ASIFA San Francisco, Newsletter March 1997

 

NATIONAL NEWS

 

FELIX THE CAT CAN BE DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH In March Wendy's gave away 400,000 Felix the Cat toys. One was recalled by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. They feared a clear plastic ball with Felix and 4 fish inside it, might come apart. No injuries have been reported, but the fish pose a choking hazard to young children. If you have one of these toys its value as a collectable just went up.

 

ENJOY AN EXPERIMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL AND LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION WITH DR. WILLIAM MORITZ OF CAL ARTS ON THE INTERNET Absolute Vodka has a remarkable web site according to Tony Reveaux, a media journalist who reviews sites as part of his job. He loves their festival of animated shorts and their extensive history of abstract experimental animation that was developed by Dr. William Moritz. Reveaux spent over an hour reading the material presented and he didn't get to the end of the text. Reveaux recently developed a course on the Internet for S.F. State's Multi-Media Extension Program and knows it is hard to do a really meaningful presentation on the www. He feels Moritz has not only mastered it, he has developed one of the best things on it!

The address of the web site is printed in ads for the vodka. If you want to bypass all the promotions for the company and other stuff on the site try http:/www. absolutvodka.com/panushka/map/current/index.html

 

JOHN R. DILWORTH HAS COMPLETED A GREAT NEW SHORT AND IT ISN'T SICK, TWISTED, VIOLENT OR OUTRAGEOUS Dilworth, who created the underground classic Dirdy Birdy and won an Oscar nomination last year for The Chicken from Outer Space, is back with Noodles and Nedd. It is a delightfully funny film that shows off his maturity and brilliance as a director, animator, writer and designer. His distinctive looking characters are simple in their design, yet they give us great dramatic performances and convey a wide range of feelings and emotions.

Unlike his earlier work the humor is subtle and charming. Much of it comes from our understanding that the friends, Nedd the man and Noodles the cat, have a very close relationship. Noodles is smart enough to understands Nedd's quirks. The pair have the potential to become a great comedy team. Their relationship is fresh, original and contemporary. It doesn't appear to be a pale imitation of something from the past.

Dilworth has been developing these stars for several years. They have appeared in his annual holiday greetings which has been a one page multi-paneled comic strip for several years. I'd like to see more of his new stars on the screen. They should work well in an animated series.

 

CHRIS PADILLA IS DISTRIBUTING TWO PACKAGES OF ANIMATED SHORTS The programs are called Digital Dreams and Feets of Clay and the producer is Chris Padilla. Both packages will preview this month at the Newport Beach Film Festival and will go into national release this fall. Padilla is returning to the animation festival business. Back in the 1970's he was connected with the Fantastic Animation package. For details (714) 497-9046.

 

A CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR WANTS TO END A LAW THAT REQUIRES GRAPHIC ARTISTS TO PAY SALES TAX ON ROYALTIES THEY RECEIVE FOR THE USE OF THEIR WORK She is Cathie Wright, a Republican from Simi Valley, and the bill will correct the unfairness in the state Board of Equalization's policies regarding artwork. California is the only state that considers reproduction rights to be tangible property rather than intellectual property and thereby subject to sales tax.

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