As All Hallows’ Eve draws nigh, I am thankful we have Ziggy to protect us from zombies, werewolves, vampires, space invaders and all manner of creatures that go bump in the night.
One of my favorite stories (currently on the back burner) is The Girl in the Moon. It started years ago, as a screenplay. In the early days of Scrollon I decided to draw it. But as the visual language of Scrollon developed I put this story aside until such time I could do it properly. When I eventually get back to it, I will certainly need to redraw everything done so far. A pity. But as Faulkner told us, sometimes we must kill all our darlings.
Last week I posted images of castles featured in projects I directed (or, in the case of Army of Darkness, 2nd Unit directed). Here’s some medieval backgrounds I’ve drawn. All of these are from the recent release of “The Curious Saga of No-One” pt 3 (now available on the Scrollon App for the iPhone and the iPad).
Much of Army of Darkness was filmed on exterior set constructed in Acton, California. It was uncomfortably hot during the day and uncomfortably cold at night. Tippi Hedren’s Shambala Preserve was across the road and we could hear lions roaring when the sun went down. When it came time to leave most of the cast and crew were happy to say goodbye to the location, but I was sad. I thought: “When will I ever get a chance to film something in a castle again?” I had no way of knowing that castles, real or constructed, would be where I’d spend most of my directing career.
If I remember correctly, the picture above was taken by actor Harry Van Gorkum, who has been in two of my films.
Next week I’ll post some castles I’ve drawn that are featured in this weeks’ release of “The Curious Saga of No-One” pt 3, now available on the Scrollon App for the iPhone and the iPad.
“Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow” was written by lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer Jule Styne in July 1945. This song has become a Holiday classic despite the fact it was not intended as such (it contains no mention of Christmas) and was written in Los Angeles, California during one of the hottest days on record.
I don’t know how Cahn and Styne got into the mood, but one of my projects recently had me drawing a fictious 1898 expedition to the North Pole. I was doing this in West Toluca Lake (within the greater Los Angeles area) during a heat wave.
My solution was to recite “The Cremation of Sam McGee” while drawing.
If you find yourself in a similar situation, try it. It works. (A word of caution: if you don’t want to alienate friends and family, recite softly.)
Elsewhere in the news: An update was just released for the Scrollon app which enables full support for iPhones. If you have one, please check it out at http://appstore.com/scrollon. It’s free!
