The Monday Studio Circuit

I get real energetic at this point in June, rushing around peddling my 401(k) enrollment booklets... (Yes, I know this is a continuing theme. And I'm aware that I'm narrow-casting here. But for Animation Guild members who haven't yet enrolled in TAG's 401(k) Plan, July 1st is the deadline. July 1st. That's like, this coming Saturday. End of the week. So give the office a call or tackle me when you see me in the hallway of your studio. I'll have materials with me...) On another subject, Disney Feature Animation employees have the opportunity to submit suggestions for the upcoming TSL contract negotiations. There's a box set up near the stairs in the Hat Building for suggestions. Shop stewards can also be contacted. Regarding the phase-out of Personal Service Contracts: I'm informed that opinions are split over the issue. Some artists think not haveing a PSC is a good thing since they won't be tied to Disney exclusively and will be able to leave if and when they want; others are worried about having less security. One Dinsey staffer told me: "There are supervisors who're terrified of having staff that aren't legally tied to their production, and there is staff that's frightened of not being guaranteed a job for the length of production." Disney Television Animation has a variety of projects; I'm told that "Mickey's Clubhouse" is good to go with a second season, that "Emperor's New School" has been picked up, and that hopes are high for "American Dragon" coming back. New series include "Tigger and Pooh" and "Fineous and Ferb." Up on the second floor of the Sonora building in Glendale, supervisors continue to make cryptic remarks to me about the future of the Toons division sequel business. Maybe these folks know something I don't, but I continue to believe that the IIs and IIIs of the various classics will go on getting made. The franchises for all those Golden Oldies are just too lucrative for the business to be halted.