Over at Catholic Exchange, Terry Mattingly tells us about a new graphic novel / movie project from the creator of Earthworm Jim (left), Doug TenNapel.
Along with exploring the creative process that TenNapel employs, Mattingly describes how Creature Tech moved from a picture story on paper to a real , fer-sure Hollywood movie;
"The key moment came when the blogger called "Moriarty" posted the following at the Ain’t It Cool (aintitcool.com) site for film insiders: "There’s no doubt. It’s weird . . . It’s also very funny, profoundly sweet and heartfelt, touching in a strange way, and serious about concepts like faith and family without being in any way preachy or corny.
"Simply put, Creature Tech is the best American animated film since The Iron Giant . . . Better than anything from any studio . . . It’s a movie that just happens to be in print."
Within minutes, studios started calling his agent. Regency Enterprises and 20th Century Fox won the bidding war and early work began on a live-action movie"
I want to see it already, just based on the sketchy (heh) description in Mattingly’s article. TenNapel deals with the creative problems that face Christian artists in an apparently organic, sensible and honest way. Of the current state of the entertainment biz from a Christian perspective, he states;
"People want a quick fix. Christians are going to have to learn that art isn’t automatically good if it’s made by Christians. And Hollywood will have to learn that art isn’t automatically bad if it’s made by Christians."
I did not grow up reading comics much, and am not that familiar with the graphic novel genre, but I hope to read Creature Tech before the movie comes out. Any graphic novel fans out there who might be able to give me some confirmation on the worthiness of this one? It sounds tasty.
When my kids were much younger I realized didn’t know very many lullabyes, but I did know TV theme songs. I don’t think any of my kids has ever seen Earthworm Jim, but they could sing along with the theme song even now. Best of luck to them.
Christians are going to have to learn that art isn’t automatically good if it’s made by Christians. And Hollywood will have to learn that art isn’t automatically bad if it’s made by Christians.
This has been my point for a LONG time. Christian art doesn’t have to suck, people! In fact, given the history of Western art, it shouldn’t!
So help me, if I see another Omega Code 2, I’m gonna go on a book-hurling rampage through both downtown West Hollywood AND the nearest tent revival. Poul Anderson’s High Crusade for one [SMACK], Shakespeare for the other[WHACK].
So help me, if I see another Omega Code 2, I’m gonna go on a book-hurling rampage through both downtown West Hollywood AND the nearest tent revival. Poul Anderson’s High Crusade for one [SMACK], Shakespeare for the other[WHACK].
Jared:
Have you ever seen the trailers for The Omega Code?
Hilarious!
Esau: What, you mean, again??? Tell me you’re talking about that stupid 1999 movie, and my sanity will be saved. Tell me that they’re remaking that piece of … ahem … and I really am gonna start chuckin’ books. Hardback books.
In retrospect, I sound like a psycho. I gotta hit the gym.
Tell me you’re talking about that stupid 1999 movie…
Yup, that very one!
Tell me that they’re remaking that piece of … ahem…
God forbid — I hope not!
I can’t believe this but after checking IMDB just now, they actually came out with a Sequel to it in 2001 called “Megiddo: The Omega Code 2”!
In retrospect, I sound like a psycho. I gotta hit the gym.
Jared, brutha, stupid movies like The Omega Code would make anybody crazy!
I didn’t even see the movie and only saw the trailer; even that took toll on my intellect (at least, whatever was there to begin with)! ;^)
You had me from “Earthworm Jim”, Jimmy, but it sounds great (going by the blurb):
Rival scientists! One of whom is (but of course) A Mad Scientist! Who is a resurrected 19th century occultist to boot!
And he threw in – wait for it – the Shroud of Turin!!
It may very well be our religious duty as faithful Catholics to go and see this movie if it ever gets made 😉
TenNapel also did many of the album illustrations for the Reese Roper bands Five Iron Frenzy and Roper. There’s a…je ne sais quoi about it that just makes me smile.
“You had me from ‘Earthworm Jim’, Jimmy…”
Actually, this was Tim’s post.
Tim, you’re becoming another Rodney Dangerfield.
Hey, bill, I figure having my posts mistaken for Jimmy’s means I’m not doing too bad!
I’m just glad I don’t get “Gee whiz, Jimmy, are you okay? You must have been on cold medicine when you wrote this…”. etc.
The OLD cold medicine, not the new, wimpy stuff…
Tim, you just reminded me of an episode of the old “Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” (I’m dating myself now). Harriet was telling Ozzie he should go out to where Rick was singing that night, as he hadn’t heard Rick sing in a while. Ozzie told her he had heard Rick singing in the shower that morning. Dave said, “Thanks, Pop, but that was me.” (For those who don’t know, because they had the misfortune to be born too late, Rick Nelson was a humongously popular singer in the late 50s and early 60s).
Taking us totally off track. Go read my favorite, “Lord of the World” Robert Hugh Benson. Written 100 years ago by a priest, it is the scariest end times story yet. Spoiler alert:
We win.
I’ve read it, and it’s absolutely wonderful. I plan to buy it for my very own!
Many apologies, Tim: blame it on excited frenzy induced by the “Earthworm Jim” picture and the immediate Pavlovian conditioned reaction of singing the theme tune 😉
While I haven’t seen “The Omega Code”, I did once have the displeasure of seeing “Megiddo: The Omega Code 2”. Book hurling is eminently justified. In fact, if we bind the books in iron, we can fire them off with a railgun. Being hit upside the head with a metal-clad version of the The Divine Comedy travelling several hundred miles an hour would tend to prevent one from ever making crappy movies again! In fact, I think we should deploy this system on Hollywood, ASAP! >:D
Now, not all works of art that come from the contemporary world are bad. I mean, Gene Wolfe is one of the most Catholic authors in a long time, and his works (such his Book of the New Sun) are not only dripping with Christian symbolism, but are of a distinguished literary calibre, too.
Of course, beyond Gene Wolfe, I’m at a loss for any specifically Christian works of art that have cropped up in recent times. It doesn’t mean they don’t exist, it just means that I have yet to see them (unless we are willing to consider science fiction like Babylon 5, The Matrix, and Neon Genesis Evangelion Christian because of their deep-seated Biblical imagery, despite being made by non-Christians).
…Neon Genesis Evangelion…
Randolph Carter:
Neon Genesis Evangelion Christian?
You sure about that???
He’s saying it’s not Christian.
But it has deepseated Biblical imagery.
Which it does.
A negative use thereof, however.
A negative use thereof, however.
Maureen,
That’s the point that I was referring to.
A railgun with book ammunition? I like it. But I was also hoping to improve my throwing arm. I’ll have to sleep on it.
I do love the idea of a metal-clad Divine Comedy. Inferno … now complete with full … metal … (book) jacket!
I don’t really think that Neon Genesis Evangelion has a negative use of Biblical imagery. I’ve always thought that it uses Biblical imagery in a sort of neutral way to tell its own story, which doesn’t really conform to any Biblical narrative, but is more interested in exploring lots of different elements of psychology and philosophy, some western, but mostly eastern (e.g. dissolving all humans into one consummate entity to make up for what is lacking in them as individuals has more in common with Buddhism or Hinduism than it does any western religion, Christian or otherwise).
Randolph Carter:
Don’t get me wrong; I, myself, enjoyed the series because of the very elements you mention here.
But there have been those (referring to various Christian groups who banned it) of the opinion that the work is blasphemous.
I read Creature Tech when it first came out and I loved it. I have to go back now and read it again, if only because I’d forgotten that it was by the creator of Earthworm Jim.