chumpchampion

“Luffa! Luffa! Luffa!”

Via method and People Against Dirty.

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Yet another film from our youth gets the remake treatment as an updated version of 1981’s Clash of the Titans comes to theaters sometime next year. One of my favorite adventure/fantasy movies as a kid, the mythological tale of Perseus’ quest to save Andromeda features a robotic owl, a flying horse, giant scorpions, Medusa and of course the Kraken. But the real star of the film were the then groundbreaking action sequences and special effects created by the great Ray Harryhausen. So it makes sense that Clash of the Titans gets a computer generated face lift (along with a much needed update of Harry Hamlin’s Perseus) for today’s kids. The only problem is I can’t seem to see a difference, can you?

New super charged formula:

Clash of the Titans (2010)

directed by Louis Leterrier, starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes

And the original recipe:

Clash of the Titans (1981)

directed by Desmond Davis, starring Harry Hamlin, Laurence Olivier, Ursula Andress

These two are completely different characters yet somehow look exactly the same.

Villainous half-man half-devil dude, Thallos

Terminator who didn’t know he’s a terminator in Terminator 4 (Sam Worthington) as Perseus

They did manage to gussy up the titles a bit though.

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While looking for some inspirado in the hood last night, I ran into buddy Ben Mor (music video and commercial director at RSA as well as half of the hip-hop duo Blood of Abraham) at Skylight books. It turns out Ben is the one responsible for the epic out-of-this-world music video for the Black Eyed Peas, “Meet Me Halfway”. And if you’ve yet to see the clip, you most likely have seen the DIRECTV spot which was partially lifted from the music video and has been on constant network rotation. While spending several weeks in New York at Method Studios with a team of visual effects artists working around the clock, the ever-talented Mor was not only able to bang out two slick looking projects at once but he also was able to do what few others have: make Fergie actually look attractive again. Check the clip and spot below:

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Thanks to my main man Money Mark for pointing out tonight’s screening of pioneering animator/video effects artist Adam Beckett at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood.

From the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences:

“Adam Beckett (1950–1979) was an influential animator and visual effects artist whose career straddled the line between art film and the special effects industry. Well known for his unique use of the optical printer in conjunction with the animation stand, Beckett’s technical achievements ranged from his work on highly experimental art films to commercial films including “Star Wars” (1977), for which he was recruited to head the rotoscope and animation department, and the 1978 horror film “Piranha,” on which he worked as an animator.”

Read on here.

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In what was an editorial first for me (a cut playing in a theater that wasn’t actually a film, that is), I had the pleasure of editing the theatrical teaser for Nintendo’s upcoming game The Legendary Starfy with the always impressive Motion Theory crew. And if you went to the movies to see Pixar’s Up, there’s a good chance you know what I’m talking about as our spot played before the film. Directed by Motion Theorists Mathew Cullen and Chris “The Fresh Prince of Previz” Leone, the commercial carries the Speilberg-ian wonder of a kid’s awe as a boy’s grandpa recites an ominous “fish story”. The follow up spot, which is the actual launch for the game, is much more action packed and includes a fisherman (the gramps as a young man perhaps?) in the middle of a Starfy vs. giant squid melee featuring the eye-popping visual effects which have become synonymous with the name Motion Theory. Check out both spots here:

“The Fisherman” (launch spot)

“A Fish Story” (theatrical teaser)

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