Bill Plympton's "Idiots' Diary"

Idiots’ Diary #24: Surprises with the Academy Shortlist

bplympton — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 15:32:35 -0800

Several weeks ago, I went to the Academy screening of all the eligible animated shorts – about 30 films. 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.

Idiots’ Diary #23: I&A Plays in Chicago

bplympton — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 12:29:16 -0800

In the third of my trifecta of “Idiots and Angels” theatrical release appearances, I made a trip to Chicago, where it played at the wonderful Music Box Cinema. Three years ago, Gabe Levinson brought me to the Music Box to run a rough cut of the work in progress to help me make the final cut. It was wonderfully helpful and important.

Idiots’ Diary #22: The Oscar Qualification Gauntlet

bplympton — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:41:38 -0800

The big problem with the Oscars is that if there are more than 15 films qualifying, then the number of nominations expands from 3 films to 5. Obviously, with 5 films I have a much better shot, like Secret of the Kells last year. But with only 3 films nominated, they usually go to the Hollywood Blockbusters.

Idiots’ Diary #21: This is Depressing

bplympton — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 09:29:50 -0700

I'm still in LA and I talked to Greg Laemmle of the Laemmle Cinema and he's not very happy. Because of the lack of review for

Idiots and Angels

in the L.A. Times. The box office is way down, so Greg decided to pull the film after this Thursday. What a disaster!

Idiots' Diary #20: What's With the LA Times?

bplympton — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 16:10:04 -0700

It’s Friday, Oct. 29. I’m in Los Angeles for the premiere of I&A (Idiots and Angels). It opens tonight and I’m not a very happy camper. Even though the L.A. Weekly gave my film a wonderful review and a great article, the all-important L.A. Times refused to review the film!

Idiots’ Diary #20: On To Los Angeles

bplympton — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 08:11:28 -0700

Now that “I&A” is a success in New York's IFC Cinema, I have to recreate the same excitement and box office in LA. It's opening on October 29th at the Laemmle Cinema for a one week run that will hopefully be held over for another week (it's played three weeks in New York).

Idiots' Diary #19: Idiots & Angels Held Over at the IFC in New York!

bplympton — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:50:51 -0700

Yeah! Idiots and Angels was held over at the IFC by popular demand! This is what I dreamed of. All those distributors who rejected “Idiots and Angels” now must realize that there is an audience for an adult animated film. People want to see mature and provocative ideas in cartoons.

Idiots’ Diary #18: The Imperfect Storm

bplympton — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:36:45 -0700

Call it “Crazy Week” or “The Imperfect Storm”. It seems like everything is happening at once. First of all, in my studio, I'm trying to finish a low-budget commercial for an accounting firm. Then I'm working on animation for John Leguizamo' new feature, “Fugly”. Plus, I'm right in the very critical last week of sending my new Rizzoli art book, “Independently Animated: Bill Plympton”, off to the printers in China.

Idiots’ Diary #17: The Morning After

bplympton — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:46:27 -0700

So, it's the morning after the grand premiere of “Idiots and Angels” at the IFC Center. It was a wonderful evening, lots of old friends and a lot of new fans of Plymptoons. I can't say it was a smashing success; even though we had good crowds for both evening shows we didn't have a sell-out, and that's the dream of every filmmaker: A nice fat “sold out” sign over the box office window.

Idiots’ Diary #16: The Film Reviews Start Arriving – Demented Moral Fantasy Indeed!

bplympton — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:33:17 -0700

It's a crazy day – besides being the day Idiots and Angels premieres at the IFC Center, it's also the day that all the reviews come out. So briskly, at 6AM, I eagerly go to my local magazine shop and buy all the papers...