News - 11/20/09...

Potter’s Radcliffe to Guest on Simpsons

The boy wizard is coming to Springfield.

Daniel Radcliffe, who has played Harry Potter in all the feature film adaptations of the classic books, will voice a character on next year’s Treehouse of Horror episode of The Simpsons, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Executive producer Al Jean told the magazine that Radcliffe will play Edmund, a young vampire Lisa develops a crush on. The segment, a spoof of Twilight, will see Edmund’s father Dracula and Homer try to break up the relationship.

“Daniel was very excited to do The Simpsons,” Jean told EW. “And we kept trying to ask him for secrets from the upcoming Harry Potter movie until we realized that they were all in the books.”

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Hollywood Reporter animation updates

One of the movie business’ industry Bibles, The Hollywood Reporter has updated its website with several new animation stories. It confirms Sam Neill, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving and David Wenham have joined the voice cast of Animal Logic’s animated feature Guardians Of Ga’hoole for director Zack Snyder; the film follows “Soren, a young owl enthralled by his father’s stories of the Guardians, a mythic band of winged warriors who fought a great battle to save all of owlkind from the evil Pure Ones”, and is set for release in Australia on December 9, 2010.

Next, THR reviews Sony’s Planet 51, which opens this Friday, November 20, calling the film “a perky though not terribly imaginative throwback to the days when cartoons were mostly aimed at children”.

Lastly, a very interesting Awards Watch article offers an Anatomy of Up, speaking to the filmmakers and looking behind the scenes at the concept and development of Disney/Pixar’s latest release.





Cloudy cover art, details, and Meatballs

An advertisement in trade magazine Video Business includes the cover art and specific details for Sony’s upcoming release of their $120m box-office hit Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs, landing on single and double disc DVD and Blu-ray on January 5, 2010.




















Mudbox Ported to Linux for DreamWorks, Imageworks

DreamWorks Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks are integrating Autodesk Mudbox, a digital sculpting and texture painting application, into their Linux production pipelines.

Designed by professional artists, Mudbox is used to create ultra-realistic 3D characters, engaging environments and stylized props. It has been used on projects such as 9, The Dark Knight and America's Army 3.

Porting the software into each facilities pipelines was done by Autodesk Consulting’s custom development team, working in conjunction with teams at Imageworks and DreamWorks.

"Cross-platform support is a key part of the Mudbox product strategy," said Stig Gruman, Autodesk VP of the Digital Entertainment Group. "Earlier this year Autodesk shipped the first version of the software for the Apple Macintosh platform, and this development is a major step toward offering Linux support to artists working in feature film production."

More information on Mudbox can be found online at www.autodesk.com/mudbox and a demonstration video can be seen online at www.youtube.com/autodesk.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Animation Expo Invades Burbank This Weekend

The Creative Talent Network’s Animation Expo is coming this weekend to the Burbank Convention Center and Animation Magazine will be there to celebrate!

The event begins Friday with a VIP party that opens up to the public and ticket holders at 8 p.m. and runs until midnight.

Saturday kicks off the exposition and the programming, which includes Animag’s sponsored panel “The Anatomy of a Hit Animated Series” at 1 p.m. in Room 2.

Moderated by Animation Magazine Editor in Chief Ramin Zahed, the panel will feature Swampy Marsh and Dan Povenmire, creators of the hugely popular animated show Phineas and Ferb, and Jamie Mitchell and Ford Riley, creators of the hit preschool toon Agent Osso, sharing their experiences and offering tips on how to take a show from the first stages of development to the final steps of delivery.

Animation Magazine also will have a booth on the floor, with all kinds of goodies on offer all day Saturday and Sunday.

For more information on the event, including ticket information and schedules, check out www.ctnanimationexpo.com.

Hope to see you there!

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





New Warner Archive Toons Includes Yogi’s First Christmas

A quartet of long-lost animated classics are coming to DVD for the first time as part of the Warner Archive Collection.

The releases include Yogi’s First Christmas, an animated special starring the famous Hanna-Barbera character and his sidekick Boo Boo; the Rankin-Bass holiday double feature The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus and Nestor the Long Eared Christmas Donkey; and the animated feature The Flight of the Dragons.

Here’s a clip from Yogi’s First Christmas:



All three discs are available now through the Warner Archive site for $14.95 at www.warnerarchive.com.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Academy Salute to UPA in New York





I just found out that as part of its monthly Monday Nights With Oscar film series in New York, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present eight 35mm UPA shorts, including Academy Award winners Gerald McBoing Boing (1950) and Mister Magoo’s Puddle Jumper (1956), in a program selected and hosted by Oscar-winning animator and animation historian John Canemaker.

The screening will take place on Monday, December 14, at 7:00 pm (EST). Location is the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International (111 E. 59th Street, NYC). Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students w/ID. Advanced tickets must be purchased online or at the theater box office on the night of the event (pending availability). New Yorkers, check this out.

(Thanks cartoon brew)





"Lost and Found" wins at Chicago children's fest

Philip Hunt's "Lost and Found" (United Kingdom, 2008) has been given the First Prize in the category of Children's Jury Prize - Animated Short Film or Video at this year's Chicago International Children's Film Festival.

The Second Prize winner is Nick Park for Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death, also released in the U.K. in 2008. The Certificate of Excellence went to Yair Landau for Live Music (U.S.A., 2009).

The largest festival of films for children in North America, the Chicago International Children's Film Festival features over 200 films from 40 countries. The CICFF is the only children's film festival to be an Academy Award qualifying festival.

For Adult Jury Prize - Animated Short Film or Video, the First Prize was given to Anita Killi for Angry Man (Norway, 2009). The Second Prize winner was Kevin Langdale for Engine 371 (Canada, 2008), while a Certificate of Excellence went to Jamie Stone and Anders Jedenfors for Space Travel According to John (Scotland, 2008).

In the category Adult Jury Prize - Animated Short Film or Video, the First Prize winners were Keiko Iino and Osamu Sakai for PoPo Louise (Japan, 2008). The Second Prize was given to Lajos Nagy for Hungarian Folk Tales: "The Wee King" (Hungary, 2008).





ToonSeum










A new museum of animation, cartoon and comic art has opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It’s called ToonSeum and it just had its grand opening last weekend. Reportedly it’s not a huge space, but is nicely done. Their first exhibit focuses on animation art:

“Enchanted Drawings: A Century of Animation.” The exhibit will feature original art from Gertie the Dinosaur to Spongebob and more. On display will be rare artifacts, including an original Disney animation director’s desk from the early Hyperion studio.

It’s quite an achievement to establish a cartoon museum in such a sports oriented city — I wish it luck. The ToonSeum is located on the first floor of the Bruno Building at 945 Liberty Avenue. The Enchanted Drawings exhibit runs through Jan. 3, 2010.

(Thanks, Rebecca Yasick)

(Thanks cartoon brew)





An Industry Health Care Story

Today the Congressional Budget Office gave a reasonably good score to pending health care legislation:

A U.S. Senate healthcare reform plan ... meets President Barack Obama's goals on costs and deficit reduction, budget analysts said ...

... Democratic leader Harry Reid will release legislation the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said would cost $849 billion over 10 years ... A Senate aide said the CBO also estimated the Senate plan will reduce the deficit by $127 billion over 10 years and $650 billion in the second decade, while cutting the number of uninsured by 31 million ...

So maybe this thing will pass, and maybe it won't. I have my view of the matter, which I won't share here because A) You can guess what it is, and B) It's tangential to the story I'm about to unspool ...

I have a close friend, an artist, who has worked in the cartoon industry longer than I have, but has only twenty-eight years in the industry pension and health plan because, at the start of his career, he couldn't get a job at a union shop.

Happily, after a few years he landed that coveted union gig and his career took off.

Unhappily, after working for twenty-eight years at three different union studios, he hit the proverbial brick wall common to a lot of people in this business. His support network of fellow professionals died and/or retired and he was eased out to pasture by thirty-somethings at the ripe age of fifty-seven.

An old story, all too often told.

My friend is now fifty-nine. Life being what it is, after failing to land any jobs in his long-time profession he took early retirement, which means he got a lot less in his monthly pension check than he would have if he'd held on.

But he couldn't hold on. He kept looking for work, going on job interviews, not getting anything. The Motion Picture Industry Health Insurance ran out, COBRA ran out, and he steadily burned through savings.

Then three months ago his luck changed: "A job just dropped in my lap, and I took it." The job paid $14 per hour, working in a storage facility, no benefits. But it allowed him to earn enough money to buy the thousand dollar a month health care policy he needs to survive, since he's one of those lucky duckies with "a pre-existing condition," and so can't buy lower cost coverage.

As he said to me recently: "What I can get doesn't cover all the prescription drugs I take, but at least I've got a job now and can afford to pay for a stripped-down health plan, even if it is super expensive..."

Such a deal. A super-expensive medical plan. For a man too old for work in his long-time occupation, yet too young for a full pension or Medicare or Social Security. And his retirement accounts, accumulated over a lifetime of work, steadily melt away.

I watch the health care debate, and the hand-wringing about socialism and "subsidized abortions," and then I think of the $700 billion that Hank Paulson gave Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Bank of America, and the large bonuses those fine companies -- saved from bankruptcy by your tax dollars and mine -- now hand out to their oh-so-deserving executives. And I say to myself:

"There are politicians worried about socialism? Where the fuck were these people fourteen months ago, when they couldn't create socialism fast enough when it came to Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Who the fuck are these people kidding?"

And then I think of my friend, slowly descending into poverty because he can't get a job that pays much of anything and can't get health insurance that costs less than an arm and a leg. And I get all warm and tingly knowing that although he might be eating it, at least Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup have been saved by federal socialism so that they can rape and pillage another day.

God bless America.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Tooners' Health Costs

Down below a commenter asks:

What does it cost per/individual for our 'cadillac' healthcare plans?

The Caddy Plan of which this person speaks is the Motion Picture Industry Health and Pension Plan. I phoned the Plan this very day, and here are the basic stats ...

Motion Picture Health Plan
Plan Participants -- 120,000 (100,000 Actives; 20,000 Retirees)
Annual Costs: $700+ million
Active Participant cost (per participant) -- $11,000
Retiree Participant cost (per participant) -- $8,000
COBRA costs (participant + 2 -- family of 3) -- $18,000

Okay, those are the broad-brush numbers. (Blogging rule: Never get into boring detail with a post.) If you're wondering why the Retirees' costs are lower than the Actives', it's because many Retirees (those 65 years and up) have Medicare as their primary insurer, and the Industry Health Plan is the secondary insurer. A few other basic realities:

MPIPHP's costs increase 9%-10% yearly. (Sometimes it's a bit higher, sometimes a bit lower. Health Plan actuaries assume costs will double every 10 years.)

Health care costs in the wider U.S.A. have increased 1 1/2% to 2% faster than the Motion Picture Industry's Health Plan, which has bargaining leverage because of its size. However, because or rising costs, Health Care benefits have been trimmed .... and trimmed again. (Anybody who's been under this Industry Health coverage for some time know that costs have gone up and benefits down.)

The long and short of it is: The present track we are on means that everybody will be doing with less over time. The United States has the most fractured and expensive health care delivery system in the world. The next most expensive country is Switzerland, which has universal coverage, 40% lower costs, and no "public option." The Swiss government simply mandates that every private health insurer offer an "at cost" Health Plan, with mandated benefits. (Swiss health insurance companies are free to sell for-profit "add-ons" to their hearts content.)

Give me the Swiss system and I'm fine. I'll forgo the dreaded Public Option.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Menu System, Artwork From Recent "Justice League: The Complete Series" DVD Release

The World's Finest has a look at the package art and menu system for the recent Justice League: The Complete Series DVD collection release.

A selection of images from the recent Justice League: The Complete Series DVD collection release are available below, including a look at the menu system, disc art and package art for the title. This new DVD collection encompasses every episode from both Justice League and Justice League Unlimited into one package. Click on the thumbnails for a closer look.












Warner Home Video released the Justice League: The Complete Series DVD collection to shelves on November 10th, 2009, with additional details available here. Further information on other Justice League and Justice League Unlimited home video releases are readily available at the Justice League subsite here at The World's Finest.





Planet 51, New Moon Vie for Box Office Stardom

It’s vampires versus aliens as studios make their big push to stuff moviegoers into their seats for a pre-Thanksgiving cinematic snack.

Sony Pictures Animation represents the alien faction with Planet 51, in which a human astronaut arrives on a world full of aliens who are almost exactly like us. Opening in more than 2,600 cinemas, Planet 51 is directed by Jorge Blanco and stars Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel and Justin Long. Seven years in the making, the film is a European-American co-production and was conceived and produced by Madrid, Spain-based Illion Animation.

The reviews for the CG-animated movie have been somewhat mixed: "Although not bowling me over, Planet 51 is a jolly and good-looking animated feature in glorious 2-D!" says Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times, while Brian Miller of The Village Voice notes, "Planet 51 mainly succeeds at reminding you of all the better movies that inspired it." Todd McCarthy is less kind in his Variety review. He writes, "A high concept gets low execution in Planet 51, a lame-brained toon that even kids will recognize as an insipid goof on sci-fi conventions."

The vampire end of the weekend comes from The Twilight Saga: New Moon, the second film in the series based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling books. Once again starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Jacob Lautner, New Moon rises amid an intense promotional campaign and crowds of swooning “Twi-hards” camping out to see the film, which Summit Entertainment opens in more than 4,000 theaters.

The studios’ only other major release this week is The Blind Side, a very sentimental drama from Warner Bros. starring Sandra Bullock as a woman who takes an interest in an impoverished young football player.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Uncharted 2, Batman Top Spike Video Game Awards

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Batman: Arkham Asylum each received seven nominations, followed closely by six each for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Left 4 Dead 2 in Spike TV’s Video Game Awards.

The seventh annual event announced its categories and nominees today, with winners to be announced in a ceremony the cable channel will broadcast live Dec. 12. Fans can vote for their favorites online at vga.spike.com.

The event will include exclusive content and announcements from top gaming companies including 2K, Activision, Disney Interactive Studios, Electronic Arts, LucasArts Entertainment, Microsoft Game Studios, THQ, Ubisoft and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Among the sneak peeks is a first look at video from the opening of the upcoming Halo: Reach prequel game, coming next fall for Xbox 360 from developer Bungie and Microsoft Game Studios.

The list of nominees include:

Game of the Year
• Assassin's Creed 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Studio of the Year
• Infinity Ward
• Naughty Dog
• Rocksteady Studios
• Valve

Best Independent Game Fueled by Dew
• 'Splosion Man
• Flower
• Osmos
• Trials HD

Best Xbox 360 Game
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Halo 3: ODST
• Forza Motorsport 3
• Left 4 Dead 2

Best PS3 Game
• Infamous
• Killzone 2
• Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Wii Game
• Madworld
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii
• Punch-Out!!
• Wii Sports Resort

Best Action Adventure Game
• Assassin's Creed 2
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Brutal Legend
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Graphics
• Batman: Arkham Asylum
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Killzone 2
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Best Game Based on a Movie/TV Show
• Ghostbusters: The Video Game
• South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!
• The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena
• X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged Edition

For the complete list of nominees, visit: www.spike.com/event/vga2009

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Littleloud Animates Doctor Who

That icon of British sci-fi TV Doctor Who is getting animated in a new 3D animated series created by Littleloud.

The six-part series of six-minute segments stars David Tennant and will premiere online on BBC Red Button starting Nov. 21 and on the Doctor Who website. The full series, then will air on CBBC and BBC HD on Dec. 5, and on BBC later this year.

The series is written by Phil Ford, and sends the Doctor to Roswell, N.M., where he finds a mysterious alien artifact that starts a rescue mission.

Also lending voices to the series are Georgia Moffet and David Warner.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Cookie Jar Reaches into South Korea

Cookie Jar Group is opening an office in South Korea and naming C.J. Lee as VP of distribution.

Lee will focus on development and production opportunities for the company in South Korea and Asia. He also will be in charge of TV sales and develop licensing programs.

Lee comes to Cookie Jar from GIMC, where he oversaw international co-productions and served as a creative producer. Previously, he was managing director and co-owner of Starburst Animation.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Cowles Shines On New TMBG Music Video

David Cowles and Liesje Kraai directed this animated music video for the Grammy-award winning They Might Be Giants’ Here Comes Science. It’s titled Why Does the Sun Really Shine? (The Sun is a Miasma of Incandescent Plasma), and it finally puts the rumor to bed – the Sun is not made of cheese. Errr…. something like that.







Hu Lets the Homework Hydra Out

In May of this year, Ben Hu proved that he can overcome procrastination. The result was Homework Hydra, a clever, 2-minute, Flash-animated short created as his 4th-year thesis at the Sheridan Animation Program. He drew it somewhat “traditionally” in Flash with a tablet, and then did clean-ups with a Cintiq monitor. Congrats on graduation, Ben!







Comedy Central Airs Clips From Ugly Americans

You’ll have to wait until March 2010 to see the premiere of Ugly Americans, but last night Comedy Central aired a clip during the South Park finale. The show, which is set in an NYC filled with demons, robots, zombies, and assorted creatures, was created by David M. Stern and Devin Clark. The animation is being directed by Augenblick Studios (Superjail) and with animation produced at Cuppa Coffee. Here’s two clips:

The Demon Chick


Sneak Peek






Kudan by Taku Kimura

Here’s a short I saw at a recent animation Flip Festival in the Midlands UK. It won Best of the Festival and I wanted to share it with you too. It’s called Kudan by Taku Kimura. And it must be good because I’m quite an ambassador for 2D and this is 3D.







Fluorescent Hill Provides Thoughts For N.A.S.A.

The gang over at the massively-influential website Boing Boing have uploaded a new animated music video for the hip hop indie music duo N.A.S.A. The track, titled Spacious Thoughts, features vocals by Tom Waits and Kool Keith, and the video was directed by Fluorescent Hill.







South Park Finishes Season 13 at the Waterpark

It’s over. With last night’s premiere of Pee, South Park Season 13 is but a memory, but what better way to celebrate this bittersweet juncture, than a horribly racist ballad by Cartman? His concerned ode to the abundance of minorities enjoying his favorite waterpark.







'Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths' Writer and Cast Interviewed

The recent print edition of "Life Story: Film Fantasy" magazine has buried in it a feature article on the upcoming "Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths" animated film from Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation.

The "collectors edition" of this magazine focuses heavily on the "Twilight: New Moon" feature film and the Justice League movie is not mentioned on the cover.

Included in this hidden feature article are preview images, storyboard art and interviews with film writer Dwayne McDuffie and celebrity voice cast Billy Baldwin (Batman), Mark Harmon (Superman), James Woods (Owlman), Gina Torres (Super Woman) and Chris Noth (Lex Luthor).

McDuffie says of the film, "There are so many different continuities for all of the characters in the comics over the many years, that we're sort of used to seeing Batman and Superman in different contexts, which is fun. But a lot of it, in this particular case, is seeing what the world would be like if they weren't good people. They're completely different people who have chosen to use their power for personal gain."

He adds, "For me, probably the interesting part about this is the rift between Batman and the rest of the group about the responsibilities of the Justice League on our Earth. Our Justice League immediately charges over to the parallel Earth to help out, and Batman stays here, becuase he feels his primary mission is to protect the world he lives in. That was interesting. I like setting up conflicts in the group where both sides actually have a point."

Interview excerpts from the voice cast in this same magazine are available at Voice Actors in the News.

Note: The publisher of "Life Story: Film Fantasy" magazine does not have an official site where you can preview the magazine and order online. It is available only on newsstands through February 8, 2010 with a cover price of $9.99.





Iron Man 2 Trailer with Sherlock Holmes?

In retweeting a question about when we'll see the first trailer for Iron Man 2, director Jon Favreau appears to be giving us a big hint:

RT @Ann_Howard: @Jon_Favreau PLEASE tell us the trailer is coming soon - w/ Sherlock Holmes, perhaps??

It makes sense since Sherlock Holmes also stars Robert Downey Jr., of course. The Guy Ritchie-directed film opens Christmas Day.

Our guess was that we'd be seeing the trailer with Avatar on December 18, but it looks like we'll have to wait just a week longer.





'Spider-Man 4' Rumor Update: Anne Hathaway Joins The Black Cat Race?

The superhero rumor mill is getting awfully catty these days when it comes to "Spider-Man 4." Even with the Rachel McAdams as Black Cat rumor effectively squashed, there are still other reports pegging high-profile actresses for the potential "Spider-Man" nemesis — like Anne Hathaway, for example.

The "Rachel Getting Married" star is the latest actress to be named in connection with "Spider-Man 4." According to Deadline Hollywood Daily, Hathaway has been approached by the film's producers for a starring role. While Finke isn't as certain that Hathaway would be playing Felicia Hardy as the rest of the fan community, she does know that the actress won't take over the role of Mary Jane.

"All I know is that she's wanted for a starring role, and she won't replace Kirsten Dunst who's also cast in the Spidey fourquel," Finke reports.

To be fair, Finke has had some luck with Marvel casting scoops in the past, including her early call that Natalie Portman would wind up in "Thor." She also broke the news that Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi would return for "Spider-Man 4," so her connections with the production could be pretty solid.

Does that mean Hathaway is a lock for the film? Not necessarily. Does it mean that she's playing Felicia Hardy? Absolutely not. But the incessant rumors of a female lead in "Spider-Man 4" — Black Cat or not — indicate that there's either some truth to the idea of a new female character in the franchise. Of course, it could be as simple as scoopers looking to capitalize on the same rumor buzz. It's hard to tell at this point.

Whether the role goes to Hathaway or someone else — heck, whether there even is a role — remains to be seen, but don't expect these rumors to go away anytime soon. I'm crossing my fingers that Finke has hit the nail on the head with this one, but I'm not holding my breath — in fact, I think we'll be hearing stories like this for quite some time.





'Thor' Set Reports From Joe Quesada And Brian Bendis

Marvel Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada and “New Avengers” writer Brian Michael Bendis have offered first hand accounts of their recent visit to the set of director Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of “Thor.”

“I could listen to Branagh talk about ‘Thor’ all day long,” related Quesada on Twitter. “Cast is in place, sets are being built and screenplay is brilliant. Marveldom rules!”

Meanwhile, Bendis added on his own Twitter that “Thor movie meeting with Ken Branagh was over the top amazing. Visited the sets! I was in Odin's chamber!”

Bendis in particular has been extremely vocal in his praise of “Thor.” In an interview last month, Bendis said “’Thor’ is an extravaganza.” He also described Branagh’s take on the material as “Shakespearean.”

Bendis also spoke with MTV News about how Thor and Iron Man might interact in the upcoming “Avengers” feature film.

Part of the excitement behind “Thor” may stem from its all-star cast including Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster. Earlier this week, it was announced that Ray Stevenson, Stuart Townsend, and Tadanobu Asano will portray Thor’s loyal allies, the Warriors Three.

Jamie Alexander has also been cast as the Lady Sif, while Colm Feore and Stellan Skarsgard have also been signed to currently unconfirmed roles.

“Thor” is currently set to start shooting in January with a release date scheduled for May 2011.





'Spider-Man 4' Black Cat Casting: What About Eliza Dushku?

Sure, Anne Hathaway is the latest in a long line of rumored contenders for the role of Black Cat in "Spider-Man 4" (even though there's no confirmation the character is even in the film), but does anyone remember another rumor from a few years back that cast an entirely different actress in the role?

Well, even if you didn't remember the pre-"Spider-Man 3" rumor that had "Dollhouse" actress Eliza Dushku playing cat burglar Felicia Hardy, we did — and we asked her about it when she dropped by Splash Page HQ a while back.



"Don't you love the Internet and the fans out there?" Dushku laughed when MTV Movies Editor Josh Horowitz asked if she'd seen the fan-made "Spider-Man 4" posters with her as Black Cat. "They do it up!"

While Dushku didn't seem to have heard from anyone in the "Spider-Man 4" camp at that point (the interview was conducted last month), she seemed more than willing to suit up in the character's skin-tight costume, given the chance.

"Would you like to see me not just superimposed, but as Black Cat?" asked Dushku.

Well, when Eliza Dushku asks you a question like that, the answer is obvious: an emphatic "Yes."

"Okay, well, tell your friends - write a letter," she laughed.

So, there you go, folks. Do we have another name to add to the list of Black Cat hopefuls? Heck, there's at least as much support for this rumor as there is for the rest of the "Spider-Man 4" rumors, so...





Frank Frazetta Conan painting sells for $1,000,000!











By Crom! (Or should that be "buy" Crom?) Frank Frazetta's original cover painting for the Lancer paperback edition of Robert E. Howard's Conan the Conqueror sold this week to a private collector for a reported $1 million, according to Spectrum Fantastic Art. That's four times the previous record price for a Frazetta painting, which was $251,000, paid for the cover to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Escape on Venus in 2008.

Up until the sale, the painting had been on display at the Frazetta Museum in East Stroudsburg, as Frazetta had retained all of his covers for the Conan books except for one that had been stolen from the publisher's office when it went bankrupt.




























Frazetta was asked recently whether he had ever read the books before painting his cover, and replied, "I didn¹t read any of it. It was too opposite of what I do. I told them that. So, I drew him my way. It was really rugged. And it caught on. I didn't care about what people thought. People who bought the books never complained about it."

























Dude, where's my jetpack? 3 models that are flying now












Wouldn't it be great if we could all get jetpacks and go flying this weekend? Well, we can. Often thought of as a far-off technology that's yet to be realized, jetpack technology has actually been around for a while now. Sure, some models are just dangerous toys made by kooks, but the truth is jetpacks are for real, and flying today.

If you have $125,000 burning a hole in your pocket, you could buy a jetpack right now from a company called Tecaeromex. There's a dual-fanned contraption that's already gotten off the ground and might soon be available. A water-powered belt is currently zipping around at 45mph. And there's even a turbojet belt in development that might soon let you fly for 9 minutes and travel 11 miles. Continue reading for a tour of all four jetpack types soaring today.



1. Hydrogen peroxide jetpack

This is the James Bond jetpack (or Lost in Space, depending on where you saw it first), powered by hydrogen peroxide and just barely light enough to wear on your back. Based on the Bell Aerosystems jetpack built for the U.S. military and first flown untethered in 1961, its propulsion is more like a water balloon than a jet engine. When the fuel comes in contact with a catalyst such as silver or platinum, the liquid quickly decomposes into water vapor and oxygen, expanding through two nozzles, and providing enough thrust to lift a 180-pound person.

State of the art: There are two major players. Tecaeromex offers the only jetpack for sale right now, and once you've laid down the $125,000 for the unit itself, you'll have to go through 50 test flights just learn how to control it. Then there's Jetpack international (Jet P.I.), the company that handles most of the exhibition flying these days. It flies the Go-Fast Jetpack H2O2-Z you see in the video above. It holds eight gallons of fuel that can propel it for 43 seconds at a maximum speed of 77 mph.

Limitations: Even though both jetpacks use the latest aerospace materials such as carbon fiber, Kevlar, titanium and aluminum, the 78-pound H2O2-Z, the longest-flying model yet, is still limited to a maximum airborne time of 41 seconds. The jetpacks' peroxide propellant is expensive and hard to come by, they're so dangerous that only skydivers need apply, and they're difficult to learn how to fly since there's no simulator.

Applications: According to Tecaeromex's Juan Lozano, don't expect to depend on it to fly you to work every morning. For flying short exhibition flights, that huge chunk of change might be a good investment, says Lozano: "The flight time is very limited, but it is a great business for shows, special events and sport events because you charge about $25,000 for each flight. So the business is great."

Our take: To see a guy flying around with a jetpack is a spectacular sight, and that's the only use for the devices these days. It takes a lot of skill to fly one, too. If control of a jetpack could be computer-assisted, it would be a lot safer. This might be possible someday, according to Tecaeromex's Juan Lozano: "Now we see micro toys that are stabilized in flight. Maybe someday you will be able to fly your own jetpack with software similar to that used in the two-wheel standup vehicles like the Segway, that is computer stabilized." However, it's going to be difficult to extend the flying time of this design, because the weight of the fuel will become too cumbersome for most people to carry on their backs. This technology it looks like it'll be stuck in the realm of the carnival trick.

(Click over to our sister site DVICE to read more.)





Lost season premiere details! It's back in February












Huzzah!

ABC finally announced that the sixth and final season of Lost will debut on Feb. 2, 2010, starting with a one-hour recap special at 8 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the two-hour season premiere at 9.

Lost will then air in its regular time period, Tuesdays at 9, beginning the following week, on Feb. 9.

The complete announcement follows.

November 19, 2009

ABC ANNOUNCES THE PREMIERE OF THE SIXTH AND FINAL SEASON OF "LOST," WITH A SPECIAL ALL-NIGHT EVENT ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2


ABC announces the premiere of the sixth and final season of "Lost," with a special all-night event on Tuesday, February 2. A recap special will kick off the night from 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET, followed by the much anticipated two-hour premiere from 9:00-11:00 p.m.

The series will then air in its regular time period - Tuesday nights from 9:00-10:00 p.m., ET - beginning the following week, on February 9.

"Lost" stars Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Nestor Carbonell as Richard Alpert, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Ben, Jeff Fahey as Frank Lapidus, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Ken Leung as Miles, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Terry O'Quinn as Locke and Zuleikha Robinson as Ilana.

"Lost" was created by Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof. Abrams, Lindelof, Bryan Burk, Jack Bender, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Jean Higgins and Carlton Cuse serve as executive producers. "Lost," which is filmed entirely on location in Hawaii and premiered on September 22, 2004, is from ABC Studios.

News - 11/19/09...

Princess Tiana in museum, parks, and stores

Disney is pulling out all the stops to make sure The Princess and the Frog is a success. The News and Observer looks at the big reasons why and focuses in on some of Tiana's theme park appearances. Yahoo Finance looks at the major merchandising push and what's available. And (as we reported previously) Disney has opened an exhibit at the New Orleans Museum of Art, called "Dreams Come True: Art of the Classic Fairy Tales from the Walt Disney", featuring artwork from many of their films -- including the New Orleans set Princess and the Frog. Can't make it? You can order the exhibit catalogue from NOMA.





The Frog Prince

The inevitable Disney knock-off DVD has arrived early this year! On sale December 1st from our friends at Goodtimes Home Video is the The Frog Prince. Yeah, we know there are dozens of live and animated adaptations of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale out there - but this new one also happens to have a black princess as its central character. A coincidence? I think not. We have no idea who produced this, so if anyone wants to spend $13.49 and send us a few frame grabs, it would be most appreciated. We just want to give credit where credit is due.

(Thanks, Kurtis Findlay)

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Fantastic Mr. Fox Display at Bergdorf Goodman























































The Bergdorf Goodman Men’s Store in Manhattan has fantastic window displays this season…Fantastic Mr. Fox displays that is. The twelve windows feature character puppets, props and background elements that were used in the production of the film. The store is located at Fifth Avenue and 58th Street. My pal C. Edwards who snapped the iPhone pics above pointed out that Wes Anderson’s twee aesthetic was also applied to the Louis Vuitton display windows with The Darjeeling Limited. Better photos of the displays can be found on this website.

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Linkage in Mid-November

Linked bits of Animationland, just for you.

Mr. Newman admits it's just not the same.

[Princess and the Frog] composer Randy Newman ... said writing for traditional animation was a little different from writing for Pixar's GC toons. "The music has a diifferent movement. You can't really play too long because the mood will change ..."

("GC toons". It is the french "Graphique de Computer," in case you're wondering.)

The Globes catch up to the Oscars:

The Golden Globes' animated feature category has been expanded from three to five after a vote last week by the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, an actor's paradise?

... The voice performances rank among the most richly nuanced ever captured for an animated feature, with Clooney (speaking slightly below his usual register, as if everything were a self-conscious aside) and Streep (resplendent as a former wildcat turned nurturing Earth mother) doing some of the best work of their illustrious careers. Among the movie's many virtues, they render an unusually convincing portrait of a marriage, a reminder that the most unexpected thing about Anderson's film is — underneath all the carefully affixed, wind-sensitive whiskers and fur — how deeply human it is.

And here's a story that makes me tingle. Mass Animation, the wonderful folks you brought you this ... are now inviting animators to join them for this:

Now Mass Animation is involved in another Facebook project with Sony Online Entertainment and DC Comics. This week the DC Universe Online Animation Contest was announced. This is being called version 2.0 of the Mass Animation FB app and will give DC fans, gamers, and animators a chance to animate characters from the DC Universe online game that Sony is developing. This is another example of Mass Animation allowing fans to collaborate on a big product. The contest will launch on December 7.

Exciting, no? It's the brave new world of indentured servitude.

And Sean Connery's come-back to film-making has been ricocheting around the intertubes, to wit:

Connery is making a semi-return as he’s voicing the lead character in the animated film, Sir Billi. Connery is a producer on the project and has been heavily involved with its production.

Lastly, Mr. Ross continues his winter house-cleaning at the Disney Co.

... Walt Disney Studios chief Rich Ross has pulled the plug on a planned $150-million production of "Captain Nemo: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" -- the last project approved by his predecessor Dick Cook.

The family adventure movie -- a high priority for Disney that the studio had envisioned as a potential franchise along the lines of "Pirates of the Caribbean" -- was scheduled to begin shooting in February in Mexico. Disney had already spent about $10 million hiring crews, who were prepping the movie and planning to build elaborate sets in Rosarito Beach. Artwork and construction of models were underway. ...

It appears that mny of the projects beloved by Dick Cook now have the stink of death about them. Ah well. That's Hollywood.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Ralph Bakshi on Pixar

We’ve already linked to this, but this interview with Ralph Bakshi has some really shrewd insights peppered throughout. One of his comments that stood out most is his opinion of Pixar:

I don’t see too many new films today as it is - just sitting in the theater and watching all of that money on the screen, wishing that I had even a tenth of it to do some of the things that I wanted. It’s just a hard pill for me to swallow. On the other hand, thinking about a place like Pixar having to spend $150 million on a film is another hard pill for me to swallow. I don’t think animation is worth that kind of money. I think it’s part of the problem. With everything that’s happened to this country, where do we come off spending that kind of money?…The kind of money they spend, the expertise, and the various departments they have is startling. Those films better be good, because basically the guys have no choice. It better be good, or they’re wasting a lot of money.

Bakshi has a point. Has all that money really made animation any better? How much better would CG animated features be if budgets were voluntarily cut by the studios and directors were forced again to make creative decisions instead of spending all their time gilding lilies. Too many computer animated films today have the gaudy feel of things created by dictators who spend tons and tons of money and still end up with aesthetic and conceptual eyesores. Hollywood is never going to return to Bakshi’s days of shoestring animated features made quickly and with passion, but reining in the ever-ballooning budgets of computer animation might result in less inflated, self-important films that actually leave a lasting impact.

(Thanks cartoon brew)





New Images And Video Clips From Upcoming “Batman: The Brave And The Bold” Episode

The World’s Finest has received new clips, images and details for the upcoming all-new Batman: The Brave and The Bold episode "Death Race to Oblivion!"

Cartoon Network has passed along the episode synopsis, video clips, and over twenty images for the upcoming all-new Batman: The Brave and The Bold episode "Death Race to Oblivion!" The episode is scheduled to air Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 7:30pm (ET) on Cartoon Network. To get a closer look at the images, click on the thumbnails below.









Click Here For More Images, Videos & Details!

The all-new Batman: The Brave and The Bold "Death Race to Oblivion!" episode, scheduled to air on Friday, November 20th 2009 at 7:30pm (ET) on Cartoon Network, is described as seen below.

Batman: The Brave and The Bold "Death Race to Oblivion!"
Mongul holds Earth ransom, forcing it's greatest heroes--and villains!--to race for the planet's survival. It's a crooked bargain wherein even if Batman wins, he dooms his fellow heroes--if the villains don't doom them first!

Two clips from the episode, provided by Cartoon Network, are available to view here at our Batman: The Brave and The Bold subsite. Other details for Batman: The Brave and The Bold "Death Race to Oblivion!", including cast and crew credits, are also available at our Batman: The Brave and The Bold subsite.





Mindreal Fuels Neeka’s Carsong

Dennis Van Den Bergh and Stef Paulussen from Belgian studio Mindreal created this sharp-looking CG music video or the singer Neeka. This is titled Carsong.







Sutherland Forces Out Star Wars Animations

Did you spot Mike Geiger’s take on a scene from Star Wars over at ColdHardFlash earlier this month? It was for Star Wars Uncut, Casey Pugh’s crowdsourcing project, and I just spotted a few clips submitted by Malcolm Sutherland. Here’s scenes 113 and 246, complete with newly recorded audio.









Figliozzi Had Snack Attack Before Meatballs

Jason Figliozzi created Snack Attack, which you can see below, while studying at Ringling College of Art and Design in 2008. He’s since moved to Los Angeles, where he was part of the animation crew on Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.







Périn’s 8-bit Animation is a Trucker’s Delight

Yowza. Tuck the kids in, and give Grandma a crossword – ‘cuz this one’s got all sortsa crazy shit in it. It’s the latest music video from Parisian electronic group Flairs, and the brilliant, 8-bit, sexy madness was directed by Jérémie Périn, by way of Premiere Heure. And I gotta say, this simulated video game makes Grand Theft Auto look like Tetris. The track is titled Trucker’s Delight. [NSFW - pooping, nudity, animated sex, barfing and some weird anal-Dig-Dug-stuff]







Toons of the 2000s: The Fall and Rise (?) of 2D Animation

The 00's were a rough decade for theatrically released, traditionally animated films. 2D started as the dominant storytelling art form and found itself supplanted by CG midway into the decade. How did that happen? Is 2D doomed? To find our answer, we'll have to travel back to the 90's and explore the key factors that made 2D ripe for a fall from grace in the 00's.

The 90's saw a boom with studios such as Warner Bros. (1993) and Fox (1994) creating their own feature animation divisions in response to Disney's success with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. In 1994, Jeffrey Katzenberg resigned from his post at Disney and went on to form Dreamworks SKG with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen later that same year. The results of WBFA's, Fox's, and Dreamworks' 2D efforts were mixed. Fox and WBFA saw some modest successes financially and critically, but the films released by these studios were largely plagued by poor storytelling and marketing issues. This put 2D in a poor position to maintain its status as the first choice for visual storytelling should anything new - like CG - come along. Pixar's Toy Story, released in 1995, was the first feature animation film created exclusively using 3D CG. It was critically acclaimed and financially successful. Toy Story had a production and advertising budget of 65M and made 191.1M domestically. Though it took time to see the full effect, it completely changed the animation industry landscape.


20th Century Fox
In 2000, Fox's Phoenix, Arizona studio, headed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman, released Titan A.E. The film is said to have cost approximately 85M to produce. It took in 9.3M opening weekend and went on to make only 22.7M domestically. The disparity between what it made and what it needed to make was assisted by Disney's wide-release of Fantasia 2000 on the same exact day. Disney had previously engaged in this tactic by re-issuing The Little Mermaid on the same day as Fox's Anastasia in 1997 and in 1994 with the re-release of The Lion King coinciding with the debut of New Line's The Swan Princess. Disney's needlessly ruthless approach aside, Titan A.E. ultimately did itself in by starting with an unoriginal idea and compounding it with storytelling issues, flat voice acting from its lead characters, and, while each might have been visually compelling on its own, poorly meshed 2D and CG animation.

Fox had let two-thirds of the studio's staff go earlier that year and officially closed the Phoenix studio approximately two weeks after the movie's release. The studio had cost 100M to start up, only to find modest success in its release of Anastasia, which was derivative of the Disney releases of the time. It had not met its commitment to output a film every 18 months, and its departure from the animated musical formula, Titan A.E., tanked.

Fox shifted their focus from 2D to 3D CG in transforming the New York based Blue Sky from a special effects and commercial production house to a feature animation film studio. The Blue Sky movies tend to have an assembly line feel, with their stories having been told many times before and their visuals not meeting or exceeding the level of other studios. Their first release, Ice Age (2002), was reviewed as "unoriginal" but "witty" and received a 78% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Continuing the trend of lacking originality, Robots (2005) was reviewed less favorably, but managed a domestic gross that surpassed its production budget. It featured Robin Williams in the same exact role he's played since his performance as the genie in Disney's Aladdin. Their following film, Everyone's Hero (2006), was conceived and directed by Christopher Reeve. Everyone's Hero was considered a heartwarming but poorly executed effort that made only 14.5M domestically. Horton Hears a Who (2008) was reviewed favorably and was credited as one of the few Dr. Seuss adaptations to stay true to the spirit of the original material. Fox's most recent film, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), has begun to expose cracks in the franchise's facade by once again treading back over the same material. To Blue Sky's credit, they've stepped up their game with regards to animation. The film did well with a production budget of 90M and domestic gross of 196.4M, but it was still poorly received by critics.


Warner Bros. Feature Animation
WBFA has a troubled history. Animators at the TAG Blog seem to have pleasant enough memories of their time at WBFA; however, within those memories exist recollections of a great deal of sitting around and doing nothing. While WBFA had about eight or nine films in development within its first year, Bob Daley, chairman and co-CEO, failed to pull the trigger quickly on greenlighting projects.

Space Jam (1996) was the only film to come out of WBFA that had a domestic gross (90M) exceed its production budget (80M). Quest for Camelot (1998) was a pleasant, if unmistakable misfire. One review called it a “nearly perfect reflection of troubling trends in animated features”. The King and I (1999) was horrid from start to finish. It contained some of the worst meshing of 2D and CG ever seen on film. Another review referred to it as “a cheesy piece of infantile animated pap”. WBFA had a true gem with The Iron Giant (1999), arguably one of the best animated films of all time which, unfortunately, fell victim to a miscalculated release date and a misleading marketing campaign. It had a production budget of 70M and a domestic gross of 23M. Director Brad Bird has referred to the film as a “highly regarded financial failure”. Osmosis Jones (2001) was very nearly an adequate animated movie, which would be fine if it wasn't half live-action and if the film's latter sequences weren't terrible. After these financial failures, Warner Bros. scaled back its feature animation division by 250 employees in 2002. Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) was described as “nonsensical” and “uninspired compared to the classic Looney Tunes” on Rotten Tomatoes. It had a production budget of 80M and a domestic gross of 20M. Needless to say, none of this made for a successful animation division and WBFA produced no further films after 2003.


Dreamworks
Dreamworks released a total of four 2D animated films between 1998 and 2003: Prince of Egypt (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Spirit: Stallion of Cimarron (2002), and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003). Prince of Egypt was the only 2D film with a domestic gross exceeding its production budget. The others, while entertaining and quite pretty, suffered from predictable plots and other storytelling issues. They did not meet the level of excellence necessary to thrive in the environment they were born to, and they subsequently flopped at the box office.

Dreamworks' 3D CG offerings have had much more success. Antz (1998), their first CG effort, was unremarkable. Shrek (2001), however, had some very tight dialogue and gave audiences something they had greatly longed for by turning the fairy tale formula on its head, poking it with a sharp stick. Adults enjoyed this film as much, if not more, than their children. Shrek's production budget was 60M and its domestic gross was 267.7M. Shrek 2 (2004) was not as fresh, but it exceeded the original's success with a production budget of 150M and domestic gross of 441.2M. Shrek the Third, while far from loved by critics, continued the financial success with a production budget of 160M and domestic gross of 322.7M. With the exception of Antz and Bee Movie (2007), all of the CG movies produced by Dreamworks [Shark Tale (2004), Madagascar (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), Kung Fu Panda (2008), Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008), and Monsters Vs. Aliens (2009)] have had their domestic gross surpass their production budget. While Dreamworks' films have largely been financially successful at the theater, they are often treated as the red headed step children to Pixar's offerings. It wasn't until Kung Fu Panda that their movie making achieved a level of artistry that transcended its commercial purpose. While Dreamworks shows no signs of returning to 2D as a storytelling medium any time soon, 2D animation has shown up in very slight amounts, such as in Kung Fu Panda's stylized opening sequence.

Stop-Motion
Let's take a quick respite from the studio breakdown to talk about stop-motion animation. This retrospective blog post is about 3D CG and 2D animation, so why bring stop-motion into this? During this decade, the majority of films released using this visual style were both favorably reviewed and successful at the box office. While there were a limited number of stop-motion films on the market, their success makes a strong argument for audiences' willingness to hit the theaters for non-CG offerings, providing reason to maintain hope for the future of traditionally animated features.

Let's do a quick breakdown of stop-motion films that saw wide release, received favorable reviews, and had production budgets surpassed by their domestic gross. Chicken Run (2000) was produced by Aardman and distributed by Dreamworks. It was well-received with a 98% fresh rating. It had a production budget of 45M and domestic gross of 106.8M. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005) was distributed by Warner Bros. It received an 83% fresh rating. It had a production budget of 30M and domestic gross of 53.3M. Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) had a 95% fresh rating. It went in with a production budget of 30M and came out with a domestic gross of 56.1M. This film was also produced by Aardman and distributed by Dreamworks. Coraline (2009), released by Focus Features, had an 88% fresh rating, a production budget of 60M and domestic gross of 75.3M. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox) has received some very favorable reviews and will go into limited release in New York and Los Angeles on 11/13/09 and wide release on 11/25/09. I'm very much looking forward to seeing how it performs at the box office.



Disney
Generations have grown up with the presence of Disney in their lives. If there has been one constant, it is Disney's traditionally animated features. Our appreciation of the art form stems from those films. Their near disappearance makes the mouse's story during the 00's particularly heart-wrenching, and who can't be moved by the plight of all the artists and other employees who found themselves put out of work during the transition to 3D CG?

In 1989, the company created Walt Disney Feature Animation Florida, which had initially worked only on shorts and later assisting with features coming out of the Burbank studio. It wasn't until Mulan (1998) that the Florida studio had a film to call their own. The movie, an adaptation of a Chinese folktale, was well-received with an 87% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It had a production budget of 90M and a domestic gross of 120.6M. Their next film, Lilo & Stitch (2002) was the story of a delightfully odd girl and a destructive alien she adopts as a pet. The movie relies heavily on themes of family and Hans Christian Andersen's tale, The Ugly Duckling. Lilo & Stitch had a production budget of 80M and domestic gross of 145.8M.

The Florida studio's last film, Brother Bear (2003), follows an Eskimo named Kenai who transforms into a bear after dispatching, in an act of thoughtless revenge, the one that took his brother's life. It was not nearly as engaging as the studio's first two releases and, to go along with its 39% rotten rating, was described as “pleasant, if unremarkable” by Rotten Tomatoes. There was one important scene regarding Kenai's direct connection to the death of the mother bear; it could have been particularly poignant but is instead glossed over in montage. Brother Bear had a production budget of 80M and domestic gross of 85.3M. On November 14, 2003, then President of Walt Disney Feature Animation, David A. Stainton, paid the Florida studio a surprise visit. He pulled the plug on their latest film in production and strongly suggested people begin looking for work elsewhere. The studio was officially shut down on January 12, 2004. A small, unconfirmed number of animators were offered jobs at the Burbank studio. The rest sought employment with other studios or left the industry entirely.

According to the Orlando Business Journal, Roy Disney, company founder Walt's nephew, called the move, “another example of Michael Eisner's de-emphasis of creativity and total indifference to the impact his decisions have on the people who helped to make the company great”. Roy Disney resigned as Chairman of the Feature Animation Division and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors on November 30, 2003 in a blunt letter addressed to then CEO, Michael Eisner. In that letter he acknowledged that Eisner had at one point been a good fit for the company, then proceeded to criticize Eisner for micro-management, company-wide loss of morale, failure with ABC Prime Time, building theme parks “on the cheap”, enforcing the idea that the company was “rapacious, soul-less, and always looking for the 'quick buck' rather than long-term value”, driving talent away, failure to establish and build upon relationships with creative partners such as Pixar, and failure to establish a clear succession plan. Stanley Gold, who had been on the board of directors, issued his own letter of resignation shortly thereafter. According to marketwatch.com, criticism of Eisner's management can be traced to the time of COO Frank Wells' death in 1994. Studio Chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg also resigned soon after being rebuffed in his attempts to replace Wells.

While all the insanity of WDFAF was going on, the Burbank team was still pumping out films. Dinosaur (2000) was a product of WDFA's CG Unit. It composited CG characters over live-action backgrounds shot in Venezuela. The film was described as having great visuals and atmosphere, but no plot to speak of. It had a production budget of 127.5M and a domestic gross of 137.7M. The Emperor's New Groove (2000) was the film salvaged from the troubled production of Kingdom of the Sun, originally to be far more epic in scale. The movie went from being a story in the spirit of the Prince and the Pauper to a simpler buddy film. The final product received an 85% fresh rating, but it had a production budget of 100M and a domestic gross of only 89.3M. Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001), was notable for production designs by comic artist Mike Mignola (Hellboy, Screw On Head), but not much else. The film received a 46% rotten rating. It had a production budget of 120M and domestic gross of 120M. Treasure Planet (2002) seems to be something of a fondly remembered flop. This film, once again, was made during a time when 2D's grip was tenuous at best, and Disney had to pull through with stellar characterization and story to support the polished visuals. It really needed to succeed and didn't. The film had a 70% fresh rating, but it failed financially with a production budget of 140M and domestic gross of merely 38.2M. The final 2D film to come out of Burbank for quite some time would be Home on the Range (2004), which received a 54% rotten rating. The production budget was 110M, and the domestic gross was 50M. Of the films that were received poorly, it is tremendously uncommon to find complaints about Disney's lustrous visuals. The common theme to the criticism was weak story and characterization.

In several interviews and articles there were mentions of the company receiving credit for animated successes that were not their own. The general public thought of “Feature Animation” and the Disney name as synonymous; it is not a great logical leap to say this perception was probably a double-edged sword. In addition to damage done from within, the Disney brand, which had once stood for the pinnacle of quality, was further dinged by the financial and critical failures coming from other studios. Trust in your brand brings consumer loyalty. Without that, you have nothing. A movie about a somewhat realistic looking animated rat might only have drawn an insignificant audience if it had been released by anyone other than Pixar, with their strong brand name.

Disney and Gold launched SaveDisney.com in December of 2003, with the purpose of ousting Eisner and the belief that they could effect change within the company by applying outside pressure. In their assessment of the online and media campaigns, IR Web Report said that this would go down in history as a symbol of how the web can be a powerful communications tool and a democratizing force in the capital markets, serving as an effective blueprint for how other shareholders and activists could use the internet to challenge companies on governance and other issues. In the media, Disney said all the right things by establishing a rapport with the public, letting them know he stood for the ideals on which his uncle founded the company, creating the perception that he was the last line of defense. He took an already unloved man and made him a pariah. On March 4, 2004, Eisner received a 43% no-confidence vote at a shareholders' meeting; the CEO was stripped of his role as Chairman. George Mitchell took over the position. That September, Eisner set a date for his exit as CEO, and on March 13, 2005, Bob Iger was officially named as his successor. On July 18, 2005, the Walt Disney Company announced a truce between Roy Disney and Bob Iger, and savedisney.com was taken down.

Now, let's head back to the films. The frequent complaints of weak story and characterization are prominent in two out of the three Disney 3D CG offerings. Chicken Little (2005) was cute, but not strong enough to capture audiences' attention. It received a 37% rotten rating, had a production budget of 150M, and pulled in 135M domestically. The Wild (2006) might have prompted potential film goers to think, “Hey, why does that look a lot like Madagascar?” Disney made an interesting character design choice for the animal stars by going with the one point between realism and stylization that makes people uncomfortable. The film had an 18% rotten rate, with a production budget of 80M and a domestic gross of 37.4M. Meet the Robinsons (2006) was a step in the right direction, almost as if Disney was beginning to find its bearings in the newer medium. The film received a 66% fresh rating and made 97.8M domestically. Bolt (2008) was originally called American Dog and then not. Chris Sanders of Lilo & Stitch fame was originally working on the project and then not. The final product was well received critically. It had a production budget of 150M and domestic gross of 114M. One could argue that Disney had done so much damage to their brand by now that even a good movie was a hard sell.

The Walt Disney Company announced its purchase of Pixar on January 25, 2006 after weeks of circulating rumors. With the announcement, Steve Jobs became a member of the board, and Pixar's John Lasseter became Chief Creative Officer. This was quite a turnaround from 2004; discussions on their distribution agreement had broken off that year due to a strained relationship between Jobs and Eisner. Lasseter has been a very vocal supporter of the traditionally animated 2D medium, with some online outlets calling him the savior of 2D. A bit premature, I think. But the support is encouraging, and if there is one man poised to give the medium the push it needs, it's him. The Princess and the Frog marks Disney's first return to 2D since 2004's Home on the Range. Ron Clements and John Musker of The Little Mermaid and Aladdin fame wrote and directed the film. Princess and the Frog will see wide-release in theaters on December 11, 2009.

Pixar
For better or worse, Pixar changed the animation landscape with its initial foray into feature film production. Toy Story (1995) proved conclusively that a character driven story could be told effectively using 3D CG. Prior to this, CG had been relegated to special effects, background elements, props, and other non-living constructs within traditionally animated films. Pixar had made a conscious decision to avoid using humans as any of their lead characters largely because the CG technology was incapable of capturing or emulating what the mind would accept as human motion at the time.

Pixar has been at the fore with solving the medium's challenges. With Monsters Inc. (2001), they created the most convincing fur-covered creature yet seen in James P. “Sully” Sullivan. In Finding Nemo (2003), Pixar created a believable and gorgeous ocean environment. The Incredibles (2004) was the first Pixar film that saw stylized humans as lead characters. Bird called the film, “everything that computer-generated animation had trouble doing”. At that year's San Diego Comic-con panel for the movie, Bird touched on the technical hurdles of the medium in mentioning how easy it was to create an explosion and how complicated it was to animate the folds in a person's shirt as he's being lifted by it. In Cars (2006), their first production after having been purchased by Disney, we were exposed to jaw-dropping vistas as the cars drove across the country. In their latest films, they've begun finessing their work with delicate touches such as the shadows of balloons or the stubble on Carl Fredrickson's chin in Up (2009). This is all eye candy, of course. Whenever prodded for their focus, they inevitably mention good stories and characterization being what anchors a film.

The studio has had an amazing track record. Every single one of the 10 films they've released [Toy Story, A Bugs's Life (1998), Toy Story 2 (1999), Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille (2007), Wall-E (2008), Up] has seen domestic grosses larger than their production budget. Even their weakest film in terms of characterization and story scored a 75% fresh rating over at Rotten Tomatoes. All of their other releases range between 91% to 100% fresh. Prior to their purchase by Disney, Pixar had supplanted them as the world's dominant animation studio. Like it or not, every other studio's success is measured against theirs. It's an almost unnatural level of success, and it has fans and critics of Pixar alike waiting and watching for their first true misstep.

Walt Disney has been quoted many times as having said, “I don't make movies to make money -- I make money to make movies.” Pixar seems to have carried on in that tradition. In fact, we'll close out this section with some quotes from current Chief Creative Officer of Disney, John Lasseter, because they're heartening and give hope for the future of 2D animation.

“Quality is the best business plan.”

“From the beginning, I kept saying it's not the technology that's going to entertain audiences, it's the story. When you go and see a really great live-action film, you don't walk out and say 'that new Panavision camera was staggering, it made the film so good'. The computer is a tool, and it's in the service of the story.”

“Andrew Stanton always said that 2-D animation became the scapegoat for bad storytelling, but you can make just as bad of a movie in 3-D.”

“The whole notion that the audience didn’t want to watch hand-drawn animation any more was ridiculous. It would be like saying the audience didn't want to watch something made with a particular camera. Give me a break!”

“It's storytelling. No one goes to a movie to see a particular technology. They go to see story and characters. They go to be entertained. What it was is that 2D became the scapegoat for bad storytelling.”


Wrap-up
Now that we've taken a look at the past decade, what does the future hold for 2D Feature Animation? Craig Grasso, a former employee of Disney's Florida studio, said in one interview, “People didn't stop painting when they invented the camera.”

It's not uncommon for an advancement in technology to capture the attention of audiences. It happened in live-action film with the addition of sound and then color. The novelty of the technological advancement does attract more attention and put more people in the seats. For awhile. Eventually people grow accustomed to the additional stimulation and, once again, begin to notice flaws in other areas of the film. The exact same storytelling flaws exist in CG that did in 2D. It will probably take a hit in popularity sometime down the road and likely for the same reasons. Though, if you're holding out for CG to disappear entirely, you're in for a long wait. Like sound and color, it's here to stay. It has cemented itself as a viable storytelling medium and produced some exceptional films.

Even if it could, do we want 2D to return to its place of prominence? 2D was certainly poorly serviced as an art form in the 90's and 00's because of it. Why not allow it to exist in a more niche role? Why not allow the more commercial vehicles to be what they will be and allow 2D to exist as a choice of artists? The best reviewed CG films are as such because their artistic style complimented an already solid story. It's also important to remember that the number of animated films released annually has, on average, doubled from the prior decade. More animation is always good, even if it's not all 2D.

The 2D medium is not dead. It never fully left us. We have only touched on the big studios and the films they had a direct hand in producing. Disney still had traditionally animated 2D output into 2005 with films that were originally intended as DTV releases. While we saw no traditionally animated releases from the major studios in 2008, we did have Waltz with Bashir, a 2D CG movie created in Adobe Flash. Throughout the decade we've had limited and wide releases of anime. Later this month, we'll see The Princess and the Frog from Disney. Whether we'll see Lasseter continue to deliver on his 2D commitment remains to be seen, but things are not nearly so bleak as they may have seemed mid-decade.

2D will likely maintain a minimized role in the next decade, but it will be around. It is more likely in the decades to come that the other major studios will, once again, take chances on visual styles beyond CG. So we go into the new decade with a cautious hope that 2D, while unlikely to ever return to its former prominence, will become more oft used. And, hopefully, we'll end up with a choice of stories that better suit it and that it better suits.

(Thanks Toon Zone)





Outer Space Astronauts premieres online today! (video)



We know some of you had, um, opinions about the upcoming newest Syfy series Outer Space Astronauts, and we're happy to give you a sneak peek at the show, which debuts next month (but we'll give you a look at the first episode early; see below).

Outer Space Astronauts is a futuristic comedy series about eight vaguely courageous, highly distractible military personnel who journey to the far reaches of the galaxy seeking knowledge, adventure ... and whatever else they can come up with. The crew of the O.S.S. Oklahoma are led by a lackluster captain who would rather be planning the next "margarita Monday" than leading a mission against evil, much to the exasperation of his by-the-book second-in-command.

Outer Space Astronauts premieres Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) following the season finale of Syfy's hit reality series Scare Tactics at 9 p.m.

But you can view the first episode exclusively on Syfy.com's Rewind section today! Watch, then let us know what you think.





If Not Rachel, Then Does Julia Stiles = Black Cat, Then?

Hot on the heels of the (now debunked) Rachel McAdams rumor, UGO has learned that Julia Stiles has met with a casting company in New York to discuss "Spider-Man 4." Although no specifics have been learned as to what role Stiles is circling, everyone of course assumes it will be Black Cat.

Well, if that is the villain Raimi is indeed pursuing for this chapter, I must say I am against it. She's too similar to Catwoman for one thing. I mean, a cat burglar who has a forbidden sexual attraction with a costumed superhero? It's gonna seem like a rip off, no matter which feline villainess was around first, because Catwoman is definitely the more well known character (ignoring the Halle Berry fiasco, of course). Also, what we don't need in "Spidey 4" is yet another love triangle, which wasn't very well received in "Spidey 3."

(Thanks Latino Review)





We've got big spoilers for Star Trek 2! (12?)








Director J.J. Abrams confirmed to us that the follow-up to his hit Star Trek won't hit theaters until 2012, speaking last night at a party at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles to celebrate today's DVD/Blu-ray release. But that could change. And the creators gave us tantalizing hints about the sequel's timeframe and other story points.














J.J. Abrams at Monday's Star Trek DVD/Blu-ray party

Producer/writer Damon Lindelof told us that he thinks it's impossible to be done sooner. "Yeah, I think that we would be hard pressed to get it on screens by 2011," Lindelof said. "If that's the case, we'd better get to writing right now."

But Abrams believes more time will benefit the creative process. "It's like closet space," Abrams said. "You use what you've got. The more time you have, the more time you have to use to hopefully make it a better movie."

For his part, co-writer Roberto Orci wouldn't talk about release dates. "Who knows? It could still be whenever," Orci said. "I haven't heard any firm dates. It could be sooner or later."

What about the story?

Time shifts. Lindelof suggested that the sequel may play with time in relation to the first film, much as The Bourne Ultimatum takes place largely in between events from The Bourne Supremacy. "One of the things we like to do as storytellers is drop you in the middle of something," Lindelof said. "And the question that you're asking yourself is: Where am I in relation to the last time I left these guys? Could this be something that predated even, perhaps, some of the adventures that they had in the first movie? Does it happen five years later? Is it happening two seconds later? Who knows? So we're not going to tell you."

Whatever you're expecting, you're wrong. One way to combat sequilitis is to avoid the cliche of bigger, louder and more explosions. "Do we have to do that?" Lindelof pondered. "Is there something else that we can do that's a little bit off the beaten path? When you buy your ticket and your popcorn and you go and sit and watch the second movie that we're all working on together, we want to give the audience an experience that feels like it's not a sequel in all the best ways."








Spock (Zachary Quinto) and Uhura (Zoe Saldana) will reach the next level. "Now that we've done that, you can't play that same joke again," Abrams said. "It's got to be about 'What is their relationship?' and 'Who are these people?' That's why the next one, hopefully while still maintaining the sense of fun and adventure, can go a little bit deeper in terms of the script."

Khaaaan! Abrams, Orci and his writing partner Alex Kurtzman keep hinting that they may introduce the character of Khan Noonien Singh, but haven't committed to anything. We asked Abrams to weigh the pros and cons of revamping a classic Trek villain. "We're not even at that stage yet, but the fun of where we are on the sequel is we could use some of what was done before in a new way," Abrams said. "But we haven't even figured out what we would use yet, so it's very early on." Orci added that the creative team would vote on whether Khan works for their new story. "That'll be kind of a groupthink decision," Orci said.

It's getting close. They are narrowing the ideas down, really. If it sounds like they're just not committing because they don't have anything, don't worry. They're down to the big-picture decisions, like what the philosophical theme of the sequel could be. "There's a couple themes up in the air that we're debating about," Orci said. "But we want them to be invisible, so it won't be until the movie comes out that you'd ever hear what they were. We're zeroing in some compass directions. It's still the story phase."









Damon Lindelof

Abrams still wants to direct it. The last time Abrams gave a press conference, he cause a lot of speculation with the phrase "If I, in fact, direct the Star Trek sequel." Abrams clarified that he has every intention of doing it, but there's nothing to commit to. "In theory, I would be available, and it would be fun to do," Abrams said. "Since there's no script, it's hard to talk about directing a movie that the story doesn't even exist."

Could Star Trek 2 be 2012's The Dark Knight? Star Trek is already the highest-grossing Trek movie ever. It's been so well received universally that Abrams expects to have an even bigger audience for the sequel, by the time more fans discover the film on DVD. Another example of that was Batman Begins. "Certainly no one is looking to expect any kind of Dark Knight numbers on a Star Trek sequel," Abrams conceded. "Hopefully the quality of the cast of the first film, the fun of the movie, will eventually, over time, touch people who would not normally have gone to see the film in theaters. When a sequel comes out, they're converts, because they'd actually seen the film that was made originally. That would be the goal."

Start the A-list casting rumors now. Star Trek featured major stars like Winona Ryder and Tyler Perry in supporting roles. Abrams is open to bringing a movie star in to attract even more viewers. "I think that it's not a bad idea to begin thinking practically in that way," Abrams said. "What can be done to help open it up? In terms of casting, sure. Casting an international star would be a really good idea."





V deathwatch: ratings drop another 18%












Wow, looks like ABC's V is definitely in trouble.

Last night's third episode saw ratings and audience drop significantly again, down 18 percent to 9.3 million (3.1 rating among adults 18-49), according to The Hollywood Reporter's Live Feed blog.

That after a precipitous 29 percent drop in week two from the blockbuster premiere.

We're going to go out on a limb and say that the lizard aliens won't be on Earth for very long. Remember, ABC is airing only four episodes now (the last one airs next week) and was planning on returning to the air next spring with the final episodes of season one.

We don't know, but we've always thought this was ABC's way of not committing to the production of the show before they had a good sense of which way the audience would go; as the production was slated to start up again next month or so, we're thinking they'll just go ahead and pull the plug once the four eps have aired.

It's kinda too bad. The show was starting to grow on us, and we love the actors and the franchise. And we were eager to see how a change behind the scenes was going to affect the direction of the show.

But this is just us spitballing. What do you think? Do you think V has a chance? Would you keep watching?






'Condorman' In MTV's Sick Day Stash: Great Superhero Movie Or GREATEST Superhero Movie?

Over on MTV Movies Blog, they have a nifty little weekly feature called "Sick Day Stash," in which they highlight a lesser-known, older film that our writers hold near and dear to their hearts. While they're always a fun read, this week's author is regular Splash Page writer Josh Wigler, who managed to earn himself even more geek cred (in my mind) by choosing one of my all-time favorite films: Disney's 1981 film about a comic book creator who becomes a real-life superhero, "Condorman."

Calling the film "cinematic gold" (a description I can't really argue with), Wigler explains exactly why it's his "favorite superhero of all time" (again, no argument here). Here's a short excerpt:

Crawford's overeager and frantic performance as Woody might be cringe-worthy by today's standards, but that was part of the charm for me as a kid: this unspecial man turning himself into a slightly more special gadget-driven hero spoke to me in a way that Batman never could. Sure, Batman builds himself from the ground up and has no superpowers to speak of, but he's fantastically cool in every facet of his life.

For the full report on "Condorman" and why it's great for your Sick Day Stash, head over to MoviesBlog.MTV.com.





Dollhouse curse: 16 sci-fi TV shows killed in season 2







Dark Angel, Pushing Daisies and Jericho were among the series that never survived their second seasons.

So Joss Whedon's low-rated Dollhouse bites the dust, after clinging to life for a second season. Its partisans will mourn. But the series didn't die alone. The history of sci-fi TV is littered with season-two casualties, many of which are now considered classics.

Check out which other series escaped cancellation in their first seasons only to fall to the Nielsen gods in their second.














The Outer Limits (1963) The classic anthology series managed multiple classic episodes in its brief time on-air, among them “Soldier” and “Demon With A Glass Hand" (above), the two Harlan Ellison outings that James Cameron drew from (and had to belatedly pay for) when he created The Terminator. Naughty, naughty, Mr. C. (A sequel series, which began in 1995, lasted much longer.)
















The Munsters (1964): The Universal Pictures monsters completed the transformation Abbott and Costello began for them, from creatures of horror to creatures of comedy, in this lovable sitcom about the ghastly family at 1313 Mockingbird Lane. The presence of a competing monster family at another network (see next entry) may have hastened the ultimate ratings demise of both






















The Addams Family (1964): The “mysterious and ooky” clan from the New Yorker cartoons by Charles Addams brought their insanity to television for a short sitcom stay, prompting endless debate among the children of the time over just which monster family was “better.” If longevity is any clue, the Addamses won, but not on television, where the battle amounted to a draw. That would have to wait until they returned for a series of bigger-budget (and considerably darker) movies.











The Invaders (1967): They can travel interstellar distances. They can assume human form. They can infiltrate our society at every level. The one thing they can’t quite do is make their pinky fingers work. Everybody who extends one pinky finger while drinking tea might be one of them. Architect David Vincent discovers their evil plans to take over Earth and fights a valiant, if short-lived, one-man war against the alien dainties.
















Land of the Giants (1968): A trans-Atlantic shuttle encounters an odd lightning storm in space and is transported to a strange alternate earth whose inhabitants are all the size of skyscrapers. Produced by Irwin Allen, the show was essentially a re-casting of his longer-lasting Lost In Space, right down to the irritating comic-relief character with the disconcertingly close friendship with the show’s little boy.














Space: 1999 (1975): A nuclear explosion knocks Earth’s satellite out of its orbit and leaves the hapless inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha holding on for dear life as it somehow achieves faster-than-light speed and escapes the solar system, considerately slowing down on a weekly basis whenever it nears another planet where an adventure can take place. The presence of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, both of whom starred in the much more successful series Mission: Impossible, led some people to call this, “Premise Impossible.”
















Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979): Props from the original Battlestar Galactica and a mid-series retooling to make the show even more like Battlestar Galactica surround the time-displaced Buck and a cast of characters that includes a robot voiced by Mel Blanc who begins almost every sentence with “biddie-biddie-biddie.” The show went biddie-biddie-biddie bye-bye in its second season.














Steven Spielberg’s Amazing Stories (1985): The director’s showcase anthology series featured worthwhile contributions by Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, and Martin Scorcese, and writing that included contributions by the great Richard Matheson; unfortunately, anthology shows are a hard sell even at the best of times, and it didn’t help much that many of the episodes were so weak they left viewers scratching their heads.














Max Headroom (1987): An investigative reporter in the near future acquires a stuttering, jerkily-moving, computer animation of himself. The computer-generated character’s annoyance value helped the show last long enough for viewers to decide whether he qualified as interesting-annoying or was just annoying-annoying. Many viewers decided he was the first. More viewers decided he was the second.














James Cameron’s Dark Angel (2000): An escaped genetically-enhanced superwoman (Jessica Alba) attempts to make a living as a bicycle messenger in the Pacific Northwest, but somehow her past keeps coming up. The ratings, alas, do not.
















Dead Like Me (2003): Bonked in the head by a toilet seat from the MIR Space Station as it plummets back to Earth—yes, really—Georgia Lass dies only to find herself returned to a life of sorts, that includes being assigned to duty as a Grim Reaper. Her new lease on existence ends when the show reverses its initial premise and goes down the toilet itself two seasons later.













Carnivale (2003): An ancient battle between good and evil rages—all too slowly—in the persons of a carnival roustabout and evangelical preacher, during the years of the Great Depression. A deeply atmospheric series that may have been one of the greatest fantasy shows in the history of television, it was planned by its creators to last five years … but the suits at HBO tired of enduring the long wait for the two principals to finally meet up and fight, and presumptively declared the story over after what was only supposed to be their first skirmish.













Jericho (2006): Prodigal son Jake Green returns to Kansas just in time to be stuck there when a massive nuclear war fragments America and leaves his home town forced to defend its fragile resources. A massive mail-in campaign by loyal viewers kept the network from canceling the show at the end of its first season, but failed to keep the struggling burg alive past the second.














Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008): An additional bout of time-travel both transported the Sarah Connor of the James Cameron movies to the present day, and relegated her reported death by cancer to something else she had to worry about in between fighting homicidal alien cyborgs. The series of colossal bummers life had in store for Sarah extended to shifting time slots and a death by Nielsen in her show’s second season.















Pushing Daisies (2007): Piemaker Ned can revive dead people, but the gift comes with some serious limitations. Sparkling whimsy, genuine heart, a brilliant cast, hilarious production design and occasional musical numbers didn’t save this initially high-rated show from the writer’s strike that cut its first season in half. By the time the second season rolled around, momentum was lost. The two seasons, put together, totaled only as many episodes as a single, full-length season might have. But what’s there was choice.














Eli Stone (2008): The lawyer of the title comes down with a brain aneurysm that causes him to hallucinate elaborate production numbers that amount to personal instructions from God. (He may be dying, but he’s also a “prophet.”) The people who loved the show really, really, really loved it. Alas, there just weren’t enough of them.





'Condorman' In MTV's Sick Day Stash: Great Superhero Movie Or GREATEST Superhero Movie?

Over on MTV Movies Blog, they have a nifty little weekly feature called "Sick Day Stash," in which they highlight a lesser-known, older film that our writers hold near and dear to their hearts. While they're always a fun read, this week's author is regular Splash Page writer Josh Wigler, who managed to earn himself even more geek cred (in my mind) by choosing one of my all-time favorite films: Disney's 1981 film about a comic book creator who becomes a real-life superhero, "Condorman."

Calling the film "cinematic gold" (a description I can't really argue with), Wigler explains exactly why it's his "favorite superhero of all time" (again, no argument here). Here's a short excerpt:

Crawford's overeager and frantic performance as Woody might be cringe-worthy by today's standards, but that was part of the charm for me as a kid: this unspecial man turning himself into a slightly more special gadget-driven hero spoke to me in a way that Batman never could. Sure, Batman builds himself from the ground up and has no superpowers to speak of, but he's fantastically cool in every facet of his life.

For the full report on "Condorman" and why it's great for your Sick Day Stash, head over to MoviesBlog.MTV.com.





Guess which muscular action star supports the space program (video)



Dwayne Johnson (don't call him "The Rock"!) isn't an astronaut, but he plays one in the upcoming 3-D animated spoof Planet 51 and also praises our intrepid spacemen in this new public-service announcement for NASA.

We got an early look at the new spot, which is meant to boost the public's awareness of NASA's more terrestrial benefits and is timed to the release today of Planet 51. Don't you love a movie star who supports the space program?





Man taught his son Klingon before he taught him English













There are Trekkies, there are Trekkers, then there's this guy: A man who decided to teach his son Klingon before he learned English.

Here's how the Minnesota Daily reported it:

With the birth of his son 15 years ago, dedicated linguist d'Armond Speers embarked on the ultimate experiment: He spoke to him only in Klingon—the language of the alien race of Star Trek fame—for the first three years of his life.

"I was interested in the question of whether my son, going through his first language acquisition process, would acquire it like any human language," Speers said. "He was definitely starting to learn it."

Ohhh kaaayy.

Now we're all for avid fandom—heck, we've got a Stargate jacket in the closet—but really? Does this guy seriously want his son to remain a virgin until he's 38?

Speers is now creating applications for a Klingon dictionary for Ultralingua, a dictionary, translation and grammar software company

The software includes a conversational phrases component, featuring audio clips of Lt. Cmdr. Worf (Michael Dorn) from Star Trek: The Next Generation speaking phrases such as "All of you are boring" and "I'll have the black ale."

So ... what do you think? Coolest dad ever? Or creepy fan dad who will turn his kid into a goth faster than you can say "Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam"?

News - 11/18/09...

Call of Duty Sequel Has $310 Million Debut

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 appeared well on its way to challenging for the title of the biggest entertainment debut in history, selling a record estimated 4.7 million copies and earning $310 million in its first day of release, Variety reports.

The Activision game is taking on Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto IV, which set the industry standard in 2008 by moving 3.7 million units on its first day. GTA IV went on to sell 6 million copies and earn more than $500 million by the end of its first week of release.

The game’s success couldn’t come at a better time for the video game industry, which reported today that overall sales were down 19 percent in October.

The game also is leading a wave of high-profile holiday video game releases such as New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Assassin’s Creed 2. Those releases could help the industry recover from a year in which sales are down 13 percent for the year.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Connery, Bassey Reunite; Corddry in Two Toons

Shirley Bassey and Sean Connery are teaming up again for an animated feature, while actor Nick Corddry has signed on to a pair of toon projects, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Bassey and Connery will both be heard in the independent CG-animated feature, Sir Billi. Connery is voicing the main character — a retired veterinarian in a remote Scottish town who rescues a fugitive beaver — while Bassey will sing the title song. It’s the first project the pair both have worked on since the 1964 James Bond classic Goldfinger.

Connery has been involved with Sir Billi as an executive producer. The film, created by Sascha and Tessa Hartmann, has been in the works for five years and is currently in post-production with completion set for 2010, the trade reports.

Alan Cumming, Miriam Margolyes, Ruby Wax, Alex Norton, Ford Kiernan, Greg Hempill, Barbara Rafferty, John Amabile, Larry Sullivan and U.S.-based newcomer Chris Jai Alex also play voice parts in the film.

Corddry’s voice acting projects include the lead in Horrorbots, an animated series for Cartoon Network, and a part in the CG-live action feature adaptation of Yogi Bear.

Horrorbots, created by Michael Buckley, is about outsider teenage droids attending high school on the planet Killglobe.

His role in Yogi Bear is as Chief of Staff.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Screenings to Celebrate Mr. Magoo Holiday Special Book

The animated holiday classic Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol will get a rare screening at a pair of events celebrating the release of a new book on its making.

The special events will be held Dec. 1 at the Paley Center for Media in New York and Dec. 19 at the American Cinematheque’s Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.

Each screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Darrel Van Citters, author of the new book Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special, with special guests including original cast members and production crew. Van Citters also will sign copies of the book at each event.

For information on attending the New York event, go online to www.paleycenter.org. Details on the Santa Monica event can be found online at www.americancinematheque.com.

Van Citters also will appear at book signings Dec. 8 at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco and Dec. 9 at The Art Institute of Portland in Portland, Ore.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)






Well Go, Toei Plan Second Digimon Data Squad DVD Set

Toei Animation has gone back to Well Go USA, signing a deal for the company to distribute in the United States and Canada a second DVD collection of the animated series Digimon Data Squad.

Digimon Data Squad Collection 2 will feature 13 episodes of the series and follows the first collection of the show, put out earlier this year.

The show is currently in its fifth season and has aired in more than 40 countries.

“We are pleased to be working again with Toei Animation on the next Digimon Data Squad Collection 2 DVD set”, said Tony Vandeveerdonk, executive VP of Well Go USA. “We are thrilled to be able to bring fans more action packed episodes from the iconic Digimon entertainment brand.”

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Abrams’ Star Trek Set to Boldly Beam Into Your Home

The future comes home this week, which will go down as an important one in the lives of Trekkers everywhere.

This week sees the release of J.J. Abrams’ hit revamp of the classic sci-fi series in Star Trek (Paramount, DVD $30.99, special edition DVD $37.99, Blu-ray $40.99). The film grossed more than a quarter billion dollars in the U.S. alone. Fans of older versions of Trek can reminisce with The Best of Star Trek: The Original Series, Vol. 2 (Paramount, $14.99) and The Best of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Vol. 2 (Paramount, $14.99).

But that’s not all sci-fi TV fans have to look forward to, with the release of Farscape: The Complete Season Four (A&E, $49.95) and Farscape: The Complete Series (A&E, $149.95).

Animation fans can get real with the medium’s first “reality show” format by digging into Drawn Together: Complete Series, Party In Your Box (Paramount, $56.99).

Also out this week for fans of more current animation is Ben 10: Alien Force, Vol. 5 (Warner Bros., $14.98) and The Spectacular Spider-Man: Vol. 5 (Sony, $19.94)

Classic cartoons are represented this week by the release of The Smurfs: World of Wonders (Warner Bros., $14.97) and Smurfs: Vols. 1-3 (Warner Bros., $60.43).

And the anime aisle of the DVD store will welcome Bleach Vol. 22 (VIZ, $24.92) and Evangelion: 1.01 (FUNimation, $29.98).

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





My Little Pony On Track for New Series

Hasbro Studios is betting big on My Little Pony, putting the classic toy property on the fast track for development as a TV series.

If it goes to series, My Little Pony would become the first Hasbro property to get on the air with the new joint-venture cable outlet between the toymaker and Discovery, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

My Little Pony broke out of the pack following strong ratings for the My Little Pony: Twinkle Wish Adventure special Nov. 6 on Disney Channel.

“The runaway success of My Little Pony on the Disney Channel affirms our belief in the long-term value of this project,” Hasbro Studios president Stephen Davis told the trade publication.

The project will be developed for multiple platforms, including video games.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Fans to Animate DC Universe Online on Facebook

Sony Online Entertainment and Mass Animation are teaming up for a new contest in which users will use a Facebook application to animate characters from the upcoming DC Universe Online massive multiplayer online video game for use in a trailer and in-game animations.

The contest begins Dec. 7 and calls on fans to use Mass Animation’s Facebook application to create, view, upload, share and vote on submissions. A panel of judges and user votes will determine the best entries on a weekly basis, with winners receiving prizes.

“The DCUO/Mass Animation contest takes a part of the game out of the development studio and puts it in the hands of fans, an empowering opportunity for our community,” said John Smedley, president of SOE. “Players will have a chance through qualified contest submissions to be involved with the game’s development at a deeper level than ever before by animating actions for in-game heroes and villains.”

Mass Animation’s application, which includes a special edition of Autodesk Maya 3D as well as storyboards, designs and fully-rigged 3-D models, can be access on the DC Universe Online Facebook fan page.

http://www.facebook.com/DCUniverseOnline

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Press Named Exec Producer at Zoic

Visual effects and production company Zoic Studios has hired veteran VFX producer Erik Press as an executive producer.

Press previously was executive producer of CBS Digital, producing effects for various TV projects, including ESPN’s The Bronx is Burning and the remastered episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Press also has worked as an executive producer at Beau Studio, overseeing commercials work for Sobe, Gatorade and Dove Chocolate. In feature films, he produced sequences for last summer’s hit Wanted and for the upcoming movie Mad Cow.

"Zoic Studios has always focused on creating content for various platforms and areas and, as such, has anticipated the blend of productions blossoming today," says Press. "To be a part of this group of forward-thinking creatives is exciting, and offers unlimited possibilities for us and for our clients."

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Adult Swim Offers Custom DVDs On Demand

Cartoon Network Enterprises has unveiled a custom DVD-on-demand programs that lets users create fully customizable discs featuring their choice of some 100 episodes from the network’s Adult Swim series.

The program, called Adult Swim’s Build a Custom DVD, will let users pick their favorite episodes and design the cover and disc art. The custom DVDs are priced at a flat rate of $20 and are shipped to the buyer within 48 hours.

About 100 episodes are now available to the program from such series as Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Venture. Bros., Sealab 2021, Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, The Drinky Crow Show and Lucy, Daughter of the Devil.

“Since the network’s launch, Adult Swim has been synonymous with creating highly unique, innovative content that pushes boundaries and engages our fans, who are among the earliest of early adopters, eager for the next great idea or technology available to them,” said Christina Miller, senior vice president, CNE. “This program gives fans an opportunity to showcase their individual creativity in a first-of-its-kind program that offers an unprecedented level of customization and content that is truly unique Adult Swim and our fans.”

The shop is now open and can be accessed online at www.adultswimshop.com

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





REMINDER - A Day For Hand Drawn Animation - 2009























"A Day For Hand-Drawn Animation -2009"
(click on image to view it larger)

I posted about this last year , here:

http://hand-drawn-animation.blogspot.com/2008/11/day-for-hand-drawn-animation.html

with a follow-up post , here:

http://hand-drawn-animation.blogspot.com/2008/11/forum-for-classical-hand-drawn.html

This annual "Day for Hand Drawn Animation" is sponsored by Tahsin and Lâle Özgür at Maltepe University in Istanbul .

All devotees of hand drawn animation are invited to mark the day , regardless of their geographical location. (the internet creates such a small world).

This year Tash and Lâle write:

November 18th, a Day for Hand-Drawn Animation

A universe of dreams and fantasy that opened up with Steamboat Willie on November 18th, 1928, or even earlier, with Little Nemo in 1911. A universe wonderful for the spectator, and even more so for the artists and craftsmen.

The tradition is alive and well in 2009.

May we all celebrate, those of us who insist on keeping it alive, and those of us who never tire of watching!

-Tash & Lâle Özgür


I thought the point that Tash made last year about the distinction of "hand drawn animation" is important to repeat:

"We call it, in our quaint Oriental tongue, Çizgi Film Bayrami, which clumsily translates as "Line-Film Holiday" or something ... "Line-Film" being what we call this kind of film. English lacks a direct equivalent, and the more generic term "animation" might have even facilitated the CG takeover ("it's all animation, isn't it?")

Think of our concept of "line film" as closer to the French "dessin animé" ("animated drawing") - it's French, language of culture, so it probably has more weight in the argument. Which argument? Why, that hand drawn animation is a distinct art form, and not simply a step on the way towards something else. "

(Thanks David Nethery)





Frog gets red carpet treatment at premiere

Disney’s The Princess and the Frog got a celebrity-filled red carpet premiere in Burbank Sunday, according to Variety. IESB.net has a gallery of photos from the event.





New Princess and the Frog images

A number of new images and cast photos from Disney’s anticipated The Princess and the Frog can now be found at Comingsoon.net. The studio’s return to hand-drawn animation opens in limited release on November 25th before going wide on December 11th.





Planet Hulk coming in February

Marvel Entertainment's newest animated movie, Planet Hulk, will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on February 2nd, 2010. The movie's storyline will involve the Hulk, being seen as too dangerous to be kept on earth, getting exiled into outer space. DVD Active has details on the extras, which will include a commentary, a Making of Planet Hulk featurette, and more.





"Do Not Feed the Alligators" wins Nickelodeon fest

Henrique Jardim's "Do Not Feed the Alligators" has won the "15 Seconds to Fame" award (Grand Prize) at the Nickelodeon Animation Festival, the first and only multiplatform festival in North America.

General category winners were chosen by the producers at Nickelodeon and announced Monday. The "15 Seconds to Fame" winner was selected by the Nickelodeon Development team. Jardim will receive the grand prize of $5,000 for the creation of a new original animated short in conjunction with and commissioned by Nickelodeon.

Select entries will be showcased on Nicktoons every half hour between 4 and 7 p.m. (ET) from Monday, November 16 through Friday, November 20, and will be featured on www.nick.com/naf.

The Grand Jury Award ($10,000) went to Bianca Beneduci Assad for Popped, while the Producers' Choice Prize ($5,000) went to Paris Marroidis for Divers. Bang Yao Liu won the Student Prize in partnership with mtvU ($2,000) for Deadline.

This year's celebrity judge, Jamie Kennedy (Ghost Whisperer), selected the 2009 Grand Jury Award winner along with industry judges Roland Poindexter (Vice-President, Current Series-Animation, Nickelodeon), Paul Vester (Co-Director of CalArt's Experimental Animation Program), Melissa Cobb (Producer, DreamWorks Animation) and Sung Eun Kim (last year's "Grand Jury" and "Student" award winner).

The Viewer's Choice Award of $5,000 will be determined while the shorts are showcased online from November 16 through Sunday, November 29. Viewers can vote for their favorite entry at www.nick.com/naf. Votes will be tallied and announced online Monday, November 30.

The Nickelodeon Animation Festival, the largest of its kind, showcases animators from around the world who submit their original animation, ideas and characters. This year, the festival received submissions from such countries as Jamaica, Argentina, Romania, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, India, Scotland and Holland. General category submissions could be in any style of animation, but could not exceed 10 minutes in length.

Submissions for the "15 Seconds to Fame" award required 15 seconds of an outstanding and funny character animated in any style.





Golden Globes expands toon feature category to 5

There will be five contenders for the Best Animated Feature category when the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards nominations are announced at 5 a.m. (PT) Tuesday, December 15, Hollywood Foreign Press Association president Philip Berk announced Tuesday.

HFPA members voted last week to expand this year's number of nominations for Best Animated Feature to five from three.

The amended rule now reads: "Eligible films must be feature-length (70 minutes or longer) with no more than 25% live action. If less than eight animated films qualify, the award will not be given, in which case the films would be eligible for Best Picture. If less than 12 animated films qualify, the category will be limited to three nominations per year."

The 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards, hosted by Ricky Gervais, will be broadcast live on NBC coast to coast Sunday, January 17 (5 to 8 p.m. PT, 8 to 11 p.m. ET) from The Beverly Hilton.





Mr. Lawrence










The artwork above was from a presentation I created when I was an exec at Nickelodeon 13 years ago. It was (and still is) my mission in life to revive Viacom’s Terrytoon characters, then under Nickelodeon. This Heckle and Jeckle piece was drawn and designed by my friend “Mr. Lawrence” - and I’ve always loved it, as it retains their classic look, yet feels updated in a smart, slick way.

Mr. Lawrence is one of the true multi-hyphenates working in the animation industry today. He’s been a stand up comedian and actor, he’s made live action short films and created comedy series (Lost on Earth). He’s also written and directed TV cartoons - and is the voice of such Nickelodeon characters as Filbert on Rocko’s Modern Life and Plankton on Spongebob Squarepants. What’s he up to now? In addition to his continuing role on Spongebob, Lawrence is developing for Nick a new series The Kumquat Kwadruplets and, in his spare time, boarding his own independent animated horror-comedy feature.

One of the best pilots I’d ever seen was one he created for Film Roman about ten years ago, Hairballs. It’s co-directed by Lawrence and Craig Kellman, with character layouts by Kellman, Carey Yost and Marc Colengelo, and timing by Genndy Tartakovsky. The rights to this show have since reverted to Mr. Lawrence and I’m still hoping someone (Fox? Adult Swim? Comedy Central?) will pick this gem up.



(Thanks cartoon brew)





The Princess and the Frog: Drawing Prince Naveen

This past weekend at the Walt Disney Studios Theater in Burbank, the 2D animated feature The Princess and the Frog premiered. At an earlier event, Supervising Animator Randy Haycock (animated Pocahontas in Pocahontas) showed a crowd of animation fans how he draws Prince Naveen… as a frog.



… and here’s an interview with directors John Musker and Ron Clements at the premiere:







1+3+5=The Making of 9

CTN-X (the CTN Animation Expo) kicks off this Friday in Burbank, and runs through to Sunday, November 22nd. There’s heaps of great panels and speakers over the 3-day event, and Lineboil's Aaron Simpson was lucky enough to be invited to participate. He's hosting a panel titled 1 + 3 + 5 = The Making of 9, where he’ll be quizzing a number of crew members about this feature film. Shane Acker, the creator and director of the CG-project will be on stage, and afterwards the team will be available for Q&A.





Just Eat Orders Some Blue Zoo Animation

Blue Zoo Animation recently completed work on a series of TV spots for Just Eat, the UK-based take out (or “take away”) service. They feature the CG characters Belly and Brain, and the spots were directed by the Rebel Rebel team comprised of Adam Shaw and Chris Rais. The agency on the job was Hooper Galton. Here’s the first one, titled Attention Please:



Down & Up








DC Direct To Release Maquette Based On "Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths" Feature

DC Comics has provided official details on an upcoming DC Direct maquettes based on the highly-anticipated Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths animated feature.

Official details on the upcoming Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths maquette, based on artwork from the highly-anticipated direct-to-video animated feature scheduled for an early Spring 2010 release, have been made available by DC Comics.

Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths DVD Owlman Maquette

Sculpted by: Derek Miller

“You people are my world’s last hope.” — President Lex Luthor

In a parallel universe, the lone survivor of Earth’s Justice League – Lex Luthor – travels through other-world dimensions to join forces with Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and J’onn J’onzz in a desperate attempt to save his world and his people. But the villainous Crime Syndicate controlled by Ultraman, Owlman and Superwoman will stop at nothing to maintain their domination. It will take wits, might and a sacrifice to defeat these unforgiving enemies in the spectacular DC Universe Original Animated Movie. Two Earths, two Leagues and one epic battle collide for a thrilling experience that will leave viewers breathless!

This hand-painted cold-cast porcelain maquette of Owlman is based on art from the highly anticipated Warner Home Video made-for-DVD animated original movie, Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths!

Measuring approximately 9.2” tall x 5.5” wide x 8.75” deep (including the base), the maquette includes a 4-color Certificate of Authenticity and is packaged in a 4-color box.

Limited edition of 4000. Quantities may be allocated.

On sale February 24, 2010. Price is $99.99 US

In further Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths news, Vanessa Marshall will be providing the voice of Wonder Woman for the upcoming animated feature.

A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the direct-to-video Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths animated feature will debut early Spring 2010 on Blu-ray and DVD. Stay tuned for further Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths updates, including artwork and official release details.





'Thor' Casting: Are Ray Stevenson, Stuart Townsend And Tadanobu Asano The Warriors Three?

The Warriors Three, a trio of Asgardians that join the God of Thunder's cause in "Thor," have officially been cast — depending on where you get your news, that is.

Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano and Stuart Townsend have reportedly landed the roles of Volstagg the Valiant, Hogun the Grim and Fandral the Dashing in "Thor," Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the classic Marvel character. But some are already doubting the news, given the fact that the initial Variety report has been removed from the website.

[UPDATE: Marvel.com has confirmed the casting of Stevenson, Asano and Townsend.]

Whether Variety pulled the article due to factual inaccuracies, jumping the gun too early or any other number of reasons is unclear, but my hunch is that these are the actors we'll see alongside Chris Hemsworth's Thor — especially considering that several Marvel officials including Brian Michael Bendis, who is consulting on "Thor," linked to the Variety news on their Twitter feeds.

Assuming that the casting news is legitimate, it's certainly an intriguing round-up. I'm not familiar with Asano's work, but I think that Townsend and Stevenson are great picks for Fandral and Volstagg — though I'm not sure that they're better choices than the previously rumored Zachary Levi and Brian Blessed.

Also, I've got to admit that I'm holding out some hope that the wrong Ray has been named for Volstagg. My knee-jerk reaction upon reading the initial report was that Ray Winstone, not Stevenson, should play Volstagg — he's a much better match physically and personality-wise, but my only link to go on is the shared first name. It's a stretch, but a blogger can dream, can't he?

If Stevenson, Townsend and Asano are in fact lining up for "Thor," they join an already impressive cast that includes Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Anthony Hopkins as Odin and Colm Feore in an unspecified role.





Rachel McAdams Debunks 'Spider-Man 4' Black Cat Rumor

The rumor of "Spider-Man 4" sporting Black Cat as the film's nemesis might have nine lives, but it looks like luck has ran out for supporters of Rachel McAdams, the alleged frontrunner for the role.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, McAdams flat-out denied last week's wide-spread "Spider-Man 4" rumors that she was not only a contender for the role of Felicia Hardy in the "Spider-Man" sequel, but that she was nearly a lock for the part. According to McAdams herself, those reports are entirely unfounded.

"That's a total rumor, I have to say," said McAdams. "I was hanging out in Toronto the other day and someone came up to me and said, 'I just heard you're doing Spider-Man 4.' And I said, 'Really? No one told me! It's not true."





First Look At 'Smallville' Hawkman, New Details About Justice Society's Debut

As the highly anticipated Justice Society two-part episode of “Smallville” gets ready to go in front of the cameras, newly cast Hawkman actor Michael Shanks has revealed the first look at his character, some intriguing details about his origin and this incarnation of the JSA.

“When we first meet Carter Hall, he’s in his museum," Shanks told TV Guide. "We’ll learn he’s a reincarnated prince from a thousand years ago. There is a reference to The Justice Society’s time in the ‘70s, but we have since disbanded.”

“When we first see him, he is a shell of his former self with [an air] of cynicism,” continued Shanks. “He wears a lot of grief and guilt and pain over what happened to his friends and the society as a whole and his failures in letting that happen.”

Shanks also hinted that Hawkgirl may play a part in the story as well.

“There’s a lot of referencing to Shayera/ Hawkgirl throughout as his one true love,” Shanks explained. “Given the fact that these two have a tremendous history as thousand year-old reincarnated beings who continue to find each other lifetime after lifetime. And we will learn where she is now.”

Earlier this month, Shanks hinted that Hawkman could potentially return as a mentor for Clark Kent. According to Shanks, Hawkman’s relationship to Clark would be deeper than simply teaching him how to fly.

“There’s a reference given to him flying, but it’s more of a metaphor to his own personal growth,” Shanks explained. “Clark and his friends are figuring out what their destinies will be, so there is a ripe opportunity for the Justice Society who had been there done that to offer some tough love teaching.”

“The way things land at the end of it all, there’s an open door for Carter Hall to be revisited and possibly be part of further mentoring Clark down the road.”

The two-part Justice Society episode will air on February 5, 2010 as a “TV movie.” Comic scribe Geoff Johns wrote both parts and “Smallville” star Tom Welling will direct the second part. In addition to Justice Society members Dr. Fate and Stargirl, the episode will also feature the Martian Manhunter and Amanda Waller.





'Alien Legion' Movie Advances With Disney And Jerry Bruckheimer

The classic military sci-fi comic “Alien Legion” is moving forward as a film adaptation over at Disney with producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

"Alien Legion has been optioned for some time," confirmed “Alien Legion” co-creator Carl Potts in an interview with USA Today. "The script is currently in its third rewrite."

"Bruckheimer's never done a science-fiction [movie] before,” Potts continued. “So that challenge, I think, is something that would hold his interest. The success they've had with blending CGI and live-action characters in ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ series could translate easily to an ‘Alien Legion’ film."

In a recent interview over at HeyUguys, Derek Haas (“Wanted”) revealed that he and his writing partner Michael Brandt (“3:10 to Yuma”) are rewriting the current draft of “Alien Legion” for Bruckheimer and Disney.

Created in 1984 by Potts, Alan Zelenetz and Frank Cirocco, “Alien Legion” was published through Marvel’s Epic imprint and followed the members of an intergalactic military unit called Force Nomad — which was similar to the French Foreign Legion. “Alien Legion” was the longest running Epic comic series and featured numerous comic creators including Chuck Dixon, Larry Stroman, Terry Austin, Whilce Portacio, Chris Warner and Scott Hanna.

On the comics front, “Alien Legion” is also poised for a come back. Warner is currently overseeing an “Alien Legion” omnibus series for Dark Horse Comics. The first volume will be released this week. Additionally, Dixon, Stroman and Potts will also return to “Alien Legion” with a new four issue miniseries from Dark Horse that is scheduled to come out in 2010.

“Alien Legion” was previously developed as a potential CGI animated series in 2003 by Mainframe Entertainment — the company behind “ReBoot” and “Transformers: Beast Wars” — before the project fell apart when Mainframe was sold to another studio.





Photo Gallery: Tim Burton Exhibit At The Museum Of Modern Art

Think about the career of Tim Burton for a little while, and it makes a lot of sense for his work to receive a special exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art. From "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and "Batman" to "The Nightmare Before Christmas," Burton's projects have always had a certain flair — and it's that unique element of his work that's receiving the spotlight in this new exhibit.

You can get an early peek at some highlights from the Tim Burton exhibit at MoMA (including some great, behind-the-scenes art from "Batman") by clicking HERE:













For more on the exhibit, be sure to head over to MTV.com for their interview with Tim Burton at MoMA.





The Avatar action and creatures you still haven't seen











Zoe Saldana voices Neytiri

James Cameron has been showing a lot of Avatar: He's screened footage at Comic-Con and on "Avatar Day," revealing action scenes, and there was a teaser trailer, then an extended trailer. But there are still plenty of action scenes and creatures awaiting viewers when the film opens, we learned in interviews on Monday.











Zoe Saldana, who plays the Na'vi alien named Neytiri in the film, described some of the action she performed that the trailers have not yet spoiled. "Just so you know, I fell off of horses, had a horse step on me," Saldana said in a group interview on Monday in Los Angeles, where she was promoting the DVD/Blu-ray release of Star Trek. "I made bets with my bow and my arrow that Jim lost at times, and then I lost at times. Sam [Worthington] almost broke a pinky. It was a lot of action. Jim is just saving it for the screen, trust me. He's saving the best for last, Dec. 18."

Worthington plays Jake Sully, a paralyzed marine assigned to infiltrate the Na'vi, the inhabitants of the planet Pandora. He does this by accessing an avatar, his Na'vi form, which he can control, with full use of the avatar's body. The Na'vi pursue an adventure that spans the wild forests of Pandora, wrestling with dragon-like banshees on the cliffs and fighting off high-tech military forces.

Saldana added that, as with the marketing campaign for Star Trek, the promotion of Avatar is slowly unveiling its best stuff. "Stay tuned," she said. "What I'm saying is they keep releasing it, the trailers keep getting better and better, the same as with Star Trek. There's definitely a lot of action, and we were pushed. Sam and I were pushed beyond what we thought was our limit as human beings, physically. I can honestly say I left that set as a different person, a different actor."








Zoe Saldana at Monday's Star Trek DVD/Blu-ray party

Neville Page, who worked as a creature designer with Cameron, said there are many more fantastic creatures on the planet of Pandora. So far, we've seen only the banshee and some forest beasts.

"So much more, there really is," Page said in a separate interview. "There're some great, great surprise moments with creatures. For me, that's what the whole production was about, was three years of designing animals in the forest. Oh, there's so much left. Five years of design development in the works, so there's tons of stuff left."

If you really home in on the trailer, watching it frame by frame, maybe you'll glimpse some creatures in the background. They'll get their close-ups in the final film. "There's a lot of stuff going on in the background, that's for sure," Page added.

Page was working as recently as July, after the screening of footage at Comic-Con, to complete work on Avatar's creatures. "I did some final touches," he said. "There was just final color passes on some of the flying creatures, but I think they're done now. I have nothing left to do on it except wait, like everyone else anxious to see it."

Avatar opens Dec. 18.

News - 11/17/09...

Trailer for Dante’s Inferno online

ComingSoon.net has the trailer for the upcoming animated film Dante’s Inferno. To be released on DVD and Blu-ray in February 2010, the film is an offshoot of the video game of the same name, also coming early next year.







Ralph Interview









Jason Anders continues to interview cult directors, hot starlets and distinctive animators. He’s just posted a conversation with Ralph Bakshi on his Fulle Circle Blog — and whatever Ralph has to say is always worth a read.

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Vote for "Tickle Me Silly" in Nickelodeon's Animation Festival!!!

Miguel Martinez-Joffre, director at World Leaders Entertainment, has had his short film "Tickle Me Silly", NYTVF 2008 winner for "Best Animated Pilot", selected as a finalist for the 2009 Nickelodeon Film Festival -

Here's the skinny from Miguel himself:

Tickle Me Silly on NICKELODEON!

Most Awesomest News Ever!

My film, “Tickle Me Silly”, was selected as a finalist for the 2009 Nickelodeon Film Festival and will air on Nickelodeon on Wed. Nov 18, at 4:38 pm. Don’t miss it!

But wait! There’s more! Now I need your help. PLEASE GO AND VOTE for my film for the Viewers Choice Award. Tell your friends, family, kids, mailmen, and your cat to spread the love and vote for my film. In return, I’ll personally hug you, kiss you and/or give you a kick in the shins… I’ll even let you choose.

Please help an Amigo out and vote, thanks so much!

Miguel




Go HERE to vote!!

Good luck Miguel!





Upcoming in North America

Evangelion 1.01 Movie -The First 8 Minutes







Upcoming in Japan

Promos

Gintama: Shinyaku Benizakura-He (Gintama: Benizakura Arc — A New Retelling)

Kara no Kyoukai (Garden of Sinners) - movie 7

Yona Yona Penguin (Rintaro of X and Metropolis fame's CG, 3D children's movie)

Bungaku Shoujo (Literary Girl) - Production I.G's upcoming movie

Fumihiko Sori's To



Higanjima - live action based on Koji Matsumoto's manga

Ogon Yusha Goldran - 1995 mecha anime getting a DVD box set

Darker than BLACK - Kuro no Keiyakusha side story

Gundam 00 movie



Kamen Rider Decade & Double: Movie Taisen 2010

Assault Girls images and info



more Yamato: Rebirth trailers

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (new live action) teaser

Anime

Madhouse's 12 episode Iron Man and Wolverine anime will hit Japan in mid-2010, with Iron Man on Animax in the second quarter and Wolverine in the third quarter. A US release is planned for 2011.

*

The DVD release of CLAMP's Kobato will feature an original Flash animated short

Manga

Kodansha has confirmed that it will launch two new manga based on the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex television anime series in December.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Tachikoma na Hibi, will launch in the January issue of Kodansha's Monthly Young Magazine on December 9. The Masayuki Yamamoto work is based on the comedy shorts starring Stand Alone Complex's Tachikoma AI tanks.

Yu Kinutani's, the creator of the Amon and Shion manga and the artist of the Steamboy, Leviathan, and Pairon Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex manga, will launch in the 2009.02 issue of Kodansha's Weekly Young Magazine on December 14.





Going Hollywood

Anime Vice spoke to Cowboy Bebop producer Joshua Long, who announced that he is heading the newly rename company 1212 Entertainment, which will focus primarily on adapting popular anime, manga, and game titles from Japan, as well as some prominent French comics. While Cowboy Bebop will remain a production under 3 Arts Entertainment, Long tells me we'll be hearing some news in the near future: "we'll have a lot to announce soon,"

*

The NY Post spoke to Kevin Williamson about Scream 4.

Subjects to be spoofed

"I've [included] manga comics, Asian ghost girl movies, there's some PG-13 horror movies in there, vampire movies, M. Night Shyamalan movies and torture porn movies, even though they've come and gone."...

*

Quiet Earth spoke to Voltron producer Jeremy Corray


Jeremy, news dropped a few months ago that new producers came onboard for the live-action adaptation. Can you tell us about that?

Yeah. We are thrilled to be working with Charles Roven, Richard Suckle, Steve Alexander, Jake Kurily and the rest of the new Voltron Force at Atlas Entertainment and, of course, our old friend Jason Netter at Kickstart Entertainment to bring Voltron to the screen. If you were to put together a dream producing team for a project as big and with so much franchise potential as Voltron, this is it. From 12 Monkeys to The Dark Knight and Jason's work on Wanted, I mean c'mon, these guys set the standard for genre cinema then blow it apart with the next release. Voltron is going to be a challenge, but should really push boundaries both in special FX and more importantly in the story department.

Does this mean that the project is being completely rebooted?

Things are early right now, but it is safe to say we have heard and read some really fresh approaches to the material. So yeah, we have pressed the reset switch on the front of the old NES.

*

According to Latino Review, the Steven Spielberg and Will Smith adaptation of the Old Boy manga is no longer happening. "Mandate and DreamWorks didn’t see eye to eye therefore DreamWorks has apparently walked away."





The Business

Following their cancellation of the Japanese DVD releases of volumes seven and later of Shangri-la, Gonzo has announced that they will cease all telephone customer support for their DVD releases starting from December 2009.

*
Time Cartoon Network's move away from animation





Posh joining Madagascar cast?

Victoria Beckham may be joining the cast of DreamWorks’ Madagascar 3, according to Aceshowbiz. The film hits theatres on May 25, 2012.





Pooh in court again

The BBC reports that the Slesinger family is taking Disney back to court again over Winnie-the-Pooh. In a case just a few moths ago the judge ruled the Slesinger’s can not claim claim infringement since they transferred all of their rights to Pooh to Disney (who must still pay royalties). The family now says they may revoke Disney’s license since the Mouse House is, once again they claim, cooking the books on how much they are owed. A Disney spokesman called the move “baffling”.





Marvel Makes D’Esposito Co-President

Marvel Studios has promoted Louis D’Esposito to the post of co-president.

D’Esposito moves up from the post of president of physical production, where he oversaw budgets and timelines for the studio’s in-house productions. He was an executive producer on Iron Man and the upcoming Iron Man 2.

He will work along side the studio’s current film president, Kevin Feige. Both will report to CEO Ike Perlmutter.

Feige called D'Esposito "an incredible friend and collaborator, and his expertise within the film industry steering the budgetary and operational demands of moviemaking is instrumental in taking our characters from the pages of comic books to the big screen."

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Duckling Short Wins BAFTA Scotland Honor

The animated short The Happy Duckling won the Best Animation Award from BAFTA Scotland.

The nine-minute short about a reluctant boy who is followed by a happy duck, was written and directed by Gili Dolev and features a score by Mick Cooke of the musical act Belle and Sebastian.

The film also has won the Pulcinella Award for Best Short Film at Cartoons on the Bay and the Best Children’s Animation Award at the Stuttgart International Animation Festival.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Boomerang to Revisit Classic Thanksgiving

Cartoon Network’s sister channel Boomerang will air commercial free on Thanksgiving the classic Hanna-Barbera animated special The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn’t.

The 30-minute special premiered on Thanksgiving Day in 1972 and featured the voices of June Foray and Don Messick. The special tells the tale of Jeremy Squirrel, who has to find and save a missing Pilgrim boy and a missing native boy to ensure the first Thanksgiving feast can proceed.

The special will air twice on Boomerang, first at 10 a.m. ET and again at 7 p.m. ET.

"Animated holiday specials such as The Thanksgiving That Almost Wasn't bring back a lot of childhood memories," said Stacy Isenhower, senior vice president of programming and scheduling for Boomerang and Cartoon Network. "We know that our viewers, both young and old, will feel the spirit of the holiday with this cartoon classic-it reminds us again that there is always a reason to be thankful."











(Thanks Animation Magazine)





"The Equalizer" star Edward Woodward dies at 79

British actor Edward Woodward, winner of the 1987 Golden Globe best actor award for his role as ex-secret agent Robert McCall in the American TV series The Equalizer, died Monday at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, England. He was 79.

Woodward had been suffering from several illnesses, including pneumonia, for several months, agent Janet Glass said in a statement.

"Universally loved and admired through his unforgettable roles... he was equally fine and courageous in real life, never losing his brave spirit and wonderful humour throughout his illness," she said. "He was further sustained by the love of his wife, Michele, children, Tim, Peter, Sarah and Emily, his grandchildren and numerous friends. His passing will leave a huge gap in many lives."

Woodward voiced The Sultan in Aladdin, a 1992 direct-to-video animated feature from Bevanfield Films.

The Equalizer ran for 88 episodes on CBS in the late 1980s. Every year from 1986 until 1990, he was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in connection with his role on the show.

In 1980, he shared a News and Documentary Emmy Award for "Hitler, Man and Myth," an episode of Remembering World War II. The Emmy was in the "Outstanding Informational, Cultural or Historic Programming - Segments" category.

He played the title role in 1980's Breaker Morant, an Australian biographical movie set about the murder trial of a lieutenant serving in the Second Boer War.

Woodward portrayed rebellious British secret agent David Callan in the 1967-72 TV spy series Callan. It was his major breakthrough into TV and movie acting.

He starred opposite Christopher Lee and Britt Ekland as Scottish police sergeant Neil Howie in the 1973 cult thriller movie The Wicker Man, a tale of his search for a missing girl on an isolated island. The movie was famous for its final scene in which Howie is burned alive.

Born Edward Albert Arthur Woodward in Croydon, south London on June 1, 1930, he attended Kingston College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

He began his career as a Shakespearian stage actor, first appearing in 1947 at the Castle Theatre in Farnham. He worked in repertory companies throughout England and Scotland, first appearing on the London stage in 1955.

Woodward continued stage work in London over next four decades, occasionally appearing in New York as well. He appeared in numerous films and in over 2,000 TV productions.

He recorded 12 albums of music (vocals), three albums of poetry and 14 books on tape. In 1978, Woodward was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

The recipient of the Television Actor of the Year in 1969 and 1970, he won the Sun Award for Best Actor in 1970, 1971 and 1972.

His last appearance on film was as Tom Weaver in the comedy movie Hot Fuzz. His final on-screen appearance was earlier this year in the popular British soap opera EastEnders.

Edward Woodward's first marriage, to Venetia Mary Collett in 1952, ended in divorce in 1986; he married English actress Michele Dotrice in 1987. He had children Sarah, Tim and Peter -- all of whom became actors -- with his first wife, and Emily with his second.





Home-Grown Toons Across the Seas

The reality of which we often lose sight is that the U.S. of A. is not the Alpha and Omega of the animated feature. There are any number of countries that created toonage for their home markets, work that seldom sees the light of a projection lamp on other continents.

France, Germany, India and others create local animation; the list is long. India, with a huge domestic film industry, is now working to break its product out of a regional straitjacket and expand it onto world markets:

... With changing global trends, Indian animation motion pictures are ready for a makeover. Taking cue from Hollywood’s animation movies on superheroes, Indian production companies are now growing out of mythological subjects to make films on larger-than-life superheroes of Indian cinema.

... “Animation films in India do not have a good market at present. They mainly rely on mythological characters, a niche market limiting the films largely to an Indian audience. In Hollywood, over 60 animated films have been made in 10 years and more are on the anvil” said the Vijay Paranjpe, Chief Financial Officer of Crest Animation Studios.

The revenue out of animation feature films, DVD licensing and TV licensing for movies is huge, which makes Hollywood the best destination for any animation film. For instance, US filmmaker gets, on an average, $ 300 million for an animated movie, as they are instant hit among the audience, he says.

Mr. Paranjpe -- whose studio long ago purchased Rich Animation in Burbank, California -- is just a tad optimistic regarding the financial power or American animated features. But he's on the money about foreign cartoons peforming weakly in the world film market.

Since World War I, American films have been major crowd-pleasers around the globe. I've never been entirely sure why this is, since there are certainly excellent foreign films that get made on a regular basis. Maybe it's our mongrel American culture, maybe it's economic muscle, or maybe it's plain old good luck. Whatever the reason, the long tentacles of Hollywood product reach everywhere, and the animated sub-set is no exception.

There's DreamWorks, there's Pixar, and the American cartoonist name Disney is known everywhere. Most foreign animation artists' fame -- with the possible exception of Miyazaki -- stops at their home-country's border.

Maybe this will change as we grope our way into the 21st century, or maybe not. Me, I think that India has major challenges in becoming a big-time player in the animation marketplace, but I'm not one to never say never.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Krause Produces Peace Piece for ICPFF

With a little help from Isam Prado, Fran Krause created this intro animation for the International College Peace Film Festival, which takes place in Seoul between November 26th and 29th.







South Park Goes Pee Pee at the Water Park

It is with great sadness that we announce that he season finale of South Park arrives this week. Pee premieres on Wednesday, November 18 at 10:00 p.m. on Comedy Central, and it follows the boys’ trip to the water park.








Desrumaux and Benedi Challenge Your World

For the Challenge Your World event in Montreal on the 19th of this month, Celine Desrumaux and Yann Benedi produced this 2-minute animated film. It’s titled La Chaussettologie (chaussette is a sock), and it is a sustainability parable that centers on a sock factory’s harmful production methods.







Here are the REAL odds that the world will end in 2012








Take that, critics: Roland Emmerich's disaster marathon 2012 is a big hit, opening in first place with an estimated $65 million domestically and $225 million worldwide, easily making back its production costs in just one weekend.

But the real question remains: How likely is it that the REAL world will end in 2012?

Well, the Web sportsbook BetUS.com has posted actual odds on whether the wrold ends in December '12, as some doomsayers would have us believe, based on their interpretation of the Mayan Longcount Calendar, among other things.

Here are the site's odds:

Will the world end on 12/12/12? 700,000/1

Will the world end before 12/12/12? 1,000,000/1

Ways the World Will End

Asteroid impact 1 in 700,000
Supernova 1 in 10,000,000
Gamma-ray burst 1 in 14,000,000
Black hole 1 in 1,000,000,000,000
Solar flare *
Alien attack *
Death of the sun *
Galactic doom *
Death of the universe *

*These events all take billions of years (at least) to unfold so the chances of them happening during your lifetime are zero, but are inevitable over longer times.

Why would a sportsbook post such odds? Well, chances are, if you're right that the world will end, it's not likely they'll actually have to pay you $1 million on your $1 bet, is it?

And, of course, we can't vouch for these odds ... but the chances the world will end before 2012 are ONLY 1 in a million? Ack!





We've got the scoop on a new Buffy series!













Buffy Lives!

No, not that proposed Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie that wouldn't involve creator Joss Whedon or anyone from the beloved TV show, which all serious Bronzers consider an abomination against nature.

Rather, a series of motion-comic webisodes based on Whedon's highly successful series of "Season Eight" comics.

An actor friend of ours has clued us in to the casting of the new Buffy webisodes, which makes it sound like the proposed Web series is moving ahead quickly.

Based on the breakdown, the series will be based on the comics and feature the characters Twilight, the Big Bad of Season Eight, and evil British socialite Slayer Lady Genevieve Savidge, who plots to usurp Buffy's place in the Slayer hierarchy.

Casting director Jeff Shuter is also looking for voice actors to play the parts of familiar Buffyverse characters Faith, Kennedy and Robin Wood, as well as a bunch of new characters (including someone who sounds like actor Daniel Craig to play a character based on the James Bond star).

Below is the full breakdown, with character names and descriptions.

Now that Dollhouse is winding up, Cabin in the Woods is delayed until 2011 and there's no new Dr. Horrible on the immediate horizon, this is the best news yet for a Whedonite. Yay!

Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, 3:15 PM Pacific BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (MOTION COMIC) Webisodes NON-UNION

Casting Director: Jeff Shuter
Interview Dates: Next week (w/o 11/16)
Shoot/Start Date: TBD
Pay Rate: Pay Provided (various for each character)
Location: Los Angeles

SUBMIT ELECTRONICALLY IMMEDIATELY

PLEASE SEND VOICE OVER LINKS/ REELS (IF POSSIBLE)

NOTE: ALSO INCLUDE PERFORMANCE VIDEOS OR ACTOR SLATES IF AVAILABLE. DO NOT SEND DEMO TAPES.

[ FAITH (V.O.) ]
Co-Star / Female / Caucasian / 20 - 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of FAITH - female, early 20's, a slayer, displays a much darker, dangerously, fun-seeking, approach to both slaying and murder, she is the dark side of a slayer's personality. Voice to match Eliza Dushku. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible). Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ KENNEDY (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 20 - 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of KENNEDY - Female, caucasian, early 20s. A newly made slayer, Kennedy is also Willow's girlfriend. She's an out lesbian with an assertive personality. Voice to match Lyari Limon. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ LIEUTENANT MOLTER (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / African American / 30 - 35 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of LIEUTENANT MOLTER - Female, African American, early 30s. A lieutenant in the US Air Force - ally of the villain Twilight. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ DANIEL CRAIG (V.O.) ]
Guest-Star / Male / Caucasian / 30 - 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of actor DANIEL CRAIG - Male, caucasian, mid 30s. Voice to match actor Daniel Craig. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ RODEN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / Caucasian / 30 - 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of RODEN - Male, caucasian, 30s. An Irish human warlock and the tutor of Lady Genevieve Savidge, one of the new slayers, manipulating her into becoming an assassin of slayers. He was also a servant of Twilight, who convinced Roden to serve him in exchange for surviving the coming purge. However, Roden ignored that Twilight did not intend them to survive, but that they would merely thin out the number of Twilight's enemies. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ LADY GENEVIEVE (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 25 - 30 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of LADY GENEVIEVE - Female, caucasian, British, late 20s. With Roden, she hunts and kills other slayers as part of his 'Training' her. However, she and faith find they share a lot in common; both as slayers and as troubled young women enticed by evil, despite their drastically different background. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ ROBIN WOOD (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / African American / 30 - 35 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of ROBIN WOOD - Male, African American, early 30s. Robin is in charge of a squad of slayers, and is shown to be working at the Hellmouth in Cleveland. In his one-panel appearance he calls Faith to tell her of a family that was recently attacked by vamps. Faith refers to him as 'The ex' implying the couple has ended their relationship since 'Chosen.' Voice match to D.B. Woodside. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ SEPHRILLIAN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / All Ethnicities / 30 - 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of SEPHRILLIAN - Male, demon. A demon who walked in the realities of humans and the old ones, making him 'Tichajt: - one of the demon elite. He resides in a domain between realities kept in stasis by Robin, a minder. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ FAERIE (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / All Ethnicities / 20 - 30 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of FAERIE - Female, faerie creature. She is a pixie fairy, helping one of the Buffy decoys. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ ROBIN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 20 - 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of ROBIN - Female, caucasian, early 20s. The minder of Sephrillian's reality field, chosen to watch over a small house which serves as a mask to Sephrillian's domain. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ RONA (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / African American / 20 - 25 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of RONA - Female, African American, early 20s. Rona is a new slayer, working as a squad leader. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ SLUG QUEEN (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Female / Caucasian / 40 - 50 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of SLUG QUEEN - Female, slug queen, 40-50s. The oldest survivor of the Slug Clan, the Slug Queen rules the underground Slug resistance against the force of Yamanh. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) Pay provided. Nonunion.

[ TWILIGHT (V.O.) ]
Supporting / Male / Caucasian / 30 - 40 years
Description: MAXX INITIATIVE is now casting voice over talent for the Buffy the Vampire Motion Comic, upcoming web series. Seeking the role of TWILIGHT - Male, a villain with superhuman strengths, such as flying. Twilight is the leader of an Initiative-like group that shares his name. He views the expanded ranks of Slayers as a threat to humanity no better than an army of demons, and plans to bring about an end of magic, both good and evil. Send voiceover links/ reels (if possible) and Pay provided. Nonunion






Designing Star Trek's newest aliens (video)



Paramount gave us a short exclusive DVD clip from the upcoming DVD/Blu-ray release of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, which drops today, detailing the creation of one of the new aliens, "Kasia," who populate the bridge of the Kelvin.

The video is one of many new featurettes on the disk.

News - 11/16/09...

A Day For Hand Drawn Animation - 2009























"A Day For Hand-Drawn Animation -2009"
(click on image to view it larger)

I posted about this last year , here:

http://hand-drawn-animation.blogspot.com/2008/11/day-for-hand-drawn-animation.html

with a follow-up post , here:

http://hand-drawn-animation.blogspot.com/2008/11/forum-for-classical-hand-drawn.html

This annual "Day for Hand Drawn Animation" is sponsored by Tahsin and Lâle Özgür at Maltepe University in Istanbul .

All devotees of hand drawn animation are invited to mark the day , regardless of their geographical location. (the internet creates such a small world).

This year Tash and Lâle write:

November 18th, a Day for Hand-Drawn Animation

A universe of dreams and fantasy that opened up with Steamboat Willie on November 18th, 1928, or even earlier, with Little Nemo in 1911. A universe wonderful for the spectator, and even more so for the artists and craftsmen.

The tradition is alive and well in 2009.

May we all celebrate, those of us who insist on keeping it alive, and those of us who never tire of watching!

-Tash & Lâle Özgür


I thought the point that Tash made last year about the distinction of "hand drawn animation" is important to repeat:

"We call it, in our quaint Oriental tongue, Çizgi Film Bayrami, which clumsily translates as "Line-Film Holiday" or something ... "Line-Film" being what we call this kind of film. English lacks a direct equivalent, and the more generic term "animation" might have even facilitated the CG takeover ("it's all animation, isn't it?")

Think of our concept of "line film" as closer to the French "dessin animé" ("animated drawing") - it's French, language of culture, so it probably has more weight in the argument. Which argument? Why, that hand drawn animation is a distinct art form, and not simply a step on the way towards something else. "

(Thanks David Nethery)





`2012' has worldwide box-office bang of $225M

Doom spelled dollars at the box office as the global-disaster tale "2012" opened at No. 1 domestically with $65 million and pulled in $225 million worldwide.

The Sony Pictures action saga tells the story of a scramble to save remnants of humanity aboard giant arks as the earth's crust shifts and flood waters pour over most of the planet. With a cast led by John Cusack, Danny Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor, "2012" was directed by doomsday specialist Roland Emmerich ("Independence Day," "The Day After Tomorrow").

Overseas, "2012" did $17.2 million in France, $15.3 million in Russia, $9.9 million in South Korea and $8.1 million in Spain.

Domestically, "2012" came in just shy of the $68.7 million opening weekend for "The Day After Tomorrow." But Sony reported that its global total was the best ever for an original movie not based on an established franchise, brand or best-selling novel.

"Roland is that type of filmmaker that casts his net really wide," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. "The story is something people could really relate to. It's a story of the survival of humanity."

"Disney's A Christmas Carol" slipped to No. 2 with $22.3 million, down only 26 percent from its No. 1 opening gross a weekend earlier. The Jim Carrey holiday adventure raised its 10-day total to $63.3 million.

Big films typically can drop 50 percent or more in the second weekend, but the strong hold for "A Christmas Carol" indicates it could have a long shelf life through the holidays.

Lionsgate's acclaimed drama "Precious: Based on the Novel `Push' by Sapphire" broke into the top-10 as it expanded to more theaters after a huge debut in limited release the previous weekend.

Finishing at No. 4, "Precious" took in $6.1 million in 174 theaters, averaging $35,000 a cinema and raising its 10-day total to $8.9 million. That compared to a $19,095 average in 3,404 theaters for "2012."

With a cast that includes Mo'Nique, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz, "Precious" stars newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as a Harlem teen pulling herself out of an abyss of illiteracy, incest and domestic abuse.

"Michael Jackson's "This Is It" added $5.1 million domestically to raise its total to $67.2 million. The Sony release became the all-time top-grossing music documentary, passing the $65.3 million total of last year's "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert."

The weekend's other new wide release, Focus Features' rock 'n' roll comedy "Pirate Radio," opened a weak No. 11 with $2.9 million in 882 theaters, averaging $3,253 a cinema.

The ensemble cast of "Pirate Radio" features Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy and Kenneth Branagh in a story about 1960s disc jockeys blasting illicit rock music into stodgy Britain from an offshore radio station aboard a tanker.

Starting in limited release, Fox Searchlight's animated comedy "Fantastic Mr. Fox" drew big audiences with $260,000 in four theaters, for a whopping average of $65,000 a cinema. The film expands to nationwide release the day before Thanksgiving.

George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Bill Murray lead the voice cast of "Fantastic Mr. Fox," adapted by director Wes Anderson from the Roald Dahl children's book about a poultry-thieving fox and three evil farmers.

Paramount's micro-budgeted horror flick "Paranormal Activity" pulled in $4.2 million to cross the $100 million mark. Shot for just $15,000, the supernatural tale rode a surge of online buzz to become a horror sensation, with a domestic gross now standing at $103.8 million.





Get Meatballs early — for a price

InteractiveTV Today reports that Sony will let owners of their Bravia brand HDTVs and BD players with networking capability rent their studios’ Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs a month before its January DVD release date. The catch (besides having to own certain Sony TVs)? The price — $24.95. Hiro Kawano, SVP of Sony Electronics’ Home Division business, said, “Given our breadth of content and strength in networked products, Sony is the first company to utilize its Internet-enabled TV’s and other networked devices to stream feature films directly to consumers’ televisions prior to availability on DVD or Blu-ray”.





Troubled MGM heading for the auction block?

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, the once-fabled Hollywood major that has faced troubled times since the late 1960s, passing through various hands and ending up as little more than a production company with a famous name, is said to be on the way to a sale, as reported by Variety. This marks the second time in just a few years that the mini-studio has faced closure, with Sony and Warners both previously interested in the vast library of catalog titles, including its United Artists division’s James Bond and Pink Panther series. MGM has seen poor returns this year on duds such as the Fame remake, and Tom Cruise’s top position at UA has yet to yield any long-term results. Sources suggest Warners may buy the library, to compliment the pre-1986 MGM films it already owns, while Sony may purchase United Artists to keep hold of the 007 franchise, and the famous Leo the Lion logo split and sold elsewhere.





Disney profits up; consumer DVD spending down

In a generally buoyant marketplace, the major entertainment conglomerates have posted better than expected returns for the summer, with Disney the last to announce an 18% rise in profits. This is despite a couple of theatrical misfires, including the Jerry Bruckheimer produced G-Force, and lower than usual consumer spending on DVDs, according to Video Business Magazine. President and CEO Robert Iger continues to shuffle the company’s toppers around following the departure of Dick Cook, moving home entertainment chief Bob Chapek into an expanded role that also includes theatrical and, a major point of focus for Disney’s future, digital distribution.





VES to Give Cameron Lifetime Achievement Honor

The Visual Effects Society will honor director James Cameron with its Lifetime Achievement Award at its 8th annual VES Awards Ceremony.

The award will honor Cameron for his vision and dedication to the craft of storytelling and visual effects as a tool for achieving that goal. Cameron’s credits include The Terminator, Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, True Lies, Titanic and the upcoming Avatar.

“James Cameron has set the gold standard for storytelling by combining true creative artistry along with the latest advances in technology to bring incredible stories to the screen,” said Eric Roth, executive director of the VES. “Over the past few decades he has been the pre-eminent director of big vision, big story extravaganzas and has redefined the movie going experience for filmgoers worldwide.”

“I've loved visual effects my whole life, and it's been an ongoing thrill to be able to practice that art and to work with the best artists and technical people in the business to realize my dream images as a director,” said Cameron. “It is an incredible honor to be receiving this award."

Previous winners of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award include Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, and Frank Marshall & Kathleen Kennedy.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Ed, Edd ’n Eddy Movie Wraps Show with Big Ratings

It took more than a year to play in the United States after first playing abroad, but the American premiere of Ed, Edd ’n Eddy’s Big Picture Show was a ratings hit for Cartoon Network.

The film, which had previously played in Scandinavia, Australia and Southeast Asia, aired as the culmination of a two-day programming event that featured a pair of seven-hour marathons of the show last Saturday and Sunday.

The movie serves as the finale for the popular series, which aired more than 130 episodes and four specials on Cartoon Network from 1999 to 2009.

Created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canada’s Cartoon Inc., the series won many awards during its run, including the Ruben Award for Best Television Animation and a Leo Award for Antonucci as Best Director of an Animated Production.

Ratings-wise, the movie earned double and triple-digit ratings and delivery gains among all kids demos, including a 73 percent gains among kids 6-11, 56 percent gains among kids 2-11 and 145 gains among kids 9-14.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





"Astro Boy" sound editor George Simpson dead at 64

George E. Simpson, a sound editor for the just-released Imagi feature film Astro Boy, died November 1 following a heart attack. He was 64.

Simpson had been a sound effects editor and supervising sound editor at Weddington, Technicolor Sound and Soundelux for the past 25 years, working on such films as Training Day, Shooter, The Mist, Tears of the Sun, Lethal Weapon 4, Dante's Peak and Conspiracy Theory.

He shared a 2004 Golden Reel Award nomination from Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA for Best Sound Editing in Direct to Video in connection with the 2002 production Unconditional Love.

Born in New York on November 10, 1944, he joined the film industry in the early 1970s as an editor in Universal's trailer department. There, he met future writing collaborator Neal S. Burger. The two wrote 1974 TV-movie The Disappearance of Flight 412 as their first writing credit, based on one of Burger's Air Force UFO experiences.

Simpson and Burger would write five books for Dell Publishing, including Ghostboat, which Granada TV adapted for a British mini-series.

George E. Simpson is survived by daughter Anna-Claire and sister Jane.





Fumiko’s Confession



The film’s sound track is a bit annoying, but this short has an energy that’s undeniable. It’s called Fumiko no Kokuhaku (or Fumiko’s Confession) and apparently it’s an independent production produced by 21-year-old student and aspiring animator, Hiroyasu Ishida. Ishida has also posted a production blog (in Japanese) featuring storyboards, backgrounds and character designs.

Director/Animation/Background/3D CG/Editing/Sound: Hiroyasu Ishida (a.k.a. Tete)
Background/3D CG Textures: Yūko Iwase
3D CG Textures/Background: Kazuhiro Murakami
Animation: Tatsurō Kawano
3D CG Modeling: Yūsaku Nagata

(Thanks, Marc Gagnon and Anime News Network)

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Tim Burton’s MoMA Spot



The Tim Burton retrospective opens on November 22 at MoMA. Animation has played a significant role in Burton’s career, and continues to figure into his work as evidenced by this animated trailer he created to promote the exhibit:

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Suspended Animation provides online showcase for the non-Disney art of noted Disney artists

Jim Hill chats with Tenny Chonin, the former head of Artist Development for Walt Disney Animation Studios, about the new web-based gallery that she launched last month

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to get inside the Sorcerer Mickey building, you HAVE TO go check out the 1300 corridor.









Copyright Disney. All Rights Reserved

This is where the personal artwork of Walt Disney Animation Studios staffers is displayed. They literally just wrapped up this year’s Halloween show, which was full of kooky, crazy, creepy paintings.

It’s only when you look at all this art, the wide variety of styles & techniques that are on display here, that you then get a sense of the huge amount of talent that works for WDAS. All those artists and animators who hide their own lights under a bushel so that they can then better serve the project at hand (i.e. whatever animated short or feature Disney currently has in production).

Mind you, until just recently, the only way that you’d ever get to see any of these paintings was if you A) worked for Walt Disney Feature Animation or B) you managed to slip by Security. But all that changed late last month when SuspendedAnimationGallery.com officially threw open its virtual doors.














"The Columbia" by George Scribner. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery. All images protected by copyright

Founded by Tenny Chonin, WDAS’s former head of Artist Development, Suspended Animation Gallery looks to replicate the 1300 corridor experience online. Giving animation fans the chance to view – and possibly purchase – the non-Disney artwork of some of your favorite Disney artists.

“This is something that I’ve been thinking about doing for quite a while now,” Chonin said. “I actually bought the domain name three years ago. I wanted to create a showcase for all those talented people that I used to work with at Disney. Giving them the opportunity to reach out, expand the audience for their artwork.”

Tenny’s all about artists expanding their horizons. In the twelve years that she ran WDAS’s Artist Development program, she and a staff of up to 20 offered upwards of 200 courses. Each of them designed to give Disney staffers the chance to add to their skill sets.











Suspended Animation Gallery founder Tenny Chonin (left) and literary legend Ray Bradbury

“Mind you, we weren’t just offering drawing classes,” Chonin explained. “We had acting and improv classes, and as part of our lunchtime lecture series, we had creative talents such as Ray Bradbury & J.J. Abrams come in and talk about storytelling.”

And it wasn’t only animators who took advantage of these WDAS programs. Tenny recalled how several suits and production manager types decided to use Artist Development as a way to try to spread their wings.

“We actually had Ed Catmull come in and take a few of our sculpture classes,” Chonin continues. “Like everyone else who attended, he didn’t have to bring anything. We supplied all of the necessary materials. All he had to do was walk in the door.”












"Dance" by Mauro Maressa. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery All images protected by copyright

Tenny’s trying to bring that same sort of one-stop sensibility to SuspendedAnimationGallery.com. Make it easy for all the talented artists & animators who work at Disney to get their non-Disney artwork out in front of the public.

“I believe passionately in this idea,” Chonin stated. “The walls of my own home are covered with artwork like this. Paintings that I purchased over the years from people that I used to work with at Disney. I genuinely believe that there’s an audience out there that’s hungry for artwork like this. The non-Disney paintings & sculptures that Disney artists produce. I’m just hoping that Suspended Animation Gallery can become the online showcase for this material.”

As of this moment, SuspendedAnimationGallery.com only has the work of 10 Disney staffers on display. But given who decided to get in on the ground floor with Tenny – Mike Gabriel, Lisa Keene, Christopher Greco, Margie Daniels, Dan Platt among others – it appears that this online gallery is off to a really great start.











"Star Study 4" by Mike Gabriel. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery All images protected by copyright

Another 10 artists & animators are expected to sign on with Suspended Animation shortly. Which is why you should probably make a point of regularly circling back on this online art gallery. To see what new paintings & sculptures are now on display.

“That’s what we’re trying to do here,” Chonin concluded. “Create something that’s as memorable and dynamic as the 1300 corridor at Feature Animation is.”

Of course, the best part about SuspendedAnimationGallery.com is that you don’t have to sneak past the guards on the Burbank lot in order to see all of these paintings. All you have to do is stop, point & clink.












"Crossing Main" by Christopher Greco. Copyright 2009 Suspended Animation Gallery All images protected by copyright

Speaking of which … If you’d like to see some of the sculpture & artwork that Suspended Animation currently has on display / available for purchase, please click on this link.

FYI: If you'd like to meet Ms. Chonin in person, she'll be moderating a roundtable at the first annual CTN Animation Expo. Tenny will be sitting down with industry vets like Eric Goldberg & Chris Williams to discuss how they approached working on some of this year's biggest productions. Hosted by Animation Mentor, this sure-to-be-lively discussion -- entitled "An Animation Career Snapshot" -- will be held in Room 2 at the Burbank Convention Center on Sunday, November 22nd beginning at 12 noon.

For further information on the first CTN Animation Expo, please click on this link.





No charges in fatal police shooting of animator

Government prosecutors have decided against laying charges against a Vancouver police officer who shot an animator eight times on the street, killing him, more than two years ago.

And that decision is leaving the victim's father asking why civilian witnesses didn't provide input.

"I was told it was a thorough investigation and it would be a balanced report but, to me, it doesn't seem at all balanced," David Boyd told the Globe and Mail.

"An exhaustive review, involving senior prosecutors within the Criminal Justice Branch, has resulted in the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence to establish that the officer's use of force was excessive in the circumstances," the Criminal Justice Branch said in its seven-page report, which was released Monday.

Paul Boyd, an animator with Global Mechanic, died from gunshot wounds -- including a bullet to the head -- at the hands of Vancouver police on the night of August 13, 2007. The 39-year-old, who had suffered from bipolar disorder for two decades and had been severely depressed, allegedly attacked police with a bicycle chain. He was shot after a struggle with officers.

A director of Ed, Edd n' Eddy, he was the animator behind the intro sequence on the series. He was a director of The Mr. Hell Show, and provided animation for Gary Larson's Tales From the Far Side and Mucha Lucha!

Boyd had taught first-semester classical animation for the computer-generated animation course at the Vancouver Film School. He was also director of animation and -- with Matthew Charde -- co-executive producer of "Eat and Move," two hand-drawn Flash-animated television PSAs for the Province of Alberta.

The report said that when Boyd was free of symptoms, he was "a stable, intelligent and thoughtful person."

The officer who shot Boyd is still on duty.

Uncertain whether charges should have been laid, David Boyd said that he will need time to consult his family to decide his next step. But, he said, the report appears to rely solely on the observations of police officers involved in the incident.

"Very little weight seems to be given to the independent witnesses, so I am quite disappointed at that," he said.

The report said that Paul Boyd appeared cooperative at first when confronted by an officer, who drew his firearm, but that he swung the chain and began a struggle that injured two officers. One officer then fired nine shots, hitting the animator eight times.

The officer believed that Boyd had to be wearing body armor. He was not.

"While Mr. Boyd was struck and knocked down or partially knocked down by seven shots, he continued to get up and advance or attempt to get up and advance on the officer after each shot," said the statement.

The police officer fired a final shot to Boyd's head. "He did not get up again," the statement said.

Government spokesman Neil MacKenzie disputed David Boyd's criticism, contending that the Criminal Justice Branch considered the evidence of 55 civilian witnesses: "The branch proceeded on the basis of all of the available evidence."

But Boyd's father said it strains credibility to think that his son remained a threat after being shot multiple times.

"After being shot seven times, I can't see that he was a Terminator getting up and coming at them in an aggressive way after that. I find that very hard to believe," he said.

All involved in the investigation parties agree that Paul Boyd had stopped taking medication for his bipolar condition. While his father said his son generally was able to deal with his illness, he may not have been attentive to his own needs because of worry about his mother being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. That disease which killed her five months after the shooting.

In a statement, the Vancouver police expressed their condolences to Boyd's family. "We remain very sensitive to the needs of the mentally ill and their families and make it our highest priority to protect the safety of those in our care and custody," the statement read.

Bruce Brown of the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner stated that his office is monitoring a Vancouver Police Deparment professional standards investigation into the officer's conduct.

It's hardly surprising that an investigation led by the police department didn't end in charges against one of its officers, said the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association.

"The [Criminal Justice Branch] has acted as judge and jury and prevented this serious set of allegations from going to the truth-finding process of trial, something that simply wouldn't happen for a member of the public," said BCCLA executive director David Eby.

"If the outcome was so uncertain it took two years of investigation to come to this point, how can the CJB argue that a criminal conviction was not possible on the evidence?"





Chinese rip-off of Presto

Trying to find a free online version of Doug Sweetland’s Pixar short Presto, reader Michael Rianda instead found this: a Chinese knock-off. Rianda writes:

Some group of people completely reanimated and remodeled, a shot-for-shot remake of Presto (except for the crucial addition of a color changing iguana). And it’s a complete testament to the power of character animation. It’s the exact same story, timing and sound as Presto, except it’s about 100 times worse because the animation is so bad. The gags don’t come across, you don’t feel as much for the characters….it just doesn’t work.

Check it out in a side-by-side viewing for yourself: http://youtubedoubler.decenturl.com/presto-vs-presto

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Spanish Stop Motion Team Offers Evolutionary Ultimatum

Spaniard Pablo Llorens, the head of Potens Plastianimation, brought this thoughtful, 10-minute, stop-motion film to life. It’s titled El Ultimatum Evolutivo (The Evolutionary Ultimatum), and it was produced in conjunction with Setem. The film is a cautionary tale, aiming to illustrate the ill effects of wasteful consumption.







Keith Cares, But Dr. Tran Has a Boner

The new Dr. Tran Mail has arrived in your computer’s mail slot. It’s titled Keith Cares, but I think we can offically call this The Boner Episode. Big props to series creators Breehn Burns and Jason Johnson – and to artist/animator Mark Salisbury who must have 4 arms and 6 secret animation assistants hiding in his closet. More Dr. Tran awaits you over at Mondo Mini Shows (boner not included).







CH/CH From McBess IS/IS Awesome

Back in May, we posted the gorgeous music video for the Dead Pirates’ song (Dirty Melody) Wood. The band is led by McBess (aka Matthieu Bessudo), and you must stop reading right now and start watching this (short) video below, which Simon Landrein also helped on. (Why are you still reading?) It’s titled CH/CH, which means Chiasse & Chatte, and the project was completed in conjunction with The Mill.







Electric Playground Interviews Dave Filoni & Joel Aron on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars"

Electric Playground has posted two video interviews with cast and crew members of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, focusing on supervising director Dave Filoni and and CG supervisor Joel Aron. In both video interviews, the two discuss their roles on the show and what it's like to work on such an iconic property. Several cast members are also interviewed, including James Arnold Taylor (who demonstrates how he arrives at his Obi-Wan Kenobi character) and Dee Bradley Baker (who demonstrates several different clone trooper voices).





Upcoming "Justice League Unlimited" Animated Episodes Scheduled For Cartoon Network











Cartoon Network has released schedule details for the next two episodes of Justice League Unlimited slated to air in the coming weeks on the network.

Two more episodes of the fan-favorite Justice League Unlimited animated series are scheduled to air in the coming weeks on Cartoon Network. Airing Saturday nights in the 9:30pm (ET) timeslot on said network, the animated series runs as part of the new Saturday night "You Are Here!" programming block on Cartoon Network. Expanding upon the current "You Are Here" Friday night installment, the new Saturday block also includes reruns of the Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series along with other action-oriented programs. The upcoming Justice League Unlimited episode schedule details are available below.

Justice League Unlimited
Saturday, November 21st, 2009 at 9:30pm (ET) on Cartoon Network - "29 Chaos at the Earth's Core"
Supergirl, Stargirl and Green Lantern go to Skartaris, the fantastic, hidden world at the Earth's core, to help free it from the rule of a brutal dictator.

Justice League Unlimited
Saturday, December 5th, 2009 at 9:30pm (ET) on Cartoon Network - "30 To Another Shore"
Wonder Woman stumbles onto a plot to steal the powers hidden inside the 3000-year-old, frozen remains of the legendary hero, the Viking Prince.

Justice League Unlimited airs Saturday nights at 9:30pm (ET) as part of the "You Are Here" Saturday night programming block on Cartoon Network. Please note schedule details are subject to change without notice. Other Justice League Unlimited episode airdate details are available here.

Click here for further details on the Justice League Unlimited animated series.





Why Animation Keeps Expanding -- Part 13

Rentrak announces the reasons animation keeps booming.

1) G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
2) Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
3) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
4) Tinker Bell And The Lost Treasure
5) The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
6) The Proposal
7) Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
8) Aliens in the Attic
9) Twilight
10) Star Wars: The Clone Wars - The Complete Season One

So do the counting. Pure toonage occupies the 2nd, 4th, 7th and 10th positions. The semi-animated Transformers sits at #3, and there's dollops of animation sprinkled atop a couple of the others.

If you have the right skill sets, the odds are relatively high that you won't lack gainful employment.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden



Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden isn’t going to win any awards for its animation, but it packs a real punch as a short film. Actually, it’d be hard to screw up the story, which is a colorful recording by former baseball pitcher Dock Ellis describing how he pitched a no-hitter in 1970 while under the influence of LSD. Much of the short’s success comes from Ellis’s storytelling—his line “Ooh, I just made a touchdown” is hilarious even without drawings—while Blagden’s semi-realistic illustration style and oddball eye movements on the characters provide enough visual accompaniment to make it work. Even the amateurish filmmaking elements, like unnecessarily dividing the film up into parts, didn’t ruin the overall effect for me. Ellis, for his part, became an anti-drug crusader before he passed away last year.

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Raymond Scott, Doc!



Film editor Stan Warnow has made a documentary about his father, the musician/composer/inventor Raymond Scott. Deconstructing Dad: the Music, Machines and Mystery of Raymond Scott is now playing film festivals around the world. The six minute preview above explains it all, with commentary from musicians Mark Mothersbaugh, John Williams, historians Irwin Chusid, Will Friedwald, producer Hal Willner and many more. I can’t wait to see the whole thing.

(Thanks, Craig Clark)

(Thanks cartoon brew)





The Next Big Thing

So here comes the Game Changer.

... To observe Cameron directing "Avatar" is to witness filmmaking as it's never been done before. Whereas most movies add all of their visual effects in post-production, Cameron was able to see fully composited shots in real time: The actors he was directing may have been performing in front of a blank green screen, but Cameron's camera eyepiece -- not to mention giant 3-D television monitors -- immediately displayed lush, synthetic backgrounds ...

"The revolution, the change that Jim has brought about is that for the first time the CGI-created characters have a reality and an emotionality that completely conveys the actors' performances," said Tom Rothman, co-chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment. "That was the big leap -- that you would care about a CGI-created character."

Uh ... I guess these folks have never seen any other CGI-created characters before.

Maybe Avatar will be the greatest piece of movie-making since The Wizard of Oz, but when I saw the trailer in glorious Big Screen Three Dee, I thought:

"Gee. It's J. J. Abrams' Star Trek meets Bill Kroyer's Ferngully."

Which, I donno, might catapult us to new new heights in feature-length entertainment, but swear to God, I just don't see it.

Somebody please educate me, quick. Because when I see moving foregrounds, moving backgrounds, and lots of tumbling actors all wrapped inside three dimensions, I get a headache.

OTOH, it will undoubtedly have a stupendous opening weekend, it might be totally enchanting despite the trailer, and it has put a hell of a lot of animators and technical directors to work.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





THOR Bringing The Thunder In January

Marvel's big screen adaptation of 'Thor' is approaching it's start date. A tweet from Production Weekly provides the details.

Camera's roll on the God of Thunder in Los Angeles in Mid-January. The shoot then moves to Santa Fe, New Mexico in March and continues there until mid-April.

Kenneth Branagh is directing the film. Chris Hemsworth stars as the arrogant lightning lord, cast down to Midgard (that's "Earth" to you mortals), by the all-father Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins). He's plagued by the malevolent Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

Also cast are Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Jaime Alexander as the Lady Sif and Colm Feore.

Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige will produce 'Thor'. The film will be released in the US on May 20, 2011 and distributed by Paramount Pictures.





Times are tough! Creditors try to repossess Galactica









Collection agencies can be annoying here on Earth, but it's even worse in deep space.

We're not sure whether the crew of the Battlestar Galactica got a bit behind, or if it was a computer error, but whatever the reason, the Caprica Collection Agency starts badgering for those back payments in this fan video. Good thing Commander Adama and President Roslin know just how to handle the situation!

Check it out below.

News - 11/13/09...

The Trailer for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths

IGN DVD has premiered the trailer for Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths which you can watch using the player below.

Coming to stores in the spring, the movie is an original story from award-winning animation/comics writer Dwayne McDuffie ("Justice League") rooted in DC Comics' popular canon of "Crisis" stories. Bruce Timm is executive producer. Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu are co-directors.

In Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a "good" Lex Luthor (Chris Noth) arrives from an alternate universe to recruit the Justice League to help save his Earth from the Crime Syndicate, a gang of villainous characters with virtually identical super powers to the Justice League. What ensues is the ultimate battle of good versus evil in a war that threatens both planets and, through a diabolical plan launched by Owlman (James Woods), puts the balance of all existence in peril.

Mark Harmon voices Superman, William Baldwin is Batman, Gina Torres plays Super Woman and Bruce Davison voices the President.

Spongebob Helps Fanboy Set New Records for Nick

Last Friday, a new star-studded special featuring SpongeBob SquarePants, one of Nickelodeon’s most popular weapons of mass entertainment helped deliver huge numbers for the premiere of its newest series, Fanboy and Chum Chum. The special SpongeBob TV event (Nov. 6 at 8 p.m.) drew 7.7 million total viewers, ranking as basic cable’s number-one entertainment show for the week; and Nick’s new animated show Fanboy and Chum Chum (Friday, Nov. 6, 9 p.m.), set a new record as Nick’s highest-rated series premiere ever with kids 6-11 and 2-11.

SpongeBob “Truth or Square” also ranked as the week’s number-one program on all of TV with kids 6-11, tweens and K2-11. “Truth or Square” averaged a 12.5/4.4 million K2-11. The Friday, Nov. 6, debut of Fanboy and Chum Chum (9 p.m.) ranked as basic cable’s number-two telecast for the night—only behind SpongeBob SquarePants “Truth or Square”—and drew 5.8 million total viewers and 2.5 million K6-11. The CG-animated series’ second episode (Nov. 7, 10:30 a.m.)—brought in 5.4 million total viewers.

SpongeBob SquarePants “Truth or Square” featured guest appearances by Rosario Dawson, Craig Ferguson, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, LeBron James, P!nk, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog and Robin Williams. The special followed SpongeBob and the Bikini Bottom gang as they reminisce through a series of original, flashbacks and was narrated by Ricky Gervais. Gnarles Barkley also performed a cover of the famous SpongeBob theme song in a new stop-motion opening title sequence.

Created by Eric Robles, Fanboy and Chum Chum is a new CG-animated comedy spin-off from the Nicktoons Network anthology series Random! Cartoons. The hot toon centers on a fearless, comic book-loving 11-year-old named Fanboy and his best friend and trusty sidekick, Chum Chum.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





New TMNT Toon Comes Out of Shell on CW4Kids

A new 90-minute animated movie starring everyone’s favorite pizza-loving, evil-fighting turtles will makes its TV debut on Saturday, November 21st at 10 a.m. on The CW4Kids. Titled Turtles Forever, this animated special incorporates the three distinctive versions of the Turtles as they appeared in their original iterations: 1984 black and white comic book; late 1980s/early 1990s animated TV series; and their current animated series.

In this inventive movie, the Technodrome’s dimension-spanning powers causes present-day Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo babysitting the 1980s-era versions of themselves, while fighting older versions of villains Shredder and Krang. Time and space could unravel while the ninja tag-team extraordinaire battles across multiple dimensions!

Created by Kevin Eastman and Kevin Laird, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made their public premiere in May 1984 in a comic book published and distributed by Mirage Studios. A hugely successful TV series quickly followed in 1987, along with a record setting licensing program and three successful theatrical films. In 2003, the Turtles were re-introduced to a new generation through a fresh, new animated TV series, a CG-animated theatrical movie produced by Imagi Studios and new merchandising program. Last month, Nickelodeon bought the rights to the Turtles as it plans to launch a new CG-animated series featuring the timeless green crimefighters in the near future.



(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Cookie Jar’s Johnny Test Returns to Cartoon Network

Fans of ready-for-adventure Johnny Test and his genetically engineered super dog, Dukey, can look forward to a new season of the popular Cookie Jar show beginning Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m. on Cartoon Network. The cabler has committed to airing 26 episodes from the toon’s fourth season.

"Johnny Test has found great success on Cartoon Network over the past few years and the all-new season four promises to be just as entertaining for its fans,” says Tom Mazza, exec VP of Worldwide Television at Cookie Jar Entertainment.

Created by Scott Fellows, the man behind Nick’s Ned’s Declassifed School Survival Guide and a writer on The Fairly OddParents, Johnny Test debuted in 2005 on Kids' WB's Saturday morning lineup. The bright-looking 2D-animated show follows the adventures of the ultimate test pilot Johnny Test, his genetically engineered super dog, Dukey, and his 13-year-old brainiac twin sisters, Susan and Mary, who use Johnny as their guinea pig for their out-of-this-world scientific experiments.



(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema 2009








The Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema is back for its 9th edition, and festival organizer Joseph Chen has compiled another fantastic line-up of foreign animated features that can’t be found anywhere else in North America. Chen’s smart curation is yet another step towards challenging the ever-prevalent misconception in North America of animation as a kiddie art form. The selections include films that we’ve discussed on the site recently such as The Secret of Kells, Mary and Max, Panic in the Village and Boogie the Oily One, along with other features that hail from Russia, Serbia, Sweden, and Japan. There is also a retrospective of a couple vintage Russian animated features. The festival takes place from November 19-22 at the Gig Theatre (137 Ontario Street North) in Kitchener, Ontario. Film details as well as ticket info can be found on the festival website at WFAC.ca.

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Mark Bodnar exhibition








Artist Mark Bodnar has been having fun painting a new batch of his bizarre cartoon-inspired visions. His latest art show, “And We All Go”, will open on Friday November 6th at the La Luz de Jesus Gallery (4633 Hollywood Blvd.) in Los Feliz, and there is an opening reception Friday night from 8-11pm. The exhibit runs through November 29th - but you can see much of it online on the gallery website. Fun stuff!

(Thanks cartoon brew)





Stan Berkowitz recieves WGA animation award

Emmy award winning Stan Berkowitz, writer on a host of animated superhero shows and DC Universe movies, is to receive the Writers Guild of America West Animation Writers Caucus’ writing award tonight, for Lifetime Achievement. A full press release follows:

EMMY WINNER STAN BERKOWITZ TO RECEIVE WGAW’S 12th ANNUAL ANIMATION WRITERS CAUCUS WRITING AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT

Emmy-winning writer Stan Berkowitz is set to receive the Writers Guild of America, twelfth annual Animation Writing Award, recognizing his prolific career and creative contributions to the craft of film and television animation writing, as well as his efforts to organize animation on behalf of the Writers Guild.

The AWC’s prestigious lifetime achievement award will be presented to Berkowitz tonight, November 12, at the AWC’s annual awards ceremony held at WGAW headquarters in Los Angeles.

“While Stan has built an acclaimed writing career bringing superheroes to the screen, he’s a real-life superhero to the animation writing community – not only helping to raise the profile of animation writers through his many creative gifts, but also by playing a lead role in the Guild’s ongoing efforts to organize animation writing,” said WGAW President John Wells.

A two-time Daytime Emmy winner (shared for Batman Beyond in 2001 and The New Batman/Superman Adventures in 1998, Outstanding Special Class Animated Program), seven-time Daytime Emmy nominee, and one-time Primetime Emmy nominee, Berkowitz has most recently served as Story Editor for the upcoming animated superhero series, The 99, which was written under a Writers Guild contract.

Berkowitz’s many animated TV writing and/or co-writing credits include Legion of Super Heroes, The Batman, Transformers: Animated, Superman, Spider-Man, Justice League, The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Batman Beyond, Static Shock, Ben 10, The Brave and the Bold, and Friends and Heroes, a WGA-covered animated series for the BBC on which he served as Story Editor for 39 episodes.

Earlier this year, Berkowitz adapted Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’ Superman/Batman: Public Enemies graphic novel into an animated direct-to-DVD feature for Warners Animation, which debuted in September. Berkowitz’s previous adaptation of Darwyn Cooke’s graphic novel, Justice League: The New Frontier, became a best-selling direct-to-DVD animated feature last year.

Berkowitz’s live-action writing and/or co-writing television credits include Dragnet: The 90’s, Power Rangers: Space Patrol Delta, The New Adam 12, Players, Grand Slam, Houston Knights, Mike Hammer, T.J. Hooker, The Adventures of Superboy and Cover Up. His screenwriting credits include Street Corner Justice (Screenplay by Stan Berkowitz & Gary Kent & Chuck Bail, Story by Chuck Bail) and Acapulco Gold (Screenplay by Don Enright & O’Brian Tomalin, Story by David Lees & Stan Berkowitz).

Berkowitz began writing for animated TV programs in 1994, when he worked with the legendary Stan Lee on Spider-Man. Prior to that stint, Berkowitz freelanced as an entertainment journalist for Esquire, People, Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Magazine, New York Daily News and other publications, as well as working as a film preservationist. An L.A. native, Berkowitz earned his MFA screenwriting degree from UCLA. He currently lives in Westlake Village with his wife, Teagan Clive.

The WGAW’s AWC Animation Writing Award is given to members of the Animation Writers Caucus or Writers Guild who have advanced the literature of animation in film and/or television through the years and made outstanding contributions to the profession of the animation writer. Founded in 1994, the WGAW’s Animation Writers Caucus represents over 600 animation writers and works to advance economic and creative conditions in the field. Through organizing efforts, educational events, and networking opportunities, the AWC is a leading proponent for animation writers. Recent AWC Writing Award honorees include Brad Bird, Al Jean, Jules Feiffer, Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Michael Reiss, and the AWC’s 2008 recipient, Linda Woolverton.





The Dolphin: Story of a Dreamer

In case you were wondering, as I was, what the Oscar-qualifying feature film, The Dolphin, Story of a Dreamer, is: look no further:



Up has nothing to fear. 20th Century Fox is currently releasing the film in South America. UPDATE: Reader Eric Graf informs us that The Dolphin will play at the Laemmle Claremont 5 starting December 11 - same theater and week as A Town Called Panic, per the Laemmle Theatres website.

(Thanks, Matthew Gaastra)

(Thanks cartoon brew)





KNTV The Act Of Sex

You’ll be singing this one all day…



Believe it or not, this is from a kids show which just won a Scottish Bafta Award last week for Best Children’s TV! The KNTV Show is an educational TV program that has been broadcast on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom since 2006. Previous seasons tackled science and philosophy - this year they take a frank look at sex. Wikipedia describes the show this way:

The show is presented by two animated fictional teenagers from Eastern Europe (specifically the fictional state of “Slabovia”, the “last remaining communist state in Europe”), called Kierky and Nietschze, named after Søren Kierkegaard and Friedrich Nietzsche. The show melds comedy and education into one as form of edutainment.

If you enjoyed this video, you might enjoy the others devoted to Puberty, Pregnancy and the Male Body.





Parents Upset at "Glenn Martin, DDS" on Nickelodeon

The St. Petersburg Times reports that many parents are upset at Nickelodeon for airing Glenn Martin, DDS on the main Nickelodeon channel as early as 8:00 PM, meaning younger children will go from the silly antics of SpongeBob SquarePants to sex jokes and cartoon violence of Glenn Martin. A spokesperson for Nickelodeon stated that the complaints were minimal and there were no plans to move the sitcom from its current timeslot.





Why Animation Keeps Expanding -- Part 12

This will help explain why animation jobs continue in Los Angeles even as pieces of it are outsourced. The overall pie keeps expanding.

...[F]ilmmakers themselves may still think of their projects as "live action," the way James Cameron does "Avatar," but for those working below the line, there's no denying how dependent these films are on the discipline of animation. Speaking about "Avatar," co-production designer Rick Carter insists: "It's an absolute hybrid. It's got animation, and it's got live-action performances that are being recorded both with a camera and in a digital volume space (using) performance capture. Those two realms have come together to the sense where there's no real sense of pre-production, production, post-production." ...

See, many jobs stay close to production headquarters because A) schedules are tight and nobody can afford an overseas' screwup. (There is no time for a do-over.) B) On big-budget films, quality counts and if something costs $400,000 less, it's not crucial. But making a final product to the exacting specification of the movie's creator(s) is.

Southern California might have less of the overall production pyramid than it did forty-five years ago, but that pyramid is geometrically bigger, so overall there are more jobs than before.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Marvel's 'Super Hero Squad' Silver Surfer Is So Sweet He Hurts My Teeth

The "Marvel Super Hero Squad" cartoon premiered in September with a host of uber-cute versions of its characters, but the latest addition to the animated series' roster seemed worth a call-out. Boys and girls, check out the kid-friendly version of Marvel's wielder of the power cosmic: the sentinel of the spaceways known as... "silver britches"? Yes, it's the Silver Surfer.



While this is definitely my favorite of the series' too-cute character profiles thus far, I'm still waiting to see a profile of the cute-ified version of Captain America's Nazi-friendly nemesis, The Red Skull (as voiced by Mark Hamill).





Monsters Inc. Team Recalls Pixar Chimpanzee

Pixar’s Monsters, Inc. is out on Blu-ray this week, and the Disney/Pixar team has released this recollection experience with director Pete Docter and some of his team.

South Park Parodies Glenn Beck, Smurfs and Avatar

In case you didn’t catch it, Cartman took on a very Glenn Beck-ish role on last night’s new episode of South Park. Dances With Smurfs follows Cartman’s promotion to the host of the morning announcements.







Fortiche Scores Wii Game Promo

The team at Paris-based Fortiche Production produced this little promo for the Wii game Academy of Champions, which released on November 3rd. It’s by Ubisoft.







Syfy launching new series Outer Space Astronauts











Syfy will launch a band of animated misfits into space next month when Outer Space Astronauts premieres Tuesday, Dec. 8, at 9:30 p.m. (ET/PT) following the season finale of its hit reality series, Scare Tactics at 9 p.m. (ET/PT).

Outer Space Astronauts is a futuristic comedy series about eight vaguely courageous, highly distractible military personnel who journey to the far reaches of the galaxy seeking knowledge, adventure ... and whatever else they can come up with. The crew of the O.S.S. Oklahoma are led by a lackluster captain who would rather be planning the next "margarita Monday" than leading a mission against evil, much to the exasperation of his by-the-book second-in-command.

Series creator and executive producer Russell Barrett took a complete do-it-yourself/ hands-on approach to the creation of the show by developing, executing and editing the series right in his very home.

"The graphics may be basic and simple, but combining them with live-action elements has never been done in a series before," said Mark Stern, EVP Original Content Syfy & Co-Head Universal Cable Productions. "To say that it was a grassroots endeavor is an understatement. Russell literally produced this in his basement for more than a year, and that allowed him to create a unique series with a sharp, sly sense of humor."











According to Syfy, the cast of characters for the five-episode series includes:

Captain Bruce Ripley (Russell Barrett) is the worst captain in the fleet with the best reputation. He's uninterested, bored and sloppy, yet manages to always get the job done.
Commander Dick Amos (Adam Clinton) should be the leader of the ship, since he holds the most credentials than anyone, but even with his top performance record, Dick is always stuck behind the eight-ball.

Lieutenant Sunny Hunkle (Stephanie Clinton) With a name that equally matches her 'sunny' disposition, the sweetest girl in the galaxy gets along with everyone. She doesn't mind that her "secret relationship" with Dick should remain a secret; she's cool, calm and easy going.

Intern Jimmy Peck (Peter Burns) has been Captain Ripley's right-hand man since their college days. A bit simple-minded, or just eternally naïve, Jimmy has a way of coming through just when you thought he was completely useless.

Pilot Johnny Boothe (Benjamin Nurick) shouldn't be flying or driving anything, as he holds the most citations for reckless piloting out of anyone (a record he states proudly!). Boothe's disregard for safety and his addiction to speed, however, have saved many a day on board the O.S.S. Oklahoma.

Kyle 14 (voice: Jay Wendorff) is one of the first artificial humans to be given a post on an OSA ship. He's the most state-of-the-art android in existence and "waaaay better than the Kyle 13 model."

Chief Weapons Officer Andy Matheson (Laura Valdivia) has saved the life of every crewman on the ship more times than they can count. His enormous stature and history of big-time whuppin' sometimes intimidates his fellow crewmen, except for Brimley.

Weapons Officer Chad Brimley (Tony Bravo) likes to find others' weak spots and poke at them with a stick. He has excellent skills and is highly intelligent in weapons development and ammunition science, but his motivation for work isn't always top-notch.

Operations Officer Donna Kennedy (Dana Kirk) and technology don't mix. She tries in vain to hide her "fear of all things that plug in and beep" from the crew, but on a ship that functions solely on the latest technology, her technophobia gets the best of her.

Chief Mechanic Pinto (Steve Millunzi) is a human monkey wrench. If something is broken, Pinto can fix it—which is great, because things tend to break quite frequently!

Ka'ak (Jacey Margolis) is from another planet and skilled in all areas of space travel. Despite her supermodel looks, her mangled use of English is a good tip-off to her alien roots; not to mention her blood-red skin!

Outer Space Astronauts was created by Barrett and is executive-produced by Barrett, Scott Puckett and David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees).
















Syfy unveils Caprica key art











Syfy has released the key art for its upcoming series Caprica, and Maureen Ryan—aka The Watcher over at The Chicago Tribune—debuted the image that captures the spirit of the new show.

But you can check it out below.

"There's something really interesting about the idea of Zoe and the Eve metaphor," said Mark Stern, executive vice president of original content for Syfy and co-head of Universal Cable Productions, of the photograph featuring Alessandra Torresani as Caprica character Zoe Graystone.

The two-hour pilot of Caprica is now available on DVD and the Web; Caprica debuts on Syfy next year on Friday, Jan. 22, at 9/8C.



























Spider-Man arrested due to assault on Hollywood Boulevard













Turns out that the only person with less luck than Spider-Man ... is the poor Spider-Man impersonator.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Christopher Loomis was working Hollywood Boulevard in his Spidey suit, collecting tips from tourists by posing for pictures, when he allegedly slugged a man in the face and arms.

Once the victim refused to press charges, you'd think that would be the end of it, but Loomis was arrested when the police discovered he had outstanding misdemeanor warrants, and held him in lieu of $5,500 bail.












And it turns out that it wasn't so easy for the LAPD to find the alleged assailant, even though he was dressed in the bright red-and-blue costume. But when officers responded to a radio call reporting a battery by Spider-Man, they discovered four different people dressed like Spidey along the tourist-filled corridor that includes Grauman's Chinese Theater.

Can't wait to check tomorrow's Daily Bugle to see how J. Jonah Jameson covers the story!

















Nothing is sacred: Fright Night is being remade!










Goodbye cigarette-smoking, martini-drinking admen—hello bloodsucking, garlic-hating vampires!

Marti Noxon, writer-producer on the critically acclaimed Mad Men, has been hired to script a remake of Fright Night for DreamWorks, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But before you get all WTF, remember that Noxon was also writer-producer on both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, so it's actually a return to her roots.

The original Fright Night, released in 1985, starred Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowall and William Ragsdale, with Ragsdale playing a teenager who discovers his neighbors are vampires.

We'd normally be worried about tampering with a horror classic, but since Noxon has entertained us with both teens and vampires before, consider us cautiously hopeful.

News - 11/12/09...

These 20 toon movies are competing for the Oscar nomination









Monsters vs. Aliens

The people behind the Oscars released their short list of animated movies vying for the Academy Award for best animated movie, and the list of 20 contenders pretty much encompasses all of the major toons that were released this year (or are still awaiting release).










Ponyo

They are:

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Astro Boy
Battle for Terra
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
Coraline
Disney's A Christmas Carol
The Dolphin - Story of a Dreamer
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Mary and Max
The Missing Lynx
Monsters vs. Aliens
9
Planet 51
Ponyo
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
A Town Called Panic
Up

The list will be winnowed down to five official nominations for the Oscar, which will be announced on Feb. 2, 2010.

Our choices? Up, Ponyo, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Monsters vs. Aliens and The Princess and the Frog. But that's just us. What do you think?

The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony will air March 7, 2010, on ABC.





More Cheatin’ From Bill Pympton

Back in October, we posted a 4-minute pencil test from Bill Plympton’s upcoming short Cheatin’. Today Plympton posted the second part:







againstallodds Gets Details Right For GIO

Swedish animation squad againstallodds, who are rep’d by XYZ, recently created this new, stylish CG spot for GIO Insurance. The ad, titled We Cover Details, is the first of two they created for the campaign, which was overseen by Leo Burnett, Sydney.







Slinky Pictures Delivers Viral Cut For Ax Men

Slinky Pictures director/co-founder Chris Shepherd chopped through this recent viral short for the History Channel. It promotes Ax Men, the reality show that follows various logging crews, and Shepherd was joined by animators Jason Kotey and Rob Ward on the project. Rob Neilson and Jack Stephens at Karmarama initiated the concept.







Secret of Kells gets US distribution, Oscar run

US distributor GKIDS has announced they will be bringing Irish director Tomm Moore’s animated film The Secret of Kells to U.S. audiences. Opening March 12, 2010, the film will first get an Oscar qualifying run in LA starting December 4. “Magic, fantasy, and Celtic mythology come together” in the story of young boy who meets a mysterious young wolf-girl while on a dangerous quest to help defend his people from barbarian raids”. More info about the movie follows.

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE: GKIDS, a distributor of independent films for family and art-house audiences, and the European sales agent Celluloid Dreams announced today that GKIDS has acquired US distribution rights to The Secret of Kells, the highly anticipated new animated film from Irish director Tomm Moore. The film was an official selection at Berlin, made its US premiere at NY Int’l Children’s Film Festival, won the Audience Award at Annecy, and was the first animated feature to win the Audience Award at Edinburgh. The Secret of Kells is a France/Belgium/Ireland co-production of Les Armateurs, Viva Film, Cartoon Saloon and France 2 Cinema and features the voices of Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, In Bruges), Evan McGuire and Christen Mooney. The deal for The Secret of Kells was negotiated by Eric Beckman for GKIDS and Hengameh Panahi for Celluloid Dreams.

An Academy qualifying run is set for Dec 4-10 at the AMC Burbank 8 in Los Angeles. Showtimes are 7 PM on weekdays and 2 PM on weekends. The film will be released theatrically in the US in March 2010.

Eric Beckman, President of GKIDS Inc. said, “ The Secret of Kells is a visually unique and exciting fantasy adventure that reinvigorates 2D animation as both a peerless art form and viable commercial medium. It is an absolutely stunning film with universal appeal for adults, families, animation fans, and anyone who loves beautiful, meaningful storytelling.” GKIDS president Eric Beckman is also founder and director of New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival.

Hengameh Panahi, President of Celluloid Dreams said, “Like Celluloid Dreams, GKIDS brings passion, energy, and innovative thinking to promote a new vision of cinema for young people. We are happy to work with them to introduce high-quality independent and foreign film to American family audiences!”

SYNOPSIS:
Magic, fantasy, and Celtic mythology come together in a riot of color and detail that dazzle the eyes, in this sweeping story about the power of imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times. Young Brendan lives in the Abbey of Kells, a remote medieval outpost, where he works to fortify the abbey walls against barbarian raids. One day a celebrated master illuminator arrives from foreign lands carrying an ancient but unfinished book, brimming with secret wisdom and powers. To help complete the magical book, Brendan has to overcome his deepest fears on a dangerous quest that takes him beyond the abbey’s walls and into the enchanted forest, where mythical creatures hide. It is here that he meets the fairy Aisling, a mysterious young wolf-girl, who helps him along the way. But with the barbarians closing in, will Brendan’s determination and artistic vision illuminate the darkness and show that enlightenment is the best fortification against evil?





Cartoon Network Boutiques Open in Toys R Us Stores

Animated series Ben 10: Alien Force, Bakugan and The Secret Saturdays will be featured prominently in a dedicated Cartoon Network boutique this month in every Toys R Us store.

Open now, the boutiques will offer merchandise — including exclusive items — from multiple product categories during a key time in the holiday shopping season.

“Toys R Us continues to be a terrific, long-standing retail partner for us and our brands, and we are proud to showcase this chainwide Cartoon Network retail destination as we kick off the holiday shopping season,” said Christina Miller, senior VP of Cartoon Network Enterprises. “The unique, multi-category shopping experience we have created is guaranteed to generate strong excitement around our brands and the must-have products from our licensing partners.”

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





Raksis Named New LAIKA CFO

Gary Raksis, former head of strategic planning and corporate finance for DreamWorks Animation, has joined LAIKA as chief financial officer.

Raksis will be in charge of business operations and exploiting growth opportunities for the Portland, Ore.-based studio, which released earlier this year its first feature film, Coraline.

“Gary brings an exceptional range of financial management experience to LAIKA that will be invaluable to our evolution and success,” says LAIKA president and CEO Travis Knight. “His extraordinary business acumen, rare creative sensitivity, and steady governance will provide a foundation for boldly innovative and visionary leadership in our business operations. We are thrilled that Gary has joined the LAIKA family.”

Raksis held several financial roles at DreamWorks prior to being named head of strategic planning and corporate finance in 2004. Prior to DreamWorks, he worked as a research analyst at William O’Neil and Co. and is a graduate of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Raksis succeeds Alan Keith, who left his job as LAIKA CFO last year to take on the same role at ImageMovers Digital.

(Thanks Animation Magazine)





"Ice Age" sequel among People's Choice nominees

Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" and Pixar-Disney's "Up" are among the contenders in the family movie category of the People's Choice Awards.

Nominees in 35 categories were announced Tuesday.

Also vying for favorite family movie are the live-action Hannah Montana: The Movie, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian and Where the Wild Things Are.

Fans cast over 18 million votes online to choose this year's nominees. They will also select the winners.

Among the nominees for new TV comedy is Fox's The Cleveland Show. It's running against Accidentally on Purpose, Brothers, Community, Cougar Town, Glee, Hank, The Middle and Modern Family.

Queen Latifah is scheduled to host the PCAs at the Nokia Theatre. The ceremony will be broadcast live January 6 on CBS.

Fans can make their choices for the winners online at www.peopleschoice.com.





"Super Hero Squad Show" Moves to Primetime on Saturdays on Cartoon Network

Marvel Entertainment has issued a press release announcing that The Super Hero Squad Show was added to Cartoon Network's prime-time lineup starting last Saturday, November 7, 2009, at 7:30 PM (Eastern presumed). The new show has become the #1 show on the network for boys 6-8 and has grown its audience in that demographic by nearly 30% since its debut on September 19.

The full press release follows:

The Super Hero Squad Show Moves To Primetime on Cartoon Network!








(click to enlarge)

MANHATTAN BEACH, CALIFORNIA (November 9, 2009) – On Saturday morning, September 19th, The Super Hero Squad Show burst onto television screens across the nation on Cartoon Network to rave reviews and a huge audience. It instantly became the Network’s #1 show for Boys 6-8 and has continued its heroic growth in that demographic, increasing that audience by nearly 30%.

Thanks to the tremendous success the show has seen on Saturday mornings, the greatest Super Heroes in the Marvel Universe are ready to make the leap to primetime! Starting this past Saturday, November 7th, The Super Hero Squad Show made its heroic debut on Saturday nights at 7:30PM as part of Cartoon Network’s incredible prime time line-up.

Check out your favorite Marvel Heroes -- including Iron Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Thor, Silver Surfer and Falcon -- as they fight to save Super Hero City from Dr. Doom’s team of villains… and have a few laughs along the way! Can’t get enough of this action-packed comedy series? Fear not, The Super Hero Squad Show will continue to air weekdays Monday through Friday at 8:30AM.

The Super Hero Squad Show
When the greatest (and coolest) heroes on the planet unite to face the world’s greatest villains, you get the biggest, most family-friendly Super Hero team-up in TV history. It’s no small job protecting Super Hero City from the wild, weird (& even wacky) villainy of VillainVille’s infamous baddies… but the Super Hero Squad is always up for the job. These brave heroes totally deliver the action – but with plenty of humor on the side.

The Super Hero Squad Show Cartoon Network US Program Schedule:
Date: Saturdays at 7:30PM starting November 7th
Monday through Friday at 8:30AM





Disneyana

The hat building is lovely in November, with the fall foliage on Riverside Drive in full force.

Storywork and production on Pooh are moving along. As a staffer told me:

"We had our third screening of Winnie the Pooh with John Lasseter, and the picture's in good shape. John loves the characters. In fact, some sequences go to workbook next week and animation will be starting up. There's already been some test animation in color.

"This picture has just zipped along. We took dialogue out of the Milne books, the storyboard artists added some of their own, then the directors Don Hall and Steve Anderson polished it. We didn't have an outside writer on it, just the board artists and the directors. I think the whole picture will be done by next summer ..."

The stereo conversion of Beauty and the Beast is coming to a close. A couple of people down on the first floor said that there's one more week to go and then they're done.

Originally B and B was supposed to come out on Valentine's Day, but now it's set up for a twentieth anniversary release.

"The 3-D conversion came out well, I think. We got the characters rounded and shaded. They don't look like cardboard cutouts in a ViewMaster ..."

I suppose we'll get to see for ourselves in 2001. Meanwhile, Disney and IM Digital would like to have the surviving Beatles participate in its Yellow Submarine remake:

... In an interview with MTV News, [Robert] Zemeckis indicated that Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr have been approached to participate in the film, although he did not say in what capacity ...

The Mouse charges ahead on many fronts.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Sony Ticks Off Theatre Owners

Gee. For some reason Sony has irritated AMC and others.

Exhibitors are hot over Sony's decision to release animated feature "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" digitally on Dec. 8, or less than three months after its theatrical opening.

Sony stirred the "Meatballs" controversy by announcing this week that the $121 million domestic grosser would be made available for early home entertainment viewing by owners of Internet-enabled TV sets and certain Blu-ray Disc players ...

I can understand theatre chains not liking early DVD releases of hit films still in circulation. It smothers grosses as soon as the news gets out. And theatre owners, of course, have ways of fighting back.

... "Meatballs" ... played last weekend in a total 1,126 venues and was expected to shed at least a few hundred engagements starting Friday. As a result of the exhib protest, "Meatballs" could play in as few as 300 theaters beginning this weekend.

"Meatballs" rung up $1.3 million last weekend. So the accelerated wind-down to the pic's theatrical campaign likely will cause a modest but quantifiable revenue loss for Sony.

I hope Sony makes up in DVDs sales what it loses in theatrical revenues. (Christmas comes but once a year.) This kind of wheeling and dealing is probably going to increase as we move deeper into the 21st century.

(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)





Live-Action Family Guy Chicken Fight

The UK’s FX network recently released this live-action version of the infamous chicken fight from Family Guy.







Viner Fuels Up SUV-asaurus For Suzuki

Liquid Animation director Mike Viner helmed this recent CG spot that promotes Suzuki cars. It introduces the SUV-asaurus, something I could see kids going absolutely dino-crazy for. The ad agency on the gig was Siltanen & Partners Advertising.







Boucher Opens TropicalCircus Early

Even without sound, this recent school project from Laurent Boucher still hits the right note. The character design, lighting and background layouts are all simply breathtaking. Boucher is a student Bellecour Ecoles d’Art in Lyon, France. The short is titled TropicalCircus.







More Flash-Animated Moby Music

Back in September, we posted a Flash-animated music video for Moby’s track Mistake. It was directed by Robert Powers, as was this video below, titled One Time We Lived. Ian Jones-Quartey (nockFORCE) also helped out, animating the dancing cycles and lip-sync.







Chainsaw Cuts Into Cat Slap

Oh, you think a chainsaw can stop this cat from slapping, do you? Well you’ll just have to watch and find out, and then we’ll see who’s the genius here. This is the latest episode of Alan Foreman’s Flash-animated series Cat Slap, titled Chainsaw, which is part of the Mondo Mini Shows network.







The Look of Mr. Fox

Comingsoon.net has a behind-the-scenes article about how director Wes Anderson and his team achieved the unique look of the stop-motion animated comedy Fantastic Mr. Fox. Starring George Clooney and based on the book by Roald Dahl, Mr. Fox opens in limited release on Friday before going nationwide on November 25th.





"Crashbox," "Catdog" writer Sultan Pepper dies, 47

Emmy-winning comedy writer Sultan Pepper, who scripted such TV series as the animated Crashbox and CatDog, died suddenly October 20 in Murrieta, California. She was 47.

Pepper shared an Emmy in 1993 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Writing in a Variety or Music Program in connection with an episode of The Ben Stiller Show. She was the only woman on the writing team, which included Stiller, Judd Apatow and David Cross.

Featuring Stiller as the host, Crashbox aired on HBO Family from 1999 to 2004. Cuppa Coffee Animation's first long-form series, it used over 20 different animation styles, including stop-motion, cel animation, mixed media, claymation and cutout animation, as well as puppetry and live action.

Co-produced by Peter Hannan Productions and Nicktoons, CatDog ran on Nick from 1998 to 2000.

Pepper was a story consultant on Whatever Happened To Robot Jones?, a 2000 short airing on Cartoon Network's What A Cartoon! Show. It became a successful pilot for a 2002 series.

She also wrote In Search Of Big Byoo-Tox, a 1999 episode of Nicktoons' The Angry Beavers.

For two seasons, Pepper was a writer on Fox's Mad TV. During this time, the writing team was nominated in 2004 and 2005 for WGA Awards.

A UCLA graduate, Pepper spent a semester at Oxford University, where she interned with the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Pepper wrote for such 1990s series as The Stephanie Miller Show, one of the few late-night TV talk shows hosted by a woman. She was a writer-producer on Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, as well as such reality series as Blind Date and Street Smarts.

In 2002, she began a one-year development deal at Sony/Columbia TriStar. There, she was a writer and producer on several TV projects, including The Rerun Show, Pyramid and Shipmates.

Sultan Pepper is survived by her parents, Teresa and Jack Pepper. A private memorial is planned.





Latest "Justice League," "Batman: The Brave And The Bold" DVD Releases Now Available

Two new DVD home video releases collecting episodes from Justice League and Batman: The Brave and The Bold are now available courtesy of Warner Home Video.

The latest volume release for the popular series, Batman: The Brave and The Bold - Volume Two is now available to own on DVD, collecting four more episodes from the Cartoon Network animated series. This new home video release from Warner Home Entertainment includes the episodes "Day of the Dark Knight!," "Enter the Outsiders!," "Dawn of the Dead Man!," and "Fall of the Blue Beetle!" Also now available is the Justice League: The Complete Series DVD collection, collecting the previous Justice League and Justice League Unlimited DVD season releases into one box set with new bonus features. The new bonus features include a new retrospective featurette and trailers. Both titles were officially released yesterday. Package art for both new release are available below.

















Details on the previous Justice League and Batman: The Brave and The Bold DVD releases are available here at The World's Finest and on The DC Animation Forum. Click on the links below for both further details on and to discuss the new Batman: The Brave and The Bold - Volume Two and Justice League: The Complete Series DVD home video releases.

Warner Home Video has already announced plans to release the upcoming DVD title Batman: The Brave and The Bold - Volume Three on January 19th, 2010. Five more episodes are included in the upcoming release. Further details on that release are forthcoming.





Star Trek's Roddenberry finally honored by TV Hall of Fame










Gene Roddenberry, right, with his former wife, Majel

It seems that in television, honor—like revenge—is a dish best served cold. Thus it is that the TV Academy Hall of Fame has decided to induct Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry into its pantheon, 18 years after his death and long after he had much to do with the franchise he created.

Roddenberry is only one of several TV legends to receive the belated honor, including the comedy duo Tom and Dick Smothers, Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen, Saturday Night Live and game show announcer Don Pardo, The Price Is Right creator Bob Stewart and Emmy-award winning art director Charles Lisanby. Better late than never, right?

Here's how Reuters reported it:

"This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture and entertained us royally while doing so," said Television Academy chairman John Shaffner.

No explanation for the delay. I guess, as Khan said in Star Trek II, it's very cold in space.





Kick-Ass trailer kicks, well, you know (video)













Nicolas Cage (left) and Chloe Moretz

A new trailer has gone live on MySpace.com for Kick-Ass, the upcoming satiric superhero movie based on Mark Millar's comic series.

The movie stars Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage and Chloe Moretz and was directed by Matthew Vaughn.

The film tells the story of average teenager Dave Lizewski (Johnson), a comic-book fanboy who decides to take his obsession as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. As any good superhero would, he chooses a new name—Kick-Ass—assembles a suit and mask to wear, and gets to work fighting crime. There's only one problem standing in his way: Kick-Ass has absolutely no superpowers. His life is forever changed as he inspires a subculture of copycats, is hunted by assorted violent and unpleasant characters and meets up with a pair of crazed vigilantes, including an 11-year-old sword-wielding dynamo, Hit Girl (Moretz) and her father, Big Daddy (Cage).

Kick-Ass opens April 16, 2010.







'Shazam' Writer Wanted Ryan Reynolds For Captain Marvel, Denies 'Darker' Tone

Bill Birch, the co-writer of the upcoming “Shazam” feature film has revealed that Ryan Reynolds was his first choice to portray Captain Marvel on the big screen.

“I always thought Ryan Reynolds would have been interesting but now that he’s Green Lantern that’s not an option,” Birch told Cinefools. Birch also elaborated on whether he believes Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is still onboard to play Captain Marvel’s nemesis, Black Adam.

“My rule of thumb is that no actor is committed to do a movie until the first day of shooting is over with,” Birch explained. “I know that ['Shazam' Director] Pete Segal and Dwayne have a relationship that was solidified when Pete directed 'Get Smart.' As far as him being committed? I'm sure it'll all depend on the script.”

The “Shazam” film received a much needed jolt back in August when it was announced that comic scribe Geoff Johns had signed on to co-write the script with Birch. Birch also stated that he and Johns are writing a completely new draft, confirming what Johnson told MTV News back in March.

“Geoff and I are in the thick of it, creating a kickass update that still honors the lore that's been created in over 50 years of Marvel storylines.” Birch said.

In the wake of “The Dark Knight”, there were rumors that Warner Brothers wanted all subsequent DC Superhero movies to feature a similar dark tone. These rumors gained credence when former “Shazam” screenwriter John August said that the studio wanted the film to be “edgier.” However, Birch was quick to shoot down that speculation.

“The way the story is shaking out, Geoff and I see this not as 'dark' as ‘Dark Knight’ but definitely as cool. It'll probably end up with a PG-13 rating,” Birch related. “Tonally I think it's important to successfully find the balance of comedy and danger in the story. That’s a major aspect I’m focusing on. Frankly hitting the right tone is what’s going to either get this made or keep it in development hell.”





Viggo Mortensen Discusses Potential Aragorn Role In 'The Hobbit'

A few months ago, Viggo Mortensen told MTV that he could see his "Lord of the Rings" character, Aragorn, popping up in a film meant to bridge the stories between "The Hobbit" and the "Rings" trilogy. The only problem there is that the bridge chapter is looking increasingly unlikely.



Then again, maybe not. "Hobbit" director Guillermo del Toro may have ruled out the possibility of directing the bridge movie, but that doesn't mean someone else -- even Peter Jackson himself -- can't step in to do it. That's what I find most interesting about Mortensen's words in a recent interview with ComingSoon. It sounds like he's clearer on the franchise plans since we last spoke from him, and still that talk of a bridge film persists...

"My character is around at times--in the middle, but it would only be if they made a second movie or connecting movie that connected 'The Hobbit' to 'The Lord of the Rings' that I might appear, which would be great," Mortensen said.

In fairness, Jackson told Latino Review a few months ago that any talk of a bridge movie at this point is "speculative." But there's no denying the series' profitability; if the two "Hobbit" movies are done in a reasonable amount of time, schedules line up and a worthy story is conceived, it's a safe bet that at least some effort will be putting into setting up that bridge.

For now though, everyone is focused on just getting the opening chapter of "The Hobbit" out of the way. "I think they're just worried about shooting the first part of that movie which doesn't involve my character," Mortensen said.





Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse' Canceled By Fox

"Dollhouse" fans, the news you've been dreading has officially arrived—Joss Whedon's latest television endeavor is dead.

The Hollywood Reporter has the breaking news that Fox has canceled "Dollhouse," the Eliza Dushku-starring series created by Whedon. The article notes that despite a DVR-induced ratings bump, "Dollhouse" just couldn't cut it by the network's standards. As a result, the series will be put out to pasture after the 13th episode of the second season. Episode 11 is currently filming.

If the ratings and the mixed reaction from fans and reviewers weren't proof enough that "Dollhouse" was in trouble, the very fact that Fox pulled the series from November sweeps was a clear indicator of the show's impending cancellation.

Now, it appears that Fox won't even wait on the performance of the previously announced "Dollhouse" doubleheaders set to air throughout December. In fact, according to THR, it's unclear whether the remaining episodes — which include the debut of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" star Summer Glau — will even air at all.

To be honest, I'm torn about the news. "Dollhouse" has been a mixed bag since its initial episodes, but when it's on, it's really on. The first year's final string of episodes paved the way for a stronger, more mythologically-focused second season, but that potential hasn't been realized yet. Echo's story continues to be a slow burn, even if it is admittedly faster than last year. The assignment-of-the-week formula remains in place, even though this season was well-positioned to pursue overarching story elements. Two of the show's most prized actors — Alan Tudyk and Amy Acker — are rarely if ever seen these days, admittedly due to forces beyond Whedon's control.

Fans might blame the death of "Dollhouse" on Fox given the network's premature cancellation of Whedon's "Firefly," but that seems misplaced to me. Could Fox have had more patience and faith in Whedon's vision for the series? Absolutely. But Whedon and his writers had to work with what they could — and the results, this year at least, are speaking for themselves right now.

Hopefully the final run of episodes lives up to the hype promised in "Epitaph One." With two episodes yet to be filmed, I still have hope that "Dollhouse" can go out with a creative bang, if not a commercial one.





2012: 15 doomsday prophecies and how they turned out









2012

Not many people working today, aside from Blofeld or maybe Lex Luthor, have hatched as many plots to destroy the world as director Roland Emmerich (certainly not on such a grand scale). In Independence Day, he used a worldwide alien assault to blast human civilization to rubble. In The Day After Tomorrow, he flooded the world and then flash-froze it like some kind of Clarence Birdseye with delusions of godhood.

Emmerich is prepping his new disaster movie 2012 for release on Friday. This time he's basing his world-smashing destruction on a bunch of theories floating around the blogosphere and the nutosphere that state that the world will end sometime during late 2012, around the time of the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

So, in light of Emmerich's new plot to destroy the world, and with tinfoil hats firmly in place, we thought it'd be worthwhile to look over 15 end-of-the-world prophecies from the past 1800 years or so and see how they turned out. (Emmerich's 2012 opens Nov. 13, ensuring at minimum three years of box office returns.)












Date World Ends: 500 A.D.

Type of Prophecy: Biblical apocalypse.

Prophet: Roman theologian Sextus Julius Africanus

Details: Africanus, writing in the early 220s, uses the Bible as a template to puree Chaldean, Judaic and Egyptian history with Greek mythology and Christianity in his five-volume Chronographiai. After hammering out the entirety of history from the moment of creation to the year 221 (let's give the guy points for ambition), he works out that the second coming would happen at the very latest by 500 A.D.

How It Turned Out: World still here.













Otto III

Date World Ends: 1000 A.D.

Type of Prophecy: Biblical apocalypse/millennial

Prophet: Trend started by Thiota of Mainz and picked up by Holy Roman Emperor Otto III and others

Details: Apocalypses love nice, round numbers, and what could be rounder than Y1K? With a good priming of the cultural pump from the so-called "pseudo-prophetess" Thiota in 847, Medieval Europe was psyched for the second coming and the start of the Millennium, the 1,000-year reign of Jesus and the righteous mentioned in the Book of Revelation. That Thiota later admitted she was in the apocalypse biz strictly for the cash should have clued people in on how seriously they should take end-of-the-world rants. The looming advent of the year 1000 led to all kinds of fun things, like Holy Roman Emperor Otto III believing himself destined to counter the coming Antichrist; visionary cults; self-flagellation cults; the disinterring of the body of Charlemagne so that he can get up and fight the Antichrist like some kind of Romero super-zombie and other things people would reasonably assume that John Cleese, Graham Chapman and company only made up for Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

How It Turned Out: World still here.









Date World Ends: 1340s-1350s

Type of Prophecy: The Black Death

Prophet: Simon de Covino, Matteo Villani, others

Details: Well, with most of the world dying while covered in enormous, frostbite-colored sacs of pus from India to Iceland, thinking the world was about to end might not have seemed that unreasonable a supposition. Great fun abounds in the new iconography of the era, with skeletons (scary ones, not the Tim Burton-y, singing kind) carrying off the living. French doctor de Covino of Liège says that it seems as if one infected person "can infect the whole world." Florentine chronicler Villani thinks the plague was "divine action" the purpose of which might be to wipe out humanity, like the biblical flood.

How It Turned Out: Europe devastated, but world still here.










William Miller

Date World Ends: 1843-44

Type of Prophecy: Biblical apocalypse

Prophet: William Miller

Details: The Great Disappointment. Miller, founder of the (you guessed it) Millerite movement, works his way through the Book of Daniel and figures out with AIG mortgage-calculator certainty that the world will end in 1843. When that doesn't happen, some of his followers firmly set the date as Oct. 22, 1844. This really was a Disappointment, as many of Miller's followers sold everything they owned in anticipation of the second coming. Today, of course, having misled lots of people and causing them to lose their homes and driving them into bankruptcy, Miller would get a $50 million bonus.

How It Turned Out: World still here.












Date World Ends: 1919

Type of Prophecy: Scientific catastrophe

Prophet: Albert Porta

Details: Porta, a meteorologist at the University of Michigan, predicts that during the third week of December 1919, an unprecedentedly humongous sunspot would occur, due to the "electro-magnetic pull" on the sun exerted by the alignment of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune. He loses his job ... which may be the reason terrestrial meteorologists don't work in astronomy much these days.

How It Turned Out: World still here.










Date World Ends: 1921

Type of Prophecy: Scientific catastrophe

Prophet: Henry Adams

Details: Adams, one of the great thinkers of American history, author of books like Democracy and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Education of Henry Adams, works out when the end of the world will come in his 1910 treatise, Letter to American Teachers of History. Cranking out analysis of cultural trends that would do Hari Seldon proud, he uses a model based on the dissipation of energy to figure out the four stages of human civilization—the religious, the mechanical, the electrical and the ethereal—and nails with certainty that the end will come in 1921. No calculations are made on the dissipation of energy expended by the disseminating of crackpot theories, which may have thrown off Adams' results.

How It Turned Out: World still here.













Date World Ends: March 10, 1982

Type of Prophecy: Scientific catastrophe "The Jupiter Effect"

Prophet: John Gribbin and Stephen Plagemann

Details: In their best-selling 1974 book The Jupiter Effect, respected astronomer Gribbin and his co-author Plagemann predict that the March 10, 1982, alignment of seven planets would lead to global upheavals that would be the envy of Irwin Allen, with the San Andreas fault flattening California, massive storms, a change in the speed of Earth's rotation, etc. Gribbin eventually recants, maybe after thinking about what happened to Porta. The high tide on the predicted doomsday does turn out to be a less-than-tsunami-like .04 millimeters higher than normal. San Diego astronomer Dennis Rawlins tells The New York Times that day that any undue gravitational pull individuals feel can be alleviated by "sitting down."

How It Turned Out: World still here, but .04 millimeters wetter.

















Date World Ends: 1988/2007

Type of Prophecy: Biblical apocalypse

Prophet: Hal Lindsey

Details: Lindsey's 1968 book, The Late, Great Planet Earth, predicts the end of the world in 1988, one biblical generation (40 years) after the foundation of the state of Israel. When 1948 doesn't suit him any more as a date by which to gauge the start of a 40-year generation, Lindsey decides that 1967 is more accurate. So, that would place 2007 as the end of the world. What's today's date?

How It Turned Out: World still here.









Date World Ends: 1988/1989/1990/1993

Type of Prophecy: Biblical apocalypse/Rapture

Prophet: Edgar Whisenant

Details: In 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, Whisenant, a NASA engineer, does some serious crunching of numerical clues in the Bible and locks down the date of the Rapture, solidly, as coming between Sept. 11 and 13, 1988. His book sells millions of copies. Overeager Edgar even says, "Only if the Bible is in error am I wrong, and I say that to every preacher in town." Undaunted, and determined to make apocalyptic lemonade out of his gaffe, Whisenant uses failure of the Rapture coming as an opportunity to sell more books as he pushes the date back to 1989. Then to 1990. And then 1993 ...

How It Turned Out: World still here.












Shoko Asahara

Date World Ends: 1995

Type of Prophecy: Nostradamus/various

Prophet: Shoko Asahara

Details: In 1987, Chizuo Matsumoto renames himself Shoko Asahara and mashes together various aspects of Buddhism, chunks of Nostradamus' predictions, apocalyptic Christianity, science fiction, Hinduism, anime and yoga into Aum Shinrikyo ("Supreme Truth"), an Armageddon-focused cult based in Japan, with tens of thousands of members worldwide. After proclaiming himself a new Christ, traveling to the year 2006 and talking to the survivors of World War III (so he claims), Asahara preps his followers for a Final War against the enemies of Japan. After a few botched attempts at initiating germ warfare, Aum Shinrikyo spreads deadly nerve gas through the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 and injuring thousands in March 1995. After an eight-year trial, Asahara is convicted and sentenced to death.

How It Turned Out: World—and Asahara—still here, awaiting execution.












Nostradamus

Date World Ends: 1999

Type of Prophecy: Nostradamus

Prophet: Nostradamus

Details: Nostradamus, writing in 1555, predicts the end of the world for the year 1999. Maybe. Or he predicts a meteor strike that will kill millions and throw the world into political chaos. Maybe. Or it could be an asteroid. Maybe. Or it could be a UFO with attendant alien invasion. Maybe. Or it could be, as some believe, that he predicts the plane crash that kills John F. Kennedy Jr. Maybe. It all depends on how you choose to read his murky and cryptic predictions. Personally, I choose to believe that he refers to the success of Michael Bay's Armageddon, which was released on July 1, 1998, and was just one year off in his forecast. What else could "seven months into the year" and "From the sky will come the great King of Terror" possibly refer to?

How It Turned Out: World still here. Bay still making movies.












Date World Ends: Jan. 1, 2000

Type of Prophecy: Millennial (Y2K variant)

Prophet: Robert Bremer and others

Details: Computer scientist Bremer and others see potential catastrophe coming on Jan. 1, 2000, due to computers the world over using two-digit representations of years in dates rather than four digits. With the coming of the new century, the computers would go all HAL-from-2001 on our asses, unable to function without a clear time reference once the date prefix "19" no longer applied. This would lead to failures of banking systems, municipal computing systems, air traffic control ... things that humans ordinarily do a fine job of mucking up on our own. Up to $200 billion may have been spent worldwide (maybe $100 billion in the U.S. alone) to make computers compliant with the new post-2000 date change. Relatively minor glitches occur worldwide on Jan. 1, but there's no way of telling what may have failed if precautions hadn't been taken.

How It Turned Out: World still here.









Date World Ends: Dec. 21, 2012

Type of Prophecy: 2012/Maya variant

Prophet: Mayan Long Count Calendar

Details: Of the several calendars used by the Mayans, one called the Long Count predicts that the current cycle of history will end on Dec. 21, 2012. Whether that "cycle" is partly defined in cultural terms by Emmerich's ability to get funding for disaster movies remains to be seen after the grosses of 2012 come in.

How It Turned Out: ?











Date World Ends: 2012

Type of Prophecy: 2012/Hopi Fourth World variant

Prophet: Hopi Indians

Details: The Native American Hopi of Arizona believe in a cyclic course of history, with worlds falling into entropy over time, to be replaced by fresh new ones. Some people believe that the current world, the Fourth World of Hopi cosmology, might be coming to an end, ... with 2012 doomsday fans saying it will definitely end on Dec. 21, 2012. The Hopi also have a story about how one can lose time while watching lizards, ... which might be a reference to all the time people lost watching Emmerich's crappy Godzilla remake.

How It Turned Out: ?? (Though Godzilla still sucks really bad.)












Date World Ends: November/December 2012

Type of Prophecy: 2012/I Ching variant

Prophet: Terence McKenna

Details: Metaphysician and ethnobotanist McKenna cooks up a mathematical model of "novelty" as a central quality of the flow of time. Applying this model to the I Ching (why not Lord of the Rings or The Da Vinci Code?), he predicts the end of the world coming on Dec. 21, 2012. Well, at first it's November 2012. Then he moves doomsday up to Dec. 21, once he sees that other doomsayers are talking about Dec. 21. This pushing back of the date of an apocalyptic event clearly has a synchronic, Jungian relation to the pushing back of the release of 2012 from this past July to this November. It's all connected.

How It Turned Out: Won't know until Dec. 22, 2012. Our guess: World still here.