A Work in Progress: Heroes

Showing posts with label Heroes. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 27

The Incredible Hulk Lives in Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood?

I'm bummed. There was a link to this episode on YouTube but it was recently taken down. It was interesting that a show that was very concerned about educating and entertaining actually got to put it to practice in this example. I wonder if PBS was hesitant to align its self with a program that might be considered counter to the mission and direction of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, etc. The Hulk scared the hell out of my baby sister, but this really put it in the proper context. All I can do is tease you with the notion that it was pretty great. Sorry kids.

UPDATE: I found a different link - enjoy!

Sunday, May 25

Who is your Dan DeCarlo?

I grew up reading Archie Comics, I was nuts for them. I could identify which artist and sometimes which inker drew stories -- and at times spot the writer by the title of the story or type of jokes that were written. I was a real devotee.

My favorite artist was Dan DeCarlo, hands down. He was the best, when I thought of the look of the characters, it was Dan's work I saw (seen here to the left). I was lucky enough to spend some time with Dan and his wife, and I learned a bit about him through an interview I did for a fanzine ages ago -- I’ll have to find the tape of the interview. I remember at one point he asked me to turn off the recorder, and with his raspy voice asked if I remembered the times that Archie would fall asleep with Betty or Veronica in the car with them, or the times that they spent the whole night out, and the next scene would be the following morning. I said, of course. He said, every time that happened, they...you know... and then he laughed hysterically. I was amazed...i need to go back and re-read my comics, I thought.

At the time I knew him personally, he was in a lot of legal battles with the owners of Archie Comics, regarding what elements of Archie Comics he should have been given more recognition to help create. Such as, Josie and The Pussycats (Josie was named for his wife). Over lunch one day, he told me that he felt like a failure - - he worked his whole life and didn't have anything to show for it. I, of course, reassured him that his work touched many, many people. I was very surprised to hear him say that. In my eyes, he was a huge success. While I am not an artist, I looked up to him. While he claimed to think he was a failure that day, he indirectly taught me to not compromise my vision, protect it and fight for my efforts.

So, who is your Dan DeCarlo?

Friday, May 23

How Muppets Are Brought to Life...

Check out this site, & learn how Sesame Street brings Muppets to life.

ok? now you do it.

Wednesday, May 21

Pixar 101

I've read a ton of Hollywood studio type books, not the cheesy tell-all biographies but the ones that focus on an era, on a studio, on a filmmaker or just a point of view. Such as:

DisneyWar, Down and Dirty Pictures, The Devil's Candy, The Mailroom, Who The Devil Made It, The Studio, Boffo!, Hitchcock on Hitchcock, What Just Happened?, Rebel Without a Crew, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Hello, He Lied, Eyes Wide Open, A Pound of Flesh...

Also heard great things about The Making of Star Wars - - not even a nut about SW, but just ordered that from Amazon. I just got The Pixar Touch in the mail, am very excited to start that 300 page bad boy.

Monday, May 19

Classic Peanuts is where it's at

I recently bought the Charles Schulz biography (RIP), and can't wait to dive into it. I have to say that the later strips of PEANUTS didn't do it for me. I really liked the unrefined look and stories of the very early strips. The characters were raw looking, as was the humor. Here is a real "classic."

Sunday, May 11

Tribute to Jim Henson

I came across this video while doing a random Sunday afternoon search. It's a short student film called Over Time that was done in 2004 by three from the French animation school Supinfocom. It's a wonderful tribute to Jim Henson, and as many have commented on various sites - it shows how the creations or puppets react once they realize their creator has died. After viewing many of Jim's early experimental short films, I think he would be quite touched and impressed with this. It is a bit sad, be forewarned.

Directed By: Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland, Damien Ferrie
Music: Inconsolable by the Silberman Orchestra

Friday, May 9

RIPPLES - short film by Jim Henson

This short film by Jim in 1967 stars Jon Stone. Jon introduced the folks at Children's Television Workshop to Henson. Stone worked closely on Sesame Street until the time he died. In his New York Times obituary, Joan Ganz Cooney describes Stone as "probably the most brilliant writer of children's television material in America."

Friday, April 25

Jim Henson - Original Video Pitch for THE MUPPET SHOW

When in doubt, go back to see how the masters did it. Jim Henson and his crew put together a video pitch for various networks about The Muppet Show. Here is the version they showed CBS. It's quite clever, as only Jim and the crew could be. As I'm sure you know, every network passed on the show. I'm sure someone lost their corner office for that mistake.

Related Posts:

How Sex and Violence Made Jim Henson a Star

Jim Henson Memorial Service (Video)

How Muppets Are Brought To Life...

RIPPLES - short film by Jim Henson (Video)

Tribute to Jim Henson (Video)

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