In Focus: ‘Open Season’ opens in crowded animation season

Steve Moore’s movie, “Open Season,” wasn’t intentionally planned to open up in the fall around the time of traditional hunting season, but sometimes timing is everything in the entertainment industry.  Steve ought to know that. In many ways, his entertainment career has been aided by providential good timing since the day he decided to take a swing at cartooning. His “In the Bleachers” submission landed on the editors desk at Tribune Media at the same time another sports cartoon was ending. Pitching the movie idea for “Open Season” to Sony Pictures came at a time when they were just opening their animation studio and were hungry for a great movie project.

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Doug Marlette’s latest book gets good review from Washington Post

Perhaps telling stories comes naturally for natives of the Magnolia State because the storytelling material there is as rich and deep as the topsoil that covers the broad expanse of the Delta.In his second novel, “Magic Time,” Doug Marlette shows that he knows a good Mississippi story when he sees one.  He also weaves the best details of each little story into a single big one, demonstrating a grasp of the cultural mind-set of the state as well the conflicts it can impose on its inhabitants and expatriates.As I’ve reported before, this is Doug’s second fictional novel.

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How For Better Or For Worse is produced is now online

The folks over at the For Better Or For Worse web site have posted a 42 part slideshow on the production of Lynn Johnston’s feature.  Some of the highlights include how many people work the feature (it’s no longer a one-woman job); what tools they use (they’re pretty specific on the type of pens, markers, inks that are used) and the total amount of time it takes for each strip to go down the “assembly line” (about 6 hours per strip).

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Who got dumped and picked up this week

The Peoria Journal Star has dropped Mark Tatulli’s Lio this week citing complaints from readers of its “lack of taste and sometimes cruel nature.”  The editor wrote that they felt that the promotional strips were more Calvin and Hobbesque (my new word) in nature, but the actual strips were different that what was marketed. They’ve opted to replace Mark’s work with Frazz by Jef Mallett.

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Bell, Braddock, Jantze and Knight to speak at Schulz Museum

Several cartoonists will be speaking at an upcoming Charles M. Schulz Museum event on the October 21st on the topic of how Peanuts has influenced their work.  According to E&P, Darrin Bell Candorville, Paige Braddock Jane’s World, Michael Jantze The Norm, and Keith Knight The K Chronicles are the invited cartoonists. Lee Mendelson, the producer of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown will also speak.

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