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Digital
Media FX News Archives
Thursday
- August 30, 2001
- Nickelodeon Animation Studios
Picketed!
- Teenage Mutant
Ninja Turtles Update
- Pinocchio 3001
- News Link of the Day
- Spielberg Terrified of Intelligent Computers
Nickelodeon
Animation Studios Picketed!
(by digitalmediafx.com) The Writers Guild of America west (WGAw)
is picketing Nickelodeon Animation Studios today from noon to
1PM claiming that Nickelodeon is "retaliating against employees
of animated series who are seeking union representation and coverage
by the Guild's contract."
In the Guild's
complaint, it asserts "that Nickelodeon illegally reduced
the benefits of writers on the television show Jimmy Neutron,
Boy Genius in retaliation for their activities in seeking WGAw
representation."
To help promote
its position, the Guild has put out a press release which includes
the following quote:
"This
action by Nickelodeon is the latest round in the company's escalating
efforts to deny the benefits of the guild's contract to these
writers," said Paul Nawrocki, Assistant Executive Director
of the WGAw. "These writers are seeking the basic rights
that artists in this industry gained 60 years ago. Viacom owns
a number of other companies that are signed to the guild's MBA,
and, if necessary, we will carry this struggle into those unionized
sectors of the company."
The Guild
further claims that its unfair labor charges, "followed a
Writers Guild petition for certification of representation with
the U.S. National Labor Relations Board after Nickelodeon Animation
Studios ignored a demand for recognition by the writers of six
Nickelodeon animated programs (Invader Zim, SpongeBob SquarePants,
Constant Payne, Hey Arnold!, Fairly Odd Parents and Jimmy Neutron,
Boy Genius). An overwhelming majority of the writers on the six
shows have signed authorization cards designating the Writers
Guild as their collective bargaining representative."
The Writers
Guild of America, west represents 8,500 writers in the motion
picture, broadcast, cable and new media industries. It has successfully
organized the writers of every network primetime animation program
and is expanding its efforts to provide representation for animation
writers in the cable industry.
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Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles Update
(by digitalmediafx.com) A few months ago, Digital Media FX outlined
plans for The Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles to return to the big
screen - as a CGI animated film. The CGI film is only one part
of a massive attempt to refranchise the once famous turtle team.
Rights to the ninja gang are owned by Peter Laird's Mirage Studios,
which also plans on launching a new cartoon series (darker in
nature), a Hallmark TV miniseries, and several video games.
The CGI movie
is being produced by John Woo and Terence Chang of Digital Rim
Entertainment. It isn't expected to be complete until 2004. Meanwhile,
the 2D animated TV series is expected to begin airing around 2003,
which will be the approximate time that the video games will launch
and the miniseries will air. The dark miniseries will feature
CGI turtles interacting with live action characters.
Rainbow Studios,
at one time producing a full CGI movie called Blue Planet, is
said to be on board to help with the CGI for movie.
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Pinocchio
3001
(by digitalmediafx.com) CineGroupe has announced that it is beginning
work on a new animated movie titled Pinocchio 3001, which will
throw the classic children's tale centuries into the future. Animation
work has been assigned to Castelao Productions SNA (Spain), and
AnimaKids Productions (France) for the production. Details of
the movie are sketchy at this point except that Pinocchio must
escape from a futuristic amusement park.
In addition
to the movie, CineGroupe is also creating a Pinocchio 3001 video
game that sticks closely to the movie's story. The game requires
players to help Pinocchio escape his captors in a bumper car repair
shop hidden underneath an amusement park. The team is using, in
part, NDL’s NetImmerse to aid in the development and rendering
of the projects.
Digital Media
FX is working on securing images of Pinocchio 3001.
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News Link
of the Day - Spielberg Terrified of Intelligent Computers
According to Ananova:
"Steven
Spielberg says he is terrified of computers developing minds of
their own. Spielberg told German magazine Cinema his latest film,
Artificial Intelligence, is a warning against irresponsible development
of science..."
Click
here for the full story.
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