Yep, that's pretty much the essentials. The stuff I'm intentionally drawing from for "Doctor Glamour" to inform it's visual aesthetic, tone, structure and syntax. Of course I'm dragging along my usual cinema baggage of Welles, Bava, Corbucci, Raimi, et al.

As you read, you may notice that Georges Melies is missing from the top picture and this post. Clearly, a director who's work spawned many of the items I'm about to discuss, but I don't own any of his films! Seen, yes, love, yes!, own, no.

I'm laying it all out here folks, so if you wish the sweet sorcery of passive entertainment preserved, stop reading now!

But for you intrepid true believers, my greatest hope is that in a year or two's time, when "Doctor Glamor" is complete, you will see evidence of these influences on screen. If I am extremely lucky, you will note their successful synthesis. Only you will know for sure! Only you can judge!

Fist tier in the pyramid is the core visual ambition and raison d'être of Doctor Glamour. The art of Steve Ditko, specifically his run on "Doctor Strange," the classic Marvel character he created. I mean LOOK at this!



Who wouldn't want to try to adapt this man's sense of composition and bewildering imagination to the screen? The thing that seems natural to me is to re-create his surreal landscapes and eye-popping vistas by way of "Flash Gordon," using CG to create the solids and practical effects for the sky.



So what the hell does "The Manual of the Planes"(only 4th edition is seen here, but 1st/3rd are better) have to do with any of that? Well it's concepts of inter planar travel combined with high adventure is a definite influence on my thinking about dimensional concepts presented in all fiction, from HP Lovecraft to Doctor Strange itself.

Which explains why "Doctor Glamour" is in many ways an action-adventure(glam rock musical) re-telling of Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witchhouse".

Speaking of ACTION, I'm going to try to get to the absurd levels of the great "FLCL" (Never Knows Best Productions got its name from this anime work of genius ya know) and the classic "Encounters of the Spooky Kind"!




Then we get to "Labyrinth." This is the biggy. An incredible combo of age old fairy tale and completely bananas don't-give-a-shit 80s indulgence, serving up a poignant tale of twilight adolescence and sexual confusion. It has got music, action, puppets and python humor. An insane mix to be sure, but you can tell I prefer a baffling brew. Not to mention it shares my obsession with realizing spatially ambiguous artwork in live action...



"Brazil?" you ask. Well, Gilliam is just one of those cinema regulars for me. His movies make me make movies. But his shadow looms a little larger on this project. It's about dreams, after all. I can't count the innumerable ways in which "Brazil" influences my film making and you'll see that on screen, for better or worse.



Finally, we have "Hedwig and the Angry Inch." A rock musical at last in the mix! Well maybe that's why it's here, but I think it has a lot more to do with this:



That gets into the themes of peice though. That's another post.

Hope you've enjoyed me peeling off the mind scab covering the stuff floating around in my skull. And maybe, just maybe, you might have a little more context for this:



Until next time Web-Heads!

Hello! You may have noticed I've been pretty absent from this site since it's creation, (hell, you may not even know who I am) and as a co-founder I figured I should probably do something about that. So from here on out I'm going to try and be a bit more active and hopefully it'll help keep me organized and motivated with my latest production.

So where have I been all this time? Meticulously re-writing "You Vultures!" my next animated short. It centers around a punk band who steals a time traveling guitar and goes back to the old west. It's very fast paced and I've crammed about as much into it as I possibly can by burning through 70 or so drafts. Andrew's been helping out by giving me script notes every once and a while and I have a few local artists here in Atlanta giving me a hand with designs. I normally handle all the designs myself as was the case with The Book Dealers and Revenge Academy (except backgrounds, thank you Mike Prescott). However this time I'm trying to branch out and be a little more collaborative in certain areas that I haven't been in the past. So Justin Wagner is helping out with character designs while he's also hard at work on a graphic novel for Oni Press. I'll also have my friend Hunter Clark working on backgrounds at sometime in the near future. He's also an artist for Oni Press and recently had an awesome book come out called The Return of King Doug.

As for now I'm finalizing the script (finally! And for real this time!) and then in the next week or two I'll start recording people to assemble a rough audio cut. I'll have more info soon. In the mean time enjoy these quick sketches Justin Wagner did at the bar when we first discussed him helping out on the short. This stuff is obviously still rough and the designs will change from what you see here (especially Darby) but it's a cool look into the first stage of designing the characters. (These also don't reflect the final look of the animation, as the style will probably change as the overall design is finalized).





-Alan!

I was interviewed by Director's Notes recently. In the interview I go in depth about the process of making "Frank DanCoolo." You can listen to it...

HERE

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, a world renowned outlet for top tier genre films sponsored by Aint-it-Cool News, Rue-Morgue Magazine and others!

Also, "DanCoolo" has been invited to the TriMedia Film Festival and the Buried Alive! Film Festival!

Hey everyone, "Frank DanCoolo" is now available for purchase on DVD. Show your support and pick up a copy!

PURCHASE HERE

"Frank DanCoolo" has won the Transmitter award for "Best Sci-fi/Horror" at the the 2010 Crystal Palace International Film Festival!

 

"DanCoolo" is set to ROCK!

I've just been informed that "Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" has landed a distribution deal with IndieFlix.com!!!

The film will be available on DVD and instant streaming starting July 27th!

This announcement also comes with the possibility of further deals with Hulu and NetFlix in the coming months!

Stay tuned!

I had a very productive meeting with James and Robert Dastoli today. I've never really been able to make them stop in their tracks before, but today I did that and more as I laid out the major challenges in creating the effects for the new film.

These tests are really pushing the technical envelope for them and they impressed upon me that victory is less than certain. So much so that I've agreed to stagger their design. First we'll tackle a big environment test, then another, then a character/battle test. Expect them to premiere here in that order.

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Action-on-Film International Film Festival! It follows in the footsteps of "Revenge Academy" which was a pick in 2009!

Frankly, I think I've yet to top the massive battle at the end of "Revenge Academy." A dozen characters to track, ninja fights, grizzly bear launchers. That shit was the reason I made that movie.

Contacted Jimmy and Bobby Dastoli about special effects tests today. Gonna have a meeting over the weekend. I'm going put together some pre-vis for them beforehand. Will announce the next film along with the premiere of the VFX tests (if successful). I'll include the pre-vis as well.

I'm trying to articulate what forces are motivating the creation of this new project. It is undoubtedly a sister piece to "DanCoolo," but diametrically opposed in attitude and intent.

 "DanCoolo" is a dry, arrogant and occasionally mean spirited piss-take on recent trends in sci-fi aesthetics. The Holly Malone character runs around gleefully smashing her CGI surroundings, her out of place 1940s archetype being one of the few ingenuous elements of the film. I wrote the film at a time when I felt pretty freaking invincible and get a sense of unbridled destructive smugness when I watch it now. However, I think I successfully imbue the viewer with the idea that smashing things is fun.

Of course it IS fun, but now I can't help but want something different. I've had my fill of carnage, I want some constructive fun. A big warm pool of ooey gooey fun.

So this time, no hiding behind parody, no ironic meta-structure. I'm going to tell a very personal story using elements and tools I genuinely love. When I show you something, I'm going to earnestly think it's cool.

So of course it has to be a musical.

Hello all! Nearly a year has gone by since "Frank DanCoolo" achieved picture lock. 


This has been the longest time I've ever gone without mounting a new project since I began directing films seven years ago.


Why? The truth is I intended "DanCoolo" to be the last film I self financed. It was the only way to justify the relatively large personal expense required to fund the film. It was an act of passion. I never truly expected the final product to appeal to anyone but me.


But very much to my surprise, the response has been overwhelming. I've gotten dazzlingly close in the last year to life changing career boosts and incredible opportunities as a result of "DanCoolo." The film has more than tripled the number of film festival screenings over that of "The Book Dealers," my previous record holder. I've had colleagues and strangers alike compare the work with that of my cinematic idols.


Never Knows Best will be without a film for the 2011 film festival circuit, but I have resolved to take the plunge and strive to bring the most bonkers, fun filled vision I've ever conceived to the screen for 2012.


Stay tuned, True Believers, you ain't seen nothing yet.


PS. Let it be known that I don't expect this one to appeal to anyone either :P

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival! This is the third year in a row that a Never Knows Best film has played at Dragon*Con. "The Book Dealers" also won "Best Animated Horror Film" at the 2008 fest.

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection for the 2010 Crystal Palace International Film Festival and also a FINALIST for the Transmitter Awards.

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Atlanta Horror Film Festival!

ECTOPLASMOSIS says "Another fine film from Andrew Jones. A solid mix of several varieties of pulp from different eras, blended in a dynamically quirky style"

Thank you!

Grim Reviews says "Frank DanCoolo is a graphically intense and delightfully silly short with an added Lovecraftian flair... Jones's real virtue with this film is a balancing act resulting in a smooth mixture of sub-genres and sources."

Thanks GR!!

Read it HERE

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Hollyshorts Film Festival!

"Frank DanCoolo" is an official selection at the 2010 Burbank International Film Festival!

"Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" has fulfilled "The Book Dealers" dreams and won Best Lovecraft Short at A Night of Horror International Film Festival!

The 2008 "Best Animated Horror Film," The Book Dealers, returns to the festival circuit with a special invite to the Tri-City Independent Fan Film Festival!

"Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer" has been invited to the LA Comedy Festival Screening Series! Come see me give a live Q&A April 22nd!