Brings back lots of memories of being an undergraduate and having to go to the library to photocopy whatever article from Screen was on that week's reading list!
A nice treat arrived in the post - a copy of the issue of Screen with my article on Rocky IV inside. It's been so long since I've received a physical copy of anything that I've published, with so much academic work being digital only these days.
Was particularly excited to spot my book on the Reading Room shelves! Quite an honour!
A long held scholarly wish has finally been fulfilled. Today I'm visiting the Margaret Herrick Library to do some Hollywood-based research!
I was very fortunate this afternoon to attend an event with Paul Dooley (best known to me as Wimpy from the live-action Popeye movie) at the Hollywood Heritage Museum. He's 97 years old and still going strong!
I'd always wanted to visit Portmeirion since seeing The Prisoner (1967) on DVD a quarter of a century ago. I finally got to go last weekend, and it did not disappoint!
I was definitely very honoured to be in the company of a broadcasting legend, though neglected to mention that as a child I usually defected to CITV to watch cartoons instead when Blue Peter was on BBC!
I got to spend a couple of days with Biddy Baxter when I was working at the BBC. As the link indicates, she had a reputation for being quite short with people & my colleagues has experienced this on previous visits. Somehow I met her approval and she was very nice to me when I had to deal with her!
Biddy Baxter: Blue Peter's formidable editor dies aged 92
Blue Peter's long-serving editor turned the children's show into a television institution.
www.bbc.co.uk
My Blu-ray copy of Essential Polish Animation has arrived. Looks fantastic!
I also wish they had leant more into the visual humour and moments of direct parody. The background gags were good when they occurred, but other parts of the film felt quite pedestrian, shot more like a generic direct-to-streaming actioner rather than being truly playful with cinematic language.
I'll be interested to see the reviews when the embargo lifts. I found the film fun enough in the moment, though relatively little of it has stuck with me just a day later. A few scenes felt a bit derivative of Austin Powers, and several other gags felt more at home in the early 2000s than 2025.
I had a good time at the preview of the new Naked Gun movie last night, thanks to @empiremagazine.bsky.social. I know the studio is leaning heavily into this in the marketing, but it really was nice to once again see a silly comedy on the big screen with a packed and appreciative audience.
Sam Summers, Michael Meindl, and Aaron Borok presenting in PANEL 10B: TELEVISION AND ONLINE ANIMATION. #SAS36
LCC's own Chris de Selincourt presenting in PANEL 8B: THE BOUNDARIES OF REALISM. #SAS36
A display of research by LCC staff members, kindly put together for the conference by our library team. #SAS36
A couple of photos of the full panel Q&A from PANEL 3C: MICRO TALKS. #SAS36
A few days late, but here are some photos that I took from the 36th Annual Society for Animation Studies Conference. First up, UAL's own Kim Noce in PANEL 3C: MICRO TALKS. #SAS36 @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social
Reposted by: David McGowan
And so #SAS36 comes to a close. Thanks to chairs David McGowan and Susi Wilkinson, and their entire team at the London College of Communication at the University of the Arts, for a great conference! Hope to see you at #SAS37 in Pittsburgh in 2026!
Reposted by: David McGowan
David Sproxton, co-founder of Aardman, closes #SAS36 with his keynote talking about his career.
Reposted by: David McGowan
Life drawing with legendary British animator Joanna Quinn
Only at #SAS36
Only at #SAS36
Reposted by: David McGowan
Starting this year's Society for Animation Studies conference strong with a fascinating keynote by Malcolm Cook! #SAS36 @sasanistudies.bsky.social @malcolmcook76.bsky.social
Reposted by: David McGowan
Malcom Cook giving the first keynote of #SAS36! His presentation explores useful animation and the petroleum industry.
Reposted by: David McGowan
Opening of #SAS36! Thanks to David McGowan and the team at London College of Communication at @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social!
Reposted by: David McGowan
The 36th Annual SAS Conference begins TOMORROW, July 7 (hosted by London College of Communication
@unioftheartslondon.bsky.social). Use #SAS36 to tag any conference-related posts and/or follow to see what is happening. Info about the conference is at bit.ly/46qkcDZ. Have a great conference!
@unioftheartslondon.bsky.social). Use #SAS36 to tag any conference-related posts and/or follow to see what is happening. Info about the conference is at bit.ly/46qkcDZ. Have a great conference!
Last week, my wife proposed that we cancel Netflix as we don't use it as much as we used to. I managed to talk her down, and then today Netflix emailed me this supposedly 'personalized' recommendation. I went to bat for you, Netflix, and *this* is what you think of me...?!
Am excited to see that my newest article, '"If I can change": multigenerational cinematic franchises, retconning, and the spectre of Rocky IV', has recently been published in
Screen! Available at: academic.oup.com/screen/artic...
Screen! Available at: academic.oup.com/screen/artic...
‘If I can change’: multigenerational cinematic franchises, retconning, and the spectre of Rocky IV
The Rocky saga, created by and starring Sylvester Stallone, has been through various stages of activity and dormancy, success and failure. Rocky IV (Sylves
academic.oup.com
I'm a bit late to the party but finally saw the latest Mission: Impossible film this weekend, and was disappointed that it went even further than its predecessor in being quite grim and self-important for the majority of its extended running time.
FINAL REMINDER: Tickets for this year's Society for Animation Studies conference must be purchased by the end of today (Friday, June 6)! Book now or miss out on a fanstastic line-up of speakers! sas2025.cargo.site/registration
My Switch 2 arrived! Am still cursing Nintendo for releasing this while I am so swamped with conference admin, but hopefully I'll find a bit of time to give it a try!
