As Dreamers Do: American Magic Redux

Blackadder: The Movie (1999 Film)

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Blackadder: The Movie
Released by Paramount Pictures on Christmas Eve 1999

Produced by
BBC Motion Pictures

Directed by
Mandie Fletcher

Screenplay by
Rowan Atkinson

Music by
Howard Goodall

Main Cast
Rowan Atkinson as Edmund Blackadder
Tony Robinson as S. Baldrick
Stephen Fry as Melchett
Tim McInnerny as Lord Percy Percy
Hugh Laurie as George
Miranda Richardson as Queenie
Patsy Byrne as Nursie

Cameos
Brian Blessed
Jim Broadbent
Elspet Gray
Robert East

Notes
- Shortly before the film opened in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission approved Microsoft's acquisition of Paramount Communications.
- British courts cleared Paramount Communications chairman Sumner Redstone of any wrongdoing after he was accused of tampering with the BBC.​
 
State of the Animation Industry as we enter the new millennium
State of the Animation Industry as of January 2000

WARNER BROS.

Warner got burned pretty badly by the disappointing box office returns for Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Chuck Jones, 87, has now officially retired from the animation business after a stunning career lasting over 60 years. And after roughly ten years at Warner Bros., it looks like Tom Ruegger is on his way out.

DREAMWORKS SKG
Cats was unable to compete with Stuart Little this past Christmas. Even with that box office defeat, DreamWorks will proceed with future Andrew Lloyd Webber projects, like Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which will be released for Thanksgiving of 2000. After that, look for DreamWorks and PDI to team up again when they release Shrek in the Summer of 2001.

HANNA-BARBERA
This year will mark 60 years since Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera gave the world Tom and Jerry. Look for Bill and Joe to give us one last Tom and Jerry project in collaboration with United Artists sometime this year. This year will also be the 40th Anniversary of The Flintstones, who will make their primetime return to ABC this fall. On the big screen, Hanna-Barbera has Hey Arnold! The Movie lined up for a Summer 2002 release. But HB will need to settle on an exact date quickly to avoid getting the football head punted by Sailor Moon 3, Carmen Sandiego or the second Star Wars prequel.

KLASKY-CSUPO
Klasky-Csupo has been on a roll with Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys and Rocket Power for Nickelodeon. Look for As Told By Ginger later this fall as The Jim Henson Company retools its Saturday Morning output under the Nick on ABC banner.

DiC
A piece of real estate in DiC's animation library has been vacated thanks to Disney's acquisition of the Carmen Sandiego franchise. But with Saban's recent acquisition of New Line Cinema, DiC will take over the next season of RoboCop: Alpha Commando from Film Roman. In addition, DiC will now have access to New Line's stake in the Goosebumps franchise, with a possible animated movie planned for a 2003 release. Other than that, Andy Heyward is under relentless pressure to crank out new, lucrative franchises and fast.

NELVANA
Nelvana's long-standing relationships with Hasbro and Nintendo remain strong. Look for a feature length adaptation of The Legend of Zelda to reach theatres at some point in 2002. Nelvana intends to cast Haley Joel Osment as the voice of Link, fresh off his Oscar-nominated performance in New Line's remake of The Sixth Sense. Nelvana also hopes to get Zelda Williams to provide the voice for, you guessed it, Zelda.

UNIVERSAL
Universal chairman Brian Grazer is looking to hire Tom Ruegger to revitalize a once-proud cartoon studio reduced to making direct-to-video sequels to An American Tail along with Archie's Weird Mysteries for the USA Cartoon Express.

SCREEN GEMS
Look for the Justice League animated series to reach CBS's Saturday Morning lineup in Fall 2001. Until then, look for Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker in theatres this Thanksgiving.

RANKIN-BASS
RB's biggest hit has been Arthur on UPN's Saturday Morning lineup. In primetime, King of the Hill has held steady in competition with The Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy. Look for Frosty the Snowman and other Rankin-Bass Holiday specials to move from rival networks to UPN and Odyssey beginning this December.

RUBY-SPEARS
Cartoon Network chief Betty Cohen looks to build on the momentum generated by the unexpected smash success of Spongebob Squarepants. One project that has piqued Betty's interest is Chris Savino's pitch about a boy living in a family with ten siblings.

MURAKAMI-WOLF-SWENSON
Down, but not out, MWS has entered the bidding war for Tom Ruegger's services. For the studio itself, Bally and NBC/RKO will each go head to head.

CINEGROUPE
This Montreal based studio is not new to the animation business, but they turned a few heads with The Kids from Room 402 on the USA Cartoon Express. Their most recent acquisition is the rights to a series of children's books written by Australian author Andy Griffiths (not related to TV icon Andy Griffith). This book series, about a mischievous teenage boy who tries to perform elaborate practical jokes, will be adapted for television under the title What's With Andy?. Now the question becomes "Who will be interested in Andy?" Potential distributors include New Line Cinema, Lionsgate, Hollywood Pictures or RKO.

PIXAR
Look for Monsters, Inc. in 2001. Brad Bird, who clashed constantly with Universal management over the direction of The Iron Giant, is looking to pitch The Incredibles to Pixar or another studio.

DISNEY
Don Bluth confirmed to several news sources that he intends to retire and hand the reigns over to Daniel Abbott. On the big screen, look for Dragon's Lair and The Emperor's New Groove in 2000. After that, look for Atlantis: The Lost Empire in 2001 and Lilo and Stitch in 2002. On the small screen, the coming years should bring us Casper and Molly McGee, Kim Possible, The Proud Family and X-Men: Evolution.

GRANTRAY-LAWRENCE
The Simpsons have been renewed for at least three more years. Family Guy so far has proven to be a worthy competitor on Fox's primetime lineup. Ditto Futurama. Now the question becomes if Seth MacFarlane can stay on the same page with Daniel Abbott in the coming years. The Backstreet Project will have its final season in the Fall of 2000, with the Boys citing creative burnout and wanting to take a break from touring.

FILM ROMAN
Could this be the end of Film Roman? Not yet, but to bail out this aging studio, they literally need a bailout for Phil to keep the lights on.
 
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Well I knew NBC/RKO is a strong time for MWS, but Bally was able to buy Film Roman this year. This year, Malcolm in the Middle made its debut on Fox. So we'll get the way to the first movies of the new millennium. In accordance with the 500-page limit, we are intending to do a sequel post.

As far as I'm concerned, two cast members had arrived to RKO's Ang Lee-directed Godzilla film, which was rewritten from Akiva Goldsman's 1995 script by OTL's Hulk writers James Schamus, Michael France and John Turman. The cast members were Neil Patrick Harris and Debra Messing, the last of which starred in NBC's already popular sitcom Will & Grace.
 
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