Film Roman, Inc.'s 'Tripping the Rift' Named $25,000 Grand Prize Winner;
Playboy.com to Post all Winning Entries in their Entirety
NEW YORK, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ --Playboy.com has unveiled the winners of
the first ever Playboy Comix and Animation Contest. The event, open to
amateur artists and seasoned professionals alike, named Film Roman, Inc.'s
Charles O. Austen and Chris Moeller's animated "Tripping the Rift" as the
$25,000 grand prize winner. "Tripping the Rift" along with the 10 honorable
mention-winning works can be viewed in their entirety at
http://www.playboy.com/arts-entertainment/comixcontest/ . A three-page
feature in October's special college issue of Playboy magazine (on newsstands
August 28) will highlight and honor all of the winners.
"The volume, breadth and caliber of entries truly exceeded our
expectations," commented contest organizer Michelle Urry, longtime cartoon
editor of Playboy magazine. "This contest enabled us to continue in the rich
comedy tradition of the magazine, and to tap into a talented pool of
cartoonists and animators. It is the perfect way for us to introduce
animation and cartoon content to the growing Playboy.com network."
The inaugural event drew a talented pool of entrants from around the
world, submitting their work in a variety of media formats including Flash,
Shockwave, and video, along with the more traditional pen-and-ink. Judges for
the historic "Playboy first" were: Scott Adams, the award-winning creator of
Dilbert; Kevin Smith, the filmmaker behind Chasing Amy, Dogma and Clerks;
Gahan Wilson, the cartoonist whose monsters and macabre humor have enlivened
the pages of Playboy for decades; Playboy.com Creative Director Jay Boersma,
and Urry.
"Tripping the Rift," a computer generated Star Wars/Star Trek parody, was
a project spearheaded by Austen and Moeller for Film Roman's Level 13
( http://www.level13.net ) subsidiary. The animated sci fi epic features Stephen
Root, of News Radio as the voice of "Chode," and Terry Farrell, of Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine as the voice of "Six of One," the story's sexy lead character.
Austen worked on the computer game Star Trek: The Next Generation and spent
two seasons as storyboard artist for King of the Hill. Moeller started out in
clay-mation films and progressed to work on The Simpsons and King of the Hill.
"This is how the Playboy cartoons of old were meant to evolve," commented
judge Kevin Smith on the "Tripping the Rift" project.
"Winning the Playboy festival is astounding to me," commented Austen upon
learning his project was named the first-ever Playboy Comix & Animation
Contest grand prize winner. "As an animator I've remembered the sense of
freedom that the magazine inspired in me throughout my artistic development,
and at the very least I wanted to show those involved that I was paying
attention to more than just the centerfolds. We're thrilled that 'Tripping
the Rift' was recognized by such a distinguished organization and panel of
judges."
In addition to "Tripping the Rift," the judges voted 10 honorable mention
winners from among the plethora of entries:
Brett Bagenstose--"BIG FUN SHOW"
Patricia Beckmann -- "MATILDA"
Aaron Ber, Rupinder Malhotra, Adam Saunders, Mike Massom -- "HECTOR THE
FRUIT BAT IN THE BIG CITY"
Edgar Beals -- "SEXXXY DOLL"
Doug Lawrence, Film Roman, Inc.'s Level 13 -- "HAIRBALLS"
Dan Hoisman, Michael Krogmann & Max Hackett -- "STAN & STAN BIG SPORTS
SPECTACULAR EXTRAVAGANZA"
Juan Alvarez & Jorge Gomez -- "THE KIDS"
Dean Yeagle -- "CONANETTE"
John Bloom & David M. Woodson -- "RUBBER CHICKEN"
Erik Barclay -- "PERFECT 10, STRIP #2"
SOURCE Playboy.com
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