REALITY GAME SHOW

Contestants compete for prizes up to $5 million dollars while risking serious consequences on stage.

Director: Steven Meyer
Designer-illustrator: James Sherman
• Movie poster and storyboard

LAYERS OF THE ONION

An incredibly popular, daily “reality” show features two international heroes competing for solution of a weekly crisis played out inside a video game. The show is presented globally via Internet to keep public attention distracted from the truth.

Design parameters: Image Design Entertainment
Designer-illustrator: James Sherman
• Storyboards, motionboards, and key frames
Director: Michael Gornick
Author:
Producer: Portman Productions
Production: Portman Productions in associaton with Image Design Entertainment

RAMPAGING ROBOTS

Desperately trying to accumulate enough money, High School student Sam Witwicki is selling items on eBay to buy his first car. One of his items is spectacles worn by his grandfather, Captain Archibald Witwicki, famous for explorations of the Artic Ocean. Etched on its rims is a microscopic map leading to a mystical talisman that allegedly channeled unlimited power for use by anyone in possession of the AllSpark.

Long ago–long before humans had evolved–a relentless war was waged for control over the AllSpark. Optimus Prime, noble leader of The Autobots managed to smuggle the AllSpark off the planet Cybertron. The dreaded Megatron, Commander of the devious Decepticons located the AllSpark hidden on Earth. Trying to retrieve it deep in the Artic Ocean, Megatron was forever frozen.

Until found by Captain Witwicki around 1850AD, but never found again due it had been cut out and hauled away to a secret government installation. The captain died a crazy old man claiming he had seen a giant robot trapped in Artic ice. Sam learns the hard way that his grandfather was not crazy. He discovers putting the antique glasses on eBay makes him a prime target in constant risk of death.

There is no escape from ferocious hunters on a seriously dangerous mission. Seeking to free Megatron, the indefatigable aliens are hellbent on retrieving the AllSpark.

Direction parameters: Hasbro
Designer-illustrator: James Sherman
• Transforming robot characters, sets, locations, props
Director: Michael Bay
Writers: John Rogers, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (story) Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman (screenplay)
Starring Shia LaBeouf  Megan Fox  Josh Duhamel  Tyrese Gibson  Rachael Taylor  
Anthony Anderson  Jon Voight  John Turturro  
Cinematography: Mitchell Amundsen  
Music: Steve Jablonsky  
Producers: Ian Bryce  Tom DeSanto  Lorenzo di Bonaventura  Don Murphy 
Production: DreamWorks SKG presents A Michael Bay Film and Paramount Pictures
in association with Hasbro and Amblin Entertainment and Di Bonaventura Pictures 
and Sprocketheads and thinkfilm

JURASSIC PARK II

Hoping to restore the Amusement Park to safety, big game trappers and mercenaries are hired as deadly dinosaur hunters to catch and destroy dangerous velociraptors. 

Design parameters: Hasbro

Designer-illustrators: James Sherman and J.J.Birch

• vehicles, logos as decals for vehicles, weapons, and props

SERIAL SLASHER SLICES STUDENTS

Oh-oh. Someone isn’t playing nice with the other kids.

Design direction: National Lampoon
Illustrator-painter: James Sherman
• Movie poster

EXTRATERRESTRIALS EXIST

After erasing a NYC Detective’s memory for seeing too much, a secret agent trains him as a partner to keep the existance of extraterrestrials on Earth a secret.

Design Parameters: Hasbro
Designer: James Sherman
• Aliens, weapons, and props
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Author: Lowell Cunningham
Writer: Ed Solomon - Script and Screenplay
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, 
Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub

Cinematography:
Music:
Producer:
Production: Amblin Entertainment in association with Hasbro

EXTRATERRESTRIALS EXIST

After erasing a NYC Detective’s memory for seeing too much, a secret agent trains him as a partner to keep the existance of extraterrestrials on Earth a secret.

Design Parameters: Hasbro
Designer: James Sherman
• Aliens, weapons, and props
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Author: Lowell Cunningham
Writer: Ed Solomon - Script and Screenplay
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn, Tony Shalhoub
Cinematography:
Music:
Producer:
Production: Amblin Entertainment in association with Hasbro

GODFATHER OF HARLEM 

Dutch Schultz tries to take over the numbers racket action in 1930 Harlem. Bumpy Johnson unites black gangsters to shoot it out; asks questions later.

Design direction: Image Design Group
Illustrator: James Sherman
• Storyboards and Opening Credits

HERCULES SURVIVES

The boy dealing with deception and death with panache and song!

Design direction: Hasbro in association with Disney
Illustrator: James Sherman & Studio
• Characters and Key Frames

ALIENS ARRIVE ON EARTH

Author: Arthur C. Clarke

• Right next to Robert A. Heinlein’s Stranger In A Strange Land and Ray Brabury’s Martian Chronicles, Childhood’s End was my equal favorite book. Asked to contribute concept sketches for the mission to translate A.C.Clarke’s famous masterpiece to the bigscreen, there was no way I would say no. 
• Having just agreed to design and illustrate a script written by Jack C. Harris, I split attention between the Legion of Super-Heroes and Childhood’s End. I showed rough sketch concepts of key frames for the Childhood’s End pitch presentation, and refocused all my attention on LSH issue 262.
• The images presented by Continuity Graphics Studio were spectacularly mind blowing. But Childhood’s End is a dialog-driven story and the project was initiated pre-CGI. Those incredible images by Neal Adams and Lynn Varley weren’t quite getting the Director’s technical support for the practicals required.
• Less-than-desired-solutions to the design concepts gave the minds-in-charge cause to pause. They reconsidered the fantastic visuals were better suited to support an action-driven story loosely based on the book. The mission was refocused as a TV series and the project renamed.