(Photos courtesy of Ariel Hadar, Neko Productions)
Written by Colleen Bement, Editor
Meet the genius behind the new graphic novel series “101 Reasons Why”
Ofir Lobel knows that his new project has good karma because it is going to touch so many hearts, and making the world a better place happens to be his mission. He is the writer/director/comedian who is making waves with his worldwide debut of the graphic novel and companion animated series “101 Reasons Why.” Picture “Jimmy Neutron” meets “Invader Zim.” Yes, this is going to be big! From Israel, he is best known for Netflix’s “BlackSpace,” Keshet’s “Trust No One,” and “A Wonderful Country.” Out of all of his amazing creations, Lobel shares that this one is special, profound, and genuine to who he is as a father and a storyteller.
The creative company behind this endeavor is Neko Productions, and it happens to be their first foray into graphic novel publishing and original animation. Nerd Alert News is looking forward to it being available soon. The broadly humorous tome was edited by Peyton McDavitt, and has comic art direction from Bobbo Andonova (Bobbo Draws). It is being called a high-concept comic that is ripe for an animated adaptation.
Find out what went into creating the story and the graphics, and read why it will touch so many hearts.
Colleen Bement: “101 Reasons Why” is going to be BIG! Congratulations! Let me first ask about inception. When did the idea come to you, and did it hit you like a spark or a lightning bolt?
Ofir Lobel: First I’ll begin with the fact that yes, it’s going to be big, but not just for the fact that it’s going to be really successful or make a lot of money or turn into an animation show, it’s going to be big because the idea of those moments in an artist’s life where you feel that this is what you’re supposed to do. I’ve done so many other creations in my life but this is so special and so unique and so profound and so genuine for who I am as a father, as a creator, as a storyteller, as a messenger. That’s the reason it’s going to be big. It’s supposed to be big. It’s going to touch many hearts.
It started when my son was 11 years old and said to me that he didn’t know where his homework was. I said, well where did you put it? He said he put it in his bag, but he didn’t know where it went. When he said that to me, I had a flashback to me in the same position where I said to my father, the same line. I don’t know where my homework is probably because I didn’t do my homework. He said he’d tell his teacher that he didn’t know where he left his homework, and I said oh, OK. That’s a good idea. Just make it an interesting story that will take all the attention off of the fact that you don’t know where your homework is. Then I said oh my god, I have to create a series about this kid who doesn’t do his homework, and every single day he makes up the most amazing and crazy excuses for how he lost his homework. That’s it. That’s where the idea came from.
Basically, because I create and direct and write many live-action series, and at the beginning, I thought of this story as a live-action show for kids. But then I realized it would be too expensive to shoot a different story. I went to a friend of mine from some years back. She was a young producer when I was a young actor. I told her the idea and said let’s do an animation show. We moved on and she said it’s a great idea. Let’s write the bible, and I started writing it and then sketched a few frames, did a handout, and tried to pitch it to networks. Step by step we would also create the book. That’s where we are today. Two years later, during COVID when nobody had work, I just sat down and wrote everything.
CB: Was it easier to focus during the pandemic with nothing else going on?
OL: Absolutely, that was the gift of that period where you had no choice but to throw away everything that you knew that represented you. The fact that you now had time to do the stuff that you never had time to do.
CB: I like how you looked at it as a gift.
OL: It was a blessing because in many other ways. I don’t know how you spent it, but in Israel we had curfews and quarantines. There was no shooting because there were no productions. We just had to sit down and entertain ourselves or create something and pass the time until everything went back to normal. That was a really good time for me to create many things, but I had 101 Reasons in my heart for a year, and I never really had time to sit down and develop it.
CB: Did you thank your son for being the inspiration?
OL: Yeah, absolutely. You know, I have three kids and they were so young. My son was 11, and now he’s 18. My kids are always involved in everything I do. Seriously, they help me cast, they read my scripts, give me notes for the editing. My whole life is inside the scripts that I write.
CB: I know my readers, and they are going to love “101 Reasons Why.” What went into creating the amazing graphics?
OL: My whole artistic education came from comics. I read comics as a kid in the early 80s, and most of the comics I read were Marvel and DC, Mad Magazine, and National Lampoon and Heavy Metal comics. I loved comics and I loved to draw so it was really easy for me to understand what kind of book I wanted to do. It was somewhere between “Phineas and Ferb” and “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons” and “Gravity Falls.” I had the greatest, talented crew. Immediately we knew the meaning of the story and the essence of the story. Sometimes a miracle happens and everything flows so easily and so fluently. After the first few attempts, we formed the characters and realized the line and the color and everything. It just flew.
We had very good karma on this because the project is basically about kindness. It’s about doing good to the world. It’s about being able to cope with any obstacle or any problem with love. Seriously. It sounds cliche, but basically that’s my message because Danny, who is a scattered little boy, is funny, and is not afraid of anything. He doesn’t have many weaknesses. He’s just scattered. He lost his homework, and no matter what will happen to him on the way to school, everything will be more important than just attending school and giving the homework. Everything will include helping others. Even the villains in the stories, which are the twins, who are two lonely twins who don’t go to regular school. They go to a gifted school, but they don’t have many friends. He will help them. He will help everyone with kindness and courage, and that’s the really good message. That message is from the bottom of the heart of this project, and that’s why it’s going to be big. That’s why it has good karma, and it’s going to touch so many people. You know, besides the graphics and the jokes, it has a really, really big heart.
CB: You’ve already had the most impressive career in music, directing, graphic arts, and teaching, and yet I hear your career is about to blow up. How does that make you feel?
OL: I’m humble and I’m grateful. Every single day, I’m grateful. Even if I had 200 days of shooting for a series for Netflix, or a commercial, or whatever, every single day I wake up and I say thank you for the blessings in my life. I work at something I love and I do something I love, and transfer messages to people, and touch people’s hearts. It’s not just about a career. It’s not just about paying the bills or getting prizes, or your name in the newspaper. It’s about your mission to make this world a better place. Seriously, I know it sounds like a cliche but life is so complicated. It’s our responsibility as parents to spread goodness all around us. So yes, I’m humble and I’m excited, and it’s just the tip of the iceberg right now. I’m 47 years old but I feel like I just began. I have so many things that I want to do and just to continue.
CB: For your fans of Netflix’s “Blackspace,” can you share a story about directing the series?
OL: The amazing thing is that one week ago we finished shooting the second season. It’s going to be aired probably at the beginning of 2024 on Netflix, and that’s really exciting. It’s a really good show. “Blackspace” is about our responsibility as parents. It’s the opposite side of a children’s comic book. It’s a thriller about teenagers who deal with bullies and it’s really hard, and it’s really dark. The basis of it is the responsibility of parents with teenagers to communicate. What can I say about behind-the-scenes? Well, our lead character in the last scene where the detective enters the school and tries to save a teacher and shoots a gun, and the gun blows up in his ear, and he almost loses his ear. He put it off and wanted to continue shooting. We did everything right with the armory guy. Everything was controlled. It was a really scary thing to see a scene like that and to read it in the script and have it happen for real. He’s OK now and he came back for the second season.
CB: Can we chat music? Two questions: Do you get back to your musical roots as often as you can, and, is your son feeling the music or performing vibes yet?
OL: I took classes at Berklee when I lived in Boston for one year. I love music, but I inherited that love to my son. He took the music and he’s much more talented than I. Music is always in my creation. Even when I write, and edit, the music is there, almost before the story. Music is divine, and music is the emotion. The fact that I learned music and I played music, and I created music, is one of the main talents that a creator and a director needs to have.
CB: How old were you when you started creating, and when did you realize that you wanted to make this your life?
OL: The story is. I grew up until the age of 4 of Bologna, Italy. My parents came from Israel and they went to school in Bologna. My father learned medicine, and my mother learned literature and languages. I was born there and grew up there and the high art of Italy and the Renaissance was in my blood. It was in my every day. When they went to school to study, they put me in front of the TV, so I watched Italian television–mostly soccer, and my mother went to museums to see Divinchi, Mocohelli, and art. It was always in my DNA.
Do you know what a Kibbutz is? It’s a commune. It’s a small village where everybody works together and lives together. When I was 10 years old in my Kibbutz, there was a lecture by a film director, and I was really interested. I loved watching movies back in the 80s, and we didn’t have many sources. We didn’t have a TV or a VCR, but I watched movies whenever I could. I really wanted to attend the lecture but it was only for grown-ups. When you attend you can go do an evening of programs, and I said to my father, I have to be there. He said that I couldn’t. Then he said he’d let me in and I could stand in the back and watch the movie. Then when the movie was over, I’d have to leave so that they wouldn’t catch me. I watched the whole movie, and it wasn’t appropriate for a 10-year-old, but I watched the movie and the lights went on and I didn’t have a chance to leave. I didn’t know what to do. I stayed and the director started explaining about the movie and I was fascinated. He basically said that he had an idea, and that idea came to light. Other people could understand the idea, see the idea, and experience the idea. That was amazing. The possibility of thoughts to visuals of being able to create your vision and translate your vision into something that others will experience as emotion. Then he asked if anyone had any questions and I said yes! I have a question. Everyone turned around looked at me and said you shouldn’t be here. I asked him like three questions, and at the end of the evening, he came to my father and said, listen, that kid knows what he’s talking about. One day he’s going to be a filmmaker. When I got home I told my father that I was going to be a filmmaker.
CB: Do you happen to have any inspiration or tips for young artists?
OL: First of all, never give up. No matter what anyone tells you. Make sure that what you’re doing is something that you’re supposed to do because it’s your calling. It’s your shining, and you have to say that to the world. Make sure that your creation is not because it’s what the world needs, but what makes you happy. What makes you create. What makes you shine, and the world needs people that shine. People give up because stuff doesn’t go easily. Stuff is not supposed to go easily. You need to go through resistance, no matter what. Nothing comes easily. Miracles happen over time. Even the fact that I have 3 shows on Netflix, I still come back home and work hard and think about ideas. I don’t give up. I don’t take no for an answer.
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