Leading independent animation house Film Roman announced five new half-hour, animated properties at MIP on Monday, April 2, 2001. The new series include John Waters' PATENT LEATHER DREAMHOUSE, Norman Lear's 'TIL THE FAT LADY SINGS, HAIRBALLS, ZIPPY THE PINHEAD and TRIPPING THE RIFT. According to Peter Schankowitz, president of programming and development, "Our MIP slate reflects Film Roman's ability to partner with well known talent like John Waters and Norman Lear, as well as to develop our own properties in-house. These series represent a departure from the look and feel of the prime time and kids series we're usually associated with and offer an edgier sensibility that will have strong appeal for audiences worldwide." John Waters' PATENT LEATHER DREAMHOUSE features an animated Waters as the host to an assortment of HAIRSPRAY/PINK FLAMINGO-type characters in strange and unusual plotlines. Mike B. Anderson is the creator. Charlotte Brown and John Baskin are the creators of 'TIL THE FAT LADY SINGS, Norman Lear's honest look at the lives of a motley crew of elderly people living in a Santa Monica Senior Center. Act III Productions is set to co-produce. HAIRBALLS is a satirical twist on the classic "cat and mouse" cartoons, revealing the dark side of three domestic cats that live together and are desperate to get along while dealing with the daily trials of living the cat lifestyle. HAIRBALLS was developed in house and first seen as a short on Film Roman's Website, LEVEL13.net. Doug Lawrence is the creator. ZIPPY THE PINHEAD is a dialogue between two facets of the "Zippy the Pinhead" character. "Zippy" is the child-like clown representing the kid in everyone while "Griffy," is the adult, rationale man. ZIPPY THE PINHEAD explores the pop excesses of consumer society with a love/hate relationship. Bill Griffith is the creator of this 30-year-old comic strip. TRIPPING THE RIFT is a science fiction comedy that gives new meaning to the word "edgy." A diverse troop consisting of a little purple blob, an arrogant gold robot and a luscious first officer face off against the scourge of the Universe, the Dark Clown Darth Bobo. TRIPPING THE RIFT was created by Chris Moeller and Chuck Austen and is also featured on LEVEL13.net.
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
