My next jaunt to spread the animated Gospel According to Bill Plympton was an invitation to the D'Eauville American Film Festival.  It takes place every September in a beautiful, quaint city on the Normandy beaches of France.

The purpose is to introduce the new American films to the French critics before their releases, but what really happens is the French fans get to get a glimpse of American movie stars.

They put me up in the posh Normandie Barriere, a large, very proper turn-of-the-century hotel right on the beach - it's hermetically sealed on all sides so the stars can meet the press without the multitudes of French fans gaining access.

One afternoon, after a delightful swim, while passing through the courtyard, I saw Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg having drinks by themselves while a couple of suits stood by for protection. 

After the initial shock of walking so close past them, the idea came to me to say hello - after all, they pride themselves on knowledge of film.  Who knows, maybe they even saw and like my movies.  Why, just last year Tom Hanks' office asked for a private screening of my film "Mutant Aliens" - I boldly turned back to introduce myself and the bodyguard scowled at me - after all, I looked like a beach bum in my dripping swimsuit and wet towel - they don't want some drenched fan spraying seawater all over their new script or whatever.

So, I turned and walked away - sometimes I'm just too shy.  I couldn't take the rejection if they didn't know who I was.

After all the interviews, I left the Barriere to go to my screening.  On the way, I was mobbed by adoring French fans asking for autographs and pictures.  As you are aware, very few people know what animators look like, since all their work is done behind the camera - even John Lasseter can usually walk the streets without causing a fuss.  So, I must admit I wasn't prepared for the adulation of these French fans.  And then, at the photo session, it was the same thing - I felt like I was Tom Hanks.  A bank of some 50 paparazzi yelling at me to "Turn this way", "Mr. Plympton, please!"  I didn't know what to do - that was exciting - so I grabbed a large piece of paper and drew "Rod" from "Hair High".

The screening was a huge success, over 600 French fans - and the food was great as usual.  But, I must admit, it was a little surreal to walk down the streets of this charming French village and see American flags and paraphernalia strewn everywhere -

Manu and Fabrice of E.D. Distribution drove me and my new "Hair High" print to Paris, where I had two more sold-out screenings.  The second was at my favorite place, the Forum Des Images for the Festival L'Etrange (Strange Film) - again, a terrific crowd.

While there, I visited two friends - the great Serge Bromberg, artistic director of the Annecy Animation Festival (my favorite) and Geoffrey Darrow of "Matrix" and "Hard Core" fame.

The next day, I took the TGV to Vevey in Switzerland - this beautiful little village by the side of Lake Geneva was once home to Charlie Chaplin - here's me standing by his statue (see picture).

This appearance was to kick off a month-long tour of all my animated feature films throughout Switzerland, organized by Roland Cosandey.  It was a wonderful crowd of fans - the screenings of "Hair High" and "Guard Dog" were particularly popular.  I got an extended ovation and even the projectionist was applauding.

Vevey is a charming town full of culture and activities - while I was there, they had a huge antique car show - A.C. Cobras, MGTC's, Mercedes, Jaguars, a lot of big American cars from the 50's, and a whole fleet of AquaCars - those car/boats that were popular in the 60's.

After a great swim in the lake, I went to Bern, the home of the cheese with all the holes in it, (Swiss Cheese), for a packed screening at a huge warehouse that is essentially a cinema museum.  I've never seen so many ancient projectors and film paraphernalia.  It was very cool to watch my film in a crowd of people surrounded by 100 projectors from all over the world.  They seemed to enjoy the show also.

This edition's cartoon is page 24 of "Sloppy Seconds", it's called "Fletcher's Tent".  I don't usually find puns funny, and generally I don't draw them, but for some reason I thought this was a good funny idea - it's not.  I think the only reason I liked it was that it gave me a good excuse to draw a sexy girl undressing.  "Fletcher" was a character, very close to the "Your Face"/"Wiseman" guy that I thought would be a great star of a sex strip, but it never took off -

See you next time, and thanks for your support.

Bill