7th January

Every year for as long as I can remember my birthday (7th Jan) co-incided with some dreary back to work/school/college type date. It was always the first day back or the last day before "real life started again after the holidays.

Still , this year its a bit better.

The first ever public screening of the Secret of Kells will take place in Forum des Images in Paris.
Its at 3.00 pm , with an audience mainly of youngsters, I am told.
Tickets are 5 Euros I think and I will be doing a short "making of" presentation at 6.00 pm
also.
I will be joined in the making of part by the screenwriter , Fabrice Ziolkowski and perhaps others.
Not exactly sure yet of the running order etcetera but more news as I know it!

http://www2.forumdesimages.fr/fdi/Forum-des-images

Disney Posters Arrived today

Hooray. We stuck one up on the office wall.
I will take a photo of it once its up in Kilkenny Cineplex.
At long last.

sunny solstice

http://www.newgrange.com/webcast_08.htm

film classification

yesterday we had a very interesting screening at the office of the irish board of film classification.
its a grand old building but we may be one of the last films screened there as it is being moved to a new office next year.

we were pleased with the "pg" rating , despite the slightly scary or intense scenes, we feel its a film everyone can enjoy.

Its very nice how Trish Long (the head of Disney in Ireland) describes it sometimes -

" an original work of art that also happens to be suitable for families and a young audience"

She plans to run trailers ahead of "Bolt" here in Ireland, which is great exposure to the best general audience we can hope for.

Is this the most nervewracking part? waiting to see if anyone will come and see it....
maybe.

Anyway today I am in Galway working on Song of the Sea, just gotta focus on the next one now....!

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas everyone.
I made this sketch for the Aisling comic I am working on for the New Year.
I am going to try something a little bit "Mucha" for this one.
I got a big book of his stuff in Prague.
Amazingly inspiring stuff.

PAF animation festival

Am in Cyech republic typing on very strange key board in very nice university building where we gave a presentation.
Very christmassy buzz here with all the snow and son on. beautiful country.
Ok off to see the Danish film Princess now.
have been up since 4.30 this morning traveling to be here.
vegetarian options are ,,,,,,as usual..... interesting!
have learnt to swear fluently in czech.

Hooray.

Nora Twomey enters the blogosphere

http://nora-twomey.com/

hooray .

But the photo on the header does'nt really look like her that much.

Disney "family" screening

We had a screening for all the marketing people who will work on the film with Disney Ireland on Wednesday in the IFI.
Some of the band memebers of Kila were there too as well as James Flynn the exec producer and some people from Trinity college and the Dublin Film festival.
The "keeper of the book" Bernard Meehan was there too, I was sitting beside him and was nervous thru'out, afraid he would not like the liberties we took with the history to make this fantasy film, but thankfully he enjoyed it and was very enthusiastic. He (naturally) spotted all our references to mediaeval art and appreciated the research and homework we poured into it despite the fiction/fantasy nature of the story.
It was a positive day overall, thanks to Trish fro making it happen.

Today, Michael McGrath , voice of adult Brendan is doing the Voice Over for the Irish trailer.

T

French trailer

Here is the French theatrical trailer edited by Gebeka.
I hope everyone in France will go to see this movie at least twice! hehe!

I will post the trailer from Disney/Buena Vista Ireland in a few days time as well
as a link to a mini site as soon as its up and running.

Comments on comments

The movie will be distributed by Disney in Ireland branded as Buena Vista International (Ireland). No distribution is confirmed in US or UK .
Release in Ireland is March 2009.
Our sales agent Celluloid Dreams is in charge of the territories outside the co-production countries of Ireland, Belgium and France.
Benelux distribution is handled by Kinepolis.
French distribution by Gebeka.
Release in France and Benelux in February.

The comic book is published by Glenat in French in two hardback Albums. Also planned to be published in Dutch by Glenat.
No English language publisher confirmed yet .

Stay tuned for developments but thats how it stands at present.

he saved me from the vikings when I was a baby

he took me in when my parents....were'nt there anymore.

1st page coloured by Marie!

"Inking"

Full time blasting into getting the comics done now. Cant colour them all myself so Marie Thorauge is helping out there, I'm "inking" them partly with pens on paper and partly in Flash.
The deadline is looming so its heads down time.
People may remember I posted a different version of one of these pages a while back - the story changed slightly since then, so the Aisling wolf cub had to be replaced with a younger Cellach.


Also working on the poster for Disney. They are taking a very different marketing approach to the French distributor , Gebeka, so are cutting a different trailer and doinga different poster.
We are nearly there, I am learning a lot about marketing!

Adrien Merigeau is the bestest

http://oldfangs.blogspot.com/

Adrien merigeau who was a bg supervisor on Kells and now Art director on Song of the Sea is making a beautiful short film with us called "Old Fangs" ...he started a blog on it...
Check it out!

comics

Hopefully the publishers will like the roughs I have been doing.
This is my second pass at the "prequel" pages, trying to make it clear and easy to follow.
Its 24 hour comics day today, I had hoped to spend it in Dublin doing one, but instead I am here in the studio working on these roughs.
Well, at least I am making comics .
I really want to do a 24 hour comic sometime though....just to see what comes out!
Good luck to Cliodhna and the rest of ye tonight! Keep the faith! Make comics!

Work in Progress Poster

Not approved yet - could change some more...lets see what the distributors think ...we like it though!

Posters

For France and Belgium I get to design the poster - Hooray.

This poster was based on a pretty detailed brief from the distributors and Les Armateurs who wanted to emphasize the "heroic fantasy" element the most.
I also attach some earlier ideas I had in really rough form of using a three panel design like in medieval art or a more mysterious one with Brendan just a light in the dark as he works on the book.

Stay Tuned for the finished piece! Ross Stewart is doing the colour and inking , he is also designing the typography and doing the final Celtic designs. He's class.

Buy this Book!!!!!

http://www.goalanthology.com/

Dear Everyone,

This is an anthology comic published by Cliodhna Lyons who worked with us on Kells here in CS last year. Its all in aid of Goal . My sister Catherine and I contributed a short strip . Catherine is involved in human rights voluntary work overseas at the moment.
I attach the first page of our three page strip.


Heres some info about Goal from their website -

ABOUT GOAL

From its first year of operation in 1977, when it spent a mere €12,000 on a street children’s project in Calcutta, GOAL has grown and grown – spending over €500 million implementing relief and development programmes in 50 countries in the past 30 years.

GOAL ensures that the poorest of the poor and the most vulnerable in our world and those affected by humanitarian crises have access to the fundamental needs and rights of life: food, water, shelter, medical attention and literacy.

Thanks!

It ain't over til its over

Something clicked last night after finishing work.
We had a drink with the sound design guys Seb and Fabien and then met up with Bruno the composer.
And I finally had the feeling that we are finished all the directing that can ever be done.

We have to check the print, maybe do some colour grading in the lab in a few weeks.
But thats it really.
On Monday I will be working on the French poster with Ross .
Theres the comic to finish off.

But really, the film is done.
After so many years its all over.
I keep sleeping. On the plane, in Pauls car on the way back down
and all day in the house.
Tonight we are going to Ross' new house warming and Jonas' going away party.
(Jonas made the compositing of the credits BTW- another superstar intern!)

I could easily just sleep but its worth going out to celebrate!


Thanks to everyone who followed this journey...I'll keep you all posted of release news and so on
and the comic stuff etcetera as the films journey is in a way just beginning now that the production has wrapped.
Well, I'm saving myself from saying its "in the can" until its actually on film and in a can!!!!

tada

its a wrap

sound and music all done !

nice.