Zelda and the Unibrows – Silent Night (film)
We all know that Santa Claus lives forever. In the famous “Yes, Virginia” letter, there’s even a passage about him living “ten times ten thousand years,” so here’s a movie about Santa living to witness the end of the universe.
This film came about after Chris Holt and I collaborated on the music 2009 with the idea of doing a rerally creepy cover of the traditional Christmas carol. The song was released as a CD and digital single in 2009. Two years later, Paul, Jeff and I set out to make a “music video” for the track.
Rick Maynard, a professional Santa, stars as Santa. We used Detroit as the backdrop to represent a future abandoned city, with only Santa remaining to witness its ambiance.
Casey Gardiner contributed nearly all of the illustrations and art for the video. He also created the cover for the “Blissful Cessation” album, which became the home of this music after the single went out of production.
Jeff Jimison directs, reveling in the thrill of working with Rick.
Jeff Jablonski created animation, including the Earth being destroyed by the expanding sun. Jeff worked with use previously on the cover of the Unreason album and subsequently on our They Might Be Giants video contest submission, “Am I Awake?”
This film screened at the Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, Michigan as part of the Mitten Movie Project.
In one scene, Santa walks through city blocks that have been leveled, with no buildings and only utility infrastructure, alleys, streets and sidewalks visible. This was filmed in a 16-block section of Detroit’s St. Cyril neighborhood, one of the most dramatic before-and-after comparisons of Detroit’s abandonment. Years after we filmed, Flex-N-Gate, a logistics company, build a factory on the land, and it has been put back into use.
My 2011 retrospective video features some behind-the-scenes moments from the production of this video. Skip to 3:35.
