Last Days of Coney Island
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| Last Days of Coney Island | |
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 A still from the project. |
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| Directed by | Ralph Bakshi |
| Produced by | Ralph Bakshi |
| Written by | Ralph Bakshi |
| Cinematography | Eddie Bakshi Jess Gorell[1] |
| Country |  United States |
| IMDb profile | |
Last Days of Coney Island was a project written by and being produced, directed and animated by filmmaker Ralph Bakshi, about a NYPD detective, the prostitute he alternately loves and arrests, and the seedy characters that haunt the streets of New York City's run-down amusement district.
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[edit] History
The project was first announced on Bakshi's official website.[2] Bakshi had previously pitched the film to major studios such as Pixar and DreamWorks, but was unable to find anyone who wanted to take on the project.[3] When technology began advancing to the point where Bakshi could begin the project on a lower budget, he decided to take on the project himself and produce it independently. Bakshi is quoted as saying that the animation is "probably higher quality than anything I ever made, at a cost so low it's embarrassing. Everything I used to do in my old movies that required hundreds of people and huge salaries is now done in a box. It took 250 people to make Heavy Traffic, now I'm down to five. I kiss the computer every morning—fuckin' unbelievable!"[3]
Since being announced the film has gotten a lot of interest, but no official funding. According to Bakshi, "I had about eight minutes of film and a completed script. I thought budget was a slam dunk. For a Bakshi comeback film, it seemed like a no-brainer. [...] I asked one guy [in Hollywood], 'Should I have a budget of $150 million and pocket the rest?' He said, 'Yeah, but you have to make it PG.'"[4] Attempts were made to fund the film entirely independently, but have since fizzled. Now the focus of Bakshi Productions has shifted to drumming up interest in Bakshi's currently available catalog of films to hopefully induce 20th Century Fox's animation division, or a well established independent animation company to fund the remainder of the production.[5] However, there is still a chance that the film could be completed. Additionally, Bakshi is planning to release what has already been completed of the film through the Internet.
[edit] Production
Much of the production was aided with the use of Toon Boom Studio, computer software designed to assemble 2D animation. Ralph Bakshi is quoted as saying "Eddie [Bakshi's son] began some coloring and refining of artwork in Photoshop then gradually moved over to doing this in Toon Boom Studio. The crossover was relatively painless. The programs worked well together. [...] I set up the picture in a traditional manner then Eddie uses Toon Boom Studio to do everything else. My animator Doug Compton also uses Toon Boom Studio to assemble and send pencil tests and animatics. Toon Boom Studio essentially becomes the studio. [...] I feel Toon Boom Studio has freed all cartoonists to make any film they want to make at an affordable price. This is more important in my opinion than Walt Disney being born."[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Silverstein, Joel. Jess Gorell's photographic memory. The Inquirer and Mirror. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
- ^ Bakshi, Ralph. Re: Your Project with John K.. Ralph Bakshi Forum. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
- ^ a b Who flamed Roger Rabbit?. The Guardian (August 11, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
- ^ Pixels to the people. The Boston Globe (September 24, 2006). Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
- ^ Last Days of Coney Island production status. Ralph Bakshi Forum. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
- ^ April 2006 Newsletter. Toon Boom. Retrieved on 2007-06-04.
[edit] External links
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