Killer Bean Forever Trailer
Former Matrix Reloaded Animator Jeff Lew Makes His Own Movie
Check out the trailer for Killer Bean Forever, the independently made, CGI animated film from Matrix Reloaded animator Jeff Lew.
A black, low-slung car pulls up to the curb, across from a dilapidated warehouse. A tall, burly figure, clad in red and black, steps out of the car. He walks across the street. On his back are a pair of ornately-decorated, semi-automatic pistols. He stands in front of the warehouse door.
"Dramatic entrance," he muses to himself, fingering his weapons. "Dramatic entrance . . ."
It's a tough talking, combat ready, pistol packing . . . bean?
Killer Bean Forever: Vegetables With Guns
That's the basic set-up of Killer Bean Forever, an independent film by former Matrix Reloaded animator Jeff Lew, who spent the past four years creating his first 85-minute feature film, based on a character he first developed more than 10 years ago.
"The first short, Killer Bean 1, was to learn 3d animation," says Lew on his website for Killer Bean Forever. "My goal for the second short was to learn about filmmaking. After 3 years (1997 to 2000), I completed Killer Bean 2: The Party (viewable in the Videos section of the Killer Bean Forever site). It became an internet hit, being viewed over 1 million times in 6 months. I got my 15 minutes of fame and was offered a job to work on the Matrix Reloaded."
Lew was actually the lead animator on the film, the follow-up to the acclaimed 1999 live-action film that introduced the world to the concept of "bullet time."
Jeff Lew: Mixing Beans With John Woo, Matrix-style Action
"It was a long and tough multi-year project," he says. "I learned a lot of things from the experience. I learned about art, about computer animation techniques, about what goes into making a movie - from previs (Writer's Note: that's previsualization, for those of you not up on the lingo), to post production, to politics. But the most important thing I learned is that I still wanted to make my own movie. So rather than rolling over to Matrix Revolutions, I quit to pursue my dream."
Mixing tough-talking legumes with John Woo and Matrix-style mayhem, the flick is designed to appeal to both lovers and haters of cordite-heavy action flicks.
"(Killer Bean Forever) was originally meant to be a 45 minute episode to sell on DVD," he continues. "But as I was writing the script, I asked myself, "Why limit yourself? You want to make movies. You're not getting any younger. Why not just go for it all?" In a way, Killer Bean has brought me full circle. I created Killer Bean to learn animation, so that I could make my own movie. And now, I am making my movie, starring none other than Killer Bean. I guess he has earned the role."
Gauging from the trailer, Killer Bean Forever looks pretty bad-ass, even for an independent flick. There are some funny bits, such as when the title character's getting slapped around by the villain. And there's always the surreal aspect of seeing vegetables toting guns.
"The past 4 years have been . . . 'interesting.' I won't say 'hard' because saying that would be complaining," Lew says. "And if you're going to complain about doing something, just do something else. No, these past 4 years have been challenging, but rewarding. My life's savings and my wife's life savings have been used up. These past 6 months we've been living on credit cards. But we both believe in this movie, in this dream."
Look for Killer Bean Forever to be coming to a film festival near you, just as soon as Lew finishes the flick. You can also check out the trailer by clicking over here.
