SpornFilms 10 Nov 2007 08:54 am
An opening and Thanks Part II
Program I: Last night, Friday, was the start of the MOMA series. Heidi Stallings, Matt Clinton and I met up with Josh Siegel of the Museum in the lobby. Heidi and Matt left to grab seats while Josh and I stood in the rear waiting for the start. He’d introduce me and I’d said hello. We also decided that I answer a Q&A at the end.
The audience was close to full – I saw a few empty seats. From the animation community I saw a handful of people (at least, of those I knew). They were all people who had worked with me in getting the films made. Masako Kanayama, Ray Kosarin, Patty Stren, John Canemaker. This sort of pleased me in that there was a big audience of people who didn’t know me or the films. They were interested.
After the opening pleasantries, the show started with Mona Mon Amour. This is a film that I always thought was funny. But in the few screenings I’ve seen of it, the audience of animators didn’t even sound like they were even smiling. It always confused me. Well, this screening got big laughs. It really made me perk up. I’m glad Patty and here husband were there to hear them laugh with her film. Champagne was politely quiet, as the audience stayed involved in this difficult film. It’s always been a tad heavyhanded for me, and it was so again last night. The Man Who Walked Between The Towers was the best received. The audience was completely into it. They laughed when they should have, and gasped when I didn’t realize it was coming. Lyle Lyle Crocodile looked beautiful. The music score seemed a touch loud, but it worked well with the stereo screening. How off character the characters are for so much of the film, but it somehow works. The film was pleasant to see again. The Little Match Girl was a completely different film than the one I remembered. It’s a long story, but the film went through a long hard making, and I removed myself from it after completing it in 1990. Many of the voices were those of animators, and it was great hearing them again. Theresa Smythe did an absolutely brilliant job as Angela, and she got a lot of laughs. The film moved slowly for me and was the most problematic, but it looked great, and I was glad to have seen it again.
The Q&A afterward was about 15 mins. long and the audience asked good questions. One woman asked if creativity had changed over the 26 years in the history of my studio. I answered that the creativity came from within me and the people who worked with me, so it hadn’t really changed because of time but had because of influences and finances.
All in all it was a great evening for me. I had a lot of fun. A fine start.
Program II:Fables at the Museum of Modern Art will be screened today at 3:30PM and tomorrow at 2:45. The films to be screened include: Doctor DeSoto, Abel’s Island, The Red Shoes and The Hunting of the Snark.
Abel witnesses the first thaw of the season in Abel’s Island.
I’d like to take this moment to thank all the artists who were involved in the production of these films. I couldn’t have made these films as beautifully without their help. They include:
__________Isabella Bannerman ______Betsy Bauer ______Gary Becker
__________Charlotte Booth__________Laura Bryson______Mark Bykov
__________Diana Sara Cherkas______Devon Collins______Doug Compton
__________Lisa Crafts______________Tim Curry________ Arthur Custer
__________Tissa David_____________Ossie Davis_______ John R. Dilworth
__________Steven Dovas___________Daniel Esterman___ Madeline Fan
__________Wolf Ferro______________Maxine Fisher______Kathryn Gradner
__________Simi Gulati_____________ Kit Hawkins_______ Matthew Jacobson
__________Lionel Jeffries___________James Earl Jones___ Perry Kiefer
__________Carol Kilbanks__________Sophie Kittredge____Ray Kosarin
__________Terry Waxman Koshel____Sono Kuwayama____Stephen MacQuignon
__________Robert Marianetti________Mark Mayerson_____George McClements
__________Jason McDonald_________Giuliana Nicodemi___Christine O’Neill
__________Edwin O’Neill___________ Gregory Perler_____.Thomas Repasky
__________Caleb Sampson_________Morton Schindel_____Elizabeth Seidman
__________Theresa Smythe________ Heidi Stallings______William Steig
__________Bridget Thorne__________Mary Thorne_______ Ernest Troost
__________Larry White____________Michael Wisniewski
The crew listens to the Bellman speak in The Hunting of the Snark.
A dance in the deep dark woods with non-stop dancing red shoes.
___=(Click any image to enlarge.)
Program III: A Peaceable Kingdom will screen today at 5:30 and tomorrow at 4:45. I’ll focus on it tomorrow.
on 10 Nov 2007 at 1:05 pm 1.Rudy Agresta said …
Hi Michael,
Just want to say thanks for posting these beautiful pieces of artwork from your films. They are absolutely exquisite and are brimming with life. They are even more so after enlarging them. Such refreshing visuals in an industry that unfortunately has elevated the computer to the status of a vintage Blackwing pencil!
Rudy
on 11 Nov 2007 at 12:04 am 2.Pete Emslie said …
Michael, it’s so refreshing to hear an animator/filmmaker speak critically and candidly of his work, especially in context of an audience’s reaction to it. I’ve only seen “The Man Who Walked Between the Towers” from viewing it on your site, but I must say I found it visually enchanting and bittersweet. I’ve looked at the clips from your other films too, and even if not every one of them are completely to my taste in terms of visual design, I am grateful just to see an artist having the courage of his convictions to be true to his artistic principles. I wish I was there in New York to take in the showings. I think I’d like most of your films very much. I’m also amazed at how many you’ve produced over the years!