Digital Media FX News Archives

Thursday - July 19, 2001
- Mainframe Announces New Animated Series
- SIGGRAPH Announces Best Animation Award Winners
- Shrek Continues Dominance Overseas
- News Link of the Day - JP3: "Fossilized Plot Cloned Again"

Mainframe Announces New Animated Series
(by digitalmediafx.com) Mainframe Entertainment is working a new animated sci-fi TV series for MTV called "Gatecrasher". The 30-minute episodes are based on the Gatecrasher comic book series.

Gatecrasher is the story of Alec Wagner, a college student who is half-human, half alien and a full time member of the Split-Second Squad, a secret alien army that protects Earth from alien attacks through interdimensional "gates". Using its liquid supercomputer ThinkTank, the squad was able to locate these gates before damage could be done -- until it was destroyed and its contents splashed all over Alec's body. Although the youngest and least experienced of the team, Alec is the only Squadder with the power to sense when and where the invaders will strike, so he is always on call.

MTV Animation will also be involved in the production of the TV series.

"I've watched Gatecrasher grow from concept to comic, and am looking forward to seeing it evolve into a quality sci-fi animated series," says Dan DiDio, Mainframe Entertainment Senior VP of Creative Affairs. "We are very excited about the opportunity to develop the show with MTV and have very high hopes for its future."

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SIGGRAPH Announces Best Animation Award Winners
(by digitalmediafx.com) SIGGRAPH has announced the winner of its annual Computer Animation Festival Best of Show competition. There were 678 entries with the winning entry being "Values" by Van Phan.

The SIGGRAPH jury describes "Values" as follows:

"'Values' is a touching story of family values that tugs at the heart and the spirit. Using effortless animation techniques, Van Phan, a talented graduate student in animation at the University of Southern California, chose to let the uncomplicated characters tell the story completely through expression and in silence, except for the beautifully composed original background music."

A second award, titled the "Jury Honors Award" was given to the animated production F8 by Jason Wen. The SIGGRAPH jury describes "F8" as follows:

"'F8,' created entirely by Jason Wen over a two-year period, is an extraordinary piece of classic sci-fi filmmaking. A highlight from the 12-minute piece will be showcased in the Electronic Theater and the entire piece can be seen daily in the Animation Theaters. With its stunning backgrounds and lighting, compelling character design, and brilliant camera work, this piece clearly demonstrates the future of independent filmmaking and storytelling."

The award announcement took place just three weeks before the start of SIGGRAPH 2001, with exhibits from August 14 - 16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

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Shrek Continues Dominance Overseas
(by digitalmediafx.com) Shrek is continuing to dominate the box office overseas even thwarting an effort by Tomb Raider.

According to BBC News, "Animated film Shrek has moved back into the number one spot at the UK and Ireland box office, dislodging blockbuster Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.
The story of a green ogre and a beautiful princess took a further £2,804,798 in ticket receipts in its third week."

In other overseas news, the newest Harry Potter movie trailer will air in U.K. cinemas beginning this Friday. The the trailer will play prior to Jurassic Park 3 screenings.

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News Link of the Day - JP3: "Fossilized Plot Cloned Again"

According to Washington Post:

"Sequels are like fast-food restaurants. Whether it's McDonald's or Burger King, you know what you're getting and more likely than not, it's ground meat. If you want to know exactly what you're getting, put your money on Jurassic Park III..."

Click here for the full story.

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