Arts & Events

John Korty, the only American filmmaker to have won major awards in dramatic, documentary and animation work, will tell how it all started, fifty years ago, with scissors, paper and yarn. His first film, ANY MANY AND MAN, was about new math for children. Next, BREAKING THE HABIT was a satire on giving up smoking. And after doing many number and letter spots for CTW, he invented THELMA THUMB, a miniature super-woman.  

Finally, in the 1980’s, he took on making a full-length feature with his cut-out technique, now call Lamage. Five years later, TWICE UPON A TIME was finished—-but for various reasons, never got a full release. Now, after 30 years on the shelf, it is coming out as a DVD from the Warner Archive. 

Clips from all of his animation will be shown with explanations about the development of production-line techniques. Rather than the cuddly curves of traditional animation, more straight and angular lines are employed in modern designs. His dialogue tracks are often improvised in the manner of his friends, John and Faith Hubley. 

In the late 1960s, Francis Coppola and George Lucas visited Korty’s small studio in Stinson Beach and were instantly inspired to make the move north. The three of them occupied the first offices of American Zoetrope. 

DVDs of Twice Upon a Time (executive produced by George Lucas) will be available at the theater..