Obituary: Neva Patterson
Actress Neva Patterson (b.1922) died on December 14. Patterson appeared in the television series V, as well as episodes of Logan’s Run and Tales from the Crypt and the film All of Me.
Obituary: Jean Rollin
French director Jean Rollin (b.1938) died on December 15. Rollin directed Le Viol du Vampire and followed up with La Vampire Nue, Le Frisson des Vampires, and Requiem pour un Vampire as well as numerous other zombie and vampire films throughout his career.
Obituary: Blake Edwards
Writer, producer, and director Blake Edwards (b.1922) died on December 15. Edwards may be best known for his films 10, the Pink Panther, and The Great Race. Edwards did have a few genre films, including Switch, Strangler of the Swamp, and The Atomic Kid. In 2004, he won an honorary Oscar in recognition of his writing, directing, and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen. The same year, he won a Life Career Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
Charlaine Harris Sweepstakes
In honor of the launch of a new Charlaine Harris website with new forums, Penguin is holding a Charlaine Harris Sweepstakes through December 27, 2010. Five entrants will win a stocking and a copy of Dead in the Family, both autographed by Harris. Winners will be announced on January 3, 2011.
SyFy and Universal in Film Deal
SyFy Films has entered into an arrangement with Universal to produce two science fiction, fantasy, and horror films a year with Universal handling the distribution. Production on the films, which will have budgets between $5 million and $25 million, will begin in 2012.
Manga Restrictions in Japan
Tokyo has banned the sale of manga that depicts rape, incest, and other sexual crimes to anyone under the age of 18. Anyone caught violating this rule faces a fine of ¥300,000 ($3,570). A group of publishers has threatened to boycott the Tokyo International Anime Fair in March 2011 over what they see as an attempt at censorhip.
Annie Nominations
The Annie Awards nominations have been announced, with the winners presented on February 5, 2011 in Los Angeles by the International Animated Film Society. Founded 38 years ago, the Annies honor excellence in animation on both film and television.
Production Categories
Best Animated Feature
- Despicable Me
- How to Train Your Dragon
- Tangled
- The Illusionist
- Toy Story 3
Best Animated Short Subject
- Coyote Falls
- Day & Night
- Enrique Wrecks the World
- The Cow Who Wanted To Be A Hamburger
- The Renter
Best Animated Television Commercial
- Children’s Medical Center
- Frito Lay Dips “And Then There Was Salsa”
- How to Train Your Dragon Winter Olympic Interstitial “Speed Skating”
- McDonald’s “Spaceman Stu”
- Pop Secret “When Harry Met Sally”
Best Animated Television Production
- Futurama
- Kung Fu Panda Holiday
- Scared Shrekless
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Arc Troopers”
- The Simpsons “The Squirt and the Whale”
Best Animated Television Production for Children
- Adventure Time
- Cloudbread
- Fanboy & Chum Chum
- Regular Show
- SpongeBob SquarePants
Best Animated Video Game
- Heavy Rain
- Kirby’s Epic Yarn
- Limbo
- Shank
Individual Achievement Categories
Animated Effects in an Animated Production
- Andrew Young Kim Shrek Forever After
- Jason Mayer How to Train Your Dragon
- Brett Miller How to Train Your Dragon
- Sebastian Quessy Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
- Krzysztof Rost Megamind
Character Animation in a Television Production
- Nicolas A. Chauvelot Scared Shrekless
- Savelen Forrest Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III
- Elizabeth Harvatine Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III
- David Pate Kung Fu Panda Holiday
- Nideep Varghese Scared Shrekless
Character Animation in a Feature Production
- Mark Donald Megamind
- Anthony Hodgson Megamind
- Gabe Hordos How to Train Your Dragon
- Jakob Hjort Jensen How to Train Your Dragon
- David Torres How to Train Your Dragon
Character Animation in a Live Action Production
- Quentin Miles – Clash of the Titans
- Ryan Page – Alice in Wonderland
Character Design in a Television Production
- Andy Bialk The Ricky Gervais Show
- Stephen DeStefano Sym-Bionic Titan
- Ernie Gilbert T.U.F.F. Puppy
- Gordon Hammond T.U.F.F. Puppy
- Steve Lambe Fanboy & Chum Chum
Character Design in a Feature Production
- Sylvain Chomet The Illusionist
- Carter Goodrich Despicable Me
- Timothy Lamb Megamind
- Nico Marlet How to Train Your Dragon
Directing in a Television Production
- Bob Anderson The Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror XXI”
- Peter Chung Firebreather
- Duke Johnson Frankenhole “Humanitas”
- Tim Johnson Kung Fu Panda Holiday
- Gary Trousdale Scared Shrekless
Directing in a Feature Production
- Sylvain Chomet The Illusionist
- Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud Despicable Me
- Mamoru Hosoda Summer Wars
- Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois How to Train Your Dragon”
- Lee Unkrich Toy Story 3”
Music in a Television Production
- J. Walter Hawkes, Billy Lopez The Wonder Pets!
- Henry Jackman, Hans Zimmer and John Powell Kung Fu Panda Holiday
- Tim Long, Alf Clausen, Bret McKenzie, Jemaine Clement The Simpsons “Elementary School Musical”
- Shawn Patterson Robot Chicken’s DP Christmas Special
- Jeremy Wakefield, Sage Guyton, Nick Carr, Tuck Tucker SpongeBob SquarePants
Music in a Feature Production
- Sylvain Chomet The Illusionist
- David Hirschfelder Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
- John Powell How to Train Your Dragon
- Harry Gregson Williams Shrek Forever After
- Pharrell Williams, Heitor Pereira Despicable Me
Production Design in a Television Production
- Alan Bodner Neighbors From Hell
- Barry Jackson Firebreather
- Pete Oswald Doubtsourcing
- Richie Sacilioc Kung Fu Panda Holiday
- Scott Wills Sym-Bionic Titan
Production Design in a Feature Production
- Yarrow Cheney Despicable Me
- Eric Guillon Despicable Me
- Dan Hee Ryu Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
- Pierre Olivier Vincent How to Train Your Dragon
- Peter Zaslav Shrek Forever After
Storyboarding in a Television Production
- Sean Bishop Scared Shrekless
- Fred Gonzales T.U.F.F. Puppy
- Tom Owens Kung Fu Panda Holiday
- Dave Thomas Fairly OddParents
Storyboarding in a Feature Production
- Alessandro Carloni How to Train Your Dragon
- Paul Fisher Shrek Forever After
- Tom Owens How to Train Your Dragon
- Catherine Yuh Rader Megamind
Voice Acting in a Television Production
- Jeff Bennett as The Necronomicon Fanboy & Chum Chum
- Corey Burton as Baron Papanoida Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Nika Futterman as Asajj Ventress Star Wars: The Clone Wars
- Mike Henry as Cleveland Brown The Cleveland Show
- James Hong as Mr. Ping Kung Fu Panda Holiday
Voice Acting in a Feature Production
- Jay Baruchel as Hiccup How to Train Your Dragon
- Gerard Butler as Stoick How to Train Your Dragon
- Steve Carrell as Gru Despicable Me
- Cameron Diaz as Fiona Shrek Forever After
- Geoffrey Rush as Ezylryb Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Writing in a Television Production
- Daniel Arkin Star Wars: The Clone Wars “Heroes on Both Sides”
- Jon Colton Barry & Piero Piluso Phineas & Ferb “Nerds of a Feather”
- John Frink The Simpsons “Stealing First Base”
- Geoff Johns, Matthew Beans, Zeb Wells, Hugh Sterbakov, Matthew Senreich, Breckin Meyer, Seth Green, Mike Fasolo, Douglas Goldstein, Tom Root, Dan Milano, Kevin Shinick & Hugh Davidson Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III
- Michael Rowe Futurama
Writing in a Feature Production
- Michael Arndt Toy Story 3
- Sylvain Chomet The Illusionist
- William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders How to Train Your Dragon
- Dan Fogelman Tangled
- Alan J. Schoolcraft, Brent Simons Megamind
Juried Awards
- Winsor McCay Award — Brad Bird, Eric Goldberg, Matt Groening
- June Foray — Ross Iwamoto
- Ub Iwerks Award — Autodes
- Special Achievement — Waking Sleeping Beauty
Roman Statue Unearthed by Storm
A Mediterranean storm that caused part of the Israeli coast to collapse unearthed a 1.2 meter tall statue of a woman in a toga which is believed to be between 1800 and 2000 years old. The statue was part of a bathhouse complex.
First Non-Human Jeopardy! Contestant
The American game show Jeopardy! will feature a series of three games between champion players Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter and an IBM computer, named Watson, from February 14-16, 2011. IBM has been in talks with the show’s producers for two years for the match-up, which IBM sees as a major test for their computer. Before the show’s producers would agree, the computer had to pass the same test human have to take. The purse for the three-day tournament will be $1,000,000, with the entire amount going to charity if Watson wins and 50% going to charity if one of the humans wins.
Gollancz Seeks Editor
Gollancz, a science fiction imprint of Orion Publishing, is looking to fill an editorial position in London. The editor will be working with the Deputy Publishing Director, authors, agents, and various members of the production and marketing teams.