Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1332040
9 8 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 1 Aliens attack! Alas, the world's superheroes are too busy bickering to work as a team. Without a clear plan, they bungle each other's noble efforts to fend off an invasion. Their offspring must come to the rescue, led by Missy Moreno, the only kid in the bunch lacking a superpower. We Can Be Heroes, loosely connected to 2005's The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D, has a ten-week prep. A cadre of Netflix execs arrive in Austin for a meet and greet. We reconnect with Kwame Parker, Head of Production. We last worked together surviving a year-plus on Kill Bill, almost two decades past. Makes a pang in my ribcage. Steve and I helmed the property department. Kwame was the line producer's right hand. Common history. Confidence. Solid footing to begin. A narrative of connections begins. ALIEN SHIP Writerdirector Robert Rodriguez has a clear vision for an alien mothership. Wanting to get a handle on the visual effects road ahead, he spends a few weeks of back-and-forth with small group of London-based Industrial Light and Magic concept artists and fleshes out an octopus-like, tentacled exterior from which thousands of tiny pods can eject. Once on the ground, we bring in our own lean team, Art Director Paul Alix, Illustrators Alex Cunningham and Daniel Lim, Set Designers Megan Montemayor and Jeff Adams, and 3D modeler Adam Fontenault. The thrill of compound curves. Organic shapes. A whole ship sculpted in an otherworldly language. Freed of sticks and luan. Bring it. Steve and I have been working toward a challenge like this since Spy Kids, when we were tasked with creating kid- sized spy planes and submersibles. That was our introduction into the world of heavy fabrication. Creating Sharkboy's submarine some fifteen years ago razored into focus. Now, design an alien ship interior with a maze of corridors, an undersea vibe and a practical production pipeline. A B i t o f P l a y , C o l o r a n d G o o f i n e s s W E C A N B E H E R O E S B Y C A Y L A H E D D L E B L U T E W I T H S T E V E J O Y N E R , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R S A. ALIEN MOTHERSHIP CONCEPT. P. DOMINGUEZ- AGUILAR. ILM. A