Ricardo's Interview

After the posting of "People Demand Pie", I was able to catch up with Ricardo himself to ask him why his promise for pie fell through, and this is what we talked about.

Click here to view Interview

The People Demand Pie

A little while ago and incident happened at the studio. It involved a promise that was never fulfilled and then a protest that was definitely answered.

The situation:
A certain Ricardo Curtis had decided to promise the people of House of Cool that there would be pie last Thursday. Well as you can guess that did not happen. There were allot of grumblings and unfulfilled cravings for the sweet and tart dessert. By Friday there was nothing Ricardo could do but give the people what they deserved. PIE!!!

The people were satisfied and extremely full!

Lebron

Check out the Article on "The LeBrons"
http://www.animationmagazine.net/people/believe-entertainment-groups-the-lebrons/

Employee of the Week

Today's employee of the week is Vivian Ho! Our accountant extraordinaire! She keeps everything running smoothly.  Besides counting the beans and cutting the chqs Vivan  has a love for plants! Most of the greenery in the office was donated from her green thumb. Without her our plants would be nothing more then brown dead leaves on the floor. So thank you Vivan for getting us paid, keeping our plants green and always having a smile on your face!

Beer and Star Wars

Beer and Star Wars, 2 amazing things in this universe brought together with this amazing article called "What would Darth Vader Be Drinking". I cannot take any credit for this except in knowing the writer of this beer blog, Mr Stephen Rich, Craft Beer Mastermind Extraordinaire. I did notice that we missed the intergalactic Star Wars day "May the 4th be with you", so this is in honour of that very special day.

Hope you enjoy, Cheers!

http://definitionale.com/2012/05/04/what-would-vader-be-drinking/#more-1409

The Avengers Have You Seen It

Well all the way up here at the front of the studio it seems pretty quiet, and really the rain has been the only eventful part of my day. I have decided to write today's blog about the "Avengers"!! Yeah!!! (I am sure there are things going on in the back but that's a far walk for a Wednesday)

Pretty much if you haven't seen it you definitely need to even if you are not the comic book type. A great cast, excellent writing and tons of action sums up a recipe for something very entertaining. 

The only thing I didn't enjoy was watching the movie with glasses on that makes things look semi-cooler. I am an asian which = no nose bridge to wear those ridiculous plastic glasses.

If you do go in the next week AVX is the way to go, no line ups and reserved seating is awesome. If not I would opt to see it minus 3D. After watching Avatar all other 3D movies seem a little bit under the bar. If your girlfriend is not convinced just remind her that Chris Evans plays Captain America, who doesn't like hunky men in blue tights running around?

 

 - Shara Kim

Family Time at House of Cool

We all know how the weeks fly by and the projects pile on. We loose touch and work too hard. Even when working in the same building we can forget about the importance of being a family. Fridays better known as "Beer Fridays" have now been re-named as "Family Time Fridays".

Thank you to our gracious host and hostess, Rodrigo & Kim, who brought us together with Cheese, Wine and Patte. Everyone was "forced" to take 10mins today and catch up with each other and talk about the origins of cheese, how wine is hardly a substitute for beer, play a few rounds of ping pong (Even though the broken elevator has given us all of our exercise for the day), and discuss the video of the hungry lion at the zoo. The Reluctant Jason was even happy to grab a few crackers and slab on some creamy Brie and join in on the not so "manly" event.

Don't forget about your "work" family, they're the ones who listen to your stories about your "home" family and show you the latest videos on you tube!

Our hostess Kim!

 Everyone digging in!

 The Cheese is a hit!

 Yup that says "Duck, Pork, and Pistachio" patte........ Yum!

Keeping Up With FCBK

With the ever changing world of technology we must constantly keep up. So with that said check out our NEW FCBK Fan Page! great stuff is happening there everyday, so make sure you don't miss out! Come on you know you LIKE us! http://www.facebook.com/houseofcoolstudios

And The Battle Continues

So the Battle continues........ Our tournament has come down to 2 people for the Ping Pong event.
Ann and Alex
Which one will come up on top? Who knows? We do know that Ann loves to win, and when Ann wants something she usually gets it!

I believe someone in the office is taking bets........

Alex with his Game Face on! Watch out Ann this guy apparently means business!

What Kind of Green Do You Have?

We have some new additions to our foliage here at HoC. It's not over kill so we look like the House of Jungle instead but it is interesting to know what a little bit of green can do for your office.

Here is a link that will surely convince you about the benefits of having some vegetation inside the workspace.
http://www.plantcultureinc.com/whyGreen.html

Easter Eggs In The Studio

And I am not talking about the ones you find when watching shows like LOST. The Easter Bunny has left us some treats to hide for our employees (Even the Easter Bunny is outsourcing his work now).

Lots of awesome chocolate and treats will be tucked away in corners, plants and behind computer screens. Oops I think I just gave away all the hiding spots. Well the early bird will get the treats then, I guess some people will be coming into work a little earlier then usual.

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Triathlon Commence

The HoC and RedRover family is starting up their very own Studio Triathlon! Each player will be put through the grueling events of:
Ping Pong - this sport requires you to hit a miniscule target traveling of speeds up to VERY FAST with and equally tiny paddle
Pool - not the swimming kind, I wish we could fit a pool in here
Foosball - in the words of Abed from Community "I think its European, It's probably a more important game over there, it's like the soccer of pingpong....."

Only the fit will last and only one can reign champion.......... who will it be?

DoggyTime

Did you think all House of Cool did was make cartoons? Well, that's mostly correct but over that last couple of years we have been dabbling in app development. I am please to announce that we have just release our newest app called DoggyTime. It'a a cute app for dog lovers who want to keep track of their dog's age in dog years. Jeffrey Thompson is responsible for most of the artwork. Go download it for free on iTunes or click on this link.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/doggytime/id503776820?ls=1&mt=8

www.doggytimeapp.com

Let us know what you think of DoggyTime and write a review on iTunes.

Stay tuned for our other apps in development. They are going to be game changers in the animation industry. That's a promise!

-Ricardo (Man of the House)

BROWNSTONES

While Ricardo was head of story on Horton Hears a Who!, he met Chad Walker and Dave LaMattina, two Blue Sky employees.  At the time, Chad was a story PA and Dave was an assistant to the director.  On the side, however, the two had joined with their friend Clay Frost to form a production company called Copper Pot Pictures.  Chad and Dave casually told Ric about a documentary Copper Pot was making called BROWNSTONES TO RED DIRT, which was about a pen pal program connecting sixth graders living in Brooklyn, NY housing projects with war orphans in Freetown, Sierra Leone.  Ricardo offered the support of House of Cool and, over the next few years, he and Wes helped mentor the first-time directors.  BROWNSTONES TO RED DIRT went on to a successful festival run, with stops at the Sarasota, Aspen, Tallinn, Brooklyn, San Francisco and Seattle International Film Festivals among others.  In Seattle, the film was a runner-up for the Golden Space Needle Audience Choice Award.  Additionally, it was a centerpiece for the San Francisco International Film Festival's Schools at the Festival.

Now, Canadians will finally have a chance to see it.  The film has just been added to the lineup at the Toronto International Film Festival's "TIFF Kids" and will have it's Canadian premiere on Wednesday, April 18th at the TIFF Lightbox Theater.  To view BROWNSTONES TO RED DIRT's TIFF screening schedule, please click HERE.

While on the festival circuit, Copper Pot Pictures also undertook a significant fundraising campaign to help the kids profiled in the film.  In September 2011, the team returned to Sierra Leone to attend the opening of a new school built by their efforts (see the new school HERE).  During their trip, they shot with Major League Soccer star Kei Kamara, who was in Sierra Leone to play with the national team.  The resulting short documentary, simply titled KEI, will premier at the Bermuda International Film Festival later this month.  Next up for Copper Pot is I AM BIG BIRD, which profiles Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who has been Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since Sesame Street began in 1969.  At 78 years old, he has no intention of stopping.  For updates about all of Copper Pot's projects, follow them on Twitter.

Game Of Thrones in Toronto!

Have you seen or read Game of Thrones yet? If the answer is yes then you might be interested to know that the TIFF Bell Lightbox will be host to HBO's Game Of Thrones Exhibition, March 9-18th. The best part is tickets are FREE!! And before you ask what this has to do with animation, have you seen the first season? If you have then you shouldn't be asking that question and if you haven't go watch it.

http://tiff.net/gameofthrones