GO!

there has been a lot of buzz in the last couple of days about Speed Racer. i guess the Warner Bro's marketing machine is gearing up for the big race!

The trailer is out with Golden Compass now, and i assume will be online soon.

for the interested, here are links to the various articles of the day.

AICN
USA Today
FirstShowing.net
*Gizmodo

Speed Racer - the official website. not much to it, yet.

more to come, i'm sure. but also, this photo of the Mach 5 is actually a digital rendering done at DD. nobody seems to know that. funny, huh.
i got these photos from the interweb, where they are now ubiquitous.

It's Official

i guess Speed Racer production has finally had enough of me, i got my marching orders, and i will officially be returning to the US and A on the 1 of August. WHAT!? yes, that is just 7 days away. and, though i'm sad to leave Berlin, i'm . . . uh . . . looking forward to a more normal existence . . .? ah, who'm i kidding, LA blows/is awesome.

well, don't get too excited, Los Angeles, cause here's my plan: i will go to UT immediately, and stay there for a couple of weeks (since my apartment is still sublet for the rest of the month), then i'll be hopping on the ol' bad motor scooter, and heading up to Yosemite with Andy and Dan and maybe Morgan (c'mon Morgie, your job is gay . . . come hang out with a bunch of dudes instead).

and, after that, i'll be back in the city of angels, and back to work. my life is dedicated to the Speed Racer for the next couple of months.

and there you go.

Summer In Berlin

well, its official . . . i will be missing the Ratatat concert on April 2. But i dont mind, cause i'm totally going to see Berlin instead! (take my breath away. . . ) BOO-YAH! and, witty puns and references aside (riding on the metro, ahh ah) i am super excited to have an excuse to live and work in a foreign country. "But, Mike," you may be thinking, "didn't you just get a new job working on Speed Racer?" well, funny you should ask. i DID, in fact, just get a new job on Speed Racer. and, it just so happens that this job is the one taking me to Deutchland! i stalled telling due to the fact that i had not, untill today, gotten my itenerary.

well, my friends, i will officially be flying on the 26 of March, from LAX, on Lufthansa, with a brief layover in Fankfurt, arriving in Berlin at 12:45 (approx) on, i can only assume, the 27th. my return is currently scheduled for Sept. 5th, and lets keep our fingers crossed that it stays that way. The longer the better, i say.

needless to say, as much as i hate packing, and the logistics of leaving a place i've been living in for the better part of 2 years, i am SO ready to get out of LA. and what better excuse than to be working on an excellent project with exciting people? i am looking forward to reuniting with my friend Dorian, with whom i worked on Stealth (yes, that cinematic masterpiece - but, hey, its what got me the job!), as well as connecting with some other animation related friends who live in Europe. most notably Jan, with whom i hope to eat some white asparagus, and Wojtek, who's new film i hope to see, as soon as its done.

Demon on Wheels

YES! I get to work on a new adaptation of Speed Racer! inexplicably one of my favorite anime cartoons, ever!

ever since i was in college, i have wanted to do a remake of this classic show. but the Wachowski Brothers beat me to it. . . luckily, i get to work on it! i am SO geeking out.

yes, i did buy the box set the day discovered it on the shelves, back in '02. yes i did carve my most recent pinewood derby car into the shape of the Mach 5.
Go, Speed Racer, GO!