The story of an author's struggle for success - the glamor and dreams of Hollywood and the check that's on the way. We made this film in 1987 with an original song composed by Lanny Meyers, A Warm Reception in L.A., using a style that had interested us for a long time - neon colors over a black background. The film received many awards from national and international film festivals and was acquired by The Museum of Modern Art Film Archive.
“A Warm Reception in L.A.” was the first independent collaboration of our newly formed Buzzco Associates— Vincent Cafarelli, Marilyn Kraemer and me. It was also the first collaboration with composer, Lanny Meyers.
While still working for Buzz Potamkin, owner and producer of Buzzco Productions, Vinny and I were asked to come up with TV series ideas and Buzz would fly to Hollywood to pitch them. Returning from a trip, Vinny asked Buzz how it went with one of his ideas, and Buzz replied, "It got a warm reception."
Vinny, the optimist, went around the studio singing “I got a warm reception in LA and the check is on the way” to a calypso sounding riff. A few years later Buzz moved to LA to form another studio, Southern Star, and he sold Buzzco to us. I thought that Vinny's ditty was a good basis for a film!
Leaving the studio one evening, Vinny and I ran into composer Lanny Meyers who I’d worked with on some of the Berenstain Bears’ TV specials and we told him the idea. About a week later he brought us to his studio and played “A Warm Reception in LA” on his piano. We loved it, and Vinny said to me— “Now we HAVE to do it!”
I always liked the look of vibrant colors over a black background and our cameraman had recently bought Polaroid filters for his camera so dust settling on animation cels wouldn’t be the problem it had always been. We could fulfill a dream of mine to make a film looking like it was made of neon lights. And that began a whole new trend of ours!
•C.I.N.E., Washington, D.C., USA - Golden Eagle
•1987 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Annecy, France - Finalist
•Hiroshima '87 2nd International Animation Festival, Hiroshima, Japan - Finalist
•Second Los Angeles Int'l Animation Celebration, Los Angeles, Ca., USA - Finalist
•The Animation Festival Bristol 1987, Bristol, England - Young Jury's
•Sixth Animated Film Festival for Young People, Bourg En Bresse, France - Special Jury Award
•USA Film Festival's Ninth Annual National Short Film & Video Competition, Dallas, Texas, USA - Finalist
•Varna '87 - Fifth World Animated Film Festival, Varna, Bulgaria
•Cinanima '87 - Eleventh International Animated Film Festival, Espinho, Portugal
•Festival International Du Film De Comedie, Vevey, Sweden - Finalist
•Fifth Annual Bucks County Film Festival, Bucks County, Pa., USA
•1987-88 Thomas A. Edison Black Maria Film & Video, West Orange, N.J., USA
•Tenth Annual Big Muddy Film Festival, Animation Carbondale, Ill., USA - 2nd Prize
•ASIFA-East, New York, N.Y., USA - 1st Prize Design
•Aspen Film Festival, Aspen, Co., USA - Judge's Award
•Shanghai '88 International Animation Film Festival, Shanghai, China - Finalist
•Women in Film Festival, Los Angeles, Ca., USA
•Marin County 18th Annual Film Festival, San Rafael, Ca., USA - 3rd Prize Animation
•19th Sinking Creek Film Festival, Nashville, Tenn., USA - Honorable Mention
•22nd Annual Kenyon Film Festival, Gambier, Ohio, USA - Best Animation
•BACA 21st Annual Film Festival, Brooklyn, N.Y., USA
•7th International Uppsala Film Festival, Sweden
•The Houston International Film Festival Houston, Texas, USA - Silver
•Ottawa '88, Ottawa, Ontario
•22nd Annual N.Y. Independent Film & Video Expo, New York, N.Y., USA - Finalist
•The Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, Ill., USA - Gold Award
OTHER SCREENINGS:
•Best of Annecy 1987 Tour - La Cinematheque quebecoise, Montreal Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley Museum of Modern Art
•N.Y. Museum of Modern Art's New Directors/New Films Series 1988 - Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.
•BACA Festival Tour - Brooklyn Museum, N.Y., Metropolitan Museum of Art
•Checkerboard Foundation - New York, N.Y.
•American Cinematheque - Los Angeles, Ca.
•National Archive - Washington, D.C.
•Women in Film's Women Make Movies VI - Washington, D.C.
•Museum of Cartoon Art - Rye Brook, N.Y.
•Museum of Modern Art's Members Marathon - Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.
•The 22nd Tournèe of Animation - Released theatrically nationwide.
CREDITS:
Produced by: Buzzco Associates, Inc.
Directed by: Vincent Cafarelli & Candy Kugel
Producer: Marilyn Kraemer
Design: Candy Kugel
Animation: Vincent Cafarelli
Music: Lanny Meyers and Vincent Cafarelli
Performed by: Lanstronaut
Writers: Vincent Cafarelli & Candy Kugel
Camera: John Rowohlt
Editor: Neil Lawrence
Distributed by:
Pyramid Films (Worldwide, Non-Theatrically)
Buzzco Associates, Inc. (For all other distribution rights)
