Stuff that gets into my mail box...

I thought this had to be a joke, but apparently it isn't:

April 22 update: And now I'm to censor the thing at the request of the guy WHO SENT TO ME, A MEMBER OF THE WORKING PRESS!

Hi,
I'm a UMass Amherst Grad, current medical student at XXXXX and am originally from XXXXX. I recently designed a new product in which you and your readers may be interested. While working in a hospital, I noticed many of my patients were embarrassed about the soiled condition of their all-white underwear. To fix this problem, I created a pair that would hide all stains and eliminate the embarrassment. It's simple- a pair of underwear that's yellow in the front and brown in the back! You never even have to wash them!

Although not practical in the real world, I realized these would make an excellent gag gift. NO-WASH UNDERWEAR has since grown from a simple idea to its own company located in Massachusetts. Our original boxers and other NO-WASH gifts are now available on our website and on store shelves around the nation! As a medical student, I have also been in contact with local charities and children's hospitals to raise funds through our "Buy A Pair And Show You Care" campaign.

Please let me know if you would be willing to help spread the word and highlight NO-WASH UNDERWEAR in the Reminder. I would also be more than happy to send you a free pair of NO-WASH Boxers. Just let me know the size and address and I'll send them your way. Thanks for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
XXXXX

NO-WASH UNDERWEAR
XXXXX

You know we have to do a story on this!

Changes, changes, changes...attend just one Podcamp and see what happen!

Okay, I've set up a Western Mass. Newsgroup that I will be point press releases on pretty much when I get them myself. The idea here is to provide readers of my blog with more content that, hopefully, will be of interest and benefit to them, especially if they are bloggers themselves and not getting these notices.

I've also joined Twitter and will be sending those little messages out via my cell phone during the day on what is happening...they will be headlines of stories of I'm following.

I promise on a stack of Bibles I will not be using Twitter to tell people what Lucky the Wonder Bichon is doing. Or Ginger the Wonder Cat.

My idea is to pump up content here so readers will come back.

Tell me what you think!

Podcamp Unconference

I attended the Podcamp Unconference that was conducted at Open Square in Holyoke on Saturday and I'm very glad did. I've been mystified about social media such as Twitter and Facebook – yeah I know it's not new, but it is to me – and the Unconference helped me wrap my head around some uses for these applications that I think would advance several schemes of mine.

My pal Bill Dusty was there along with writerjax a splendid writer/pr person whose work I've long admired. And I met Tish Grier whose blog "The Constant Observer" is now something I'll read every day.

What liked so much was the exchange of information that came fairly organically and democratically from the participants. My many years as a journalist was actually seen as an asset by some in discussions about hyper-local news coverage and citizen journalism.

I guess that made up for my profound ignorance on other issues!

I did have one on-going beef with a guy that started the moment I arrived. He identified himself as a former Agawam resident who now lives in the Worcester area and was criticizing Holyoke. He said that while driving to Open Square he questioned whether or he should attend it based on his quick assessment of the city.

I defended Holyoke and noted that so much is happening organically in the town among young people seeking an inexpensive place to start a business or creative endeavor. I pointed out the great things happening at Open Square.

But I'm a Western Massachusetts patriot. I want to operate seeing the glass half-full rather than half-empty. A little positive thinking assists in dealing with inevitable storms of life.

I don't think he understood for a moment that most of the people at the Unconference were doing the same kind of thing that is happening in Holyoke and Open Square. Just like the owners of Open Square are re-developing what an urban center should be in the 21st century, the Podcampers are re-thinking how content is distributed and how people communicate.

He didn't buy my arguments. Hey, it's a free country. My advice is not to leave Worcester.

© Gordon Michael Dobbs

This year's trip to Cinefest

Once again I trekked to the near frozen northwest and Syracuse NY to attend Cinefest 29 this past weekend. Cinefest is a delightfully grassroots hardcore assembling of film fans, archivists, historians and collectors who get to see forgotten films, uncut or reconstructed versions of movies and archival curiosities.

It's not a snooty crowd at all. People actually care about film and are as happy to see a German silent art film as they are a George O'Brien B Western. This ain't Sundance where too many of the audience members seem to focus on everything but the films .

Cinefest specializes in American and British film from the silent era to the late 1940s, although a more recent film occasionally sneaks by.

By its eclectic nature the programming can challenge your cinematic prejudices. There have been many times when I steadfastly refused to see a certain movie because of the subject or star only to be convinced I should see it and then found that was indeed the case.

This year's highlights included a "Screen Snapshot" short from the early 1950s that was a tribute to many of the screen cowboys of the previous 20 years. An episode of the early television show "Life with Buster Keaton" was also alto of fun.

"Wheel of Life" (1929) a romance set in colonial India was creaky and laughable, while "The Circle" (1925), a romantic dramady based on the play by Somerset Maugham, was surprisingly good.

The show screened some of Joan Crawford's home movies, which proved to be a revelation to me. I never thought Crawford was any great beauty, but these in scenes, many in color, she is striking wearing little or no make-up and looking relaxed. There was one shock in the reel, though – shots of Crawford bare-assed and sunbathing of the roof of her home.

The biggest treat was the American premiere of the 1958 film "the Secret Man" produced by my friend Richard Gordon. Richard is a Cinefest devotee and he introduced the film, which, for a number of reasons never received distribution here. The taut little spy film was written by Brian Clements ("The Avengers") and was directed by Ronald Kinnoch.

Shot in four weeks in London using many outdoor locations, this film is a perfect example of the most successful approach to low-budget film making: you tailor a script to your budget rather than try to stretch a budget to fulfill a script. Kinnoch directed the film with an eye to gritty realism and star Marshall Thompson delivers a very realistic under-played performance.

It's a typical Cinefest movie in that I wanted to find it on DVD so my wife could see it.

That was also the case with "The Perfect Specimen," a great 1938 romantic comedy directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Errol Flynn and Joan Blondell – two performers who I would watch in almost anything. This film doesn't turn up on television due to story rights and the print came out of Flynn's person collection.

"White Gold" (1927) was the last feature I saw and boy what a fascinating movie. The plot involves a beautiful cabaret performer who falls in love with the son of a sheep rancher and makes a valiant effort to fit in but is thwarted by her father-in-law who is jealous of his son's love for her. The Dutch actress Jetta Goudal gives an excellent performance.

Over the next several days I'll post some of the items I found in the dealers' rooms.

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

Just got this release. I'm planning to go as I really do want to understand the social side of the Net that has so far confounded me.

HOLYOKE – By now, we’ve all heard of iPods and podcasts. But what’s a PodCamp?

PodCamp is one example of an ‘unconference,’ or unorganized conference, at which participants choose the topics they’d like to discuss. It’s geared toward new media enthusiasts and professionals of all types, including bloggers, podcasters, YouTubers, social networkers, as well as the people who read, watch, and listen to them.

This month, PodCamp will come to Western Massachusetts for the first time. On March 28 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., members of the marketing, business, design, technology, and music industries will gather on the second floor of the mixed-use, retrofitted mill building Open Square in Holyoke for an unconference that aims to promote education, innovation, and collaboration between technology and media professionals.

Morriss Partee, owner of EverythingCU.com in Holyoke and a coordinator of the event, said Western Mass. has a very active new and social media community, and as such is primed and ready for a successful PodCamp.

“We have a thriving community here of some truly amazing people,” he said. “This is a chance for Western Massachusetts bloggers, business people, artists, and academics to get together and make connections, and for everyone to learn how social media can enhance their business, cause, or organization.”

Additionally, co-coordinator Tish Grier, chief community officer of Placeblogger.com, said that the PodCamp concept is also well-suited to the region due to the myriad issues, especially economic concerns, that face the area and the entire country.

“It's easy to think that issues going on in the ‘big city’ don't have much of an impact on Western Massachusetts, but those issues, like the loss of the daily newspaper, impact us as well,” she said.

There is no agenda at an unconference, and the list of potential topics is virtually endless. However, sessions often include a “social media 101” and an overview of current and emerging new media tools. Attendees are encouraged to bring laptops, power strips, and cameras, and can come and go as their schedules allow.

The cost of the program is $20, attendance is limited to the first 60 people to register at http://podcampwesternmass.eventbrite.com

What cops in a city the size of Springfield have to go through – reports from SPD Sgt. John Delaney.

"A woman scorned – On 3/15/09 at 6:35 P.M. Officers Brian Beliveau and David Robillard arrested the following suspect:
Doriana McCormick age 22 of 17 Highland Avenue,
West Springfield...charges....
a) Breaking and Entering Motor Vehicle With Int. to Commit a Felony
b) Malicious Damage to a Motor Vehicle

"Prior to the arrest Ms. McCormick went to 632 Dickinson Street where her ex-boyfriend lives and smashed his rear window out completely on his 1997 Maxima. She then went to town on his front windshield with a liquor bottle. She then proceeded to tear apart his dashboard and took out his stereo and DVD player. Ms. McCormick then stole a backpack containing an X-Box game.



"The new girlfriend of Ms. McCormick's 'ex' witnessed the hysterical female commit the crime and run down the street and get into a waiting Chevy Impala and speed away. The police were called and the responding officers spotted the scorned woman on Trafton Road. the officers stopped the female and recovered the stolen items in her car. She was placed under arrest.
photos of car and Ms. McCormick enclosed.

***
"Officer Juan Hernandez was stopped at a light in full uniform and on duty in a marked police car. The officers was at the corner of Main and Saratoga Street at 2:33 A.M. when he observed a subject traveling down Main Street and picking up speed. the officers watched as he approached and the driver, who was now traveling faster, turned the wheel of the car so the vehicle he was driving was aimed right at Officer Hernandez. The officer stated in his report that 'the driver made direct eye contact with me while smiling and gripping the steering wheel with both hands.' The driver tried to ram the police car on purpose and Officer Hernandez had to put the cruiser in reverse to get out of the way.



"The driver of the Chevy then raced away towards West Columbus Avenue and jumped on RTE 91. the officer called the description of the car out over the police radio and the State Police on RTE. 91 heard the description and observed the Chevy traveling too fast and smash into a guardrail on the highway. The driver attempted to still drive down the highway. At one point the driver exited the car and looked like he was going to run. The officers ordered him to lay on the ground and instead of complying he jumped back into the drivers seat and attempted to drive away. (...this guy just kept making bad decision after bad decision). He was arrested.

"Nector Perez age 28 of 28 Cameron Street Springfield...charges....
a) Assault With a dangerous Weapon (M.V. on Officer Hernandez)
b) Failure to Stop for Police
c) Reckless Operation of M.V.
d) Suspended License
e) Resisting Arrest

"It unclear to investigating officers why Perez was acting in such an irrational manner.

"There was a so called 'Home Invasion' at 653 State Street in Apartment 4-C. The resident of that apartment claims that a somewhat "known" female knocked on his door to gain entrance. Once the door was opened two masked Hispanic males barged into his apartment demanding money. The 55 year-old victim then claims that he was tied up with an electrical cord and his wallet was stolen with $200.00 cash. The victim states that the robbers were looking for 'more money.' During the incident the victim states that he was cut with a knife. there was a small laceration on his wrist. The female was described an Hispanic, short about 5'02" with medium build, twenties, blonde hair and is known as 'Mari' or 'Maria.' Detective Jeffery Martucci is investigating. The dwelling located at State and Terrance Street is considered a high crime area."

This clip is from the restored version of Gulliver's Travels from E1 Entertainment now on DVD.

Gulliver's Travels can finally be seen in a version on home video close to its original theatrical look

With the success of “Snow White” in 1937, many Hollywood studios were pondering animated features, but only one producer created such a film – Max Fleischer.

The innovative animation producer who brought Betty Boop and Popeye to the screen was under pressure from his distributor Paramount to make a film in time to be released at Christmas of 1939.

The studio did so and “Gulliver’s Travels” was such a hit that MGM brass mused that perhaps the live action “Wizard of Oz” should have been a cartoon!

The film was sold in the 1950s to a television distributor, which did re-release the movie to theaters, but along the way the film’s copyright was not renewed and it fell into the public domain.

With the advent of home video, dozens of different versions of “Gulliver’s Travels” have been in the marketplace, most often muddy and splicy second generation prints.

Now E1 Entertainment (formerly Koch Entertainment) has released a new “restored” version of the film on a new DVD. The film has clean and crisp image and the color matches – to the best of my memory – to the 35mm Technicolor prints I’ve seen.

As readers of the blog undoubtedly realize I’m very prejudiced when comes to the works of Max Fleischer and his talented studio and I do like “Gulliver’s Travels” a great deal, although it is a film with many flaws.

A simplified and sanitized version of Jonathan Swift’s classic, the film centers on Gulliver settling the differences between two kings who can not agree which national song should be played at the wedding of their children. The musical score is bright and bouncy in the tradition of 1930s musicals and there are some great moments of animation.

The difficulties with the film are the characterizations. The prince and princess who are to be married are simply vehicles for the performances of the national songs. The princess, animated by Grim Natwick who had a reputation for knowing how to put across female characters, is remarkably bland, The prince has only one line of dialogue, which is marred by an inappropriate almost hap-hazard voice.

Gulliver, himself, is a very passive reactive character, only taking action in response to what is going on. He seems in a contact state of bemusement and used the phrase “My, my” way too much.

The nominal star of the show is the obnoxious town crier Gabby who fares much better here than in the series of shorts that followed the feature with him as lead. Much of the humor is supplied y the three spies who are charged with killing the giant.

Perhaps the scene which stops the film dead in its tracks is the one in which Gabby and Gulliver are walking together. Gabby is recounting a tall tale in rhyme with Gulliver responding with “my, my.” The sequence does not to advance the plot or the characters.

The Fleischer staff established the design style of having the little people done as cartoons, while Gulliver is rotoscoped. It was an interesting decision as it separates Gulliver’s world– “the real world” – from that of Lilliput.

While it’s not the studio’s best work – the 20 minute Popeye specials are more entertaining and their second feature “Mr. Bug Goes to Town” is better realized – it’s certainly is charming and has entertainment appeal today. There are scenes of wonderful animation and invention and I’ve always enjoyed the sequences in which Gulliver is captured as well as the one in which he is cleaned up by the townspeople. These scenes continue the Fleischer theme of mechanics that pops up in some many of the studio’s cartoons.

Another great sequence is the outdoor banquet illuminated by firelight with Gulliver’s hand” dancing with the Lilliputians.

There is one troublesome thing though about this new release and that is the film has been formatted for wide screen television event though the original film was not shot in a wide screen format. Although the image is letter-boxed, it technically should be window-boxed – with band of black defining the original screen image. I’m now sure if there is missing image area as I really need to compare it to the original print. It does look much better than any other DVD or VHS tape I’ve seen.

For copyright purposes, there have been extra sound effects added to the film – that way a “new” version has been created. I find these additions to be unnecessary, but at least they are not intrusive.

The film has three extras – two of the subsequent seven-minute shorts featuring the character Gabby from the feature and a segment from a “Popular Science” short that is a mini-documentary about the studio. The two cartoons have been window-boxed but are shown without their credits – a lousy thing for a “restoration” to do – and there is no explanation for the documentary footage.

These complaints aside, this presentation of “Gulliver’s Travels” is the closest I’ve seen on home video to the intent of its creators.

***
The making of “Gulliver’s Travels”

Max Fleischer had experimented with longer form animation with great success in 1936 with a two-reel special Popeye cartoon for the Christmas season. “Popeye Meets Sinbad the Sailor” had gorgeous color, effective use of the Fleischer 3-D sets and a marvelous script. Exhibitors and audiences loved it, and the studio was preparing another two-reeler for Christmas of 1937. Disney, though, had an 83-minute feature, and Fleischer, his staff and the rest of the film industry wanted to see if audiences would accept a long cartoon.

“Snow White” was released nationally in February of 1938 and its success prompted and announcement from Paramount Pictures. Paramount, Fleischer's distributor, said that Max would be producing a feature for them. They would be fronting some of the production money for Max and also would help Max build a brand-new studio near Miami, Florida. Fleischer had settled a strike in October, and had decided to move his operations from New York to Florida. The Fleischers had vacationed in Florida and the warm climates, generous local tax incentives and lack of union activity appealed to him.

So the studio’s plate was quite full. Max had to produce his studio’s first feature-length cartoon, move the operation from New York to Florida into a new studio he was helping to design and maintain the studio's commitment of short subjects. Disney worked on “Snow White” for five years. Paramount had given Max a release date of Christmas 1939.

During the same period, “Variety” reported that Universal and Walter Lantz would be making his feature debut with an adaptation of “Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp.” This feature apparently never made its past pre-production.

In June, Max signed a contract with Paramount to produce “Gulliver’s Travels.” Like Disney, the Fleischer brothers had chosen a “pre-sold” property that had a certain amount of name recognition. How Jonathan Swift's sometimes bleakly satiric novel would be adapted into a family feature was another problem.

According to a discussion guide prepared for high school teachers by the Educational and Recreations Guides in January 1940, there were several different scripts, several of which had Popeye playing Gulliver. Dave Fleischer had wanted a light Gilbert and Sullivan-style operetta, while Max wanted something closer to Swift – “a truly sociological pictures, retaining the full weight of Swift’s satirical theme with modern implications.”

The final script was publicized as a compromise. The cartoon would have a surplus of music and would have the war between Lilliput and Blefuscu not over which end to open of a hard-boiled egg, but rather their national anthems. If Max's intentions were to actually convey some of Swift's satiric rage, this script was scarcely a compromise. There is little of Swift in the Fleischer's “Gulliver’s Travels.”

Fleischer hired the song-writing team of Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin who had won the Best Song Oscar in 1938 for “Thanks for the Memory” to write the songs for the feature. According to the study guide, Rainger and Robin suggested the musical theme for the war.

Even resident tunesmith Sammy Timburg, whose usual chores were composing and scoring the studio's shorts, got to write a song for the film – perhaps the movie’s biggest hit “It’s a Hap Hap Happy Day.”

Acclaimed composer Victor Young was hired to write the musical score. Young was nominated for 22 Academy Awards during his career, which was cut short by his early death at age 56 in 1956.

The studio then did something that raised a few eyebrows in the film industry. Animation voice actors seldom got credit for their contributions to cartoons and were often fairly anonymous radio actors. The Fleischers signed up two of the nation's most popular radio singing stars, Lanny Ross and Jessica Dragonette to perform the songs sung by the Prince and Princess in the movie. This was the first time any “name” personality had been recruited to do voice work in cartoons.

Ross recalled to me his experience working on GT. He had known Fleischer since they lived in the same building and had accepted the job like any other.

“I was told the Prince was very small, and I thought I should do something the make my voice sound small. So, I stood on my knees in the recording studio,” he said with a laugh. He really didn't receive any direction on how to perform and his contact with the production was minimal. The publicity value, though, of having established performed involved with movie was considerable.

Pinto Colvig, who had done considerable work at the Disney Studio, including creating the voice of Goofy, was recruited to do the voice of Gabby the town crier who discovers Gulliver on the beach. Jack Mercer performed the voice of King Little of Lilliput while Miami radio personality Sam Parker of WIOD did the voice of Gulliver and performed the rotoscoped actions as well.

Although Ross and Dragonette received screen credit, none of the other vocal performers did.

By March of 1939, GT had been laid out, and the studio began hiring additional animators to help with the workload. A half-million drawings were required to produce GT, besides the work necessary to produce the studio's short subjects. Studio veteran Myron Waldman remembers the Fleischers were in a mad rush to hire people, some of who were not qualified as animators. This influx of talent, primarily from the California animation studios, created tension in the studio.

“Many of the people who came from the (west) coast thought they were better than us,” Waldman explained. The studio was still divided because of the strike, and the new additions to the staff didn't help.

There were about 250 original Fleischer employees who made the trip to Miami. That staff grew to about 600 in order to make the production of the feature and the shorts possible.

John Walworth was one of those new additions. Walworth was working at MGM when he was hired away to work on GT. He worked with studio vet Joe Oriolo, who felt insulted that he had to animate some of the many crowd scenes in GT.

“Joe sub-contracted some of these scenes to me to do under the table,” said Walworth with a laugh. “So I did them along with my other work.”

The quality of the animation varies greatly. Some of it was seemed rushed, while other scenes are very good. Waldman attributed this uneven quality to the number of new animators plus the near-impossible schedule. Some of the new animators were amazed the studio didn't do extensive pencil tests as did Disney and there was only one Movieola to view rushes. Critics of the studio have seen the lack of pencil tests as an example of the Fleischer Studio “crudeness.” Certainly Max may not have thought pencil tests were necessary (although one GT pencil test was in the collection of a former Fleischer animator), but perhaps the schedule dictated by Paramount just didn't allow it.

While the movie was being animated, Max was working with Paramount's Harry Royster on the merchandising of GT. Waldman explained that he had gone to Max once and asked why the studio didn't merchandise Betty Boop more.

“He said to me, ‘This is an animated cartoon studio, not a toy factory.’ He didn't want to get into it then,” Waldman said.

Perhaps Fleischer had seen the enormous success of the Disney merchandising and had decided he too wanted to jump on that bandwagon. The Betty Boop material had been minimal and Fleischer had no merchandising rights to Popeye. With the move to Miami impending, Mae Questel decided to stay in Mew York, which helped to kill the Boop series. With Betty Boop gone, Fleischer pinned his merchandising hopes to GT. Paramount's new licensing department arranged for 65 different GT products including dolls, coloring books, a Big Little book and pajamas among others.

With the splash the newly established television industry was making in cities such as New York, Fleischer and Paramount took the unusual step of offering for sale the television and radio rights to the picture. Clearly they were confident GT would be as much as a success as “Snow White.” In huge ad in the June 14, 1939 edition of “Variety,” Paramount trumpeted “The Biggest News of the Screen Year! A Full-Length Feature Cartoon Completely Filmed in Color!” With most movies in black and white and with only one other color feature-length cartoon existing, GT was indeed special.

By August, both the new studio in Florida and the feature were reaching completion. The film’s budget had gone over the expected $900,000 mark and was to reach approximately $1.5 million. The Miami press welcomed the new studio as Florida had often attempted to become the "Hollywood of the East," and the studio was the subject of a number of stories on Oct. 9, 1939.

The recruitment of animators brought two former Fleischer animators back to the studio. Both Grim Natwick and Shamus Culhane had done considerable work at the Disney Studio, and now accepted Max's offer to work on GT. Culhane was given crowd scenes to animate upon his arrival.

“Mob shots. I came in right at the end of the picture and they had a whole mess of them waiting for the very end of the job. I got things like the whole crowd is waving at Gulliver as he leaves...Jesus Christ!... after being a specialist working on ‘Snow White’ I get stuck with this junk to do. But because of my background by that time I could do it very well, but it was a pain in the ass. I hadn't done that kind of thing since a started at Walt's,” Culhane remembered.

Natwick recalled the casual atmosphere of the studio. He was given Dave Fleischer's office to use while directing his 1,000 feet of GT. Natwick offered his assessment of the differences between Fleischer and Disney.

“Max did something so very different. They were two different people. Disney was a Yankee, coming from several generations of Americans. I believe Fleischer was probably the first generation...And they (the Fleischers) were American in every sense of the word. Disney had this in-bred thing that he didn't have to think about doing something, but the Fleischers did. They accepted exactly as it was in the society in which they lived. And they grew up in the Jazz Age, and their cartoons are jazz cartoons.

“Disney had an aristocratic studio. Actually at Fleischer's I never had a room of my own. There were one or two or three big rooms with one desk sitting behind another. But at Disney, we had private rooms, and they had a little buffet service. If you wanted a drink of pop or something or an apple to eat, you could phone the girl downstairs and it would be brought up, by errand boy,” Natwick said.

In the Dec. 6, 1939 edition of “Variety,” Max announced this studio would produce another feature, as he was quite confident of the success of GT. A Spanish-language version was prepared for Latin and South American markets and 41 prints would be available for Christmas Day release with another 50 ready for New Year’s Day.

Paramount planned a massive advertising campaign designed to have a penetration of 60 million people. Full color ads were scheduled for “The Saturday Evening Post,” “Life” and “Good Housekeeping,” a first for productions from the Fleischer Studios.

“Good Housekeeping” did a lavish spread on the film in its Feb. 1940 edition, providing a first person – but fanciful– look at the creation of the film’s story. Supposedly a re-creation of the story sessions that led to the script and characterizations, the story is interesting in that it depicts Max interacting with Bill Turner on plot details. There is no mention of Dave Fleischer, the credited director of the feature, in the story.

The film had truly put a strain on the Fleischer staff. Not only did the staff have to move from its home in New York City to a new facility in Miami, but the contracted schedule of short subjects also had to be maintained.

Cartoons and features in the studio’s “Flipper” magazine in its December 1939 edition referenced the workload. Seymour Reit, the creator of Casper the Friendly Ghost, wrote the following poem for the “Flipper:”
“A Song of Impatience
“The feature’s finished,
The feature’s done
Work is over and worry’s begun
Come bite your nails,
Come tear your hair,
Come harry the gods in hysterical prayer.

“We mumble morosely,
All joy we despise
As we watch the growth of rings ‘neath our eyes
And we wait for the day that
The critic unravels
The wondrous merits of ‘Gulliver’s Travels.

“Hark! Winchell and Fidler
and Nugent and all!
When ‘Gulliver’ opens,
Heed promptly the call.
We know it’s a ‘wow
And we’re sure it will click,
But hurry, we beg you, and tell us that quick!”

The Miami premiere of GT was Dec. 18, 1939. Paramount officials, Florida politicians, members of the Miami social elite and entertainment figures met at the Sheridan and Colony theaters for the screening. A special police unit held back a crowd straining behind rope barricades hoping for a glimpse of the rich and famous, according to a contemporary newspaper account. Overhead, a balloon floated carrying a banner for the film.

One publicity feature was an appearance by Gulliver himself. No, not Sam Parker, but a nearly seven-foot –tall unidentified man decked out in a Gulliver costume.

The next day, The Miami Herald reported on a congratulatory luncheon attended by Lanny Ross, Jessica Dragonette, Paramount executives and local officials. Max said, “Eighteen months ago when the decision was made to produce ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ as a feature, we faced some very real problem. For example, more than two years is required to produce an animated cartoon feature in color and sound, provided one has a large enough staff sufficiently experienced and coordinated to do the work.

“When we started this picture we lacked space, manpower and the machinery for feature work. We only had one and half years instead of two years in which to build, move, organize, equip and complete the picture by Christmas 1939.”

Although Max added some humorous remarks, his message was clear: GT had been an almost impossible task.

While the public made GT one of the top moneymaking films of the year, the critics were less than impressed. Frank Nugent of The New York Times dismissed the film as a “fairy tale for children, “ calling “Snow White “a fairy tale for adults. Although entertaining, GT was not up to the Disney standard, he added.

“Variety” was more positive. “An excellent job of animation, audience interest and all-around showmanship,” it reported.

The film could have surpassed the box office it did if there hadn’t been a war in Europe, where it was argued Swift’s book was even better known.

The Gabby character was deemed popular enough to be the star of his own series of eight cartoons in the 1940 to 41 season. Although there are some laughs in the shorts, Gabby was too grating a character to be a long-lasting star.

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

The following is one of the two Gabby shorts on the new DVD, although this is not from the DVD.

Sorry about the delay in posting, but I’ve been ill.

Mark “Dogboy,” his lovely wife Kathy and their nephew Mark joined Mary and I for a screening of “Watchmen” on Saturday afternoon and the result was Mary and Kathy hating the film – Mary declaring it the worst film he has ever seen – with nephew Mark also expressing his loathing.

Dogboy gave it a qualified thumbs up and for me it joined the ranks of films I’ve glad to have seen but never want to see again.

Here’s the problem with the film: it is a very close adaptation which means, as my buddy Steve Bissette pointed out in a post-game wrap-up between us, means it has all of the comic book’s weaknesses as well as its strengths.

The principal strength of the book was Moore’s amping up the superhero with feet of clay that Stan Lee and company had done so well with at Marvel for the 20 years that preceded Moore’s comic. I’m sure when “Watchmen” debuted, people snickered about Nite Owl being a slightly disguised Batman. After “The Dark Knight,” though, revisionist views of the character ended this titillation.

The problem is that while comic book fans can appreciate what Moore did, movie fans have already seen plenty of films with flawed heroes. The question is whether or not “Watchmen” can appeal to an audience outside the core fanboys. My guess is no. The film first fails in setting up characters with which most audience members can identify. When the twisted abuse case Rorschach is the most likable guy in the bunch, you know you have a problem.

The movies also fails in satisfying questions about who these characters are, why they are superheroes, what are their powers – other than wearing a costumed and beating the crap out of people or shooting them. For the life of me I couldn’t understand why Adrian Veidt / Ozymandias was super.

Are these nit-picking concerns –perhaps, but this is a superhero movie and people are expecting certain narrative elements, such as a description of the characters.

The gore in the film was completely unjustified. To me “Watchman” is both a violent story in action, but even more violent story in emotion. There was no need for director Zack Snyder to show gore scenes.

The famed giant alien squid is missing at the end for a conclusion that is more logical, but still ultimately depressing. Ozymandias must destroy the village to save it, which to me isn’t a sign of hope and new beginnings, but a power grab. Am I supposed to feel some relief the world is now at peace?

Although the film is beautifully realized, it is a museum piece at delivery and an example of a director and screenwriter who failed to see the shortcomings of “the world’s greatest graphic novel.”

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

Did you get your television converter box yet? I suppose admitting that you had to shell out $60 or so is some sort of admission that you re a Luddite holding onto antiquated technology.

Don't worry. I'm not judgmental.

I mean, come on: rabbit ears in the digital age? Do you remember constantly adjusting those things when you were a kid based on the station? How holding the antenna always made the picture better so you would try to con your little brother into doing that while you watched your favorite show? How about the creative use of aluminum foil wrapped between the ears to improve the antenna?

Did your dad ever get up on the roof to adjust the big attenna and you or your mom had to watch the set to shout instructions out of the window?

And don't get me started about having no remote control in those days and actually having to get up and turn a dial to switch channels " the horror, the horror!

Remember TV Guide and other listings of shows? In the pre-cable era, you actually planned what you watched by looking at the listings. You then got off your ass and changed the channel at the right time. There was no "clicker" and no scanning endlessly searching for something to watch.

Well, everything has changed with cable, satellite and TIVO devices.

I made the switch to satellite a number of years ago and have had no issues with it other than I neglected to get a new dish installed so I could get the local channels.

I was watching movies on Oscar Sunday and realized I would have to pry myself out of my La-Z-Boy to go to a Radio Shack and buy a converter box so we could watch the Oscars later that night.

I knew I was going to have to buy one box for a little television in the bedroom that isn t attached to the satellite system, so I didn t feel too guilty about my procrastination.

I made the purchase, hitched the thing up and entered the brave new age of free broadcasting.

It was fascinating to see this new technology completely messed up by the wind. The Oscar show's picture broke up and lost sound constantly because there was a steady wind outside. I should note we never have problems with the satellite signal unless there's damn near a hurricane going on.

Some local stations had an image that filled our set, while others had a window-boxed image and still others had a letter-boxed one. Naturally for the best image I needed to buy a new television set. I realized later I could play with the picture by pressing the "zoom" button on the remote control.

Overall I wasn t impressed and wondered if I needed to wrap some aluminum foil around my rabbit ears. I bet someone will be selling a new and improved digital antenna. Probably Billy Mays will be the pitchman.

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

So it's been a week plus a day since I last posted and my only excuse is the demands of the paying job and fatigue, but I have to overcome those elements to push on...

So here's to pushing on...

Chris Collins posted my hour of radio on the WHMP Web site and here it is approximately. You have to scroll down and you'll see it. Honest. And then you can listen, if you like.

I'm going to try to post the broadcast later this week here on this blog.

I'm going to see "Watchmen" this weekend and I've finally read what many people have described as "the greatest graphic novel of all time."

Well.

It's a fine piece of work in many ways. I like the concept of basing superheroes in a "real" world. I like the grit. I like the additional texts that give the story and its characters greater depth. Dave Gibbon's art is acceptable although there is a cramped feeling as if Gibbons had to force into the format of the comic books a whole lot more content than he should have.

The subplot of "The Black Freighter" though seemed wholly unnecessary and arty with an capital A. It distracts from the story.

And that ending: The world is shocked into peace by the appearance of a man-made manufactured space octopus that manages to kill millions of people in New York City? I read that section correctly, right?

This was parody, correct? A reference to all of those Stan Lee- Jack Kirby monster comics, right? No, Moore, now described as being " one of the most powerful minds" on the planet, was so desperate for an ending that he cobbled together that device?

It must have been an off day for the super genius. Sorry, but when a book is sold as "the greatest" and its writer allows himself to be described as having "one of the most powerful minds" known to man at the present than I expect a little better ending to an epic piece than a giant alien murderous octopus – a device that not only gives the world peace but justifies the existence of of the banned superheroes in the future. After all they might be able to keep other giant space mollusks from attacking earth.

I'm only going to the film because Moore is making a dime off of it – his choice. I wouldn't want to support a guy who treats his co-creators in the way that he has done to more than one.

I'll post a review on Sunday – like five million other blogging fan boys.

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

I did an hour of radio today filling in for my friend Bill Dwight on his talk show heard over the tower of power WHMP and was hoping to post a link to the audio, but it appears that the station doesn't archive the shows featuring subs like me!

This is a major bummer as, frankly, I rocked! Pardon the rare public display of self-confidence as occasionally I lose my head.

There is a short list of things I can do fairly well in life – none of them so far has led to great riches – and one of them is talk radio. I get a more immediate gratification from this kind of journalism/punditry/entertainment than from writing, but writing has a permanence that is very nice. Radio tends to be more ephemeral, ESPECIALLY IF YOU A SUBSTITUTE HOST.

Damn.

And I had the mayor of Springfield as a guest, which impressed the station's program director and good guy Chris Collins, who was great to work with.

Note: If you're at all concerned about the issue of whether or not bars in Springfield should be allowed to have events from the 18-plus crowd, you should turn up at a meeting at 7 p.m. at Room 220 of City Hall. After the recent shooting incident at the Club 1800, Mayor Domenic Sarno wants to put an end to these special promotions that have often been the cause of trouble.

The following is the piece on the Toy Fair that I wrote for the newspapers I edit, so it's more business-oriented. Going on the last day of the show had its advantages – there were few people there so company reps were at ease to speak with a lowly reporter – I wasn't buying anything – but I missed the chance of going through the Hasbro showroom, which is separate from the Toy Fair. I didn't know they closed a day early.



NEW YORK, N.Y. – While the aisles at the Jacob Javits Center weren’t clogged
with people on the final day of Toy Fair 2009 – the international trade show
for the toy industry – area companies were generally upbeat with the
reception they had from buyers from around the world.

Cathie Dyjak, national sales manager of Janlynn Corp., the
Chicopee-based craft company, told Reminder Publications, “It’s been a great
three days.”

Acknowledging that the number of vendors at the trade show may have been
down, Dyjak said her company had seen “very good orders” from buyers and
attributed this in part, ironically, to the economic troubles.

Rather than going out to recreational events, she believes that people
are looking for affordable activities at home, such as the company’s craft
kits.

According to the statistics compiled by the Toy Industry Association
trade group, from October 2007 to September 2008 there was an overall
decrease of three percent in toy sales. Action figures, building sets, plush
toys and games and puzzles all saw increases over the previous 12 months,
while dolls, youth electronics and vehicles took the biggest drops.

Janlynn came to the Toy Fair with a number of licensed new craft kits
featured “Camp Rock” and “High School Musical.” Dyjak said the “Hannah
Montana” products the company carried are still strong sellers. Many of
these kits feature a screen-printed product such as a purse, apron or tote
bag that can be colored with the enclosed crayons and then heat-set with an
iron, she said.

The company also introduced a kit to make friendship bracelets and
revamped the packaging on some of its best-selling items, she added.

Joel Nulman of Fantazia Marketing of Chicopee noted that traffic at the
fair was decreased, but added, “We’re holding our own.”

Nulman’s company makes oversized plastic representations of items such
as a nine-inch tall plastic popcorn box or a 32” tall triple scoop ice cream
cone. He said buyers at the show were interested in his line of floor lamps
that double as banks. The shafts of the tall lamps are made from a clear
plastic rod and provide a place for a child to literally see his or her
savings grow.

Ira Leeman of Omniglow LLC, now in Indian Orchard, said, “[This year]
Toy Fair is quiet.” It was difficult for him to tell if the reason for a
slowdown was just the economy or because the show took place during the
school vacation week.

“The economy is definitely part of it,” he said.

The company sells novelty items with its trademarked chemical
luminescence as well as a line of party goods. Leeman said the party goods
line, which the company acquired three years ago, is “growing nicely,” while
the glow products are “stable.”

New to the Toy Fair this year was a glow straw, which Leeman
demonstrated. He took a standard plastic drinking straw that has a small,
enclosed container of the glowing chemicals. Slightly crushing the chemical
container the straw has a glowing sphere in it that would rise up and down
as someone drank through it.

Leeman believes the straws will be a hit with not only consumers, but
with bars and restaurants as well.

LEGO, with its American headquarters just over the border in Enfield,
Conn., has had phenomenal growth in 2008 with a sales increase of 38
percent, according to Karen Lynch, a senior account executive for Flashpoint
Public Relations. Lynch showed me through the LEGO display area.

LEGO, which had at one time invested heavily into licensed properties
such as Batman, Spiderman and Harry Potter, has made an effort over the past
four years to go back to “the basic brand,” Lynch said.

Understanding that LEGO sets need to be priced appropriately in a shaky
economy, Lynch noted, “LEGO is sensitive to price point. Everyone is talking
about value this year.”

With that in mind, many of the LEGO sets are priced as low as $9.99 and
feature more than one building plan to increase play value. The company’s
new “Builders of Tomorrow” set, aimed at ages four and up, features a
collection of 650 LEGO bricks. Buyers can then log onto
www.LEGOfamilytime.com to get step-by-step building instructions for
different models all year round. The set comes with a price tag of $29.99.

Lynch said “Power Miners” is a new line for the company this year. The
building sets feature a storyline involving miners and rock creatures and
naturally some fantastic machinery to build.

More play value is also the rule applied to the company’s “racers” toy
car line. Lynch said there are models with pullback motors for better play
as well as remote control models.

“Star Wars” kits have been a big success for the company and Lynch said
the success of the “Clone Wars” animated series has helped keep sales up.
The company is celebrating holding the “Star Wars” license for 10 years.

Also successful for the company has been “SpongeBob SquarePants,” which
has two new models this year and “Indiana Jones,” which has seven new
models, all based on chase sequences from the films series.

LEGO will be re-entering the home video field with a new “Bionicle”
direct-to-DVD movie later this year, Lynch said.

Movies are looming large in the plans for Hasbro. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of
Cobra,” a live-action film based on the classic toy line, will be released
in August, while the sequel to the highly successful “Transformers” movie,
“Revenge of the Fallen,” opens in June.

“Hasbro enters 2009 with an incredible array of entertainment and
products for consumers of all ages. In challenging economic times, people
often turn to brands and experiences that they know and trust. We are
confident that many of our new and re-imagined brand offerings this year
will resonate well with consumers around the world as we continue to inject
creativity and innovation into some of the world’s most classic and popular
brands,” John Frascotti, Hasbro’s Chief Marketing Officer, said in a press
release.

The company will have a tie-in toy to the upcoming “Wolverine” movie
starring Hugh Jackman as well as a new “Star Wars” toy based on the cartoon
series “Star Wars: Clone Wars.”

The games division of the company, located in East Longmeadow, will be
producing new versions of “Clue” featuring spies and a 60th anniversary
edition of “Candy Land.”

There will also be a new version of “Monopoly”: “Say goodbye to green
houses and choose from over 80 3D structures, including industrial blocks,
stadiums, skyscrapers and even parks built in the middle of the board to
create a unique game experience. The introduction of ‘Monopoly City’
represents one of the most radical game developments in ‘Monopoly’ history.
Set the length of game play and start buying and building right away. Rents
can be boosted through investment, but beware of other players sabotaging
the game by building hazards such as polluting power plants to send
opponents’ rents plummeting.”

Although licensed toys were still in evidence, manufacturers seemed to
be exercising caution about making an investment in a movie or television
property. For instance, even a hit film such as “Wall E” had few toys at the
fair.

The licensing hit was a property in which no manufacturer had to invest
a dollar: President Barack Obama. There were action figures, banks and even
a blow up punching bag with a confident looking Obama printed on it. One
company used a quote from the president to help sell its line of educational
toys for kindergarten students.

One of the most unusual toys at the show was a small cube aquarium that
was home to a complete ecosystem – two African dwarf frogs, a plant, a snail
and specially treated gravel. Peter Gasca of Wild Creations said the
aquariums and frogs need little maintenance. He noted a complete package
starts as low as $30.

The Toy Fair is a gamble for many smaller manufacturers who must make a
significant investment to exhibit their products. Fabio Elias said that he
thought the gamble was one worth taking. He traveled from Brazil with Voxal,
which is part art project and part puzzle. He said he has made some good
contacts and hoped these would results in orders.

A long-time Toy fair attendee, Joy Leavitt, the co-owner of Kiddly Winks
in Longmeadow, spent four days at the fair.

“When you’re a buyer, you have to look at every single booth,” she said.

She was pleased with the quality of new products from manufacturer such
as Alex Toys, International Playthings and Blue Orange.

She said this year’s edition was “a good show.”

Despite the economic downturn, as a toy retailer she is “very excited
about the new year.”

©2009 G. Michael Dobbs

Nation of Bettys – Funco displayed their impressive line-up of Betty Boop bobble heads at this year's Toy Fair

Toy Fair 2009 Part One

I've been going to Toy Fair, the international trade show in New York City, for at least five or six years now as the toy industry is a significant one in Western Massachusetts. The daily paper used to make quite a big deal about it, then abandoned the story and resumed covering it after a fashion after they saw what I was doing.

Unlike my competition, I actually go there and talk with as many local companies as I can find as well as attempt to "take the temperature" of the trends in the industry.

This year, I visited Janlynn of Chicopee, a crafting company; Fantazia of Chicopee, makers of over-sized plastic items, banks and lamps; Omniglow of Springfield, which produces glow products and party goods; and LEGO, whose American headquarters are just across the border in Connecticut. I subsequently tried to reach Hasbro, which has its games unit in East Longmeadow, as the company had already shut down its showroom on the last day of the show.

It's always an interesting day, but grueling as I hike up and down the aisles of the Javits Center, not only looking for local companies, but this year also shooting video. I was also looking at the show with this blog in mind as well.



In a nutshell – I'll post my newspaper piece tomorrow – people were happy with the response they received at the fair from buyers and seemed cautiously optimistic.

The Toy Fair always fascinates me with its selection of tiems I can't really imagine anyone buying. For instance, a Canadian company manufactures a some pop culture sculptures such as this one:



but they also produce this damn near life-sized – what would you call it ?



Toy companies in many instances have ceased being just about toys. They are entertainment companies. Hasbro is certainly positioning itself in that way with two movies coming out this summer – a G.I. Joe live action film and the Transformer sequel. Here is Ban Dai's area, much of its shrouded by walls to insure privacy in making deals.




Licensing still seems on the wane among manufacturers. I expected to see "Wall E" or "Bolt" toys at the show, but I spotted only one "Wall E." It's clear that companies have been burnt in the past and are unwilling to invest the money unless they see it as a sure thing.

The biggest licensing trend at the show was the one property no one had to pay for – toys based on our new president.



This is a bank.



This something for people who don't like him.

Naturally there was more licensing among the specialty collectibles folks. Dark Horse Toys has some great stuff and Diamond was offering what I would say is an ultimate "Star Trek" item: a reproduction of Capt. Kirk's chair you would have in your viewing room or bridge.



There were no toys I could find that tie-in into the new "Star Trek" film or the new "Wolverine" film, despite both properties' status as having established audiences.

Being a Springfield partisan I always look for Dr. Seuss stuff and found this wonderful "Horton" sculpture.



More tomorrow.

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

Behind the scenes with the Western Massachusetts press: I was part of a posse this week – chasing after an elusive hombre, Deval Patrick.

The governor was in Holyoke, first to check in at Peck Middle School and then to address the Holyoke Chamber of Commerce before swearing in a new judge in Springfield. Then I'll bet, he as heading to his house in the Berkshires.

Now I like the governor. he's a smart, witty, very personable guy who will admit his ignorance on a subject and do his homework. He has made some pretty boneheaded moves – his most spectacular was including casino income at a time there wasn't even approval for casinos.

He's been very attentive to this part of the state unlike any other governor of recent memory, including Acting Governor Jane "Where's my Helicopter?" Swift who hails from North Adams.

The point of a politician such as Patrick making these rounds is to be able to get his message to the masses in the way he would like and to deal with the press in a fairly controlled manner. The preceding statement is NOT a criticism. It's standard operating procedure. The press tries to subvert these plans as much as they can to fulfill their own agenda.

We all know this in the press and the pols all know it and at times it becomes a bit of a game. Nobody really talks about it, though.

I missed the Peck School appearance because I had another story to cover. I was told the governor would be at The Log Cabin banquet facility about 12:15 p.m. to speak.

The Chamber folks thought it would be closer to 12:30 p.m.

Now the day before a number of reporters had decided they would "force" an availability on the governor at the Peck School so they didn't have to go to the Chamber luncheon, where the gov's staff had decided he would meet with the press after his speech.

This is part of the game. The electronic reporters – being spread thin themselves – would rather grab Patrick, ask the couple of questions they have on the gas tax and budget and then clear out to the next assignment.

Being on salary and reporting for a weekly I have to do something different and something more complete. Going to the luncheon was fine with me.

But the rest of the lads were a bit cheesed as the governor's staff had prevented them access, forcing them to go to the luncheon and wait. Since Patrick is almost always late, this strained their deadlines and schedules. I listened to quite a bit of complaining.

Dobbs' first rule of journalism: learn how to wait.

Second rule: always bring a spare set of batteries.

Third rule: Unless you're paying for a meal, don't eat.

Other rules will follow in subsequent posts.

For me, the delay meant taking a gamble to fore go eating at the proper time and running the risk of my blood sugar dropping and being a shaky mess. I very narrowly averted a full shaky episode. Got to love being a diabetic!

The gov's speech did have some news value and there was time for about three questions at the end before he was whisked away for the next event. I didn't get a chance to ask my question as the TV and radio folks were facing the governor, while the print people were out of his line of vision at his sides. I did stick my MP3 recorder in his face to get his quotes as there is no way I can be close enough to him to hear him and to still have the room to take written notes.

The question I always ask myself is if I'm going to get something that will be of value to the readers. You see, I think my readers actually want to know this stuff. I go by comments that are made to be and the results of our circulation audits.

At least at this time I hope people are paying closer attention to what government is and is not doing.

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

My boss wants us to shoot more video for the paper's Web site, which is a great idea except it comes with a number of self-imposed conditions. I just don't want to post random crap on the Web. I want the video to supplement a text story, not repeat it. Since I have no external lights or mic I'm limited to what and how I can shoot. Since tripods are not allowed at many events – such as the Comicon – I've got to do the hand-held thing, which has its limitations as well.

At the Comicon I was loaded for bear with a still camera, a MP3 recorder, notebook, a video camera, extras pens, etc in a backpack. The load I was carrying didn't make for speedy switch-overs from one medium to another and the frickin' crowd was so dense that it was difficult to see things at times!

So I shot what I shot, assembled the footage and then one of the graphic artists at work took off my computer and played with it, adding the comic book graphics and music.

I don't think it's too much of an embarrassment.

And yes, Dogboy is in a shot!

Fatman and Dogboy go to the Comicon Part Three

My work-related reason to go to the show was to do a story on Mirage Studios of Northampton and on the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles. That story follows below.

I knew Peter Laird at UMass and bought his first comic book project "Barbarian Fantasy." Later when he and Kevin had started the Turtles I was re-acquainted through my friends Stan Wiater and Steve Bissette. I put together a show of original art at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke just before their highly popular first animated cartoon series hit in the late 1980s and hosted the guys at a signing at the theater in South Hadley I managed when the first movie came out.

I then wound up working for Kevin at his Tundra publishing experiment doing publicity for Rick Veitch's "Brat Pack," Mark Martin's "20 Nude Dancers," Bernie Mireault's "The Jam" and Steve's "Taboo" projects. There are some interesting stories there!

I don't pretend to call myself friends with either guy – never have actually – but their story is a fascinating and typically American tale of what happens to two everyday joes whose creation catches lightening in a bottle.


Peter Laird talking to fans at the Mirage table in Artist's Alley.


NEW YORK, NY – If there is one rule in pop culture it’s that relatively few books, movies, comic books or songs make the transition from phenomena to icon, but one group of characters born and raised in Western Massachusetts have made the leap.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, created 25 years ago by artist and writers Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, have a multi-generational fan base as seen at the New York Comicon conducted this past weekend at the Jacob Javitts Center in New York City. Fans in their twenties and thirties lined up with their children at two different areas at the convention to meet Laird, Eastman and the other artist of Northampton-based Mirage Studios.

And although the two creators are not active collaborators on the Turtles comic books, cartoons series or movies any longer – Eastman is the owner and publisher of “Heavy Metal” magazine – they both expressed amazement – and gratitude – about the popularity of their characters.

“We never thought it would last beyond the first issue,” Eastman said after finishing a signing.

“It’s been a blast,” he added.

Laird said he never thought the success of the Turtles would be so long lasting.

“I was telling someone here that in the first issue of the Turtles, we killed off our main villain and people ask us about that and I say ‘We had no idea.’ We did that first issue thinking that would be it. There wasn’t going to be a second issue,” he said.

The long-term success of the Turtles has been “a complete surprise,” Laird said.

In 1984 when the Turtles made their debut, the distribution models of the comic book industry allowed for independents such as Eastman and Laird to get their publications into the market place, but 25 years later it is more difficult.

Part of the problem is there has been an increase in both black and white and color comic books and “the market is only so big,” Laird said.

Now, comics also compete with a number of other entertainment choices, such as free content on the Internet.

“I think that is one thing that has cut into the sale of comic books,” he said.

Laird also believes that people “have only so much time in each person’s life and they have allocate that time, a kind of triage thing.”

Laird and Eastman’s independent comic grew into one of the greatest success stories in licensing and merchandising history. The comic books series spawned several successful television series, three live-action films, an animated feature film and dozens and dozens of licensed product.

Laird said the highpoint of all of this creative output has been the comic books he did with Eastman.

“That was probably the most creatively fertile periods of my life,” Laird said. “If we had never had the big licensing success I would have beenhappy. Because with the comics, Kevin and I were finally doing something we loved doing, we had complete control over it and we were making decent money. The first couple of issues brought in more money than I had made in a
year as an illustrator and it was doing something we just loved to do.”

There is a new movie in the works, but because the deal hasn’t been set so Laird declined to speak abut it in depth. He did say that his hopes are to use revised computer animated Turtle characters created for the last film
and integrate them into live action.

The fact the Turtles have now two generations of fans is “really humbling” to Laird, who said that while the first cartoon series wasn’t among his favorite Turtle spins-offs it did expose the characters to a huge audience “that we could never have reached with the comics.”

“Kevin and I would often think about what happened with the Turtles and marvel at it. It was something we never planned. That’s the thing. If you sit down and try to plan something like this, it rarely works. Our thing was we did this thing completely out of fun. We put a lot of passion it in. It came directly from our souls if you will,” Laird said.

“I’ve never understood why it did [touch a nerve with fans], but maybe that’s part of it,” he added.

Eastman’s career, while not focused on the Turtles, is still very much rooted in comics as the publisher of “Heavy Metal.” Since buying the magazine in 1990, he secured the long-delayed home video release of the first “Heavy Metal’ film, developed one animated feature film based on the magazine and now is in pre-production of another feature film.

This new film involves some Hollywood A-list heavy weights, including director David Fincher, the director of the current hit “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” Zack Snyder, director of “300,” and Gore Verbinski, the director of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. The animated film will have eight segments, Eastman said, with an over-arching storyline to connect
them.

Although a largely computer animated film, Eastman said each segment will have its own distinctive style and look.

Eastman thanked the Turtle fans for “25 amazing years” which gave him and Laird “an amazing life.”

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

Part Two: Fatman and Dogboy go to New York Comicon


"Zombie hugs! Get your free zombie hugs!" This guy was handing out a free zombie comic book tie-in to a video game. We accepted his manly zombie hug and the free comic and for Steve B. I decided to get a photo of his gaping head wound.


I have no idea why someone decided that making this poor model stand around in this outrageous costume would be an effective effort in order to sell statues of some British space heroine. I love the highly illogical spikes on this space suit.



The show was loaded naturally with collectible toys. One company produced this cool Commando Cody doll – you have to be old and a serial fan to even know who the hell Commando Cody was – and along aside of it was...



A doll representing Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon rendered in black and white because the serial was in black and white. Frankly I thought it made Buster look either like a zombie or frozen solid. My toy purchase of the trip was marked down set of "Mutts" figures.

There were a lot of bargains in the dealer's room, which certainly reflected the hard times we face in this recession.

Now I remember costume competitions from the old days, but I was a little shocked at the sheer number of fans who came dressed as their favorite character, but I was heartened by the obvious change of demographics in the audience.



Back in the day, the average convention was dominated by young white males. A woman on the convention floor could stop traffic. The idea you could find a female you could share your interest in comic book fandom was almost science fiction. Now as this photo attests, not only are there enthusiastic female fans, but there are Asian, Black and Latino fans as well. This is a welcomed change in my book.

I attribute part of this change to the tremendous popularity of anime and manga among young women, which probably has served as a portal to other kinds of graphic story-telling.

Part Three tomorrow!

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

Fatman and Dogboy go to the Con Part One

I haven't been to a comic book convention in years. The first convention I attended was a science fiction show back in high school, but I also traveled to New York City and Philadelphia to see the great Phil Seuling Comic Cons.

Having had a jones lately to attend a show, I jumped at the chance to see this year's New York Comicon, especially since I could do a legitimate story about the area's own comic superstars The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and their 25th anniversary.

My buddy Big Mark aka Dog Boy himself a comics professional came along, also with a business errand in mind. Neither of us knew quite what to expect.

Now I've gone to the Javits Center many times for trade shows, but I had no idea of the veritable onslaught of humanity we were to face this past weekend. Thousands of people in a crowd punctuated by Jokers, Batmen, Wonder Women, Harly Quinns, Wolverines and Supermen.

I headed to the press room to get my pass, while Mark was directed into a snaking line designed to control the flow of people into the show. While I was allowed to got into the professionals' entrance, poor Mark had to tromp through the basement of the center belly to butt for almost an hour before he could get in.

What awaited us was sensory overload coupled with crowds that chocked the aisles. The result was a sort of haze – did I already go up this way? Did I see everything? Did I get all the freebies?




Artist Alley at about 10:45 a.m. In another hour this would be shoulder to shoulder. Going through this area made me realize just how old and disconnected I am with comics. I didn't recognize but a third of the names.



The card gaming area. This was a revelation as I though all interest in these low tech games were essentially over. Not true.



What I loved about Comicon. On one side of the aisle, classic "good girl" art. While on the other side:




Everything Archie! Do you realize that Betty and Veronica were as close as one could get to sexy comic book characters when I was a boy? And yes, Betty was always more appealing than Veronica.




Speaking of pretty women, I had no clue – none – just what product these two accomplished models were hawking. It turns out it was some sort of video game thing. First rule of marketing at a convention: hire really good looking women to hawk your product. Second rule: actually explain what the hell the product is.

More tomorrow!

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs

I'm off to the New York Comicon tomorrow with my friend Big Mark and will have much to share later this weekend.

I haven't posted any DVD reviews in awhile, so here goes:

Studio One Anthology

I don't use the word "important" very often to describe a DVD release, but this collection of 17 hours of "Studio One" on six DVDs is indeed significant to anyone either interested in the presentation of live drama or the history of television.

It's sad to note that since "Studio One" ended its 10-year run in 1958, commercial television has clearly devolved. In the infancy of the medium, sponsors and networks strived to present a variety of programming including the production of plays performed live.

Granted, Paddy Chayefsky, who wrote for shows such as "Studio One," predicted television's decline with his films "network," but I doubt that when he was employed in the 1950s by shows such as this one that he couldn't ever envisioned a time when a show such as "Momma's Boys" would be a network hit.

"Studio One" was one of many live dramatic anthology programs from the 1950s, but it is remembered as one of the best. This collection includes a wide range of shows, from Shakespeare to originals such as "Twelve Angry Men" and "Dino," both of which were later adapted into feature films.

Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach

Back in the 1980s, I used to get various odd things sent to me by studios to help attract my attention to their current theatrical releases. For example, Columbia sent me a dipstick from a car to publicize its movie "Used Cars," with the promise I would receive a part of month to eventually I would be able to build my own used car.

It would be done about now, I bet.

Well, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment just didn't send me a DVD screener of "Balls Out," they also sent me a brand new athletic supporter as a gift -- I guess.

I suppose the gift ties into the scene in which star Seann William Scott coaches the tennis team at a small Nebraska high school in just his athletic supporter.

The director of two of my favorite junk moves, "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" and "Dude! Where's My Car?" directed this film in a style I can best describe as a combination of "Napoleon Dynamite" with a low-rent frat comedy.

Williams plays the title character, a has-been tennis player who accidentally winds up the janitor of a high school and who gets to coach the tennis team when the former coach drops dead. His technique to inspire his students includes beer, lap dances, cursing and various scatological behaviors.

Somehow we're supposed to buy into this guy as a lovable eccentric. I'm afraid I didn't.

Although there are a few scattered laughs, largely this comedy is pretty barren of chuckles. Williams tries hard to impress, but he is let down by a really poor script.

Unless you're really desperate, watch something else – almost anything.

Jurassic Fight Club

Hey, you might think that paleontology is some sort of passive egghead discipline with scientists content to scratch stone and dirt away from bones that they then assemble like some sort of model, but think again! There's a lot of action there, although it's sort of like "CSI" action -- piecing together stories from dinosaur crime scenes.

That's the spirit of the television show "Jurassic Fight Club." The first season has been collected in a new four-disc set and it's a rock 'em, sock 'em show. The premise is that a real prehistoric "crime scene" is explained and re-created for the viewers. For instance, one show explains a fossil finds in which a juvenile T. Rex was killed. What other dinosaur would have dared attack and successfully killed the most feared predator of its age?

Another show examines a "gang" attack of smaller raptor dinos on a docile vegetarian beast. Four raptor remains were found along with the "victim." How did that happen?

Using computer animation, the show recreates the grisly action as described by a number of scientists. They don't pull too many punches so be aware that younger viewers will see dinos ripping each other up.

The show is informative and pretty fast moving and just might be something to interest younger people in history and science blood and guts do have charms for some.

Monster Quest: Season Two

If I ever hit the lottery, I will do many things and chief among them would be underwriting a cryptozoological expedition someplace to try to fund proof of an unconfirmed species of animal.

But since I don't have access to millions of dollars to chase a lake monster or Big Foot, the next best thing is watching people who are doing that in "Monster Quest."

The second season continues the satisfying formula of having actual scientists go out into the field to try to collect evidence of a wide variety of disputed creatures. They don't always come up completely empty-handed, as their investigations have indeed produced interesting photos, hair samples and footprints.

It's hard to dispute the mega-hogs that have been killed and photographed or the attacks on farm animals in which the predator leaves the body behind but drains the victim of blood.

Sometimes the shows are a bit silly, such as the one in which the investigators put a camera rig on a rat in New York City to try to catch a glimpse of a "super rat." What the heck, though -- this is the cutting edge of science!

This show is a lot of fun and seems a bit more plausible than the various ghost investigation shows that almost never are convincing.


Pineapple Express

OK, what if Cheech and Chong had made an action film/dope comedy? Well, I'm trying to wrap my head around Tommy Chong handling a gun -- Cheech Marin already has done such scenes in other films -- but I can't really see it.

So, it's a real accomplishment that the creative team behind "Pineapple Express" was able to make that delicate transition from a dope comedy about two slackers constantly high to an action film in which they find themselves waist deep in crooked cops and warring drug lords. It's not easy mixing genres like that, but director David Gordon Green and writers Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow and Evan Goldberg get it right.

Green was an odd choice, at least on paper, as this project's director, as he has specialized in indie dramas as opposed more high profile studio work. He handles both the comedy and the action very well, though.

The film is centered on the premise of what two stoners would do when they realize their lives are in danger -- would they give up smoking weed long enough to save themselves? And would they have any epiphanies about their lives?

A film that is, in appropriate turns, both satisfyingly funny and action packed answers that question.

I watched the theatrical cut of the film as opposed to the unrated extended version simply because the last time I watched an extended version of a film it dragged. Generally, scenes are cut from a film for a reason and I'm more inclined to watch them as an extra.

Although not a film for people who don't like drug humor, "Pineapple Express" is a fun way to kill 90 minutes.

Underworld & Underworld: Evolution

Sony Home Video has released this double feature of the first two film in its popular "Underworld" franchise in time for the theatrical release on Jan. 23 of the newest film in the series, "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans."

I've often wanted to see these films, but hadn't up until this set arrived on my desk and I can easily understand why they've been a success. The two movies weave their own complicated mythology that is part horror film convention, part soap opera and part political intrigue wrapped up in an action film package.

For a "horror" film, there are precious few shocks and that is clearly the intent. Other than some werewolf transformations and some nasty biting sound effects, the gore quotient is minimal.

And oh, yes, star Kate Beckinsale looks pretty amazing in that leather and latex outfit as the werewolf hunter Selene.

The films detail a centuries-old conflict between vampires and werewolves and we humans figure in very, very marginally. The vampires have largely won the conflict, but the tide might be turning as the long thought dead werewolf leader Lucian has devised a way to combine werewolf and vampire blood in order to become immortal.

A human, a doctor named Michael, figures prominently into Lucian's plans.

Complicating matters is the political intrigue among the vampires and Selene's desire to find out the truth.

The first film, presented here in an extended director's cut, is a little top heavy with plot and with scenes in which people wearing long leather coats are trying to kill one another.

The second film, which continues the story from the moment the narrative in the film ended, moves much quicker as all of the necessary back-story has been introduced in the first installment.

I liked both films, although sometimes the overly dark photography design affected my understanding of just what the heck was going on in the first film.

Like many epics -- horror films -- the villains have all of the best lines and scenes. Bill Nighy as the vampire leader and Michael Sheen as Lucian steal the move. Beckinsale has relative little to do in the first movie other than handle the gun-slinging action. In the second film, her role has more depth.

Interestingly enough, the new movie doesn't extend the story of Selene and Michael as one might have expected, but instead is a prequel that explains more on how the conflict between the two groups arose, which, by the way, was already covered in the first two films.

Baghead

I'm 54 years old and the average life expectancy for an American male is 75. Since I have diabetes I'm sure I have less than that. Therefore I'm politely asking the makers of "Baghead" for my hour and a half back. I need that time.

Seldom have I squandered my time in a less satisfying way than watching what was billed as "the funniest spoof horror film of the year," much less a selection of both the 2008 Sundance and Tribeca films festivals.

Now, I've wasted plenty of time watching bad movies, sometimes in the line of duty of reviewing them and sometimes because I'm damn curious. Could I pass up watching a Filipino horror film like "Mad Doctor of Blood Island?" No, and I'm not ashamed.

There is no inherent pretension about such a film. Is it well done? Maybe. A little goofy? Definitely. Entertaining? Yes.

I can't say that about "Baghead," a new example of "mumblecore," a brand of filmmaking in which the goal to is to produce a feature film with a minimal script, maximum improvisation on a budget that is within even my price range.

The aesthetic seems to emphasize medium shots and close-ups of actors talking and talking and talking, trying to make something out of nothing and in this case failing pretty miserably.

The plot revolves around four sad sack would-be actors who decide to write their own movie so they could finally get a decent role. They go to a cabin in the woods to do so and wind up confronting a guy with a bag over his head with a knife.

There is a marginal effort to poke fun at slasher films and low budget films in general, but it is not enough to be of any great interest to me.

In the extras, the film's two writers, directors and producers, Jay and Mark Duplass, say they made the film for $1,000 and seemed pretty pleased with themselves. Congratulations, boys. You got your film into festivals and on DVD. How about actually making a new one with a plot and with characters who don't seem to be stumbling for something to say?

Yeech!

National Lampoon's Stoned Age Unrated

Remember when the "National Lampoon" banner meant a movie might actually be funny? Well once again, the designation is no assurance of laughs as "Stoned Age Unrated" is devoid of even a chuckle.

Director and writer Adam Rifkin stars in this tepid film that is constructed as a facsimile of Woody Allen's early comedies. Rifkin plays Isbo the tribal outcast who wonders about the meaning of life and invents things. He's in love with Fardart (Ali Larter) who is attracted to Isbo's virile but stupid brother.

Will Isbo ever be the hero? Will he win the girl? Who cares?

In his commentary, Rifkin admits he was inspired by the Woody Allen comedies. I wouldn't doubt that casting himself in the lead was part ego and part economy. Rifkin even wears glasses as part of his caveman portrayal, which further pushes the resemblance to Woody Allen.

Not since a pair of imitators tried to fool fans of Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in the equally terrible film "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla" has one entertainer so blatantly ripped off the shtick of another.

Rifkin's career as a director has been pretty spotty -- his "Dark Backward" left me cold, but is considered a cult hit -- and he has written two films I enjoyed a lot, director Joe Dante's "Small Soldiers" and the Nathan Lane vehicle "Mousehunt."

"Stoned Age Unrated," though, is a complete failure. The premise is tired and derivative, the performances are lackluster and Rifkin doesn't make much of a lead actor.

What makes this unrated are various gratuitous topless shots that were an apparent tie-in with "Penthouse" and "Maxim" magazines.

In his commentary he reveals that the film's theatrical title, "Homo Erectus" -- a legitimate anthropological term for a primitive man -- was rejected by several national retailers because they thought it sounded like a gay sex film. I think that was the most interesting aspect to this sad production.

Five

Arch Oboler had made his mark in radio as a writer and producer of some groundbreaking horror shows when he started writing movie scripts in the 1940s. These assignments allowed him to enter directing and while his films are considered uneven -- they include the first 3-D feature "Bwana Devil" -- "Five" from 1951 is a solid film that should interest contemporary audiences.

Oboler wrote, produced and directed this drama about the aftermath of a nuclear war and five survivors -- a mountain climber, two bank employees, a pregnant woman and a young philosopher -- who find shelter in a house in the country. This was the first film to present a post-apocalyptic vision of the world and it works well.

The film has no stars in the cast, but rather mostly young actors at the beginning of their careers. What I like about the film particularly is the inclusion in the cast of Charles Limpkin, an African-American actor, in a dignified role rare for its time.

Although elements of the story are a little silly -- picked-clean skeletons in clothing represent the bodies of the bomb's victims -- what rings true is the interactions between these five characters.

Oboler likes moving his camera and using close-ups to punctuate the drama and the film is very visually interesting.

This is a film worth discovering.

Liberty's Kids

Too many kids roll their eyes in despair when confronted with history lessons, but this animated series produced in 2002 might be the ticket for some elementary age children to find out about the founding of this nation in a relatively painless manner.

The premise of the show is to follow three young teenagers who are reporters for Benjamin Franklin's newspaper as the events of the American Revolution unfolds around them. The 15-hour series is presented in a boxed set that comes with an illustrated episode guide and a map to show where key events of the Revolution took place.

The series deals with immigration issues as well as slavery and the differences between the colonists who viewed America as their nation and the loyalists who still considered themselves part of Great Britain. The show is pretty involving and humanizes a lot of events that frequently make young eyes glaze over.

The animation is acceptable as are the vocal performances with a lot of stunt casting that might impress more adults than kids. Walter Cronkite, though, cast in the key role of Franklin doesn't really cut it.

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs