Video of Dig Comics Q&A panel from Comic-Con
The illegal bootlegger and hardened criminal DaneInLA has posted two more videos to his YouTube account. The two videos capture the entire Q&A panel that immediately followed the screening of Dig Comics at Comic-Con International: Independent Film Festival this past weekend.
So now thanks to modern technology, it’s almost like you were there! Except with poor sound quality and a small yet erratic earthquake no one else but you seems to notice.
The panel consisted of Miguel Cima (host/writer/director), Scott Shaw! (animator and interviewee) and myself (associate producer). Also seen is producer and editor Dirk Van Fleet.
And in case you missed it, here’s the introduction from the panel with a special appearance by Edward James Olmos:
Edward James Olmos makes special appearance at Dig Comics screening
The screening of Dig Comics was a big success! Thank you to everyone who attended!
We had a special surprise for those that made it*. Edward James Olmos helped us introduce the film. Our friend and audience member Dane Hill was there with his fancy flip camera to record the excitement. So here’s some endorsed bootleg video for you:
If you haven’t heard, Edward James Olmos’ Olmos Productions is partnering with us to expand this into a long-form piece. So, his appearance wasn’t entirely random.
In case you’re among the few that have never heard of him, Edward James Olmos is mostly known for being an incredible actor. Most people know him either from the recent “Battlestar Galactica” TV series on the Sci-Fi Channel or from the classic Blade Runner movie. He’s been nothing but immensely supportive and enthusiastic about Miguel Cima (our host/creator of Dig Comics) and our work.
More about Dig Comics.
*Well, OK we ended up having 2 surprises. Stan Lee (spokesman for Marvel Comics and co-creator of Spider-Man) strolled by with a huge mob behind him just minutes before our start time.
Why Chornobyl?
On April 26, 1986, the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant had a little oopsie.
Four hundred times the radioactivity that was dropped on Hiroshima exploded less than 2 miles south of Pripyat, a city of 50,000 people. So, imagine Biloxi, Mississippi. Or Ames, Iowa. Or Sheboygan, Wisconsin*. 36 hours later, the city was evacuated. So was Chernobyl, located 9 miles south. So was every village and town within a 19-mile radius.
Ten years following the disaster, author Svetlana Aleksievich conducted a series of interviews with survivors and published it as Voices From Chernobyl.
Nearly ten years after that, director Cindy Marie Jenkins began adapting the book for the stage. Last year, I served as associate producer for a demo of her adaptation Voices From Chornobyl, which has been used to promote a series of anniversary readings this month to commemorate the anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster.
Earlier this year, Cindy and several of her amazing actors (Aaron Lyons, Enci, Kappa Victoria Wood, and Shawn MacAulay) were interviewed to explain “Why Chornobyl”. I had nothing to do with this project (although I suppose I was at an early meeting where we discussed having something like this made, so sure, I’ll take credit for it, thanks!), but I think it’s a great companion to what I worked on and is an excellent reminder of why something that happened over 20 years ago is still worthy of our attention. Lysandra Petersson created the following:
During the month of April, the rights to perform the play Voices From Chornobyl are free to anyone who donates at least 75% of their proceeds to a Chornobyl Charity. See the VFC site for more details.
* Yes, I snuck in Sheboygan, one of my favorite goofy words, into something that’s supposed to be serious. I am a disrespectful and heartless punk.
I want you to Dig Comics
“When most people think of comic books, they think of a bunch of lowbrow entertainment for duller minds. Fact is, this art form is the most exciting and vibrant medium happening now. And don’t think just superheroes. Any genre you may fancy – comedy, horror, drama, documentary, the surreal, spiritual, historical, political – anything you want is out there being created by a community of incredibly talented and underappreciated writers and artists. Check out what you’ve been missing!” – DigComics.com
Dig Comics is a documentary about one man’s quest to get America to Dig Comics! (Heck, even if you’re outside of America, he wants you to Dig Comics!) We talked to people on the street to see why they didn’t read comics and to see if we could get them interested. We talked to comic book creators like Jeph Loeb (A Superman For All Seasons, “Heroes,” “Lost”), Dame Darcy (Meatcake) and Scott Shaw! (Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew, “Flintstones”) and retailers to find out what went wrong with an American art form that was all the rage in the 1940s and then nearly vanished, to see if there’s a chance for it to thrive again today.
Above is the trailer for the documentary. I served as associate producer. It includes fun animation by Scott Shaw! and Russell Calabrese. We’re looking to spread the word about this documentary and about comics in general. We want to see if we can get you to Dig Comics!
A Certain Kind of Beauty doc raises MS awareness
The kind folks at Film Truth Productions released a powerfully honest documentary last year called A Certain Kind of Beauty. It follows the struggle of Martha’s Vineyard resident Dan Aronie as he fights with multiple sclerosis over a six-year period.
The entire documentary is now viewable online for free thanks to a partnership with SnagFilms. I’m supposed to be able to embed a player here but WordPress is notoriously resistant to embed codes. So, you can go right here to see it.
As a reminder, my wife Nahleen (who has MS) and I are participating in the Los Angeles Walk MS.
Quick links:
Stand and Fight – WalkMS 2008
On April 6th, 2008, the Walk MS event was held at the Pasadena Rose Bowl in southern California. Nahleen Blake, co-captain of the National MS Society’s TeamMS who has MS herself, walked to raise money to help find a cure for multiple sclerosis. She brought some cameras to follow her on the 5K walk.
Her team helped raise nearly $17,000 for the National MS Society. The event itself raised over $1.3 million.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society funds more MS research than any other private organization. In addition to supporting studies which hope to reveal the cause and course of the disease, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society also provides much needed education, programs, and services to everyone who is affected by MS – including the diagnosed, their friends and families, and the healthcare professionals who work with them.
Please visit http://www.nmss.org for more information.
Please visit http://main.nationalmssociety.org/sit… for more information on the April 6th Walk.
Also, here’s more pictures from the Walk.
The song used in this video is “Stand and Fight” by James Taylor from the 1981 album, Dad Loves His Work.
Voices from Chornobyl demo
The Voices From Chornobyl demo that I helped produce is now on YouTube, so that means I can post it here with the ol’ embed feature. Thanks, Internet!
Yeah, it’s not really hah-hah funny, is it?
I’m very proud of it and enjoyed working with director Cindy Marie Jenkins and the rest of the crew, as well as the fantastic actors. Please visit VoicesFromChornobyl.com for more information.
About Corey
Corey Blake is a goofball. There’s just no getting around it.
Corey is an active member of the improv comedy ensemble The Magic Meathands. He helped form the sketch comedy group Foe Pa following a memorable stint with The 3rd Floor: LA. Corey has been seen in the short films Tough Love (Official Selection, Festival de Cannes’ Short Film Corner) and Hattie Needs Rehab (Excellence in Performance, Extreme Filmmaker 48 Hour Film Festival), the feature film Chasing Happiness, and the pilot for the children’s show “Imagination Station”, as well as on stage in an award-winning Los Angeles production of Chekov’s Three Sisters and Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Corey Blake also has experience behind the camera. He wrote for the sketch comedy groups Foe Pa and The 3rd Floor: LA, providing scripts that ranged from insightful social satire to nonsensical whimsy. He was a writer for the musical comedy Mission: Improbable, which he also helped produce. Additionally, he served as associate producer for the award-winning documentary Dig Comics (Best Documentary, Comic-Con Int’l: Independent Film Festival; Official Selection, Festival de Cannes’ Short Film Corner) and demo trailer for Voices From Chornobyl.
View Resumé – View Headshots – Email Corey
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