I hadn't talked to her in AGES! In fact, she didn't even know I had moved to LA!
So me, Mrs. W, the maniacs, Lauren, and her two cubs sat and talked for a while. And we decided we had to put together a reunion for all the KND voice actors! Not sure when yet... but you know I'll take a ton of pics to show you when it does happen!
And i WOULD have taken a picture of Lauren, but she wouldn't let me because she was on her way to the gym.
Do ya think politicians are the only ones who get their words twisted by the media?
Nope... they're TOTALLY mangling the words of us animator/author/singer/dancer/karate champs, too.
For instance, this very nice reporter from The Daily Hampshire Gazette called the other day to ask me questions about none other than this guy:
Yeah yeah...
Whats-his-beard Willems.
And I'm like, "OH YEAH... Let me tell you a couple things about that guy! Ya got, like, 62 hours 'cause Mr. W's about to go OFF!"
So I start by saying this,
"Mo Willems is a complete and utter DOODYHEAD!"
Clear, concise, and visual, right?
Well, it wasn't quite clear enough for this reporter. Here's what she translated that to:
"Warburton, who worked with Willems on various animation projects and has known him for years (the dedication of "Pigs Make Me Sneeze!" reads "To Mr. Warburton, who makes me itch"), says Willems has a gift for making all-is-lost situations not just bearable, but downright laughable."
HUH?!
How'd she get THAT out of 'complete and utter doodyhead' I'll never know.
Later she asked me about the Willems family as a whole. And I'm all like this:
"Didja ever read the original Grimm's Fairytales? There are big mean ogres, evil giant robots, crazy flying monkeys and ninjas. Lots of ninjas. And THAT'S the kind of little storybook the Willems family lives in! Oh, and I think they like doing puzzles together, or something like that."
So how in the name of ninjas and flying monkeys did she turn that into THIS?!?!:
"They're this great puzzle that goes together," Tom Warburton says of the Willemses' dynamic. "A perfect little storybook family."
GRRRRRRRRRR... Reporters make me so MAD!
Want another example? Well, okay... but talking about it is gonna make me even CRAZIER.
"I often told Mo to get out of Brooklyn. To move to New Zealand or something. Once I threatened to fling him up north over the horizon where he could live in a hamper for all I cared. But then I moved to LA so we don't talk about that anymore"
But after going through the Mis-quote-amatron 3000...
"When the Willemses lived in Brooklyn, Tom Warburton says, they talked frequently about moving. One day they might ponder New Zealand; another day, it would be another far-flung destination. "They always had their eyes set on someplace on the horizon," Warburton says.
"When they hit on Northampton that seemed like it was it for them," he adds. "They don't talk about moving anymore."
Sigh...
Seriously, though... it's a great story about Mr. Willems by wonderful reporter Margot Cleary! Check it out over HERE!
That's the home of Full Sail University, where I'll be blathering on and on for two whole days in an attempt to convince their animation students to transfer to a real major... Like accounting!
Failing that, I'll be showing films from my 20 year career (yikes!) like this commercial I designed and directed at J.J. Sedelmaier Productions years and years ago:
I'm gonna let 'em know what a sooper triple fun career animation is... but I'll also let 'em know the pitfalls that come with their job choice. It's not all bags of cash and champagne like in the rap videos, you know.
Wish me luck and I'll tell you all about it when I get back!
It's been relatively quiet on the free screening front out here lately, but tonight ASIFA HOLLYWOOD treated us to SHREK FOREVER AFTER before it even hits the theatres on May 21st! And as always, they had a Q&A afterwards, this time with the film's director Mike Mitchell and head of story/voice of Rumplestiltskin, Walt Dohrn! And here they-
GAH! The Samsung Instinct has the WORSTEST worst camera in the universe!
Anyway...
Wanna hear what they said?
Yeah ya do!
*warning* Tiny tiny tiny possible spoilers below! *warning*
• So how did Walt Dohrn end up grabbing the role of Rumplestiltskin, who has the most lines (aside from Shrek) instead of a big name actor? Well, first you've got to realize that the story artists are the ones who do the voices in the first place. While they're fleshing out the story they're performing their storyboards in front of the crew and recording their voice for animatics and such. And very often, their voices really BECOME the character. Sure, they still audition tons of big names, but in some cases it ends up that the story artist is the one that works best. Don't believe me? Here are some examples?
Lou Romano = Linguini in Ratatouille Brad Bird = Edna Mode in The Incredibles Tom McGrath = Skipper in Madagascar
And those are just a couple off the top of my head...
• In the first movie Shrek's face had around 400 points of articulation. In Shrek 4 it had 1085. Mr. Mitchell claimed that since it was much more of an emotional movie, they needed to do more with his face. It worked for me... I teared up at the end. But then again, I'm easy like that.
• The crew actually met with marriage counselors to research how to properly deal with Shrek and Fiona's problems in the movie.
• The Pied Piper has a role in the movie and they really wanted him to play a Beastie Boys song... and then they found our that William Steig, the creator of the original Shrek picture book, has a son, Jeremy, that played flute on a Beastie Boys song. Guess who got hired?
• Puss In Boots was one of the funniest characters in the movie... and there's a Puss-In-Boots movie in the works that takes place before he even met Shrek!
And that's about all I can remember being as I forgot my notebook. I'm sure more will come to me later. But anyway, let's do some math...
free parking + free popcorn and soda + free movie before it's in theatres + free Q&A with the filmmakers ____________________________
Lots of you... like me... were not able to make it to this years ASIFA-EAST Animation Festival Awards that I talked about over HERE.
But why not check out some of the winning films from the comfort of your own home? Or work? Or mobile phone? Ipad? Etc etc etc...
First, this year's signal film was created by the all-powerful Elliot Cowan. (Funny thing... I tried googling up an official definition for 'signal film' and came up with absolutely nothing. So the best that I can tell you is that it's a short piece that introduces the festival). Regardless, here it is:
And here's BACKWARDS by Aaron Hughes that had the honor of taking Best in Show:
Stephen Neary made this adorable film called Let's Make Out:
If you want to see more, go on over to Cartoon Brew. That's where I cribbed these from.
And for a complete list of winners (including images from the films) head on over to the ASIFA-EAST website!
Sooper triple giant congrats to all the winners! Wish I had been there to kiss you all.
But if you thought you'd be able to stop me from going to see Bob Boyle launch the tour for his brand new first ever picture book, you'd be crazier than Joe Murray!
So, YEAH... I pack up the vikings and we head on down to Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena to go see Mr. Boyle get his read on.
Well, imagine my disappointment when THIS GUY came out instead:
WHAT?! Who is THAT?!
With the moustache... And the tweed sportscoat?! And the sporty cap?! And the moustache?!
And then he starts to read WHAT?!
THE BIG BOOK OF MATH?!
Aw, man... me and the wolf cubs were SOOOOOOOO out of there. Until...
DARN IT! DARN IT! DARN IT!
IT WAS HIM ALL ALONG! BOB BOYLE TRICKED ME AGAIN!
Ugh... at least he put on a good show.
He was a drawin'...
And a readin'...
And a signin'
And he really had the crowd going! (with a little help from some weird dude in the audience)
And did I mention there was cake?
Oh yes...
There was cake.
All in all, it was an awesome start to an awesome book.
And sooper triple big congrats in advance to all the big winners!
But for those of you who have nooooooooo idea what I'm talking about...
The ASIFA-EAST Animation Festival Awards is the the THE animation event of the year in NYC!
After many looooong nights of screening every single film that was entered into the festival, the members of ASIFA-EAST come together to bestow awards on the bestest of the best films!
And you even get to watch them! (Warning: Not all films are safe for children!) (Warning: Not all films are safe for adults, either.)
Make sure to stick around afterwards because there's free food and drinks, too. Want to meet the filmmakers? Chances are they're there and 94% of them are really friendly! (Don't ask me what percent are sane)
So how much would you pay for fun like this?
$200 a ticket?
$100?
$5.50 with your senior citizen discount?
No, you won't.
Because it's stark, naked FREE!
So if you're near NYC... get over there tomorrow night! I wish I could!
Because that's where the brand new, hot on the stage, first ever official Mo Willems musical is happening.
Yeah... sure there have been some small productions based around Mo's books. Kinda like this one:
But but but... KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL is the first with the script and lyrics actually written by Mo himself! Check it out:
World Premiere Kennedy Center Commission Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical
Based on the book Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems Script and Lyrics by Mo Willems Music by Michael Silversher Directed by Rosemary Newcott Choreographed by Paige Hernandez
With music by Grammy-winning composer Michael Silversher, Emmy-winning author/illustrator Mo Willems adapts his book Knuffle Bunny in this Kennedy Center commission--about family, best friends, baby steps, and memories that last a lifetime. Age 4+.
* May 8 - 23, 2010 * Family Theater * 1 hour * $18.00
Oh, and you know Stephanie D'Abruzzo? Perhaps you remember her as the voice of Lady Richington in Mo's Cartoon Network show Sheep In The Big City?
Or maybe you remember her from the hit Broadway Musical Avenue Q?
Well, if you'd get your butt to Washington DC... you'll remember her as playing the part of Trixie in the musical! How cool is THAT?!
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