Hellouin To Form New Studio

September 21, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Guillaume Hellouin, co-Founder of Paris-based Sparx*, has announced his departure from the large CG house. After majority shareholder Humanoids Group, represented by Fabrice Giger, took control of the company, Hellouin left to create greener animated pastures. Hellouin established Sparx* in 1995 with Jean-Christophe Bernard and seven other partners. Together they [...]

WB Animation’s Buyer Christopher Keenan: An Exec Who Understands Broadcast AND Animation

June 30, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Ask anyone in town about Christopher Keenan’s rep and you’ll get the same answer: “Great guy. Knows his stuff.” The senior VP of creative affairs for Warner Bros. Animation has definitely paid his dues and could very well just sit on his laurels. Instead, he reacts to pitches as any [...]

ASIFA-Hollywood Event Empowers Advocacy for Hand-drawn Art

June 28, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Saturday, June 26, was a major day for hand-drawn animation as ASIFA-Hollywood presented its first 2D Expo at Woodbury University in Burbank, Calif. The brainchild of animation historian and board member Jerry Beck, the all-day event brought out high profile artist-advocates like Eric Goldberg (Looney Tunes: Back in Action), Donovan [...]

Peter Gal, Director of Development, Buyer & Nick’s New Shorts Meister

June 23, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Some of us have taken some pretty winding paths to our careers in animation, but few so winding (or so interesting) as Nickelodeon’s director of development, Peter Gal. Not only did Gal study anthropology and literature at Oxford and ultimately graduate from Tufts University with a B.A. in anthropology, he [...]

Harryhausen and Students Animate Annecy

June 10, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Pressed for time between screenings, I want to quickly give you Animag readers a rundown of Annecy highlights. Opening night, during the first program of animated shorts in competition, the grand theatre at the Bonlieu complex was packed to the gills with a screaming crowd. As always the cheers for [...]

Buyer’s Corner-Kevin Corcoran, President, Chief Buyer& Action Fan for Anime Network

June 9, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Kevin Corcoran and I have a few things in common. We’re both Mac-heads and fans of giant robots. I’m not really sure what that means in the grand scheme of things, but I do know’considering the fact that my G4 spent yesterday in triage’that giant robots are probably the upside [...]

Beautiful Musica Found at Annecy

by Rita Street No Comments divider image

In addition to all the planned presentations and screenings, the Annecy International Festival of Animation offers a smorgasbord of unexpected events and marvelous chance meetings. Just an hour ago, for example, while looking for colleagues, I met three young graduates of France’s renown Supinfocom (last year Christel Pougeoise and Romain [...]

Buyer’s Corner-Al Kahn, Buyer, Chief of Fox Box & Uber-Creator of Kids’ Crazes

June 2, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Anyone who’s ever met Al Kahn knows he’s a memorable guy. Not only is he a definite personality, he’s the salesman who brought Pokémon to the States. Love him or hate him for that, you gotta give him credit for creating one of the most lucrative kids’ crazes in history. [...]

Buyer’s Corner-Donna Friedman Meir, Buyer and SellerFor National Geographic–and the World and All That’s in It

May 26, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

If you want to sell kids’ animation to the National Geographic Channel, you may be barking up the wrong tree. The channel, as Donna Friedman Meir explains, focuses on the 18-49 audience. The National Geographic Society, however, with its powerful outlet the National Geographic Kids Magazine, is very focused on [...]

Buyer’s Corner-Alice Cahn, Buyer for Cartoon NetworkStill Room for Preschool Content ‘ and Laughs

May 12, 2004 by Rita Street No Comments divider image

Alice Cahn, VP of development for Cartoon Network’s kid businesses, is definitely in one of the most unique positions in the industry. Not only is she a buyer at Cartoon Network, she is one of the few people on the planet who is specifically interested in developing cutting-edge and creative [...]