Friday, February 27, 2009

Wanna Disappoint Mom? Two Words: "Punk Rock"!

It's time to get the word out! There's a new book coming out in July, and its called.......

"So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Your Mother)"

It's written by YA (that's "Young Adult" to you and me) author, Micol Ostow. And while there is a special place in my heart for the written word, my brain is hardwired for visuals (which helps with the whole filmmaking/editing thing), so its a good thing illustrator David Ostow did such a kick-ass job filling this novel with comic strips that interweve through the chapters, elevating this story above a mere novel, or graphic novel. Its both, and its niether - a perfect blend of what makes both formats great.

Ok, so you get the gist - "So Punk Rock (And Other Ways to Disappoint Yor Mother)" (or "SPR") is a groovy blend of words and pictures. What is the story about? Why am I pimping it out? How could I even know enough to pimp it out when its not hitting bookstores until July? And wasn't I going to write about my new editing project today?

Well, David Ostow just so happens to my roommate and bestest friend in the whole world. And Micol Ostow just so happens to be his sister. Which makes me an "insider"! That's right, I may not be a member of Team Ostow, but I walked in on many a creative meeting between the two. And since Dave's drafting studio (bedroom) is on the other side of our spaciaous (and awesome) Hoboken apartment, I watched the whole graphic portion of the novel come into being. I even have a cameo in one of the strips! Welcome to minute one of my fifteen!

For those of you lazy motherf*&#'s that didn't click on the link I provided, "SPR" is basically a story about dreaming big, breaking molds, and the consequences that follow. Specifically, its about a group of privaleged high school kids that live in the bubble of a tight Jewish community in North Jersey. Its not exactly the type of environment you'd expect a punk rock band to emerge from. But that's exactly what Ari Abramson, a junior at a religious private school, sets out to do. And from a student body more suited for prayer and study, than sex, drugs and rock & roll, Ari sets out to recruit the band that'll make him a rockstar. Intrigued? I know I am. Is it July yet?

If it isn't obvious yet, my new editing project is related to "SPR". Or to be more specific, the marketing of "SPR". The days of one-sheet ads for new books are gone, my friends. The fine people of the publishing industry have taken a page from Hollywood's gamebook, and now - books get trailers! That's right - just like the ones you see for movies. Don't believe me? Check it out for yourself, bee-yotch! (Sorry, that was uncalled for.....you are not a bee-yotch)

Which brings us full circle back to......me. The Powers That Be have decreed that "SPR" needs a trailer, and since I was the first editor in the vicinity of the book's creators, I was called up from the minor leagues. See you later, youtube suckers! I'm getting embedded on an a publisher's offical website!

But I'm getting waaaaaaay ahead of myself. I only started work on the trailer this week, and its a whole new area for me. Animation! Well, not traditional animation. Dave an I are collaborating on using his drawings to make a trailer that stays true to the style and tone of the book, while also whetting your appetite and giving your eyeballs boners. (ok, again...that was innappropriate...but cut me some slack, Jack - I've been staring at computer screens for 12 hours today. Plus I'm reeeeeeeeeally sleep deprived. So just give me a pass on the whole eyeball boner thing, ok?)

Now that I've introduced you to "SPR" and caught you up to speed on my current project, I'll leave you to your thoughts. Or I can leave you with Dave's thoughts, or Micol's - you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.

Next time on "Burn After Blogging": "SPR" Trailer updates, whatever thoughts are going through my fried brain, and 10,000 more words of pure blog goodness!

1 comment:

  1. Just adding that Dan was not the only film editor in the vicinity but the best. I mean, it's true I don't know too many. But if Dan were just a guy with a copy of FInal Cut (actually he used Adobe Premiere but that's neither here nor there) I wouldn't feel as comfortable as I do opening the gates and letting his imagination run amok (yes, sometimes you have to clean up after a wild, loose imagination but it is a small price to pay for a book trailer likely to take home this year's prize for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence).

    My only hope is that the trailer doesn't outshine the book.

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