Originally from Michigan, I moved to Los Angeles just in time for Rodney King, the Northridge earthquake and O.J.
I landed in the art department of the L.A. Daily News where I worked for a couple of years before leaving to chase jobs as a freelance illustrator. For the most part, it went great. I worked for some interesting clients and did some pretty cool jobs.
Somewhere in all of that scrambling around I even found time to get married and start a family... it was just like the riots and earthquakes all over again.
Then one night my brother Kerry comes over and says, "Let’s make a movie.” So like Mickey Rooney (me) and Judy Garland (him) we decided to "put on a show," and whaddya know, about nine years later, we really did.
Shot entirely against blue screen, "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" was the first film of its kind. Designed in B&W, it was supposed to be as if someone had just dug up this dusty old movie that had never been seen before.
The whole thing turned into a much bigger deal than we ever imagined, but at its heart, it was really a small independent movie.
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Our budget was small too, much smaller than is commonly reported - believe me. In addition, our release date was moved up, our facility was too small, and we didn't have enough money to hire the most experienced people. Luckily, we ended up with a lot of wonderfully talented young people looking to help... and it was great!
One disappointment though, was the fact that we never put out an "Art of" book. So with that ship having sailed, I’ve decided to finally put some of that work online.
"Sky Captain" was well received critically, with particular credit given its design, for which I’m truly grateful. Shortly after the film came out I was invited to join the Art Director's Guild and sit on their newly formed Technology committee.
Since then I've worked on a number of projects for other people, including a stint at DreamWorks Animation, where I got to see just how a big studio operates from the inside.
Currently I’m working on a couple of things I’m pretty excited about... hopefully one day soon I can put that work up... and who knows, maybe I'll even get to have an "Art of" book.