September, 2002
CAUTION: THIS ISSUES KICKS ASS
You will find several departures from our usual straight forward reporting of nice news in the several parts of this issue. Lippy has written an unusual article about meeting John K. and Ralph Bakshi. I take on the Christian Right, report on a an awful anti-Disney homophobic web site (plus a funny anti-Disney hoax) and discuss an unusual response to racist images by a black student.There is also an unusual excerpt of a speech by the lateWard Kimball and a few other unusual items. Hope you enjoy this issue. Karl Cohen NINA PALEY GETS POLITICAL IN HER LATEST ANIMATED WORK The Stork opens with a bird carrying a 'bundle of joy.' Suddenly, not one but several storks are seen. Then there are hundreds of them dropping their 'bombs' into the unsuspecting natural environment. Nina says the bundles explode in a "baby boom" resulting in row after row of identical tract homes, SUVs and beautiful, smiling suburban family members. The work succeeds in getting its point across without getting preachy because it uses humor to good advantage and it is over before you take it all in. Paley is a strong advocate of population control and at one recent screening she handed out stickers that said "thank you for not breeding." That bizarre phrase is the title to the partly-animated documentary she is working on. She has been described as "the world's worst person to invite to a baby shower." ninapaley.com In June, Nina joined her husband Dan McHale in India where he is an advisor at Toonz India. They were married in May, the day before Dan left for India. They will return to the Bay Area in November. Toonz India just announced Indigo Kids, a British TV syndication firm, will distribute their Adventures of Tenall (26 shows, 11 minutes each) worldwide. The show is based on Indian folklore. They are also producing 52 episodes of How to Care for your Monster. The 12 minute show is being made for Treehouse Productions in England. NIK PHELPS FLEW TO ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA TO ACCOMPANY WORKS BY NINA PALEY & ROCK ROSS He was invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the Krok International Festival of Animation on August 14. He screened 35mm prints of Cancer by Paley and Stupor Mundi by Ross. The next day Nik, his wife Nancy and about 500 other people attending the festival, boarded a boat bound for Moscow. They spent 10 days screening animation, talking and having a great time. Along the way Nik showed a 1?-hour program similar to the fine programs he presents with the Sprocket Ensemble in the Bay Area. (He performed his original music with Russian musicians.) In order to attract participants from around the world, the festival pays for your food, accommodations and transportation while you are in Russia! Consider entering your film next year. Each year they travel over a different body of water. Nik and Nancy will remain in Europe through October as he is performing at the Silent Film Festival in Sacile, Italy in October. In November they will be back and will show new European animation acquired on the trip. Their next Bay Area shows will be at the Minna St. Gallery and 21 Grand Gallery in Oakland. DRISCAL DESIGN HAS A NEW WEBTOON Dave writes, "Tok and Jok are back in their second storyless animated short, TokBOT vs JokBOT'. In their constant quest to outsmart and outdo or just plain destroy each other, Tok and Jok attempt to do the job with their robotic gadgets. You can check it out at driscal.com" We recently announced his Extraordinary Boy in Attack of the Hungrums! had been launched.. In July Driscal's work was shown on Tech TV (NBC). TWO FILMS FROM THE BAY AREA WERE SHOWN AT THE ZAGREB ANIMATION FESTIVAL Eric Carney's Framed was shown in the student competition and Marion Gothier's Going South was shown in the panorama (non-competition) festival screening. Both studied aimation at two DeAnza. Congratulations. "HUNGER ARTIST" GETS A MENTION IN KOREA'S TOP ANIMATION MAGAZINE Animatoon is a large, 100 page publication with color illustrations on almost every page. This professional, slick looking magazine gives a lot more coverage to independent animation and international festivals than printed publications in the US. In the current issue Pat Raine Webb, who is a stalwart of ASIFA-UK, has an excellent review of Annecy 2002. In her article she says, "The last program of shorts had few memorable films apart from Suzie Templeton's Dog from the UK and Hunger Artist (Tom Gibbons, USA) based on a Kafka story of a man who starves himself to earn money in a carnival." At the Brooklyn International Film Festival The Hunger Artist won the audience award for best animated film. LEE MARRS TO TEACH STORYTELLING FOR DIGITAL MEDIA, storyboarding, animation production and character design classes through SF State University's Downtown Center in SF and at their Multimedia Center in Oakland. www.leemarrs.com www.msp.sfsu.edu ACADEMY OF ART OFFERS A NEW ONLINE ANIMATION CLASS WITH GENE HAMM His online introduction to animation begins September 5. Hamm has taught classes at the school for several years and has worked professionally on Lord of the Rings (Bakshi), Gumby, Hanna-Barbera TV series, and for Roger Corman, Living Books, Sega and other clients. OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL TO SHOW WORKS FROM WILD BRAIN AND A HARRY SMITH TRIBUTE They will show in competition 2 works from Wild Brain, Hubert's Brain and Chris Lanier's Romanov in "Howlin' Romanov." Smith was a pioneer of abstract animation who lived here in the 1930's and 40's. Most of his celebrated shorts were made in SF in the 1940's. The festival will show numerous works from around the world chosen from 1700 entries. They also will have tributes to John Kricfalusi, D, \. Dumala from Poland, Taku Furukawa from Japan, and two New York studios, Buzzco and R. O. Blechman. There will be lots of other screening, seminars, exhibits, parties and good times. This is North America's only major international animation festival. Festival passes, which are good for admission to all screenings, workshops and events (even the Animator's Picnic) are $195. Individual screenings are $10. At present a US dollar is worth about $1.50 Canadian. For details about the event awn.com/ottawa/ottawa02 PATTI BURKE TO HEAD PDI/DREAMWORKS She has been appointed Head of PDI in Palo Alto and she will take over for Aron Warner. He is now producing the sequel to Shrek, slated for a Summer 2004 release. Before joining PDI/DreamWorks, Burke served as Head of Production for Walt Disney Imagineering's Theme Park Productions, for nine years. At WDI, Burke oversaw the production of several major attractions. Prior to joining WDI, Burke served as a Production Executive for Touchstone -Hollywood Pictures. ILM FOOTAGE IN 11 FEATURES RELEASED THIS YEAR AND IS WORKING ON AT LEAST 15 MORE PROJECTS The films released in 2002 with their work in them include Blood Work for Warner Bros., Signs for Disney, K-19: The Widowmaker for Paramount, Men in Black 2 for Sony Pictures, Minority Report for DreamWorks/SKG, The Bourne Identity for Universal, Star Wars: Episode II "Attack of the Clones" for Lucasfilm Ltd., Big Trouble for Disney, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (20th Anniversary edition) for Universal, The Time Machine for Warner Bros./DreamWorks SKG and Imposter for Miramax /Dimension. They are currently working on images for Pirates of the Caribbean for Disney, Van Helsing for Universal, Hidalgo for Disney, Timeline for Paramount, Peter Pan for Universal/ Columbia/Revolution, Tears of the Sun for Revolution Studios, Punch-Drunk Love for Revolution, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter for LucasArts Entertainment, Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines for Warner Bros., The Hulk for Universal, Dreamcatcher for Warner Bros., The Hunted for Paramount, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for Warner Bros. and Gangs of New York for Miramax. Among the familiar names are Dennis Muren working as visual effects supervisor on The Hulk with Colin Brady as the film's animation director. Brady was animation director on E.T. The Extra-Terrestrialand. He worked with Bill George, the film's visual effects supervisor. Tom Bertino was animation director on both Men in Black 2 and The Time Machine. David Andrews is the animation director on Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Michael Owens was the visual effects supervisor on Blood Work. Dan Taylor is the animation director on Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines and Pablo Helman is the film visual effects supervisor. INTEL WORKSTATIONS ARE BECOMING THE TOOL OF CHOICE FOR THE CG INDUSTRY ILM has 600 Pentium 4 processor-based animation workstations. Cliff Plumer, ILM's Chief Technology Officer said, "At ILM we're increasingly using Intel-based systems to expand our range of software choices for animation and compositing. In fact, having Intel at the core of our desktop systems provides greater quality and productivity... We can now run any operating system we want." ILM began experimenting with Intel-based systems on Star Wars: Episode I. DreamWorks in LA and their PDI/Dreamworks studio in the Bay Area used Intel-based systems for Shrek and Spirit: Stallion of the Cimmaron. Sony Pictures Imageworks used over 600 Intel processors to create visual effects and animation for Spider-Man and Stuart Little 2. Disney has plans to use Intel-based Hewlett-Packard workstations. PIXAR TO USE NXN ALIENBRAIN, WHATEVER THAT IS... Ed Catmull, president and co-founder of Pixar, announced "Pixar will integrate NXN alienbrain VFX into its production process to provide media asset management for its upcoming CG film projects. NXN alienbrain VFX is the first of its kind digital asset and production management system designed specifically for high-end computer graphics projects. Powered by a cluster of NXN alienbrain VFX servers, the asset management solution will serve up information about the location, status and purpose of the millions of assets created during the production of a Pixar film." Catmull says. "For the needs of the next generation of films we see asset management as a key challenge. NXN has shown a very strong commitment to our industry and its VFX system is the first commercial product that meets our needs." I have no idea what Catmull is saying. What I do understand is that while Disney stock is taking a beating on the stock market, Pixar is doing quite well. Disney was selling from $30 to $40 a share a few months ago and it is now under $20. Pixar has gone from the low $30s to well over $40 a share and their quarterly profits are up. FOOD FOR THOUGHT by Karl Cohen In July I taught a weekend class based on my book Forbidden Animation. After showing an offensive cartoon made in 1941, we had a lively and intelligent conversation about racism and why once acceptable images are now censored on TV. After discussing the topic for some time, a black woman raised her hand and said she didn't find the film offensive. I think I saw a few jaws drop. It turned out that she comes from an all black nation where the stereotypes shown in the film were seen as ideals that young girls were taught to desire! To have thick lips, a large behind, etc. was a sign of beauty. The other black students were dismayed by what was being said, but I doubt any of the conversation that followed changed the young woman's values or understanding about why the images shown in class were offensive to American blacks. I told several people about this exchange of ideas and a friend from Israel said many people in his country find anti-Semitic images curious or ridiculous, but never offensive. He said, "I guess one has to be part of a minority to find bad taste, stupidity or common humor as an insult or a threat." I was fascinated by what had transpired. Our values are far from absolute. Not all people understand or share them. TIPPETT STUDIO CREATED A MAN-EATING MAILBOX It was for a Capitol One No-Hassle Credit Card. Tippet created a mailbox that chews and spits out whole a hapless bill payer who isn't using a Capital One credit card. SHOW YOUR WORK IN BERKELEY at Jupiter, a big downtown brewpub. The conditions are far from ideal as works are shown while bands play (works are shown on video monitors with the sound off). Andrew Harper, who organizes the Tuesday night animation events, say it is a lot of fun. He thinks you will have a good time and an appreciative audience. (415) 402-0059 (days). GIANT EXHIBIT OF COMICS AND ILLUSION IN 2 MUSEUMS It is on display through Oct. 13 at the Cartoon Art Museum, 655 Mission and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, 701 Mission. Some animation art is displayed. LOCAL SCREENINGSDON'T MISS SEEING THE RESTORED METROPOLIS at local theatres in Sept. The print quality is exceptional and the 30 minutes of recently discovered footage make it a much better film in terms of continuity and story development. I've seen shorter prints dozens of times including one with color added, but seeing this version was like seeing it for the first time. Also, it was great hearing the score written for its premiere in 1927. Go and enjoy a great film experience.Sept. 14, Castro Theatre, Winsor McCay, played by professor Russell Merritt, will introduce GERTIE THE DINOSAUR on the big screen. He will attempt to recreate McCay's legendary vaudeville performance. Other silent films will be shown. At 2, 7 and 9:20. Tuesday, Sept. 17, SCREENING OF THE ASIFA-EAST 33RD ANNUAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL 7:30 PM, at the EXPLORATORIUM free, public invited. NATIONAL NEWSA NEW YORK STATE THEATRE SHOWED ANIMATED SHORTS BEFORE FEATURES IN AUGUST The Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y. made news by turning back the clock. They ran a different cartoon each week in August.. Because it was Mrs. Matisse such a novel idea they got a half-page article in the NY Times. There was a time when a cartoon before the feature was a standard booking policy. It was even common to see "cartoon hours" on Saturday in theatres. (I even attended a few 3 hour cartoon marathons as a kid.)The toons shown in August were Bill Plympton's Your Face (1987, Oscar nomination), Candy Kugel and Vince Cafarelli's We Love It (1992), Debra Solomon's Mrs. Matisse (1993), Chris Wedge's Bunny (1998, Oscar winner) and Patrick Smith's Drink (2000). MICHEL DUDOK DE WIT'S "FATHER AND DAUGHTER" WON ZAGREB'S GRAND PRIZE Michael Dudok de Wit won the top honors at Zagreb 2002, their 15th animation celebration. Christopher Hinton's Flux was awarded three special jury distinctions and Adriaan Lokman's Barcode was honored with a special prize "for the unique way the illusion of animation is created by the manipulation of light and shadows."Barcode caused a stir at Annecy when it won the grand prize. The Zagreb jury consisted of Oksana Cherkasova (Russia), Joanna Quinn (Great Britain), Linda Simensky (USA), Georges Lacroix (France) and Edo Lukman (Croatia). They selected 85 films for the competition. SUMMER BOX OFFICE FIGURES On August 18 Spider-Man had grossed over $403.6 million, Star Wars Episode II had grossed over $299 million, Lilo and Stitch $139.5 million, Signs (with ILM effects) $150.5 million, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron $73 million, Stuart Little 2 $57 million, Eight Legged Freaks $16.5 million and The Country Bears $14.3 million. SOCIETY OF ANIMATION STUDIES WILL HOLD THEIR 15TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN GLENDALE, CA, SEPTEMBER 26-29, 2002. The event will be held at the Brand Library and Art Center. Donald Crafton will give the keynote address and speakers from many university and colleges from around the world are scheduled to present papers. A list of the talks, information about registration, hotels, travel, food, etc. can be found at asifa.net/sas GENE DEITCH HONORED He was the keynote speaker at the Da Vinci Days at the University of Oregon in July. He lives in Prague and sent 2 long e-mails in mid-August stating that he and his wife stayed high and dry during the floods, but the damage to the country is extensive. The police closed the area where their animation studio is. The studio is safe, but the basement is flooded and some buildings in the area were destroyed. There was extensive damage in other areas and damage was even worse outside of Prague. "QUEER DUCK" HONORED the program on sho.com and Showtime network made the cover of Time Out New York in June and was selected by Entertainment Weekly Magazine for their "100 Most Creative List." Queer Duck was also picked up by the BBC. The show follows the adventures of a gay duck who works as a male nurse. The voice talent includes Jim J. Bullock, RuPaul, Billy West, Estelle Harris, Nick Jameson and Kevin Michael Richardson. NEW INTERNET ANIMATION See Colon Powell & the Powell Puff Girls at screamingwedgie.com REMEMBER PAUL BOYINGTON? He moved from SF to LA years ago. His company's web site is boyingtonfilms.com He can be reached at boyingtonstudios@hotmail.com LEONARD MALTIN IS PUBLISHING A NEW MAGAZINE Maltin's new publication is for film lovers. To promote it he has set up a website that Jerry Beck says "is lots of fun and a reflection of who Len is...a really nice guy who works hard, passionately appreciates good people and the history of film, and loves most of what he does. Check it out:" leonardmaltin.com THE MOTION PICTURE ACADEMY IN BEVERLY HILLS IS EXHIBITING "OSCARS IN ANIMATION: SEVEN DECADES OF ANIMATION ART" The material comes from the collections of Mike Glad, Mark Kausler and other collectors. Tom Sito wrote us, "It is the greatest collection of original animation art I have yet seen in one room. Incredible pre-production art and cel setups from classic films like Disney's Flowers and Trees, 1932; Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, 1938; Fleischer's Sinbad the Sailor, 1936; the first Superman, 1941; Der Fuehrer' Face, 1942; Fantasia, 1940; all the Disney classics up to Beauty and the Beast, Toy Story, to this year's Monsters, Inc. And not only the mainstream Hollywood Studio output is represented. There are also works by independents like Moonbird, The Big Snit, Crac, The Monk and the Fish, Munro, The Dot and the Line and many more. There are storyboards by Bill Peet and Glen Keane, animation drawings of Tchernobog by Bill Tytla, Art Babbitt's animation desk, maquette statues and puppets from Puppetoons and Nightmare Before Christmas, work reels and pencil tests from Oscar nominated shorts." The show runs through October 6th. It is on the 1st and 4th floors of the Academy, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211. Galleries are open Tuesday-Friday 10:00am to 5:00pm, Sat-Sun 12:00pm-6:00pm, closed Mondays. Call 310-247-3600 for more information. Tom added a PS. "This is a show that will be talked about for years to come. If you plan to be anywhere near LA in the next few weeks and you are a serious lover of animation you will kick yourself if you don't make some time to come and see this exhibit." LILO & STITCH SPIN-OFFS WILL INCLUDE A HOME VIDEO SEQUEL AND A TELEVISION SERIES Disney has announced plans for a direct-to-video sequel and a TV series. The video sequel is slated for release in 2003. BIG SCREEN DISNEY PROJECTS BASED ON THEME PARK RIDES ARE ALSO GOING INTERACTIVE. The company is promoting upcoming features based on theme park attractions by releasing interactive games before the features are released. TDK Mediactive, Inc. has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Disney Interactive to create games based on the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. The Haunted Mansion feature will be released in 2003. In 2004 they will release a feature and video game based on Pirates of the Caribbean. Disney may be nervous about the success of these projects as their recent feature The Country Bears, based on a Disneyland theme park attraction, opened in sixth place with a $5.2 million gross. It had taken $14.3 million as of Aug. 11. Their Lilo and Stritch, based on an original script, is doing well with gross of over $139.5 million as of August 18. ONE SECOND OF "STAR WARS: EPISODE II" CUT TO GAIN A CHILD FRIENDLY PG RATING IN GREAT BRITAIN They cut an offending "head-butt" in a fight sequence between Obi Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett according to the Guardian (UK). The article went on to say the film wasn't "squeaky clean" as there was "illicit sex (well a quick snog), inter-species violence, war crimes, constitutional sleight of hand, apostasy, and more Oedipal angst than you could shake a stick at." ("No Butts Please, We're Star Wars," May 9, 2002) NEWS ABOUT A WALLACE AND GROMIT FEATURE Aardman has been in production on a Tortoise and Hare feature. Now, in an interview with Steve Box of Aardman, published in July on awn.com, he tells us he is working with Nick Park and Bob Baker on the script for a Wallace and Gromit feature. "At the moment we're writing, along with Bob Baker [who co-wrote The Wrong Trousers and Close Shave with Nick]... it's going really well... the characters are great and strong, and it's a great idea, better than any of the other films." It film might be ready for the public in 2005. TV GUIDE LISTS THEIR 50 GREATEST CARTOON CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME I showed the list, published in July, to several friends. One said, "As usual this list reflects how all such popularity polls are skewed by the voter's lack of historical perspective. Almost all such lists, whether they be best restaurant or whatever, usually rate familiarity as opposed to excellence. Thanks for sending it along. I guess I better go watch SpongeBob." The list: 1 Bugs Bunny, 2 Homer Simpson, 3 Rocky and Bullwinkle, 4 Beavis and Butt-Head, 5 The Grinch, 6 Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble, 7 Angelica Pickles, 8 Charlie Brown and Snoopy, 9 SpongeBob SquarePants, 10 Cartman from South Park, 11 Bart and Lisa Simpson, 12 Fat Albert, 13 The Powerpuff Girls, 14 Daffy Duck, 15 Pikachu, 16 Gumby, 17 Betty Boop, 18 Top Cat, 19 Mickey Mouse, 20 Popeye, 21 Gerald McBoing-Boing, 22 Scooby-Doo, 23 Underdog, 24 Josie and the Pussycats, 25 Heckle and Jeckle, 26 Arthur, 27 Winnie the Pooh, 28 Felix The Cat, 29 Mr. Magoo, 30 George of the Jungle, 31 Ren and Stimpy, 32 Tom Terrific, 33 Tweety and Sylvester, 34 Bill from Schoolhouse Rock, 35 Space Ghost, 36 Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, 37 Mighty Mouse, 38 Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, 39 Superman, 40 Batman, 41 Daria, 42 Wonder Woman, 43 Donald Duck, 44 Alvin (The Chipmunk), 45 Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale, 46 Woody Woodpecker 47 Porky Pig, 48 Bobby Hill from King of the Hill, 49 Speed Racer and 50 Tom and Jerry. DID YOU EVER WORK FOR FILMATION? A reunion is set for Saturday, November 2, 6 - 10 PM, Monty Pancho Mexican Restaurant, 26500 W. Agoura Rd., Calabasas, CA. Cost: $23.00 per person includes a buffet and some drinks. Make check out to Doris Plough by Oct. 1. Send to Filmation Reunion Party, c/o Lou Scheimer Productions, 20300 Ventura Blvd. Suite 330, Woodland Hills, CA 91364 818-884-2810 ASIFA-NORTHWEST PRESENTED in July a program of student films from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Evergreen State College and the University of Washington (computer science dept.). ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD SHOWING A PROGRAM OF COLUMBIA CARTOONS On Wed. Sept. 18 at 7:30 Jerry Beck has programmed 10 rare b/w Columbia cartoons from 1940-1946 (other studios had switched to color, but Columbia was saving money). These are great odd-ball films by top directors. Titles include The Tangled Angler by Frank Tashlin, Old Blackout Joe by John Hubley & Paul Sommer, Cholly Polly by Alec Geiss, Kongo-Roo by Howard Swift, Goofy News Views by Sid Marcus and the cult classic Willougby's Magic Hat by Bob Wickersham. At ASIFA-Hollywood Animation 721 S. Victory Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502 THE 19TH JERUSALEM FILM FESTIVAL by Tsvika Oren The 19th Jerusalem Film Festival opened Thursday, July 18, with top European director Pedro Almodovar's Talk to Her, his 14th feature in 20 years. The Festival's closing day, July 27, included a special screening of Joseph the Dreamer (1962) directed by Yoram Gross. It is the first animated feature created in the middle-east. They showed a restored print. The biblical story told with puppets marked the height of Gross' animation career in Israel. His career started some 50 years ago, and it has included many impressive achievements. While living in Australia he created some 14 animated features and many other works. The festival showed 180 features from all over the world, plus a program of animated films selected at festivals such as Cannes '02 and Berlin '02. The 149 min. long program included prize winners such as Dave Unwin's War Game (29 min., UK), Cordell Barker's Strange Invaders (9 min., NFB of Canada), Rene Castillo's Down to the Bone (12 min., Mexico) and Stepan Biryukov's Neighbours (7 min., Russia). Among the 15 shorts were 6 student films. Four were from Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Jerusalem. The program was shown in the main festival hall on July 25 and 27. MICHAEL MOORE AND TOM TOMORROW DEVELOPING AN ANIMATED FEATURE for Studio Canal, a French company. Moore, (Roger and Me), is co-writing it with Dan Perkins (Tom Tomorrow) and Harold Moss. Perkins says on his web site thismodernworld.com that it will contain politically subversive material. MY HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED FOR TV EXECUTIVES - KRICFALUSI IS BACK In the early 90's Nickeleodeon fired John Kricfalusi as producer/director of his Ren and Stimpy Show. He missed deadlines, went over budget and was too outrageous (two episodes never aired even though Nick approved the storyboards, etc.). Now the show is coming back to TNN on cable TV. Six new episodes will be produced by John Kricfalusi and Spumco, his production company. There is even talk of a made-for-TV feature. Albie Hecht, film and television entertainment president for Nickelodeon, TV Land and TNN says, "We are looking forward to seeing what mayhem John has in store for America's favorite Chihuahua and tubby tabby." Kricfalusi said, "I am very happy to be back at work on what is one of my favorite projects. The whole gang is back. It's just like the old days, only ruder! It's going to evolve, and honestly, everybody can draw better now." Kricfalusi says the 6 new episodes will be aimed at an adult audience. Kricfalusi recently produced for Fox Kids the series "The Ripping Friends." It is may to move to a new network after the sale of Fox Family Channel and other Fox Kids assets to the Walt Disney Co. His credits also include The New Jetsons, The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and the Rolling Stones video Harlem Shuffle. He has also done a considerable amount of work for the Internet. "SVANKMAJER E & J: MOUTH TO MOUTH" by Clare Kitson is an excellent article published by awn.com Kitson helped organize the Eva and Jan Svankmajer exhibit at Annecy Castle, France. She helped fund one of his films in 1992 when she was with Channel 4, but it wasn't until she got deeply involved with this exhibit that she really began to have more than cursory insights into his work. The article published July 31, 2002 is a must for any serious fan of his work. TWO NEW BOOKS AND A HOW TO VIDEOVIDEO ON HOW TO MAKE LATEX PUPPETS by a woman who was in charge of puppet fabrication for MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch. Do it Yourself! Foam Latex Puppetmaking 101 by Kathi Zung, is $26 plus $2.44 post ($3.85 priority/$9 international) from K. Zung, 9 Seaman Ave #5J, NY, NY 10034 angelfire.com/anime4/zungstudio/INSIDE THE YELLOW SUBMARINE: THE MAKING OF THE BEATLES' ANIMATED CLASSIC by Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus, 432 pages, 200 b/w photos plus 16 pages of color, $24.95 2001, ($17.47 + postage from Amazon.com), Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin. This is a remarkable book about a unique work of animation. It isn't the usual picture book that is short on text and loaded with photos. The book is a fascinating journey into how this feature was created. At times the book is an exciting detective "who-done-it." The author asked dozens of people associated with the production the same questions as there were numerous mysteries to solve about how this work came about. Often he presents numerous answers to his questions and they sometimes contradict each other. The book gets to the bottom of numerous riddles, corrects a lot of misinformation and solves a few controversies. For example, while Yellow Submarine was called a Beatles film, they actually had almost nothing to do with the script or visuals and they didn't provide any of the voices. The American press printed misleading information that credited Peter Max as the film's designer, yet he really had nothing to do with the production. The author had to piece together a lot of information to find out who really created this work of art. While most features begin with a solid script, the Yellow Submarine's script was a work-in-progress right until the end of the production. The author of the book purchased one version of the script at an auction and interviewed numerous people about who, when, where, and why the different elements of the script came about. The film succeeded as the director and designer saw it as a series of carefully designed segments built around a series of songs. Creating a script that tied everything together was a major challenge for the production team. Some people maintain there never was a final script or storyboard, but the producer from King Features insists that wasn't the case. The book goes on to uncover how a small crew produced a visually stunning masterpiece on a small budget and with an eleven-month deadline. We learn who was responsible for almost every design element in the film. Often there are interesting stories about the segments. The author even uncovered the secrets of the film's visual effects, including how one marvelous section was created using different kinds of cellophane tapes filmed through a rotating polarized light source. There are discussions about individual Beatles visiting the studio, London's drug culture in the late 60's, the music Sir George Martin added to the film, who the Blue Meanies were, and a lot of other fascinating topics. We also learn that both the director and designer developed serious health problems and that problems between the British production company and King Features were so serious that the studio once hid unfinished work fearing the film was going to be taken away from them. The book goes on to cover the British and American premieres, distribution problems and successes, the 1999 rerelease with missing footage restored to American prints, the influence of the film on pop culture and a thousand other topics. When Lippy told me this book was in print and that he couldn't put it down, I got excited. I've always wanted to learn a lot more about the film's history even though I had interviewed two people who had worked on the production. I spent a week with them at an animation festival in Tel Aviv (1997) where they showed the British version of the film. I later published Yellow Submarine's Second Strange Odyssey to the Screen, awn.com, September,1999. Reading Dr. Hieronimus' volume turned out to be an exciting adventure into the magical world of Pepperland. This remarkable labor of love exceeded my expatectations. It turned out to be a fascinating, well-written book based on years of exceptional research. I realize many readers of this newsletter were born after the Yellow Submarine was made. If you haven't seen it, rent it. I hope you find this unusual film as exciting as I found it in 1968 when I first saw it on a giant screen. Since there have not been sequels or cheap spin-offs, and the music is still popular, seeing the film now for the first time should be a fresh and rewarding experience. DAVID EHRLICH: CITIZEN OF THE WORLD by Olivier Cotte, Dreamland, Paris, 2002, 144 pages, finely illustrated in color and b/w. This is a wonderful, informative tribute to an independent American animator whose body of work includes over 30 films made over a 25-year period. The text includes biographical information, interviews, a filmography, plus statements about David by Frederic Back, Giannalberto Bendazzi, Paul Driessen, Bill Plympton, Michel Ocelot and dozens of other animators, scholars, festival directors and ASIFA chapter presidents. Part of the text is on David's art while other sections cover events that shaped his life. There are excellent discussions about artistic elements important to him - line, metamorphosis, wipes, geometry, contradictory perspective, representation, symmetry, brush-painting technique, etc. David is not only a noted American animator, he is also an exceptional teacher (from Dartmouth to children's workshops around the world) and a true statesman for the world of animation. His tenure on the international board of ASIFA began during the cold war. He worked to unite us by bringing artists to the US for in-person screenings, and through other valuable activities. Other Americans have been on that board, but none have come close to matching David's contributions to the world of animation. The book is (or will be) available from Amazon.com at 30% off list price ($14 instead of $20). Bookstores can order it in the US from The University Press of New England. OBITUARIESWARD KIMBALL, ANOTHER OF DISNEY'S 9 OLD MEN, PASSES ON Kimball was a colorful artist, animator, designer, filmmaker, trombonist and model train aficionado. He was 88 and had been in poor health from pneumonia for much of this year.He began his career at Disney working on Silly Symphonies. He almost quit after spending months animating a scene cut from Snow White. Ready to quit, Disney convinced him to develop Jiminy Cricket for Pinocchio. He created the crows in Dumbo and went on to develop the finale for The Three Caballeros. His "Pecos Bill" segment for Melody Time is a highlight of that film. He won two Oscars for Disney - It's Tough to be a Bird, 1969 and Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom, 1953. Before Kimball retired from the studio in 1972 he directed segments for Disney TV shows on space travel that helped spark interest in space. His work influenced ufo fans who were developing odd theories/stories about visitors from other places (see rense.com). Many Disney fans know Ward took his love of old trains to extremes. He collected antique steam trains and his giant set-up in his backyard (now donated to the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA.) introduced Walt to the hobby. Walt's rolling stock included a train that still goes around Disneyland and a very impressive monorail. As a kid I knew of Kimball not as an animator, but as a musician. In 1949 he formed The Fire House Five Plus Two, a really hot Dixieland band that included several Disney artists with musical talent. They gained considerable fame. Their first recording session was in 1949 and 20 years later they were still recording stars. Tom Sito wrote of Kimball, "His free spirit and nonconformist attitude in very conformist times demonstrates to generations to come how to work in an administered corporate climate yet remain an artist." Sito added, "when he was in hospital the other day he was still making jokes about the golf course nearby." Leonard Maltin said, "To the end of his days, Ward had a pixie-ish spirit that was irresistible. He had a soul of an artist and an innate sense of humor that came through in his work, his hobbies and his outlook on life. And he was always fun to be around. Ward Kimball was truly one-of-a-kind." AN EXCERPT OF A SPEECH GIVEN BY WARD KIMBALL Ward was a delightful person to talk with. This excerpt from his Anney speech (an award event organized by ASIFA-Hollywood ) captures some of his charm and humor. In 1978 he presented a lifetime achievement award to Dick Huemer. He said he first met the man when he was working at Disney as an inbetweener (his first job for Walt). "One person began to stand out. I began to notice him. He was a dapper little guy, who had kind of a ruddy complexion, wore a pork-pie hat dipped at a rakish angle with a little shaving brush up here, had a very New York cosmopolitan mustache, and he wore very tweedy suits. You know those things where they have those little horsehairs sticking out of the shoulders. And from the back it looks like he put on the coat without taking the coat hanger out. Now the next thing I noticed was that you only saw about one inch of his fingers out the bottom of his coat. But the most outstanding thing about him was that he never moved his arms when he walked! I mean really all of us, you know, when we walk, we swing our arms-- Not this guy. And I was fascinated, because here he would come (mimics Dick's walk). It began to worry me. I stopped one of the assistants, Tom Orb, and I said, "What's with this guy? He walks and doesn't move his arms." He said, "Shhh. That's Dick Huemer. He doesn't have any elbows." "Anyway, about six months later, I got kicked upstairs to work as Ham Luske's assistant, and fortunately Dick Huemer was in the next room. And we were subjected to daily vocal barrages from that room, from Dick's room. Everything from quotations from Shakespeare, arias from operas, even chic French quotations, and what I like best of all, when he'd rip his film on the movieola, he'd always lapse into a guttural Webber and Fields dialogue. And this intrigued me and so I started thinking of excuses to go in there. I guess I wanted to find out if he really did have elbows or not. So I'd go in there and start talking, and every time I'd walk in there, he'd always say the same thing, 'Well if it isn't Kid Warmball.' That's all he ever said when I came into the room, 'Well if it isn't Kid Warmball.' But he was a delight to talk to, because he would tell me about the old days in the studios and all the old methods they used to achieve animated cartoons, and I just sopped this up. What a wonderful conversationalist. He could talk on any subject--art, music, history. He could tell you exactly how many English bow men that Henry the Fifth had at the Battle of Ashincourt. No kidding. He could talk about medicine. He was the first guy to tell me about cholesterol. I never heard that before." "Dick Huemer was a jack of all trades. He was an animator, and I loved his animation. It was always funny. Remember the duck in The Band Concert with those goddamn whistles? He was a director, he was a storyman, and he was a very important storyman on Fantasia. In fact, we owe it most to Dick Huemer for the fact that Walt Disney was weaned away from John Phillips Souza and introduced to the classics! Walt learned all about Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky through Dick Huemer's tutelage." "...it's a great thrill, it's a great honor to bring the real grand old man of animation up here, who still has elbows, Hume Dicker!" From huemer.com The site includes a recording of Ward delivering the speech as well as a complete transcript plus other excellent documents. For example, I was fascinated by an article about the production of WWII propaganda at the Disney studio, written by Huemer and Joe Grant, 1943. WAS WALT DISNEY A SAINT, AN EVIL SINNER OR THE DEVIL INCARNATE? THE TRUTH ABOUT THOSE NASTY DISNEY STORIES! by Karl F. Cohen This is probably the most controversial article I've ever written judging by the 18 letters to the editor that have been published along with the article by awn.com (July 26, 2002). The basic purpose of the article was to expose the enormous amount of fiction being written about Disney and the corporation. Some of the fiction and half-truths were created to champion right wing Christian causes. An anti-homosexual movement has found they get press coverage and financial support from their followers by attacking Disney's allegedly gay content in their films, Disney hiding "pornographic" images in features, Disney "mainstreaming homosexuality on TV" by having aired Ellen, and for doing things like giving health insurance benefits to gay partners of employees. The article also discusses writers who have faked facts in books about the man. I assume these writers were more concerned with sales figures than with being 100% accurate. About half of the readers' comments praised the article. Some writers added information that they wished to share. Other letters were from people who felt I was biased, unfair, have a chip on my shoulder and/or that I missed some point. I found all the letters to be informative. I'm pleased that awn.com printed a wide variety of responses as they demonstrate that we live in a democratic society and people are willing to express divergent points of view in print. For example I was fascinated by a letter that said, "some of the things said about Disney are blown out of proportion, but some are not. I am especially very unhappy about the latest family friendly Disney film. They condone cloning, voodoo, cross dressing, and praying to a fallen star. Please don't say any of this is my imagination, because I watched the movie very closely. I am a big Disney fan..." I'm fascinated that 2 people can see the same work and read the content so differently. Another odd thing about the responses is that there was hardly a mention of the longest section of the article - my discussion of authors who have added juicy fiction to sell books. Nobody defended them or thanked me for exposing the misinformation cited in the article. Bordo from Zagreb, a former president of ASIFA international, had lots of interesting observations in a letter he sent to me. One point regarding Zagreb adopting the modern look of Hubley, UPA and others was, "this new movement considered Disney's art as benign, petty bourgeois, conservative... As you see, everything opposite from what you mention in your text about AFA." The AFA and their friends seem to find Disney a radical, decadent, danger to our society. One letter printed by awn.com calls Disney "the world's premier producers of anti-family sewage." I hope you will find the time to read my article and the letters that go with it. Decide for yourself what is true and what is fiction. I'm pleased that the article has gotten a lot of people to think about accuracy in reporting and other issues even though we may not come to the same conclusions. I'm also delighted that awn.com isn't just another dull trade publication anxious to please everybody so they can attract advertising dollars. Anyone working in animation or anyone studying it needs to read real content, not just warmed over press releases. Awn.com has it! ANOTHER ARTICLE WORTH READING AT AWN.COM IS A REVIEW OF BILLY GREENE'S "THOUGHT BUBBLE" AND NINA PALEY'S "THE STORK" in "Fresh from the Festivals: July 2002" by Maureen Furniss. DON'T LOVE THY NEIGHBOR A nasty homophobic ad for a "Disney Boycott Video" expresses the hatred and intolerance of some of the corporation's severest critics. The ad says, "Queers, Homo's, Fags, Child Molesters at Disneyland and Disneyworld!... See men kiss and talk queer stuff. See Disney Stuff Characters hug and kiss each homosexual visitor! Everyone at Disney's loves sexual perverts and perversion!... See and hear interviews from decent folks who are disgusted to be at Disneyworld because of the Gay Day Celebration..." Walt is shown in the ad wearing purple eye-shadow, rings in both ears, false eyelashes, rouge and lipstick. Editor's note: I don't think this is a hoax as the next item for sale is the official AFA "Disney Boycott" tape. I suspect the company is marketing real stuff to a really strange fringe audience. KC THE FOLLOWING EXCERPT OF A DISNEY FILM REVIEW MUST BE FROM AN ELABORATE, WELL WRITTEN HOAX This comes from LandoverBaptist.com, "The largest, most powerful assembly of worth-while people to ever exist. Unsaved are NOT welcome!" The article begins, "Dinosaur, the latest propaganda film from the Disney company, tries to indoctrinate America's children with the idea that it's "a-ok" to have disgusting sexual relations outside of a Christian marriage. Once again, dinosaurs are being used to pollute our children's minds and turn them wantonly to promiscuous, deviant sex acts. Barney taught our youngsters that it was just fine and dandy to be a big flaming sissy who wears outrageously homosexual colors like purple. The creatures in this film take that lesson one step further into the pit of promiscuity. Coyly voiced dinosaurs spew lewd and licentious double (sometimes triple) entendres and give each other "come and get me" looks that would make a streetwalker blush. Indeed, even the most radical liberal can see the unGodly intentions of this filth." If I were a Southern Baptist I'd question the truth of this article. In the 1980's my wife taught in South Florida. Most of her students stayed home one day as she had told them in advance that they were going to study dinosaurs. She later found out their local Southern Baptist minister had said dinosaurs never existed as they are not mentioned in the bible! The author of this article says "Christian creation scientists have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that human beings walked the earth at the same time dinosaurs did, yet there is not one human being in the entire film." Obviously somebody is wrong. Check out their web site for unusual reviews of other films. THE RALPH BAKSHI ENIGMAby LipBack in the late 70's when I was attending high school in Pennsylvania, I saw an ad in the back of "Super 8 Filmmaker" magazine. It was a call for "animators wanted" and I could not contain my excitement. With the innocence of youth sugar-coating my thoughts, I was convinced that at 17, with absolutely no animation experience, I could cobble together a suitable portfolio. Bakshi Studios was looking for help on "Lord of the Rings," and was, I guess, reduced to putting out a general classified ad. I had NO IDEA what a "real" animator did. I only knew that I liked to draw cartoons (especially in class). So I gathered up some older full-page drawings done in blue BALLPOINT pen, drew a couple of new ones, and mailed them off to Ralph in Ca. I remember calling the studio just before I sent off the packet to make sure I had the address and contents correctly labeled. I was so giddy with delight at actually speaking *long distance* to a REAL ANIMATION STUDIO (I was literally giggling at times) that the secretary made fun of me and started giggling along. Of course NOTHING ever came of my pathetic (but VERY well-intentioned) application packet, and in time I forgot about it. Flash forward 2 years later, and I'm a freshman in a local college and living at HOME with my parents. I was MISERABLE! In order to escape my home life, I retreated one Friday to a local theater (with a HUGE screen) showing an all-night marathon of animation (an EXTREMELY rare occurrence in farm town Lancaster, PA.). They were showing "Fritz the Cat", "Nine Lives of Fritz" (dreadful), and "Heavy Traffic". Aside from the Police raiding the place around 1:00 AM (lots of pot-smoking) the true highlight for me was watching "Heavy Traffic". For the first time I could see that there was ANOTHER path to take in animation. Everything DIDN'T have to look like or reference a Disney film, or even be Disney - influenced. I was watching a truly personal expression and it literally changed my life. I saw for the very first time that I could marry my passion for underground comics with my excitement for animation - I could make "dirty" characters live and breathe on the screen. *Whew!* For this sheltered 19-year-old, that was an epiphany moment. So now we zip forward again to about 8 years after I had "seen the light"(literally). By this time I was toiling away in the clean-up department at Filmation Studios' San Fernando Valley feature film unit. Like most of my peers I was fed up with the drivel I was having to work on and word quickly spread among the disgruntled that Bakshi was looking for people on a new, secret project ("Mighty Mouse"). I'd heard a lot about the director that was heading up the project: John Kricfalusi. He was said to be a real hard-ass about drawing. He had no patience for "hacks" that couldn't render correct volumes and pleasing shapes. In short- if you were going to work for him, you really had to know how to draw. My cubicle-mate reverently relayed war stories about working for John (on "American Tail"?) and having to re-draw the same cleanup drawing 4 or 5 times until he'd finally gotten a whole drawing that "worked". He specifically mentioned a time that John K. dismissed a clean-up as mere "lines" that did nothing to reference the fact that those lines were supposed to represent clothing, and "Where was the form? Where was the weight?". These concerns struck me as a refreshingly different outlook on the clean-up process. I was excited to meet this guy, yet felt especially vulnerable about how my own drawings would stand up under such scrutiny. I made an appointment, and one evening after work I dropped by Bakshi's small, rented storefront office on Ventura Blvd. I was greeted by John K. who was sitting at a silly little beige metal office desk right by the front door. Lynne Naylor was hunched over a drawing table off to the right working on preliminary storyboards and layouts. Above her head on the wall were a series of inspired character designs and color models. I was immediately impressed. I sat down across the little desk from John who was very accommodating. He immediately started off the interview by firing a lot of questions at me about Filmation and what a dreadful place it was. He had worked in the TV division some years before and was very interested in talking about how it was a depressing tomb where creativity was buried along with their ancient ideas about how animation should be produced. This threw me. I had never encountered a prospective employer who was so denigrating of another place's work. I could tell that he was checking to see what my attitude towards current animation was. But I was young, naive, and thought that he was trying to trip me up. I wasn't used to such honesty, and thought John was trying to see if I was a good "company man", and wouldn't tell tales on a former employer. I thought he'd wanted me to defend Filmation like I would someday defend him after I'd left his employ. What a sap I was. I was in total agreement with his impressions of Filmation, but I was so locked into my "good employee" role that I found myself defending the very studio I hated and was rushing to separate from. Kricfalusi must have thought I was a complete stooge. In a way I was. Trapped by my own lack of experience, I couldn't yet see that I was speaking with an exactly like-minded artist. I fumbled my way through the rest of the interview as best I could and was anxious to have him see my artwork. John looked over my character designs and especially liked the women I had drawn. (I stacked the deck with many busty nudes and cuties..) He asked me to work on some more women designs and bring them back. This was a good sign, and I perked up at the thought that maybe I hadn't quite sunken all chances of working with Bakshi. I was still mulling over the whole Filmation conversation when John got up to lead me into the back office. That was where I would meet the big man, himself. I picked up my paper coffee cup and was amused to see that my hand was shaking. I was amused that I could still be gripped by the same giddy excitement I had felt some 10 years before as I prepared my very first portfolio for this very same man. I stepped cautiously into the office, and there he was. Ralph Bakshi sat behind a big, square-shaped oak desk in an office the size of a moderately large bathroom. His presence overwhelmed me, and I could feel myself starting to become "intoxicated" in a way. Ralph motioned for me to sit down directly in front of his desk, and I did so, placing my coffee on the floor to the right of my feet. He wore a white V-necked T-shirt and had a habit of rubbing his middle finger under his left breast in a very cartoon-like fashion. He gave me a rapid-fire description of what the new show was about and described his role as Executive Producer. I was sitting on a small wooden chair trying to concentrate on his words, but my mind was swimming with thoughts about finally meeting my childhood hero, and I debated mentioning how influential his films had been in changing my life. Would I sound like a boot-licker? Was he going to play a similar mind-game to what I perceived Kricfalusi had played on me? My mind was sparking with these static-y, confusing, thoughts as Bakshi asked to see my stuff. I got up to present my stack of drawings to him, and in my anxious state I kicked over my paper coffee cup, and the black liquid spilled all over his office's knitted area rug. I was stunned by my own clumsy stupidity. Ralph immediately diffused my embarrassment, "S'alright, kid. We're mooovin' anyway". I liked that he called me kid. I felt a little better as I laid down the stack of drawings on his desk and carefully walked back to my chair. I was studying his expression for signs of approval, as I looked at the plain white backs of the drawings he was examining. He was vocal. He looked through the pile of drawings and kept repeating, "you're good, you'll be hea'h, yeah you'll be hea'h". Then he hit upon one very loose drawing of a reclining nude that was extremely stylized with breasts that looked like water balloons. He leaned back from his desk still examining the piece, pushing deep into his leather chair. He let the drawing drop from his face and looked me square in the eye with an almost wistful quality in his voice as he wondered aloud, "what is it about guys and tits?" I was dumbstruck.. I started mentally groping for a suitable explanation when Lynne Naylor piped in from behind me, "well I dunno, I like weenies,". I hadn't even noticed that she had entered the room. I was so consumed with Bakshi. Studying every nuance of his body language as he critiqued my work had given me a kind of tunnel vision. My mind was reeling. In a way, I was excited to be having this ribald conversation with my "underground" hero. But overall I was feeling that this conversation was more of the same type I'd just had with Kricfalusi. My inner "editor" was screaming that these are NOT appropriate questions to be asked at a job interview. It seems quaint to me now, but I was totally lost at this point. The interview had started to take such a strange, freeform shape that I could no longer find a familiar path. I started rambling on about the female form, animation in general, and what else I can't remember. Suddenly as if a switch had been turned off, Ralph ended the interview. "Ok, kid. I like what you got, but that guy out there (he motioned to John K.), HE's the Director". Oh. Um, huh? Now I started to panic. So did that mean I had a job or not? I don't even remember leaving Ralph's office. I was still "processing" that scene when John stood up and reminded me to draw up some female characters and bring them back for him to see. I said that I would, and as I started to leave the offices, an *INCIDENT* occurred which haunts me to this day. Ralph, if you're reading this, please clarify: I had my hand on the doorknob, and as I was literally walking out of the Bakshi production offices, Ralph leaned out of the doorway to his office with one hand on the jamb, the other squarely pinning the open door against the wall. He bellowed after me, "Hey Kid! Don't Starve!" Then he leaned back into his office and disappeared. Time stopped. I think I silently nodded my head then walked out. But WHAT DID HE MEAN ???? Did that mean that I should pursue a cliched "starving artist" route because I was so fabulously talented? I quickly dashed that thought. Did it mean that I was dressed particularly well that day and Ralph was making fun of my perceived wealth? (up-to-the-minute middle eighties French designer baggy jeans and red leather capezio shoes. Did it simply mean that it might be a while before they actually ramp-up and start hiring people, so "keep your day job"? He was motivated enough to get up from his desk and bark this at me with neither a smirk, grin, frown, nor smile on his face. He just announced it. I never DID go back to show John my drawings (I actually drew a few). I was so disillusioned by the "industry" in those days that I left for a career change in Manhattan shortly thereafter. But, what did Ralph MEAN ???? - Lip COMMENTS ON LIP'S ARTICLE BY STEVE WORTH Both Ralph and John are totally straightforward when they first meet an artist. The main thing they want to find out is if the person they are talking to can do the job, and is as honest as they are. They don't play games and negotiate with artists that come by looking for jobs. All they want to see is the level of skill, raw talent and attitude. For kids, who haven't had a chance to get the skills through experience, raw talent and attitude are the most important things. If they show talent and are eager to learn, John and Ralph will give them the fastest professional training they will get anywhere. The only "test" I have ever seen John do is to tear drawings apart with a brutally honest critique, and then spend an hour telling the artist how to fix it. If the artist goes away and assimilates the suggestions and proves he listens, they rise up a notch in John's estimation, regardless of their talent or experience. Ralph and John are both the best in the business for spotting kids with potential and the right attitude to learn a lot in a short period of time. Ralph trained many of the greatest people currently in the business, and I have seen John take kids as young as 14 and have them drawing as good as pros in six months. Ralph's comment meant, "Keep plugging, kid." He knows how hard it is to make a living in animation. He struggled through the dark ages of cartoons, and still produced great things. He wasn't insulting you. He was telling the truth when he said John made the ecisions about whom he wanted on his crew. If you got to Ralph, you must have had John's tentative OK. You probably would have ended up working there if you had focused on John's critique and came back in a few days with more drawings for him to look at. On Cool World, I would ask Ralph if I should follow up with potential artists and he would say, "Let's see how much he wants it... Let him call us." I guess what we learn as we grow older is to stop double thinking, and just be ourselves... Love 'em or hate 'em, Ralph and John are such strong personalities, they can't help but be themselves. Stephen Worth runs Vintage Ink & Paint. They do Animation Art Restoration, Authentication, Appraisals & Sales. sworth@vintageip.com http://www.vintageip.com FESTIVALSSF INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL deadline for all submissions is November 15, 2002. Cash prizes have been substantially increased (but have entry fees been lowered?). The competition for the Golden Gate Awards is tough and the animation judges don't always go with works that are shoe-ins at other festivals. Next year there will be over $17,000 in prize money, but last year nearly 1,600 films and videos from 49 countries competed and only a hundred or so of these works were shown. Entry forms may be completed online at sffs.org. Information and forms by mail from Programming Department, San Francisco Film Society, 39 Mesa Street, Suite 110, The Presidio, San Francisco CA 94129, USA. 415.561.5022 fax 415.561.5099ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD'S 30TH ANNUAL ANNEY AWARDS is for commercial productions made for TV, the cinema or the Internet. Wild Brain has won several awards at this event in the past. Deadline for entries is Friday, October 4, 2002. The award ceremony will take place at the Alex Theater in Glendale on Sat., Feb.1, 2003. For details (818) 842-8330; info@asifa-hollywood.org; or annieawards.org SLAMDANCE deadline is Oct. 10. Shows 16mm & 35mm film and tape formats. Previews in VHS ?" tape. (323) 455-1786, mail@slamdance.com or slamdance.com BRADFORD ANIMATION FESTIVAL, the UK's longest running annual animation festival.baf.org.uk animation@nmsi.ac.uk LATE NEWS: SEE BILL PLYMPTON AT WORKLive on the web beginning Monday, September 16. He will create art live, before your very eyes. He is working on High Hair, his next feature. See Internet history in the making. Look over his shoulder from 10 to 6 EST as he single-handedly draws his next animated feature highhair.com |
|
This issue was written by Karl Cohen and proofread by Pete Davis. Special thanks to the people who contributed articles and visuals including Tsvika Oren, Steve Worth, Lippy, awn.com, Animation Blast, Cartoon Research, Tom Sito and other friends. The images of Walt as a Devil and Angel are by Jack Kinney. |
| Membership in our chapter is $22 a year or $44 for joint local and international membership. |
© 2002 Animation World Network