How do they do it? The tribute poster wizards at the Mondo Gallery seem to have a special gift for condensing the strangeness, beauty and excitement of iconic movies into graphics that capture their essence — and become works of art in their own right.
Poster geeks looking for answers can glimpse a behind-the-scenes peek at the creative process at Mondo in the new aptly titled exhibition In Progress, which opened last weekend and tuns through February 23 at the Mondo Gallery in Austin, Texas. The show features mind-melting sketches, concepts and line art prepped by design auteurs including Martin Ansin, Ken Taylor, Kevin Tong, Jay Shaw and Tom Whalen en route to final products celebrating Creature From the Black Lagoon, Planet of the Apes, Pan’s Labyrinth, Iron Giant and other cult classics.
See more EXCLUSIVE movie posters from Mondo’s new gallery show over @ Underwire!
(Source: Wired)
Chris Marker, a visionary French filmmaker who inspired modern science fiction, died Sunday at the age of 91. News of his death was confirmed this morning.
Marker’s most famous film, the 1962 dystopian masterpiece La Jetée (The Jetty), was an inspiration to many leading science fiction authors, including William Gibson and the late J.G. Ballard. The quietly powerful, minimalist movie, comprised almost exclusively of numerous black-and-white stills and clocking in at about 28 minutes, was a direct inspiration for Terry Gilliam’s 1995 thriller 12 Monkeys.
Read more @ Underwire.
(Source: Wired)
Nerding out with his car, which he calls the Ecto88, is one of Cline’s favorite things to do, and he’s about to make it a possibility for one lucky reader of his geeky sci-fi novel Ready Player One. After taking Ecto88 on his previous book tour, Cline bought a second DeLorean for $22,000 on eBay, added a flux capacitor and used it for his paperback tour.
When the paperback promo swing finishes, he’s giving away the dupe DeLorean to whoever can solve three videogame challenges — just like the great online hunt in the Matrix-esque “Oasis” that the protagonist of Ready Player One attempts to master.
More deets - including photo and video! - @ Underwire.
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A bonus last minute gift alert: EA and Gameloft put a lot of their titles to $.99
In the second installment of epic movie trailers this week, first teaser for The Hobbit was released. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is the first of a two-part LOTR prequel that Peter Jackson has cooking. This film will debut in December 2012.
New Stan Lee comic will include his first Indian superhero
The series will be called Chakra – The Invincible and will initially launch as a series of downloadable/mobile comics. The first story for Chakra will be released for free in April 2012 through www.graphicindia.com. The basic premise of Chakra: A tech-savvy teen named Raju Rai lives in Mumbai as he developed an enhanced suit that activates the mythical chakras of the body (and the corresponding abilities/powers).
Lost Captain Beefhart album to be released
Zappa records will release his Bat Chain Puller album more than 36 years after it was recorded. The album has been bootlegged and passed around fan circles for awhile, but never received a full release (Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. The Captain, resisted releasing them while he was alive but he died a year ago). The album will be available on Jan. 15.
Wired.com: Underwire Q&A with Brad Bird
After watching the Dark Knight prologue, a movie plays. Director Brad Bird (MI: Ghost Protocol, Ratatouille, The Incredibles) chatted with The Underwire in regards to his newest work, but he also found ways to talk about great filmmaking in general (haven’t seen Ethan Hunt’s latest yet to comment).
Wired.com: GeekDad looks at old-school, non-CGI SciFi
The blog found a Kickstarter film they could really get behind. C is the story of an idealistic flight officer who hijacks a spaceship during interplanetary war. What makes the title appealing is the filmmakers, Otto Stockmeier and Derek Van Gorder, insistence on only using classic, in-camera special effects. It’s in production but the blog chatted with the filmmakers and linked to its trailer, behind-the-scenes production blog.
[via Nathan Mattise]
