Explore Weird Al’s Brain

Poster pic courtesy OCFair.com.

I never would have imagined that the brain of musical comedian/actor Weird Al Yankovic was worth $2.5 million dollars, and yet that’s how much it cost to produce the exhibit: “Al’s Brain — 3-D Journey Through The Human Brain” which will debut at the Orange County Fair in California July 10 – August 9th. [Link: Press Release.]

The 10-minute 3D film is a mix of animation and live-action footage hosted by Weird Al, who also served as writer and producer for the project.

Furthermore, the film features “The Brain Song” — an original 3D computer-animated music video Weird Al wrote and produced exclusively for the exhibit. “I studied hard for this song,” Yankovic said in an interview with The OC Register. “I pretended like I took a class in the working of the brain and this is my final exam, this is my thesis paper.”

The OC Register interview with Weird Al includes a great many more details out the exhibit, although I feel the need to offer a correction that this is *not* Al’s “first computer-animated music video.” That distinction belongs to the “Beverly Hillbillies” music video from the UHF movie soundtrack, although to clarify it did use a mix of live-action and computer-animation. So I’m assuming this will be Al’s first music video that’s *entirely* 100% computer-animated.

Update 6.11.2009: Weird Al’s official YouTube Channel has a promo video for the exhibit. And an official site has launched as well — AlsBrain.com — with behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, merchandise, schedule, and exhibit info.

Additionally, the exhibit will appear at the Puyallup Fair September 11-17 near Seattle, WA, and at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, China. Additional dates are yet to be announced.

Update 7.12.2009: Costa Mesa’s Daily Pilot has an article with more details on the exhibit, including quotes from Al and a photo preview.

And on a related note, the “controversy” regarding the exhibit to which Al is referring in the above link is covered in a report by The OC Register which states that that project is estimated to be “4 percent over budget during the next two years.” The report adds: “A theater is being built for the project, but it will not be ready in time for the July fair, so [the exhibit] will be housed in a temporary tent.”

Elsewhere, Weird Al announced via Twitter that he has a cameo voice in an upcoming episode of Nickelodeon’s hit series, Back At The Barnyard, and that he is in the studio this week “recording 4 new tracks” for his new album (planned for release in 2010) which he posted a photo for as well.

And just because I can, here’s a photo of me with Weird Al, who made a surprise appearance at the 2004 San Diego Comic-Con. (Demotivational poster caption by Steve Helling.)

Previous news: 4.13.2009 — Weird Al vs Malcolm McDowell.