paperless cut-out animation Enhanced features include new text and transform tools, and improvements in lip synching. In addition, a simplified user interface combines the Drawing and Sceneplanning modes.

    The updated free transform tool enables users to apply any combinations of scaling, rotation and skewing to animate faster. Users can also add text for effective communication in web presentations, comic strips and other projects. Automated lip sync tools allow for fast sound track synchronization, while improved sound scrubbing enables accurate adjustments to the synchronization.

    Toon Boom Studio V3 users can animate with key frames and use interpolation to create animation faster, while cell-swapping and templates promise to further speed production along. The library allows drawings, animation cycles and motions to be saved for reuse, while the timeline facilitates layer organization, timing, and motion path attachment. In addition, the 3D space and camera make it easy to create dollys, trucks, zooms and other camera moves.

    Toon Boom is showcasing Toon Boom Studio V3 at Flashforward New York, taking place July 6-8. A Technology Showcase titled "What will you animate now?" will be held on July 7 at 11:30 a.m. in the Sutton Place at the New Yorker Hotel.

    All Toon Boom Studio V3 orders that require shipping will be sent out during the month of July and customers who purchase the pre-sale promo will receive their license key(s) by e-mail. For more information on Toon Boom Studio V3 and other Toon Boom products, including Opus and Harmony, go to www.toonboom.com.

  • VU Games Goes Next-Gen with Unreal Engine 3

    Vivendi Universal Games (VU Games) has licensed Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 3 tools and technology for development of next-generation console and PC games. The license covers VU Games’ internal and external development studios, which will are producing next-gen games for launch beginning in 2006. Specific titles will be announced at a later date.

    “Our licensing agreement with Epic Games underscores VU Games’ commitment to developing top-tier next-generation products,” comments Peter Della Penna, exec VP and COO of product development for VU Games. “Unreal Engine 3 technology will enable us to create exceptional, high quality next-gen titles in a productive and cost effective fashion.”

    Known for cutting-edge graphics and toolsets, the award-winning Unreal Engine formed the foundation of Epic Games’ hit PC games Unreal and Unreal Tournament, as well as other titles including Ubi Soft’s 2002 breakout console sensation Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell. According to Epic, Unreal Engine 3 adds massive world support, multi-processor support, next-generation console optimizations and one of the most mature tool pipelines in the industry. More information on the Unreal Engine can be found at www.unrealtechnology.com. Vivendi Universal Games is on the web at www.vugames.com.

  • Editor’s Note: Giving the Big G His Due

    Over the 4th of July weekend, I was fortunate to catch a screening of the most entertaining movie I have seen, and will see, all year. I say “fortunate” because many people will never get the opportunity to catch this flick the way it was meant to be seen’on the big screen. The movie is Godzilla: Final Wars and it’s two hours of virtually non-stop action featuring old-school rubber-suit monster mayhem, fast-and-furious martial arts combat and contemporary digital animation. Talk about getting your nine bucks’ worth!

    Granted, this latest and possibly last Godzilla outing from Toho Pictures may not have the technical competency of Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds or the serious genre treatment of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, but kids and adults will no doubt find it more fun to sit through than Herbie: Fully Loaded or The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl. And I’m confident that it packs more laughs than Bewitched and Rebound combined. Yet those films all got wide domestic release while the big green guy only got to do his thing on a handful of screens at special events here in the states.

    Godzilla: Final Wars had its world premiere last year at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood as Godzilla got his very own star on the walk of fame in honor of his 50th anniversary. The latest showings were held at Hollywood’s Egyptian Theatre as part of the American Cinematheque’s Giant Monster Festival. Fans of all ages waited in long lines to get into these precious few screenings of a film that should, in my opinion, be playing in every cineplex.

    In this post-Jurassic Park world, I can understand why domestic distributors would shy away from something that has men bounding around in rubber suits. Kids wouldn’t possibly be interested in seeing that, right? I mean, just look at how much they hate Power Rangers. Perhaps if they created a computer-generated version of Godzilla and Americanized him … Oh wait, they tried that and it was a disaster.

    The computer-animated mutant iguana from Roland Emmerich’s and Dean Devlin’s 1998 Godzilla effort actually shows up in Final Wars to do battle with his suited counterpart, a sequence that elicits howls of laughter and cheers from audiences. Other CG elements include a flying Rodan that terrorizes New York City and triangular spaceships that swarm from a mother ship like something from Independence Day. Even Mothra has had some digital work done for this installment.

    Japanese action auteur Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus) was brought on to direct this 28th film in the series. Working with the biggest Godzilla budget ever, he succeeds in invigorating the franchise with a hip new look and feel while bringing back a dozen or so classic monsters for his hero to fight. The cast is great and the human characters are given a lot more to this time around, which is refreshing to see. Kitamura obviously wanted to take the King of the Monsters out with a bang since Toho claims this is to be the last Godzilla movie. I have a feeling we’ll see him again, though. Perhaps the studio will one day let Quentin Tarantino make the Godzilla flick he’s been wanting to do for some time now.

    Godzilla: Final Wars is scheduled for U.S. release on DVD this month, but I suspect it will lose some of its impact on a TV screen, especially with its beautiful, wide-screen photography. Still, you have to see it to believe it. Sure, it’s flawed, but one thing it’s not is dull. Not for a moment. Write your local movie house and demand a screening. Maybe a double bill with Peter Jackson’s upcoming King Kong remake? One could only dream. Here’s looking way up at you, Big G!

  • Henson Shutters U.K. Creature Shop

    Citing the U.S. dollar’s poor exchange rate and the flagging U.K. production environment, The Jim Henson Co. is effectively closing the London location of its visual effects and animatronics division known as Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The facility’s 20 permanent staff members have been let go and freelance crews will be hired on a project-by-project basis for productions based in London.

    The Jim Henson Co. says its own television and film projects will not be affected by the shutdown and the Creature Shop will continue to service third party clients out of its Los Angeles and New York locations.

    Company president and COO Peter Schube comments, "Jim Henson’s Creature Shop in London was founded on the highest standards of innovation and creativity, launching our worldwide facilities with those principles in mind. We are grateful to the U.K. film industry for its important place in our company’s history and we are confident that it will remain a significant production center for us."

    The Creature Shop most recently created visual effects for the holiday comedy Are We There Yet? and Capitol Films’ kid-lit based feature Five Children and It, as well as the critically acclaimed television miniseries Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. Previous credits include Disney’s Around the World in 80 Days and 101 Dalmatians; Universal’s Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pact des Loups) and Babe; Miramax’s The English Patient; New Line Cinema’s Lost in Space; and Warner Bros.’ Cats and Dogs.

    The Creature Shop received a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award for the Henson Performance Control System, a custom-based interface for puppeteers, and won a second Academy Award for its visual effects work on Babe. The Shop has also received awards for developing the Henson Digital Performance System (HDPS), a patented control technology that enables puppeteers to animate computer-generated characters in real time. The technology was recently employed in the production of Frances, a preschool project produced in partnership with HIT Ent. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop can be found online at www.creatureshop.com.

  • Indie Games Con ’05 Registration Opens

    GarageGames announced today that registration is now open for the 4th Annual IndieGamesCon (IGC), to be held Oct. 7-9. in Eugene, Oregon. This informal and informative community gathering of independent game developers from around the world will feature sessions on game art, technology, tools and business, as well as the ShowOFF Center, where developers can showcase their current prototypes, demos and newly released games.

    “IGC has become an annual pilgrimage to premiere new games and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs,” comments Mark Frohnmayer, co-founder and president of GarageGames. “For three inspiring days, developers get to experience first hand the excitement and momentum of the indie game development phenomenon that is bringing innovation and fun back to gaming.”

    Registration can be completed online at www.indiegamescon.com. A three-day pass costs $195 and includes sessions, food, parties and a t-shirt for those registering before Sept. 16. Space is limited and reservations will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Registrations after Sept. 16 will cost $250.

    Best known for bringing the Torque Game Engine to independent developers for $100, GarageGames is located in Eugene, Oregon, and on the web at www.garagegames.com.

  • Luke’s Light Saber on Auction Block

    Since Star Wars exploded on the screen in 1977, fans worldwide have dreamed of wielding Luke Skywalker’s light saber. Now one lucky, and wealthy, person will get the opportunity to purchase it when producer Gary Kurtz puts the original screen prop and other Star Wars items up for auction on Friday, July 29, in Beverly Hills.

    Kurtz, producer of Star Wars and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, as well as George Lucas’ American Graffiti and the fantasy films Return to Oz and The Dark Crystal, is auctioning off these treasures from his personal archive through Beverly Hills auctioneer Profiles in History. The former VP of Lucasfilm has amassed a huge archive of film memorabilia, and parting with the light saber and more than 75 other pieces will help fund the restoration and conservation of other artifacts in the collection.

    The original light saber used by star Mark Hammil in the first Star Wars film is expected fetch $60,000 to $80,000. Also on the block are Darth Vader’s hero light saber from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back ($40,000-$60,000),

    Luke’s X-Wing flight suit from Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back ($60,000-$80,000), and an original, screen-used Stormtrooper blaster from Star Wars ($25,000-30,000).

    Profiles in History’s live public auction will include more than 640 items with a total worth of around two million dollars. Collectors from around the world will bid on vintage and contemporary Hollywood artifacts, including Harrison Ford’s signature leather jacket from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the original Derelict Ship set piece from the first two Alien films, and a miniature Batmobile from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman feature.

    Collectors can bid in person, live on the Internet at www.ebayliveauctions.com, by phone or fax. Profiles in History is found on the web at www.profilesinhistory.com.