Goodbye, Bill

Bill during the Iliad Move

Some of you may remember that last July I wrote about my Bill Tunilla and his struggle with cancer. I asked for donations because he was destitute and simply couldn’t continue working at the Iliad Bookshop anymore. We raised about $600 as I recall (thanks to all who donated money!) which helped Bill re-locate to another friend’s apartment where he’s been staying ever since.

I’m sorry to say that Bill died in his sleep on Tuesday last.

His health had declined a lot over the last year. He was forced to use Oxygen pretty much every day and became somewhat feeble. His trips to the County Hospital were taxing even with help. I spoke to him several times by phone and he was always cheery and full of questions about the bookstore. We sent him a bunch of books for his birthday several months ago. And he was surrounded by what was left of his own book collection.

I don’t know a lot about Bill as he didn’t talk a lot about himself, but I do know that he spent a good amount of time in Great Britain as a young man. He trained there as a documentary filmmaker and worked on several films there until he was forced to leave since they wouldn’t let him into the union. Once in the U.S. he continued to work on documentaries in Chicago ( I wish I could remember the names of the films…) until he finally came to Los Angeles in 1981 and founded a well-know bookstore in Pasadena called The House of Fiction.

Bill ran the House of Fiction for over 20 years. Anyone who loved books in Los Angeles knew about his store and most likely shopped there as well. Bill was a big Baseball fan and loved to talk about books and Baseball. And he loved cats. One Washington post reviewer who recommended his bookstore said that it “smelled of cat urine and you found your books as quickly as possible”. I don’t know about that, since Bill was always cleaning after our cats at the Iliad, but cat lovers are often more tolerant of that pecuilar smell.

Eventually, real estate values peaked and he was pushed out of business in the nineties. I first met him at another great bookstore, the Brand Bookshop, in Glendale. He worked behind the counter and had that “Beckett character” look with his long, white hair and short beard. He was very helpful and I remember making a note to seek him out whenever I came to the store.

Eventually, Bill applied for work at the Iliad Bookshop where I’ve been for the last 10 years. He started working part-time doing the cleaning and book stocking. I felt sorry for him at first since I knew he was most likely a far better bookseller than I would ever be and yet he wasn’t even allowed to ring at the register (?). But Bill never got upset or felt the work was beneath him. He just went about doing his job and helping people find books.

Over a couple years, I began to know him better and discovered his passion for baseball and a bit about his past. He had no relatives it seems. But lots of friends. One friend, Jill, became very close and it was to her place he eventually moved too once the doctors told him about his cancer.

We moved the Iliad Bookshop back in 2006 and Bill (even though he was in his seventies) moved heavy boxes every day right along with everyone else for two full weeks. I never saw him slack off or leave early. Even though I could see he was beat most days. That’s just the kind of person Bill Tunilla was: reliable and uncomplaining. A rare type of person in this world today, I think.

We talked a lot about books at the store during the times we worked together. He loved modern literature, but I never found out who his favorite authors were. I remember him with a pile of books in his arms, stopping to look through one of them before he stocked it on the shelf.

I wish I had more pictures of Bill, but then again he was always just there, never calling attention to himself or trying to assert himself. The one time I had an argument with him about something (my damn temper) he just smiled and walked away. Would that I could be as self-possessed as Bill Tunilla was.

Bill never became a celebrity. He never won awards or gave speeches. But he did love life, I’m sure of it. And for many years he ran a bookstore that was a gathering place of like-minded people. I think that’s a real accomplishment to my mind: to bring a good book together with the right person, and then watch the fireworks. This was his excellence; his gift. That and predicting who would win the pennant each year.

Ah, Bill, you were one of the good ones.

A Kick in Pants for Solo Filmmakers

The always interesting MdotStrange recently blogged that he was seeking out other solo animated feature filmmakers to perhaps start a site that would provide info on how to get started making your own feature. He mentions Jeff Lew and his “Killer Bean” films, Dave4096 and his film Archon Defender, John Bergin’s From Inside and Bill Plympton’s solo 2D films. In the comments section, Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues is recommended (a great, great film) and Monty Oum’s films (remember his exciting film Haloid).

And although it isn’t a solo project, the recent release of the feature length Clear Skies 2 is a real shot in the arm for machinima feature length films.  I’ll be be talking more about this film in a future blog and Machiniplex will be doing another Premiere for CK2 in a month or so.

Mdot also provided a link to a superb speech by Ralph Bakshi at a recent ComiCon convention. His comments are an inspiration to every filmmaker with a “box” (computer) that will “do what he/she tells it to”. Bakshi has his own individual style and a take-no-prisoners approach that is as entertaining as it is insightful.  I guarantee that right after listening to Bakshi, you’ll be on your “box” and making movies.

The world needs more people like MdotStrange, Ian Chisholm and Ralph Bakshi.

Mother’s Day at Le Chene

I don’t have much of family and my communication with them is nill. But my partner Lisa Morton’s family are really great people and I enjoy spending time with them. This last Sunday, Lisa and I took her mom and boyfriend (yes, they are living in sin in their 70’s) to one of our favorite restaurants in California, the French restaurant Le Chene. Located in the horse country of Aqua Dulce, this place serves absolutely wonderful French cuisine.

Housed in an old, semi-stone building just off of a two-lane, backcountry road, Le Cheine was started by chef Juan Alonso in 1980. It takes its name from the large amount of wonderful oak trees in that area. The restaurant is open and airy. There’s a patio and a large garden out behind the building. Many’s the time I’ve wandered around sniffing the air after an incredible meal at Le Chene.

Of course, the place was packed for mother’s day and we had a good wait. But once we sat down and got our meal on the table, it was all worth it. I don’t know how their kitchen is able to consistently cook superb meals especially on very busy days, but they do it. In the 10 years I’ve been coming to the restuarant, I’ve never had a poorly prepared meal. It’s the kind of restaurant that gets the little things right. Like the small, baby carrots that came with the Pork Loin. These simple vegetables were actually the highlight of the meal they were so well cooked and well seasoned. And the fact that the cooks are able to get it right even while being harried with order after order just amazes me.  A fantastic meal for less than what we would have spent at a four star French restaurant in LA or Santa Monica.

Lisa had her traditional crab quiche. Her mom had regular quiche lorraine. Ed (her mom’s boyfriend) had his Egg’s Benedict and I had Pork Loin with Apples. Since the place has a wonderful French Onion Soup for an appetizer, I had that to start with. They bake their own French bread, which is crunchy and superb.

Our only regreat was that we couldn’t stay for desert. But since Lisa has a big book deadline coming, we had to get back home soon after the dinner. The drive back provides a lot of sight-seeing fun and it was a perfect day weather wise: clear and not too hot.

What a great day!

Morgenrot = Animated Film Using Vintage Photos of New York


via videosift.com

By way of  Vimeo.com, I came across this remarkable film, “Morgenrat“. It was directed by Jeff Desom and features the haunting music of Hauschka (Volker Bertlemann), an experimental musician/composer who lives in Dusseldorf. Apparently, the entire film was made using vintage photographs from the Library of Congress.

Promonews.tv has a nice interview with Jeff Desom, a Luxembourg filmmaker who has been associated with Hauschka for several years now (be sure to check out Jeff’s wonderful show reel at Vimeo).  At Hauschka’s youtube site, there is a wonderful live action film also directed by Jeff Desom called “Blotsky” (his graduation film from the Bournemouth Arts Institute (2007) where Hauscka’s music is featured. Hauschka also plays the lead role (brilliantly). It’s a remarkable film as well and equally strange/poetic.

I love the haunting, decayed quality of Morgenrat. Reminds me a bit of the Quay Brothers, but simpler. You may not know exactly what the film means, but there’s a mood created with the sepia-toned films being pulled into the 3D world that is undeniable. And the music adds so much to emotional pull of the images. Even the frame of the film is rotting away.