Developer HiTech Creations has released the new expansion to ACES HIGH II, titled COMBAT TOUR. The expansion breaks new ground in online gaming by combining intense air combat simulation and military role-playing in a completely mission-based team format. COMBAT TOUR is in closed testing and release is planned for the first half of 2006.
SportsBlast, the production company responsible for THE KELLYS that is featured on NASCAR.COM, will award one lucky fan the chance to win a trip for four to the 2006 Daytona 500.
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE DVD will debut on March 7, 2006, from Warner Home Video. GOBLET OF FIRE will be available on a Single-Disc DVD for $28.98 in full frame and widescreen formats. The Two-Disc Special Edition DVD will be available at $30.97 and the Harry Potter Special Edition four-pack at $73.92; both in widescreen format only. The film will also be available in UMD format for PSP.
Oscar-winning actress Susan Sarandon will don the crown of the evil queen in Walt Disney Pictures' ENCHANTED, according to THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The film has Sarandons Queen Narissa banishing a princess-in-waiting (Amy Adams) from a 2D animated world to the live-action world of New York City where the princess actually finds true love with a modern prince (James Marsden). The modern fairy is being directed by Kevin Lima from a script by Bill Kelly.
Haydenfilms Online Film Festival Presents
Haydenfilms Season One Awards Ceremony
Place: Director's Guild of America Theater, NYC
Date: January 12, 2006
ASIFA-Hollywood is hosting a special evening with internationally recognized animator and animation historian John Canemaker, a professor and director of the animation program at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. His projects have won an Academy Award, Emmy Awards, Ace Award and Peabody Award. His independent animated shorts are in the Museum of Modern Art permanent collection. He is the author of ten books on animation history (including DISNEY'S NINE OLD MEN and WINSOR MCCAY: HIS LIFE & ART) and is a writer on animation for the NEW YORK TIMES.
Thailand Animation and Multimedia (TAM) is dedicated to advancing the animation and multimedia industry in Asia. The event draws more than 100,000 trade and public visitors. It features a wide range of technology showcases, exhibits and keynotes. The conference brings together major players from Asia to discuss the future of the business. For more information, visit www.thailandanimation.com.
Cinematheque Quebecoise is hosting a tribute to the career of Derek Lamb. Along with Janet Perlman, he founded the studio Lamb-Perlman Prods. in 1983. This program, prepared by Janet Perlman, carries Lamb
Paramount Pictures has tapped SEVEN-helmer David Fincher to direct an adaptation of the graphic novel TORSO, which was written by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko, reports the trades. THE RING scribe Ehren Kruger will write the adaptation, which will be produced by Pandemonium's Bill Mechanic, Angry Films' Don Murphy and comic artist Todd McFarlane.
The Weinstein Co.'s Dimension Films has hooked the domestic distribution rights to PIRANHA, a remake of the 1978 cult classic, VARIETY reports. Chuck Russell will direct in spring. Dimension will handle all English-speaking territories.
Set at Arizona's Lake Havasu, a vacation spot becomes a blood bath when a savage school of piranha swims through a crack in a crater formed by a prehistoric eruption at the bottom of the lake.
DIC Ent. (DIC) announced that McDonald's Corp. has entered into an agreement naming Cornerstone Group's China Retail Management (CRM) subsidiary the master licensee for McDonald's McKids line across Asia, excluding Japan and India. The multi-million dollar deal is the first major international initiative of DIC's new role as global consumer products and entertainment agent for McDonald's Corp.
U.K. broadcaster, Five, has commissioned Entertainment Rights Plc. (ER) to produce a new animated RUPERT AND FRIENDS (52x10) to broadcast in fall 2006.
This agreement follows ERs acquisition of the controlling rights to Rupert Bear from Express Newspapers (Express) in October 2005. ER acquired worldwide in perpetuity all audio visual, licensing and merchandising, publishing, live events and new media rights to Rupert Bear and the world of Nutwood.
In the first edition of the new monthly column, The Animated Scene, Joseph Gilland talks about balancing the eclectic mix of personalities on an animated project to create a successful team.
New York City-based Asterisk produced an animated sequence for the Merchant/Ivory Productions WHITE COUNTESS, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.
The 40-second sequence occurs about 20 minutes into the film as a young girl stops to look at a shadowbox on the amusement pier. The glass slide in the shadowbox slowly comes to life and elegantly depicts the journey to another town shes been hoping for.
AJA Video, a leading manufacturer of professional video interface and conversion solutions, announced KONA 3, the new top-of-the-line HD/SD video capture card. Offering 40% more processing power than the industry-leading KONA 2, the new KONA 3 is the ultimate uncompressed capture card for SD, HD and Dual Link 4:4:4:4 HD for PCI Express Apple G5 Power Macs and Apple Final Cut Pro. The new card will ship worldwide on Jan. 30.
Since its launch at 3December, Alias' Ahead of the Curve design competition is accepting designs from students that demonstrate exceptional creativity and skill. The deadline is May 31, 2006. Three winners will be chosen in each of the following categories: Automotive Design, Product Design, Film and Video, Games Asset Development and Graphic Design/3D Illustration.
HONK, TOOT AND SWO-SWOOSH, a 3D, preschool series, has been awarded a CINE Golden Eagle in the Childrens Programs category.
Winners in this round include: WGBH, A&E Network, Discovery Channel, Public Television Service Taiwan, National Geographic, Thirteen/WNET, NOVA/WGBH, CNN, History Channel, MSNBC, PBS, Oxygen Media, THE NEWS HOUR WITH JIM LEHRAR and Sesame Workshop.
Spike TV is set to bring BLADE to television with a two-hour original drama that marks the network's first foray into scripted entertainment. Produced by New Line Television, BLADE premieres on Spike TV in June 2006.
"BLADE is perfectly suited for Spike TV and its male viewers," says Pancho Mansfield, evp, original programming at Spike TV. "The new "Blade" promises to capture what men want to see: thrilling action and effects combined with an intelligent and highly creative story."
Cory Edwards, writer/director of HOODWINKED, is scheduled to appear at The Art Institutes International Minnesota, located at 15 South 9th Street in downtown Minneapolis, from 1:00 pm to 1:45 pm in the school
ASIFA-Hollywoods tribute to the work of UPA has been moved from February to March 26, 2006 at 6:00 pm. The event will examine the legacy of UPA (United Productions of America) the "anti-Disney" studio of the 1950s that is still influencing animation design today. The screening will feature rarely shown Columbia theatrical cartoons (in 35mm) starring Mr. Magoo and Gerald McBoing Boing, as well as groundbreaking TV shorts, commercials and industrial films.
Congratulations to Autodesk for completing its purchase of Alias. We look forward to covering future developments in 3D software development and the ramifications for the entire industry. And congratulations to Pixars Ed Catmull and all the other recipients that will be honored at the Academys annual Scientific and Technical Awards at the Beverly Hilton on Feb. 18. Catmull, Tony DeRose and Jos Stam were singled out for their scientific and practical implementation of subdivision surfaces as a modeling technique in movies.
In this months Mind Your Business, Mark Simon travels to the land of Creativity, swimming the rivers of Development to the fields of Production.
Vicon has installed a 44-camera Vicon MX40 system for facial, hand and full-body capture to leading game company Square Enix Co. Ltd.
Square Enix acquired the system to take advantage of the immediate performance gains of Vicon MX when recording actors for cinematic sequences and in-game play, and to support higher camera counts and complexity for motion capture on next-gen titles.
Square Enix has created such popular game franchises as FINAL FANTASY and DRAGON QUEST, and has been an experienced motion capture user for many years.
VFXWorld presents a new excerpt from Building Interactive Worlds in 3D by Jean-Marc Gauthier. This months excerpt looks at using the virtual camera for The Diner project with the help of Fabien Barati and Zach Rosen.
Apple introduced the new iMac featuring Mac OS X running on the new Intel Core Duo processor, delivering performance that is up to twice that of its predecessor. The widely praised iMac design now features dual-core processors, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing out-of-the-box, and the breakthrough media experience of Front Row with the Apple Remote for a simple, intuitive and powerful way for consumers to enjoy their content from across the room.
