Commentary 06 Aug 2011 05:02 am
Bits of Pieces
Tissa David study for The Marzipan Pig
- During the summer months, it seems that HBO is airing one of the Sporn films every day and screening each film twice. Once at 7:30am and again at 10:00am (EST). You can locate the complete schedule on our main website. Just click the “August” button.
- In case you haven’t seen this yet, here’s a photo of the original desk Walt Disney built in his Uncle Robert’s garage when he began work on his Alice in Cartoonland series. This was just after his move to California. Having finished the first of the Alice films, he was able to sell Margaret Winkler on this new series. Fortuitous timing. She was distributing the very successful Felix series, and Pat Sullivan was pulling out from her distribution after his contract expired. She needed a new series to take its place, and hoped that the Alice series would do just that.
The camera, itself, was bought used for $200. Walt built the stand, himself, and used the camera for both the live action and the animation. Presumably this was the stand on which Steamboat Willie was shot. The photo was taken in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles where Disney donated the stand.
- From the “Hard to keep a good man down” department, Robert Zemeckis is signing with Universal Features to bring his Imagemovers company to their lot. This is the group that was just pushed out of Disney after the losing track record of Mars Needs Moms and Beowulf. The Universal deal would be an overall production pact. Terms and length are still being finalized, but the arrangement would call on Zemeckis to develop and produce both live-action and motion capture projects.
It’s not yet known whether the film he just contracted to do for SONY, How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack, would be done on this deal. The good news is that we can still see a motion capture version of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.
– Lee Corey writes that he recently completed 30 sec PSA with the music group he designed, “Walleye and the Fish Band”. The PSA is playing in 360 theaters in the Great Lakes area. The spot confronts the problem of about VHS disease, (viral hemorrhagic septicemia), a disease which has decimated 17 species of fish in the Great Lakes, and while it is not contagious to humans, it is severely affecting the aquaculture of the region.
On completion of the PSA, Corey was hired to do a two minute music video featuring the band singing its “hit” song “Help Save Our Waters” with lyrics suggesting tips anglers and boaters can take to help stop VHS disease.
- Bill Plympton and Pat Smith have put together a program of new 2D films to be screened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn next Sunday night. They call it the Scribble Junkies Festival of Drawn Animation. Hallelujah! Someone is still giving drawn animation some respect. We need more of this. Tony White’s 2D or Not 2D Festival is another incarnation of this on the West Coast, and we hope lots more start showing up.
Drinks start at 7pm, screening at 8:30. It includes recent work by animators Ryan Woodward, Bill Plympton, Patrick Smith, David Chai, Colleen Cox, Rebecca Sugar and more! Hope to see you! For more info go to the blog.
Sunday, August 14 at 7:00pm
Location: Nite Hawk Cinema, 136 Metropolitan Ave.
- The Rauch Brothers, again, this year will have short films accompanying the POV show on PBS. No More Questions and Miss Divine are scheduled to air on Aug 23rd.
on 06 Aug 2011 at 11:09 am 1.The Gee said …
“Bill Plympton and Pat Smith have put together a program of new 2D films to be screened in Williamsburg, Brooklyn tomorrow night. ”
Tomorrow is the 7th.
You can delete this after you see it, btw. No biggie.
on 06 Aug 2011 at 12:39 pm 2.Michael said …
Thanks for catching my goof calling it “tomorrow night.” Pat Smith had emailed and asked if I’d be there Sunday night, and I assumed they might this Sunday. My error, of course.
on 06 Aug 2011 at 2:15 pm 3.The Gee said …
No problem. But, seriously, you can delete the comment.
To start it off fresher:
Ya think that Zemekis’ “How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack” is some sort of allegory where he vents about critics of his mocap movies?
It will end with some variation of the line alluding to MoCap usage:
“Revenge is a dish best reheated and served lukewarm, with a mad dash of mediocrity.”
——
Maybe it will include a catchy hit pop song called “Gnomebusters.”
“Who’ll make ‘em Fall? Gnomebusters!”
(you are already foot tapping and chair dancing with anticipation, no?)
——
With a snippet of dialogue:
Gnu Gnome: What’s with that guy over there?
Old Gnome: That’s Island. He likes to keep to himself.
Gnu Gnome: Riiight. Gnome is an island.
——
And let’s just hope not plastic pink flamingos or ceramic Christs are harmed in the film.
or something cleverer than all that.
Though now that I’ve wasted time concocting that and click clacking it out, the way my luck goes, the movie will probably turn out to be the first mocap+animated Academy Award winner for Best Picture that is a sentimental tear jerker on par with “Love Story.”