Monsters Everywhere!

Makin' monsters... 
They may not look like much yet...  But you just wait!

Raoul

 Raoul

Mouth Puppet from "The Jungle-Man"

Life is just a party, and parties weren't meant 2 last

John

 John

Mouth Puppet from "The Jungle-Man"

 A lot of mullets lately!

You'll have to wait for the film to see why!!

"John" is another re-furbished puppet...  But it seems I never posted the old version!

The old puppet he is made from was awesome, but falling apart.  So in some ways I feel like I saved it from just sitting in a bin of old puppets forever!

Sunday - Prince... The Funk Bible

 

Sometimes called "The Black Album"...  Sometimes called "The Funk Bible".

I call it funky.

Brenda

Brenda

Mouth Puppet from "The Jungle-Man"

Gotta love the '80's hair!!!

Like Kerry from last week, Brenda is another re-furbished puppet.

She had a small part in the first episode of "The Risley Brothers"!

Monday Morning Music...

HAPPY EASTER!

The Easter Bunny is coming to town!
What do Tugger and Ripper want with him?

See the whole show now on VHX!

Kerry

Kerry

Mouth Puppet from "The Jungle-Man"

Sometimes I go back and re-use older puppets that aren't being used in anything anymore.  Often I sell them on Etsy too. 
Kerry is one of the re-used puppets... 

Changed up hair, eyes, facial hair from a previous character.  

And he's loosely based on a buddy from middle school! 

I will see you...

Highly Collectible!

Do you have an autographed 
RICKY PASSMORE 
action figure?!?!

"My cats are trying to kill me."

So we did this show last year called "Animal Behavior"...

We released it on New Year's Day 2018.

It's one of those projects that I feel is why Elmwood Productions came to life to make in the first place.

I feel the same way about "HEAD" and "The Risley Brothers" too.  And good ol' "Steve the Vampire".

But "Animal Behavior" is even a little more special.

Sure it's a cute and funny family friendly show.  It's exactly what I wanted to do with it.

And it took a LONG time.

The idea was simple, and fun.  I was inspired by my real life...  Kind of.

In the late part of winter 2008 my girlfriend, Brie, was over my place to hang out and one of my cats, Tugger sat on her lap.  Tug was one of the sweetest cats ever, but he did like to play rough sometimes, always purring through it though and snuggly after...   But never a mean or violent or unpredictable cat.  And here he is, on her lap.  I reach over to pet him, and I surprised him, and scared him.  So he swiped at me claws out.  Then a second later had this look on his face like; "Oh, you!  Sorry man."

And I laughed and said something to the effect of "he's trying to kill me to have you to himself" to Brie.

And the idea was born.

Over a couple nights I thought up ways Tugger and my other cat, Ripper, would try and do away with me.  Before pitching it to the whole Elmwood gang as an idea for a series I ran it by Tricky Pete.  His response not only solidified the idea, but also ended up paraphrased as a line the show:

"Your cats aren't trying to kill you.  Cats are just walking furniture."

And so I wrote it...   Tugger the Cat recruits his little kitten brother, Ripper, to dispose of their owner Jon so they can live with his girlfriend.  All because Tugger thinks he'd be better for her.  

Full of jokes, and slapstick comedy.  I felt like it could be Looney Tunes meets The Muppets.

And so Elmwood agreed as a group to shoot it.

Summer 2009 we shot a good chunk of it.  But something was missing...

So after sitting on it for a long while we re-shot some of it, and finished the rest summer 2012, with some new cast members.

We did all the editing, dubbing, etc...  Even screened it a couple times in late 2013 after all the editing was wrapped up. 

But, something wasn't right.

It wasn't bad.  It was fun, and the people that saw it liked it.  I just felt it needed something else.  One of the things we knew we had to do was re-dub the whole show, it was very uneven.
And we sat on it again...  Looking for the right music, and trying to figure out when to release it,

So while we were planning on re-dubbing the whole thing in the early part of 2017 I mentioned to Mike (who plays Ripper) that I'd like to re-shoot the whole thing again.

We had done it so long ago, and our crew has only gotten better.  At that moment talking to Mike I felt we could just do better than we had.  Mike was all for it,  I was suprised!  So next I brought it up to Ricky, and he was all up for it.  And Tricky.  And he was game too...  
Did I feel bad about abandoning all the work we had already done?

Yes.  Totally.  

The reality was though, it was sub-par.  Especially coming off "HEAD" and "The Risley Brothers".  The quality of those projects was so good that releasing something not as good just felt like a step backwards.  

And forward was the way to go...

So we decided it was our summer 2017 project. 

First I knew I had to make some new puppets.  A few of the puppets we used before had seen better days, hahaha...  And the three new ones I made were perfect.  And the four I had to refurbish came out awesome too.  Before we even set the new performers to the cast I knew this was going to be something special!  And second I updated some of the episode scripts.  Making them, I believe, funnier!

Then we cast the show.  Everything fell into place with that as well. 

Man, I was really ready.

And Mike was ready to do it again, and Ricky was ready to direct.

This is usually where something goes wrong for Elmwood, hahaha...

But that didn't happen.  The shoot was smooth, we had a ton of fun, and when it was over no one killed anyone!!!  Hahaha!

Then the editing.  Ricky killed it there too, and the music - from Jason Finberg, was perfect!

Our family-friendly show was exactly what I pictured it could be nearly a decade ago.   So what was that missing thing before?
It was multiple things...  It was the cast we had in the end, the crew, the music...

Something about the crew making this in 2017 was special.  
So much heart.  And soul.

And in the new version we didn't forget all the people who worked on the old version.  Each episode is dedicated to one of the people who didn't come back for this "final draft".  They all deserved it.  Without that other version of the show this released version would not have had a strong foundation to build upon.  

In the end "Animal Behavior" is more than just a puppet show.  For me, it's also a tribute to to gang who makes these crazy films with me, to the girlfriend (now wife) that helped inspire the show, and to the two cats that kept me sane and loved all these years. 

January 1st we released the show online, and so far everyone is loving it!  Or, they are lying to me, and I'm OK with that.  I love the show. 

So now it's out there, online to rent or buy for download, I hope you do take a moment and give it a shot. 

And thank you too...  Anyone out there who is reading this and has followed Elmwood Productions all these years!

Can't wait to show you what's next!!!

And for more "Animal Behavior"!

Ripper

Ripper

Mouth Puppet/Hand Puppet from "Animal Behavior"

He's a new build of Ripper...  

And, like Tugger last week, the one used in the production of 

"ANIMAL BEHAVIOR"  

I love this puppet, like Tugger last week  it's also exactly what I wanted it to be!

And the show came out amazing...  

Check it out by clicking HERE!

And since last week I shared a picture of the real Tugger I feel like I gotta share one of the real Ripper too!  Sadly he passed away last December, at 14 years old.  He was the ultimate cuddle monster, and sweetest cat I ever had.  

So, here he is!  

  

Today is World Puppetry Day! Studio Time!!!

Studio is open!
Kermit and I are chilling out!
Great way to celebrate 

WORLD PUPPETRY DAY!

In honor of this we have some great coupons available for you to purchase two series from The Elmwood Puppets!

Get the entire series for both ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

and THE RISLEY BROTHERS

for only 1.99 EACH!!!

That's a purchase!  Not a rental!!!

This coupon is good now through 3/34/2018!

To redeem the ANIMAL BEHAVIOR coupon, at checkout add the code: PuppetWorld

And to THE RISLEY BROTHERS use the code: RisleyWorld

SUPER LIMITED TIME OFFER AT A CRAZY LOW PRICE!!!

HEAD OVER TO VHX NOW!

Learn more about puppets, the art of puppetry, and the artists that create it by joining

Puppeteers of America

Your Regional Guild

And UNIMA!

WORLD PUPPETRY DAY!!! Kiss a Puppeteer!!!

This week on Wednesday we get to celebrate 

WORLD PUPPETRY DAY!

In honor of this we have some great coupons available for you to purchase two series from The Elmwood Puppets!

Get the entire series for both ANIMAL BEHAVIOR

and THE RISLEY BROTHERS

for only 1.99 EACH!!!

That's a purchase!  Not a rental!!!

This coupon is good now through 3/34/2018!

To redeem the ANIMAL BEHAVIOR coupon, at checkout add the code: PuppetWorld

And to THE RISLEY BROTHERS use the code: RisleyWorld

SUPER LIMITED TIME OFFER AT A CRAZY LOW PRICE!!!

HEAD OVER TO VHX NOW!

Learn more about puppets, the art of puppetry, and the artists that create it by joining

Puppeteers of America

Your Regional Guild

And UNIMA!

Tugger

Tugger

Mouth Puppet from "Animal Behavior"

He's a new build of Tugger...  

And the one used in the production of "ANIMAL BEHAVIOR"

Personally I love this puppet.  It's exactly what I wanted it to be!

And the show came out amazing...  

Check it out by clicking HERE!

Also, a sidenote...

Most of the animals in the series were based on pets I actually had, or a friend had.  

And this month would have been Tuggers 22nd birthday!  

He lived just short of 18 years!  I miss the guy, but am very glad that he can live on in puppet form, and entertaining people!

Studio Time~

Billie wasn't happy with her eyes...  So I fixed 'em!

Any day in the studio has got to be a good day, so if you can - GET IN YOURS!!!

Billie

 Billie

Mouth Puppet

from "The Jungle Man"

The Lunar Lady

Rosa-Linda: The Lunar Lady

Mouth Puppet 

from "The Jungle Man"

If she looks familiar to you; you're right!

She used to be "Betty"...  But now she's got a bigger purpose!

Just gonna have to wait for "The Jungle Man" short to fond out what itis!

Play In The Sunshine

A rainy Sunday AM...

As Prince spins on the turn table and tells me to play in the sunshine...

Richie

Richie

Mouth Puppet

From "The Jungle Man

And here he is with his inspiration and puppeteer, the real Rich!!!

Out"Take"s...

The Take Magazine is out now, with the article on Elmwood in it!

It's available in New England at Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods, and Big Y, along with a ton of cool indy shops too!

More about the article HERE.

For the article Take sent Paul Specht to the studio to snap some pics...  They used one in the piece,  

Paul was cool enough to send me a few others...   

 

 

And this one is my favorite!!!

Spring?

Not just yet!

But I'm ready...

Gonna be a great day - Coffee is brewed, studio is open, and Oingo Boingo is playing too loud in here for before 9 AM...  

Perfect...

Got a ton of puppets to work on!  A ton of projects coming up!!!

In the meantime check out - 

https://elmwood.vhx.tv/products

43?

My birthday is tomorrow.  

I'll be 43!  Glad to have made it this far and looking forward to at least 43 more!

Some nice folks have been asking me what I "want" for my birthday. 

Not an easy question, especially as I get older.

I have what I need - an awesome wife, and family.  Great friends who I love.  A roof over my head.  

So really I don't need anything!

I want YOU to be happy...

And I also have Elmwood Productions...

My creative outlet.  My passion.  I love puppetry and the films we make.

So I do want for something.  I want to do more -

So if you really feel like you need to spend money on me then I'll ask this - 

Help me and the Elmwood gang keep working!  Rent or buy a flick from our page HERE, or copy and paste this link - 
https://elmwood.vhx.tv/products 
- and share it on your social media!  Your support keeps Elmwood going.  And your support is a better gift than anything else I can think of!

No matter what I want to thank you!

Thanks for even thinking of me!

Means the world to me!

Leave?

Elmwood's working on a bunch of horror related projects at the moment.  Straight horror and comedic horror...

And it got me thinking about a film we never did, called "Leave".  

I wrote about it a bit back in 2015 when we were just about to release HEAD.  

And I remembered the blog we set up for it.  And it's still there!  All the content was deleted except for a little promo for HEAD that was posted in 2015 as well...

I have a DVD of auditions, and some art I did for it - costume designs and monsters, and that's about as far as it goes for anything in the Elmwood archives.  

Makes me wonder what if?  Ya know?

The flicks we went on to do are amazing.  Still though, I wonder what that flick would have been!  Would it have been any good?  Who knows!?
Maybe someday we'll just do it...  With puppets!  But I guess that's not entirely up to me, hahaha...

Anyway...  Back to writing...  

There's a vampire everyone's been waiting to see again!

Update! -4/13/18
Found the video...  Was never really meant for public viewing, just for the Elmwood gang - But here it is, enjoy!

Animal Behavior Is Now Online!

See the series now

HERE!

Your support keeps Elmwood going!!!  Thank you!

Be Yourself. Don't worry about it.

Snow daze...

Are perfect days for the studio...

Sunday...

Currently spinning...

"All the critics love you in New York..."

Super Bowl Sunday...  I do hope the Whalers win!  

Wait, what?  Oh, nevermind!

Maybe I'll kick back and watch "Night of The Living Dead" tonite.

Weekend! Time to watch some Elmwood stuff!!!

In case you missed it...  

Elmwood has two amazing web-series online now!

Check out ANIMAL BEHAVIOR and THE RISLEY BROTHERS this weekend!

I'll love ya for it, and you'll love them and laugh!

Check out all the Elmwood fun now!!!