Ottawa 2009

[Paul Fierlinger]

And without a word of thanks, just: "By all means proceed on this as you see fit." as if we needed his approval. But this business has always been this way. If I had let something of this nature cripple me from the onset, I'd be still drinking moonshine in a ditch in Slovakia.

[Fabrice]

And without a word of thanks, just: "By all means proceed on this as you see fit." as if we needed his approval. But this business has always been this way. If I had let something of this nature cripple me from the onset, I'd be still drinking moonshine in a ditch in Slovakia.

Tulip looks very different compared to the other animation film, but it's not impossible to distribute and make money from it.

Although Annecy' jury has given a price to Coraline this year, I can hardly believe that none of the 200 distributors present in Annecy was interested by Tulip, especially the distributors from England.

[Paul Fierlinger]

According to our producer there have been plenty of offers but none realistic enough to be worthy of consideration. I don't know enough about this end of our business to be qualified to have an opinion. I do believe that he will in the end succeed though -- he has the energy and is too persistent to give up -- it's just taking more time than he had expected.

Tulip looks very different compared to the other animation film, but it's not impossible to distribute and make money from it.

I am reading a book right now by Lorie Moore -- it is a New York Times best seller as were all her previous books, all of which I love. Yet she has never received more than a 3 1/2 star rating on Amazon. If book publishers had the minds of film distributors, we would have only 5 star sentimental drivel to select from on Amazon.

[slowtiger]

Paul, that's quite a shock. If I had won the lottery yesterday, I could help you out, but I didn't.

Well, other means of financing? My father is still sailing, and I grew up surrounded by piles of yachting magazines and on camping sites at sailing clubs. There are so many people in the world interested in sailing, and so many of them organized in clubs and other organizations - I wonder if it were possible to raise some funding there? There must be even some Slocum memorial society somewhere. As far as I know they like heavy teak wood and brass, so maybe a presentation along these lines would get their interest ...

[Paul Fierlinger]

There is a Joshua Slocum Society that is interested only in keeping records of solo sailors who have done the same (surprisingly only a couple hundred worldwide since 1898, and incidentally, the year my father was born)and wouldn't even answer my e-mail asking for a list of the Spray replicas which exist and can be chartered here . I have some firm plans which I do not want to jinx by prematurely revealing them... it is superstition on my part, not unlike participating in the lottery, but thanks for the offer.

There are so many people in the world interested in sailing, and so many of them organized in clubs and other organizations

This kind of thinking is a treacherous sink hole; as true as it is, it is the same as knowing that there are 30 million dogs registered in the US, which amount to less than half the amount of dogs never registered. If each dog, registered or not can be presumed to have at least three owners (the family pets they are) and only half of them went to see Tulip...etc., you get the drift of where this math is taking us.
It reminds me of a Czech tourist who once showed up at my doorsteps asking for twenty dollars. He said that he learned that there are over 1.2 million Czechs living here and that if just half of those gave him 20 bucks, he could visit all the places he is interested in over here. I asked him how many have contributed so far and he said none. As much as I disliked him I let him stay overnight (it was already dark) and gave him $ 10 to get on a bus to the next town and out of my house. Only later did it dawn on me that this must have been his plan from the start; I bet he got to see the whole country by ringing the doorbell of a former Czech citizen every day just before dark.

What my producer really needs to find out (and he's working on it) is how to get all the dog owners in the world to know that there is such a film called My Dog Tulip and can be bought on DVD (or seen in a theater nearby to take pre-orders)etc. All this peddling is realistic but with little money to spend on advertising is a horrendous task. Just ask Plympton. This is what the distributors who showed interest in Tulip mostly offered, with no commitment to the amount of money they intend to spend on marketing and not even offering a marketing plan.

[Sierra Rose]

Makes me a little wistful for the old days when a patron would fund artists.

Paul's works are real treasures and I know if people knew about them, they would delight in them too.

But I think of THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES which won Academy Awards and I speak to very few people who even know about that film.

[Paul Fierlinger]

But I think of THE MAN WHO PLANTED TREES which won Academy Awards and I speak to very few people who even know about that film.

I wouldn't be too sure about that... I believe that the DVDs sold very well. In Canada certainly many people know about that film. It's not as if we should expect that everyone knows our films, as well as I have doubts that too many people know Lorie Moores' books, as best selling as they are.

This is actually at the crux of the issue here; I am perfectly content with what we got paid for Tulip as long as we can get the next one going and get paid the same way. We got the next one going only on a promise that the money will appear soon, soon, very soon, just in days, perhaps before the week is over... In the mean time backers of Tulip must be paid first when the money starts coming in--with a 60% profit. The producers, the book owners and the accountants and lawyers must be paid their promised deferred payments first ... The stars must be paid first too and let's not forget that we need stars in animated features based on famous (expensive) books to get them noticed by the press and picked up by the distributors --- and the film MUST have 35 mm filmmout to "look professional" otherwise no one will buy it! Must be in Dolby surround sound, otherwise no one will buy it. oops! Something isn't panning out here. What happened to these fantasies that purportedly guarantee distribution? The sum of these "must haves" far exceeds the cost of our own labor and overhead. Right now, it seems to look as if these "must have or else won't sell" expenses are exactly what is hindering Tulip from being picked up.

If the producer's defacto complaint is that none of the distributors interested in Tulip offered a reasonable amount of money, would it not be possible that we would be well covered with the amount they are prepared to offer if had we made a film based on a public domain book, which I could make work using just my voice and considered the film done when it's on digital tape, something we can do in-house with no outside expenses... in other words, Slocum. Lot's to think about. We have way over 10 minutes in the can already....only 70 to go.

[masterchief]

Paul.. you have shared so much of your SLocum work.. it is a wonderful project. OMG I pray that you find your way to completing and getting it distributed.
best regards,
William

[Fabrice]

In Canada certainly many people know about that film

in France too (Frédéric Back is french )

[Paul Fierlinger]

Paul.. you have shared so much of your SLocum work.. it is a wonderful project. OMG I pray that you find your way to completing and getting it distributed.
best regards,
William

Thanks, William. We're continuing our work on it as I type. We'll finish it one way or the other.
Fabrice, I always though Frederic Back is German.
Yup, here it is:
Frédéric Back, OC, CQ (born April 8, 1924) is an award-winning Canadian animator.

Born in Saarbrücken, Germany, he emigrated to Canada in 1948.

In 1952, he joined the graphics department of Radio-Canada and has remained there since.

[Fabrice]

probably a mistake from me anyway he speaks french and lived a part of is life in France.

Back to slocum, did you had any kind of contract linking you with your producer ? (don't answer if it's a secret)

[Paul Fierlinger]

Back to slocum, did you had any kind of contract linking you with your producer ? (don't answer if it's a secret)

No secret, au contraire, I don't mind sharing with other animators the real travails of the animated life cycles. There are never any guarantees in life. We never reached the point of signing a contract, since we had a complete understanding of what our mutual obligations should be. As Norman on several occasions put it, I can absolutely depend on his word that Slocum will get funded, so why bother rushing onto paper a solemn promise until concrete dates become clear? The fact is that he might still fulfill his promise; our minds are not completely closed to each other. I just think that I might have a better chance to get just as good or even a better deal elsewhere. Finishing the film under our own production isn't such a bad deal either and actually pretty appealing to me right now.

[Fabrice]

So the part of the work already done belongs to you. Good point you are "free" to do what you want.

[Paul Fierlinger]

So the part of the work already done belongs to you. Good point you are "free" to do what you want.

And the book upon which the film is based is in public domain and I wrote the screenplay. So far, even our invaluable composer shares our approach towards the continuation of the project and if needed, I can record the film's scratch track until we find some money to contract professional actors, which I assume would be one of the last things to happen. These bits of information belong on this forum, because when it comes down to looking at practical matters, we couldn't even think of pulling something of this nature off without the availability of paperless animation.

[malcooning]

when it comes down to looking at practical matters, we couldn't even think of pulling something of this nature off without the availability of paperless animation.

When things get bogged by the bulldozering industry, you get to win a refreshing reminder of the clever choices you made along the way - such as to move to Paperless production. Sorry to hear about the mishap with the production of Slocum. But reading your words I find, in fact, not only optimism, but some sense of relief too. Something tells me that in the end this film will mark an important step for you and Sandra, because you'll manage to pull it through and let it shine despite the obstacles. That will be a celebratory feat for your independent animation road.