Graduate of Hogwarts

June 23, 2009 8:09 AM

Mike Jittlov worked in special effects back before computers took over. His legendary film short, The Wizard Of Speed And Time, was actually a self-created remake of an earlier short.

That short was expanded into a full length motion picture also called The Wizard Of Speed And Time, which Jittlov has released online under a "karma license", a sort of self-created version of the Creative Commons license. His early work included much brilliant work for Disney (link includes the original Wizard short, plus his entire 30 minute demo reel, strung together as a playlist.) Whether his work will receive legitimate release is unclear, even still. He does still have his own website, full of Web 0.5 deliciousness. Previously, sort of.

posted by hippybear (27 comments total)

Cool. I've thought about doing a Jitlov post for awhile but never did the work. I remember a cool little Time Machine short he did where he was a janitor at the Hollywood Wax Museum and got in the Time Machine prop from the old George Pal movie and fired the thing up.

I used to see these on some late night cable like Nightflight or something. I have a rotting videotape of these shorts in the back of a closet somewhere.
posted by marxchivist at 8:17 AM on June 23, 2009

Shouldn't you have posted this on the 'green'?
posted by run"monty at 8:18 AM on June 23, 2009 [2 favorites]

Plus, he did the creepy dark ghost effects in Ghost...
posted by drmanhattan at 8:25 AM on June 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

I remember watching the full-length "The Wizard Of Speed And Time" when I was a kid. The local video rental place had a copy. I liked it! For a youngster, at any rate, it had a nice charm.
posted by chasing at 8:26 AM on June 23, 2009

Yes! I love that movie! I've been wanting a DVD release for years.
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:36 AM on June 23, 2009

Yakety Sax would work well here.
posted by zippy at 8:39 AM on June 23, 2009

The only movie I still own on VHS is a copy of the Wizard of Speed and Time...bought it used on E-Bay years ago. Makes me a little dizzy to watch all in one sitting, but it is still one of my favorites. (Even own the music that I ordered from Mike's website...)
posted by Futurehouse at 8:41 AM on June 23, 2009

Born in Los Angeles, Jittlov became a math-language major at UCLA.

Is that a double major or does UCLA really have a major in "math-language"?
posted by DU at 8:43 AM on June 23, 2009

Aha. He worked for Disney. That's where all the digs at movie studios and unions in Wizard of Speed and Time come from.

Incidentally, his work is celebrated every year at B-Fest. The short is played forward, then backward at midnight. It's shown in an auditorium with a stage, and people get on the stage for this film. They lie on their backs, and then stomp their feet as loose emulation of running.

When the backwards showing completes, they all get up and go back to their seats and wait for Plan 9 from Outer Space.
posted by ignignokt at 9:08 AM on June 23, 2009 [3 favorites]

I saw The Wizard Of Speed And Time as a cult-film loving, Sam Raimi obsessed kid in the 80's and thought it was fantastic, though I can't recall too much of it. Can't wait to see it again!
posted by ghastlyfop at 9:11 AM on June 23, 2009

Thanks for posting this. I remember reading about WoSaT on Usenet and wishing there were some way I could see it, but had forgotten about it by the time YouTube came about. It's fun. I love the joyful look on the wizard's face. Reminds me of Dash from The Incredibles.
posted by straight at 9:13 AM on June 23, 2009

I have a poster from the WoSaT signed by Mike Jittlov hanging on my wall. I love the movie and the man.
posted by strixus at 9:25 AM on June 23, 2009

WOSAT has become something of an obsession among me and my friends. The wounded yet self-congratulatory tone of the whole thing elevates it from a crazy B-movie to a slightly creepy psychological profile of Mr. Jittlov (one can get this same effect by simply checking out his website's "why aren't you married?" section, by the way). Come to think of it, our affection for Mike and his movie also borders on the slightly creepy.
posted by cheap paper at 9:34 AM on June 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

The wounded yet self-congratulatory tone of the whole thing elevates it from a crazy B-movie to a slightly creepy psychological profile of Mr. Jittlov (one can get this same effect by simply checking out his website's "why aren't you married?" section, by the way).

Whoa! Nice find (and tattoo). I'm surprised that this tall, trim VIKING is not a wearer of a FEDORA.
posted by ignignokt at 9:51 AM on June 23, 2009

From his "marriage" page: A musical, artistic idealist who is romantic, cuddley, old-fashioned, but non-Religious, non-abusive, non-oral and non-smoker/drinker

What does "non-oral" mean in this context? I cannot understand why a man would want a "non-oral" wife...
posted by Meatbomb at 9:54 AM on June 23, 2009

I cannot understand why a man would want a "non-oral" wife...

If you're a straight man living in Silver Lake, you're probably tired of all the oral...
posted by hippybear at 10:04 AM on June 23, 2009

I first watched the short in a college animation class, and then had to find the whole movie. It's an impressive thing, it really is. I wonder if alt.fan.mike-jittlov is still around. [Upon checking, I guess google groups says it is!]

Hmm, so very sensitive nerves, eh? I wonder if Mr. Jittlov is on the autism spectrum.

Also, he and Kibo are friends. It's one of those things you wouldn't want any other way.
posted by zusty at 10:13 AM on June 23, 2009 [1 favorite]

I wonder if Mr. Jittlov is on the autism spectrum.

I could imagine the kind of work he was doing appeals, at the very least, to someone with a certain tendency toward OCD.
posted by hippybear at 10:32 AM on June 23, 2009

That's one of my favorite movies ever. I watched it over and over and over when I was a kid. Thanks for this.
posted by lexicakes at 11:59 AM on June 23, 2009

What I'm not seeing in any of these links is what he's doing today. Any ideas?
posted by msalt at 12:05 PM on June 23, 2009

msalt: I spent about 2 hours digging up links and such last night, and was not able to find much current information on him at all beyond that one page which says that he's "remastering" the film. Part of me wonders if he didn't finally find his Beloved Damsel and disappear to Scandinavia. Apparently Kibo knows him -- maybe he has answers?
posted by hippybear at 12:34 PM on June 23, 2009

Wow, he really is a "wizard of speed and time": he crosses the Golden Gate Bridge (it's red), then departs San Francisco via the Bay Bridge (it's silvery shiny), and somehow manages to be in San Francisco anyway.

Anyway, thanks for the short. I'd never seen that and it was entertaining.
posted by majick at 12:54 PM on June 23, 2009

These days, Jittlov folds dollars. He's working on Obama.
posted by run"monty at 3:49 PM on June 23, 2009

he crosses the Golden Gate Bridge (it's red)

International Orange

"Many people ask how to obtain International Orange Paint - it easy-your paint store can mix it with the following information:

The PMS code is 173 or the CMYK colors are: C= Cyan: 0%, M =Magenta:69%, Y =Yellow:100%, K = Black:6%"

posted by zippy at 4:07 PM on June 23, 2009

I know this. I was born and raised in San Francisco and have proprietary feelings toward the bridge. I have a bucket of the paint in the barn. The home I live in was previously occupied by a family member who painted said bridge for a living for 30-odd years (there's actually a chunk of vertical suspension cable in the back yard, and heaps of GGB maintenance gear stored). However, whatever you elect to call the color it's still red.
posted by majick at 7:29 AM on June 25, 2009

(Also, I'm aware that technically, the guy is entering the City via the Bay Bridge, because he's on the upper deck. But that makes even less geographical sense.)
posted by majick at 7:32 AM on June 25, 2009

(Also, I'm aware that technically, the guy is entering the City via the Bay Bridge, because he's on the upper deck. But that makes even less geographical sense.)

Imagine how thrilling that part of the sequence would be if he were on the lower level. :)
posted by hippybear at 7:40 AM on June 25, 2009