The Weirdness of the Internets

I got a note this morning from Cartoon Brew about this:

... Walt Disney had his mustache accidentally lit on fire by the animator Ken Anderson. Ken was worried that he'd be fired, and it was showing in his work, so Walt shaved his mustache and spent the week eating lunch with Ken so he wouldn't feel so alienated. ...

Okay, a few details wrong, but outside of that. It got over a thousand hits. ...

I told about my adventures with Mr. Anderson on CB the better part of a year ago. And Ken's sad tale of lighting Walt on fire took up only a small part of the tale.

But here we are, ten months later, and somebody on Reddit launches a discussion on whether or not Walt was an anti-Semite or not. What the discussion of bigots has to do with Ken and his over-eager Butane lighter, I do not know.

Just goes to show you, once something is on the interwebs, it's there forever. To be used in any number of weird ways.

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Lawsuit Thrown Overboard

The judge who approved a larger settlement on one class action, has stopped another.

Disney, Sony & DreamWorks Animation Antitrust Class Action Tossed

More than six months after the first lawsuit was filed over anti-poaching and wage-fixing allegations, the ‘toon studios have seen the now-consolidated class-action case go the way of hand drawing as genre standard, at least for now.

“As Plaintiffs have failed to allege an essential element of fraudulent concealment, and the Court has also concluded that Plaintiffs’ claims, as currently alleged, are time barred, the Court grants Defendants’ motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ CAC,” said a federal judge on Good Friday in the action from a trio of digital artists against the major animation studios. ...

Me, I think there's been a long-time effort of studios to steer clear of the kinds of bidding wars that went on for artists' services in the 1990s. And I think the avoidance has been successful.

But thinking there's wage collusion and proving it are two different things. So we'll see if hard evidence can be produced, or this is the end of the line.

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Final Chapter

Last chunk of self-aggrandizement.

‘Mouse in Transition’: Basil or Mouse Detective? (Chapter 19) ...

My wife Janette and I had a lengthy argument over me sending the memo to the Times.

She really, REALLY didn't want me to send it, fearing "something bad will happen."

I didn't care. I figured, What can Disney do to me now? They can't lay me off twice.

But maybe, I donno, Janette knew something I didn't. Karma is a funny thing.

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Your Global Box Office

Apparently there's a whole lot of cartooning going on.

FOREIGN WEEKEND BOX OFFICE -- (World Totals)

Home -- $20,700,000 -- ($180,820,742)

Cinderella -- $24,300,000 -- ($397,251,000)

Spongebob Squarepants -- $5,800,000 -- ($296,815,605)

Shaun the Sheep -- $4,750,000 -- ($42,000,000)

Our fine trade papers report:

... Universal's Furious 7 raced to ... $240.4 million overseas for a massive worldwide launch of $384 million. ...

Overseas, Home earned another $20.7 million for a foreign total of $85.2 million and global cume of $180.8 million.

Disney's Cinderella will jump the $400 million mark after finishing Sunday with an international cume of $230 for a [world] total $397.3 million. To date, it is the top-grossing title of 2015, including a China bounty of $68.7 million. ...

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Rudolph Perz, RIP

The creator of a well-loved animated character moves on.

Rudolph Perz, an advertising executive who pondered a soulless, squishy, cylindrical mixture of flour and water on his kitchen table 50 years ago and conjured up the genial Pillsbury Doughboy, died on Thursday in a suburban Chicago hospital. He was 89. ...

Mr. Perz was the creative director of the Leo Burnett agency in Chicago when he imagined a blue-eyed Poppin’ Fresh springing from a tube of dough, like a fast-forward version of evolution from primordial ingredients.

To distinguish him from a plumper incarnation of Casper the Friendly Ghost in cartoon illustrations, the Doughboy became a three-dimensional clay figure designed by Milt Schaffer, an animator. “We made two Doughboys,” Mr. Perz said in an interview with a colleague at Leo Burnett in 1972. “One was a rubber Doughboy with an armature inside, and you could move his arms a little bit at a time. And the other was a hard Doughboy.” ...

The Doughboy’s voice — “Hi! I’m Poppin’ Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy,” he announced, giggling “Hee-Hee” (later “Hoo-Hoo”) when poked in his soft belly — was originally supplied by Paul Frees. A busy voice actor, he also voiced the Disney duck Professor Ludwig Von Drake and Admiral Yamamoto in the 1976 movie “Midway.” ...

Cartoonists often create characters that resonate through decades. Happens less often for the creative director of an ad firm, but Rudolph Perz deserves bragging rights here, along with Milt Shaffer.

And remember, this guy ...



... is a close cousin of Mr. Fresh.



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Box Office

First, the forecast.

Box Office Mojo's Weekend Predictions

1. Furious 7 - $110 million
2. Home - $28 million (-45%)
3. Get Hard - $16.5 million (-50%)
4. Insurgent - $12.5 million (-42%)
5. Cinderella - $10.5 million (-38%)

Then, the early reports: ...

niversal’s “Furious 7″ is speeding toward a record-setting opening weekend of nearly $140 million. ... DreamWorks’ second weekend of animated comedy “Home,” released by Fox, should lead the rest of the pack at roughly $30 million to lift its 10-day U.S. total to the $100 million vicinity. ...

Warner Bros.’ second session of Will Ferrell-Kevin Hart comedy “Get Hard” will likely see much of its core male audience opt for “Furious 7.″ The R-rated prison comedy has been forecast to decline 50% from its opening weekend numbers to finish around $17 million.

Disney’s fourth frame of “Cinderella” and the third weekend of Lionsgate’s “The Divergent Series: Insurgent” should each pull in around $10 million. ...

And finally, the weekend chart:

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN

1). Furious 7 (UNI), 4,004 theaters / $67M to $68M Fri. / 3-day cume: $148M to $150M / Wk 1

2). Home (FOX/DW), 3,801 theaters (+93) / $11.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $28.7M (-47%) / Total cume: $96.98M / Wk 2

3). Get Hard (WB), 3,212 theaters (+37) / $4.8M to $5M Fri. / 3-day cume: $12.8M (-61%) / Total cume: $57.6M / Wk 2

4/5). Cinderella (DIS), 3,404 theaters (-411) / $4.18M Fri. / 3-day cume: $10M+ / Total cume: $166.5M / Wk 4

Insurgent (LG), 3,442 theaters (-433) / $4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $10M+ (-52%) / Total cume: $103.7M / Wk 3

6). It Follows (RAD), 1,655 theaters (+437) / $900K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2M+ / Total cume: $8M+ / Wk 4

7). Woman in Gold (TWC), 258 theaters (+230) / $612K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.8M / Total cume: $1.8M

8). Kingsman: The Secret Service (FOX), 1,327 theaters (-458) / $640K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.8M / Total cume: $122.36M / Wk 8

9). Do You Believe? (PF), 1,218 theaters (-138) / $540K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.75M / Total cume: $10M / Wk 3

10). The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (FSL), 1,060 theaters (-438) / $356K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1M / Total cume: $30.1M / Wk 5

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International Animation: Summaries of the Obvious

So there are animation analyses of Europe and Asia out and about. The Asian summary goes:

Much of Asia's animation production since the 1960s has been tied to foreign interests attracted by stable and inexpensive labor supplies. For nearly forty years, western studios have established and maintained production facilities, first in Japan, then in South Korea and Taiwan, and now also in the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and China. The economics of the industry made it feasible for Asia to feed the cartoon world, to the extent that today, about 90% of all American television animation is produced in Asia. ...

The major factors behind outsourcing of animation content to the Asia/Pacific region are the availability of trained skills at lower labor rates. ...

Low wages attract budget-basement production work. Wowsers. And people pay brisk money for this insightful information? ...

And then there's the continent on the far side of the Atlantic:

Animation studios in European countries such as France and Spain have emerged as the market leaders in Europe. This is in part driven by the proactive steps taken by the governments of these countries by offering a range of tax breaks. The European animation studios started partnering to produce animation content for Television. These alliances resulted in content suited for local population.This is particularly seen in countries such as France, UK, Germany and Spain.

However the European animated feature film industry still has not achieved the popularity and global appeal of their American counterparts. ...

Shorter report: Europe gives away free money to pump up animation production. Europe (except for Chris Meledandri's Paris studio) hasn't figured out how to make features the world audience wants to see.

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Contract Talks

The production locals of our mother International commence talks with the AMPTP on Monday. The following Monday, the IATSE sits down to negotiate the Basic Agreement -- of which the Animation Guild is no longer a part, having been pushed out of the bargaining unit in 1982 because of a long strike.

Here's the trade papers take regarding the contract talks:

Negotiations will begin Monday for a new contract covering some 38,000 Hollywood-based members of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. A strike is considered highly unlikely, as the union has never launched an industry-wide strike and there don’t appear to be any pressing strike issues. As long as the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers doesn’t ask for any major rollbacks and the union doesn’t try to make any major gains beyond the bargaining pattern set in deals ratified last year by the DGA, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, the talks should wrap up in about two weeks. ...

As it stands now, the Animation Guild's negotiations will happen a couple of months after the Basic Agreement wraps up. The guild will have more negotiation committee meetings to work on proposals before our own talks happen.

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Cartoon Network's Atlanta Outpost

Though a major part of Cartoon Network's production happens in Burbank, California, there are shows happening in the land of Scarlett and Rhett.

... “Atlanta is becoming the in-vogue place to produce because of the cost of living, labor rates and cheap equipment,” said Ashley Kohler, president and co-founder of Awesome Incorporated, the company behind “Aqua Teen Hunger Force” and others.

Did you know these four animated series are produced in Atlanta? ...

Those four animated series are Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Archer, Squidbillies, and The Awesomes. Bento Box, a studio that does a lot of work for Fox, has facilities in Atlanta, North Hollywood, and Burbank (also in Canada).

And there are other animation companies in and around the city: Toonalooney Studios, Crawford Media Services and Berry Creative and Yeepeeded TV (among others).

Georgia might be a Republican state, but it's not averse to giving away free money to movie studios, and does so with a carefree abandon. Score one for (state subsidized) free enterprise.

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Xynergy

There's really nothing to say ...



Yeah, it's a goof, but with all the Disney sequels floating around, the possibility (threat?) is all too real.

H/t Animation Scoop.

Add On: As I mention below, Diz Co. appears to be re-thinking their Toons unit. Several years ago Disney re-purposed the building next to Disney TV Animation (Glendale), turning it into a very nice facility physically patterned after Pixar (Emeryville). For a long while they made a string of Tinkerbell CG features that were produced in India.

Rich Ross (briefly the chairman of the Disney studio) cut back the number of Tink feaures, but Mr. Ross was shoved overboard in 2012, John Lasseter exerted full control of the division, and seven Tinkerbell adventures were produced.

After that, Mr. Lasseter cranked up the Planes features, the first of which did moderately well at the theatrical box office, but the second one, in all its wide-screen splendor, tanked. Multiple waves of Toons layoffs soon followed, and today "Pixar South" houses feature employees who have been moved out of the Hat Building on Riverside while it's remodeled.

So. Will Disney Toons Studios rise from its current mound of ashes? Your guess is as good as mine.

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Deadline reports:

... FX has put in development Brightmoor, an animated comedy executive produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Created and written by King Of The Hill alum Chip Hall and rising Detroit comedian Chris Powell (aka Comedian CP), Brightmoor is described as South Park set in inner-city Detroit. It revolves around the African American pupils at Brightmoor Elementary. ...

Detroit Free Press notes that the name "Brightmore Elementary" was changed from the real Brightmoor neighborhood near the city's northwest border.

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China

Not the country. The third season of the Adult Swim show begins on Sunday, and CI creator Brad Neely talks about how he got to the power position where he could make the series in the first place.

Brad Neely: ... I started out not having every option available to me, and I thought, “Hmm, I’ll select animation and television. I guess I’ll gladly dismiss literature and classical music.” It just kind of happened like this. I was here, in Austin, Texas. I did not go to college. I was extremely poor and came from a poor background. I just happened to play in bands and I happened to draw cartoons.

And then I did this alternate audio for the “Harry Potter” movie when the internet was just getting to be popular and that got large enough to clue me into, you know, maybe I can go from making my friends laugh to making more people laugh. It seems like there’s evidence here, so maybe I can mash all of these interests together in one thing where I have control over it and could do on the cheap, because I had no funding or backing or interest.

So I was able to do “George Washington” with all of those elements, and then that became popular, so it seems like all of the sudden I had a skill set that people were interested in. From “Washington” I went to Super Deluxe and got the job working with “South Park” as a writer in their room, and everything snowballed from there.

On a daily basis I ask myself, “Is this right for me? Is this career right for me?”now that I might have more options, but it’s hard to turn away from an audience that’s telling me what I’m communicating is working. Communication to me is just so hard that if you have some of it you should hold on to it. ...

We, of course, wish Mr. Neely well. And we wish even harder that, one day, the show comes under a union contract.

It's fun to dream.

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Jobs and Networking

At last night's General Membership meeting, there was lengthy discussion about ways to find jobs in the animation business. Some bullet points:

* Have a portfolio on-line in various formats: quick time, single frame, etc. Show a variety of styles, and most recent work up top.

* The Animation Guild offers "Member Profile" pages (which can indicate members' availability) on its website. Profiles can also provide links to other sites.

* Build a web of contacts, both on-line and in-person.

* Use social networks to stay in touch: Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, etc. When you're between jobs, let your network know you're available.

* When artists are on one projects a long time, contacts and referrals can get stale. Stay in touch and keep them fresh. (When a co-worker or former boss gets a new show, congratulate her/him. It's a good and professional thing to do, also reminds the person that you're still out in the professional workforce. ...

Things that occurred to me during the discussions, but remained unspoken:

When you get in the business, join professional organizations: The TV academy. The Motion Picture academy. Art groups. Writers groups. Come to union parties, and union meetings. (This practice caused Hulett to end up a guild officer ... which led to Hulett getting a job.)

Try and do some free-lance work, even if you have a regular job. Many artists do this; it's a way to keep your name and talents out in the wider market-place.

Socialize with co-workers. Because friends often hire friends.

Some individuals voiced frustration about their inability to find work, even though there are jobs out there. Some of the working artists said if your previous assignment ends shortly after a studio project has finished staffing up, the lack of employment might be caused simply by bad timing.

Others complained about long tests. Some employed artists testified that people they worked with got jobs through tests they had only partially completed. ("If you hold onto the test longer so you can polish it, maybe the person who did less work but was 'good enough for the job' landed the gig because they got their half-done test in ahead of you.")

Food for thought on a Wednesday afternoon.

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Wartime Escapism

World War II versions.

... When you look back at the films that were incredibly popular during war years, an entirely different kind of movie experience regularly tops the bill. Some of the strongest pieces of sheer cinematic escapism were made during World War II. Strange, distant lands; the arms of an impossibly beautiful lover; songs and dances and the first bursts of bright, onscreen colour: here’s a look at some of the films that transported people to better places during the war. ...

There was Dumbo, there was The Black Swan, and there was this German offering ...

Der Fuehrer's answer to Disney, Weather-Beaten Melody:



I'd never heard of this flick before. It's almost hypnotically three-dimensional, yet at the same time, strangely crude. And why it shows up on a Den of Geek list of "Eight Great Escapist Fantasies," I have no idea.

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What a Difference

... a weekend makes.

The financial press reports nice things about DreamWorks Animation:

• "Home" outperformed estimates and provides a short-term boost to Dreamworks Animation as the only 2015 release.

• Television revenue set to hit $200 to $250 million in 2015 led by new shows on Netflix.

• Dreamworks Animation signs new deal with Verizon for 200 hours of original content, strengthening television segment and diversifying importance of Netflix.

• Consumer products and increasing storyline to watch with new television launches on Netflix in 2015 and new "Kung Fu Panda" and "Trolls" movies in 2016. ...

You get yourself a hit, the press gets nicer. It was only a couple of eyeblinks ago that there was this:

Massive writedowns. Failed sales. Deep staffing cuts. ...

The company’s suffering won’t be alleviated when “Home,” its upcoming alien invasion film, lands on Friday. The picture is on track to open to between $30 million and $35 million, a respectable result but for the fact that it also carries a $130 million pricetag. ...

Also this.

“The last eight months have been the worst in the company’s 20-year history,” Katzenberg told Wall Street analysts on Feb. 24, as he licked his wounds and reflected on a period of painful cost-cutting that resulted in layoffs, the closure of DWA’s Northern California studio, and a serious re-examination of its creative choices. Analysts and stockholders don’t care about the past, however. They want to know whether Katzenberg has a plan for the future.

That future is dependent on hit movies, something DWA has been sorely lacking. ...

DreamWorks is still on wobbly under-pinnings, but having a non-sequel make some cash helps the company a lot, because next year there are two features released, one of them a sequel out of a hit franchise. But let's not kid ourselves, Jeffrey Katzenberg is still performing a high-wire act. His company is a stand-alone, and too many missteps will send it plummeting.

For the moment, however, the skies over Lake Katzenberg in Glendale look brighter.


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Buh Bye, Sportsmen's Lodge

In the heart of the San Fernando Valley, a monument will change.

... A new development approved on Wednesday calls for demolishing the western half of the [Sportsmen's Lodge] complex, including the events center, River Rock restaurant, the waterfall, ponds, and water features and replacing them with a nearly 100,000-square-foot shopping center including a large gym and five restaurants. The hotel was renovated in a mid-century style in 2013 and will remain in operation. ...

The Los Angeles Conservancy meanwhile has not taken a position on the issue, and some citizen groups have felt left out of the planning process. “The neighbors never objected to this project,” says the group Our Studio City, “because they were not aware of it.” The city and developer agreed to add “two man-made lakes, connected by a stream” and a “plaque, monument, or display case commemorating the history of the Sportsmen’s Lodge.” ...

The Lodge, surprisingly enough, figures in The Animation Guild's sixty-three-year history.

The meeting and strike vote for the Guild's 1979 job action happened here. And as Prez Emeritus Tom Sito says:

In 1990, we held Grim Natwick's 100th Birthday there. 500 people attended, making it the last great reunion of the Golden Age of Animation. All the surviving Disney's Nine Old Men, Chuck Jones, Walter Lantz, Friz Freleng, Fleischer artists, UPA artists. It was a magical night. The early Annie Awards were held there, when they honored Max and Dave Fleischer, Tex Avery and Ub Iwerks. If those walls could talk.

Also, too, contract negotiations went on at the Lodge.

So it's a bit sad, heart-wrenching even, to see the old place get dismantled.

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A New Cartoon Honcho in Burbank

A trade paper relates:

... Nickelodeon has appointed Jennifer Dodge to the newly created position of SVP West Coast Development and Production for Nickelodeon Preschool. The move comes almost two weeks after the kids cable network began layoffs as part of broader reductions at parent Viacom. Among those pink-slipped were Emmy winner Teri Weiss, Nickelodeon’s EVP Preschool Programming, and Kay Wilson Stallings, SVP Production & Development atNickelodeon Preschool, Nick Jr. and NickMom. ...

In her new role, she will spearhead West Coast-based development of all original content for Nickelodeon Preschool’s programming block and the Nick Jr. channel, as well as additional preschool platforms such as the Nick Jr. app. She also will take pitches and develop creative assignments for preschool projects and be tasked with developing in-house talent, and discovering and nurturing new artists and writers in the West Coast creative community. ...

We haven't the foggiest how Ms. Dodge will do in her new position, but we wish her well.

There have been a lot of changes at Nick over the last few years. We understand that happens to corporate divisions when they fall off their high perches. There are executive removals, then new executive installations.

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Still More Remakes

Well, it ain't Bambi but nevertheless ...

... [Diz Co. is eyeing another live-action retelling: Mulan.

Disney bought a script by writing team Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek that centers on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the female warrior who was the main character in Disney's 1998 animated film. ...

I was s-o-o-o disappointed that the Mouse didn't clasp my "Ben and Me" remake pitch to its heart, but I will somehow struggle on.

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The TAG Interview -- Carl H. Greenblatt

Carl Greenblatt came to animation after an education at the University of Texas (Austin) and a short, productive career in New York advertising.

TAG Interview with CH Greenblatt

Find all TAG Interviews on the TAG website at this link

He began his sojourn in animation as a story artist on Spongebob Squarepants and has been a creative force in television animation ever since. The creator of the Cartoon Network hit Chowder, he is now set to launch Harvey Beaks at Nickelodeon. He spoke of his beginnings in animation ... and some of the creative high points since then ... on March 23rd.



"Beaks" in the throes of creation. ...

About his first series, Carl G. related this:

... When I first pitched the show [Chowder], the network was afraid that every episode would be about cooking a different recipe each week. I had to convince them that is was a show about people who cook, not cooking itself. Sort of like how ER is about the people who work in a hospital, not the ins and outs of being a doctor. The pilot was The Froggy Apple Crumple Thumpkin. After that, I wrote Mahjongg Nite. It involves Chowder’s quest for mevilled eggs but it’s about him not being allowed in the kitchen. Then I wrote The Heavy Sleeper to show more of the city. These were all done before the show was even greenlit. ...

So now a new Greenblatt show is being launched, and Carl conducted a number of interviews last week in front of the rollout. We were lucky enough to be last in the cycle, and got to spend a generous amount of time with Harvey Beaks' proud father.

Hope you enjoy the result.

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Jeffrey's Shifting Strategies

Dow Jones Business News weighs in:

... "I would read [Jeffrey Katzenberg's] blog and get exhausted," says a former DreamWorks production coordinator who left recently. She noticed a pattern: The busier Mr. Katzenberg was, the more off-track the studio's film division--famous for hits like " Shrek" and "Kung Fu Panda"--seemed to her and fellow production managers. ...

His peripatetic itinerary reflected a desire to branch into multiple platforms and industries--from television to publishing, theme parks to YouTube, mall attractions to children's toys--to reduce DreamWorks' reliance on the unpredictable returns of two or three films a year. But the company began making creative decisions that left audiences wanting and gave new ancillary businesses little good material to work with. ...

[Katzenberg] has vowed to focus on films--a strategy that got a major boost this weekend with the successful opening of the studio's release, "Home."

Directors and producers who have worked with Mr. Katzenberg say it will be good if his focus holds. Many say he is among the few executives who can cut through development chaos and see broad issues with a feature's plot or characters. ...

I've been through the Glendale campus for a lot of years, and it's not simply Mr. Katzenberg's "lack of focus." Staffers have told me that managers too often kick production cans down the road rather than rendering a crisp decision. And that ends up costing money.

The studio needs to figure out how to make films with a lower production cost. Illumination Entertainment makes its animated features for $79 million. DreamWorks Animation produced the first Shrek, after much stopping and starting (which included the death of actor Chris Farley and director changes) for $60 million. Everything now -- if Box Office Mojo is believed -- costs $130 million and up.

Even Disney managed to make 101 Dalmations for a fraction of the cost of Sleeping Beauty. As a DWA supervisor said to me several months back:

"Production managers don't like to cut through problems. They dither around and money keeps getting spent. ..."

Maybe if Jeffrey's attention is centered on the theatrical features, a lot of the dithering will end.

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