David and Goliath. Hamilton and Burr. Spinal Tap and mini Stonehenge? The first two exist among the greatest showdowns in history. The latter is but a sampling of the greatest in film history as depicted in artist Scott Campbell’s collection; The Great Showdowns. Campbell, or Scott C. as he signs his work, has quickly risen …
Whether you own a TV or simply rely on the web, it should be clear by the barrage of advertising that holiday shopping season has once again fallen upon us. Maybe you’re one of those who stumbled out of your post Thanksgiving tryptophan-coma at 4am yesterday for some Walking Dead style survival drills at your …
After a few days literally in the dark post Hurricane Sandy I logged back online Wednesday to find a perplexing Facebook post. It read; “Leia is officially a Disney Princess.” Scrolling down my feed I finally got the news; ‘Episode 7 slated for 2015 and More Movies Planned as Disney Buys Lucasfilm.’ As a ravenous …
Lloyd the Conqueror Directed by Michael Peterson Written by Michael Peterson and Andrew Herman Canada, 2011 Society has an outrageous double standard. If you like to play Dungeons and Dragons and watch sc-fi fantasy movies, you’re a bit of a dork, but if you love to watch NFL football and take part in fantasy sports …
Argo Directed by Ben Affleck Written by Chris Terrio USA, 2012 Improbably, Ben Affleck has turned his career around in the last few years from the pit where such cinematic embarrassments as Gigli and Daredevil forever reside. He’s essentially transformed himself from a tabloid cover-star into a poised actor-director who subscribes to the “Hollywood doesn’t …
In 1902 Georges Melies took audiences on their first trip to the Moon in his H.G. Wells inspired Le Voyage dans la lune. Sixty-seven years later, Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon. Twenty years after that, Apollo Associates released an 80 minute documentary entirely composed of NASA and astronaut shot …
Ever since the birth of the concept in the early eighties, the prospect of a ‘Director’s Cut’ has become one of the most mouth watering morsels for film fanatics, a chance to glimpse an expanded version or in some cases a radically altered vision to their favorite movies. Whether it be the lengthening of an …
*Exclaimer: Please don’t read this if you haven’t seen Inception, The Empire Strikes Back, Planet of the Apes, The Wizard of Oz, Saw, Gone With the Wind, Casablanca, The Usual Suspects or The Sixth Sense – As a probable testament to my poor academic acumen, I cannot, in good memory, recall the particulars of the situation …
The following polygonal art is by artist Josh Ln. His main focus here is seven of the most popular movie vehicles of film and television. You can purchase prints at Josh’s gallery! Polygonal Famous Vehicles by Josh Ln
It’s a phrase out of the music industry: one-hit wonders. Those bands that come out of nowhere, hit the top of the charts with a catchy – maybe even impressive – single, or have one chart-topping album, and then never seem to be able to hit that sweet spot again. Anybody remember Boston’s second album? …
Bill Moyers visited George Lucas at Skywalker Ranch in northern California to discuss the ancient myths and personal values that have amalgamted into what we know has the Star Wars folklore. The films, which struck a deep chord with viewers, contain age-old myths, such as the hero’s journey, family, fatherhood, spiritual beliefs, the battle between …
Hollywood joke: A writer, a director, and a producer are crawling across the desert without water, dying of thirst. They look up and sticking out of the sand is a nicely chilled bottle of apple juice. Before the writer and director can grab it, the producer is on his feet, unzips his pants and starts …
George Lucas’ time as a beloved filmmaker has passed. The second he decided to start making alterations to his beloved Star Wars films, respect for him declined, and it’s been continuing in a steady spiral ever since. And with the upcoming release of his Star Wars saga on Blu-Ray, it looks like that spiral will …
One of the more interesting strands to Empire’s Big Screen programming for film fans who are a little longer in the tooth was the ‘classics’ strand, where movies that have proved enduringly popular with the magazines readership over the past twenty years were awarded a rare big screen outing. Inevitably the main buzz of activity for …
After ten years, eight films and countless articles celebrating both, it’s all over. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 has apparated into cinemas, broken records all over the place, and now there’s nothing left to do but watch it over and over and over again. Possibly in 3D. But when you come out …
Last week I did a piece on how early syndication of movies to TV provided a culturally unifying base for Baby Boomers. Most of us, however, probably think of syndication as being less about movies and more about recycling old TV shows. And, in time, so it became. TV writer/producer/director Bill Persky remembers syndication being …
The big-budget (usually summer) blockbuster is the financial cornerstone of the American motion picture industry, and has been for much of the last 35 years or so. In all its forms – action/adventure, suspense, Western, war story, horror, science fiction, fantasy, et al – the big budget thriller’s earning power is unmatched by any other …
Trying to get Hollywood to change direction is not unlike trying to steer an elephant by poking it in its thick-hided ass with a matchstick; it doesn’t exactly respond like a Maserati. And that’s a problem because there are some box office signs suggesting the American movie industry needs – may, in fact, desperately need, …
Put together to compete in the SXSW Title Design Competition, Ian Albinson has edited a large mix of some of the greatest film and television titles ever made. Slashfilm reports that the websites mission is: A compendium and leading web resource of film and television title design from around the world. We honor the artists …
Derek Stettler has edited together a video titled Reel Wisdom: Lessons from 40 Films in 7 Minutes. Here is what the editor told /film. I made this video because I love films and I think there is great wisdom inherent in the film medium. This video represents some of the best wisdom from films, edited …
At a time of the year that’s all about picking the best of the best among movies, it seems singularly appropriate to talk to someone whose year-round profession is assaying the good and the bad up on the big screen. “I’m one of the few people on the paper who’s never had a journalism class, …
Some folks at Onlineschools have created a flowchart to help you figure out what your occupation would be in the Star Wars universe? Click on the image to get a larger view. The chart was written by Andy Green, edited by Greg Voakes, and designed by Bobby Bernethy. via onlineschools.org
We recently posted the Transformer 3 car ad that will be airing during the Super Bowl. Well here is another car ad, this time for the Volkswager featuring a child dressed up like Darth Vader. I don’t think it is a particularly good commercial but I figured some of our Star Wars fans would like …