Don Hertzfeldt

I met Don Hertzfeldt long ago - I think I was doing a Spike & Mike show, and I believe he was showing "Billy's Balloon" (one of my all-time favorite comedy shorts).  We became good friends, because our senses of humor were very similar, dark and surreal.  

Over the years I've visited him in Austin - he even let me sleep over in his house.  He showed me his monster animation camera stand that he'd had shipped to his house from a long distance away, and he assembled the damn thing all by himself.

And whenever Don was doing a show in NYC, usually at the IFC Center in the Village, he'd always have a standing-room-only crowd, lined up all around the block.  Then after the show, he'd sign autographs and sell DVDs - man, what a rock star!  Then we'd go out for a drink together at a bar next door and talk about animation.

I remember one night while we were a bit high, I was joking about his style.  I was convinced he was actually a great artist but only used the stick figures as a gag.  So I handed him a napkin and asked him to do a realistic portrait of me - and sure enough, he drew me as a stick figure Bill Plympton.

The reason I'm talking about Don is because he's now involved in a Kickstarter campaign to finance his new BluRay of "World of Tomorrow, the First Three Episodes" and it's crazy how popular this is.  He originally asked for $30,000 but with 19 days still to go, he's already raised over $326,000!  And it's growing every day!  He might break $1 million for a BluRay disc!  What the fuck?  That's crazy!!  I had a Kickstarter campaign late last year and it took me three weeks to pull in just $80,000.

One of Don's advantages is that he has a very engaging and funny web-site that he's used to build up his digital audience.  Don has definitely used the internet to create his super-stardom.  Go for it, Don! Also, the copy on his Kickstarter page is hilarious, it's like a question and answer session between two people and by the time you scroll down to the bottom, it's gone completely off topic.  So if you get a chance, you've got to check out his campaign, you'll love it!  And donate if you want to get his BluRay or the other rewards!  

The campaign is here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/worldoftomorrow/world-of-tomorrow-the-first-three-episodes-on-blu-ray

Now, here's this week's gag cartoon!

--Bill

Blue Sky

I've been a fan of Blue Sky Studios for years - I've hung out with Chris Wedge many times.  Once we went to a film festival in Majorca, where he got stung very badly by a school of jellyfish - and I was ready to pee on him if he needed me to, but the pain abated, thankfully.

Also, I'm good friends with writer Karen Disher, designer Peter DeSeve and storyboard artist William Frake, who all work for Blue Sky.  I've admired many of their films, like "Robots", "Ferdinand", "Epic", and of course, "Horton Hears a Who", which is a classic.  Plus they had two money-making franchises, the "Ice Age" series and the "Rio" films. 

I've even lectured up there (Greenwich, CT) and was very impressed by their abundant talent and the joy they take in their craft.  But when Disney bought out Fox, everyone was nervous about the future of Blue Sky, why would they need an East Coast version of Pixar that competes with Disney and Pixar?  That wouldn't make sense.  But Disney let Blue Sky continue to make their films, until "Spies in Disguise" came out and wasn't much of a success.  I think after that, the writing was on the wall, as they say.

Now, a lot of very talented people are going to be out of work, and may be forced to move to L.A. to continue their animation careers.  My hope is that they can write and create remotely, or maybe form another studio here on the East Coast.  Dream on, right? 

Even though my mini-indie studio often has trouble surviving, at least I'm able to continue to produce films without worrying that Disney executives will be pulling the rug out from under me.  That's the biggest benefit of working as an independent.  Although if Disney were to offer me a boatload of money to buy my studio, I might consider it. 

You can read more about the closing of Blue Sky on Cartoon Brew here:

https://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/breaking-disney-is-shutting-down-blue-sky-studios-450-employees-to-be-impacted-201814.html

Here's this week's gag cartoon - thanks for listening!

--Bill 

Good news

About a month ago, my office manager, John H., signed me up to get my COVID-19 vaccine, which was very exciting - and he got me a slot at the Javits Center, where we've been many times with a booth at New York Comic Con.  The only problem was, the earliest available appointment there wasn't until the end of March!!!  What?  I've got to walk the NYC streets, day after day, for two more months, blocking the little coronavirus droplets from getting into my nose?  

Fat chance - so, naturally, I committed to staying inside as much as possible, except to walk 5 blocks every day to my studio and occasionally to the store.  A pretty dreary life...but I must say, I've gotten a lot of drawing done for "Slide".  

Meanwhile, my producer, Rachel, was checking for earlier vaccination appointments through various healthcare systems online - you apparently have to start looking for them very early in the morning, because by 10 or 11 am any open slots usually get filled up.  Then, of course, the news broke that Trump lied about the amount of vaccine that was on hand, it turns out there was no reserve, and he didn't order as much for the country as he could have!  So some states, including New York, went through all their doses and had to start cancelling appointments everywhere while they waited for more vaccines from the government.  Suddenly it seemed like a good idea to keep that Mar. 31 appointment, because it was a sure thing, and maybe by then there would be more doses arriving.  

Then, just last Friday, I got a phone call from my buddy, and brilliant animator, Signe Baumane, about open slots at the Armory in Northern Manhattan.  Apparently they had just gotten a big batch of the Pfizer vaccines, and there was nobody showing up to get their shots.  And if I hurried up there (a short subway ride) I might be able to get a shot.  

When I got there, the place was practically empty.  I only had to wait 15 minutes to get registered, and prove that I qualified because of my age, then I got the needle in my arm.  I didn't feel a thing, and in fact it felt very good to get the vaccine.  I was smiling all the way home, now I can sleep peacefully at night.  I'm already booked to get my second shot, in three weeks - and I feel so free and easy now. 

I think there was some controversy about this vaccination site I went to, because at some earlier point people from New Jersey or Connecticut were getting shots there, and there was concern that the local population was being under-served.  By the time I got my shot, I believe they were reserving 60% of the shots for neighborhood residents, and they had added some Spanish-speaking volunteers and hotlines to make the process easier.  The other 40% of their doses were going to other qualified NYC residents, including my age group - so by traveling uptown, I didn't jump the line or take somebody else's dose, I had an appointment and everything I did to get the shot was legal and legit.  Then we cancelled my March 31 appointment to free up my time-slot at the Javits Center for somebody else. 

I know some people might be having a hard time scheduling appointments, especially older people who might not be very good with computers and web-sites - and that's exactly who's qualified to get the vaccines right now!  All I can say is, keep trying, and I feel very lucky, and it's great to know people who ARE good with computers!  

Here's my gag cartoon for today's edition - 

Bill P.