ASIFA-Hollywood: The International Animated Film Society
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Masagasgar Dreaming on a Saturday Afternoon
DreamWorks animation and ASIFA-Hollywood invite you and your family (limit 4) to a special screening of
MADAGASGAR
Directed by Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
You may RSVP to 818/695-9021 for either screening. This invitation is non-transferable, and space is limited.
Reservations are taken on a first come, first serve basis.
Conflict:
Damn, I really want to see Masagasgar. It looks really good, but there is no way I am going to miss Dream on Silly Dreamer over at the Alex on the same night. I have my ticket for Dreamer.
I guess it won`t hurt me to pay for a animated movie like the rest of the world but I love the Q & A with the directors. So if you are not going to Dreamer with me there is another cool animation event on the 23rd that you might want to check out. And as a member of ASIFA-Hollywood you get in free. I`ll just have to see Masagasgar at the Spectrum 21 with natural animation fans (you know, kids and intellectuals )
MADAGASGAR
Directed by Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
May 23, 2005
Egyptian Theater
6712 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA
7:30 p.m.
or
May 23, 2005
LCE Metreon Imax 16
101 4th St.
San Francisco, CA
7:30 p.m.
You may RSVP to 818/695-9021 for either screening. This invitation is non-transferable, and space is limited.
Reservations are taken on a first come, first serve basis.
Conflict:
Damn, I really want to see Masagasgar. It looks really good, but there is no way I am going to miss Dream on Silly Dreamer over at the Alex on the same night. I have my ticket for Dreamer.
I guess it won`t hurt me to pay for a animated movie like the rest of the world but I love the Q & A with the directors. So if you are not going to Dreamer with me there is another cool animation event on the 23rd that you might want to check out. And as a member of ASIFA-Hollywood you get in free. I`ll just have to see Masagasgar at the Spectrum 21 with natural animation fans (you know, kids and intellectuals )
Friday, May 13, 2005
Theater Arts
I normally use this space to talk about animation. That makes sense since this is the International Animation Film Society page. True I did do a piece on the April Fools, but that is because my animator friend Aki is a member.
Today I will talk about live theater. Last night my family and I went to Cal State LA to see the Inaugural production at the SegWAY theatre. We had comps from Steve Rothman, my best friend from 8th grade on.
The show was Eyes For Consuela and it plays until Saturday. It stars Cliff De Young and strong cast of pro, student, and semi-pro actors. www.calstatela.edu/univ/calendar
So why am I talking about live theater? Am I trying to give a plug to a good friend? Yes! Am I going to try and make some connection between animation and theater? Okay, lets do that. The staging and set designs of this piece looked just like a 3-D UPA background. But the important thing is the way most good theater and most good animation trust the audience to be smart enough to figure it out without being spoon fed. A leason well worth learning.
I normally use this space to talk about animation. That makes sense since this is the International Animation Film Society page. True I did do a piece on the April Fools, but that is because my animator friend Aki is a member.
Today I will talk about live theater. Last night my family and I went to Cal State LA to see the Inaugural production at the SegWAY theatre. We had comps from Steve Rothman, my best friend from 8th grade on.
The show was Eyes For Consuela and it plays until Saturday. It stars Cliff De Young and strong cast of pro, student, and semi-pro actors. www.calstatela.edu/univ/calendar
So why am I talking about live theater? Am I trying to give a plug to a good friend? Yes! Am I going to try and make some connection between animation and theater? Okay, lets do that. The staging and set designs of this piece looked just like a 3-D UPA background. But the important thing is the way most good theater and most good animation trust the audience to be smart enough to figure it out without being spoon fed. A leason well worth learning.
Thursday, May 12, 2005
Martha Sigall World Book Tour
If you are in the San Diego area on May 21 you might want to stop on over to the Chuck Jones Gallery in Old Town San Diego.
2501 San Diego Ave.
Old Town
San Diego
2 PM to 4 PM
Be sure to RSVP to 1-888-294-9880 (space is limited)
http://www.chuckjones.com/events.php
- Martha will also be at the Grand Opening of the new Chuck Jones Gallery at Fashion Island (Laguna Beach - Orange County) on the afternoon of June 4th more details as I get them.
- Martha will also be at San Diego Comic Con this year for ASIFA. More details when I get those too.
The Art of Animation Timing:
hosted by Amid Amidi
Join animation legend Fred Crippen (creator of Roger Ramjet) for a retrospective of his work and thought-provoking seminar on animation timing. In between the films, Fred will discuss the methods and ideas behind his animation style and offer insights into his intuitive and most innovative cartoon timing style.
Films from all eras of Crippen's animation career will be screened:
- UPA shorts from the Fifties
- Roger Ramjet episodes from the Sixties
- Sesame Street spots from the Seventies
- Plus short films, graphic
- projects with Saul Bass, unaired TV pilots and more!
Saturday May 21st - 3:00pm
The American Film Institute
TED ASHLEY/WARNER BROS. SCREENING ROOM
2021 N. Western Ave.
Hollywood, CA
Tink Talks
Welcome to Tinker Bell Talks, the official web site of Margaret Kerry, the original alter-ego, actor and reference model for the famous pixie from Walt Disney's Peter Pan. ASIFA-Hollywood`s own Tinker Bell has joined the web community with her official web site.
tinktalks
tinktalks
State of the Site Report
In the words of the late great gonzo reporter: when the times get weird the weird turn pro. We have had 12,000 site visits 16,556 Page Views. Most of them are since I took over the blog back in October of last year.
Asifa-Hollywood Blog
(sm5asifablog)
Site Summary
Visits
Total 12,001
Strange things have come out of the writing of this blog. This week I have had John Canemaker contacting me for information on a Disney layout artist which I was able to find for him. He never would have known that I had that information setting on my backup disks if I had not made mention of it on this site.
This last week too I had a student from a very good East Coast animation school contact me to do an interview for a class report. Why he wanted to talk to me is anybody`s guess.
I have found that if you mention the KGB on the Internet the number of hits from GOV servers goes way up. Strangely enough, and I am really not trying to make a connection here, but the mention of Twentieth Century Fox on the site increases the visits from the Fox server.
I suspect Internet search robots are at the bottom of the above phenomena, but if the stats are slipping I know the subjects to address in these pages.
I have found sites in Germany and Australia linked to articles I have written. I have been contacted by people with artwork that they were trying to link to an animation artist. This site has been linked to by other animation news sites. All and all a very strange ride. So stay with us for the next 12,000 visits.
Asifa-Hollywood Blog
(sm5asifablog)
Site Summary
Visits
Total 12,001
Strange things have come out of the writing of this blog. This week I have had John Canemaker contacting me for information on a Disney layout artist which I was able to find for him. He never would have known that I had that information setting on my backup disks if I had not made mention of it on this site.
This last week too I had a student from a very good East Coast animation school contact me to do an interview for a class report. Why he wanted to talk to me is anybody`s guess.
I have found that if you mention the KGB on the Internet the number of hits from GOV servers goes way up. Strangely enough, and I am really not trying to make a connection here, but the mention of Twentieth Century Fox on the site increases the visits from the Fox server.
I suspect Internet search robots are at the bottom of the above phenomena, but if the stats are slipping I know the subjects to address in these pages.
I have found sites in Germany and Australia linked to articles I have written. I have been contacted by people with artwork that they were trying to link to an animation artist. This site has been linked to by other animation news sites. All and all a very strange ride. So stay with us for the next 12,000 visits.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Annie Footage Wanted
Tom Sito and Kellie-Bea Cooper are heading up a group that is looking for photos, audio tape, video, 16 mm 8 mm or any oher kind of coverage of past Annie ceremonies so that they can create a highlight Annies reel for next year`s award show.
If you have any footage of any kind please contact:
Kellie-Bea Cooper
If anyone has stuff to send (which they will get back) they can mail it to:
If you have any footage of any kind please contact:
Kellie-Bea Cooper
If anyone has stuff to send (which they will get back) they can mail it to:
Kellie-Bea Cooper
1355 Cordova Ave.
Glendale, CA 91207
Calling all Short Filmmakers!
Here is an update on The Nicktoons Film Festival:
My name is Melissa Wolfe and I work at Frederator Studios in Burbank, CA. We are currently producing "Nextoons: The Nicktoons Film Festival in conjunction with Radar Cartoons and Nicktoons Network. It is the first ever all animated film festival on a digital network.
In as few words as possible, we`re looking for the best 10-minute-or-less, completed animated shorts you have to offer. Feel free to submit any medium of animation, be it Flash, traditional
cel, or CG. Shorts must have been completed after January 2001. The last day to submit films for consideration is: June 17, 2005, and the Grand Prize winner will receive $10,000! Last year`s grand prize went to Mark Simon and Travis Blaise for "Timmy`s Lessons in Nature".
I have included a link to the Festival Site which will provide you with more details on the competition, as well as a Festival Entry Form and Festival Agreement.
http://www.nick.com/all_nick/nicktoons/site/filmfest/index.html
Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions regarding submissions. We look forward to hearing from you, and screening your work. Best of luck to everyone!
Sincerely,
Melissa Wolfe
Nextoons
Festival Coordinator
http://www.frederator.kz/
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Torror, Treasures and Garage Sale Toys
Here we are at the first day of E3 and I am setting this day out. Gas and parking prices. Last year I saw parking prices as high as $40. I was going to get out the ear plugs (not joking here) and give today a try but my to-do list is much too long. My main website got hit by a Russian hacker yesterday, which is why I was not here to write to you and everything just spilled all over the rest of the week.
Yesterday was hell and it knocked over all my plans for today to the point that I am not going to even get to animate, which was what I should be doing. The good think is that I got my ticket for Dream On Silly Dreamer in the mail. I have been dyeing to see this documentary. (See Below)
Speaking of Disney, their Treasures series really is filled with treasures. I just picked up the Behind The Scenes 2 disk set that I missed when first came out. I was a fool not to buy all of them when they first hit the store. Do I really need to eat?
It is great to have a copy of Baby Weems in such pristine condition. The Disneyland TV show was truly wonder-filled. I picked my copy up new off of Amazon at a reduced price that covered shipping. Really great stuff here. I’ve got to get the rest of them!
Below is a little sample of what I have been up to and why I have not been blogging every single day:
Still needs some color correction on the shadow on the wall. But starting to get there.
My wife scored big at a garage sale last Saturday. Since we are not willing to eat hamburgers this is the only way we poor veggy ever gets these cool toys.
Yesterday was hell and it knocked over all my plans for today to the point that I am not going to even get to animate, which was what I should be doing. The good think is that I got my ticket for Dream On Silly Dreamer in the mail. I have been dyeing to see this documentary. (See Below)
Speaking of Disney, their Treasures series really is filled with treasures. I just picked up the Behind The Scenes 2 disk set that I missed when first came out. I was a fool not to buy all of them when they first hit the store. Do I really need to eat?
It is great to have a copy of Baby Weems in such pristine condition. The Disneyland TV show was truly wonder-filled. I picked my copy up new off of Amazon at a reduced price that covered shipping. Really great stuff here. I’ve got to get the rest of them!
Below is a little sample of what I have been up to and why I have not been blogging every single day:
Still needs some color correction on the shadow on the wall. But starting to get there.
My wife scored big at a garage sale last Saturday. Since we are not willing to eat hamburgers this is the only way we poor veggy ever gets these cool toys.
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Thoughts on Art and Artists
Joe Grant died at his drawing board just shy of his 97 birthday. I have been thinking about that fact since I first read about it. If an artist has got to go, and face it we all do sometime, dyeing at the drawing board is the way we would choose.
It speaks to the relationship between the artist and their work. It is not just a job something we do for money. Which may be why artists tend to live long lives. There are much better ways to get money that the path of art. We that follow this path do so because it is the only thing that makes us happy.
The good artist are all about the process, the act of creation. Joe Grant was, without a doubt, one of the great artist of his time.
I am reminded of the story that comic book artist, Tex Blaisdell, use to tell about the death of his friend and colleague Rube Goldberg. Rube died the slow painful death of cancer. On his last night on earth he was setting at his drawing board penciling a page.
Mrs. Goldberg wanted him to go to bed You`re not going to live to finish that page! She didn`t get it. It is not about the finished product, or even finishing the page, it is about the process. Rube wanted to die the way he lived.
Rube told his wife, Tex can finish this page. (Tex Blaisdell was famous for being able to copy anybody`s style) Mrs. Goldberg told this to Tex at Rube`s funeral but she never asked Tex to ink that page so maybe she did understand that it wasn`t about the finished product, it was about the love of drawing even in the face of death.
I am saddened by the passing of Joe Grant but he went the way every artist wants to go, at the drawing board doing what he loved to do. I guess what really saddens me is that he has put his direct mark on his last film.
It speaks to the relationship between the artist and their work. It is not just a job something we do for money. Which may be why artists tend to live long lives. There are much better ways to get money that the path of art. We that follow this path do so because it is the only thing that makes us happy.
The good artist are all about the process, the act of creation. Joe Grant was, without a doubt, one of the great artist of his time.
I am reminded of the story that comic book artist, Tex Blaisdell, use to tell about the death of his friend and colleague Rube Goldberg. Rube died the slow painful death of cancer. On his last night on earth he was setting at his drawing board penciling a page.
Mrs. Goldberg wanted him to go to bed You`re not going to live to finish that page! She didn`t get it. It is not about the finished product, or even finishing the page, it is about the process. Rube wanted to die the way he lived.
Rube told his wife, Tex can finish this page. (Tex Blaisdell was famous for being able to copy anybody`s style) Mrs. Goldberg told this to Tex at Rube`s funeral but she never asked Tex to ink that page so maybe she did understand that it wasn`t about the finished product, it was about the love of drawing even in the face of death.
I am saddened by the passing of Joe Grant but he went the way every artist wants to go, at the drawing board doing what he loved to do. I guess what really saddens me is that he has put his direct mark on his last film.
