Digital
Media FX News Archives
Wednesday
- October 17, 2001
- Alan Burnett Wins Writers
Guild Animation Award
- Shrek for Xbox
to be Ready on November 15
- Top Selling Animation and
FX DVDs
- News Link of the Day
- Waking Life in Sleepy Toontown
Alan Burnett
Wins Writers Guild Animation Award
(by
digitalmediafx.com) The Writers Guild of America, west Animation
Writers Caucus will present the fourth annual Animation Writing
Award to Alan Burnett at its Annual Meeting and Reception tonight
- Wednesday, October 17, 2001.
The honorary
award is given to "that member of the Animation Writers Caucus
and/or the guild who, in the opinion of the Board of Directors,
has advanced the literature of animation in film and/or television
through the years, and who has made outstanding contributions
to the profession of the animation writer."
"One
mark of a top writer is the ability to take characters and themes
that have been around for a long time and use them in ways so
new and so different you can only marvel," said Craig Miller,
the caucus chair. "His work with characters such as Batman
and Superman prove just how good Alan Burnett is. For that reason
and for all his work, the Animation Writers Caucus is proud to
present him with this year's award."
"Alan's
well-deserved award comes at a time when animation writers are
fighting for greater recognition within our industry," said
Patric Verrone, Secretary-Treasurer of the Writers Guild of America,
west. "The feats of superhuman courage that Alan writes about
are being matched in real life by many of his fellow writers in
their ongoing battles for truth, justice, and WGA representation."
Currently
serving as producer/writer on Static Shock, which airs on Kids'
WB, Alan Burnett has also lent his producing talents to Batman,
Superman, The Zeta Project and Batman Beyond. In addition, he
co-produced and co-wrote the animated feature film Batman: Mask
of the Phantasm. From 1987 to 1990, Burnett wrote for the Disney
animated series Gummi Bears and Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers;
he was executive producer and story editor for Disney's Ducktales,
and also wrote the first feature film produced by Disney's television
animation operation, Ducktales, The Movie: Treasure of the Lost
Lamp.
While serving
as a staff writer at Hanna-Barbera from 1981 to 1986, Burnett
worked on projects that included: Superfriends, Super Powers,
the Gobots miniseries and The Smurfs. He also co-developed the
1980's animated version of The Adventures of Jonny Quest as well
as The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley. He began
his entertainment career as a page at the NBC television network
and as an intern in Children's Programming at NBC. Originally
from Cleveland, Ohio, Burnett holds a bachelors degree in Broadcast
Journalism from the University of Florida, and a masters degree
in film production from the University of Southern California.
In 1978, Burnett joined Ten-Four Productions, where he co-produced
the first special to ever highlight television commercials, We'll
Be Right Back.
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Shrek for
Xbox to be Ready on November 15
(by digitalmediafx.com) Shrek for Xbox will launch with the
console on November 15, 2001. This was confirmed today by the
makers of the animated video game, TDK Mediactive. The game launch
is exactly two weeks after the movie comes out on VHS and DVD.
"The
`Shrek' Xbox game creates whole new worlds for `Shrek',"
said Brad Globe, head of DreamWorks Consumer Products. "TDK
has delivered a terrific combination of original, action-packed
gameplay and Shrek-style humor."
DreamWorks,
who masterfully marketed Shrek last Spring, will participate in
the marketing of the Shrek video game. One of its first strategies
is to promote the video game on the Shrek DVD, including providing
game hints.
Here's an
official description of the Shrek video game:
"The
Magic Mirror has an important message for Shrek. You see, it seems
that the evil sorcerer, Merlin, has captured the lovely Princess
Fiona and has her locked in his Dark Tower Fortress of Pure Evil...Wha
ha ha ha!
In order to
face off with Merlin, Shrek must travel to the Dark Tower Fortress
of Pure Evil (...Wha ha ha ha!), but a thick and foul fog surrounds
it. The only way to clear the fog and gain access is to perform
Good Deeds across the Fairy Tale Lands. To help him out, the Magic
Mirror gives Shrek a Book of Good Deeds and offers to teleport
Shrek to places where Good Deeds are required...
Shrek for
the Xbox features the following:
- Eight
never-before-seen worlds with six missions per level
- Beautifully
bump-mapped environments, real-time shadows, and detailed characters,
taking full advantage of the outstanding graphics capabilities
of Xbox
- Sarcastic
and twisted humor throughout
- Whimsical
game play populated with new original characters as well as
characters from the film."
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Top Selling
Animation and FX DVDs
(by digitalmediafx.com) Here is a list of the current top
selling animation and FX DVDs at Amazon.com. Animation and FX
DVDs dominate the top 20 overall top sellers:
>
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News Link
of the Day - Waking Life in Sleepy Toontown
According to the New York Post:
"...Waking
Life," which would be nearly intolerable as a live-action
feature, is worth seeing because of its groundbreaking animation
style, which should land it a spot in the new animated-feature
Oscar category.
Linklater
shot the actors (mostly nonprofessionals) in high-definition video,
edited the film, then turned over his footage to animated director
Bob Sabiston..."
Click
here for the full story.
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