“I think that Munro won the Oscar mainly because of the story. The Film Academy Award went of course to the film as a whole but my film wouldn’t be worth anything if it didn’t have a strong narrative. Jules Feiffer, the author of the screenplay, was indeed a genius satirist. Even though it was based on a satiric depiction of the bureaucracy of the U.S. army, it worked perfectly well in Czechoslovakia as well. After all, the stupidity of bureaucracy is the same everywhere around the world. I was awarded 6 Oscars throughout my career. I wrote some of the stories myself, other stories were adopted. But this award stands for the quality of the movie as a whole. I mean it’s definitely my Oscar but every movie is a combination of talents.”
“My newspaper, the Summerset Scandal, was gradually getting a positive reception by the readers. We printed the first issues with my father on a mimeo which allowed us the production of let’s say three or four copies. Later on, I had a hectograph which allowed me to print more copies. That was a huge step forward. That’s when I started to publish the paper myself, at the age of 8.”
“There were certain plans about shooting the movie “Who Wants to Kill Jessie” in a style similar to the Laterna Magika. At that time, I even devised a way how we could carry over the main principles of Laterna Magika on the screen. I had the idea of using a cinemascop – a panorama format. The principle of this was to divide the screen into several little screens and to screen two images at the same time. It absolutely fascinated me as a completely new and original way of film editing.”
“What it was like to meet Walt Disney? Well, it was shortly after the airing of a TV report about us. We were presented as young reporters on TV. We were proud of ourselves and came up with the idea to shoot an interview with Walt Disney. It was a sort of a cheekiness of the youngsters. With great self-confidence, we stated that we had come to make an interview with Mr. Disney at the entrance and they let us in. You know, back in the days the security measures were not nearly as strict as they are now. They smiled and said: ‘of course, of course…’ They took us on a guided tour of the studio’s premises. It was unbelievable. We got the chance to take a walk around the studio and see famous cartoonists at work. I think that this wouldn’t be possible today.”
“Originally, I and Trnka planned to shoot The Hobbit. I still have some of Trnka’s drawings in the room next door. It is complicated to explain the reasons why it was eventually shot with Born’s illustrations. For commercial reasons – in order to retain the copyright – we had to very quickly produce a short version of The Hobbit. But it would take much, much longer to explain it.”
“The Czech culture (of that time) was very specific and there were many local stars here. But these people would have been completely lost in America. People here thought that American culture was quite vulgar and they had quite a point. But we also have very good artists, outstanding personalities who devoted their lives to working on their talent. It’s very hard for a foreigner to come to America and immerse himself into American culture. It’s very difficult. Foreigners, no matter how good they were in their country, would have trouble coping with the diversity of American culture after coming to America. Likewise, I – as an American – could not make films that would be popular among Czechs.”
Eugene Deitch was born in Chicago, USA, on August 8, 1924. Shortly after the outbreak of the global economic crisis in 1929, his parents moved to California. Deitch settled in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Since the age of eight, Gene was independently publishing an amateur newspaper. In high school, he became the publisher of the Hollywood Star News magazine, which enabled him to meet with celebrities like Walt Disney. This experience directed him toward a career in animated film. In 1942, he graduated from L. A. high school. As the U.S. entered the war, he was forced to take up a job in the North American Aircraft Factory, where he worked as components draftsman. A year later (1943), he joined the army. After a year in service, he was released and got a job at CBS Radio, where he worked as a designer in the advertising department. CBS offered Deitch a promising career ; however, he decided to take an offer from the UPA animation studio that was recruiting junior animators still unaffected by Walt Disney’s style. Deitch accepted the offer and thus opted for animated film. He gradually worked his way up to the position of artistic director of the CBS Terrytoones studios in New York (1956). After a short collaboration with the Jama Handy studio, he eventually founded his own studio, Gene Deitch Associates, Inc. The studio had its own production and advertising teams. The animated film Munro became a turning point for Deitch. The film’s producer, William L. Snyder, made Deitch take over the production of his animated films in Czechoslovakia. In October 1959, Gene Deitch arrived in Prague and directed the film production for the U.S. market, including the series Tom and Jerry, Popeye the Sailor, Nudnik and many more. In 1960, Gene Deitch won the highest film award - the Oscar - for the film Munro. In 1964, Deitch married for a second time. His second wife was the head of the Prague-based “Bratři v triku” film studios, Zdeňka Najmanová. Since then, he’s lived permanently in Czechoslovakia. Eugene Deitch passed away on April, the 17th, 2020.
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