March 2004

 

Local Events | National News | New Books | DVD News | Festivals |

 

CONGRATULATIONS PIXAR

FOR WINNING THE OSCAR FOR BEST-ANIMATED FEATURE,

an honor they justly deserve

 

PIXAR’S “FINDING NEMO” WON ALL 9 OF ANNIES IT WAS NOMINATED FOR. THE STUDIO ALSO WON THE BEST SHORT AWARD. WILD BRAIN WON THE BEST COMMERCIAL AWARD – CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR LOCAL WINNERS!!! by KC The 2003 Annie Awards, an event organized by ASIFA-Hollywood, were held Feb. 7 at the Alex Theater in Glendale. I’m told that when Wild Brain’s Lamisil ad won as the best commercial of the year it was projected on the big screen. Apparently some people cringed and got squeamish. In the “It’s Alive” ad, a goblin lifts up a photo realistic human toenail.

 

 

Roy Disney Jr. got the most applause of the evening when he appeared on stage as a presenter. The spontaneous reaction suggested to many that most, if not all of the production people present supported him in his desire to make changes at Disney. (Disney only won 1 award this year.)

 

When Nemo’s co-director Andrew Stanton accepted his award he said, "We're in weird times right now. I'd like to dedicate this to everybody who has tried to make animation in the face of such oppressive commerce."

 

A big surprise was Pixar’s Bud Luckey winning the best animated short award for Boundin.’ It was up against the Salvador Dali/Walt Disney short Destino. Roy Disney produced Destino despite objections from Michael Eisner. Many assumed it would win as a sympathy vote for Roy. Boundin’ is an exceptional film so it was nice to see those who voted chose what they felt was the best film and not the best political choice.

 

Dave Thomas who graduated from SF State’s animation program and then worked at Wildbrain before moving south, won the Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production award for his artwork on the “Pipe Down” episode of The Fairly Odd Parents.

 

Once again The Simpsons won the best primetime TV show award plus 3 other Annies. The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron won for best TV series produced for children and The Animatrix was the best home entertainment production.

 

Friends who attended the event said the most charming homespun moment was voice actor Will Ryan playing his ukulele. He led the audience in "Happy Birthday." Will is a former president of the chapter and is the creator of Elmo Aardvark. Another person said, “It was a pretty good splash. The food was, as always, outstanding.” 

 

WE ARE ON THE INTERNET AT ASIFA-SF.ORG

 

 

LENNY “THANK YOU MASK MAN” BRUCE GRANTED A POSTHUMOUS PARDON for a 1964 bust for using obscene language in a performance at the Café Au Go Go in Greenwich Village. Last spring Bruce’s ex-wife, daughter and a group of lawyers and entertainers, including Robin Williams, the Smothers Brothers and Penn and Teller, asked Gov. George E. Pataki to grant Bruce a pardon. They believe Bruce was denied protection under the First Amendment. On Dec. 23, 2003 the first posthumous pardon in the state’s history was granted. The Associated Press reported Kitty Bruce, Lenny’s daughter, said, “I truly believe my father’s soul can rest in peace with this.”

 

Bruce’s “shocking” Thank You Mask Man (1968) was made in San Francisco by producer John Magnuson and director Jeff Hale. Bruce lived and performed in San Francisco part of his life and was Magnuson’s friend. The film takes on homophobic rednecks.

 

The San Francisco International Film Festival scheduled its world premiere. It was going to be shown opening night with Costa-Gravras’ Z at the Masonic Auditorium, but when the lights went down the feature was shown without the announced short. Prescott Wright says Magnuson ran out in the lobby shouting “they crucified Lenny when he was alive and now that he is dead they are screwing him again!” Nobody had said the film wasn’t going to be shown. Hale had flown from LA to SF to attend the premiere and he still gets angry at the festival’s attitude. Apparently somebody with power (money?) hated Bruce so much that they forced the festival to pull the film!

 

Magnuson was invited by Bill Melendez to submit the short for consideration for an Academy Award. Melendez, who was chair of the selection committee for animated shorts that year, later asked John why the film wasn’t submitted. John says it was sent to the Academy, but apparently somebody at the Academy hated Lenny so much that they took it upon themselves to hide the film and entry form. Jeff Hale guesses “the projectionist took it upon himself to act as a censor.”

 

Magnuson has other negative stories to tell about bigots reacting to the film, but he also enjoys recalling the awards and other honors bestowed upon the work. He says that when the film came out many people, including gay film programmers, misunderstood it. Today it is considered a classic. Theaters and festivals in many parts of the world have shown it. Magnuson also made an hour long documentary of Lenny Bruce performing live at a local club just before he died.

 

DEREK FLOOD’S SHARKTACOS STUDIOS IS PRODUCING “WINDOW,” A 3D SHORT  He says, “It's the story of Emelia, a five-year-old goth girl and the day she meets the Window. I'll be updating the site as the film develops, giving lots of insider dirt and insight into technical and artistic details of how a CG short is made. Lots of pretty pictures too.” You can see samples of his work and an online production diary at http://www.sharktacos.com/Emelia

 

Flood graduated from the University of Illinois and Chicago Art Institute. He worked in Europe before coming to the Bay

Area. He has worked locally at PDI/Dreamworks.

 

There is also a cryptic note on the site about one of his earlier films being in a Spike and Mike Sick and Twisted Show. It reads, “Animators beware! Even though I have a contract with them, Spike and Mike have yet to pay me one cent, after months of me asking and billing. I’m very disappointed that they take advantage of independent animators like this.”

 

LIKE UNUSUAL PROMOTIONS? PAUL NEWMAN IS DOING A VOICE IN THE FILM “CARS” AND IS DRIVING A PIXAR/DISNEY SPONSORED STOCK CAR They ran the car in the Rolex 24, a 24-hour endurance race at Daytona, Florida, Jan. 31-Feb. 1. The car broke down less than halfway through the race. Newman at 79 was the oldest driver in the race. He will provide the voice of a car that “gets his kicks on Route 66.” The film comes out in 2005.

 

Note about the Pixar, Eisner & Roy Disney new stories: I have refrained from discussing the dozens of stories about their differences in this issue due to space limitations. I also assume you may have been following them as it is one of the biggest news story in the history of animation. I’m just finishing a 2000+ word story on these recent events for Animatoons, a Korean magazine. If you want to read it, write and I’ll send you the text. karlcohen@earthlink.net

 

MICHAEL SPORN PRAISES TOM GIBBONS’ “HUNGER ARTIST” IN THE FEBUARY ASIFA-EAST NEWSLETTER Sporn, who was nominated for an Oscar in 1984 for Dr. Desoto, wrote a review of the 8 films that were considered this year for nominations for best animated short. He wrote, “The Hunger Artist by Tom Gibbons is a beautifully animated puppet film that adapts a Kafka story about a man who goes on a hunger strike as performance art. Its execution, design and animation were superb. My personal favorite.”

 

BILL PLYMPTON HAS DONATED TWO DRAWINGS TO ASIFA-SF Laura Tulloss, our chapter’s treasurer, suggests that we auction them and other donated items to raise a few dollars for the Don Thomas Animation Scholarship fund at SF State. The winner of the first scholarship in Don’s name will be announced in May. She is looking for items we can auction off – animation related items, software programs, etc. She also thinks a toy or two signed by Pixar or PDI/Dreamworks animators (a toy based on one of their animated characters) would help raise some needed funds to educate future animators. Contact Karl Cohen (415) 386-1004 or Laura at gogo10@mindspring.com

 

BILL PLYMPTON HAD A DELIGHTFUL VISIT TO SF – WE KNOW HOW TO SHOW HIM A GREAT TIME by KC It started on a Thurs. with a party in his honor. He was kept busy the entire time meeting people and signing books, DVDs and original art that he brought with him. Friday he met my animation history students at SF State where he talked about his career and screened work. After lunch at the Ramp he toured Wild Brain and Pixar. At Pixar we saw Brad Bird get a giant bucket of ice dumped over his head. That was followed by a champagne fight (they used Cooks, an inexpensive brand). John Lasseter joined in and squirted a few people. (Did anyone dare to squirt him?) The strange ritual was in honor of the final day of animation on The Incredibles. I assume they don’t party like that every day.

 

That evening he attended our open screening. He showed a work with a commentary track from the Avoid Eye Contact DVD and he enjoyed some amazing work brought in by local animators. A few of us met at a local bar after the screening and Bill said he was impressed by what he saw. Thanks ILM, Wild Brain, Cartoonland, Ron Merk, Nik Phelps, Carl Williat of Carl’s Fine Films, Tippett Studios, Rina Peterman, Laurence Arcadias, Gene Hamm and everybody else who brought in your fine reels.

 

The premiere of Hair High at the Roxie on Saturday was well attended and full of laughs. Bill’s film is full of original comic moments and surprises. It is fast paced and good looking. The use of Hollywood stars for the voices added to the professional feeling of his hand-made film. The film needs minor work near the end, but most of it held my interest and it was genuinely funny without my feeling I’d seen it before or that it was for teens. I think Bill was pleased by the audience’s reaction. He plans to fine-tune it. It is entered in more festivals and he is searching for a good distribution deal.

 

Sunday’s show of Bill’s shorts with Nik Phelps’ music was full of fine moments ending with the world premiere of Guard Dog. Bill selected 9 short works with little or no dialog for Nik to write music to. Nik’s new scores showed a great deal of musical variety and the Sprocket Ensemble impressed us with their musical talents. Bill selected a few films I hadn’t seen and while they may have been minor works, they came alive and looked great thanks to Nik’s new scores.

 

Guard Dog, his latest short, should be an excellent work after he polishes it up. (A couple of gags didn’t work.) The goofy dog is great to look at and the story is quite original. The film is a series of fantasies in the dog’s mind. The dog is paranoid and sees dangers all around him as he walks with his master.

 

OUR TREASURER’S REPORT At our February meeting Laura Tulloss reported that from Feb. 1, 2003 to Jan. 30, 2004 we took in $4,194 plus a $28 donation and spent $4,576.61. We began with $4,421.27 in the bank and ended with $4,076..66 She notes that we had 201 members at the beginning of the period and 175 on Feb. 1, 2004. She adds that a few more late renewals have come in.

 

At this point we have been loosing a few hundred a year for 3 or 4 years. We can afford to loose a few more dollars before we seriously consider cutting expenses and/or raising dues by $3 or $4 a year. Last year we reduced expenses by using the Explorarorium less. We rented Delancy Street’s hall @ $300 for two hours when we couldn’t get Dolby for Ron Diamond’s wonderful 35mm program of new films.

 

WHO FOUNDED ASIFA-SF? I recently worked with Geraldine Frerks Clarke to reconstruct the events that led up to the creation of our chapter. She recalls that, “The idea for ASIFA-SF was hatched at the Annecy Festival in 1973. I became an International member then (with Les Goldman and Bill Littlejohn, the two US International Board Members, signing for me). Prescott was already a member and since there were now two San Franciscans, we were encouraged to start up a chapter.

 

There were battles over that the next year or two as the French insisted that ASIFA chapters could only be organized on a national (not regional) basis, ignoring the fact that, unlike them, we got no governmental support and had a giant country to span. Bill Littlejohn went nobly into battle over that point every year at the meetings held at either Annecy or Zagreb. ASIFA-Hollywood was the organization that the international body (read "French") recognized. They became the US chapter in 1962. I know there were a lot of NY members when I was in Annecy. That's when we began arguing over our getting recognition for SF & NY as independent organizations and not just "members at large.”

 

“At Zagreb in 1974 the International Board agreed to permit the formation of ASIFA-San Francisco. When Prescott and I got back, Jeff Hale got interested and joined our board. We had been holding small, very informal meetings at Imagination long before Zagreb ‘ 74 with Pres in charge (the source of that document you found listing him as President.) It was mainly the Imagination, Inc. crowd and the selection committee for the Tournee. We finally got enough interest stirred up to hold an open meeting at the Canadian Consulate (after Annecy ’75). Tom Johnston from the Canadian Consulate was really helpful in many ways including providing the use of their medium sized screening room for our meetings.”  

 

“Imagination was really the only professional game in town back then (long before Colossal) but a whole lot of amateur enthusiasts came out of the woodwork once we got the word out. We were very surprised at the number of people who showed up. We decided we needed an election for officers and that's when a man who worked for an ad agency named Jim* (and no one else) volunteered to be President. I think Margaret Hale was Treasurer and I may have been VP or Secretary or something. The next year, I became President and Editor of the newsletter.”

 

“I was president for the next five or six years after. Board meetings were very popular because they were held at my house on the water on the Larkspur Boardwalk. We'd manage to get everyone focused on business for maybe an hour and then the meetings would turn into big parties. I don't think our mystery first president stayed a member for long. I remember what he looked like - short with short dark hair (everybody else had long hair at the time).“

 

“ASIFA was organized by the French under UNESCO’s jurisdiction. There was a lot of international law to deal with that animators, being animators, were not up on.  Bill Littlejohn was great in applying logic to the issues  (all of which were discussed with us all wearing headphones for the simultaneous translations - quite a heady experience for a 20-something grad student - I'd only ever seen it before on screen in Charade with Audrey Hepburn being the translator....)”

 

“One year, (Zagreb in '74, I think), we went through great efforts to redefine the structure, allowing for regional chapters but still retaining the two member limit per country for international board members.  We came back the next year (Annecy '75), to discover the French were totally ignoring all the things we had agreed upon in the previous year.  Such was

our introduction into international politics....”

 

Howard Beckerman was shown the above and added that ASIFA-East began in 1965. “We in New York were treated to an evening at Huntington Hartford's Museum in Columbus Circle when a French representative of ASIFA visited and showed films.  He may have been ASIFA president at that time. John Hubley was there as were most of the bright local animators and designers as well as film critic Stanley Kaufman. After having drinks and friendly introductions all around, we descended into the museum's theater to see a series of avant-garde French shorts that had practically nothing to do with animation.

*I also contacted Jeff Hale and Prescott and nobody can recall Jim’s last name. The charter that I have lists Prescott Wright as Founding President, 1975 and president in 1983 and states that the board was Prescott, Jeff Hale, Margaret Hale, Geraldine Frerks and Rudy Zamora Jr. It was Prescott and Geraldine who acted as catalysts with the help of Les Goldman and Tom Johnston to get the chapter started. Prescott told me that before we were known as ASIFA-SF the core group was known as the San Francisco Animation Association. It appears that group was organized by 1974 with Prescott as their president. When the international recognized our local group, people who joined as local members were officially members of the SF Animation Association and those who joined as international members were enrolled as both SFAA and ASIFA-SF members.

 

In those days there was a separate form to join the international. You had to be a professional animator, list your production credits and it required signatures of 2 sponsors. As far as I know the international never turned down anyone without professional experience. It was just a form. KC

 

GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE 2004 March 24-26, San Jose Expo Center. The Keynote speakers will be Phil Tippett on the history of animation (he was an Academy Award Winning Visual Effects Supervisor on the Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, RoboCop and Jurassic Park), John Gaeta on “From Visual Anti-Establishmentarianism to Ubiquity and Back” (he was the Visual Effects Supervisor on The Matrix, The Matrix Reloaded, and The Matrix Revolutions) and “DJ” John Jardin on “Workflow Convergence: How Motion Picture Pipelines Are Merging With Game Development” (he was Visual Effects Supervisor on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Mission Impossible 2 and The Matrix Trilogy). The titles for some of the sessions include ”Building Gollum,” “Acting for Animators” with Ed Hooks, “Character Rigging Cookbook,” “Digital Painting and the Narrowing Gap between Games and Film” with Paul Topolos of Pixar, ”Lighting In the REEL World,” “Outdoor Jungle Vegetation: Battlefield Vietnam” and other topics. www.gdconf.com

 

SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY’S ANIMATION- ILLUSTRATION CLUB HAS AN INTERESTING WEB SITE It is worth visiting to see what interests them and what is happening in San Jose. www.shrunkenheadman.com

 

CARTOON ART MUSEUM WILL PRESENT “THE ART OF DR. SEUSS” This retrospective is touring the country and will be at the museum March 5 - April 11. The Art of Dr. Seuss chronicles a side of Dr. Seuss that most readers have never seen.  You¹ll discover Seussian imagery from every facet of his varied career, including rare early works, poetry, advertising art, WWII editorial cartoons, magazine covers (1920s – ‘30s), his collection of unorthodox taxidermy known as the Secret Art, and never-before-seen works from Seuss¹s personal archives. Also see serigraphs from the Secret Art collection, limited edition prints of his book illustrations and examples of his unique sculptures.  

 

Opening Reception:  In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Dr. Seuss¹s birth, local celebrities and cartoonists will read their favorite Seuss stories at the Cartoon Art Museum on Friday, March 5 starting at 7 pm.   There will be refreshments and activities for kids of all ages.  Tickets to the event are $10 (CAM members $5); admission is free for children 8 and under.   A full-color 16-page catalogue for the The Art of Dr. Seuss exhibition will be included with your ticket purchase.

 

A second exhibit Happy Hundredth, Dr. Seuss! will be on display until­ June 20.  It includes 25 original works by Theodore Geisel (1904-1991) plus production art from Dr. Seuss¹s animated specials, and vintage Seuss artifacts. See incredible insects, feathered flocks and animated animals, including the Grinch and the Cat in the Hat.

 

The exhibit Lights, Camera, Action!!!  From the Printed Page to the Silver Screen, has been
extended through May 16. It explores the long, rich and sometimes strange history of live-action movies based on comic strips, comic books, and graphic novels from the 1920s silent films to recent big-budget spectaculars. There are more than 100 works of art and movie memorabilia in the show.  Artists include Eddie Campbell (From Hell), Jim Davis (Garfield), Todd McFarlane (Spawn) and E.C. Segar (Thimble Theatre/Popeye) and others.  

 

The museum’s delightful show Don't Parade on My Reign:  A Cartoon Salute to Willie Brown has been extended through March 21. It is a look at Willie Brown¹s eight years as Mayor of San Francisco through the eyes and pens of four local editorial cartoonists, Phil Frank, Tom Meyer, Mark Fiore and Don Asmussen.  At the opening Brown showed up to autograph copies of Phil Frank’s new book of images of him that ran in The Chronicle while he was mayor.

 

(THE REAL) TUESDAY WELD IS COMING TO SF IN MAY AND ALEX BUDOVSKY IS PLANNING TO COME WITH THEM Alex created the wonderful Bathtime in Clerkenwell with catchy music by The Real Tuesday Weld. His music video won our $100 top prize when we showed the ASIFA-East reel last fall. He looks forward to his visit and says, “I will get a chance to meet my California fans!!!” We will hold a reception in his honor.

 

LOCAL EVENTS

 

Friday, March 5 at 7:15 PM & Wednesday, March 10 at 9 PM Kabuki, Asian American Film Festival presents MT HEAD by Koji Yamamura (2003 Oscar nomination), FISH NEVER SLEEP by Gaelle Denis and GOD BLESS AMERICA by Tadsau Takamine. Latter has a giant clay head that quotes Bush.

 

 

Saturday, March 6 at 7:15 PM Kabuki, Asian American Film Festival presents SHADOWS AND LIGHT with Rattle by Ed Chan. “The evolution of envy, power and violence is traced in this fast paced animation.” Also in San Jose at Camera One, Sunday March 21 at 12:30 PM

 

Sunday, March 7, 1 PM, A TRIBUTE TO NELVANA FILMS, The Rafael Film Center is showing Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Kids and Pelswick. Nelvana in Canada makes animated films for kids. Miss Spider is voiced by Brooke Shields. Their calendar says it has some “great computer imagery to recreate the microscopic world of bugs of all shapes and sizes” and that Pelswick stars “an incorrigible and adventurous 13-year in a wheelchair.” 1118 4^th St. San Rafael

 

Sunday, March 7 at 2:45 PM & Thursday, March 11 at 7:15 PM Kabuki, Asian American Film Festival presents THE MAGICAL LIFE OF LONG TACK SAM This is a lovingly made documentary about a great grandfather who became a world famous magician and acrobat. It’s an unusual hybrid of techniques co-produced by the National Film Board of Canada. It uses computer techniques and animation to create fascinating visuals when none existed of Sam performing. There are animated comic strips to tell and retell different versions of how Sam became a magician. It also uses a software program, perhaps Photoshop, to turn still photos into more dynamic images (eyes blink, heads tilt, arms move, etc.). This combination of techniques helps give the feature a magical innocent charm.

 

The documentary is quite fascinating, as it exists on many levels. There is the story of Long Tack Sam’s rise as an international vaudeville star. There is the story of an unusual marriage that begins before WWI to a woman from Austria. Politics, two world wars and racial prejudice are also part of this story. Sam is separated from his wife during one war and war forced them to keep traveling during another until they were trapped in Shanghai. There are wonderful moments of nostalgia including a brief mention of Sam by Orson Welles and information about his knowing Houdini, the Marx Brothers, George Burns and other stars. Ann Marie Fleming’s film isn’t an earthshaking masterpiece, but it is a wonderful homespun search to discover who Sam was. I suspect several ASIFA members will really enjoy seeing it and perhaps be inspired by her use of animation. KC.

 

Sunday, March 7 at 8:45 PM & Tuesday, March 9 at 9 PM Kabuki, Asian American Film Festival presents a program of shorts (The Art of Breathing) that includes ETERNAL GAZE a 3D film that captures the meaning and agony of Giacometti’s sculpture. With 5 other shorts.

 

Sunday, March 7 at 9:15 PM & Wednesday, March 10 at 7:15 PM Kabuki, Asian American Film Festival presents 4 shorts including Mother Tongue by Susan Kim. “A young girl chronicles the passing of time. Dreamlike animation.”

Monday, March 8, 9:45 PM Kabuki, Asian American Film Festival presents MUSIC VIDEOS ASIA 5 of the 21 videos are animated (Cube Juice III, Dan the Animator, Bad Thoughts by The Skyflakes, Pin by Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Kid Koala by Basin Street Blues.

 

Saturday, March 27, KFJS PSYCHOTRONIX FILM FESTIVAL 7 PM, Room F2, will include classic cartoons, music shorts, “trailers from cheesy B-films,” 50s TV commercials and a Japanese monster movie featuring “guys in stupid looking monster suits.” This is a benefit for the campus radio station.

 

 

Saturday, April 3 BRUCE BICKFORD IN-PERSON PRESENTS “MONSTER ROAD,” a documentary about this famous reclusive clay animator who did animated shorts for Frank Zappa in the ‘70s. Plus some of his rarely seen shorts, at ATA, 992 Valencia, SF, 8:30 PM, $5

 

NATIONAL NEWS

 

DISNEY IS BUYING THE RIGHTS TO THE MUPPETS With all the crazy news in the press these days, you may have missed news that Disney has entered a deal with the Jim Henson Company for the rights to several assets including Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and other characters, plus past Muppet films and their television library. Sesame Workshop owns Sesame Street material and characters. They were not part of this sale. The deal between Disney and the Jim Henson Co. will take about 2 months to close.

 

PROFESSOR GARY SCHWARTZ WILL PRESENT A WORKSHOP AT THE GETTY MUSEUM On March 27 he will present a Zoetrope Workshop at the J. Paul Getty Museum in connection with their current show, "Photographers of Genius." It runs through July 25.

 

In February he was at the East Lansing Children's Film Festival presenting a Pixillation Animation Workshop. Participants created a finished animated project with a sync original soundtrack. All finished works were screened.

 

Gary will be in Tampa, Florida conducting animation workshops with the deaf as part of the Festival of Cinema for the Deaf, in May. Gary is now a fulltime Associate Professor in the Animation & Digital Media Department of the College for Creative Studies, 201 E. Kirby, Detroit, Mi 48202-4034

 

JOHN CANEMAKER IS EVERYWHERE In early February he was on NPR’s Talk of the Nation with Lynn Neary for about 40 minutes with Charles Solomon and another guest. They talked about animation today including 2D vs. 3D, the Oscars and other things. A few days later the Jacob Burns Film Center in Westchester presented an in-person show on his work as part of their series "The Wide World of Animation."

 

WHAT IS ANIMATION? According to the ASIFA Extraordinary General Assembly meeting in Zagreb in 1980, "The art of animation is the creation of moving images through the manipulation of all varieties of techniques apart from live action methods."

 

HOW CAN MICHAEL EISNER CALL 2D ANIMATION ALMOST DEAD? “BROTHER BEAR” HAS NOW BROUGHT IN OVER $163 MILLION According to Mojo.com it has taken in $85+ million in the US and $78+ million overseas. Not my idea of a financial disaster, and it will make a lot more when it comes out on video/DVD.

 

SONY HAS TURNED “THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE” INTO A MODEST HIT To test their marketing and to see if the film would go over with the American public it opened in New York City and Los Angeles in late November on 6 screens. They opened it in more locations in late December and last month it went from 46 screens to 463. Unlike most films that open big and ticket sales get smaller each week, Triplets has increased its income almost every week it has been out. In mid-February it had a $927,663 weekend (Feb. 13-16). As of Feb. 29 it had grossed. $4,790,711. Its overseas box office total is $6.546,848 according to Mojo.com.

 

In France at the Lumiere Awards Triplets won the grand prize and Harvie Krumpet won the top comedy prize. The Lumieres are France's equivalent of the Golden Globes.

 

ASIFA-NW AND THE PORTLAND ART INSTITUTE PRESENTED THE BEST IN NEW ANIMATION WITH RON DIAMOND IN-PERSON The 35mm event held last month at the Cinema 21 included a selection of fine films similar to Ron’s outstanding show presented here last fall.

 

ASIFA-NW HAS A FINE WEB SITE with several feature articles on it. There are histories of animation in Portland and Seattle, a review of the recent talk given by John Kricfalusi, interviews with Joanna Priestly, Teresa Drilling and others, etc. www.asifa.net/usa-northwest

 

JERRY BECK SAW EXCERPTS OF TWO ANIMATED RELEASES COMING FROM DREAMWORKS THIS YEAR AND HE THINKS BOTH WILL BE HITS In November he was invited to see clips from Shrek 2 and Shark’s Tale. He says Shrek begins “where the last one left off - and takes the characters to a new fairy tale land, a parody of Hollywood. And yes, the Ginger Bread Man has a bigger role this time out. But the character sure to steal the show this time is Puss In Boots… Also impressive is the improved animation of the ‘human’ characters... If you liked the first film you are in for a treat.”

                 

He also was excited about what he saw from Shark’s Tale. He calls it, “A completely different take from the underwater world of Finding Nemo, Shark’s universe is an aquatic New York City filled with gangsters, nightclubs, and literal loan sharks. The use of Robert De Niro and Martin Scorcese is better than I imagined and I predict they’ll be audience favorites here.”

 

CURIOUS GEORGE TO BE A 2D ANIMATED FEATURE FROM UNIVERSAL The project was slated to be a 3D film made by ILM but Variety reported the producers changed their minds as test footage looked “creepy” and was too expensive. Curious George is now the only traditional 2D animated feature in production from a major studio. They will open in November 2005. Its budget is around $40 million. About half of the animation will be done in the US.

 

“SH*T FROM SHYNOLA” was a program presented in Seattle last month. Shynola is a London based collective (Gideon Baws, Jason Groves, Chris Harding, and Richard "Kenny" Kenworthy) that produces short films and music videos. The 67 minute program included the animated short The Littlest Robo, music videos for Quannum, Radiohead, Lambchop, Stephen Malkmus, Junior/Senior and other works.

 

G7 TO DEVELOP AN ADULT TV SERIES BASED ON THE LIFE OF INTERNET SUPERSTAR CINDY MARGOLIS According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Margolis is the most downloaded woman on the Internet. Gang of 7 Animation in N. Hollywood is Tom Sito, Tom Tataranowicz, Stephanie Graziano, Rich Arons, Mark Zoeller, Dennis Venezelos, Chris Aguirre and Marlon Schulman. www.G7Animation.com

 

ASIFA-HOLLYWOOD ANNOUNCES 3 OUTSTANDING PROGRAMS On Saturday, March 27, 3 PM they will premiere the long awaited first film of Mark Kausler. Mark has been working in the industry since the 1960s (Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, Heavy Traffic, Family Dog, Ren and Stimpy, Sing Beast Sing,

etc.). He is a remarkable resource for animation historians as he has talked and worked with many of the old timers and has seen almost every cartoon ever made in the US. Now he has completed It’s the Cat. He will also show rare prints from his extensive collection. The event will be at the AFI screening room on Western Ave. (note: It’s the Cat was also shown by Greg Ford, the film’s producer, in February at an ASIFA-East event in New York City.)

 

On Sat. April 24, 3 PM Ted Bosustow will talk about his father and show rare 35mm prints of work from the UPA studio. Steve ran UPA in the 1950s. Again at the AFI screening room.

 

You just missed a show that might make Spike Decker blush (but I doubt it). The flyer says you will see sadism, perversion, filth, ethnic insensitivity, beatings, “NIPPLE NAKEDS!”(?) and more. “Join us for a screening of some of the most shocking, offensive, disgusting, disturbing and downright entertaining cartoons currently being made!” What could it be? Give up? It is a show of “unseen Spumco!” It appears to be an advance screening of new work from John Kricfalusi made for Spike TV’s Adult Cartoon Party. For further details about any of these programs visit www.asifa-hollywood.org

 

MAJOR THEATRICAL HOLLYWOOD ANIMATION STUDIO FOR SALE? Reuters News Service reported in early February that DreamWorks SKG would like to “spin off its animation unit.” They say the studio “has been pitching the potential sale of the unit to Hollywood studios. A spin-off would allow it to raise cash while keeping a production agreement.” They are also considering selling stock in their animation division to the public according to Reuters. AWN.COM says they have talked with stockbrokers about how best to make an offer. AWN also reports that DreamWorks told the NY Post “We have no plans to spin-off the animation unit at this time.” AWN contacted the studio, but they declined to comment.

 

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF ARE OPPOSED TO BUSH’S CENSORSHIP OF TV ANIMATION The Department of Education has denied funds for subtitles for the deaf on shows they oppose. Almost 200 shows, including several animated series, have been declared “inappropriate for captioning.” The disapproved shows include Courage the Cowardly Dog, Dexter’s Laboratory, Ed, Edd’n Eddy, Fairly Odd Parents, Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius, Pokemon, Power Rangers, Powerpuff Girls, Sabrina (animated series), Samurai Jack, The Simpsons, What’s New Scooby Doo? and other animated shows. www.nad.org

 

GROUP OPPOSING CENSORSHIP PRINTED AN INTELLIGENT LETTER FROM A “STREET FIGHTER” ADDICT THAT SAYS THE GAME DOES NOT PROMOTE VIOLENCE The writer, a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Illinois in Urbana, says video games get the players to act out their aggressions safely in front of computer screens and not on the street. The players he has met at numerous tournaments punch, kick, shout, slash, and may even hit the machines, but “there’s no evidence that these players are more violent in other settings than any other cross-section of the population.” He sees the games as a way to defuse daily frustrations. He claims the games have helped players do a lot of positive things, from finding jobs to getting out of gangs. From Censorship News, Winter 2003-04 (National Coalition Against Censorship)

 

OTTAWA 04 ANNOUNCES A FEW DETAILS ABOUT THEIR NEXT EVENT “Programming for Ottawa 04 will continue to be groundbreaking, provocative, and inspiring. Aside from our acclaimed Official Competitions and non-competitive Showcase series, featuring the cutting edge of contemporary image-making, we will also present an assortment of special screenings including tributes to Hayao Miyazaki, Robert Breer, Fred Crippen, Co Hoedeman, Stephanie Maxwell, Unsung Canadian Animators, 75 Years of Popeye, Soviet Propaganda Animation Films, New Faces of Canadian Animation and Contemporary French Animation.  Ottawa 04 will feature a unique series called Words in Motion, where films will be programmed to accompany a quartet of specially commissioned texts by noted Canadian and American authors.” They will also present their first Television Animation Conference Sept. 23 and 24.

 

2004 MIDWEST ANIMATORS CONFERENCE presented by ASIFA Central. The event is April 23-25 in Downer Grove, Illinois. For information and to register go to www.asifaconference.org.

 

OTTAWA INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION FESTIVAL FACES FUNDING CUTS AGAIN This time the City of Ottawa is thinking about cutting funds to all art organizations. For details visit http://www.awn.com/ottawa/ottawa04/city_cuts.html

 

JOHN HENCH, DISNEY ARTIST, DIES AT 95 He was working at the company’s Imagineering designing Disney’s latest theme park in Hong Kong. He started with the company in 1939 and has credits on Fantasia, Dumbo, Peter Pan, Cinderella and many other wonderful projects. He also worked with Dali on Destino and also worked on the completion of the film last year.

 

BILL PLYMPTON CONTINUES HIS TRAVELS AROUND THE WORLD On March 19, he will appear at the Environmental Film Festival in Silver Springs, MD. He then travels to Eastern Europe, for a screening of Mondo Plympton at the Belgrade Short Film Festival in Serbia and Montenegro on March 30.  From there he travels to screenings of Mutant Aliens and Mondo Plympton at the Bimini Animated Film Festival in Riga, Latvia, from April 1-4.  

 

B.S. REPORT: SOME FILM FESTIVALS ARE TOO EXCLUSIVE TO ALLOW US TO SEE A WORK UNTIL THEY PRESENT THE WORLD PREMIERE EVEN THOUGH I’VE ALREADY SEEN IT Concerning a work we didn’t show recently, “We appreciate your interest in (name withheld). While it would be a wonderful opportunity to screen the short at the ASIFA-SF's Open Screening, we are not currently screening the film to the public. (name withheld) will make its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in May and we do not plan on sending it out for any additional screenings until next year. Therefore, I am afraid we are going to have to decline your request.”

 

Tribeca is so exclusive that when Oscar winning animator Jimmy Picker was invited to lunch with them at a fancy NY restaurant, he and the other invited artists had lunch on one floor while the VIPs (Martin Scorcese & friends) ate on a floor above. The VIPs didn’t go downstairs to thank the makers of the short films for being in their wonderful Tribeca Film Festival.

 

 

NEW BOOKS

Reviewed by Gene Hamm

 

ACTION! CARTOONING by Ben Caldwell, Sterling Publishing Co., $9.95. ACTION! CARTOONING shows how to design modern looking action heroes. It emphasizes good character design and how to exaggerate poses for more emphasis. With every page crammed with useful information, I am amazed at the price: only $9.95. His style echoes current fare such as Batman and Teen Titans on TV and The Triplets of Belleville. It also echoes classic cartoonists such as Chuck Jones, Jack Kirby and Jack Davis.

  

TEZUKA SCHOOL OF ANIMATION, VOL. 1 Learning the Basics by Tezuka Productions, Digital Manga Publishing, $13.95. I get lots of students in my animation classes who want to animate in the anime style and tell me it is vastly different than the western style.  This book from the studio started by Osamu Tezuka, who began anime with Astro Boy, teaches you the classic principles of animation.  They are exactly the same as the principles of animation used by Hollywood.  For students who only like anime, this book speaks their language. One of the best features of the book is found in the last thirty pages. They are devoted to animating special effects.  It teaches how to animate such phenomena as smoke, water, explosions and fire.  That section alone is worth the price of the book.

TEZUKA SCHOOL OF ANIMATION VOL. 2 Animals in Motion by Tezuka Productions, Digital Manga Publishing, $13.95. This second volume has over a hundred pages of walk cycles of animals from cheetahs to kangaroos, from camels to roosters.  It includes swimming patterns of fish.  It has all kinds of birds flying, landing and taking off. It shows motion cycles of insects and snakes.  Up until now the best source of animation cycles of animal walks was Jack Hamm's (no relation) How to Draw Animals. 

 

This new book will be a great resource for years. Together these two volumes from Tezuka Productions do for anime what Richard Williams' book The Animator's Survival Kit did for western animation.  I hope there are more volumes to come.

DVD NEWS

 

“TRIPLETS” TO BE RELEASED ON DVD AND VHS MAY 4 BY SONY The extras include a featurette with writer/director Sylvain Chomet, “The Making of The Triplets of Belleville” (a second featurette) and three sequences with scene commentary. There will also be a music video of the Academy AwardÒ-nominated song “Belleville Rendez-Vous” and the theatrical trailer for the film.

 

FIRST SEASON DVDS OF “FLINTSTONES” AND “SCOOBY-DOO” will be released March 16. The 4-disc DVD set will be in collectible boxes from Warner Home Video for $64.92. The "Hanna-Barbera Golden Collection" will include all 28 half-hour episodes of The Flintstones plus bonus material including early network TV ads and promotional spots.

 

 “LION KING 1½” ON DVD AND VHS was recently released. Disney hopes it will become the best-selling direct-to-video DVD of all time.

 

ASIFA-SAN FRANCISCO

P.O. Box 14516

San Francisco, CA 94114

 

 

 

“ALLEGRO NON TROPPO” (1976) BY BRUNO BOZETTO was the wild Italian director’s Fantasia. Coming out in DVD from Home Vision Entertainment for $29.95.

 

This new digital transfer with optional English subtitles also contains 10 short films by Bozzetto and I Mondi di Bozzetto, an Italian television documentary that includes interviews with Bozzetto and Nichetti.

 

REN AND STIMPY 3 disc DVD sets were available late last year on the Internet from Time-Life Video, but they are already out-of-print. A friend bought a new copy from an EBay ad and is quite happy with his purchase.

 

FESTIVALS

 

OTTAWA 2004 It is time to think about getting your entries in for 2004.  Please head to their new website to fill out your entry form online or download the Adobe version.  The deadline is July 2. (613) 232-8769.www.awn.com/ottawa info@animationfestival.ca

 

10^th ANNUAL BRAINWASH MOVIE FESTIVAL DEADLINE IS MAY 1 for shorts under 12 minutes ($30 entry fee) or May 10 ($50 late fee). They preview work on ½” VHS tape and on DVD. Include $3.80 return postage if you want your submission returned. Send films and payment to Brainwash, PO Box 23302, Oakland, CA 94623-0302 (415) 273-1545 and 567-2749 www.BrainwashM.com The 2004 festival will be an outdoor drive-in and bike-in event held July 9 & 10 in the Alliance for West Oakland Parking Lot, 1357 5^th Street at Mandela Parkway, Oakland 9 PM.

 

8^th ANNUAL MADCAT WOMAN’S FILM FESTIVAL The event will be held in San Francisco in September. Entry deadline: May 21. Mad Cat shows avant-garde, independent and experimental films and videos from around the world. For information http://www.madcatfilmfestival.org.

 

THE AURORA AWARDS ISN’T A FESTIVAL. YOU SIMPLY PAY THEM $60 AND IF THEY LIKE YOUR WORK THEY SELL YOU AN EXPENSIVE PRIZE certificates are $15 each and Aurora statues are $175 each. Visit www.auroraawards.com for list of last year’s winners. The entry form has a list of last year’s “Best In Show” winners. It looks like there were 200 of them! Most festivals only give one best in show award.. March 20 deadline. (Could this event be a joke or a get rich quick scam?

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO STATE’S ANIMATION CLUB AND ASIFA-SAN FRANCISCO PRESENT

 

 

AN INTRODUCTION TO

ACTING FOR ANIMATORS

WITH ED HOOKS

ACTOR, COACH, TEACHER, AUTHOR

 

THURSDAY, APRIL 1, 6:30 PM

A 3-HOUR WORKSHOP

 

This is a workshop designed for animators that will focus on the connections between thinking, emotion and physical action. Ed will introduce the basic concepts of acting theory, do some improvisations involving status transactions and shifting power centers.  He will show clips from two or three films and probably do an actinganalysis of "Father and Daughter" by Michael Dudok DeWit.

 

Subjects to be covered include:

- The psychology of physical movement.

- Negotiations with a scene, value of conflict.

- Playing actions, pursuing objectives.

- Character analysis.

- Status transactions.

- Psychological gestures.

- Expressions of emotions.

- Empathy – what it is, why it is important, how to get it.

 

 

Free to SF State students and ASIFA members. $5 donation requested from students from other schools and underemployed. $10 from those who can afford it. Meets in Creative Arts 115 (NW corner of the building with McKenna Auditorium in it). Your donations will support SF State’s Don Thomas Scholarship Fund.

 

Ed will also sign books for people.