I ♥ Coraline

Coraline is my valentine this year.

Congrats to the folks at Laika. I'd been looking forward to this film for a long time and it didn't disappoint. I hope it attains the success it deserves and enables to the studio to bring us more good stuff. I was saddened that in box office terms it took a backseat to an epic shallow regurgitated garbage heap, but at least it did better than an ill-conceived sequel to a needless remake. Hopefully word of mouth will spread and the people who decided to watch crap last weekend will redeem themselves and see Coraline this weekend. And you should too! In 3D or not, it's well worth it.

Check out this interview with character designer & sculpter Damon Bard as well as examples from his amazing portfolio.

End of an Age... an Orphan-Age

Most of you following the industry will have heard by now - last Friday The Orphanage closed it's doors and a lot of wonderful, talented people suddenly had to say goodbye and scramble to find the next big thing. You can read the more or less official announcement on Stu's blog. I'm happy, grateful, and proud to have been an Orphan and to have worked with such amazing folks.

Lisa Simpson once asked her father if he realized that the Chinese word for "crisis" is the same as "opportunity." Wise Homer replied, "Yes... Crisi-tunity!" I hope this crisis quickly becomes opportunity for all the Orphans and I'm excited to see where everyone goes next.

As for me... well that's a story for another post.