Posts tagged movies
The Science and Fiction of ‘Oblivion’
“Oblivion” doesn’t break much new ground, but it does take several classic science fiction tropes and sorts them into new and interesting combinations. In fact, the film takes on a remarkable number of major genre themes, each based in real-world scientific issues and conjecture. You might say it throws in everything but the kitchen sink. Oops, wait a sec. There’s a kitchen sink scene, too.
A wonderful bit of retro moviemaking for your weekend viewing pleasure: Filming the Millennium Falcon (via retronaut.com)
Dazzling James Bond Houses That Define Elegance
Bond girls, hi-tech gadgets, fast cars, evil megalomaniacs and more vodka martinis than you can shake a stick at… but what else is in a Bond movie? The stunning architecture and locations, of course! You’ll be sorry you forgot about these awesome pads. I’ll take the round house from Diamonds Are Forever, thanks.
The Lost Sketchbook of Guillermo del Toro:
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro put all his ideas for `Pan’s Labyrinth’ in a notebook — then lost it.
The heavyset man ran down the London street, panting, chasing the taxi. When it didn’t stop, he hopped into another cab. “Follow that cab!” he yelled. Guillermo del Toro wasn’t directing this movie. He was living it. And it was turning into a horror tale.
The Mexican filmmaker keeps all of his ideas in leather notebooks. And Del Toro had just left four years of work in the back seat of a British cab. Unlike in the movies, though, Del Toro couldn’t catch the taxi. Visits to the police and the taxi company proved equally fruitless.
Del Toro’s films — “Chronos,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Blade II,” “Hellboy” — typically feature magical realism. Fate was about to return the storytelling favor.
The cabbie spotted the misplaced journal. Working from a scrap of stationery that didn’t even have the name of Del Toro’s hotel (just its logo), the driver returned the book two days later. An overwhelmed Del Toro promptly gave him an approximately $900 tip.
The sketches and the ideas in that misplaced journal — four years of notes on character design, ruminations about plot — were the foundation of “Pan’s Labyrinth,” a child’s fantasy set in the wake of the Spanish Civil War.
The director, who at the time wasn’t even sure he’d actually make “Pan’s Labyrinth,” took the cabbie’s act as a sign, and plunged himself into the movie.
wow, that movie was visually incredible for an amazing reason.
as an aside, i’d like to see a tablet computer that can help create something so incredible.
Genetic mutations and advanced technology can give comic book characters super-human abilities. And the same holds true in real life.
Sure, humans don’t yet have the ability to shape-shift or walk through walls or, as is the case with Wolverine, heal in seconds from just about any injury.
But there are a few other super powers that are within practical reach (and no shortage of people claiming to possess super powers).
Explore some examples of super human powers and abilities in the real world…
Arr! Don’t ferget to celebrate with some rum!
(though probably not while at work, unless ye be a true pirate, arr!)
trce:
Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day, ya scurvy dogs!
Make sure you be gettin’ stares from your shipmates as ya talk with a flog-worthy accent, lest ye walk the plank!
If yer feelin’ like a real scallywag, yer can watch me old pirate-themed This Week in Discovery News! Though ter tell the truth the ninja kick be the best part. ARR!(Hook wasn’t that bad, was it? Am I misremembering?)
This is one of my favorite pirate shanty’s ter drink the rum to!
Do you think we’re heading to a future where movie posters are paintings and sketches?
They were so great. Maybe I’ll look for some cool examples.
This is How You Paint a 150 Foot Tall Batman
by Irene Gallo315 Park Avenue South is exactly halfway between my apartment and the Tor offices. For nearly two decades I’ve watched an anonymous group of painters create 150 foot movie poster murals on the side of the building.
I’ve always wondered how they construct the image and what it might look like from up close while it’s being put together. It’s one of the only places where advertising is still painted — it’s an original work and it changes up about once every six weeks. I even joked that one day I would sit outside the building all day and wait for the crew to come out.
Fortunately, I didn’t have to resort to stalking. As luck would have it, I ran into Dan Cohen, one of the principle painters at Art FX Murals, at the Illustration Master Class, who was able to fill me in on the process of how one paints a huge Batman (or a huge anything) on the side of a building.
(via thegreg)
He’s sixty today! I don’t remember ever seeing Pee-Wee Herman look like this…
Such an interesting photo.
Happy Birthday, Paul!
Happy 60th Birthday to Paul Reubens today.
(via riotsqurrrl)
Who’s excited for this? I wonder how they’ll portray some of the more culturally difficult parts of his life.
Lincoln
(via parislemon)
TWiDN: 3D Video Games Drive Mars Rover Curiosity
This week we talk about the appalling cuisine of shark’s fin soup, explore how video games affect NASA’s MSL Curiosity drivers and how Armageddon might be an amazing film, but there’s no way to split an asteroid with that little nuke.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Making 3D Movies
In the reboot of the Spider-Man series we get to see the famous web-slinger in 3D. Discovery News’ Martin Berman talks with a 3D technology expert who explains how it works and how it can “define a new visual language.”
Shelter Dog Gets Big Movie Break: DNews Nuggets
It reads like a classic “rags to riches” tale: Down on his luck, he finds himself moved from shelter-to-shelter, living off random acts of kindness from strangers. Then, through a brilliant stroke of luck, he’s acting in a movie with A-list celebrities.
