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11.29.08 * Independent
'$9.99' a possible 2008 Oscar
Award contender ..... Might be some
confusion about mainstream Stop Motion features being
released?? Read
at forum then come back. I will wait. Yes, there could be
several all
puppet Stop Motion films released in 2009, however, for
the 2008 feature
length animations, out of 14
submitted for Oscar
nomination
consideration, there will be ONE independent Stop Motion that
might be nominated (2008 released) which is '$9.99'
from Tatia
Rosenthal. This is what I prefer  .... not blowing our 'Stop
Mo Ammunition Wad' all in a single year, but stretch the 'Stop Motion fire
power' over a longer period to compete with the mainstream ubiquitous CGI
onslaught. The
scenario might be: The 'underdog', '$9.99' competing against
the likes of the dominating Pixar
and other big players! The dark
side
though, what are the chances? Some Tinsel Town
politics or back door favoritisms involved? These pundits, reviewers
and commentators are actually just guessing and who do you believe?
This brief
article-byte suggests '$9.99' has a chance at the prize. The Oscar is supposedly
the highest status symbol of recognition but in reality, there are many high quality
film works out
there that the Academy Awards will never see.I have to be straight with 'you all', again. If '$9.99' is trying to get an Academy Award nomination consideration, it seems late (almost end of 2008) especially without the benefit of aggressive marketing/promotion campaign. I was not able to find a '$9.99' movie website and there are not, any teaser/preview clips online that I could locate. There are still photos which is good but let's see preview trailers of movie! In my view, not the best marketing pre-planning by whoever is in charge of '$9.99' public relations. Tatia does have a YouTube page showing her dramatic Stop Mo short, 'A Buck's Worth', but again, nothing, zero, zilch, nada on '$9.99'  . EDIT: 11.30.08* Guillermo del Toro's 'Pinocchio' Artist/Director, Gris Grimly speaks ..... As I stated in a previous SMW news this month, I do not know anything about him but maybe this quick article-byte interview with Gris might give us clues who the dude is. * 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' News Blackout? ..... This has been bugging me since last week's news. I briefly asked about 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' and why there was very minimal publicity about it. I KNOW there is some info already online but I am talking about CURRENT info, and not the old stuff that has been floating around since about 2004. Originally, 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (FMF) was going to be overseen & animation supervised by Henry Selick under the production company Revolution Studios, which then folded, and 20th Century Fox Animation picked it up. Later, Henry Selick left for 'Coraline' to serve as director. So FMF needed a new animation supervisor/director and they got Mark Gustafson, formerly, an ex-Vinton/Laika director, producer, animator, etc.. However, at IMDb about FMF, NO credit listing showing M. Gustafson's name as one of the FMF crew? Do you see the contradiction of information about FMF? A lot of old buzz floating out there, like here for example at Wiki (not always current or accurate). I did receive some anonymous replies, informing me that 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' was being shot in London which confirms what I  somwhat
already knew. According to my 'anonymous sources'  , the
new
current info is, that FMF has been in full production and
supposedly, finishing up in a few months. Also, this 'source'
claiming that after the 2008 holidays here in USA, some of the Laika Stop Mo
animators who are eligible to get 'work visas', will be exported to
London. I contacted a few of those anonymous confidential
sources, asking, "Exactly where
is FMF being shot (which studio)?" and also specifics about their production crew. I
got NO
reply. Geez, thanks for not
sharing  . Stop Motion
Works News policy has always
been, to never
reveal our sources or identities of the informants . With some wandering digging, I found this abbreviated profile about Allison Abbate. I remember her from 'Nightmare Before Christmas' when she was 'Artistic Co-ordinator', and since then, she has worked as producer on other kinds of animation projects (not just Stop Mo). In her brief profile, I know that she was producer on 'Corpse Bride', which was done in the UK (England) , then it says, she is now producer for 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', and also going to be producer for the possible Stop Mo version of Tim Burton's 'Frankenweenie'. So, it then hit me .... BINGO. Since Allison was in UK for 'Corpse Bride' and also for 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', I said,"Could it be the SAME studio?". During all the publicity of 'Corpse Bride' back in '05, I recalled that CB was shot at 3 Mills Studios in London. It is not an animation studio, but a facility-complex that rents out Studio space & Production services for Motion Picture or Television projects. Check it out, 3 Mills Studio and read the project credits. You will see that 'Corpse Bride' & 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' are listed. Then, I accidentally found this online Hiring Help notice in the UK, which further confirms that FMF being done at the '3 Mills' rental studio. A little more digging, revealed a few people and in their C.V., it shows they have done or currently working on FMF, here, here, & here. It looks like the FMF production, primarily focused on hiring people from the Euro countries and ignored USA?  Look at all the frigg'n work you people put me through! Won't you ever
come out of your introversion & tight lipped syndrome that
seems to plague Stop
Motion people? 'Yo
no comprendo'. So .... IF 'Fantastic Mr. Fox', is supposedly
being finished, then where are the teaser
photos & press releases or a website??? Nothing,
zero, zilch, nada. I already know that www.fantasticmrfox.net
is not online. Again, why
all the stealthy secrecy?? Stop
Motion (the
outcast renegade) as a creative and still very viable animation
technique-style, needs
to get their asses moving and use more effective promotion methods
especially with the 'New Media' and apply some 'viral' marketing. Some
of the publicity techniques, such as releasing or 'leaking some behind
the scenes, rumors, and buzz to get people jazzed & frothing at
the mouth with uncontrollable excitement  , in anticipation of the
MOVIE. For your information ....'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (2009 expected release date) and 'Coraline' (February '09), might be in competition with each other for the 2009 Academy Awards™ animated features category. You say that is Good?? Not me! This is a repeat or déjà vu of Corpse Bride and The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, both of which were Stop Motion features that also competed against each other for the 2005 Oscar™ prize. 'Were Rabbit' WON the coveted award. I call this 'Blowing your Stop Motion WAD' too soon. Releasing two competing mainstream Stop Motion features in the SAME year?? Because Stop Motion is far and rare in between in the mainstream movie biz arena, if I had the controlling power  ,
it would be better to schedule any mainstream Stop
Motion releases at separate
calendar time periods.
Following this strategy, Stop Motion gets much more 'publicity mileage'
from one year to next, instead of blowing
it ALL in one
year. Stop Mo will stay in the public consciousness longer. With
blowing all our Stop Mo WAD in one year, we will have to wait, maybe
another 3
or more frigg'n years for the next possible Stop Motion
features.Hey, you in the dark, lurking out there ..... if you think I am NUTS  because of my 'Thinking
Out of the Box' and 'In your
Face' style, no one is forcing you
to read this, so just LEAVE if you CANNOT deal with my cogent &
penetrating observations!!  EDIT: 11.23.08____________________ * Guillermo del Toro thinking about
Stop Motion 'Pinocchio' movie ..... Some article-bytes out
there just released November 13 about an ALL Stop Motion
feature based on the Pinocchio
story. It is a dark version of
the tale and will have the style
of illustrator/designer, Gris Grimly
who will also direct this
animated movie. I never heard of Grimly. He likely has some sort of
cult-like following who are familiar with his work. What is
definite though, if Guillermo does pursue this project, he is
partnering with The Jim
Henson Company, which is interesting choice. Henson Company does
not specifically do Stop Motion Animation effects work but obviously,
may have the capability & logistics to adapt their
knowledge & expertise to the miniature Stop Motion world and
utilize their crew to execute the physical props, stage and
puppet construction. Who knows, if Henson people does Pinocchio,
it might be mixture of techniques, not only Stop Motion, but
also puppetry & animatronics? According to article-bytes, if
you
read it carefully, Guillermo has TWO Stop Motion projects he is
thinking about, the 'Pinocchio' one of course, but also another one,
that he will not reveal any details. 11.15.08  So, Guillermo's 'Pinocchio' news, was posted at message board by an impatient 'Wannabie Stop Mo Matt Drudge', trying to steal my thunder?? Almost no
response or very minimal reaction by the message board lurkers to this
news. My questions are: Where
would Guillermo's Stop Motion project be shot? Jim Henson Company
is listed as located in Los Angeles and New York. Or, will the Stop Mo
work be exported to some other country? Guillermo has done that (Hellboy) using outside
international boutique specialists studios. You think there
is a Stop Motion Animation 'Industry'? No, I would not call it that.
There is perhaps a niche sporadic Stop Motion interest/field out there
and a minority few
(including boutique studios) doing Stop Mo on more professional level.
In the USA, I would say, for full blown, all puppet stop mo features,
finding and hiring the required skilled talent is difficult. I have
stated a number of times in past, and I will repeat for those that have
mild case of amnesia .... In USA, mainstream animation is primarily CGI dominated or 2D animation. For a
major ALL Stop Motion feature, it can be Time Consuming to Ramp
Up a production, find qualified crew, and also requires
special logistics to get the shooting stages & equipment
together at a centralized location. Usually, the Stop Motion
specialists talent have nomadic lifestyles and unfortunately, are
'expected' to uproot their lives, travel ahd temporarily relocate, just
to get the Stop Motion jobs. That is sometimes, the nature of the
general Arts/Entertainment biz. With CGI animation, the crew is more
Plug'n Play and they are more ubiquitous, easier to find, hire, and
replace. Also, with mouse clicking animation, the production does not
necessarily have to be at 'One' centralized studio or location. According to my 'observations' , in the past
and right now, even with just Coraline,
a sort-of mainstream Stop Mo feature shot in USA; just that ONE
Stop Motion project Sucks-Up
a high number of Stop Motion talent/skills/specialists, which puts them
out of circulation for a few years, making them unavailable to work on other Stop Mo
projects. So, how can TWO or THREE major Stop Motion projects in USA,
be concurrently (at the same time) produced?? I believe, there might
not be enough Stop Mo talent/specialists to support 'multiple' large
scale Stop Motion projects. I suspect because of this possible talent
pool shortage in USA, any big, all Stop Motion features might be outsourced outside
of USA if the 'suits' and/or 'directors' cannot find the talent/skills
here. I am not just talking about Guillermo's Stop Motion projects, but
Laika, likely
has
other Stop Mo projects on the backburner. Then, whatever happened to Wes Anderson's, Fantastic Mr. Fox??
Is it in production in some other country? On hold or cancelled? No
updates about its status. Then you got Ridley Scott's Brave
New World, which supposedly will
have Stop Motion? Does the silent L.A. Stop Motion Underground Clique have anything
to share
or reveal
about any
of the above or my observations, or are they just zipping their lips
and keeping any inside information all to themselves?? Inquiring minds
want to know. Read, Del
Toro's Puppet Pinocchio - Grimly
& Del Toro Team For Stop-Mo 'Pinocchio' - Del
Toro's Two Full Puppet Projects - 'Pinocchio'
to feature Gris Grimly as director - Guillermo
del Toro plots 'Pinocchio' If you would like to
inquire or wish to seek professional advice, tips, consultation
services. etc. contact me  EDIT: 11.17.08* 'O Apóstolo' feature from Spain: Stop Motion Anonymity & Struggles ..... I found this accidentally / serendipitously. Just about zero mention anywhere in the 'English' Internet sphere, including the animation sites/blogs. Looks like this ALL Stop Motion feature is aiming for high production values which is to be released about 2010. Described as humor & drama terror. Length about 80 minutes. O Apóstolo is Spanish for The Apostle. When you go to their site (link listed later), some behind the scenes information, pics, & brief video. Interesting style & look with a unique ambiance/flavor different than USA produced stuff. This is NOT clay animation. Some of the ignorant news media writers mislabel Stop Mo as that. The puppets are fully constructed similar to Nighmare B4 Xmas, Corpse Bride, etc.. O Apóstolo puppet design appear to use the 'Replace  ment Animation' method
for the facial features. The lower jaws, 'removable' and looks to be
similar to technique used for Jesus: The
Miracle Maker. It's likely, MOST of you never heard of this Stop Mo project from Spain. The reason I stated 'anonymity' is because, in USA we tend to be ego-centric and only 'our news' seems important and supercedes anything outside our borders; everything revolves around 'us'. With the 'New Media' (internet & satellite/cable TV), all of you obviously now realize there is an entire world out there. With regards to my other reference to 'struggle', as I have tiraded in the past; it is the constant rejection of Stop Motion by the 'Tinsel Town Suits'. If it is anything ambitious with Stop Motion, 'Hollywood' becomes tightfisted CHEAP Scrooges and usually, NEVER 'monetarily' supports Stop Mo, however for CGI, their $Wallets$ suddenly are generously opened. The online news bytes articles about O Apóstolo, are all in Spanish. From what I interpreted, they did something interesting with appealing to the 'public' to become co-producers via donation appeal for contributions of about 30 Euros from individuals. I do not know if they reached the production budget needed to complete this Stop Mo project. The ENTIRE Stop Mo feature they estimate at maybe €1,976,000. (million) Euros which equals $2,512,863. (million) Dollars. When compared to the typical, obscene high budgets of CGI animated features (where does all the 'money' go?), O Apóstolo, is hyper-extreme bargain basement dirt cheap budget. Again, 'Stop Motion' always has to STRUGGLE. It is the 'shunned outsider' of the animation family. Will there ever be any progress or hope for Stop Motion to be 'accepted' by just a few of the mainstream movie biz 'Power' players'? Where is George Lucas, or how about Disney or even Laika?? (NOT Dreamworks: they dumped Aardman) Perhaps one of YOU being generous and help with co-producing this 'Internationally' made animated feature from Spain? Extend your hands across the borders as symbolic gesture of Cross Cultural International Friendship  . You know,
infusing some
$funding$ aid towards O
Apóstolo and some 'assist' with distribution? Does every
movie have to be a wannabie blockbuster appealing to the Lowest Common
Denominator audiences?? Again, an appeal to Lucas, Disney, or Laika;
bridging or
partnering with our Euro
brothers & sisters
in the 'Arts'?  Easy
to contact
them in Spain. Something that
is different & unique, to more 'niche audiences' instead of the
same ol'
homogenized empty 'eye candy' products pumped out by USA movie
biz.I can see O Apóstolo being entered in some of the well known International Film Festivals, then later, Dvd distribution with extensive behind the scenes in which audiences usually enjoys these kinds of extras. The O Apóstolo website (in Spanish) is Flash-heavy with bells & whistles. It does give it a slick look & generates anticipation. Check it out, O Apóstolo. You can copy & paste the spanish text here. Their production funding campaign is creative and thinking out of the box BUT maybe difficult and time consuming when compared to the FREE FLOW of CASH (from the movie biz 'Suits'), given to CGI productions. Some article-byte about O Apóstolo, but they are all in Spanish which I translated to English using Google translation which does a poor job. You can 'sort of' get clues what the articles are saying. Here you go, O Apóstolo is plasticine with spirit (NOT clay animation) - Want to be a film producer? - Producer for 30 Euros - Stop Motion technique gives me freedom to fantasize Addendum: Someone just reminded me about Phil Dale's Fund my Short campaign (appealing for contributions). As usual, tediously slow to get donations from 'individuals' EDIT: 11.10.08 ____________________ * 'Blu-ray' High
Definition Dead? Regular Dvds 'Good enough'? .....
You all know how I have sometimes gone into a tirading rage 11.01.08 about the mega-schmega™ HIGH
RESOLUTION obsession with many of you Stop Motionists or
wannabies. Instead of focusing
on the creative art aspects and producing & cranking
out your product, many of  you get all caught-up
and consumed with the 'technical' aspects. For example, with YouTube and most of the
free video hosting sites, High-Definition does not
necessarily give you that much advantage (of course it depends on
nature of content). In the YouTubified
Internet medium, from general perspective, the
audiences are mostly
concerned with CONTENT that GRABS their ATTENTION. The 'Myspacey
YouTuber-ites'
are NOT so preoccupied with the minutia of
ad nauseam image resolution details.This high resolution 'eye candy' in the consumerism arena is being forced-fed onto the public. It is part of today's hyper extreme Planned Obsolescence insanity from the Techy-toys Product Pushers to unecessarily WASTE your MONEY. People are NOT going to dump their existing Dvd movie collections and then pay higher prices for duplicate Blu-ray disc versions of movies they already have. Also, the public have other choices such as Dvd upconverting which is kind of a 'Simulated High Definition' and it seems 'good enough' for them. Although, I am guessing that you 'videophile' anal retentive-types, will likely dis (criticize) 'Upconverted Dvds'. I have seen standard res Dvds played back in 'upconverted' mode on High-Def flat panel LCD TVs and for my commonsense and reasonable 'tastes', I think it IS 'good enough'. For myself, I have noticed that the excess detail and sharpness from the high resolution images, seems to be a distraction from the 'story telling' and can negatively affect my viewing experience. The imagery is too hyper exaggerated than what we actually see with our natural vision. For you Stop Motionists out there, consider the possible flaws in your miniature sets and Stop Motion puppets that will be greatly magnified and nakedly revealed with these extreme higher resolutions. Just something to think about. Hey, do not get on my case! I already KNOW with SPECIAL EFFECTS work when shooting at 'higher resolution/quality', it is a technical post production 'advantage': You shoot in sharper higher resolution and in post, you do image tweaking, filtering, softening, etc. etc.., then you downsize-reduce the pixel image resolution/size to whatever final distribution format. My RANT here is about the end product distribution to consumers and the 'Corporate product pushers' shoving excessive and wasteful 'planned obsolescence' down your throats. Anyway, brew yourself some fresh JAVA  , chillax,
slip-on your reading glasses, and check-out the evidence: Blu-ray is
dead: heckuva job, Sony! - Blu-ray is
dead: the sequel - Blu-ray,
Not the Right Idea In the First Place - Big
Stores Offer Blow Out Blu-ray Prices - Recession
hits Blu-ray where it counts - Sharper,
brighter, crisper, but is HDTV better? - A
low tolerance for high definition - Too
sharp, too much resolution, new paradigm - About
DVD Upconversion. Ladies and
Gentlemen of the Jury, I rest my case____________________
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