“Two-Headed Cop,” An Animated Film Noir, Begins Production “Two-Headed Cop,” An Animated Film Noir, Begins Production

Santa Monica, CA — Monday June 18th, 2012 – Production has begun on Two-Headed Cop, an animated short film co-created by animation industry vets Derek Friesenborg and Brian Ormiston. The independently financed project, written and directed by Friesenborg, is being produced through a partnership with online animation studio AnimationRigs.com.

“He’s the toughest cop in Fat City”, says Friesenborg. “He’s also got two heads. One head’s Asian, one’s Caucasian, both answer to Ray. They share a talent for hard-boiled justice and a middle leg. Other than that, they’ve got zip in common!”

Two-Headed Cop follows the gritty story of Ray and Ray as they battle crime and occasionally each other to upend Fat City’s criminal element. Framed for an assault on the town’s most beloved entertainer, Two-Headed Cop becomes a fugitive from the law. To clear their name, they must descend into the seedy underbelly of Fat City on a journey into the dark, tilted world of carnies, goons, grifters, pet markets, fine haberdashery… and a mysterious figure from out of their past.

“Our film is inspired by the styles and palettes of ‘40s-era animation, as well as the dark tones of film noir”, says Friesenborg.  “Thematically, it’s hard-boiled pulp fiction, taking its cues from classics like Touch of Evil, Raw Deal and Out of the Past, as well as the crime fiction of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane.

“But it’s not just an homage to old films,” continues Friesenborg.  “It’s a surreal world where the chief of police walks on his knuckles like an ape. Where the biggest thug in town smashes through buildings like a wrecking-ball on legs. Where a dancing naked fat guy is the hottest show in town. It’s a world where there is no “normal”, but the closest you can get to it is Two-Headed Cop.”

About Derek Friesenborg

Derek Friesenborg is an animation industry veteran with over fifteen years experience as a character animator and supervising animator. Friesenborg has created animation for studios including Walt Disney Feature Animation, Sony Pictures Animation, and Digital Domain.

A partial list of Friesenborg’s credits includes Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the Annie Award Winning Surf’s Up, the Academy Award® Winning Spider-Man 2, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions as well as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Friesenborg holds a B.F.A in Illustration with an emphasis in Animation from the Rhode Island School of Design.

For more information, visit: www.twoheadedcop.com, or interact with him on Twitter @TwoHeadedCop and Facebook at www.facebook.com/twoheadedcop.

About Brian Orimston

Brian Ormiston is a story artist at Laika Inc., an animation studio specializing in feature puppet and computer animated films. Prior to being a story artist Ormiston worked as a stop motion animator, and computer animator for feature films, commercials, television programs and video games.

Orimston holds a B.F.A in Illustration with an emphasis in Animation from the Rhode Island School of Design.

For more information, visit: www.brianormiston.com, follow his blog at www.brianormiston.blogspot.com, or interact with him on Twitter @Roostergator.

About AnimationRigs.com

AnimationRigs.com provides training, tools, and characters for through their online web platform, for commercial and non-commercial animation production.

For more information, visit: www.animationrigs.com, or interact with them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/animationrigs.

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