Screaming Soup!

Howdy there, Scream Freaks! We’re comin’ at ya off the heels of some sucky news, so bear with us. Nothin’ terrible or even all that awful mind ya, but we ain’t thrilled ’bout it none the less.

Ya ever have yer sights set on somethin’ ya really thought was yours for the takin’, just to find out the cosmos had other plans for ya? A couple of week’s ago, the Syfy channel announced they were takin’ pitches for animated bumpers to be produced for their upcoming Child’s Play TV series scheduled later this year, and each pitch selected would guarantee a $2000 payday. The Syfy channel? Chucky?! Greenbacks for doin’ what we love and gettin’ it seen on TV?!! Sign us up, right?

So, naturally we dropped everything we were doin’ and threw all our energy into this pursuit of small screen fame and fortune. With a turnaround of a dog’s hair more than a week, we had to work fast to maximize our chances at bein’ picked. With an allowance of five entries, we hit the drawin’ board and came up with numerous 10-20 second situations that humorously showcased Chucky as the deceptive little bastard we love him for. Followin’ the rules of submission, we wrote all the synopses, pulled together the different treatments, drew up detailed storyboards, and even went the extra mile to record a last second face-to-face video to verbally express our take on what makes our ideas so special. Lotta work. Lotta effort. Worth the potential reward.

Well — as you’ve already guessed, we weren’t picked. One of our ideas was a finalist, but six other creators’ pitches were deemed better options for Syfy’s needs, and they’re all rushin’ to get their TV spots in production as we’re writin’ this. Are we fightin’ mad ’bout it? Naw. Are we disappointed by it? Sure. Who wouldn’t, right?

The most important thing, however (and the whole reason we felt like sharin’ this), is none of this diminishes our self worth as creators. We accept there’s always gonna be someone better than us at certain things out there, but we also believe our stuff is just as good as the winnin’ pitches, and it just came down to a matter of preference as the decidin’ factor. It always helps to remember even award winnin’ masters of their field lose gigs every now and again. Like when special effects wizard Stan Winston’s pitch for turnin’ folks into monkeys for Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes lost to Rick Baker’s make-up concepts. It didn’t mean Stan was any less an amazin’ fabricator of fantasy. Burton just preferred Rick’s approach at the time.

Who knows? All the examples of our work we included with our submissions were Screaming Soup! videos, so maybe the powers that be at Syfy got a good gander at who we are and will end up wantin’ to add us to their Saturday night line-up of toons. It could happen.

On a cheerier note, we’re proud to return to our favorite one-stop toy chest for yesteryear and today’s playful plastics, Toy Federation, and hang out with the latest celeb passin’ through, Michael Bailey Smith! Now, if ya don’t recognize him, that’s no surprise given he’s been under alotta monster make-up for most his career. First hittin’ the screen as Super Freddy in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, that accidental castin’ launched Michael’s career as a heavy favorite from the mutant cannibals in The Hills Have Eyes remakes to playin’ several supernatural villains on TV’s Charmed.

A top shelf personality we could really pal ’round with, Michael was a hoot to meet and kind ‘nough to let us pick his noodle for ‘nother thrillin’ interview guarantee to shed some excitin’ light on his impressive filmography. We laugh, we poke fun, we get our tailbone kicked into ‘nother dimension . . . just check it out below!

Other than that, be sure to catch up on all past Screaming Soup! Seasons, check out this week’s Howl’n Hottie, read recent reviews for the newer horror films and comics we’re checkin’ out in our blogs, R-Rated Reviews and Sequential Slime, and help us get the word out about the web’s #1 animated horror host show! Please use our social buttons in the upper right corner of the site and follow our tweets, subscribe to our video channels, like our Facebook, watch and share all our vids, and keep that fan mail comin’. You can also warm up some Screaming Soup! leftovers with reruns currently playin’ on Beta Max TV, Sluggo’s The Vortexx, and Mr. Lobo‘s OSI 74!

See ya later, Scream Freaks!