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Friday,
December 1, 2000
Looney Tunes
Cartoon Character Racing Game
Infogrames, Inc. announced today that it is bringing Looney Tunes
to life in Looney Tunes Racing, which is available in stores as
of this week for Sony's Playstation console. The PlayStation game
allows players to take control of a variety of cartoon characters
in an all-out race to the finish line.
In the game,
ACME Corporation, the corporate juggernaut behind such successful
products as the ACME Falling Anvil, is sponsoring a number of races
to see who is the wackiest racing champion. Players choose from
eight popular Looney Tunes characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy
Duck, Lola Bunny, Marvin The Martian, and Tasmanian Devil, plus
additional bonus characters, all with their own custom karts and
custom character animations.
The characters
are true to their identities and interact with each other as they
would in a real Looney Tunes cartoon. Enhancing the experience are
official Warner Bros. voice actors and an original interactive musical
score inspired by classic Merrie Melodies, each bringing the characters
and game to life.
"Looney Tunes
Racing offers new depth to the kart-racing genre by providing licensed
characters true to their cartoon heritage," said Jeff Nuzzi, director
of marketing for Infogrames' I-Stars Label. "The fantastic characters,
interactive track features, and hysterical power-ups will make players
feel as though they are truly racing through a real Looney Tunes
cartoon. Combining the wildly popular mass-market appeal of kart
racing with the familiarity and humor of the Looney Tunes characters,
the game results in an interactive racing adventure for all ages."
Players can
race their characters through more than 16 unique tracks, including
many locations made popular by the Looney Tunes cartoons, such as
the Giant's Garden and Marvin The Martian's Planet X. Each race
features unique environmental gags and hilarious ACME devices players
can activate, such as lightening strikes and homing cream pies to
pummel opponents and slow them down.
Looney Tunes
Racing also features two one-player racing modes as well as two-player
split-screen in three multi-player modes.
The two-player
modes include Vs. mode, Battle mode, and Wacky mode, offering players
a variety of different racing options to keep the racing challenge
fresh. Vs. mode allows two players to compete against each other
on a single track. Set in an arena, Battle mode's objective is not
to race, but to survive the pranks and tricks employed by opponents
and be the last man standing. Wacky mode is a two-player version
of a party game, where three, five or nine level tournaments are
set up at random, and players are challenged over a variety of terrain
types and game styles. Because of the random generation of levels
in Wacky mode, Looney Tunes Racing is never the same game twice.
Developed by
Infogrames' San Jose Label, Looney Tunes Racing is available at
an estimated retail price of $19.99 and can be found at most major
retail outlets.
* * *
Roger Ebert
Talks Final Fantasy!
According to Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times:
"Consider
the eyes in the photo that accompanies this article. They are from
a movie. Is it live action, or animated?
A graphic arts
expert might correctly vote that the eyes were created by a computer,
but for most filmgoers, they're as real as any other eyes in the
movies. They belong to a heroine named Aki, who is the star of a
new kind of movie that premieres in July 2001.
The movie, Final
Fantasy, already has stirred more curiosity and anticipation
than any other release set for next year. It's based on the nine
generations of the best-selling Final Fantasy video game,
currently on the Sony PlayStation platform. More than 30 million
copies have been sold. Now comes the movie, a big-canvas science
fiction fantasy, budgeted at more than $100 million, set in the
year 2065 and involving locations, sights and action that would
be impossible in a real-world action movie..."
Click
here for the rest of the story.
Saturday,
December 2, 2000
A Look at
How 3D Animation Has Changed Movies
Tomorrow, December 3 at the Metropolitan Pavilion (125 W. 18th Street)
in New York, the creators of 3D animation technology, that breathed
life into movies like The Grinch and The Perfect Storm, will discuss
how 3D animation has changed movies. The event takes place from
2-7 p.m. Alias|Wavefront, a developer of 3D graphics technology,
will host the event which is mostly directed toward media who will
also be allowed to interview key developers before and after the
presentation.
Sunday,
December 3, 2000
Stan Lee
Media Secures Financing
Stan Lee Media, Inc. announced today that it had executed definitive
agreements for bridge financing of up to $2.2 million and reached
an agreement in principal relating to an equity line of up to $40
million. Under the terms of the proposed equity line, the company
would have a commitment by an investor or multiple investors to
acquire shares on pre-negotiated terms from time to time based upon
the overall volume and price of the company's stock trading in the
marketplace.
"We believe
that the equity line will help to put the company on strong financial
footing for some time by allowing the company to draw down additional
financing on an as needed basis. Despite the recent downturn in
our stock price, the fundamentals of the company remain unchanged
and we will continue to pursue our strategy of developing and creating
branded entertainment properties for all media," stated Ken Williams,
president and chief executive officer of the company.
The company
indicated that the bridge financing took the form of a convertible
note facility of which an initial traunch of $1.0 million was drawn
today. The equity line would be available following the negotiation
and execution of definitive documentation, fulfillment of the conditions
contained in those agreements, and compliance with legal requirements
including compliance with the rules and regulations of the Securities
and Exchange Commission, the filing and declaration of effectiveness
by the SEC of the registration statement to be filed with respect
to the issuance of the shares in connection with the equity line.
Stan Lee Media,
Inc. is a digital entertainment studio founded under the direction
of pop-culture icon Stan Lee, co-creator of such classic characters
as Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk and the X-Men. Original Stan
Lee entertainment properties, as well as co-branded and acquired
properties, including "Stan Lee Presents Conan the Barbarian" and
"Stan Lee Presents Gene Roddenberry's Starship," are exploited domestically
and internationally, in association with strategic partnerships
in Latin America, Asia and Europe, with partners including Fox Kids
Latin America and Venture Soft of Japan. The Company monetizes this
intellectual property through merchandising and through licensing
in a broad array of media including television, motion pictures,
music, commercials, endorsements and theme park attractions.
* * *
Netter
Digital Closes Its Doors!
Located in North Hollywood, Netter Digital Entertainment, Inc.
who produced such works as Babylon 5, Dune and Voltron, has shut
their doors for good. All assets of the complete digital animation
facility will be offered at public auction.
Items to be
offered include Avid Film & Media composing suites; digital on-line
edit systems; Sony Digibeta recorders; complete Motion Analysis
HR Expert Vision hi-res Falcon 10 camera system for advanced 3D
character animation in TV, film and vide games' Falcon hi-speed
camera, hi-res TrakLock video processor, precision calibration frame,
monitor, software, etc. Workstations and servers will be offered
including over 100 graphics workstation with SGI Octanes, O2's,
540 Quad Pentiums, main server bay with Network Appliance & SGI/CPR
Raid systems; over 60 Herman Miller Aeron chairs and other executive
furnishings.
In addition,
a large amount of Babylon 5 memorabilia will be offered including
signed and autographed magazines, clothing, stickers, posters, books,
trading cards, pewter figurines and much more.
The auction
will be conducted by Rabin Brothers on Thursday, December 7. The
public is invited to inspect all the merchandise to be sold on Wednesday,
December 6th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday,
December 4, 2000
New Animated/Anime
Titles Being Released Tomorrow
 Here
is a list of animated and anime titles being released to DVD tomorrow:
The
Land Before Time VII - The Stone of Cold Fire
Digimon
- Season 1
Escaflowne
- Betrayal & Trust (Vol. 2)
Generator
Gawl Vol 02: Future Memory
Masters
of Russian Animation Volume 4 (1986)
Reboot
Volume 2 (1994)
* * *
Buzz Lightyear
Hits GameBoy Systems
Activision, Inc., Disney Interactive and Pixar Animation Studios
have released Disney/Pixar's Buzz
Lightyear of Star Command for Nintendo Game Boy Color. Based
on the new animated television series, Disney/Pixar's Buzz Lightyear
of Star Command video game is rated "E" by the ESRB and is currently
available for a suggested retail price of $29.99.
Disney/Pixar's
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command is a third-person, all-action adventure
in which players take on the role of the gung-ho, galactic space
hero Buzz Lightyear. Players explore dynamic environments and plush
levels, while meeting a multitude of characters from the series
including Zeb Nebula, Mira, Booster, Little Green Men and others.
Gamers are charged to fight the Evil Emperor Zurg and his minions
in an ongoing saga that features awesome action elements, high-tech
space-ranger abilities and a variety of over-the-top, retro-futuristic
worlds like Trade World, Karn, Gargantua and Planet Z.
The game is
also available on Playstation
and Dreamcast.
Tuesday,
December 5, 2000
Box Office
Results for Animated Films
Here are the Box Office results for last weekend's animated films:
Rugrats
in Paris
$6.5 Million ($2,215 per screen average - massive 63% decrease)
4th at the Box Office (also #4 last weekend)
Total to Date: $55.7 Million
CyberWorld
3D
$264,003 ($7,135 per screen average - 20% increase)
18th at the Box Office (up from #22 last weekend)
Total to Date: $3.2 Million
Digimon
$19,655 ($172 per screen average - 41% decrease)
53rd at the Box Office (down from #41 last weekend)
Total to Date: $9.6 Million
Dinosaur
$16,799 ($166 per screen average - 52% decrease)
54th at the Box Office (down from #49 last weekend)
Total to Date: $137.7 Million
Tim
Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
$1,436 ($239 per screen average - huge 107% decrease)
87th at the Box Office (up from #101 last weekend)
Total to Date (includes original release): $50.35 Million
Rerelease total: only $249,289
* * *
Max Steel
Becomes Video Game
Mattel Media and Sony Pictures Entertainment today announced
the availability of Max Steel: Covert Missions.
Driven by a
successful television series from Sony Pictures Family Entertainment
and an extensive line of action figures through Sony Pictures Consumer
Products, the multi-million dollar brand by Mattel is now available
as a game on Sega DreamCast. Players won't just be watching Max
Steel on TV -- they will be controlling his destiny and the fate
of the free world. The game is available for an estimated retail
price of $39.99.
In this third-person
shooter/adventure game, the terrorist group D.R.E.A.D has kidnapped
Max Steel's boss and has stolen a deadly biological weapon to ravage
the world and create it anew. Only one obstacle stands in their
way, Max Steel. Enhanced with powerful nano-technology and armed
with an arsenal of high-tech weapons, Max Steel will need to use
his superhuman strength and blazing speed to rescue his boss and
prevent D.R.E.A.D. from achieving its goal of world domination.
"Continuing
Mattel Media's effort to broaden its offering of titles to boys
of all ages, we are bringing to life Max Steel, one of the coolest
spies in history," said Amy Boylan, senior vice president of Mattel
Media. "Players can now experience first-hand all of the intrigue
and mystery of being an undercover agent."
Eight unique
levels and missions lead up to the climactic showdown with Dawn
Shadow, where players can fight in hand-to-hand combat or choose
from a large selection of lethal gadgets and weapons including trip
wires, repeater guns and sniper rifles. Stealth mode allows gamers
to slip by their enemies undetected or go turbo for staggering strength
and speed. Highly detailed 3D effects and more than 65 unique animations
bring Max Steel to life, while the compelling storyline propels
the game forward, throwing the player into Max's world of high-tech
terrorism.
Wednesday,
December 6, 2000
Cinesite
Adds Jon Townley To Art Department Staff
Cinesite, Inc. has appointed Jon Townley as senior designer reporting
to Dennis Hoffman, vice president of production.
"Jon Townley
is a talented artist who is a great fit for our creative team,"
says Ruth Scovill, president and COO of Cinesite in Los Angeles.
"He has broad experience and the ability to lead and make creative
contributions in a collaborative environment."
Townley received
a bachelor's degree in fine arts and began his career as a commercial
illustrator before segueing into film and visual effects. He helped
found Metro Light Studios where he served as creative director from
1987 to 1993. Since then he has worked at Sony Imageworks, L-Squared
Entertainment and most recently as a founding partner of Click3X
in Los Angeles. Townley's credits include visual effects design
for such narrative films as Hideaway, Wolf, To Die For and Virtuosity-which
he also supervised. He also worked as a visual effects designer
on a number of recent large format films including A License to
Thrill, The Magic Box and Journey of Man.
"For me, the
fun in filmmaking is working in a collaborative environment with
visual effects artists who know how to tell stories," says Townley,
who has also won two Emmy Awards for design. "We have a terrific
creative team supported by a deep well of digital technology. It's
a great opportunity to work on the cutting edge."
Cinesite is
a subsidiary of Kodak and part of its Entertainment Imaging division.
* * *
Top 10 DVD
Sales Include Four That Are Animated
The list of top DVD sales is out for last week and animated
films took four of the top 10 spots. Coming in third in DVD sales
was Disney's Fantasia 2000. Placing sixth was Don Bluth's
Titan A.E. Seventh was the Toy Story & Toy Story 2
set. Finally, eighth place went to the Fantasia 2000 Anthology.
* * *
Film Roman
Faces Delisting
Film Roman is facing possible delisting of its stock after failing
to meet the minimum bid requirements for the Nasdaq Small-Cap Market.
Word of the possible delisting has caused the stock to drastically
drop further. Film Roman is the company behind many animated TV
series like "The Simpsons."
Thursday,
December 7, 2000
Michael Eisner
Comments on The Emperor's New Groove
Disney executives gave speeches before investors and news media
in London on yesterday mostly talking about the theme park division
and live action film division with a focus on the upcoming Pearl
Harbor. However, Michael Eisner did mention The Emperor's New Groove,
stating the following (keep in mind this is aimed at the UK marketplace):
"In February,
we will offer Disney's 39th full-length animated film, The Emperor's
New Groove. This comedy features the voice talent of David Spade
and John Goodman, with music by Sting. Just as Tarzan and
Dinosaur stretched the bounds of Disney animation, this is
a very funny film with a look and sensibility that we believe will
feel very contemporary and fresh for audiences young and old."
Eisner also
very briefly mentioned Atlantis:
"Also for
the summer, we will release Atlantis. This is an animated
wide-screen action movie in the tradition of live-action wide-screen
action movies, and should be the perfect summer film for kids of
all ages."
* * *
Mainframe
Announces "Surf N Turf"
Mainframe Entertainment, Inc. and Studio B Productions have
announced their first co-development project intended for television.
SURF N TURF, to be developed as a television series for families,
will utilize both traditional cel and CGI animation.
The story takes
place in the SandCastle Restaurant somewhere in California. Chef
Turf, a short, gruff, tattooed, wisecracking bulldog from Brooklyn,
has a temper as short as his legs. Surf, the restaurant's Maitre
d', is a sweet, live-for-the-moment, air-headed lobster whom everyone
loves because of the empathy he exudes to his clients, friends and
fellow fish... even the ones about to be cooked.
The series,
now in development, will have a free flowing format where, on occasion,
our stars Surf and Turf, will give way to other segments: including
ESCAPE FROM AQUATRAZ and NICK AND SCRATCH. These segments are independent
of the main story but all take place in the SandCastle Restaurant.
ESCAPE FROM AQUATRAZ is a prison comedy where a group of convict
fish are trying to escape the restaurant's `catch of the day' fish
tank before they are turned into a blue plate special. NICK AND
SCRATCH operate the Valet Parking at the SandCastle and, while they
are Vehicular Placement Engineers by trade, they are actually accidents
waiting to happen.
Friday,
December 8, 2000
Disney Animation
- From Serious to Comedy
According to The Ottawa Citizen:
"Two years
ago, a worried Disney animation producer named Randy Fullmer took
a deep breath, picked up his telephone and called Sting with some
very bad news.
It was his
unpleasant duty to inform the award-winning British pop musician
that the studio was scrapping the six songs he and collaborator
David Hartley had written for a new Disney animated feature called
Kingdom Of The Sun. The reason was that Disney was no longer
making a dramatic musical based on pre-Columbian Incan legend; instead,
midway through the labour-intensive process of creating an animated
feature, the studio had decided to turn Kingdom Of The Sun
into a rollicking comedy about an arrogant young monarch who learns
the meaning of humility after he is transformed into a llama..."
Click
here for the full story.
* * *
The Road
to El Dorado Being Released This Tuesday
Dreamworks PG-rated The Road to El Dorado, which performed
under exectations at the Box Office, will hit video
and DVD
on Tuesday, December 12, 2000.
To celebrate
the arrival of its second animated feature film to video and DVD,
Dreamworks is turning the historic main street of El Dorado, Kansas
completely gold. More than 11,880 feet of golden lights, 2,000 feet
of gold garland, 32,000 square feet of gold paint, and 100 oversized
golden ornaments will adorn the charming town of the movie's namesake.
The transformation will be unveiled by Susan Seeber, Mayor of El
Dorado, who will throw a giant switch that will illuminate two city
blocks and welcome the film's beloved characters Miguel and Tulio
as they arrive in a gold convertible amongst great fanfare and two
tons of golden ticker-tape confetti. DreamWorks also will present
a donation of 10,000 gold coins for the town's first movie theater.
Following the magical golden moment will be a holiday parade featuring
hundreds of The Road To El Dorado themed floats led by Grand
Marshall's Miguel and Tulio.
The event will
take place Tuesday, December 12, 2000, at 6:00PM.
Saturday,
December 9, 2000
A Charlie
Brown Christmas - Bless The Blockhead
According to the Dallas Observer:
"Christmastime
is here, but for the first time, Charlie Brown's father will not
be around to watch his depressed, round-headed child celebrate the
holiday. He will not be in front of the television next week to
watch his little boy seek psychiatric help from a nickel-grubbing
girl who diagnoses her patient with pantophobia, 'the fear of everything.'
He will not see his child open a mailbox to find emptiness instead
of good wishes; he will not watch his boy direct the Christmas play
or buy the world's scrawniest, loneliest little Christmas tree.
And he will not hear his son's best friend deliver a lisped speech
about the true meaning of Christmas: 'Glory to God in the highest,
and on Earth peace, goodwill toward men.'..."
Click
here for the full story.
Sunday,
December 10, 2000
IMAX Does
Special CyberWorld 3D Screenings for Variety Clubs
IMAX took hundreds of Variety Clubs' disabled and disadvantaged
children to the movies yesterday with special screenings of the
3D film CyberWorld 3D.
The screenings
took place in Los Angeles, CA (Universal City IMAX Theatre), San
Francisco, CA (Sony Metreon IMAX Theatre), Chicago, IL (Sony Navy
Pier IMAX Theatre), Houston, TX (Edwards Marquis IMAX Theatre),
Philadelphia, PA (King of Prussia IMAX Theatre), and Seattle, WA
(Pacific Science Center IMAX Theatre) on December 9, 2000 giving
the Variety Club's children a chance to enjoy CyberWorld 3D
on the giant IMAX screen. For many of these children, this will
be their first time experiencing IMAX's technology.
"Screenings
of CyberWorld 3D are a fantastic gift from IMAX. I just know the
children are going to love it!" said The Variety Clubs' President
of Los Angeles, CA prior to the screenings. "IMAX theatres are an
incredibly useful tool in reminding families that education and
entertainment can go hand in hand. I hope all the children of the
Variety Clubs enjoy the film and have a wonderful holiday and New
Year."
CyberWorld
3D, presented by Intel follows a saucy, synthetic hostess, named
Phig (voice performance created by Jenna Elfman), who takes guests
through CyberWorld, a futuristic gallery of wild adventures and
spectacular images. Trouble arrives in the form of three code-gobbling
Computer critters named Buzzed, Wired and Frazzled who are voraciously
feeding on the environment's computer code foundation, forcing Phig
into a battle to save herself and CyberWorld from total annihilation.
Long considered
"the heart of show business," Variety Club was founded nearly 70
years ago when a baby was abandoned in a Pittsburgh movie theatre
on Christmas Eve. Since then, Variety Club has become one of the
largest children's charities in the world, with 53 chapters in 13
countries, raising over $30 million annually. The clubs are dedicated
to providing lifesaving and life enriching assistance to disabled,
disadvantaged, and abused children through the efforts of local
chapters.
* * *
Robert
Levin Leaves Sony Pictures Entertainment
Robert Levin, who was responsible for the marketing launch of
Disney's The Lion King, before joining Sony Pictures Entertainment
(SPE), is now leaving SPE to pursue other goals. Levin joined SPE
in 1996 and had been responsible for all worldwide marketing activities
in support of the Company's theatrical motion picture releases and
its Consumer Products organization.
While at Sony,
Levin oversaw many marketing successes, beginning with the Tom Cruise
hit film "Jerry Maguire." In 1997, Levin's marketing efforts helped
SPE achieve a record-breaking domestic gross of more than $1.2 billion,
which still stands as the most earned by any studio in any year.
The studio's films that year included its largest-grossing movie
ever, "Men In Black," which along with "Air Force One," "As Good
As It Gets," and "My Best Friend's Wedding" ranked among the year's
top 10 grossing films. In 1998, Levin led the team responsible for
marketing "Godzilla" with a $55 million opening, ranking as one
of the biggest over any Memorial Day weekend. In 1999, top-grossing
launches included "Big Daddy" and "Stuart Little." Levin wound up
his tenure at SPE by overseeing the launch of "Charlie's Angels,"
which opened at $40.6 million.
"I am quite
proud of what I accomplished during my four years at Sony Pictures,"
Mr. Levin said. "It is now time, however, to move on to the next
chapter of my life. Throughout my career what has excited me the
most are the challenges that marketing offers. As I look to the
future, I will once again seek an opportunity that offers such challenges."
Before joining
SPE, Mr. Levin spent 10 years at the Walt Disney Studios as its
President of Worldwide Marketing.
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