Game Changers Part I

Found a trinity geek fest with a DGA salute to Steven Spielberg. Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and J.J. Abrams all on one stage.

The Golden Boy, the Maverick and I guess the would be Newcomer.

Spielberg sometimes seems cagey when discussing his craft, and to my knowledge has never done a "DVD audio commentary" for any his films.

Because of this, I think he's one of the few who still value the power (and importance) of magic and illusion in filmmaking. (And said it himself that his participation in the Q&A was killing the illusion of moviemaking)

He says there should be no such thing as "trade secrets" and that everyone in the industry should share whatever great discoveries that they have found. I personally agree, but I feel that Steven was perhaps referring to technical process not artistic. Just my opinion.

Should artist feel a need to "explain" themselves? Perhaps not. But when it's in the interest of teaching, encouraging others and raising the bar of the medium for everyone, it's certainly good.

Not as super-insightful as I would like it to have been, but it's definitely a treat. Enjoy.

Who Remembers Movie Programs?!

Super 8 was some of the most planned, manipulative uses of nostalgia I've seen in a long time and I loved it. My usual routine to after seeing a movie in Tokyo is to buy a movie program. No, when I say movie program, I don't mean Final Cut Pro or iMovie.

Doesn't anyone remember movie programs?! Super 8 had tons of flaws but it worked as a piece of narrative nostalgia. Just had to get a program. Why didn't the folks in marketing drop the other shoe and release movie programs to accompany the film? (If I'm wrong, please correct me)

Anyone who connected with the nostalgia in this movie, anyone who saw at least ONE 80's Spielberg or Star Wars film in a theater in their lifetime certainly remembers the the pleasure of having "piece of the movie" to take home as a memento or at least certainly a conversation piece.

Folks like to throw that term "viral marketing" around. Which basically is virtual technobabble to say "word of mouth". What better viral marketing than your movie program floating around, sitting on the coffee table when friends come over?

Rather than shelling out an extra 5 bucks on a pair of 3D glasses I'm going to bitch about anyway, I'd much rather spend that on a memento of a great movie experience I'll have forever. The joy of having a movie programs was like a symbol of you were in for a treat or at least you came home with with something because you attended something special.

Any Gen X'er remembers in elementary school the envy of someone having an"Empire Strikes Back" movie program and you just couldn't wait to get to the theaters (not just to see the movie) but to get your hands on one of those programs.

Movie programs are always available with the films in Japan. Any they are just as good (if not better) than the ones that were produced in the USA. The movie programs just don't give the usual publicity shots and storyline overviews, but they also have extensive material showing the pride in the craftsmanship in the making of the film. NOTE keywords: Pride, craftsmanship. If the producers felt they did a good job they should be proud to show people in print what they have labored on.

Given, much of what is covered in movie programs can be seen in the supplementary chapters on the DVD release----but who wants to wait for that?!

Go home with a movie program, in a way the studio is communicating:

"Yeah, you damn, right this is something special you're looking at here. So special we're publishing it so you can hold it in your hands, read it and take it home with you...show your friends."

I can only post a few pages of the Super 8 movie program because the booklet just has too many pages. Definitely you get your money's worth. (26 pages in total)

So what's the deal? Americans don't read anymore? Super 8 was a nice trip back to the feeling of when the experience of movies were... yes dammit, magical experiences. Going home with a movie program certainly added to the experience.

Giving Sight To Vision

William A. Fraker, ASC, BSC. (1923 -2010)

William Fraker is not a household name, but he will be remembered by filmmakers as one of the most noteworthy cinematographers of the 1970's and 80's. Nominated for Academy Awards in Best Cinematography in films such as Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, Spielberg's 1941 and Ralph Bakshi's Coonskin (I didn't know that until today!). Perhaps he will be most remembered for one of the most memorable film sequences that "upped the bar" for car chases in cinema: Bullit, starring Steve McQueen.



He should be remembered for being a solid cinematographer who helped his directors visualize the story in the best and most suitable way.

His work doesn't yell and scream "William Fraker, ASC, BSC". However for me, he does define a certain look that was consistent with the cinema in the 1970's. I love that clean look of 70's cinema and those earlier film stocks that were always a little grainy (which gave it life in my opinion) and favored cooler tones.

I think 1970's cinematography and William Fraker comes to mind.

Frank Frazetta (1928 -2010)

Frank Frazetta, hands down, heavyweight champion of fantasy artists/ illustrators of the 20th century passed away today. His work permeates the fabric of what modern fantasy art and illustration is today. The influence of his work can be seen and felt in the composition of countless other fantasy or sci-fi illustrations and comic magazines. Whether it is said or not, films from "Conan the Barbarian" to "Disney's Tarzan" and even "Avatar" owe credit to Frank Frazetta's work.

His paintings like "The Barbarian" (called by some "the illustration of the 20th Century"), greatly contributed to the image of the "anti-hero" replacing the face of heroism in the past 40 years.

His only screen credit was as the producer (and art designer) of 'Fire and Ice", an animated feature he collaborated with animator Ralph Bakshi in 1983. Film producers such as Dino De Laurentis, John Milus, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and even Disney have all either attempted (and failed) to get him to work with them or admitted they were great admirers of his work.

Without Frank Frazetta, fantasy/ science fiction, in every medium, art, illustration, comics, animation or film would not be what we know it as today.

Mr. Frazetta, thank you so much.

Hold Up A Mirror and What Do You See?

I remember in 1991, director Spike Lee fought tooth and nail, petitioning the do the biographical film, "Malcolm X". The banner of his campaign was that the story of Malcolm X had to be told by an African American person and not a white American.

Emotionally, I can see how Spike felt he was "obligated" to fight for this movie. But in on a creative and honest level, sometimes the best person to tell your story is someone else with an objective point of view.

Three directors come to mind: Norman Jewison (director of in the Heat of the Night and original director slated to direct Malcolm X), Edward Zwick and Steven Spielberg. All three have directed films (A Soldier's Story, Glory, The Color Purple, respectively) that arguably are amongst the best films depicting aspects of the African American experience.

Indeed, there are things that all these directors would never just "get" because they didn't grow up black in America. However, they do understand people and relationships. And they do have the liberty of being able to look at people or cultures objectively. Including some of our closely guarded idiosyncrasies.

Even Ralph Bakshi's "Coonskin", (as coarse as some people view this film) contained some levels of honesty through a twisted caricature of Harlem's underworld in the 1970's. A caricature that no black American would dare to do then or today.

I heard once, "Truth is, when you do an autobiography, intentional or not, you are going to tell your story "your" way. And you are going to paint the face you want to see and leave out things perhaps you don't want others to see."

The best person to edit your work is always another person with fresh and objective eyes. Sometimes the same can be said of those who are going to tell your story.

Pandora's Box Opened

Hollywood is truly the land of sharks indeed. Ha. Ha.

In 1975, I begged my father and mother (I'm dating myself....I was 4) to take me to see the first movie I remember. Steven Spielberg's, "Jaws".

This was the birth of the summer blockbuster. Others would follow. Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark. In the 70's and 80's never, and I mean never did Hollywood imagine a film making several hundreds of millions of dollars at a time like this. Movies grossing ten, fifteen times it's budget. The concept of "movie franchise" was still undiscovered country.

James Cameron's "Avatar" grossed almost $1.5 billion dollars in almost less than a month of its release.

What kind of Pandora's Box (no pun intended) has been opened? What expectations of success are going to be expected in the future? Don't get me wrong, who doesn't love money? But is greed going to win out over....yeah, I'll say it: integrity?

Thanks to a friend, I discovered a great documentary called, "Dream On Silly Dreamer". A 40 minute documentary about the "death" of traditional animation at Walt Disney Animation Studios greatly in part to....yes, the blockbuster.

After viewing this, Hollywood and Disney executives would do well to revisit one noteworthy classic fable: "The Goose That Laid The Golden Eggs".

If you search around "Dream On Silly Dreamer" can be found on the net in its entirety. But I recommend buying the the DVD.

ACE and '84

1984 was a good year. Imagined things of the future were becoming realized. Ridley Scott launched his famous "1984" commercial announcing the Macintosh computer. George Orwell's 1984 and dystopian view of the future was nowhere to be seen...yet. And best of all, (for me anyway) there was "Dexter"...I mean "Ace", I mean, "Space Ace".

Former Disney animation chief and maverick, Don Bluth released (as a followup to the laserdisc video game and arcade blockbuster, "Dragon's Lair") "Space Ace in 1984, showcasing some of the best hand drawn animation you could interact with for a quarter.

The Hollywood pitch for "Space Ace" most likely would have been " Jerry Lewis' Nutty Professor meets Star Trek". With a more coherent narrative and more dynamic game play than "Dragon's Lair", "Space Ace" was a hit.

Now that I think about it, 1984 wasn't really a good year for everyone. Some were not too happy with President Reagan's economics. The Cold War was still in full effect. (As seen in Rocky IV) Walt Disney Pictures was slated to release "The Black Cauldron" only a year later and there was some uncertainty as to what direction that film was supposed to be in....as well as the studio itself.

Bluth however, (along with animation partners, Gary Golman, and John Pomeroy) was on track and were smoking hot. "The Secret of NIMH" (1982) was already made a huge impact, "Dragon's Lair" was making waves, just as "Space Ace" and his Steven Spielberg, Amblin Animation collaboration, "An American Tail" was just around the corner.

Don Bluth remains one of my most admired animation directors. Not just for his "style" (the draftsmanship and timing in his films without a doubt have a certain"look") but for his courage to branch out on his own and do his own thing. The "Bluth/ Disney" rift is almost legendary. There's no denying his departure from Disney did affect production and leave a bad taste in the mouths of many affiliated with them. I'll never forget hearing about how the ABC Network (under Disney of course) refused to air any commercial material that could have promoted Bluth's animated version of "Anastasia".

Whoa. I've really digressed here. Back to Dexter...I mean, Space Ace. This certainly old news, but "Space Ace" now available as game playable as an app for the iPhone. Some say five bucks is a steep for an app, but considering how much money I spent as a kid playing this game, five bucks is worth it. But it's not the gameplay that I'm interested in. Space Ace has great animation (for a video game) that has withstood the test of time in its measure of being entertaining.

And if you are really cheap, well, then look below.

Space Ace - Original Game Full Movie

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