Arts & Life
Mask'-ed Man
Director Lawrence Guterman uses his Harvard training in physics
to enhance special effects in "Son of the Mask."
SUZANNE CHESSLER
Special to the Jewish News
A
diversity of interests — family,
films, physics, fantasy — enter
into the newest project of direc-
tor Lawrence Guterman.
Son of the Mask, Guterman's comic
movie about a baby with supernatural
powers, expresses his pre-occupation
with being the dad of three preschoolers,
uses skills acquired years ago as a physics
major and builds on his childhood fasci-
nation with cartoons.
The new release, entering theaters Feb.
18 with a "PG" rating, builds on The
Mask, a decade-old cinematic produc-
tion starring Jim Carrey about a man
who finds a magical mask — the Mask
of Loki — that imbues him with abili-
ties that bring otherworldly adventures.
Son of the Mask adds fresh, other-
worldly adventures by mixing live action
with computer-generated images.
"The film takes the story of the trials
of fatherhood and shows what could
happen if a dad also had to cope with
additional trials experienced through a
magical baby," explains Guterman, 41,
whose earlier movies include Cats 6.
Dogs and Ant z. "It also pays homage to
the old Looney Tunes in a way that hasn't
been done before."
The movie stars Jamie Kennedy as
Tim Avery, an aspiring cartoonist getting
over his fear of parenting, Alan
Cumming as Loki, a mischievous Norse
god who comes looking for his mask
and will do anything to get it back; Bob
Hoskins as Odin, Loki 's demanding
dad; and Traylor Howard as Tonya
Avery, a career woman becoming a first-
time mom.
Twins Liam and Ryan Falconer share
the role of baby Alvey, who often is at
odds with the jealous family dog. The
script called for an enormous number of
challenging visual effects, including the
complete creation of a digital, photo-
realistic baby. These effects make Son of
the Mask the first film to undertake this
type of challenge.
"I think we gave believability to the
movie by setting up a world motivation
for why the baby has the powers in sort
of an inventive, funny way, and hopeful-
Above: Director Lawrence Guterman: "IfI
didn't have the background in physics, I
might just be directing the actors and leaving
all the effects to the experts who were hired"
Left: "Baby Alvey" and "Otis the Dog"
play around in New Line Cinema's family
comedy "Son of the Mask."
ly, audiences go along with it,"
Guterman says. "We also gave the world
a stylized look informed by the colors
and architecture of cartoons, and I think
that gives the audience permission to
feel they're being taken to another world
so they can accept the crazy antics that
happen."
Shifting Career Course
Guterman, who grew up in Montreal
and attended Hebrew day school, didn't
think his interest in film would develop
into a career, although he enjoyed mak-
ing secret films with a camera given to
him by his grandfather.
While a physics major at Harvard, he
took a course in classical animation just
for fun, but during his senior year, his
priority changed from physics to cinema
through enrollment in a filmmaking
course.
After graduation and a job in comput-
er graphics, Guterman moved to Los
Angeles, where he found work in script
reading and production development.
With skills in animation intensified dur-
ing summer classes at the Sheridan
College of Art in Toronto, he decided to
pursue a master's program in filmmak-
ing at the University of Southern
California School of Cinema, where he
paid his tuition by teaching undergradu-
ate physics.
While in graduate school, Guterman
sold two scripts and co-wrote an episode
for Tales From the Crypt. His master's
thesis, a 35-minute black comedy titled
Headless!, won him an introduction to
Steven Spielberg and Jeffrey Katzenberg,
who hired him to direct the
DreamWorks/Microsoft Corporation's
first live action CD-ROM, a game based
on the Goosebumps series.
Gutenberg's next project was Ant-4 for
which he directed several sequences,
including "The March to Battle with the
Termites" and the "Patton Speech." That
film led to his direction of Cats 6- Dogs,
a re-invention of the spy thriller with
domesticated animals battling it out for
superiority.
"If I didn't have the background in
physics, I might just be directing the
actors and leaving all the effects to the
experts who were hired," explains
Guterman, whose idea for reflective light
gave more sheen to the coat of the dog
featured in the footage.
"Because I have enough of a back-
ground to communicate with the
experts in their language, I can really do
some refinements, and that plays a big
part in the dramatic and comedic
impact of the film."
actors show their individual approaches
and what happens when they interact
with one another. His style tightens up
and becomes more methodical after he
gets to know his team.
Aside from the comic elements of the
Mask film, Guterman wants to bring out
the parallel of two father-son stories,
Tim and Alvey as well as Odin and
Loki. They both stress the importance of
having a good and open family relation-
ship.
Son of the Mask, filmed in Australia,
took time away from Guterman's wife,
Sara, a non-practicing chiropractor who
chooses to be a stay-at-home mom while
the couple's children are young and
attend a Jewish preschool. A favorite
husband-wife activity is going to con-
certs.
"In the Hollywood system, when pro-
ducers see that a filmmaker does some-
thing well, they ask that person to take
on similar projects," Guterman says. "I
have a wide range of interests and would
like to do some political satire. I'm read-
ing a few scripts now, but there's no film
direction that is imminent.
"I've also started a production compa-
ny with a partner, and we want to devel-
op a few projects for that."
❑
Directing. Style
As Guterman directs any cast of charac-
ters, he defines his initial style as "loose,"
opening creative possibilities as the
Son of the Mask, rated PG, opens
nationwide Friday, Feb. 18.
Check your local movie listings.
2/17
2005
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