Avatar at SDCC '09!
Posted by ASN Staff on June 25, 2009 @ 4:50 am EST (link)
Did you get your San Diego Comic Con tickets? You'd better have:
Mike and I are excited to announce we will be doing a signing at this year's San Diego Comic Con, currently scheduled for 4:00 - 6:00 on Saturday afternoon, July 25. We will be filming a documentary on the making of the television series, and we'll be taping our interactions with people while they get their new ATLA SDCC '09 posters signed (which I am drawing right now!). The producers of the documentary will be pulling certain people who make a great impression aside to film "testimonials" about what the series has meant to each of them. Also, we'd love to film people in their best "Avatar" costumes, new or old, earlier in the day on Saturday. We're not sure if there is already a cosplay gathering planned, but it would behoove us greatly if people could gather at a specific time and place on Saturday, dressed to impress! Bring your favorite fan art, puppets, whatever you want to show to the documentary crew. Thanks! See you in San Diego! -Bryan
So there you have it, once again Avatar will be at SDCC!
Avatar Highlights from the Peabody Awards
Posted by ASN Staff on May 25, 2009 @ 10:27 am EST (link)
Credit goes to Avatar_Mom for writing up this transcript of Mike's speech at the Peabody's this year:
May 18th 2009 at the 68th annual Peabody awards, Brian Williams hosted a room full of rare talents at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. He smiled as he announced the next winner of the prestigious award: Avatar the Last Airbender. He gave a brief but appropriate description of the series which was followed by a clip from the Western Air Temple. At the end of the clip, Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, and Aaron Ehasz took to the stage to accept the award on behalf of all the amazing talents behind the success of the series. Mike spoke to the crowd as Bryan and Aaron stood slightly behind him, a humble yet proud look on their faces.
"This is really cool, this is crazy.
We are deeply humbled and grateful to accept this award for 'Avatar'. Thank you to the Peabody board for this honor. And thanks to everyone who was part of the six year journey in bringing "Avatar" to life – all the talented and dedicated people at Nickelodeon both in New York and Los Angeles as well as the two animation studios in Seoul, South Korea – JM Animation and Moi Animation.
One of the questions people most often ask is: Why does 'Avatar' – an animated kid's show – appeal to so many different age groups? I think the main reason for its appeal is the show's theme of balance. From its inception, the series was always about Aang, a young hero who has the overwhelming task of restoring balance to a war torn world. While at the same time, he struggles with finding internal balance as he searches to understand who he is and his purpose in the world. No matter what age you are or what culture you're from, this is a struggle we can all relate to.
Thank you."
With that, the three left the stage while the crowd applauded their accomplishments. Congratulations again to the many talents that contributed to the show’s success. As fans, we are so proud of your work and hope to see more recognition and awards in your future.
Avatar wins a Peabody Award
Posted by ASN Staff on April 3, 2009 @ 5:29 am EST (link)
Avatar: The Last Airbender has been given the honor of a Peabody award. For those who don't know what that is, Peabody Awards are "to recognize the most outstanding achievements in electronic media, including radio, television and cable". Avatar was chosen for their "Unusually complex characters and healthy respect for the consequences of warfare enhanced this American-made, anime-influenced martial-arts adventure."
Source: Complete List of 2008 Peabody Award Winners
From Mike and Bryan to The Fans
Posted by ASN Staff on February 13, 2009 @ 3:31 pm EST (link)
Last week "Avatar" was fortunate enough to win both Annie awards it was up for, "Best Directing in TV" for Joaquim Dos Santos on Ep. 320 and "Best Series for Children." We are proud of the awards, and it is a good way to cap the series -- it is always nice to be recognized by one's peers. But ultimately it is the continued and growing support and enthusiasm from the show's fans all over the world that gives us the most pride and satisfaction. Thanks for all of your heart and dedication to this world, these characters and this story. We hope it has enriched your lives in some way. We know that you have enriched ours.
Mike & Bryan
February 2009
Avatar won 2 Annies
Posted by ASN Staff on February 11, 2009 @ 7:17 am EST (link)
Avatar won Annies this year! One was in the category Animated Television Production Produced for Children and the other was for
Joaquim Dos Santos in the category Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form for the episode Into the Inferno (Sozin's Comet: Part 3).
If you want to talk about it, check out our Annie 2009 topic on the forums.
Avatar Nominated in Two Categories for 2008 Annie Awards
Posted by ASN Staff on December 4, 2008 @ 6:01 am EST (link)
Once again, Avatar is among the nominees for an Annie Award!
Avatar: The Last Airbender is nominated in the category "Best Animated Television Production Produced for Children" and Joaquim Dos Santos is nominated in the category "Directing in an Animated Television Production or Short Form" for the episode Into the Inferno (Sozin's Comet: Part 3).
The voting takes place on Friday January 30th, 2009.
Nickelodeon Avatar Fan Survey
Posted by Acastus on October 10, 2008 @ 3:36 pm EST (link)
Nickelodeon has posted an online survey for hard core Avatar fans to express their views on the future of the franchise. This is exciting news and a great opportunity for fans to get their voices heard by those who make many of the key merchandising and content decisions. If you have a minute, please take the time and check it out at Nickelodeon Avatar Survey.
EDIT 10/14: The survey is finished and is no longer available. Hopefully our input will have a favorable impact on future Avatar projects!
Finale Ratings, Avatar MMORPG & More
Posted by Acastus on July 28, 2008 @ 9:19 pm EST (link)
With all the activity around SDCC we forgot to relay some other excellent news.
Finale Ratings: First up is the fantastic ratings that the Avatar series finale achieved. The last four episodes broadcast on Saturday, July 19th apparently attracted 5.6 million viewers, a record for Avatar and good enough to place Avatar among the top five cable shows for that week. Check out the ratings as reported by USA Today about halfway down the page. This is a huge achievement to the show staff and the fans who waited many, long months without losing their enthusiasm for one of the best shows on television.
Avatar MMORPG: In another signal that Nickelodeon is continuing to support the franchise, a massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG) for Avatar has been announced by Nick and Viacom that is to debut this coming September. You can download a preview of the beta here, and check out the Viacom press release using the link above or the press release itself in the Press Release section of ASN.
Season Three Box Set: Several days ago the good folks over at TV ShowsOnDVD.com published the reverse cover art for the season three box set of Avatar. The back side revealed the extras that are to be included. They are:
- Inside Sozin's Comet: Exclusive Four-Part Audio Commentary by Creators
- The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender
- Book 3 Finale Pencil Test Animation
- Into the Fire Nation at San Diego Comic Con
Also, don't forget that the volume 4 DVD goes on sale tomorrow!
SDCC Avatar Panel Review
Posted by Acastus on July 26, 2008 @ 1:18 pm EST (link)
- Panel introduction & Avatar MMORPG game announcement by Nick Exec Roland Poindexter
- Screening of finale episodes 320 and 321
- Fanart Contest runner ups and winners presented by Mike & Bryan
- Cosplay Contest presented by Mike & Bryan
- "Forbidden Love" Joke Short
- Q&A Session with Mike & Bryan
Not a lot of major news came out of the panel, but it was confirmed once again that season three was the end of the show. Here are a few other tidbits in no particular order:
- Zuko finding Ursa was actually storyboarded for the finale by Avatar Director Joaquim Dos Santos, but was nixed by Mike DiMartino - not really sure why.
- Avatar will be airing in order on Nicktoons "soon" - no date was announced though.
- The lion turtle taught Aang how to spirit bend (Bryan called it "unbending", but still not clear exactly what to call it).
- Aang can spirit bend or take other people's bending away at will, it wasn't just a one time thing.
- A new Avatar MMORPG will be coming out soon, presumably like World of Warcraft or Everquest
- This won't be the last Avatar panel at SDCC.
- Mike made it clear that at least the first live action movie is a very faithful retelling of Book One: Water.
Everyone wants to see video from the panel, so, here's the JOKE short (Sorry, but there is NO season 4), "Book 4: Air - Forbidden Love":
The Q&A session of our video has also been posted, as well as the Fanart Contest section. Also, there were two cartoon shorts of Mike and Bryan used to introduce various segments of the program. Here is SDCC 2008 Mike & Bryan Cartoon #1 and here is SDCC 2008 Mike & Bryan Cartoon #2.
Toon Zone Interviews Avatar Director & SDCC Avatar Program
Posted by Acastus on July 22, 2008 @ 3:28 pm EST (link)
Click on the Toon Zone logo at left or the link above to read the whole interview!
Friday - July, 25th
Avatar Panel w / Mike & Bryan
Hours: 7:30-9:15 PM
Location: Room 6CDEF
Saturday - July, 26th
Mike and Bryan Autograph Signing
Line ticket drawing at 10:00 AM
Hours: 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Location: Sails Pavilion AA4
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