Hopefully this will interest a lot of people here:

https://www.patreon.com/davidbossert 

David Bossert has started a Patreon initiative to locate and restore more lost silent Disney cartoons. Recently some cartoons have been found and the aim is to gain access to them and then restore them. Beyond this, the goal is keep researching, locating and preserving more lost cartoons.

[ozzie]

I wonder if Dave mention this Patreon page during his talk at the D23 Expo.

I honestly don't know if Dave mentioned this in his talk at the Expo (as this Patreon initiative is an independent effort he may not have talked about it at a Disney-run event, but I would have to ask). I do know that he sold out of his advance copies of his new Oswald book at his book signing there (which was packed). There's clearly a lot of interest in the Disney silent cartoons and I'm hoping this will gain enough support to find, restore and preserve more lost cartoons.

I was able to snag a copy of the book at the event. It's really good!

To anyone wondering if Dave mentioned his Patreon at his D23 event, yes, he briefly did.

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Thanks PopKorn Kat! I'd love to know a bit about the event – what cartoons were screened?
Can't wait to get the book myself!

First off, we weren't allowed to record anything or take pictures.

Bossert showed off a scant few pages from his book and elaborated on some details (i.e., the misconception that Oswald was "stolen" from Disney, the Al Michaels trade, "High Up" possibly being started at Disney). Bossert mentions some posters he couldn't include, either for space reasons or because Disney wouldn't let him (including a very off-model German poster where the artist got all of Ozzie's proportions completely wrong, and one with Oswald sitting on a pile of money and smoking a cigar! Strangely, all of them are included on Disney Treasures' Oswald DVD set. 'Tis a shame, I would have loved to see those posters in better quality).

There was a hashtag game called #oswaldgiveaway where you could post the tag on Twitter and be randomly selected to win a book.

The following cartoons were screened:
*Trolley Troubles (1927, Universal reissue print with Robert Israel soundtrack; I was honestly surprised they kept the Universal end credit in!)
*Africa Before Dark (1928, identical to one screened at LACO in 2015 and probably on the Bambi Blu-Ray) (after this was screened, Bossert jokingly told the audience not to go to the zoo and try anything in the cartoon)
*Hungry Hoboes (1928, identical to the Disney Movies Anywhere copy purchased with the Snow White Blu-Ray) (after this was screened, Bossert jokingly said "Do not attempt to set your friend's butt on fire and cook eggs over it, it won't end well" or something to that effect)

After that, Bossert briefly mentioned his social media feeds, including his Patreon, then he
gave a Q&A. The things I remember are:
*Oswald is a philanderer. No, seriously, that's what he said. (Dating the rabbit and Ortensia at the same time)
*Bossert very briefly went over what happened with Oswald after Disney left Mintz.
*There aren't any plans to make any new Oswald-related shorts.

Bossert gave away a few CDs of soundtracks from Disney movies. In order to get one you had to find a slip underneath your chair. Problem was half the chairs were empty, so it took a while. (Not too long, though.) I think that's everything.

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That's great! Thanks so much for the detailed report.