And this is what Zoe looks like in France.

 

Tom & Zoe almost kiss... again.

 

 In reviewing the eps for various things like sound effects, and music its always nice to see the live action stuff again.  The two actors for the UK version, John Bailey and Samantha Barks, gave their all and had a wonderful chemistry. They made the whole 'will they' or 'won't they' kiss work every time. Every time!  Sweet.  I'm looking forward to when the show actually goes out on air.  We're at the finish line now. I can see the white tape.

Sketching up new Lamington cards. Time for another batch of 18.

 

And strangely and for the first time ever, it feels right that he's smiling. But that's because his cake is ablaze. So what if I'm this old? I'm going to enjoy myself! That's the basic idea.

Speaking of design. The Shard is perhaps the best building to go up in London for ages. I have never been a fan of the Gherkin, despite it's comic tone. Like all jokes, after you've heard it (or in this case, seen it) a few times, it gets boring.

Whereas, The Shard makes me feel like I'm living in Metropolis, or Gotham City, or even better yet, Mordor!  It's truly a statement. It pierces the sky. It feels dangerous. And I get a thrill out of seeing it everytime I pass it on the train at London Bridge. Inspiring.

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but actually coincidence is the sincere fact that going with Helvetica as a font is always a safe option.

It is typography's version of a pair of Levis 501's, or little black dress. Classic. Timeless.

When I was designing my letterhead years ago, I decided to remove all stress (I can't begin to explain how stressful designing one's own letterhead is) by simply going with Helvetica. But that seemed too dull. Too corporate.

So I thought, I'll just make it goofy and quirky by colouring it in like a pack of lifesavers. Not cool. But not dull either. Ah yes. Good. Job done in ten minutes. Stress over.

But now that I've seen that Cinecitta has done the same thing as me, I feel as though perhaps I may actually have mistakingly done something cool. Oh to be associated with anything Italian. Ok, not anything. I would never wish to metaphorically be associated with their political problems.  But Italian design? Oh dear lord, yes please! All Italian design is sublime. I lived in Italy for a while, and even worked once at Cinecitta. Even the gaffer is wearing Armani.

A nice clip from Groove High

Me, Stuart and Chris Bemand wrote a silly song.

And so... something was missing. We needed a big moment for Zoe to swoon with love over this new guy at school (who of course was just Tom in disguise). It needed something bigger than just her saying how much she was in love, she really needed to break into song. Initially I wanted a fantasy with rainbows and unicorns, but we only had a cow, and a baboon and we had to make do with the character work already designed. We didn't even have a horse design that we could turn into a unicorn. Well... necessity is the mother of invention, and the father of songwriting, so Stuart Evans, me and Chris Bemand wrote a song... The Cow Of Love. Its wonderfully stupid and Samantha Barks belts it out so well that she makes it sound like pure class. Enjoy.

TBI The Last Word. Wish I could have that with my kids.

On a break.

I am on a break. from David Freedman on Vimeo.

Groove High, cutting room floor

I wanted Scoot to have a very limited vocabulary. The odd word here and there. Well it made me and the editor laugh at least. Oh well... that's showbiz. Still, Scoot's few words are gone but never forgotten. When my kids are having potatoes, I lean over slowly and stare, wide eyed... and in Scoot's voice I say, 'Mmm po- tay -toh'. They laugh, but I'm sure they will have me sectioned eventually.

scoot says potatoes from David Freedman on Vimeo.

New Pickups for Lucky Fred

Spanish production and distribution company Imira Entertainment has inked several new deals with broadcasters for animated series Lucky Fred. RTM (Malaysia), e-Vision (United Arab Emirates), TG4 (Ireland) and Kidz (Turkey) have jumped on-board for the 52 x 12-minute 2D comic series for kids ages six to 12, adding to a growing list of more than 155 territories that have acquired the show. Others include TF1 (France), Disney Channel (Spain, France, Italy, Germany, India, Israel, Australia) and Nickelodeon (Benelux, Scandinavia, Latin America, Asia, South Korea).

Lucky Fred, an Imira co-production with Televisió de Catalunya (Spain), RAI Fiction (Italy) and Top Draw Animation (Philippines), follows the adventures of 13-year-old Fred who has a
personal robot that can transform into anything he wants.

The deals follow shortly after Imira announced a Lucky Fred app will be available worldwide via the Andriod Store and iTunes’ App Store.Read more: http://kidscreen.com/2012/03/26/new-pickups-for-imiras-lucky-fred/#ixzz1qFQsZ5tL

Zoe on a date with an older man... and a tiger.

A nice frame from Groove High.

Is that a foot?

Needless to say, this didn't get through S&P. A classic from the cutting room floor.

Damned nominated for best student film at the Baa's.

Damned Trailer from Richard Phelan on Vimeo.

Tom says I love you.

A nice scene that will never be seen. Even though Zoe never actually hears Tom, it was felt that this crossed a line in their relationship. Personally, it's one of my favourite moments ever. And thanks to the internet, it lives on.

Tom says I love you. from David Freedman on Vimeo.

Childhood dreams come true.

I've had some very cool meetings lately, including this one with Marty Krofft. And look, a Sleestack from Land Of The Lost! Aaaaagh!!!

The office was amazing, with my entire childhood on display. Sadly I'm too busy at the moment with other work and Sid & Marty needs material yesterday... but still, how cool is that?! He even gave me a signed Sigmund toy. Swoon!

Valentines Day is Lamingtines Day

In LA for a few meetings and some tacos.

New York has the Statue of Liberty, Malibu has this guy. No contest.

Kidscreen fun

I was just in New York for Kidscreen where I ran a mentor table (when did I become old enough to mentor anyone?) and spoke of the various pet peeves of both creatives and execs, which often overlap. Good fun and some wonderful new contacts. Much talk about Lamington, which I wasn't planning to talk about, but did... and looks like he'll be shifting up a notch sooner than later in his quiet sad quest for licensing world domination.

Cute. But no Barry White

We used to have Barry White 'oh yeah' type of music playing over this scene. And so we had to come up with something different, and Eric Reinwart, our composer came up with many different things, and none of them made us laugh as much as the Barry White stuff... until this one.

A belated Lucky Fred Xmas Card, because I only just found it.

I was sifting through some old emails and found this while I was away. Cute. Can't wait for the show to come on the air. Soon, apparantly very soon on Disney XD.

Sad. I've been with Monteiro Rose Agency now for 15 years now and Candy was my first agent. Candy was amazing, inspiring and she taught me calm. She took on me and Alan Gilbey way back when despite us being totally inexperienced in TV, and in the wrong country. She showed us the way and invested in us. A lot. When Candy believed in a client, she believed with all her heart. She raised us from pups. I have wonderful memories and lessons learned (she gave sage, SAGE, advice) and I will always have deep gratitude for her unwavering belief. A very sad loss.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118049671

Zoe, er I mean Samantha to star in Les Mis

Our Zoe, from Groove High just got cast to play Eponine in the upcoming movie adaptation of Les Miserables.

We knew when we were filming in Ireland that she got the call to audition, (she played the part in the West End) and we all know she's gorgeous and can belt out a tune... and in fact hardly ever stops singing, and quite frankly she's one of the hardest working gals in showbiz, so... it's no surprise.

So congratulations Zoe, er... I mean Sam. See you on the big screen. And of course on the small screen on Disney Channel this spring. We're all dang proud.

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/159707/samantha-barks-not-taylor-swift-to-play-eponine-in-les-miserables-movie-musical/

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/02/01/samantha-barks-les-mis/http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/02/01/samantha-barks-les-mis/

Forking heck.

Nice little article on Lamington in Total Licensing UK.

I scanned the clipping, but can I find a link to the article online? No. Oh well. It's nice to know the little puppy is generating some ink... on real paper!