With all the debate over scripts versus storyboards, animation writer Steve Marmel (Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom, et al) has jumped into the fray, and put his money where his mouth is.

Marmel, on his Animation Writers blog, has started a contest challenging writers to craft a script from a classic Bob Clampett cartoon. The film chosen, Falling Hare, was selected by scripter Marmel with the help of Stephen Worth of the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive, one of the most outspoken on the subject of storyboard-driven cartoons.

Once he receives qualified entries, Marmel plans on reaching out to other board artists, directors and story people to help judge and give opinions, but would like the final arbiter of this to be Stephen Worth himself. Marmel asks Worth:

Pick the best of the bunch. Show script writers what’s right. And in return, you can take the worst of the bunch, and gut it.

Here’s what happens when a winner is picked. I will see that the winner is paid a “teleplay fee” for a short-subject script - as determined by the IATSE/TAG 839 rules. I think it’s a little less than $2000. This may be out of my own pocket… (and) I will personally make an in-kind donation to the ASIFA-Archive.

The contest will begin when Worth accepts the terms Marmel proposes. For more information, go to Marmel’s blog.

There are a lot of good things in latest issue of Steve Moore’s online animation magazine, but the best may be Nancy Beiman’s recollections of working with Jack Zander. Flip #10 is now up. Go!

Here’s a shout out to my friend Karl Cohen and all the volunteers at ASIFA-San Francisco, who have unveiled a redesigned website today. Now it’s even easier to find out about events and screenings in the Bay Area. And the eight pages of links are a great resource filmmakers and animation buffs.

Two more quick bits of regular monthly business:

1. I’m showing movies at the Janet Klein set tomorrow night TONIGHT, Thursday January 3rd, at the Steve Allen Theatre in Hollywood. Details here.

2. Steve Moore’s monthly animation magazine, Flip, has a new edition (#9) posted. Good stuff. Go Here.

Once again I’ll veer off topic to plug my favorite comedy troupe outside the realm of animated cartoons.

As mentioned here previously, the main brains behind Mystery Science Theatre 3000 have regrouped to create a new series of movie commentaries under the banner Cinematic Titantic. The first one has just been released on DVD and is only availble for purchase through a website called EZ Takes. There are clips and customer reviews posted there, but based on what I’ve seen and know, the first film, The Oozing Skull, is as hilariously skewered as anything on the original MST3K. Be one of the first to check it out, it’s a great way to kick off the new year.

A British internet magazine, The First Post, is hosting the first online animation festival on its site.

What does that mean? It means they’ve post 27 independent animated shorts, including such festival favorites as Tomek Baginski’s Fallen Art, Pes’ Kaboom, Pat Smith’s Drink and Lesley Barnes’ Herzog and the Monsters; it means articles, links and clips relating to Aardman’s The Pearce Sisters; it means they discuss Anime; it means they post a retrospective of the best animated ads of 2006 and 2007; and they host a gallery of art from TVC’s production of Raymond Brigg’s The Snowman. Check it out, it’s totally worth a visit during the Christmas break.

The Internet is home to many embarassing animation “contests” nowadays, but none moreso than this new one called “Animation Procreation” sponsored by Dailymotion and Animation Magazine. When I saw the above banner plastered on the homepage of videosharing site DailyMotion last week, I immediately thought two things: “Who the hell is Loren Bouchard?” and “Why would I want a development deal with him?”

I originally assumed he’s just the latest two-bit development exec at some TV network. But as it turns out, he’s not even that. He’s a show creator: one-half the creator of Home Movies and solo creator of another awful looking and sounding “Adult Swim” series I’ve never heard of, Lucy, Daughter of the Devil.

Perhaps the contest organizers can explain what a four-month “development deal” entails with a guy who himself is at the mercy of producers and networks, who has no production resources, and who has no money to invest in your project. Add a dollar to this stunning prize package and it still won’t buy you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Then again, maybe getting advice from the person who’s responsible for this is reward enough:

The Dailymotion contest page offers this gem: “Loren Bouchard will watch all the videos and judge based on originality, animation style and potential for development.” Because if there’s anybody who’s qualified to judge originality and style it’s an artist whose own work exhibits neither traits. After this, you may as well have your parenting skills judged by Britney Spears.

Why would any half competent artist who aspires to create quality work want to receive advice from the creator of some of the most embarassing work this medium has ever seen? If DailyMotion and Animation Magazine had any true desire or intent to encourage new talent, then they would have offered a prize that was meaningful and relevant to creators. As it is, this “contest” is a slap in the face to animation artists everywhere.

Billed as “home to the world’s largest online archive of vintage illustration, animation, comics and cartoons,” Cartoon Retro is the creation of character designer Shane Glines (Spumco, Batman Beyond, Superman). With over two years of daily updates, the site now boasts thousands of images that are guaranteed to inspire and educate any artist. Best of all, a mere $5 a month offers access to all the material, while a year-long subscription runs $50. More details at CartoonRetro.com.

Sometimes it’s better to just let the pictures do the talking so here’s a small selection of artwork recently posted to the site:

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