Commentary 14 Aug 2009 07:04 am
Bits
- When in doubt work it out in court.
A 14 year old boy, Coleman Hickey, in 2007, made a stop-motion animated music video to the song “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight,†by Spinal Tap. The film featured a cast completely made of Lego pieces. This includes a large audience of Lego characters, all animated.
The piece became an overnight sensation on YouTube. Among those that enjoyed the video were members of Spinal Tap who showed the video during their recent “Unwigged and Unplugged†tour. A concert DVD of the tour is in the works, and the video was to have been included, but the Lego people decided to throw an injunction against them. Rather than fight, Spinal Tap has decided to give in and excise the video from the DVD. They don’t have the money to fight the case, even though they’re sure they would probably win in court. This was all featured in an article in the NYTimes on Thursday.
This action comes on the back of the recent announcement in The Hollywood Reporter that the producer, Dan Lin, maker of Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, has acquired rights to Lego products to make a live action/cgi animated feature “a movie set in the world of Lego that centers on the subject of childlike imaginations and examines themes of creativity and teamwork in the manner of ‘Toy Story.’†Lego said yes to this offer because it and the producers shared a similiar vision that includes “a fun factor, creativity and that imagination has no boundaries,” Lin told Daily Variety.
They’re not even using actual Lego products to make the film (as Coleman Hickey had done, successfully). This goes to show that justice is not always kind in the real world. Producing hacks can pay for the rights to a children’s toy, but children aren’t allowed to play. This is tantamount to the current rash of car commercials on tv that feature cg drawn cars substituting for the real thing. It’s getting annoying. Another victory for cg filmmaking.
- I’m not sure if the above story is any more newsworthy than the one that appeared in yesterday’s Daily News. In a Playboy inteverview Seth McFarlane reveals some insights about his characters. Apparently, Stewie is gay. (Some of us may have guessed.) McFarlane says: “. . . we decided it’s better to keep it vague, which makes more sense because he’s a 1-year-old. Ultimately, Stewie will be gay or a very unhappy repressed heterosexual. It also explains why he’s so hellbent on killing [his mother, Lois] and taking over the world: He has a lot of aggression, which comes from confusion and uncertainty about his orientation.” (Excuse me, did you say he wants to kill his mother because he’s GAY ?
He also reveals, in this interview, that Stewie’s mother, Lois, finds out during the upcoming season that she’s not the Protestant she thought she was; she’s actually Jewish. (No wonder she speaks the way she does!)
The Family Guy has to be one of the ugliest animated shows ever on TV, but the jokes and the stories are often well done. I particularly like the overlong segments wherein the characters barely move yet have these inane commentaries. The show is currently nominated for an EMMY as Best Comedy Show on television. This is a feat that The Simpson‘s fought to win years ago, but they didn’t succeed. Of course, it’s doubtful that the show will win, but it’s got to be “an honor just to have been nominated.”
- The Sundance Channel is introducing a new series. Animation Bizarro is a collection of short new animated films (all Canadian) which can be viewed online at the Sundance Channel site. Animation Bizarro collection demonstrates a variety of styles: cel, paper cut outs, stop motion and CGI. It also touches on a variety of moods (funny, ironic and sardonic).
While visiting the site, I noticed that Bill Plympton’s Guard Dog was scheduled to run last night at 9:50. Too bad I wasn’t home to see it again. I assume it’ll have other air times in the month.
- Manohla Dargis is quickly becoming my favorite reviewer. Her review in today’s NYTimes of Ponyo brilliantly captures the feel of Miyazaki in her opening lines. The respect to this filmmaker and the appreciation of his poetry seems to be in all of the reviews I’ve read today. From the very short Daily News review to the graceful review in the Times, they’re all enormously positive. However, Tasha Robinson in The Onion seems to have best captured the film I expect to see this weekend.
Tasha Robinson/The Onion:
“It’s aimed at particularly young audiences—in the Miyazaki oeuvre, it’s much closer to My Neighbor Totoro than Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke—and it barely has conflict, let alone a sense of menace or threat. It’s essentially a stroll through a fantastically detailed pastel world, in which the plot is little more than an excuse for Miyazaki to dive into a world teeming with colorful (and sometimes prehistoric) life.
. . . the story operates on a fluid dream-logic, or the storytelling logic of a very small child: Events melt into each other without urgency, and a simple act like making and drinking tea is treated with the same complacent, wondrous gravity as magic that calls wave-monsters into being. Even so, older kids and even adults are unlikely to get bored, thanks to the story’s unforced sweetness, giddy highs, and stunningly beautiful visuals. Even in the unspoiled Devonian, real life never looked this good.”
Manohla Dargis/NYTimes:
“As in the original Andersen fairy tale, which turns on a mermaid who dies because she falls in love with a landlocked prince, humanity has its costs. Not to worry: no one dies in “Ponyo†or even coughs. Its sting is so gentle you might miss it. But when the ocean rises in this wonderful movie, each leaping wave stares out at us with a baleful eye as if in watchful and worried wait. ”
Lou Leminick/NYPost:
“This exquisite pastel-colored, eye-popping example of hand-drawn animation is still very Japanese, aimed most specifically at children around the world — but with a storytelling sophistication that adults will savor.”
Joe Neumaier/NYDaily News:
“For all the magic of the Pixar era, the poetry of beautiful hand-drawn animation never wavers. When not done assembly line-style, it can still be transporting, and “Ponyo” — from Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away,” “Howl’s Moving Castle”), known as the Japanese Walt Disney — is exactly that.”
on 14 Aug 2009 at 10:35 am 1.Mark Mayerson said …
The Lego people are fools but that seems to be a prerequisite for working in the corporate world. Why else is the world full of corporations who turn down free publicity and alienate their customers?
on 14 Aug 2009 at 12:18 pm 2.richard o'connor said …
Not to defend the fools too strongly, but there are greater legalities that come into play when Spinal Tap released the work on DVD.
1) They’ve already contracted with a producer for film exploitation of their product. This is most likely exclusive and they are bound to act.
2) Under copyright/trademark law they must pursue all unauthorized uses of their product in order to retain rights.
I say without any value judgment as to whether they are “good” or “bad” for doing it. They are simply following the law.
on 14 Aug 2009 at 2:33 pm 3.daniel thomas macinnes said …
Kenneth Turan’s review of Ponyo in the LA Times (fantastic site redesign btw!) is quite excellent. I always enjoy listening to his movie reviews on Minnesota Public Radio, as he is one of our nation’s smartest movie critics.
Here is his opening paragraph, which should be cut and pasted everywhere and shared with everybody you know:
“You’ll be planning to see “Ponyo” twice before you’ve finished seeing it once. Five minutes into this magical film you’ll be making lists of the individuals of every age you can expose to the very special mixture of fantasy and folklore, adventure and affection, that make up the enchanted vision of Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki.”
on 14 Aug 2009 at 5:47 pm 4.Thad said …
but the jokes and the stories are often well done. I particularly like the overlong segments wherein the characters barely move yet have these inane commentaries.
I just spit up in my mouth a little.