Animated Views » Brandon

RIP, Tony Jay

Brandon — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 07:57:19 +0000

Sadly, Veteran Royal Shakespeare Actor and voice artist Tony Jay has passed away following complications during a long recovery from surgery to remove a benign tumor from his lungs. poetsonbroadway.com reports that on the morning of Sunday, August 13th, Jay unexpectedly lost the battle that he’d been bravely fighting since the surgery in April. Among his acting credits, it is likely his distinguished and unique voice that will be most remembered for bringing to life songs and characters like Shere Khan from Tale Spin and Virgil from Mighty Max. Most notably, in 1996 he put the hellfire in the voice of Judge Frollo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, often praised by critics as among Disney’s greatest villains of all time. More information on his amazing career including his work on these classics, Bruno the Kid, Savage Dragon, Reboot, and many others can be found at his IMDb page. In his early 70s, Jay leaves behind his wife Martha and a son Adam who is following his father’s footsteps. Tony Jay “will be laid to rest on Saturday, August 19, 2006 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood, California.”

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CGI makes Snakes a thriller.

Brandon — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:25:04 +0000

Critics aren’t exactly jumping out of their seats to laud the reptilian animation in the new Samuel L. Jackson film Snakes on a Plane but Canada.com shares that it’s this animation that keeps people on the edge of their seats in this horror flick. Although over 400 live snakes were actually used in filming, “’snakes on a set’ don’t move around a lot and are kind of quiet,” said Philippe Theroux, 3-D supervisor for Quebec’s Hybride Technologies Inc.. The company, which also worked on Sin City and all three Spy Kids movies dedicated a team of more than 80 people to create more than nine different types of unrealistically vicious, fast, and long-fanged snakes for the film, including a few which don’t even really exist. Theroux called the film “way over the edge.” But it’s certainly the over-the-top computerized snakes that give it that edge. “If you go there and you expect to see something serious or something realistic, you’re missing the point.”

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Pixar beyond Ratatouille

Brandon — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:23:12 +0000

Recent news out of Laughing Place has been creating a stir about Pixar’s next project after Ratatouille. While recent articles have sparked headlines of a possible Monsters Inc sequel and the wheels are turning on a third installment of Toy Story, the mysterious single sentence article states without source or author that the Pixar film immediately following Ratatouille will be entitled W.A.L.-E.. Lending credence to the story however, is an interview from newsarama with Bruce Zick in which the film is listed to his credit as a Pixar film without any further explanation. Regardless, the news has sparked much speculation in the forums. Thanks to forum members “Wondelicious” for breaking the story and “Meg” for bringing the Zick interview to our attention.

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Project 51 sinks teeth into Castlevania

Brandon — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:57:14 +0000

Konami has sold the animation rights to its hit franchise Catlevania to Project 51 Productions reports Game Daily. With an extensive following and more than 20 million copies sold, Project 51 principal Kevin Kolde and his representative, Panacea Entertainment’s Eric Gardner, hope to capitalize on its already overwhelming success with direct to DVD stories, TV series, and ultimately a feature film. The pair will co-executive produce each of the productions. “There is no shortage of story lines,” Gardner said. “The mythology created spans about 600 years in the Belmont family, from the 1400s to the present. So there are myriad story lines from which to draw, and we expect to tap that rich vein.”

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DreamWorks stock continues to struggle despite profit

Brandon — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 20:39:39 +0000

News of a unexpectedly large second-quarter profit caused shares of DreamWorks Animation SKG (ticker symbol: DWA) to rise on Friday but only by 1.5% as other questions loomed. The big concern hanging over the company is that although DVD sales and film revenue are expected to remain healthy, there looms the possibility $300million worth of new sales flooding the market this quarter. The Los Angeles Times reports that due to the unusual business structure of DreamWorks, designed to guarantee that the original investors made their money back, top shareholder, Microsoft mogul, Paul Allen can force the company to give a secondary offering. Investors are speculating this may be the case based on the answer that DreamWorks President Lewis Coleman gave in an earnings conference call when asked if Allen had demanded a second offering. “We don’t believe that Paul’s request to trigger requires disclosure,” he said, “I cannot comment.” Analyst Richard Greenfield however warned that there was no legal issue preventing the disclosure of such information. Analyst Anthony Valencia added, “It’s never a good thing when any executive says ‘we don’t think we have to answer you.’”

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China accelerates approvals to boost domestic animation

Brandon — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 20:58:16 +0000

China, a nation that require government approval for the production of most arts, announced it will accelerate censorship approval for animated works to enhance its domestic industry. The People’s Daily Online reports that, beginning in August, censors will now announce approvals on a monthly basis rather than twice a year as had been done in the past. One government official stated that the new process will mean “investors and makers can make more reasonable decisions whether they will make an animation considering both political and commercial factors on the basis of the information shared.”

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Iran updates policies to boost domestic animation

Brandon — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 09:12:43 +0000

The nation of Iran has made efforts to revise policy in hopes of preserving the animation field in the country and harnessing its “unique potentials.” The Islamic Republic News Agency reveals that in the last three months fourteen animated films have begun production that “focus on various religious, literary and routine issues.” The Center for the Development of Documentary and Experimental Cinema’s Cultural Department has been assigned the task to protect the individuality of the art form while putting it to use in promoting Islamic heritage.

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U.S. weekend box office estimates: June 16-18, 2006

Brandon — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 20:52:32 +0000

Box Office Mojo reports that Superman Returns took in over $52 million to hold onto its lead since its Wednesday street date, easily fending off new release The Devil Wears Prada which came in at $27 million. On the animated front, in its fourth week, Disney and Pixar’s Cars fell to fourth with $14 million but didn’t lose any ground against other pre-released films and stayed ahead of every film in its third week of running. The films total gross has surpassed a whopping $182 million. Meanwhile, Fox’s Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties fell four spots to twelfth in its third week taking in almost $2 million sending its total gross near the $21.5 million mark and DreamWorks’ Over the Hedge took in nearly $1.2 million falling four spots to a respectable fifteenth place in its seventh week for a total gross of over $147.5 million.

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Internet opens opportunities for independent animators

Brandon — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 11:14:49 +0000

Internet portals are making it easier than ever for indies to show off and capitalize on their skills. Web sites, hosted by giants like AOL all the way down to smaller, independent entities, allow these artists to reach larger and, in some cases, more powerful audiences. More importantly however, it is also becoming easier for animators to profit from their creations and expand into franchising and even merchandising. “A growing number of viable forums exist for independent animators to generate exposure on the web” and several of these sites are featured by Animation World Magazine in an extended in-depth article.

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The Fundamentals of Animation are within reach.

Brandon — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 10:52:43 +0000

Loughborough University Animation Professor Paul Wells has created the latest in a line of animation text books entitled The Fundamentals of Animation. Animation World Network reveals that the text is divided into two sections and “discusses the key principles and processes involved in animation.” Ava Publishing also has further information on the book.

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