End-of-Week Linkage

Now with sparkly gold Add On.

When in doubt, share links.

Futurama makes Fox-News Corp. some additional bucks.

"Futurama" is blasting into weekend off-net syndication.

The Matt Groening animated series, which just recently returned to first-run via Comedy Central, has been cleared by Twentieth TV on Tribune outlets in several top outlets for a fall 2011 launch ...

"With renewed interest in the animated series, thanks to its successful return on Comedy Central, we felt that this was the right time," Twentieth TV EVP/general sales manager Paul Franklin said ....

Farewell to animation director Satoshi Kon.

Satoshi Kon, a Japanese filmmaker and comic-book artist whose dazzling visual compositions and humane, emotionally resonant stories won him a devoted following in animation circles and beyond, died in Tokyo on Tuesday. He was 46.

The cause was pancreatic cancer, according to the Tokyo Shimbun news service and statements issued by Mr. Kon’s wife, Kyoko, and by Madhouse Studios, where Mr. Kon directed films ...

America's current reiligious dispute gets depicted by ever-popular Taiwanese 'toonage:

Like with many scandals before it ... animation company NMA brings you a comprehensive take on all of the controversy surrounding the "Ground Zero Mosque" debate. Inside, the the appropriately cartoonish interpretation.

Tech news: Red Hat and Jeffrey's place get together.

Raleigh-based Red Hat, the Linux software company, announced Wednesday that DreamWorks Animation - the Hollywood studio behind the Shrek franchise and a host of other animated hits - plans to use Red Hat's cloud computing software to help produce animated films.

DreamWorks has been at the forefront of cloud computing and is "building one of the world's largest private clouds with Red Hat," Paul Cormier, president of products and technology at Red Hat, said during a conference call ...

What do ex-Disney animators (Australian edition) do when the Mouse closes the studio? They start creating phone apps.

Tui Studios' directors Jonathan Dower and Kelly Baigent worked for Disney Toon Studios Australia as animators before it closed its doors in 2006. Inspired to work on their own projects they opened Tui Studios in Sydney's Inner West and now work on a wide variety of projects.

Tui’s latest release is Monster Melody Mash, a musical game that people can download onto their iPhone or iPad. ...

USA Today tells of the next animated feature in the lineup.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, Sept. 24: Zack Snyder is known for creating savage, otherworldly realms in 2006's 300 and last year's Watchmen, but here he takes an abrupt turn into not just a family-friendly adventure but one in which the characters all have feathers. It's still a fantasy-adventure picture, but the young hero is an owl who dreams of finding the legendary armored brethren who can help him fight the predatory rivals terrorizing his home. "I wanted to do something that transcended animation, that was not a cartoon, but more like Avatar with owls," Snyder says ...

Here it is, America. Your human-animal hybrid. And high time, too.

... Chris Wedge and his WedgeWorks banner have dipped into their discretionary fund to pick up "Lives of the Monster Dogs," a postmodern "Frankenstein"-style novel by Kirsten Bakis. ...

"Dogs" revolves around a group of soldier dogs genetically engineered by mad Prussian scientists hiding in a Canadian village. The hyper-intelligent dogs, who walk erect and use voice boxes to communicate, revolt against their masters ...

WedgeWorks plans on developing the project, which would be live action and heavy with effects, before bringing it to Fox, with whom it has a production pact. ...

Lastly, since we've been on the subject of video pirates:

Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Co. have teamed up in a new legal effort to choke off the air supply of various websites that post and index links to pirated movies. ...

The two studios aren't the first to attempt to crack down on piracy by targeting so-called facilitators. Adult entertainment publisher Perfect 10 sued Mastercard and Visa in 2004, alleging the two credit card companies provided "crucial transactional support services" to pirate websites. A district court dismissed the case, and later the Ninth Circuit upheld it, determining that Perfect 10 had failed to support any theory of liability against the defendants. ...

Add On: Congratulations to Pixar for creating Disney's second billion-dollar franchise in 2010.

... [Toy Story 3], which ranks seventh among all-time worldwide grossers, is expected to cross the $1 billion mark Friday, according to the studio, making Disney the first company to field two $1 billion blockbusters in the same year.

Earlier this year, Disney's "Alice in Wonderland," also crossed that line and currently stands in fifth place in the all-time worldwide rankings with $1.024 billion. ...

Have a life-affirming Friday. Strive to start your weekend no later than six pee em.