Journal entries with drawings in them! (And sometimes real pictures) When I find something remotely interesting in my daily life, I report it and draw it out for your entertainment here.
The Official blog of Rotten Sandwich co-founder Dan Lam, his drawings, doodles, pictures and mindless jabber as you like. This may be the only thing keeping his sanity in check and his mind off of smoking, at least till his fingers leave the keyboard.
Hi there internet world and blog readers. I just want to drop a quick line about a short film I worked on two years ago that is being entered in a film festival in France. Ebbe the Hunter or Le miroir et l'enfant as it is called in French. It is slightly cut for the film festival, but it would be great if we can get the support from my readers and visitors. I'm very proud of this film, I was the cinematographer on it. I've worked with this cast and crew many times and I don't think we could've made the film without them. We shot the film in Toronto, Canada on one of the snowiest winters. It was a joy and pain to make the film, but it was all worth it. So please watch and vote! Vote everyday until January 15th!
Hollywood has a way with hype during the holidays or big events. Whether it's releasing teasers during the Super Bowl or bombarding and repeating trailers everywhere during the July 4th. It seems that this winter holidays we are treated to next year's 'must see' sequels, prequels & adaptation blockbusters. From 'Prometheus' to 'The Dark Knight Rises'.
It seems that these 'event-trailers' are tied to films that don't belong to the same studios. As in, 20th Century Fox's 'Prometheus' with Sony Pictures' 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' & Warner Bros.' The Dark Knight Rises (trailer 1) is the opening act to Paramount Pictures' Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. Even the 6-8 minute prologue is screened before the IMAX version of Mission: Impossible. Which is reasonable, seeing how 'Mission' is the only film to open in the IMAX format this month and The Dark Knight Rises has portions of the film shot in the same format.
Non-Spoiler-
The 6 to 8 minute prologue which gives us a taste of The Dark Knight Rises, includes a scene that I think belongs somewhere in the first 20 minutes of the film. Afterwards it just gives us brief glimpses of thrilling scenes from the film, some not in trailer no.1. Where the montage of clips failed for the prologue actually succeeded in the actual trailer. In trailer no. 1, the clips are voiced over with Ann Hathaway's Selina Kyle confronting Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) of what's to come to the 1% (there seems to be heavy references to Occupy Wall Street.)
This comes in the style of most Christopher Nolan films, where dialogue is placed over a dramatic montage. A device he uses at the end of 'The Dark Knight', 'The Prestige', 'Memento', etc. Unfortunately, trailer no. 1 falls into the traps of big Hollywood action/comic book movie trailers. Apparently, it's protocol for these genre trailers to include an epic CGI effects laden scene. Where footballer Hines Ward runs through the field not realizing his playmates tumble into a massive crater that is formed in a series of explosions.
The trailer for Peter Jackson's 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' will open before his co-production with Steven Spielberg of 'The Adventures of TinTin'. The trailer seems to be a warm reminder of what 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy looked like and how the next two movies in the world of Tolkien's Hobbits will be. Returning are Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm & Ian McKellen.
This trailer works because it is familiar with it's fan base and it doesn't exclude newcomers to the world of the One Ring mythology because this is the prequel to 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy. The trailer starts with Ian Holm's Bilbo Baggins explaining to Frodo that he hasn't told him the full story of his adventures with Gandalf. Then the trailer proceeds to flashback to the young Bilbo Baggins this time played by Martin Freeman (The Office UK, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.) Gandalf introduces us to new characters that will join in their party, cut to a scene of the only human singing and the rest follows, then a montage of their journey (just like old times.)
Ridley Scott's highly anticipated return to science fiction since 'Blade Runner' with 'Prometheus' has been cleverly teased throughout this past week, with daily countdown teasers and twitter tweets of images from the film. Although the film has not debuted online yet (it is said to go online today), it has already screened in front of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' since December 20th. I'm planning to catch the film tonight, so I will be posting an update on my review of the trailer.
Courtesy of Coming Soon.net
Other trailers that have all the hype following them are 'Clash of the Titans' sequel 'Wrath of the Titans' , Adam Shankman's film adaptation of Broadway hit 'Rock of Ages', Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones' return in Men in Black 3 & Dwanye 'The Rock' Johnson's turn in 'G.I. Joe - Retaliation'. These trailers don't offer anything special, they feature your typical spectacle of action, movie stars and over the top music. One thing is clear from all of this, next year promises to be bigger than the one before it. Hopefully, we won't feel bloated from all the camp.
UPDATE: 'Prometheus' Teaser
So having seen the teaser to Ridley Scott's widely speculated Prequel/Not Prequel of 'Alien', 'Prometheus' seems to be one exciting science fiction film of 2012. There is many evidence in the teaser the points to it being at the very most related to the Alien films. The trailer starts with the eponymous string of lines that as the teaser progresses forms the film's title, there are also clips of familiar set pieces such as the crescent shaped space craft, a field of jars (?) that resemble the field of Alien eggs and a scene of one of the crew attacked through their helmet and possibly burning from acid (?) Even the unmistakable Jerry Goldsmith score with it's various plucking of strings comes from the first Alien film.
So maybe the film won't directly link itself to the Alien series, but it certainly comes from that world. The teaser does an excellent job in "teasing" the audience, each clip is shown for now more than three seconds each. Even the premise as revealed in the title cards are compelling, "They went looking for our beginning, What they found could be our end."Almost reminiscent of the 1970s kitschy marketing with 'Alien' with the tagline, "In space, no one can hear you scream."
Haven't been keeping up with the blog due to lack of interest and abundance of work. Wish I had a secretary... or another writer. Anyhow, I'm back and winter is here. Which means I'll have more time on my hands to devote to this blog here. I'll be bringing back my movie trailer reviews and more photographs from work! Here's a preview taste:
Taken in El Mirage Dry Lake Bed, CA for 'Reservoir'
