Writing Lonely Dog x 2

It is seriously full on at the moment! Friday we met with Warner Bros for a quick update. They came through NZ en route from Sydney to LA, and stopped over briefly. Their main focus is scripting with the hope of having draft one complete by the end of September.

We are currently sorting diaries so that the screen writer can come to New Zealand, visit Queenstown, catch up with Ivan, see the home of the Lonely Dog, and pick up a feel for the landscape that has inspired the fantastical world of Alveridgea, and use this as fuel as he completes the script. Can't wait.

At the same time we are deep in plot outlines as we craft the novel version of the book. This will be a largely text based book, with only the maps and one or two pencil sketches. Those of you lucky enough to have a copy of the source code - The Almalogue - will know how important Ivan's sketches and paintings are in bringing the world to life. ( Along with all the ephemera and found pieces inserted into it as well). Without these, we need to pay attention to adding extra descriptive passages to the writing so that those not in possession of an Almalogue still get a good idea of the world of Lonely Dog. Our goal is to have the book ready for worldwide release hopefully next May. For that to occur we need to be ready for the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. That is putting some pressure on!

The book editor is flying from London to New Zealand to be with us over the next few weeks and keep us on track. Ivan has been drawing, and has come up with a simply sensational sketch as a basis for a painting that will be the feature of the cover. Awesome.

As you might imagine, one of the things we are trying to do is to keep the two developments running in tandem, being informed by each other. It is great that over the next few weeks we will have both parties here getting immersed in the "real oil". It is quite humbling to be getting this level of attention from large international companies. It certainly feels as if the world of Lonely Dog is about to be enjoyed by a whole lot more people!

Warner's Test Results. A lot is going on!

OK, it's been a while. So what has been going on in the world of Lonely Dog? The big news is that on a recent trip to the US Ivan and I met with Warners. They were really keen to show us their work on the "test". This is a short piece of a few minutes that will never see the light of day. It is to see what the concept looks like, how the world feels, how the digital properties look, and so on.

Well, test it might be in their language, but it looked extremely impressive! A few impressions. We were both bowled over by the opening voice over. None other than Morgan Freeman! What a compliment to The Lonely Dog to use the 'voice of God' as the test narrator! Sensational.

To set the scene, as Morgan Freeman narrates the opening a motorcycle approached the small seaside town of Port Alveridge. It pulls in, riders (2) dismount, and enter a seaside bar. A hand pulls out the power cord to a jukebox that is pumping out atrocious cat pop. The shadowy small character from the back of the bike takes to the stage, plugs his guitar in, turns, and reveals himself to be not a hound, but Lonely Dog himself. With a flourish of power chords he gets the hounds up and dancing, the cats trying to join in but being pushed to one side.....

Warners had fun with the props at a real seaside bar at Marina Del Ray. All the bottles behind the bar had appropriate houndish labels - Jack Russell Whiskey, with a slightly familiar black label! Etc. Every bottle created! Posters are on the walls, showing various famous catside and houndside artists. One of these actual posters is in the Auckland Gallery and another in the Wellington Gallery - we brought them home with us!

The footage was shot live action, motion capture, head replacement. Lonely Dog - and the other characters of hounds and cats - were played by real people, and filmed in a real set. Their heads were 'replaced' electronically. LD's head looked incredibly realistic. In fact Ivan felt it was too realistic. Stunning. It is easy to see how this is going to work. It looks like nothing else, and is very captivating.

It was quite fantastic to see tangible evidence of the project coming to life.

Next steps are to press on with scripting. The test was a resounding success. Things are getting interesting ....!

Hamilton is all go!

Hi everyone. Ron, who runs Exhibitions Gallery and manages the Auckland Lonely Dog Gallery for us, has secured an outstanding venue on Victoria Street in Hamilton. The old Sohl and Oliveto restaurant site no less!

Opening is this Friday the 18th of June and gallery - a true pop up - will only be open until Saturday 3 July. The 2010 Collection is on show, as are many of the other works, including sculptures. I spent yesterday helping Ron John and Garry set up, and it looks amazing! Half slick, half rough. Perfect Alveridgea! The hounds would love what we have done.

The temporary gallery will be open daily from 9am. (Sundays 10am) and closing hours will be a bit flexible as we are in the heart of the restaurant precinct. So come to the Field Days, come to the gallery, and enjoy a meal at the local hostelries! See you there.

PS. You are most welcome to the opening preview Friday night, 6pm onwards.

2010 Collection Venues and Dates.

The wine is sourced. The glasses are polished. It is going to be a fabulous series of openings!

Before giving you a few more details, here are the dates and venues.

6 February Queenstown

11 February Lonely Dog Gallery Auckland

17 February Exhibitions Gallery Wellington

21 February Gallery Beneath Maloolaba

27 March Borsini-Burr Gallery San Francisco

Now, a few extra details.

Queenstown. The preview and ongoing show will be held in Alveridge Hall, Bob's Cove. The property is the home of the Lonely Dog and contains much of the intrigue and inspiration for Ivan's works showcased in this museum style exhibition. This fantastic venue has the ability to display the entire Legacy Series - Series One, Series Two, 2009 Collection and the new 2010 Collection. It will be a treat to see the entire series of works together in one place.

Auckland. The dedicated Lonely Dog Gallery continues to thrive, with a large tourist component to its sales. The Cruise Ship season is wonderful! Ngaire and Lorna can't wait to hang the new Collection and to host you on the opening night, and throughout the exhibition.

Wellington. Ron is coming off a real high. The launch of Lonely Dog at Exhibitions Gallery mid last year was huge fun. And a real success. He has recently hosted the Doctor Seuss collection, again with great success. Now the Lonely Dog 2010 Collection. OK, he's done one or two other things in between! It is a delight to continue to work with Ron and we are looking forward to seeing you in Wellington in the middle of the Wellington Arts Festival. Perfect!

Maloolaba. Brent and Claire are thrilled that the roadworks outside the gallery are over! On the 21st of February the 2010 Collection will launch on the Sunshine Coast. Come and see the new works, and have a catch up. Brent and Claire would love to see you there.

San Francisco. Early one morning I received a phone call from a bundle of Californian energy known as Dianne Borsini - Burr. Within minutes of speaking I knew I was talking to an extraordinary individual. Acclaimed as an entrepreneur, lover of art, very successful art dealer, full on character, Dianne is introducing the world of Lonely Dog to SF and her clients throughout the wider US in March. We will be there to meet and talk. We can't wait. Look out the USA.

All that to say, as I have written previously, Ivan has excelled himself. Ivan, Garry and I can't wait to see the reaction to the new collection. We hope you love these works as much as we do.