Author Archives: hemingray

Video Page Removed by Order of MPAA

The Motion Picture Association of America once again attempted to pin me with the charge of “Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Motion Pictures.” Some of you may remember they tried this once before back in April 2001. This time around, they reference my Video page as the offending page and claimed that I was “unlawfully offering product.” This is simply not true, as I was only linking to a supplier who offers Song of the South in its original, PAL format release, and who then supplies the purchaser with a complimentary conversion copy. This was quite clearly stated on my Video page.

However, on July 8, I received a notice from my web host that my account had been suspended because of this incident. So, not wishing to sabotage my entire web site (and countless hours of work and research), I have complied with the MPAA’s wishes and removed the offending page. Both the MPAA and my web host have been informed of the compliance, so hopefully this will be the end of that.

If you’d like to see the email sent to me by the MPAA, I’ve archived it here.

“In A Stew Over Brer Rabbit” Article in Scotland’s The Herald

Brian Pendreigh of Scotland’s The Herald has also taken the stand to report on Song of the South—its unavailability in the U.K. and U.S., its supporters, and the controversy surrounding other books and movies dealing with race that Song of the South has reportedly re-awoken.

Brian had contacted me a couple weeks back to interview me for this article. Apparently, the story stirred so much interest at The Herald that the article was expanded to about double its original size, filling up a whole broadsheet features page, with several pictures and a panel.

The article is located in the Comments area of the Feature section. A big thanks goes out to Brian for taking the time to create this great article and present this movie’s issues to our friends in Scotland!

This article has been archived.

L.A. Times Song of the South Article Printed Today

Donald Liebenson’s superb article “Should ‘dated’ films see the light of today?” has been printed in today’s L.A. Times. Donald spent a great deal of time on this article, and it shows. Among those he interviewed were Ruth Warrick, Leonard Maltin, Clarence Page, Diane Disney Miller, and myself (all of whom support the film’s release). He mentions both my web site and James McKimson’s UncleRemusPages.com and his petition.

Located in the Calendar section of the paper, the printed article also includes two publicity shots from the film, one large live action photo with James Baskett, Glenn Leedy, and Bobby Driscoll, and the other photo animated, showing Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby.

I want to personally thank Mr. Liebenson for his hard work on this article; he has done a great service both to supporters and to the movie itself. Thank you!

This article is no longer on the L.A. Times web site, but has been archived.

Studio Chapter NFFC Song of the South Show Report

Well, the Studio Chapter NFFC Song of the South Event was lots of fun! Horrible traffic coming up from the south caused my late arrival, but the group was understanding and gave us a warm welcome. I took about 10 minutes for a small “show and tell” of some of my memorabilia items (mostly the more popular items with a few rarities thrown in), and then we adjourned for the video presentation.

Afterwards, we returned to the hall for a period of questions and answers, and general comments. James McKimson of UncleRemusPages.com and I spoke for awhile on the movie as well. I set my memorabilia items up for an impromptu display for the group to see up close. Also of note was chapter member Bob Bailey’s impressive display of seven original drawings of Brer Rabbit from the Laughing Place sequence! That was quite a rare and unexpected treat.

Last on the agenda was the raffle. James McKimson won two items, including a Splash Mountain friction car. My friend Anthony, who assisted me throughout the event, won the door prize, a Critter Country pin featuring the happy-go-lucky Brer Rabbit.

The event was a wonderful opportunity to talk with other supporters of the movie, as well as finally being able to meet my long-time online contact, James McKimson. I am very grateful to the Studio Chapter NFFC for putting on this event!

Photos from the event have been posted on the Studio Chapter NFFC web site, courtesy of Curtis Rich: [Photos have since been removed]

Studio Chapter NFFC Song of the South Event This Sunday at 1:00PM

Plans have changed considerably since the initial announcement. Unfortunately, none of the other panel members who were invited can attend this event, so it appears that I will be the only one speaking. I will be conducting a small show-and-tell of Song of the South memorabilia before the special video presentation, and afterwards a period of open discussion will be conducted by the Board members and me. James McKimson of UncleRemusPages.com will also be in attendance and saying a few words as well.

See April 10th news below for more information on the event.

Song of the South Writer Maurice Rapf Passes Away

Sadly, on April 15, Maurice Rapf passed away at the age of 88. Rapf, along with Dalton Reymond and Morton Grant, were the creators of Song of the South‘s screenplay. Rapf was a well-known screenwriter, co-founder of the Writer’s Guild of America, and professor emeritus of Dartmouth College’s film studies department. He will be missed. (Thanks to Mark Kratzner for the report.)

Studio Chapter NFFC Announces Song of the South Event

On April 27th, The Studio Chapter NFFC will present a program “on the classic and controversial Disney motion picture ‘Song of the South'”:

“The Studio Chapter NFFC meets at 1:00 p.m. in the Mary Pickford Education Center at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage in Griffith Park.  Please plan to arrive by 1:00pm, as we will be moving the meeting to the Museum Theatre for our video presentation.  We don’t want to lose you!

“The Autry Museum is located in Griffith Park (directly across from the L.A. Zoo) at 4700 Zoo Drive (Western Heritage Drive), near the intersection of the Golden State (5) and Ventura (134) Freeways.  There is plenty of free parking.  Non-members are welcome to attend this event.”

There will also be a raffle for Disney prizes and refreshments available. Non-Chapter members are welcome.

For more information or directions, visit the Studio Chapter NFFC website.

Song of the South Question on Jeopardy

“Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah! Uncle Remus tells his tales in this 1946 classic.”

Can anyone guess that one? Of course: Song of the South! New champ Andy got the correct answer. This question was the 1600 spot in the category “Big Screen Bearings.” Other movies in this category included North by Northwest, East of Eden, All Quiet on the Western Front (DD), and Witches of Eastwick. Special thanks goes out to Mark Barrett over at the Jeopardy Message Board for providing the details!

SongoftheSouth.net Hits 200,000 Visitors

It’s amazing to think that in just under a year (since April 2002), SongoftheSouth.net’s visitor count has doubled from 100,000 to 200,000 hits. That’s quite a milestone! It just goes to show that the word is indeed getting out; thank you!

And speaking of milestones, James’ UncleRemusPages.com, home of the Song of the South Petition, is celebrating 6 years of web presence as of March 3rd. His home page sports a new look; go have a visit!