Lessons In Fun From A Duck
This is Finish Your Monsters, a weekly blogletter about the creative process. I'm sharing adventures in art and life as well as setting CLIFFHANGER goals for myself, so--
DID I MAKE MY GOAL?
Big picture, I’m working away on the post-production of our horror film, Dead Media. As I was prepping this week’s newsletter, I realized I accidentally failed to UPDATE MY GOAL FOR THIS WEEK.
The goal from the previous week was to incorporate at least half of the pick up shots into Dead Media!
And this week I did finish incorporating ALL of the pick-up shots into the cut. So, hey, I made my goal even if I failed to write it down in the newsletter.
The film work is pretty all encompassing so I’m having a hard time keeping up with everything else. Perhaps my goal for this week will be to successfully remember to set a goal.
Things are moving along well with the film. In order to get to next steps, I need to get to PICTURE-LOCK so I can keep moving with the score and get started on VFX.
After six months of editing, spending hours adjusting individual shots frame by frame, the word LOCK is big and scary. But I cling to the quote of editor/sound designer/director Ben Burtt who said, “Films are not released, they escape.”
Anyway, if you’re interested in helping DEAD MEDIA escape, I need to raise a bit more money for post-production. You can make a one time tax-deductible donation via Film North here. Thanks to the folks who have made contributions in the last few weeks. Deeply, deeply appreciated.
ADVENTURES OF THE WEEK--
This week, I carved out a little time from editing work and worrying about the world to go to a couple of film screenings.
Both were a good reminder to find time for fun. But also to seize opportunities because things end. I realize those two sentences form a bit of emotional whiplash: MAKE TIME FOR FUN BECAUSE ALL THINGS DIE.
But lately I’ve been regretting not making time to see some public figures when I had the chance. And lots of beloved businesses are closing suddenly. (An extremely formative record store for me in Minneapolis, Hymie’s, suddenly closed last week. And in LA there’s been the shocking news that 100 plus year old alleged inventor of the French Dip sandwich, Cole’s, is closing at the end of the month.)
All of which is to say, I’m trying to make sure to get to venues I’m interested in and support them. And I’m trying not to pass up the opportunity to go to screenings featuring talks from the older generation.
So this week, I went to screenings of two ‘80s films that were received very differently on their initial release: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Howard the Duck.
First up—Sara and I went to see Raiders on the Fourth of July because it felt like fighting nazis was the right spirit for the holiday.
I had never seen Raiders on the big screen so it was a great opportunity but we also wanted to make a point of visiting the theater—Vidiots.
Vidiots is an actual video rental store with two theaters in the same space—a micro theater and a great main auditorium—plus a nice bar and lobby. To my knowledge, Vidiots is doing fine and in no risk of closing, but they’ve been on our list of LA places to visit for too long and we’re on a mission to winnow down that list.
There was a great sense of community in the theater. Plenty of older folks who know and love this movie and a good chunk of younger folks who applauded when the host asked if this was anyone’s first time seeing Raiders.
I enjoyed the film as always but I had particular fun watching the editing of the action scenes which gave me both some new ideas and some confidence in some of the editing choices I’ve been making for Dead Media.
Did you know fun can also be productive? A dangerous, dangerous truth. (Why not have fun instead of doing my taxes or laundry? Maybe it will help!)
The whole experience was great, but the audience was slightly muted. There were laughs and applause but the general vibe was relaxed. It was a matinee on a hot holiday afternoon full of people sipping craft beer so the mellow vibes were fine.
Later in the week, I attended a far more raucous screening of Howard The Duck.
I made it a priority to go see Howard the Duck for multiple reasons:
-I have never seen this film. It came out when I was a child. And even as a child, I absorbed that the furious hatred of this film could have powered a thousand homes through the harshest winter
-It was at the Aero Theater. The Aero is one of three theaters at least partially programmed by a great organization called American Cinematheque. I live within walking distance to the other two theaters—The Egyptian and the Los Feliz 3, but the Aero is a good 45 minute to 1 hour drive from Hollywood all the way out to Santa Monica. It’s technically the same metro area but it feels like you’ve changed time zones by the time you get there. However, I really wanted to experience the venue—which was great!
-But the thing that sealed the deal was a Q&A with the co-writer and director of the film, Willard Huyck. He and his partner, Gloria Katz, had a long association with George Lucas. Writing American Graffiti, Temple of Doom, ghost writing work on the first Star Wars film, and more. He’s an older gentleman and I didn’t want to miss the chance to hear him speak in person.
It was a fantastic experience on multiple levels. The film itself was wild. A bizarre mix of comic book superhero action-adventure, cosmic horror sci-fi, 80s rock opera, and raunchy sex farce all starring a shockingly expressive duck who heralded from the strange dimension known as the uncanny valley.
I wrote about seeing Temple of Doom a while back and shared that I’m less interested in whether a film is good or bad and whether or not it’s compelling. You can check out that discussion here.
Seeing this film with a live audience, including one of its creators, was definitely compelling. The audience laughed, cheered, gasped. The room was filled with a delighted WTF energy. Howard the Duck got a livelier response than Raiders of the Lost Ark. Bonkers.
But the Q & A was the true treasure. Mr Huyck was very funny and very honest. This was the first time he’d seen the film with an audience since its release. When asked about his response, he replied immediately, “The ending is too long. It just went on and on.”
That set the tone for the rest of the discussion. Mr. Huyck said he had suffered a stroke and his memory was affected so there were details of the making he didn’t recall.
But he remembered many stories and many details. He remembered walking into a comic book store and George Lucas pointing at a Howard the Duck comic and saying, “Let’s make a movie of this.” He remembered the tumult of executives being fired over the film’s failure. He remembered the failures of the animatronic duck, costumes bursting into flames, the joy of working with Lea Thompson, and much more.
From my perception, both the interviewer and audience members who asked questions kept lightly fishing for a WHY? The film is wild, full of tonal whiplash, infamously hated but enjoying a cult resurgence in the ensuing decades. I felt like everyone was hunting for the deep, secret truth of how this thing came to be. Why does it exist? Why did you do this, Mr Huyck?
There’s a shot early in the film of a topless female duck with human breasts and nipples. An audience member asked Mr Huyck about how that decision was made.
I think they were looking for some deep analysis. Was it important to the theme? Was there a subversive desire to push back on the narrative that comic book stories are only for children? Was it a subtle commentary on puritanical attitudes toward the human body?
They got none of that. Here’s what Mr. Huyck said: “The guy making the ducks said if this duck’s in the bathtub maybe she shouldn’t have a shirt. And I said okay. It sounded fun.”
Maybe there was a deeper resonance intended at some point. Maybe Mr Huyck was deeply passionate about that moment at sometime in the filmmaking process. But, for me, the picture that emerged was someone who made a wild movie about a weird duck and honestly embraced a spirt of FUN. A spirit of WHY NOT?
As someone who gravitates toward digging for the themes and deep ideas in everything and as someone who is currently obsessing over every frame of the film I’m making, it was refreshing to see an artist cut through all the noise and stress. For, better or worse, he did it because it seemed like FUN.
There are worse mottos in life and art.
And clearly, it worked. After the film, I waited outside for my ride. Mr Huyck was surrounded by fans of his work. He was asked for autographs and selfies. He was encouraged to come back and do Q&As for some of his other films.
It seems like focusing on fun worked out for him in the long run.
I’m very glad I went and I’m very glad I made time for fun.
LIGHT PLUGS—
The Nightmare Adorable!
I wrote and directed this short horror film back in 2023. Can you help us get to 1000 views on YouTube?
DEAD MEDIA! We’ve got a fiscal sponsorship with the great Minnesota organization Film North. They can accept one-time donations that will go directly toward finishing the film: SCORE, VFX, COLOR GRADING, etc. It’s like a Kickstarter where the rewards are A) a tax deduction and B) helping us make the film.
For full info, please check out the page for the upcoming horror film, DEAD MEDIA!
Or if you have any questions about supporting the film, feel free to reach out to me personally!
MY GOAL FOR THE WEEK--
I’ve got to spin a lot of plates to keep things moving on the post-production for Dead Media. Right now, I need to move forward with the edit and with sound design. So my goal this week is to get to picture lock and start work on some sound design.
YOUR GOAL FOR THE WEEK--
I would absolutely LOVE to hear what you're working on this week in the comments below. What's your goal? How can I help you literally finish your monsters?
A LITTLE SKETCH--
This week’s sketch is processing the visage of Howard with his large human eyes and my own constant pull to ask WHY?
Plus, it was fun to draw!
Anyway, thanks for reading, I hope you hear and tell some good human stories this week, and best of luck finishing your monsters!
