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Digital
Media FX News Archives
Note:
Digital Media FX content is legally ©copyright 2001 and may
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Saturday
- November 3, 2001
- Monster Friday Opening for
Monsters, Inc.
- Monsters, Inc.
Characters in Newspaper Reading Ads
- Academy Lecture to Examine
Japanese Anime
- News Link of the Day
- Bay Area Artists Behind Monsters, Inc.
Monster
Friday Opening for Monsters, Inc.
(by digitalmediafx.com) Disney and Pixar's Monsters, Inc.
opened huge on Friday, bringing in $17.4 million on its opening
night. If the pace continues, Monsters, Inc. will easily
surpass $45 million for the weekend. The opening blew away Shrek's
Friday opening last May of $11.5 million.
Monsters,
Inc. also received outstanding ratings from those who viewed
the movie on Friday night. According to Cinemascore ratings, audiences
gave the movie an average of an A+ rating, making Monsters,
Inc. the highest rated movie of the year, surpassing the even
the audience ratings for Shrek. The news isn't a suprise
to Disney and Pixar, however, as last may test screen audiences
gave Monsters, Inc. the highest test screening ratings
of any past Pixar movie.
Several reports
from people in attendance indicate, in general, two rounds of
applause during screenings. The first was after Pixar's animated
short - "For the Birds" - and the second at the conclusion
of Monsters, Inc. Many people that stayed for the credits
expressed disappointment that Pixar didn't attach any outtakes
from the movie.
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 Monsters,
Inc. Characters in Newspaper Reading Ads
(by digitalmediafx.com) Characters from Disney / Pixar's animated
Monsters, Inc. movie are now popping up in ads promoting
newspaper reading. The ads are similar to the campaign also
done with Shrek characters last May. The ads are for
the Newspaper Association of America's literacy ad campaign.
Other animated
films that have participated in past campaigns include Chicken
Run and Final Fantasy.
The Monsters,
Inc. literacy ad capaign is currently running in newspapers
nationwide. Under an image of Mike and Sulley reading the Monstropolis
Times, the ad reads, "Encourage your little monsters to read
a newspaper every day!" The body copy continues, "There's
nothing scarier than being uninformed. Even monsters know that
knowledge is power. Which is why Monsters Inc. employees Mike
and Sulley stay on top of their game by reading a newspaper every
morning...since, of course, they work nights." The ad closes
with the tagline, "It all starts with newspapers."
"These
movie tie-in ads have garnered a terrific response from our members
and their readers," commented NAA Senior Vice President and
Chief Marketing Officer John E. Kimball. "Because they're
designed to run around the same time as the movie's release, they're
very timely — and with these great characters, they're also
a lot of fun."
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Academy
Lecture to Examine Japanese Anime
(by digitalmediafx.com) The origins, history and influences
of Japanese animated films will be examined by a panel of commentators
when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presents
the Seventh Marc Davis Lecture on Animation on Wednesday, November
14, at 8 p.m., in the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater. The program
will be the first time that the Davis Lecture has focused on the
animation industry of a particular country and that industry's
effect on world culture.
Confirmed
to participate in the program are Jerry Beck, animation historian
and author; Mark A. Z. Dippé, ILM Visual Effects Supervisor
and director of "Spawn;" Kunihiko Ikuhara, director
of "Sailor Moon" and "Revolutionary Girl Utena;"
Eric Goldberg, director of "Pocahontas" and two segments
of "Fantasia 2000;" Frank Gladstone, a member of the
DreamWorks SKG animation department; and Fred Patten of Streamline
Pictures, a distributor of anime in the U.S.
In addition
to discussion, the evening will include numerous film clips from
such seminal films as "Akira," "Ghost in the Shell,"
"Princess Mononoke," "Perfect Blue," "Laputa:
Castle in the Sky" and "Pon Poko."
The Marc Davis
Lecture on Animation, named for the animator who was one of Disney's
legendary "Nine Old Men," was established in 1993 to
provide a forum for established film animators and other experts
in the craft to share their experiences as well as to explore
with colleagues the challenges of creating animation for the screen.
Tickets for
the Seventh Marc Davis Lecture on Animation are $5 for the general
public and $3 for Academy members and students with valid identification.
They may be purchased in advance at the Academy during regular
business hours, by mail, or on the night of the event, if still
available, when the doors open at 7 p.m. The Academy is located
at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Please note that
this event examines many different styles and genres of Japanese
animation. Some excerpts may be too violent or explicit for children.
For more information, call 310-247-3600.
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News Link
of the Day - Bay Area Artists Behind Monsters, Inc.
According to KPIX News:
"It looks
like a college dorm. But in fact, it's the most successful film
animation studio in the world. And Emeryville's Pixar may have
another hit on its hands with Monsters Inc..."
Click
here for the full story.
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