ARTICLES OF WAR Now Available Online!

After a year-long festival tour that sent my 35 MM print of ARTICLES OF WAR zipping across the country more than a few times, I'm excited to announce that the entire film is having its online premiere...


RIGHT NOW!


The front page of www.articles-of-war.com has multiple viewing options (including the best possible way to see the movie outside of a theater... 1080p, 720p, and 480p HD Quicktime), but the film can also be watched (and commented on!) over at Vimeo and YouTube:


Quicktime HD http://www.articles-of-war.com

Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/10741912

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DanielKanemoto

Finally, on behalf of my myself and my insanely talented crew, I'm asking everyone I know a small favor: If you enjoyed ARTICLES OF WAR, please pass the word (or Tweet, or MyFace, or... you know, use whatever new awesome, vaguely baffling verb that's busy transforming the way we talk to each other).

Truth is, word of mouth is everything when it comes to promoting these movies (and the people who make 'em), and I'd love for ARTICLES OF WAR to be seen by as many people as possible.

In the time it took me to make this film, the Internet became the world's most amazing film festival, and even though I'm busy writing my next project, I can't wait to hear what the world thinks of this one...

Fall Festival Tour

I'm proud to announce that ARTICLES OF WAR will be racking up the frequent flier points this fall, as the film is headed on an epic cross-country tour to screen in a wide variety of excellent film festivals:

First up is the 10th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival, where I'll be making a personal appearance on Saturday, October 17th when the film screens as part of the popular Animation Program at 2:30 PM.

ARTICLES OF WAR then heads East to the Windy City, where it will have its Chicago premiere on Saturday, October 24th at 5 PM as part of the "Cutting Hedge Animation" program at the 26th Annual 2009 Chicago International Children's Film Festival.

Then it's off to the 6th Annual Big Apple Film Festival, where the movie will have its New York premiere on Friday, November 6th at 6 PM at the Tribeca Cinemas (just one subway stop away from my beloved West Village, where I spent a couple of years making the movie!)

Finally it's back to the Midwest when the movie screens on Saturday, November 14th at 5 PM as part of the 18th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival.

Click here for a complete list of screening times and theater locations.

ARTICLES OF WAR Canadian Premiere

I'm very proud to announce that ARTICLES OF WAR will make its Canadian debut at the 2009 Montréal World Film Festival (also known as the Festival des Films du Monde).

The film is paired up with a feature film, ONE WAR (ODNA VOYNA) and is screening on Friday, September 4th at 7:20 PM at the Quartier Latin Cineplex in Montréal.

Comic-Con 2009 Recap

I had an absolute blast last month in San Diego at my very first Comic-Con. After ARTICLES OF WAR screened, I went up on stage along with three key crew members (from left to right: editor Jeff Yorkes, composer Ryan Shore, actor Clay Adams, and Yours Truly) to answer questions from the crowd.

I've loved every screening I've been to, but this one was extra special.


After the screening, I had three full days to explore the convention hall, listen into panels, and just generally wander around with wide open eyes (the Weta Workshop booth was probably my favorite place to drool over collectibles and props).

I even got to meet my favorite member of the Muppet Orchestra, Rowlf! I gotta find a way to get him a copy of my film...

ARTICLES OF WAR goes to Comic-Con

I'm thrilled to announce that ARTICLES OF WAR will have its California premiere at the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival at the San Diego Convention Center.

Everyone attending Comic-Con on Friday, July 24th can see the film in Room 26AB at 1:10 PM. I'll be appearing along with editor Jeff Yorkes, composer Ryan Shore, and actor Clay Adams. We'll all be available to answer questions at a panel after the screening - if you like what you see, please be sure to stop by and say hello.

This will be my first appearance at Comic-Con, and after spending years reading about the event (first in various fanzines in the 80s and 90s, then on the Web), I'm sort of amazed that I'm finally going to get to wander through the various exhibits, presentations, and merchant stalls. If you see me with a particularly tortured expression on my face, it's just because I'm trying hard not to spend my life savings on some obscure vinyl toy that I. Must. Own. Now.

ARTICLES OF WAR on Facebook

Just a quick note to to let everyone know that ARTICLES OF WAR is now on Facebook. Click on over and become a fan today!

April Screenings

ARTICLES OF WAR is playing 3 festivals in April - the Atlanta Film Festival, the Nashville Film Festival, and the Newport Beach Film Festival.


Actor Clay Adams and I will be attending the Atlanta event in person and participating in a Q&A after the screening, so if you happen to make it, please say hello. It's my first visit to Atlanta (not counting the sprawling Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport), and I'm really looking forward to it.

Atlanta Film Festival

Animation Extravaganza 1

Friday, April 17 at 10:30 PM

Monday, April 20 at 5:00 PM

Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

931 Monroe Drive

Atlanta, GA 30308

(678) 495-1424

TICKETS

Nashville Film Festival

Animating History/Animating Reality

Saturday, April 18 at 7:00 PM

Monday, April 20 at 3:15 PM

Green Hills Cinema

3815 Green Hills Village Drive

Nashville, TN 37215

(615) 269-5772

TICKETS

Newport Beach Film Festival

A Slice Of Americana

Thursday, April 30 at 3:45 PM

Edwards Island 2

999 Newport Center Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660

(949) 640-1971

TICKETS

Cleveland International Film Festival

I just got back from the Cleveland International Film Festival, where ARTICLES OF WAR had its Midwestern premiere. The film got a great reception in the Rock 'n Roll Capital of the World, and the event was a total blast. I could only stay for a couple of days, so my only regret is that I wasn't able to spend more time in a dark theater sampling the hugely eclectic mix of movies featured in the festival.


Thanks to all the behind-the-scenes programmers and volunteers who made this year's festival a huge success!

Upcoming Screenings

If you live in or nearby Cleveland or Atlanta in the next couple of weeks, you'll have a couple of great opportunities to catch ARTICLES OF WAR in glorious 35 MM on the big screen!

First up is the Cleveland Film Festival, and then in April is the Atlanta Film Festival, which just released its schedule. I'm positively thrilled to be playing in a program along with animation legends Bill Plympton and Don Hertzfeldt!

Cleveland International Film Festival

Independent Shorts Program #7

Tuesday, March 24 at 4:20 PM

Tower City Cinemas

230 W. Huron Rd.

Cleveland, OH 44113

(216) 621-1374

TICKETS

Atlanta Film Festival

Animation Extravaganza 1

Friday, April 17 at 10:30 PM

Monday, April 20 at 5:00 PM

Landmark Midtown Art Cinema

931 Monroe Drive

Atlanta, GA 30308

(678) 495-1424

TICKETS

2009 Atlanta Film Festival

I'm thrilled to announce that ARTICLES OF WAR will be playing in the 2009 Atlanta Film Festival, which takes place from April 16th to April 25th!

The exact screening times haven't been announced yet, but I'll post an update as soon as I find out.

In the meantime, I'll be attending my Cleveland screening in person. ARTICLES OF WAR is playing at 4:20 PM on March 24th in the "Independent Shorts Program #" at Tower City Cinemas. Tickets are on sale now!

Cleveland International Film Festival

I'm very proud to announce that ARTICLES OF WAR has been accepted into the Cleveland Film Festival, which takes place from March 19th to March 29th deep in the heart of the Rock 'n Roll Capital of the World.

The film will screen on Tuesday, March 24th at 4:20 PM as part of the Independent Shorts Program #7, which looks like a really cool batch of new films.

If you're a Clevelander and you love movies, then please come out and support the CIIFF!

Film in can, ready to roll

Thanks to the pros at Alpha Cine Labs, I now have a brand spankin' new 35 MM film print of ARTICLES OF WAR. It looks (and sounds!) fantastic - I spent so much time watching the movie on my (relatively teensy) computer monitor during production that it was a genuine thrill to finally see the movie projected on the big screen.

I'm currently keeping this sucker safe and sound in my closet, but I'm looking forward to showing it to... well, everyone. Film festivals, here we come.

The DVDs have arrived!

I just opened up my first batch of ARTICLES OF WAR DVD screeners, and they're all earmarked for various film festivals around the world. I've spent the past few hours filling out entry forms - it's a pretty painless process these days, thanks to the Internet (in the past, I remember cursing my horrible penmanship skills while filling 'em out by hand). I just hope I spelled everything correctly.

Once the movie finishes the film festival circuit, I'll be releasing a fancy DVD with some cool extras, like a behind-the-scenes look at the Skywalker Sound scoring stage - my editor, Jeff Yorkes, is cutting it now, and I'm thrilled with how it's turning out.

Of course, the dream has always been to see the movie with a big audience on 35MM film, so I'm really hoping the festivals I've entered will feature the film. Fingers crossed...

NY Independent Animated Features Panel

I'll be screening a 2-minute clip of ARTICLES OF WAR at an ASIFA-East panel called "The State of NY Independent Animated Features" on Tuesday, September 23rd at 7 PM on the 3rd floor of SVA (209 East 23rd Street) in New York City. Admission is free. 

I'll probably be taking notes up on the stage, 'cause this panel has some real experts, like the great Bill Plympton, who's made about a zillion awesome cartoons in the time it took for me to complete my movie.

ARTICLES OF WAR goes to Skywalker Ranch

I just added a new production feature on the site, "Skywalker Ranch," detailing my recent trip to Lucasfilm's Skywalker Sound. It's all about how Ryan Shore wrote and conducted ARTICLES OF WAR's original orchestral score.

I've always wanted to work at Skywalker, and the place more than lived up to its reputation... a real dream-come-true type of situation.

But hey, enough spoilers, it's time to visit...

Skywalker Ranch

Final poster

Here's the final release poster for ARTICLES Of WAR! You can download a super hi-rez version in the 'Downloads' section of the site - here's a quick link:

ARTICLES OF WAR Press Kit Photos

Sir Mix-A-Lot

After months of preparation, I'm really excited to be mixing ARTICLES OF WAR tomorrow over at SoundOne, one of the best post-production houses on the East Coast. This will be my third visit to SoundOne - I recorded the movie's voiceover element in two sessions over the last year, but now we'll be occupying one of the mixing stages ("Studio D", I'm told). Finally hearing the movie in glorious surround sound is going to be surreal.

I'm teaming up with a great mixer, Martin Czembor, who's worked on a lot of really cool projects, from Alex Woo's acclaimed REX STEELE: NAZI SMASHER (has there ever been a better movie title?) to the great PBS documentary series CARRIER, which follows around the USS Nimitz on a 6 month tour-of-duty (it's rapidly filling up my home DVR).

This is the second-to-last step in finishing the movie - after Friday, all that will be left is transferring the digital picture to 35 millimeter film. 

Film festivals, here we come.

In the immortal words of Porkins: "Almost... there!"

It's taken a few more weeks (OK, fine, months) than I expected, but after many late nights reviewing every single frame of animation, I've officially locked picture on ARTICLES OF WAR. 

Now that I've finished my tweaks (I swear, on this movie, I've pretty much tweaked my tweaks), the film is now in the hands of brilliant sound designer Joe Pleiman. He's already assembled an amazing collection of of sound effects, but needs just a couple of short weeks to put in his finishing touches (including some new airplane ambience, which he recorded when he heard the unique tone of the air exchangers encased in the underground garage beneath the Main House at Skywalker Ranch... how cool is that?)

Next stop: The final mix, when we blend Ryan Shore's score, Joe's sound effects, and actor Clay Adam's performance into something that's gonna sound amazing. I can't wait. Post-production is by far my favorite part of moviemaking...

Skywalker Sound, here I come!

It's been too long since my last post-production update, but I just got some great news... 

I've wanted to visit Lucasfilm's Skywalker Ranch since I was a little kid checking out my public library's beat-up copy of "The Making Of Star Wars" for the millionth time, and I never thought I'd get the opportunity to actually bring one of my movies there. 

But thanks to the heroic efforts of my composer, Ryan Shore, I'm headed out to Northern California in just a few short weeks to record the score for ARTICLES OF WAR. Ryan's written an incredible score, and watching him conduct the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra at the Ranch's Technical Building (take a virtual tour here!) will be a dream come true. 

The whole post-production team is going to be spending the night at the Ranch at the Skywalker Inn, where each room is dedicated to a different film pioneer. I'm crossing my fingers that the Winsor McCay room is still available...

Mellart

Thanks to comics journalist Marcos Milone, who featured one of my background paintings from ARTICLES OF WAR on his Mellart blog. And now I'm blogging about his blog. All that's left is for somebody else to blog about my blog featuring his blog.