Oooof, that smarts....

Ant Bully got it in the the crotch this weekend. With an $8.1 million , 5th place opening weekend Ant Bully isn't looking to set any records. We really weren't expeting to though, we just wanted to make an enjoyable film. I think we did that just fine.

There are so many things you could point to...CGI glut, "been there done that" ant movie, poor marketing on Warners part...my favorite, "Overt Communist Overtones".... It really doesn't matter...even if hind site is 20/20 whatever mistakes were made will be repeated by somebody, we all know that.

My biggest concerns are for the industry and for DNA. Everytime a CG film doesn't bring in major bank, studios immediately start shredding documents and cutting jobs. And as for DNA...I love those guys. I owe them so much and I want to continue to see "Paul the Monkey" pop up at them end of something I'm watching.

And remember...give some love and send a comment if you were one of the six or seven people that saw the movie this weekend. I'll be posting some of my shots...ones that were in the movie and some that were cut due to rewrites...in the next week or so.

Cheers,
Matthew

Team Fortress 2...

This is what I'll get to be working on at Valve...Hellz Yeah!!! I love the style and I've already seen some of the gameplay and it's going to be awesome. I'm not a Burke about gaming but Valve definetly knows how to make the games that draw me in so I'm super excited about working on this title.

Today's the big day...

Yup, "The AntBully" opens today. All in all everything has added up to make this a prety interesting event for me...the change in employment, the change in location. Rotten Tomatoes has us slowly climbing. We started with a 39%, now we're up to a 53% (as of this posting).

The reviews have ranged from very good to calling it a communist manifesto...how'd they know? Seriously though...they tell you to be an individual but chastize you for standing out. They tell you to try your best but that everyone is special...make up your mind. In sports, is it a win for the individual player or the team they play on?...let em tell a story about being a part of something bigger then yourself. Good lord, with so many kids being locked up in their rooms with the internet and instant messenger and online games and cell phones and my space...jeez, you'd think people would appreciate some kind of message that talks about being a part of some kind of social network....wow, didn't mean to go off on that rant.

Anyway, I'll be seeing the movie twice tomorrow. The first time with my family, it will be my youngest daughters first movie. She was born at the begining of production...I'm still ticked at Warners for not putting production babies in the credits. The second with some of the kick ass students of Animation Mentor. I expect to get two totally different reactions. I've seen the movie already but am still a little too close to have a relatively unbiased opinion.

I hope the film does well. It's always good for the industry when one of the films makes money, helps the job security anyway. But also, I want to see the people who were at DNA get recognized for their hard work. A good crew put this thing together.

Ok, here's the deal...I leave the comments option about as open as you can get so please feel free to give me some feedback on the film. I know at least a couple people besides my mo look at this thing, it would be grea to hear what you think of how we spent the last 2+ years. Hope it entertains you.

Cheers,
Matthew

2,200 miles later...

And we're here. Wow, what a week this has been. I mean, I just got my internet working about five minutes ago...and what do I do?....post. It was a trip in more ways than one. I'll post more tomorrow but but I am soooo glad to be here. I'm hoping Seattle is as cool as I think/hope it will be. So here's to the next chapter.

Cheers,
Matthew

Well I guess this is it...

Yup...after 13 1/2 years in Texas, 7 of which were at DNA, we're loading up the wagon and headin' west...well, northwest. Tomorrow starts the week of fun and excitement driving to Seattle and the one thing I can say about our time in Dallas is we'll miss the people. Dallas is flat, brown, hot, humid and generally unattractive to look at...and did I mention it's hot, but the friends and family here have always made it a pretty damn good place to be.

...so, to all you folks who made this flat little speck of dirt a beautiful place to live, we'll miss you...and I will be ticked if you don't come visit (you all know who you are!)

Now it's on to another adventure, to another wonderful company with incredibly talented and cool folks...a new piece of the country so beautiful you can't help but fall in love with it and hopefully people at least half as great as the ones we're leaving here. I'll try to post some pics along the way, unless we run into some "The Hills Have Eyes" radioactive, inbred, cannnibalistic, hillbillies...well then it might take a little longer.

I should haves me some internet action by this time next week so we can get this new ball rollin'. Gotta lot of stuff to do and I've made some promises I've gotta make good on...my, my, my...time flies. If you read my site, all three of you (hi mom), you know I've got some things coming up with articles and interviews-n-stuff but if there's anything industry related (or not) you would like to chat about or just see me ramble aimlessly on about feel free to e-mail me.

Cheers,
Matthew

Moving Sucks....

Ok, moving doesn't suck...I am super freaking excited about this whole thing. But packing on the other hand sucks the big one. Wow, you never realize how much useless crap you have till you have to haul it 2,200 miles.

Needless to say my posts will be a little sporadic till then. Things coming up after the move though:

An interview with the talented Sarah Mensinga...
The reposting of the Nanna and Lil Puss puss short...
A nice long discussion on The Ant Bully...

...as well as some other things that are in the works. I'll als0 try to post some images of the trip as we go...two girls, two dogs and a cat, dear lord help me.

Cheers,
Matthew