PBS will kick off the new season of its Emmy-winning Independent Lens series with the award-winning animated documentary Chicago 10. The latest film from Bret Morgan (The Kid Stays in the Picture) will make its broadcast premiere on Wednesday, Oct, 22 at 9 p.m. Independent Lens is hosted by Oscar-winning actor Terrence Howard, who recently dropped out of Iron Man 2.Combining motion-capture animation with extraordinary archival footage, Chicago 10 explores the buildup to, and unraveling of, the Chicago Conspiracy Trial stemming from the infamous 1968 Democratic national convention, during which antiwar protesters fought for their right to be heard. Eight of the most vocal activists were charged and brought to trial in a courtroom circus that pitted activism against the establishment. Key characters include Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, defense attorney William Kuntsler, SDS defendant Tom Hayden and Yippies Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman, who served as court jesters. The animated reenactments feature the voices of Hank Azaria, Mark Ruffalo, James Urbaniak, Jeffrey Wright, Liev Schreiber, Nick Nolte and Roy Scheider, among others.
Director/writer/producer Brett Morgen earned an Academy Award nomination for The Kid Stays in the Picture, his biographical portrayal of the life and career of legendary film producer and studio head Robert Evans. Morgen’s credits also include the critically acclaimed boxing documentary On the Ropes. Chicago 10 was named Best Documentary of 2002 by the International Press Academy (the Golden Satellite Award), the Boston Film Critics and the Seattle Film Critics, and was named runner-up in that category by the National Society of Film Critics.
Cartoon Net, Worldwide Biggies Open NASTYbook
Cartoon Network has partnered with Worldwide Biggies Inc. to produce a live-action/CG telepic based on Barry Yourgrau’s children’s horror book series NASTYbook. The partnership will also yield web content inspired by the property, which is like The Twilight Zone for kids.The NASTYbook film promises to take viewers deep into a world of delightful wickedness, scary twists and nasty mischief. It’s a world populated by a horrifying, albeit colorful, cast of characters including an Internet-trolling witch and an actual alien exchange student.
The movie joins Cartoon Network’s expanding slate of television movies in development, including Tiger’s Apprentice, the comic-book adaptations Firebreather, The Vanishers and Mice Templar, and the sequel to the network’s live-action hit Ben 10: Race Against Time.
“With the NASTYbook television movie, we are truly reinventing the horror genre for the younger demographic,” says Hecht. “By taking the twisted tales in Barry Yougrau’s books, combining them with the suspense and horror elements of today’s movies, and utilizing new CG and innovative special effects technology, we are effectively able to bring movie-quality thrills and chills to the small screen.”
Harper Collins published the first Nastybook in 2005. The success led to two popular follow-up books in the series, Another Nastybook: The Curse of the Tweeties and Yet Another Nastybook: MiniNasties. A writer and performer, Yourgrau has also penned such darkly comedic books as Wearing Dad’s Head and A Man Jumps Out of an Airplane.
Founded by former Nickelodeon exec Albie Hecht, Worldwide Biggies is a digital entertainment studio focused on creating online experiences and multi-platform content for kids, families and young adults. Last year, the company debuted Worldwide Fido (www.worldwidefido.com), a website dedicated to user-submitted videos of dogs, and partnered with TMZ.com on an online celebrity fan community dubbed Star vs. Star (www.starvsstar.com).
New Batman Toon Gets Start Date
The Dark Knight teams up with other DC Comics heroes in Batman: The Brave and the Bold, a new animated series debuting next month on Cartoon network. Aimed at younger audiences and featuring more humor than other recent interpretations of Bob Kane’s comic-book creation, the colorful cartoon show will premiere on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The half-hour series will be part of the network’s night of action and adventure, joining such high-octane shows as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Secret Saturdays and Ben 10: Alien Force.Though still based in Gotham City, Batman will frequently find himself outside city limits, facing various villains and joining forces with such fellow costumed crusaders as Blue Beetle, Green Arrow and Aquaman. With formidable foes around every corner, Batman will rely on his stealth, resourcefulness and limitless supply of cool gadgets to fight for justice.
The series is created by Warner Bros. Animation for Cartoon Network. Exec produced by Sam Register with James Tucker and Linda Steiner as supervising producers. The voice cast includes Diedrich Bader as Batman, John DiMaggio as Aquaman, James Arnold Taylor as Green Arrow, Will Friedle as Blue Beetle, Corey Burton as Red Tornado and Tom Kenny as Plastic Man.
Hulk Hits Home
While it didn’t pull Dark Knight or Iron Man numbers, Marvel Studios’ The Incredible Hulk earned roughly $262 million worldwide during its theatrical run, and should be a smash hit on home video this week. The movie is available on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and as a three-disc special edition loaded with bonus features.The Incredible Hulk stars Edward Norton as the beleaguered Bruce Banner, who desperately seeks a cure for the condition that turns him into the green monster known as the Hulk. The pic also stars Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt and Tim Blake Nelson, as well as a CG-animated Hulk created by vfx house Rhythm & Hues.
DVD bonus materials include deleted scenes and feature-length commentary with director Louis Leterrier and actor Tim Roth. The three-disc special edition also adds the featurettes The Making of Incredible Hulk, Becoming the Abomination, From Comic Book to Screen, Becoming the Hulk and Anatomy of a Hulk-Out. Those who purchase the Blu-ray version can also enjoy U-Control interactive features including an animated comic and a comic-book gallery, as well as chat and exclusive, behind-the-scenes content available via BD-Live.
Looney Tunes, Family Guy Bring Yucks to Disc
Two sets of classic Looney Tunes cartoons land on retail shelves today, along with the sixth volume of Family Guy episodes. Also available are episodes of Cartoon Network’s Ben 10: Alien Force and Noggin’s preschool series Pinky Dinky Doo, as well as the animated family film The Legend of Sasquatch.Looney Tunes: Golden Collection Volume 6 is the final release in the Golden Collection series. This four-disc set offers 60 more time-honored Warner Bros. animated favorites plus 15 bonus shorts. Listing at $64.92, the set also features commentaries, music-only tracks and a never-before-seen documentary on Mel Blanc. Fans who want to spend a little less for the highlights can pick up Looney Tunes: Spotlight Collection Volume 6, a two-disc set with 30 of the best shorts from the Golden Collection Volume. The release includes eight bonus shorts and carries a suggested retail price of $26.99.
Family Guy: Volume Six is a three-disc set with 12 episodes of the FOX primetime series. Fans can enjoy the 100th episode special, as well as featurette on the making of the milestone installment. Other extras include Family Guy Live!—Just For Laughs, Peter Shin Draws Lois featurette, a music video for “I'm Huge (and The Babes Go Wild)”, an optional censored audio track on every episode, 50 deleted scenes and commentary by creator Seth MacFarlane, and various writers and cast members. The Fox Home Entertainment release lists at $39.98.
Warner Home Video offers five episodes of the hit Saturday-morning cartoon Ben 10: Alien Force for $14.98, and Genius Products has released four episodes of Pinky Dinky Doo for the younger set. That disc lists at $14.93.
Image Ent. releases Gorilla Pictures’ CG-animated family film The Legend of Sasquatch. Featuring the voices of William Hurt (The Incredible Hulk), John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings and Indiana Jones trilogies) and Jewel Restaneo (Easter Sunday), the movie tells the story of a family that moves to a secluded log cabin and discover a Bigfoot family hiding nearby. Special DVD features will include audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, a Legend of Sasquatch quiz and special collector’s packaging featuring faux sasquatch fur. The disc carries a suggested retail price of $27.98.
Two animated features win at Montreal festival
"Waltz with Bashir," an animated feature film by Israel's Ari Folman, and Sita Sings the Blues, by Nina Paley of the United States, won major prizes Saturday night at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinema.
A documentary co-produced by Israel, Germany and France, Waltz With Bashir won the Daniel Langlois Innovation Award. It received a trophy created by sculptor Vasco Ceccon.
The winner of the Cristal for Best Feature at the Annecy International Animation Festival, Sita Sings The Blues was presented Saturday with the Z Télé Grand Prize chosen by the public.
Rosa Rosa, an animated short by Félix Dufour-Laperrière of Quebec, received a special mention for the Loup argenté (NFB Best Short Film Award). It was co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada, France's Folimage Valence Production and Noir Sur Blanc.
The short abstract-impressionist animation HA'Aki, directed by Iriz Pääbo for the NFB, received a special mention in the International Film Guide Award – Best Short Film Focus Section.
Other award-winners at the Festival du Nouveau Cinema:
Louve D'Or - Best Feature Film Award
Tulpan, Sergey Dvortsevoy (Kazakhstan/Germany, 2008)
Jury's Special Mention
Snow, Aida Begic Zubcevic (Bosnia-Herzegovina/Germany/Iran/France, 2008)
Louve D'Or - Acting Award
Michael Fassbender, for Hunger (United Kingdom, 2008)
Focus – Cinémathèque québécoise Grand Prize
La Memoire des Anges, Luc Bourdon (Québec/Canada, 2008)
Jury's Special Mention
RIP: Remix Manifesto, Brett Gaylor (Québec/Canada, 2008)
Radio-Canada People's Choice Award
All Together Now, Adrian Wills (Québec/Canada, 2008)
Loup argenté, NFB Best Short Film Award
Sentinela, Afonso Nunes (Brasil, 2007)
Jury's Special Mention
Ottica Zero, Maja Borg (Scotland, 2007)
International Film Guide Award – Best Short Film Focus Section
La Battue, Guy Édoin (Québec/Canada, 2008)
Jury's Special Mention
Welcome, Dan Gerson (Canada, 2008)
"Sita Sings the Blues" nominated for Gotham Award
Nina Paley's animated feature "Sita Sings The Blues" was nominated Monday for one of this year's Gotham Independent Film Awards, seen by some critics as marking the beginning of the major awards season.
The winner of the Cristal for Best Feature at the Annecy International Animation Festival, Sita Sings The Blues is one of five nominees in the category "Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You." Its live-action rivals are Afterschool, Meadowlark, The New Year Parade and Wellness.
Known as the Gotham Awards until this year, the Gotham Independent Film Awards are presented by the Independent Feature Project, the oldest and largest organization of independent filmmakers in the United States.
Award winners will be announced December 2 at a ceremony at the Cipriani Wall Street restaurant in New York City.
In all, 22 films were nominated in six categories. Other categories are Best Feature, Best Ensemble Performance, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor and Best Documentary.
Leading the nominations is Ballast, about the effects of one man's suicide on three others. The self-distributed film is up for Best Feature, Best Ensemble Performance, Breakthrough Director and Breakthrough Actor.
Recent Gotham winners who won Academy Awards in recent years include 2004 Breakthrough Actress Catalina Sandino Moreno (Maria Full of Grace), 2005 Breakthrough Director Bennett Miller (Capote); 2005 Breakthrough Actress Amy Adams (Junebug); 2005 Best Documentary Murderball, 2006 Breakthrough Actor Rinko Kikuchi (Babel) and 2007 Breakthrough Actor Ellen Page (Juno).
Russian adult toon channel gets new lease on life
Russia's adult-oriented cartoon channel gave thanks Friday to the country's TV and radio regulator for renewing its license for five years despite controversy over such "extremist" series as South Park.
The regulatory body, Ros
svyazkomnadzor, on Thursday approved a decision to renew the license of the 2x2 TV channel until October 17, 2013. The license was scheduled to expire last Friday.The Russian federal broadcasting commission had earlier recommended renewal.
Russian prosecutors had accused the network of promoting "violence, cruelty, and pornography" in broadcasting adult-oriented cartoon series, mainly from the United States. In response, hundreds of cartoon fans rallied last month in Moscow and St. Petersburg to show their support for 2x2.
Rossvyazkomnadzor had decided to back the adult cartoon channel despite "manipulative pressure" on state-controlled bodies, said Rafael Akopov, the head of the ProfMedia company, which owns 2x2.
Russian prosecutors issued the network with a warning in early September about "extremist" content when it upheld a religious group's complaint that 2x2 was engaged in "overt propaganda of homosexuality and pedophilia." The case was referred to court.
The following week, 2x2 suspended airing 12 series, including South Park and The Simpsons, pending resolution of the issue.
The network came under similar attach in March 2008, when Russian Protestant leaders, alleging that the channel "promotes immorality and violence," sent a request to the Prosecutor General's Office to have the channel's license revoked.
Atlantyca, Studio100 Dive into New Season of Olly
Dive Olly Dive!, from Taffy Ent. and Mike Young Prods., is going into its second season with two new co-producers, Atlantyca Ent. and Studio100. The companies are working with returning co-producers MYP, Germany’s KI.KA and ARD, Telegael of Ireland and China’s GDC to begin production on 26 new half-hour episodes of the environmentally-conscious, animated preschool series.“We are delighted with the reaction to Olly, the first show we made at our studio in Wales,” says Mike Young, co-founder and partner at MYP. “We also welcome our new co-production partners on the series. Studio100 is one of the most dynamic entities in Europe today and Atlantyca brings a wonderful creative programming flair, in addition to a far-reaching publishing arm, thus ensuring a great market presence for the property.”
Dive Olly Dive! follows the underwater escapades of Olly and Beth, two young research submarines-in-training who live in a deep-sea research center known as SURF: the Special Underwater Research Facility. Together, they experience the joys and challenges of life in their underwater world, much in the same way that preschoolers explore life in their world.
Created by the Andrew and Ian Ross in the U.K., Dive Olly Dive is distributed worldwide by Taffy Ent. In the U.S. and airs seven days a week on PBS KIDS Sprout. The Emmy-nominated series won the 2008 Parents’ Choice Award and Hugo Television Award (Certificate of Merit), and was nominated for the Prix Jeunesse and Best Animated Series at the 2008 Annecy International Festival of Animated Film.
Green to Adapt Freaks Comic
Filmmaker David Gordon Green, who is writing and directing the animated pilot Good Vibes for FOX, is turning to the world of graphic novels for his next feature project. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Pineapple Express director has been hired to helm Overture Films’ adaptation of the Dark Horse horror comic Freaks of the Heartland.Green will also produce the pic with Dark Horse Ent. president Mike Richardson. Tyro screenwriters Peter Sattler and Geoff Davey adapted the story by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), who is exec producing. The comic is illustrated by Greg Ruth and takes place in Gristlewood Valley, where a young man struggles to protect his younger brother and other town “freaks.”
Overture, which recently released the Robert DeNiro/Al Pacino crime thriller Righteous Kill, is remaking the George A. Romero horror pic The Crazies with director Breck Eisner (Sahara). The company has also acquired remake rights to the Swedish horror film Let the Right One In, attaching Cloverfield director Matt Reeves to adapt the creepy tale about a young boy who makes a dangerous new friend at a boarding school.
Marvel Comics Mobilizes
Marvel Entertainment International has partnered with Danish animation studio and mobile content developer Campfire A/S to adapt Marvel comic books for mobile devices. Campfire will employ its trademark CATOOZ system to bring the superhero tales to mobile phone users with interactive functionality. The move follows the recent launch of DC Comics’ series of Motion Comics, which includes serialized versions of Watchmen and Batman: Mad Love.Campfire A/S will enrich the various Marvel stories with cinematic sound, effects and animated speech bubbles. Marvel's mobile offering will initially be available in Scandinavia, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, and will ultimately be available throughout Europe.
“We are continually looking for new opportunities to expand in the digital marketplace, extending the reach of our iconic properties to new platforms, and we believe Marvel fans will be quick to embrace this new interactive comic offering from Campfire,” says Ira Rubenstein, exec VP of Marvel’s Global Digital Media Group.
Users will be able to access the comics via mobile online access, either buying the comics individually for €1 or signing up for a monthly subscription package priced at €4. More information can be found at www.campfire.dk or www.catooz.com.
Around Cartoon Network
As most people know, the television side of the business has not been as robust as in previous years, but perhaps things are looking up at least a little. At least at CN. I had recent occasion to talk to a mucky-muck at the network of 'toons and he caught me up on what strategies the Time-Warner family member is now pursuing to grow its business:
"Clone Wars is an acquisition that we're using to build on. We're programming comedy shows on Thursday nights, and making Friday night an adventure program destination. We've increased our overall ratings a bunch since last year, so things are getting better ...
"In the development area, Craig McCracken and Rob Renzetti are in charge of the shorts development program. So far they've taken hundreds of pitches, and greenlit sixteen shorts for production. We've got a lot of money devoted to the program, and we'll probably be looking at animatics for various shorts and ordering short series orders from the ones that look most promising ..."
The network still hasn't pumped things up to where it would like them to be, but Clone Wars has been doing well for the net, so it makes sense to use the show as a cornerstone.
... a cumulative total of more than 27 million people have seen the first three episodes of Lucasfilm Animation’s weekly STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS animated series, and STAR WARS has become the biggest licensed toy property of the year ... Since its Sept. 16 release, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed has become the fastest-selling STAR WARS videogame in history, while the official novelization of the game rocketed to the top spot of the New York Times Best Sellers list in its first week of sales ...
With this kind of churn in the marketplace, Cartoon Network plans to ride the wave and attract more eyeballs for its other offerings. "We're going after the older demographic, nine to fourteen-year-old boys," says the mucky-muck, which sounds like a wise strategy to us. Particularly if it leads to higher ratings, more projects, and more work for animation artists.
Because higher employment is what, after the bark is stripped away, it's all about. (I mean, besides the art thing, and the "expanding people's minds" thing. We all have to eat, correct?)
(Thanks Animation Guild Blog)
"Batman: The Brave and the Bold" First Episode Titles Revealed
Cartoon Network has released the titles, plot synopses, and air dates for the first three episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The show will debut on November 14, 2008, at 7:30 PM (Eastern/Pacific)
Friday, Nov. 14: "Rise of the Blue Beetle! " - Batman and Blue Beetle team up to save an alien race from Kanjar Ro.
Friday, Nov. 21: "Terror on Dinosaur Island! " - Batman and Plastic Man thwart Gorilla Grodd's plot to devolve humans into primates.
Friday, Nov. 28 :"Evil Under the Sea!" - Batman aids Aquaman as Ocean Master and Black Manta team up to assassinate him.
Briefly: Roy Disney Gets Award; TOEI US Management Changes
* Roy Disney will receive a Ray Bradbury Creativity Award at Woodbury University on November 1, 2008. [CBS Marketwatch]
* TOEI Animation has made some changes to the management in its Los Angeles office as part of its initiative to expand into animated co-productions in addition to development of its original properties. [Animation Insider]
* The New York Times cites Tiana, the first African-American Disney Princess in The Princess and the Frog, while discussing matters of the race of leading characters in Hollywood movies.
Joseph To Be First Black Doctor?
David Tennant hasn't yet abandoned his starring role in the BBC SF series Doctor Who, but rumors have already begun circulating that Paterson Joseph--who guest-starred in the first season--may be the leading candidate to replace Tennant as the 11th Doctor. Joseph would be the first black actor to assay the iconic role.Joseph's agent reportedy denied the Doctor Who rumor when approached about it last week. When SCI FI Wire contacted Joseph directly, his initial response was a text message that said, "I am on a list of God knows how many others, but flattered to be considered."
That was followed by an e-mail a day later, saying, "The news on Who was news to me as of last Wednesday, when my agent said they'd had lots of journos asking if the rumors were true. That's all I know, and I'm very pleased to even be thought of in this way. It's a blast!"
The rumor, which should be taken with a grain of salt, was first reported by British journalist Richard Johnston last week in his online column "Lying in the Gutters."
Joseph played Roderick in the Doctor Who two-part episode "Bad Wolf/The Parting of the Ways."
Joseph's recent TV appearances include the U.K. series Peep Show, Green Wing and Hyperdrive, but he is probably best known to genre fans for his scene-stealing performance as the Marquis de Carabas in writer Neil Gaiman's short-lived 1996 BBC series Neverwhere.
Perhaps more germane to this particular story is the actor's work in last year's Jekyll miniseries, which was created by Steven Moffat, who will be taking over as the new Doctor Who show runner in the upcoming fifth season in 2010. Did that role give Joseph the inside track? Only time will tell.
While many Doctor Who purists are already resisting the notion of a black actor taking on the role, the biggest obstacle could actually be Joseph's role as Greg Preston in the BBC's upcoming revival of the 1970s post-apocalyptic drama Survivors. According to the show's producer Adrian Hodges (Primeval), "He's a lovely actor, and he has immense likeability on screen. To me, he has hero written and integrity written all over him, and he's a great actor. We're very pleased with him, and we won't kill him off any time soon, I promise you that!"
The fourth season of Doctor Who will be released in the United States on Nov. 18. The series is currently on hiatus in the United Kingdom but will continue with a series of one-off specials, after which a new production team will take over with season five in 2010.
New Featurette on The Spirit
Yahoo! Movies has debuted a new featurette on The Spirit, coming to theaters on Christmas Day. Written/directed by Frank Miller, and based on Will Eisner's comic book series, the action-adventure stars Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Eva Mendes, Dan Lauria, Paz Vega, Jaime King, Scarlett Johansson, Louis Lombardi and Stana Katic.
Click here to watch the featurette!
Dark Knight Joker Vinyl Statue & Harvey Two-Face Figure
DC Direct will release two new items for The Dark Knight next June, including a Joker vinyl statue and a Two-Face/Harvey Dent 1:6 scale action figure. Details and pics follow:
THE DARK KNIGHT: THE JOKER VINYL Vinyl Statue
BY KOTOBUKIYA
Under special arrangement with Japanese manufacturer Kotobukiya, DC Direct brings the exquisite craftsmanship and high-level quality of Kotobukiya to fans!
Kotobukiya and DC Direct are proud to offer this vinyl statue of The Joker standing amid a blazing fire.
The statue comes with an additional head and other accessories.
The Dark Knight: The Joker Vinyl Statue is approximately 12"tall and is packaged in a 4-color window box.
$ 125.00 US | On Sale June 10, 2009
THE DARK KNIGHT: 1:6 SCALE: TWO-FACE/HARVEY DENT Action Figure
BY HOT TOYS
Under special arrangement with Hong Kong toymaker Hot Toys, DC Direct is proud to offer this 1:6 scale figure of Two-Face, just as he appears in the smash hit The Dark Knight!
The Two-Face/Harvey Dent figure stands approximately 12 inches tall and features more than 32 points of articulation.
Dressed in the movie-accurate costume of suit, shirt, tie, pants and shoes, the figure also features an alternate head with Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face/Harvey Dent, an interchangeable suit jacket, one set of interchangeable hands, a pistol and a display stand with a nameplate.
Packaged in a 4-color box.
Limited Edition!
$ 175.00 US | On Sale June 17, 2009
Alice’s Birthday
The footage in this promo reel looks like a lot of fun to me.
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