Oh my god, HUDSON HAWK in 35mm at Braindead with Michael Lehman and Daniel Waters in person. Maybe the film event of the year. Real ones know

Seeing the filmmakers of OBSESSION weighing in on the film’s ambiguities only furthers my belief that artists should just let the work speak for itself. As David Lynch would say, “The film is the talking.” Once it’s released, it’s up to the audience to listen and interpret.

I don’t see the problem

Apparently my one weakness is OVER THE GARDEN WALL live shows

More Fun Facts: I boarded this sequence from my first show as AD, “Reaper Madness.” The poster on the left is RABBIT, RABBIT, a short film by my director Jenn Graves. The poster on the right is YOUR OWN FLAVOR, a short by the episode writer Alisha Ketry. I added those plus the title KILL, KILL, KILL

Fun Fact: After the table read for show 400 last year, about 30 of us hopped a plane and spent a truly insane night in Vegas. This episode features cameos from all of us who went that night. That’s me lounging by the pool on the left in the BG

Back in the news

“Who do you want to be today, who do you want to beeeeeeee?”

Do I stay in the San Fernando Valley and become a Paul Thomas Anderson-style burnout? Do I cave and finally move to Burbank like every other animation professional? Or do I turn this into a full blown mid-life crisis and move to Echo Park? So many appealing options

I’m doing apartment hunting at the moment and the vibes are very, very different than when I first got here in 2017.

DISCLOSURE DAY: The greatest episode of “Coast to Coast with Art Bell” of all time directed by a true believer who is also a master of the craft. Absolutely essential viewing.

My Spain photos just came back from the film lab. You know what that means. First up, Madrid:

I renewed my passport online on Monday and I just received my new one in the mail this morning. I’m glad the State Department has nothing better to do

Loving all the posts of European tourists and athletes gazing in awe at America’s scenic beauty and/or weirdness. Travel really is good for the soul

The current indie animation boom is interesting because you can clearly tell which shows are by people with professional experience and which aren’t. I have pro writer friends with decades of unproduced spec scripts. Some of these shows are the first time the creator has ever written a script

Walking out of an AMAZING DIGITAL CIRCUS screening last night: Excited Child: Mom! What part of the movie didn’t you understand? Mom: All of it. Dad: (looking at poster) Man, SUPERGIRL is going to be great.

On my first day of hiatus and I’ve already scheduled multiple overdue lunches with friends. Gonna be a great summer!

Jorge Gutierrez kicking himself for not holding out just a little longer

Just got my Spain photos back from the lab

For all the talk about the death of Hollywood or whatever, it is extremely telling that all these big shot YouTube people crave the legitimacy of movies and a traditional theatrical release. A poster of your movie at one of the Burbank AMCs is way more validating than any subscriber count

I do think modern horror movies are missing rubber monsters causing trouble. I haven’t seen OBSESSION yet but I hope it’s revealed that the voice on the other end of the phone is from a Cryptkeeper or a Ghoulie.

There’s a sequence in THE MANDALORIAN AND GROGU where a gator alien sits in a rocking chair on the porch of his shack on the bayou of the Hutt planet. Unfortunately this is exactly the type nonsense I love so the film gets a soft pass. Also: the return of Phil Tippet Go-Motion!

It was better when your only access to an artist were those “DIRECTOR ON DIRECTOR” books Faber & Faber used to publish

Biggest takeaway from my Spain trip: We are all the same. Every big city has a Times Square, a high end district, a hipster district (millennial-coded), a low income district, a rapidly gentrifying low income district (Gen Z-coded) and a gay district

Back in LA! The Spain of the United States

The Barcelona airport knows what weary American travelers want most

The extremely long wait as the computer scans your passport and determines whether or not you’re going to have a good day is probably not my favorite part of this trip.

Almost got into a BEFORE SUNRISE situation. Spain rocks

Spain really is SoCal: Origins. Kind of startling how familiar a lot of it feels. But no street tacos which is a significant mark against Spain

Man, if you like San Diego, you’re gonna love Barcelona

Spotted in Seville

"bluesky is an upscale mall" *nods knowingly* Forever 38

Just got out of a flamenco show. A twenty-something British woman with the poshest accent imaginable walked by the entrance to the theater and said to her friend: “I’ve seen enough flamenco. And I haven’t seen that many”

Ugly American Hot Take: Spanish food is very good but I’ve been enjoying the various Mediterranean options (Palestinian, Lebanese, Syrian etc) far more. I can only take so many potatoes

Getting older rocks. You care less about dumb fandom discourse and you travel to Spain more

Talking to an Australian in Spain: Her: We’re so lucky, it hasn’t even hit 20 degrees yet! Me: Yes, that would be so… hot?

You can eat as much as you want in Europe while on vacation and you won’t gain weight. That’s just science.

Saturday night at the laundromat in Granada, the fun never stops here in Spain

I walked by the office building to Pedro Almodovár’s production company and was disappointed by how not-flamboyant it was. There should’ve been an Antonio Banderas animatronic pulling back the curtain and looking outside the window like the queen in the Snow White ride

At a Mexican restaurant in Madrid. The burrito tastes wildly wrong but unfortunately is also very good and a nice break from tapas. The decor of the bar, which seem to be inspired by SICARIO, is less defensible. ¡Spain!

Just another afternoon in Madrid

Starting to understand the Spanish lifestyle of eating small bites all day and drinking looooong into the night

At a small restaurant called Havana Cafe that boasts on its menu “Argentinian Empanadas” but no actual Cuban food. The conquistador spirit is alive and well in Spain

Hotel concierge helped me get tickets to the Museo del Prado. I asked if this gets me into the Goya exhibit (like everybody I want to see the Dark Paintings). Concierge seemed disappointed and said, “Yes, but the Prado has a lot of Velazquez too!”

Checking my Alaska Airlines mileage account every half hour, waiting to see them update my travel miles with my Madrid flight.

Spanish breakfast

The Spanish diet appears to consist mostly of ham, potatoes and bread. And maybe an octopus here and there

At the Filmoteca Española at the Cine Doré for an early Ken Loach double feature. How European!

It’s 10pm in Madrid and you know what that means: an early dinner

International Terminal at LAX is basically dead, no line for anything. I highly recommend traveling while the Straight of Hormuz is closed