Various cg news -9-

Fortune Names Disney "Most Admired Entertainment Company"

(toonzone) Fortune reported today that The Walt Disney Company is America's most admired entertainment company, based on a survey of top entertainment industry executives, directors and securities analysts. The results were reported as part of the magazine's "America's Most Admired Companies" issue.

Disney was quick to highlight the honor. The company is currently the target of a hostile takeover bid by Comcast Corp., and its management is under fire from dissident shareholder Roy E. Disney.

In an interview with Dick Cook, the Walt Disney Studios chairman maintained that despite external criticsm, the creative efforts of the company continue to flourish. According to Cook, "We have been and always will be committed to creating the finest animation in the world."

Andrew Stanton Animation Named Director of the Year

(AWN) FINDING NEMO writer/director Andrew Stanton has been named animation director of the year at ShoWest 2004, which runs March 22-25, 2004 in Las Vegas. The film screened at last year's event.

Working at Pixar for 14 years, Stanton has been credited as a screenwriter on all the company's features and made his directing debut with NEMO. For the fishy flick, he also provided the voice of Crush, the hip jet-stream surfing turtle.

Phill Tippet's Directorial Debut Comes To TV

(cinefex) Jim Bloom at Tippett Studios has clarified that Phil Tippett's directorial debut, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation, will have its television premiere April 24, at 10 p.m. on the Starz cable network Action Channel as part of the Super Pack, Saturday Action Zone; with an encore showing at 10 p.m. Wednesday, April 28.

Return of the King Passes $1 Billion Worldwide

(Reuters) Back in December we asked visitors in a poll whether or not they thought The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King would surpass the $1 billion mark worldwide - 83% of you said yes. Now it has become a reality, as New Line announced Monday that "King" is only the second movie ever to reach the mark, and it did so in record time.

Peterson remaking The Poseidon Adventure

Variety reports that Wolfgang Petersen ["Troy"] and Mike Fleiss ["High School Reunion"] are setting sail on a remake of the 1972 disaster flick.

"Poseidon" is generally considered the film that launched a thousand disaster spectacles. Based on a Paul Gallico novel, it tells the story of a capsized ship whose survivors try to make their way back up through the hull to the surface.

"With the incredible advances in effects technology, even since (2000's) 'The Perfect Storm,' the time is right for a remake of 'The Poseidon Adventure,' " Petersen said. "We can make this a very scary movie. And a lot of fun." Petersen, who just completed directing "Troy" for Warner Bros., is committed only to producing "Poseidon."

Watanabe is in BATMAN

(The Hollywood Reporter) As was first mentioned by Batman on Film last week, The Hollywood Reporter is now stating that Ken Watanabe has been cast in Christopher Nolan's BATMAN movie. Watanabe will reportedly be playing the part of the criminal mastermind R'as al Ghul, arch-nemesis to the Dark Knight.

The Japanese actor is up for a Best Supporting Actor this coming weekend for his performance in THE LAST SAMURAI.

Feature Animation-Florida's Going Away Party

(jimhillmedia) This past Saturday night the alumni of Feature Animation-Florida gathered backstage at Disney-MGM for one last time. Many of the studio's executives, artists, animators and technicians made one final visit to this state-of-the-art facility. To talk, to drink, to reminisce. A first hand account of the evening:

Among the notable mingling guests were Max Howard, that wonderful man who helped start up this studio. He was unlike any other studio head: sincerely personable, friendly, and a guy who honestly cared. It was so amazing that he showed up to help bookend the history of this place.

Also among the surprise guests were Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois, and Clark Spencer -- the brilliant directors and producer who brought us "Lilo and Stitch," arguably the Florida Studio's finest hour and twenty minutes. Chris and Dean had such great affection for this place because they could be unbelievably creative here without Disney executives breathing down their necks. I really believe they discovered how free they felt when they came out to Orlando to work out "Mulan" 's story.

Clark Spencer, who was all too briefly the studio head before being placed as the producer of "Lilo and Stitch," is one of THE most professional individuals I have ever met. He never forgot a face, and always displayed such abject humility despite his incredible communication skills. Because of these 3 men, "Lilo and Stitch" 's production was such a well-oiled machine. It's a crying shame that Disney has split up that incredible team with Clark on "Wilbur Robinson," Chris on "American Dog," and Dean writing live action features.

The question I get most often when I inform other people that I was a member of the Florida crew is, "Are they moving you out back to California?" As if all they were shutting down was the building and we were all going to be flown to Burbank on a private jet to continue the work that we all dreamed of doing as children. A SMALL minute fraction of us were offered that deal. They are retaining next to nothing of the Florida crew. We have been scattered to the four winds.

The talent has already bled away. The beneficiaries are Pixar, Sony, CORE digital, Blue Sky, Electronic Arts, and a few others. Historians will look back at this point in Disney history and ask "Why?! This doesn't make any sense."

The great majority of us are still languishing here hoping that work will come along. I think many people believe that LEGACY picked up all the pieces left in the debris, but even they can only afford a small handful of people. The many remaining casualties are trying to find that redirection and purpose in life.

There was a small rumour that Roy Disney might show up and speak to us. But -- sadly -- he never appeared. The naive fool inside of me thinks (that) he'll oust Eisner on March 3rd, remove David Stainton, and (then) wave his magic wand and (put Feature Animation-Florida back the way) it was before all the events from the past year took place.

The saddest moment last night was when we were all being ushered out as catering packed up and they flashed the lights like they do at the library to let us know that we only had ten minutes left in our fifteen year run. No one wanted to leave. If they'd let us, we'd still be standing about right now recounting all the wonderful experiences that we shared on the backlot of the Disney/MGM-Studios.

Instead, we were given a sack full of parting gifts that they cleaned out of their storage closets and we went our separate ways.

Ex'pression Students Create VES Awards Short Honoring George Lucas

(VFXworld) Ex'pression College for Digital Arts' students from its 3D animation and visual effects program created a film short to be honoring George Lucas for his Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards on February 18, 2004 in Hollywood.

The concept of Ex'pression's film short was to do a spoof piece where a supposed grip, who worked with George Lucas during the production of STAR WARS, is interviewed about how he steered Lucas away from bad ideas. During the interview, viewers are shown cuts to news shots of how the county of Marin was besieged by the real creatures and ships portrayed in the movie.

Founded in 1999 by Gary Platt and Eckart Wintzen, Ex'pression is a training ground for animators, visual effects artists, recording engineers, producers and designers. Ex'pression teaches and grants Bachelor degrees in three programs: Sound Arts; Digital Visual Media (including animation, 3D modeling and visual effects); and Digital Graphic Design. Ex'pression is located in a 65,000-square-foot building, at 6601 Shellmound St. in Emeryville, California, near San Francisco. For more information, visit

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Executive Forum for the 3D Industry 2004

(VFXworld) COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD and Acacia Research Group present the Third Annual Executive Forum for the 3D Industry, Emerging 3D Applications & Opportunities 2004. Keynote speakers include John Gaeta, visual effects director of MATRIX REVOLUTIONS, and Steve Sullivan, research and development director of Industrial Light and Magic. In addition, two days of panels will feature industry experts who will share their views on the state of the 3D industry and the innovative technologies that make this industry unique. For more information, visit

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Oscars Voting Enters Final Hours

(BBC) Voting for this year's Academy Awards is entering its final hours, with the deadline for Oscar choices approaching.

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have until 0100 GMT on Wednesday - 1700 on Tuesday in Los Angeles - to get their votes in.

Global company PricewaterhouseCoopers will count the votes. Its partners will be the only people to know the winners before Sunday's ceremony.

The ballots were posted to the 5,803 voting members on 4 February.

The winners' names will be sealed in foil-lined envelopes and be held under high security at an undisclosed location while they are counted. Two PricewaterhouseCoopers accountants will deliver the votes to the ceremony at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on Sunday.

Some streets around the venue have already been closed off to allow workers to lay the red carpet for the celebrity arrivals. The annual security check of the area is being carried out by police and other authorities to ensure the area is safe.

Star Wars III "The Best!"

(Dreamwatch) Star Wars stuntman claims the final prequel will rule the rest.

According to a member of the Star Wars crew, the final installment of the prequel trilogy is going to be the best of the lot. Nick Gillard is stunt co-ordinator on the as-yet-untitled picture, and is quite excited about the release of the sixth and final Star Wars movie.

"It's going to be the best prequel.

"Episode III has got everything the other films had and more! The movie is 60 to 70% fighting. There's tons of fighting in this one."

Some might argue that The Empire Strikes Back is the best of the lot, though it contains the least amount of fighting of all 5 so-far-released movies.

This doesn't dampen Gillard's spirits however. Talking to Dreamwatch magazine, the stunt planner, who previously worked on Reign Of Fire and both other Star Wars prequels, is still very positive about the film's chances of pleasing the critics.

"Episode III also ties in beautifully with all the other movies. And when I read the script, I was really surprised by how emotional it is.

"Everyone working on the film took so much care with it. Nobody wants to get it wrong."

Lucas Adds FX To 'THX 1138 Director's Cut'

(cinefex) DavisDVD.com reports that later this year, Warner Home Video will release a special edition disc of George Lucas' 1971 debut feature film. The release will be entitled THX 1138: The George Lucas Director's Cut and will feature a computer generated Jabba the Hutt in the detention zone scenes and an ewok celebration on the surface of the planet at the end of the film. (Had you going there, didn't I?) Actually, the disc will contain Lucas' 1967 USC student film, Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB, which inspired the feature film, an interview with Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola discussing the history of THX, and interviews with USC professors discussing Lucas' life as a student filmmaker.

'Pirates of the Caribbean 2' Cast Grows

(thezreview) UK comedian Johnny Vegas has revealed that he will have a part in Pirates of the Caribbean 2.

Electronic Arts Dowsizes It's Austin Operations

(CGtalk) Game company Electronic Arts is expected to tell its Austin employees this week that the company will be shutting down Origin Systems, its Austin operations, according to sources. Employees will be offered an opportunity to relocate to California or accept a severance package. Company officials could not be reached for comment. Austin is the #3 location in the U.S. for game development with more than 50 companies making major contributions to the game industry, including game development, publishing, tools and middleware and chips and hardware." The Wing Commander CIC has also posted a epitaph for Origin."

SPE, Regal CineMedia Ink Pact - Spiderman II Gets Digital Preview

(Hollywood Reporter) Sony Pictures Entertainment has signed a two-year deal with Regal Entertainment's Regal CineMedia to promote Sony movies and other products through the theater chain's preshow digital content distribution system. Sony will launch its involvement in June with a "behind-the-scenes" piece about the making of "Spider-Man 2." Terms were not disclosed. Sony joins three other media companies in being the exclusive advertisers on Regal's 20-minute block of programming. Vivendi Universal, Turner Broadcasting and NBC are the other existing sponsors. Jeff Blake, vice chairman of SPE and president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, said Sony has no other such arrangements with theater chains.

Nest Group To Set Up Animation Studio In India

(studio-systems.com) Nest Group based in Trivan drum has planned a foray into animation films and setting up an animation studio in Kerala. Nest Animations, a new company that the group set up has already started beaming animation films through the popular TV Channel, Asianet.

N Jehangir, managing director, Nest group said that the first programme 'Akamporul' would present socio-political cartoons of the renowned cartoonist B M Gafoor. "Akamporul is the first effort to present
animation films of sociopolitical nature in the state", says Jehangir.

The Nest is making use of the internationally accepted animation technology being employed by Walt Disney and Warner Bros for making 'Akamporul'.

The company has plans to market its films in the international market. For this, Nest will be making these films in different languages.

Here Comes Digital India: Toonz Animation India In Top 10 Elite List

(Animation Magazine) The recent issue of Animation Magazine has placed Toonz in the distinguished company of AMG (Artists Management Group), Atomic Cartoons, Cornerstone Animation, Discreet, Fox Kids Europe, Mainframe Entertainment, Pepper's Ghost Productions, Redrover Studios and SimEx Digital Studios. The top ten listing acknowledges the creative and output quality of 2D and 3D animation of Toonz for television series, specials, film and web episodes.

"Despite the September 11 events, our fortunes have not dipped," said Dennis.

In the last financial, the company had done business of Rs 10 crore, a dream figure for a fledgling 10,000 sq ft studio in its second year, he said. While the $25 billion global animation industry is growing at 20 per cent per year, the growth rate of the $500 million Indian animation industry is 30 per cent.

It was only in December that Toonz Animation had completed the acquisition of Toonnsense Animation, a Mumbai-based animation studio.