CINEMA CAN • A D A At home with Richard Condie AN INTERVIEW BY GREG KL YMKIW t's a Sunday afternoon . It's very hot , and I could be sitting in an air-conditioned movie Cinema Canada: 50 YOII didn 'l gel involl'ed wilh theatre watching Hulk Hogan's silver screen debut in No Holds Barred. Instead, I'm Ihose Fille Arls people Ihallllllch 1 supposed to trot over to Richard Condie's house. I think I'm probably going to have a better time with Richard. "NORI NG. NO REF. NORULES , " proclaims the Hulk Richard Condie: No, it was a different kind of education, a different kind of art. Although I Hogan ad copy . I'm not swayed. Condieis aWinnipeg-based animator whose work has wis h I had. dIelighted audiences (inclu ding myself) all over the world. His last fi lm , The Big Snit, was nominated foran Academy Award and copped aGenie Award for Best Animated film. I'd be Cinema Canada : Why did YOII , IIh , lUere YOII .. afool to blow my deadline for 90 minutes of Hulk Hogan kicking ass. So I drive over to Richard Condie: No. Richard's house. Cinema Canada: No1 Richard cracks open some Perrier and we go up to his study to pass the time of day . I'm Richard Condie: No. sure he has better things to do. Unfortunately, Idon't, so I'm thankful for this brief vacation from th eemptiness of my existence. Cinema Canada: No, Okny . Why , IIh.. And so it goes , as Kurt Vonnegut would say. Richard Condie: No. lilt .. Cinema Canada : Where wereYOII bam 1 Cinema Canada : Why , Richard Condie : Vancouver. Richard Condie: Where's my Perrier water) Cinema Canada: How 10llg houe YO II bem ill Cinema Canada: Opel' tilere . Why'dYO lisoy YOII Winnipeg 1 wishedI herelU ns somelhillg likeaFirle Arls prog rnm 1 Richard Condie: I don't know. You mean the Richard Condie: There was. total amount of time 7 Cinema Canada: Oh, tltere was. Bllt YOII did ll 'l Cinema Canada : Ym h. bo ther witlt it 1 Richard Condie: I don't know. I guess I lived in Richard Condie: No, and I ca n't remember wh \" Vancouver for a to tal of six or seven years. I' ve although.. I don't know, I don't remember. '1. been in Winni peg most of the time. uh, no. I don' t remember. I'MIN NOCENT. Cinema Canada: Whell YOII werea kid, did YOII mr Cinema Canada: Where did 11011 do 1II0si of YO llr figllre 1101t'd be Oil all ililato r 1 school 1 In Wi nllipeg 1 Richard Condie: Yeah . Richard Condie: No . Cinema Canada : Did YO II wa lch cnrtoolls 1 Cinema Canada : Whal high schaal did YOII go 10 1 Richard Condie: The one just do wn th e stree t. Richard Condie: I ima gine I did, yeah. I don't Kel vin High. remember watching them constantl y, but I did draw ca rtoons constantl \'. Cinema Canada: Did YOII go 10 Ihe Unil'milll of Ma /li loba 1 . Cinema Canada: \~qlill5t1rt of slllff did 1{01l draw) Richard Condie: Yeah . Richard Co ndie: Same stuff. Hasn't changed. ha ven't improved . Cinema Canada : Whal did YO II sllldlllhere 1 Cinema Canada: How old ilre 11011 1 Richard Condie : Every thi ng. Richard Condie: No, I'm not. Cinema Canada: El'erylhing) Cinema Canada: YOII 're 1101 gOlllla tellille 1 Richard Condie : Yea h. We ll , back then \'ou could take anythmg. It was a di fferent 51's tem. Richard Condie: Yeah, I'm gonna tell I·OU. I' m -1 6. You didn't have to specialize. 50 I took' everything. You kno\\', from atomic ph\'sics to Cinema Canada : Old 11011 ii'lllclt il ll1ll1lLll'ies whell English . You knoll', it was just a general Liberal 1{01i Wei'< il kid 1 \ 107 Ii1IIl;ol' ies did YOII'llke) Arts. Ri chard Condie: I must hal'e watched mOl'ies . Cinema Canada : 00 11 011 relllelllber allY1 Greg Kh/lllkiil' is Cinema Canada 's Prnirie Pliise Richard Condie: The \Vi:ilrd oro:. I still like coilllllilist . that. JULY· AUGUST 1989 CINEMA CANADA PAGE 7 CINEMA CAN •A D A Cinema Canada: How many times have you seen ill Cinema Canada: Yeah. Cinema Canada: Would you recommend itto Cinema Canada: How long have you been smoking anyone) Richard Condie: Eight or nine times. Richard Condie: Verbatim? cigarettes) Richard Condie: No. Go to air conditioning and Cinema Canada: Ami movies back then , other Ihan Cinema Canada: Every word of it. lileludillg my Richard Condie: Since age two, and I hope to The Wizard Of Oz, tilat sort of made your life I own Slupidities. refrigera tion school, stay away from university. continue for another 80 years. I even smoke in No, of course I'd recommend it to anyone who my sleep. Richard Condie : What age are we talking about? Richard Condie: Oh great. wants to go. Cinema Canada: How many packs aday? Cinema Canada : Anywhere between six to 12. Cinema Canada: Now , whellyollwerea kid .. I'm Cinema Canada: What was the first time anyone cu t Richard Condie : Just one pack. Richard Condie: I can't remember any. There sornl about ailihis kid slllff, bul I'm Irying .. you acheque for doing something creatively. Cinema Canada: Whal's your brand) must have been some Disney things I liked. I Richard Condie: I'm being a kid constantly, Richard Condie: I did some Sesame Street stuff. I could make some up. anyway. So, take me back. also did a K-TEL commercial, but nobody really Richard Condie: Matinee Extra Mild. Cinema Canada: Nair. wants to admit to that. Cinema Canada: What did you like to do I Cinema Canada : You couldn't lwve always smoked Cinema Canada : Richard Condie : The Magnificent Fence. Richard Condie: Nothing abnormal. Why) Matinee Extra Mild I Cinema Canada: Which film I Cinema Canada: What were Ihe normal things ? Richard Condie: It was awful. Richard Condie: No, at age three, I changed Cinema Canada: brands. Richard Condie : No, I made that up. Richard Condie : No thing seems that much Really) Cinema Canada: Do you like American cigarettes) Cinema Canada: What were YOllr fal'Orite TV different. I now have the knowledge of an adult, Richard Condie: Yeah. or some of it. shows) Cinema Canada : Was it ftill to do) Richard Condie : No. Richard Condie : When) Cinema Canada: But you were drawing pictures Cinema Canada: Don't you like the smell) and Sluff like that? Richard Condie: No. Cinema Canada : When YOClwere watching the Cinema Canada: Really) Richard Condie: No, not really. movies YOIl don't remember watchil1g. Richard Condie: And just generally acting like a kid. Richard Condie: Weil, one was kind of Cinema Canada: How about Camels, unfiltered) Richard Condie: I'd like to say serv, but that interesting. It was with the serrated knife, Richard Condie: Any cigarette is good when wasn't on then. Cinema Canada: Did YOII ever ... where some guy was demonstrating how sharp you don't ha ve any. I've got five-year-old Cinema Canada: Did yOCi ever watch Forest Richard Condie: ... throw bricks through the knife was. He was cutting all kinds of things, Chinese cigarettes which I smoke occasionally. Rangers? windows? No, I didn't do that. Now I do, but induding a shoe, and while he was cutting the not then ... why only yesterday ... shoe, he almost cut his thumb off. I got Cinema Canada: Do you smoke when you work? Richard Condie: No. Never heard of it. Cinema Canada: Do you ever remember sitting in c10eseups of that. Richard Condie : Actuaily, I smoke when I fret. Cinema Canada: That was agreat series. It had school while the teacher lectured about the square root Cinema Canada: Was there a lot of blood? If I'm drawing, I'll have a few cigarettes before Gordon Pinsent prancing arollnd ill an ReMP of something and you were reprimanded for doodling and after, but when I'm reail), getting into it, I ClllIform. away) Richard Condie: In the closeup, yeah . He was don't. Sometimes I'll light one up and 1I00kover then sup posed to cut a piece of meat in 'Y­ and there's just this long ash sitting there . When Richard Condie : No, I don't re member it. Richard Condie : Sometimes. I hated school. amount of second s, so we continued with the you're drawing, your concentration is fixed and Cinema Canada: II was ngreat Canadian TV series. Cinema Canada : Did you hate ulliversity) commercial while the guy wore this flesh-colored there isn't anything else. You just get into that thing over the wound. Then we were all space and you don't care wha t cigarettes you put Richard Condie : I have no knowledge of Forest Richard Condie: I wasn't wild about it. immediately rushed to the hospital. into your mouth. Rangers. Frames from Richard Condie's film The Snit. Cinema Canada : Leave It To Beaver? Richard Condfe:Oh sure, I saw that. .. Wally... the Beaver. I don't remember anything. Cinema Canada : Thai 's too bad. Richard Condie: I don't know. Cinema Canada: I'm trying to delve into YOCirdeep, dark past. To create a pictllre for ollr readers. Richard Condie: It won't be very interesting. Cinema Canada: I could make something Clp. Richard Condie: Sure. I'm just trying to think of something interesting. Cinema Canada: We/!, ul1, howaboClt .. Richard Condie: I was raised by squirrels.