Daily post 14 Nov 2008 08:58 am
Things & Things
- Next week there are a couple of animation events to look forward to.
- Sita Sings The Blues will show at MOMA on Thursday and Saturday upcoming. The film is better than any of those eligible for Oscar nomination this year (but for some reason is not on the list.)
The film won the top prize for animated feature at Annecy this year. It was written, directed, and animated by Nina Paley. Using Indonesian shadow puppets, torch songs of 1920s and the finest use of Flash animation on record, the film sparkles. If you haven’t seen it, go.
Nov. 20, Thursday: 6pm
Nov. 22, Saturday: 3pm
- Don Hertzfeldt will be in town next Wednesday, November 19, accompanying several showings of his films at the IFC Center (323 Sixth Avenue). The two scheduled shows have already sold out, but a third, late show, may be added. If so, tickets will go on sale soon. His new film, I Am So Proud of You, will debut with this package of shorts.
- Speaking of films eligible for Oscar consideration, here’s the list of those submitted and eligible:
Bolt – DisneyDelgo – Fathom Studios
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! – 20th Century Fox/Blue Sky
Dragon Hunters – Futurikon/Peace Arch
Fly Me to the Moon – Summit Ent./nWave
Igor – MGM/ Weinstein Co./Exodus
Kung Fu Panda – DreamWorks Animation
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa – DreamWorks Animation
$9.99 – Regent Releasing
The Sky Crawlers – Production IG./Nippon/Sony Pictures Classics
Sword of the Stranger (Stranger Mukoh Hadan) – Shochiku/Bones/Bandai
The Tale of Despereaux – Universal
WALL-E – Disney/Pixar
Waltz with Bashir – Sony Pictures Classics
It’s a tough choice, and I suppose I’d probably go with $9.99 just for its being independent and individual. Of the studio films, Horton Hears a Who looks the best to me, despite Jim Carrey. It’s going to be a case of closing my eyes, holding my nose and throwing a dart. I don’t even WANT to watch some of these, nevermind vote for them. But I will, and I’ll pick what I think is the best of the lot. (For what it’s worth.)
- A site that keeps getting better is Ben Price‘s blog. A lot of news seems to show up there before I see it elsewhere. Much of it comes directly out of Variety, but it’s hard to find it at times.
Yesterday alone he offered a new poster for Coraline – this looks like a feature worth seeing – , a piece about Linda Woolverton and her WGA Award, the studio Image Metrics, Christmas dvds, Ridley Scott, Emru Townsend, a Wizard of Oz cgi feature directed by John Boorman, and more.
It’s a read, an informative one. This is a blog worth watching.
on 14 Nov 2008 at 1:44 pm 1.Emmett Goodman said …
That’s a lot of stuff. SITA is showing on my birthday, and I already have my ticket to see Don Hertzfeldt. According to Jerry Beck on Cartoon Brew, if just one more film was submitted (making the total 15), 5 animated features could be nominated instead of only three. I am hoping either WALTZ WITH BASHIR or 9.99 get nominated, simply because it will gain some more credibility for non-commercial animated features.
As for Nina Paley, she is going through some harrowing troubles with copyrights. It is preventing her from getting SITA distributed, which is possibly why it wasn’t submitted to the academy. Miss Paley needs all the help she needs in securing funding and getting her film out there, and conquering this betrayal of copyright laws she is facing.