The Sanity Index - my new webcomic
As you can see, I won't be blogging here any more. I will be focusing my time on my new webcomic, The Sanity Index. Check it out. You can subscribe by liking, RSS, or by twitter. Thanks!
As you can see, I won't be blogging here any more. I will be focusing my time on my new webcomic, The Sanity Index. Check it out. You can subscribe by liking, RSS, or by twitter. Thanks!
1. 27 year old Amanda Hocking gets 100,000 downloads a month of her teenie geeky angsty monster/unicorn loving books... that she sells for .99 cents.
http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/
2. Downtempo London Beatsmith Little People (Laurent Clerc) hit 30th on the itunes store most purchased electronic albums, right up there with Daft Punk and the Crystal Method. He gathered a massive american fanbase, including me... how? Pandora.
http://wwww.littlepeoplemusic.com
3. Adreas Illinger's self-created, sweet bit of gaming fluff, Tiny Wings, hit #1 on the Itunes gaming app store, beating Angry Birds last week!
http://www.andreasilliger.com/
No mega marketing, no weeks of pointless meetings. Just solid work with a lucky puff or two of internet cyberwind.
Why do we need big corporate publishers? Why do we need development executives? Why do we need Agents? I wasted two years of my life taking meetings, pretending to be nice to idiots. Wasted on the rapidly dying development system in Hollywood that refuses to buy originality, real talent or new ideas. I do not see the point of continuing that line of business anymore.
Make for yourself, the fanbase and distribution is there for the right product. This is a time like no other.
You could buy into our hallmarkian consumerist mind set, or maybe just watch these. You know that St. Valentine was imprisoned, beaten and killed, right?
A quoi ça sert l'amour? by Louise Clichy
Simply rendered, beautiful motion, all kinds of French
Little Tinker by Tex Avery
One of my favorites from one of my favorites. As far as I'm concerned, Avery was inventer and master of the cartoon comedy short. Keep an eye out at the 6 minute mark for the interactions between the two foxes.
Magnetism
And a film that gave me a career in animation. Notice any similarities to those foxes at the 6 minute mark of the film above? May as well steal from the best.
Well Ryan is back at it again. His passion project, a movie he not just wrote, but then labored over, and co-produced called "Some Guy Who Kills People" is all wrapped up and ready for the festival road. I got an opportunity to see an advanced screening and I have to say it's a really well put together film. Well paced, strong acting and of course it has Ryan's fucked up sense of humor. And Barry Boswick (Spin City) completely steals the show with an amazing performance.
Directed by Jack Perez (MegaShark v Giant Octopus), CoProduced by Mike Wormser and Executive Produced by John Landis (yes, that one.)
Take a look at the site and the trailer and be sure to look for it on the festival circuit. Also keep an eye out for the voice of Benny himself, my man Beckwith, in the very last shot.
http://someguywhokillspeople.com/
Sometimes I see an artist's work and I want to puke. I'm confronted with a mixed bag of emotions that include everything from awe to jealousy. Shaun Tan's work has been like that for me since I found him a few years back. His illustrations straddle the world of absolute technical perfection and an imaginative definace of reality. I plain love his work... And god damn him for being so good.
Which is why I am so excited that "The Lost thing," a short film he directed, based off of one of his childrens books, has been nominated for an academy award this year. I have always thought Shaun deserves a moment in the sun, and I will be pulling for him and his short film.
I strongly encourage you to check out his work (especially his paintings) on his website: http://www.shauntan.net/
And for information on the Academy Award nominated short film go here: http://www.thelostthing.com/
LA yesterday...
...and today, New York.
I've been working from home on my own stuff for over a month now.
18 months ago, I was on the Fox lot working on Wolverine. We were in a bunker in the remotest of corners, and to get to my car, I had to walk across the lot. Because I am a dork, I passed the Simpson's production office every day. And it was on one beautiful LA day that I walked, ear buds in, listening to music. Suddenly I saw, huddled casually around a golf cart, head writer/show runner Al Jean, animation director David Silverman and behind the wheel of the cart was … Matt Groening.
In some sort of emotional overload, I panicked. I had no idea how to remain calm. Turning my music off, I tried to listen to what they were talking about as I passed. I was able to hold myself together --- barely. I am sure I (recognizably) was terrified and excited. After getting to my car, I immediately had to call a friend and tell them I just saw Matt Groening.
The last movie I worked I was on set with some pretty well known movie stars (the kind that get "Jiggy With it.") But not once has any movie star weakened me the way Groening did that day. I was star struck. The Simpsons is potentially the most influencial piece of animation television in history. And it spawned from the pen of Groening.
With some downtime to write, I have recently been watching a lot of the 90's Simpsons. The animated world changed with this show. Cartoons became about writing more so than "antics." And through detailed characters, plots and really smart smart comedy, the Simpsons became a cartoon that was OK for adults to watch. The rest of the televised animation world catered more and more to kids and hocking goodies for mass consumption, the Simpsons, the only show on a fledgling network Fox, became a rare and fucked up view of life. (Of course, the networks still hocked Simpson branded goodies - but the show was more than that)
The way that all rock is derived from Elvis and the Beatles, I would say all modern animated television (and I would argue a lot of comedy television) has been derived from the Simpsons. Animation is now dominated by satire and stylized characters the likes you will find on Southpark or the Family Guy. Even in the new kids shows like Phineas and Pherb take stylization and writing cues from the Simpsons.
The mid 90s episodes--- with writing masters on board like George Meyer, Jon Vitti, and (yes) Conan O'Brian, and creative animation consultants like Brad Bird (!) and David Silverman-- those were when the Simpson's hit their cultural dominance. Beyond the Bart Simpson t shirt craze, everyone I knew had their favorite character, their favorite line from Troy McClure, Mayor Quimby, Apu and Homer. The Halloween Special was something you got together with friends for-- an event. And the fact it was on syndication, at 6 pm every day for a decade following, helped solidify it in our minds as the way a cartoon show should look and feel.
It's tough for me to look at Groening as a direct influence on me, but as I walked by him that day, I could feel the emotional impact of his work to a crippling emotional level. As I laugh my way through these episodes, I am still humbled.
rethinking Floyd and Norm to be a little more ... terrestrial.
