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It happens every time some new technology threatens to put people out of work: a public campaign to save jobs. One example was in the 1920s and ’30s, when synchronized sound was added to movies, which meant that theaters no longer had to pay live musicians to accompany the films. The Music Defense League sprang into action, with a $500,000 advertising budget to rally the public against soundtracks recorded by just “300 musicians in Hollywood.” Read about the battle against canned music in theaters at Paleofuture. Link
This little short film appears to be a teaser for a longer story by effects designer Aaron Sims. If he is trying to raise interest in getting a studio to fund a feature film, this is the way to do it. Wouldn’t you like to see the rest of the story? Link -via Geeks Are Sexy
You’ve probably heard that the Kodak company has filed for bankruptcy. Kodak introduced its first camera 120 years ago, and revolutionized the way we see the world. The Kodak No.1 expanded photography from professionals to anyone who wanted to take a picture.
The Kodak produced circular snapshots, two and a half inches in diameter. The Kodak was sold already loaded with enough paper-based roll film to take one hundred photographs. After the film had been exposed, the entire camera was returned to the factory for the film to be developed and printed. The camera, reloaded with fresh film, was then returned to its owner, together with a set of prints. To sum up the Kodak system, Eastman devised the brilliantly simple sales slogan: ‘You press the button, we do the rest.’
The idea was resurrected many years later with the “development” of the disposable film camera. Link -via the Presurfer
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
Why do nerds so often wear glasses? This is an interesting question, and obviously it has a significance in my own life and career.
The word “nerd” was actually coined by my favorite fiction writer, the great Dr. Seuss. In 1950, in Dr. Seuss’s book If I Ran the Zoo, Seuss drew a non-human creature called a ‘nerd” from the land of Ka-roo. This is the first instance of the word “nerd” in print. Some theorists believe the word started at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the 1940s. The students who liked to party there were called “drunks” and the quieter, less-inclined-to-party types were labeled “knurds.” See, “drunk” spelled backwards is “knurd,” the precursor to the modern “nerd.”
In 1957, in Glasgow, Scotland, “nerd” was first defined as “square.”
Motion pictures, the most powerful medium of communication in human history (before television) had, of course, a huge impact on the lives of almost everyone on earth. The “nerd” in movie history has not, to my knowledge, ever been fully written. As far as I can determine, the first nerd in movie history was the popular silent comedian Harold Lloyd. Lloyd played a weak, underdog type of comedic character, one bullied by men and ignored by women. But in the end, he would triumph and inevitably get the girl of his dreams. The Lloyd character wore trademark glasses. In fact, Lloyd always referred to his character as the “glasses” or “glass” character, much as Charlie Chaplin was “the Tramp.”
After Lloyd, the nerd character was on the shelf for many years in movies -with sporadic exceptions. Ironically, Cary Grant, perhaps the most dapper actor in movie history, donned glasses and played a nerd character in 1938′s classic comedy Bringing Up Baby.
In the 1950s and ’60s, the great Jerry Lewis often played a nerd-type character in his wonderful comedies. Once in a while, Jerry would wear glasses in his films, notably The Nutty Professor and The Ladies Man. One of his early films with Dean Martin (That’s My Boy) Jerry played a classic glasses-wearing nerd. Jerry as “Junior Jackson” is a shy, clumsy nerd who is trained to be a football player by the handsome, popular Dean Martin. Lewis almost always played a semi-nerd, but it was always a bit of a very cool nerd with Jerry Lewis. While Jerry was always a dumb klutz in his films, he always danced gracefully and also, Jerry was a relatively good-looking fellow, unlike most nerds (or comedians) in comedies. And of course, Jerry did not usually wear glasses. But the movies next classic nerd did.
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Following the 1980s Film Alphabet, artist Stephen Wildish has created a new alphabet poster for the movies of the 1960s. I’ve only studied this a few minutes, so there are a couple I haven’t deciphered yet. It’s not that I don’t recall the movies, it’s more that I just can’t remember the titles. Link -via Laughing Squid
Movie producers and directors have vision. Art directors and designers have ideas. And then there are people who are charged with getting these things done behind the scenes, on time and under budget. Special effects master Stan Winston is one who figures out how to make the ideas work, such as Edward cutting shrubs with his scissor hands, the seamlessly realistic creatures running through Jurassic Park, and the battle between Ripley and the Alien Queen. Read about how he works his magic at Unreality magazine. Link
This eye opening, and beautifully edited, video shows a shot-by-shot comparison of Raiders of the Lost Ark and 31 other films made between 1919 and 1973.
To say that there are a few similarities would be an understatement, so obviously this is due to Spielberg doing his homework, right? *wink*
If you’ve seen this before, good for you! Enjoy it again, why don’t you?
–via Super Punch
I’m not usually good at this sort of thing, but I looked at the 1980s Film Alphabet and could name all the movies! Yes, even Raiders of the Lost Ark, which is under “I”, for the character, I guess. This is a creation of artist Stephen Wildish. Link -via Laughing Squid
Of course you want to visit Pandora! We all do! But since it’s a fictional planet, maybe the next best thing would be to visit the location where Avatar was filmed. You can do that, because it was in the Keahua Arboretum in Hawaii. The arboretum is chock-full of lush and exotic plant life, just like Pandora -without the Na’vi or the man-eating monsters. Find out eleven more locations where your favorite sci-fi movies were shot at TravelSupermarket. Link -Thanks, Danny!
We are awed by special effects in movies; the more destructive, the more exciting. For example, anyone who saw Apocalypse Now in a theater was impressed with at the disturbing opening scene in which an entire Vietnamese forest was set ablaze with napalm.
Most people are probably too distracted by one of the finest opening shots in film to actually contemplate how it was achieved.
After all, it’s an impressive special effect for 1979. How did they go about making it look like a huge section of forest had been burned to the ground?
Surprise! They did it by actually burning a huge section of forest to the ground.
That’s pretty much it. Around 1,200 gallons of gasoline were poured over the splendid palm trees and then set alight. Tires were also burned to generate more smoke for the shot, while canisters were dropped onto the area to look like falling napalm. Acres of the forest were destroyed in a matter of seconds. Fitting, for a shot that was supposed to visually demonstrate the mindless, indiscriminate destruction of war.
But that’s just the beginning. Read stories of four other disturbing movie shoots at Cracked. Link
Soon to be a full-length feature, TimeScapes by photographer Tom Lowe is a breathtakingly beautiful video.
This is production footage from my forthcoming debut film, “TimeScapes,” a portrait of the American Southwest. This video was filmed and edited at 4K (4069×2304) resolution, four times greater than regular 1080p HD. A 4K DCP file is available upon request. Shot on Red Epic and Canon RAW still cameras.
I can’t decide which part I like best: the landscapes, the rolling stars, the music, or the dancing VLA dishes. You’ll want to watch the trailer twice; the second time in full screen. -via Geekosystem
Peter Jackson is such a visionary film director that he’s even changing the way movies are advertised to the public by releasing a video blog series which shows the making of his new J.R.R. Tolkien movie adaptation “The Hobbit”.
He shows things that directors generally keep to themselves, like the process of filming 3d footage with a stereoscopic camera, all the while remaining in charge of the production like a total badass. This video is number 4 in the series, so check out the other 3 if you want to see more behind-the-scenes footage from “The Hobbit”.
–via Ology
Neatorama presents a guest post from actor, comedian, and voiceover artist Eddie Deezen. Visit Eddie at his website.
Some Like It Hot, besides being the most famous film made by legendary sex symbol Marilyn Monroe (her signature performance) is a comedy classic in its own right. In 2000, it was voted by the American Film Institute as #1 on its list of the 100 Funniest Movies (interestingly, the #2 choice was Tootsie, making both the #1 and #2 choices cross-dressing films).
Besides the great Marilyn (and Billy Wilder’s awesome direction), the brilliant gender-bending performances by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon make it, without a doubt, one of the most entertaining comedies ever filmed. Let’s take a look at a few facts you may not know about a truly hilarious movie: Some Like It Hot.
* The “almost cast” list is almost as great as the final choices. Director Billy Wilder originally wanted Bob Hope and Danny Kaye to play the Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon roles. Frank Sinatra was another early choice the play the Jack Lemmon “Daphne” role. Perhaps the strangest actor to audition for Lemmon’s role was a young Anthony Perkins (rejected. He was to star in Alred Hitchcock’s Psycho the next year).
* Jerry Lewis was also offered the role of the zany “Daphne.” Lewis turned down the role because he “didn’t think drag was funny.” Lemmon, who earned an Oscar nomination for his performance, sent Lewis chocolates annually in gratitude. According to Jerry, every time he ran into Billy Wilder, Billy greeted him with, “Hello, Schmuck!” Jerry later admitted he regretted his rejection of the role.
* Actress Mitzi Gaynor was the original choice for the female lead “Sugar Kane” role, but as soon as Wilder found out Marilyn Monroe was available, he offered her the role.
* The film’s original working title was Not Tonight, Josephine.
* Marilyn wanted the film to be in color (her contract actually stipulated that all her movies be filmed in color), but after looking at Curtis and Lemmon in the color film tests, they were deemed to be too grotesque-looking (they photographed with a green tinge).
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You may have heard that Michael Bay’s newest film will contain his 1000th explosion ever. If you’ve ever wondered just how his explosion per movie breakdown looks, then you’ll certainly appreciate this infographic detailing all of his 992 explosions so far (the whole thing can be found at the link).
Link Via Film Drunk
This clip, recorded in the 1930s, features Confederate Army veterans demonstrating the “rebel yell.” It is part of the Library of Congress’ collection of rare footage of Civil War veterans committed to film before they passed on. Smithsonian describes some of the films that still exist, and how they give us a glimpse into not only the Civil War era, but also how it was remembered for decades afterward. Link
Some of the most over-the-top horror films are based on real-life stories, though you wouldn’t know it to watch them. For example, the story in The Exorcist was based on the exorcism of a 12-year-old boy named Robbie Mannheim.
According to the attending priest, the boy attempted to contact his late aunt using an Ouija board, after which paranormal activity started in the home including unexplained noises and an occurrence of a poltergeist-like event involving blankets flying around of their own accord. Robbie then began to show signs of possession, speaking in tongues and blisters and cuts appearing. He was taken to a mental institute in St. Louis where he was treated both mentally and spiritually. It was here that a group of priests started to perform various exorcising rituals to try and extract the demon. After a staggering total of 30 attempts, the priests were satisfied that they had successfully banished the demon from Robbie’s body.
After the ceremony he went on to have a very normal life, including a successful career at NASA. If my mother only knew that demon possession could lead to working for NASA, I’m positive that she would have made me play with Ouji boards every night.
Each of the 13 horror stories has a video clip from the film, and many have documentary clips from the stories that inspired them. Link
This amazing new device does a lot more than project little duckies onto objects, it projects a truly 3d image onto whichever surface you choose. You can walk around your projection, view it from all sides, and would make for the greatest ghost prank ever. Scooby Doo-style crimes via ghostly projected images have never been easier!
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The following is an article from Uncle John’s All-Purpose Extra Strength Bathroom Reader.
A few years ago one of our BRI writers saw the classic 1931 horror film Dracula for the first time …and thought it was terrible. He never knew there was a story behind why the film had so many problems -or even that other people agreed with him that this Hollywood classic was flawed- until he came across this story in a book called Hollywood Gothic by David J. Skal, a leading authority on the history of monster movies.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE
One of the nice things about silent films is that everyone can understand them, regardless of what language they speak. Of course, they needed title cards to help explain the plot, but it was easy -and cheap- to write new cards for each foreign market.
As a result American films found their way into countries all over the world, and silent films became a truly universal art form: American studios made half of their revenues from foreign film sales; silent screen stars like Charlie Chaplin and Jackie Coogan became the most recognized human beings on the face of the earth.
SILENT TREATMENT
But the advent of talking pictures changed everything -and not just for silent-screen stars whose thick accents quickly consigned them to the Hollywood scrap heap. Suddenly, American films became incomprehensible to anyone who didn’t speak English. American film studios faced the prospect of losing up to half of their business overnight.
Bela Lugosi
Foreign countries that had become used to a steady stream of Hollywood films found themselves left out in the cold; some threatened to retaliate by slapping tariffs on films with dialogue in English, or by boycotting American films entirely.
Making matters worse, sound recording and synchronization technology was still very primitive, and dubbing foreign-language dialogue onto English-language films was all but impossible. Besides, one of the things that attracted audiences to the first “talkies” was the thrill of hearing their favorite actors speak for the very first time. Even if dubbing had been practical, it might not have been very popular. There was no easy solution to the problem, and as a result many foreign language markets were left out of the early years of the talkie era -except for the Spanish-language market. Spanish was too popular, and Mexico, Central, and South America were too close for Hollywood to ignore.
THE DOPPELGÄNGER ERA
No film crew works 24 hours a day. At some point everyone goes home, leaving the soundstage and the expensive sets unused until morning. So, reasoned Hollywood studios, why not bring in a second cast and crew at night to film foreign-language versions of the same films that were being made in English during the day?
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During the Golden Age of Hollywood, big-budget movies were classy affairs, full of artful scripts and classically trained actors. And boy, were they dull. Then came Roger Corman, the King of the B-Movies. With Corman behind the camera, motorcycle gangs and mutant sea creatures filled the silver screen. And just like that, movies became a lot more fun.
Escape from Detroit
For someone who devoted his entire life to creating lurid films, you’d expect Roger Corman’s biography to be the stuff of tabloid legend. But in reality, he was a straight-laced workaholic. Having produced more than 300 films and directed more than 50, Corman’s mantra was simple: Make it fast, and make it cheap. And certainly, his dizzying pace and eye for the bottom line paid off. Today, Corman is hailed as one of the world’s most prolific and successful filmmakers.
But Roger Corman didn’t always want to be a director. Growing up in Detroit in the 1920s, he aspired to become an engineer like his father. Then, at age 14, his ambitions took a turn when his family moved to Los Angeles. Corman began attending Beverly Hills High, where Hollywood gossip was a natural part of the lunchroom chatter. Although the film world piqued his interest, Corman stuck to his plan. He dutifully went to Stanford and received a degree in engineering, which he didn’t particularly want. Then he dutifully entered the Navy for three years, which he didn’t particularly enjoy. Finally, in 1948, he set his sights on something he did want -to make his mark in Hollywood.
Rising from the Ocean Floor
Corman’s career began at the bottom. He started in the film business as an entry-level reader for 20th Century Fox, wading through the worst scripts at the studio. The job was thankless, but the incompetent writing inspired Corman to give screenwriting a try. He moved to Paris to focus on his craft and eventually sold a script to Allied Artists Pictures. However, the resulting film was so awful that Corman vowed never to let a studio meddle with his work again. From that point on, Roger Corman was determined to make his own movies.
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Comments Off Felicia Day is one of the hardest working people in the entertainment industry today, and normally seems sweet as blueberry pie, but her new web series, based on the Dragon Age video game franchise, finds the demure Miss Day kicking some serious tail. I think it’s going to be a bloody good time, and seems to stay faithful to the games, but let’s hear from the gamers out there. Dragon Age web series-fun or failing?
If you thought you had to go back in time to see the shoes Marty McFly wore in Back To The Future II, you’ll be positively delighted by Nike’s release of the 2011 MAG, faithful reproductions of the shoes seen in the film which are being auctioned off to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. If you’re like me, though, and can’t come anywhere near affording the hefty $5000 price tag, you’ll just have to wait until 2015 when Nike releases the real deal version of these shoes, complete with power laces. Now someone needs to get to work on creating a working hoverboard and all of our BTTF fantasies will have come true!
-via Destructoid
This smart, and very affordable, little device might not turn you in to the next George Lucas, but it will definitely help stabilize your home movie making, and might help you become the next net video sensation.It’s the Pico Dolly, made for the modern era of homegrown video stars, this modular mini camera dolly can be outfitted with attachments for lights, mics, and all the peripherals you need to step up your home cinematography skills. And with a price tag of around $65, it is affordable even for someone working on a no string budget.
Link -via LifeHacker
I don’t know about you guys, but I always crack up when I see someone who is obviously over 25 trying to pass themselves off as being a high schooler in a movie or TV show. That being said, I had no idea that Olivia Newton John was 27 when she acted in Grease.
Read about more full-grown adults who played angsty teenagers over at FlavorWire.
If you think your life is strange, watch this animated short and thank your lucky stars that you don’t have to deal with the strangeness this guy deals with every day. Made by Santiago Grasso, this short yet insightful cartoon has lots to say and plenty of style to keep your eyes satisfied. This is animation for the lost, with a stark style that matches the dark subject matter, and an overall feeling that some people will identify with from frame one. Watch it while you’re at work and you just might end up with a better appreciation of what you do for a living!
Behind-the-scenes footage of anything is usually interesting (if you’re interested in that sort of thing), but these screen tests from classic movies are more fun than most. Above, a probably-intoxicated Judy Garland testing for the role of Helen Lawson in Valley of the Dolls. She won the role, but was replaced by Susan Hayward after coming to the set drunk. Check out nine more on Flavorwire. Link
Viewing movies in the movie theater is a problem for many deaf people as theaters just don’t offer that many subtitled screenings. Now however Sony is developing glasses that will provide subtitles to films within the glasses themselves.
Sony has been working on subtitle glasses that should allow deaf viewers to have their own personal subtitles without other viewers having to be distracted by them. While it seems like a pretty simple concept, the real trick is ensuring that the viewer doesn’t constantly have to switch focus from the glasses, to the screen, to the glasses, to the screen. These glasses manage to provide the subtitles in such a way that they appear to be projected on the screen, in the same field of view as the action of the movie.
In a lot of films there is that moment where a character actually says the name of the movie. This can either be cool or lame depending on the context. Now here are 110 titles being said in the film in 159 seconds. Which is your favorite title being said in a movie?
New images have been released of the zombies in the film based on the book World War Z. Is it me or do they kind of look like mummies?
A person would be hard-pressed to argue that the Beatles didn’t revolutionize music; even the youngest of today’s kids has heard a song by or inspired by the band. (My six-year-old, for her part, is a fan of the movie Across the Universe and her Kindergarten class performed “Yellow Submarine” at last year’s graduation.) But people may not realize that John, Paul, George and Ringo also had a part in bringing animation to the foreground of innovation with the making of their feature-length film, Yellow Submarine.
More than a decade before Pixar, the film was not only a technical feat of animation execution but also a seminal work in bringing more attention to animation as a serious art form, both for audiences and for creators.
It’s worth watching even if you’re not a Beatles fan for the history and great one-offs from the narrator, who calls Yellow Submarine “a sort of open-end Rorschach filled with Joycean puns.” Check out the documentary on Brain Pickings. Link
A lot of people think their boss is a real “monster.” However this list imagines if your boss actually was monster from TV or film. What monster would your boss be? Or what Monster would you WANT to be your boss.
5) The Jagrafess, from Doctor Who
The Mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe from Doctor Who is a pretty reasonable boss, and its underlings get to help influence public opinion. “I’d get to work at in Broadcasting!” exults Bradley. And to be fair, if you live in the Jagrafess’ world, then you already work for it one way or another. Just make sure you wear a sweater to work.
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