Chicken puppets comment on politics
Fowl pundits take to the Web
By Emily Charrier INDEX-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
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LEE ARMSTRONG, left, and Kamela Portugese-Robbins are tackling puppets and politics in their latest project, "Eggzactly." Robbi Pengelly/Index-Tribune |
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"Eggzactly" provides a new twist on the pundit model by featuring a pair of chicken puppets by the names Zee and Fiona, who tackle the tough subjects from politics to social justice. Think Jon Stewart but with a softer, more feathered edge. "Eggzactly" is the brainchild of the team at Images in Motion, a full-service puppeteer studio working with movies, television and toys. Proprietors Lee Armstrong and Kamela Portugese-Robbins puppet the chickens and collaborate with staff members Bill Ferguson and Kieron Robbins to make short videos of the birds discussing current events. The videos are Webcast on the Internet at eggzactly.tv and can also be found on YouTube.
The company has earned six regional Emmy Awards, worked on major motion pictures such as "Being John Malkovich," and has a client list that includes Disney, Industrial Light and Magic and Henson International. While the team successfully built a strong client base, they have always wanted to develop their own puppet project. The socially minded business partners wanted to break out from creating programming for children and poke fun at the topics splashed across the headlines. "We very rarely have time to do things for ourselves," Armstrong said. "We're just always so busy with our other, paying projects."
"Eggzactly" provided the perfect opportunity for Armstrong and Portugese-Robbins to stretch their wings - so to speak - while highlighting their favorite puppets, Zee and Fiona, the pair of feathered friends that bring "Eggzactly" to life. Portugese-Robbins created the poultry pair five years ago, modeled after the Polish chickens that their neighbors kept as pets.
"We're finally able to do something with (Zee and Fiona)," Portugese-Robbins said. Ferguson, Images in Motion's lighting consultant, writes the scripts, which so far have covered the presidential campaign, the Beijing Olympics and the federal rebate checks.
"There's a plethora of political ammo out there right now," Ferguson said.
Each of the chickens has her own opinions and personality. Portuegese-Robbins, who puppets Fiona, said her character is the one who always spouts the facts and figures - the know-it-all.
"I think a lot about the character, how she talks, how she interacts," she said. "Fiona is well informed but can be capitalistic."
Zee, on the other hand, is much sillier and more playful, said Armstrong who puppets the scarlet-feathered chicken. She said Zee is less concerned about the facts of a situation but does care deeply about the world.
"She's definitely more of the every-man," Armstrong said.
The goal of the project is to get people talking about social issues. The group hopes the fun medium will keep audiences entertained and informed.
"It's social satire," Portugese-Robbins said. "It's not necessarily what we believe."
Armstrong hopes to find a place for Fiona and Zee as spokes-models in the local community. KRON 4 has already expressed interest in using the chickens in an advertising campaign.
"We would love to see Zee and Fiona on the air," Armstrong said.
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Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of www.sonomanews.com.
tambourineman2@comcast.net wrote on Aug 29, 2008 8:47 AM:
" Of course adding a FOX would hva eto be tongue in cheek, I'm not sure chickens can do that. "
tambourineman2@comcast.net wrote on Aug 29, 2008 8:48 AM:
" Oops, sorry about the typo, can't find my glasses "
bajiyagroup@gmail.com wrote on Mar 22, 2009 10:15 AM:
" Ever since the September 11th attacks, the Bush administration has been warning Americans that, but for the rule of military dictator General Pervez Musharraf, the sky would be falling. Musharraf, we were told, was what was standing between us and a flood of Islamic extremists who would unleash acts of terrorism around the world. In the war on terror, leaders were either with us or against us, and Bush knew, after talking with Musharraf, that the man was in our corner. He would keep the Taliban and Al-Qaeda in check. It's now time for the U.S. to recognize that events on the ground have proven Bush wrong, and to change the way we conduct our relations with Pakistan lest we hamper the chances of the newly-elected government for successful democratic rule.
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bajiyagroup@gmail.com wrote on Mar 22, 2009 10:18 AM:
" Since the initial decision to back Musharraf, the Bush administration has developed tunnel vision in Pakistan and failed to examine the conduct of U.S. foreign policy and what we were getting in return for our support. Never mind that ISI, Pakistan's intelligence service, under Musharraf's direction, had helped to keep the Taliban in power in Afghanistan. Never mind that, despite the billions of dollars in aid the U.S. has given to Pakistan over the past six years, mostly to its military, Musharraf has failed to explain exactly what specific benefit he has provided to the U.S. In fact, he has been widely criticized by U.S. policy-makers, scholars, and even NATO commanders who have been concerned that Musharraf has not done enough to combat al-Qaeda and has been giving sanctuary to extremists in Pakistan's tribal areas that border Afghanistan. Much has been written about whether the U.S. has actually benefited from its relationship with Musharraf, and exactly how much has been spent with astonishingly little oversight. Despite this, the Bush administration has continued to deliver enormous sums of money to Musharraf and tout him as a great U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism.
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lizmac@sbcglobal.net wrote on Aug 28, 2008 9:26 PM: