SUPER off to a rollicking start

I'm really remiss for not mentioning this before, but the James Gunn film I worked on, 'Super', debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last month and positively blew the roof off the place.

I blogged about it last year-- in this entry-- I more or less wedged myself into a freelance endeavor with a studio in town that was doing some production work for them. Without giving much away, I did a lot of drawings, and did initially contribute some work to another portion of the movie, which ultimately was taken over by a very talented studio in LA & Minneapolis named Puny.

Anyway, the film killed at TIFF, and IFC picked it up. It is currently at the Stiges film festival in Spain, where, at least according to Twitter, it is doing very well. It's not everyone's cup of tea-- my mother certainly will not be able to watch it. But I read the script and dudes, I loved it. It's depraved but has heart. I think that was why I really liked what I did on the film so much; reading through you really began to empathize with this character. So when it came down to drawing the things that he was supposed to draw, things that had meant a lot to him, you kind of wanted that to come through onto the paper. Even if he was really terrible at it. It was a great experience, and I'm glad it's being so well-received. I haven't seen it but am dying to; a friend in Toronto was bowled over by it. Gunn also directed the hilarious PG Porn shorts--


and 2006's 'Slither', starring Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks. Which... if you haven't seen it, and it turns out a lot of people didn't, it's worth checking out. It was promoted badly and looked like a straight-up horror. I didn't even see it when it came out. But as it turns out, it's hilarious. I like me a sick sense of humor, and this guy has it. So to have gotten a little bit of work into the film is pretty gratifying; I'm glad it's doing so well.

4th of July, 2010.

Whatever you did on the 4th of July, I think we will be able to agree it probably wasn't this epic.







The 4th of July is a big deal to some people down here. This year's theme was "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"-- an homage to Flaming Lips.



Basically we just blew stuff up. No one died or was maimed.

I am becoming less and less inclined to go see 'Watchmen' and have Zack Snyder ruin that book for me. The more I hear-- which is surprisingly vague, but negative-- the more I don't want to see it.

I took my hard-earned money to see 'Coraline' instead; now that is a decision I can be happy with. Some have pooh-poohed the character design, but I go on record now saying they are super mega-wrong. I just really like it. I was equally impressed with it as I was the tiny costumes (they were knitted!), the tiny sets, the background, and the superb animation. Not a bit of it disappointed me.

I owe a post to MegaCon; I will probably get around to it later tonight, now that I've actually thought of it. Been back a week and I haven't reported at all, save for a Facebook photo album.

The Fisher King

A twelve year old probably doesn't understand Terry Gilliam so well. Or at least, that's what I would assume at 29. I saw a trailer for 'The Fisher King' when I was 12, and was so impatient to see it-- it was rated R-- I bought the movie novelization, and read it intently during study hall in school. I loved the story, and re-read it, envisioning the story the best I could. It may well have been borne out of a great like for Robin Williams, or perhaps of a budding love of Monty Python, but I wrung my hands until the title was released on VHS, at which point, I immediately watched it. My parents reasoned that I'd already read the book-- and I assured them there was no sex--so they allowed me to watch it. All the same, I remained scandalized at the full-frontal nude scene of Robin Williams' although to his credit, his intense body hair obscured anything obscene that a twelve year old would have no business seeing.

The video was returned upon its due date, and over the years I rented it again and again, finally owning the copy in college. I started using it as a litmus test of sorts with friends and boyfriends; it remained my favorite movie-- was it New York? The composition of shots?-- and it became important that people knew it. It's like that scene in 'High Fidelity'; it's not what you're like. It's what you like.

The scene above is my favorite scene of the movie, or maybe of any movie. It's because the scene imbued me with a sense of wonder at twelve that still persists today. I saw it the first time and just wanted to go to Grand Central Terminal, where it was filmed. And everytime I pass through it today, I think of that scene. My real life experiences in that space are nowhere as beautiful or seemingly effortless, but I still look up at that clock in the Main Concourse and think of that scene.

New York Comic Con Wrap Up...

I got my new copy of 'Scott Pilgrim Vs the Universe' signed by Bryan Lee O'Malley.

I signed some books of my own at the publisher's table:


I did a lot of standing.

Um... AND I MET JOSS WHEDON AND SCOTT ADSIT.




I promise you I normally don't chase people for photos, but they both wandered dangerously near my table so I threw caution to the wind and cornered them. Win!


Mega Con is the end of this month. I expect to do some signing and standing there too, but in a warmer climate.