Part 1 of AWNtv’s fmx/09 interview with Magic Dumpling’s VP of Development Wen Feng and President Kevin Geiger, on the subject of Chinese animation, the global marketplace, and their upcoming animated feature film “Road to Home”.
The news last Friday was brief, but BIG: Dick Cook was “stepping down” as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. Mr. Cook officially stated:
I am stepping down from my role as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, effective immediately. I have loved every minute of my 38 years that I have worked at Disney… from the beginning as a ride operator on Disneyland’s steam train and monorail to my position as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. To wrap up my Disney experience in a neatly bundled statement is close to impossible. But what I will say is, during my time at the Studio, we have achieved many industry and Company milestones. Our talent roster is simply the best in the business. I believe our slate of upcoming motion pictures is the best in our history. But most of all, I love the people, my colleagues, my teammates, who are the most talented, dedicated and loyal folks in the world. I know that I leave the Studio in their exceptional hands. I have been contemplating this for some time now and feel it’s the right time for me to move on to new adventures…and in the words of one of my baseball heroes, Yogi Berra, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger’s short eulogy read:
Throughout his distinguished 38-year Disney career, Dick Cook’s outstanding creative instincts and incomparable showmanship have truly enriched this company and significantly impacted Disney’s great legacy. We thank Dick for his tremendous passion for Disney, and his many accomplishments and contributions to The Walt Disney Studios, including a very promising upcoming film slate. On behalf of everyone at Disney, we wish him the best with all the future has to offer.
Of course, everyone knows that there is always more to an abrupt corporate departure of this magnitude, and within days the “untold” stories began to surface in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. Google “Dick Cook”, and you can triangulate a fascinating story.
I had the pleasure of breaking bread with Mr. Cook a few years ago in the rotunda of the Team Disney building. As a CG supervisor with Walt Disney Feature Animation, I must admit to being pleasantly surprised that someone like Dick Cook would accept an unsolicited lunch invitation from a “below the line” frame jockey. But he was as down to earth as you can imagine: from his order of spare ribs and fries, to the candid expression of his concerns and hopes for The Walt Disney Company. Given the content of that conversation years ago, it was with sadness but no surprise that I read of his departure last week.
Time will tell what lies in store for Dick Cook and the company that he loved and served so well. “It’s just business” is a pervasive rationale in Hollywood, but for Dick Cook it never was “just” that.
Farewell, Captain Cook!
The days of theaters full of Poindexters are numbered as Alioscopy USA, a 3D visualization technology provider, will showcase autostereoscopic 3D content playing on a proprietary HD LCD display at IBC 2009 in Amsterdam, September 11-15, 2009.
Autostereoscopy is a technique for displaying three-dimensional images that can be viewed without glasses or other headgear. Depth perception is produced on a display using lenticular lenses or parallax barriers. The displays can have multiple viewing zones, allowing many users to watch the stereoscopic image at the same time. Other displays use eye tracking systems to automatically adjust the stereo pairs to follow viewers’ eyes as they move their heads. Although eyestrain and headaches are still a side effect of extended viewing exposure, the autostereoscopic market is taking flight - driven by the resurgence of stereoscopic films and the emerging stereoscopic broadcast market
A wide range of players are in the game with Alioscopy, including 3Dicon, Apple, Dimension Technologies, Fraunhofer HHI, Hitachi, Holografika , i-Art, Miracube, NewSight, Philips, SeeFront, SeeReal Technologies, Sharp, Spatial View, Tridelity, VisuMotion and Zero Creative. Philips has released the first 3D HDTV, with a 2160p resolution of 3840×2160 pixels and 46 viewing angles, while Hitachi has released the first 3D mobile phone for the Japanese market.
The Japanese get all the cool stuff first! 
Been remiss in my blog posts and wondering what to jump back in with. “Delgo” suing “Avatar” over the definition of ugly? Nah. How about Disney buying Marvel! Now THAT’S big. Looks like Steve Jobs didn’t completely clean them out. 
DISNEY TO BUY MARVEL FOR $4 BILLION
Deal requires antitrust review
LOS ANGELES — The Walt Disney Co. says it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the Disney family.
Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters.
Disney said Monday that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own.
It said the boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the transaction, but it requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.
“The Incredibles 2″ is going to be AWESOME!
Friend and colleague Blake Snyder passed away suddenly this past Tuesday. Those of us who had the privilege of knowing Blake will miss his good humor, his empathy, and his passionate dedication to his craft.
Blake was a nice guy in a tough business, and our thoughts go out to his family.
Kevin Geiger
SCRIBE BLAKE SNYDER DIES AT 51
Best known for ‘Save the Cat!’ books on screenwritingBy Jay A. Fernandez
The Hollywood ReporterAug 6, 2009, 03:21 PM ET
Screenwriter and author Blake Snyder died Tuesday morning from cardiac arrest. He was 51 years old.Snyder co-wrote the screenplays for the Universal comedy “Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot” (1992) and the Disney family film “Blank Check” (1994). But he became most well-known as a screenwriting teacher whose bestselling books “Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need” (2005) and “Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Every Story Ever Told” (2007) encouraged a host of aspiring writers, producers and development executives to see the patterns in all successful movies.
“I often recommend Blake’s books to aspiring screenwriters because they are by far the most useful and most readable books on screenwriting I’ve ever come across,” said screenwriter Karen Lutz (”The Ugly Truth”). “He truly loved movies and was able to break down the structure of them in a way I’d never seen done before and in a way that completely made sense to beginner and pro alike.”
Snyder’s screenplay proselytizing led to his hosting seminars and workshops around the world — New York, London, San Francisco, Vancouver, Barcelona, Beijing — that showcased his folksy, enthusiastic boosterism for screenwriting and his love of film in general.
Repped by Andy Cohen of Grade A Entertainment, Snyder continued to write and sell specs throughout his 20-year career.
A third book, “Save the Cat! Strikes Back: More Trouble for Screenwriters to Get Into… And Out of,” is set for publication in October.
“There was no one more gifted in the art of story structure than Blake Snyder,” said longtime friend and screenwriter Tracey Jackson (”Confessions of a Shopaholic”). “He could tell you in two minutes why something didn’t work and in another three how to fix it. And unlike many with a great gift, he was not miserly. He felt it was his calling to help others help themselves and took great pride when those he helped found success. He made all those he met feel special and encouraged them all in their dreams.”
A Beverly Hills resident, Snyder graduated from Georgetown University and went on to teach at Chapman, UCLA, Vanderbilt and the Beijing Film Academy.
He is survived by his mother, Florence Snyder of Santa Barbara; his sister, Sally Maher of Santa Ynez; and a niece and nephew.
A memorial service is being planned.
Disney’s “The Princess And The Frog” opens in limited release in New York and Los Angeles on November 15th, and in theaters everywhere on December 11th (excuse me, I just had a Gary Oldman moment).
How much will TPATF gross domestically in the United States by midnight on Sunday, December 13th?
Animation Options President & CEO Kevin Geiger will conduct “dual core” presentations at SIGGRAPH 2009 in Yokohama, ranging from story development to production efficiencies.
Making its Japanese premiere is “What’s Your Story?”, a condensed version of the popular three-day story development course, Wednesday, December 16th from 8:30am-12:15pm:
What’s your story? Can you explain it in a sentence? If the central idea of your film is not clear to you, how can it be to your audience? Does your story pass the “who cares” test? And do you know that story is NOT king, but character IS?
This course examines the nuts and bolts of feature film storytelling in a straightforward, accessible manner for everyone seeking to improve the resonance of their movies on the international animation market. The way to the audience’s wallet is through the heart. Is your story stuck in the head?
The course explores story loglines, genres, hooks, and twists with an eye towards a compelling stage for an appealing hero. The story-outline section addresses the foundation of a strong and flexible story “spine” and then assembles the full skeleton. In the story-boarding section, the course reviews the process for laying out an entire feature film from beginning to end by applying tried-and-true structural beats. The course concludes with an interactive audience brainstorming session and a pitch of the resulting story by presenter Kevin Geiger.
Returning to SIGGRAPH Asia by special request is “Keeping Your Money On The Screen & Off The Floor”, Saturday, December 19th from 1:45pm-5:30pm:
The global animation industry is as competitive as ever, with merciless markets, unforgiving audiences and miniscule profit margins. Yet independent and major productions alike seem content to burn through money (and people) as though they have resources to spare. Amazingly, this waste is not only pervasive, it is accepted. Not only is this irresponsible, it is unsustainable. It is also easily addressed through clear-minded assessment and informed action.
This course squarely addresses common production motivations and pitfalls. It examines the human factors and organizational considerations that are the foundation of all production (dys)function. It proceeds to cover workflow considerations and strategies, the establishment (and erosion) of balance, common heuristic assumptions and errors, and the importance of clarity and adaptation within the studio environment. A series of “Golden Rules” for production segues into the characteristics of a balanced pipeline and an overview of a flexible and robust nonlinear production pipeline. Finally, asset management is reviewed with an eye towards organization, flexibility, and transparency.
The presentation concludes with a micro/macro view on the production paradigm and synergistic orchestration of these parts into a practical yet transcendent whole.
See you in Japan!
The SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 course notes from the popular presentation “CG Production Principles: Keeping Your Money On The Screen & Off The Floor” are now available on SlideShare.
How are you facing the current economic situation?
Are you hunkering down until things blow over? Are you turning crisis into opportunity and branching out? Are you retraining for a different career (or a variation on your current theme)? Are you dialing back? Or is it business as usual for you?
Reuters’ Maggie Lee pans Shanghai Animation Film Studios’ “The Magic Aster” as “an animated Chinese fairy tale that’s devoid of fun or personality”. Read on.
Animated “Aster” Lacking In Magic
By Maggie Lee
SHANGHAI (Hollywood Reporter) - A battle between good and evil is waged for the sake of a wee petal in “The Magic Aster,” an animated Chinese fairy tale that’s devoid of fun or personality.
Shanghai Animation Film Studio, which jointly produced this with other Chinese partners, will find it tough to foist the $2.19 million project onto foreign shores except for the odd children’s channel. For Chinese-speaking viewers, the animation’s star-loaded vocal lineup that includes Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, pop star Leon Lai (”Forever Enthralled”) and supermodel-turned-actress Lin Chi-ling (”Red Cliff”) may be its biggest bonus. The film screened recently at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
The story is set in some indistinct ancient time in China. On an idyllic mountain blossoming with exotic flora and fauna lives Malang (Leon Lai), a kind of Chinese Tarzan. He is keeper of the magic aster, a lilac-like flower with legendary powers of bestowing happiness upon its owner.
Malang rescues an old man (Yao Ming) who strayed into the mountain and promptly falls in love with his daughter, Xiaolan (Chen Hao). He goes courting her with presents of melons and a choir of singing frogs. Dalan (Lin Chi-ling), Xiaolan’s materialistic twin sister, opens the door, and is unimpressed. Lin, who speaks with an insouciant sex-kitten drawl, imbues the improbable mistaken-identity farce with unexpected feminine allure.
Meanwhile, a witch threatens to destroy the wildlife balance by overrunning the area with vines and creepers. She uses trinkets to bribe Dalan into stealing the magic aster. Malang and his animal pals fight against the witch’s hydra-like killer vines in a drawn-out finale.
Although some 3-D technology has been integrated into the movements, the figures generally look flat. The art direction favors a pastel color palette and draws on Chinese ink-brush painting to create pretty, dreamy natural scenery. Overall the Asian aesthetic is not distinctive, and makes one nostalgic for the stylishly abstract early classics made by Shanghai Animation Film Studio, like “Uproar in Heaven.”
This fairy tale is an adaptation of a vintage children’s play from China’s revolutionary ’50s. The original’s socialist doctrinal indictment of materialistic greed is downplayed, and overshadowed by an environmentalist stance. But because the villainess is not invested with any allegorical attributes that represent concrete endangerment to the ecosystem, be it industrialization or deforestation, the message is ill defined.
P.S. - Happy Birthday, USA!
