Animation Magazine

Author: Ryan Ball

  • Top FX Wizards on Tap for Digital Studio

    iHollywood Forum Inc. today announced the lineup of entertainment industry legends scheduled to speak at The 3rd Annual Digital Studio, a summit and showcase focusing on digital technology and how it is transforming the film and TV industry. This year’s event will take place as part of the American Film Market (AFM) on November 2, 2004, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Monica Laemmle Theatre, located at 1332 2nd Street, Santa Monica, Calif.

    Industry headliners will include visual effects and computer animation visionaries such as Sony Pictures Imageworks president Tim Sarnoff, Academy Award winning effects guru Stan Winston (Jurassic Park, Aliens, Predator), in-demand visual effects supervisor Karen Goulekas (The Day After Tomorrow, Spider-Man, Titanic) and Collateral associate producer Bryan Carroll, who served as visual effects editor on Titanic.

    Animation Magazine’s own publisher and editorial director, Rita Street, will be among the featured speakers. She will be joined by representatives from HBO, IBM, mo-cap studio House of Moves, IMAX Corp., Lions Gate Ent., MGM Studios, Warner Bros., Post Magazine and the University of Southern California. Topics of discussion will include visual effects, animation, high-definition film and television, acquisition, digital intermediates and mastering, audio, digital cinema, production and post-production, home video, marketing and distribution.

    Sponsors of the Digital Studio include IBM and Fotokem, and promotional partners include The Hollywood Reporter, Rogers & Cowan, Animation Magazine, Animation World Network–AWN, VFXWorld, Final Cut Pro Users Group, Hollywood Post Alliance, Producer’s Guild of America, Hollywood Creative Directory and Business Wire.

  • New Zoo Revue Coming Back on DVD

    Perennial children’s TV favorite, The New Zoo Revue, is coming to home video like never before with a six-sided collector’s set featuring 59 episodes of the musical, costumed character comedy show that first entertained and educated kids from 1971 through 1975. Distributed by BCI, the release will contain nearly 24 hours of the classic series.

    The New Zoo Revue stars humans Doug and Emmy Jo, along with their costumed friends, Henrietta Hippo, Freddie the Frog and Charlie the Owl. The animal characters struggle with everyday kid problems and learn to solve them with the help of their friends and animated segments.

    The Emmy-nominated show first aired on KWHY-TV in Los Angeles in 1969, with new episodes created through 1975. It now airs in early-hours syndication in more than 160 U.S. cities.

    The New Zoo Revue Season 1 DVD collector’s set hits store shelves on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Bonus features include an interview with the series co-creators Barbara Atlas and Doug Momary, a printable coloring book (DVD-ROM feature only) and a photo gallery of original publicity and production stills. In addition, limited-edition packaging will feature a sound module that plays a portion of the memorable theme song, "It’s the New Zoo Revue, Coming Right at You." The disc set lists for $39.99.

  • Atomic Betty Explodes on Cartoon Network

    Atomic Betty, a new animated action-comedy series about continuing adventures of a little girl with a big secret, premieres tonight, Friday, Sept. 17, at 9:30 p.m. on Cartoon Network. The show is a creation of Canada’s Atomic Cartoons and is co-produced with Breakthrough Media and France’s Tele-image Kids.

    Created by Atomic Cartoons principals Trever Bentley, Mauro Casalese, Rob Davies and Olaf Miller, 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 series is the first original production for Atomic Cartoons, which up to this point has been solely involved in providing animation services to clients. "Getting a show on the air on Cartoon Network, that’s like the pinnacle of TV animation," Casalese tells Animation Magazine in the October cover story. "It’s like the brass ring for us."

  • Cartoon Forum Turns 15

    Cartoon Forum, the annual event dedicated to helping European animation producers find financing and co-production deals, celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Organised by CARTOON (AEFA), with the support of MEDIA Programme of the European Union, the Xunta de Galicia and Xacobeo 2004 and Caixa Galicia, the 2004 edition will take place Sept. 22-25 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

    This year, some 700 potential partners or investors are expected to see 69 new animated TV productions from 15 European countries, including new member countries Poland and Slovenia. Spain alone is bringing 11 projects, 15% of the total being presented. A total of 16 projects are being presented in association with new member states of the European Union–the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania.

    The very first Cartoon Forum was held in Lanzarote, Spain, in 1990. At that time, there were only about 100 hours of animated content produced in Europe each year and very few European co-productions were being announced.

    The 15 Annual Cartoon Forum will conclude with the awarding of the 2004 Cartoon D’Or Ceremony recognizing the best European animated short films with cash prizes intended to spur further production.

  • Taffy, Sunwoo Team for New Toons

    Los Angeles-based Taffy Ent., the newly minted business unit of independent animation producer Mike Young Prods. (MYP), has entered into a co-production deal with Korean animation studio Sunwoo Ent. The two companies will collaborate on two new 2D animated projects, El Corazon and I got a Rocket!.

    Taffy and Sunwoo will produce 26 half-hours of El Corazon, an original action-adventure series created by Bryan Thompson. Aimed at kids 8—12, the show centers on 15-year-old orphan Bobby Romero, an average kid who learns that he is the link between an evil mastermind and an ancient Aztec hero known as El Corazon.

    Set in a graphic, cartoony and colorful urban environment, I Got a Rocket! follows 12 year-old Vinnie and his friends, the July Gang, who were all born in the month of July. For his birthday, Vinnie gets a fullyfunctioning rocket with artificial intelligence. Vinnie thinks the rocket will be the answer to his problems, but soon finds that the contraption can cause a lot of complications itself. The series, based on the popular picture book by Matt Zurbo and Dean Gorissen, is a co-production between Taffy Ent.’s U.K. unit and Australian-based SLR Prods. Sunwoo is animating 52 11-minute episodes.

    Pilots for both series will be showcased in the MIPCOM Jr. Buyer Screenings and at the Taffy Ent. booth (No. R34.14) during MIPCOM in Cannes this October.

    Other Taffy properties include ToddWorld, the quirky new animated series joining the READY SET LEARN! commercial-free programming block for preschoolers on Discovery Kids and TLC this November; and the upcoming CG character comedy, Pet Alien, launching on Cartoon Network Europe in January of 2005.

  • Nick Asia Gets Toonz’s Tenali Raman

    Independent distributor and co-producer INDIGO has signed a deal with Nickelodeon Asia for the Indian animated series, The Adventures of Tenali Raman. Produced by Toonz Animation, the series will air in November on Nickelodeon’s Philippine and Asia feed, which reaches viewers in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea and Singapore.

    Based on a character from Indian folklore, The Adventures of Tenali Raman (26×11) takes viewers back to a time of monarchs and palaces. Tenali, the King’s favourite courtier, finds his popularity brings him many enemies and must overcome hurdles with wit and charm.

    The series premiered on Cartoon Network in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in June 2003. Toonz has inked a DVD deal with the Times Multimedia Group for merchandising in India and most recently, the series was broadcast on five regional language channels of the ETV network, the largest television network in India. Overseas deals have been concluded with CBC VOD in Canada, Apple Tree in Thailand and Tiger Ent., which will be releasing the series worldwide on DVD.

    In addition to the slate of projects for overseas clients, Toonz Animation is currently working on Tommy and Oscar: The Movie, a full-length feature film for Rainbow in Italy, as well as a half-hour series titled The Adventures of Hanuman.

  • Cartoon Network Commits to Boondocks

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cartoon Network has ordered 15 episodes of a half-hour animated series based on the syndicated comic strip, The Boondocks, created by Aaron McGruder and partner Reggie Hudlin. Sony Pictures Television is producing the show.

    The Boondocks uses edgy humor to tackle cultural and political issues as seen through the eyes of two inner-city kids relocated to the suburbs and placed in the custody of their grandfather. The toon is expected to land a spot in Cartoon Network’s hugely popular Adult Swim late-night block.

    The comic strip first appeared in 1999 and is now seen in more than 200 newspapers. McGruder and Hudlin wrote the pilot for the toon and will serve as exec producers on the TV series. The duo is also scripting a Boondocks feature film, which Sony will develop as well.

  • Cosgrove Hall Unveils Diverse MIP Lineup

    Manchester, England-based animation house Cosgrove Hall announced its offerings for this year’s MIPCOM. The company will head to Cannes next month with Chapman Ent.’s new animated series, Fifi and the Flowertots, and Entertainment Right’s Postman Pat, as well as a full roster of properties in development.

    Among the series in development at Cosgrove Hall are Octopus and Worm, a 26×5 Flash-animated show for preschoolers about two friends who live in a little pool by the side of the "silly sea." They don’t know much about anything, but they ask a lot of questions and learn a lot in the process.

    Carrotty Kid is a 26×11 2D "kung-food "comedy for kids 6—11. The high-energy, action-packed series promises to explore what happens when good food goes bad.

    The 26×3 CG family show, Blue Dog Blues, has a dog tormented by the plastic Elizabethian collar that is supposed to protect him but only keeps him from getting a hold of his favorite snack. Cosgrove Hall calls it "a simple tale of a blue dog, a plastic cone and a biscuit."

    The Mystics (26 x 22) combines hand-drawn 2D animation and CG to follow the action-packed adventures of two Mystics and a young boy who fight the dark forces. The show is targeted at kids 7—11.

    Wobbly Horse rounds out the in-house development slate. This 26×7 CG series for preschoolers tells the tale of Wobbly, a little wooden horse who has only just learned how to get around on his four wobbly legs. Each day he leaves his mother’s side and sets out to find new and exciting things to do.

    Projects in development for clients include Shelltown (26×10), a CG toon about young eggs for kids 6—8, and The Slums(26×10), a 2D Flash show for viewers 15—25 that relates the trials and tribulation of five friends living in a multi-cultural metropolis.

  • Fox to Make Chipmunks Feature

    Three more Saturday morning cartoon stars will get 3D makeovers for the big screen when Fox 2000 Pictures, 20th Century Fox Animation and Bagdasarian Prods. produce a live-action/CG version of Alvin and the Chipmunks. The project was announced today by 20th Century Fox Animation president Chris Meledandri, Fox 2000 Pictures president Elizabeth Gabler and Ross Bagdasarian Jr., son of the late Chipmunks creator, Ross Bagdasarian Sr.

    Fox says it has begun searching for a top comedy writer and director, and expects to attract an A-list comic actor for the role of Dave Seville, the Chipmunks’ adoptive dad and manager. Chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore will be computer generated.

    Bagdasarian conceived Alvin and the Chipmunks in 1958. The squeaky-voiced trio sold 43 million albums and won several Grammys before going on to star in their own animated primetime series and specials and Saturday Morning shows seen in more 100 countries in 40 languages.

    "The movie will merge the celebrated history and tradition of our beloved characters with a new comic sensibility and edge," says the junior Bagdasarian, who will produce the upcoming film with Bagdasarian Prods. president Janice Karman.

  • Animation Farm Adds Mo-Cap Barn

    Austin, Texas-based toon house The Animation Farm has expanded its offerings with the addition of a motion-capture services group. Headed by Crispin Broadhurst and Brad Clark, the new division will offer solutions for the film, television and game production industries.

    Mo-cap services will cover a range of options from pre-production or post-production support to management of the entire motion capture process, depending on a company’s needs. The new group will work with existing studio teams, saving companies the expense of training and hiring additional full time motion editors to work onsite.

    Pre-production services will include help with the creation of motion trees, arranging talent for motion capture shoots, pipeline preparation and software training for in-house teams. The team will also assist with the post-production stage once unedited motion data has been delivered. For post-production work, The Animation Farm can enhance, blend, cycle, remap and retarget motion, including props and multi-character interactions.

    "By bringing Crispin and Brad onboard we are now able to meet our client’s expanding service needs in the area of motion capture, something that has been in very high demand," said Michael Daubert, CEO of The Animation Farm. "There has been a lot of interest in this area lately, but no one was really offering this type of service until now."

    Award-winning artist and animator Brad Clark has worked for such studios as Imagine Asia, Acclaim Studios Austin and Weta Digital, earning credits on The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, Chris Bailey’s Major Damage and Quest: Tales from the Ramayana. He also worked on next generation video games for such as The Red Star, NBA JAM ’04, VEXX, NFL Quarter Back Club ’02/’03 and SHOWDOWN: Legends of Wrestling.

    Motion capture artist and animator Crispin Broadhurst served as mocap supervisor/technician and lead animator at CAT Animation studios on Night of the Headless Horseman, a movie for FOX TV, and the fully CG-animated "Soljas" music video for rapper Master P. Most recently, Broadhurst spent two years as lead animator and mocap supervisor on All-Star Baseball for Acclaim Studios Austin.

  • Avanquest USA Offers Flash for the Little Guy

    Avanquest USA, a developer and publisher of small office/home office software, has brought a low-cost, neophyte-friendly animation package to the U.S. marketplace with In-A-Flash. Developed by NETGUI, the Flash-based software is designed to allow small business owners to create professional-looking animated content without previous experience or outsourcing.

    According to Avanquest, In-A-Flash allows virtually anyone to produce animated web content, banner ads, multimedia presentations and training materials. The package includes an animation library that features customizable special effects such as rotations, sweeps, explosions, fades and more. The suite also allows for the addition of Wave and MP3 files for looping background music or narration and lets users tailor the length of an animated movie to match the sound track.

    In June, In-A-Flash was successfully launched by Avanquest Germany in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It is now available in the U.S. at Circuit City, CompUSA, Fry’s Electronics and Micro Center for the retail price of $49.95.

  • 2 Friends Ent. Forms, Nabs Harriet the Spy

    Children’s entertainment veterans Wendy Moss-Klein and Nancy Steingard have formed 2 Friends Ent., a Westwood, Calif.-based multi-media company dedicated to producing children’s programming. The new venture will create animated and hybrid content for television, home video, theatrical and Internet, and has acquired rights to kid lit favorites Harriet the Spy, What Mommies Do Best and Marsupial Sue.

    Moss-Klein was one of the original partners and senior VP of Sony Wonder, a children’s and family production and distribution company under Sony Music. She also served as senior VP and general manager of Hanna-Barbera Home Video. Most recently, Steingard served as senior VP of creative development for Sesame Workshop, producers of Sesame Street. Prior to that, she was exec VP for Universal Family and Home Entertainment, where she oversaw all children’s and family television.

    Steingard and Moss-Klein met 20 years ago at Family Entertainment and soon after formed a new company called High-Tops Ent. When High Tops was sold, the two went their separate ways but always dreamed of starting another company together. Steingard tells Animation Magazine Online, "What’s great for us is that we each ended up going to big companies and got a lot of experience. Now we’re able to take the knowledge we’ve gathered and apply it to our own company and operate it the way we want to."

    "We’ve both have had a lot of good experience with animation and feel really comfortable in that medium," adds Moss-Klein. She tells us they will be working with Aha Studios in Wisconsin on Baby Sprout, an entertaining and educational DVD series for parents and infants.

    Based on the beloved books by Louise Fitzhugh, Harriet the Spy will most likely be developed for television and home video. What Mommies Do Best by Laura Numeroff, author of the best-selling book, Give a Mouse a Cookie, will be developed in partnership with Numeroff and Jason Grode. In addition, 2 Friends are teaming with actor John Lithgow (Shrek) to bring his best-selling children’s book, Marsupial Sue, to viewing audiences. The property will be developed in partnership with Lithgow palooza and Broadthink, a media, marketing and merchandising company.

    While there are no production timetables in place yet at 2 Friends, Steingard comments, "We’re very aggressive and very eager to get product out as soon as we can." The duo are now working on striking deals with production partners and distributors. A percentage of their profits will be donated to various children’s charities.

  • Nick Jr. to Unleash The Backyardigans

    Monday, Oct. 11 has been set as the premiere date for Nick Jr./Nelvana’s new CG-animated preschool series, The Backyardigans. The debut will include two episodes to air in the show’s regular 11 a.m. timeslot. Beginning Oct. 16, the series will also air weekends on CBS (check local listings).

    The Backyardigans is an animated musical adventure series about five high-spirited preschool creatures who rely on their vivid imaginations to embark on epic adventures. In every episode, the backyard transforms into a new fantastic, photoreal landscape that serves as the backdrop for original, story-driven musicals. The show is created by executive produced by Janice Burgess (Little Bill) and is executive-produced and directed by Robert Scull (Little Bill, Whoopi’s Littleburg).

    “The Backyardigans is truly a home-grown Nick Jr. property,” says Brown Johnson, exec. VP of Nick Jr. "The whole creative team, including creator Janice Burgess, has been part of the Nick Jr. family for years, and we are proud and excited to welcome their lovable characters and amazing stories to the line-up."  

    The first of two premiere episodes airing on Oct. 11, "Knights are Brave and Strong" is set to the sound of big band swing.  Queen Tasha sends Uniqua, the brave pink messenger, through the forest to deliver a message to King Austin’s castle–but she has to get past some obstacles to get there. The second episode, "The Yeti," features James-Brown style funk, complete with an animated recreation of his signature dance moves.  Pablo is a yeti, a mysterious creature of the frozen north, and he leads Uniqua, Tasha and Tyrone on a chase all the way back to his igloo.

    The Backyardigans is a Nick Jr. and Corus Ent.’s Nelvana co-production.

  • New Neutron Game Invades Stores

    THQ Inc. and Nickelodeon today announced that The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Attack of the Twonkies for PlayStation 2, GameCube and Game Boy Advance has shipped to retail outlets throughout North America. A television movie with the same storyline will air on Nickelodeon on November 11, the same week it hits home video.

    In The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius: Attack of the Twonkies, Retroville is overrun by aliens from Twonkus-3, the comet that passes over Retroville annually. When music plays, the aliens become agitated, then multiply and grow to tremendous proportions. Playing as Jimmy, the gamers must come up with combinations of everyday items to create inventions that will defeat the aliens. The inventions system allows players to create more than 28 gizmos, 11 inventions and four super inventions as they maneuver through six episodes spanning 15 levels. Environments include Jimmy’s lab, Twonkus-3, the neighborhood, downtown and Retroland.

    Console versions were developed by THQ Studio Australia and the Game Boy Advance title was developed by Tantalus Interactive.

  • Civic Group Rocks Boat Over Shark Tale

    As with any film or television show that includes a mafia theme, DreamWorks’ latest computer-animated feature, Shark Tale, has come under attack for its depiction of certain Italian-Americans, albeit fish. The Columbus Citizens Foundation, a non-profit organization that celebrates Italian-American culture, issued a statement today admonishing DreamWorks and principal Steven Spielberg for producing a film that it believes is "unprecedented in recent children’s movies in its use of ethnic stereotypes to characterize villains."

    Lawrence Auriana, president of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, says he attended a screening of Shark Tale at the Toronto Int’l Film Festival and was dismayed to see the villains identified by ethnicity. "The movie introduces young minds to the idea that people with Italian names–like millions of Americans across the country–are gangsters," Auriana states. "Shark Tale creates in its audiences an association between gangsters and Italian-Americans that will become imprinted in the developing minds of children."

    Auriana goes on to say, "It is startling that this film comes from Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks SKG. Mr. Spielberg has been a passionately outspoken opponent of stereotyping and discrimination."

    The organization is asking that Spielberg and DreamWorks make changes to Shark Tale prior to its Oct. 1 U.S. release. The proposed changes include removing Italian names from characters, eliminating Italian and Italian-American phrases and slang and removing physical gestures and customs found in Italian and Italian-American culture. The group is also demanding that Shark Tale titles already released in bookstores be taken off shelves.

    The above alterations would entail a complete re-working of the film, and with the release date just two weeks away, it is unlikely that any changes will be made to appease The Columbus Citizens Foundation or any civic organization representing Italian-Americans.

    The Columbus Citizens Foundation is a member of the National Coalition Against Racial, Religious and Ethnic Stereotyping (CARRES), which since January 2004 has asked DreamWorks SKG to remove Italian-American names, mannerisms and speech from the film. DreamWorks has not yet responded to the allegations.

  • EA, USC Open Game Lab

    Video Game publisher Electronic Arts (EA) and the USC School of Cinema-Television today unveiled the EA Game Innovation Lab at USC’s Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts. Zemeckis was among those scheduled to attend, along with EA Worldwide Studios president Don Mattrick and School of Cinema-Television dean Elizabeth Daley.

    The EA Game Innovation Lab is a state-of-the-art research space and think tank where new concepts in game design, play and usability are to be developed, prototyped, and play-tested.

    On March 22, 2004, EA announced a multi-million dollar donation to the USC School of Cinema-Television, which will help fund a 3-year Master of Fine Arts program within the School’s Division of Interactive Media. Furthermore, the Electronic Arts Endowed Faculty Chair, the first-ever endowed chair at a university for the study of interactive entertainment, has been created to enable the school to meet the demand for game developers. It also will help bring some of the game industry’s top talent to USC as educators. EA will name an executive to serve in this post in the coming weeks.

  • Home on the Range Wrangled on Video

    Disney is hoping home video sales make up for weak box office performance as the studio’s animated comedy feature, Home on the Range, arrives at retail today. Also hitting disc and tape today are Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, a brand-new animated G.I. Joe feature and the compilation disc, The Simpsons Gone Wild.

    Directed by Will Finn and John Sanford, Home on the Range stars the voices of Roseanne, Dame Judy Dench and Jennifer Tilly as a trio of dairy cows out to administer some bovine justice to Alameda Slim, a singing cattle rustler voiced by Randy Quaid. Cuba Gooding Jr. and Steve Buscemi also lend their distinctive voices to this comic Western featuring music written by Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Pocahontas) and songs by Tim McGraw, Bonnie Raitt, k.d. lang and others.

    DVD Bonus features include an all-new animated short titled A Dairy Tale: The Three Little Pigs, four deleted scenes with intros by the filmmakers, DVD-Rom games and activities, a making-of featurette and a music video for "Anytime You Need a Friend," performed by the Beau Sisters. Released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Home on the Range carries a suggested retail price of $29.99.

    Directed by Raja Gosnell, Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed reunites Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini as the meddling kids who solve spooky mysteries with help from their title CG canine companion. This time, the teenage ghostbusters investigate bizarre happenings in the city of Coolsville, where a masked villain is tampering with the “Monster Machine” to reproduce The 10,000 Volt Ghost, Captain Cutler, The Creeper and other classic creatures from the animated series on which the film franchise is based. Seth Green and Alicia Silverstone also star in this family comedy featuring tons of visual effects by Rhythm & Hues, Digital Dimension, Giant Killer Robots, Meteor Studios, Cinema Production Services and Edge FX.

    DVD Extras include 10 minutes of deleted scenes, a look at how they made the animated Scooby-Doo dance, a "True Ghoul Hollywood Story," an inside look at the moviemaking process hosted by Scooby, two audio/visual puzzles and two music videos. The Warner Home video release lists for $27.95 of DVD.

    Hasbro and Paramount Home Entertainment introduce a whole new chapter to the legendary G.I. JOE Vs. COBRA saga with today’s release of G.I. JOE: Valor Vs. Venom. In this direct-to-video animated feature, America’s daring, highly trained special mission force faces its greatest threat yet from the evil COBRA organization. DNA from the world’s most ferocious animals has been combined with humans to create a virtually unstoppable army of venom troopers. This army is led by the toughest villain the G.I. JOE team has ever faced, Venomous Maximus, a creature made by combining DNA from deadly animals and G.I. JOE General "Hawk" Aberbathy.

    The title was produced by Dallas-based Reel FX Creative Studios under exec producer Will Meugniot, one of the masterminds behind the original G.I. JOE Vs. COBRA animated television series of the 1980s.

    The G.I. JOE: Valor Vs. Venom DVD includes an exclusive Venomous Maximus trading card pack (also in the VHS), a G.I. JOE trading card game guide, a G.I. JOE CD-ROM game, a making-of featurette, key character profiles, drawing-board-to-film comparisons, a music video and trailers. Fans can pick it up for around $20.

    The Simpsons Gone Wild includes the episodes "Homer’s Night Out," "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday," "The Mansion Family" and "Homer the Moe," on a single disc. The Fox Home Entertainment release retails for $14.98.

    Last but not least, George Lucas fans can pick up the director’s cut of his 1971 cult favorite, THX 1138., starring Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence and Maggie McOmie. The digitally restored film is available as a two-disc collector’s edition for $26.99 and as a single-disc version for $19.97. Bonus materials on the collector’s edition include Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB, Lucas’ student short film that inspired the movie; The 1971 production Featurette, Bald; commentary by Lucas and co-writer/sound designer Walter Murch; an isolated sound-effects track; and documentaries on the making of the film and the early days of American Zoetrope. The single-disc version includes commentary by Lucas and Murch.

  • Roy Disney Wants Eisner Gone Sooner

    While news of Michael Eisner’s plans to step down as Walt Disney Co. CEO in 2006 was welcomed by many Disney dissidents, the most outspoken among them say two years is not soon enough. Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold yesterday sent an open letter to the non-employee members of Disney’s Board of Directors, urging them to bring in a new CEO a quickly as possible.

    Disney and Gold also allege in the letter that Eisner intends to ask the Board to install him as chairman after he relinquishes the CEO title, which he would like to hand over to company president and COO Bob Iger. They write, "His ‘succession plan’ is for a company led by Michael Eisner and his obedient lieutenant, Bob Iger, to be handed over to–Michael Eisner and Bob Iger. Any arrangement that permits Mr. Eisner to remain as Chairman after relinquishing his position as CEO is contrary to best governance practices."

    The letter asks the Board to immediately engage an independent executive recruiting firm to conduct a worldwide search for a "strong visionary leader" to replace Eisner before the 2005 annual stockholder meeting. Disney and Gold state, "Because we believe that no one with the skill, experience, dynamism and creativity needed to lead Disney will take the job if Mr. Eisner remains as CEO or chairman, we ask you to concurrently announce that Michael Eisner will retire as CEO and as a director at the conclusion of that search."

    Eisner, who has been CEO of the Walt Disney Co. for two decades, plans to give up the title when his contract expires on Sept. 30, 2006.

  • Jackson Offers Kong Peek

    In his production diary on www.kongisking.net, director/producer Peter Jackson has added a new behind-the-scenes look at progress on his big-budget remake of King Kong for Universal pictures. The CG-laden movie began filming last week in Jackson’s native New Zealand.

    The video clip is from day 4 of principal photography and shows Naomi Watts in costume as vaudeville actress Anne Darrow and Jack Black decked out as eccentric entrepreneur Carl Denham. On that particular day, the team was shooting a café sequence in which Denham recruits Darrow for his expedition to Skull Island.

    In addition to Jackson’s production diary, www.kngisking.net offers a production scrapbook, a brief history of King Kong films and news on all things Kong related. It even promises to show some storyboards at a later dates.

  • Moviegoers Game for Resident Evil

    Sony ScreenGem’s effects-filled zombie sequel, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, came out shooting over the weekend, raking in $23 million to dethrone Miramax’s Jet Li vehicle, Hero. Meanwhile, New Line Cinema’s suspense thriller, Cellular, starring Kim Basinger and Jason Statham debuted at No. 2 with a lackluster $10 million.

    Based on CAPCOM’s hugely popular video game series, Resident Evil: Apocalypse takes viewers back to Raccoon City, where a contained virus breaks loose and threatens to turn the city into a zombie nightmare. Milla Jovovich is back as Alice, a genetically enhanced ghoul dueler who helps a small group of special forces operatives escape the quarantine zone. The film features effects by Mr. X and Animated Extras International under visual effects supervisor Alison O’Brien. Witt and O’Brien discuss the making of the film in the September issue of Animation Magazine.

    Apocalypse was expected to perform below its 2002 predecessor, which opened at $17 million on its way to $100 million worldwide. The sequel is already on track to surpass that.

    After two weeks on top Hero drops to No. 4 behind paramount’s Without a Paddle, which has enjoyed an impressive run in the top five for the past four weeks. The buddy comedy barely edged out Hero with $4.5 million. The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement rounds out the top five with $2.9 milion for the weekend and a cumulative $89.2 million.