Press Release from Playboy
CHICAGO (July 21, 2009) – Playboy announced today that “Basement Gary,” an original animation co-created by New York animator Sean Donnelly and actor Alessandro Minoli, was named winner of its 2009 Animation Contest. The honor has earned the creators $10,000 and bragging rights in the animation world. “Basement Gary,” as well as other top contest contenders, can be viewed at playboy.com/animation.
Playboy, which created the contest in celebration of one of Hugh Hefner’s true passions – cartooning, also announced that it is hosting a second competition. Animators are invited to enter their most entertaining creations in the 2009 Playboy Animation Contest: Round 2.
“Basement Gary”
The winning animation tells the story of Basement Gary, a geeky inventor, who builds a “drug simulator,” which allows his landlord’s teenage son to experience drugs without actually doing them. The machine, Gary explains, “gives you all the real effects and benefits of drugs without any of the health risks.” However, Gary’s invention, like all of his creations, is ultimately doomed for disaster, and hilarity ensues.
“Basement Gary” was written, animated, produced and voice acted by Donnelly and Minoli. Donnelly, a graduate of the film and television program at New York University, is an animator, director and documentary film maker, who often blends various animated styles in his work, such as stop motion, hand drawn, after effects, flash, pixilation and paper cut outs. Minoli, a graduate of Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, is a writer, comedian and actor, who played the voices of several characters in the animation and composed some of the music. The winners are currently working on new, longer format episodes of "Basement Gary," and are developing several other projects; visit basementgary.com for more information.
2009 Playboy Animation Contest Runners Up
Other leading contenders in the contest included creative animations about the following: Ringo Starr, and his crazy antics while in The Beatles; a step-father who takes his son to a strip club; a late night television host; and a lazy chef who hosts his own television show.
2009 Playboy Animation Contest: Round 2
Following the success of the first animation contest, Playboy is calling on all animators to enter the 2009 Playboy Animation Contest: Round 2, and out-entertain the competition for a chance to win $10,000. Entrants can submit their animation genius on Playboy.com or via snail mail by January 1, 2010 at 5pm CST, along with the following: a text statement containing the entrant’s name, address, email, phone number, date of birth and the name of the entry, along with any other pertinent information about the entry; a copy of the entrant’s driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID; and the original animation in one of the following formats: FLV, MOV, AVI or MPEG and in 16x9 or 4x3 aspect ratio. To view official contest rules visit playboy.com/animation.
Playboy has a long history of including cartoons and animation in the publication and online, and these contests further celebrate the art forms. The new contest is one of the latest features on the recently redesigned Playboy.com, which offers an array of original content, images, and video; animation; and interactive, customizable content.
Playboy is one of the most recognized and popular consumer brands in the world. Playboy Enterprises, Inc. is a media and lifestyle company that markets the brand through a wide range of media properties and licensing initiatives. The company publishes Playboy magazine in the United States and abroad and creates content for distribution via television networks, websites, mobile platforms, DVD and radio. Through licensing agreements, the Playboy brand appears in more than 150 countries on a wide range of consumer products, entertainment locations and retail stores.