Fanboy and Chum Chum

When not peeing, Mac Middleton is busy managing the production on Fanboy and Chum Chum. Mac worked on the original, unaired Random! “Fanboy” short, so many, many years ago. Before Random!, Mac did his time over at Warner Bros. on a bunch of action shows including Justice League, Batman Beyond, and The New Adventures of Batman and Superman. More recently, his main responsibility was to keep afloat Ni Hao Kai Lan, now a very popular cartoon on Nick Jr. Despite his continual going on about how great Chicago is, Mac’s a valuable guy to have on board (just as long as you don’t make him angry). Wish him luck.

Well, the production of Fanboy and Chum Chum held its very first recording ever this morning and it was great fun for all involved. Sorry, but Nickelodeon has let us know it’s not okay to show any pictures or mention the cast members’ names. It should be okay, though, to report the session was lead by voice director Ms Ginny McSwain, who also handled the chore on the seven-minute “Fanboy” short which Nick seems to have misplaced. We’ve also worked with Ginny on ChalkZone and Ape Escape. Ginny’s right (or, in this case, left)-hand man in the direction was head writer Steve Tompkins. Our recordings are set for every Wednesday morning. Hopefully, I’ll get to share some photos and information real soon.

– Eric (Homan)

Say hi to Mr Steve Tompkins, story editor and executive producer on Fanboy and Chum Chum.

Even before he got the greenlight for a series, Eric was meeting with tons of potential head writers, many talented and funny folks. In the end, though, it was with Steve whom Eric wanted to work the most. The team’s first big challenge was developing the series, adding and defining the characters and their world. While Eric’s big deal is having to be able to draw out the ideas to make sure they work visually, Steve’s been a stickler for getting to know these characters inside and out. For me, it’s been a blast watching them evolve (the characters, I mean, not Eric and Steve).

Tireless in his efforts to make these cartoons as funny as you can stand, Steve - with credits on The Simpsons, The Critic, and co-creating The PJs - brings tons of animation [Read more…]

Hello all! Here are two presentation pieces that didn’t make the cut. Hope you enjoy.

Robles

Meet Ms Mani Beil, the production coordinator on Fanboy and Chum Chum. This La Puente gal most recently worked on Nick’s Making Fiends, with a gig at Nick Movies before that. Mani’s job is making sure nothing slips through the many cracks that come with any production, and, believe me, she’s already more on top of things than you can imagine (for example, she’s already finished her 2007 taxes). Eric and his crew are in capable hands, for sure. Good luck, Mani.

– Eric (Homan)

The first person to be dragged into the world of Fanboy and Chum Chum was line producer Therese Trujillo. Those who’ve been paying close attention to the Fred blogs for the past three years may know Therese is world-famous for her line producing (the as-yet-unaired *cough*) Random! Cartoons. Having survived that Herculean task, she moved over to work on some pilots and development stuff for Nickdelodeon. Now, it was kind of assumed that when the first Random! short got picked up for a series, Therese would be the line producer, making sure the train was on schedule and that folks got paid. That didn’t have to be the case, of course; she could’ve been a disaster. But she wasn’t. In fact, it’s hard to imagine having anyone else in the trenches with Eric – or at least above the trenches yelling at Eric to keep his head down – than Therese. Frederator, [Read more…]

By your old buddies, Eric Robles, Chad Woods, and Chris Near.

– Eric (Homan)

You may think working on a cartoon show is all fun and games, but it isn’t. Take, for example, Beardelodeon 2008, the highly competitive contest which kicked off today in the Nick courtyard. Basically, guys (and gals, if you want, I suppose) have two weeks to let the facial hair run amok. Prizes will go to Mr Density, Mr Length, and Mr Babyface [insert your own jokes here]. Michael Caine and Mac Middleton, above, are representing the Fanboy crew. Best of luck, guys. May the follicles be with you. To rest of you, place your bets now.

– Eric (Homan)

By Eric Robles, Chad Woods, and Chris Near.

– Eric (Homan)

By request, a close-up of what’s on Eric’s computer in Fred’s post below. Fanboy presentation art by Eric Robles, with Chad Woods handling the background and Chris Near tackling the painting.

– Eric (Homan)