Season 2019 2019

The final part of Royal Ocean's UPA series looks at how Communism, television, and a little nearsighted dude all led the studio to its untimely demise.
(Part 3 of 3)

Sources/Further Reading:
When Magoo Flew: The Rise and Fall of Animation Studio UPA by Adam Abraham - https://amzn.to/2TNyMOr
Cartoon Vision: UPA, Precisionism, and American Modernism by Dan Bashara - https://bit.ly/2SJSpph

For more information about The Grand Berry Theater, check out their website - https://www.grandberrytheater.com/

Special shoutout to Jt from Second Thought for filming this interview! Check out his excellent channel - https://bit.ly/2wbJxQF

Further Reading:
Market Watch on Independent Theaters - https://on.mktw.net/2RTE3q4
MPAA Theatrical Market Statistics (as of 2017) - https://bit.ly/2q7a7WJ
Indie Cinemas Face Challenging Future Together - https://bit.ly/2B81SjO

Further Reading:
Child of the Long Take: Alfonso Cuaron's Film Aesthetics in the Shadow of Globalization by James Udden - https://bit.ly/2GiH1hP
Harry Potter Treated With Gravity by Kristin Thompson - https://bit.ly/1Qb0AlV
Emmanuel Lubezki interviews Cuaron about Roma - https://bit.ly/2UPApLT
Roma: Through Cuaron's Intimate Lens by Caleb Crain - https://bit.ly/2E2U5Fz

Sources / Further Reading:
Thrill of the Hunt: Tom Cruise and the Mission: Impossible Franchise by Nick Pinkerton - https://bit.ly/2ttNxKh
David Bordwell on the visual storytelling of Mission: Impossible (1996) - https://bit.ly/1u8Sijv
Matt Zoller Seitz's review of Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation (2015) - https://bit.ly/2BMkxlh
Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie interviewed about Rogue Nation - https://bit.ly/2z7ga5E

The monologue used in this video is taken from the commentary track Linklater recorded for his very first film "It's Impossible to Learn to Plow By Reading Books" which can be found on the Criterion Collection's set for "Slacker" - https://bit.ly/2UXRyTi

A bit of background on this video:

I was going through something of a rough patch back in early 2014. My first film had been rejected from every festival I submitted it to and I was slowly beginning to see all the cracks that were in it (I should say though that I don't for a second regret making it - the year that my friends and I worked on it was one of the happiest times of my life so far, but the final film, as I slowly began to see it, was and is a right old mess). I'd stupidly put too much onto the film's success - I was very much wrapped up by the idea of the film being accepted and loved and taking me to the next level in my career and all that, so much so that when it completely failed to deliver on any of that, I was left feeling solidly crushed and just plain lost.

In the middle of my putzing around aimlessly afterwards, I randomly stumbled upon this commentary track Richard Linklater recorded for his very first film, a Super 8 feature he made almost entirely by himself. I don't know why but (as corny as it sounds) it had what I can only describe as a quietly profound effect on me - one of those "it was exactly the thing I needed to hear at that time in my life" sorts of things. The thoughts Linklater expressed about patience and pacing are so antithetical to what you usually hear about filmmaking and success and climbing up the ladder and all that (or at least they were antithetical to the way my 21 year old self was approaching life). I dunno - I've thought about the things he's said a lot in the years since first hearing them and I think they've really helped me correct my perspective and (as difficult as it often is) to embrace the patience that both filmmaking and the life surrounding filmm

Music:
"That's Amore (Remix)" by Dyalla Swain (https://soundcloud.com/dyallas)
"Been Too Long" by Bonus Points (https://soundcloud.com/bonuspoints)

Sources / Further Reading:
A.O. Scott's review of Watchmen - https://nyti.ms/2IXpwUF
A.O. Scott's review of Sucker Punch - https://nyti.ms/2V3WAlr
David Bordwell on superhero films circa 2008 - https://bit.ly/1wp3DlD
'Notes on Camp' by Susan Sontag - https://bit.ly/2OOh4us

At its purest, the theatrical experience has always consisted of an individual sitting down in a dark theater watching a bright screen and nothing else, however for many years there have been those who've tried adding onto that experience in wild, obnoxious, or just plain goofy ways. Let's dive into the gloriously hammy world of film gimmicks.

Sources / Further Reading:
Beyond Ballyhoo: Motion Picture Promotion and Gimmicks by Mark Thomas McGee - https://amzn.to/2K6dp8t
The History of Smell-O-Vision - https://bit.ly/1iWzfFw
Hans Laube's daughter on Smell-O-Vision - https://bit.ly/2MdrYtv
Jack Cardiff on Scent of Mystery - https://bit.ly/2K8wCpS
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007) - https://bit.ly/2QoKVru

Sources / Further Reading:
The History of Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland - https://bit.ly/30RyQju
Brad Bird's comments on Little Nemo - https://bit.ly/2KjVdIm
Little Nemo 1984 Pilot film directed by Yoshifumi Kondo - http://bit.ly/2YXyLJb
Little Nemo 1987 Pilot film directed by Osamu Dezaki - http://bit.ly/2QxeiYQ
Brad Bird's pitch for Will Eisner's The Spirit - https://bit.ly/1G8tumc

Sources / Further Reading:
Bass's rejected designs for The Shining - https://bit.ly/2ZALuBQ
DesignVerso essay collection of Bass's work - https://bit.ly/2x6AvUS
Saul Bass on making money vs quality work - https://bit.ly/1I4rlFb

Sources / Further Reading:
Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties by Bill Warren - https://amzn.to/2XSKLjh

Sources / Further Reading:
Love and Respect for the Movies We Outgrew by Scott Beggs - https://bit.ly/2kA9Soo​
It's the Ten Year Anniversary of Realizing Garden State Sucked (Vice article mentioned) - https://bit.ly/2kquTlH​
Quentin Tarantino on outgrowing Godard - https://bit.ly/2kcqu5E​

Music:
''Wonderful'' by Dyalla - soundcloud.com/dyallas

Sources / Further Reading:
Starting Point by Hayao Miyazaki - https://amzn.to/2n80rxk​
Turning Point by Hayao Miyazaki - https://amzn.to/2n5bTKf​
Organic Machine: The World of Hayao Miyazaki by David Chute - https://bit.ly/2luyW0M​
David Ehrlich's review of The Wind Rises - https://on.mtv.com/2mYOYjT​
Guillermo del Toro quote used in the video - https://bit.ly/2mXjB9e

Sources / Further Reading:
Ad Astra projected to lose $30 million at the box office - https://bit.ly/2J6VPjh​

Music:
"Zigzag" by Kevin MacLeod - https://bit.ly/2BsUhMs

Sources / Further Reading:
Unleashing Life's Wild Things by A.O. Scott - https://nyti.ms/2WBSTAJ​
Hey, Mr. Fox: Who's the Audience? Who Cares? by Jim Emerson - https://bit.ly/2oE5V48​
Roger Ebert's review of Fantastic Mr. Fox - https://bit.ly/2qdNns4​
Fantastic Mr. Fox: Vulpine Nature by Erica Wagner - https://bit.ly/2Wzgm5J​
Where the Wild Thing Are too wild and dangerous for a child to see? by Scott Bowles - https://bit.ly/2WCQEx9

This video features selections from the following two interviews:
DP/30 (Dec. 2011) - https://bit.ly/2OlnAHW​
DP/30 (Jan. 2014) - https://bit.ly/37DBUmN​

Music:
"Shades of Spring", "Lobby Time", and "Boss Antigua" by Kevin MacLeod - https://bit.ly/2BsUhMs​

Music:
Julian Avila - https://soundcloud.com/julian_avila​
Pocket Aces - https://soundcloud.com/p0cketaces​
Bonus Points - https://soundcloud.com/bonuspoints​
Pneumoniker - https://soundcloud.com/pneumoniker