What happens when children’s books meet R-rated movies?

Josh Cooley’s terrific new book Movies R Fun!

They were childhood staples that were easy to read and packed with charming illustrations.

Just released by Chronicle Books,Movies R Funis the brilliant creation of writer/illustrator Josh Cooley.

Tell me a little about how you became inspired to create Movies R Fun!

It would be like watching them for the first time but through her eyes.

I got really excited about that.

From concept to creation, how long did it take to write and illustrate the book?

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I started to do individual illustrations based on this concept back in 2008.

Id show them to friends and they would suggest other movies that would be funny in that format.

I never thought of making it into a book until I had drawn almost 20 of them.

Making a book was just a natural direction for it.

So I made a self-published version on thick cardstock like a childrens board book.

(Those kids books that are thick enough to chew on.)

I sold out of all 1000 copies relatively quickly.

Then Chronicle Books expressed interest on putting it out, but with twice as many images.

Which is whatMovies R Fun!is.

Have you noticed that people seem to gravitate towards specific films from the book?

If so, which ones have you found to get the best response?

Is there a particular one that you enjoy most?

Im always fascinated by which ones people gravitate towards.

Its all over the map.

Theres obviously aBig Lebowskifollowing, so thats a favorite.

But I was happy that there are so many fans ofLeon: The Professionalout there.

I enjoy thePsychoimage the most.

I have a copy hanging in my bathroom.

How did you settle upon these particular images?

Did any movies pose a particular challenge to come up with the background illustrations.

And the inclusion of Brads pirate hat in yourFast Times at Ridgemont Highillustration was inspired.

What got cut from the book, and when can we expect a follow-up?

Can you give us a sneak preview of some possible entries?

I cut out the dentist scene fromMarathon Man.

Can you guess what scene it was?

(Answer: Is it safe?

asked the Nazi dentist.)

The reason was because people who saw it didnt recognize the movie.

Not because of my drawing, because they never saw the movie.

If you havent seen it, go see it now.

You will think about it every time you go to the dentist.

Were there any real-life products that you took inspiration from?

In your estimation, what is this about this specific kind of misguided merchandise that is so appealing?

Growing up I absolutely loved Shel SilversteinsABZbook.

It made me laugh so hard even as a kid.

It was a kids book (for adults) that had horrible suggestions in it for kids to do.

Take candy from strangers, drink a bottle of ink, bury your siblings in the yard, etc.

I guessMovies R Fun!is along that similar vein.

In my opinion, the misguided merchandise hits two chords.

The adult that can appreciate it, and that innocent inner child who likes brightly colored pictures and toys.

TheYouTube trailerfor your book went viral extraordinarily quickly.

When Chronicle asked if I wanted to make a book trailer I immediately thought YES.

Ive been making short movies (and long ones) my entire life.

I knew an infomercial would be funny.

I called my collaborator and best friend Doug Cox to see if he had time to help out.

Hes a professional editor and he cut the trailer as well as helped direct it.

Nick Mahar, was kind enough to film it on his RED camera.

He films a lot of pro music videos including work for Macklemore.

He brought out his crew and we filmed it at my house in a day.

The people in the video are all friends of mine.

Im super happy with it.

Everyone did a masterful job and it captures the feeling of the book.

We even took it a step further with the phone number at the end of the commercial.

How much of a juggling act was it creating and promoting this book while also working at Pixar?

Speaking of which, hey tell our readers a bit about your day job.

For my day job, Im a story supervisor at Pixar Animation.

Ive been there for going on 11 years.

So my time working on the book was after hours and into the night.

It was a juggling act, but thats how my brain works.

I like to have multiple things juggling that I can bounce back and forth between.

Do you have any parting words for Den of Geek readers?

Can I join the Den?

I passed the Kobayashi Maru test WITHOUT cheating.

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