Early February Links

The links of February serve up a new batch of news stories. For instance, MTV.com gets excited about a new super hero program.

Could a "Young Justice League" animated series be on the horizon? A report that hit the 'Net and was removed a short time later seems to indicate that's the case.

"I am beyond thrilled to announce that I was recently cast in the new animated series, 'Young Justice League', based on the famous (and awesome!?) DC Comics," wrote actress Stephanie Lemelin in a statement on her website that was snagged by Mania.com before being removed ...

The L.A. Times relates Oscar minutia regarding animation:

... Batting 1.000: Animated short nominee Nick Park ("Wallace & Gromit in A Matter of Loaf and Death") has won all four of his previous Oscar races -- animated short (1990, 1993, 1996) and animated feature (2005). In 1990 he was a double nominee, winning for "Creature Comforts" over "A Grand Day Out with Wallace & Gromit." In 1993 he won for "Wallace & Gromit in the Wrong Trousers," in 1996 for "Wallace & Gromit in A Close Shave" and in 2005 for "Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit."

Animated Features: "Up" is the second animated feature after "Beauty and the Beast" to contend for best picture. While "Beauty" had five other nominations in 1991, including three song bids, score and sound, "Up" is contending in four other categories -- screenplay, score, sound editing and animated feature. That last category wasn't created till 2001, and this is only the second year -- after 2002, when "Spirited Away" won -- that there have been five rather than three nominees.

The new Disney Studio Chairman continues to make big changes at the House of Mouse:

For the last 2 1/2 months, one of Hollywood's most powerful marketing machines -- Walt Disney Studios -- has been operating without a marketing chief. That could soon change.

Studio Chairman Rich Ross has met with his executives and told them that he plans to hire someone outside of Hollywood's usual movie circles to replace former marketing President Jim Gallagher, ousted in the fall. He has narrowed the list of candidates and is meeting with a small number of finalists ...

Ross has scoured some big ad agencies ... seeking candidates who have overseen innovative campaigns for major brands. He's also weighed bringing in someone from the video game or tech industries -- or the very least, someone savvy about harnessing social networking and emerging technologies to sell movies, according to several people knowledgeable about the search.

Slate asks the semi-obvious question.

How Is Avatar Not an Animated Film?

... Up is only the second animated film to receive a best picture nomination ... Unless you count Avatar.

Comic Book Resources profiles the story development of the DVD animated feature Planet Hulk:

Planet Hulk" allowed ... the Marvel Animation team to come full circle with their DVD projects, which started in 2006 with another adaptation of a major comics story line. Though this time, the writer said that viewers can expect fewer changes to the core of this story than in the version of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's "Ultimates" that hit a few years back.

"The mandate when this started when they chose to do 'Ultimates' – a lot of that decision involved 'Let's get all our best players on the screen at once.' It was an exciting story, and the process was a little different than 'Planet Hulk' because the books had a little bit more of an edge to them. ..."

(Labor side note: TAG won a union election vote at Marvel sometime back, but the company ultimately refused to agree to a contract.)

We end with a small, golden nugget of hope:

Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes said Wednesday that advertising revenue at the Turner entertainment cable networks, including ... Cartoon Network, will grow in 2010.

Have a fine, end-of-week experience. The weekend is within sight.