Annecy Part Deux

Chris Landreth

Marv Newland, Marc Topet, Paul Driessen

David Silverman. Eating Belgian Waffles.

Another highlight from the famed 50th Anniversary of the festival was the screening of my new short “The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger.” It got a very nice reception which is good because sometimes the Annecy audience can be very harsh critics. As I got on stage to take a bow, the idea occurred to me (too late, I might add) – wouldn't it be great to take a bow then pull out a big fat juicy hamburger and eat it on stage? Not THAT'S performance art!
The closing night ceremonies were quite memorable. I was hoping for an award but knew I didn't have much of a chance; the reason being that the judge knew I've won numerous prizes there before and naturally defer giving a prize to a long-time winner than to a newbie, someone who's looking for a break. Marv Newland calls it “The Paul Driessen Syndrome.” Paul's been coming to Annecy much longer than me and after taking Annecy by storm in the early years its impossible for him to win a prize now, even though his films are better than ever.
In any case, I was asked to come on stage to give out the feature film audience prize and after a short chat with Serge I told him I had learned how to dance The Tango at The Argentinian party the night before (which incidentally was a great party). And so I grabbed Serge's hand and began a long, sensuous tango across the Grande Salle stage. I don't remember if he was the male or the female of the couple, but it was muy caliente! By the way, the winner was “The Fantastic Mr. Fox”, which if you read my blog you know how I feel about that.

Michel Ocelot, Sandrine Flament, Joanna Quinn

Spike of "Spike and Mike", Andreas Hykade, Marv Newland

Will Kraus, John Coates, Jake Armstrong, Jimmy Murakami

John Coates

At the final party it was great because I had so many fans come up to me asking for photos or drawings – even a delegation from Iran. Apparently I'm pretty popular with the kids there – probably not so much with Ayatollah Khomeini. Unfortunately back in New York I walk the streets in complete anonymity, but maybe that's a good thing in New York.

Annecy Part Un

Opening - Peter de Seve and John Musker


Cow Premier Bow

Its been 50 years since the 1st Annecy animation festival gathering in 1960. Apparently it was a small affair: 50 people congregated to watch animation and party. This year being a big anniversary year they asked some of the biggest names in the business (John Musker, Nick Park, Peter Lord, Joanna Quinn, Ed Nazarov, Alexei Alexeev, Matt Groening, David Silverman, Michel Ocelot, Peter de Seve, Raoul Servais, Marv Newland, Paul Driessen, Bruno Bozzetto, Sylvain Chomet, and me) to help celebrate. They put us all up in the fancy Palais de Menthon on the other side of the lake. It's right on the beautiful lac d'Annecy so every morning I got to take a refreshing swim in the crystal-clear waters.
The opening night started off with a bang with Sylvain Chomet's “The Illusionist”, taken from an unfilmed Jacques Tati screenplay. The film took 5 years to make. Even though I loved the art and the beautiful animation I felt that the story was kinda weak. There was no conflict or tension and very little humor for a Tati story. It will probably do well in France due to the personalities involved but I can't see American audiences going for it.
Another film screening there was “Dispicable Me” by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud. Its much more of a kid's film and the audience gave it a standing “O”. It had great 3D effects and very great humor.
The organizers produced an exhibition in the old castle illustrating the history of the festival and also a book of 50 years of the festival. I did a signing along with 5 others which included David Silverman, Paul Servais, George Swisgabel, and Alexei Alexeev. Then we visited the Dutch party at the Cafe des Artiste where I got to sit down and chat with Jimmy Murakami and John Coates: 2 guys responsible for “Yellow Submarine.” What great stories they told! I asked them why King Features only gave the studio 11 months to make the film, which is unheard of in animation. Apparently they were afraid that the Beatles would fade away into obscurity by then. Stupid King Features!

Bruno Bozzetto


Rom Clements and Peter de Seve

Toy Story 3

The folks at Pixar are brilliant and Toy Story 3 proves it! What an amazing film. It certainly doesn't have the visual style and punch of “How to Train Your Dragon” by Dreamworks, but it has some of the best storytelling I've ever seen.
One of the things I like about a Frank Copra film is how he's able to bring in numerous characters and each one is detailed and fascinating. Look at “It's a Wonderful Life.” There must be 10 or 15 secondary characters and they're as memorable and important as the lead actors. How does he do that? What's his secret? Well, “Toy Story 3” has some of that same magic. All the minor characters have a very complex puzzle where all the little pieces fit together perfectly. And only because they fit so perfectly does the whole picture have such a powerful impact. Some of my favorites are Ken and Barbie, the crazed monkey guard, the teddy bear ringleader, and the disturbed, abused baby doll.
By now the film has been released and is making billions of dollars. But its the first time that a threequel has surpassed the previous films. Of course its a great film for other reasons: the music, the look, the acting. So tell your friends to go out and see “Toy Story 3.” You won't regret it.

7 Lessons from David Brown - Part 4 of 4

As a long time fan of producer David Brown's films “The Player,” “Jaws” and “A Few Good Men,” I was happy to read his “Lessons From a Life in Showbiz” in Variety magazine. I've had this clipping over my drawing board for 6 years now.
Since he recently died at age 93, I feel its appropriate to pass on these pearls of wisdom. I myself have only been in showbiz 25 years, a small fraction compared to David Brown, yet I agree 100% with all of his lessons.
There are 28 lessons all together, but that's too many to digest in one blog so I've broken them up into 4 parts, thus:

7 Lessons From David Brown, part 4 of 4

22.Not returning phone calls is the sign of a loser. It's always easier to get the CEO or boss of a studio than an underling. That's why they're underlings.
23. You're only as good as your last picture – depending on how long ago your last picture was.
24. Those entrusted with green lighting pictures should become involved with the process at the beginning instead of at the end. This would save scads of money spent by development executives with only the power to say no. In films as well as in television, it is ludicrous for the decision makers to sanction this waste.
25. No matter how successful you are as a producer you're always Willy Loman begging for your next gig.
26. Irving Berlin said, “The trouble with success is that you have to keep being successful.” How tragically true.

27. Actresses (and actors) are smarter than most executives. I don't know why that is, but it is.
28. The best advice I've heard for those of us in this narcissistic business (of entertainment) was from movie star Barbara Stanwyck, as quoted in William Safire and Leonard Safir's book, “Good Advice.” “Know when your time is up,” counseled Barbara. “It's the only advice I have. Hell, I knew 25 years ago it wasn't going to last. Sooner or later, the demand won't be there, and you'd better get ready for it. Get ready for the dream to fade. So I'm no longer in demand, but so what? I've had my time, and it was lovely. And I'm very grateful for it. But now I move over and make room for somebody else. What the hell. Whatever I had, it worked, didn't it?”

7 Lessons from David Brown - Part 3 of 4

As a long time fan of producer David Brown's films “The Player,” “Jaws” and “A Few Good Men,” I was happy to read his “Lessons From a Life in Showbiz” in Variety magazine. I've had this clipping over my drawing board for 6 years now.
Since he recently died at age 93, I feel its appropriate to pass on these pearls of wisdom. I myself have only been in showbiz 25 years, a small fraction compared to David Brown, yet I agree 100% with all of his lessons.
There are 28 lessons all together, but that's too many to digest in one blog so I've broken them up into 4 parts, thus:

7 Lessons From David Brown, part 3 of 4

15.Women are better judges of scripts than me, and 12-year-olds know more about casting.
16. The worst preview audiences are your friends and relatives. Don't invite them.
17. Fame and fortune are temporary and in time will go. Stars and tycoons eventually will be forgotten. The only legacy is your care and love for your fellow man (and woman). Remember Winchell's line, “Be nice to those you meet on the way up – they're the same ones you meet on the way down.” He wasn't – and discovered the truth of his utterance.
18.Scripts with camera angles and verbose stage directions are the signs of an amateur.
19. Booze isn't bad – in moderation. Smoking – even in moderation – is. Water is boring. When health clubs took the place of bars, the quality of movies suffered. So sue me.
20.Meetings are the bane of the business, along with voice mail. Between meetings and dailies, it's almost impossible to communicate on a personal level with studios. Nothing is decided except in person. Finding or hearing a live human being is all but impossible.
21. Never entrust a business manager with your discretionary power. Anyone who makes creative decisions can decide about his investments. It's easier. How you handle your money can be fun.

7 Lessons from David Brown - Part 2 of 4

As a long time fan of producer David Brown's films “The Player,” “Jaws” and “A Few Good Men,” I was happy to read his “Lessons From a Life in Showbiz” in Variety magazine. I've had this clipping over my drawing board for 6 years now.
Since he recently died at age 93, I feel its appropriate to pass on these pearls of wisdom. I myself have only been in showbiz 25 years, a small fraction compared to David Brown, yet I agree 100% with all of his lessons.
There are 28 lessons all together, but that's too many to digest in one blog so I've broken them up into 4 parts, thus:

7 Lessons From David Brown, part 2 of 4

8.Never be mean, chintzy and ugly to your secretary or she'll write a book.
9.Verbal pitches rarely make it to the screen and are frequently forgotten in the passage.
10.Nobody but the filmmakers can be trusted to form a valid opinion of a film by seeing a rough cut or reading a script. Especially marketing people. Show them the finished movie only and even then, their opinion is suspect.
11. Enthusiasm is the fuel of show business, especially unwarranted enthusiasm. Without it you can't go to work in the morning.
12.The larger number of executives in a production department, the poorer their movie. Bureaucracy dilutes the creative process – and slows decision making to a pathetic trickle.
13.This is from Darryl F. Zanuck. Interesting subject matter of a movie is more important than brilliant execution. I'd rather have a fair script on a provocative subject than a brilliant one about the sex life of an earthworm. I've had both.
14.Being a waiter, book salesman or a dealer in a casino is better preparation for a producing career than four years in film school. The best producers often are rogues and super salesmen.

"Masks" premiere this Friday!

So there's a reason why I've been so lame on posting, I've been working really hard ever since I returned from Singapore last month to finish up my latest animated short "Masks." Generally speaking I'm trying to stay away from self promotion on this blog, but I wanted to let anyone who is interested know about the show this Friday at 92Y in Tribeca. Began as an audio experiment with recording artist Karl von Kries, "Masks" illustrates modern exploitation, production and consumption in animated terms. I insisted that the audio come first, thus all images exist to tell the musical story, instead of the typical method of scoring music after animation has been completed. In this manner, "Masks" projects itself as a musical interpretation, a contemporary and disturbing version of the Disney formula of "Fantasia". Me and Karl have collaborated in the past on my films "Drink" and "Delivery".
Please try to make it friday, I encourage you to buy tix ahead of time since it's a pretty small theater and may sell out.

Hope to see you there!

The National Cartoonist Society Convention

As you all may be aware, I started out my professional career as a cartoonist – political, caricature, strips and gags. Even though my boyhood dream was to make animation, it was the print cartoons that really influenced my animated cartoons. My style and sense of humor was all there in my magazine and newspaper artwork, so when I got the opportunity to appear at the annual NCS (National Cartoonist Society) meeting, I said yes.

It was over the Memorial Day weekend at the beautiful Hyatt hotel in fast-growing Jersey City, NJ. They put us up in a wonderful Hudson River view apartment, and the genius caricature artist, Steve Brodner, introduced me. He was the guy that influenced me to leave caricature and go into animation; I couldn't compete with him. I had about 150 cartoonists from all over the country at my show. After, we got a great dinner and party overlooking the magnificent New York skyline. I was able to meet a lot of great friends. Mo Willems, who I've known for 20 years, was there. He's now a major kids' book creator. Also Sam Viviano (MAD Art Director) who was a member of the legendary “Benday and the Zipatones” cartoonist band back in the 80's, with such cartoonists such as Lou Brooks, Elwood Smith, Mark Stamaty, and myself. Then my old friend Patrick McDonnell (Mutts) introduced me to Sandra Boynton of the Hippo greeting card fame.

Me and famous New Yorker Cartoonist George Booth

Me, Sandra Boynton, Patrick McDonnell of Mutts fame and wife Karen

Me and Mo Willems - childrens book creator extraordinaire

Me and Jerry Robinson - DC Comic's "Batman"

The next day I got to meet the great George Booth. During his wonderful show he talked about his early years as the New Yorker's hottest cartoonist. You you may know, as the newspapers and magazines are dwindling, it's a very challenging time for cartoonists, and I believe I opened their horizons with my discussion of my transfer from cartoonist to animator. I do believe there are a lot of wonderful opportunities in animation now – especially if you're a good humor writer or drawer, and I hope their talented kids can take advantage of crises.