The History of Iris

In March 2004, I was thinking about the Goo Goo Dolls song “Iris” and decided to create a tribute to this moving piece of music. After a brief brainstorming session with Brian Engh and Brian Gzowski, we came up with a plot. The two Brians would be off to play a game of basketball, and my other roommmate, Stephen A. Murphy would be unable to play. Alas, when we went to film it, Murphy was nowhere to be found. We filmed the Brians shot, and I forgot about the rest. About 5 days later, when Murphy was finally around, I remembered the project and said, “Oh shit, Steve, will you help me finish this movie?”. I didn’t really tell him what was going on, or even that the song was going under the footage. He improvised the now-standard turn. In the end, this was created:

An unassuming movie, made briefly and with no real purpose. But several months later, when I circulated a DVD of my recent work, “Iris” became a clear favorite. Friends of mine in Santa Cruz said they watched it over and over again, one person went on a rant about its significance and how we all have “Iris moments”. Something about this brief, strange video captured the hearts of many.

In January 2006, as Youtube gained in popularity, I knew it was time to share “Iris” with the outside world. And sure enough, it hit the ground running. Comments like “HAHAHAH! SO FUNNY! LOL!” (bonehochane90) and “…and I thought I had already cummed alot today!” (mcwideload) became the norm. But it wasn’t until October 2006 that I realized the true possibilities of “Iris”. I recieved word that Youtube user Ching2DaChong had remade “Iris”.

The possibilities were wide open. Soon, other Irises started pouring in. “Iris” innovations were developed such as adding to the storyline, never actually getting to the song, and using women. I even created a sequel, Iris 2. Here are the pre-contest “Irises”:

But I wasn’t happy. I wanted more Irises. I wanted this joke to get as unfunny as it possibly could. And so I announced the “Make Your Own Iris” contest.

With the incentive of an “Iris” hooded sweatshirt from Neighborhoodies, I figured several people would enter. But in the end, there were 21 entries, overwhelming my greatest expectations. But in the midst of it, there was one clear winner. Ignacio was already an Iris veteran, having created 3 before the contest. He submitted 3 more in the contest, with the following being the best:

Ignacio gave a grateful victory speech here:

But although the contest is over, I hope more Irises will be made. I won’t be happy until this is happening all over the internet. Someday….