A shot from Idiots & Angels.

Great news, we just got booked in Chicago's prestigious Music Box Cinema! It looks like it will be screening there the 1^st week of December.

Several weeks ago, I went to the Academy screening of all the eligible animated shorts – about 30 films. It's held at the N.Y. Academy screening room (The Lighthouse) and is attended by all or most of the Academy members living in the Northeast area. Members even come down from Canada.  It's one of my favorite events, because often I discover films I've never seen before and I always have a film that I'm trying to get nominated.

We all have our own projects that we feel are better than some of the things that we see on broadcast television or cable.  Who hasn't wondeded what would happen if only they could get their film seen - After all it has to be better than a lot of the crap that seems to fill the airways.  Kent Butterworth worked for a number of years off and on to make his film Attila the Ham, in the end he finsihsed the film, found a distributor and kept the lion's share of ownership and rights.... Just like the good old days when broadcasters were broadcasters and producers were producers...  Here's how he did it.

The story and visuals of Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland have long been such an important part of my imagination’s development, I couldn’t help but be mightily intrigued by the idea of a brand new version being directed by Tim Burton. 

Merida rides in this concept art from Brave. Merida does not play major league baseball for the Atlanta Braves.  All images courtesy of Pixar.

At a casual glance, anybody taking on Disney in a court of law would seem either fabulously wealthy, fabulously nuts, or both.  So, I find this news item of particular interest.  As reported on the Yahoo Sports blog Big League Stew, Major League Baseball’s Atlanta Braves are slinging some arrows at Pixar, challenging them over the name of the upcoming animated feature, Brave.

What is the #1 most important ingredient of every great screenplay?

Is it great characters?

Great plot?

High Concept?

It’s none of these.  The #1 most important ingredient of every great screenplay is...

FUNimation

Here is the latest streaming schedule from FUNimation.

Pixar is living through a new golden age.  The string of hit films, the triumph of Up, the promise of the studio’s ambitious new projects, all fill the space with a glow.  I’ve visited Pixar before, and each time I’m aware that someday I’ll be telling people not yet born that, yes, I visited Pixar.