Hellboy Animated

Emmy Nom and San Diego Panel

Last week, Hellboy: Sword of Storms was nominated for a prime time Emmy for an animated production of an hour or more.  It really is great to be nominated and a win would be nearly unbelievable at this point.  But here's hoping! 

"Hellboy" is nominated for an Emmy
Starz Media's "Hellboy: Sword of Storms" has been nominated for an Emmy.

Starz Media's Hellboy: Sword of Storms was nominated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour or More). Hellboy: Sword of Storms is in the running along with Cartoon Network's Good Wilt Hunting (Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends) and Where's Lazlo?, as well as Discovery Channel's Secrets of the Deep.

Saturday memberships at the San Diego Comic Con are sold out!  But if you already have your ticket and find yourself too tired and numb to move, feel free to flop down in a chair at my only panel appearance.

Saturday, July 28
6:30-7:30 The Animation Production Process— What goes into bringing an animated script to screen? Producers Stephanie Graziano (X-Men: The Animated Series), Tad Stones (Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms), and Greg Weisman (Spectacular Spider- Man) take you behind the scenes and into the trenches. Moderated by Shannon Muir (Invader Zim), author of Gardner's Guide to Writing and Producing Animation from GGC, and currently project management coordinator at Animation World Network. Room 3

Mike Mignola will be at his Hot Chocolate Booth for most of the weekend but his only panel appearance is Saturday afternoon.

Saturday, July 28
2:30-3:30 Storytelling with and Without Pictures— Authors of prose and comics discuss how they write differently for different media—or do they? Find out with authors David Morrell (Captain America: The Chosen), Christopher Golden (The Myth Hunters, Talent), Mike Mignola (Baltimore, Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, Hellboy), Richard Morgan (TH1TRE3N, Black Widow), Tad Williams (Shadowplay, Aquaman), Barbara Hambly (Renfield: Slave of Dracula, Garden of Emptiness), Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game, Ultimate Iron Man), and Mike Carey (The Devil You Know, Lucifer). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 1AB

Drink lots of water and get some rest! -- Tad

Check Out the Old Stuff

No news on another movie so you needn't ask. But for those of you who found this blog late in the game, check out the earliest posts documenting the thought process behind Hellboy. I think it's an interesting document.

One of those early posts showed alternate designs for Hellboy. Tom Nelson, who returned to storyboard some of our strongest sequences submitted a Hellboy who looked like a boxer. I just saw this version of his design painted by Bill Dely and couldn't resist posting it.

I'll be at San Diego Comic Con and on an animation panel on Saturday evening. Feel free to say "hi."

--Tad

Thank You, Everybody

Thanks for your support of the animated Hellboy.  Contrary to some rumors you may have heard, there is no Hellboy TV series planned.  For now, it's just the two DVD movies.  Thanks for searching out this site and telling your buds about the big red guy.

For updates on Guillermo's Hellboy movie, currently in production, the best place to go is DelToroFilms.  Mr. G checks in from time to time with his usual barrage of cinematic enthusiasm.  For the comics, you need go no farther than The Hellboy Zone of Dark Horse Comics.  Big, big things coming this year.

A special thanks to the rabid fans at Variant Edition.com  and The Comics Factory in Pasadena, CA who always make me feel like a superstar.  I also appreciate the support of Peter, Bry and all the comic geek speakers at CGS.  Y'know, if you're not listening to comic podcasts, you're missing half the fun of reading comics.

The Hellboy crew is now spread out working on such varied shows at Slacker Cats, Ben 10, The Batman and the new Spider-man series.  I expect you'll see quality work in all those productions.  As for Hellboy Animated, the future rests on sales and the whims of Hollywood.  I really have run out of things to post and there's no point in just filling space.  So for now, I'm out.  I'll see you at the conventions and on the board at Hellboy.com.

It's all been Hellishly Good fun.  -- Tad

Countdown

No, not to Final Crisis in the DC universe but a countdown to the release of Hellboy: Blood and Iron.  Although Mike and I have talked so much about it that there may be nothing new for you to hear, we'll still be popping up on podcasts and in magazine interviews.  Late Next Week the video podcast, VARIANT EDITON, will be going to Hell by airing interviews from New York Comic Con and reviewing the new movie.  These guys are huge Hellboy fans and it's always fun to talk to them.  To the left are only the hosts of an ever expanding crew.  I'm excited that they're devoting an episode to Hellboy.  How could they not with the new Hellboy arc, DARKNESS CALLS, underway with fantastic artwork by Duncan Fegredo?  Check out this preview. That issue just came out and the new issue of BPRD is just around the corner. 

For those in the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas, Mike Mignola, composer Christopher Drake, writer Kevin Hopps and myself will be doing another signing at DARK DELICACIES BOOKSTORE in Burbank.  I believe you have to buy the DVD there to get an autograph but they also have presigned cards by Doug Jones.  The signing will be on June 16, not sure of the time.  I'll let you know.  It's a great bookstore of horror and fantasy.  Mike is sure to drop more money on rare books again.  Until the next time, enjoy your comics and DVDs!  (I'm just about to crack open my PAN'S LABYRINTH, director's edition.  Sweet!)  -- Tad

GoToHellboy.com !!

Hey look what happened when I wasn't paying attention!  There's been a major update on the main site.

That certainly picks up the slack of me not having anything to post.  Both DVDs are represented and you can even download Hellboy: Sword of Storms.

The only thing the site needs is a big juicy section on The Phantom Claw but that's up to the public and sales.

Promotion for the new video should pick up in the next couple of weeks.  I let you know of any podcasts or video interviews coming up.  -- Tad

A Delightful Bundle of Joy

Yes, I received one, a beautiful, healthy granddaughter.  So I have nothing Hellboy to report but I thought you should have your own delightful bundle.  So here's extra info on the Best Buy deal.

Best Buy EXCLUSIVE: Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron DVD & Cigar Smoking Hellboy action figure available in extremely limited quantity on June 12th.  Only 10,000 gift sets exist with this exclusive figure that cannot be purchased anywhere else individually or packaged together with the DVD.  Act Fast – this will go quickly.  The Action Figure has a retail value alone of $16.98 and the DVD has a retail value of $19.98, but the set is being sold for a suggested retail of only $24.98.  Figure stands at over 6.5 inches.

I'm guessing this is the non-smoking head. --Tad

Goodies

It's about a month away from the US DVD release of Hellboy: Blood and Iron.  Nick McWhorter who handles special projects for Dark Horse Comics dropped me a note of the cool promotions they've been asked to provide for the release.  Here they are:

- Wal-mart- Hellboy Animated Digest Volume 2 as an on-pack bundle with Blood and Iron.

- Transworld (Suncoast / FYE / Sam Goody)-  Special 64 page book featuring material from Hellboy Weird Tales.  The book is called Hellboy The Theater of the Dead and Other Stories. This will also be an on-pack bundle.

- Lobster Johnson sculpted magnet.  This is a DVD gift with purchase at multiple retailers across the US.

This is in addition to the mini-comic inserted into all the DVDs.  Plus Best Buy will have another sculpt promotion but something bigger than their Bust-Ups promotion.

And if you're buying multiple copies to get the extras and then returning the DVDs, I don't want to hear about it.  Reports of DVD returns do nothing to help the production of Phantom Claw.  Quite the opposite.  Consider giving them as gifts or a library donation.

Okay, that's it for now.  I finished Mike's notes on The Phantom Claw.  There's a possibility of some Hellboy shorts done for the Internet.  More on that as we hear about it.  --Tad

Normally I'd just add this as a second post but it fits the topic so well.  The Best Buy premium will be the full-sized Hellboy action figure!  The release had to be postponed to get the toy shipments in from overseas.  So I would think this will make for pretty impressive sales in those stores.

This figure was on display at last year's San Diego Comic Con where it was the cause of much buzz.  It's just more sculptural goodness from the folks at Gentle Giant Studios.  -- Tad

It's Up to You

Remember when I said that the production of Hellboy: The Phantom Claw depended on the sales of the first videos?

It's still true.  Starz will make its decision after they have an idea of the sales of Hellboy: Blood and Iron, out June 12.  They're looking for growth in the numbers which could be a tall order since "sequels" usually don't sell more than the originals.  On the other hand, as those of you who've seen it know, the second movie is a much stronger film than the first.

Best Buy was so pleased with their Bust-Ups promotion that they'll be repeating it with an even cooler offer.   I haven't heard if Walmart is repeating their packaging of the second Hellboy Animated comic.  I would think they are.  This time I actually drew my story.   The DVD includes another mini-comic inside with an awesome cover by Eric Powell.  And as we've said before, we packed the sucker with extras.

I'll remind you of any signings as the dates get closer.  Until then, enjoy FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.  -- Tad

Background Extras

Sorry, nothing to report on The Phantom Claw.  Mike was crunched with Lobster Johnson stories and Darkness Calls scripts and then a production emergency on BALTIMORE, all projects that I'm anxious to see.   But after I rewrite the script and distribute it I'm sure it'll just mean more waiting for a decision so Mike isn't holding anything up.

I went back into the script and decided to replace generic cannon fodder with characters with names.  It means nothing to the story and you'll never hear them referred to by names but it helps in the casting, recording and design phase if specific characters are called out.  That way be don't have men voicing women and the like.

To keep it straight in my head, I did quick doodles of a number of character types to help me track who was in what scene and when they should die.  I put them all in white lab coats with a variety of dress underneath.  The group from the 1944 flashback is more eccentric.   But these won't necessarily be the final character types.  We'll definitely put more variety into their heights, for instance.  There's also a sketch of a Zinco employee in goggles and gas mask.  But I don't like this design.  Just playing around with shapes and ideas, playing with a pencil.

The little guy above is just plain fun to draw. -- Tad

DON'T READ THIS!

This stuff is okay to read, but don't mess with that mystical scrawl over there.  God knows what texts Mignola scavenged to get them.  Better safe than sorry.  Read them silently.

I've gleaned these from the pages of Hellboy comics and from Rasputin's diary which was included in the Director's Cut of Hellboy, the movie.  These are purportedly they symbols early alchemists used as they sought the secrets of the universe.

Why are they here?  Well, much of THE PHANTOM CLAW revolves around the use of Vrill Energy and the "mecha-glove" that Rasputin used to summon Hellboy.  Although he wore two gloves in the comic, Mike liked the comparison with the Right Hand of Doom that Guillermo used in the movie so we'll have Rasputin use just one in the animated universe as well.  Anyway, the glove is still intact!

When the glove is activated, electricity will arc around it but this technology combines technology AND the occult.  So image little electrical effects that form mystical symbols in the air before disappearing.  A cool idea from Mike that I think we should be able to carry off. 

But that's not Vril.  Vril is an unlimited energy source that bounces in and out of stories of Nazi mysticism.  You can read all about the book that first popularized Vril on Wikipedia.  In our universe, it is the energy required to bring Hellboy to earth and is sought after in the present by Von Klempt, Zinco and Rasputin, and each has his own plans for it.

And my plan is to illustrate that energy with the fabled "Kirby Dots."  Click on that for an explanation on how to draw them in comics, courtesy of PencilJack.  The start of my own notes on that are below.  The key is to remember that the dots are negative space, not the shapes to be animated.  If you focus on the dots you'll get animated balls where really it's just sort of a texture to the energy.  I sense a future production headache right there.  Later -- Tad

His Infernal Machines

Well, it turned out to be a working vacation.  In addition to approving artwork via laptop on another project, I finished the script to The Phantom Claw.  So the script is in Mike's hands right now and I await his notes.  There are many added scenes that weren't in the treatment, most about Kate and Hellboy but some added paranormal elements and villain motivation.  Fingers crossed.

Of course, Mike just got back from the London production office of HB2.  I'm sure Guillermo ran him ragged so I'm not sure he's even awake yet.

Meanwhile, no green light yet but when I have time I proceed as if we have one so that means organizing reference for my crew.  As I've said previously, The Phantom Claw highlights the "mad scientist" side of Hellboy and nobody designs a mad scientist lab like Mike Mignola.  This collage, along with several others, showcase the retro look to the equipment that Rasputin and his followers used to bring Hellboy to Earth.  The images should not only help the design of background layouts but a variety of props too.

As Mike has also mentioned in various interviews, Hellboy: Blood and Iron has the feeling of a Hammer film and The Phantom Claw will have more than a wink and a nod toward the classic monster movies of Universal Studios.   So I've also been watching The Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein.  Those films had fantastic art direction, twisty staircases, incredibly high ceilings, and strange shadows.

Too often, animated backgrounds smack of rulers and T-squares.  Hallways are rectangular, furniture generic.  Mike and I hope to use the Universal masterpieces to inspire the crew to create a truly unique Castle Drachespitze, the scene of most of the action.

So the delay may end up helping us gather all the cool reference we need before the starting gun.  Once production starts, there's little time for this sort of thing.  But now, with two movies done, there aren't as many questions as to what a Hellboy movie should look like so there's lots of icing we want to add to our cake. --Tad

Bad Guys

They're up to something.

Something bad.

Does it take more than that to make an interesting villain?  Arguably, no.  A lot of the fun of Hellboy: Sword of Storms is the variety of antagonists.  Vampire heads, the Spider Lady and the turtle-shelled kappa all wanted to do Hellboy harm.  Yeah, they were working for other villains, but within their episodes they mostly wanted Hellboy dead.  Did they have personalities?  Sure... well, not certain about the kappa, but the rest were mostly given a unique feel by the actors who played them.

In Hellboy: Blood and Iron  Erzsebet, the Blood Countess, is after youth and revenge against Professor Broom.  Her viciousness and her back story make her more interesting than the monsters of the previous movie.  She's not working for someone else, she is her own master.   Definitely a step up, I think.  The more formidable the adversary, the bigger challenge to our heroes.  It is her nature that makes the movie so much darker in tone than the first.

The villains of  Hellboy: The Phantom Claw often take the center stage.  You only see Kronen and Ilsa in a flashback to Hellboy's summoning but Rasputin, Von Klempt, Kriegaffes, Roderick Zinco and a Frankenstein monster army all have major parts to play.  Beyond giving each a personality that an actor can embroider, each has a different agenda and some of those are in conflict.

Before I go on, I guess I have to point out that this discussion of story may include minor spoilers but nothing that isn't already printed in the Hellboy books.

Rasputin is the charismatic manipulator, we see how he seduces and deceives people into doing his will.  He is the zealot with a grand vision who demands that people put aside everything for his goal.  If your wealth will help the cause, he'll take it - or rather convince you to donate it.  If your family is a distraction, they will be removed.  Rasputin is an interesting antagonist because he believes he is doing the greater good, bringing paradise to Earth.  The fact that it requires scouring the present planet of all life doesn't seem to bother him.  He is also an intelligent villain who is thinking well beyond the others.

Von Klempt is the put upon villain.  He has his own plan, to create an army of dead guys - you see them in Conqueror Worm.  To him, connecting dead body parts to robots makes sense.  As Mike Mignola told me, "At least you can rob banks with them," which, I suppose, is as good a gauge as any to determine the practicality of any villain's plan.  There's an amusing side to Von Klempt's situation - whenever he gets close to pulling off his plan, Rasputin shows up and turns his resources toward his "end the world to birth a new one" obsession.  I hope that he'll provide some laughs but he is by no means a comic relief character.

Roderick Zinco is a billionaire who joined a secret society, THE WOTANIC CIRCLE, in order to gain access to the equipment that brought Hellboy into the world, equipment that promises a limitless source of energy.  Zinco's journey to Hell through the picture is the classic cautionary horror story of "be careful what you wish for."  He is the canvas upon which Rasputin's evil is traced.

Kriegaffe, the "war ape," is muscle but his relationship with Von Klempt might make you a touch sympathetic, even while he's using a zombie body as a club to beat you.

These bad buys should give The Phantom Claw a completely different feel from the first two movies.  They are also part of the reason that Liz and Abe won't be along.  We need the time to make them richer and paint a more detailed picture of their relationship to Hellboy.  And how their stories are bound to Hellboy's origin... and destiny.  --Tad

Ebb and Flow

Kevin Hopps, screenwriter of Hellboy: Blood and Iron, once worked for a story editor who had taken over a series under trying circumstances.  Although he might not have agreed with the change, he approached his new boss with a positive attitude, "I enjoy working for a variety a editors because I learn their different ways of writing.  Now I can learn your way of writing."

"You mean 'the right way' of writing," replied the editor with no hint of humor.

I've got no use for people like that.  When it comes to creativity, there are a million ways to approach a task.  That's why Kevin will still buy "How to Write" type books even though he's had a very successful career writing for television - he's always looking to learn something new or get a fresh insight on a technique he already knows.  Kevin is currently working with Greg Weisman on the new Spider-man series.  I bring up his story to underline my attitude in writing this blog.

This blog is about my way of doing things, seasoned with info on Mike Mignola's way of doing things or  Guillermo del Toro's or maybe someone on my crew.  Even more specifically, it's my way of approaching and dealing with the creative and pragmatic issues of, Hellboy: The Phantom Claw.

I'm heading into the action climax of the script.  Because animation requires the writer to direct on the page, I can't simply say, "they fight."  That's possible in a feature film where the writer is a guy with a story sketch pad and 4 x 8 foot bulletin boards to fill, but in anything like television production you have to give the overworked storyboard artist something to start with.  And you can't write, "Hellboy hits the monster.  The monster hits him back."  You have to break the action down into detail.

"Hellboy hits the monster with his big right hand which ripples the octopus-like mass of its body.  Hellboy smiles.  "How did that fee--" BAM! A tentacle smacks him out of the shot.  Hellboy smacks up against the wall, chipping the granite.  He lands in a heap at the bottom.  "Crap."

That's about a sentence of description for every "shot", which is every time the camera is put in a different position... even though there's no set and we're just pretending there's a camera moving around.  Then you have to describe how you want the camera to view the action - CLOSE, WIDE, OTS HELLBOY ON MONSTER (over Hellboy's shoulder, looking at the monster).  My scripts are VERY detailed but that's because I'm usually the producer or director too.  The script are my specific notes to the storyboard artist but every writer has to suggest basics.  But the overall fight should tell a story with suspense, a build, a surprise, maybe some humor, and an end.  That's the ebb and flow of the title of this post.

Oh, and I suppose there are minor spoilers here unless Mike throws the whole sequence out and assuming we get to produce this movie.  Did you buy your copy of Hellboy: Sword of Storms yet?

I start with deciding the basic action - Kate and a little boy are being swarmed with zombie-like creatures, animated cadavers that are Frankenstein-like creations of dead flesh and robot parts. (For brevity's sake, I call them zombies.)  Kate keeps them at bay with a wrench but there are too many of them.  They are saved by the sudden appearance of Lobster Johnson.   That much Mike and I worked out when we wrote the story, even down to the detail of the wrench which is an important prop in a later scene.

I don't have a copy of my next step which is when I think about the overall flow and brainstorm specific details and gags.  Sometimes it's not even on lined paper.  It's just half sentence descriptions or lines of dialogue like, "We have to find Hellboy," which is more specific to the moment and to what Kate is thinking than the more generic, and obvious, "We have to get out of here."  It's like written doodling.  I'm seeing bits of the movie in my head.  I liked the visual of Kate swinging one of those huge wrenches that are the size of baseball bats, the sort of thing that can do serious zombie damage.  Finally I decide I'm just procrastinating and I put down the thoughts in a more orderly way like you see above.

I could go right to the computer at this point but I'm still keeping it loose.  You can see I might doodle something to clarify it in my head.  It aids in my describing it.  It occurred to me at this stage to make the reveal of the big wrench more of a moment.  Kate is using a small wrench, spots something OS.  She tosses the wrench at the closest zombie, hard enough to knock its head around and piss it off.  It turns back and sees she has the huge wrench ready.  Note I've already noted the camera angle -- if she swings it right at camera then it's from the zombie's POV.  The doodle is more detailed than usual which means I was thinking about details of the moment -- or procrastinating.  I added a little color here to help show what's going on.

I don't always do it but sometimes I take it one more step before switching to computer especially if I'm going to be distracted as I work.  In this case I have a production to run during the day so the script is always on my screen but I rarely have a long run on it.  Anyway, one of the most important things in writing action is to make it unique to that sequence.  This will get harder and harder in future scripts as we struggle to keep Hellboy's monster bashing fresh.  So in this case, I kept coming back to the wrench.  It's Kate's only weapon but it's damn heavy.  She can't wield it for too long.  Her exhaustion is great for building the feeling of hopelessness before the save by Lobster Johnson.  Wrenches are metal - great conductors of electricity - so I thought she could throw the wrench at a zombie, it catches it, which distracts it while she's arranging for its electrocution.  Free associating, I realized the zombie could use the wrench against her.  I let the electrocuted zombie get in one last swing.  Should he be dead?  What's logical or realistic is always juggled with what is cool and thrilling.  Go watch the desert chase in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  And speaking of Indiana Jones, remember the opening cave sequence in Raiders where the stone door is coming down and Indy reaches back to get his hat?  I remembered that I needed Kate to have the wrench in a later scene which led to a slight gag - Lobster rescues them, they run out then Kate risks danger again to grab the wrench.

Now I type.  This shows you the format and the detail.  I have to add description for both the storyboard artist AND the actor.  The actors work off a full script so Peri Gilpin will be able to read that Kate is dumbfounded when she sees Lobster Johnson.  Is he alive?  Is he a replacement?  Am I hallucinating?  The poor girl is confused which is dangerous when zombies are after you.

Whoa.  That was a long one.  But it's a glimpse into my working process.  I might skip the legal pad steps completely if the treatment is detailed and there's less action, but it's a crutch to get me focused.  Next time, who knows?  Watch Hellboy: Blood and Iron this weekend!  Check the listings of Cartoon Network.

The Pulps and The Lobster

Mike Mignola loves the writing of "the Pulps."  There was a time when reading was the main source of entertainment for people.  That started shifting when the cutting edge media of radio took over the ears and hearts of the world.

Mike and I aren't so old as to remember them the first time around.  I first heard about them around the edges of comic fandom while Mike plunged into the reprint editions of the seventies.  You've heard of Doc Savage, The Shadow and The Green Hornet, no doubt (if not, start Googling!) but the one who had the biggest influence on Mike's own pulp creation was The Spider.

He was created as an answer to The Shadow but was more ruthless and much crazier the the more popular caped avenger.  He had a cigarette lighter with a secret bottom that would affix a small, scarlet spider sticker to the foreheads of the men he killed.

A sticker?

Really?

The Lobster is much scarier than that.  You'll learn much more about him in a coming Dark Horse Comics mini-series written by Mike Mignola.  There'll be a new definition of "action-packed" by the time you get through reading it.  To the left and right are two covers from the mini-series.

In The Phantom Claw you'll see Lobster Johnson about the same way he was portrayed in The Conqueror Worm.  I know a lot more about the character but Mike, quite rightly, wants to tell that story himself. 

But I'll tell you what he is not.  He is not a simplistic do-gooder with a chiseled jaw and a sparkling smile.  He does not "quip."  He is not the Lone Ranger in goggles.  He is as dark and quirky a character as you have ever seen crawl from the mind of Mike Mignola.

And that can be very quirky indeed.

Next up: I glimpse into my writing process when dealing with animated action.  Meanwhile, don't forget Hellboy: Blood and Iron this weekend!  Watch for a new trailer online.

--Tad

The Phantom Claw

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I was going to wait until the production has a green light but the script for the next Hellboy Animated is headed into the climax and I wanted to talk about the specifics of the creative process in something close to "real time."  So ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, let's begin the story of The Phantom Claw.

After Sword of Storms was underway, Mike and I got together to talk about the second movie.  We thought we'd cover Hellboy's origin and tie it to activities that were underway in the same location today.  What if someone uncovered all the WW2 equipment and the spirit of Rasputin guided them toward recreating the process that brought Hellboy to Earth?  I don't think we wrote a full treatment but it was a very long, extended premise and all the key points were in there.

Generally, we were left on our own to create these movies but Lloyd Levin, one of the producers of Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy movie, called up Mike.  His point was that we were telling the same story as the movie.  "The fans have read the origin in the comics and saw a variation of it in the movie.  The animated films should be about expanding the franchise."  My knee jerk reaction was that it wasn't the same story at all except for the origin.  It was nothing like the movie.  But Mike pointed out that a large chunk of it was and that it started the same way as the live action movie.  He said we should stick our necks out and do something original.

That led to Hellboy Blood and Iron.  We started with an original then brought in Hecate and once we had Hecate, that gave us other players from the comic.  So although it began as completely new stuff, we pulled heavily from the second Hellboy trade paperback, Wake the Devil.   Judge for yourself on March 17 on Cartoon Network -- for those of you who can get it.

I think it was around the time Mike visited the studio and saw all the artwork, that he finally believed we were making the animated movies.  From time to time we would talk about future stories.  He pointed out that since there would be a bigger gap between movie two and three that one and two so we needed something to bring the fans back.  "Let's give them Lobster Johnson."  Of course, discussion subsided because we had a couple of movies to produce.  At that point he decided that he better get off his butt and write his Lobster Johnson stories.  Visit the Dark Horse website for more on that!

When it came time to talk seriously about the third movie, three elements resurfaced:  Lobster Johnson, Hellboy's origin, and classic Universal Monster movies.  If Sword of Storms was the folklore side of Hellboy, Blood and Iron the vampire/Hammer Films side then The Phantom Claw is the mad scientist/weird technology aspect of Hellboy stories.  This film will be completely different than the first two.

Finally, a few general notes then I have to get back to the script.   Abe and Liz are not along on this adventure.   Professor Broom only sends Hellboy and Kate Corrigan to investigate the castle where Hellboy was summoned to Earth.  No one has been back there since the War, kept out by a secret society working behind the scenes.  (Yes, the animated version has a different origin locale than the feature which is different from the comic).  Lobster Johnson will appear in various forms but the movie is not about him.  The closest comic to his role is Conqueror Worm and a variation of the scene that you see above will be in the movie.  There will be glimpses of Ilsa, Leopold and Kronen in the flashbacks to Hellboy's origin but they'll be closest to their comic counterparts.  Rasputin is the major villain although we'll introduce another who Mike is so excited about that he's threatened to design the guy himself.  Cool.

Next post, we'll talk Lobster.  You think you know him and who should play him but you don't know The Lobster!

--Tad

 

Check Out the Old Stuff

There's lots of new people clicking into the blog as a result of publicity and the release of Hellboy: Sword of Storms.  If that's you, click onto the ARCHIVES there on the right and check out the start of the production blog.  Tons of interesting stuff there and gives you even more of an insight into the process than the DVD extras. 

Look for Hellboy: Blood and Iron on Cartoon Network in the middle of March and then out on DVD on May 8th.  --Tad

The DVD release date has been moved to June 12 for more retail support.  Meanwhile, catch it on Cartoon Network on March 17 if you can.

 

Showing You Everything!

IF you happen to be at the New York Comic Con this Saturday.  Yep, we are showing Hellboy: Blood and Iron in its entirety.  All of it.  Every single frame.  I was told the room only seats 600 and we filled a 1000 seats in San Diego without the promise of anything but the opening scene and us gabbing.

And of course there will be t-shirts and posters.  Starz will actually be hitting the con in a big way.  Just ask our buds at Toon Zone!

See you in New York!  -- Tad

Times Square

Here's my favorite view of the Virgin Megastore in Times Square New York, New York!  And we'll be there in just about a week.  So far sales of Hellboy: Sword of Storms are good.  Let's hope they stay that way. -- Tad

Thank You

We had a signing at Dark Delicacies Bookstore in Burbank, CA.  It was  great.  Mike Mignola, Doug Jones, Chris Drake and I signed almost a hundred DVDs. (That's not Chris with us to the left, that's Gary - Gdeo from Hellboy.com)  I thanked everyone for purchasing our little movie.  I take no sale for granted.

The signing was great, a steady flow of people but slow enough that we could chat with everyone and Mike did plenty of sketches.  A couple of people even had me do a little sketch of young Hellboy who I drew for the second Hellboy Animated comic.  We also personalized the DVDs that were ordered over internet. 

Mike wrote the wrong name on one DVD and ended up drawing a Hellboy on it to cover it.  That person is going to be very happy.  Afterwards Mike indulged in some book buying, one of his favorite things.  He found some great old horror anthologies.  Then he couldn't leave without getting a few Halloween sculpts.  He has particular tastes in that sort of stuff but Dark Delicacies had plenty to choose from.

I'm happy you guys are enjoying the extras that Anchor Bay packed in there.  Yes, there's too much of me but you still get plenty of insight.  The next movie has different extras but still way more than the usual direct to video.

Meanwhile, I'm a half hour into the script of #3.  It's completely different from the first two but coming along very well.  So let's hope we actually get to produce the thing.

And Chris Drake is the guy to the left in the black shirt.

Oh yeah, and Mike described a new scene that Guillermo has written for HB2.   That movie is going to be frickin' awesome. -- Tad

Shameless Promotion

I'll be all over the net for the next couple of days, at least it seems that way from the number of interviews I've given.  Wizard, IGN, Comic Book Resources, QuickStop and of course another party with the geeks at COMIC BOOK GEEK SPEAK Episode 220.  Hey, Deemer!  Read the freakin' Hellboy TPBs!  Mike Mignola will also be on UGO and G4 Tech TV. 

Granted, most of my DVDs were released before the Internet became so user friendly - although I used to be a participant in the Rescue Rangers list by Stephanie da Silva before the net had pictures.  But I've never promoted a project like I have this one.

If you've been paying attention, you'll know its because the chance to do future Hellboys depends on the sale of these first two.  That means a lot to me.  I don't get a bonus if this sells over a certain amount... although that isn't a half bad idea.  Hmmn, haven't signed a contract yet.  I need to give my agent a call.  Where was I?

Oh yeah, why more are important to me.  Its not employment, I've already fielded offers on a couple of amazing projects.  It's because I love working in the world of Hellboy and we're not done yet.

We'll know if the DVD is a success by the end of the week but that doesn't mean a green light.  I assume we'll have a decision by the time Mike and I appear at the New York Comic Con with a special preview of Hellboy: Blood and Iron.  But I'm already writing number three and I'm about 15 minutes into it and I think you guys are going to go crazy.  In a good way.

Once it's announced, I'll start blogging about it.  I try to follow the creative  process even more closely than I did the first time around from idea to treatment and script to music and mix.  We know what we're getting into this time so I'm better prepared to give you a good perspective on it.

In the meantime, thank you for your support.  Buy soon and buy often.  And if you're going to be at the NYCC I have four words for you: Get in line early.  --Tad

Extras Extras Read All About it!

I wanted to push the DVD extras toward comics and comic fans.  To a certain extent that was accomplished.  There's plenty of time with Mike and there'll be more of his interview on Blood and Iron.

The DVD crew even flew up to Portland, Oregon to interview Dark Horse publisher, Mike Richardson.  They also talked to Mike Mignola's editor, Scott Allie, and his colorist, Dave Stewart. I could listen to this

kind of stuff for hours but there's enough on the disk to understand the esteem these guys have for Mike.

The actors talk about the process of voice acting and what they find hard about it.  Selma is very open about the self consciousness she feels about her voice.  Veteran voice actor, Phil Lamarr, who you might know as Samurai Jack talks about the challenges of voice acting in general. 

Of course you learn a lot of the thought process that went into making the movies.  There's way too much of me, mostly because I provided transitions between the subjects they wanted to cover.  There's plenty of storyboard sketches and interviews with some of the crew and a special section on Cheeks.  All in all it's a pretty sweet package of extras.  But on top of that there's a 32 page comic put together by Dark Horse.   But if you're reading this you're probably already buying  a copy... so tell a friend!  -- Tad

 

 

Commentary Done

Mike Mignola, Vic Cook and I recorded the commentary for Hellboy: Blood and Iron yesterday.

This time our stomachs weren't growling but Mike and I both had questionable burritos for lunch so there was a certain amount of tension in the room.  All survived.

We're pretty candid, commenting on what we like and don't like.  There's lots of talk of what we took from the comic and what we didn't and plenty of general goofiness.  We were told we were entertaining but I remember little of what was said.

We talked past the ending of the movie a little bit but were told we couldn't do that for tech reasons so we had to say our goodbyes a little earlier.  Then we went back to rerecord over the first sequence because we repeated lots of what was said on the 10 minute documentary done for the DVD.  That was nice in that there are certain things we describe in almost every interview and I'm self conscious about the repetition.  So you got different stuff.

Meanwhile,  the countdown to release has started.  Frank Paur came by the studio yesterday.  I wished him well on his IRON MAN DVD but I envy his marketing budget which filled the weekend with TV commercials.  Remember, February 6!  Next time I'll talk about some of the extras on Sword of Storms.  -- Tad

All But Done

The final mix of Hellboy: Blood and Iron is done.  The movie is now at Cartoon Network in Atlanta and will air Saturday, March 10.  Monday I'll do the infamous "pan & scan" version, although I was happy to see that CN played Sword of Storms in wide format for both of its airings.  After that, we just record the commentary at the end of the month while the various DVD extras are being edited.

I won't be updating as much, both for lack of content and my schedule on a new production.  Plus, I'm currently writing the script for the next Hellboy Animated.  As I've said many times, whether we do more depends on the DVD sales of Sword of Storms.  ON SALE FEBRUARY 6TH IN THE US. 

For fans in the Los Angeles area, Mike Mignola, Christopher Drake, Doug Jones and I will be signing DVDs at Dark Delicacies Bookstore in Burbank on February 10th at 2PM.

And Mike and I will be at the New York Comic Con on February 23 with some sneak peek footage of Blood and Iron.  Let's hope there'll be a big, positive announcement about the next one!

Thanks for all your interest!  -- Tad

Friends Who Are Fans

Tremble Before The Right Oven Mitt of Doom!

I used to arch a skeptical eyebrow when I heard stories of true love blossoming on the Internet.  But not anymore.  In the years since I started hanging out on various Hellboy fan forums, I've made some very close friends.  Some have stayed at my house or had us to dinner at theirs.  Many are artists and writers in their own right and have pushed me to try harder by their example.

One person who consistently amazes is Jenny Sparks.  No, not the one from The Authority but the creative genius from the San Francisco Bay area.  Her work has been featured here before (search for it yourself, the review will do you good).  I've worn a couple of her creations on video interviews and con panels.  But I have to say that the ROMOD outdoes them all.  For a further taste of her wacky view of just about everything, visit phobe.com .  If Jenny and her husband, Lars, ever finish their video game, THEY CAME FROM HOLLYWOOD, we can buy lots and make them deservedly rich because wild imaginations should be rewarded.  Thank you, Jenny!

Fans of Mike Mignola's creations span many decades, some are in their fifties, some aren't even out of grade school.  Maybe it's the folklore element of Mike's work or his minimalist style, but something about it draws some pretty intelligent people to it.  Count yourself as part of that crowd. 

Especially if you send gifts.

Meanwhile work on Blood and Iron has slowed over the holidays.  It'll pick up again this week.  I recorded an additional interview for the DVD.  Mike will also tape another segment next week.  We'll record a commentary along with Vic Cook as soon as the final mix is done.  Meanwhile, if you live in the United States, you've got another chance to see Sword of Storms this coming Saturday, Dec. 30.  Write yourself a note and check your local listings.

The first issue of Hellboy Animated will be in comic stores soon which sorta begins a year packed with Hellboy goodness.  Another animated movie, the production start of Hellboy 2, a major Hellboy mini-series, Darkness Calls by Mike Mignola and Duncan Fegredo, special tales of the BPRD, and... hey, check it out yourself at Dark Horse Comics.

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful holiday.  And now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta throw a tentacle or two on the barbee.  Now where'd I put the paprika?  -- Tad

First Trailer

Check out the first Blood and Iron Trailer over on YouTube.  It's a little dark and short but it gives you a taste of how different it is from Sword of Storms.  I didn't see the trailer until after it was done or there'd be latter retakes of some of the scenes.  There's also one scene that's not from the movie.  If you know your Mignola then you'll have a clue to the extra special DVD extra that will accompany Blood and Iron.

The visual side of Blood and Iron is wrapped.  The color balancing went well and straightened out some color glitches that have bothered me for months.  I visited Chris Drake's studio and previewed some of the music.  Beautiful, powerful and in some sequences, very sad.  We mix the second week in January then it's all up to you guys.  We hope that by the end of February our next movie is good to go.

Merry Christmas!

Kate and Hecate

ADR went well with Doug Jones via digital patch from Vancouver.  He'll be wrapping up Fantastic Four before Christmas.  I told him how cool the Abe statue is and how easily it would fit into Santa's bag.  He recorded lots of grunts and groans for us.  There's a sequence where Abe undergoes a LOT of pain.  Doug comment that it was hard to do it without sounding like sex.  Selma came in to do sort of the same thing for Liz.  I'm tempted to cut together a tape to circulate on the internet.  But that would be wrong.

Really fun.

But wrong.

Selma has a new punkish haircut that Liz will not be sporting in Hellboy 2.  She wore a wig in the first one too.  Sorry, no pics this time.  We got everyone done this week except for Kate and Hecate because Peri Gilpin and Cree Summer were ill.  Oh yeah, Hecate's in the movie. Have I mentioned that?  If not, Merry Christmas.

In many ways, Hellboy: Blood and Iron parallels Mike Mignola's second comic arc, Wake the Devil.  Although we set out to do a completely original film, there came a point in the story where it just seemed right to have her show up and bring up all that Destiny crap.  She does and our boy doesn't take to it any better than he did in the comic.  Much Hellboy pounding ensues, that's both Hellboy as poundee and pounder.  BTW, Hellboy's weapon of choice when fighting Hecate - a bathtub. Turns out porcelain coated iron packs a mean wallop.

The final scenes of Hellboy will be cut in this weekend.  No retakes after that.  Chris Drake is composing like crazy even though I let him down by forgetting to get Selma's signature on his Sword of Storms poster.  He calls me at weird hours to talk through emotional beats -- of the movie, not his life.  The guys at Audio Circus are working at full bore except for Otis who's having wisdom teeth removed.  I trust he will record the experience.  So let's hope the ladies are healthy next week.  I'll color balance the film on Thursday.  Meanwhile, Matt Steinauer, our editor cut together a killer trailer for Blood and Iron.  Really meaty and long.  I hope we get it up on a yet-to-be-designed site in January.  It will also be at GoToHellboy.com.  Later! -- Tad

Early Christmas

Okay, I bought two of the books but it still felt a lot like Christmas.  This week I got complimentary gifts of the Dark Horse sculptures by Tony Cipriano.  Both beautiful but I really think the Abe Sapien is something special.  There's not much Abe stuff out there but the graceful elegance of the design by Sean and Greg is stunningly translated into 3D and the paint job is truly amazing.

I also received a copy of the Hellboy Animated digest-sized TPB which has my first professionally published comic story of young Hellboy.  I also wrote an introduction to the comic.  Unfortunately, I'm such a blow hard that they had to use a microscopic font to fit it onto a reasonable number of pages.  It's a neat little package.  Great thanks to Scott Allie and Matt Dryer for putting it together.  Look for it at your comic shop at the end of January.  Neat pinup by Mike Mignola included.

The two books I bought are The Dark Horse Book of Monsters and Right Hand of Doom: A Critical Study of Michael Mignola's HELLBOY.  The Book of Monsters features a very funny tale of Hellboy and the death of Hercules.  It is another example of how unique his imagination is.  Mike's imagination, not Hellboy's or Hercules'.  I've just started the second book by long time fan Benjamin Szumskyj.  It's a limited run of only 333, I believe so if you're interested, order soon.  No pictures but interesting stuff for the hard core fan.

But what about BLOOD AND IRON?  We recorded ADR with Ron Perlman on Friday (sorry, Helen, no pictures).  He had only about an eighth of an inch of hair, if that.  "This is grown in," said Ron.  He is playing a Viking in a live action movie which requires him to shave his head.  It also requires him to perform shirtless, at night, in HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA!!  Ron's comment?

"Hardest nipples ever."

Ron also said his "father" was appearing in the movie - John Hurt.  Sorry I don't have the name of the flick.  I'm sure we'll be updated.  This week we record almost everybody else.  We'll record Doug from  Vancouver via a digital patch.  Selma Blair will record Liz back to back with Peri Gilpin doing Kate, the strong women of Hellboy Animated.

Work on the story of Hellboy: Best One Yet continues.  Really cool stuff, hope we get to do it!  Okay, gotta go!  -- Tad

Busy Bees

What I'd really like to write about is the third story because it's chock full of fan favorite stuff, old and new villains and lots of paranormal and occult science weirdness!

But I can't.  One, there's no greenlight until people buy enough of this little beauty to the right. (Visit Hellboy.com and order through their Amazon link)  So there's no use getting your hopes up.  Two, I'm not going to give away stuff like Rasputin, Von Klemp and... wait, uh-oh. And third, you need to focus on  Hellboy: Blood and Iron.

Except I'll say that Cartoon Network is scheduled to rebroadcast Hellboy: Sword of Storms on December 30.  Check your local listings... in a month.

What we were doing last week we are still doing.  We just found out that Ron Perlman is in town so we have to rush to get his ADR work done before he returns to Nova Scotia and his current film.

So that's it!  I gotta go downstairs to call retakes.  Talk to ya next week.  --Tad

Postus Interruptus

Posting through the holidays is always a start and stop proposition.  Post is always the part of the schedule that gets cramped because that's the part of the process that's shoved up against the release date.  So when everybody else takes a little extra time to make their part of the production as good as they can... it's post who has to make up for it. But although it's routine for the guys to work late and on weekends, holiday breaks are planned well in advance so you either plan for it or use weaker or unfamiliar talent.

So I'll update whenever there's something interesting but it's going to be fairly erratic.  So here's what's happening these days: I just got off the phone with Christopher Drake who is scoring the opening sequence of Blood and Iron.  He's already has several sequences completed but now that he has the complete, locked picture he can start filling in from beginning to end.  We also discussed tweaks to the opening sequence which will be a little more ornate than just a Japanese scroll.  Otis Van Osten and the crew at Audio Circus are moving at hyper speed until they take off for some Thanksgiving turkey. 

The DVD for Sword of Storms is all but finished and will include a trailer for the second movie.  Cool menus and a really nice DVD Rom package that let's you search the script and the San Diego panel transcript which ties you directly to the part of the movie or panel that's being discussed.

Other than that, I'm ramping up for a second, non-Hellboy property that will overlap my work here.  Maybe it will get its own blog!  Finally, Mike and I are in the middle of the story for the third Hellboy so all is cool and good.  Happy Thanksgiving for those celebrating and drive safe! -- Tad

The CN Gods Smile On Us

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

Less Is More

Try telling that to a kid when you're dishing out desert but when it comes to editing Hellboy: Blood and Iron it's absolutely correct.   The animation is looking great.  In fact the level of draftsmanship on some sequences blow away anything in Sword of Storms.  But, for whatever reasons, many of the scenes have been timed long.  Nothing that hurts the quality of animation but it hurts pacing or flow of action from scene to scene.  It's all easily fixable in editing.  BUT you have to have the footage to edit.  If the movie had to be eighty minutes long we wouldn't be able to do any editing.  We'd need to create some footage.   But at 75 minutes we'd have great raw material but it would be flabby.  I don't know if a layman would notice specifically but there'd be less tension, less excitement and a couple of scenes that hurt the flow of action.

So ironically, the great news is that I have permission to cut more out of the movie.  It can't be less than 70 minutes and it will hopefully be a few minutes longer than that but my depression has lifted.  Now I know that we can make the most out of what we have and I'm excited all over again.

Where We Are
You aren't going to get as much detail about the development of Blood and Iron in this blog because the last of our "take ones" are due today.  We've started editing and we'll be editing over the weekend, scrambling to give our post people as much time as possible to place effects and compose music.  But over the next few weeks I'll try to think back about the decisions that made this movie so different than the first.  Later. -- Tad

I Need Mignola to Storyboard for Me

I got to see the preproduction offices for Guillermo's next Hellboy movie when Mike and I had lunch a week ago to talk a little story for the next Hellboy Animated.  The design work being done is incredible but that shouldn't be a surprise if you've seen stills of Pan's Labyrinth... which is only about a month away.  It's like a little clubhouse for the cool kids.

Anyway, we went next door for lunch and instead of
talking story we talked about the advance reaction we were getting to Sword of Storms. Thank you all for your compliments, by the way.  The internet response has been overwhelmingly positive.  I hear your frustration with not being able to buy the DVD yet.  Even the people who didn't love the movie had good things to say about it.  Christopher Drake's score was considered very strong by most viewers.  We're investigating the option of putting it out as a customer premium when you purchase the DVD at certain stores.  I've heard bits and pieces of the score for Blood and Iron and it's just as strong - yet completely different as is the movie.

So I was talking to Mike about the action sequences between Liz and the big monster. Relax, no spoilers follow.  Those sequences were both rushed and late.  You think you're standing back and looking at the whole but you're too close to it and there's no time to re-conceive it.  There's plenty of nice action in those sequences but they feel repetitious.  There's not a strong build.

Mike responded by describing several sequences out of the Abe Sapien mini-series he's writing. Jaw droppingly good - exciting, weird and hilarious.  It was an extended action sequence with little dialogue.  It broke up the action into separate kinds of action - confrontation, chase, confined space, surprise revelation, etc.   Applied to the Liz action sequences - maybe the thing should have chased them onto shore, maybe the geography could change - instead of them always looking up at the thing, maybe they could've climbed higher and be looking down for one of the sequences.  The fire effects were too even.  There should be a little fire the first time, then more then when Liz finally unleashes the damn island should've started to melt - she and the monster could've disappeared in a cloud of steam as the lava hit the water.

Woulda.  Shoulda.  Coulda.  That's not just the value of hindsight, it's the value of time.  As I wrote in an earlier entry - in live action, every effects shot is the result of a literal meeting between many department heads so that the shot is done efficiently and safely.  There's no way a moment like that gets short change. 

What does all this introspection help?  The next movie.  Not Blood and Iron, that ship sailed long ago.  We're getting in the final footage now- painfully late, but great looking.  No, I mean the third, un-greenlit movie.  The new script will be written with the lessons learned fresh in my mind and the fan reaction we've had to the first movie.

More on that movie, and Blood and Iron, in the future. -- Tad

Hellboy: Sword of Storms

Counting Down

The interview with Mike Mignola now up on WordBalloon.Com. 

I'm doing as many interviews as I can and am slowly learning the pitfalls.  On podcasts I must learn to reduce the number of "uummmmm"s.  Because so many of the questions are the same, I have to stay on message and not skip over important stuff just because I've talked about it a hundred times.  I read what I said about Superrune's computer animation of Hellboy and even though I said it was "fantastic" it sounded like I was unimpressed.

But this Saturday will tell the tale.  I'm anxious to hear some real discussion after Sword of Storms airs but I'm not sure the comment boxes here are the best place to do that.  Check out the Comic Book Resources Hellboy discussion page.  There should be plenty of talk there.

Next week:  Hellboy Blood and Iron

It's Quiet....Too Quiet

It's a week and a half before the US premiere of Sword of Storms on Cartoon Network.  I'm still waiting to see the rough cuts of the DVD extras.  And the footage of Blood and Iron is coming in slowly. 

    Cartoon Network put out a press release which has resulted in a small fountain of posts on various websites and blogs.  Please keep spreading the word.  Commercials should start popping up on CN next week.

Meanwhile, I'm on Comic Geek Speak tomorrow 10/19.  Mike Mignola will be on WordBalloon.com next Tuesday, 10/24.  FanBoy Radio will interview me on the 25th.  FR may be live so feel free to call in with your  ULTRA-COMPLIMENTARY remarks.

    Spread the word at your comic shops.  The reaction to the premiere will go a long way in determining whether we'll be doing more and it drives me nuts when I hear Hellboy fans say they haven't heard about the animated movies.

Above is one of the perks of my job.  That's it for now.  -- Tad

Thank You, Katie

Maybe you can't write about a demon walking the Earth without being a little devilish yourself.  Mike Mignola has a dark side.  There are times he takes more than a little delight in the torturing... okay, let's say teasing of the defenseless... okay, let's say me.

I gave Mike a copy of the movie early in the week with instructions to watch it a couple of times before we did our commentary.  I wanted him to get over any shock and be able to say some nice things on the DVD.  That was all he needed, "I think it would be more interesting if I watch it for the first time as we're recording. 'Couldn't you get them to draw this crap any better than that?'  See?  That would be a unique commentary."  I agreed it would be, especially with my sobbing and wailing in the background.  I knew Mike was kidding, then I hesitated and he caught the sent of fear over the phone.  That's when he really laid it on.  But then I heard something subtle in his voice change and I knew he was considering it.

He's right, you know.  It would be a unique commentary to get his first reaction.  Of course, it's a crappy way to watch a movie, with two other people constantly talking to you.  The next day I got word he was going to wait until the last possible moment to watch it so his reaction was fresh.  I was fine with that.  Except for the part where I'm sweating out the week wondering if the creator of Hellboy will like how I interpreted his character.

Enter my savior, Katie Mignola.  The next day Mike came home from "the office" (he's doing preproduction on HB2 up here in the valley) and found Katie and her cousin watching the movie.  They were loving it.  He sat down and watched the last half.  He didn't hate it!  He didn't bolt out of the room!  In fact he actually was saying good things about it!!  Whew.

So today we did the commentary.  Yeah, today.  Friday the 13th.  We were well into it when I realized that Mike never went back to watch the first half of the movie.  He was commenting on it as he was watching it the first time.  Have seen enough of it to feel comfortable, he went ahead and did his experiment.  Sorry, no extra excitement.  I heard no grunting with displeasure, no swearing, no "What in the hell were you thinking of?"  It went well and I managed to stay out of the fetal position.

The commentary is Mike, me and Phil Weinstein the other director.  We seemed to stay on topic, everyone added something.  We've all been interviewed plenty for the DVD extras so I tried to talk about different subjects.  One of the ideas I had for the official website was to record more commentaries that you can download and watch with the DVD.  A discussion of the music score would definitely be interesting and I'll have to see if the rest of the crew is up for it.  If I can find them.

Meanwhile, more footage of Blood and Iron has come in.  I'm going to hold off talking about it until after the premiere of Sword of Storms.  I have to keep you guys focused!  Meanwhile, Mike will be on the Wordballoon podcast and I'll be on Fanboy Radio late in the month.  And Comic Geek Speak may be talking to me as early as next week.  Yes, I will be make you sick of hearing me and the only way to shut me up will be to watch the movie. --Tad

Pan and Scan

Yesterday I spent four or five hours in another dark room preparing the "Pan and Scan" version of Hellboy: Sword of Storms.  What's that?  Next time you go to a movie look at the shape of the screen.  It's roughly the shape of the picture above.  Now look at a  standard TV set.  It's not as wide, is it?  When movies went to a wider format, directors took advantage of it by placing characters on each side of the screen or letting a shot run longer because more story information could be contained in the image.   But when those movies were run on TV, the audience only saw the center of the picture which may be two noses talking to each other because the actors are out of frame.  "Panning and Scanning"  let's you choose where you want to place that TV picture.

Okay, I just realized there's a better explanation of the process at Wikipedia so I'll concentrate on the kind of creative choices, compromises really, that I made on SoS.  The image above approximates what was on the screen.  Unfortunately, it looks like I made my TV insets too rectangular but you get the idea.   I dimmed what is outside the frame so you can see the original image but in the edit bay anything outside the lines is black.  A smaller monitor shows the full frame.

Why isn't it one square?  Someday the industry will admit that just about everyone has a relatively modern TV and we won't have to worry so much, but older sets have "picture tubes" that cut off some of the broadcast picture.  The outside rectangle is the "full screen" picture.  It's what the industry is convinced people want.  And that's actually true.  Broadcasters get plenty of complaints when they broadcast a movie in letterbox format because viewers think they're being cheated of picture when in fact they're getting the full picture.  ("Letterbox" comes from the idea that you're seeing a shorter rectangle view - as if you were inside a mailbox, peeking out)

The next smaller box is "action safe."  This is the area that even older sets will see.  If there's an important piece of visual info - the expression on a guy's face, an impact against a wall, something peeking through the crack of an open door - you want it within this box so no one misses it.

The smallest box is "title safe."  That's where you fit credits, titles or important logos.  Nobody is going to miss it here.

It was great seeing the movie in Hi Def again.  Tracy Jones and Kim Bitsui did an award winning job on color choices.  They certainly deserve awards.  Other than that - well, there are few upsides to the process.  At every other stage, artists and engineers are working to make the picture better and better.  This is all about making it... less.   I'm thankful that Cartoon Network agreed to broadcast the premiere in letterbox format because everything was composed for that. 

I tend to be claustrophobic in my direction so cutting in closer wasn't wholly abhorrent to me.  Most of the scenes played fine without adjustment.  But there were plenty that needed it, about five hours worth.  Imagine the above insets even smaller and compare the two screen grabs.  Hellboy is fine in both shots but in this scene a psychic is sensing that there was an incredible blast of energy.  It's sort of a "Well, duh." thing.  I needed more wreckage in the background and more activity in general since this was sort of an establishing shot for the sequence.

In action sequences, using just the center frame can throw off the action.  Imagine a giant Bat-god flying through a shot from right to left. The scene following is a continuation of the action.  Using just the center frame will mean it will enter later and exit earlier.  So instead of cutting from Bat-god action to Bat-god action, you'll be cutting from and empty frame to Bat-god action.  If you set the frame all the way to the left, you'll cut from bat to bat but the frame will be empty for a longer time before it enters.   I guess this would work best with a diagram.  Sorry, draw your own.  If you move the frame all the way to the right, it enters on the cut but then there's a longer empty frame at the end of the shot.   What's the solution?

There is none.  See, that's the problem with pan and scan.  It screws up your film making.  Outside of action, we tried to keep the important stuff in the safe area but there are three or four scenes where I threw up my hands in defeat, "They're just going to have to buy the DVD."

And I hope you do.  I think I'm scheduled to see the rough cut of the DVD extras next week.  There should be some really good stuff in there.  Friday I do the commentary with Mike and Phil Weinstein.  I'll let you know how it goes.  -- Tad

How Cthulhu Saved Hellboy

...with some help from Shawna Gore.

Shawna is not only lovely and talented as previously reported but also is one of the editors, along with Scott Allie, of the Dark Horse horror comics.  She also has adopted the HP Lovecraft Film Festival and coordinates the involvement of Dark Horse Comics.  Shawna was nice enought to invite me to participate. Actually she asked if they might show a clip from Sword of Storms with a Dark Horse rep to answer questions.

On a whim, I said I'd come up and show a different clip than what we showed at San Diego since by the time of the festival I would have the finished movie.  For awhile I considered making it a family trip and spending a few extra days to visit Dark Horse but the schedules of both Hellboy Animated movies prevented that.

We finished the movie Wednesday (see below) but the technical laydown to the various formats needed for broadcast happened on Friday.  That meant I couldn't have a DVD copy for the festival until Saturday morning when they would be producing screener copies for reviewers.  No problem, the airport is literally across the street from the studio so I would just stop in, pick up the DVD and go.

Saturday morning: I pulled into work and headed to the Machine Room.  There, perched on a black chair was the DVD with a Hellboy label and big "Tad" post-it.  Sweet!  I was going to head out but since there wasn't time to put chapter divisions on the DVD, I went to my office to get a timing on where "Heads" was since that was the sequence I wanted to show.  Popped it in my computer and...

A voice actress I used on Darkwing Duck is a psychic.  When I met her, she told me a bunch of mundane stuff, without histrionics, that made me go, "Whoa."  Lovely person and a very funny actress who played Binky Muddlefoot on the series.  Anyway, she was one of those people who say that everything happens for a reason.  I've adopted that philosophy because it sure helps in the rough times.  Instead of whining, "Why does this happen to me?" I ask, "What am I supposed to learn from this?"  The human mind seeks patterns, trying to put order to chaos.  So even if it's just a psychological quirk it pays off eventually in a big sigh of relief. "Oh, that's what it was about."

.... "Isn't the BPRD logo supposed to be round?"  "Why are Abe and Liz so tall and skinny?"  "F!!! it's in the wrong format!"  The movie was compressed to fit a normal TV screen when it was supposed to be letter-boxed.  I slumped but thought the Hellboy fans at the festival would understand.  It's not like it was unwatchable.  It's a trade off between letting them see a sneak peek and OH MY GOD!  THEY'RE MAKING A HUNDRED AND FIFTY COPIES OF THIS THING TO SEND TO CRITICS AND REVIEWERS!!!

I raced downstairs and the guys were back manning the machines.  I pointed out that it should be letter-boxed.  They could make me a correct copy for me but it would have to be made in real time.  But due to the usual security concerns at the airport, I didn't have time to wait.  That was really frustrating because there'd be plenty of time before I would actually leave.

The guys called the head of post, Rob Weaver, who was in Sacramento for the weekend.  He said the lab must have screwed up and that was the tape that was to be broadcast on Cartoon Network!  The lab had to immediately make a new tape with the right format so you wouldn't see the tall and skinny version of Hellboy.  And bless him, Rob doesn't care if I'm showing the movie to an audience of five people, he wants it to be the right version.   Turns out Rob is a man of many connections and knew the person at the front desk of Alaska Airlines and made arrangements for the DVD to be delivered to me on the airplane if need be.  It would be tight but they thought they could do it.

That's when it was announced that my airplane had mechanical problems which would delay the flight for an hour.  Meanwhile, Felix from the machine shop had to get the DVD to the airport.  But there's no temporary parking zone.  A baggage guy took pity and said he'd take it in for him but Felix waited to make sure it happened.  That's when a cop complimented his car and said, "Too bad I have to give you a ticket."  Felix starts telling him about his day and finally the cop says, "Just get out of here."  I got the DVD, the plane got fixed, Felix didn't get a ticket and only had to wait another two or three hours before he could actually start his day off.

Whew.  So that's how Cthulhu saved Hellboy.

I had enough time Saturday morning in Portland to visit Powell's Books, a store where Mike Mignola has spent many an hour, day or week finding the weird and the arcane.  It really is an amazing place.  The bookstore is the entire building in this picture.  The rooms are color coded and they hand out maps of the store.  I went in not expecting to buy anything and walked out with: my own copy of British Folktales by Katharine Briggs so I can return Mike's copy, Not of This World - Creatures of the Supernatural in Scotland by Maurice Fleming,  Will Storr vs. the Supernatural - One Man's Search for the Truth about Ghosts by Will Storr and a DC Showcase of The Haunted Tank, packed with great black and white Joe Kubert artwork.

The cool weather in Portland was really pleasant, it rained a little (hey, it's Portland) but not inconveniently.  The mass transit MAX line took me from Powell's to within two blocks of the theater and I got there early enough to learn that the DVD actually worked.  I was so relieved that I would've shown the whole movie if they had me slotted for another half hour.  Everyone from Dark Horse was super nice and said their table was doing well and the audience liked what they saw.  Several came up to me afterwards using the word, "Awesome."

Don't ask me what I think because even at that screening I was realizing what I should have done to make certain moments more effective.  It's going to be awhile before I can watch it as a movie.  In the meantime, we've got five sequences of Hellboy: Blood and Iron to edit!!!   Here we go again! --Tad

Update

Whew. -- Tad

Liz Should Be Greener

Steffie Lucchesi, post production assistant, snapped this picture of the online session with her cell phone.  That's Rob Weaver, the head of Post Production at FilmRoman, checking the picture.  I was in a similar room last night for the color balancing session.

Much of post production happens in the dark with experts of every kind staring at TV monitors.  But last night was the first time I watched it in High Definition.  Whoa.  I never thought HD would make a difference in animation.  Sure in CG but in 2D cel animation?  There's not a lot of subtlety.  But scenes had more depth, especially shots that played with the focus.  I was impressed.  As soon as those sets stop costing a billion dollars and burning out five minutes after you get it home -- I'm gettin' one!  Okay, that's a little harsh.

Anyway, the picture looked beautiful.  What is color balancing?  It's basically making the color consistent throughout a sequence.  This is especially important in live action because natural light constantly changes and live action films the same scene from different angles at slightly different times.  When you edit them together, the light changes from shot to shot and can be really distracting.

When that happens in animation it usually means that someone screwed up.  There's a sequence that has Abe and Liz on a small, rocky island in the rain.  The color keys for the sequence gave Liz's skin a cyan cast due to the storm clouds and mist.  We never noticed it in the editing room but there were clearly scenes where a different color model was used.  She looked brighter.  She looked fine in the scene but didn't match the scenes around her.  So Ralph, the engineer at Fotokem, isolated her skin and adjusted it.

The same was done with several Hellboy scenes as he ran in and out of fog in a cemetery.  Would you have noticed the mistakes?  Doubtful, but it's a matter of quality control and taking the time to make things right.  There was that one sequence, at the crossroads at midnight, that I was afraid was too dark.  It's still dark but we were able to bring up the luminance of Hellboy's skin which fixed most of the scenes.  It's not like you won't know which guy is Hellboy and, hey, it's a spooky movie.  You should be watching in the dark!

And Monday, the Mix!  -- Tad

The Picture Part is Done

We've cut in the last retake and the film is being "onlined" even as I type.  That has nothing to do with the internet.  It's the process of putting the final video into the format that will be needed for the sound mix and ultimate delivery.

Tomorrow I'll work with a video engineer to color balance anything I think should be changed.  There is only one
sequence that I feel I need to mess with.

It's just too darn dark.  I'm the one that pushed the picture so dark, but I think I overdid it.  When it gets to the point to where you can't see the seven foot tall red guy, a producer has second thoughts.

Chris Drake actually got some sleep last night!  There was such a huge mountain of sound fx to blend into a workable form that Audio Circus was able to give him another two days that he desperately needed.

This movie is not going to have your normal TV mix.  You have from now until February 6 to buy yourself some sort of multiple speaker theater system for your TV.  It will have a 6.1 mix that will have sound swooping all over the place - not that we've done it yet but I have notes.  This does not have a rushed, off the shelf feeling to the sound.

Well... actually the guys are rushing like mad but only because they're doing so much for this movie.

Early next week will be the final sound mix.  The end of my creative participation in Sword of Storms, after that the technical wizards do what they must to nail this thing down and send it to Cartoon Network in Atlanta.

Actually, I'm wrong.  Although the premiere will be letterboxed, we need to provide a Pan and Scan version.  And Mike Mignola and I have to record our commentary.  So I guess there's lots to do.  Later! -- Tad

All images © 2006 Starz Media and Revolution Studios Distribution.

Tiny Giants

Feast or Famine when it comes to updates, huh?.  Enjoy the feast for what it's worth.  Now go to Gentle Giant ltd. to learn more about the Hellboy Animated line of "Bust-ups" and the amazing work this place does.

What excites me about these figures is not just how detailed they are, especially Hellboy vs. the Bat-god, but that they are so affordable.  They're only around six American dollars.  Yes, they're tiny but really well done.  The skeleton is something you get a piece at a time as you buy the other figures.

Gentle Giant is also known for their scanning facilities.  In fact, Doug Jones was scanned by them the day after he did his ADR with us.  They also do giant sculptures for conventions; their Ray Harryhausen Medusa made a big splash at San Diego Comic Con.  They'll also be putting out a Hellboy action figure which was on display at San Diego too.  The company is packed with talented artists and a joy to work with.

I have no clue on when these guys will be available.  I'm sure the info will be on their website if it isn't already.  Meanwhile, send me your t-shirt photos! -- Tad

Visiting Lovecraft

I forgot to post that I'll be in Portland, Oregon, for
the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival.   Film festival is in the Hollywood theater and runs from Oct. 6 through Oct. 8.  I'll be presenting, at the least, the opening sequence that we showed in San Diego and possible another sequence.  We are scheduled to finish the movie Oct. 6 so I don't know if I'll be able to get a disk burned before I take off.  And of course I'll be there to take questions and give answers so if you're in the area at all, check out the festival!  Look for me on Sunday's schedule.  Dark Horse Comics is one of the sponsors and my participation is the result of the efforts of the lovely and talented DHC editor, Shawna Gore.  I hope to see you there.

Sounds Like Chicken

I spent this afternoon in a small room with big speakers, a fuzzy picture and green tea.  The winnowing of sound effects has begun at Audio Circus.

Actually, there was not much winnowing.  Sound post and mixing has changed even in the last ten years.  Used to be that I'd spend this time culling sounds because the sound designers would reduce the number of tracks by combining sounds. A giant's footstep may be a combination of an elephant's foot, a bass drum, something squishy and a crackle.  That would be decided at this stage so that on the mixing stage it would only take up a single track.  But that meant that the only change that could be made would be a volume setting.

Now more than a hundred tracks are used so there's no decisions made that can't be modified at the mix if necessary.  So today we went through the movie taking out anything that I didn't like.  For instance, one of the demons is "Lightning" so there are lots of electrical blasts and efx.  But many electrical sounds have a buzz to them that sounds like technology to my ear.  I wanted Lightning more organic so we cut out lots of buzz.

I also talked about what I thought was missing or the various sounds made by a single monster beyond a roar.  I also talked about treating certain actions as paranormal events as opposed to "real world" effects.  Everything was sound good.  It's astounding how much work the guys are putting into it...and how much more they have to do before Monday!  The guys will be working all weekend to be ready for the pre-mix next week.  Send them good thoughts! -- Tad

More AyeDeeArrrrr....

I'm on allergy medicine and that's about as piratey as I'm going to get on this, Talk Like a Pirate Day 2006.  But as you can see I had a comely wench on my arm yesterday.  I usually don't take pictures with people I work with.  I started my career with seven or eight of the Disney "Nine Old Men" and never had them sign my Art of Disney book.  It feels weird to me to ask for an autograph of someone I work with and that includes the actors I've recorded over the years.  Of course, I have pals with tons of cool autographs and pics and I don't.  I have memories but with my brain how long are those going to last?

And, believe it or not, I didn't get a picture just  because Selma Blair is drop dead gorgeous.  I had brought my camera to get pictures of the ADR session for the blog and realized I hadn't taken any as Selma was about to leave so I had someone snap this.  But just about every other picture that I did take came out blurry so sorry Ron fans, no new pics here.

Recording went well despite the fact that we had a plague of cameras there.  There were at least three, maybe four, video cameraman documenting the session for the DVD.  They also interviewed the actors against a green screen that they set up in a tiny waiting room.  They had a camera covering me so they have a thrilling four or five hours of me staring at a video screen, checking for lip sync.  There's a video extra you can't live without.  The actors were filmed constantly too.  I looked up once while Ron was acting out being caught in a giant spider web and saw him making a truly terrifying face.  I'm sure they'll be using that on the DVD but, wow, can he looks scary!

Unfortunately, the schedules of the actors didn't overlap so there were no happy reunions caught on tape.  Selma and Ron are looking forward to getting started on Hellboy 2 with Guillermo.  Phil Lamarr just had to replace some temp lines we had added for a pilot and Junior BPRD Agent.  He's such a huge comic fan that I thought he could give a different perspective on acting in comic based animation.  Hope his interview went well.  Peri Gilpin was a delight to work as she adjusted her lines on Kate Corrigan.  She said the fun of doing animation like Final Fantasy is that she can be cast in a role that she wouldn't normally be considered for, but she really identifies with Kate and feels that it's a role she would have a shot at even in a live action movie.  Guess that's moot, since GdT has no plans for Ms. Corrigan in his movies.  I really appreciate that fans reacted positively when they heard about the casting of Peri for Kate.

On other fronts we don't have the time to get this movie done by the agreed date but I guess we'll do it anyway. That's called "television."  If we weren't trying to jam every bit of quality into it, it wouldn't be a problem.  Cartoon Network gave us a bit of a reprieve when they said they would broadcast the premiere letterboxed as I wanted, thereby giving us a little more time to do a "pan and scanned" full screen version.  Make sure you watch the premiere! Musically, Christopher Drake is practically killing himself to give the score a big screen feel.  In a "good news, bad news" sort of way, Guillermo used his clout over the weekend to get us permission to use the Hellboy theme from his movie.  Unfortunately, that means Chris will have to go back and redo some already magnificent music cues but we hope the fans will get some sort of primal charge at hearing the Hellboy theme at certain key points.  Otis and friends at Audio Circus are completely overwhelmed by the sheer tonnage of sound effect they're trying to squeeze in.  I'll be spending time with them tomorrow, hearing the fx track for the entire movie for the first time.

It's all craziness right now but it's weird to think that by the time you see the results of our efforts, we'll be so deep in Hellboy: Blood and Iron that we'll be lucky if we remember that  it's on!  -- Tad

And All He Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt

Considering that I worked for Disney for 29 years, my son picked the appropriate attire when he rode Splash Mountain. (The guys on the Jungle Cruise were also excited.) He's doing his part to advertise his dad's little project.

But hey, we gave away about 2000 shirts at San Diego and Wizard World Chicago (including the shirts that were meant for the crew!) so who's got 'em? Send me photo of you and your shirt in a public place. tstones at filmroman.com
The big red guy is always in style. -- Tad

ADRing DOUG

My throat's a little raw because I just came back from doing some random zombie sound fx.  One of my better vocal performances.  It's better that it's my throat that gets torn up rather than one of our actors'.  We tacked that little bit of business onto the ADR session with the Abe Sapien of two worlds, Doug Jones.

ADR, Automated Dialogue Replacement, is a system for dubbing.  The recording engineer pinpoints the frame where a mouth starts moving.  The program then adds three beats.  The actor starts performing on the fourth beat, the one that isn't there.

Some people are great at ADR, others can never get the timing.  In this era of digital recording, performances can be compressed, stretched and edited but things sure go faster when the actor can hit his audio mark.

Doug is great at ADR.  It can be tricky because you can't just perform.  You have to perform within the existing timing and lip flaps.  Today Doug replaced two sequences that were recorded by our David Hyde Pierce sound alike.  What was great was hearing Abe gain personality.  When he's surrounded by attacking mummies with rusty scythes Abe just doesn't call out to Liz, he has attitude!  He's actually a little harsh about her reluctance to unleash her literal firepower.  And it actually boosted the humor element of the scene.

When Abe tells a new agent that he's just made "the newbie face" you hear the extra teasing in his voice.  It's hard to explain without playing actual clips but because Doug was not hindered by trying to imitate another actor, he could concentrate more on his performance to the benefit of Mr. Sapien.

Ironically, the stuff that took the longest today one syllable reactions that had to match up with existing dialogue.  But it's always a good day when ADR brings more humor, drama and character to the movie and Doug managed all that today.

Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Peri Gilpin and Phil Lamarr are coming in Monday for their ADR sessions.  They'll also be interviewed for the DVD.  Doug escaped that today because he did an extra long interview already. 

We could see footage from Blood and Iron as early as tomorrow!  Overlapping productions are exciting but certainly stretch the definition of "fun."  It's crazy. -- Tad

LOCKED!

Tons of retakes remain but the timing of the movie is locked.  Well, actually there's a short prologue and credit sequence that the computer department will be adding but I'd say we'll end up between 75 and 76 minutes without the end credits.

The timing of the main picture shouldn't change from here on out. Chris Drake is now scoring music to the exact frame.  The guys at Audio Circus are deciding how long the sound of a zombie head exploding should be.  Does it last as long as the visual or are the last wisps of zombie dust silent?

Meanwhile, the visuals are tweaked.  Shake fx can be added in Final Cut along with blur fx and of course retakes are cut in as they come in.

It's about six weeks until the premiere on Cartoon Network.  There's a lot of interest from other countries.  It's not out of the question that at least one English speaking country (that is, a country that can air the movie without it being dubbed) could also air it before Halloween.  Let's hope.

Mipcom Jr. (just Google it) is coming up soon where broadcasters from around the world will be buying it for their markets.  So think good thoughts and maybe it'll show up on your TV wherever you are. -- Tad

Back From Canada, eh?

I thought that both Mike's panel and the one we did together on Sunday went very well.  I hope those that attended them thought so too.  The questions were good, not the standard stuff and I think it's clear that Mike and I don't take ourselves too seriously so you can ask just about anything.  Look around the net and you'll see some coverage like here  at Comics Continuum, certainly a site worth stopping by once a day, and a little more here.  Newsarama.com also had a nice article.

I landed Friday at around 6pm and was surprised to find the con open til 9 o'clock.  My first job was to be interviewed by Space TV.  The producer doing the interviewing was Mark Askwith, who REALLY knows his comics.  He used to managed The Silver Snail comic shop in Toronto and has known Mike for a couple of decades.  Mike did and interview with him too but turned down a chance to be interviewed by a puppet, I'm guessing for Puppet Television.com.  I have no shame so I would've talked to a puppet but instead was interviewed by the absolutely stunning Amanda Lorenza who runs the site.  Fine by me!  Check their site for Fan Expo interviews coming soon.  The people from Rue Morgue Magazine hosted the Festival of Fear and made me feel welcome -- which is nice if you want to be welcomed by a booth filled with vampires and the rotting undead.  Seriously, a dedicated, professional group of people who haven't lost their fan enthusiasm for horror.

So that's a quick recap.  Hit those comic news sites for the actual Hellboy content.  Not everything is quoted completely accurately, for instance the Cartoon Network broadcast of Hellboy: Blood and Iron hasn't been set yet but it'll probably be late January/early February.  But you get the gist.  I met lots of folks who read the blog, thanks for saying, "Hi."   I met some animation creators who are starting the development of an original animated show at a Canadian studio this week.  Good luck, guys!  I met fans putting out their own comics BEFORE they graduate art school - that's the way to do it.  I admire how you have your act together.

So much for fun.  There's I chance I'll be back in Canada for Anime Expo North, we'll see.  But today it's back to editing.  All the Take Ones are in!  That's the whole movie!  I should be locking it this week.  See ya! -- Tad

Canada Bound

As the last footage is streaming in I will be winging my way to Toronto for big Fan Expo which seems to have a thousand sub names.  Both Mike Mignola and I will be there.  Mike will have a panel on Saturday to answer all questions about Hellboy so those of you who missed having a Q and A in San Diego, email your questions to your Canadian friends! (Don't post them here please).  On Sunday I'll show the opening of Sword of Storms then Mike and I will take all queries about Hellboy Animated. 

Budgets are being formulated and plans discussed for 2007, let's hope they include more movies!  Meanwhile I'm tangled in technical crap about screen resolution, compression, file conversions, eeEEAARGhh!  I just want to make the dang movie!  So I feel a little like Hellboy here. 

It's strange, and a little scary, to think that I'll be doing the final sound mix of Sword of Storms in about four weeks and a month after that it'll be broadcast.

There's a possibility of some Hellboy mini-projects which I only mention to tease the hell out of you.  Just a little reminder that Starz Media (formerly IDT Entertainment) has all sorts of surprises in store in the coming year.  -- Tad (soon to be jet-lagged)