Michael Sporn - Page 2 of 3


		Mr. Sporn in the Spotlight (Continued from Page 1 )
		Canemaker’s Oscar-winning animation style is not unlike Sporn’s homespun artistry. “Besides John Canemaker interviewing me, I’ll also show some new shorts I’ve done over the summer, and part of an animatic for the feature film, Poe, that I’m doing.” Sporn’s most recent projects, which he produced with the assistance of Matthew Clinton, are Pab’s First Burger and Gertrude on the Beach, both about the elite artist community cultivated by Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in the 20th centrury. “The first is about Picasso trying his first hamburger,” says Sporn. “It was after Tom Hachtman’s art, done in watercolor. The second one is done in crayon.”	Some of Sporn's critically-acclaimed work
		The animatic for Sporn’s first feature, Poe, was drawn by seasoned pro Tissa David, and takes artistry similarly as seriously. “Poe looks like early Picasso,” says Sporn. “The stories themselves are very expressionistic, in an etching style with a lot of scratches and dark lines. It’s a rougher, looser style, good illustration, but not a realistic illustration style.” Sporn’s approach to animation has been unique in the business, producing films that perhaps speak more to the heart than your average Saturday morning cartoon. “I’m interested in adult themes and social values, and even for films for the youngest possible audience, I still put those values in, whether about homelessness, social integration or ethnicity. I’m not ripping heads off characters or being foul-mouthed; I see no need for that.”	The Man Who Walked Between the Towers
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