Better News for Guardians?

Are things looking up for DreamWorks Animation? From the Nikkster's weekend box office prediction:

3. Rise Of The Guardians (DreamWorks Animation/Paramount) Week 5 in 3,031 theaters. This should amass another $12M-$15M this weekend because of the paucity of toons. Gross not as disappointing now…

The gross could well in the mid to high 80s by the end of the Christmas holiday. That would put it within hailing distance of $100 million.

This ain't a lot by recent Dreamworks Animation standards, but combined with the grosses overseas, Guardians could end up above the $300 million mark after it sails through the holiday season. (A DreamWorker told me today that the company has had 17 money-makers in a row.) Click here to read entire post

Winnie Still in Disney's Corner

The courts rule ... and rule again.

... . Disney Enterprises today had its trademark ownership rights to Winnie-the-Pooh reconfirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeal. In a 2-1 ruling (read it here), the Federal Circuit said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appeals board was correct to dismiss a challenge to Disney’s rights from publisher Stephen Slesinger Inc. “Accordingly, the Board correctly applied collateral estoppel to prevent Slesinger from asserting a claim that its 1983 grant of rights to Disney was a license as opposed to an assignment,” said judges Randall Ray Radar and Kathleen O’Malley of the Appeals Court in their majority opinion Friday. ...

What I find most amazing about this isn't that Disney prevailed in the case -- The Mouse has very deep pockets, after all -- but that Milne's work is still under copyright a gazillion years after he created it.

The other amazing wrinkle is that Milne's Winnie the Pooh franchise is the thing Mr. M. is known for, even though he wrote popular plays, novels and verses in his day. Ninety-plus years later, almost all of them are forgotten. Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 13

A snowy winterscape (from original artwork a tad worse for wear). The view looks remarkably like Angeles National Forest, the huge forest preserve above Los Angeles, and which loomed above our house in La Crescenta ...

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

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Age-Based Asset Allocation

WHen you've done 401(k) Plan enrollments for as long as I have, you figure out that having twenty and thirty-somethings invest mostly in stocks is great in theory but often bad in reality.

Because, when stocks drop a fast thirty or forty percent in a couple of months, even young hearts grow weak. Often-times cookies are tossed, and people bail out of the stock market at exactly the wrong time. (Like right at the bottom.) As financial advisor Rick Ferri says:

... “The ability of young people to handle high levels of equity is a fallacy. It may be technically correct based on long-term returns, but not on short-term emotion. Many young people have far less appetite for equity risk than the age-based model assumes. This is because they’re inexperienced at taking risk and this often leads to capitulation during a bear market.” ...

What I tell artists who are enrolling in TAG's 401(k) is, "Understand your capacity for pain." Because lots of people think they can be aggressive investors and handle disaster, but really can't. I say, "If you're somebody who throws up every time the stock market goes down, maybe you shouldn't be in the stock market. Why ruin your health over a bit of extra money that might take years to show up?"

The TAG 401(k) Plan has a suite of Vanguard Target Retirement Funds; two of them have conservative (Vanguard Retirement Income is 70% bonds; Vanguard Retirement 2010 is 55% bonds.) The Plan also has PIMCO Total Return, an actively managed bond fund.

I tell people over and over: the best strategy is to put at least a few bucks of week into a retirement account, and if you have conservative accounts that won't grow quite as much, that's fine. The idea is to start putting money away; it's not crucial that you put the money into stocks.

I bring this up now because if you want to get into the Animation Guild's 401(k) Plan at the start of the year, you have until January 4th to get the paperwork in.
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At DreamWorks Animation

I spent a chunk of my morning at the Glendale campus ...


The mood inside the Lakeside building was somber. Various staffers informed me about recent layoffs and personal service contracts getting rewritten during option time, with guaranteed end dates getting changed to "at will." I was told:

Surfacers and some others have gotten laid off and work transferred to India. Costs are lower there. A while back management laid off part of a department and told them the work was going offshore. They haven't told us things like that since, but people know that jobs are being shifted. ...

... Three or four years from now, who knows what will be over there? Or how much will be here? ...

Moving work to the sub-continent has been going on for a few years now, starting with Puss in Boots. It was a subject of the negotiations between TAG and the company last Spring. At that time, the Animation Guild agreed to concessions to keep work here in California. More recently, minds have been focused by news stories like this:

DreamWorks Animation Could Take $45M Write-Off For ‘Guardians’: Analyst

The studio could take the hit in its Q4 report, Lazard Capital Markets’ Barton Crockett predicts this morning, which might result in a 6 cent per share loss for the quarter vs his previous estimate for a 30 cent profit. Crockett figures that Rise Of The Guardians will end up generating $130M at domestic box offices, plus $276M overseas (similar to How To Train Your Dragon) with sales of 4.9M DVDs (compared to 6.1M for Megamind). What’s more, the analyst says that the “muted performance” of Guardians “is prompting us to pare back box office assumptions for the rest of the 2013 slate”

DreamWorks Animation, the only major stand-alone cartoon studio in the U.S., has been doing a graceful, high-wire act for years, turning out a string of box office hits. But no corporate entity is forever and always successful. Even Pixar has its occasional misfires, and now it's DreamWorks Animation's turn.

So belt-tightening is taking place. It's not a nice reality if you're a DWA employee who's getting notice, but as I said to one worried staffer, it's happened before at other L.A. studios, and it will no doubt happen again. The movie business is often a roller coaster.

Small consolation when you're on an unemployment line, but Hollywood jobs seldom last forever. Click here to read entire post

Nick Clawback?

Earlier in the month there was this:

... Viacom has seen ratings at key network brands return to growth in recent weeks, president and CEO Philippe Dauman emphasized at a big year-end investor conference here Monday.

Speaking at the 40th annual Global Media and Communications Conference, he said: "I'm happy to see that our [programming] investments are paying off" at Nickelodeon, as well as MTV, emphasizing ratings are up at Nickelodeon and MTV year-over-year over the past few weeks. ...

Asked about Nickelodeon, he cited the success of the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a key turning point for ratings. Asked about SpongeBob Square Pants, Dauman called it "a perennial" and "a very strong franchise." ...

Then there was this ...

Dec. 11, 2012– Nickelodeon rang in the holiday cheer this weekend with the original It’s a SpongeBob Christmas! special (Saturday, Dec. 8, at 10 a.m. ET/PT), which drew 4.8 million total viewers. Nickelodeon’s first-ever full-length stop-motion animated special won its time period across all TV and posted strong, double-digit gains over last year with K2-11 (7.8/2.6 million, +30%), K6-11 (7.7/1.5 million, +45%), T9-14 (5.7/1.2 million, +84%) and A18-49 (1.2/1.3 million, +33%). ...

And lastly this:

Dec. 18, 2012– Nickelodeon notched another winning week with the premiere of the brand-new “Peter Rabbit’s Christmas Tale,” which drew 3 million total viewers and ranks as the top preschool telecast for the week. Peter Rabbit also was the highest-rated show among both preschoolers and kids 2-11 across all TV in the time period. Additionally, SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT) took the top spots with K2-11, respectively, and rank as the top two animated series with K6-11 this week. Victorious was the week’s number-one telecast with T9-14.

With the understanding that the paragraphs above are the Chief Executive Officer and press releases talking, Nickelodeon might be getting some of its momentum back.

Sure, the network is dabbling in a wee bit of spin, but the ratings are what they are. So maybe Disney and Cartoon Network will discover Nick walking across the top of their ratings some bright Tuesday afternoon.
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Hollywood Accounting!

The time-honored Tinsel Town custom of doctoring the books goes back a long ways. And it still goes on with a carefree abandon.

You know the drill, no matter how much a blockbuster film makes, it somehow never turns a profit. And now there is a great new scam! Getting taxpayers to pay for your movie!

You want to laugh yourself sick, watch the first half of what Max Keiser unspools for us, directly below.



Many human beings have feet of clay. In a word, they're corrupt. And they go on being corrupt until a life-changing experience ... sometimes jail, sometimes bankruptcy, and very occasionally the Good Book ... makes them straighten up and fly right.

Above, Mr. Keiser focuses on the public-private corruption going on in Michigan. A Friend of the Blog likes to point out how corrupt Public Unions are, also a few private unions. Me, I like to point out that most institutions designed by upright mammals with opposable thumbs go to the Dark Side at one time or another. Banks cook the books with phoney interest rates (Libor, anyone?) and falsify mortgage documents. Movie studios deprive creators of profits by falsifying profit reports. Unions buy property they probably shouldn't.

My point here is, we can harp on some of the crookedness, or we can harp on the larger universe of corruption. I happen to think it's better to point out the wider spectrum of double-dealing. After all, we live in a fallen world. It's good to remember this. Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 12

Christmas in the American Southwest, a continuing Hulett theme. You will note the Yucca plant, of the type shown in the the "Three Wise Men" card down below.

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

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The Moving View Master

... ain't what it used to be.

Hollywood isn't seeing as much green in 3-D re-releases as it had hoped.

Considered an easy new revenue source after the 3-D re-release of Walt Disney Studios' "The Lion King" popped out of the screen and grossed nearly $100 million last year, most such follow-ups have landed with a thud in 2012.

Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" and "Finding Nemo" were both disappointments, grossing $47.6 million and $40.7 million, respectively, in the U.S. and Canada.

At the risk of ticking off various movie execs (and James Cameron), I must say that the overall underwhelmingness of theatrical 3-D (at the box office and otherwise) doesn't surprise me.

If the dimensional viewing experience went for the same ticket price as the flat-screen version, then maybe it would have a bit of added value, and would pull extra fannies -- and accompanying eyes -- into theater seats.

Maybe.

But to pay a couple of extra bucks to wear the goggles and squint at a dimmer screen? For the moving View Master experience?

Count me out. I see lots of newer animated features, but since Toy Story 3 when younger son demanded to know, "WHY are we watching this in 3-D" and I had no compelling answer, I seek out the non 3-D versions of the latest movies.

Call me a Luddite. Click here to read entire post

The TAG William Joyce Interview -- Part II

William Joyce on how he became a book writer and illustrator.



Below, the second half of the TAG interview:

TAG Interview with William Joyce

Find all TAG Interviews on the TAG website at this link

The way Mr. Joyce got into the cartoon business? John Lasseter called him up, asking if he could pitch one of his books to Jeffrey Katzenberg as a film project.

William Joyce said "okay."

The next Lasseter phone call was one saying that Jeffrey hadn't wanted to do the book pitch, but he liked the other pitch John had, about toys.

Then John Lasseter asked: "Would you like to come out to California and work on it?"

Mr. Joyce said "Sure." The project turned out to be Toy Story. Click here to read entire post

The William Joyce TAG Interview -- Part I

Here at Christmas time, what better way to celebrate the season than talking to William Joyce?

TAG Interview with William Joyce

Find all TAG Interviews on the TAG website at this link

If you don't know, Mr. Joyce is a prolific book writer and illustrator with a long list of best-selling books. He also does lots of animation ...

William Joyce grew up in Shreveport, Louisiana, and went to film school at SMU. But making movies wasn't where he got his professional start. Writing and illustrating lots of innovative, eye-catching books was.

Mr. Joyce published his first book in 1981, when he was fresh out of college. He has written dozens and dozens since, among them: Santa Calls, The Leaf Men, Dinosaur BOb, Greorge Shrinks, A Day With Wilbur Robinson, The Man in the Moon, and Rolie Polie Olie.

We talked to William Joyce by phone, from the Moonbot Animation Studio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 11

The little drummer boy rum tum tumming in the snow.

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

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Where We Are

Way more true than I like:

... Today, in most of America, unions have it bad. And part of the reason it’s bad is because we no longer know how to organize. Imagine trying to organize workers in your call center or warehouse, or your software gaming firm or your human rights NGO, as they’re doing at Amnesty International. The pressures against you — from worker cynicism and colleagues’ fear of losing their jobs, to personal relations with your boss and superiors, the bills you have to pay, and simple questions like "how do I organize" and "how do I know I won’t be screwed" — not to mention the inevitable appearance of company snitches, provocateurs, and just run-of-the-mill assholes and idiots... I’m not even talking here about your company’s ability to fire you, demote you, abolish your department, slash your pay, pretty much whatever the Hell they want ever since Reagan busted the air traffic controller’s union... This is the lot of American labor organizers in 2012 , except for in a few remaining pockets of America where union power and memory is still strong and tightly woven into the local cultural DNA.

Michigan is one of those places, which is why crushing labor power there would be as inspiring to the rightwing oligarchs who just got creamed at the polls as, say, the rise of the Tea Party was in early 2009. ...

The moves in Michigan shouldn't surprise anyone. Strangle labor. Shut down abortion clinics. Cut the social safety net. It's what the Party of Abraham Lincoln and Dwight Eisenhower (the best American President during my lifetime) now does.

And of course the shooting up of schools and malls continues. (As Will Rogers used to say: "Ah. The season's started early this year.")

And no doubt we'll have more politicians bemoaning the fact that the principal at Sandy Hook Elementary School wasn't packing heat. (Just today a conservative friend shared this:)

Why Israel Doesn't Have Shootings in Schools:

It's a fine photograph, and I would be in favor of doing these things that Israel does, as long as we did Israel's other gun things:

Applicants for a gun owner’s licence in Israel are required to prove genuine reason to possess a firearm, for example, self-defence, hunting and sport

The minimum age for gun ownership in Israel is 27 years and 21 years if served in the military

An applicant for a firearm licence in Israel must pass background checks which consider health, mental and criminal records

In Israel gun owners must re-apply and re-qualify for their firearm licence every 3 years

In Israel, authorities maintain a record of individual civilians licensed to acquire, possess, sell or transfer a firearm or ammunition

A licensed firearm owner in Israel is permitted to possess a limited quantity of ammunition ...

(And there's the small point that Israel, in addition to having teachers who tote rifles, also has universal health coverage.)

But back to reality, American style: Regarding guns, the shootings will continue, and no new legislation will be forthcoming.

And regarding "Right to Work": There will be more push to get rid of pesky labor unions, and unions will push back (with mixed results.) If we're lucky, we'll hang onto Medicare and Social Security and a few other programs the population claims to favor. And if we're not, then we'll eventually be back in the cultural times of Calvin Coolidge, and not liking it much.

Add On: Here's how the the next bit of history target="_blank" about weaponry in America will go:

... We all know how the "national conversation" on guns will happen, with liberals saying there are too many guns, and conservatives yelling that we're politicizing it and also, too, arm the kindergarten teachers and the problems will be solved.

And then nothing will happen, and sadly we'll do it all again.

Ronald Reagan supported the Brady Handgun Law, but that fact has been swallowed up in the dark folds of time. I long ago stopped being actively involved in working for or against gun control legislation. Over and over, it's gone the way Duncan Black describes above. George W. Bush supported a ban on automatic weapons, but when the law lapsed no renewals were forthcoming. Barack Obama's administration has okayed carrying weapons in the national parks.

I mostly don't think much about the issue anymore, since I consider it a waste of time. But then, twenty six-year-olds and several adults are blown away by a deranged person, and you're sort of forced to think about it.
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Overseas Collections

The weekend box office in foreign lands is robust.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey cleaned up on the foreign theatrical circuit by bagging $138.2 million at 18,200 screens ...

[Number two Rise of the Guardians] collected $20.1 million in its fifth round overseas from 7,400 locations in 59 markets. A No. 2 Australia bow generated $3.7 million at 259 locations. ...

The Paramount release lifted its foreign gross total past the $100-million mark ($119.4 million). An India opening is on tap this week. ...

Wreck-It Ralph drew $4.7 million its seventh round in 29 territories, and nudged its foreign gross total $57.7. Thanks to its strong domestic performance, the film has grossed a worldwide total of $226.5 million ...

Hotel Transylvania grossed $1.9 million at 1,755 sites in 50 markets. The title’s foreign gross total stands at $162 million.

The worldwide swag for Rise of the Guardians is at $190.8 million, while Hotel Transylvania stands at $305.8 million.

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Holiday Derby

The animation, it's still in the Top Ten.

1. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (NL/MGM/WB) NEW [Runs 4,045] PG13 Friday $37.0M, Weekend $96M

2. Skyfall (Eon/MGM/Sony) Week 6 [Runs 2,924] PG13 Friday $2.0M, Weekend $7.0M, Cume $272.4M

3. Lincoln (DreamWorks/Fox/Disney) Week 6 [Runs 2,285] PG13 Friday $1.8M, Weekend $6.3M, Cume $107.0M

4. Rise Of The Guardians (DWA/Par) Week 4 [Runs 3,387] PG Friday $1.5M, Weekend $7.0M, Cume $70.9M

5. Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Summit/Lionsgate) Week 5 [Runs 3,042] PG13 Friday $1.5M, Weekend $5.0M, Cume $276.7M

6. Life Of Pi (Fox) Week 4 [Runs 2,548] PG Friday $1.4M, Weekend $5.0M, Cume $69.2M

7. Playing For Keeps (Millenium/FilmDistrict) Week 2 [Runs 2,840] PG13 Friday $1.0K (-53%), Weekend $3.0M, Cume $10.6M

8. Wreck-It Ralph (Disney) Week 7 [Runs 2,249]PG Friday $750K, Weekend $3.2M, Cume $168.7M

9. Red Dawn (MGM/FilmDistrict) Week 4 [Runs 2,250] PG13 Friday $725K, Weekend $2.5M, Cume $41.7M

10. Silver Linings Playbook (Weinstein) Week 5 [Runs 371] R Friday $560K, Weekend $1.9M, Cume $16.8M

Fifty-eight percent of Guardians' grosses come from abroad. Domestically, the picture looks as though it will brush up against $100 million but not way beyond. We'll see.

Wreck-It Ralph should get up over $180 million in the US. and Canada.

Add On: Rise of the Guardians had a 29% drop in box office receipts and ended up #2 at the domestic box office in its fourth week of release.




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Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 10

Santa abandons sleigh and reindeer for a Model T.

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

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Two Peas ...

... in the proverbial pod.

Life of Pi
Release Date: November 21, 2012
Domestic Gross: $64,159,406
Production Budget: $120 million

Rise of the Guardians
Release date: November 21, 2012
Domestic Gross: $63,941,823
Production Budget: $145 million

By another name, two 3-D extravaganzas, rolled out on the same date, both collecting similar amounts of money at the box office.

Trouble is, Guardians is performing below the DreamWorks Animation box officer norm, while Pi is doing relatively well (if not better) for an Ang Lee feature.

(Here is a pro followed by a con argument regarding Rise of the Guardians grosses.)

Click here to read entire post

Up and Coming

Last week I had lunch with a veteran Cartoon Network staffer, who told me:

There's this new show, Clarence, that is really funny. The guy who created it is really funny, and it shows. But you can't mention this on the blog. The network hasn't announced it. ..."

Well, as of a couple of days ago, they announced it ...

Cartoon Network has greenlit Clarence, a new animated series created by up-and-comer Skyler Page. The network has ordered twelve 15-minute episodes from the project about Clarence, an optimistic boy who wants to do everything because everything is amazing. This is the third short-form series to come out of the shorts development initiative at Cartoon Network Studios this year ...

When an industry veteran who knows most everyone and has worked on almost everything tells you that a new offering is "really amusing," you tend to listen. At least I do.

But of course, he was talking about the pilot. Now the show has to live up to its promise and be funny for "twelve 15-minute episodes." Then, if successful, it has to be funny for another twelve. Click here to read entire post

Omnipresent

This del Toro guy seems to be everywhere.

Fox Animation Studios has come aboard to make Guillermo del Toro and Reel FX's adventure Book of Life, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Fox will open the film, which Del Toro is producing, on Oct. 10, 2014. Originally titled Day of the Dead, after the famous Mexican celebration, the movie's title is now Book of Life ...

He's at DreamWorks Animation, he's at Reel FX. The man gets around, no?

And of course he's hip deep in live-action movies. Click here to read entire post

Of Unions and Wages

Walking down the hall of a signator studio today, I was stopped by an artist who told me this:

"My last job was up at Laika. I liked the place, but I've been down here a bunch of month and man. The pay is way better. I mean, I really got a jump, which is amazing.

I wish I could stay here the next twenty years. That would be great." ...

I've heard this a number of times as Business Representative. "Man, my wages are better in this union studio ...".

(To be fair, I've also heard: "You know, I was making better bread at the non-union place in Glendale, and I didn't have to wait for health coverage, and I didn't have to pay your freaking fees!")

Here's my take: If you work in a TAG animation studio for twenty or more years, you will end up with more money and a more comfortable retirement than if you work at non-signator studios, even if those studios pay roughly equivalent wages. (Sometimes they do; often they don't. Depends on your skill set and the market.)

In the time I've done this job, I've had numbers of old-timers traipse into my office and tell me:

"I'm sixty-four, jobs have gotten scarce. I've got Social Security but I worked thirty years in non-union studios and there's no pension. What can you do for me?"

Inevitably, my answer is "Not much."

When an artist is on the back side of his career and the people who always recommended him for that next gig have retired, the options narrow. If you don't have a Plan B ("I'll retire a few years early and take 80% of the industry pension, also get most of Social Security ...") you can end up stocking shelves at Trader Joe's and replaying in your head where, exactly, you went wrong.

This could, of course, be the future of lots more artists and unionized workers if the recent Michigan and Indiana "right-to-work" snowballs keep rolling downhill, growing fatter as they go. The days when powerful labor unions could shut down entire industries are several country-miles behind us.

Long term, what this brave new world means for animation employees is, artists making less money week-to-week; artists working longer hours to maintain decent life-styles. Sadly, this is pretty much the direction working people have been traveling for years:

"There's been a very steady, long-term shrinkage" in the number of people in the middle class, said Paul Taylor, executive vice president for nonpartisan research group. "There's also less money in the middle."

Since 2001, median household income has fallen from $72,956 to $69,487 in 2010, the report said.

The median household net worth, which is the value of assets minus debt, dropped from $129,582 to $93,150 over the same 10-year period, according to Pew, which analyzed U.S. data along with its own survey of nearly 1,300 adults who consider themselves middle class. ...

Actually, real median income has been declining since the 1970s, around the time labor unions began their long slide in power and leverage. Coincidence? Or cause and effect? I'm not smart enough to know, though I have my suspicions.

But I've got three sure-fire remedies to the "every working stiff for himself" mania now sweeping the country: Be sure to live below your means, and tuck as much money as possible into retirement accounts. Also, work as long as you can.

Because when you reach the age of sixty-seven and pull that first, shrunken Social Security check, you will need every cent.


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MPI Premiums - Pay Online!

* Click above image for larger view

The time has almost arrived when the premium charges will be introduced to the Motion Picture Industry Health Plan. These premiums charges will apply only for participants interested in coverage for eligible dependents. MPI has recently mailed out premium statements to participants with two informative fliers we've included here.

The one above shows the three acceptable methods of payment. The most cost-effective method would be to set up payments online at the MPI website.

* Click above image for larger view

The second flier announces the availability of online payments will be starting on Monday, December 17th. Follow the instructions on the flier to set up your premium payment account with MPI. Its our understanding that participants will be able to set up recurring payments using this method. This ensures that payments will be received regularly and on-time.

Participating members with any questions about premiums are encouraged to call MPI at (818) 845-7500 or (855) 275-4674.
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Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 9

Two different types of pine trees ... covered in snow. (From the late fifties.)

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

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Animation and Women

I post about the above from time to time. And a couple of days ago I got this:

I'm an animation guild member and I wanted to comment on the your piece in the nov 2012 pegboard.

Your piece, as well as the piece that you cite from slate magazine are kinda all over the place and just throwing (well meaning) fists blindly;

"Chapman's story is a striking counterpoint to the conventional hollywood wisdom that a raunchy environment is a necessary condition for strong creative work."

That's a rather bizarre assertion by the slate writer. Does she imagine that the writing staff of "dora the explorer" or "beauty and the beast" is constantly riding the very cutting edge of blue, hard core sexual humor? and that hollywood thinks that the only way to get out a profitable "harry potter" pic out is to have the writers religiously attend the lunch buffet at the local strip club? she's extracting a broad sentiment from a very specific instance - the writing environment at "friends", a show that is about the lives of young adults and their views on the opposite sex, sex, sexual activities, body parts, etc. that kind of "vulgar" talk and "headspace" amidst the writers is RELEVANT to the kind of material actually in the show.

Chapman's story is not a counterpoint to "the conventional hollywood wisdom" because THAT'S NOT CONVENTIONAL HOLLYWOOD WISDOM! If you're writing kids' stuff, you're going to be in a pretty tame envioronment compared to if you're writing an episode of "Sex in the City". the lawsuit in which the slate writer refers to probably would have gone very differently if the plaintiff was a writer's assistant on sesame street.

And you bring up the fact that chapman was replaced and also that somebody at pixar said that the movie turned out pretty much as chapman envisioned. You kind of let it go at that but considering the context, it's as if you are saying that she was replaced BECAUSE she was a woman.

Is that so?

Do you know why she was replaced?

I do not.

But considering the extremely inclusive stories that pixar tells, along with such things as the participation of their members in the youtube campaign "it gets better", i dunno, i kind of feel like they deserve the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she was replaced because she kept bringing in a rabid resus monkey that flung feces at the animators' heads (just a hypothetical example that has no source in reality). would that still serve to support your point?

So like with the Slate piece, you kind of try to shoehorn an oblique example to make a point but that oblique example in no way ACTUALLY backs up your point. or if you know of information that would make the example actually support your thesis (that she was in fact replaced because she was a woman), it's not present in your piece.

And that's simply not fair to pixar or perhaps even to chapman.

Finally, you say that "women make up 17% of the animation guild. however, they make up 50% of the animation department at cal arts. draw your own conclusions."

???

Really????

What percentage of the guild comes from Cal Arts? What is the percentage of women in other animation schools? Women in the guild 17% in 2012, when was the Cal Arts women enrollment 50%? Slso in 2012??? It would actually be kinda absurd to draw my own conclusions just from those data points that you throw out. ...

The "Peg-board article" the member refers to is actually this.

(It's probably wrong to have blog posts perform double duty as newsletter articles, but I get cramped for time, you know? So I take shortcuts.)

I answered the member thusly:

... I won’t defend the Slate writer’s paragraphs. I linked to the piece; Slate can defend itself. (Personally, I see no reason women can’t write “raunch,” or “kid’s entertainment,” or whatever. But they’ve got to get themselves hired to do it.)

As to why Chapman was let go, I haven’t talked to her. But I’ve read her pieces about the departure, and she seems ... miffed. Here’s the first-hand info I’ve got:

Brenda said in a panel discussion TAG sponsored that she was “the token female” at Pixar. Was she joking? Half joking? I donno. They have women in administration up there, but not any (so far as I know) in the “brain trust.” SO yeah, they don’t (didn’t) have many women in creative positions. What the percentage is up there today, I know not. (Second hand, I know that she was recruited by Pixar’s Joe Ranft. I was told that he kind of ran interference for her at the studio, and that when he died, that “protection” went away.)

I talked to one of Brenda’s board artists on “Brave” (I ran across him at Disney Feature) and tried to find out if “Brave’s” story changed substantially after Ms. Chapman got the axe. He said there were changes, but they were in tone and some continuity points. He said “basic story stayed the same after Brenda left.” Maybe some other artists who worked on it disagree, but that’s the story I got.

You’re right about my end sentence. I needed more context to it. Since I didn’t provide any, let me provide some now.

I’ve written the same kind of tub-thumping “There’s not enough women!” pieces before, and gotten push-back from men in blog comments, also a few e-mails. One man asserted that he was a director and there just weren’t many women out there applying for animation work (maybe true, maybe not, but I have no way of verifying, since he posted anonymously); that women weren’t that interested in cartoons, etc. He offered as part of his proof of this lack of interest that few women were enrolled in Cal Arts Animation program, compared to men.

Aha. Something I could verify.

So I called Cal Arts. And they told me when I asked that half the students in the animation program were women.

My conclusion? That the anonymous-commenter-who-claimed-to-be-a-veteran-animation-director was wrong. And if he was wrong about the enrollment at Cal Arts, there’s at least a bit of a possibility that he was wrong about the other stuff he was throwing at me. Of course, the “director” might be some chubby 20-year-old in a Des Moines basement, claiming to be an animation director. When folks post anonymously, there is no way of knowing.

Enough. The reason I write about the lack of women in creative positions is because I think there should be more of them. There’s many females on the corporate/executive side, so why not in creative slots? I have never bought the “lack of qualified applicants” argument, because it’s bunk. In any case, you don’t NEED a high percentage of women relative to men, you only need enough qualified women to fill the available slots. Brenda got HER first job because the studio was “looking for women,” after all.

(You should know that I exempt Jeffrey Katzenberg from my complaints about the lack of women in the animation biz. He has consistently pushed policies to hire and promote women. Ms. Chapman was hired by the House of Mouse while Jeffrey was there, she got her first story director’s job on “Beauty and the Beast,” first director’s gig at DreamWorks Animation. Katzenberg has boosted many women since -- Vicki Jenson, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, etc.)

It’s good that Disney Feature has its first woman director on “Frozen.” I hope there are more.

Mr. Katzenberg, whether you love him and DreamWorks Animation or not, has been noted as one of the few studio chieftans who actually installs and women in key positions. To wit:

... Dreamworks Animation may be the only big Hollywood company out there to have more women in significant positions of power than men. Which makes some amount of sense for the company that backed the only big-budget animated film in history so far to be directed by a lone woman, Jennifer Yuh Nelson‘s Kung Fu Panda 2.

Of the five people in the company’s “top-tier management,” three are women: COO Ann Daly, chief accounting officer Heather O’Connor and worldwide marketing chief Anne Globe. Founder and CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg says their pool of producers is a staggering 85% female (including those producers involved with Madagascar and Rise of the Guardians) and says he “couldn’t be prouder of their accomplishments.” ...

Please don't get the idea that I'm a DWA rah-rah. DreamWorks is always a strong challenge for TAG at contract negotiation time. But the company deals with employee issues when we raise them, and I know from first-hand experience that the company employs a lot of women in various positions.

For that reality, I tip my hat. And hope that more Hollywood studios someday follow DWA's example.
Click here to read entire post

Memorial gathering for Rusty Mills

There will be a Memorial Gathering for Rusty Mills on Sunday, December 16, 2012 at 2pm here at the Guild. Doors will open at 1pm.

The Animation Guild
1105 N Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505

This gathering is open to all of Rusty's friends, students and fans. Bring your memories and anecdotes to share with others as we remember our old pal Rusty Mills.

Click here to read entire post

New Producer for New Production

Angry Birds feature has its creative team start to take shape.

Rovio’s Angry Birds feature film is getting ready to fly in 2016. Today Rovio Entertainment announced that John Cohen, who most recently produced Despicable Me, has signed on to produce what will be a 3D CG-animated movie. ...

Mr. Cohen has a long career in animation, being a director of development and then a vice-president at Fox Animation. He worked hand-in-glove with animation king pin Chris Meledandri, first at Fox, then at Illumination Entertainment.

So John Cohen has beaucoup production experience. And since he's been working in the "Do development, hire a sub-contractor to make the movie" mode the last few years, we would guess that the model for Angry Birds will be to get the script and boards together, then find an offshore (of maybe local?) studio to make the movie.

Whatever, I'm thinking, gets the production the most bang for its buck. Click here to read entire post

VFX Soldier launches campaign against entertainment subsidies

In any discussion about the state of the entertainment industry, the topic will eventually land on tax subsidies and troubles they've brought. We've written plenty in this blog about production, both on set and post, flung to the farthest corners of this country/world as it chases the most lucrative cash handouts. These cash incentives, which flow directly back to the production entity, have been the key facilitator in the "race to the bottom" that describes working in entertainment today.

VFX Soldier aims to change that. Yesterday, he launched his Campaign to End VFX Subsidies. A crowd-funded campaign whose goal is to identify the best way to challenge these subsidies, and attack them using a law firm with extensive experience in the matter.

From his post:

Fellow VFX Professionals, the time has come for us to take direct action. As many of you know, this blog has written extensively on the harm that subsidies have caused by distorting the price of visual effects work. This has led to a race to the bottom where many of our colleagues are forced to constantly move around the world as US studios chase subsidies for their films.

As you know, I have pointed out that many of these subsidies violate international trade agreements because they distort the market. I have been in contact with a law firm that specializes in international trade law and has the ability to challenge these subsidies.

On the campaign's Indiegogo page, Soldier brings the point home for 839 members:

Why Should Games & Animation Professionals Fund This Campaign?

Subsidies already play a huge role in the games and animation industry. We may be able to stop those subsidies if we are successful.

As we reported in the linked article above, the UK's incentive was already extended to games and animation. It's easy to assume that the adoption of feature and television animation tax credits will only spread as the hunger for these handouts grows.

This campaign faces a big fight from the conglomerates. These incentives are a palpable revenue stream for their productions and its likely any challenge of this nature will not go unanswered. Having participated in the latest TAG Collective Agreement negotiations, I can say that the overall message from the producers was "Give us a break! We need some relief from you're expensive corner of the industry!". Its important to realize that the financial burden and risk of marketing and funding these ventures belongs to them, not us. We told them so in negotiations, and we should tell them again in the fight to keep the industry from bleeding provincial and state coffers dry in their pursuit of profit.

Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 8

A cityscape card* from the early 1960s ...

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

This one has a touch of the Peregoy-Ken Anderson styling from 101 Dalmations, on which Hulett did extensive production work.

* Just this evening we came across a stash of card designs we haven't run. So, assuming Steve Hulett is still here in years to come, we could be able to run them. Click here to read entire post

Prime Time's Ups ... and Downs

On Sunday night, it was football, FOOTBALL, FOOTBALL!. And after that? ...

The Simpsons garnered a 3.4 adults 18-49 rating up 3% from a 3.3 for its last original on November 25. Bob’s Burgers scored a 2.1 adults 18-49 rating up 17% from last week’s 1.8. Family Guy earned a 2.8 adults 18-49 rating down 3% from a 2.9 for its most recent episode on November 25. American Dad notched a 2.2 up 5% from last week's 2.1 adults 18-49 rating. ...

American Dad is (for me) the most amusing of the bunch. It was kind of a surprise that Fox took so long to pick it up.

But I have to admit: The darker, higher reaches of our fine entertainment conglomerates are a mystery to me. Click here to read entire post

Broadening the Brand

DreamWorks has been working to move beyond the mere making of animated features. First:

DWA's $155 million acquisition of Classic Media last summer ushered hundreds of classic properties through DreamWorks' door ... "It gave us a portfolio" and an experienced international sales team ...

DWA owns stop-motion classics "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman." ...

The company has now negotiated a distribution deal with 20th-Century Fox, and a production deal with a studio in Shanghai, China ...

Then a new exec is hired ...

DreamWorks Animation has named Michael Francis its first chief global brand officer, the studio said Monday. In his newly created position, Francis will oversee the company's licensing and consumer products push and franchise management activities. ...

There's been a lot of copy the last year and a half about DreamWorks Animation making new corporate moves. "They're going to start doing live action." ... "The company is building amusement parks." ... "New foreign studios are coming on line." ...

I'm betting that ten years from now, DreamWorks Animation will have way more irons heating up over the fire than just long-form animation.

Click here to read entire post

Rusty Mills Service

We've been informed that the graveside service for Rusty Mills will be held at:

Glen Haven & Shalom Memorial Park
13017 N. Lopez Canyon Road
Sylmar, CA 91342

Tuesday, December 11, 2012 at 2 pm.

Glen Haven Memorial Park is located at the top of Kagel Canyon Rd north of the 210 Fwy.

Everyone is invited.

Click here to read entire post

Foreign Box Office

Santy and Double Oh Seven duke it out.

James Bond is in a box-office photo finish with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny over what looks to be the last slow weekend of the holidays.

According to studio estimates Sunday, Sony's Bond tale "Skyfall" took in $11 million to move back to No. 1 in its fifth weekend.

That put it narrowly ahead of Paramount's "Rise of the Guardians," the animated adventure of Santa, the Easter Bunny and other mythological heroes that pulled in $10.5 million. ...

As the Reporter informs us:

After four rounds on the foreign circuit, Guardians has accumulated a total offshore gross of $90.5 million. Although there were openings in Iceland, Israel and South Africa, the bulk of the weekend action came from holdover engagements in larger markets. ...

Meantime, Wreck-It Ralph is up to $51.1 million in foreign accumulations and $215.5 million worldwide. And Hotel Transylvania has almost $158 million from overseas audiences.
Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 7

Weathered church bell, multi-colored sky, adept brush-work.

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

Click here to read entire post

Rusty Mills, RIP

We are deeply saddened to report Rusty Mills passed away yesterday. This from his wife, Andrea:

Rusty Mills, the love of my life and Evan's wonderful dad passed away today at 12:40 pm. He went to the Lord peacefully and surrounded by family and all the love in the world. We could never get through this without all of you and your kindness, support, and love. Each and every one of you are in Evan's and my prayers.

Andrea and Evan could really use our help, now. Please visit their fundraising blog and give what you can.

http://www.youcaring.com/medical-fundraiser/Rusty-Mills-Cancer-Fund/35172

Click here to read entire post

Hitting the Bricks

The Nikkster tells us:

The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts will be out picketing against the college sports-orientated PAC 12 Network on Saturday, the union announced today. IATSE plans to set up lines at USC Los Angeles and several other schools on the West Coast and in Arizona. In calling the strike action, the union says PAC 12 Network is “an unfair employer” who use non-union workers in areas covered by IATSE.

Oooh, those union guys.

People should be satisfied with no benefits and ten bucks an hour. Don't people know they're making it hard for the Job Creators? Click here to read entire post

Box Office -- Second December Weekend

The Mojo forecasts the top contenders will be as follows:

1. Skyfall - $10.8 million (-38%)
2. Lincoln - $10.7 million (-20%)
3. Life of Pi - $10.2 million (-16%)
4. Rise of the Guardians - $10 million (-25%)
5. Breaking Dawn Part 2 - $8.7 million (-50%)

As Mojo says ...

" ... First place will come down to a battle between five holdovers. In fact, these titles will likely be so close that we won't know the clear winner until actuals report on Monday."

Add On: The Nikkster gives us early estimates of the weekend:

1. Skyfall (Eon/MGM/Sony) Week 5 [Runs 3,401] PG13 Friday $3.1M, Weekend $11.0M, Cume $261.6M

2. Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Summit/Lionsgate) Week 4 [Runs 3,646] PG13 Friday $2.7M, Weekend $8.7M, Cume $268.3M

3. Lincoln (DreamWorks/Fox/Disney) Week 5 [Runs 2,014] PG13 Friday $2.5M, Weekend $8.4M, Cume $96.7M

4. Rise Of The Guardian (DWAnim/Par) Week 3 [Runs 3,639] PG Friday $2.2M, Weekend $10.6M, Cume $61.2M

5. Life Of Pi (Fox) Week 3 [Runs 2,946] PG Friday $2.2M, Weekend $8.2M, Cume $60.8M

6. Playing For Keeps (Millenium/FilmDistrict) NEW [Runs 2,837] PG13 Friday $2.1M, Weekend $6.0M

7. Red Dawn (MGM/FilmDistrict) Week 3 [Runs 2,754] PG13 Friday $1.3M, Weekend $4.1M, Cume $37.1M

8. Wreck-It Ralph (Disney) Week 6 [Runs 2,746] PG Friday $1.1M, Weekend $4.6M, Cume $164.2M

9. Flight (Paramount) Week 6 [Runs 2,431] R Friday $910K, Weekend $3.1M, Cume $86.1M

10. Killing Them Softly (Annapurna/Weinstein) Week 2 [Runs 2,424] R Friday $890K (-65%), Weekend $2.9M, Cume $11.9M

Click here to read entire post

Of Subsidies and Rebates

Even as they raise taxes and chop benefits for everybody else, governments around the globe continue to shower goodies on the movie business:

Tax breaks for qualifying high-end U.K. TV drama and animation will mean a rebate of up to 25% for producers.

Draft legislation is expected next week as the details were confirmed in Blighty's mini budget ...

In our fine, corporatist culture, there are generous subsidies for qualifying entertainment conglomerates, even as the rest of humanity has to tighten its belt.

Lower benefits? Calls for "sacrifice"? Not if you are among the Chosen Few. Then it's moolah as far as the eye can see.

Of course, the spigot can always be cranked shut as quickly as it's turned on. All it takes is for another political party to be voted in, and some angry demonstrations in the streets. But the results will be inevitable. The studios getting the bennies will pick up their toys and move to the next locality that is offering big bucks to open up shop.

Trust me, it will happen. And then it will happen again. Click here to read entire post

Making 3D More Like 2D

Genndy Tartakovsky has spent most of his life in hand-drawn animation land, so (naturally enough) he leans toward this.

Tartakovsky applied his customary 2-D approach to "Hotel Transylvania," using a digital pen and tablet to sketch over computer renderings and often giving the characters more exaggerated poses and caricature-like expressions.

The end result was a familiar Dracula with a few new tricks up his cape. ...

Funny how audiences respond more to CG animation that has that "cartoony" sensibility, and how mocap animation tends to leave audiences flat.

Mars Needs Moms could be one of the biggest write-offs in modern Hollywood history. The motion-capture animated film cost $150 million to produce but earned only $6.9 million in its debut at the domestic box office, the 12th worst opening of all time for a movie released in more than 3,000 theaters and one of the lowest openings for a major 3D release. ...

It has often been such. It's doubtful that filmgoers flocked to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to see the rotoed damsel in distress or prince. It was probably the seven little men that did it. Click here to read entire post

The CalArts Tap Root

Mr. Moore talks about the California Institute of the Arts influence on 21st century animation.



Some animation historian once said: "Walt Disney is the D.W. Griffith of animation."

But it's way more complex and subtle than that. D.W. Griffith pretty much invented the language of film. D.W. didn't invent closeups, or tracking shots, or cuts. But he put everything together and advanced film narrative like it had never been advanced before.

Uncle Walt was a wee bit different. He put modern animation on the map, pretty much invented the animated feature with Snow White, but he was building on top of the narrative styles of live-action features.

Griffith was a spent creative force by the late 1920s. Walt Disney's power and influence -- a half century after his death -- goes on and on because:

Walt and his studio trained/employed the first generation of modern animation artists.

Walt and the Disney family founded and funded the California Institute of the Arts, which was (in the beginning) staffed by many Disney animation artists who had been trained by Walt (with the able assistance of the Choinard Art Institute) in the thirties and forties.

Cal Arts graduates -- John Lasseter, Brad Bird, Joe Ranft, Tim Burton, Rich Moore, Andrew Stanton (etc., etc.) are now major forces in animation, spreading their artistic visions and creative philosophies far and wide.

Almost everything animation is today goes directly back to Walt Disney Productions in the 1930s. And Cal Arts in the '60s and '70s. Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 6

Religious figure, redwoods, and holy light. Says Christmas to me.

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

Click here to read entire post

The TV Animation

... continues to do pretty damn well.

... Adult Swim’s original series Robot Chicken ranked #1 in its time period among young adults 18-24, 18-34 and 18-49. A new episode scored double and triple-digit delivery gains across the board ... Adventure Time (7:30 p.m.) scored as the #1 telecast of the day among boys 6-11, #1 in its time period among all kids 9-14 and boys 2-11 & 9-14, and charted delivery gains across all kid demos ...

Adult Swim continued its success by once again ranking as basic cable's #1 network in total day among adults 18-24, adults 18-34 and adults 18-49 ...

And the one-offs were rolling along nicely as well.

... RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (R) (S) was first in children 2-11 (4.8/15), children 6-11 (4.3/14) and teens 12-17 (2.1/08) and was second in households (5.5/09), viewers (10.09m), adults 25-54 (3.7/09), adults 18-49 (2.9/08) and adults 18-34 (1.8/06). RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER was broadcast television's top-rated program this season in both children 2-11 and children 6-11. ...

So how do we get broadcast networks not named "Fox" to gin up some animated series? Click here to read entire post

Numero Uno?

Will this come to pass?

... "Rise of the Guardians," the kids' holiday film that is off to such a bad start ... has a good shot at winding up No. 1 at the weekend box office. And that's in its third week.

The box office has a severe case of pre-"Hobbit"-itis. Warner Bros. will roll out the first installment of Peter Jackson's latest Middle Earth epic on December 14 and rival studios have pretty much run for cover. ...

The top spot looks to be a toss-up between "Guardians" and Sony's "Skyfall" and DreamWorks and Disney's "Lincoln," both of which are in their fifth week of release. ...

Recently, the thought has been that Christmas themed movies under-perform at the box office.

But Christmas movies being weaklings at the box office is an old conceit, dating back (at least) to It's a Wonderful Life. The reality is, Christmas Films under-perform (Arthur Christmas, anyone?) except when they don't.

[Polar Express] opened at #2 [in November, 2004], being outgrossed 2-to-1 by Disney/Pixar's The Incredibles, and brought in $23,323,463 from approximately 7,000 screens at 3,650 theaters in its opening weekend. ... Initially, the movie seemed to be headed towards becoming a box office failure after its first week, ... [However] The Polar Express ended up grossing nearly $160 million in the United States alone. 25% of the world gross came from just 82 IMAX 3D theaters, shocking many nonbelievers and film critics. ...

For our own selfish reasons, we would dearly like Guardians to pick itself up and climb to the top of the movie rankings. Whether that happens or not depends on how many people want to see Guardians' Team of Rivals*.

We'll find out in a few days.

* Lincoln, Skyfall, Twilight Umpty-ump.


Click here to read entire post

Changing the Game?

Some high rollers think so.

Netflix's day-old deal to be the exclusive pay-TV home for new movies from Walt Disney Studios is a "game changer" for the streaming video company and was "the highest value deal" possible for the entertainment giant, executives from the two companies said Wednesday.

Speaking at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said bidding away those rights from premium cable channel Starz beginning in 2016 was particularly valuable to his company because of its large family audience.

"The movies that constantly performed well for us are those big, animated features," Sarandos said. "There's lots of repeat viewing. It’s a safe brand halo."

... Indeed, family fare plays well around the world -- including in emerging markets such as Latin America, where children's programs are less available.

For many, the idea of an Internet company outbidding established cable channels for the rights to movies from giant brands like Disney's Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm marks an inflection point in the media landscape. ...

Trying to predict what constitutes a "new ballgame" and what doesn't is a risky business. Technology moves quickly. I remember when VHS tapes were the big drivers/saviors of the movie industry. Click here to read entire post

VES Understanding Unions Panel - Recap

*image by Jeff Heusser of FXGuide

Last Saturday, I spent the morning hours participating in a panel discussion about the viability, impact and repercussions of visual effects artists banding together and forming a union. The event was attended by Jeff Heusser of FXGuide, as well as Jonathan Handel of The Hollywood Reporter. They've done a fine job of capturing the happenings of the event in both long and short form, respectively. Here, I'll offer my recap for your review.

The discussion that took place was one that has needed to happen for a very long time. I've yearned for a time when open-minded business owners, a labor attorney whose interests and experience lies with representing employers and pro-union voices could gather around and openly and respectfully voice concerns and seek clarity on the matter of fixing a broken industry by using leverage and collective action.

VES Chairman Jeffrey Okun, Executive Director Eric Roth, the Business Labor and Law Committee (specifically Gregory Lemkin, Bob Coleman and Ray Scalice) should be praised for acting in accordance with the mission of their organization. This discussion certainly attempted to advance the craft by providing education and fostering community in a way only they could provide. I know of no other organization with the membership or structure to be able to bring this type of panel together.

This discussion proved another example that when faced with the facts, the prospect and purpose of focusing leverage through collective action becomes not only clear, but the only option remaining when seeking lasting and viable change. Both a union for visual effects artists and workers and a trade organization for the visual effects studios is required to face the AMPTP and force the changes both organizations seek. Both bodies are necessary to work in concert toward their common goal of making visual effects a viable and sustainable industry.

Many thanks to the panelists for their time and input and again to the VES executive officers and BL&L Committee members for giving me the opportunity to be the voice of the union in such an important talk. I hope to be able to do so many times again and in the near future.

See the discussion from the VES's Vimeo channel: http://vimeo.com/54898430 and http://vimeo.com/54957963

Click here to read entire post

It's the Leverage, Stupid

This is good news:

Work resumed Wednesday at the nation's busiest port complex after a crippling strike was settled, ending an eight-day walk-off that affected thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in cargo. ...

Clerical workers who said that shippers were outsourcing their jobs struck on Nov. 27 and thousands of dockworkers in the same union refused to cross picket lines, paralyzing much of the port complex that handles 44 percent of all container cargo that arrives by sea nationwide, including items such as cars from Japan and computers from China.

Negotiators reached a tentative agreement to end the strike late Tuesday, two hours after federal mediators arrived from Washington, D.C. No details about the terms of the deal had been released by early Wednesday, though a statement from the workers' union said it had won new protections preventing jobs from being outsourced. ...

The clerical workers had been working a couple of years without a contract. It seems clear that they finally pulled the strike trigger at the point where they had the most juice. It helped mightily that dock workers honored their line and stayed off the job.

Now there are those who will scream: "The clerks played dirty! They should have stayed in and kept talking! They hurt the economy!" (etc. etc.) Me, I admire their skill and tenacity. These folks finally got a result they could live with, after years of trying. (I'm guessing shutting down the port really, really helped in that regard.)

Here's the cold, underlying reality: Strikes are only unfair and unjust if you're on the wrong side. As I say over and over: There is no fair or unfair, but only the result you can achieve.

With negotiations, as with many things in life, the important element is who's got the most leverage, not who's on the side of the angels. (It took me a long time to figure this out, longer still to accept and embrace it. Once I did, my stomach stopped tying itself in knots so much. I realized the "fair" and "unfair" thingie is mostly in the eye of the beholder.) Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 5

Sill life from the 1960s, notable for the texture.

See other Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

Click here to read entire post

Netflix and the Mouse

Disney leaves Starz to embrace another distributor.

Netflix will replace Starz as the exclusive subscription television service for Disney's first-run live-action and animated films, per an agreement announced on Tuesday.

The deal, which covers films released in theaters from 2016 to 2018, will grant Netflix new Disney, Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel and Disney nature titles. Disney's deal for Lucasfilm has not closed.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although Netflix's will pay more than Starz had been ...

Ah yes. "Will pay more than Starz ..."

Our fine entertainment conglomerates are not in business for their health, but to maximize profits. And Starz loss is the Big Mouse's gain. Click here to read entire post

The Ongoing High Wire Act

From TheWrap:

"Rise of the Guardians" is projected to lose $50 million for DreamWorks Animation, an executive with knowledge of the movie's projections told TheWrap.

The company's stock hit a 52-week low on Monday, but closed Tuesday up slightly at $16.52.

A spokeswoman for DreamWorks Animation declined to comment on the projected loss for "Rise of the Guardians." ...

"What we take from this 'Guardians' experience is that where once there was an implied domestic box-office floor on a movie from the company, particularly in the 3D era, of $150 million, that is no longer the case," he wrote. "Also clearly no longer the case is the mantra that the lack of competing animated titles will automatically grant a movie clear box office sailing." ...

Here's the deal: There is never a "floor" for a movie, animated CG feature or otherwise. If people want to see it, they will. If not, not.

There may be some sort of built-in audience for a sequel, since that has tended to be the historical norm. But if a given motion picture fails to deliver what ticket buyers seek, the ticket buyers stay away.

It's that simple.

Rise of the Guardians has much to recommend it, but holiday-themed pictures can often be dicey propositions. As it was wth Chris Meledandri's Hop, so might it be with Guardians. (As one artist said to me last week: I think maybe films about Santa have worn out their welcome.") Click here to read entire post

At the Top of the DVD Sales Chart

Granted, sales of the little silver disks aren't what they used to be; even so ...

Brave stayed atop the DVD sales chart for the second week in a row, outselling newcomer Expendables 2.

Pixar's animated fantasy film was the top-selling DVD and Blu-ray disc in the U.S., according to Rentrak Corp., while aging action stars sequel Expendables 2 premiered at No. 2. ...

Animated DVDs continue to hold up better than their live-action counterparts. But let's not kid ourselves, discounting helps.

... Nielsen data shows the biggest beneficiaries of the shopping frenzy were recent hit theatricals that had been marked down to below $10. Consumers may have been lured in by the cheap catalog fare – Walmart had more than 100 DVDs at $1.96 and 60 Blu-ray Discs at $3.96, while Target was selling Semi-Pro and American Pie for a buck apiece – and they certainly bought plenty of it.

But they also opened up their pocketbooks to pick up deep-discounted summer theatrical hits like Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax. ... Walt Disney Studios’ Brave remained the overall best seller for the second consecutive week on both the First Alert chart, which tracks total discs sales, and Nielsen’s dedicated Blu-ray Disc chart. It, too, was available in combo pack form for $8.96 at Walmart and $10 at Target. ...

Animated features, as much as we would like to believe otherwise, aren't totally immune from declining disk sales. Lower prices provide a helpful nudge in an upward direction.
Click here to read entire post

Another Afternoon, coming up

Over the weekend, the steering committee for the Afternoon of Remembrance met to make plans for the next ceremony to honor veterans of the animation community who have passed on.

The next event, honoring those who have died in 2012, is tentatively scheduled for March 2, 2013 at the Hollywood Heritage Museum, across the street from the Hollywood Bowl.


At the meeting, we made plans to honor the following veterans, plus any others who pass away before December 31:

• Frank Andrina
• Dick Beals
• Iris Beckerman
• Lucille Bliss
• Dave Borthwick
• Jack Bosson
• Richard "Kip" Carpenter
• Ernie Chan
• Kristine "Casey" Clayton
• John Coates
• Franco Cristofani*
• Tissa David
• Jim Duffy
• Jake Eberts
• Ethel Falkenberg
• Jean "Moebius" Giraud
• Karen Greslie
• Jim Hiltz
• Daphne Huntington*
• Thomas Kinkade
• Peter Kranjcevich
• Joe Kubert
• Bob Lambert
• Ken Landau
• Nancy McCullough*
• Sheldon Moldoff
• Conne Morgan
• Mark Nelson
• Margaret Nichols
• Rod Parkes
• Bretislav Pojar
• Buzz Potamkin
• Al Rio
• Geri Rochon
• Ken Sansom
• Mary Sarbry
• Maurice Sendak
• Mel Shaw
• José Silverio
• Marcia Sinclair
• Dan Thompson
• Ken Walker
• Manon Washburn
• Run Wrake
• Uvon Young

At this time we'd like your help. If you knew any of the people marked above with an asterisk (or knew someone who knew them), drop me a line if you're willing either to speak a three-minute tribute at the event, or write something to be read by someone else.

And let us know as well if there is anyone else who deserves to be on this list. Thanks, and hope to see you there!

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Brave, Ralph and Guardians top Annie noms

The nominations for the ASIFA-Hollywood Annie Awards were announced today, with Pixar's Brave, Disney's Wreck-It Ralph and DreamWorks's Rise of the Guardians receiving ten nominations each.

Laika/Focus's ParaNorman and Sony Animation's Hotel Transylvania each received eight, while Frankenweenie and The Pirates! Band of Misfits each received five. In the Best Animated Feature category, those seven films were joined by GKIDS' The Rabbi's Cat.

Oscar Grillo, Terry Gilliam and Mark Henn were announced to receive the Winsor McCay Award. Howard Green will receive the June Foray Award and Toon Boom will receive the Ub Iwerks Award.

The full list of nominees is here.

The 40th Annual Annie Awards will take place on February 2, 2013 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Go to their website for more details.
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Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 4

Yet another of Hulett's Siamese cat cards (of which there were several.)

This card is from the fifties, but it isn't inspired by Lady and the Tramp (on which Hulett worked.) The Hulett family had a couple of Siamese cats as pets, which is where these designs come from.

See other

Ralph Hulett Christmas cards on the TAG Blog

Click here to read entire post

Intelligent Investing

As we begin Week Two of TAG 401(k) enrollment meetings, more investing advice:

... Any fair study of mutual fund performance soon uncovers that low-cost index funds achieve better performance than a large majority of actively-managed mutual funds without adding risk. This statement is true for index funds covering every asset class, investment style and fund category. Index fund investors use this knowledge to effectively increase their portfolio performance. This decision embodies the very definition of investment skill.

What all persistence studies show is that active manager performance is mainly due to luck, not investment skill. Picking winning stocks or bonds isn’t like playing chess, where skill is the sole driver of performance, according to Michael Mauboussin, investment strategist and author of The Success Equation, Untangling Luck and Skill in Business, Sports and Investing. A champion chess player almost always beats lesser players because it’s a game of skill. With investing, this year’s winning manager often becomes next year’s losing manager. Mauboussin contends a pattern of inconsistency in an activity points to outcomes that are largely a result of luck, not skill. ...

In recent 401(k) enrollment meetings, I have emphasized that the parts of investing that individuals can control are 1) costs, and 2) asset allocation (your stock-and-bond mix; your stock-and-bond diversification.) Mr. Market controls everything else.

The small, quiet secret about smart investing is that, when you scrape away the b.s. of the financial media, a winning investment strategy is really quite simple. The thing that makes it hard is ... human emotion. When markets are dropping like anvils out of sixty-story windows, it's incredibly difficult for mortals to resist the fear impulse and not sell everything. Sadly, many people under-estimate their ability to withstand bone-deep financial pain, and sell at the wrong time.

Happily, the TAG 401(k) Plan offers different index funds with broad diversification and low costs, making it relatively easy to be a smart investor. (It also offers more expensive active funds if that happens to be your desire. We try to please everybody.)

All you have to do to get started is come to one of the meetings listed below.

TAG 401(k) Enrollment Meetings

Bento Box
Wednesday, December 10, 10 am
Main Break Room

Disney TV Animation
Tuesday, December 11, 10 am
Sonora Building, Room 1172

Disney TV Animation
Tuesday, December 11, 2 pm
Empire Center, Room 5223

DreamWorks Animation Television
Thursday, December 13, 2 pm
Main Conference Room

Film Roman
Wednesday, December 4, 2 pm
"Glass" Conference Room

Fox TV Animation
Thursday, December 6, 2 pm
Main Conference Room

Nickelodeon
Wednesday, December 12, 2 pm
Main Conference Room

Warner Bros. Animation
Wednesday, December 5, 2 pm
Building 34R - Main Conference Room

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Sunday Cartoon Links

And all of them are yummy.

The Nikkster's site handicaps the Oscar race for animated features.

The movers and shakers in animation tell the L.A. Times how the magic happens.

Daily News of India wonders why so many Indian animation studios are shutting down.

The creative team for Rise of the Guardians talks about Rise of the Guardians.

Political cartoonist (and Pulitzer Prize winner ) Ann Telnaes shows how her animated on-line cartoons are done.

The Deadline Team discusses the ins and outs of the Academy Award competition for Best Visual Effects.

Story ace Mark Kennedy talks about character arcs.

We do the animation linkage exercise far less than we used to. But every now and then, they're nice to do. Click here to read entire post

December Box Office in Foreign Lands

And the stats:

Premiering in 46 territories, Rise of the Guardians drew a mild-mannered $40 million overall playing at 8,708 locations in 55 markets. The film’s overseas gross total since its Nov. 16 foreign opening is $57 million.

The $145 million fantasy title recorded No. 1 bows in some 20 markets, as per Paramount, the biggest of which was France ($4.7 million at 620 sites) and Mexico ($3.7 million from 577 spots). ...

Hotel Transylvania grossed $3.5 million at 3,065 sites in 57 markets. The title’s foreign gross total stands at $152.8 accumulated since Sept. 27. A No. 2 Venezuela opening generated $675,000 at 105 sites. ...

Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph [has collected] $44 million; Universal’s ParaNorman, $43.2 million. ...

The worldwide totals for the above (plus a few more recent releases):

Brave -- $535.2 million

Hotel Transylvania -- $299.5 million

Madagascare 3 -- $740.5 million

ParaNorman -- $99 million

Rise of the Guardians -- $106 million

Wreck-It Ralph -- $202.3 million

Rise of the Guardians, opening under expectations for its first weekend in the U.S. and Canada, dropped less (43%) than any other domestic Top Ten holdover. Click here to read entire post

Early December Derby

Two animated features in the Top Ten, both down from the holiday weekend.

1. Twilight: Breaking Dawn 2 (Summit/Lionsgate) Week 3 [Runs 4,008] PG13 Friday $5.4M, Weekend $16.5M, Cume $253.7M

2. Skyfall (Eon/MGM/Sony) Week 4 [Runs 3,463] PG13 Friday $4.8M, Weekend $16.2M, Cume $245.7M

3. Lincoln (DreamWorks/Fox/Disney) Week 4 [Runs 2,018] PG13 Friday $4.0M, Weekend $13.9M, Cume $84.1M

4. Life Of Pi (Fox) Week 2 [Runs 2,928] PG Friday $3.3M (-63%), Weekend $12.7M, Cume $49.0M

5. Rise Of The Guardians (DreamWorks Anim/Par) Week 2 [Runs 3,672] PG Friday $2.9M (-68%), Weekend $12.2M, Cume $47.6M

6. Killing Them Softly (Annapurna/Weinstein) NEW [Runs 2,424] R Friday $2.5M, Weekend $7.5M

7. Red Dawn (FilmDistrict) Week 2 [Runs 2,781] PG13 Friday $2.0M (-66%), Weekend $6.2M, Cume $31.0M

8. Wreck-It Ralph (Disney) Week 5 [Runs 3,087] PG Friday $1.6M, Weekend $6.8M, Cume $158.0M

9. Flight (Paramount) Week 5 [Runs 2,603] R Friday $1.3M, Weekend $4.5M, Cume $81.5M

10. The Collection (LD Entertainment) NEW [Runs 1,403] R Friday $1.1K, Weekend $3.1M

Rise of the Guardians keeps its grip on #5 (it held the same position opening weekend) while Ralph slips a knotch, from #7 to #8.

The question, of course, is how it holds during the Christmas/holiday break. (A studio staffer said to me last week: "Maybe Santa movies have worn out their welcome.") Click here to read entire post

Big Stop Motion

ParaNorman was not a small production.

... The feature film took two years to complete and is the biggest stopmotion 3D animated film ever produced, employing 320 designers, artists, and animators who worked on 52 separate shooting units. It’s also one of the 21 animated films that qualify for the 2012-13 Oscar race, an exceptionally long list of toons that will result in five nominations for only the fourth time since the category’s debut. ...

I'd wager that ParaNorman will land a nomination but not the Little Gold Man himself. For some reason, I think that one of the candidates from our fine, entertainment conglomerates likely have the edge in the contest.

I've never gotten why stop motion features perform less well at the box office than CGI animated features. But then, I've scratched my head why hand-drawn features don't do better at the world's ticket turnstiles.

I just haven't moved with the times. Click here to read entire post

Ralph Hulett's Christmas, day 3

Yet another landscape card; also from the sixties. A different kind of card from the ordinary, with unordinary colors.

Most of the Hulett Christmas cards were published and sold by card companies named "California Artists" or "Designers Showcase." In the time he painted them, the cards were mounted in fat "Christmas Albums" and put into upscale department stores. Customers would thumb through the albums and select the cards they wanted. Boxes of cards would be delivered to them.

Some years Mr. Hulett would do a "painting demonstration" tour of larger department stores in various cities, and paint a sample card for customers.

Back in these old times, artists received royalties for their cards, and made pretty good money. It's a Christmas card sales network that has largely vanished today.

Click here for more Ralph Hulett Christmas cards

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