The Precinct pie continues to bubble up at the edges like something I baked a few weeks ago. What’s happening?

• I finished off the schmick new bible document and Woody The Producer has sent that along to the friendly broadcasters he drank with in Cannes. With luck, one or more will think it’s beaut and want to air such a program. Having a local and at least one international broadcaster would help move this along.
• The potential co-production continues to tick along. Having had a couple of good talks with our Canadian friends, I feel pretty good about how this might work. There are some interesting/arcane/necessary rules as to each country needing 50% of the work and getting a similar portion of the financing, so we’ve been using a “co-production grid” to figure out what would be done in Aus and what would be done in Canada. It’s a bit like playing Tetris with jobs. We’re close to making the four lines disappear at once.
• I’m sending them a mix disc with some demo music and inspiring tracks to help them understand how the Precinct should sound. It includes Owner of a Lonely Heart by Yes, Paranoimia by Art of Noise and Rock ‘n Roll Outlaw by Rose Tattoo.
• Apparently we are now “in negotiations” with [NAME OF PROMINENT AUSTRALIAN ACTOR] to play Ackersley. I suspect anyone who sends his agent a script is “in negotiations” with him, but you can’t underestimate the lure of being a cartoon character. And who wouldn’t want to sit in a recording booth with me for hours and have me tell them repeatedly to “do it more betterer”?

Self-indulgence is the watchword in

with

BEN HUTCHINGS AND DAVID BLUMENSTEIN

Episode #3: Look At What You See

http://www.nakedfella.com/radio/comics_episode03.mp3

In this hour-long slice of cartoonist overkill, we report on how the Comic Book Funny events at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival went, and present chunky excerpts of Week 2’s discussion, featuring Benno, Glenn Smith and Ross Tesoriero (sorry about the audio quality). Also, we finally talk a bit about local comics we like rather than bagging out crap ones.

Beyond this,

• we chat about our recent visits to Sticky, Gallery 696 and the Melbourne Bar & Bistro (”Melbourne’s Cumhole”)
• Ben updates us on his drawing board situation
• we try out some product placement
• Ben’s Tootleg Boy music gets some well-deserved media love
• David honks the horn for “Comics In A Day” at the Melbourne Emerging Writers Festival
• Ben tells of his encounters with FAMOUS PEOPLE!
• and we end on a song!

Links:
Ben Hutchings - http://www.effect.net/geeen/
Glenn Smith - http://glennoart.com/
Ross Tesoriero - http://www.weirdgalaxy.com/
Aural Text on 3RRR! Thanks to Alicia Sometimes and Stella Glorie for saying “Sing A Song Of Bum Sex” and “Shlong Surgery” live on air - http://www.rrr.org.au/onair.php?pid=21
Trumpet ice cream - http://www.tiptop.co.nz/our_brands.asp?category_id=6
Sticky zine shop - http://www.stickyinstitute.com/
Gallery 696 - http://www.696.com.au/
Brunswick Bound - http://artabase.net/gallery/24-brunswick-bound
Patrick Alexander - http://chickennation.com/
David Tang - http://www.eclectical.org/davidtang/
stikman - http://www.stikmancomics.com/
Paul Elliott from Polyester Books asked the question about how some comix have good art but bad stories and vice versa - http://www.polyester.com.au/
Supanova Pop Culture Expo - http://www.supanova.com.au/
Armageddon Expo - http://www.armageddonexpo.com/
Melbourne Bar & Bistro - http://www.melbournepubs.com/v/465/
Any comics we mentioned without their own website can probably be found at Tabula Rasa Australian comics gallery - http://www.tabula-rasa.info/AusComics/
Try a Google search for Gerard Ashworth. I did, and found full copies of some of his comics online, in PDF format!

Tootleg Boy tracks in this podcast:
- Little Bit Of Jesus

“The Never Ending Story” was written by Giorgio Moroder and Keith Forsey. We adapted our arrangement from a MIDI file, author unknown.

Special thanks to our new robot announcers.

John Kricfalusi is the gent who created Ren & Stimpy. His blog is full of excellent lessons, advice and rant on various subjects. I saw today he’s having his visitors try drawing his lovable Republican stooge, George Liquor (American), so I thought I’d take a crack at it. He’s not kidding when he says drawing the character is hard. It’s a strange and complex construction, and tough for me to guess what he might look like when he changes expression.

Above left is my first quick sketch, above right I had a proper go at drawing the character freehand. The lines are rough but I think I got the flavour.

Here I tried to get a little creative and ran into trouble. They’re OK drawings but the lower one in particular is off and requires more research. The dudes and chicks who work for John are close to 100% at capturing his style — it’s a bit scary sometimes.

Doing this I wondered if all the storyboards I’ve been doing for Flash productions are having a negative effect on my ability to visualise a three dimensional character. I should go do some life drawing…

Back to business: Ackersley gots a taser.

So Woody The Producer is back from his Amero-European sojourn and seems pumped about how The Precinct went over at MIPTV. My co-writer, Adam, and I are nutting out the plotting for the second half of the series so that I can get a more finished pitch document to those who showed interest.

Special quiz question: who’s your favourite Canadian actor, and why? Specifically, I’m after ones with interesting VOICES!

Another great talk this week with Bernard Caleo, Neale Blanden and Clint Cure. We showed Clint’s award-winning animated short The Lecture, Bernard performed his version of the opening to No Country For Old Men via spoken word and live drawing under a camera, and all three talked about what it is to be plugging away at an artform generally considered (derided!) as a “kiddie pastime” and whether their comics are actually “FUNNY”, “ODD FUNNY” or “NOT FUNNY”. And Neale explained beloved Disney character Goofy’s disturbing early history as a servile Negro.

Bernard says something, with passion. Clint looks on.

Following the session, a quiet chat with the cream of Melbourne’s comics community.

Nicola Hardy, recently returned from debauched art tour of Europe, and Neale.

Next week, Saturday April 12, 4pm, Bella Union bar, Trades Hall: the very last Comic Book Funny live session for the Comedy Festival, featuring Nicki Greenberg, Andrew Weldon and myself. Be there!

It was a good afternoon! Lots of people came down and received wisdom from comics legends Glenn Smith, Ben Hutchings and Ross Tesoriero.

A cheeky chappie with a funny comic

Glenno and Ian Marks of FOFFLE Magazine

Ross and Ben with Arran McKenna

Bonus photo: Comic Book Funny session 1, featuring Dean Rankine, Pat Grant and Jo Waite

If you think you have what it takes to do funny comics, or just want to read some good ones, be sure to check out the last two Comic Book Funny events, Saturdays at 4, Bella Union Bar, Trades Hall.

Next week: the theatrical stylings of Bernard Caleo, plus Clint Cure and Neale Blanden drop some animation realities on you.

This Saturday at Comic Book Funny — uber-funny comix people!

Ben Hutchings (writer/artist of You Stink And I Don’t and The Killer Foetus), Glenn Smith (Necrotardation, Glenjamin) and Ross Tesoriero (Entrailer Trash) launch their brand new comics — so brand new I HAVEN’T SEEN COPIES OF THEM YET. They will talk comics, show some animation and generally be the great blokes they always are. And you can touch them if you want to.

A landmark event, since these guys are from NSW/ACT and will only be in town for the weekend. Get your Melbourne-based arse to the Bella Union Bar at Trades Hall, 4pm THIS SATURDAY to meet three of Australia’s funniest comics artists!

EDIT: Here’s our article from Wednesday’s edition of The Age!

Things are happening.

Woody The Producer and I applied for, and received, a travel grant from Film Victoria. This means that he and The Precinct are going to an event called MIPTV in Cannes, France. MIPTV is a big-arse television market. International distributors and networks go there every year to check out which programs they might be interested in sinking money into/showing to the public. So Woody’s being there to sell the concept to bigshots in person could help us get this thing moving faster.

We are looking at perhaps co-producing the series with a Canadian company, which supposedly delivers tax benefits to both sides. I’ve never personally spoken to the Canadians in question, so that’s something needs doing before we go any further with them…

Being that I have no experience in this field (dealing with companies, being a company, doing things that aren’t making cartoons or eating a parma) I canvassed a few people whose opinions I respect on how a deal with, say, a large American Hollywood concern might unfold. These varied slightly:

· “You will be anally ruptured by the entertainment industry.”

· “You will be anally ruptured by specific representatives of the entertainment industry.”

· “You will be anally ruptured, then paid for your discomfort.”

But seriously — the outlook appears bleak for the (relatively) young, inexperienced TV series creator who wishes to have their series produced and yet keep a hand on the tiller of their creation.

· “When a PROPER writer is brought in, you may be allowed to contribute.”

· “[They]’ll pay you out.”

· “You can’t expect final say [on anything].”

· “After development…[snip] fired… [snip] lawyers and money.”

· “Anal.”

So this has led me to think about what it is I want as far as The Precinct and myself. Unfortunately, this is an idea I really like, so I’m bound to be somewhat precious about it. If I was smart I’d come up with a shit idea I have no personal attachment to and try to sell that.

But since we’re here now, here is what I would most want from an ideal deal: the freedom to write my own show, or to delegate the writing to people chosen by myself. Input welcomed and encouraged from absolutely anyone — producer, co-producer, distributor, network, asshole emo kid with eyeshadow I saw at Grill’d — but final say on what goes to air.

Is that greedy? Does anyone get that? Will the money man always be able to force me to change my show to live-action and my characters to tweenage hairdressing students?

For now I have faith that, having made the right deal/s with the right people, I would be allowed to make a good, silly cop show without enormous interference.

Shoot me down!

Apologies for the mobile phone shenanigans in this episode of

with

BEN HUTCHINGS AND DAVID BLUMENSTEIN

Episode #2: Don’t Be Shame, Be Game

http://www.nakedfella.com/radio/comics_episode02.mp3

In this episode, we are sex-obsessed. We talk about the comics in free youth magazine STREETWIZE and how its spin-off, GAOLWIZE, helped inmates get laid safely, we discuss the least erotic comic book ever made in Australia and even many of Ben’s Tootleg Boy music tracks are about sex. Sexy!

Also, we plug our own stuff again, touch on the giant “Life: Be In It!” ball and classic Aussie cartoonists, there’s plenty of swearing and David impugns the reputation of a dead cartoonist. Plus an exclusive interview with William Shatner!

You can download Ben’s music at his website. Here are the tracks used in this podcast, so you know which ones to get:

• Sing A Song Of Bum Sex
• I Am Saucy
• Pop Punk Is So Exciting
• Shlong Surgery
• I Rode To Woden
• There Is Nothing Like A Sex

Go ahead and comment below if you feel like it. Or send your audio responses to david, at nakedfella dot com.

You can subscribe to the show’s RSS feed here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/NakedfellaProductions

Thanks to Benno, we’re on iTunes now! Do a search or something.

…lives here:

http://www.thecomicspot.blogspot.com/

John Retallick, Bernard Caleo and Jo Waite talk Australian comics with a bit more history and intellect than we do. But of course, we have hilarious faked interviews and they don’t.

Time for the first “official” episode of

with

BEN HUTCHINGS AND DAVID BLUMENSTEIN

Episode #1: Have A Big Wank!

http://www.nakedfella.com/radio/comics_episode01.mp3

Ben and David inaugurate their possibly ongoing podcast. Featuring an exclusive interview with Stan Lee, talk about getting your comics out to an audience, news about how comics are invading the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and a number of naughty excerpts from Lord Of The Rings.

WHERE STUFF’S AT

0:54 - selling your comics to people?
7:37 - ‘Tales From The Pub’
15:47 - Lord of the Rings: gay?
18:03 - Comic Book Funny, the Comedy Festival show
27:52 - Comics Craft!
28:10 - “interview” with Stan Lee
32:50 - sign off

LINKS

http://www.glennoart.com/
http://www.nickigreenberg.com/
http://www.effect.net/geeen/

Go ahead and comment below if you feel like it. Or send your audio responses to david, at nakedfella dot com.

You can subscribe to the show’s RSS feed here:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/NakedfellaProductions

Don’t ask me about iTunes, ever.