Order ASIFA-East’s First 12 Month Calendar of NYC Animation Legends!

ORDER YOUR VERY OWN ASIFA-EAST (full color) 12 MONTH WALL CALENDER NOW!

With original artwork by a who’s-who of NYC animation legends, this calender will delight and inspire you to have a very animated 2010! Featuring artwork from: Bill Plympton, John Dilworth, Michael Sporn, Mo Willems, Kristy Caracas, Candy Kugel, George Griffin, Emily Hubley, Debra Solomon, Signe Baumane, Jennifer Oxley, and Xeth Feinberg.

Your order counts as a charitable donation on your taxes and all proceeds go to ASIFA-East.
PS- Makes a great holiday gift! Hint! Hint!

Make checks payable to:
ASIFA-East

Amount of:
$13.00

Send checks to:
ASIFA-East c/o
David Levy
135 Ashland Place, Apt.7C
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Be sure to include a return address for us to mail the calender to.

An Evening with John R. Dilworth

Article by Emmett Goodman.

This wasn’t a typical ASIFA-East event. The only thing that made this seem like an ASIFA-East event was it took place in the SVA amphitheatre. This was more theatrical. More unpredictable. This was somewhere inside the mind of animator/director John R. Dilworth. Here, the ideas of silliness and anarchy couldn’t have been more realistic.

John R. Dilworth is one of my idols. I knew his name first before any other New York animator (due in no small part to watching Courage the Cowardly Dog as a kid). The style of that show is so unique and surreal. You can’t predict anything, unless you’ve seen a particular episode more than once. The day I first learned of ASIFA-East, I also learned that Dilworth is an independent animator. I was (and still am) hooked onto his style, his timing, and his ideas.

To start the evening off, Dave Levy reiterated a story from his first meeting with Dilworth. Dave remembered an early adventure right out of school. The details were a little mixed, but Dave recalled being very sad, and then he encountered Dilworth, who said something to cheer Dave up: “GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE!!!”

Linda Simensky, formerly of Cartoon Network, had to send her regards to Dilworth via a letter read by Elliot Cowan. In short, Elliot acted as Linda Semensky’s puppet. Fortunately, Dilworth didn’t give Elliot a hard time for it.

Finally, Dilworth took the mic and started off a DVD, telling his life’s story (or at least the parts we were only allowed to see). After a cute baby picture, Dilworth took us through his student thesis, Pierre. After explaining the short, he brought forth his “guru,” animator/proffessor Howard Beckerman. Howard re-told and justified the story Dave Levy told earlier, ending with “GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE!!!”

Up next was Michael Sporn, after Dilworth showed a fluffy clip from Lyle, Lyle Crocodile. Dilworth referred to the clip as “crocodile pedophilia,” which I guess didn’t come as a surprise to anyone else. Sporn told his story of when Lyle, Lyle Crocodile was made and when Dilworth worked for him. The story of when Sporn had two studios: the good (Sporn’s own studio with his own artists) and the bad (CBS studios). Dilworth went on to praise Sporn for the challenges he offered when they worked together.

Next up was Dilworth’s first opus, The Dirty Birdy. If it isn’t Courage, then it should be The Dirty Birdy that introduces one to John Dilworth. After showing the cartoon, Fred Siebert made his appearance, retelling his (and Cartoon Network’s) worries of turning The Dirty Birdy into a series. The series never happened, but Dilworth got his chance again eventually. Poor Seibert, by that point, had moved on and didn’t get the chance to be hounded by the Silly Dilly.

Now we get to Courage. Dilworth presented his Academy Award nominated short, The Chicken From Outer Space, which is always a good laugh. Straight away afterward was Noodles and Nedd, before which Dilworth’s musical collaborator, Jody Grey, gave a demonstration of the short’s musical cues. Then onto The Mousochist, a funny piece Dilworth insists was spur of the moment. Next up is another grand opus, Life In Transition, still a marvel to watch for its beautiful artistry. For the sake of time, Dilworth was convinced not to explain Life’s symbolism. He moved to The Return of Sergeant Pecker, an erotic and evil piece with spontaneous drawing. Dilworth finally admitted that he made this short, under the name Pierre Delarue, to avoid the ire of someone he made the short for.

And finally, we came to the premier of Dilworth’s new short, Rinky Dink. I knew right away it was going to be somewhat erotic, because the main character looks like a bullet, which signifies something naughty. The short has all of Dilworth’s hallmarks: a shocking love story, outrageous sound effects, mixed-media, and inappropriate shows of affection. RINKY DINK!

Dilworth ended the big screen with a collection of Courage screams from Courage the Cowardly Dog. After the clip ended, we got four big surprises.

First, Dilworth came from behind a chalkboard wearing his famous space-suit.

Second, Courage made a physical appearance.

Third, a big surprise with the appearance of actor Marty Grabstein, Courage’s voice actor. He offered his roast of Dilworth, and ended it with a loud Courage (-eous) scream. And everytime Courage screams, I can’t help but lip-sync to the scream as well.

Fourth, Dilworth invited a band to play. This band had an acoustic punk/bluegrass sound, and memorialized Courage with a song.

This evening was certainly very unique, and by far the best ASIFA-East event of the season. Everyone got to laugh, got souvenirs, got to meet Courage, got to watch Dilworth drink from a couple of flasks, and I think we were all reminded that animation knows no boundaries. Neither does Mr. Dilworth.

A great evening. We all love John R. Dilworth. Thank you for reading this.

NOW GET THE F**K OUT OF HERE!!!

NOTE from the Editor:  If you took pictures of this amazing event, please feel free to post them online in our ASIFA-East Flickr group:  http://www.flickr.com/groups/asifaeast/.  All members are invited to join.

ASIFA-East’s Evening of Calendars and Films

By Justin Simonich

What do PBS, NPR,  The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon and ASIFA-East all have in common? They all survive on donations in order to survive. Last week ASIFA-East held the first ever calendar fundraiser event featuring art from a number of NYC animation superstars.

On hand to sign the calendars and share their films were nine out of the twelve artists who contributed artwork. The audience was treated to a sneak peek of Bill Plimpton’s newest feature Cheatin.  Michael Sporn showed a couple of his favorite shorts while Debra Solomon shared a few songs from her newest film for HBO, Getting Over Him in Eight Songs or Less. Candy Kugel brought her award winning piece Command Z and George Griffin shared a film he made 30 years ago as a younger man. Jen Oxley screened a couple of her latest shorts made for Sesame Street and Xeth Feinberg showed a few of his latest Xethtoons. Emily Hubley played one of her classic films Octave and Signe Baumane showed a few of her lesser known Teat Beat of Sex shorts which are always uplifting. Mo Willems, who was not in attendance, sent along a sneak preview of his newest short Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus.

In addition to the featured artists, Dick Rauh (President of ASIFA-East from the late 1960s through 1989) was there to lend his support and didn’t know why we hadn’t thought to do a calendar before.

Having all that talent in one place at the same time made for a fantastic event. The animation veterans were able to catch up with each other while those newer to the field were able to meet and get advice from artists whose work they have admired for years.

If you missed the event, don’t worry, there is still time to pick up one of our ASIFA-East full-color calendars (SRP $10) and have Mr. October (John Dilworth) autograph it for you by attending our December 9th event. So come out and show your support for ASIFA-East by buying a calendar or two for everyone on your holiday list. All proceeds go to ASIFA-East and count as a charitable donation on your taxes.

Queens International Film Festival Founder subject of numerous fraud allegations

Following my lousy time at the Queens International Film Festival, it’s come to light, via news sources, that the founder, Marie Castaldo, is the subject of numerous fraud allegations, stemming from unpaid debts from Queens, to upstate NY, to California.  The Queens Chronicle has an in-depth look on the story. And last night, Fox 5 News Reporter, Arnold Diaz, ran a Shame on You segment.  A local councilman is calling for an investigation.  After my experience at the film festival, I can tell you that this festival is an embarrassment to the Queens arts community, and I feel horribly for all the unsuspecting filmmakers and crew involved, who appear to have been taken for a ride.  I will let the articles and Shame on You segment speak for themselves, but I think it’s important for you all to be aware of it.

ASIFA-East presents – An Evening with John Dilworth

December 8th, Tuesday  7pm

ASIFA-East presents – An Evening with John Dilworth

Join us for an unforgettable evening of films, conversation, and surprises, including the ASIFA-East premiere of Oscar-nominated filmmaker John R. Dilworth’s new short, “Rinky Dink.”

* ASIFA-East calendars will be on sale at the event ($10 each), as well as Dilworth merchandise.

SVA
School Of Visual Arts
209 East 23rd Street
(Bet. 2nd & 3rd Ave)
3rd Fl, Amphitheatre
NYC
www.schoolofvisualarts.edu

Ice Age: Dawn of The Dinosaurs: An Evening with Director Carlos Saldanha

According to Wikipedia, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs is “the second highest grossing animated film of all time with $874.5 million worldwide.”

Which also means, Ice Age 3 has bested every Pixar production at the box office.

Quite an achievement for director Carlos Saldanha, a 1993 School of Visual Arts graduate from Brazil, who began a career in computer programming before listening to the inner voice that would lead him to direct four high profile feature films(Robots, and all the Ice Age movies) for Blue Sky Studios.

In person Carlos is inspiring and talkative.  He spoke openly about his process, offering valuable insights to the many students in attendance, emphasizing focus and work ethic, two qualities he credits for his own successes.

I asked Carlos “What was the most important moment of your career?”

He immediately identified his first and only independent short, a thesis project for The School of Visual Arts, where he didn’t have to negotiate the many collabrative forces that typically accompany a big budget feature.  The short is his vision, pure and unadulterated.

Perhaps Carlos, at heart, is an independent filmmaker.

How can you not love this guy?

Unfortunately, I thought Ice Age 3 a terrible movie.

The action scenes were good, particularly the pterodactyl sequence, I enjoyed some of the character designs, Rudy’s in particular, and I thought the choices in color palette and camera shots excellent overall.

Yet the dialogue was only slightly more interesting than cats scratching on chalkboard, while the characters had about as much charisma as a dead mackerel.  I never laughed once.

For instance, Buck, a weasel/ferret deranged army vet character, jumps into frame and says:

“I’m about to go Buck Wild!”

No Buck, no.  Don’t say that.  Don’t.  Say.  That.

Yet the characters go on to perform many more mercilessly generic lines, gags, and expressions.  No talking beast was spared.  Even the movie itself never really had anything important to say.

Yet this film still made a tyrannosaurus sized footprint in the industry, such is the power of children’s entertainment, where quality is irrelevant to box office gross.

After all, Shrek 2 is the highest grossing animated film of all time.

Wish I didn’t know that.

But I do wish to see Saldanha attempt another personal project some day.  Focus and hard work may not guarantee a good film, but success cannot be had without them.

-John Lee http://darthfurby.com

Upcoming events in the NY area!

November 18th – April 26th

The Museum of Modern Art presents - Tim Burton Retrospective

This major career retrospective on Tim Burton, consisting of a gallery exhibition and a film series, considers Burton’s career as a director, producer, writer, and concept artist for live-action and animated films, along with his work as a fiction writer, photographer and illustrator.

Film exhibition: 11/18 – 4/26
Gallery exhibition: 11/22 – 4/26

MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
(bet. Fifth and Sixth Aves.)
NYC

www.moma.org

November 27th – 29th

Museum of the Moving Image presents - Thanksgiving Family Fun

The Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. during Thanksgiving weekend with hourly screenings of short animated films from Pixar, the most acclaimed animation studio of our time, and two different hands-on workshops for children

Screening: Short Films from Pixar
In Tut’s Fever Movie Palace
November 27-29
Daily at 11 a.m., 12, 1, 2, 3, and 4 p.m.
Pixar, the most acclaimed animation studio of our time, is best known for feature films including Toy Story, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and UP. These delightful short films from the studio’s catalog chart two decades of technological advances—and reveal the humor and personality that characterize Pixar’s work. Suitable for all ages.

Moving Pictures Workshop
November 27-29
Daily at 12 p.m.
45 mins. Children discover what makes moving images move and make their own Thaumatrope—a nineteenth-century optical toy—to take home. Ages 6-12. Materials fee: $5 per child / Free for Museum members. Space is limited; register when you arrive at the Museum.

Stop-Motion Animation Workshops
November 27-29
Daily at 1 and 3 p.m.
60 mins. Children make their own stop-motion animations and share them online. Click here to view a sample animation created by a workshop participant. $10 materials fee / $5 for Members. Space is limited. Register when you arrive at the Museum.

Museum of the Moving Image
35th Avenue at 36th Street, Astoria
(take the N or W subway)

www.movingimage.us

December 1st, Tuesday  6:00pm

The Paley Center for Media presents – Revisiting Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol

Join us for a screening of the first animated Christmas special, which premiered on NBC in 1962. With music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill, and the voices of Jim Backus, Jack Cassidy, Jane Kean and Morey Amsterdam, this 52-minute adaptation of Dickens—cleverly presented as a play within a play (with the nearsighted Magoo playing Scrooge on Broadway)—paved the way for a slew of animated holiday specials. Following the screening, a panel including animator Darrell Van Citters, author of a new book on Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol; and Judy Levitow, daughter of Magoo’s director Abe Levitow, will examine the making of the program and its place in television history. Jack Doulin, casting director of the New York Theatre Workshop, will moderate the conversation. In addition, surprise guests will be on-hand to ring in the holidays. Children ages 6 and up are welcome.

IN PERSON
Darrell Van Citters, Animator and Author, Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol: The Making of the First Animated Christmas Special
Judy Levitow, Daughter of Magoo Director Abe Levitow
Marie Matthews, Voice of “Young Scrooge”
Moderator: Jack Doulin, New York Theatre Workshop

Paley Center Members: $15
General Public: $20

The Paley Center for Media
25 West 52 Street
(bet. 5th & 6th)
NYC
www.paleycenter.org

December 5th & 6th

The Museum of Modern Art presents - Mad Monster Party

Part of the Film exhibition: Tim Burton and the Lurid Beauty of Monsters

With the voices of Boris Karloff, Phyllis Diller. This Rankin/Bass stop-motion-animated musical features a campy cavalcade of classic horror characters, including Dracula, the Mummy, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as they plot to gain control of Baron von Frankenstein’s secret weapon during a monster convention. The film’s pun-filled humor was an obvious influence on Tim Burton’s cartoon drawings of the early 1980s.

Saturday, December 5, 2009, 5:45 p.m.
Theater 1 (The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1), T1

Sunday, December 6, 2009, 5:30 p.m.
Theater 1 (The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater 1), T1

MoMA
The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
(bet. Fifth and Sixth Aves.)
NYC

www.moma.org

December 7th, Monday  5:00 & 7:40pm

Jacob Burns Film Center presents – Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone

Part of the Jacob Burns Film Center’s monthly series, The Wide World of Animation – exploring the limitless possibilities of art animation.

All that remains of Japan is a city under attack by giant creatures seeking to eradicate humankind—and it’s up to a lonely teenage boy to defend it. Anime audiences around the world rave about Hideaki Anno’s dazzling reworking of his Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997), with all the latest CGI bells and whistles. This action-packed, award-winning blockbuster is the first in his projected series of four.

The Jacob Burns Film Center
364 Manville Road
Pleasantville, NY
www.burnsfilmcenter.org

December 12th & 13th

Brooklyn Academy of Music presents - Sesame Street: A Celebration!

Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street with this weekend of films and clips from the beloved TV series. Co-programmed by Muppet historian and vice president of the Jim Henson legacy, Craig Shemin. This program is open to children of all ages.

BAM Rose Cinemas
Brooklyn Academy of Music
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
www.bam.org

December 12th & 13th

The Independent Film Center presents - Pom Poko

NYICFF is very excited to present this rarely screened gem from Japan’s famed Studio Ghibli (Ponyo, Spirited Away) by Ghibli co-head and master animator Isao Takahata. The forests are filled with groups of magical tanuki, mischievous raccoon-like animals from Japanese folklore that are capable of shape-shifting from their standard raccoon form to practically any object. They spend their idle days playing in the hillsides and squabbling over food, until the construction of a huge new Tokyo suburb clears the nearby forest and threatens to destroy their way of life. In an effort to defend their home, the tanuki learn to transform into humans and start playing tricks to make the workers think the construction site is haunted – ending in a spectacular night-time spirit parade, with thousands of ghosts, dragons and spirit creatures descending on the city.

Audiences will revel in Ghibli’s trademark brilliant animation, with its humorous and wondrously inventive characters and sumptuous hand-painted backgrounds given loving attention to detail. But what makes Pom Poko special is the depth of emotional expression – a joyous, playful comedy containing a heartfelt plea to stop human destruction lest the Earth’s animals, spirits, and magic become things of the past.

Sat, Dec 12 at: 11:00 AM
Sun, Dec 13 at: 11:00 AM

The IFC Center
323 Sixth Avenue
NYC
www.ifccenter.com

December 16th – 29th
The Film Forum presents - A Town Called Panic

Horse, Cowboy and Indian have a strange and wonderful ménage à trois. Animating generic plastic toys, these Belgian directors fashion an absurdist world that has plenty of room for friendship and love, birthday presents, online shopping, music lessons, and home improvements. Their francophone universe — recognizable to anyone who has ever been intimidated by a Parisian waiter — is filled with equal parts hilarity and anxiety. Horse is the most “mature” of the three and Cowboy and Indian are intent on winning his favor. Meanwhile, Horse — barely aware of their efforts — concentrates on wooing Madame Longray, the village’s sexy equine music teacher. This is animation for both adults and kids, in fact for anyone who has ever enjoyed the company of a plastic figurine on a rainy day. A TOWN CALLED PANIC is the only stop-motion animated feature to have been shown in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival.

Note: Occasional bad language in the subtitles, but otherwise entirely appropriate for children.

The Film Forum
209 W. Houston Street
Bet. 6th Ave and Varick(7th Ave)
NYC
www.filmforum.org
www.atowncalledpanic.com

December 19th & 20th

The Independent Film Center presents - Winter Wondershorts

The weather outside is frightful, but these shorts are so delightful! Experience all of the splendor and magnificence of winter without the chattering teeth and frostbitten fingers. Grab your friends, your family, and your hot cocoa and come curl up in front of the big screen as the New York Int’l Children’s Film Festival presents three beautiful animated short films celebrating snow, ice and all of winter’s exciting wonders!

The program includes:
LEON IN WINTERTIME – Animation, Canada, Pierre-Luc Granjon and Pascal Le Notre, 2007, 27 min
SPOT & SPLODGE IN SNOWSTORM – Animation, Sweden, Uzi Geffenblad and Lotta Geffenblad, 2008, 7.5 min
CHOO-CHA – Animation, Russia, Garry Bardin, 1997, 25 min

Sat, Dec 19 at: 11:00 AM
Sun, Dec 20 at: 11:00 AM

The IFC Center
323 Sixth Avenue
NYC
www.ifccenter.com