I know, I'm YouTube crazy this week. It just happens that I found two geektabulous items on SlashFilm, and I just had to share them. This, the second one, concerns the comic book adaptation that I personally have been waiting for with great anticipation - "Watchmen." It's a great explanation of the science behind the graphic novel/film by the scientist who actually served as science advisor for the production.
On a related note, from everything I have read about the film, this is an extremely faithful adaptation. If you are planning to see it and haven't read the graphic novel, go pick up a copy and read it this weekend. You won't be sorry!
(via SlashFilm)
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Science of Watchmen
Friday, December 05, 2008
RIP Forrest J Ackerman
Forrest J. Ackerman, the dean of sci-fi/horror fandom, is dead at 92. For those of us who grew up reading his words of wit and wisdom in "Famous Monsters" and elsewhere, this is a sad day!
Obits:
Wikipedia Article:
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Two "Rock Docs" You've Gotta See!
Over the summer, I saw several great documentaries recently released on DVD. You must rent or buy these asap - it's the punk thing to do!
"Joy Division (The Miriam Collection)" directed by Grant Gee. If you choose to watch the Ian Curtis biopic "Control" released by the same company, make sure you watch the documentary first! This great and short-lived post-punk band finally gets the historical treatment they deserve.
"The Future Is Unwritten - Joe Strummer" directed by Julien Temple, who previously directed the Sex Pistols documentary "The Filth And The Fury." I've always loved the Clash, but I never realized what an incredible person Joe Strummer really was. This documentary never pulls any punches, showing Strummer at his best and worst, but I admired him even more after watching it. Highly recommended!
"Joy Division (The Miriam Collection)" directed by Grant Gee. If you choose to watch the Ian Curtis biopic "Control" released by the same company, make sure you watch the documentary first! This great and short-lived post-punk band finally gets the historical treatment they deserve.
"The Future Is Unwritten - Joe Strummer" directed by Julien Temple, who previously directed the Sex Pistols documentary "The Filth And The Fury." I've always loved the Clash, but I never realized what an incredible person Joe Strummer really was. This documentary never pulls any punches, showing Strummer at his best and worst, but I admired him even more after watching it. Highly recommended!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Artist 2.0
Over the past few years, there has been chatter about new media developments, for instance "Web 2.0," "Music 2.0," etc. I believe we are witnessing the emergence of a new type of artist, "Artist 2.0," who will cross traditional borders of media and incorporate old and new media in order to get his/her ideas across. Here are two recent examples:
- Joss Whedon, during the writers strike, decided to produce an internet musical webseries (his brother actually coined the term "mushortio" to describe it) outside the traditional studio system. "Dr. Horrible's Singalong Blog" turned out to be such a huge success that it crashed their server during the first day of it's release. It was streamed free for one week, but offered for sale on iTunes as well, and it continues to be in the top ten TV seasons now, 3 weeks later. It is currently streaming ad-supported on Hulu.com, and will be released on DVD in a few months. The soundtrack will also be released soon, presumably on iTunes. Whedon and company spent no money on promotion for the series. Instead, they used MySpace and Facebook, obviously to great effect!
- Trent Reznor is in talks with HBO for a television adaptation of "The Year Zero" (see my earlier post.) This will reportedly be accompanied by another album, as well as an Alternate Reality Game (they also did an ARG for the original record.)
Now, just in case you think I'm grasping at straws, I Googled "Artist 2.0" and found an NY Times article published more than a year ago where they used the term. I guess I can't get credit for coining the term...
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Dr. Horrible Trailer
Check out this trailer for "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the upcoming web-only musical by Joss Whedon, starring NPH, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day. It's going to be awesome!
Teaser on Vimeo
Teaser on Vimeo
Thursday, November 01, 2007
I'm in Geek Heaven!
I've heard some exiting news in the last several days! First, I heard that Joss Whedon has unexpectedly decided to return to television. He is developing a new series starring Eliza Dushku, called "Dollhouse." There's been all kinds of buzz about this, and another rabid Whedon fan has already created this website, which has quite a bit of info.
The second bit of exciting and surprising news: X-Files 2 is coming out next year! Chris Carter is directing, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are both in it!! If the rumor I've heard is correct, we may see it in theaters next July.
There's not much more I can say - I'm too overwhelmed with joy. Since some of my geek wishes have been granted, if anyone is listening, here is what will make my life complete:
1. The Star Trek remake doesn't suck
2. "Fray" gets made into a movie
3. Marvel does an "Avengers" movie and DC does a "Green Lantern" movie (no cartoons, though, they should both be live action.)
4. Bruce Campbell does "Bubba Ho-Tep 2," and "They Call Me Bruce" actually gets a theatrical release!
These are a few of my favorite things!
The second bit of exciting and surprising news: X-Files 2 is coming out next year! Chris Carter is directing, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are both in it!! If the rumor I've heard is correct, we may see it in theaters next July.
There's not much more I can say - I'm too overwhelmed with joy. Since some of my geek wishes have been granted, if anyone is listening, here is what will make my life complete:
1. The Star Trek remake doesn't suck
2. "Fray" gets made into a movie
3. Marvel does an "Avengers" movie and DC does a "Green Lantern" movie (no cartoons, though, they should both be live action.)
4. Bruce Campbell does "Bubba Ho-Tep 2," and "They Call Me Bruce" actually gets a theatrical release!
These are a few of my favorite things!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
What Are Your Non-Musical Influences?
I just finished watching a documentary on the SciFi channel called "The Sci Fi Boys." It brought back quite a few memories. I had forgotten how, as a boy who was an avid scifi and horror fan, some of these people seemed like rock stars to me. Names like Forrest J. Ackerman, Ray Harryhausen, George Pal, Ray Bradbury, and Robert Heinlein seemed like household names to me, while most of my classmates did not know who these people were at all. I, however, was an avid reader of "Forry" Ackerman's magazine "Famous Monsters of Filmland." "Jason and the Argonauts" and "The Time Machine" were probably my two favorite movies as a kid. By the time I was in high school, I had read most of Ray Bradbury's books, and I did indeed read every book ever written by Robert Heinlein!
The documentary was, of course, about how the early directors, writers, animators, makeup/effects artists, and one magazine publisher influenced the next generation of scifi/horror filmmakers. Interestingly, though, these people were also an influence on me, and I did not go into the film business. Of course, if I think about it, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Frank Miller, and many other Marvel Comics writers and artists from the 1960's-1980's held rock-star-like status for me, but I never went into the comic business. I chose to go into music. And yet, comics, scifi and horror were a big part of my life, so they must have had an influence on my later work, even though I went into a different creative field.
When you read an interview of a band, artist, or songwriter, they are usually asked about their musical influences. Just last night in my singer/songwriter class, I asked several songwriters who they listened to. However, you rarely hear musicians asked about what they read, what kind of movies they watch, or who their favorite (visual) artists are. So, I would like to ask any of my blog readers who are musicians right now: What are your non-musical influences? I want to hear from you!
The documentary was, of course, about how the early directors, writers, animators, makeup/effects artists, and one magazine publisher influenced the next generation of scifi/horror filmmakers. Interestingly, though, these people were also an influence on me, and I did not go into the film business. Of course, if I think about it, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Frank Miller, and many other Marvel Comics writers and artists from the 1960's-1980's held rock-star-like status for me, but I never went into the comic business. I chose to go into music. And yet, comics, scifi and horror were a big part of my life, so they must have had an influence on my later work, even though I went into a different creative field.
When you read an interview of a band, artist, or songwriter, they are usually asked about their musical influences. Just last night in my singer/songwriter class, I asked several songwriters who they listened to. However, you rarely hear musicians asked about what they read, what kind of movies they watch, or who their favorite (visual) artists are. So, I would like to ask any of my blog readers who are musicians right now: What are your non-musical influences? I want to hear from you!
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