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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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