Michael Sporn Animation – Splog

The critics are starting to hand out their awards now. Animated Feature has gone in two different directions. As of today:

- Persepolis was named Best Animated Feature yesterday by the NY Film Critics Circle.
- Ratatouille was named Best Animated Feature by the D.C. Film Critics and by the
__National Board of Review.
__The Boston Film Critics don’t have an award for animation (they will next year) but __gave a Best Screenplay award to Brad Bird for the animated feature.
- The LA Film Critics Assn. couldn’t make up their mind. They gave a tie to both films.

Sunday was one of those nightmare days for travelling the subway system in New York. One panhandler was followed by another with nary a break in between. Give me money because I’m sick; give me money to help the poor; give me money to buy my expensive M&Ms. The saxophone guy was followed by the drummer was followed by the gymnasts who smashed into everyone.

On the way home, the train took more than 20 minutes to get into Grand Central Station. For the entire time, the Chinese guy played his one-stringed instrument with depressing, atonal, Asian-sounding music. All the while an older woman sobbed loudly and unremittingly into a stanchion. Numbers of people kept approaching her to see if they could help, but she continuously turned them away. When the train arrived she sat down, continued to cry for half a stop, then perked up. I guess she just had to escape the Asian music and get a seat.

Fortunately, the rest of that rainy evening was better for me. A party for The Kite Runner brought out a lot of the news stars in NY: Pete Hamill, Carl Bernstein et al. It was fun for a short bit. I took a taxi home to avoid public transportation this time.

The Rockefeller Center Tree helped perk up the night;
this was our view from the Kite Runner party.

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