Ryan Colucci's Blog, page 12

Art Prints: Pawel Sambor

Things are finally starting to clear up for me as the next few projects take shape and I zero in on things. Today I’ve been doing a bit of house cleaning – updating the Spoke Lane Facebook page, and with that came converting the hi-res art print files to jpgs so I could upload them.  These are the art prints I had with me for sale at New York Comic-con, which I will be bringing to any of the conventions I am able to hit in the near future.

Today I am posting the art prints provided by Harbor Moon artist, Bulderlyns colorist/letterer and R.E.M. logo designer Pawel Sambor.

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Filed under: Bulderlyns, Graphic Novel, Harbor Moon, R.E.M.

VFX Motion & Make-Up Test for Lunatic

It has been a long time coming… but I finally have some footage to show from my make-up and visual effects motion tests that were shot a few weeks (months) ago. This is for the film LUNATIC, which is more or less in pre-production now.  I’m awaiting something, which should come today, and should have an announcement on that next week.

LUNATIC is a found footage film, written by my USC Peter Stark Program classmate Dikran Ornekian. It is a slow burn, but once we make our major reveal this thing cooks.

Unlike WHITE SPACE, which we were trying to keep a bit of a lid on, I will be bringing regular updates on this project. From the beginning stages of pre-production through the shoot and post process.

Lunatic-Werewolf Motion & Makeup Test-Teaser from Ryan Colucci on Vimeo.

Filed under: Filmmaking, Lunatic, Movies

Chasing Rabbits: The Redux

I was waiting until R.E.M. finished up to announce that we are making a shift in artists on Chasing Rabbits.  I am very excited to say that Zsombor Huszka will be the artist now. In fact, from the second he started turning in pages on R.E.M. I had pangs of regret that he wasn’t drawing Chasing Rabbits.  Due to family problems, Sigit had to step aside. He may actually draw a shorter book in the near future.

I have long believed that the script for ‘Chasing Rabbits is my best. This graphic novel has the chance to really blow people away. I was excited, and then I got this from Zsombor and I want to hold the hardcover in my hand. Now!

“Just finished the script…MAAAN! This WILL be huge! This will deserve an award or something! I’m a little worried to be able to make the best artwork this book deserves….”

Below are two tests he did in trying to figure out the best way to approach coloring…

Filed under: Chasing Rabbits, Graphic Novel

R.E.M. Finished Inks!

A few days ago I got the very last inked pages in from Zsombor Huszka on our graphic novel R.E.M.  It was a bittersweet moment. I love getting artwork in (on any of my books), and I have been patiently waiting for my sophomore effort to finish… but now it is over. And my inbox will have less art coming through it.

For those of you that don’t know about the project, you can read a bit at the website: www.remchair.com.  It has the synopsis, as well as the first 20 pages or so. This is not the gore and destruction that was Harbor Moon. The story is nuanced. It has soul. This book will force you to think. And I can’t wait for you all to check it out…

But not before Karol slogs away at the lettering and DTP.

Check out the last (cryptic) page of the book.

Filed under: Graphic Novel, R.E.M.

Happy Birthday Big Nana

I really miss you.

Filed under: Uncategorized

Updates galore…

The last month or two has been extremely busy – but I sacrifice for your gain.

Seriously though, things on both the publishing and feature film fronts are moving along very well. I’ve been dealing with some strife (not personal, more like work related) that is starting to sort itself out. But it has forced me to focus on my slate, and really narrow down my focus – at a time when I may have been hoping to expand. Rather than bore you with my prose, I will just list some of the projects that I’m working on, along with some updates.

Lunatic. I will write another post about AFM, but it went really well.  After the first day I wasn’t so sure it was the best place for me to be (without a project to shop and with a film that maybe wasn’t fully cast)… but I couldn’t have been more wrong. The response to this project was overwhelmingly positive. I may have left with a handful of opportunities and we will see which ones rise to the top and are the most attractive for me to pursue. With any luck, this will get off the ground in late March of 2013.

Harbor Moon. We continue to sell books. The fan base continues to grow ever so slowly… and after visiting AFM the prospects of me putting this together for a feature are pretty high. It just seems like a no brainer under my current model.

R.E.M. It is a good thing the fan base continues to grow, because Zsombor inked the final pages of the book the other day. We have some minor tweaks here and there, but this thing is pretty much done.  I’m not sure it has sunk in yet.  I couldn’t be more proud of how this thing came out. If my script lives up to what I think it can – Zsombor’s artwork is going to make this thing a must read. There are a few question marks in terms of how I want to proceed, but with Karol’s help I think we figured out our best game plan. We don’t want to rush the release – so look for this in early 2013.  In somewhat related news, the prequel comic (based on the short), 4.2.3., should be finished any day.  Karol is working hard on the lettering (along with the REM lettering)…

Bulderlyns. Igor has really picked up the pace and is hitting a serious stride in terms of the artwork.  The details are amazing.  Part of me feels bad for Pawel and Dmitry – because they have to ink and color this thing.  And Dmitry has been side-lined with Orange Life, but he’s back on track and the colors are so vibrant, but not comic booky at all – they fit perfectly.

Orange Lif3. Dmitry’s personal book. I can only describe this as Eastern European manga, because he has his own unique style. He just turned in Season 0 and Season 1 (out of a lot of seasons he is planning and has already drawn a lot of)… I have to tell you, this thing is bad-ass and unique.

Chasing Rabbits. Due to outside circumstances in Indonesia, Sigit had to stop working on the book. But the happy accident in this is that Zsombor is taking over – something I wished I could do when he came on R.E.M.  I loved Sigit’s work (it truly is amazing), but immediately thought that Zsombor would have been almost too perfect for it.  And when this situation came up, I tried to bring it up to Zsombor in a gentle way – and he didn’t even let me try to beg him, he was right on board.  I personally believe this is the best script I have ever written. So I don’t say it lightly that it has found the ideal artist. He has this uncanny ability to be gritty and realistic, but with a slight tinge of fantastical. We talked about certain color styles, he did some tests – and I think we nailed it (well, he nailed it). This one is going to be a lot of fun. And I think Zsombor and I are starting to get more of a short-hand (for his sake). I almost don’t want to tell anyone about him, because I don’t ever want to do a book without him again.

Fuzzies. The children’s book is at the printers and we are just waiting on the final product. Rob has already written the second manuscript and we are sorting through children’s illustrators right now, something Karol has been an invaluable help on. Expect this before Christmas possibly.  Although, time is short and you never know when you have shipments coming from China.

These pursuits are based on projects that need my attention, but are already written. And I am usually writing more than one thing at a time.  However, as I already wrote, I have had to reign in what I am focusing on and what is on my slate. That said, I am working on a script for a micro-budget, trying to keep it under wraps until it is done. I’m about 75% completed and the first draft should be finished by next weekend. Not that it is mind-blowing, I just don’t want to jinx it. It looks like I have the cash for it, and every time I try to write a micro-budget they get bigger and bigger and bigger (like Penny Black). It will be a down-and-dirty, LI/NY based crime project.  That’s actually the first of two micro-budgets I am working on – the second being about MMA – more character based, like Rocky. But I will not touch that until this is done and in pre-production.

I haven’t forgotten about White Space. I have one thought on that – this thing is going to kick all sorts of ass.

Filed under: Bulderlyns, Chasing Rabbits, Filmmaking, Fuzzies, Graphic Novel, Harbor Moon, Orange Life, Penny Black, R.E.M., White Space

Good Times at NY Comic-con

I’m just pulling myself out from under of everything that piled up while I took the last few days to man a table at NY Comic-con.  It was a lot of fun, I met a ton of great people and did a pretty decent job of spreading the word about Harbor Moon and the artists working on my books – who were awesome enough to put together art prints for me to sell. The goal was to make a bunch of money for them, but the tables are expensive and I didn’t quite break-even.  However, I figured out what was selling and what wasn’t… and I’m planning on attending more conventions this coming year.  Below are some pics, mostly from Artist Alley – as I was pretty much solo the entire time and couldn’t really leave my table.

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Filed under: Bulderlyns, Chasing Rabbits, Graphic Novel, Harbor Moon, R.E.M.

New York Comic-con… Come Say Hello

If you are coming to New York Comic-con this coming weekend, swing on by Artist Alley.  I will have a full table there – and will be there by myself all weekend.  Actually, not ‘all’ weekend – because I have my sister’s wedding on Saturday afternoon.  However, I will be putting in some hours on Saturday for sure.  No shot I’m missing the biggest day of the biggest convention in my backyard.

Filed under: Bulderlyns, Chasing Rabbits, Graphic Novel, Harbor Moon, R.E.M.

Movie Review: Looper

After all of the hype surrounding Rian Johnson’s ‘Looper’ it shot up my to see list quickly. I was a fan of ‘Brick’ and even enjoyed ‘Brothers Bloom.’ However, when I went to the theater today and was faced with a choice between ‘Looper’ and Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘The Master’ I never thought I would choose Johnson over Anderson. But I did. And I did not regret it.

The film isn’t the next coming of ‘Blade Runner’ that some keep buzzing about. There are some truly funny moments, but there are also characters that stick out for being a bit too goofy (such as The Kid). They don’t ruin the movie by any means, but they definitely took it down a notch.

It is a rather small complaint in an otherwise awesome film. It has the best sound design of any film I have seen in a long time. Johnson’s script moves at a brisk pace – which is good in time travel movies so you can’t spend time poking holes in everything. Joseph Gordon-Levitt really shines here. I’ve been a fan for a while, and this may be his best performance yet. Also on display is excellent world building. Johnson doesn’t beat us over the head with concepts… He subtly weaves in aspects of his depiction of the future.

See this movie. In a theater.

Filed under: Movie Review

Movie Review: Snowtown Murder

I am a sucker for any movie about a killer or serial killer. Whether it is the hunt for or genesis of… So when I saw the longline for Snowtown Murders I immediately added it to my Netflix queue. And as it happens, mu queue is mostly foreign language films. So when it comes to late night viewing, I went with this film not knowing much about it.

Turns out it is an Australian film about the worst killer(s) in the country’s history. It starts off slow, and lulls you into thinking it is about pedophilia… And then takes some even darker turns. It has one of the more disturbing rape scenes I have ever seen (Salo and Irreversible come to mind) and after that things get grim.

We are on a journey with Jamie, a young man who is dealt a pretty awful hand. And when we meet who appears to be his savior, a pretty great turn by Ben hens hall, we see why Jamie is sucked into what he does. I don’t know how accurate the story is, but it definitely shows how one can be complicit in crime and it make sense (as a human being).

I thought the director did a great job putting us in a time and place (I guess you could call it world building, but I would say world showing). The score was haunting right from the opening. And the acting all felt very authentic. If I had an issue with the film it would be the general malaise with which Jamie went through life. He is our eyes and ears and he was like a blank slate. However, I realize that was the intention. I had the same problem with another Australian film – Animal Kingdom – but I liked this film much more and have had it stuck in my head for days now.

Filed under: Movie Review