Lucy, Daughter of the Devil

[LorenBouchard]

oh, another detail about coach mcguirk - to answer your question specifically and to add to my previous comments - idea for coach came because we were constructing the pilot and we really wanted brendon's mom to date a teacher from school. my boss Tom Snyder suggested soccer coach and I knew a bartender named Joe mcguirk and the rest came from putting Benjamin in the booth and fooling around.

[LorenBouchard]

so this was your question : "What would you say the context for Home Movies is? I always kind of felt there was a serious underlying text throughout the series, just from the way it was portrayed as a young child in elementary school with a very mature personality."
I'll take a shot at an answer... I think that there is something great about an adult voicing a kid in animation. lots of shows do it, though sometimes they have the actor stay TOO close to what a real kid sounds like and talks like. what I prefer - what we did on home movies and what we do on bob's, and obviously other shows do this too - is to let some of that more mature sensibility come through in the character. what you end up with, I think, is something really weird and potentially powerful - a kind of kid-not-kid, which, if it works, has a shot at being really meaningful to both kids who feel or felt that way growing up, and to adults who feel that way now.

[itsacoaster]

Welcome back, Loren. Since you're here, I have a few more questions.

1. How did the idea for the Bob's episode "Art Crawl" come about? I know nothing about art or crawling, so I'm mostly wondering how the idea of super-prude Art Crawl organizers and animal anuses came up.

2. My favorite Bob's episode is "Hamburger Dinner Theater," where Linda and the family put on a murder mystery that becomes a very real armed robbery. What's your favorite episode? Are show creators allowed to have a favorite?

3. The Lucy DotD DVD has sold out from the AdultSwim.com shop at least four separate times. This isn't so much a question, more a thank you for your pursuit of a DVD, as a memento for Lucy's fans. Obviously the fans appreciate it, and have shown their appreciation with their credit card info.

[duzitickle]

i cant be the only one, frillz.
>.<
i could go for a little of both, remaster/mix.
id ttly buy something like that on itunes.

HEY LOOK ADULT SWIM.
ILL GIVE YOU MONEY.
YOU GIVE ME LDOTD SOUNDTRACK.

i seriously doubt thats gonna work, but hey, ya never know.

whats the weirdest thing anyones ever asked you to sign?

[stonergoth187]

I have no idea what question to ask, if anything i'd probably ask a question so I can feel giddy about it when it's answered, but i'll just save you (and your ipad) a few sentences and awkwardly splurge about how Home Movies is my favorite [AS] show and that you guys are major awesome for making it.

[MaryKraft]

Hey there, sorry, no question here. I voice a character on Squidbillies, hopped over from my guest page when I saw your name.
Wait, i'll make this a question. Just wanted to say how much I love and admire your work/humor, I know Scott Jacobsen a little, worked on something he worked on with the squids creator, and wanted to thank you for all the great shows??
Wait, again.
Here's A question that hopefully hnt already been asked. What's It like being consulting producer for Ricky Gervais? One of my favorites.

[poisonbella]

This is so cool that we get to ask questions and such and it will feel even cooler now while watching Bobs burgers!

[NOTdubbed]

---

LorenBouchard wrote:
so this was your question : "What would you say the context for Home Movies is? I always kind of felt there was a serious underlying text throughout the series, just from the way it was portrayed as a young child in elementary school with a very mature personality."
I'll take a shot at an answer... I think that there is something great about an adult voicing a kid in animation. lots of shows do it, though sometimes they have the actor stay TOO close to what a real kid sounds like and talks like. what I prefer - what we did on home movies and what we do on bob's, and obviously other shows do this too - is to let some of that more mature sensibility come through in the character. what you end up with, I think, is something really weird and potentially powerful - a kind of kid-not-kid, which, if it works, has a shot at being really meaningful to both kids who feel or felt that way growing up, and to adults who feel that way now.

---

That is an extremely satisfying answer. I think it's always been one of my favorite aspects about the show. Thanks for the answer!

[poisonbella]

Hi i just watched bobs burgers!i want to make a quick statement...about jon benjamin. i like that you use him and even tho his voice sounds the same, for every character it instantly fits and molds to the character being played!

[LorenBouchard]

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Majikthise wrote:
Having spent the past few weeks re-watching Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil (which I consider a mini-classic), I can't help but wonder where it would have gone if you had been given the go-ahead for a second season. Personally, I loved the horror film spoofs, but I got the impression that the network wasn't too big on them. What were the stories that wanted to tell, but didn't get the chance to?

---

HA! on the laptop, finally. much better. i'll try and not over-write though. ipad good like that, keeps you from getting diarrhea-of-the-fingers. SO... this question, above... there was a lot of momentum, creatively, behind a second season of lucy. and in hindsight, i feel like if i'd had only about a few more units of experience i could have delivered what AS (lazzo) wanted. the plan was to go bigger - make it a half hour, and make it higher budget. take it from late night pseudo-horror shortie to an almost prime-time level, animated sitcom.

the stories we started writing were still very season one-ish though. we were just gonna have lucy move in with satan. that was the sitcommy adjustment. put satan's house in san francisco, instead of hell, and have lucy get kicked out of her apartment so she has to move into his spare room, (i think we had lots of jokes about satan's treadmill being in there, etc.).. that one adjustment of course puts dj jesus even more in satan's face - cuz he's the on-again-off-again BF who's coming over and schtupping satan's daughter.

anyway -- maybe this sort of answers the question and also the question someone asked about if lucy ended the way i wanted it to - no. it didn't. we were gunning for a second season and we were hoping it would break out and find an even bigger audience. BUT things fell apart for understandable reasons. no one was the bad guy, per se. 

[LorenBouchard]

---

MusketBoned wrote:
Are there any squiggle-vision plans for the future? I was always a really big fan of that animation style. I couldn't tell you exactly why, it might have seemed a bit more... I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for. It just looked like there was real human effort put into making the show.

---

glad you liked it. i have to say, i think it was hard to watch. we showed dr. katz in a theater in the boston area once and i swear to god everyone who sat in the front rows got nauseous. 

no plans to bring that particular flavor of squiggle back, though the "boiling" line is a great technique when done well (like the red bull commercials maybe? not sure)....

[LorenBouchard]

---

itsacoaster wrote:
Welcome back, Loren. Since you're here, I have a few more questions.

1. How did the idea for the Bob's episode "Art Crawl" come about? I know nothing about art or crawling, so I'm mostly wondering how the idea of super-prude Art Crawl organizers and animal anuses came up.

2. My favorite Bob's episode is "Hamburger Dinner Theater," where Linda and the family put on a murder mystery that becomes a very real armed robbery. What's your favorite episode? Are show creators allowed to have a favorite?

3. The Lucy DotD DVD has sold out from the AdultSwim.com shop at least four separate times. This isn't so much a question, more a thank you for your pursuit of a DVD, as a memento for Lucy's fans. Obviously the fans appreciate it, and have shown their appreciation with their credit card info.

---

1. art crawl was originally going to be a story about some really mediocre paintings - like sunsets or whatever - and how bob hated mediocrity. and the arts council was going to be this shadowy organization with almost mafia-like power. then the network (nicely) pointed out that this is a kind of a baroque story to be telling in a sunday night animated show, so we rewrote it with animal anuses. it was one of those moments when we were SO GLAD to be getting network notes. that cliche of the network giving heavy-handed notes and the creatives all being stifled - forget that. picture instead, if you will, a bunch of writers who are happy to be pushed to do yet another draft cuz it gets you to animal anuses. which are great.

2. no favorites. you inferred correctly that show creators are not allowed to have favorites. or if we are, it's a moving thing - a kind of churning sea of episodes - with one bobbing up to the surface of your consciousness for a moment, and you're so tired and fried you might call it your favorite, but then it sinks beneath the waves again and another bobs up. that said, i love the one where bob drives a cab.

3. question for you: do you know what that means that it's sold out four times? does that mean somebody has to burn another stack of twenty discs cuz there are none on the shelf? that's what i picture. the dvd people at AS were great, but i never hear from them. that makes me think it was a quiet release.

[LorenBouchard]

---

MaryKraft wrote:
Hey there, sorry, no question here. I voice a character on Squidbillies, hopped over from my guest page when I saw your name.
Wait, i'll make this a question. Just wanted to say how much I love and admire your work/humor, I know Scott Jacobsen a little, worked on something he worked on with the squids creator, and wanted to thank you for all the great shows??
Wait, again.
Here's A question that hopefully hnt already been asked. What's It like being consulting producer for Ricky Gervais? One of my favorites.

---

love scott jacobson. (he's one of our writers on bob's.)

consulting on the gervais show was fun, but not glamorous. don't picture me in london brainstorming with ricky. picture instead me and nora smith (another bob's writer) going over animatics and listening to the podcasts and pitching visuals for the animators at wildbrain to use or not use as they saw fit.

[MusketBoned]

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LorenBouchard wrote:

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MusketBoned wrote:
Are there any squiggle-vision plans for the future? I was always a really big fan of that animation style. I couldn't tell you exactly why, it might have seemed a bit more... I'm not sure of the word I'm looking for. It just looked like there was real human effort put into making the show.

---

glad you liked it. i have to say, i think it was hard to watch. we showed dr. katz in a theater in the boston area once and i swear to god everyone who sat in the front rows got nauseous. 

no plans to bring that particular flavor of squiggle back, though the "boiling" line is a great technique when done well (like the red bull commercials maybe? not sure)....

---

No wonder those shows weren't huge (I mean immensely bigger than they seemed to be) hits. I think they should have been, but I can't even fathom becoming nauseous over Dr. Katz or Home Movies. It just added some character to the shows for me. Not really a question developing I see, so I guess this is just a comment.

[lunarnoodle]

Hi there.

I do have a question, but like so many other ppl, I really wanted to let you know how much I love your work/a show. Particularly Lucy. I am still pretty sad that it ended. It was something that I really looked forward to watching and I am bummed that there's no more. Oh well, there's always sold out DVDs to rewatch over and over again.

Anyway, looking at shows like Home Movies, Lucy, and Bob's, the visual style from one to the other is very different. As a writer/director for these shows how involved are you in visual conception of characters and animation styles? and can you tell us anything about what kinds of things inform the choices of animation style? Does it depend who you are working with on a particular show? Or is the animation style dictated more by the story concepts?

[viperxmns]

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LorenBouchard wrote:

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itsacoaster wrote:
Welcome back, Loren. Since you're here, I have a few more questions.

1. How did the idea for the Bob's episode "Art Crawl" come about? I know nothing about art or crawling, so I'm mostly wondering how the idea of super-prude Art Crawl organizers and animal anuses came up.

2. My favorite Bob's episode is "Hamburger Dinner Theater," where Linda and the family put on a murder mystery that becomes a very real armed robbery. What's your favorite episode? Are show creators allowed to have a favorite?

3. The Lucy DotD DVD has sold out from the AdultSwim.com shop at least four separate times. This isn't so much a question, more a thank you for your pursuit of a DVD, as a memento for Lucy's fans. Obviously the fans appreciate it, and have shown their appreciation with their credit card info.

---

1. art crawl was originally going to be a story about some really mediocre paintings - like sunsets or whatever - and how bob hated mediocrity. and the arts council was going to be this shadowy organization with almost mafia-like power. then the network (nicely) pointed out that this is a kind of a baroque story to be telling in a sunday night animated show, so we rewrote it with animal anuses. it was one of those moments when we were SO GLAD to be getting network notes. that cliche of the network giving heavy-handed notes and the creatives all being stifled - forget that. picture instead, if you will, a bunch of writers who are happy to be pushed to do yet another draft cuz it gets you to animal anuses. which are great.

---

interesting, and also interesting that they were OK with animal anuses instead

[LorenBouchard]

---

lunarnoodle wrote:

Anyway, looking at shows like Home Movies, Lucy, and Bob's, the visual style from one to the other is very different. As a writer/director for these shows how involved are you in visual conception of characters and animation styles? and can you tell us anything about what kinds of things inform the choices of animation style? Does it depend who you are working with on a particular show? Or is the animation style dictated more by the story concepts?

---

deciding on the look of a show is a terrifying moment -- it's like if you woke up one day and whatever pants you put on, whatever shirt, whatever way you combed your hair, that's how it was going to be stay for the rest of your life.

generally, what i try to do in that situation - developing the look of a show/character - is find an artist or artists who have a voice and a point of view. you don't have to go with everything they suggest/draw  (good artists are usually quite bonkers) but it's the right place to start. you're trying to avoid the generic, the usual, the derivative...

personally, i approach these things from an audio-centric point of view - which is to say the visuals are not my first passion, the voice acting and the editing and the music are - but the visuals have to support the track and must never take away from it. so you can still get very opinionated once you're knee-deep in the thing. you find yourself saying things like "i don't think bob should have half-lidded eyes there. i think he should have wide eyes, then his brows come part way down, but not too far, and he looks just a hair to the left for a moment, like he's thinking of something, then looks right again, and his brows  settle into a slightly mad look, but not too mad."

in the bigger picture, you just want to put some real energy on the screen - get some essence of the character, or of the gag, or the moment, to burn in to the screen... to leave a trace. so that someone on this board or one like it will choose that frame to be their avatar, cuz it feels like it means something.

[LorenBouchard]

all right. here's what i want to know...

who am i talking to?

at comic-con, we're in the room together. and even on twitter, when i lurk and read what people are tweeting about bob's burgers, i can kind of browse the little thumbnail photos, but here i'm talking into a funny kind of dark space...

all i know is that i think itsacoaster might be a god who walks among us.

the rest is a mystery.

anyone want to give me a thirty word snapshot? 

am i violating some code of the boards by asking? i don't want to do that. i just can't help wanting to to turn on the lights and peek.

me: sitting in dining room in rented house in LA. should go to bed. shirt is off but it's not sexy -  my 11 mo. old son peed on me right when i came home tonight.

[lunarnoodle]

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LorenBouchard wrote:

personally, i approach these things from an audio-centric point of view - which is to say the visuals are not my first passion, the voice acting and the editing and the music are - but the visuals have to support the track and must never take away from it.

---

This is really interesting. This would also be very helpful for your animators who could get a very tangible feel for where your head is at with a show by listening to what you are doing with music.

As for personal snapshots, there's no problem with us posting about ourselves as long as we don't give info about location or age.

Me, I'm a scenic artist at a theatre in this city where I live. I've been shacked up for the past 7 years, but we have no kids yet. I'm very immature for my substantial age which I think is kind of nice. I like video games and cartoons, those are what I would list for hobbies. I have cats.

Right now: I am stuggling to post this on a computer that I think is older than I am and covered with sawdust in the scene shop. I have been spending the day making up things to do because we just finished painting Into the Woods that opens tonight and haven't started the next show.

I first read in your last post that your 11 year old son peed on you, and I was thinking that you had a very serious problem.

[katt_goddess]

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LorenBouchard wrote:

all right. here's what i want to know...

who am i talking to?

at comic-con, we're in the room together. and even on twitter, when i lurk and read what people are tweeting about bob's burgers, i can kind of browse the little thumbnail photos, but here i'm talking into a funny kind of dark space...

all i know is that i think itsacoaster might be a god who walks among us.

the rest is a mystery.

anyone want to give me a thirty word snapshot? 

am i violating some code of the boards by asking? i don't want to do that. i just can't help wanting to to turn on the lights and peek.

me: sitting in dining room in rented house in LA. should go to bed. shirt is off but it's not sexy -  my 11 mo. old son peed on me right when i came home tonight.

---

The last time I ever posted a pic of myself, Luuv deleted the entire thread.

me: random weirdo wired up to a laptop and sitting in a sub-basment apartment in the tundra wastelands of ND, who watches a whole lot of tv and reads her weight X100 in materials every year. The kitty is thankfully housebroken and has never peed on me.

[crackymckrackin]

I wasn't going to post in here because I have been ignorant to most of your work, with that being said I think Bobs burgers is a masterpiece. The youngest daughter is hilarious and If I was a girl it would remind me of myself at that age a little. With that other network cancelling off all my favorite show (fox) I would hate to think they would consider doing that to such a funny show with that being said I don't see them doing that to you but if they were to do it were do you see yourself going next? Is there any thoughts on another project?



As for myself picture a 35 year old dude sitting in his office at work fully clothed. I too have a son and run a small plumbing company.

[noctopie314k]

Good morning, Mr. Bouchard.

If Coach McGuirk, Brendon, Melissa, Lucy, DJ Jesús, and Satan [and anybody else you wanna add] went to Bob's Burgers what would they order?

Also, what did it feel like getting canceled on UPN after a couple episodes but then being able to do 3+ more seasons on [adult swim]?

Have you been to the food court at the Swim.Con? They have pretty good fried twinkies.

[LorenBouchard]

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crackymckrackin wrote:
I wasn't going to post in here because I have been ignorant to most of your work, with that being said I think Bobs burgers is a masterpiece. The youngest daughter is hilarious and If I was a girl it would remind me of myself at that age a little. With that other network cancelling off all my favorite show (fox) I would hate to think they would consider doing that to such a funny show with that being said I don't see them doing that to you but if they were to do it were do you see yourself going next? Is there any thoughts on another project?

---

no thoughts on another project. none. it is a great pleasure to be at this stage of work on a show because it is completely fulfilling and you're in love with the characters, the actors, the crew, everybody. it can last a long time too, this phase. if you're lucky enough to go a few seasons. 

when you're in love like this contemplating cancelation is like contemplating what your life would be like after a horrible accident or something - you imagine that you would go on, but everything would be different  -  you'd move to a small town and be reclusive and tragic until someone helps you rediscover your love of woodworking or something and you learn to live again.

[LorenBouchard]

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noctopie314k wrote:

Good morning, Mr. Bouchard.

If Coach McGuirk, Brendon, Melissa, Lucy, DJ Jesús, and Satan [and anybody else you wanna add] went to Bob's Burgers what would they order?

Also, what did it feel like getting canceled on UPN after a couple episodes but then being able to do 3+ more seasons on [adult swim]?

Have you been to the food court at the Swim.Con? They have pretty good fried twinkies.

---

coach mcguirk - plain burger. no fancy toppings!

brendon and melissa would want pizza, be disappointed and leave.

lucy and dj jesus would want veggie burgers, be disappointed and leave

satan would order the burger of the day, love it, and after two beers offer to buy the whole restaurant.

getting canceled on UPN was bad. not fatal cuz it was always kind of a long shot . we were also so naive - barely had a sense of what was at stake, what to expect, etc. best time to get cancelled in some ways. and then obviously getting picked up by AS was just about the best thing in the world. again, we were young and dumb so we almost didn't appreciate that moment as much as we should have.

don't get me wrong, we appreciated it a lot.  but i appreciate it even more now, looking back at how things could have gone. there are those moments in life, eh? - where things could have gone another way and everything would have been different as a result... that was definitely one of those. 

on that note, i guess i'll sign off. it's been a pleasure e-speaking with you. 

thank you thank you for watching, if you do. and even if you don't, thanks for reading this blather.

see you next year.

- loren

[Birdmannnnnn]

Thanks Loren Bouchard!

Also thanks for making HOME MOVIES! My favourite [adult swim] show. I have yet to see Lucy (got the DVD) and Bob's Burgers but I will try to in the near future. Thanks!