Post 1.000-Say HELLO to my NEW BOSSES!

THIS time, not like time(s) prior, this happens to be a cause for CELEBRATION!

And One Thousand Posts to boot?


Anyway, after 4 years of turmoil, I think Mr & Mrs. AnMDBCartoon have FINALLY reigned victorious...


After being unceremoniously laid-off by Time Warner in early 2005, plus an ignominious alliance with Viacom (told prior here), Yours Truly, after some legal counsel, decided to embark on a precarious venture.....

Whilst I was with Time Warner, I personally devised a series for Hanna-Barbera/Cartoon Network entitled "Cook County" (guess where the idea came from?). The principal characters were based upon my wife & I. The programme screened from 1999 to 2001. It was seen by at least 3 people that I encountered. LOL!


Anyway, after the end came for me & 38 colleagues & supervisors, then came the Viacom thing....

Then...

April 2008:

That was when I began pursuing buying my characters, as well as the original scripts, the negatives & film masters/copies back from Time Warner. It was quite messy....the whole year was spent going through litigation, depositions, everything. Yours Truly, even as the head of my own indie studio, had been forced to work live action & animation adverts and programmes and such to pay our legal fees.

By the end of 2008, all of us were out of work and awaiting the trial. In October, it finally came to court in New York.

After the dust cleared, nobody won but the lawyers.


I got ALL my "Cook County" material BACK....


....but at a PRICE....



I had to pay 650,000 US Dollars - and I can hardly do that with the CURRENT work that I embak on...so, it was agreed that I *forfeit* ALL of my future royalties from ALL the Time Warner productions that I personally contributed to.

Any TV/cinema/video profits from things like "Scooby-Doo! And The Alien Invasion", Bugs Bunny ("Ouch For Art's Sake"), Johnny Bravo ("When Ya Gotta Glow"), The Powerpuff Girls ("The Gall Of The Wild" - which has never been broadcast on telly due to some of the subject matter; It *does* show up at various 'toon conventions around the world), 2 Stupid Dogs ("Just Plane Fools"), and things like these..

I don't get paid for that.



Then in late 2008....THAT happened:

http://www.whitewomenblackmen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12739



London, October 2009:

After having given the world fine films featuring the aforementioned "Bravo", "Bugs", "P.P.G.", "2 Stupid Dogs", et al, Yours Truly decied I'd spent altogether too long in the medium of cartoons and that it was time to come...."home"...and pursue another line of employment. A month before departure I received a call from animator B.E.N. Mann ("Casper The Friendly Ghost"), sounding me out on fronting a new animation unit. I said 'No thanks, I've had enough, I've got to get out of this business for awhile.' But he, crime novelist and sometime TV scriptwriter Eaton Law, and animation director & writer Sal Browner were very persuasive and they had some great story ideas, so I jutted my jaw, gritted my teeth and said I'd get involved. We all agreed to meet in Los Angeles early in 2010.

Whilst there, I did talk to a fella named Ky ("Fey") Solos, who got me, in 2006, after the Viacom ("Terrytoons") abortion, to work with David ("Cow & Chicken") Feiss on the 1st of a trilogy of Woody Woodpecker vignettes..just to help me keep a roof over our heads & bread on the table.

To make a long story short, Solos brought me to one of the Deputy Directors under Jeff Zucker. I pitched my "Cook County" episodes to him...and now...

Say hello to my NEW BOSSES:

[youtube]-zVKuWcCHpQ[/youtube]

Now that I have FULL OWNERSHIP of "Cook County" - a NEW series shall be made by me & distributed by NBC Universal (First for the World Outside Of The United States, as requested by me) - and the contractual stipulation...after hours of negotating....SHALL be that NBC-Uni accepts my episodes for screening, as is, uncut, with *no questions asked*.

And if/when I *do* decide to move on to another studio...I *still* have FULL OWNERSHIP of my material (Just as Paul Simon has with all of his master tapes ever since he left CBS Records) and I get to take it all to whatever studio I might decide to sign up with thereafter.



And now a little quiz here for you all:

I now helm my own animation unit (again).


It's called Unit 909-1

The question...

Anyone have any idea where I derived that sobriquet from?

Hint: A *VERY* renowned Classic Rock Group had a song title kinda like that.

Whoever gives the correct answer first WILL get a "Cook County" animation cel or production artwork - personally autographed from Yours Truly.


You know, after all this - and the coming out on top finally...




I hope it's not a sign that my days are numbered..


Like somebody on a city street coming up to me from behind and firing 4 shots into the back of my head execution-style.

I don't want to end up like "Pigpen"....

http://www.whitewomenblackmen.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13577



I hafta admit all this *does* leave me abit....undone....


A few mornings ago, after taking it all in...I doubled over with a persistent cough...and puked up semi-clear 'I Don't Know' from my guts...

I can only hope it continues to go up from here...

Cross your fingers, Compadres.



















OpinionsCartoonStudios@Yahoo.Co.UK

 

Why outside the united states first?

 

My choice, m8...

Like artistic and scientific predecessors before Yours Truly (Jimi Hendrix as the former, Ray Dolby [Inventor of the Dolby Stereo System] as the latter), I have found Most of The World Outside Of The United States more broadminded and open to product like mine for Some Time Now.


I couldn't give less than a damn about "striking it rich in the American Market".



If I had to do what alot of writers/directors/artistes do for a living under directives of U.S. companies, I'd get the hell out of the business. It'd be like prostituting myself to the point of artistic blasphemy. A total drag.























OpinionsCartoonStudios@Yahoo.Co.UK

 

congrats

 

The One After 909?

 

DINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDINGDING!


We have a WINNER!

YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!!!!


I *do* mean what I say about the production art and/or cel...


I happen to do a few cartoon conventions here & there. Moreso now, thanks to the push from NBC Universal.


So when I *am* in *your* neck of the woods...either at work or on holiday even...you WILL get a little 'collector's item' from Yours Truly in YOUR future!



Stay TOONED!


















OpinionsCartoonStudios@Yahoo.Co.UK

 

well it is going to be a while before I see it then. I find it a bit funny that you turned to an american company(or I believe it to be american) to show it since you perceived the rest of the world more open.

 

Congrats and good luck mrcartoon.

 

NBC Universal, after having the bulk of ownership revert to General Electric from Vivendi of France, is now 80% U.S. & 20% foreign (Vivendi) owned.


But mind you, the talks I *did* have early this year, *did* include the fact that NBC Universal now owns the British TV studio Carnival Films.

Plus other prior forays into the European Market. (13th Street & Studio Universal in various regional formats)

Time Warner, my former employers, can't have ALL the glory, now CAN they?























OpinionsCartoonStudios@Yahoo.Co.UK

 

lol. Thanks. And congratulations to you!

 

let's give this a great big CO-SIGN...!!! :smt038

 

And I shall ride on the coattails and co-sign the co-sign!!

That's awesome AMDB! Good luck! Good things happen to good people. :smt023

 

Good luck...hope everything works out

 

One last observation, in regards to:

Rowan Atkinson & his renowned "MISTER BEAN" character made a film (the 1st of 2) called "BEAN: The Ultimate Disaster Movie!" that he & the studio opted to have released one country/continent at a time .. with The U.S.A. being LAST to see release in cinema. Even though it was shot almost EXCLUSIVELY in Hollywood(!)

Obviously, Atkinson (And then studio Polygram...Ironically, that studio was absorbed by, you guessed it, NBC Universal) didn't give a damn about "Striking it Rich in the American Market", either..

As an aside, the U.K.-based production company Atkinson has been allied with, Tiger Aspect, made an short-lived unsuccessful attempt in the late-1990's (1996-1999) to pave an inroad into the U.S. market with their own Cable Network FAMILY TIGER.

The network originally planned to screen shows made in the U.K. by Tiger as its exclusive broadcast schedule. Things happened, and eventually Tiger let the network lapse.


Tiger is very happy with the way they do things now, catering to its U.K. audience first...with others joining in on the fun IF they so choose..


Nothing more, nothing less.



'Nuff Said!!!!

























OpinionsCartoonStudios@Yahoo.Co.UK

 

It isn't the money that I am concerned about but the preception you see americans as. I don't see any where where atkinson said the world has a more broadview than the USA and then turning to a USA company to make his product. It is fine if he wanted to do like that but it was put into the usa market. You haven't even put it into a large portion of homes of american viewers(that I know of) to say that "I have found Most of The World Outside Of The United States more broadminded and open to product like mine for Some Time Now." You got to let the american viewers judge before you can say this comment. To make it even worse, the people you have mentioned have all been liked in the american market. Jimi Hendrix is always on the top ten list of american guitar players. Ray Dolby's invention is constantly used by americans. Atkinson also has gotten fame in the american public as mr.Bean.:smt102 It may be the people controlling the company telling you this like oprah not being a good name to go by.

 

Like everyone has said, "Congrats!" from me as well...

 

Holy Crap Man! Congrats! I now know a celebrity that works at NBC, freakin sweet!!

 

Hendrix didn't get the Stateside appreciation he deserved until he *did* expatriate, hooked up with Animals bassist Chas Chandler and secured a U.K. record deal.

The U.S. public somewhat belatedly began to take notice of his talent.




As for Dolby, his fellow U.S. researchers openly told him to go screw himself...that his stereo system idea would never catch on. So he *had* to come to the U.K. and give it a shot here...his idea was considered and accepted and the rest is history.

And I never said anything about Atkinson ever espousing any opinions about 'more broadminded'....


As for *my* observations? I *have* to date, travelled to 9 foreign countries & 15 U.S. States and I *have* observed alot of The Man On The Streets attitudes towards life and such...and this includes the potential market for my own creations (Remember, the protagonists....charecters based on Mr & Mrs AnMDBCartoon...ARE an interracial couple)..of which more than a *few* Stateside (And a couple of Canadian) people (of *all* races, mind you...no 'monopoly' on who dislikes or hates the most, eh?) expressed a mild (i.e. 'polite') disdain for said characterisations/scenario of said telly programme.

Never said that I *wwouldn't* consider screening "Cook County in The States. It WAS aired Stateside on Cartoon Network for awhile (during differing odd hours with little or no promotion...I wonder WHY? :roll


Even Warner Brothers' *OWN* series, "MUCHA LUCHA" (Screened on Cartoon Network), created & filmed in the USA in 2001.....was aired in EVERY market for The World Outside of The United States...with the USA receiving the series LAST! Two years AFTER it made the rounds worldwide! No idea on my part for the reasons why....but just to offer another example of............

As an aside, the brilliant Cartoon Network series "WHATEVER HAPPENED TO ROBOT JONES?" suffered an ignominious existence during ITS period of airtime. For the history of THAT fiasco (Including shifting the airtimes to odd hours with no announcements or promotion; The network replacing the lead character's with a human overdub....WITHOUT the knowledge or consent of the series creator Greg Miller, and thinhs like these.), peruse:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whatever_Happened_to_Robot_Jones?

So ASK me again...about the not having any interest in 'prostituting myself to the point of artistic blasphemy'...


As for my OWN contractual stipulations, to cut to the chase...I refuse to compromise my principles and integrity for the sake of catering to ANY particular segment of the General Population...for ANY reason WHATSOEVER.


Although it's a 'toon scenario, take into consideration that THIS kind of thing....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Griffin's_House_of_Payne

...happens in Hollywood MANY times, in MANY ways.....more often than not to the detriment of the artiste's original vision..

Sad but true.



So saying again..........I *REFUSE* to make ANY kind of compromises/capitulations to satisfy ANYBODY for ANY reason WHATSOEVER! I've sweated, paid my dues, and have been kicked in the ass long enough to DESERVE and EARN the RIGHT to BE that way.

Nothing less..


As Polonius very sagely said:

To Thine Own Self Be True.






'Nuff Said!!!!
























OpinionsCartoonStudios@Yahoo.Co.UK

 

Outstanding! :smt038

 

Celebrity? Perhaps.....most likely not...not yet, anyway....but thanks fer *thinkin'* so positive, m8..

Most (not all) folks in this profession are still 'faceless session grunts' whilst the pen & brush creations of ours end up as the *real* stars.


The *few* exceptions to this unwritten 'rule' are luminaries like

Friz Freleng

Chuck Jones

Bob McKimson

Charles Schulz

Jim Davis

Matt Groening

And a few others...



On the OPPOSITE side of the spectrum....equally stellar, yet totally unheralded geniuses like:

Martin B. Taras

Harry Lucey

Warren Kremer

Howard Post

Marty Murphy


Michael Witte

Bill Vigoda (Yes, Abe Vigoda's brother,, The Much Regretted Bill, was a comics artiste for ARCHIE COMIC's superhero titles. When they hit the skids he went to the humour characters [The aforementioned ARCHIE & The Gang] where he was to remain until the end of his life in 1972)

George Herriman (A *LONG-STANDING* personal idol of mine....a 'mulatto' he was....He was the creator of the Way-Ahead-Of-Its-Time 1930's-1940's comic strip "KRAZY KAT")

An example of this avant garde artiste's mad genius:



...and many, many more...









Ennyroad, I *did* wanna tell ya that this story should serve you well with the 'legal ammunition' that YOU need to acquire as far as YOUR stellar creations are concerned.


Get that copyright of your material in your OWN name...

Consult your family attorney; If you've not got one, go out on the street and trap one under a wooden box, take them home and nail them to your living room wall! Just GET LEGAL COUNSEL to PROTECT your Intellectual Property!



Don't end up being forced to HAVE to do what *I* have had (and obviously STILL have!) to do!!




One other thing:

It's anything BUT that, m8..

TRUST me!


I came to THEM with MY plans ALREADY IN MY HEAD! It was like that whilst I was with Time Warner. Only that I expected to be with THEM for at least another 3 to 5 years...NOT unceremoniously dumped lke I was..


And as a result, I just did what I felt..no, KNEW what I *HAD* to do!



As an aside, about the U.S. viewing audience's tastes reflecting their sociopolitical attitudes towards people, life, and the world..

Back in the Late 70's there was a made for telly movie called "A KILLING AFFAIR" .. It starred O.J. SIMPSON & The Much Regretted ELIZABETH ("Bewitched") MONTGOMERY.


It's kinda obvious what the storyline involves, and that's why I mention it here at WWBM..



Additional info, for those that don't "get it":

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076266/usercomments

Anyway, in those so-called "progressive" 1970's....more than a few CBS affilliates REFUSED to screen the show...for obvious reasons....


The then-CBS affilliate in Cleveland, WJW TV-8 (now FOX) was one example...though they kinda 'rectified' this by airing it a week or two later.



And all because of....THAT AFFAIR the two lead characters had.



And me & my parents (We saw it on WBBM TV-2 back home) kinda got a larf outta The Much Regretted ROSALIND CASH - playing SIMPSON's wife - breaking down and hissing "She isn't even the RIGHT COLOUR!"

We laughed cause o'the IRONY over HER having a fling with the Charlton Heston character in the 1971 feature film "THE OMEGA MAN"




I'm not sure that things have changed much...if at all.....

It was just a few years back that the Stateside General Populace were hissing and spitting venom and vitriol in a collectively threatening hack-riff over..NICOLLETTE SHERDIAN & TERRELL OWENS opening sequence in ESPN's "MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL..


For thsoe of you that MISSED it:

[youtube]48zBQeE1r60[/youtube]


We heard HEAPS of all the Stateside "controversy" over this...way over HERE...and ALL of my m8's, compadres, associates, et al just opined:

"We don't get it. What the hell's the BIG FUSS over? What's the PROBLEM with those folks over there?"

Good question.


And I wish *I* had a good answer..


Other than Stateside attitudes are still, for the most part, negative, puerile...and still more than a tad hostile & bitter...more on the order of hateful....wienerhead mindsets.



So ask me AGAIN, why *I* personally am of the opinion that the States, as a collective, is STILL*NOT* ready for "Cook County"?






THINK about it!





'Nuff Said!!!!

















OpinionsCartoonStudios@Yahoo.Co.UK