ANIME EXPO ARTICLE NOW UP ON ROBOTECH.COM

This Saturday at 12:30 p.m. the Robotech Industry Panel will be held at Anime Expo in downtown Los Angeles. We will be showing clips from the documentary, the new animated feature and taking your questions.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ROBOTECH AT ANIME EXPO!

ABOUT.COM ANIMENEXT REPORT

About.com has posted an impressive report from Anime Next and here an excerpt of interest to Robotech fans.

And the long-rumored live-action Robotech film is very much in progress at Warner Brothers, with some very impressive names attached. Tobey Maguire is one of the producers, and screenwriters Akiva Goldsman and Jason Netter (the latter of Robotech itself and also Wanted) are involved. No word on a released date, though.

The report covers much of what went on at AnimeNEXT and its worth the read. 

MUPPET DOMINATION

Not really Robotech related but then again it is pretty cool.

U.S. DOLLAR ON THE RISE

From Ibtimes.com

The US dollar gained against its major counterparts on Monday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke indicated that further monetary stimulus was ‘highly unlikely’ to occur.

The greenback was up against the euro during early European trading, with EUR/USD falling to a three-day low of 1.4271.

On monetary policy, the Federal Reserve left rates unchanged signaling its intention to end QE2 as scheduled while maintaining its policy of reinvesting maturing securities without giving any hint of QE3.

“We do not question the possibility that conditions could become so unfavourable that the economy might need an extra something, but would humbly suggest that if so, QE is not the answer,” said Societe Generale in a note.

However, the Federal Reserve noted that the US economy is slowing down in mid-2011. The labor market is doing worse than anticipated with the housing market continuing to struggle, and consumer spending remained constrained.

Since 2007 the U.S. Dollar value has declined by over 30% making everything from gasoline to anime much more expensive. The Quantitative Easing that the Federal Reserve has done over the past 2 years has only exacerbated the situation. The fact that the Fed has said that a QE3 is unlikely is good news for currency markets and for our economy as a whole.

IMAGI CANCELS CG GATCHAMAN MOVIE

News of interest to Robotech fans comes from Crunchyroll

2009's Astro Boy earned less than $40 million on versus a $65 million budget, and, in its wake, on February 7, 2010, Imagi Animation Studios closed down.  Yet, Imagi Holdings was still in business, and there was the suggestion Gatchaman, produced with outsourced animation, could still be a viable project. 

[snip]

With their 2011 financial results, Imagi announced that they're closing the financial books on Astro Boy and Gatchaman.

-- Excluding the accounting losses due to the redemption of prints and advertising loan, a bridge loan and convertible loan notes, the loss for the year was significantly narrowed down by 89.9% to HK$122.2 million, of which HK$81.2 million was attributable to the provision for impairment loss relating to Astro Boy and Gatchaman

-- The Restructuring commenced in May 2010 (including the above-mentioned provision) wiped the Group's past slate clean. Astro Boy and Gatchaman will no longer have any adverse financial effect on the Group beyond last financial year

 TRANSLATION: The project has died.

I do find it fascinating that the people who "know this business" and wanted to "stir the pot" have been and still are very quiet about these recent events.



Why is that?

UPDATE: Several fans have pointed out this passage from the robotech.com forums on 3-8-2011.

   

Gatchaman/G-Force has a CGI movie due later this year

[snip]

One of the greatest differences with al these is that when they are announced, they make it clear to fans that there is something going on and they do that by showing us things. Take Superhero Hype for example. They have shown images from all the series mentioned above including the ones above as well as snippets of inormation and interviews with the creators.

                   Since the new [ROBOTECH ]11' project has been announced I haven't seen anything but a stance exactly against this. You say that conventions are the only way to see things yet when you look around, the majority of us can not

cons for whatever reason be it work, school, location, money...etc etc etc. You have an opportunity to encourage the franchise again by ditching this cloak and dagger approach to everything. The "less is more" approach only serves to alienate your fans more so than not. Why not show the clip online or some production still. Give people something to discuss for once instead of reasons to argue.

At a certain point, don;t you want people to view your product/franchise with a measure of hope and enthusiasm instead of pessimism and indifference?

                     

ROBOTECH CONVENTION TOUR TO STOP AT A.C.E. THIS WEEKEND

The Robotech Convention Tour will make its first ever stop at the Albuquerque Comic Expo on June 24-26, 2011. The Albuquerque Comic Expo, is Albuquerque’s newest and most exciting comic book, pop culture, and entertainment convention. It’s a weekend-long celebration of the very best in comic books, movies, television, gaming, and more! As part of this celebration the Albuquerque Comic Expo has invited Harmony Gold Creative Director Tommy Yune to give fans in New Mexico the latest updates on the Robotech franchise.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN ATTEND A.C.E.

PHOTOS FROM A-KON 22 ARE NOW UP ON THE FACEBOOK PAGE

The Robotech Facebook Page has posted photos from Robotech Convention Tour recent stop in Dallas, TX. Be sure to look for the person cosplaying Roy Fokker.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE PHOTOS

INFLATION ON THE RISE IN THE UNITED STATES

From the London Financial Times.

Core US consumer prices rose at their fastest rate for five years in May, making it almost impossible for the Federal Reserve to ponder further monetary easing.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the consumer price index grew by 0.3 per cent from April to May, the most rapid increase since 2006. Compared with a year earlier prices rose by 1.5 per cent.

Although temporary factors have exaggerated the rise, there has been an upward trend in core inflation since the year-on-year trough of 0.6 per cent last October, leaving the central bank with little scope to spur growth while meeting its inflation objective of 2 per cent.

“It is quite a big increase, although some of it is temporary,” said Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics in Toronto. “Undeniably there is no imminent threat of deflation.”

The Fed concentrates on core inflation, which reflects underlying pressures in the economy, as the best guide to how prices will move. The decline in core inflation towards very low levels last autumn was crucial in its decision to launch a second, $600bn round of asset purchases to boost the economy, which came to be known as QE2.

The higher inflation numbers came on the same day as data showing sluggish industrial production – up by 0.1 per cent in May – and rock bottom confidence among house builders.

We could very well be on the cusp of Stagflation, a phenomenon we have not seen since the late 1970's.  Rising unemployment and rising prices would create a very difficult economic picture for anime companies and consumers alike.

JAPANESE YEN MAY STRENGTHEN YET AGAIN

From Bloomberg.com

The yen may strengthen to 75 versus the dollar as the U.S. faces the risk of a credit rating downgrade amid an economic slowdown, said Eisuke Sakakibara, formerly Japan’s top currency official.

“The U.S. economy is in a worse-than-expected state,” Sakakibara said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday. “The yen may trade in a range of 75 to 80 against the dollar in the not so distant future.”

The U.S. currency’s declining trend will continue as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke signals his intention to maintain record monetary stimulus, Sakakibara said. The dollar-weakening pressure will outweigh the risk of Japan slipping into an “unprecedented recession” in the wake of a record earthquake and tsunami on March 11, he said.

Sakakibara, 70, said Japan is unlikely to intervene in the currency market to stop the yen’s climb because it may not be able to gain international cooperation again. The Group of Seven countries jointly intervened to stem the yen’s gains in March after the currency soared to a postwar record of 76.25 against the greenback.

To help put this slide into perspective:  In the past 4 years the dollar has lost 32% of its value against the Yen. That means the cost of acquiring & producing anime has gone up by 32%.

That cost will be passed on to consumers and will result in changes in how anime is acquired and or produced in the future. 

HARRY POTTER FRANCHISE WILL GROSS OVER 7 BILLION USD

FULL DISCLOSURE: Harmony Gold has an agreement with Warner Brothers to produce a live action Robotech film.

Forbes has a pretty interesting article on the success of Harry Potter franchise and here is an excerpt.

When the final Harry Potter movie hits theaters next month, it will mark the end of the highest-grossing franchise in the history of movies (on an unadjusted basis). So far the movies have earned $6.3 billion at the global box office. If the next film performs as well as last year’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, the franchise total will approach $7.3 billion. Considering the final Potter film will have the advantage of ticket price hiking 3-D, it could earn even more.

So Harry Potter has been a boon for the overall box office and anything that makes the box office numbers look better is good for Hollywood. No studio executives want to see stories about shrinking audiences and sinking revenue. That just helps to turn people off to the already high-priced experience of going to the movies.

But Harry Potter has also helped the struggling DVD market. According to IHS Screen Digest, U.S. spending on DVDs (including Blu-ray) grew 1.6% over April and the first two weeks of May thanks to the DVD release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. Of course the video market is still down 15% year-over-year but the decline improved by 6% over the first quarter dip.

 While its not Robotech related the article is a fascinating look at how a major studio makes money off a property and how that property can benefit other films as well. Its worth the read.

THE ROBOTECH MYSTERY BOX IS READY...

Who will win its prizes this weekend?

THREE REACTORS AT THE FUKUISHIMA NUCLEAR PLANT WENT INTO 'FULL MELTDOWN'

             

                             An aerial view of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

                           

Very disturbing news from CNN.

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced full meltdowns at three reactors in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday.

The nuclear group's new evaluation, released Monday, goes further than previous statements in describing the extent of the damage caused by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

The announcement will not change plans for how to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the agency said.

Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced a full meltdown, it said.

To put this in perspective Three Mile Island and Cheryonbol were just one react each.

The earthquake and tsunami knocked out cooling systems at Fukushima Daiichi, causing the three operating reactors to overheat. That compounded a natural disaster by spewing radioactive material into the atmosphere.

Tokyo Electric avoided using the term "meltdown," and says it was keeping the remnants of the core cool. But U.S. experts interviewed by CNN after the company's announcement in May said that while it may have been containing the situation, the damage had already been done.

"On the basis of what they showed, if there's not fuel left in the core, I don't know what it is other than a complete meltdown," said Gary Was, a University of Michigan nuclear engineering professor and CNN consultant. And given the damage reported at the other units, "It's hard to imagine the scenarios can differ that much for those reactors."

A massive hydrogen explosion -- a symptom of the reactor's overheating -- blew the roof off the No. 1 unit the day after the earthquake, and another hydrogen blast ripped apart the No. 3 reactor building two days later. A suspected hydrogen detonation within the No. 2 reactor is believed to have damaged that unit on March 15.

It looks like Japan will be feeling the effects of this disaster for decades to come. 

SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON ROBOTECH PANEL ANNOUNCED

The Robotech Convention Tour returns to Comic-Con International in San Diego, North America's largest event devoted to comic books, film, science fiction, fantasy, animation, collectible card games and video games. Join Tommy Yune and Steve Yun for a special panel on Thursday July, 21 at 7:00 p.m in panel room 6DE!

DR. WHO FAN MADE VIDEO ANIME STYLE

Anime News Network has posted a Fan Made Dr. Who anime. The video was made by Paul Johnson, who a professional translator in Sheffield, England.

While its not Robotech related Paul has done an amazing job and I think all the old school Dr. Who fans will appreciate it.

ANIME EXPO ROBOTECH PANEL ANNOUNCED

Yesterday the Robotech Facebook page and Twitter News Feed announced that the Robotech panel at Anime Expo 2011 will take place on Saturday, July 2nd at 12:30 p.m. in room LP4.

You can register for Anime Expo here.