Category: Film & TV
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Netflix Warner Bros appears unlikely
Netflix has backed out of the deal.
A deal valued at over $82 billion. If Netflix fails to match Paramount’s bid, the world is worse off for everyone. This Ellison takeover is hostile, will result in massive layoffs, and assuming the deal will be approved by regulators — it would mean all of Warner Bros’ HBO Max streaming customers become Paramount subscribers. Other outfits include CNN, the Food Network and not to mention an impressive array of sports offerings.
We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S. But this transaction was always a ‘nice to have’ at the right price, not a ‘must have’ at any price.
I’m not a fan of Netflix, nor am I defender of its corporate culture. But I do think there is sincerity here. I think Netflix’s DNA is truly honest. While Paramount is plunderous.
We all lose on this deal.
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Tony Gilroy, Andor creator on fascism
It’s been reported that Tony Gilroy was embargoed from speaking freely about Andor. Disney reportedly ask Gilroy to refrain from using the words fascism and genocide. Well, that embargoed time period has expired.
The prescience of Andor became immediately clear when the occupation of Minnesota ramped up. Federal agents executed two American citizens. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were displaced. Families lay destroyed and many are in ruin because of these actions. Countless human rights violations. The list is endless.
Hollywood Reporter asked Tony Gilroy about Minnesota. He hit the nail on the head here:
“You get out your Fascism for Dummies book for the 15 things you do, and we tried to include as many of them as we could in the most artful way possible,” GIlroy tells The Hollywood Reporter. “How were we supposed to know that this clown car in Washington was going to basically use the same book that we used? So I don’t think it’s prescience so much as the sad familiarity of fascism.”
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The Graphic Art of Incredibles 2 — Josh Holtsclaw
joshholtsclaw.com – An incredible blog post from Josh Holtsclaw, an Art Director at Pixar. I love coming across these. This post in particular documents a lot of the process, design thinking and iteration that goes into the art direction for the film Incredibles 2
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The Shining’s iconic Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball photo was created using unconventional means
According to an interview between the Kubrick and Michel Ciment, Kubrick attempted to create this photograph initially using extras. But was unhappy with the result. The photo we now know, was ultimately shopped together. Kubrick literally photographed Jack Nicholson from an approximate high angle shot peering down. Then airbrushed Nicholson into the “picture library” photo Kubrick found. Incredible.
Did you have all those extras pose for the last shot?
“No, they were in a photograph taken in 1921 which we found in a picture library. I originally planned to use extras, but it proved impossible to make them look as good as the people in the photograph. So I very carefully photographed Jack, matching the angle and the lighting of the 1921 photograph, and shooting him from different distances too, so that his face would be larger and smaller on the negative. This allowed the choice of an image size which when enlarged would match the grain structure in the original photograph. The photograph of Jack’s face was then airbrushed into the main photograph, and I think the result looked perfect. Every face around Jack is an archetype of the period.”
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New ‘Alien: Romulus’ teases the classic Alien facehugger
I’ll let the poster artwork do all the talking here. I could not be more excited for this movie.
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Scott Wampler has died
I’m absolutely distraught to learn that the incomparable Scott Wampler has passed. He leaves behind such a vast void. He had a way with words. I loved hearing his perspectives on film, fiction and horror. He was a stalwart in the film community and was the former editor over at Birth.Movies.Death.
He was close with filmmakers, writers, directors and creatives from all walks of life. The man was a bonafide comedian and in recent memory, began reaching new heights with The Kingcast, a podcast that largely covers the works of Stephen King. Guests included Elijah Wood, Guillermo del Toro and of course, Stephen King and more.
We are worse-off without his quips, insights and jeering tweets. He will be sorely missed 🥀🥀🥀
THE KINGCAST’s Scott Wampler Is Gone
Fango’s talented, hilarious contributor passed away earlier today.
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The Curse Q&A with Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie Moderated by Christopher Nolan
Nathan Fielder and Benny Safdie sit down to chat with Christopher Nolan about The Curse. Nathan reveals the inspiration for the series. A great talk that wanders around a range of creative angles with no spoilers. An unresistible roundtable that can’t be missed.
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Carl Weathers has died
I’m a little at a loss for words.
Carl Weathers has played so many wonderful roles over his tenure as an actor. I always thought he had such a lovely voice and brought us so much delight on the screen. It wasn’t until recently I learned he was an Oakland Raider in the NFL briefly!
Weathers has had some iconic roles in the past, and frankly it’s a tragedy he doesn’t have a Hollywood Star. Maybe that could change posthumously. The man had major roles in Toy Story, Rocky, and Predator. Those 3 titles alone, were some heavy-hitters.
Take a few moments to take in Weather’s considerate thoughts about how he perceived the character Greef Karga. You can tell that he was very jazzed to be him. Weathers is a studied man of many talents — chief among them is theater and he’s a director himself too. I just love hearing him carefully choose his words here. You can really tell he’s excited to have such an amazing opportunity to essentially take part in a modern western, and carve out Karga as a benevolent complex character on-screen.
Here’s a few other noteworthy (and hilarious) characters he’s portrayed.
High Magistrate Greef Karga
(a starving) Carl Weathers as himself in Arrested Development
Who could forget Chubbs Peterson?
Rest easy Carl ❤️
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The Art of Character Transformation in ‘Poor Things’
@filmatic via Instagram – The Art of Character Transformation in ‘Poor Things’. The look of Willem Dafoe as Dr. Godwin Baxter is wonderful. Always fun to get to see behind-the-scenes with this kind of stuff.
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True Detective: Night Country is finally here
In many ways, Night Country sings a different tune than the previous seasons of True Detective. Previously, follow up seasons reception was less than favorable. Fans are salivating for a follow-up that can meet or exceed the original grit and pull of the debut season. In season three, Mahershala Ali delivered a refreshing saga that was draped in nods to the first season, but didn’t thread the needle completely. Season four however takes the core of what made season one so fantastic: murder and mysticism.
Theology and mysticism have long treaded a thin line which Carl Sagan has touched on. Understanding our natural world is the only thing that can aid us from steering toward superstition:
“Science is a way to call the bluff of those who only pretend to knowledge. It is a bulwark against mysticism, against superstition, against religion misapplied to where it has no business being.”
Carl SaganNight Country gives us many opposing parallels to consider within its narrative walls: Native Americans and white men. Cultures and conquests. Science and mysticism. Light and dark. Order and disorder. Environmentalism and exploitation. Machine and organic.
The twilight of the long arctic night is a frightening backdrop. The severe darkness beckons for relief. I can hardly fathom enduring more than a few days of darkness myself. Isolation in a such a harsh dark world ratchets up those anxieties even further. The arctic night is a brief pause in an otherwise mundane cycle: daybreak is always followed by the night.
But, not in Night Country. A chilling start, capped off with a dizzying end. SO much more is yet to come and I couldn’t be more happy with where this is headed.
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The Original Star Wars Logo
The original Star Wars logo from 1976, which was suddenly dropped before the official theatrical release.
Here’s what 20th Century Fox went with instead in 1977:
And here’s the Star Wars worm-like logo we know and love today:
h/t 1000logos.net
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James Doolin, American painter and muralist
James Doolin was an American painter and acclaimed muralist. Known for his urban and natural Californian landscapes. His works elevated everyday urban life under his lens, his style and his palette. His works were brimming with vibrant locomotion and depicted a certain reverence. Los Angeles artist and writer Doug Harvey described Doolin’s work in LA Weekly in 2002 when Doolin passed:
“His paintings were successful in a way that is rare and precious — they enabled us to see the places we overlook every day and to recognize that, in spite of its ominous industrial overtones, the city is shot through with a luminous, electric vitality and a psychological potency verging on the mythic.”
Study for Corporate Rise, 1986 
City Of Glass, 1991 
The Last Painter on Earth, 1983 
4WD, 1983 -
Lucasfilm’s 1983 image, The Road to Point Reyes took one month to render
One of the most significant static images in the history of computer graphics, The Road to Point Reyes is one of Lucasfilm’s most important early projects. Begun in 1983, Rob Cook directed the image and conceived the scene, while Alvy Ray Smith, Loren Carpenter, Tom Porter, Bill Reeves, and David Salesin provided various elements including shading, hidden surface routines, and fractals. The single image, which Smith has described as a ‘one-frame Movie,’ took a month to render, and was eventually displayed at The Computer Museum in Boston.