Check out the story about me in today’s Stargazing by Lisa Gutierrez…
It’s headlined “Glazers in your midst.” Lisa did a nice piece about the STANFORD AND SONS cartoon pilot being selected from hundreds around the world to be screened at the Montreal Comedy Festival‘s Just For Laughs next week.
Comedian Steve Kramer did all the animation, music and a boatload of work to make it happen. The show is an animated reality show based on the three Glazer Brothers who run (or ran until my brother Jack died recently) and operate Stanford and Sons comedy club. Steve recorded live events, then we went over past ones that really happened from my fight with Gallagher to my little brothers bank robberies back in the 80’s when they were teenagers.
People like train wrecks, especially funny ones. As Kramer told Lisa, “If the James Gang made love to the Three Stooges, their kids would be the Glazer Brothers.”
Funny stuff.
The program in Canada is in its 30th year. Montreal is known for bringing new talent to TV, stage and film, and one of their first big names was Robin Williams. The entire downtown is set up for shows and performances by everyone from Chelsea Handler and Bill Maher to Bobby Slayton and Seth Mcfarlane. It’s a who’s who of the comedy world. A Cannes Film Festival of Comedy.
My back up agent in New York, Roger Paul submitted our pilot in a few weeks ago. The fear was it was too inside and would only be funny to people who knew us.
Well, the folks in Montreal don’t know us, but we made the final five shows in the world – at least among those that were submitted. So yeah, I feel honored.
I’ll be there with Steve to show the video for the six or so TV/Reality Show and Website Series exec’s who will judge the program.
Of course we hope to win, but more important land a TV series.
Either way it will be exciting. I’ve never been to Montreal or the festival.
The other nice thing is my little brother Jack, who is priceless in the pilot, will live on as a cartoon character. We have several other scenes with him before he died last year. Steve can also imitate his voice. My dad Stan, Grandpa Bennie and of course other KC folks and comics will also co star if there are more.
I hope so.
If you want to see the 10 minute pilot cartoon check it out here. Enjoy!
Robots have taken over.
They love them some arrogant loud mouthed Americans in Montreal. You’ll be a huge hit. Don’t bathe or wear deodorant. You’ll fit right in. You can also pick up your ED meds and HGH at a Canadian pharmacy. Prices are very reasonable. If you feel the need to smoke pick up a pack of Craven A’s. The French Canadian chicks dig ’em. Be careful if you go to the Downtown Y for dinner. Lots of prickly bushes at the entry.
Thanks for the heads up Smartman…
Looks funny enough, hopefully someone will be interested in picking it up. The 11-15 minute cartoon format seems to be everywhere on cable now.
I know this is just a pilot, but my advice to you is to stay away from Flash Video (FLV). When you use that to animate, you are rarely taken seriously and pigeonholed as a ‘webvideo’ series.
Best of luck. hope it works out.
Actually, this was NOT done with Flash. It was done with Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, Logic Pro, Toon Boom Animate Pro, and Toon Boom Harmony. Toon Boom Harmony is the software used by Family Guy, The Simpsons, and many cartoons you see today. The reason my animation doesn’t look as good as what they air on television is because this was the first thing I have ever animated. I never went to school for it. I never had anyone teach me. I simply taught myself for the sake of putting a unique twist on a television pilot. So much of my time was spent cramming years of animation training in a matter of months. Throw in the fact that I was also composing the original music, editing, additional voices, drawing, painting, directing, and writing the pilot. Cartoons you see today are put together with large crews, dozens of people. If you want to compare something, look at Seth MacFarlane’s first pilot. Look at Matt Groening’s first pilot. Look at Mike Judge’s first pilot. That would be a comparison that makes more sense. It was the first thing I have ever animated. I am still learning. I am still getting better. All I can say is, wait until you see what I’m currently working on.
Ummm, no thanks, I’ll be passing on this one. Not even worth the click-thru, I am sure.
Sure, Tiad guy. Thats why it was selected one of five IN THE WORLD that were looked at by the Festival Exec’s who are Fox, FX, Comedy Central and on and on…That means it beat out 100s of others turned in by producers with more credits than I have. So I would think it must be pretty good and damn funny…You’re this guy..”Oh, so what Glazer’s movie got nominated for an Academy Award? Lets see him do it again…loser. I love guys like you, who do nothing, accomplish little but want to judge those who dare to dare.
Thems shirts have sleeves!!! Somebody fire that animator!!
This will be huge. Cable networks need programming worse than ever. They’ll look for low cost production to fill up empty tv time. The story line is great. There are
plenty of characters in the clip. The production can be cleaned up. And the entire package fits well with what cable networks are now doing. Good luck glazer and steve!
Go break a leg.
Thank you Bob, we like it as well…this was more than one year in the making, Steve is a wonderful artist but self taught himself the animation, took more than a year to get it right and he is still learning, we all are..but I think this looks better than most on TV now. So thank you.