MEDIA : Friendship Turns Into Animated Feud for Festival

Spike Decker thinks he knows why a rival producer has booked a collection of short animated films into a theater in La Jolla, territory staked out by Decker’s annual Festival of Animation.

“I took it as an act to provoke us, which it has,” Decker said, calling it an act of aggression to capitalize on the festival’s popularity by confusing the audience.

Decker’s Mellow Manor Productions and rival Expanded Entertainment had a “general agreement” to avoid directly competing with each other for the animation film audience, to not “step on each other’s toes,” Decker says. Expanded Entertainment--a subsidiary of Landmark Theaters, which operates four theaters in San Diego, including the Cove in La Jolla--markets the annual “Tournee of Animation,” a feature-length compilation of animated short subjects that tours North America.

Though the two shows are similar in basic format, they rarely show more than one or two of the same shorts.

The two animation promoters got along just fine until earlier this year, when Expanded announced it was going to screen the Tournee for the first time at the Cove, a few blocks from the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, where the Festival of Animation has been presented the past eight years.

The Tournee opens a two-week engagement at both the Cove and the Ken Cinema in Kensington on Friday. In the past, the Tournee screened only at the Ken.

“If they are at the Ken, at least it gives us some geographical space as well as time space,” Decker said. “We feel that we’re strongly established at the La Jolla museum and this is an attempt to take advantage of the fact.”

Terry Thoren, president of Expanded, denies that his company had any agreement with Mellow Manor. The move into La Jolla was a “pure business decision,” he said, “which makes sense because there is a large following in La Jolla.”

Expanded specifically chose dates in La Jolla that didn’t conflict with the Festival of Animation, Thoren said, adding that the Tournee has toured for 22 years and has “built a huge audience throughout North America,” which benefits the Festival of Animation.

“If (the Tournee) show does business, that means more people will come out to see more animation,” Thoren continued.

The bottom line: A once cordial relationship has disintegrated into open warfare. Decker says Expanded purposely booked the Tournee into a Vancouver theater just a few weeks before the Festival of Animation was going to book dates in the same theater. Mellow Manor retaliated by booking a “Best of the Festival of Animation” directly opposite the Tournee’s run in San Francisco.

Thoren calls the whole thing a “ridiculous situation.” He thinks Decker and Mellow Manor are overreacting.

“It’s sour grapes,” he said. “I just don’t get it.”

Friday will be John Krist’s last day as KSDO-AM’s (1130) evening talk show host. Krist, who relished his role as the station’s designated liberal, says he and the station “agreed to disagree,” primarily over Krist’s demand to no longer work nights.

Krist said he already is close to a new job in town. But he can’t discuss a new gig until after his KSDO contract expires in December.

KSDO General Manager Mike Shields used the same phrase as Krist, saying the two “agreed to disagree” on “general philosophy.”

KSDO has hired former “Sun Up San Diego” co-host Danuta to handle an afternoon drive-time show from 4 to 7 p.m.

“We have planned on doing something in afternoon drive for some time,” Shields said. “Then we began talking to John and it became evident we weren’t going to get together.”

Meanwhile, XTRA-AM (690), KSDO’s lowly rated competition, continues to look for a winning combination. After a year of attempting to be all-news, the station has decided to return to a news-talk format, picking up Rush Limbaugh and the syndicated Mutual Network package. Mutual, which will continue with KSDO until mid-November, includes Larry King’s popular talk show.

XTRA has a new general manager in Judy Carlough, who comes from Noble Broadcasting’s Boston station.

Tom Jimenez, who last year was switched from general manager of both the AM and FM to GM of the AM, has been given a newly created job in the Noble corporate office. Industry speculation suggests that one more promotion like this and Jimenez will be listed as missing in action.

Former Channel 8 anchorwoman Allison Ross won’t be doing weekends for KUSI-TV’s (Channel 51) fledgling news team. Money reportedly was a big stumbling block. “There is nothing to talk about because there is no deal,” said news director Pete Jacobus. Ross says she is still looking for a job locally and “enjoying being a mom.”. . .

Lena Nozizwe is leaving Channel 8 to become a features reporter for Fox Television’s expanding “America’s Most Wanted” series. She said her last day here would be within two weeks. . . .

KTTY-TV (Channel 69) has put together a powerful one-two punch, airing reruns of “St. Elsewhere” at 6 p.m. weeknights, followed by “Hill Street Blues.” The gritty dramas may not be great dinner fare, but they are two of the best shows television has ever produced, classics and ground-breakers in every way. . . .

The KGTV (Channel 10) news team is taking cheesy happy talk banter to new heights by incessantly discussing the personal life of anchorwoman Kimberly Hunt. As if airing footage of her wedding to the Chargers’ Billy Ray Smith wasn’t enough, they recently threw her a birthday party on the air and Sports Guy Larry Sacknoff constantly teases her about her hubby. Last week, he was asking Smith questions about the marriage, while they showed reaction shots of the blushing anchorwoman. There was never a better reason to develop a television version of an air-sick bag. . . .

In the realm of tough sports journalism, Sacknoff made it clear where he stands, explaining recently that he doesn’t like to choose a winner in the Chargers games during his weekly grid picks segment because, well, it’s just not a smart thing for a hometown sports reporter to do. . . .

Bryan Jones is back for a third stint at XTRA-FM (91X). Jones, who most recently held down the morning slot for XHTZ (Z90) until it changed formats, has been fired twice by 91X. Now he’ll handle fill-in assignments and a Saturday morning show. “It’s home. It’s where I belong,” he said. . . .

Channel 8’s “F.Y.I.” segments last week on organization--everything in its place, a place for everything--had a tone reminiscent of the Anal Retentive Chef sketches on “Saturday Night Live.” . . . .

Last week’s edition of “Third Thursday” on police shootings was one of the series’ best. Timely and volatile, spiced with catchy visual elements, it was lively and informative, clearly defining the issues.