Rembrandt Films
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| + | '''Rembrandt Films''' is an American production company founded by [[William L. Snyder]] in 1949. It began as an importer of films from Europe and expanded into [[animated film]] production. | ||
| - | '''Eugene Merril Deitch''' (August 8, 1924 – April 16, 2020) was an [[Americans|American]]-born [[Czech illustrator]], [[animator]], comics artist, and film director. Based in [[Prague]] since 1959, Deitch was known for creating [[animated cartoon]]s such as ''[[Munro (film)|Munro]]'', ''[[Tom Terrific]]'', and ''[[Nudnik]]'', as well as his work on the ''[[Popeye]]'' and ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' series. | + | Animator [[Gene Deitch]] directed for the company both his own films and cartoons [[outsourcing|outsourced]] from American studios such as [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]] (''[[Tom and Jerry]]''), and [[King Features Syndicate]] (''[[Popeye the Sailor (1960s TV series)|Popeye]]'', ''[[Krazy Kat]]'', ''[[Barney Google and Snuffy Smith|Snuffy Smith]]'' and ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'') |
| - | ==Career== | + | Rembrandt Films is now run by the son of William Snyder, Adam Snyder, and his wife Patricia Giniger Snyder. Rembrandt Films is an umbrella company for Rembrandt Communications, Rembrandt Animation and Rembrandt Video Productions. It conducts animation, video production, and business writing. |
| - | After graduating, Deitch began working for [[North American Aviation]], drawing aircraft blueprints. In 1943, he was [[military conscription|drafted]] and underwent pilot training before catching [[pneumonia]] and being honorably discharged in May of the following year. From 1945 to 1951, Deitch contributed covers and interior art to the [[jazz]] magazine ''The Record Changer''. In the 1950s, Deitch was an early supporter and audio engineer for [[Connie Converse]], one of the first American [[singer-songwriter]]s. Converse appeared once on [[CBS]] television due in part to Deitch's connections with the network, but otherwise found little success and eventually abandoned music only to be rediscovered decades later, through recordings Deitch had made of her music in 1954. | + | |
| - | <!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Gene Deitch in 1959.jpg|thumb|Gene Deitch in 1959]] --> | + | Rembrandt Communications works with individuals and companies of all sizes to communicate their messages to employees, customers, and the media. Company president Adam Snyder has written books and speeches with top business leaders and celebrity personalities, as well as dozens of magazine articles, speeches, and annual reports. Among the books Adam has written are: |
| - | In 1955, Deitch took a apprenticeship at the animation studio [[United Productions of America]] (UPA), and later became the creative director of [[Terrytoons]], creating such characters as [[Sidney the Elephant]], [[Gaston Le Crayon]], and [[Clint Clobber]]. | + | |
| - | Beginning in 1955, while working at UPA, Deitch wrote and drew the [[United Feature Syndicate]] comic strip ''The Real-Great Adventures of Terr’ble Thompson!, Hero of History'', starring a courageous child in fantastical adventures. A skit about Terr'ble Thompson had been recorded by [[Little Golden Records]], with actor [[Art Carney]] and bandleader [[Mitch Miller]] participating. That led to the daily strip, which ran from Sunday, October 16, 1955, to April 14, 1956. | + | *Trust: The Secret Weapon of Effective Leaders by Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn Inc., one of the world's largest independent public relations agencies (St. Martin’s Press, 2007) |
| + | *30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers by Bruce Katcher, Ph.D., president of Discovery Surveys (AMACOM Books, 2007) | ||
| + | *An Entrepreneurial Handbook: Building a Billion Dollar Company from Scratch by Harry E. Figgie, Jr., founder and former chairman of Figgie International (Ruder Finn Press, 2008). | ||
| + | *Foundations for the Future: The AICPA from 1980-1995 by Philip B. Chenok, president of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 1980-1995 (JAI Press, 2000) | ||
| + | *Crossing the Road to Entrepreneurship by Bert L. Wolstein, founder and former Chairman of Developers Diversified Realty Corporation (Case Western Reserve University Press, 2004) | ||
| + | *A Matter of Heart, an autobiography by the cardiac rehabilitation pioneer, Herman K. Hellerstein, M.D. (Griffith Publishing, 1994) | ||
| + | *An Executive’s Guide to Increased Profits by Harry E. Figgie Jr. (AMACOM, 1985) | ||
| - | In early 1958, his theatrical cartoon ''Sidney's Family Tree'' was nominated for an Academy Award. In August 1958, he was fired from Terrytoons and set up his own studio in New York called Gene Deitch Associates, Inc., which primarily produced television commercials. | + | In addition to her production work, Patricia Giniger Snyder has developed communications materials for non-profit organizations, organized educational and press events in the United States and abroad, and was the driving force behind the creation an American organization for the Jewish Museum in Girona, Spain. |
| - | When client [[Rembrandt Films]] promised to fund ''[[Munro (film)|Munro]]'', an animated theatrical short Deitch wanted to create, Deitch relocated to the company's base in [[Prague]], [[Czechoslovakia]], in October 1959. He originally planned to spend only ten days in Prague, but after meeting his future wife, Zdena, decided to settle permanently in the city. ''Munro'' premiered in Czechoslovakia in September 1960 and in the U.S. on October 5, 1961, as a short preceding ''[[Breakfast at Tiffany's (film)|Breakfast at Tiffany's]]''. It won an [[Academy Award]] for [[Academy Award for Animated Short Film|Animated Short Film]] in 1961, | + | With Rembrandt Animation, Adam Snyder revived Rembrandt Films, beginning with the release of a restored version of Emperor's Nightingale on home video and DVD. Wired magazine called it "one of the most stunningly beautiful animated films ever released". The rest of the Rembrandt Films library was then packaged into the 13-part, half-hour television series called The Nudnik Show, which has aired in more than a dozen countries. Each episode features new animation featuring [[Nudnik (cartoon)|Nudnik]], all directed by Deitch. Other new productions followed, including more children’s films co-produced with [[Weston Woods Studios|Weston Woods]] and the 92-minute history of animation, The Animated Century, which includes clips from 160 films from 26 countries. Rembrandt Films is also the exclusive worldwide distributor of several important animation libraries, including the films from [[Zagreb Film]]. |
| - | From 1960 to 1963, Deitch collaborated with Rembrandt to direct ''[[Popeye the Sailor (1960s TV series)|Popeye]]'' cartoons for television with [[King Features Syndicate|King Features]], and from 1961 to 1962 he directed 13 new ''[[Tom and Jerry]]'' shorts for [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM]]. Being a "UPA man", Deitch had misgivings about the latter property, thinking they were "needlessly violent." However, after being assigned to work on the series, he quickly realized that "nobody took [the violence] seriously", and it was merely "a parody of exaggerated human emotions." He also came to see what he perceived as the "biblical roots" in Tom and Jerry's conflict, similar to [[David and Goliath]], stating "That's where we feel a connection to these cartoons: the little guy can win (or at least survive) to fight another day." | + | Rembrandt Video Productions, headed by Patricia Giniger Snyder produces documentaries that have seen on television, in museums, at festivals, and at meetings, fundraising events and on the World Wide Web. Among the documentaries produced by Ms. Snyder are: |
| - | + | ||
| - | With producer [[William L. Snyder]], Deitch co-produced and directed a series of TV shorts of ''[[Krazy Kat]]'' for King Features from 1962 to 1964. ''[[The Bluffers]]'', which was based on one of Deitch's ideas, was also co-produced by him. He directed the 1966 film ''[[Alice of Wonderland in Paris]]''. In 1966, he worked with Czech animator [[Jiří Trnka]] on a feature-length animated film adapatation of ''[[The Hobbit]]''. However, producer William L. Snyder couldn't secure the funds, and in order to not let the rights for the novel expire, he asked Deitch to produce a short film adaptation in 30 days. Deitch and illustrator [[Adolf Born]] made a 13-minute animated film never intended for distribution; the film was long considered lost until it was rediscovered by Snyder's son and released on [[YouTube]] in 2012. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Also in 1966, Deitch created a young girl adventurer in ''Terr'ble Tessie.'' | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | From 1969 until his retirement in 2008, Deitch was the leading animation director for the Connecticut organization [[Weston Woods Studios]], adapting children's picture books. Deitch adapted 37 films for Weston Woods, from [[Drummer Hoff|''Drummer Hoff'']] in 1969 to ''Voyage to the Bunny Planet'' in 2008. His studio was located in Prague near the [[Barrandov Studios]], where many major films were recorded. In 2003, Deitch was awarded the [[Annie Award]]s' [[Winsor McCay Award]] by [[ASIFA-Hollywood]] for a lifetime contribution to the art of animation. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | == Personal life == | + | |
| - | Deitch met his first wife, Marie, when they both worked at North American Aviation, and they married in 1943. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In 1960, several days after arriving in Prague in October 1959, Deitch met Zdenka Najmanová, the production manager at the studio [[Bratři v triku]] where he worked. They married in 1964. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | Deitch's memoir, ''For the Love of Prague,'' is based on his experience of being what he called "the only free American living and working in Prague during 30 years of the Communist Party dictatorship." | + | |
| - | According to Deitch, although he was followed by the [[StB]] and his phone was tapped, he was never aware of their presence and was never interrogated nor arrested. | + | |
| + | *Silent Pioneers (Emmy Nominee for Best Program) | ||
| + | *Girona, The Mother of Israel: The Jews of Catalonia | ||
| + | *Caring for Cambodia | ||
| + | *The Children of Oswiecim Remember | ||
| + | *The Technion: Turning Tomorrow's Dreams into Today's Realities | ||
| + | *CADCA: The Dangers of Underage Drinking | ||
| + | *CADCA's Dose of Prevention Award | ||
| + | *Finding Security in an Insecure World | ||
| + | *Turning Passion into Promise to End Duchenne | ||
| + | *Hale House: It's All About the Children | ||
| + | *Hale House: The Mother Hale Way | ||
| + | *A Torah Returns | ||
| + | *The Dreyfus Affair: A Current Affair | ||
| + | *The Many Faces of the Sephardim | ||
| + | *Come Back to the Lower East Side | ||
| + | *In Touch for Life | ||
| + | *The Four Energy Gates (Dr. Nan Lu) | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
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Rembrandt Films is an American production company founded by William L. Snyder in 1949. It began as an importer of films from Europe and expanded into animated film production.
Animator Gene Deitch directed for the company both his own films and cartoons outsourced from American studios such as MGM (Tom and Jerry), and King Features Syndicate (Popeye, Krazy Kat, Snuffy Smith and Beetle Bailey)
Rembrandt Films is now run by the son of William Snyder, Adam Snyder, and his wife Patricia Giniger Snyder. Rembrandt Films is an umbrella company for Rembrandt Communications, Rembrandt Animation and Rembrandt Video Productions. It conducts animation, video production, and business writing.
Rembrandt Communications works with individuals and companies of all sizes to communicate their messages to employees, customers, and the media. Company president Adam Snyder has written books and speeches with top business leaders and celebrity personalities, as well as dozens of magazine articles, speeches, and annual reports. Among the books Adam has written are:
- Trust: The Secret Weapon of Effective Leaders by Kathy Bloomgarden, CEO of Ruder Finn Inc., one of the world's largest independent public relations agencies (St. Martin’s Press, 2007)
- 30 Reasons Employees Hate Their Managers by Bruce Katcher, Ph.D., president of Discovery Surveys (AMACOM Books, 2007)
- An Entrepreneurial Handbook: Building a Billion Dollar Company from Scratch by Harry E. Figgie, Jr., founder and former chairman of Figgie International (Ruder Finn Press, 2008).
- Foundations for the Future: The AICPA from 1980-1995 by Philip B. Chenok, president of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 1980-1995 (JAI Press, 2000)
- Crossing the Road to Entrepreneurship by Bert L. Wolstein, founder and former Chairman of Developers Diversified Realty Corporation (Case Western Reserve University Press, 2004)
- A Matter of Heart, an autobiography by the cardiac rehabilitation pioneer, Herman K. Hellerstein, M.D. (Griffith Publishing, 1994)
- An Executive’s Guide to Increased Profits by Harry E. Figgie Jr. (AMACOM, 1985)
In addition to her production work, Patricia Giniger Snyder has developed communications materials for non-profit organizations, organized educational and press events in the United States and abroad, and was the driving force behind the creation an American organization for the Jewish Museum in Girona, Spain.
With Rembrandt Animation, Adam Snyder revived Rembrandt Films, beginning with the release of a restored version of Emperor's Nightingale on home video and DVD. Wired magazine called it "one of the most stunningly beautiful animated films ever released". The rest of the Rembrandt Films library was then packaged into the 13-part, half-hour television series called The Nudnik Show, which has aired in more than a dozen countries. Each episode features new animation featuring Nudnik, all directed by Deitch. Other new productions followed, including more children’s films co-produced with Weston Woods and the 92-minute history of animation, The Animated Century, which includes clips from 160 films from 26 countries. Rembrandt Films is also the exclusive worldwide distributor of several important animation libraries, including the films from Zagreb Film.
Rembrandt Video Productions, headed by Patricia Giniger Snyder produces documentaries that have seen on television, in museums, at festivals, and at meetings, fundraising events and on the World Wide Web. Among the documentaries produced by Ms. Snyder are:
- Silent Pioneers (Emmy Nominee for Best Program)
- Girona, The Mother of Israel: The Jews of Catalonia
- Caring for Cambodia
- The Children of Oswiecim Remember
- The Technion: Turning Tomorrow's Dreams into Today's Realities
- CADCA: The Dangers of Underage Drinking
- CADCA's Dose of Prevention Award
- Finding Security in an Insecure World
- Turning Passion into Promise to End Duchenne
- Hale House: It's All About the Children
- Hale House: The Mother Hale Way
- A Torah Returns
- The Dreyfus Affair: A Current Affair
- The Many Faces of the Sephardim
- Come Back to the Lower East Side
- In Touch for Life
- The Four Energy Gates (Dr. Nan Lu)
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Rembrandt Films" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
