Off Topic: The Rise and Fall of Robert Benfer

Here's an off-topic post, but it's something that's very important to me and I feel people should know.

Robert Benfer was a huge catalyst into me making movies. In case you don't know him by his Newgrounds username Knox, he made clay animations from 2003-2013 as a series called "Klay World". And in 2005, at the age of 17, he made a feature-length movie featuring these blue figures called Off The Table, which catapulted him financially and into a sort of pre-Youtube internet celebrity status.

You can watch the whole thing here for free.

The homemade and low budget feel of this movie helped me realize that it was entirely possible to make a feature film on your own without pouring tons of money and resources into it. All you needed was a camera and a good idea.

Robert ended the series in 2013 to focus strictly on live-action shorts. Soon after, he put up a complete series box set of Klay World for pre-order, where hundreds of people, including myself, paid $58 for it. 

5 years later, no one's gotten it.

Robert's legitimacy as a seller has greatly diminished because of this, and the quality of what little work does come out has as well.

There needed to be a comprehensive video on Robert for a while, and just a few days ago, Cruz Moore filled that gap.

I've known about the project since June, when I contacted Cruz and gave him some testimony and hard-to-find Robert clips I had. Since then, I've been anxiously waiting for this video.

It's excellent, a well put-together video analyzing Robert's work, the DVD fiasco, and his rise and fall not only in popularity, but creatively as well. Please give it the 45 minutes of your time. You probably won't regret it...

When I was 12, I wanted to be just like Knox. Now, my 18 year old self's goal is to NOT end up like Robert Benfer.

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MOVIE NEWS:

Anyways, movie-wise, I am almost ready to announce the auditionees I would like to be in the movie! I'll be meeting with my friend and co-producer, Grant Griffin, tonight and going over the auditions one last time to get his input on the performances.

I will also be auditioning somebody I know for one of the lead roles of the film tomorrow. I hope all goes well and he's able to pull it off!