BLOOD AND IRON has suffered from late deliveries from overseas. The first movie wore people out and yet the animators wanted to do their best. I was told animators just refused to turn in scenes until they were happy with them. You would think that's good news but that all puts the pressure on everybody in post.
Otis Van Osten can hire sound editors from all over town but the more bodies working the less control, the less cohesion. "Oh, you're using that sound for a ghost pass by? I thought we should use this." Keeping the right tone throughout the movie is especially hard. How "cartoon?" You'd think the answer is simple but anything that's not absolutely realistic is subject to interpretation. So trying to cram all that work into a shorter amount of time does the movie no good at all.
And that's just effects. Because the animated face doesn't have the subtleties of a living actor, I really need Chris Drake to play the emotions of the story. This movie relies on music much more than the first. Chris was looking at composing and performing the entire film score in eleven days.
So I was not happy. Guillermo and Mike are on record saying how much more they like the story of this movie over the first. Sword of Storms has more spectacle than this movie and lots more visual variety. There are no 100 foot skeletons, zombie armies, spider women, and the entire movie is set in two, arguably five, locations -- so that was making me nervous and the idea that we'd have to crap out the post as fast as possible was just driving me over the edge. We had already gotten minor extensions from Cartoon Network and we couldn't ask for "just a leetle more time" because the schedule was backed up against the holidays when people were going to be out of town.
But bless Cartoon Network who let us lengthen the schedule into January so this movie can finish right! Thank you, Terry and Bob! Ultimately everyone will be happier and I'm sure my medical bills will be much lower (although there's little hope for my rapidly falling hair). I'm sure I'll relax when the DVD sales shoot through the roof.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!
We're trying to lock the picture tonight, a day earlier (every minute helps). We will have to hold off one sequence due to creative retakes that reworked the ending. (Yes, both will be on the DVD). It's lots of fun editing psychic visions and trying to up the shock value of certain images. There is an action sequence that uses a bathtub as a weapon that is unbelievable. Certain to produce lots of "Whoa! Ouch! That had to hurt." reactions from the audience. Try to watch it with friends.
Meanwhile, I need to get together with Mike before he heads to New York because we've been okayed to start the script of Hellboy: No Name Yet. This will be the one that shows the lessons learned from the first two. Fanboys, buy your drool cups now. Of course, green lighting number three all depends on the sales of number one. So consider going here then scroll to the bottom of the page and preorder your DVD.
There's a lot of drool in you that needs to get out. -- Tad
well that IS great news> real happy that they have this much confidence in the dvd.
Cool pics of the wolf and the poor prof. being mobbed by some ghosts.
Cant wait to hear more news about Blood and Iron as well as UNTITLED in the works...
Glad to see that it has a chance of being a trilogy. NOW IF I COULD ONLY BLOODY SEE THE FIRST ONE :P
haha
Posted by: hb | November 16, 2006 at 07:07 PM
great news, the standard is getting really high for guillermo and mike for hellboy 2!!!!! keep it up!!! i just can't get enough hellboy, tehee!
P.D- SUGGESTION, if these do great it would be awesome to see a SHORT LOBSTER JOHNSON STORY in a future dvd..... maybe hellboy:untitled???????? jejeje greedy me!
Posted by: ABE | November 16, 2006 at 11:04 PM
Can't blame ABE for the desire to see LJ in something other than a Hellboy comic. A great character that could use some more exposure.
While I did slag on CN for there lack of drive regarding SoS, I am very happy to see they are understanding when it comes to artistic vision and desire for quality. Giving you the added time shows they are interested in getting the best product they can so I appreciate that.
Exciting times.
Posted by: kirk | November 16, 2006 at 11:16 PM
Man, sounds hectic at the moment,as long as you guys have the amount of time you need it shoud be great.
Hmm a LJ story intresting....
Posted by: Jack | November 18, 2006 at 10:00 AM
yes Ill admit a LJ story does make me drool :) but with this stuff being pushed on all you guys, I can wait
Posted by: Ambur | November 18, 2006 at 02:27 PM
hehe, glad to see some more interest in Lobster Jhonson, i know these guys have a hectic schedule for doing other stuff, but KIRK has a point, its always nice to see a great character with so much untaped potential explored trough a diffrent medium...
PD- i'm trying to do a Lobster fan film sometime this year to satisfy my craving for more LJ hehehehe! i'm thinking of crossing it with indiana jones and have herman von klempt (pre-jar) as the villain before the conqueror worm story arch....
Posted by: ABE | November 19, 2006 at 08:18 PM
Ahem. Fanboys and fanGIRLS, if you please.
*droooooools*
I've actually never written you before, though I've been reading this blog for... forever. I think it's time I unleashed my inner fangirl a little.
I've only gotten into Hellboy over the past year, and, having read the entire series (voraciously!) I went and rented the movie. I can't express how disappointed I was. Everything looked very nice, but the film was missing what I considered to be the essence of the comics: mythology, and complex character interactions. (And Kate, but, as awesome as she is, that's trivial compared to a lot of the other changes.)
Sword of Storms was the real Hellboy movie I'd been waiting for. It was better than I could have imagined (I think the whole block heard me screaming when Abe was helping Liz breathe underwater) and it brought me great joy to see something I loved so much in animated form. I wish you all the luck in the world on Blood and Iron and whatever comes afterwards.
Posted by: Natalie | November 19, 2006 at 09:59 PM
well, Natalie.. mignola said to guillermo del toro "take my characters and do your own thing".. i recall that mike mignola gets upset when he's immitated (check his comments on screw-on head series) or an adaptation is too close to what he does, in hellboys case, check the plot summary for hellboy 2, it sure will please you more than the 1st live movie's plot
Posted by: ABE | November 19, 2006 at 10:28 PM
I do see your point, and I didn't hate the movie in the least, I just found it disappointing. Because, as you know, the comics are SO great, and because the movie emphasized my least favorite parts of them (Nazis, fight scenes) and left out most of my favorite parts (mythology, characters with maturity and depth). I really enjoyed the animated movie because it felt like it had the same balance as the comics, not because the characters were exactly the same as you see them in print.
Posted by: Natalie | November 20, 2006 at 08:15 AM
I thought it was ok, in fact the movie got me interested in the comic books in the first place...after reading the comic, I can see where both of you are comming from. But, I liked the movie a little better for some reason (?) Probably I saw the movie first than reading the comic book. I also remember seeing SOH on scifi and was excited for a series, me and my mom laught our asses off at that thing. (good thing I taped the damn thing.It also took forever to find a copy of Screw on head)Unfortunetly, for me and my mom, we didnt get a series:(
P.S. Lets just say if you where forced to watch Spider-man or Hellboy (the movies) and where forced to read the comic books of the series of withced you just wathced, I personally go with Hellboy....I just can't stand Spider-man Bitchin all the time >:( (not saying that spider man isnt good, I just cant stand him)
Posted by: Ambur | November 20, 2006 at 02:28 PM
Im a fan of the comics first and foremost.
NOTHING will ever match them.nothing. Even the darkhorse flash 'animations' which have moving panels extracted from the comics directly arent close at all to evoking the mood and general feeling one gets when reading them.
The movie was great entertainment. Had they followed the comicbook as closely as say, Sin City had well it would most likely have been the cheesiest movie I would have ever seen.
In fact MikeMignola even stated himself how much he disliked the SinCity movie because it was so panel for panel similar to the graphicnovel.
scew on head was interesting and enormously funny but once again it made me wince whenever I saw a particular drawing or portion that just didnt look Mignola. The style was never consistent throughout.
Im going mad not being able to see the animated version but it looks to be yet another great addition onto the Hellboy universe.
ultimately im trying to emphasize the greatness of having so many different takes on Hellboy as the fanbase continues to grow
Posted by: hb | November 20, 2006 at 06:12 PM
Yes, hb, it is the differences that I celebrate, too. While there will never be anything to top the original, each version of Hellboy, taken on its own, is what I enjoy. None of them needs to be compared to Mike's comic - they stand alone.
I loved the comic. I loved the movie. And now I love the animated characters. As each one touches on different aspects they can have even broader appeal and allow us to enjoy Big Red in diverse ways. It is trying to compare and focus on the differences that cause us to find flaws and faults. Kinda like life.
Posted by: kirk | November 20, 2006 at 09:29 PM
Thus,
Hellboy=life.
haha..we are all tragic heros to our own destiny.
Posted by: hb | November 21, 2006 at 04:10 AM
Hi I am so excited to hear that Willio and Phillio helped out on this. I am an old friend of theirs and I just saw Will on the SAG awards show last nite. Do you know how to get in touch with him. Maybe you could give him my email address. Thanks Karen B
Posted by: Karen Ballweber(Montagu) | January 29, 2007 at 05:09 PM