Best Super Bowl Ads 2009

And by Best I mean my favorite...

Pepsi Refresh Anthem:

I love the song and the vibe. In this day and age when it's easy to sell products and services with T&A it's nice to see something that appeals to our better nature. I still prefer Coke over Pepsi, but I think Pepsi did a great job with their ads this year.

GE Scarecrow:

Again, I like the positive feel this ad had. I really like the look of it as well. At first glance I thought it was stop motion. I loved the animation of the Scarecrow as well. I can't tell whether it's MoCap or Keyframe... either way I enjoyed the ad.

MvA 3D Trailer:

(Put on your "InTru 3D" glasses, if you still have them, to view in 3D.)

This one may be an obvious pick for me, but I really enjoyed seeing the trailer with friends and family. I could tell by the look on Annie's face that she genuinely enjoyed it which was a great feeling.

Inspiring TED Talks speach by J. J. Abrams

I came across this online today. I found it very inspiring and thought I would share. I admire Abrams and his work and it's great to get a little peek into his creative process. I also found his description of his feelings towards Mystery very much in line with my own feelings.

THE OFFICE: SUMMER VACATION

I can't wait for this show to start up again...

1 HOUR Season Premiere - 9/8c - September 27th on NBC!!

GEICO Cavemen

I love this commercial. Not only is it hilarious but it conveys its idea with no dialog. I can't wait to see what ABC does with these characters this fall. From Variety: "'Cavemen' will revolve around three pre-historic men who must battle prejudice as they attempt to live as normal thirtysomethings in modern Atlanta." I've heard some people decrying the end of storytelling as we know it because a TV series is being developed off of characters from insurance commercials. Honestly I couldn't disagree more. A good idea is a good idea regardless of where it came from. I laugh my head off at most of these commercials and I hope the show can retain the same level of humor.

I Love The Office...

The Office

3 lbs

It's seemingly odd and at the same time strangely appropriate that I am writing this post from my wifes hospital room, but here goes...

3 lbs debuted this week and it didn't do as well as I had hoped. This is one of the shows that I am working on at Zoic Studios and its the one I'm most excited to be a part of. The scripts are really well written. Its a shame it didn't do better last week but hopefully CBS will let it find an audience before they decide to kill it off. It would be a shame if it did too because it's a great show. Sure, I may be biased but I have no vested interest in the shows taking off or not. I am simply enthusiastic about it because I like the show thats all. :)

The pilot, which aired as the premiere last week, is available for free on iTunes if you didn't get the chance to check it out. (If you click on the image below and have iTunes installed on your computer, it will take you to the page where you can download it) If you do please let me know what you think. I'm interested to see what other people who aren't connected to it think, for better or worse.

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/3lbs/

**UPDATE 12/3/06**
Well after only three episodes on the air CBS has decided to pull 3 LBS. After seeing the episode that aired last Tuesday I can't say I'd blame them. It's a shame too, the show had some really good writing. It seems something went wrong between script to screen. I wish the crew the best of luck on future endeavors and I look forward to what Peter Ocko, the shows creator, has in store for us next.

Shrek the Halls Christmas special to debut in 2007

ABC Entertainment announced that they have added a new DreamWorks Animation Christmas special to their library of holiday classics. Shrek the Halls will premiere in December 2007. The half-hour tv show will feature Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas reprising their roles from the theatrical feature films. Stephen McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment, said "Family classics are a cornerstone of our brand, and Shrek The Halls will provide warm memories year-after-year, and be a great addition to our library of holiday favorites such as Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and A Charlie Brown Christmas". Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, added "The time has come to celebrate the joys of the holiday season with Shrek and his family, and see how Christmas would play out in his world. Shrek the Halls follows a natural storytelling path for us, and we're so happy to be partnered with ABC in expanding the world of Shrek into the television arena". The special will be directed by Gary Trousdale (Beauty and the Beast) and produced by Teresa Cheng (Madagascar) and Gina Shay (The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie).

What I find most exciting about the news above, courtesy of animated-news.com, is not that DreamWorks is creating a TV special based on their most popular character Shrek, it's that DreamWorks is making the show for ABC. In other words... DISNEY! I think its great to see the two companies working together, it was Disney that gave birth to DreamWorks after all. I hope it turns out well and is the start of larger relationship between the companies. Gary Trousdale is the director of Disney's Beauty & The Beast and the fantastic Christmas Caper short starring the Madagascar Penguins, so it seems the show is in very capable hands. I'm looking forward to seeing the result in about a year from now...

All caught up on LOST now...

I picked up LOST Season 2 on DVD this last Tuesday and now we are all caught up and waiting eagerly for the season 3 premiere in October. I have to say, again, I love this show! Hands down my favorite television show. The mythology is so intricate and the character development both on the island and through the flashbacks fantastic. I love how the flashbacks relate to the action taking place on the island in each episode. Great storytelling indeed!


**Update**
Since this post Apple and ABC have been kind enough to post a video recap of the LOST series entitled The LOST Survival Guide for free on iTunes. Check it out here. You can also download the season 2 finale for free here.


http://lostpedia.com/wiki/Main_Page
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/
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