Saturday, February 22, 2014

Space Jam 2

Back in the 1990's, I was still new to animation. My days working at Warner Brothers Classic Animation were some of my happiest and proudest times of my life. (Although some folks there thought I was a naive fool for believing that. That's their problem.)


                     (Foghorn Leghorn copyright Time-Warner)

Here's one of my cleanups of Foghorn Leghorn in a Space Jam uniform. It's actually from a McDonald's TV ad we did at Warner Classics, although I did freelance on the film.

But the news of a Space Jam sequel leaves me with mixed feelings. Will it be hand drawn? Will the work be done in the U.S.? Will it be a dud like Looney Tunes-back in Action? (Although I appreciate the work in LT-BIA. I even sort of like it, especially the scenes on the Warner backlots, and the plot device of Daffy Duck getting "fired" to go on an adventure with Brendon Frasier.)

At the time, I was glad to be working on another animated feature. Then a friend pointed out that a star like Bugs Bunny (yeah, he's a fictitious character) should NEVER play second banana to any live action actor or sports celebrity. After taking her to see a private screening at the Warner lot, she nearly clawed my eyes out. It seems I helped write a big corporate love letter to Micheal Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Oi vey.

I admit, the excitement and hoopla at the time completely carried me away. I wanted to show my devotion to animation, and the success of the project. Live and learn I guess.

Just recently, there was a rumor that LeBron James might be in the sequel. But now the news is he is out already. Being a Cleveland area native, it's even harder these days to root for my home teams, especially after LeBron abandoned the Cavaliers. Hey, it's just business right?

http://www.deadline.com/2014/02/lebron-james-space-jam-sequel-dick-ebersol/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/254411461352100/

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/02/22/space-jam-2-is-happening?utm_campaign=fbposts&utm_source=facebook

No comments: