When it comes to Randy Krallman and 2007, a long, prancing shadow was cast by a little lad
with Prince Valiant hair crooning for some berries and cream. Starbust's"Bus Station" sticks
out thanks in equal measures to the lad's mind-piercing ditty as well as the subsequent tidal
wave of attention it garnered from the industry and general public alike. But look a little closer
and you'll notice that this past year was also one of slight evolution for Krallman. The skewed
characters and comedy he's become known for were all still there (most notably in the form of
two touchy-feely wrestlers shilling for Old Spice), but he also spread his skills across a broader
range on Steinlager, Rock Band and on a short film for eBay about a sneaks-wearing seeing eye
horse that debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last month. Krallman has also pushed more
into series and longer form work. "It was fun thinking about how these longer form things
would be unveiled and a challenge having to flush the characters out and seeing how they
develop over the series," says Krallman. "I think I had a bit of success with it, along with a few
painful coming-up-short moments, but it's definitely a fun thing to tackle."
On his biggest challenge of the year: "The most challenging thing this year was definitely the
eBay short. Budget-wise, it was a bit more strapped than a commercial would be and I was a bit
delusional with what I could pull off with a miniature horse and four 17-year-old Dominican
kids who had never acted. Also, it's one thing when it's a Hot Pockets commercial that's not particularly
aiming for genius, but when it's a short film that you're given complete creative control
over, you really don't have any excuses for fucking it up."
On growing as a director: "I think I've gone from being protective of the career and worrying
about taking a misstep to thinking, as one starts to think about features, it's important to push
yourself and challenge yourself. And some of those things are naturally going to fail but it's
important to do them if you want to grow. In recent years, I wouldn't step up to anything I didn't
know I could crush, but that's changed."
