LA Review of Books: True Story.
The mythology of film school. “With each passing year, a new and ever-growing horde of students arrives, checkbooks at the ready, poised to live out the Steve Boman dream. But film school is not a dream or a myth; it is a school, a place to learn the nuts and bolts of shooting a movie. If you are looking for anything more than that, buyers beware.” All the best folks I worked with, learned by doing ... working in the industry. Starting at the bottom and pushing upwards.
Flickr: myvintagevogue.
Scans from vintage Vogue magazines. I expect this poster may run smack dab into a copyright challenge shortly (yet I hope not), so enjoy while you can.
LA Times: ‘Soul Train’ creator Don Cornelius dead in apparent suicide.
For teen guys, way back when, he was the voice we all wanted to have when our voices changed. Rest in peace.
SF New Mexican: Bin Laden hideout replicated at old prison for Navy SEAL film.
You never know what you’re gonna see in this crazy state ...
my pen is a pistola: Men Photographed in Stereotypical Pin Up Poses.
One of my pet peeves, the silly poses women are forced to assume in fashion and advertising photos.
SF New Mexican: New TV Western to be filmed in New Mexico.
Omigod ... Father Vincent Sheahan from Ballykissangel as a sheriff? Cool.
InspireFirst: The Vintage Acme Catalog,
The Acme Catalog of Wile E. Coyote. Fun.
CINEMETRICS — film data visualization.
Better than your average infographic, certainly.
MeFi: Raiders of the Lost Archetype.
It’s on Netflix. Add it to your queue.
CR4: Grounding the Body for Health.
The image on the first comment is beyond perfect. Loosely filed under ‘science.’
NY Times: Debt-Ridden Greece Turns to Sacred Sites for Help.
“The Acropolis is not a film set, it’s the soul of Greece; this is sacrilege.” I don’t see a problem, except for one detail - film crews are notoriously bad about taking care of the venues they’re working in. I’d dedicate an officer (or two) to watching everyone on-location - or empowering tourists to report indiscretions. Otherwise you’ll have clamp-marks on the columns, gaffer tape all over the ruins.
NY Times: Javits Center Plans Are Deflating for Architects.
“The Javits Center had been considered ripe for renovation almost since it opened in 1986 because it was too small for large trade shows and conventions ...” You’d better believe it. Of all the dimbulb designs. It could have been great, we would have used it regularly. Note, they work on the aesthetics, access ... but it’s the loading docks that also need fixing. If it takes forever to get equipment in and out, it costs production outfits gobs of cash.
WaPo: Etta James, Grammy-winning blues singer with pop appeal, dies.
“No matter how pop or schmaltzy a song, I can’t help but put a gospel and blues hurting on it.” And it hurt so good. Rest in peace, good lady.
Guardian.UK: Should theatre leave more to the imagination?
My benchmark for stage sets came early. At the University of Houston, when I was 16. My sister took me to “Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Tempest”, done in an outdoor theatre composed of a semicircular platform with steps on each end. Costumes were worn. The dialogue and the acting, the evening’s dark carried the whole thing.
Video and digital are nice, but they split audience attention from the actors. One must be subtle and tasteful.
ars technica: PIPA support collapses, with 13 new Senators opposed.
Surprisingly, the Right is moving more than the Left. Does Hollywood have such a stranglehold on the Dems?
Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire. Obama’s Dream Debate.
Like I said, it’s getting entertaining now.
Return of the Cafe Racers: Girl with the dragon tattoo motorcycle photos.
She rides a bob-tailed Honda 350? Wow.
The Little Black Gallery: Yul Brynner, A Photographic Journey.
If you find yourself in London ...
NY Times: Custer’s Path to the Little Bighorn on PBS.
“I think throughout his entire life he worried that the clock was running out, and that if he didn’t achieve a kind of permanent glory before a certain point in his life, he would never have the chance. He was somebody who was really preparing to kind of go for broke.” I’ll repeat what I said on visiting Little Bighorn: He was flat-out insane to leave the protection of trees near the river, riding out to that hillock, giving the force of the opposition. Completely nuts.
Cycle News: Testing the Triumph Steve McQueen Bonneville.
The Luminous Landscape: 4K Future.
“The most successful photographers these days are ones who can deliver whatever media the client asks for, and increasingly motion as well as stills are demanded. The cost of production is so high these days that a separate shoot (sets, crew, lighting) for stills and motion is simply impractical and unnecessarily expensive.” And if you’ve seen the videos most pro still photographers are churning out ... my God, they’re awful. Huge market for those (like myself) who have a video background. Lynda.com, here I come.
NY Times: Frederica Sagor Maas, Scriptwriter From the Silent Era, Dies at 111.
“As for movies, Mrs. Maas stopped going. ‘I think the product they’re making today,’ she said in 1999, ‘is even worse than the product we made in the early days.’” Rest in peace, good lady.
Vanessa Paradis & -M-, “Un monstre à Paris”, L’album.
Cool site, soundtrack. Don’t view if you hate Flash.
SF New Mexican: ‘Lone Ranger’ will ride again in N.M.
“Because it’s important to remember that the Lone Ranger never shot to kill, preferring to wound his adversaries and bring them to court instead. How this humanitarian approach would work with werewolves, should they remain in the new script, remains unclear. ” As I mentioned on FB, everyone in NM is probably on Depp watch.
Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire: Buffett Calls Republicans’ Bluff.
“So, he is willing to take them up on it and has pledged to match one for one all such voluntary contributions made by Republican members of Congress. Said Buffett: “And, I’ll even go three for one for McConnell.”” Note: Filed under ‘entertainment.’
