Saturday, October 10, 2009

Linkage of Autumn

Some Fridays you don't get to links like you should.

The L.A. Times tells how some of Wes Anderson's animation crew came to hate him:

... Anderson had no idea that his ignorance of stop-motion (the animation technique in which a stationary object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames) and exacting ideas concerning the film's look would so exasperate his crew.

"Honestly? Yeah. He has made our lives miserable," the film's director of animation, Mark Gustafson, said during a break in shooting. He gave a weary chuckle. "I probably shouldn't say that." ...

Chris Miller and Phil Lord, the writer-directors of Cloudy with Meatballs, spent a hectic night on the day their movie opened:.

... in an industry tradition for first-time filmmakers, they had invited a dozen friends and family members to check out audience reactions at theaters all over town ...

“This is the best night of our lives,” Mr. Lord declared after reading an e-mail message from their animation professor comparing them to Chekhov.

By 11 p.m., they were celebrating with a swelling entourage by the pool at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

Pete Huyck, a fellow writer and director, presented the newest successful auteurs with fake gold statues with plaques that read, “Hollywood Best Person Award.”

Imagi is encouraged by its initial Astro Boy rollout:

"Astro Boy" was released this week in Hong Kong and Saturday in Japan. Over the next fortnight it will roll out across much of the Asia-Pacific region. The China debut is set for Oct. 23, the same day as it begins a wide release through Summit Entertainment in North America.

Initial reactions from the Tokyo premiere Monday suggest that the careful modernization of the Atom character has kept the film true to the original concept and acceptable to the millions of Japanese who watched the TV series. Meanwhile, for Americans and international audiences beyond Asia, the film appears to be American, or at least fashioned in the same way as a Pixar original. That’s because Imagi’s unique modus operandi is to hire former Disney and DreamWorks Animation creatives in the U.S. who originate the script and storyboard before turning it over to the company’s 500 multi-cultural animators in Hong Kong...

ASIFA Archives gies us an illustrated history of Alvin and the Chipmunks, still going strong after fifty glorious years.

Okay, she's on the cover, but will she shave in strategic areas?

Simpsons matriarch Marge Simpson is gracing the cover of Playboy magazine, becoming the first cartoon character in the publication's history.

The November issue sees Marge posing on a chair with the distinctive Playboy Bunny logo.

The oft-told tale of how the dwarfs of Snow White became The Seven Dwarfs. (No doubt being told again because the BluRay edition of the mega-hit is out to make new millions for Diz Co.)

"Dave Hand who was Directing Supervisor kept saying to the artist, ‘I can’t tell them apart, we’ve got to work on a way to tell the Dwarfs apart.’”

I was worried sick it wouldn't happen; now I can breathe easy:

The Toy Industry Association, Inc. (TIA) announced the selection of its 2010 inductees into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame:

- John Lasseter, chief creative officer, Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios, and principal creative advisor of Walt Disney Imagineering ...

- Sam Walton, founder, Walmart Stores (posthumous award)

Sam and John, together at last. Have a fine fettled weekend.

7 comments:

Fun With Mr. Future said...

"Simpsons matriarch Marge Simpson is gracing the cover of Playboy magazine, becoming the first cartoon character in the publication's history."

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Sez who ?

Leroy Neiman's "Femlin" character has graced the cover of that rag many times.

An example:

August 1960 - Playboy Cover - Femlin character by Leroy Neiman.

Anonymous said...

"presented the newest successful auteurs"

AUTEURS?!!!! That movie was about as a committeed to death movie as there ever has been. Let's not get silly.

Anonymous said...

"That’s because Imagi’s unique modus operandi is to hire former Disney and DreamWorks Animation creatives in the U.S. who originate the script and storyboard before turning it over to the company’s 500 Communist Partyl animators in Hong Kong...

Anonymous said...

AUTEURS?!!!! That movie was about as a committeed to death movie as there ever has been. Let's not get silly.

I disagree. Cloudy was the most non-committee-feeling animated movie I've seen in years. The jokes were fresh, well-written, and straight up funny. The story felt like it had a singular direction and vision.

Between Surf's Up and Cloudy, I'd say Sony is the most under-rated animation studio in the U.S. right now. Possibly the worst marketed though.

And no, I dont work for them. But I do work for one of their competitors :)

Anonymous said...

...so now it's "unique" to do boards here and farm out animation to an asian country?

Who knew?

As for Wes Anderson: of course he was right to insist on things like stop-motion real fur(which reflects every thumbprint and makes for shimmer and boil all over the figure) because he's the Director, and he's PAID more, so obviously he must be right, all the time.
The hack animators were just doing it all by the numbers before he came along.
Gag.

Anonymous said...

"Imagi’s unique modus operandi is to hire former Disney and DreamWorks Animation creatives in the U.S. who originate the script and storyboard before turning it over to the company’s 500 multi-cultural animators in Hong Kong..."

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Uhhhhh...

It's a "unique modus operandi" to do storyboards in the U.S. and send the actual animation production work overseas ? That's an interesting point of view for the Hollywood Reporter to take, because in fact that "modus operandi" has been the standard operating procedure in most of the U.S. animation industry since the late 1970's.

r said...

"Imagi’s unique modus operandi is to hire former Disney and DreamWorks Animation creatives in the U.S. who originate the script and storyboard before turning it over to the company’s 500 multi-cultural animators in Hong Kong..."

Clueless reporter. He just wanted to insert the words "modus operandi" in there to impress his boss....

R.

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