April 24-30, 2000 News

Tuesday, April 25, 2000

Box Office Results
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:

The Road to El Dorado
$5.2 Million ($1,648 per screen average)
7th at the Box Office (down from #5 last weekend)
Total to Date: $42 Million

Fantasia 2000
$1.9 Million ($36,604 per screen average)
14th at the Box Office (up from #15 last weekend)
Total to Date: $45.7 Million

Toy Story 2
$365,361 ($708 per screen average)
21st at the Box Office (also #21 last weekend)
Total to Date: $243.9 Million

The Tigger Movie
$100,612 ($445 per screen average)
40th at the Box Office (down from #33 last weekend)
Total to Date: $44.4 Million

Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote Get Stamp
World-renowned animated icon Wile E. Coyote will finally catch up with the Road Runner, if only for a brief moment, when the first-ever commemorative postage stamp to be issued in cyberspace by the U.S. Postal Service debuts on April 26, 2000.

The event marks not only the first time a U.S. stamp has been dedicated online, but also the first time consumers can purchase stamps via the Internet on the first day of issue. Traditionally, first day of issuance ceremonies are held in a single city and the stamps made available exclusively in that location for one day.

The Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner stamp will be officially dedicated by Time Warner Chairman and CEO Gerald Levin, Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer and James Tolbert, Postal Service executive director, Stamp Services, during a history-making live Webcast at 4 p.m. ET on April 26, 2000.

The Webcast will take place on America Online (keyword: BeepBeep), Warner Bros. Online (www.warnerbros.com) and on the Postal Service's Web site at www.stampsonline.com.

The Time Warner Media Center at the Children's Museum of Manhattan will serve as the host site for the online event, where local schoolchildren will participate in the ceremony by unveiling the stamp on the Internet.

"The Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner stamp is a colorful and exciting addition to our nation's commemorative stamp program," said Tolbert. "Their ongoing feud is based largely on speed and ingenuity, which is a fun-loving reminder of the Postal Service's continued success in improving the speed and efficiency of mail service to everyone, everywhere, every day."

"A long time ago, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote taught us the two essential lessons of the broadband revolution: Speed is everything, and no matter how many obstacles you may face along the way, never stop trying," said Levin. "Today, we honor these two digital pioneers with a commemorative stamp."

The desert home of Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner will be the site of the stamp's "terra firma" first day of issue with a ceremony at 10 a.m. MST at the Pecos Station Post Office in Phoenix. The ceremony will be free and open to the public. 300 million self-adhesive Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner stamps have been printed. The stamp features the letter-delivering Road Runner perched atop a mailbox and the ever-scheming Wile E. Coyote, whose plot to make a meal out of this special mail carrier is foiled.
The Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner stamp is the fourth in a series of U.S. stamps honoring Warner Bros.' famed Looney Tunes characters. The Bugs Bunny stamp launched the series in 1997, followed by stamps honoring Sylvester and Tweety (1998) and Daffy Duck (1999).

"We're proud to have joined with the Postal Service -- first with Bugs Bunny, then with Sylvester & Tweety and Daffy Duck, and now with Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner -- to help young people across the country discover the joy of stamp collecting," said Dan Romanelli, president, Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products.

Legendary animation director Chuck Jones created the ultimate cartoon rivals when they debuted in their first animated short, "Fast and Furry-ous." He based Wile E. Coyote's adept skill with various apparatuses and contraptions upon his own experiences as an unaccomplished handyman.

Jones then partnered Wile E. Coyote with the Road Runner, whose modus operandi is to deliver a well-timed "Beep! Beep!", unfurl his tongue and speed blithely by, eluding Wile E. Coyote and all of his failed Acme products. The unconventional chase has become a classic in cartoon history.

Wednesday, April 26, 2000

Foundation Imaging Struggles to Survive
Foundation Imaging, the visual effects company behind the original Babylon 5 special effects and the Starship Troopers animated series, is struggling to survive after loosing a series it thought was secure to Mainframe Entertainment.

Foundation Imaging was banking on Heavy Gear to continue staffing its team and was surprised to find out it wouldn't be doing the series earlier this month. This resulted in Foundation Imaging having to layoff its modeling team on April 14, 2000. There was no advanced notice to the modelers who were immediately out of work. The next round of layoffs is hitting the animation team.

Dozens of dedicated modelers and animators from Foundation Imaging are now looking for new work. In the meantime, Foundation Imaging is slimming down to a skeleton crew with the possibility of closing its doors. (note : read the April 27, 2000 update for Foundation Imaging's response).

Mortorola Creates Virtual Animated Character
According to the New York Times:

"To be the symbol of the new 24-hour talking Internet, Motorola nominates a virtual woman named Mya, a long-legged blonde, clad in a shimmering silver business suit and displaying spunky hair and a ubiquitous telephone headset.

Her animated figure is showcased in a new 60-second television spot created for Motorola Inc., the cellular telephone and semiconductor giant that is now trying to sell software and Internet services and jazz up its image.

Even though the service will not be available to consumers until summer, Motorola rushed the spot out for the Academy Awards, hoping the hippest of hip would associate Motorola with an Internet service that will allow people to call into a voice-activated "cyberassistant" who will read e-mail messages, stock quotes, sports scores and weather forecasts directly from the Internet."

Click here for the full story. (free registration may be required to view)

In the meantime, a company in the UK has created a 24 hour animated newscaster named Ananova. Stay tuned to Animation Artist for an upcoming feature on Ananova.

Thursday, April 27, 2000

Foundation Imaging Sets the Record Straight
Foundation Imaging General Manager, Steve Pugh, tells Animation Artist Magazine that while recent layoffs the company had to make were painful, the company is not in any danger of closing its doors.

"I have always taken pride in Foundation's willingness to consider our crew as family, and so it was painful indeed to carry out the layoffs required. However, layoffs of this nature are a sad but true part of this industry," said Pugh.

While Foundation Imaging did lose Heavy Gear (see yesterday's article), resulting in the round of layoffs, it is still working on Max Steel, Star Trek Voyager, and other projects. In addition, Foundation Imaging is still negotiating contracts for other TV series and 100% CGI animated feature films.

Top Animation Producers Join Stan Lee Media
Having brought their talents to such television toons as "Batman," "The X-Men" and "The Real Ghostbusters," as well as such comicbook classics as "Spider-Man," "Conan" and "Tarzan," three of animation's most coveted producer/artists have joined Stan Lee Media, Inc. Will Meugniot, Larry Houston and Thomas McLaughlin, who have overseen programming for such major studios as Fox, Warner Bros., Sony and Saban, will be leading efforts for SLM projects in development as well as the record-setting "7th Portal" web animation franchise, which overwhelmed Shockwave.com's servers when it launched on February 29. All three will operate from the company's in-house, 30,000 sq. ft. animation studio.

"Capturing the quinella of award-winning TV animation producers is a coup of unprecedented dimensions for the Internet as an entertainment medium," stated SLM co-founder Peter F. Paul. "With the appointments of Will, Larry and Tom to key company posts, this further demonstrates that Stan Lee Media is the leader in coverging traditional media leaders with the Internet."

Meugniot, as executive vice president of creative production for SLM, will serve in a capacity similar to editor-in-chief, supervising script development, the production of "webisodes" and other macro issues. A double Emmy nominee and winner of Genesis and International Monitor Awards, the 20-year veteran has produced such animated series as "The X-Men," "Exosquad," "Conan," "The Real Ghostbusters," "Secret Files of the SpyDogs," "Captain Planet" and "Spider-Man Unlimited." Among his design and storyboard credits are "G.I. Joe," "The Lone Ranger," "Flash Gordon," "Spider-Man" and "The Incredible Hulk." As a comic book artist, Meugniot is best known for his work as co-creator of the long-running "DNAgents" franchise. His other notable comic book assignments include "Howard The Duck," "Spider-Man," "Tigra," "Solomon Kane," "The Herculoids," "Conan," "Korak" and "Tarzan." Meugniot began working for SLM as a director of "The Backstreet Boys" web animation with Stan Lee in the jointly owned BackstreetProject.com.

"Stan, Larry and I launched `The X-Men' animated series together after I worked with Stan on several other projects," stated Meugniot. "The opportunity to work full-time with my childhood idol, as well as the chance to help develop a new medium, is an unbeatable combination."

Houston, as a creative producer/director, will run day-to-day operations on current projects, which include "The 7th Portal" along with four additional new franchises set to launch in the coming months. An award-winning leader in Saturday morning animation, Houston has served as director/producer/storyboard artist on dozens of animated series, including "The Fantastic Four," "Spider-Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "The X-Men," "Batman," Disney's "TailSpin," HBO's "Spawn," "Buzz Lightyear," "Robocop," "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest," "Mr. T," "Salty's Lighthouse," "Fat Dog Mendoza" and "Captain Planet," for which he was nominated for an Emmy in 1991. He has also worked on traditional comicbooks, drawing such titles as "All-Star Squadron" and "Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew" for DC Comics, "DNAgents" for Eclipse and his own creation, "The Vanguards." Before his career in animation, which includes nine years at Marvel, Houston was a systems analyst and computer technician for several major computer companies, the last being McDonnell Douglas.

"Considering my distant past in computers and my more recent work in animation, going over to Stan Lee Media seemed like the perfect example of professional convergence!" offered Houston. "I've known Stan for twenty years and was also very excited to continue my animation work on the Internet, a medium that's growing as other traditional areas of animation are flattening out."

McLaughlin, as a creative producer/director/designer, will oversee new company projects still to be announced. His extensive background in animation, developed over 20 years, has leaned especially toward superheroes. As an animator, director and/or designer, he has brought his talents to such animated series as "The X-Men," "Spider-Man," "The Fantastic Four," "Batman," "Batman Beyond," "Superman," "Iron Man," "Jumanji," "Gargoyles," "Silver Surfer" and "Duckman," in addition to the live action/animated "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." He has worked with such studios as Warner Bros., Sony, Saban, Marvel Entertainment, Disney Television and New World Entertainment, and has also been responsible for dozens of award-winning commercials for clients including McDonalds, Pop Secret and MTV. He recently worked in a freelance capacity for SLM's "Backstreet Boys" project.

"While there are numerous obstacles to getting long-form animation on film and TV, short-form web programming offers limitless possibilities," stated McLaughlin. "I'm excited to be able to leverage my television experience in order to help define a new medium of entertainment on the Internet."

Friday, April 28, 2000

Upcoming Showings of "X" Anime
Here is a list of upcoming playdates in the US for Manga's feature-length Anime, "X":

APRIL 28 California Theater - Berkeley, CA
MAY 5 Regal Galaxy 8 - Pleasanton, CA
MAY 12-18 Real Art Ways - Hartford, CT
MAY 12 Regal South Beach - Miami, FL
MAY 12 Gateway - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
MAY 19 Regal Downtown West 8 - Knoxville, TN
MAY 19 Regal Gainseville 14 - Gainseville, FL
MAY 19-25 Bloor Cinema - Toronto, ON
MAY 19-23 Michigan Theater - Ann Arbor, MI
MAY 19-23 Tinseltown 12 - Vancouver, BC
MAY 26 Crest Theater - Sacramento, CA
JUNE 2 Strand Theater - Kutztown, PA
JUNE 9 Mayfair Ottawa - Ottawa, QC
JUNE 17 Princess - Waterloo, ON
AUG 24-26 Red Vic Theater - San Francisco, CA

Aardman Completes Chicken Run
Aardman has completed Chicken Run, delivering to DreamWorks what is dubbed "the most expensive British animated film ever." Aardman is under contract with DreamWorks to deliver five feature-length animated movies, with Chicken Run being the first. Aardman is now starting production on their telling of "The Tortoise" story. Chicken Run took 18 months to produce and cost 30 million British pounds. Click here for a news report on Chicken Run, courtesy of ITN Channel 4 in Bristol.

Saturday, April 29, 2000

DreamWorks Animation Dreams Falling Short
The Los Angeles Times has published a feature article tracing the failure of DreamWorks animation based on its expectations. One part of the article states that The Road to El Dorado will wipe out any profits made by ANTZ and The Prince of Egypt. Here's how the article begins:

"The giddy high point in fledgling DreamWorks SKG's short history came a month ago when it scored a best picture Oscar for American Beauty.

Just five days after the applause died down, the studio slammed back to Earth when its animated feature film The Road to El Dorado opened. Anemic ticket sales assured their expensive animated movie would be a big money loser.

For most studios, a single animated dud would be a short, painful event soon forgotten. But at DreamWorks, this genre of entertainment is critical to its financial health. Many in Hollywood believe that the division will make or break the company. So far, after spending hundreds of millions of dollars in start-up, production and marketing costs, DreamWorks has little to show for its efforts.

Without the cavernous pockets of DreamWorks' billionaire backer Paul Allen, the studio's animation business might well be on the ropes.

Back in late 1994 when DreamWorks was little more than a handshake between partners Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, animation was all the buzz. Katzenberg was fond of boasting he could repeat his spectacular success when he headed Walt Disney Studio and oversaw such hits as The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin.

At stake was the balance of power in Hollywood. If Katzenberg succeeded, DreamWorks would be the first serious challenger in animation to Walt Disney Co. since Disney himself released Hollywood's first animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.

So confident was Katzenberg in his animation prowess that top secret forecasts given to potential investors in early 1995 projected an astonishing average pretax profit of $200 million per animated film, and a huge $355 million in pretax profit for the company in 2003 just from animated movies.
Katzenberg was unavailable for comment. He is traveling in Asia researching Tusker, a future animated movie about elephants.

'When Jeffrey was putting the business plan together for DreamWorks, I remember him saying, 'If we do 80% of Lion King business every time, we'd be fine,' That's what he envisioned. It was completely unrealistic,' says one industry analyst."

Click here for the full story.

Animation Artist Wins Ezine Award
The Animation Artist Newsletter has been named one of the Top 20 Ezines by Topica. Topica is an ezine distributor that distributes tens of thousands of ezines, including the Animation Artist Newsletter.

"Your list has been chosen as an example of one of the coolest, most informative, and most helpful lists hosted here at Topica," says Jenny Baker, of Topica's editorial department. "From among the thousands of lists in the Topica directory, our editors chose your list as being the cream of the Topica crop, and made it a Topica Pick. We further highlighted the list by placing it among the Topica 20."

If you are not yet subscribed to the Animation Artist Newsletter, click here.

Sunday, April 30, 2000

Walking with Dinosaurs a Ratings Dream
It seems that the U.S. fascination with dinosaurs hasn't subsided. Discovery Channel's recent airing of the UKs "Walking with Dinosaurs" shattered cable ratings with an estimated 10.7 million viewers. This makes it the most watched non-sporting event on cable this year. The original "Walking with Dinosaurs" that aired in the UK is now available on DVD by clicking here. However, be warned that this is not the same version that aired on the Discovery Channel. The UK one was narrated by Kenneth Branagh. "Walking with Dinosaurs" also won the UK Viewer Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting as the "Best New Program." The documentary of dinosaurs is heavy in CGI, which only cost $5 million to create.

Space Jam DVD Coming July 25, 2000
Warner Bros. is releasing its Space Jam DVD on July 25, complete with a behind the scenes look at how the movie was made and commentary by Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. 

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