Update: June 17, 2009
Tickets for Austin FUNNY BOOKS screening now available
Get your tickets now for the Fri, June 26 Austin debut of FUNNY BOOKS at our brand new custom-built online store on our very own Web site. We can now securely accept all major credit cards using industry-leading 256-bit encryption, SSL certification from certificate authority (CA) Comodo, and transaction processing by nationally recognized Authorize.net.
For our virtual ribbon-cutting, the store features it's first and only item, advance tickets for our Friday, June 26 screening of FUNNY BOOKS at the Millennium Theater in Austin, Texas.
Get your tickets now
June 8, 2009
FUNNY BOOKS generates buzz as fourth feature begins filming
LOOK AT ME AGAIN, an intense drama and the fourth feature-length movie from Twitchy Dolphin Flix, began filming on Friday, June 5 in New Braunfels, Texas. Shooting will continue throughout June and July in Austin; and, in what is fast becoming a beloved Twitchy tradition, will wrap with a beach trip to shoot the last scenes in the Corpus Christi/Port Aransas area.
It's hard to imagine anything topping such momentous news, but the buzz about our second feature FUNNY BOOKS, and it's upcoming Austin screening on June 26 at the Millennium Theater, is suddenly taking off.
First, Austin's annual Japanese pop-culture convention IKKiCON gave our screening a huge new banner ad across their home page.
By Thursday we got our first local press when film writer Chris Garcia included screening details in his popular Austin360 movie blog. Saturday we awoke to find we were sharing space with Will Ferrell in the "Best of the Blogs" portion of the Austin American-Statesman's Life & Arts section under the headline "Early jaunt to 'Land of the Lost,' plus screening for 'Funny Books'" with a reprint of the blog post.
And if all that weren't enough, before Saturday was over we were alerted that FUNNY BOOKS had caught the eye of none other than Kevin's Smith's News Askew. Yes, THAT Kevin Smith!
Cast and crew were giddy about the attention at Saturday night's beer-and-burgers dinner break at the Crown & Anchor between shots for LOOK AT ME AGAIN, and we were all more excited than ever about the upcoming FUNNY BOOKS screenings.
Interestingly, both posts are quick to highlight the obvious comparison to the Kevin Smith classic "Clerks". We are truly honored by such an association. Smith's career is a source of both admiration and inspiration for Twitchy Dolphin Flix and many Kevin Smith films, including "Clerks", remain very high on our list of favorites and recommendations.
However, that obviousness was not lost on us either, so despite the story loosely revolving around the staff of a retail store and a few nods of homage to Smith and his fans like us everywhere, it actually bears very little resemblance. From the beginning in fact, FUNNY BOOKS was never even conceived as "'Clerks' in a comic store" so it takes on an entirely different tone and direction altogether.
At it's heart, FUNNY BOOKS is a comic book fantasy of its own lived-out by the real-life characters on screen in a way that respectfully shows both how odd, and how oddly normal, comic fans can be. And where better to immerse yourself in a comic book fantasy but a comic book store...in our case Capstone Comics in north Austin to whom we owe very special thanks for graciously allowing us after-hours access for much of the filming during early 2008.
James Christopher, who wrote and directed FUNNY BOOKS, as well as creative director/cinematographer Chris Copple have been intensely passionate about comics most of their lives. That passion is also shared by many of the actors and crew in the film. So FUNNY BOOKS is actually an entirely original story of action, adventure, and romance lovingly peppered with fanboy insider jokes and references, yet cleverly crafted as a romantic comedy to appeal to a much wider audience with no frame of reference to the comic book world at all.
We like to say it's a movie by comic fans for comic fans and non-fans alike.
As a labor of love for so many involved, we sincerely hope everyone will come out to support FUNNY BOOKS and give it a chance to find a voice of its own. We think that despite all the characters' various quirks and eccentricities, and there are many, just about everyone can find something redeeming, memorable, and maybe even downright loveable about most all of them.
Twitchy Dolphin's second feature film release FUNNY BOOKS is a comedy, lovingly told by comic fans for comic fans and non-fans alike, about an unassuming dreamer named Wally who finds himself, and true love, while juggling a nefarious boss, a manipulative girlfriend, and a universe of elitist fanboys and eccentric characters at the friendly neighborhood comic store. The film is appropriate for viewers 17 and up.
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