Ted_at_Twit.stupid.decision.com wishes to say...

From: Andy Hill <chance_at_unix.infoserve.net>
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 1995 07:46:01 -0700 (PDT)

     Hi all KATS fans. Had an interesting half an hour conversation with
Hanna-Barbera yesterday, here's the gist of it:

     In a good-news/bad news type of thing, all the SWATKATS production
materiel has been sent to Turner Home Video. I don't know if this is
necessarily a bad idea, there's been a big shakeup in Afternoon
Entertainment this year, and other people are doing the same things with
their current stuff (can't go on about that right now). Victoria
McCollum over there is going to find out for me which six eps will be
first released to video.

     Buzz Potemkin has been reassigned to New York from LA, so he's out
of the 'KATS loop, as is Victoria apparently - she's working on the
"shorts" thing. I asked her what she felt about the SK cancellation
happening as it did (she's production manager for the show), and she said
"...I've worked on a lot of shows...it's a job...but some should've gone
on a lot longer than they did..." 'nuff said.

     Fan Mail. They've just done a major overhaul of the fan-mail system
for the 'KATS and everything else. They didn't realize there were
internet fans, a situation I cleared up in a hurry, and they are going to
try and get someone in charge of answering 'KATS mail. The guy I was
supposed to talk to won't be back from NewYork until Thursday, but the
second-in-command told me that "...if people can take the time to write,
you can be sure we're going to answer...". The fanmail ops have been
taken over by the "Classic Cartoons" division of H-B, and they have
everything hooked into a computer, and all the fan-mail is entered into
it. The age, sex and expressed opinions of the letter-writer are entered
into this thing, and will be used by the marketing people to determine
what stays on the air, and what doesn't, as well as giving them an idea
for future projects. They have "about 4000" in there now, and they can
sort by any means to come up with the info they need. I asked about
'KATS fan mail, and he said they have yet to go through "boxes and boxes"
since it was handed over to their division (couple of days ago). They
intend to set up something on Internet to allow fans to write regarding
'KATS, I'll work on that with two of the guys on the list that did so
much work regarding the fan-stuff already, and H-B may get interested
enough for an "Offical Fan Club", and maybe I can get them interested in
a WWW site. Write letters, people - if you think they don't do any good,
re-read the above: even Victoria McCollum said that "...shows
cancelled..(like this) have been revived by fan letters..."

     Next. Comics Scene reported the layoff figures after cancellation to
be "...23 in house artists, including half the background department, and
75 freelancers.." H-B says they didn't have more than 12 freelancers
that they could think of, and that the laid-off personnel were put
"on-call", as their "style of art" (read "quality") "wasn't currently
needed for on-going projects...". Disney snapped up one displaced artist
immediately, Warner Features is looking at a couple of others - I really
don't know how to interpret this. Disney just laid off a ton of
experienced people as well.

     Anyway, don't mistake the above as "false hopes", you know as much
as I do know.

Andy


 _________________________________________________________________________
     "His biography said he bumped his butt 'cuz he ate too much sugar...
        ....it's SAD (really)..." - Slappy Squirrel, "Bumbie's Mom" ANIMX
 _________________________________________________________________________
     "We have a mission Ann, down these mean skies, a 'KAT must fly...
                 ...we wanna be the good guys..."

      (Thanks Lance. Some of us got the reference - eventually!)



Received on Tue Apr 25 1995 - 10:38:44 PDT