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The Television Critics Association meets twice a year in LA to screen new TV shows in advance and meet the stars involved. Aaron Barnhart at TV BARN writes about the presentation on NBC’s FATHER OF THE PRIDE:

The late Gene Siskel used to follow a rule of thumb when judging a bad movie: Would he rather watch a documentary with the filmmakers talking about their movie?I thought of that last weekend when NBC had us watch a screening of “Father of the Pride.” This is the network’s other new sitcom, the one not spun off from “Friends.” It features computer-generated likenesses of the Las Vegas animal tamers Siegfried and Roy interacting with the family of animated lions who live behind their hotel. I sat in the second row, directly behind Carl Reiner, the legendary comedian who voices one of the lions. Reiner roared on the screen and in his seat. His enthusiasm, and that of his co-stars, made up for the critics, most of whom sat through the screening stone-faced.Afterward, the cast assembled on stage and was about to take questions when Reiner, who had a wedding to get to, stood up and yelled into his clip mike, “I’m going to take that as an opportunity to say everything I want to say!” So he interviewed himself. “The question was asked many times before: ‘Why are you doing this?’ You know, I’m 83 years old. Why do I have to bother? … I have a feeling this is historic for television. If anybody disagrees with me here, you’re wrong!”As Reiner stepped off stage, John Goodman, who voices another lion, stood up and declared, “I have a bris that I’m late for.” But Goodman stayed. Squeezed into his chair, he mugged and shrugged and got big laughs from the critics. I know I wasn’t the only one wishing someone would televise him instead of “Father of the Pride.” (As it turns out, he’s also starring in a non-animated CBS comedy called, confusingly enough, “Center of the Universe.”)Later that day Keith Marder, an affable publicist at the WB network who also moonlights as a joke writer, joked “Who’s going to watch Siegfried & Roy? The tigers don’t even like them anymore.”

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Alvin Lustig

July 19, 2004 8:30 am

I’m a big fan of the work of mid-century designer Alvin Lustig, but it’s difficult to come across examples of his work. That’s why I was pleased to discover this ARTICLE by Lustig’s widow Elaine Lustig Cohen on “Alvin Lustig’s Top Ten Designs” with, you guessed it, ten examples of his work. Looking at his work, like the FORTUNE cover in the above article, it’s difficult not to conclude that animation designers were influenced by his work in the Fifties. Lustig also has a small, albeit significant, connection to the animation world. In the mid-Forties he designed two logos for United Productions of America including the studio’s famous primary-colored ovals with the studio letters – U.P.A. – inside of each.

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2004 POLITICAL ANIMATION

July 19, 2004 8:09 am

In addition to the hilarious Jibjab.com This Land Is Your Land webtoon making the rounds, is this clever 7 minute 30s-style black & white cartoon, “Brother Can You Spare a Job?” by Tom Neely and Greg Saunders. The short version (30 seconds) of this film was a “Best Animation” finalist in MoveOn.org’s “Bush in 30 Seconds” contest. This new full-length version is packed with the same Max Fleisher, Chuck Jones and Charlie Chaplin inspiration and style.Neely and Saunders will be at the comic con this week, selling the cartoon on dvd ($6 to cover the production costs) and giving away posters at booth #1620.

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Enrico & Ronnie in San Diego

July 18, 2004 8:13 pm

One booth where I’ll be plunking down some cold, hard cash is that which belongs to Ronnie del Carmen and Enrico Casarosa (booth #1422). Their boundless energy for pursuing their own projects while holding down full-time gigs at Pixar is inspiring, not to mention that the personal work they publish is consistently top notch. Among their new offerings at the San Diego Comic con, Ronnie will debut PAPER BISCUIT #2, a 40-page comic featuring his charming character Nina, while Enrico will bring his new art book FRAGMENTS: INTERMEZZO and the second issue of THE ADVENTURES OF MIA. Enrico was kind enough to send over a copy of the new MIA and dare I say it’s even more impressive than the first issue. The elements that remain from the earlier MIA are his beautiful panel composition and cinematic sensibility, as well as his sensitive ink-and-wash style, but this second issue also adds to the mix an exciting WWII-era story with a cliffhanger ending that left me eager to find out what happens next. And while there is plenty of action in the issue, Enrico never misses an opportunity for character development. A superb example is in the middle of a chase sequence where as the spy is being pursued by the military, he stops to discard a cigarette that he’s smoking. This thoughtful attention to detail and character is a big reason why MIA #2 is such an enjoyable read and why I can’t wait for future issues.

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