Blast ’Em Up Writer/Director Davis Hopes to Inspire Fellow One-Person Animation Wizards
Blast ’Em Up is a rousing CGI adult-animated, sci-fi shoot ’em up feature film by Michael Davis, the writer/director of the Clive Owen/New Line movie Shoot ’Em Up — now with Blast ’Em Up, think Shoot ’Em Up, but out in space.
Hello, okay, we’re intrigued.
Now, Davis asks you to picture the same cool, imaginative gunplay of the Shoot ’Em Up but in a future world with rogue blasting aliens, androids and giant robots — Blast ’Em Up is a new actioner from Michael Davis, all wrapped up as a sci-fi heist film. When a rag-tag team of intergalactic space thieves attempt the biggest heist of their careers, they encounter aliens threatening to destroy all of humanity. The crew must use all of their criminal skills to stop the aliens to save mankind and maybe still pull off their “grand theft astro.”
Yeah, grand theft auto in space! We catch up with busy-busy-busy writer/director Michael Davis to discuss how he wants to inspire “one-person animation wizards.”
Q Can you update us, Michael, on how you got to here, and tell us about this new Kickstarter campaign for Blast ’Em Up?
A I am the writer/director of seven feature films, including Shoot ’Em Up, starring iconic British actor Clive Owen, along with award-winning Paul Giamatti, and legendary European star, Monica Bellucci. I convinced New Line Cinema to let me make the film by animating each of the film’s action scenes to demonstrate the inventiveness of each shoot-out. It took 12,000 drawings. It was worth it because I love creating fun stuff. But that’s nothing compared to the energy I put into my recent film Nixed. I hand-animated this entire feature film all-by-myself. It was good enough to be selected to screen at the world’s most prestigious animation festival, the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. It’s also proof I have the stamina to animate another animated feature film, Blast ’Em Up, all-by-myself.
— How are you able to do things like 12,000 drawings?
— I love to work. I’m at it morning to midnight/seven days a week because I’m a mad scientist of art obsessed with putting my crazy visions on film. To achieve my visions, I have both written and directed all seven of my feature films. I storyboard all my films using my experience learned as a storyboarder on Hollywood flicks, including: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Tremors, Medicine Man, Pee Wee’s Playhouse, Flubber, Live Wire, Encino Man, and Blue Streak.
— Why do we continue to love action movies?
— I especially love “shoot ’em ups.’ I love using my imagination. That’s why I am making Blast ’Em Up. I want to make a new shooter, letting my imagination run wild in a futuristic science fiction world. Recently, Netflix and MAX gutted their animation slates saying it’s too expensive. Wrong! My take is that high quality feature film animation can now be produced by a single animator!
— Can you explain your process?
— In three weeks, I made everything you can see in the Blast ’Em Up trailer — from creating the characters, designing the spaceships, constructing the robots, building the futuristic sets, doing the animation, lighting and camera work. Since making the trailer, new software has come out that will make my process even faster. I really like the new app — MOVE.AI. It does actor motion capture with just your iPhone. I know, right?! I’ve also evolved my skill of visualizing with pen and paper into creating worlds with computer generated imagery. I feel soooooo empowered. Nobody can stop me from making a movie. Whatever fantastic setting or incredible action I dream up in my head, I can now turn it into a 3D animated movie. I feel that not only will Blast ’Em Up revolutionize feature film animation, by showing the Hollywood big shots that visually exciting and wonderfully performed characters can be created by one artist, but also I plan to show all the steps, and all the software, all the tricks will be detailed to the followers of Blast ’Em Up to inspire a legion of mighty one-person animation wizards to make their own amazing feature films. I will share the whole process through reward videos and I’ll appear on these movie geek YouTubers channels to not only promote the Kickstarter campaign but I will be on their shows frequently throughout the entire making of Blast ’Em Up to detail to viewers exactly how I animated the movie all-by-myself.
— Having worked in Hollywood close-up, what’s your take?
— I’ve been in hundreds of pitch meetings, written over fifty screenplays, been represented by agents and managers, had twelve projects produced from films, series pilots, and TV specials, and I even put Steven Spielberg in a padded room (for a short film.) I’ve seen it all, and I can tell you legendary filmmaker Orson Welles was right. Filmmakers spend 98% of their time hustling for financing and 2% of their time moviemaking. With the result, that it’s nearly impossible to get any film made. The competition is staggering. There are so many filmmakers and so many projects but so few open slots. Most studios are star-f#@kers. They won’t make your film unless you have a ridiculously high paid star attached. But in a painful, insane Kafka-esque twist, stars won’t attach themselves to a project unless you have a studio first.
— How has your experience been dealing with these gatekeepers, and talk about the “fear” that stalls projects?
— There are many gatekeepers that can kill a project — from a production company’s script reader to junior executive to director development to VP to head honcho. If you manage to get a producer, the whole gatekeeper process starts again with the studio’s script reader to junior executive to director of development to VP to the studio head. Yes, “fear” stops stuff from getting made. Filmed content costs tons of money — LOL, unless you’re making Blast ’Em Up. Gatekeepers are afraid to green light anything. If they don’t make anything, they keep their cushy jobs. If they make a project and it fails, they lose their jobs. If they actually make a project, it’ll be safe — with an almost impossible to get star attached They are too afraid to make anything groundbreaking and cool.
— So, how then does your Kickstarter campaign fit into your dream?
— This is exactly why I need support to make Blast ’Em Up. from you animation, sci-fi, action/adventure movie fans. I don’t want to waste any more of my life searching for film funding in the insane Hollywood system. I want to flip the Orson Welles paradigm so that, I can spend 98% of my time moviemaking, and the way to do it is to find funding from people who actually love movies — the fans. I want to find folks that love what I do, and I also want to share my adventures in filmmaking with them. And I’ll say it again, I want to show other animators how I made it and inspire these artists to make their own animated features. And, for these fans, I ask them to contribute, if they have the means to do so. Backers will get updates along the way, receive awesome rewards, and be the first to see the final film. Help me finance Blast ’Em Up all the way to completion, and let’s have a “blast” along the way.
If you’re a fan of animated actioners, check out the Trailer for Blast ’Em Up, and also the Kickstarter Campaign which goes live May 14.
