THE RAMBLINGS OF JEREMY R. SCOTT
Don’t forget to run to McDonald’s tomorrow, between 6 to 10 am, and get you some FREE Hotcakes and Sausage. Hey, I’ll be going to as many as I possibly can. IT’S FREE PEOPLE!!! And later, like Ronald up there, I will be running to the bathroom. I can’t wait. It will be awesome. See you there.
It’s hard to believe; but as of last month, my website has been up for 5 years. In that time, it has sure gone through a lot of changes — like my original logo that aped Toys R US. Hey, I felt I was entitled. If you spent as much money as I have there over the last 10 years, you would feel entitled to HAHA. Anyway, in order to commemorate the five year anniversary of jeremyrscott.com, I thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of my illustrations that graced the site over the years.
Here is the oldest piece I put on the site. It is something I originally worked on in college. The project was “transformation”. I could think of nothing better than THE most classic transformation ever — Dr. Jekyll. I liked the concept of the piece so much that I decided to rework it in 2000. This was also one of the first digital illustrations I did with the amazing program, Painter (a really terrific painting program that digitally emulates realistic painting techniques). Another technical note, this was the last illustration I did where I actually inked the line work on paper and scanned it into the computer. On all of my subsequent pieces, I would actually draw the line work directly in Photoshop with my WACOM tablet. It’s hard to believe now, but I never even really used a computer until my Senior year in college. It’s been a real love/hate relationship over the years, but it has become such an integral part of my work.
Here is another oldie. This was another college piece that I reworked in 2000. The assignment was to design and illustrate a board game box cover. After looking at this again, I think I would like to actually rework this again, but actually design the entire game. So, this might not be the last time you see Food Fighters on Blogenstein.
This was the first portrait I painted for Tastes Like Chicken Magazine, way back in 2002. It was for an interview with voice man extraordinaire, Harry Shearer. I have to admit, I took this assignment because I was excited to draw Simpsons characters; he was promoting his new movie Teddy Bears’ Picnic, however, hence the clap board he’s holding. Everybody remembers that one, right?
Another TLC portrait from 2004. This one was for an interview with Glenn Shadix. Glenn is a pretty great guy, and was the first celebrity who expressed interest in my work; so I sent him a lithograph of this piece. This was also the first illustration where I started experimenting with different colors in my line work, to add an extra touch of dimensionality.
Yet another TLC interview portrait; this one for the great Paul Feig. I am a huge fan of Paul’s show Freaks and Geeks, so I jumped at the chance to interview Paul and illustrate his portrait. It’s a real shame NBC canceled the show after one season. I guess its understandable though — they had to clear the space for a 4rth Law and Order show.
This was a real fun one. This was a graduation gift for one of my old freshman year room mates at CCAD, Brian Loar. Here’s his family fighting intergalactic slugs on the planet Quixtock, or some such nonsense. I LOVE drawing tentacles, so this piece was a real treat.
Here’s a quickie, but it is still one of my favorites. This was for the cover of our October web issue in 2004. A fun mask that you can print-out and wear on my favorite holiday, Flag Day.
This guy was a REAL NIGHTMARE. It was an assignment from Cracked Magazine’s new website — from an article written by my good friend, and constant collaborator, Justin Shady. It is basically a Where’s Waldo style illustration that cover all the events that Cracked missed in 2005, when they were reformatting their magazine. This beast took a long, LONG time to complete; and a LOT of planning. Not only did I have to interpret all of the events Justin wrote about in his story, but I had to fit them together in one giant illustration, with an INSANE amount of detail. And if that wasn’t enough, I had to draw lots and lots of celebrities. That in it’s self isn’t that much of a big deal, but I couldn’t make them too detailed because each head was only a few millimeters in size. So I had to simplify each face, but still make them recognizable.
This thing took a couple weeks to complete. Even though it is really a huge mess, I am happy with the final result. It did really have a huge impact on my work, though. After I completed this monstrosity, I made a conscience effort to streamline and simplify my work. So, at least something good came out of it, HAHAHA.
Go ahead and click one the image to see the super-sized version. You could spend an hour analyzing this thing.
AND, this is what I did after that Frankenstein’s Monster up there.
I had been using Adobe Illustrator for years, but this was the first full fledged piece of artwork I fully illustrated using the program. Using Illustrator has really helped me refine my work. It made me rethink how I draw and how to streamline my artwork. It even made me more aware of making my characters more appealing by using basic shapes to quickly convey a characters attitude. So, this illustration was really the birth of my modern style.
This was a birthday gift for my friend, Justin Shady’s 3oth birthday. It features the Jim Henson Country Trio. These were muppet versions of Jim Henson on the banjo, Frank Oz on the base, and Jerry Nelson on the guitar; as they frequently popped up here and there on the muppet show. I added a muppetized version of Justin on the cowbell, well, when he had a little bit more hair. I really love how this turned out.
And finally, here is one of my most recent pieces — my rendition of one of my favorite cartoons, the Real Ghostbusters. I mentioned this in a former blog entry and even included the original sketch, so go there to find out more about the piece.
Well, that was rather cathartic. I have to admit that I am rather embarrassed at how rudimentary some of this stuff is. But hey, at least I can look back and see that I continue to grow and reach new heights of excellence every day, HAHAHA. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my little walk down memory lane; and don’t forget. You can go on my site and check out some more of my newest work.
Yeah, I am a fool; but I saw it on TMC’s On Demand service under the category “SPLATTER DAY” and thought I would give it a chance. HOLY CRAP, this thing was the worst piece of excrement I have seen in a long while. Where do I even begin.
1. THE ZOMBIES
Forget the whole tired argument about the walking dead vs. the running dead, in this movie you get zombies with SUPER POWERS. These things will jump out of a ten story building and land on their feet, sprinting. They’ll jump 20 feet in the air and charge at you at super human speeds. They hang from rafters, clean the flesh of of an entire body and leave the bones clean in under a minute. It’s like the first zombie was bitten by a radioactive spider. And then their transformation HAHAHA. One minute an infected person will be talking to a family member. Next, after staring off into space for a minute or so, instantly transforms into the undead — COMPLETE with rotting flesh and dead eyes. How convenient, HAHAHA.
2. THE ACTING
Day of the Dead collects some of the worst actors on the planet, and gives them a script that must have been written by a kindergartner — right before nap time:
BUD CRAIN: Sweet spear.
SALAZAR: You see a black man with a sharp stick and it’s supposed to be a spear?
And this golden moment.
SALAZAR: [takes machete] This shit right here was made for me. Uh-huh. Whoo.
[raises machete in the air]
SALAZAR: By the power of Grayskull. Yeah.
SARA BOWMAN: Okay. Stop fucking around and start loading the stuff up.
SALAZAR: How long are you gonna keep cussing at me? You see this? This is a machete. Unappreciative ass. See if I save your ass again.
Yeah, with great stuff like that, those flesh eaters don’t stand a chance. Even the great Ving Rames, who’s in this thing for about five whole minutes, is reduced to a legless zombie that barks like a dog. Oh yes, and special recognition to Nick Cannon as Salazar (WHO CAME UP WITH THESE NAMES); for setting the African America culture back 50 years. Nick, you would make Al Jolson blush.
3. BUD CAIN THE ZOMBIE
OH BOY, I have saved the best for last. After proclaiming to be a vegetarian, Bud Cain is bitten by the legless, barking Ving Rames and turns into a zombie. For some reason, though, old Bud doesn’t try to munch on his healthy pals. Only the exact lines of dialog can do this scene justice:
SALAZAR: [about Bud] This shit is ridiculous. I mean, why Thriller over here ain’t trying to eat us?
SARA BOWMAN: He’s a vegetarian.
SALAZAR: That’s the best explanation you can come up with?
SARA BOWMAN: You got a better one?
SALAZAR: All I’m saying, as long he don’t try to mistake me for a soy bean burger, we’re gonna be all right.
YES, that’s right kids. Old Bud wasn’t hungry for fresh human flesh because he was a vegetarian — A VEGETARIAN. Are you kidding me. This is their pathetic attempt at referencing a brilliant character moment in Romero’s classic movie. In that movie, we had a zombie named “BUB”, who was exhaustively trained to not eat the living by his loving mentor, Dr.Logan. But HEY, that would take, you know, minutes to cover in a film. So they just coped out and came up with a completely preposterous reason for Bud not to feast on Sara Bowman’s bizarre, over sized forehead. Bravo Day of the Dead, BRAVO.
So there you have it folks. Take my advice. If you’re surfing through The Movie Channel’s On Demand menu and come across Day of the Dead, stab your eyes out with a ball point pen. Trust me, you will have way more fun than if you actually watched this crap fest.
… GODS I TELL YOU. Just check out these amazing retro posters they just released to promote the dvd release of UP. Look and be amazed.
I only wish they would have used these in the actual movie campaign. They sure beat the heck out of the typical photoshoped heads that plague most posters nowadays. ENJOY!
It’s here, it’s HERE. Halloween is finally here. And what better way to celebrate, then posting my final peice of artwork for my Halloween Project. So… what movie is scary enough for Halloween night? Why, The Exorcist, of coarse. Well, it’s the scariest movie I have ever seen. So enjoy this final image and this fine Halloween, and thanks for following my 2009 Halloween Project.
Ok, just a quick post. Yesterday, I had over 70 visitors. Thanks for all the new looky loos. I hope one of you can get me a DVD copy of Donald Duck 4. Anyway, the real reason for this post is for this ridiculous fact. Yesterday, the highest number of people searching google who ended up on my blog were looking for…
…”puppies in a pickle costume”
HAHAHAHAHAHAH. Hot damn, I love the internet.
Hello, my name is Jeremy Scott; and I am a recovering Star Wars nerd.
What is spawning this confession. Well, the other day a friend of mine sent out this ridiculous video of this new age, yoga instructor using Star Wars as a euphemism to rope hopeless nerds into her yogatastic lifestyle. I mean, some really ridiculous hooeey about channeling the “force” in your body, or some such nonsense. I would post it, but I will do you a favor and save you the time. So, I made a comment about how if I didn’t already hate Star Wars, this would make me HATE Star Wars. AND that lead to a couple of my friends confronting me in return emails. I mean, I could hear their eyes rolling in their email responses HAHAHA. So I figured I would just write a blog about it, to further explain how I feel about the trilogy now. Well, before I knew it, this blog turned into an open letter to a guy that I use to hold in pretty high regard; but over the coarse of the last 10 years or so, a growing disappointment in me began to fester into a deep seeded resentment. So here it is, my open Letter to George Lucas.
Hi George,
You don’t know me, but you had a huge influence on my childhood, and your movies really helped shape the man that I am today. Star Wars was the first movie I ever saw in the theater. My mother took me to see it when I was 3, and ever since I have been a huge fan of not only the movie, but a diligent fan of yours. I still remember how much I laughed when Han chased those lunkhead Stromtroopers down the Death Star corridor, only to run away terrified when the Stormtroopers realized they were being chased by one guy with a blaster. When I got home that afternoon, I ripped the metal legs off of my little childrens table and ran around the house brandishing it like a lightsaber. Luke Skywalker was my idol and he inspired me to want to be a beacon of decency and justice when I grew up. Hey, like I said, I was 3.
It was a great feeling; a completely pure, innocent bit of nostalgia that I never want to let go. So I devoted most of my adult life trying to hold onto those memories with an iron fist; consequently, spending all of my free time and disposable income chasing down action figures and later even buying expensive prop replicas.
Seriously George, I alone probably put all of your kids through college, with the thirty plus years I spent happily buying all of your merchandise — AND I am just one guy. You literally have millions of fans across the globe who have probably given you just as much money over the years. I would think this would make you a very gracious man. Someone who would want to thank his fans for all the loyal years of support by preserving the original films that sparked their imaginations in the first place. Well, not you Mr. Lucas.
Over the past 15 years, you have gone out of your way to destroy your precious little trilogy; and at first, I defended you. “It was his movies”, I would say. “He has the right to make any changes he wants.” Well George, the simple fact is these are not your movies any more. They belong to the world now. They belong to every fan who saw them in the theater when they originally premiered. They belong to every kid who has spent every dime of their allowance on your action figures. They are OUR movies now MR. Lucas, and you have a responsibility to preserve these films for future generations — and you are not oblivious to this simple fact. I have read countless interviews with you making statements about this very subject, referring to classic film preservation; in fact, you were particularly vocal about your disdain for colorizing Laurel and Hardy movies. Well how the heck is that any different then adding a bunch of creatures in Mos Eisley, or replacing all of the iconic imagery on the final attack of the Death Star. If anything, it is worse because now you are actually fiddling with story changes. Face it George, you are being a hypocrite; and you need to wake up. Not to mention the fact that you didn’t make these movies all by yourself. A lot of hard work and creativity went into making those beautiful, ground breaking effects. You are not only hurting the fans with this hatchet job, but you are also hurting all of the people that made Star Wars what it is. All the people whose sweat and tenacity not only made Star Wars possible but made you a BOAT LOAD of money.
The fact that you now say that the original movies were just “work prints” and that they no longer even exist — that use to really upset me. Well, it doesn’t anymore. It has just made me completely indifferent. I am not one of those idiots who go on web forums and say things like “George Lucas raped my childhood”. I don’t really hold any animosity towards you, but you have in deed really disappointed me, George. I use to hold you in a very high regard, but now I see you for what you have become — a snake oil salesman. You have become a tired, old man, who’s creative spark has been long extinguished. A pitiful shell of a man, who now survives by dissecting the tattered remains of your former glory and selling them piece by piece to your ravenous fans; who have been buying your tainted wares for so long, they wouldn’t know how to survive without them. Don’t mistake their blind devotion for respect though, George. They hate you. They hate the man that you have become and, they hate what you are doing to their favorite movies. You are in fact nothing more than a drug pusher, and these sorry sacks need their fix to survive. I really pity you.
It is especially ironic given that your first feature length movie was THX-1138. A movie that was particularly harsh on the commercial culture that we all lovingly embrace. You understood then the evils of a society that equated happiness with owning a lot of worthless possessions over making personal connections with another human being. Well George, you have become that oppressor — that “evil empire”. You have become everything that you use to fight against when you were a fledgling director. Congratulations, you are now an integral part of that system. I hope you don’t choke on the irony because it is pretty darn thick.
You know, I should really thank you though, George. You made me realize what a horrible trap nostalgia can be. If you spend your whole life trying to recapture your lost youth, you are not only going to never appreciate what you have now but how you can make your life better, NOW. Things were not better ten or twenty years ago, they were just different — and different is good. New experiences let us thrive and keep us interesting. I now realize that. It is a shame that it took your douchebaggery, Lucas, to realize this simple fact.
So that’s it pal. The party’s over. Your indignant treatment of my favorite childhood movies have made me completely indifferent to you and Star Wars in general. The films that I grew up with are gone. In your own words, they don’t even exist anymore. You killed them. And I’m OK with that. I have my memories and I do not need your action figures or expensive bobbles to keep them. Memories are free, and more importantly, I am free.
I hope it was worth it,
Jeremy R. Scott
Former Star Wars Fanatic
So that’s it folks. That sums up how I feel about Star Wars now. Maybe one of these days George might wake up and realize what he has turned into, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Before I sign off, one last piece of advice for the disciples out there. If you are unhappy with George’s treatment of Star Wars (and I know most of you are), STOP BUYING HIS CRAP. No amount of complaining on post boards or cursing his name will ever get the message to George. There is the only one way you are going to get through to him. If the money stops rolling in, I guarantee those classic movies will come out faster than you can say Jack Robinson. I know it will be VERY hard at first, but trust me. You will survive. And, more importantly, STAR WARS will survive.
But hey, go ahead and buy your 52nd Luke Skywalker action figure. I really don’t care anymore anyway.
Hello everyone. Today’s post is a plea for help, and I sincerely hope someone out their can help me.
OK, I have been collecting the Disney Treasures DVDs since the first Mickey Mouse in Color set came out way back in 2000, wow that was almost 10 years ago. Well, last year Disney, in all of it’s mighty wisdom, decided to cut WAY back on production of the Treasure DVD sets. That’s fine and dandy, but one of those sets was the FORTH and FINAL DVD in the Donald Duck collection. Disney, why on earth would you sell a set with one of your biggest characters, in such short supply — especially when it is the final volume in a four volume set. Seriously, it just boggles the mind.
Well, as you probably can guess by now, I was never able to get a copy. What makes this even more infuriating is the fact that I saw a copy in Target the day it came out, but I decided to buy the 4rth season of Lost on Blu-Ray instead (funny enough, another Disney title). I just didn’t have the money for both, and I figured I could pick it up next week. Well guess what, UH UH. It was long gone next week, and I have never even gotten close to another copy. I even went to Disneyland to find one… AND I LIVE IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN! To further exacerbate the issue, people went out of their way to horde every copy they could find and have been reselling them for over 100 dollars. I seriously saw someone selling 30 of these things in an auction on ebay the other day.
Folks, I am a HUGE Animation nerd. Not only do I have all of the other Treasure sets, but I have a whole collection of classic stuff — from Lonney Tunes, Tex Avery and classic Fleischer Popeye. The fact I can’t get a copy of this really depresses me. I know there are a lot more important things to worry about in the world; but Heck, it is the little things in this world that keep us all going. Not to mention, my absolute favorite Disney cartoon ever is on this set — “Trick or Treat”. It’s this amazing little short were Donald is a Halloween mizer who refuses to give his Trick or Treating nephews any goodies. Eventually a real Witch gets involved the the story, with hilarious results. It even has it’s own theme song that TO THIS DAY I still sing in my head when I am feeling down.
Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat
Trick or Treat for Halloween
When ghost and goblins by the score
Ring the bell at your front door
You’d better not be stingy or
Your nightmares might come true hoo hoo hoo
So that is why I am posting today folks. I hope that there is a kind soul out there, who after reading this post, wants to help me out. I would gladly pay you a fair price for the DVD. I would even be more than willing to offer you a few prints of my artwork and a copy of my newest book The Lava is a Floor. HECK, I will even dedicate my next book to you.
SERIOUSLY, I WILL DEDICATE MY NEXT BOOK TO YOU.
SO PLEASE, if there is anyone out there with access to a copy of the Chronological Donald 4 – Disney Treasure DVD, you would forever be my hero and make this 33 year old child a very happy boy.
Email me or post a comment if you can help me find my holy grail. I promise I won’t fart in your general direction.
I’m running a little behind on week 3, but here it is none the less. Definitely one of the scariest movie villains of all time, in his most frightening scene — Hannibal Lecter, from Silence of the Lambs.
Every October I get a little carried away when it comes to pumpkin carving.
Here’s what I made for a web contest in 2007…
… and this is what I did last year.
Well, this year I was feeling a bit nostalgic for one of my favorite movies from my childhood, Little Shop of Horrors. So without further adieu, here is my pumpkin interpretation of Audrey 2.
ENJOY.
