...more recent posts
Tom's astute equation of The Boards Of Canada and afterschool specials in his techno diary reminded me that I've been meaning to post a couple of links on this page.
On a hunch I bought on ebay a 16mm print of OWL AND LEMMING by the Dutch animator Co Hoedeman. The film is an adaptation of an Eskimo legend, one of a series he did in collaboration with Inuit artists and musicians.
The film blows my socks off.
16mm prints and videos of the complete series are available through The Film Board Of Canada.
Check out my sketches based on the movie Blade 2 here. Caution: not for the squeamish. Also, a capsule review.
frontline: the monster that ate hollywood
AI Nailed
Justine Elias, in the Village Voice's 2001 Films in Review:
This is the image in A.I. that to me sums up the team of Spielberg and Kubrick: The fugitive mechas escape to Smut Island or whatever it's called, which looks like the Food Court at a 1970s shopping mall, and Gigolo Joe, the Kubrick figure, is happily pointing out the sights—"Here's where I ply my sleazily robotic trade!"—which would be totally perverted if the sex talk weren't sailing right over the head of little RoboBoy, Steven, who's going, "My mommy told me to look for the Blue Fairy! I love my mommy!"
Entertainment Industry Goober of the Month: John Wells
From an article in Slate about the use of letterboxing by mainstream TV shows:
ER producer John Wells, looking for ways to bring buzz back to his medical drama, [adopted a] 16:9 [screen ratio] at the start of the 2000-2001 season. As Wells explained it to the Akron Beacon Journal: "We noticed that a large number of commercials were being broadcast in letterbox form. We called the advertising department and asked why ... and they said, 'Well, because it looks classier.' Well, we've got a classy project. And I think that, increasingly, you want to be able to distinguish your show in an ever more cluttered marketplace as something that stands out."