Excerpted Eddy Table material from “Pillowy, the Art of Dave Cooper”, Cernunnos Publishing

Olivier Souillé Interview, March 2019

Olivier Souillé is a long-time collector and enthusiast of Dave’s work. He is currently the gallery manager of Galerie Daniel Maghen in Paris. Maghen will host Dave’s biggest exhibition to date, slated for 2020.

What inspires you to make cartoons, as opposed to a comic?

My interest in making a TV show based on my own work was motivated by a lot of things. I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to see ideas animated professionally; that’s a visceral thing that can make you a bit obsessed with getting that next hit. That’s the main thing. And I’m not going to lie: the idea of making a lot of money on my ideas was pretty seductive, and making something that is seen by millions of people rather than thousands is too. The whole venture was just so appealing to me. I always love having to learn so much about a new discipline.

Do you like working in a team with a studio to make something, or do you prefer to work alone?

I loved working with a team. It was kind of overwhelming at times. I remember I once asked Guillermo del Toro what it was like to be at the helm of a huge production: was it like being God? He said no, it was the opposite; it was very humanizing. I felt the same way. It’s actually really humbling to be surrounded by hundreds of skilled, talented craftspeople who are all devoted to helping you realize your vision.

It was so strange when my show got greenlit: I went from being in charge of everything in my creative endeavors, to being in charge of explaining to hundreds of people how to make things look like I did everything. Weirdly exciting. And again, the eagerness and enthusiasm of all these lovely artists and production staff was amazing.

Sometimes I describe that time like this: imagine an award-winning kayaker who is quite well- respected in kayaking circles. One day, the president of a billion-dollar ocean liner company asks the kayaker to design an ocean liner for the company. He’s given unlimited resources, no idea is too extravagant, he can hire any of the best ship builders he likes. And once it’s done, he’s hired on as the captain. Thrilling times. So many extreme highs and extreme lows. And I learned so much.

By the time both of my shows came to an end, I was really eager to be on my own again, just me in my studio with my paper and pencil. That’s when I started on the work for our Paris show and the Madrid commission. So from one extreme to another!

Why did you make cartoons? A personal desire, or a directive from a producer? Is it complicated for you to manage a team, having to make concessions for a cartoon?

Yes, it’s really intense. But that was all part of the challenge. During the entire process, every single step was a first for me. I learned everything from my team. What I had to offer was my unique vision. It was so amazing to have people buzzing around, asking how would you do this, how would you do that. And I understood my role. I didn’t fret or overthink that stuff, I’d just spontaneously blurt out exactly how I’d do it. Concessions: most of the time it didn’t feel like that; it was just a lot of discussion and a lot of different points of view. When someone had a better idea or a genuine concern, I was all ears. I was a member of the team after all, not a dictator.

When you write, do you write for yourself, or to please the widest audience?

We tried to make the show as weird as possible and hoped that it would find a huge audience anyway. Didn’t quite work out that way. But I never feel good about aiming for the widest audience. I feel like that puts me in the wrong frame of mind; I start to make decisions that aren’t authentic. I guess in my personal work and in mainstream animation, I try to just come up with weird ideas and hope that people will dig that. If they don’t, I’m okay with that. I don’t take it personally.

From your work for the cartoon, you shoot positive and negative things you would have liked to do. Would you like to redo the cartoon, the short film, the feature film?

I never think about redoing my work. I look at the flaws like a dad looking at his child’s crooked teeth. You just accept and you love it. I’m always thinking about my next work. Just move on. It’s really the act of creating that’s most important for me. When a piece is done, it’s done.

Eddy Table Movie is a personal envy or an order? What sets it apart from other cartoons?

The Eddy short film was a labor of love. I had a story I’d written around the time my son was born; the whole thing came to me during a twenty-minute bus ride. It was very precious to me. I didn’t know who I’d end up pitching it to. When I met the Norwegian animator Rune Spaans, I knew I wanted to work with him, but I thought we’d make something really avant-garde and experimental. But the more we got to know each other, the more I started to think he was the guy who could make the Eddy film. Rune got a respected Norwegian producer, Eric Vogel, to take on the project.

In no time, we had a healthy budget from the Norwegian Film Institute. I was pretty cautious during the first part of production—I even wondered if I’d make a big mistake once I started to see the really ugly first CG test reels. But in the end, it turned out to be a dream team. Everyone involved was remarkably devoted, particularly Rune. When it was done, I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I’m so, so proud of that film. And it ended up garnering all kinds of international film awards!

Has working with cartoon allowed you to express more things than comics, or is it more limited because of the cost of making a cartoon? What are your best memories of this work, and what was it like seeing your characters come to life?

Strangely, a memory that popped to mind was me laying on the floor of the Oslo apartment where I was staying, doodling story sketches for the team to see the next day. I was really in the zone, times like that can be pure bliss. Also, one night having a really great, drunken jam session with Eric and our voice actor, Ingrid. That time was just so great for me. Or seeing the animation while the two main animators were still working on scenes. I was just blown away by the care and expertise that was involved…

It was moving?

Yes, just the level of quality was so overwhelming. I really was so fortunate to end up with all those incredible Norwegians! And of course the wonderful Mike Patton. He and I were the only non- Norwegians on the team.

Do you have a regret, something that you would like to improve or change now, looking back at your work?

Just lots of things I would do differently next time. I try not to fret over mistakes, I’m always on to the next thing and applying what I’ve learned. Maybe there are some regrets that don’t have to do with my creative work, like some personnel choices that ended up being disastrous, that sort of thing. That’s really the producer part of me. I was a total bumpkin and hadn’t learned how to spot the rats on the ship. But again, that’s stuff I’ll apply next time.