Janurary 2010

ANIMATION CLASS WITH BILL PLYMPTON
Due to popular demand, Bill is hosting a second semester of his School of Animation, at his studio in Manhattan, on Monday nights, beginning January 18. This is an intense 10-week course, focusing on the secrets of animation production with an award-winning and Oscar-nominated director. This is a rare chance to learn the tricks of design, layouts, storyboards, writing, humor, directing, and editing, and also the business of animation: budgets, funding, selling, festivals, publicity and distribution.

The fee is $1,200.00 per student. Registration is on a first-come basis. Space is limited, so please call (212) 741-0322 or email Bill at Plymptoons@aol.com for more information.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Don't miss a very special screening in New York called "Animals and Animators", taking place at the Kodak Screening Room, 360 West 31st St., 2nd Floor, on January 12. Reception starts at 6 pm, film screening at 7 pm. Programmed by Bill Plympton and Signe Baumane, the line-up will include "Tribes of New York" by Andy and Carolyn London, "That Hand Film" by Adam Ansorge, "Mouse That Soared" by Kyle T. Bell, "Badgered" by Sharon Colman, "Life on a Limb" by David Chai, "KJFG No. 5" by Alexei Alexeev, "Together!" by David Sheahan, and "Cosmic Honeymoon" by Ondrej Rudavsky. Plus "The Very First Desire Now and Forever" by Signe Baumane, and a look at Bill's new short, "The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Burger". Filmmakers will be present, and seating will be limited, so please get there early.

Next up, on January 20, will be a special lecture called "Inside Bill Plympton's Head" at the Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63rd St. in New York, NY. Bill will screen some of his latest shorts, including "Horn Dog", "Santa, the Fascist Years", "Mexican Standoff", his new short "The Cow Who Wanted to Be a Burger", and the pencil test for his upcoming feature "Cheatin'". Bill will also discuss the creative and business aspects of his career and do a live drawing demonstration. Every attendee will get a free Plympton drawing! Tickets are $15 for non-members, $10 for members, $7 for students. For more information, call 212-838-2560 or visit: www.societyillustrators.org

SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO (YOUR) TOWN
Bill Plympton's film "Santa, The Fascist Years" will be screened at the Slamdance Festival in Park City, Utah, on Friday, January 22, at 8 pm in the Main Screening Room, paired with the feature film "Down Terrace". The Slamdance Festival takes place January 21-28 at the Treasure Mountain Inn, 255 Main St. in Park City, and passes are currently on sale. For more info: http://slamdance.bside.com/2010/films/downterrace_slamdance2010

"Santa, the Fascist Years" has also been nominated for an Annie Award, in the category of Best Animated Short! The Annie Awards will take place on Saturday, February 6, 2010, at UCLA's Royce Hall, in Los Angeles, California. General Admission tickets are $25. Award Ceremony starts at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are for sale now at: http://www.annieawards.org/

Animated in a style similar to archival newsreels, "Santa, the Fascist Years" imagines a world in which jolly old Santa Claus needs more room for his workshop, and invades European countries to gain more territory. Then he goes on a quest to make the Christmas season last longer - but why was this historical event kept out of the history books? The answer is lost deep in the archives...

You can also watch the film "Santa: The Fascist Years" on iTunes, in addition to seeing it on the "Dog Days" DVD!

UPCOMING EVENTS
In February, Bill will travel to the United Kingdom to appear at the Animated Exeter Festival. The festival will be screening his latest feature film "Idiots and Angels", and also a program of selected recent shorts, including "Hot Dog", "Horn Dog", "Shuteye Hotel", "The Fan and the Flower", "Santa, the Fascist Years", and "Mexican Standoff". The festival runs from February 11-20, and Bill will be in attendance Feb. 12-14, to host a Master Class screening of his short films, along with a live drawing demonstration. For More info: http://tinyurl.com/yb87mfq

Following that, Bill will travel to the Monstra Animated Film Festival in Lisbon, Portugal (March 14-17) and the Lucca Animation Festival in Italy (March 17-21) more details on these events in our next newsletter...

FULL SCREENING SCHEDULE

IDIOTS AND ANGELS:
• Animated Exeter, UK, Feb. 11-20, 2010
• Monstra Animated Film Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, March 11-21

HORN DOG:
• Flickerfest Intl Short Film Festival, Sydney, Australia,
   Jan. 8-18, 2010
• Future Film Festival, Bologna, Italy, Jan. 26-31
• Colorado Short Circuit, Colorado Springs CO, Jan. 27
• Boulder Intl Film Festival, Boulder CO, Feb. 11-14
• Durango Independent Film Festival, Durango CO, March 3-7
• Monstra Animated Film Festival, Lisbon, Portugal, March 11-21
• Hong Kong Intl Film Festival, Hong Kong, China, March 21-April 6

SANTA, THE FASCIST YEARS:
• Slamdance Festival, Park City, UT, January 22, 2010
• Animated Exeter, UK, Feb. 11-20
• Hong Kong Intl Film Festival, Hong Kong, China, March 21-April 6

Come see Bill's films at a festival near you! As always, please check with each festival for exact screening dates, times and ticket information.

MERCHANDISE
The holidays are over, but that doesn't mean the sales have to end. You can still pick up the Plympton Ultimate Fan Package, containing 5 animated DVDs, 3 books, 2 CDs and 2 posters for a radically discounted price! Plus, all your purchases goto help fund the next Bill Plympton masterpiece!

And we still have plenty of DVD copies of "Bill's Dirty Shorts" and "Bill Plympton's Dog Days". The "Dog Days" DVD contains the first three films of Bill Plympton's famous "dog" series - the Oscar-nominated "Guard Dog", "Guide Dog", and "Hot Dog" - plus the short films "Shuteye Hotel", "The Fan and the Flower", and "Santa: The Fascist Years". Plus you get music videos for Kanye West, Weird Al Yankovic, and Parson Brown, and a ton of interviews, pencil tests, and commercials done in the classic Plympton style.

VISIT BILL ON FACEBOOK!
After years of making sure that Bill Plympton's videos were NOT posted on YouTube, we're now turning over a new leaf - and we've created a channel on YouTube just for high-quality uploads and clips from Bill's shorts and his most famous music videos and commercials. Don't miss the chance to see the first pencil tests from Bill's upcoming feature "Cheatin'" http://www.youtube.com/user/Plymptoons

And remember, kids - just because Plympton films are on YouTube, it's still not cool to rip your favorite Bill Plympton DVDs and post them on illegal file-sharing sites. We ask everyone to observe the copyright laws, and NOT upload or download Bill Plympton films from torrent sites or other dark corners of the interwebs. If you like Bill's films and want to share them with your friends, please help support independent filmmaking by purchasing a DVD straight from the source. Illegally posting or downloading copyrighted material will get you put on Santa's NAUGHTY list for sure!

VISIT BILL ON FACEBOOK!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1078003225&ref=profile