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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 6.01 - APRIL 2001
Publisher's Notebookby Dan Sarto History shows that the Phoenix always rises...
An entire year has gone by since my last Publisher's Notebook. In many ways, the promise and potential of the past year has been overshadowed by some of the more grim realities of the global economic climate. The first Internet Entertainment Revolution shook its fist at the world, quickly got a face full of pepper spray and ran back to the hills. Major studios merged, purged and coughed up large amounts of their staff and stock value. The technology companies that fuel much of the digital media world harangued us with another healthy dose of product point releases, but nothing really worth cleaning out your aging grandmother's bank account to go buy. Sometimes, in the rush to embrace progress and the "cutting edge," we no longer have quite the chokehold on our goals and dreams that we'd like to think we have. And even in the midst of tremendous strides being made with all sorts of cool computer animation techniques and technologies, some of the year's best animation was still done by lonely artists working late into the night with an animation disk, or an armful of puppets, or an old Mac 8500. If you turn down the volume on your "life," you can actually even hear them working away. Quietly. Patiently. Beautifully. Golly, that was maudlin. I sound like my dad. The point I'm trying to make is that as we hurdle at breakneck speed toward our future, we would be well advised to learn from the hard fought lessons of our past. If we are to more fully embrace and profit from the opportunities of the coming years (and there will be many), we should not jettison the old just to make room for the new. There is ample room for both. Except for Thai food. Once it's been in the fridge for a couple days, toss it. The animation industry is going through some difficult times right now. Our problems mirror the problems of the global economy at large. But history shows that the Phoenix always rises from the ashes, that progress may sometimes get mired, but never derailed. I'm confidant things are bound to improve during the next year. At least that's what I've been telling my landlord, and that's what I'm telling you. Which leads me to the real point of this year's Publisher's Notebook. I've often felt the best judge of a person's character is how they handle adversity. You can really see someone's true nature by the way they make the tough decisions. Think about it -- it's been a tough year, but the hard part is really over. You've told your wife you can get at least another thousand miles on that mini-spare tire, you've told your five-year-old daughter that because E-Toys went from $200 to zippo she'll soon have to start sharing a room with grandma, and you've told your therapist you've got the shaking well under control. It's all downhill from here. In that spirit, this year's Publisher's Notebook, celebrating AWN's 5th Anniversary, concludes by trying to help pave the way for success in the future by poking a little fun at some of the things from the past. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we are destined to repeat our mistakes, and miss out on some of the opportunities that the future has in store for us. Plus, if we can't laugh at other people, then for the most part, there wouldn't be many things that are funny. As my father always said, "If you can't kick a friend when they're down, then what good are they as a friend?" Join me for a quick glimpse at some of the Animation Headline News that didn't make it into any of AWN's publications, or any other publications for that matter. I'm sure our Editor In Chief Heather Kenyon will argue that they shouldn't have even made it into this publication, but I get my way once, and only once, each year. And this is it. Thanks to everyone at AWN and creativePLANET that have made the past year online so profoundly rewarding, challenging, and most of all, amusing. So without further ado, in honor of our 5th anniversary (and April Fool's Day), the news that never was, but should have been. AWN HEADLINE NEWS Business Sears suspends sales of Cow & Chicken convection oven in Asia -- retailing giant bows to PETA pressure over accompanying cookbook that includes several recipes for roast dog. Entire library of Ren & Stimpy videos reported missing from Los Alamos Labs -- FBI to investigate latest breach in security at country's most top-secret nuclear laboratory. Interpol and FBI smash ring of international video pirates -- gang caught smuggling bootleg copies of Cats Don't Dance into Honduras. DNA tests reveal FOX Studios had nothing to do with the mismarketing of Titan A.E. -- company executives deny involvement, claim they were at home watching television during animated feature's theatrical run. Cal Arts rocked by hazing tragedy -- foreign student who had never seen Luxo Jr. forced by fellow students to do pencil tests on old Amiga. Warner Feature Animation restructures again -- new division to be called Disney Feature Animation. Parts shortages plague Sony Playstation 2 launch -- company spokesman says that only a power cord and one controller will ship on schedule. Jeff Goldblum signs on as spokesman for SGI -- new ad campaign to promote company's next generation home render farms. Disney buys entire Internet -- plans to eliminate all domains except dotbuydisneystuff. Top animation studio brass warns of impending talent crunch -- key execs predict looming shortage of qualified movers, auctioneers, locksmiths and packing clerks. Special Cinar News Compendium Cinar releases restated financial reports -- claims $120 million spent on French versions of Microsoft Office. Cinar founders resign -- refuse to continue working for company that can't take a joke. Cinar explains delay in providing financial statements -- they were late because auditors had tickets for a Maple Leaf's game. Cinar employees barred from trading -- Canadian securities watchdog, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), has barred officers, directors and insiders of Cinar Corp. from any further misappropriation of $120 million.
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