Mark Osborne

I first met the great animator Mark Osborne at a dinner party, held at animation impresario Ron Diamond's house about 20 years ago. We got to talking and became good friends. 

Ever since I saw his Oscar-nominated film "More" from 1998, I've been a fan of Mark's work.  I also loved "Kung Fu Panda", which he directed in 2008 with John Stevenson for DreamWorks and Jeffrey Katzenberg.  And of course, his most recent success was "The Little Prince" in 2015, one of the most beautiful films I've seen. 

After he moved from Paris to New York, we reconnected at an Academy screening and now he lives in the beautiful Hudson Valley.  I saw him at a recent screening and invited myself up to his country estate. 

It was wonderful to just relax and talk about his career and all the Hollywood people he knows.  What was particularly interesting was that he gave me the secret tips on how to pitch to the studios.  And I'm not going to give them away here - because now I'm going to start pitching to the Hollywood executives and I need every edge I can get. 

So, if you get a chance, check out Mark's films, especially "More", which is an undiscovered gem. 

Now I'm off to San Diego this week - so my next blog will be filled with all sorts of cartoon news and gossip, along with a report on our big "Revengeance" screening , and photos of the famous people and beautiful cosplayers who came to our booth...

See ya,

Bill P.