David Hewlett stars in Hewlogram. Photo copyright of Red Giant.
Fans of actor David Hewlett no doubt enjoyed watching him journey to far-away galaxies as astrophysicist Dr. Rodney McKay in Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis and SGU: Stargate Universe. Long before that, those same admirers might also remember him demonstrating his medical expertise as Dr. Nicholas Elder in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and/or as wheeler-dealer Grant Jansky in the popular Canadian TV drama Traders. Not one who creatively prefers to remain within the confines of the proverbial box, Hewlett recently teamed up with filmmaking and motion graphics company Red Giant, specifically its head of marketing, Aharon Rabinowitz, to shoot the aptly-titled short film Hewlogram.
The project was originally planned as a commercial to showcase Red Giant’s latest visual effects software tools, but it morphed into a wonderful feel-good romp that pays homage to the 1982 feature film Tron and the 1983/84 TV series Automan. Never in a million years did the actor think his passion for visual effects (VFX) would ultimately lead to him becoming a blue-suited holographic crime-fighter.
Aharon Rabinowitz (as Aharon/Hewlopuppet) and Niki Morrissette (as Bad Ass Lady Cop). Photo courtesy/copyright of Red Giant.
“I’m obsessed with VFX and I spend a great deal of time watching VFX tutorials online,” says Hewlett. “In many cases nowadays, the VFX are the ‘stars’ of movies that I go to see. They’re also a big part of why I originally got into this business, because of the appeal of all the gorgeous VFX I watched growing up. So I stumbled upon and then subsequently became a huge fan of the guys at Red Giant. However, I found them, not because of their effects, but because of this short film they made called Old/New, narrated by Patton Oswalt. I thought it was the best short film I’d ever seen, and an Oscar-worthy short film as well. That’s before I even found out that it was basically a promo for Red Giant’s new software.
“So I began Tweeting about how much I loved Old/New, and as a weaselly kind of joke I also said, ‘I will act for software.’ Well, Aharon Rabinowitz took me up on that. He was so incredibly supportive and at first sent me some of their software, which I began playing with, along with these personalized tutorials. He’s such a fellow nerd and, like me, gets so excited about this kind of stuff. The two of us started talking, and Aharon mentioned this short film to me that he wanted to do. For anyone who wants someone from film or TV to be in their movie, my advice is to just name the film after that person. Flattery will get you everywhere,” jokes the actor.
(L-R): Behind-the scenes with Niki Morrissette, David Hewlett and Aharon Rabinowitz. Photo courtesy/copyright of Red Giant.
“Aharon asked me if I would shoot a couple of things on green screen that he could then put in the film, and I said, ‘Well, New York isn’t that far away. Why don’t I come down there and shoot with you guys. It would be way more fun.’ So that’s what I did, and I spent the best weekend with these amazing New York actors, personalities, filmmakers, VFX people and nerds. It was so wonderful, and the neat thing is, Aharon is genuinely excited about this stuff, because they’re not just promoting the software with these films. It’s more like a lifestyle. This is stuff for people who want to make the films they dreamed about making as kids. There is such a huge gap between big-budget films and the tiny low-budget ones, and people just assume that if it’s a little budget, then you can’t do visual effects. Well, Red Giant makes the kinds of tools that pretty much allow [film] students to make Hollywood-type films.
“It’s tremendously exciting to me that you can do that, not to mention working with people who love to do that and ‘live’ in the world of visual effects. Aharon did an amazing job of putting together this group of people and getting them involved in making this film. I’ve spent so much of my career working on the business side of things, and I think sometimes you forget the art side of it. I’ve been very, very lucky that the last few projects I’ve done have reminded me of that, between The Shape of Water [written, directed and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro], Hewlogram and [writer/director/executive producer] Roger Avary’s Lucky Day. I worked on these three things purely because I wanted to do them, with the business side being sort of entirely secondary, and in the case of Hewlogram, not a part of it at all. Honestly, this is the type of stuff that, when I’m done, dusted and not doing this anymore, I will sort of smile fondly about and enjoy thinking back on the most.”
(L-R): Chuck Wagner (TV's Automan) and David Hewlett. Photo courtesy/copyright of Red Giant.
Among the creative souls that Hewlett had the chance to work with on Hewlogram is Chuck Wagner, who played the title role in Automan. “What a lovely guy, and, again, someone who was there because he loves it,” enthuses the actor. “He loved Automan and, in fact, when he came to New York to work with us, he brought along his Automan action figure. The thing is, Chuck had an action figure when it was a rare thing. He was an absolute pleasure to work with, a total professional and had no attitude whatsoever.
“The entire Hewlogram cast was fantastic, including Joel Brady, who basically plays the Hewlett role of the tech guy. He’s one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. Joel and I really hit it off, and to this day we’re still trading insulting texts with each other,” says Hewlett with a laugh.
If you went back in time and purchased Hewlogram on VHS, this is what the box might look like. Photo courtesy/copyright of Red Giant.
If you grew up during the 70’s and 80’s, Hewlogram will definitely bring up feelings of nostalgia for you. Make sure to watch it more than once, too, as you will spot new things with each viewing. “Aharon was meticulous when making this film,” notes Hewett. “I think there’s sometimes a tendency to make fun of these things. There’s a very fine line between mocking something and lovingly making it funny, and I think it was really important to everyone involved that Hewlogram didn’t mock this era. This is the era that got me into acting, and yes, some of the shows and movies seem cheesy now. At the time, though, it wasn’t so much about how they were done, but more about the promise that they put out there for you.
“That’s the thing with Science Fiction. You often look past the cheesy effects, shaky sets and the rubber aliens stuff, because it’s the intent, and not the actual way it’s made. I think Aharon has done a beautiful job of going back and using today’s technology - which could have made everything look really cool and slick – and made Hewlogram truly look like it was of the time. I cannot say enough good things about this guy. Aharon loves making movies, and I hope he gets the opportunity to do it again. If he does, I hope I get to do it again with him as well.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, photos courtesy/copyright of Red Giant, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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