VIMEO on DEMAND featured The World of Snowboy & Crow!

https://vimeo.com/ondemand

The VIMEO on DEMAND homepage now features "The World of Snowboy & Crow" along with other great films!

*The World of Snowboy & Crow is even featured in the "Weird and Wonderful" Category.

Check it out!

Ken Turner Blog Series: Influences and Inspirations Blog Entry #5 - THE GOONIES

"The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the bestest stuff for us. But right now they gotta do what's right for them, 'cause it's their time. Their time, up there. Down here it's our time. It's our time down here." - Mikey

 The Goonies is a film about a group of children living in Astoria, Oregon who go off in search of pirate One Eyed Willie's treasure. Directed by Richard Donner (Superman & Superman II) and written by Steven Spielberg (E.T.) and Chris Columbus (Home Alone & Harry Potter).  This 1985 movie has become a cult classic for myself and a generation of kids growing up in the 80's.

  TRAILER:

"Yeah, but you know what? This one, this one right here. This was my dream, my wish. And it didn't come true. So I'm taking it back. I'm taking them all back." - Mouth

One-Eyed Willie’s pirate ship was a real set that was built to look like Errol Flynn’s ship in The Sea Hawk. While it was being constructed, the kids were not allowed to see it; the ship was hidden on another set behind tarps. Donner was hoping to get a real reaction from the cast for their first take seeing Willie’s ship, but when he rolled the camera and revealed it, the whole gang was so shocked by the sight that they started cursing up a storm, and the scene had to be re-shot. Once production wrapped, the crew tried to find someone who would take the ship, but no one wanted it, and the entire set was scrapped. (via 10 Things You Might Not Know About The Goonies http://www.tor.com/blogs/2012/08/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-the-goonies)

The Goonies Movie CLIP - "It's Our Time Down Here"

And finally we can't forget Sloth, the deformed Fratelli brother who becomes the unlikeliest of heroes in the adventure.  He also has one of the unforgettable catchphrases of the film:

"HEEEY YOU GUYS!" - Sloth

"I can't tell... if it's an "A sharp" or if it's a "B flat"!" - Andy
"Hey, if you hit the wrong note, we'll all "B flat!"" - Mikey

Spielberg sums up just who the Goonies are: They are often a ridiculous, rag-tag, junk-food bunch of American kids whose biggest enemy is, besides the local bullies and snobby girls, weekend boredom. Never bore a Goonie or you'll be facing an adventure bigger then the entire neighborhood.

The pirates map, The villainous crooks, The underground caverns, The booby traps, the skeletons, The monster, the lost treasure, and the magic that is... THE GOONIES.

Next time on the Influences and Inspirations : A painter who locals nicknamed "Forest Demon"

Cheers
 Ken

More - "The World of Snowboy & Crow" Story Reel to Final Episode Comparison videos!

You can now watch more "The World of Snowboy & Crow" Story Reel to Final Episode Comparison videos!

  

http://youtu.be/riQcSCM3u4o

http://youtu.be/Gj5ke1Dn7vA

http://youtu.be/htyUU3roVPY

Enjoy!

Ken Turner Blog Series: Influences and Inspirations Blog Entry #4 - EDWARD GOREY (1925 - 2000)

 

 “I really think I write about everyday life. I don't think I'm quite as odd as others say I am. Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that's what makes it so boring.”
― Edward Gorey

I first came upon the work of Edward Gorey at some point during my college years.  Ever since I was hooked and I've been collecting his work ever since.  Gorey's distinct style was often described as "whimsical" and "grim".  Gorey's pen and ink illustrations often depicted animals.  He also has a connection to animation, his work was animated for the intro in the PBS mystery show called MYSTERY!.

  

*A photo of my Edward Gorey book collection

*The mini-comic and the animated web series "The World of Snowboy & Crow" was heavily influenced by the art of Edward Gorey.
- Link to EPISODE #2

 Edward Gorey artwork from "War of the Worlds"

“My mission in life is to make everybody as uneasy as possible. I think we should all be as uneasy as possible, because that's what the world is like.”
― Edward Gorey

 

MINI-BIO:
Edward Gorey, who was an American writer and artist noted for his illustrated books, was born in 1925, Gorey illustrated book covers before moving on to illustrate about 90 books and write 60 of his own before his death in 2000.  Gorey's most famous book, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, depicts the deaths of 26 children, each representing a different letter of the alphabet.  Gorey's home in Massachusetts was turned into a museum showcasing his work.  Gorey himself was an animal rights advocate so he left the bulk of his estate to a charitable trust benefiting cats and dogs, as well as other species, including bats and insects.

  

 

“I am a person before I am anything else. I never say I am a writer. I never say I am an artist...I am a person who does those things.”
― Edward Gorey

 

  

“Books, Cats, Life is Good.”
― Edward Gorey

Next time on the Influences and Inspirations :

*Hint
"Pinchers of power! You guys! I've been saved by my Pinchers of Power!"

Cheers

 Ken

Ken Turner Blog Series: Influences and Inspirations Blog Entry #3 - PEE WEE'S PLAYHOUSE

"You all remember what to do whenever anybody says the secret word right?" - Pee Wee

"Scream!" - All

 "That's right. For the rest of the day, whenever anybody says the secret word, scream real loud. Ready? Let's try it." - Pee Wee

Growing up every kid had there go to show they would watch over and over again.  For me it was Pee Wee's Playhouse.  It probably was the best to visually capture the pure imagination of a child.  It showcased the hyper, strange, wacky, happy, fun, colorful, bizarre way in which kids just want to play.  It was a hodgepodge of situations and people the were most of time very random but somehow worked together perfectly.  The show was probably summed up best by Paul Reubens himself when he said:  

 "I'm just trying to illustrate that it's okay to be different — not that it's good, not that it's bad, but that it's all right. I'm trying to tell kids to have a good time and to encourage them to be creative and to question things," Paul Reubens

Besides the human characters, puppet characters and living objects within the playhouse, it also featured characters animated in stop motion such as toys, food and a family of dinosaurs.

Even the opening of the opening intro was done in stop motion, check it out:

   

 

 "Mekka Lekka Hi-Mekka Hiney Ho." - Jambi

One of my favorite parts of the show was the PENNY cartoon.  A clay-mation short about a girl with pennies for eyes who described activities in her life.  Check out the "toast" short:


Pee Wee would always have special re-occurring guests visit him like Cowboy Curtis, Reba the Mail Lady, Captain Carl, Miss Yvonne and the King of Cartoons who would introduce the "cartoon clip of the day".

"Stories never make me sleepy." - Pee Wee
"Once upon a time..." - Miss Yvonne
[Immediately falls asleep] - Pee Wee

"You know, Pee-wee, there's a real twisted side to you." - Captain Carl
"Thank you, Carl." Pee Wee
[stares] You're welcome." - Captain Carl 

 

Be sure to relive some the magic that is Pee Wee's playhouse, I guarantee you it will be alot of "FUN!!"

"Once upon a time, there was a boy named Pee-wee, who had a playhouse filled with lots of friends and cool stuff. They had so much fun together that they completely lost track of the time, and they all lived happily ever after. The end." - Pee Wee telling his favorite story

Next time on the Influences and Inspirations : A master illustrator of the morbid humor

Cheers

"Henry: The Heart Boy" Short Film - Production Update #15

  Production on Henry is progressing quite well.  Lots of scenes are becoming more and more complete as days pass.  Its very exciting to see finished shots come together.

One of the things that is very unique to this film unlike previous films I've done is how HTHB has organically evolved over the course of production.  Usually the storyboards I draw for these films are pretty final and I stick to them to the end.  But with Henry nothing is too sacred in adapting the book to film and that has been afforded me a great deal of freedom.  That freedom may be attributed to how much time I've allotted myself on this particular film.  I believe time has really been great aid to this film and I hope that shows when you all see the film later this year.

 Along with the HTHB concept artwork above, here is a production still of a story-boarded shot.  Enjoy:

Stay tuned for more updates and be sure to tell your friends.

Cheers

- Ken

https://twitter.com/iKenTurner

Ken Turner Blog Series: Influences and Inspirations Blog Entry #2 - THE WIZARD

"So, according to this, we're in Goblin Valley. Great. I mean, I mean, I mean... it couldn't be Happy Valley or Wonderful Valley. Goblin Valley. Why not, Axe Murderer's Valley?" - Corey Woods (The Wizard)

I was born in the 80's and one of the films from that decade I remember watching over and over was 1989's cult classic "The Wizard".  Most kids my age at the time were really into Nintendo and the producers of this film were able to develop a really great story about a broken family and video games.

The film starred Fred Savage (from the TV series Wonder Years, which I'll talk about in a future post),  Jenny Lewis, Beau Bridges, Christian Slater and Luke Edwards as the Wizard.

Haley
  "Hi, I'm Haley. If you don't tell me what you're doing, I'm going to scream."

Corey
"Could you scream quietly?"

The Wizard is a cross-country adventure about a shy boy named Jimmy, a video game prodigy, who along with his brother Corey and a girl named Haley set out to go to "Video Armageddon" a gaming tournament.  The movie has much deeper themes and meanings than one would believe.  Its also a great time capsule of a film which captures the Nintendo craze in the 80's.

Check out the trailer:

 "I've got video monsters, I've got movie monsters, I've got graffiti on the wall monsters" - Diner Manager

The film also has a brief cameo by a very young Tobey Maguire (far left)

I remember going to Universal Studios (where in the film the video game championships take place) and going on the King Kong ride.  Its one of those images from your memory that you can easily recall because it was so iconic.  I think I remember his teeth the most.

Another memory piece were the dinosaurs of Cabazon in the California desert.  These were also featured in another 80's classic "Pee Wee's Big Adventure".

The film featured another video game master named Lucas who probably had one of the most quotable lines in the movie.

"I love the Power Glove. It's so bad." - Lucas

 The video game montage clip:

 Check out the film if you haven't seen it or re-watch it and relive some 80's childhood memories.

Next time on the Influences and Inspirations : an 80's kids TV series

Cheers

Ken Turner Blog Series: Influences and Inspirations Blog Entry #1 - SUBMARINE

    

"Most people think of themselves as individuals, that there's no one on the planet like them.  This thought motivates them to get out of bed, eat food, and walk around like nothings wrong.  My name is Oliver Tate." - Oliver Tate (Submarine)

I thought I'd start off the blog series with a film I saw a couple of years ago.  I think that a lot of people may not have had this film on their radar but is sure to become a cult classic.  The film is called Submarine and its the debut feature from director Richard Ayoade (you may know him as he starred in the comedy "The Watch" with Vince Vaughn) and executive produced by Ben Stiller who makes a blink and you'll miss cameo.

The film, based on the novel by Joe Dunthorne, is about Oliver Tate, a 15 year old, who finds himself with a couple of relationship problems in his young life.  He struggles with his newly formed relationship with a darkly haired girl named Jordana Bevan who he wants to have sex with for the first time and the monitoring of the crumbling marriage of his more then ordinary parents.

Submarine's deft-wit is already apparent in the initial opening quote from the film's protagonist Oliver Tate to the audience:

"My Dear Americans, The film you are about to see is a biopic of my life. The events take place, not so long ago, in a proud land called Wales. Wales is next to England, a country you pretend to treat as an equal. My homeland has produced Catherine Zeta-Jones, Tom Jones and some other people. You have not yet invaded my country and for this I thank you. Submarine is an important film. Watch it with respect. Fond regards from your protagonist, Oliver Tate." 

Here is the trailer:

It feels like a film out of the 70s ala Harold & Maude and just as timeless.  It has moments of a Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson or Edgar Wright film.   This mashup is blended quite nicely as you get a little bit of everything you could want without everything you wouldn't.  With its clever and witty metta-narration by Oliver, this mini biopic of a film has some of the best writing, cinematography and score for an indie comedy that I've seen in recent years.  The original soundtrack music was created by Alex Turner of the Artic Monkeys.

Here is the soundtrack in its entirety avaliable on youtube:

 

The film stars Craig Roberts who starred in last year's Tim Burton music video for the Killers along side Winona Ryder.  Here is the music video in case you haven't seen it:

Another Burton connection is the father of Oliver Tate played by Noah Taylor who played the father to little Charlie Bucket in 2005's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"My mother is worried I have mental problems. I found a book about teenage paranoid delusions during a routine search of my parents' bedroom." - Oliver Tate

Submarine is a film unlike no other coming-of-age coming-of-romance drama comedy made in recent years.  Check it out as soon as possible!

Next time on the Influences and Inspirations : 80's classics

Cheers