Idiots' Diary #8

I'm now moving into Phase II of my brilliant military campaign to spread the word about my animated feature film premier in NY and LA. This week, I've called up all my writer friends and press associates who have contacts with the media.

I'm trying to impress them with the gravity of the situation: I've spent a lot of time and money on this film, “Idiots & Angels”, and if it is a flop in NYC and LA, then it won't screen in theaters across America, I won't get a big DVD release, it won't get big TV sales, and then I'm broke.

So I need a big crowd for my openings. I want a line outside stretching around the block. I want a mob outside that's so excited about my film they break the doors down. I need 3 squadrons of riot police with barricades for crowd control. I want every animation fan, every Plympton fan, and everyone who loves movies pushing to get in to see my film. I want to see mobs of people; a Barnum & Bailey Circus with fire eaters, naked hairy ladies, giant elephants, and 3-ring circuses. I want to see a recreation of Woodstock with Jimi Hendrix, risen from the dead, playing the theme from “Idiots & Angels” and Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison harmonizing in a duet to I&A music. I want a crowd so big they have to shut down the NY thruway, the IFC Cinema becomes the 2^nd largest city in NY state and they're all buying tickets to see my film.

That's what I want. Is that so much to ask for?

Well, only you can make my dream come true! Yes, you! Tell all your friends about the film. Hell, bring your friends to the opening. It'll be a blast; I'll be there. There will be prizes, free Bill Plympton drawings, you name it! I'll see you there.

Lovingly,

Bill P

Bakshi Posters..

The Vaughn Bodé inspired movie poster for Bakshi's "Wizards"(1977) is a centrally composed masterpiece! I picked this non-repro bad boy up on Ebay for 20 dollars. Granted, the movie leaves a bit to be desired for the non-bakshi fan (I myself think it's brilliant). I'm not entirely sure about the Bode inspiration, to me it just seems obvious, perhaps one of our readers can chime in on that. I also have two drawings from the movie, one of the assassin, Necron 99, and one of the wizard Avatar lightin' up.In Contrast, I think the poster for "Cool World" is possibly one of the worst of all time. I got this one from Bakshi himself, but I was a little confused about how he "numbered" it with his signature.. I mean, there must have been thousands of these printed. hmmm. anyway, I'm actually one of the few people who liked "Cool World", my ridicule stops with the poster.

"Zombieland" and "Ugly Americans"

I want to give you 2 reviews of films I've just seen.

The 1^st is “Zombieland”. I missed it when it was in the cinemas because it didn't sound like something I'd enjoy, but then people kept telling me how funny it was. Then, I saw the clip where Woody Harrelson plays the banjo solo from “Deliverance” and proceeds to lop off a charging overweight zombie's head with it. I was hooked! By then, though, the film has left the cinemas. So just last night I got the Netflix copy and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, I saw a number of similarities to “Zombieland” and the bloodiest film I've every made, “I Married A Strange Person.” I give “Zombieland” a score of 9 out of 10.

The other film, or actually, TV Show I saw that had a lot of similarities is called “Ugly Americans.” I believe it's on Adult Swim. It's an extreme look at New York City as if it's been repopulated by all sorts of mythical evil creatures (Werewolves, Zombies, Robots, Vampires and Devils) but it's played like they're very common-place and part of the the everyday fabric of Manhattan. That's what makes it so funny and yet so true to New York City life: everyone here in the Big Apple is so extreme.

The design by Aaron Augenblick is wonderful – it reminds me a bit like Charles Burns (which is a good thing). “Ugly Americans” now ranks up there with “Sponge Bob” as one of my favorite TV Shows – I give it an 8 out of 10.

Idiots' Diary #7

So things are going smoothly – I'm setting up a number of signings and showings in LA and NY. Then I'm talking on the phone to Tom Akel of MTV who's setting up a new animation web channel (he even wants to bring back Liquid Television) and wants to do some interviews and maybe show some of my shorts, when I get this panicked call from my NY press agent; the dynamo Phyllis Bishop.

Turns out another cinema is playing “Idiots and Angels” and IFC is very angry because they thought they had an exclusive run of the film in NYC. So I freak out because I don't want to alienate the IFC and I have no idea who else could be showing my film. I go online and discover that Cinema Village is opening “Idiots and Angels” on exactly the same weekend!

What happened was, I initially called Harris Dew at IFC in May about booking I&A because I have such a great history with the cinema; they showed “Hair High” there plus a lot of my shorts. They also hosted The Animation Show and, in April, Signe Baumann and I did a very successful “Battle of the Sexes Animation” there and it was a lot of fun. They attract a lot of animation fans.

So Harris never got back to me, and I became very worried that they didn't want to show my film. The deadline for the LA screening and the Academy qualification were slipping away. In a panic, I called my good friend Ed Arentz (who books the Cinema Village) and he said he'd like to look at the film for a possible run. I sent him a DVD and heard nothing. Oh my God, I'm screwed! It's July and I have no venue to show the film! The Film Forum is booked until the winter. I don't know how to contact Angelika or Sunshine Cinemas. I may have to show at The Anthology. Then, at the last minute, Harris Dew finally gets back to me and says he has a date! October 6^th - the perfect date since it's the same time as the NY Comic Con. I can promote there like gang busters.

Since Ed at Cinema Village never called me back I assumed he hated the film, but then there it was on the website! Now, I'm very happy he likes the film, but I just wish he had called me to let me know he booked it. It's always great to know your film is loved, but they put me in a very awkward position. Reluctantly, I called Ed up and asked him to remove the film from his website, and now Harris is happy with me and I can continue to hype the Oct. 6^th opening at IFC.

Thanks for reading my diaries.

Epic Sketchbook.. Colleen Cox.

Colleen Cox was a star student of mine last year at NYU, and her sketchbook always stood out. At it's best, a sketchbook is a daily journal, it's always good to develop the habit of using it as a place to observe, record, vent, anything. What I love about Colleens drawings is how she fuses raw observation with an impressive inked style and aesthetic. Raw, quick, streaming thoughts and images.btw.. You can watch her thesis film "Wrong Number Singapore" here, it's an animated real life phone conversation of two people speaking "singlish".. a form of english that they speak in Singapore.

911 painting by Graydon Parish..

Painting by Graydon Parrish, "The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001", in the New Britain (Connecticut) Museum of Art.

Fern Gully..

Bill Kroyers 1992 feature "Fern Gully" is a bit formulaic, also annoyingly on the nose, BUT, it has some FANTASTIC animation in it! One of my favorite characters of all time is the Hexxus (voiced by Tim Curry) when he is reborn with help of a bulldozers smoke stack. Enjoy geeks;)

Idiots' Diary #6

This week my goal is to compile a master contact list of friends, associates and acquaintances. Since the film “Idiots & Angels” is opening on the 6^th of October at the famous IFC Center in NY and on October 29^th at the Laemmle Sunset in LA, I need a groundswell and a firestorm of publicity. I want to get packed audiences; I have to have big long lines of people eager to see my new animated feature stretching around the blocks. I've sworn to do anything possible to pack the houses, as long as it's legal.

So I've gone back through my files and schedule books looking for people who'd want to come see the film. It's fortunate that for a long time I've been asking people I meet for cards or their phone numbers; I have quite a stack of addresses. The major problem being a lot of the people have moved or married or even died. The list is that old. That's where my trusted intern Endrich comes in – her first task is to go through my large stack of cards (bits of paper or even alcohol soaked bar napkins) and try to compile a mailing list.

Nothing pisses me off more that meeting friends after my film has finished its run and hearing them ask, “So when can I see your film?” I angrily say, “It's gone” and they naturally reply, “No one told me about it!” That's what I'm trying to avoid with the October publicity blitz. I don't have millions of bucks so I'm relying on the magic of the internet to help spread the word.

So again I plead: if you want to be on the Plymptoons mailing list or have friends who want to be on it please contact me at plymptoons@aol.com. Keep watching this site for more updates on the “Idiots' Diary.” Thanks for your support.

Epic Sketchbook: Liliana Teixeira

ok ok.. not sure if these are actually in her sketchbook or not, but her ink blot style screams out to me in a very sketchbook way, albeit an absurdly SUPER TIGHT sketchbook. Not sure what that means. Liliana Teixeira is a Portuguese graphic artist that works primarily with inks (digital perhaps), often having that finely knit fibrous quality that I love so much.. Bold lines packaged by thin strands that sculpt an overall shape. Dig it wussies.

Idiots' Diary #5

So now the craziness begins. I've got 2 hard dates for “Idiots & Angels”: Oct. 6^th at the IFC Center on 6^th Ave in NYC and Oct. 29^th at the Laemmle Sunset 5 in LA. So like Patton I'm devising a 2-prong attack. First, I'll invade NYC using low-cost but more personal forms of advertising: Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Skype. We can save a few bucks and then I'll turn my forces onto LA.

I called a meeting of my army to coordinate our strategy: Lindsey, Desiree, Endrich (our marketing intern), and Phyllis Bishop (our PR guru who helped with the Tribeca Film Festival press back in 2008). Another very important key to our mission is Alexia Anastasio; she's making a documentary about me (“Adventures in Plymptoons”) and is very proactive and knowledgeable about street PR. She couldn't be at the meeting but is an integral part of our PR campaign.

We all came up with ideas and methods to spread the word about “Idiots”. We also talked about articles in local publications and I showed them a 16-point list of article ideas that would be interesting to the average reader. If you, kind reader, know of any blogs or magazines that are looking for interviews please them contact me at plymptoons@aol.com.

Probably the most salient point being that I'm kind of a one man band vs. these big corporate mega studios. Here I am, a tiny 4-person studio trying to eek out an existence vs. 500-person studios with $200 million budgets.

And so the countdown to “I Day” (“Idiots & Angels” Day) begins.

OMG Johnny Rodriguez..

In my never ending quest to bring art to animators and filmmakers (cough- what geeks- cough) today I'm featuring artist Johnny Rodriquez, otherwise known as KMNDZ. He paints a lot of robots, which makes all the hipster animation geeks happy, but his content and technique are worth a glance beyond the simple Juxtapoz mag spread.It's no shock that he had/has a huge commercial career, his stuff is very appealing to agencies looking for an interesting look... but his personal stuff is what really resonates for me. There's a lot of "crossing over" type content, and there seems to be a loud voice of personality trying to break free, coupled with a sorrowful mystery and innocence.. even discovery(above).. which is always relative to all of our lives. Enjoy, and turn off your TV.... wussies. oh.. happy labor day ya barney's.

Saturday Inspiration: Joao Ruas

Joao Ruas needs little introduction, his primarily figurative paintings speak louder than anything I could write in form of praise. To say his content is interesting and his technique is quality would be massive understatements. One of the many elements of his work that stand out to me are his color choices.. for example above, the calculated use of red within a monochromatic piece, gives it life and mystery.. it doesn't let go of the viewer. Enjoy.. wussies.

New Studio..

A bit of a personal blog entry for today... After the premiere last June of "Masks" I spent my time building an animation/painting studio behind my house in Montauk, NY. I think that separation of church and state is key when it comes to your life and art.. and I didn't like my work stuff being in my living space. I now have a new respect for any type of builder, it is just so much more difficult than I could have imagined.. but.. it's pretty much done now. My highlights were figuring how to do the electric (i'm still so happy that the light came on when i flicked the switch the first time), learning how to frame ceilings and floors, hanging doors, insulation, etc... and finally creating special storage for the thousands of drawings that I have from my films.Above, I made a series of shelves out of scrap wood, and they came out pretty good.
New place above for my film prints, art supplies and sketchbooks. I built the place specifically to avoid humidity damaging artwork and film. Below, new home for one of my last "columns".

Moving in, above, I positioned my light table facing the wall, AWAY from looking at the water. We'll see if I can actually get any work done in this new place. later geeks.

Idiots' Diary #4

I've narrowed my list of available NYC indie cinemas to 2: IFC Center and Cinema Village. Both are quite good and have a history of showing animated films.

I've done a number of events at the IFC Center; they showed a bunch of my shorts before features. Also, I did a very successful Don Hertzfeldt and Bill Plympton show there as well as a special “Night with Bill Plympton” where I screened “Hair High” and bunch of my shorts. Just two months ago, Signe Baumann and I did an extremely successful “Animated Battle of the Sexes” show/competition there, too, so I have good memories of the theater.

Cinema Village has also been a big supporter of my films. My Sci-Fi film “Mutant Aliens” premiered there to a good crowd, and they've also screened a lot of my shorts with compilations such as “Tournes of Animation” and “The Animation Show” by Mike Judge and Don Hertzfeldt.

Both theaters seemed interested in “Idiots & Angels”, so I sent each booker a screener of the film plus the great reviews it got from Variety and The Village Voice. My plan, and I do have a plan, everybody should have a plan, is this: It plays to good reviews and crowds in NYC, then it opens in LA to ESPECIALLY good response. I will open the film with my brand new short “The Cow Who Wanted to be a Hamburger” and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be so blown away by my extreme talent and the wonderful box office that the film is reaping that they'll be forced to nominate both films for Oscars. Now how cool is that? I don't think it's ever been done in the history of the Academy, that the same person gets nominated for directing both a short and a feature film in the same year. If you know of anyone who has please let me know – I'd love to find out.

In my next installment, you will find out the cinema in NYC that is going to premier “Idiots & Angels” this fall.

Epic Sketchbook: Jessamyn Patterson

This EPIC SKETCHBOOK epic-sode is about Chicago based illustrator Jessamyn Patterson. There's something about the organic feel of her drawings that do it for me. It's like her world is made up of subtle strings of muscle, vines, and feathers. Sometimes adorned with odd objects. Enjoy. I can't get enough!