...today was one of those days that made me wish I'd opened that bait-and-tackle shop in Saugatuck, Michigan.
This past Saturday, ASIFA-Hollywood (which is the big-shot animation association here in lovely L.A.) hosted their annual 'Annie Awards' (this is where a more experienced blogger would put a link, but I'm too lazy and inexperienced to bother with that right now, so just lookit up on Google or something if you're really that interested).
The Annies are like our Oscars... I always look forward to attending the awards ceremony because it's almost like a class-reunion... I wind up seeing lots of people I'm fond of but don't see very often because I'm too busy sitting at home watching the DVD commentary for "Dark City".
I'm always somewhat saddened by the Annies, though, because they serve as a reminder that animation is the redheaded stepchild at the ass-end of the entertainment industry.
Despite the fact that practically every moneymaking film from the past several decades has either been animated or relied heavily on animation in some way, this industry just has no luck in getting the respect it deserves.
Contrary to what many might think, I'm against the 'Best Animated Feature' category for the Oscars. This implies that animation is a seperate artform in need of its own category. I disagree. Animation is a filmmaking technique... nothing more and nothing less.
The word "animation" means life... it implies movement... well, don't ALL movies portray life and have movement?
Brad Bird - who wrote and directed the mind-alteringly amazing "Iron Giant" and "The Incredibles" is, technically, not eligible to join the director's guild of Los Angeles because he 'makes cartoons', yet whoever directed those reprehensible commercials for Subway where a baby's mouth is lyp-synched with the most grating voice on the face of the earth is undoubtedly a member in good standing, and before you know it he'll be tapped to direct the next X-Men movie while some of the most talented filmmakers in Hollywood are struggling to make ends meet because animation (though much more technically challanging than live-action) pays about a twentieth of what your average grip makes.
I dunno... I shouldn't be bitter... animation HAS made some big strides in the last couple of decades... things ARE improving albiet at a snail's pace...
In the meantime, I guess we should cherish the time we have in our relative obscurity and enjoy the peace and quiet.
3 comments:
Hey John, Brad here from the old Klasky days. I like your blog. Dude, the oscars are run and voted by actors and live action people, they don't want to let any of us in on their party. That's why they gave us our own cubbyhole of best animated feature. It sucks.
Hey Brad!
Yeah... I'm afraid I have to agree with you.
But then, ultimately, do we even really care? I mean, yeah - they all get rich... but they also all wind up addicted to coke and must ultimately face the fact that they've spent their lives in a fruitless pursuit for fame only to realize that fame brings no real joy.
Or is that just my impression?
the animation industry is a pile of reeking shit
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