Angel: The Casefiles Volume 2

I have mentioned previously here on the blog and elsewhere that I am still going through a lot of files, boxes, shelves, and random stuff, months after my studio was completed. Over the last two decades, I have accumulated a lot of art-related items, artifacts of my career, and strange oddities. Going through it all, organizing it, and putting it away has been an ongoing chore. I am sure I could be done with it all by now, but I have wanted to make art, so the cleaning has been dragged out. 

Today I am sharing an item I knew I had, but it was lost on a shelf for a while. This book was published in 2004, and I picked it up likely in 2005, long before we all shared everything we did on social media. Jump ahead nineteen years, and I am going to now share the book, especially as it has been newly rediscovered and is currently on a shelf in the studio. The Angel Casefiles were a pair of books (alas, it appears that the third book that would have completed the series was never made) that focused on the Angel television series and offered commentary, behind-the-scenes details, and interviews with people involved with the show. I mention all this because I worked on the show and am in the book. Let's start with a look at the cover, and then I will share some relevant details. 

Angel - The Casefiles Volume 2

I found this at the local Borders books store when they existed. I likely bought it on a Friday night after eating dinner. I remember this because it was a common practice to hit the bookstore after dinner and before a movie when we had time and energy to do such adventurous things. At the time, a lot of content was still being created based on my work in the film industry, so I would keep an eye out in bookstores for anything associated with my work.

Here is a page with lots of photos. I have marked them to talk about them. (A) is the Beast on set (90% sure it is the stunt Beast), and he is touch ups by one of the union makeup artists. The union folks were not from our shop and could touch the actor from the neck up. As we were not in a union, we could touch the actor from the neck down. The union folks put the makeup we made and painted onto the actors, and we put the suits, gloves, and feet on them. Sadly I do not recall this person's name, but I worked with him a lot. He was a good guy and had loads of stories, and worked on many projects. (B) is a photo of the set on location in Chinatown in LA. With enough money and pull, you, too, can dig a massive hole in the middle of an alley and shoot the monster emerging into the world. This was a fun night on set to say the least. (C) is the stunt Beast. Again, I am blanking on this person's name, but he, too, was fun to work with and had a million stories - like getting hurt when he was dead-dropped off the ship's side in Speed 2. (D) Allan Holt and I are on set making sure the Beast's horns are screwed on. The actors wore fiberglass caps with two metal posts attached where the horns would slide over and screw into place. We were constantly putting them on and taking them off, losing screws, dropping screws, and gluing the horns into place - after which we would have to pop them off. 

 

UPDATE - I have since been reminded that the stunt Beast, whom we worked with a lot on the show, who worked on several other shows we worked on, and who went on to do a lot of other cool stuff, was named Scott Workman. He was an awesome guy and a fun and friendly presence on set. He passed in 2013. 

Here is a close-up of the photo of Allan and I. Consentration personified... or not.

While I am not in this photo, I was there that day on set, tending to the monsters. The Keeper of the Name was one that I designed, painted, tended to, and eventually puppeteered. KotN was the quiet type and let his fists do the talking. I have stories from this day, but I will share them another time when I am not posting something publically on the internet.

Another photo of another monster on the same day as the previous photo. The High Priest was another of my creations, though I do not believe I painted this one; I only designed it and tended him on set. The weird thing to me is that I very clearly remember this photo being taken. I was only feet away when they did a little photo shoot. I would love to know if the people behind the book were given permission to photograph the show or if this was the work of the unsung set photographers. Most likely the latter, but it is nice to see some of these images making it into the wild.

Lastly, another photo of Allen and me with the Beast. It was tough working with the Beast as he was constantly hungry, and he was not picky about what he ate. Joking aside, the stunt Beast and the main Beast, played by Vladimir Kulich, were great to work with, and we had a lot of fun on set with these two.

More and more, it feels like another life lived by another person. I have the memories, but this is so far removed from what I do now. I am still making monsters and telling my stories, so there is a consistent line through my narrative, but I am a one-person operation making books. It is a fun journey all the same! But the story does not end here, for I found something in the pages of this book that I had hidden from myself, and on Friday, I will share it with you all.

That's all for another exciting Wednesday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com