You never know what you’ll stumble on to out and about on the ‘net. And so it is that you’re the beneficiaries of three little gems unearthed from the Information Superhighway. So, buckle up and away we go!
Once upon a time, no Saturday was complete without a visit to your local movie palace (or shack as the case might be) for a wide variety of short subjects and a feature film (likely something of the killer “B” genre) or two before it was time to head home for dinner piping hot from Mom’s kitchen. Usually those short subjects were a newsreel, a Disney and or Warner cartoon and the latest chapter of a serial adventure. If you don’t think the latter had any influence on the generations of movie goers who made sure not to miss a single chapter of their favorite heroes in action, well, you obviously spent too much time in line at the candy counter.
A couple of kids who seemed to have gotten what those films were all about? George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. What else would you call any of the “Star Wars” or “Indiana Jones” films? They’re nothing but new versions of the old serial adventures all shown at the same time. How many of you have ever watched a full viewing of each chapter of such favorites as “Radar Men From The Moon” staring Commando Cody (complete with his flying suit and keen helmet – Hello? “Rocketeer” anyone? And don’t overlook Leonard Nimoy in his first screen role as of all things a space alien. “Star Trek” likewise just an overgrown space adventure in serial form, right)?
Well then you would be as pleased as I was to discover “Rex Steele – Nazi Smasher”. What started as the typical student film project has turned out to be anything but. Based on the adventures appearing in a compilation of titles from Monkeysuit Press, the work of creators Bill Presing and Matt Peters has taken on a new and exciting chapter (“13” to be precise, or as it’s subtitled, “Into The Bosom of Terror”).
What you get here is a fine step back to those days in the theater waiting to see how your hero had managed to survive last week’s peril. Alexander Woo is the power behind the throne here as the Producer/Director, with both Bill and Matt as the lead story guys and animators.
“Rex” has the same flavor as the Fleisher “Superman” cartoons of the 1940’s. According to Alex, that’s not too much of a coincidence. “It’s funny that you mention the Fleischer cartoons. Many people have made that connection, and they were definitely an influence. We wanted to do a sort of modern day pumped up version of that genre of film.” There are more than a number of elements to compare from Rex and the jutting jaw of his profile, to his trusted sidekick Penny Thimble as the vulnerable (yeah, right!) female.
This wasn’t the usual quick and dirty student film, by any means. Again Alex: “The film was made over three years. I started it after my sophomore year of College (New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts ). I spent about two and half years in pre-production and production, storyboarding, and animating everything myself. During the last six months, I started recruiting students and friends in the industry to help finish the film up. I gathered together a great ink and paint team that worked on ANIMO (a digital ink and paint software program from Cambridge Works), and also handed out tied down animation to be cleaned up and made ready for scanning.”
“Most of the background paintings were done by friends of mine for next to nothing in pay. There were all doing me huge favors. All the paintings were done in Photoshop. So while I was getting all these elements from my different departments, I would slowly composite all the elements together in After Effects 6.0. When I had all the scenes together, I just edited it together with Final Cut Pro.
The music, which is my favorite part of the film (because I didn’t have to do any of it!), was scored by my Ryan Shore – an award winning composer who had worked on another short film that I had worked on early on in college. I knew we needed a grand orchestral score but also knew we couldn’t afford any US professional orchestras, so we decided to look abroad. Our search led us to Prague, where the Czech Philharmonic have made quite a name for themselves in film score recording (they had done Brad Bird’s “The Iron Giant” which was a HUGE inspiration – musically and cinematically). We contacted them, and ended up flying over there to record in their world famous concert hall, the RUDOLFINUM (the same place the score for The Iron Giant was recorded).”
According to Alex’s bio on the WooHoo! Pictures web pages, “He recently graduated from the Film/TV Production program, where he won the Russell Hexter Filmmaker Award, and the Richard Protovin Award for Excellence in Animation. He has spent the past three years working on his first film, “Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher”, while also animating professionally on a number of shows and commercials.
Alex is currently developing his own animated projects for both film and television.”
Creators Bil Presing and Matt Peters are also seasoned veterans of the animation world in their own rights. Again from the WooHoo! pages:
“BILL PRESING – co creator
Bill Presing has been working in the animation industry for over seven years. After graduating from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1996, Bill soon began work on various commercials and animated television shows, including Walt Disney Television’s “Doug”, “PB&J Otters” and “Lizzie Mcguire”. He has also worked on a number of Cartoon Network shows as a storyboard artist, including “Sheep in the Big City”, and the upcoming “The Venture Bros”. Bill has also worked as an Art Director on the Warner Bros. Animation web cartoon “Gotham Girls” and various General Mills commercial spots.
Bill’s work has been recognized by a number of a award committees and institutions. The “LUGZ” commercial spot he illustrated was nominated for an ANNIE award, and his work on the animated opening for “The Rosie O’Donnell Show “won him a prestigious Daytime Emmy award. Bill is also the co-creator of “Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher”, a comic book for which he received a nomination for the 2000 IGNATZ award for outstanding artist.
Bill Presing is currently a storyboard artist at Pixar Animation Studios.”
(All the more interesting as “Rex” got a recent showing on the Emeryville Campus…)
“MATT PETERS – co creator
Matt Peters has made animation his profession now for seven years. After graduating from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1996, Matt has worked on projects ranging from commercials to television animation. He has worked as a storyboard artist and designer for such Walt Disney television cartoons as “Doug”, “PB&J Otter”, “101 Dalmatians”, and “Sabrina The Teenage Witch”. He has also storyboarded for Cartoon Network on such shows as “Codename: Kids Next Door” and “Sheep in the Big City”, as well as various pilot episodes including the soon-to-be-released “The Venture Bros.”. Matt has also storyboarded web-animation for the Gotham Girls web-cartoon by Warner Bros. Animation.
In addition to animation, Matt has worked in illustration and publishing heading the storybook department of Disney’s Doug as well as PB&J Otter. His contributions to the “Monkeysuit” anthologies are as the co-creator of “Rex Steele: Nazi Smasher” and also as artist and writer of various other short comics.
Matt Peters is currently completing back to back seasons of Cartoon Network’s hit show Codename: Kids Next Door.”
A final credit from that web page has an interesting side note:
“DAN BLANK – Voice Actor and Gag man
Dan Blank is a recent graduate from New York University’s animation program. While in school, he provided the voices to many of the celebrities on all four seasons of MTV’s Celebrity Deathmatch, from Kelsey Grammer to Hugh Hefner to Steven Spielberg. Dan studied animation alongside Alex Woo, and his stop-motion film “Shadowplay” went on to win both a Student Academy Award and Student Emmy Award. He currently resides in Los Angeles, where he is a visual effects artist on the upcoming “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”, and coincidentally, will be providing some voice-over work on the film as well. Aside from voice-over acting and animation, Dan’s life long dream is to retire and live out his days as the butler at Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion.”
To learn more about Dan and his film “Shadowplay”, visit this link. Hmmm, maybe we’ll have to chat with him about “Sky Captain”?
So? Are you ready to find a showing of “Rex Steele – Nazi Smasher”? I am! Coming up a handful of days from now, to be precise and just up the road from me here in Livermore. The Danville (California) International Children’s Film Festival has “Rex” all set on the program. Friday, May 21 through Sunday, May 23 they’ll be showing a variety of films for and by children. “Rex” is scheduled to be shown Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and then on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in the Town Hall location. Saturday’s hours for the full event run from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday’s from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. with a variety of events before during and after (some at extra cost). I’ll be there on Saturday, at least to see “Rex”…
Now I promised a trio of things this time out, so here’s the next one. How about two great silent films and live orchestra accompaniment? I’m a fan of might Wurlitzer theater organs of both Hollywood’s El Capitan (liberated from San Francisco’s fabled Fox Theater) and Oakland’s Paramount. But a full orchestra? Why, of course! And two classic silents from a couple of favorites. How about Walt Disney’s first Mickey Mouse cartoon, “Plane Crazy” and Buster Keaton’s “Steamboat Bill Jr.”? That’s the program for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s Annual Silent Film Gala, Saturday June 5 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Prices may seem a bit on the spendy side ($30 for General Admission), but I find it hard to imagine an evening like this any other way! I’m trying to find a way to get down for that evening…
Finally, back a few months when we were all out at Walt’s Barn in Griffith Park, there was a flyer for a new book on the Disneyland Railroad. Well here is the poop for your approval and pre-order! “Welcome Aboard The Disneyland Railroad” is the work of Steve DeGaetano, Editor of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society newsletter The Carolwood Chronicle. And from what he has in store, this book is going to be taking a place on many a shelf soon. Here’s a glimpse into it:
“Some of what you find inside the 300 pages of Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad!:
? Information on exactly how the locomotives are operated, including custom-made drawings with call-outs of a locomotive cab interior;
? In-depth histories of the locomotives including their “vital statistics,” rolling stock both old and new, stations and servicing structures;
? Over 100 never-before-published color photographs and over 20 custom-made CAD drawings of the locomotives, cars and stations;
? Notes on modeling the Disneyland Railroad, including tested formulas for creating close approximations of the colors used on the trains;
? Discussions of the wide variety of collectibles available for the Disneyland Railroad, including both common and rare items of interest;
? A written and photographic tour of the Roundhouse, with descriptions of the day-to-day activities of those who keep the trains running;
? What it’s like to ride in the cab, with thorough discussions of the locomotive controls; firing techniques, and operating procedures.”
That’s just what this Disney railfan is ready for! Now here’s the deal:
“The first edition of Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad!, with a publication date of fall 2004, will be extremely limited. The cost of the hard cover book is only $64.95 plus shipping and handling. Each numbered book will be signed by the author upon request. If you pre-order before September 1, 2004, you will also receive, absolutely free, one of Steve’s signed and numbered limited edition prints of the E.P. Ripley, the same one that hangs in Diane Disney Miller’s home. This print is a $40.00 value, but is yours FREE when you place a pre-order for the most comprehensive book on the Disneyland Railroad ever written, Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad!”
Well, that’s all for this week. A trio of fun and something for everyone I hope…
Next week? Oh, that’s a long way off yet, but hey, there’s a holiday weekend ahead and I wouldn’t want to disappoint any of you faithful readers out there. I’ve still got a few things to share yet…
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