Halloween Cast of Characters Coming Together

Dear Reader,

Even squirrels like to Trick or Treat and of course they get dressed up for the occasion!

So far we have skeleton squirrels - insisted upon by my youngest, and now my own personal favorite - a witch - complete with broom - and still to come a ghost squirrel and of course the mummy, a regular favorite.

Finally, there's the stomping grounds including the night sky and the moon! Super excited to put the final touches together and shoot these later this week. I'm pretty sure everyone will have a good chuckle :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS there's a mystery guest character in the Halloween clip, see if you can guess :)

Justus Goes Epic

Dear Reader,

In the couple of hours a day when Justus is not working hard on Squirrel King antics, he's also a starring actor in other people's projects. Here's the trailer for his latest role, which will premiere November 12th on Epic Level TV!


Back to squirrels on Friday :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Lost Planet 3

Dear Reader,

We mentioned a while back that our own Bill Watterson was soon to be seen as the hero of the video game Lost Planet 3. Well the game has been released! Go check him out :)

And for the true fans, here's a collection of press Bill has been doing.

Hope you had a great labor day!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Title Sequence - Part I

Dear Reader,

It's been a long time gestating, but recently we finally landed on the concept for the title sequence of our series. I'm very excited about this piece and I'm positive that you and everyone else will thrill to it once we've brought it to life. At the heart it will be the mini-stunt squirrels wonderfully manic rigging and constructing our title card!

But first, we will open with our wonderful protagonist Robin laying her head on her bed.

Working with the ever effervescent Shi Ne Nielson, the opening shot was simple enough, and not a long one, but it required a camera move.

In good Squirrel King fashion, I figured this was a perfect opportunity to use our newly wheeled table! In the end though, with the Trouble and Strife pulling focus, the good old skateboard did the trick :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Behind the Scenes Cucumber Post

Dear Reader,

As promised some behind the scenes footage of yours truly prepping Tony Doupe, our Catburglar, for the all important cucumber spa day.


What at first seems like a frivilous luxury the Catburglar indulges in, turns out later to have significance ...

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Power of Cucumbers

Dear Reader,

You've seen Tony Doupe, our amazing Catburglar, covered in cucumbers.

Here's a shot of the Aliens enjoying the same fruit :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS. Speaking of Tony, check out the wonderful little indie film Safety Not Guaranteed that he has a small role in.

PPS. On the story side of The Squirrel King, cucumbers also turn out to be significant in the context of the world of dreams :)

PPPS. Monday, I'll upload a short behind the scenes video from the Catburglar cucumber shoot.

The Thunderdogs

Dear Reader,

About a month ago, I helped Bill Watterson, our Paul, shoot a trailer for Dave Made a Maze. That was a groovy piece that involved one of my favorite materials, cardboard!

Since then, and completely unlike the character Paul he plays on The Squirrel King (well except that he climbs in both shows), the prodigious Bill has been super industrious! Can't wait to hear more about The Thunderdogs.

Keep us installed, Bill. You rock. Literally!
Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Grey's Anatomy

Dear Reader,

Once again you have a chance to catch our Shi Ne - as someone other than our Robin - on regular television. Your favorite, feisty paramedic will lead things off!

Here's the scoop: Thursday, May 2nd at 9pm PST on ABC. And for those of you who will stream it later, the episode is titled: "Do You Believe in Magic?"

Go Shi Ne!!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Bill Watterson

Dear Reader,

For those of you who can't wait to see Bill Watterson, The Squirrel King's very own Paul - Justus' climbing companion - in a slightly different role ... the opportunity is nearing, especially if you are into gaming! Bill is the star of the upcoming Lost Planet 3 video game.

Check out the contrast between our Paul and Lost Planet's lead; Bill is a multi-talented genius!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

PS. Can you pick which of these images is Bill as Paul?

Who is The Squirrel King? ... part II

Dear Reader,

Time for another clue about the elusive title character of our series. Take a closer look at Vlad's portrait, there's a clue there.

What exactly it means ... and where we're going ... well all in good time :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Just Hanging Around

Dear Reader,

Sometimes in life we find ourselves just hanging around. It can be easy in such situations to forget that big leaps both result, and sometimes result in, hanging around.

In any event, I came across this image of Justus while recently reviewing footage we've already shot ... and somehow, especially because the edges of the frame give away the optical illusion, it kind of encapsulates everything that can be said about hanging around.

I hope it resonates for you too :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Elusive Catburglars

Dear Reader,

The Catburglar and his sidekick, Bob, are a wonderful story thread that runs through The Squirrel King. They appear with fish pedicurists, a sleek sportscar and here mysteriously peering out of the forest in this old production still I just came across. I love their airs :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Figures in a Burn Zone

Here is some more brilliant moments from what I'm calling "Figures in a Burn Zone: The Hemet Shoots."


Here we see Rufus as close as he'll ever come to snake-wrangling, blissfully unaware that he's holding evidence of a much larger snake hiding nearby:

Below, Rufus and Liz take advantage of the epic setting by juxtaposing an intimate moment with the squirrel and its acorn:

Finally, the titular piece of the collection:

--justus

The Villain Gets Hands

Dear Reader,

As alluded to last week, the evil cork villain is now getting hands!

The first round of mirco-surgery has been completed now (and yes we've tested the inside diameter on the fingers with our esteemed puppeteer).

Stay tuned for more!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Why We Use Stunt Squirrels

Dear Reader,

People sometimes ask why we need mini stunt squirrels. And though part of the underpinning was miniature sets into which our normal stars had trouble fitting, the truth is we had an earlier accident ... (Yes, Shi Ne has a head in her hands).

Rest assured though, Gerald's head was later carefully reattached, and the mini squirrels are all certified stunt performers :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

The Catburglars

Dear Reader,

The Cat burglars in The Squirrel King are not your average such characters. In fact only one is referred to as the Catburglar, the shorter, less coordinated one is simply called Bob.

Their dynamic is nicely underscored by Bob's patently wishful hope of one day inheriting the business.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Who is This all About?

Dear Reader,

With principal photography winding down on the series, it seems like an appropriate time to start talking a little more about the characters and the world we are bringing to life.

At the heart of the series is Robin, a woman in search of meaning. And at her side is Justus, her well-meaning boyfriend. This serendipitous production still kind of captures both characters nicely: Robin, invariably trying to piece something together, and Justus, happily helping her out, a grin from ear to ear.

Over the next few months we look forward to sharing more insights about the series :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Stills from Ed's House

Dear Reader,

It's been a while since he was last spotted, and he's now shot out, but last week we did catch a glimpse of Bob over at Ed's house. And if you look carefully, under the cover of darkness, you can also see Vlad eyeing Bob from the floor.

Earlier in the day, Justus was standing behind the camera and got this happy snap of my directing our wonderful star, Shi Ne :)

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Framing Ed's Achievements

Dear Reader,

Today is a big day, the culmination of over a year of shooting Ed, our town's police chief, mayor, fire chief, forestry chief, ...

Fittingly we will shoot a slew of his certificates which have been carefully framed in bright licks of color and drawn by myself, the Aliens and our wonderful artist Rayshell Curtiss.

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims

Last Shots of Paul

Dear Reader,

Last  weekend's Nail Saloon shoot was a picture wrap for Bill Watterson, our magnificent Paul. To celebrate, I wanted to post just a couple more pics of Bill working the bar at the Nail Saloon.

It's been an absolute delight working with you Bill!

Chin chin
Ruthless Whims