Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Entertainment Rights Nabs New Transformers, Duel Masters, B-Daman

    U.K.-based independent media group Entertainment Rights Plc. (ER) has acquired international television distribution rights to the animated series Transformers Cybertron and Duel Masters, as well as a new show titled B-Daman.

    Transformers Cybertron is offered as a 52×30 series aimed at boys 4-9. The Transformers brand has been hugely successful since the early 1980s, with the various series selling to more than 100 countries including Cartoon Network in the U.S., where it remains a ratings success. The property is expected to grow even bigger with the summer 2006 release of DreamWorks’ computer-generated big-screen adaptation.

    Duel Masters, which is aimed at boys 7-11, began as a Manga comic and trading card phenomenon that started in Japan and spread throughout the world. The first Duel Masters series has been acquired by FIVE in the U.K. and has sold to more than 100 territories around the world. ER will be shopping 26 new half-hour installments.

    B-Daman, a new addition to the ER programming slate, is available as 52×30 package and combines 2D animation with CG visual effects to bring more fast-paced action to the boys market.

  • SLR Prods.’ Gets Deadly with Aussie Kid Lit

    Sydney, Australia-based newcomer SLR Prods. is set to begin production on an animated series based on the best-selling Deadly children’s book series by Morris Gleitzman and Paul Jennings. Yoram Gross-EM.TV will serve as the Australian animation studio and distributor for the 13×30 show, which is financed through the Distinctively Australian Fund run by the Film Finance Corp. Australia and has been pre-sold to Aussie broadcaster Network Nine.

    Deadly will be the first series from SLR Prods., which was founded by Suzanne Ryan in 2003 as a joint venture with New Zealand production company South Pacific Pictures, producers of the hit indie feature, Whale Rider. Ryan will produce Deadly, with David Evans directing and Ryan and Geoff Watson of Yoram Gross-EM.TV serving as exec producers.

    Ryan comments, "I have no doubt that the television series of Deadly will have a huge national and international appeal. Morris Gleitzman’s and Paul Jennings’ wonderfully inventive world is an animator’s dream and it is fantastic that a project like this can be fully financed from Australia."

    Deadly will premiere on Nine Network in 2005. Also in the works at SLR Prods. is I Got A Rocket! The Australian/U.K. co-production between SLR and Taffy Ent.’s U.K. unit is based on the popular Australian picture book of the same name by Matt Zurbo and Dean Gorrissen. The trailer was launched at MIPCOM earlier this year.

  • Cartoon Net Boosts Atomic Program

    Better-than-expected ratings have prompted Cartoon Network in the U.S. to order an additional 26 half-hour episodes of Breakthrough Animation’s new action/comedy series, Atomic Betty, which debuted in mid September. The Canada-France co-production was created by Atomic Cartoons and co-produced with Breakthrough Media and France’s Tele-image Kids, in association with TELETOON Canada and with the participation of the Shaw Fund and the Canadian Television Fund.

    Atomic Betty employs Flash animation and some CG to chronicle the exploits of an extraordinary little girl from the Canadian town of Moosejaw Heights. To her friends and family, Betty is the sweet and brainy girl next door. But when the galaxy beckons, she sheds her humdrum persona and becomes Atomic Betty, Galactic Guardian and Defender of the Cosmos. The property was conceived by Atomic Cartoons principals Trevor Bentley, Mauro Casalese, Rob Davies and Olaf Miller, and developed by Breakthrough Animation and Fresh Produce.

    Series executive producer Kevin Gillis, a managing partner of Breakthrough Animation Inc., says that while there’s no formula for a successful show, all the right elements have come together for Betty. He comments, "It crosses over a number of different genres in terms of being appealing for both boys and girls. I think the comedy is a huge part of it and the work Atomic Cartoons has done on the designs is fabulous. The writers have also done a fabulous job of telling good stories with great comedy and that combined with the great design has created a property that has found its time."

    In late October, Breakthrough inked a worldwide home video distribution agreement with Warner Home Video for Atomic Betty. Under the terms of the agreement, Warner Home Video will distribute the first two seasons, consisting of 52 half-hour episodes, in the U.S. and most international home video markets.

    Beakthrough has Betty licensing deals in place with Playmates as master toy licensee and Penguin Books as publishing partner for the property, with new items to begin landing on store shelves in early 2005. One consumer product Gillis is especially fond of is a line of Atomic Betty shoes that has lights that shoot out across the pavement like exhaust from miniature rockets. The company also has plans to reach slightly older viewers with a mobile game and other mobile content to be developed by wireless entertainment company GlobalFun AB in Sweden.

    Atomic Betty has also been renewed for a second season by such international broadcasters as Teletoon France and LUK Int’l for Spain and Portugal. The animated series has been licensed to more than 100 territories including TELETOON Canada, ABC (Australia), M6 France, CITV (U.K.), Cartoon Network (U.S.) and Cartoon Network Territories worldwide including the U.K, Italy, Scandinavia and South East Asia.

  • NVIDIA Renders Gelato 1.1 Available

    NVIDIA Corp. today announced that NVIDIA Gelato 1.1, the latest version of its hardware-accelerated, final-frame renderer, is now available for purchase. Gelato 1.1 features a new version of its Mango plug-in for Alias Maya and introduces a new feature called Preview Mode, which allows for ultra-high speed rendering of an image with user-defined image quality and fidelity to preview the final render.

    "The new features found in Gelato 1.1 are the first of many that address the needs of our customers and their digital production pipelines," says Beth Loughney, general manager of the Digital Film Group at NVIDIA. "We’re moving towards a truly interactive rendering pipeline which doesn’t require compromises in the quality of the images, tools, or experience of creating content."

    Mango, which is included free with the purchase of Gelato, now provides translations of most of the Maya Hypershade nodes that ship with Maya. The packaged Hypershade nodes can also be layered with shaders written specifically for Gelato, allowing improved flexibility and control over the effects.

    Preview Mode allows the artist to make decisions on lights, geometry and shaders, selectively trading time for quality on features such as motion blur and anti-aliasing, enabling artists to see an approximation of the final image in seconds rather than minutes or even hours. Since the image viewed in Preview Mode doesn’t require a different set of shaders or other assets, no additional prep work or changes to the production pipeline are necessary.

    Other new features in Gelato 1.1 include depth of field for realistic blurring effects for objects at varying distance from the lens, a network parallel rendering permitting multiple servers to work in concert to render a single frame, an OpenEXR plug-in for reading and writing data in the high dynamic-range (HDR) image file input/output format developed by Industrial Light & Magic and performance enhancements for improved speed and image quality.

    Currently shipping for both Windows XP and Linux, Gelato 1.1 is priced at $2,750 per workstation or server node, with an annual fee of $525 for maintenance and support. An evaluation version and additional product details, including a list of resellers, can be found at http://film.nvidia.com.

  • ION Fest 2004 Award Winners

    The first annual ION Int’l Animation, Games and Short Film Festival concluded Monday night with an award ceremony honoring the best of 152 films screened over the weekend at Culver Studios in Culver City, Calif. The kudos were handed out after DPS Film Roman was honored for 20 years of excellence in animation and legendary Fleischer Studios received the first Max Fleischer Lifetime Achievement Award during the opening night gala.

    Canadian animator Chris Landreth’s biographical short, Ryan, picked up the Animation of the Year Award. Landreth’s innovative 3D work is based on the life of Ryan Larkin, a former animator who produced works 30 years ago at the National Film Board of Canada and today panhandles for spare change in Montreal. The short is a frontrunner in the Oscar race, having also received the Jury’s Special Award at Annecy, Jury Honors at this year’s SIGGRAPH Animation Fest and most recently the Grand Prix for Independent Short Film at the Ottawa Int’l Animation Festival.

    Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic from LucasArts and developer BioWare Corp. was honored with the Game of the Year Award. Earlier this year, the role-playing game for Xbox and PC was the big winner at the fourth annual Game Developers Choice Awards, storming off with wins in three categories including Game of the Year. A sequel, Star Wars–Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords will be released for Xbox in December and for PC in February 2005. The follow-up was nominated for Best Role Playing Game at the Game Critics Awards Best of E3 2004.

    The TV Spot/Trailer of the Year Award went to a promo for spawn.com, the official site for Todd McFarlane’s Spawn franchise and various toy lines. The other winners are:

    Short Film of the Year Award

    Photograbber (France)

    Directed by Pascal Tosi

    Documentary of the Year Award

    The Last Stand: Heroes At Bellona Wetlands (U.S.)

    Directed by Todd Brunelle and Sheila Laffey

    Music Video of the Year Award

    In The Waiting Line

    Directed by Tommy Pallotta (U.S.)

    Experimental Film of the Year Award

    You Are My Favourite Chair

    Directed by Rob Hardy (U.K.)

  • Blizzard Storms Chicago Children’s Film Fest

    The 21st Annual Chicago Int’l Children’s Film Festival awarded the Best of the Fest prize to the Canadian-made Christmas special, Blizzard, directed by Reading Rainbow host and Roots star LeVar Burton.

    Blizzard tells the tale of a young skater named Katie who becomes friends with Santa’s most gifted reindeer, Blizzard, voiced by Whoopi Goldberg. The film also stars Kevin Pollack and Christopher Plummer.

    Burton, well known for his role on Star Trek: The Next Generation, attended festival screenings of his film and spoke with children afterwards about the themes of friendship. He also visited Chicago public schools to speak with students about the importance of literacy and address questions regarding the process of filmmaking.

    The festival’s closing night awards ceremony, sponsored by American Airlines, was held on Sunday, Oct. 31 at the Vittum Theater. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star James Avery hosted the gala as hundreds of movie lovers gathered to celebrate the most popular films of the festival.

    Among the other festival winners were Javier Fe for Binta and the Great Idea (Spain, 2004) won the Kenneth F. and Harle G. Montgomery Prize for best film or video by an emerging director; Michael McGrath, whose Escalating (U.K., 2003) was awarded the Kenneth F. and Harle G. Montgomery Prize for the best film or video for the best child-produced film or video; Malene Vilstrup, whose Zafir (Denmark, 2003) received the Liv Ullmann Peace Prize; Aaron Greer, whose Gettin’ Grown (U.S., 2004) won the Rights of the Child Award; and two-time Emmy Award winner Shia LaBeouf and fellow actor/co-director Lorenzo Eduardo, whose directorial debut, Let’s Love Hate (U.S., 2004) was awarded the Children’s Jury Second Prize for Best Live-Action Short Film or Video.

    A complete list of awards and winners, complete with descriptions of the films, is posted on-line at www.cicff.org. The Chicago Int’l Children’s Film Festival is presented by Facets Multi-Media, Inc., a not-for-profit film and video organization.

  • Looney Tunes Go Gold Again on Disc

    Bugs, Daffy, Porky and the rest of the gang lead the list of today’s home video releases as Warner Home Video offers The Looney Toons Golden Collection Volume 2. The four-disc set arrives on shelves along with the 1954 animated adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, The Simpsons Christmas episodes, SpongeBob SquarePants installments and a Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl three-disc gift set.

    The Looney Toons Golden Collection Volume 2 contains more than 60 digitally re-mastered and uncut animated shorts, plus bonus cartoons and extra features. Disc one features classic Bugs Bunny favorites, while the second disc focuses on Road Runner and friends. Sylvester, Tweety and friends run the show in disc three and disc four offers an all-star assortment of cartoon favorites including Back Alley Uproar, Book Revue, Corny Concerto and a cavalcade of Hollywood parodies.

    Extra features include commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, the 1985 documentary Bugs Bunny’s All Star 50th Anniversary (Part 1 and 2), the 1962 pilot The Adventures of The Road Runner, a 2004 short titled Daffy Duck for President, the 1949 short So Much for Little, the 1952 short Orange Blossoms for Violet and music only tracks. The set lists for $64.92 but is being sold on the Warner Home Video website (http://store.warnervideo.com) for $49.95.

    Also available is The Looney Tunes Spotlight Collection Volume 2, a two-disc set featuring 30 re-mastered and restored cartoons culled from the Golden Collection Volume 2. This lighter version carries a suggested retail price of $26.99.

    Animal Farm, a 1954 animated political satire directed by Joy Batchelor and John Halas, is new on DVD today complete with original storyboards, commentary by film historian Brian Sibley, a 30-minute BBC making-of featurette titled Down on Animal Farm and liner notes by author/art historian Karl Cohen (Forbidden Animation: Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Animators in America). The Home Vision Ent. release lists for $24.95.

    Turning to TV, fans can pick up The Simpsons Christmas 2, featuring four holiday episodes from the long-running Fox series. "Homer vs. Dignity," "Skinner’s Sense of Snow," "Dude Where’s My Ranch?," and "’Tis the 15th Season" are packaged together for the price of $14.98. Everybody’s favorite sea sponge is also at it again with SpongeBob SquarePants: Sponge for Hire, a compilation of eight animated episodes from Paramount. It lists for $16.99.

    Buena Vista Home Entertainment rounds out the list of releases with the Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl three-disc gift set, which is a re-issue of the special edition set plus a third disc of extra features. Bonus material includes behind-the-scenes looks at how stars Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush were transformed into their respective characters. A featurette titled The Monkey’s Name is Jack focuses on the film’s scene-stealing primate, and Spirit of the Ride looks at the Disney theme park ride that inspired the movie. This latest edition is available for $29.99.

  • Lansing Leaves Paramount Post

    Sherry Lansing, chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group, is stepping down when her contract expires at the end of 2005. Until then, she will continue in her current role and assist the company in selecting a successor. Lansing was named Chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group in November 1992.

    Lansing issued a statement saying, "After a great deal of thought, I informed [Viacom co-president and co-COO] Tom Freston that I do not intend to renew my contract. In order to effect a smooth transition, I wanted to inform the company of my decision and give them adequate time to find a successor." She goes on to say, "I move on with great memories, many friendships and few regrets. But now it is time for new challenges. I am extremely excited about the months ahead and planning the next chapter in my life. Meanwhile, there is much left to be done at Paramount and I am looking forward to working closely with Tom and my team on all the exciting projects we have in the works."

    Last November, John Goldwyn stepped down as president of Paramount Pictures and vice chairman of the Motion Picture Group in a move that would allow him to exercise his option for a long-term production deal with the studio.

    Paramount has released the animated Rugrats features and The Wild Thornberrys Movie under its partnership with Nickelodeon pictures and Klasky Csupo. The Spongebob Squarepants Movie will roll out on the big screen on Nov. 19.

  • Peacock’s Pride Shelved

    DreamWork’s new animated primetime comedy series, Father of the Pride, is being put on the back burner at NBC. The expensive CG show has not been canceled, but will reportedly sit out the November sweeps and return in December with the remaining six episodes.

    After drawing an impressive 11 million viewers with its late August premiere, Father of the Pride has been slipping in the ratings, leading NBC to turn to extended installments of the hit new weight loss reality show, The Biggest Loser, to fill in the time slot during sweeps.

    DreamWorks, which last week scored big with its initial public offering, will not lose money if Father is indeed cancelled. The show’s production bill, which reaches nearly $2 million per episode, is entirely footed by NBC.

    The peacock network has taken a blow with the departure of long-running, high-rated sitcoms Friends and Frasier and new shows have largely failed to fill the void. The axe has already fallen on the new action series, Hawaii, and the highly promoted drama LAX is teetering on the edge of cancellation. With Pride also in purgatory, viewers may be looking at a raft of mid-season replacements in 2005.

    Father of the Pride used computer animation to delve into the secret lives of animals working in Siegfried and Roy’s Las Vegas act. The show boasts such celebrity voice cast members as John Goodman, Cheryl Hines, Carl Reiner and Orlando Jones.

  • Incredibles Game Hits Retail

    Fans of gaming and animation will no doubt be sprinting to their local game shops faster than a speeding bullet today as game publisher THQ releases its interactive title based on the highly anticipated Disney/Pixar animated feature, The Incredibles. Developed by THQ’s Heavy Iron Studios, in collaboration with Pixar Animation Studios and Disney Interactive, the game has shipped for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Game Boy Advance and PC/Mac.

    In the game, players assume the roles and super powers of Mr. Incredible, Elastigirl and their children, Violet and Dash. The action spans more than 18 levels including bonuses and extra hidden features. For younger tykes, THQ has also released The Incredibles: When Danger Calls for PC/Mac. Developed by Imaginengine, the title features 10 levels of engaging activities ranging in difficulty.

    Helixe, another internal studio of THQ, developed of the Game Boy Advance version and Beenox adapted the console version for PC/Mac users. Read more about the game and the feature film in the December issue of Animation Magazine, now available.

    Directed by Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, TV’s The Simpsons), The Incredibles is the story of a family of undercover superheroes trying to live a quiet, suburban life when they are forced back into action in order to save the world. The film opens nationwide this weekend.

  • Sleeker PlayStation 2 Makes Debut

    Sony’s best-selling video game console is sporting a slim new look for the holidays. Available at retail today, the new, redesigned PlayStation 2 offers all the features of the original version at half the weight and thickness.

    The engineers at Sony have managed to cut the unit’s thickness down from 3 inches to 1.1 inches. They have also reduced internal volume by 75 percent, making it easier to carry around. The North American model is equipped with both Ethernet and dial-up modem ports to support the 120 some online titles to be available in North America by the end of the year.

    The new PlayStation 2 will support CDs, DVDs and all of the 2,000 titles in the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 catalogue, as well as the more than 55 additional titles on the way in coming months.

    To maintain its competitive edge over Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony recently lowered the price of the PS2 to $149. The company is hoping the new, sleeker version will further spur sales of the console, which has seen more than 72 million units shipped to date.

  • Polar Express IMAX 3D Bound

    A number of Hollywood blockbusters have been given the really big screen treatment by the folks at IMAX, but Warner Bros.’ The Polar Express is breaking new ground, again. The completely motion-capture, 3D-animated film will be the first full-length studio feature ever converted to the IMAX 3D format. The Polar Express: An IMAX 3D Experience will begin pulling into IMAX theaters beginning Wednesday, November 10th.

    More than 70 IMAX theatres worldwide will open the film simultaneously with the 35mm release, making it the widest release ever for an IMAX digitally re-mastered movie. The conventional 2D, computer-generated film has been converted into 3D and then digitally blown up to 10 times the size of 35mm film by way of IMAX DMR technology. Special IMAX 3D glasses will help bring depth to the images, creating an immersive experience when combined with the more than 12,000 watts of digital surround sound.

    The Polar Express is the latest collaboration between the Academy Award-winning team of Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Cast Away). The holiday adventure is based on the classic Caldecott Medal-winning children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg. Go behind the scenes of this one-of-a-kind production in the upcoming January issue of Animation Magazine.

  • Hanks Hot for More Kid Lit

    According to Daily Variety, Tom Hanks and Playtone partner Gary Goetzman may follow up The Polar Express with another adaptation of a popular children’s book. The duo has reportedly purchased rights to Jeanne DuPrau’s young adult sci-fi fantasy novel, The City of Ember. Writer Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) is in negotiations to pen the screenplay for director Gil Kenan.

    The City of Ember follows two teens with very different dreams in a futuristic world where Earth’s toxic atmosphere has driven the population underground. The acquisition also gives Playtone an option on the sequel that DuPrau is writing.

    Director Kenan previously made a live-action/animated short titled The Lark, and is venturing into features with Sony’s upcoming toon, Monster House. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis, Monster House will be created using the same performance capture technology Zemeckis and Playtone used for The Polar Express, which opens Wednesday, Nov. 10.

  • POW! Bangs Out Superhero X-mas Special

    Stan Lee’s POW! Ent. Inc. is developing an animated TV Christmas special based on the popular new children’s book,. The book is published by Harper Collins and is now available at all major bookstores. The company further anticipates the production of a DVD title during the fourth quarter of 2005.

    Stan Lee’s Superhero Christmas is Lee’s first fantasy tale created specifically for younger children. The POW! CEO is confident that the new holiday special will help introduce his brand to a whole new audience.

    POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Ent. Inc., founded by Lee, Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman, is in the business of creating and licensing intellectual property for the entertainment industry, including feature films, television programming, animation projects, video games, merchandising and related entertainment venues. Last May, the company was acquired by Arturion Ent.

    IDT Ent., which owns a minority equity interest in POW!, has exclusive distribution rights for all POW! Ent. animated DVD properties. IDT will probably also produce Stan Lee’s Superhero Christmas at one of its animation houses, which include Canada’s Mainframe and DPS Film Roman. Lee and IDT are already developing Stan Lee Presents, a series of six new animated productions for DVd and broadcast.

  • Bull Market for Shark Studio

    DreamWorks Animation enjoyed a feeding frenzy yesterday as the sharks of Wall Street descended upon its initial public offering. The studio set its IPO price at $28 a share, but it opened at $39.50 and closed out at $38.75, according to USA Today.

    The 38% jump in stock price will help DreamWorks Animation reach its goal of raising more than $800 million to keep its toon factory cranking out two features a year. The IPO was necessary in the wake of yearly losses suffered by DreamWorks SKG.

    Now valued at $4.1 billion, DreamWorks is gaining ground on $4.6 billion rival Pixar. DreamWorks’ Shrek 2 proved an even bigger hit than Pixar’s Finding Nemo, surpassing it as the highest grossing animated feature in history. That title will be challenged again next weekend when the eagerly awaited Disney/Pixar superhero spoof, The Incredibles, opens in theaters.

  • The Nicktoons Film Festival Announces

    Screening: 2– A Halloween Scare

    The Nicktoons Film Festival continues this Sunday, Halloween night, with Screening: 2, a selection of ghoulishly funny shorts. A co-production of Frederator Studios and Animation Magazine for Nicktoons, The Nicktoons Film Festival airs on the Nicktoons cable channel Sunday nights 10 p.m (EST) and 7 p.m. (PST), with a repeat at 1:00 p.m. (EST) and 10 p.m. (PST). The films featured in Screening Number: 2–A Halloween Scare are: Day Off The Dead by Lee Lanier a senior animator on Shrek and Jeffrey Dates a vfx artist on major films like Spy Kids 2; April by CalArts student Jiwook Kim; The Thing With No Head from UCLA grad Mark Fearing and featuring the voice talent of Brian Doyle-Murray; Rotting Hills–Clark’s New Home from Nelvana filmmaker Glen Wyand; Jack & Jill from School of Visual Arts grad Andrea Shear; Attack of the Note Sheep from Texas A&M Visualization Laboratory alum Jessica Scott; and At Wit’s Vend from award-winning UCLA grad Alan Estridge.

    The Nicktoons Film Festival:

    Screening Number: 2 – A Halloween Scare

    Airdate & Time: Oct. 31, 2004, 10 p.m. (EST); 7 p.m. (PST), Nicktoons

    Film #1: Day Off The Dead (Length: 5:40; CG)–In case you were wondering, we can now tell you "what the dead do on their day off," courtesy of filmmakers Lee Lanier and Jeffrey Dates. Lanier, a former senior animator on Shrek and Dates, a vfx animator on films like Spy Kids 2, strut their creative and creepy stuff in this extremely well-animated and grandly goofy short. Says Lanier, “Day Off The Dead was created with Animation Master and Adobe AfterEffects. A crew of a dozen volunteers from all over North America worked on it in their spare time over a period of two years. My co-director, Jeffrey Dates, lives in Dallas, while I live just outside of Las Vegas. It was Jeff’s idea to put Day of the Dead style characters into one of my surreal 3D environments. The collaboration was carried out over the Internet." (For more information on Lee Lanier, visit www.beezlebugbit.com. To find out what Jeffrey Dates is up to go to wwwkungfukoi.com. And, for a full list of awards and other behind-the-scenes info on Day Off The Dead, visit www.dayoffthedead.com.)

    Film #2: April (Length: 3:00; Traditional 2D)–Third-year Cal Arts student Jiwook Kim’s short is a testament to the power of simple, pencil-drawn animation. The offbeat toon centers on a "different-looking" girl, whose face launches a million ill stomachs, until she finally meets her true match one day. Kim says the toon began as a character design study. He notes, "I liked to draw antique dolls and then wanted to move them. I also like all kinds of horror stories." Using "sharp pencils" to create the black-and-white project, Kim finished the piece in less than two months. He says he believes pencils are the perfect tools for "beginners, because you’ve already used them a lot and got used to them already!" The short won the Cal Arts Peer’s Pick Award and was one of Animation Magazine’s Student Short Film Winner’s Circle picks earlier this year. (If you would like see more of Kim’s artwork, you can visit www.calarts.edu/~kim.)

    Film #3: The Thing With No Head (Length: 3:50; Traditional 2D)–Every kid wants a pet, but as filmmaker Mark Fearing proves in his totally outthere and wonderful short, The Thing With No Head, some little ones should just give up the dream. Says Fearing, "The Thing with No Head is my first traditionally animated film. It was created in four months at UCLA’s Animation Workshop. I hand-painted 1,110 cells, 22 backgrounds were painted in Photoshop and the entire thing was shot in about 36 hours on an ACME 16mm animation camera. The idea came from a sketch of a little headless thing that I had been drawing as far back as 1994. I had drawn it running around, accomplishing some funny and odd things. I wanted to create a complete story, a mini-film that wasn’t just about laughs." The Thing With No Head features a voice over by character actor Brian Doyle-Murray (The Flying Dutchman on SpongeBob SquarePants). (To learn more about the animation of Mark Fearing, visit www.markfearing.com.)

    Film #4: Rotting Hills–Clark’s New Home (Length: 5:00; Animated in Flash)–Zombies continue to haunt our collective imagination, but Glen Wyand’s wacky short series, Rotting Hills, takes this premise to the extreme. In this episode called Clark’s New Home, Clark McWeeble’s dad is so thrilled with his family’s new life in the country that only Clark seems to notice Rotting Hills is a town crawling with zombies. Dad just thinks that rotting smell is swamp gas. Although it doesn’t explain his penchant for oogieness, it should be noted that Wyand is a graduate of Canada’s Sheridan College and its classical animation program. He came to Nelvana as a junior animator on John Callahan’s Quads in 2002. By 2003 he was working as a animation supervisor on the hit Canuck series, Jacob Two-Two. That same year Wyand pitched the idea for Rotting Hills to the company and it was accepted as part of Nelvana’s short program called the Funpak. (For more info on Glen Wyand and Rotting Hills, e-mail funpak@corusent.com.)

    Film #5: Jack & Jill (Length: 1:33, CG, animated in Alias’ Maya software)–A 2004 graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York, filmmaker Andrea Shear has already interned at the famous Will Vinton Studios in Portland, Oregon. We’re sure that’s because the unexpected storyline of her thesis project, Jack & Jill, caught the company’s attention. Shear says that the idea for the short actually popped into her very active head during a graphic design class at SVA. Says Shear, "We had to reinterpret the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill, which is really a story without a story. Everyone has different images in their heads for Jack and Jill. Some people think they are brother and sister, some people think they are boyfriend and girlfriend. But, I think it’s just innately morbid." (For more info on Andrea Shear and her work, check out her site at www.andreashear.com.)

    Film #6: Attack of the Note Sheep (Length: 1:20; Traditional 2D composited with live action footage)– Although filmmaker Jessica Scott is obviously a brainiac–she’s a grad of Texas A&M Visualization Laboratory– she also has a devilish sense of humor. We won’t give away the punch line to this short-short, but let’s just say it’s pretty brutal if you happen to be a hand-drawn sheep! Says Scott, "The idea for the animation came from a couple of college friends who would always draw sheep when they were bored in class. I picked up the habit, and took it with me to grad school, where I created this short." (For more information on Jessica Scott, visit her site at www.njord.org.)

    Film #7: At Wit’s Vend (Length: 3:49; CG animation completed in Alias’ Maya software) Filmmaker Alan Estridge, a graduate of the UCLA Animation Workshop and winner of the 2004 Chuck Jones Award in Animation, has definitely lost a lot of pocket change to vending machines. He turns it all around, however, in his big-gag short called At Wit’s Vend, a premise that cruelly pits man against chocolate in a painfully funny struggle for survival. Estridge is working on his next all CG film called Gridlock. (To check out Alan Estridge’s other shorts and storyboard art go to www.chompy.com.)

  • Animation Producers Talk Drawing New Audiences

    The PGA New Media Council will again shift its focus to animation as it hosts its latest Producers Guild panel discussion and mixer on the evening of Thursday, Nov. 11, at the Sony Imageworks Theater in Culver City, Calif. Leaders in animation production from top studios will be on hand to discuss their latest releases and the state of the industry, specifically what’s being done to attract different audiences.

    The distinguished panel will include industry professionals from Sony Pictures Imageworks, Cartoon Network, Dreamworks, Disney, Universal, TOKYOPOP and JibJab Media. They will cover such topics as pitching and deal making, domestic and foreign production studios, skill sets vital to animation producers and technology used to create new animation styles and distribution venues. Attendees will also get the inside scoop on such recent high-profile projects as The Polar Express, Shrek 2, Van Helsing: The London Assignment, The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, Reign: The Conqueror and the online Bush/Kerry political spoofs, This Land Is Your Land and Good To Be In D.C.

    Networking and cocktails will begin at 7:30 p.m., followed by the panel discussion at 8 p.m. There is no charge for Active PGA members. Guests accompanied by Active PGA members get in for $10 and non members admission is $20 (make check payable to Producers Guild of America). RSVP by Nov. 9 at www.pganewmedia.org/pnm/events/CurrentEvents/

    edutainment.drawingnewaudiences.html.

    Sony Imageworks Theatre is located at 9050 West Washington Blvd. in Culver City. Parking is free at below ground parking provided by Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment. The event is produced by NMC Events Committee chairs James Fino and Duncan Wain.

    Keep reading Animation Magazine Online for further updates on featured panelists and other details.

  • Golden Apple Comics Founder Dead at 63

    For Southern California comic book aficionados, Golden Apple Comics has been a mecca, but the franchise will also stand as a shrine to founder Bill Liebowitz, who died from illness Wednesday at the age of 63.

    With locations in Hollywood and Northridge, Golden Apple is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Leaving a successful career in corporate real estate, former Brooklyn boy Liebowitz opened the first store in 1979 as a way of surrounding himself with his favorite elements of pop culture. In addition to comic books, the stores feature toys, music and adult entertainment. Over the years, Golden Apple stores have been popular venues for book signings and other personal appearances, drawing crowds with high-profile comics creators and Hollywood luminaries.

    Liebowitz is survived by wife Sharon, two sisters, a son and a granddaughter. Details for the memorial service have not yet been announced, but an update will likely be posted on the Golden Apple website (www.goldenapple.com), where visitors are invited to leave their thoughts and read those posted by others.

  • Superman Joins Spider-Man at Imageworks

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures Imageworks has been awarded the visual effects contract for Warner Bros.’ upcoming live-action Superman feature. The Culver City, Calif. studio is earning a reputation as the go-to house for superhero flicks, having spent the last few years creating demanding effects shots for Sony Pictures’ hugely successful Spider-Man films. Imageworks beat out ILM, among others, for the contract.

    Directed by X-Men helmer Bryan Singer, Superman Returns is scheduled to go before the cameras early next year for release sometime in 2006. Adler, Jon Peters and Singer are producing the pic, with Mark Stetson supervising a reported 800 or so visual shots for Warner Bros.

    The news comes just a week after Warner Bros. announced that relative unknown Brandon Routh had been cast as the new Man of Steel, taking over the role previously played on the big screen by the late Christopher Reeve.

    Imageworks recently wrapped work on Warner Bros.’ upcoming CG motion-capture extravaganza, The Polar Express. Also on the busy studio’s plate is Columbia Pictures’ upcoming Ghost Rider, with Academy Award-winning effects supervisor Kevin Mack at the wheel.

  • DreamWorks Share Price Higher Than Expected

    DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. began trading on the New York Stock Exchange today, debuting at $28 per share, significantly higher than the $23 to $25 range the studio projected last week. The initial public offering of 29,000,000 shares of Common Stock, trading under the ticker symbol “DWA,” is expected to raise $812 million for the toon unit.

    The offering’s underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to 4,350,000 shares of common stock to cover any over-allotments. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. are the joint book-running managers for this offering and the representatives of the underwriters.

    While DreamWorks Animation has become independent of DreamWorks SKG, studio principals Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen will retain 93% percent of voting control.

    DreamWorks is riding high on the success of Shrek 2 and Shark Tale, not to mention the bundle it’s guaranteed to rake in with the upcoming DVD releases of those films. However, sustained viability on the market will depend on its ability to convince investors that it can consistently deliver hits like rival Pixar.

    Lackluster box office for The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas has left scars on DreamWorks’ track record. Perhaps its abandonment of 2D animation has inspired some confidence in the studio’s potential to compete with Pixar, Disney, Fox Animation, Sony Pictures Animation and newly minted Lucas Animation.

    The toon arm of DreamWorks is committed to releasing two features per year. In the works are Madagascar and Over the Hedge for 2005, to be followed in 2006 by the stop-motion Wallace & Grommit movie it’s co-producing with U.K. animation house Aardman and Shrek 3.