August 27, 2004
ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL confidential
While SuperheroHype.com contains many breathless reports of BATMAN BEGINS filming in Chicago, over on the Indie Side, on the Comics Journal message board some guy has been snooping on ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL filming. The upcoming film reunites the GHOST WORLD duo of director Terry Zwigoff and screenwriter/Academy Award nominee Dan Clowes.
“I work at the research library at UCLA and right outside they are filming Dan Clowes and Terry Zwigoff's movie Art School Confidential. The crew is HUGE! I had no idea this had such a large budget. No signs of John Malkovich or anyone famous yet but I'm keeping my eyes peeled.”“I had lunch and watched them film a scene. I was surprised to see how involved Clowes was -- he stood right behind Zwigoff and they consulted together constantly. They seemed like co-directors. “
“Another big budget Clowes thing by Terry, huh?
No doubt this means that down the street they're also filming a small budget Tomine ripoff.”“Well, nothing new to report. They wrapped by 5 yesterday and aren't around today. The scene I saw had no celebrities, only a bunch of extras dressed as art students (you know they are art students because they are carrying art student supplies, like oversized black tubes) walking around as a bunch of cars pulled up to a curb. This being LA, all the extras were totally gorgeous, not exactly keeping with how I imagine art school to be. No one took off their top, however.”
Posted by THE BEAT at 02:51 PM | Comments (0)
You'll believe a man can't fly
By now the fabled new SUPERMAN movie has as much lore and mystery surrounding it as an Alan Moore opus. From Tim Burton to Wolfgang Peterson to Brett Ratner to McG to Bryan Singer -- every change of director has had some tale behind it.
Perhaps the most curious story is why McG left the project. Although the reason given was that McG wanted to film in New York, while the studio wanted a cheaper shoot in Australia, that's only part of the story. It seems McG is afraid to fly, and it would have been impossible for him to travel down under for the shoot, although the idea of an A-List director getting around via tramp steamer does have some charm.
It's hard to believe that the director of CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE is afraid of anything, living or dead...but there you have it.
Meanwhile, WHO will play Superman? Tom Welling is still said to be in the lead for the lead -- fueled perhaps by reports that he was on the callsheet for BATMAN BEGINS.
However, according to the ever-lovin SuperheroHype.Com, open auditions for Superman are going on across the nation, though most aspirants have found the process rather discouraging. Face it, tiger, this is the most intense casting call since Scarlet O'Hara back in the day!
Posted by THE BEAT at 02:29 PM | Comments (1)
HELLISH DISNEYLAND
Writing for the LA TIMES, law professor Jonathan Turley finds Satanic influences at Disneyland.
There were other portents. Who but the biblical Beast would sell bottled water in August in Anaheim for $2.75 each? And the surveillance — I've heard there are more security cameras at Disneyland than at the Pentagon. When my wife accidentally spilled a drop of milk in the lobby of our hotel, I bent down to wipe it up only to suddenly see the feet of a maid. She had a towel at the ready. We slowly backed away. John Ashcroft might want a lifetime Disneyland pass: thousands of people under constant watch, rapid disappearances of troublemakers "backstage" and mandated smiling from all employees.On his last day, my brother, Chris, a thoroughly logical architect from Chicago, went to the front desk to note that he had been mistakenly charged $18 for six bottles of water from the refrigerator in his room. The cast member behind the counter calmly assured him that the charge was correct because the bottles had been moved; a sensor on each bottle immediately registered the shift on Disneyland's computer system. (It turns out that a leftover pizza, pushed into the fridge, was the culprit.)
"I guess it must be a lot of trouble keeping track of things in hundreds of rooms," Chris said.
"No, it is no trouble at all," came the reply.
Posted by THE BEAT at 12:04 PM | Comments (1)
VIRTUAL BABES
Gamers who have a hard time letting go of the joystick may be excited to know that October's issue of Playboy Magazine will include a pictorial with some models for whom digital airbrushing is an every day occurence: the women of video games.
Bloodrayne, Mileena, Nina, Kurenai and others will be posing for the men's mag -- although some will not be showing all their digital bits.
"Majesco thought it was all in good fun. The game's coming out that month and it's perfect timing," BLOODRAYNE spokesperson Laura Heeb told CNN. "BloodRayne is a very viable franchise now. It has definitely made the step up to a full-fledged video game franchise. The Playboy thing is nothing more than just another cool thing we can do with this franchise."
Of course, the upcoming pictorial caused some jokes on the internet, including one blogger's "What's next? The Women of Marvel Comics?"
This prompted Lia Bulaong to return the days before digi-porn. when peole had to make do with f-color heroines, and take a look at Marvel's long-ago Swimsuit Specials.
It's not quite the same thing, but people who were comic book nerds in the early 90s might remember that Marvel did actually publish special swimsuit issues once a year from 91 through 95. The first was called Marvel Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (cause, you know) but subsequent editions were called the Marvel Swimsuit Special. I have copies of Illustrated and Swimsuit Special 92 in my old room back at my mom's house and remember them fondly, they were totally tongue-in-cheek, complete with cheesy ads starring your favorite characters, like Wolverine shilling for Macho Deodorant. The commentary was mostly funny and the art was great (even though this was right about the time that Rob Liefeld's distorted anatomy style was taking off).
Posted by THE BEAT at 11:48 AM | Comments (1)
August 26, 2004
R. Crumb to recount Genesis for Norton
Comics legend R. Crumb has signed with W.W. Norton to create a new non fiction graphic novel, according to Publishers Weekly.
The book was acquired by Bob Weil, executive editor at W. W. Norton, who called it a "major deal." Weil observes, "the graphic novel and the graphic history are becoming essential components of a well-balanced list." Weil says he anticipated "great interest" in the work from the domestic, foreign and college markets. Both Weil and Hanson declined--at the insistence of Crumb, NewsLine was told--to reveal the book's subject. But industry sources say the book will be a "literal" interpretation of Genesis, the first book of the Bible.
Norton is also publishing Will Eisner's upcoming book on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
The Crumb deal represents the latest in a surge of cartoonists signing book deals with "traditional" book publishers. Where will it all end?
Posted by THE BEAT at 04:05 PM | Comments (2)
MIRRORMASK images up
Neil Gaiman has posted some images from MIRRORMASK the upcoming feature directed by Dave McKean over at his blog. This movie looks pretty amazing so far.
Posted by THE BEAT at 03:07 PM | Comments (0)
OTAKU BREAKDOWN
Gizmodo's intern has translated a Japanese press release on the number and interest of Japanese otaku, and even provided this handy pie chart. Gizmodo writes:
According to the results of a study released by Nomura Research Institute in Japan on the 24th, there are 2,850,000 people considered "otaku" in Japan, with a combined market power of around $2.6 billion.
The item also reminds us that while Americans love to be called "otaku", in Japan the connotation is somewhat less...desirable.
EDITED TO ADD: For those who are unaware, obsessive interest in pop stars, called "idols" in Japan, is a recognized branch of otaku culture. Basically it would be like plastering the walls of your room with pictures of Kelly Clarkson and knowing everything about her, from what cereal she eats in the morning to the secrets of the lyrics on her albums. File under "Hinkley, John."
Posted by THE BEAT at 12:16 PM | Comments (4)
August 25, 2004
Milla Worries Boobs Too Small for Comics
Sultry Milla Jovovich would love to star in a comic book movie but worries her tatas are too small. "I saw a cover of a Heavy Metal comic book, and it had this woman with fairy wings and big oiled muscles and no shirt on. Her breasts were huge," Jovovich said recently. "In my films my breasts are definitely computer-animated, because I don't have any. They spend most of the money in the film's budget just making my breasts. That's why producers never like me."
Jovovich is apparently unaware that she already starred in a comic book movie, THE FIFTH ELEMENT which was based on a story which originally appeared in that very same HEAVY METAL magazine. Which proves one thing, beauty does not equal--oh, never mind.
(Thanks to Beat Spy Waffles for the link.)
Posted by THE BEAT at 03:14 PM | Comments (10)
Jude Law Clams Up
At the junket for SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW held earlier today in New York, actor Jude Law confirmed for The Beat that he does indeed have a tattoo of Rorshach. But he refused to say where it is located.
So it will just have to be left to The Beat's imagination.
For hours and hours and hours.
Posted by THE BEAT at 03:07 PM | Comments (8)
Real Life Captain Americas found!
The bodies of three Austrian soldiers from World War One have been found frozen and almost perfectly preserved in an Italian Alpine glacier.
The soldier were reportedly injected with a "Pretty Darned Good Serum" that Austrian scientists were working on during World War I.
The serum gave the "Superior Soldiers" powers about equal to what modern running shoes, protein supplements, HGH and anabolic steroids give superheroes today.
Scientists say the "Superior Soldiers" are a little disoriented by modern conveniences such as television, computers and Pret A Manger's, which make all sandwiches fresh that day in that Pret, but are adapting well, and trying to think of names for their upcoming superteam.
Reached for comment in his lair, the Red Skull commented "These Superior Soldiers will soon become part of my fighting army, as they are sure to stand by the fatherland and its goals. If they are not, my new legion of cats and monkeys will soon destroy them! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
Posted by THE BEAT at 02:53 PM | Comments (1)
Who's got a blog NOW?!?
Apparently, Green Arrow does.
if you want to know how i feel about hawkman, here goes. he's been pretty pissy with me since he found out about the whole www.hawkgirlsshowerwebcam.com debacle, which was in no way my fault. i just showed captain atom how to set up a domain name. then, he accused me of being a lush and foppish dandy besides, just because i use product in my hair (both facial and otherwise.) the coup d'gras came when he told bullseye that i use a bronzer lotion, which i use to help give my muscles definition. so, in return for that, hawkman, here you go.
Isn't it just a matter of time before some smart creators introduces a comics character via a blog? Okay, kids, that one was FREE.
(Thanks to Boswell for the link.)
Meanwhile a purported blog by director Quentin Tarantino has been getting some hits of late, but screenwriter/director Roger Avary, who does have a blog proclaims it a fake. Avary, a sometime collaborator with Neil Gaiman, deducted that surprisingly non-technical Tarantino would not have used some of the jargon used by the imposter.
Posted by THE BEAT at 12:51 AM | Comments (4)
TEAM AMERICA TO FEATURE GRAPHIC PUPPET SEX
The buzz for TEAM AMERICA, the Thunderbirds take-off by South Park's Trey Parker and Matt Stone is just getting louder and louder. The increasingly nerd-friendly New York Times ran a lengthy "making of" piece this weekend that featured many salacious tidbits, even if the writer was a bit surprised to find that Parker and Stone use four-letter words (Apparently having done no research for the piece). The big shocker -- puppet sex.
The current version of the film is a guaranteed NC-17, with surprisingly graphic scenes of puppet sex. The filmmakers will have to cut it to an R rating, but not before they have their fun torturing the ratings board.
But never fear, puppet violence will not be stinted on either.
As for the big disaster scenes, the special effects team that worked on "Independence Day" was brought in to create the flooding of the Panama Canal (in a 1,000-gallon tank) and the toppling of the Eiffel Tower, with almost no digital effects. After all this effort, the filmmakers decided to leave the puppet strings in the frame. "We don't want anyone to think we did it C.G.I.," said Anne Garefino, an executive producer, referring to computer generated imagery. "It was too hard to do it this way."
Posted by THE BEAT at 12:35 AM | Comments (2)
August 24, 2004
Elektra Online
A preview of the upcoming ELEKTRA movie starring Jennifer Garner, is now online at TheMovieBox.Net.
BTW, as first reported here at THE BEAT, it is now confirmed by multiple sources that Daredevil Ben Affleck has a cameo in the movie. No further updates on the Garner/Affleck canoodling, however.
Posted by THE BEAT at 01:19 PM | Comments (5)
Kibbles 'N' Bits 8/24
Got $3900 to spare? Buy your own Cthulhu statue to give your garden that feeling of creeping horror that you've always missed. ... The trailer for GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS is up. Relive the gang days of yore. ... Month-to-month sales figures for Marvel and DC are up at the Pulse. ... The new issue of Indy Magazine is up featuring Gustave Dore; Paul Karasik on Milt Gross's "He Done Her Wrong; " Megan Kelso on Mine Okubo's 1946 book "Citizen 13660;" R. O. Blechman; Martin Vaughn-James; twenty key untranslated European graphic novels; and an excerpt from Caran d'Ache's proposed 1894 picture story "Maestro." Plus how do you like it, how do you like it, more! More! More! ... Meanwhile, uninhibited Phil Hall has some frank comments on the recent Marvel/DC squabbling, and so on.
Posted by THE BEAT at 04:09 AM | Comments (0)
PIMPIN' PUSSIES
Okay, for Halloween we've previewed the pimped out dogs and ho'd out kids, but what about the pussies? While not really about Halloween, this site does give ideas for festooning your feline like a salariman -- and that could sort of be a pimp, kind of.
Remember, if there's one thing cats love it's being made to sit around wearing a hat or a tie. They just adore it. Trust The Beat.
Posted by THE BEAT at 04:02 AM | Comments (3)
August 23, 2004
NYX CANCELLED
From Comics Continuum -- it's official, the little books that didn't ship very often is ending with issue #7, which will supposedly be on sale in November.
NYX #7Written by Joe Quesada, art by Robert Teranishi, cover by Josh Middleton.
"Wannabe," part 7 of 7. Final issue. As the last chapter of Kiden and her friends' saga comes to a close, the kids come to realize why they have been brought together and what it really means to be a mutant in the Big Apple.
NYX has shipped only twice this year, with issue #5 due in September.
Posted by THE BEAT at 04:16 PM | Comments (5)
Applause CEO Commits Suicide
According to the LA Daily News, Applause CEO Bob Solomon took his own life on Friday in Woodland Hills, CA. Applause, once known as a hugely successful maker of plush toys, with licenses from Disney, Warners and Nickelodeon, had lately fallen on hard times, and Solomon was reportedly distraught over the financial difficulties the company he founded faced.
Applause LLC was a rags to riches to rags story, and Solomon saw the whole tale unfold. It rose to the top of the plush-toy industry with stuffed Mickey Mouses, Winnie the Poohs and Curious Georges and fell when the fad began to fade. When he came back to Applause three years ago, it was in the role of its rescuer -- chairman, CEO and owner -- and he gambled on a toy called Dream Pets to revive the company's fortunes.He lost the bet. Now, the company that once employed 1,100 workers in its heyday and brought in hundreds of millions in annual revenue finds itself in a desperate situation. Last week, Applause faced eviction from its Warner Center headquarters by the end of the month and was the target of numerous lawsuits demanding hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid royalties and fees. Its payroll had dropped to around 40 workers with more impending layoffs.
The downfall of Applasue is also the tale of the downfall of the licensed toy business -- as plush sales have plummeted and even Toys R Us is considering not selling toys any more.
Solomon was quipping with reporters on Friday afternoon, a mere hours before he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Posted by THE BEAT at 03:33 PM | Comments (1)
WARREN'S EXCELLENT VANCOUVER ADVENTURE
Warren Ellis is back from his Vancouver adventure on the set of the GLOBAL FREQUENCY tv show. "Up, down, home, alive, shattered, crawling to bed, back Monday." Scroll back for lunch with William Gibson, skin problems, the longing for Red Bull, and what happens when a vampiric writer type gets up at 8 am every day.
Posted by THE BEAT at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
CHILDREN SO ENTERTAINED BY DISNEY FILM THEY DON'T BLOW DUCK CALLS
Veteran Disney-watcher Jim Hill reports that the new starring vehicle for Mickey, Donald and Goofy managed to keep the children in the audience more entertained than blowing on a duck call.
(Thanks to Beat Spy Mouse Factor for the link.)
Posted by THE BEAT at 11:22 AM | Comments (0)
DICK VAN DYKE: CHIMNEY SWEEP, DETECTIVE, CGI ANIMATOR
Over at JIm Hill Media, Hill recounts Dick Van Dyke's recent apperance at SIGGRAPH, a computer show hald in LA. Van Dyke modeled for some CGI mocap footage, but it turns out he's also something of an amateur CGI animator:
This was followed by some CG footage that had been generated by having Dick dress up in a motion capture suit. Then Van Dyke did one of his classic comic bit of a drunk stumbling around a stage. To see that bit up on the big screen -- just like Dick used to do on the old "Dick Van Dyke Show," only now in CG form -- was really sort of bizarre but fun.
Mind you, Van Dyke's not a Johnny-Come-Lately to computer animation. Dick's been into this stuff for years now, ever since he bought his first Amiga. He's even done some computer animation that you may have seen on the small screen.
...a CG motorcycle crash that actually appeared in an episode of Van Dyke's popular 1990s mystery series, "Diagnosis: Murder."
...To explain: The script for this particular episode called for a spectacular crash involving a motorcycle. The only problem was ... There was no money in the budget for a location shoot and/or a stunt driver.
But this didn't stop Dick Van Dyke. He just went out -- on his own, mind you -- and shot a live action background plate. Then -- on his own time at home -- he used his personal computer to create this realistic looking CG motorcycle which crashed. Dick then combined the two pieces of footage and screened them for the producers of "Diagnosis Murder." These folks were just stunned that the star of their show was this sort of technicial whiz.
Posted by THE BEAT at 11:10 AM | Comments (2)
NYT: COMICS STRIPS SHRINKING
THE NEW YORK TIMES CONTINUING LOVE AFFAIR WITH COMICS DEPT:
Searching for some new angle on its current obssession,the Times uncovers the fact that The New York Times > Business >comic strips are currently being squeezed out of newspapers:
In grudgingly taking up such questions, editors and publishers face a choice that has long been agonizing for papers that dared to replace longtime favorites. By cutting strips like "Brenda Starr" and "Judge Parker," as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did this year as part of a comics shuffling, editors run the risk of alienating older readers, who are their core constituency. (Indeed, after a write-in campaign, The Journal-Constitution decided to give "Judge Parker" a reprieve.)But if editors instead choose to cut newer strips like "La Cucaracha," or fail to make room for more cuttingedge work, they realize they may be bobbling a prime opportunity to lure the younger people who are critical to newspapers’ future — and whose love for animated entertainment has been demonstrated by the television programs (including “The Simpsons” and “King of the Hill”) and movies (“Finding Nemo”) that they watch and the books (graphic novels) that they read.
Ironically, the Times has never carried comic strips, except for a brief run by Peter Kuper back in the 90s.
Posted by THE BEAT at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
BIFFLE WINS IN THE FLASH
NASCAR met the JLA this weekend – and surprise, surprise, the Flash was the fastest.
It was all part of “Justice League Racing Weekend Presented by Hot Wheels” at the Michigan International Speedway, where drivers competing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup had cars decorated with JLA characters Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and Martian Manhunter.
Biffle beat teammate Mike Martin, who was driving the Batmobile. Superheroes and drivers united after the race to savor the victory.
The event is part of a marketing promotion between DC Comics, Warner Bros. Consumer Products, International Speedway Corporation (ISC), Mattel, Inc. and Michigan International Speedway.
Posted by THE BEAT at 05:04 AM | Comments (3)
AVENGERS UNRAVEL
What is art, anyway? The Sistine Ceiling? Whistlers Mother? The Venus de Milo? How about an eerily inert knit Batman costume hanging on the wall?
Mark Newport's current exhibit at the Greg Kucera Gallry in Seattle, OR offers just such a vision. According to the catalog:
Using embroidery and knitting, Mark Newport wields his needles to address the stereotyped facade of the he-man, the tough guy, and the superhero. In a series of framed samplers, the artist underscores key elements from the covers of comic books, using the satin, the stem, and the ubiquitous backstitch to embroider over them. But it’s Newport’s hand-knit superhero costumes that tie the show together. Well-known classics such as Spider-Man (shown here), Batman, and the Fantastic Four hang alongside lesser-known models such as the Escapist (from Michael Chabon’s novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay) and the hooded Patriot, a red-white-and-blue invention of the artist. Unlike their comic-book incarnations, in which the superheroes’ attire seems permanently affixed to muscles that ripple under lean flesh, Newport’s lifeless hand-knit suits line the walls of the gallery and float from the ceiling on invisible threads that allow them to limply sway in the breeze. By exhibiting the wolf’s clothing without the sheep, Newport exposes the superhero as fraud and demonstrates that growing into manhood may not require leaping over tall buildings but rather passing through the eye of a needle.
Newport's hand-knit display confronts the superhero myth vis-à-vis their traditional equation with manhood head on: "My recent work explores different facets of masculine identity and activity. Many of these works come about in response to the question, "How do I know how to be a man?" Some of the pieces examine role models from public arenas (football players, politicians, artists, servicemen, superheroes) while others address more personal ones (husbands, lovers, fathers). Many images are chosen for the activity they depict or the function they serve as either residue of an event or a collectable object. The images of strippers and pin-ups are chosen because they embody a voyeuristic function."
Check out the above link for lots more images of the exhibit. Knit one, biff two!
(Thanks to Beat Spy ARF for the link.)
Posted by THE BEAT at 03:35 AM | Comments (4)
CARTOONISTS WED!
Congrats to 'tooners Jon Lewis and Karen Snyder who were wed last week and are currently honeymooning in Minneapolis. The duo met at last year's SPX -- guess that's why they call it a "lovefest"!
Posted by THE BEAT at 03:33 AM | Comments (4)
