Friday, August 14, 2009

Flight Log #002

Having just returned from an all-new California adventure, Team Mouse has much to report. As promised, LA ShortsFest proved to be suitably star-studded. As luck would have it, Kyle Bell just so happened to make his directorial debut amidst the celebrated likes of fellow first-time helmers Scarlet Johansson, Courtney Cox and Demi Moore. While Associate Producer Steve Emerson did manage to keep his cool, we are reluctant to report that co-writer Matt Hayes ogled the trio shamelessly.

Early the next morning, Team Mouse piled into the Mousemobile for an afternoon screening at the San Diego International Children’s Film Festival at Comic-Con. While the original plan was to dress up as characters in the “The Mouse That Soared” we tragically ran out of construction paper and pipe-cleaners before completing our costumes. At Comic-Con, we were joined by Production Designer Fred Gardner. The screening went well, and we were all charmed by the animation of a seven-year-old girl whose father was proud to report that she has already been tapped for a six-picture deal at a prestigious institute of higher learning.

Back in Los Angeles, Kyle and Matt somehow managed to fall in with an unusual crowd of evil clowns and deranged fire-eaters under the bizarre big top at the amazing (and aptly-named) Cirque Berzerk. While Kyle was finally given a chance to show off his considerable sword-swallowing skills, Matt has not been seen since, and it can only be assumed he ran away to join the circus for good. May the Mouse be with him.

Finally, the Magical Mystery Mouse Tour made the long trip north to California’s historic capitol city of Sacramento. Seeing “The Mouse That Soared” play at the extraordinarily colorful and ornate Crest Theater (the film’s very first showing at a genuine moving picture palace!) was a particularly thrilling experience. Originally built as a vaudeville house in 1912, the stage has been graced by Cab Calloway, Maya Angelou, Cheap Trick and Nirvana, among countless others. Even more exciting, “The Mouse That Soared” took home a pair of futuristic glass trophies for “Best Animation” and “Audience Animation.” It can only be assumed that the Governor Schwarzenegger brought these ultramodern awards (imagine something you might find while wearing a jetpack in the year 2000) from the future while pursuing his day job as a remorseless cyborg Terminator.

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