attention soldier // blog

The best of Wikipedia: 1/?

2011-12-29T14:25:00.000-08:00

"Tattooing spread among the upper classes all over Europe in the 19th century, but particularly in Britain where it was estimated in Harmsworth Magazine in 1898 that as many as one in five members of the gentry were tattooed. There, it was not uncommon for members of the social elite to gather in the drawing rooms and libraries of the great country estate homes after dinner and partially disrobe in order to show off their tattoos. Aside from her consort Prince Albert, there are persistent rumours that Queen Victoria had a small tattoo in an undisclosed 'intimate' location; Denmark's King Frederick was filmed showing his tattoos taken as a young sailor. Winston Churchill's mother, Lady Randolph Churchill, had a tattoo of a snake around her wrist, which she covered when the need arose with a specially crafted diamond bracelet. Carrying on the family tradition, Winston Churchill had an anchor tattooed on his forearm." - Wikipedia

We only live to serve...

2011-12-29T04:38:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! I had an amazing dinner with my family. Now to ruin one of my childhood favorites! "We only live to serve... man!"

Who wants to play?

2011-12-24T03:10:00.000-08:00

Just in time for Christmas, I invented a new game! You can play too. (Google Chrome and HTML5 necessary, obviously.)

I won with these articles:

Words of Wisdom

2011-11-21T03:02:00.001-08:00

"It is worth remembering, that it is much more disheartening to have to steal than to be stolen from." - The Red Shoes, Powell & Pressburger

Come On, Caress That Old Klavier!

2011-11-18T01:57:00.000-08:00

It's funny how some artifacts are saved by accident. I listen to a lot of 20 and 30's music, and while one can load Youtube and find hundreds of recordings of hit songs like Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies", other great songs of yesteryear have not achieved the same timelessness.

A few months ago I came across a wonderfully catchy song called "Goopy Geer", by "As Time Goes By" songwriter Herman Hupfeld in early 1932 and subsequently recorded by prolific British crooner Al Bowlly. I was curious to hear how others had recorded "Goopy", but to my shock I couldn't find any other rendition. Instead, I was overwhelmingly linked to the following Merrie Melodies short:

At first I thought the song must have come from the short, considering how drastically it eclipsed the song in history. But after tracking down the sheet music, it turned out the song was published three months before the short premiered in April of 1932.

Leon Schlessinger's Goopy Geer is an idiot savant pianist, similar to the Goopy Geer of Hupfeld's song, but here is depicted as a floppy-eared dog not far different from Disney's more famous Goofy--a character who appeared only a few weeks after Goopy made his animated debut.

Curiously, while Hupfeld's song is used liberally throughout the eponymous cartoon, the only musical credit on the short goes to Frank Marsales, who composed the background score for every Harman and Ising Merrie Melodies outing.

Or did he?

I was lucky enough to catch Joe Dante's screening of Roger Corman's masterpiece The Intruder at MoMA back in October, which was preceded by Joe's segment from Twilight Zone: The Movie. The segment, It's A Good Life, makes great use of Warner shorts in telling a story about a young boy who can manipulate the reality around him, just like the cartoons he's obsessed with watching.

I recognized the delightfully creepy "The Teddy Bear's Picnic" and "Ain't She Sweet" in the background of two of the WB shorts used in Dante's segment. Were these songs credited?

In November of 1932, A Great Big Bunch of You was released, again with "music by" Marsales.

Except "A Great Big Bunch of You" was written months earlier by Harry Warren and Mort Dixon, neither of whom were credited in the short.

Perhaps it's unfair to cry foul about the lack of credit. Perhaps Warner Bros. made a habit of purchasing swaths of song rights with the composers' understanding that credit wouldn't be provided. Perhaps, in 1932, Merrie Melodies functioned like a Muppet Show sketch--parodying a song so obvious and well-known to the public at the time that the credit was simply not needed.

Unfortunately, that lack of acknowledgment, 80 years later, means the pop culture history behind many of these shorts has vanished into the sands of time.

Booth A Great Big Bunch Of You and Goopy Geer are rather mediocre shorts, and it's not a surprise that the character never took off. But apparently Goopy was a big enough blip in the history of animation to warrant a Wikipedia entry that makes no mention of his real creator--Herman Hupfeld.

As far as I've been able to determine, there were four recordings of "Goopy Geer" made aside from the lackluster Merrie Melodies take: Victor Young & His Orchestra with Hupfeld on vocals on January 22, 1932, Ambrose and His Orchestra with Sam Browne on vocals on February 15, 1932, The Masqueraders (Carroll Gibbons' Orchestra) with Al Bowlly on vocals on March 24, 1932, and finally Jack Hylton and His Orchestra sometime in 1933.

Unfortunately the only recording that hasn't survived in Hupfeld's. Hopefully a lucky 78 collector will stumble upon it one of these days and give us a chance to hear the composer perform it the way it was intended to be heard. (Until then, the Bowlly version is far and away the best of the three.)

Of course, Hupfeld went on to bigger and better than Goopy Geer. "As Time Goes By" became an astronomical hit due to its use in Casablanca, and is now a fanfare of sorts for the same Warner Brothers who left his credit for Goopy on the cutting room floor.

Fly A Kite 2001-2011

2011-11-17T05:37:00.000-08:00

First piece of art I've finished in 2011.

Realized recently that I didn't have a standalone page for my 2d artwork anymore, so I've created a new Flickr account with drawings and game concepts going back to 2001. Some of these images I've posted before, but many are new to the internet. Enjoy!

Vêtements Electroniques

2011-10-24T05:47:00.000-07:00

Finally available online! Check it out.

Francis Bacon on Criticism

2011-10-15T22:51:00.001-07:00

In his 1966 interview with David Sylvester, Francis Bacon discusses criticism and friendship between artists. The first time I read this interview a few years ago, I completely identified with Bacon's words; they perfectly described what I'd always felt, but had never articulated: that the most successful artists are those who constantly search for peers to destroy their complacency and force them to grow.

Do Androids Dream?

2011-10-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

"Thinking this he wondered if Mozart had had any intuition that the future did not exist, that he had already used up his little time. Maybe I have, too, Rick thought as he watched the rehearsal move along. This rehearsal will end, the performance will end, the singers will die, eventually the last score of the music will be destroyed in one way or another; finally the name 'Mozart' will vanish, the dust will have won. If not on this planet then another. We can evade it awhile." -- Philip K Dick

ALIOMI 2011 Preview Stills

2011-08-31T04:45:00.001-07:00

The 2011 ALIOMI campaign film will be premiering online soon, so I figured I'd put up a little teaser to whet your appetite for fashion. These are 5 of my favorite shots from the film.

9/11 VI:VE European premiere in Sarajevo

2011-08-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

My fashion film Vêtements Electroniques, created in November in collaboration with designer Morgan Gehris (who has a new website, www.morganculture.com, that you should check out!) will have its European premiere at Bridge Fest in Sarajevo this September, as part of their experimental program. I believe the film will be premiering the same week I'll have a photo on display in Milan as part of Vogue Italia's Fashion's Night Out Exhibit.

Comic-Con

2011-07-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

Photo by the lovely Scott McKeeve

Comic-Con was a bit of a whirlwind for me this year, so I navigated the floor in disguise, where I bumped into no less than Paul M. Sammon, author of Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, aka my high school bible. Sadly I did not have a camera at the time, as my equipment was packed and ready for a shoot in Vegas on Sunday.

Had a great time at both the Oh! You Sexy Geek and Troma panels, and was happy to catch the premiere of Chillerama, which is awesome, funny kitsch (and features my roommate in a few scenes!) Olivia Dudley from 5secondfilms also had a part -- small world!

9/11 Vogue's 'Watch MI' Milano

2011-06-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

I found out yesterday that I've been selected by Vogue Italia as one of 100 photographers to exhibit work at the Palazzo Morando during Fashion's Night Out in Milan on September 8th. There are some INCREDIBLE international photographers participating in this show, and I'm completely floored to be included.

Any Takers?

2011-06-23T14:10:00.000-07:00

I'd do it, but I only have $15.

6/11 'CLASSIC' at The Happening Gallery

2011-06-16T12:43:00.000-07:00

Friends in LA: four photographs from my CLASSIC car series will be on display at The Happening Gallery in Marina del Rey from June 24th to July 17th. There will be a wine & coffee reception on Sunday, June 26th, from 1-4 PM.

Limited edition prints will be on sale, with 10% of the proceeds benefiting Clothes The Deal, a great charity organization that supplies clothes to the homeless so that they can re-enter the workforce.

I'll be at the reception, and would love to see you there!

The Happening Gallery
4047 Lincoln Blvd
Marina del Rey
CA 90292
www.TheHappeningGallery.com

Nelson, Chapman, and Reiniger

2011-06-03T01:09:00.000-07:00

Since the release of Kung Fu Panda 2, the animation spotlight has been firmly focused on Jennifer Yuh Nelson, as of 2011 the first female director to helm an animated feature for a major studio. In response to all the publicity Nelson's been garnering, the LA Times published an article focusing not on Nelson, but her almost-rival for the honor, Pixar's Brenda Chapman.

When the glass ceiling crashed on Brenda Chapman casts a bit of light on Chapman's removal from Pixar's upcoming Brave, as well as other female animation directors that have been thrown under the bus at Disney.

The article refers to Chapman as an animation pioneer, but that term was first applied almost ninety years ago to German director Lotte Reiniger, a contemporary of Fritz Lang.

Reiniger is mostly known now for her feature The Adventures of Prince Achmed, released in 1926. Achmed, a retelling of One Thousand and One Nights animated in Reiniger's signature paper-silhouette style, was only the third feature-length animated film ever made, and is the oldest surviving animated feature.

I watched Achmed for the first time this year, and was surprised at how expressive and captivating the animation was with such minimal character design.

Reiniger worked with a small team on her films, and I wonder if some of the female directors who've been shunned by the Hollywood studios might actually find success using techniques that can be perfected without the aid of a render farm, on less complex (and more visually creative!) projects where their ability to oversee an army of animation slaves need never be called into question. Nina Paley, despite the copyright kerfluffle, had great success with her one-woman-feature Sita Sings The Blues.

Because of the small-time nature of her productions, Reiniger directed mostly short films during her career, often depicting folk and fairy tales from around the globe. Luckily for us, BFI has recently uploaded some of her Grimm's adaptations on their Dailymotion channel.

Here's Reiniger's take on Sleeping Beauty:

Who Likes Classic Cars?

2011-05-31T09:54:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted photos in ages! Here's a series of classic cars I shot last April. It's actually my second set of these. If you like them, maybe I'll dig up the others. Enjoy!

Sneak Peak: ALIOMI 2011

2011-05-04T00:58:00.001-07:00

First still from the upcoming ALIOMI Summer 2011 campaign film, shot at the historic Chelsea Hotel! Can't wait to edit this one, it's going to be amazing.

Women in Cages (& at Monsterpalooza)

2011-04-15T23:07:00.000-07:00

As some of you know I'm a cinematographer as well as a director, and in the past month I've been lucky enough to DP on a bunch of fun documentaries, including From Manila With Love, a one hour look at Roger Corman's women in prison films shot in the Philippines, a group of exclusive interviews for Distribpix's special edition release of The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann, and I am Divine about--who else--the enigmatic Divine of John Waters fame. Here are a few stills to whet your appetite:

Jane Schaffer (The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage)

Georgina Spelvin (The Devil in Miss Jones)

Eric Edwards (Debbie Does Dallas, The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann)

Keith Glen Schubert / Tammie Brown (RuPaul's Drag Race)

Candice Roman (The Big Bird Cage)

Teda Bracci (The Big Bird Cage, The Centerfold Girls)

And the man himself, Roger Corman

From Manila With Love is part of Shout! Factory's upcoming Women in Prison box set, which comes out on Blu-Ray this August, and includes The Big Bird Cage, and the Big Doll House, directed by Jack Hill, and Women in Cages, by noted Filipino director Gerardo de Leon.

Here's a quick snapshot of (a very sunburned!) me with Jack and Elijah Drenner, director of From Manila With Love at last weekend's Monsterpalooza convention in Burbank.

Elijah and I watch with bated breath as Larry Cohen adds his signature to a vintage poster.

All About 'Hanna'

2011-04-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

Ladies with guns, pants suits, and sensible winter coats. Hallelujah!

When I first heard that Joe Wright, the director who made me enjoy Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, perhaps my two least favorite books, was working on a lady-centric action thriller, I was stoked. Since P&P came out in 2005 I've had a hopeful eye on Wright, watching as he blazed a trail of period drama through a film industry dominated by the blandest of branded, packaged, genre directors.

I am simultaneously jealous and immensely proud that Wright was able to start his feature career with a pair of excellent, well-paced, visually-stimulating, SUCCESSFUL dramas, not unlike my favorite director, the insurmountable David Lean. Filmmakers like Lean, and now Wright, truly love cinema, and prove it in the way they effortlessly ping pong between world wars, classic literature, and brief encounters without losing an iota of depth. I hope to one day join their ranks as a ruthlessly dedicated dramatic storyteller, but for now I'm just ecstatic that Wright is out there reclaiming Hollywood from board-game adaptations.

Wright's latest, Hanna, is the first of his films in which you get the sense that he could truly go wild with the material, and it doesn't disappoint. Hanna is an energetic blend of sound, story, and cinematography that keeps the endorphins rushing long after you've left the theater. Hanna is the type of film every Hollywood director should be making. Unfortunately most of them can't.

Hanna answers my dichotomous, ever-present complaint: "Do smart films have to be slow? Do action films have to be dumb?" with a resounding no, and dives head-first down its rabbit hole into an action-packed coming-of-age story the likes of which audiences haven't seen in Hollywood for a long time. The film's excellent score by the Chemical Brothers helps set a frenetic, music video-like pace to the action, and the film sounds like it's been dipped in the backing track to Nine Inch Nails' Closer.

What really makes Hanna special is that the best thing about it isn't its thumping score and stylish visuals, or even Eric Bana's ass-kicking one-take in a Berlin subway station: it's Saoirse Ronan and the untouchable Cate Blanchett who dominate every frame. While the story is fairly simplistic and albeit predictable in places, the nuanced performances of these two ladies gives Hanna a wonderful depth lacking in most mainstream shoot-em-ups and the match up between Ronan, an ethereal super soldier, and Blanchett, a kind of evil Dana Scully (complete with cherry-red bob) is very refreshing. Both play brutal killing machines, but they're some of the most well-rounded, empathetic killing machines we've seen on screen in a while.

If the trades can to accuse directors like Zack Snyder of crafting well-rounded, empowered female characters, Joe Wright should be convicted immediately. Again like Lean (whom I'm starting to suspect Wright idolizes ALMOST as much as I do--anyone want to read an essay on the similarities between Summertime and Brief Encounter?), Wright knows how to leave bullshit feminine stereotypes by the wayside and focus on women characters as individuals with specific wants and needs. I can't believe it was necessary that this be pointed out in 2011, but we all know that stereotypes are all too present, and that Wright is under no obligation to represent woman as anything other than gossiping hens and shrieking ingenues. So good on Wright, and let Hollywood know that we love awesome movies with awesome ladies by SEEING HANNA THIS WEEKEND.

You'll enjoy it, I promise!

Musta Been The Mustache

2011-03-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

The best music video I've ever seen.

i was a twenty-something runway model

2011-03-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

Last Friday a preview of my latest fashion film with designer Morgan Gehris and some photos from the accompanying editorial series were featured as part of the March Sugar Art and Fashion show at Lot 613 in downtown LA. It was a great turnout, and people seemed to love the work. Can't wait to have a real screening of the film on the big screen!

When I arrived at the gallery that afternoon in a Stones t-shirt and jeans to hang, I was promptly told that a model had dropped from the catwalk show and asked if I'd be willing to fill in. Sure, why not? I'm all about trying new things. The result was 4 hours of intensive hair and makeup that I'm still recovering from, but it was a fun experience. I walked for both Morgan's Standard Deviation and the accessory line Rude & Reckless.

If you want a chuckle you can watch me strut my stuff courtesy of YouTube:

On a side note: I still have some gorgeous 8x12 giclee prints available from the show. If you have any interest in purchasing one, drop me a line!

3/11 Sugar Art & Fashion

2011-03-11T18:58:00.000-08:00

Next Friday three of my photos from Stranger in a Strange Land will be featured in the Sugar Art & Fashion group show in Downtown LA! Stop on by and check out the show!

inspiration

2011-02-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

The Sundance Rundown

2011-02-02T00:32:00.000-08:00

Despite vowing never to return to Park City without a film, I found myself at Sundance last week for the second time.

I was happily persuaded to go by a number of friends, in particular Garrett Sergeant, who edited the Oscar-shortlisted documentary Living for 32, which played as part of the festival's Documentary Showcase II, as well as my New York-based best friend, the lovely and talented actress Marjory Collado.

My selection this year was a mixed bag: 3 feature documentaries, 5 narrative features, and 18 shorts. As in 2010, the documentaries were on average much more compelling than the features. Overall, I saw fewer enjoyable films than I did in 2010, and specifically I found the shorts programs incredibly weak (I spoke to individuals on various lines who told me that in earlier years they had, in disappointment, decided never to purchase shorts tickets again. I don't know if I'd go that far, but I was certainly underwhelmed.)

Then again, last year's shorts program may have been a fluke, with a large number of festival heavy-hitters programmed, especially in animation. And even then there were some duds. As for this year, I don't want to spend a lot of time decrying specific films, as, honestly, the titles on my plate was so varied as to be incomparable. So I figured I'd mention a couple of the more interesting things I saw at Sundance 2011:

5) The Catechism Cataclysm dir. Todd Rohal

I talked to people who both loathed and loved this truly weird little film: a part South Park, part Deliverance tale of two old acquaintances--one a priest, one an aspiring rock star turned spotlight operator--on a canoe trip gone awry. Perhaps the strangest thing about The Catechism Cataclysm, however, is the honesty of its emotions in the midst of a bizarre story that features giggling Japanese tourists, sonic-induced hallucinations, and off-beat adolescent fables.

Though rough around the edges at times, the film kept the audience laughing non stop, no doubt due to its hysterical cast and deliciously awkward sense of humor. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a trailer available online, but when it pops up on Netflix in the near future, I recommend a late-night viewing.

4) The Mill and the Cross dir. Lech Majewski

When I learned that not only were Michael York and Rutger Hauer at Sundance, but they were in the same film, I immediately bought tickets. The Mill and the Cross is more of an art film than any I've seen in a while (even Jorodowsky's Santa Sangre). Its source material was an essay on Bruegel by Michael Francis Gibson; brought to life as a literal, moving interpretation of Peter Bruegel's vision and influences as an artist.

What's special about the film isn't its story--there really isn't one, and what's there isn't necessarily factual--but its ingenuous use of VFX in creating Bruegel's world: juxtaposing actors against recreations of Bruegel's work to create a strange, surreal aesthetic reflective of Breugel's highly recognizable paintings. "Cool CGI" and "art film" aren't necessarily two ideas that fit together very often, but here they do.

3) I Saw The Devil dir. Ji-woon Kim

If you like violence as much as I do, I Saw the Devil might be your new favorite film. Masterfully directed and acted, Kim and his amazing cast raise the beaten-to-death vigilante story of the wife-avenging hero to a new height of visceral gore and realism that had all the boys in the audience wincing in disgust and slavering for more. You know you're in for a wild ride the moment the main villain arrives just two minutes into the film: a surprisingly well-rounded serial killer played by Oldboy's Min-sik Choi.

The film's sound design was something to behold, raising tension unbearably in scenes of precisely choreographed violence. I had a discussion at Sundance with a producer friend in which we agreed that action films and musicals are essentially the same: when a scene runs out of steam, we're subjected to a song and dance number that minimally advances the plot. This film, however, was a happy exception to prove the rule, with fight scenes naturally and evenly interspersed throughout high drama. Absolutely my favorite narrative at the festival.

2) Senna dir. Asif Kapadia

Senna won the International Documentary jury prize for a reason. A lot has already been written about this remarkable racing documentary, so I'll be brief. One of the most amazing things about this film is its access to a seemingly unlimited archive of Senna footage--from his early childhood go-karting days, to briefing room arguments with Alain Prost, to the first-person camera feed that recorded his final race.

Indeed, there was so much footage (the director mentioned that some events were covered by more than 40 cameras, due to Senna's popularity with international press) that talking-head interviews were not only unnecessary, but would have ruined the riveting tension of this truly verité biopic. This film was so seamlessly assembled, that the inevitable fictional biopic of Senna is rendered entirely pointless: here you have the true account of a racing legend, starring the man himself, with more real-life coverage than even a James Cameron budget would allow.

As one of the few people at my screening who had any idea who Ayrton Senna was, it was remarkable to see the film's affect on an unknowing audience, and I hope that Universal, who produced the film, will give it a chance to play in the US.

1) Crime After Crime dir. Yoav Potash

Crime After Crime was, without a doubt, the best film I saw at Sundance. While I didn't catch the American documentary prize-winner, How to Die in Oregon, I'm certain Crime After Crime was a strong contender for second place, and I wouldn't be surprised to see it nominated for an Oscar this time next year. Crime After Crime is the story of two California lawyers who work tirelessly (and pro bono) over the course of seven years to free incarcerated Debbie Peagler, jailed for 27 years for her involvement in the murder of her abusive boyfriend and pimp in 1982.

If you know me you're probably scratching your head--from its description, this doesn't seem like my kind of film. It's actually the best kind of film: one that completely transcends tastes and prejudices with a heart-wrenching true story. Seriously, guys ... this one's amazing.

#NotATranny2011

2011-01-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite video games as a child was an obscure Sega CD title called Snatcher. The game is a Japanese riff on Blade Runner (my favorite film), wherein the android Snatchers murder innocent individuals and steal their identities in order to live undetected in society.

Well, friends, I've been snatched.

A week before I left for Sundance I woke up to a find that the usually-empty Google Alert of my name was now full of tabloid headlines about "Elle Schneider", a pre-op male-to-female transsexual who had involved herself in a relationship between celebrity daughter Kelly Osbourne and male model Luke Worrall.

To be crystal clear: I am not a transsexual. Neither do I have no involvement with any of these people. Also to be clear: I have no problem with transsexuals. I've been an LGBT ally for over 10 years, and in case you're upset that I'm so blatant in discussing what should be this person's personal business, I'm not usually in the habit of outing people.

But unfortunately one of the more sour aspects of this scandal is that "Elle Schneider", with no qualms, revealed both her pre-operative status as well as her legal name (Reynaldo Gonzales) to the tabloids for the express purpose of encouraging the sensational headlines that would draw attention to her name. Except, of course, it wasn't her name. It was mine.

And so the past two weeks have been a nightmare. There have been over 100 re-posts of the original exposé, some of which have included my photo, erroneously pulled from Google Image search. I've received links on Facebook, angry tweets from strangers, and my roommates were contacted by our friends in the entertainment industry "just checking" to make sure I didn't have a penis. (FYI, you know who you are, and you owe me a drink!)

The situation might seem funny, but it's also deeply distressing and I didn't ask for it. Someone else did, but used my name to do so, so I'm forced to address it in order to keep my reputation intact. I do take this very seriously, as humorous as the situation might seem on the surface.

I can't help but notice that--as more links appear with Z-list gossip sites regurgitating each others' stories--since this past Wednesday "Elle" is now being referred to as "model Elle Schneider". Suddenly things become clear, and I can assume that "Elle", in releasing information about her affair with a pseudo-celebrity, is attempting to create and cash in on 15 minutes of fame in order to pursue a modeling career. This also explains why her once-deleted Facebook account has reappeared full of low-quality glamor shots.

For my final word of clarity: There has never been a model with my name, and I don't approve of "Elle" trying to start a career trading on the name that I've used professionally for years. As of this date, there is not a single publicly-available photo associated with my name and the fashion industry that was not taken by me as a professional photographer. If there had ever been a model with my name, I would know about it. Because my name is my business.

So where do things go from here? Well, I'm not sure. I may have to take legal action. I'm still exploring my options. I do appreciate the support I've gotten from friends. If you want to help out, you can also take this opportunity to check out some of my work. Thanks everyone! <3

a cool photo

2011-01-18T02:54:00.000-08:00

a cool photo that I did not take:

Photographer: Elana Kalis

That'll Be The Day

2010-12-31T01:39:00.001-08:00

It's been a while, hasn't it? I've had a busy month writing and scheming, and just finished ringing in the end of the year with The Searchers. I hate to be down on contemporary film, but it's so rare these days to encounter a story or a performance that's truly moving, that I find it imperative (for me, at least) to look back on great films and hold on to what made them so great.

I'm not really one for end-of-year lists, but my favorite movie of 2010, hands down, is Confessions (告白), Japan's entry for the Academy Awards. It has no US distribution--yet--and likely won't win a nomination, but it's a gutsy choice for Japan considering that foreign nominations tend to go to the most serious fare. Here's the AMAZING trailer:

Confessions is sadistic melodrama at it's finest, tonally fitting in somewhere between Battle Royale and Audition. Some of the filmmaker's influences are apparent in the trailer, and if you recognize them, you'd probably appreciate the film.

I'm in NYC for NYE, and contrary to reports, I will NOT be replacing Snooki in a death-defying act above Times Square. I will be ringing in the new with friends old and new, and hope you'll be doing the same. Cheers, all!

a stranger in a stranger land

2010-11-18T03:31:00.000-08:00

a stranger in a stranger land

I'm hungry, JF

2010-11-01T01:36:00.001-07:00

happy halloween (more)
<3

another

2010-10-12T03:16:00.000-07:00

LOTP: Powers

2010-10-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Come inside for more awesome!

Dan Johnson helps us set the lights by taking a rest on our slab of torture.

The ennui of the werewolf. (Kyle Beck)

Myself and David Welch, taken by the lovely and talented Lore Haroutunian, who was supposed to be our cinematographer when LOTP was first proposed. She is a much better photographer than I, and unfortunately all of my photos of her were blurry. Next time I will stalk her with the camera!

Kyle never expected his date would end up like this!

He should never have signed up for OKCupid!

Want to know what's really going on here? You'll have to watch the film to find out ...

new things are coming

2010-09-29T04:29:00.000-07:00

i am alive and working hard on secret things. for now, here's a doodle from a few days ago:

LOTP: Diner

2010-08-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

New shoot, new photos! Sadly you'll have to wait until the film is finished to see the best bits of this scene. ;)

SO MUCH WORK

2010-07-16T19:26:00.000-07:00

ALIOMI -- the fashion company whose video I directed in April -- launched this past Thursday with an awesome party at The Gates. It was a great reward for the crazy amount of work I've done in the past 6 weeks. No signs of slowing down for the time being, but I'm looking forward to sharing when I get a chance.

Here's a press photo from the event:

with ALIOMI co-founder Allison Sparkhul and stylist Nneya Richards

ALIOMI

2010-07-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

The Stonecutter

2010-07-02T14:52:00.000-07:00

The Stonecutter is either an ancient Japanese folktale or a Dutch fairytale incorporated into Japanese lore in the 16th century. Though it's origin is disputed, The Stonecutter remains a powerful moral story about accepting your talents and your flaws; bettering yourself while still being yourself.

I was introduced to this story as a child by animator Gerald McDermott, and its message has always stuck with me. Somehow as a child in the 80's I found myself in the possession of a tape of The Stonecutter and another of McDermott's shorts, Anansi the Spider, based on African folklore and watched both constantly, even though I was kind of terrified of them. What can I say? Kids are weird.

Anyway, McDermott created his interpretation of The Stonecutter in 1960 while a student at Pratt, mixing contemporary techniques and inspiration from fine artists like Paul Klee. The result is a visually striking, original piece that's also completely harmonious with the decade in which it was created. The score is also fantastic, though uncredited. If you've got 6 minutes, I highly suggest you check it out!

The Narrow Road to the Deep North

2010-07-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

So many books! So many NYT crossword puzzles!

Guess that's what happens when you have a new draft to work on. Some of my reading has not been without purpose, however. I'm working on a Japanese project at the moment, so a few days ago I decided to pick up Bashō's masterpiece The Narrow Road to the Deep North to learn more about the bushido influence on art.

The bushido code is a big part of the character I'm writing and hugely impacts mood I'm trying to convey in the piece, but since I can only watch Le Samourai so many times, I decided to skip bushido-as-depicted-on-screen and go straight to the horse's mouth, so to speak.

It's easy I think for Westerners to lump all Eastern philosophies and ethical codes together, but its important to differentiate between cultural angst, especially when telling another's story; Korean han, for example, does not stem from the same mindset as bushido, just as Americans, shall we say, don't quite have the same social terrors as the British. (Ever seen a Brit 's reaction when an American send a restaurant item back to the kitchen? Priceless.)

While Bashō himself was only of samurai class, his work certainly follows the tenets of bushido, especially in terms of self-sacrifice and frugality. Previously I've only read collections of Bashō's poetry, so this was a new adventure. His famous travelogues (there are 5 in this translation) mix prose and poetry seamlessly, flowing from one to the other with natural ease.

As I was reading, imagine my surprise to discover someone's own travel memories tucked into the pages:

There are also handwritten notes in the margins. Someone was studying with this book, but who? The old woman, or the graduate? Are they in Japan, America, or somewhere else? Is the old woman a tourist, a friend, or an adopted mother? Who took the photo?

I'm reading a first edition (presumably) owned by my grandparents, published 1963. The photo is from the 60's. The library card is from the 80's. I'm not related to anyone in this photo. So what's the story behind the picture? All guesses welcome!

3D Nouveau

2010-06-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

Is it possible to recreate an Art Nouveau sensibility in 3D? Here are two abstracts I attempted. The first is more representative of the print style, while the second is more painterly. Did I succeed?

two bonus doodles:

Art Nouveau

2010-05-31T22:24:00.000-07:00

Earlier tonight I was digging around in my parents' extensive book collection and happily found myself distracted by a wonderful book on Art Nouveau from 1959. It opens with a quote by Wilde, and goes on to mention the influence of Blake and The Book of Kells on the development of the Nouveau style ... of course, I'm in love.

Some great, rare photos inside (though sadly all in b&w), but nary a mention of Mucha or Privat-Livemont except in the index. In hindsight it seems impossible that either man could be ignored, especially Mucha who's so often heralded as the founder of the movement. (Privat-Livemont, unfortunately, lives today mostly via Absinthe Robette posters in college dorm rooms.)

Horta and Van de Velde, who get virtually no press these days, take up most of the pages, and for good reason. Toulouse-Lautrec, Klimt, and Gaugin also get a fair amount of coverage. But much of what we modern consumers think of as Nouveau is nowhere to be found. Was there, perhaps, a Mucha backlash 50 years ago? An idea that his instantly recognizable aesthetic choices were overrated, and didn't fully encapsulate the organic nature of the style he created?

Regardless of any limited perspective he might have had, Mucha was an unbelievable talent. I was lucky enough to see a few original Muchas up close at Skywalker Ranch last week, and his level of detail is simply astonishing; it's truly unbelievable that anyone could brush him off as merely repetitive or a one trick pony. So what's the deal, 1950's?

Mucha's "Primrose" and "Feather"

More LOTP

2010-05-06T05:47:00.000-07:00

Leader of the Pack

2010-04-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

Leader of the Pack is a neat little werewolf feature for which I'm currently producing and photographing a teaser trailer. The script was written by Will Campos, and the trailer is being directed by Daniel Johnson of Gran Torino/Up mash-up fame.

Production technically started in January, but it's only really kicked into full swing as of April. Here's a still from this past week:

(Yes, it's set in the 1950's!)

2010-04-17T10:31:00.000-07:00

Saw a preview of Disneynature's Oceans last night. It was fantastic, great photography, great Bruno Coulais score, everything. I'm starting to think the best way to save Hollywood is to turn it over to the French.

The screening took forever to get started, so I doodled this while waiting:

I may color it later to see what it looks like. If it turns out I'll post it here.

Also, on Thursday night I was privileged to catch a preview of the upcoming 20th Century auction at Bonham's & Butterfields and attend a Q&A/Panel with Michael Deeley and Syd Mead about design aesthetics in Blade Runner (a few BR pieces are up for auction).

It was a great night and I'm proud to say I got to meet both of them. The collection was amazing as well; mostly mid-century furniture & ceramics, but some art too, and I was smitten by these Elisabeth Sonrel lithographs and this Emmanuel Villanis bust.

I don't really need my Roth IRA, do I?

aliomi shoot

2010-04-14T02:26:00.000-07:00

Spent the past week in NYC where I shot some promos for ALIOMI's Spring 2010 campaign. ALIOMI is a new DIY & vintage fashion company based out of NYC, and they're launching this month. I'll be sure to post a link to the promos when they're live online.

For now, I have a couple of stills up from the shoot on flickr.

Artwork by Tommervik

2010-03-31T01:57:00.001-07:00

I was browsing eBay tonight, feeling a bit let down by the Internet, when I stumbled across the delightful paintings of 35 year-old graphic designer Tommervik. I don't know much about the guy, but his work is awesome: a post-modern mélange of pop culture and abstract styles. And who can resist a guy who carries a torch for Spock and Pee Wee Herman?

My favorite piece is definitely:

"Playing Simon"

but I'm also partial to Elmer's Glue, Michael Jackson's Thriller, Muppet Child, and Teddy Ruxpin. You can see more of his work on his site or on eBay. I have a feeling he takes all offers seriously!

2010-03-25T22:47:00.001-07:00

So, last night as I was rushing to finish up my feature for an EST deadline, we had some unexpected guests over, one of whom is a former stuntman/pyrotechnician. As the discussion turned to Vic Morrow's untimely death and a film on which our lovely guest received second degree burns to his EYES, I couldn't help but think about how fucking amazing stunt men are.

Just look at the work of Grant Page and the many unheralded men of John Woo's Hong Kong films. Unbelievable skills!

Every year come Oscar season there's hot debate as to whether stunt people should receive their own awards category. And while sadly due to the ever litigious nature of the film industry, coupled with the advent of far-safer CG effects, stunts don't feature as prominently as they once did, it blows my mind how little recognition these guys (and lovely ladies) received even in their heyday.

So for what it's worth, tonight I will pop open a non-alcoholic beverage for you, cinematic daredevils. And for you Internet denizens who might not be familiar with the stuntmen of yore, here are two videos of the late badass Arnim Dahl to whet your whistle:

Less Talk, More Rock?

2010-03-25T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is a response to Superbrothers' recent essay about "talk" in videogames that was featured on BoingBoing. (Berate me later for writing 1,300 words on why I like words.)

Games have many purposes. They challenge their players, they tell a story, they kill a few hours, they entertain, they expose us to new ideas, they allow us to have a shared experience with others, they can even be art. These myriad purposes are determined not only by the designers behind the games, but by their public reception, and can be debated now as well as any other media.

Yet these purposes aren't exclusive to gaming; the same phrases uses to describe games can also be used to describe films, and there's a common language in the creation of both. Games can have writers (or not), art directors (or not), or sound designers (or not), just like any film. They can be silent or black and white, stylishly animated or gritty and realistic, just like any film. Some might even say that the video game is the 21st century heir to film's media throne; a natural extension of the medium.

In the 1920's and 30's, about as far past the inception of film as we are now past the inception of the modern video game, there was a huge outcry when sound films became feasible for the first time. Academics immediately cried that silent films must be maintained; they were the pinnacle of the medium, and that dialogue would ruin film forever and should be avoided at all costs. Well, your argument is essential the same. And in your defense, some of the greatest minds in film hopped on that alarmist bandwagon. But it's not simply true.

Let's backtrack for a moment. Why were the first films silent? The same reason games were silent too: technological limitations. That's it. There was no unanimous cabal decision on the part of Miyamoto and Alcorn to outlaw dialogue and work in a purely, as you put it, audio-visual medium. They didn't have a choice. And while it's true that games like Pac Man and films like Metropolis function more than well without dialogue or superfluous narration, who's to say their creators wouldn't have utilized these tools if they'd had the option?

You can no more say that Legend of Zelda is a bad game because it's wordy than you can say a Woody Allen film isn't a good film because there's too much dialogue. Similarly, you can't truly argue that Myst is a better game or a Bergman film is a better film because there's less talk. There are thousands of flash games, cell phone games, etc. that use no words at all and still suck. Because in the end, it's not about the quantity of words on screen in games, it's the quality. And just like those first dialogue films of the late 20's and early 30's, not every video game is going to have great or even good dialogue; the whole idea of writing for games is too new. So new, in fact, that most of the story development in games is still being done by designers instead of writers, which is a big part of the reason why many games have terrible writing.

But to say that all game writing is bad and to be avoided, thereby writing off not only incredibility influential and beloved titles like the Zelda series and Final Fantasy VII (whether you personally enjoy them or not) as well as virtually the entire genre of RPG, is ludicrous. It's also unrealistic. Dialogue in games isn't going anywhere, so why not focus on how to improve it rather than digging your heels in and trying to avoid it altogether? It's a pointless exercise.

Words, simply put, are not all bad. As someone mentioned in an earlier response, your attempt to contrast the "flat" text phrase "a joyous reunion" with your illustration of a joyous reunion actually has the opposite effect of what you intended; the words generate a subjective, personal memory that your static illustration could never convey. This emotional connection is only possible through words. In essence, while a picture may be worth a thousand words, the right word can be worth a thousand pictures. Silent films and silent games can easily be beautiful and moving, but can there ever be a [Citizen Kane, or insert your most influential film here] of video games without dialogue?

Probably not. Without dialogue, there is no "Rosebud." There is no "tears in rain." For me, that most perfectly crafted, emotional, and intellectually challenging film that I've know of is Blade Runner, and I strongly believe that Blade Runner would not be as emotionally hard-hitting without its dialogue. And not because dialogue is a necessity.

Dialogue is a tool, just like menus and instructions are tools, and throwing out dialogue as unnecessary is only depriving yourself of a tool that can be very valuable if employed well. There's no doubt in my mind that I find parts of Final Fantasy VII more emotional than anything I could possibly find in "that videogame about those plumbers" or Riven, to find a more tonally-similar project. In the end, the effectiveness of dialogue is all about contrast. It's about using sound and words like an artist uses negative space. The constant flow of dialogue in FFVII makes the silence of Aeris' death all the more heart-stopping. This wouldn't be possible if the entire game were silent, would it?

Menus and instructions work the same way. They can be very useful, but not in excess portions. (To pause for a moment, this kind of text is yet ANOTHER definition of the word "talk" that's vastly different from the other two meanings you've used, but I want to indulge you for a moment.) For me, menus and instructions are like exposition and narration in a screenplay: they can get information across that can't be explained in a better way, but there's usually a better way. FFVII is one of the best examples of a "better way"; it tosses the player head first into the mission and story, rather than the boring them to death with an endless and mind-numbing "practice" level. This is vastly important to the enjoyability of a game, because it gets at the heart of video games' true "natural language": interactivity.

If there is any common thread between all good video games big and small, artistic or out to make a buck (assuming there's a difference between these two), it's immersive gameplay and nothing else. Gameplay that's so effective it puts you in a new world, or into the mind of a character for an hour or two in a way that no film can. The buzzword for this is, of course, "engagement." If interactivity is the ace up the sleeve, the true third (Z?) dimension that can be stretched from two-dimensional films, its length is measured by engagement. Engagement is the be all, end all of video games, and if your game isn't engaging, if its mechanics don't feel right or just plain don't work, no amount of "audio-visual" talent can save you.

And there's only one way to make sure you you achieve this kind of success in a game. To bring this discussion back around to the beginning, the only way to make sure that your game works, to know that you won't have to rely on menus and instructions and (unnecessarily) excessive dialogue to make your game playable and understandable and enjoyable, is to do the right amount of "talk" before your game goes into production, end of story. There isn't an influential, award-winning game out there that was designed purely on a whim, that didn't have a very serious conceptual discussion before its development. So yes; actions do speak louder than words. Actions convey a movement that words cannot. But on all levels of game design, from dialogue to design, words sure can lend a helping hand.

Ada Lovelace Day

2010-03-24T04:34:00.001-07:00

Ada Lovelace Day. I marked it in my gCal so I suppose I'm honor bound to make an entry. Like text? Read on ...

What is there to say? Most of my heroes in life are male, technologically or otherwise. I think most "heroes" in general tend to be male, that's just the way life gets sorted. In contemporary culture this means you have a bounty of twenty-something women who grew up wanting to be a Ninja Turtle or Indiana Jones (or in my case Alex DeLarge or Clint Eastwood) who are then told they can't be, or they shouldn't be, if they want to get anywhere in life.

To that, of course, I say fuck off, as I'm narcissistic enough to blindly do what I want all the time (it's just easier that way, let's be honest), but I understand that for the women concerned with appearances and social grace that can be very difficult, and for them a day forcing the celebration of womanhood is a great way to discover other women who said fuck off too.

The idea of an Ada Lovelace day piqued my interest when normally the idea of a women's blogging day would strike me as terribly gauche. I would venture to guess that it's because I'm the only woman I know who blogs (what an awful word, I feel dirty just typing it) and is also previously familiar with Ada and her work with Charles Babbage. I respect her contribution to technology, so why not give it a shot.

To ponder the question seriously for a moment -- that is, what female inspires me in regards to science and technology -- I honestly couldn't speak to any one individual, which is sad, really. On the other hand (and no offense to Marie Curie), I have only a passing interest in science, and a slight curiosity about technology. Actually, the latter bit is a lie -- I just find it hard to get excited about technology these days; I'm so incredibly bored with all the iThis and sex robot that being developed left and right that I can hardly bear to suss out any real innovation through the mire.

I'll admit that I've always been attached to computers. My mother had her first laptop at home when I was about four years old, some clumsy IBM brick with a brown screen and orange text, horrible to use. Since then I've always had access to a computer and have used technology for artistic pursuits. I suppose, then, I have my mother to thank for my second-nature computer fu (/robotic detachment?) and, more practically, my development of design skills that have earned me more bread-and-butter work than anything I learned in college or high school.

High school brings me round to the other somewhat-influential woman lurking in my past. The place I graduated from held every year a silly academic award ceremony, and in my senior year I was surprised to receive the school's computer science award. Nerd, one would think at first, but actually I earned the thing without ever attending a computer class, which my classmates were none too happy about. You see, I spent many hours in those days building websites for my friends, doodling about in Photoshop, and working on short films. In essence, not too different from today. Shit.

But I suppose I was the only enthusiastic disciple of technology in the whole school, so the computer science teacher took a liking to me and bestowed upon me the first of many questionable academic merits I've received. This particular prize came in the form of a hefty edition of Atlas Shrugged, which has been the butt of many an overly-intellectual mooching joke since I got around to reading it in February of this year. So wherever you are, supportive Objectivist teacher, I salute you. (Also mom.)

For your time here is a chandelier made from tampons.

DKGselgsjl

2010-03-23T17:13:00.000-07:00

I've been sketching print ideas like mad lately, and since I'm almost finished with my latest script, I've taken a break as a little reward to work on some triptychs I'm really excited about.

I'll post them when they're done, but as I'm headed back to NYC for a week in April, it likely won't be until May. Sad times. So in lieu of showing those now then, here are two new 3d doodles. (Procrastinating with art = win)

I have to say I love the angled bits, but not so fond of the loops. I think the honeymoon period is over ...

Jen Langton Sings!

2010-03-17T15:17:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's taken singer Jen Langton this long to put her work online! I've known Jen for just about ten years, and she's always been a fantastic performer. Jen currently sings lead for The Red Room Band, who perform locally in Manchester, UK. Check out her stuff on YouTube and if you like what you hear, become a fan on facebook!

Drawing in Microsoft Excel

2010-03-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

I love when tools are repurposed creatively, especially tools as stuffy as Microsoft Excel. Granted, this isn't anywhere as cool as the Excel '97 flight simulator, but it's definitely fun to think of the program's artistic possibilities!

Here's another, this time a bit of stop-motion wishful thinking ...

Opening Titles, Part 1

2010-03-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

French spy parody OSS 117: Le Caire, Nid d'Espions (Cairo, Nest of Spies) has the most creative opening titles I've seen in a few years. While I endeavor to show this film to everyone I know, I would assume most Americans have not seen it.

The French secret agent OSS 117, whose literary counterpart predates Fleming's Bond, first appeared onscreen in the 1950's, almost a decade before Bond made his own cinematic debut. The franchise faded in the 70's, but has recently been reinvented as a satire with comedian Jean DuJardin in the title role. The 2nd DuJardin film was released in 2009, but has yet to find US theatrical distribution.

Considering that most mainstream films these days fall victim to depressing, blue-tinted, Magic Bullet color schemes and generic cinematography, it's lovely to see opening titles sequences remain the one place visual creativity can really shine through in a studio film.

I know I promised ...

2010-02-26T09:31:00.000-08:00

I know I promised not to post anything old. So instead I've created some new 3d pieces over the past few days that I've posted on flickr ... where my old work is :)

Enjoy!

And a pair:

In Defense of The Last Unicorn (1982)

2010-02-23T00:41:00.000-08:00

Oh, gosh, where do I even start? There's so much vitriol hurled against this film that I just don't understand.

I first saw The Last Unicorn on a play date when I was 3 or 4 years old. I even remember the girl's name, Samantha, because her fine taste in cinematic fare wowed me so. I immediately begged my parents for a copy and evidently that worked. I watched it over and over again until I became obsessed with something else and forgot all about it.

However in high school, that pre-Google stone age, I became curious about the film and turned my house upside down until I found the tape again. Even after many years it simply blew me away. As an adult I can proudly say it has a great story, great characters, great voice acting, great score, great animation! Great great!

My vehement love for The Last Unicorn got me into film school (coupled with my hatred of Lord of the Rings!) and yet I have a lot of trouble convincing my friends that it's a worthwhile film to watch because it's about a talking unicorn. I'm assuming that's also the reason for its appallingly low IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes ratings. Regardless, The Last Unicorn is a masterpiece.

A few stats:
TLU is a Rankin & Bass production based on the delightful 1968 novel by Peter S. Beagle. Of course Rankin & Bass are mostly known for their stop-motion Rudolph & Frosty holiday specials in the 60's and the hand-animated version of The Hobbit in the 70's, another VHS tape I wore out as a young'un. (Rankin & Bass also produced a 1980 sequel to the Bakshi animated The Lord Of the Rings, but I'm pretty sure they wished they hadn't because it was terrible.)

Unsurprisingly, TLU shares a number of voice actors with the latter two R&B films, in addition to its own stellar vocal cast: Angela Lansbury, Christopher Lee, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Tammy Grimes, Keenan Wynn, Rene Auberjonois, and Mia Farrow as the unicorn. The same composer as The Hobbit, Jimmy Webb, did a very moving score for TLU, which also features original songs by the band America, most of which are great, a few of which are Mia Farrow and Jeff Bridges. And even though he'll likely win an Oscar in a few weeks for playing a singer, TLU will always exist as evidence of his early musical fumbles.

More importantly than the music, however, is that TLU shares another trait with the two Tolkien films: the animation studio!

Much like today, many animated features & TV shows in the 70's shipped the bulk of their animation work overseas. Rankin & Bass was no exception. They worked with a small Japanese company called Topcraft on a number of features, The Last Unicorn being the last and best of their collaborations.

You can see how both the character animation and the background art is vastly superior in The Last Unicorn when compared with The Hobbit:

The color palette throughout TLU is unreal. The Hobbit, on the other hand, is lazy dull brown, very flat, very 70's. As a result The Hobbit now looks terribly dated while The Last Unicorn remains vivid!

The backgrounds are especially marvelous, an almost eclectic mix of Disney mattes filtered through the emerging anime style, interspersed with techniques like stamping that Hanna Barbera and other retro (and low budget) cartoons used frequently in the (g)olden days of animation. Stamping is especially evident on the bushes here:

I'm fairly certain John Kricfalusi has written about this technique in his amazing blog but I can't for the life of me find the entry I want. So here are a few more backgrounds (and as always click to enlarge):

People with a sharp eye often compare the art of The Last Unicorn with that of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) -- especially their use of deep blue backgrounds -- and rightly so: they were animated by the same people! You see, the last project Topcraft worked on was Nausicaä, under Hayao Miyazaki. After the success of their first solo film, Topcraft became Studio Ghibli.

Back to the book: I had the great pleasure of meeting Peter S. Beagle at last year's San Diego Comic-Con. The Last Unicorn was his most successful project, yet it's caused him the most trouble and heartache; due to legal disputes he's seen almost no money from the film, despite massive success on VHS and DVD, and is still fighting for his fair share of revenue.

Peter wrote the screenplay of The Last Unicorn himself, which is one reason the story is so remarkably well-translated to screen. Someone told me recently that the best stories, and therefore the best films, generate as many tears as they do laughs, and if that's the case The Last Unicorn is dead on. The original novel is dichotomously hilarious and depressing; fully-laden with a healthy dose of meta and yet, as tongue-in-cheek as the story can be, it's at the same time an extremely existential, emotional work. I recommend it as much as I do the film. It's even more depressing.

I don't know if there's much more to be said about the film other than I really, really enjoy it and if you can suck up your pride and take a chance on a talking unicorn, or at least early singing by Jeff Bridges, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised. Here are the opening titles on YouTube:

I'd like to thanks Sweetness of Being Yourself for the majority of the screen grabs -- for some reason there aren't many online. If you have any interest in purchasing this film, please do so through Peter's publisher. (though word on the street is the 25th anniversary DVD is censored in places!)

3 minute sketches

2010-02-23T00:25:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a couple of very interesting computer-related projects lately, so when I took my weekly 24 break tonight, I decided to drag out the old pencil and paper. Reconfirmed my stubborn notion that I'm my best model ... everyone else always moves!

Lucy in the sky with diamonds

2010-02-21T04:25:00.000-08:00

Just because I was noodling around on Youtube, here's a clip from Yellow Submarine (1968), which is currently being remade in uncanny valleyvision by Robert Zemeckis (single tear).

This particular clip has had a profound impact on my development both as a fine artist and as a filmmaker. When I was teaching I showed Yellow Submarine A LOT. Unfortunately due to the remake-rights tangle, it's no longer available on DVD, though I see it pop up from time to time in the Amoeba case ($60!) and I'm sure there are pirated copies available on Amazon.

Photos from captivity

2010-02-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

Just uploaded a few pictures from my self-approved incarceration, including this tilt shift view of LA Live. View them all at hi-res on flickr!

Two animated shorts

2010-02-19T02:43:00.000-08:00

By my friend Caroline Torres. You can check out more of her work here.

Last of the old stuff

2010-02-12T22:59:00.001-08:00

The last 2 hand-drawn pictures I finished. January '08. Yikes. This is the last old work I'll be posting (unless there's a really good reason).

Both are ink (the dipping kind) and water color on water color paper. The second has some colored pencil. I'd call these drawings rather than paintings, even though there's quite a bit of paint on the paper. Maybe that's because I'm afraid of paint. I've only finished one painting in my life, and that was 10 years ago.

Shitty scanner is shitty.

(Click to embiggen)
1930's Puffiness

(Click to embiggen)
A Midsummer Night's Dream type sprite

200 films

2010-02-11T21:11:00.000-08:00

Somehow I made it through 4 years of film school without seeing what many would call essential titles, despite watching almost a film a day for 6 years. A shock, I know. But my tastes run all over the place, as far as exploratory film excursions go. Most of the "new" films I see these days are at the New Beverly.

Anyway, this is my attempt to beef up my basic film education, because nothing is a better teacher.

The bulk of the list is from 3 sources: A) The IMDB top 250 2) The BFI top 100 C) General titles that have been recommended to me over the years but I have yet to investigate. That's where you guys come in. Are there films you love that I probably haven't seen? Recommend them and I'll add them to the supplementary list. Bonus points if they're silent era, foreign, or trippy art films.

Now, without further ado:

THE 200 FILMS (169/200)

12 Angry Men
Seven Samurai
Se7en
Sunset Blvd.
Apocalypse Now
Paths of Glory
The Pianist
Double Indemnity
The Third Man
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
City Lights
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Prestige
Modern Times
Cinema Paradiso
All About Eve
The Elephant Man
The Great Dictator
The Apartment
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Touch of Evil
The Seventh Seal
Strangers on A Train
Cool Hand Luke
High Noon
Platoon
The General
Into The Wild
Yojimbo
Ran
It Happened One Night
Wild Strawberries
Witness for the Prosecution
Stand By Me
8 1/2
The Grapes of Wrath
The Gold Rush
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
The Wages of Fear
Casino
Night of the Hunter
Les Diaboliques
Kind Hearts and Coronets
Grave of the Fireflies
The Best Years of Our Lives
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Nights of Cabiria
The Kid
Harvey
Dial M for Murder
Shadow of a Doubt
Stalag 17
Brief Encounter
Magnolia
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Rope
Duck Soup
Manhattan
La Strada
Patton
Robin Hood (1938)
The Conversation
(500) Days of Summer
All Quiet on the Western Front
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Philadelphia Story
Mulholland Drive
The Lady Vanishes
Anatomy of a Murder
Monsters, Inc.
The 400 Blows
Three Colors Blue
Three Colors White
Three Colors Red
An Education
Fantastic Mr Fox
Coraline
The King and the Mockingbird
Barefoot Gen
The Little Fox
Zabriske Point
Persepolis
Mind Game
When the Wind Blows
Akira
Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit
Cat City
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
5 Centimeters per Second
Whisper of the Heart
Millennium Actress
Fighting Elegy
Branded to Kill
Youth of the Beast
Kes
Bob Le Flambeur
Un Flic
Leon Morin, Prêtre
Les Enfants Terribles
Jules and Jim
Caché
La Pianiste
Benny's Video
Un Prophète
The Fall
Read My Lips
The Beat My Heart Skipped
Stray Dog
The Yakuza Papers (5 films)
Great Expectations
Don't Look Now
The Red Shoes
If...
The Ladykillers
Saturday Night And Sunday Morning
Brighton Rock
The Lavender Hill Mob
Henry V (Olivier)
Chariots Of Fire
A Matter Of Life And Death
The Long Good Friday
The Servant
Four Weddings And A Funeral
Whiskey Galore
The Crying Game
Doctor Zhivago
Withnail And I
Gregory's Girl
Zulu
Room At The Top
Local Hero
The Commitments
A Fish Called Wanda
Secrets & Lies
The Madness Of King George
A Man For All Seasons
Black Narcissus
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp
Oliver Twist (1948)
I'm All Right Jack
Performance
My Beautiful Laundrette
Tom Jones
My Left Foot
A Taste Of Honey
The Go-Between
The Man In The White Suit
Blow Up
The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
Passport To Pimlico
The Remains Of The Day
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Mona Lisa
The Railway Children
The Dam Busters
Hamlet (Olivier)
Elizabeth
Room With A View
The Day Of The Jackal
The Cruel Sea
Billy Liar
Oliver!
Far From The Madding Crowd
The Draughtsman's Contract
Distant Voices, Still Lives
Darling
Educating Rita
Brassed Off
Genevieve
Women In Love
A Hard Day's Night
Fires Were Started
Hope And Glory
My Name Is Joe
In Which We Serve
Caravaggio
The Belles Of St. Trinians
Life Is Sweet
The Wicker Man
Nil By Mouth
Small Faces
Carry On Up The Khyber
The Killing Fields
Blue Velvet
Castle In The Sky
On The Beach
Belle & La Bete
The French Connection
Revolutionary Road
Ninja Scroll
Burakku Jakku
Unico
Howard's End
A Woman Under The Influence
L'Avventura
Amarcord
Satyricon
La Dolce Vita
Masculin Feminin
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Ajami
My Dinner with Andre
Prince of the City
Rocket Science
CQ
Full Battle Rattle
True Stories
Hear My Song
Targets
The Big Combo
The Wrong Arm of the Law
Parents
Sword of Doom
The Count of Monte Cristo
The Naked Civil Servant
Night of the Generals
The Little Fugitive
Little Caesar
The Public Enemy

Et Voilà

2010-02-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

(Click to enlarge)

The mostly finished product. I've never celebrated Valentine's Day, but it does offer a nice excuse for drawing hearts and fluffy stuff! Next time something more original from me, I promise!

2010-02-06T12:27:00.000-08:00

It's not always as easy as putting pen (or pencil) to paper. For instance, despite generating thousands of drawings in my High School years, the last completed drawings -- even sketches -- I've done are dated July 2008. That's a LONG time ago.

When you spend your time doing "more important" art, drawing is easily left behind. Especially when the majority of your art happens on the computer, you can almost forget that your hands have the ability to do things other than type, set in/out points, etc.

The problem is that psychological development as an artist comes through understanding what looks right, what looks wrong, how your body interprets the artistic intentions of your brain. And drawing is the best way of expediting that developmental process. You can use pencil and be as messy as hell, erasing your whole drawing and starting again as you spot mistakes, or you can use pen or charcoal or markers or something that forces precision and confidence.

A few days ago my friend Kristen (she's a painter) and I vowed to spend more time creating. Wonderfully vague, of course, but the idea is to stop wringing our hands and make something, great or otherwise. She produced a wonderful charcoal portrait of our friend Lauren. I started with a rough 15-minute self-portrait:

It's not the most beautiful piece I've ever done, but I can see my mistakes. And I had to force myself to finish. That's progress. A few days later I started a different kind of sketch, more of the same if you're familiar with my previous work:

I'll post the finished piece when I'm done. And next time I'll move on to something more exciting! But this is a good place to start.

One Per Day

2010-02-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

I want to post a link to my friend Andrew Marathas's work. Andrew is a wonderful artist whose trademark is highly textured wood paintings, but for a while now he's dedicated himself to creating (at least) one drawing per day using a variety of mediums and sharing it on his blog. His style is quite bold and vividly colorful, and I hope you'll check it out! He also has a gallery of paintings online at his official site, some of which are for sale.

Game Design!

2010-02-02T16:28:00.001-08:00

Back in those sunny, sleepless, collegiate days I was often challenged to create bizarre video game concepts that have little or nothing to do with math, science, or energy consumption (which is what I mostly deal with on a day-to-day basis). One of the strangest assignments I had was to draw one social issue and one game genre from a hat and sketch out an idea of how that particular game would work.

I think the assignment itself is fantastic idea -- so many mainstream games are simply regurgitated versions of the latest gun-packed cash cows on the market that genres that once dominated the game field have all but fallen on the wayside. When was the last time a generation-defining game like Myst or Monkey Island got exposure?

This complete narrowing of the game industry, which, like the film industry was originally founded on wild ideas gaining mass appeal, is particularly distressing because, unlike film, there's virtually no secondary distribution channel for independent (console) games. Because of this funding for indie games is nearly impossible to find, especially if you want to build -- God forbid -- an artistic video game.

So what were my two lucky selections? While my classmates drew the likes of war and strategy game, I was tasked with a heavier lot -- politics and music game. From this madness I created the following abomination I recently rediscovered on my hard drive:

So, what the hell's the idea here, you're likely asking. Well, it's a bit like Parappa the Rappa, one of my favorite early Playstation games, but more expansive.

To start, you choose your character -- in this case, a representative for a political party. You'll have to adhere to this party's beliefs and construct raps/speeches using their ideologies in an attempt to win over constituents. Each party has an easily identifiable colored icon, in this case provided by Photoshop stock art.

As you can see, the Independent candidate is shrouded in mystery. Why is that? Well duh, you have to beat the other levels before you can unlock him. That's just how games work.

Now that you've decided to be a hippie, you get to start campaigning. Each party has strengths and weaknesses -- more campaign contributions, different vocabularies, base popularity, etc. This first level is the lowest -- the "soapbox" level. It costs nothing to participate. In later campaigns, your dollars come into play -- you need $$ to join a mayoral/senate/presidential race.

This cheat-sheet screen tells you everything you need to know to plan your speech: what the key issues are with your audience, how they voted most recently, and age, gender, and party breakdowns. (Using the party icons on that pie chart would have been a good idea, but oh well.)

Finally, you get to construct your speech. Basically, you have a fridge-magnet style vocab on the left, which contains key words about social issues. You arrange these words on the right to form your speech. Each level has a larger vocabulary, and each party has a different set of words.

The thought is you get more points for: big words, rhymes, positively mentioning issues the audience cares about. You lose points for small words, directly contradicting what the audience wants to hear, and directly contradicting your party's ideals. You also lose points for messing up.

If you want to practice you speech, you get a chance before the big to do. This can be useful for complicated speeches, because each word has a key combo assigned to it, and these can get complex. If you don't keep the beat or mess up too often, your popularity will go down and you may lose the audience. On this level there isn't too much of a worry, but on subsequent levels you're challenging an opponent, so popularity matters.

Jumping ahead, here's a debate in progress. You can see that Lord Ted here isn't doing very well against his Conservative opponent. At least he has enough $$ that he can try again if he fails.

And here's his fail screen. Ted gets some cash for his accuracy, and gains some popular votes based on the percentage of the audience he's captured, but in losing he's lost some key electoral votes. Better luck next time!

Anyway, that's that. An interesting albeit bizarre concept sprung from a strange, severe handicap. I've found that restrictive circumstances often produce wonderful work as you're challenged to create with a limited tool set and open your mind to ideas you may not have encountered with free reign. But that's a discussion for a later date.

William Blake (1757-1827)

2010-02-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

I'm very particular when it comes to poetry. While Chinese and Japanese poetry focus on describing a moment in time, a feeling, an image, most Western poetry that I've been exposed to is almost arrogantly over-written, showing more about its author than any artistic or emotional intent. The slavishness to pomp and form is also a huge turn off to me.

That's why William Blake has long been my favorite poet and artist. His style, somewhat crude but very striking and always consistent, seems jarringly out of place with his masterful Romantic brethren. Due to his likely mental illness (he heard angels), his work was often rife with bizarre pseudo-religious imagery and a violent fervor that gets the heart pounding even through text on paper.

That's my kind of poetry!

Besides, I've always had a soft spot for psychos. Moving on, Blake's struggle with his personal demons unfortunately caused his writing to be hit or miss, which is one reason he's not lauded as vocally as many other prolific poets and why he wasn't taken seriously during his lifetime. But let me tell you when he was on, he really nailed it.

Most people are typically exposed to Blake's most famous poem Tyger, Tyger, or his image of the Red Dragon (used in both film adaptations of Thomas Harris' Manhunter). My favorite piece of his is America: A Prophecy, which I was introduced to via Blade Runner years ago, and I had the extreme pleasure to see up close in person once upon a time. But as that's a rather long, complex (okay, and somewhat confusing) poem, I'm going to post my favorite short Blake piece instead:

The Poison Tree

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I water'd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears;
And I summoned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright;
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole
When the night had veil'd the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.

Oekaki: 2003 Edition

2010-01-29T20:23:00.000-08:00

So, one reason I've reactivated this blog is in a hopeful effort to consolidate my many abandoned social networking profiles into one stream. Geocities and AOL have done much of that for me as they've both recently shut down their services and deleted all remaining content. Can't say I'm sad to see all the rotating skull GIFS and tiled image backgrounds go, unfortunately.

One of the pages I've meant to shed for years is DeviantArt, and while it took me 6 hours to do, I've finally rid myself of it! Hooray! While cleaning out the attic so to speak I found both endearing and embarrassing high school relics, a few of which I'll share with you below.

These 4 images started life on some ancient oekaki board I've since forgotten the name of. It's hard for me to believe that images I drew SEVEN years ago were ever up online, but I know for a fact I have shitty art going back to ~~2001~~ 1999 floating somewhere in the e-ther. Anyway, enjoy!

Get Off My Lawn

2009-12-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

My good friend Dan put this together a few months ago. I'm glad he can finally share it with everyone!

Disney's Recycled Animation

2009-04-25T15:54:00.000-07:00

Quite an interesting look into what goes into a Disney film ... and surprising too, because Robin Hood is fantastic!

Those Coney Island Pilots

2008-12-31T14:49:00.000-08:00

I love Empire of the Sun. Certainly in my top 10 favorite films. In my opinion Spielberg's best film, with Jurassic Park.

One of the very best things about EOTS is that Tom Stoppard wrote the screenplay, which is a faithful adaptation of J.G. Ballard's wonderful and semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. "Those Coney Island pilots!" is a line that exemplifies Stoppard's succinct yet all-inclusive writing ability. Even if you don't know what that line means, you know what it means when it's said, or shouted as it were when John Malkovitch watches clunky US Bombers level the airfield opposite the Chinese Internment Camp where he's a prisoner. Great stuff. (And for that I'm willing to ignore the"rewrite" he supposedly did on Revenge of the Sith!)

In August I brought my camera down to Coney Island a few times to take some photos -- just in case -- as many have been doing this summer and the last. With Astroland gone now for sure, I thought people might like to see some of the shots in case they never got to visit. (City landmarks The Cyclone and The Wonder Wheel will be staying for sure, and Deno's, and likely the majority of other joints on the boardwalk.)

Nathan's isn't going anywhere either, but it's the first (and most delicious) sign to greet you off the train.

The Wonder Wheel. It's thrilling and wonderful...

It's also 80 years old! But still holds up.

For everyone at NYU who laments not going to school in sunny LA, I got news for you.
There's a beach in your own back yard! (view from Wonder Wheel)

Every Friday night during the summer there's a massive fireworks show on the beach.

The best parts of New York are timeless.

The Warriors could stroll through at any moment.

The Cyclone & rear of Astroland.

Last day of summer.

2008-12-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

Beethoven rocks.

Now, I don't just fancy Ludwig Van because of his prominence in A Clockwork Orange, nor is it deceptively fond memories of grade school chapel service. No, Beethoven is awesome because he's a talented, emotional, visceral composer. In layman's terms, he's pretty darn cool.

Unlike many other classical composers, or even Romantic composers, Beethoven has a distinctive, raw sound. His compositions abound with strikingly memorable licks, if you will, dark thesis he polishes and lays down, hammering away on his piano with no doubt or hesitation in his melodies. He knows his writing is great, and he doesn't feel the need to ham it up with frills or extraneous riffs.

His works are rife with energy, and speak to a wider audience than contemporaries that seem to have an aristocratic air to their compositions. Beethoven uses the piano especially to its fullest potential in both speed and depth of sound. He knew when to contrast somber tones with light, intense instrumentation with delicate, speed with tension, all to build towards a heightened emotional climax.

Much of this depth would seem to be his personality showing through his works, as with most artists. It's his style. Beethoven was a somewhat reclusive, quiet, serious man with a "strength of personality" that drew him few but devoted friends. He had a disdain for undeserved authority and social niceties, and usually steered clear of romantic entanglements. (Sounding familiar yet?)

He also had pretty rocking hair.

2008-07-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Something I did recently. My second attempt at using a Wacom tablet.

Anyway, this is Ginger Rogers, one of my idols and a pretty awesome lady. Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee are my two favorite films of hers, but she also makes a brief appearance in the best movie musical of the 30's, Gold Diggers of 1933. I don't say that lightly either; I'm not a huge fan of musicals, movie or otherwise, but '33 and it's lesser-known successor '35 are masterful examples of choreography and human synchronization. Thai prisoners ain't got nothing on Busby Berkley!

Third attempt: (Based on life ... except the wardrobe!)