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It's Han Solo ala Lego! At almost 3 feet long and containing over 5,000 pieces, the Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon ($500) is the biggest Lego set ever made. Pre-orders are now open and the starships will start shipping on October 1, 2007:
I had my doubts at first, but this trailer doesn't look half bad. I guess my thinking at this point is that it's better to do Dr. Seuss with computer animation rather than live action. In fact I dare say that the character designs don't look half bad in terms of getting the spirit of Seuss. But the voice acting sounds quite bad, Jim Carey and Steve Carell sound flat and unspired which is a bad sign for a trailer.
Shown above is an ad for toys and model kits from the classic anime series Super Dimension Century Orguss which was featured in the January 1984 issue of Animedia magazine.
The inside jokes in Lucky Star always bring a smile to my face! In this epiosde (number 12) the otaku ladies go to Comiket, which is the world's largest comic book convention:
"The first CM was held in December 1975, with only about 30 participating circles and an estimated 700 attendees. Attendance has since swelled to over a quarter of a million people. The convention lasts for three days. It is a grassroots, DIY effort for selling dōjinshi, self-published Japanese works. As items sold in CM are considered very rare (because dōjinshi are seldom reprinted), some items sold at CM can be found in shops or on the Internet at prices up to 10 times the item's original price."
This is a great example of Anime before the age of giant robots. This is a clip from Ugokie-Ko-Ri-No-Tatehiki (The Fox Versus the Racoon) directed by Ikuo Oishi (1901-1941):
Also see (in Japanese):
Luke use the turn signal! The Star Wars Talking Dashboard Statues shown above spout a clever Star Wars phrase when you push their yellow button. Although I'm surprised that they don't have an R2-D2, even though he doesn't speak human he seems more like an ideal passanger for ones own X-Wing vehicle...
While it may be a slim chance, it's interesting to think that in just nine months we could find life on Mars:
Nasa to launch Mars polar probe
"NASA is to launch a spacecraft on a nine-month journey to Mars, where it will dig below the surface for clues to the existence of past or present life. The Phoenix probe is scheduled to lift off on Saturday from Cape Canaveral, Florida, atop a Delta II rocket.
The mission will aim to shed light not only on the history of this water ice but also on whether the region could support microbial life. Crucial to this question will be tests for complex, carbon-based chemicals (organics) in the soil and signs the ice periodically melts. "The real question we're trying to answer is: 'has that ice melted', because liquid water in contact with soil may provide us with a habitable environment," said Peter Smith, the mission's principal investigator and a professor at the University of Arizona."
Distraction Game (also known as Pyo Pyo Fruits) is a fun Flash game from Japan. What nice about it is that as you play characters outside the frame of the game (shown above) nudge the creen to distract you. My hat is off to whomever cam eup with the design...
Found via Metafilter.
Here's your chance for fame and fortune, well maybe just a little bit of fame: The producers of the Fanboys film are having a contest for the Ultimate Fanboy Video. What's neat is that the winner will get a walk on part in the upcoming film Fanboys.
I don't know why they didn't think of this sooner! Now you can now buy a Hello Kitty outfit to humiliate, err "dress up" your cat. But I have to admit that there's something very cute about the photo above, although I can only guess at what poor neko is thinking.
Peter Schneider is a fanboy from Germany who has put together an amazing gallery of Girls with Guns on Flickr. His collection of 433 spans both the globe (Europe to Korea) and muliple genres (old westerns to sci fi).
The above commercial for Oreo Cookies in Japan stars actress Narumi Riko who got her first beak with the tv series Trick which was sort of like X-Files meets Scooby-Doo.
The Pachimon Game Museum is an online Japanese website that shows off gaming rip-offs from China from the PolyStation II (shown above) to the Jank Box 36X.
Because if you heard about it six months ago the New York Times will write it up today:
Dungeons, Dragons and Dope Beats
"...Then nerdcore came along. A largely white subgenre of hip-hop that celebrates the solitary pleasures of science fiction, computers and bad teenage movies, nerdcore is emerging from the shadows of the Internet, where it spent the last half-decade as an in-joke. This do-it-yourself brand of rap, part self-expression and part self-satire, has inspired two documentary films, and its own festival, Nerdapalooza, in California. This month, MC Chris — otherwise known as Christopher Ward, 31, the son of a finance executive from the affluent Chicago suburb of Libertyville, Ill. — will attempt an unprecedented nerdcore crossover when he joins mosh-pit-friendly rock acts like New Found Glory and Sum 41 on the Warped Tour."
Shown above are two backgrounds from Bill Wray's blog, he has an amazing collection of backgrounds that that he and Scott Wills painted while working on Samurai Jack.
Found via Cartoon Brew.
Shown above is a trailer for Robota by Star Wars mecha designer Doug Chaing. I have no idea if there's any sort of story, but man do the visuals look great!
This sounds very cool if they could get the right team from Japan on the project:
'Batman' Taking Animated Route For Movie
"Warner Bros. apparently is putting together an anime project that would help bridge the gap between "Batman Begins" and the upcoming sequel, "The Dark Knight," according to Batman-On-Film. The anime series will carry a PG-13 equivalent rating, and include stories written by Josh Olsen of "A History of Violence" fame as well as "Batman Begins" writer David Goyer. Also onboard to write episodes is comic book scribe Brian Azzarello.
It is not clear whether these will be animated episodes available on the Web, or if Warner Bros. will take the Matrix route and release them directly to DVD instead. Online promotion of television and movies, especially through the areas of online video, have become much more popular in recent years, and Warner could choose to take the viral promotion route. At the same time, however, comic book fans have been known to buy just about anything that is released on their favorite characters, so it might be a better money-making opportunity for the studio to go directly to DVD."
...of course a Batman manga was created a few years ago by Kia Asamiya.
I love the powerful draftsmanship and sense of scale in the above robot sketch by talented illustrator Robin Ator.
The folks at filmick.co.uk have come up with a very well done chart showing previous and current efforts to cast Watchman as a film. It's sad that we'll never know what the Terry Gilliam version of the film would have looked like.
This computer animated snowman commercial (perfect for August viewing!) stars up-and-coming model Urahama Alisa.
This game will be based on the movie (not to be confused with the previous game shown above):
WB gears up ' Speed Racer' game
Studio to self-publish day-and-date release
"Continuing to expand its inhouse videogame work, Warner Bros. will self-publish the game based on next summer's tentpole "Speed Racer." Versions of the game playable on Nintendo's Wii and DS will launch day-and-date with the pic's theatrical release in May. A version for Sony's PlayStation 2 comes out in the fall along with the DVD. Given the short development schedule, Warner Bros. apparently decided not to invest in "Speed Racer" games for the high-powered PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles."
Shown above is the Mitsubishi i Princess Kitty which features a Hello Kitty design motif (click to see all the detail at full size, trust me it's worth it):
Mitsubishi i Princess Kitty (Hello Kitty)
"It was bound to happen sooner or later... and after ANCEL and DAMD's pimp of the Mitsubishi I, here's the Hello Kitty version of our beloved Kei-Car. Don't panic though, because only one of these will be sold! If you want to see this car irl, jet over to Japan because it will be on display in a big Japanese store between July 25th and 31st."
I'd love to see an animated version, of course they'd ruin it by doing it in 3D so I guess a live action version of Jonny Quest might be decent:
WB sends 'Jonny Quest' to bigscreen
Mazeau to adapt Hanna-Barbera series
"Warner Bros. wants to send Jonny Quest on his first bigscreen adventure. Adrian Askarieh and Daniel Alter, who have the vidgame-based "Hitman" bowing in October from Fox, will produce the live-action adaptation of the popular 1960s animated TV series from Hanna-Barbera, with Dan Mazeau penning the script.
Askarieh, a longtime fan of the series, is hoping to turn the property into a family-friendly adventure franchise -- something the studio is clearly looking for now that "Harry Potter" is winding down. Mazeau recently sold his fantasy adventure spec "Land of Lost Things" to Paramount Pictures' Nickelodeon Films, with Arnold and Anne Kopelson producing."
The bunnies are at it again by re-enacting the movie Napoleon Dynamite in 30 seconds.
Found via Linkfilter.net.
A Dalek attempts to renew his house insurance...
Shown above are some very cheerful character designs that Michael Fleming illustrated for a game company,
If this film happens it won't be animated but live action ala the Transformers. Of course I'm now so burned out on 3D animation I tend to think that live action the best way to go, although it makes me wonder why the Simpsons has inspired people to think aout 2D again. My other bet is that everyone in Hollywood with the rights to a giant robot wants to make a film right now:
"New Regency is looking to assemble its own giant robot movie.
The 20th Century Fox-based production entity is close to a deal with the Mark Gordon Co. to adapt "Voltron: Defender of the Universe" into a live-action film.
Gordon has been developing the pic, based on the popular 1980s Japanese animated TV series, comicbooks and toy line, with Justin Marks penning the script."
The more I see of Lucky Star the more I enjoy it! Shown above is a clip from epiosde 18 in which Konata tries to figure out what animal each character is most like.
Shown above are samples from the Happy Tree Friends Mimobot Series 1 collection (Mimobots are USB harddrives in case you didn't know) which just came out, pretty cute no?
At first this "face training" game sounds silly, but I quite impressed by it. You see about ten years ago as the era of multimedia CD-ROMs was coming to an end I was lamenting that interactive media had so much potential to be more than just shooter games like Doom. So it's nice for me to see Nintendo reinventing the entire notion of what a game platform should be. I hope this out of the box (or X-box?) thinking comes here:
Faces get muscular exercise with new Nintendo DS game
"A new game for the Nintendo DS handheld machine helps players exercise their facial muscles to have nicer smiles and livelier expressions. "Face Training" comes with a digital camera that fits into the dual-screen machine to show live video of the player's own face on the right screen while an animation of a woman's face illustrates exercises on the left screen.
The 16 types of exercises called "facening," designed by beauty expert Fumiko Inudo, take about two to 10 minutes each to complete. Nintendo Co., the Kyoto-based maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games, recommends playing no longer than 15 minutes at a time. In addition to the animation that serves as a model for players, an electronic voice like an aerobics instructor guides you to twist your mouth, drop your jaw, wink, glare at the ceiling and do other moves to tighten flabby cheeks and develop that bright-eyed look.
Company spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa says the game is also entertaining because players end up making funny faces in the name of a better-toned countenance. Overseas sales plans are still undecided, he said."
I have to admit that I'm already pre-sold on this film! Be Kind Rewind is directed by Michel Gondry which makes it promising to me, but it's the references to 2001: A Space Odyssey, Back to the Future, and Robocop wins over this fanboy. The film will hit theaters in late December this year.
Above: View of the space shuttle from the TS-118: Endeavour Mission (click the image to see it at full size - trust me it's worth it).
Not too long go a bridge fell apart here in the good old US of A, and after the disaster that claimed a few lives everyone has gone back to sleep (and they're still finding bodies no less). It's my thinking that the space shuttle is another disaster waiting to happen again, and like that bridge it's because we've neglected NASA for the last thirty years ago. The space shuttle is 70s technology and while it's cool that they can still still get into orbit giving the crew some glue to fix tiles isn't the answer:
Shuttle Damage Looms Large During Endeavour Crew Spacewalk
"A detailed laser inspection on Sunday of the difficult-to-reach area on Endeavour's belly could send astronauts out to repair the 3-inch wound later in the week, although NASA said that prospect appeared less likely than it did a day earlier. A penetration, if severe enough, could let in searing gases when the shuttle returns to Earth in a possible replay of the Columbia accident. As a pair of spacewalking astronauts installed a new beam to the international space station on Saturday, engineers back on Earth scrutinized images of the gouge, the result of a strike by fuel-tank foam insulation at launch."
...I'd like to see every 2008 Presidential candidate tell us what they're going to do to re-invent NASA.
Shown above is my attempt to do a Simpsonizeme version of Captain James T. Kirk. I admit that I changed the shirt color a bit, but it's pretty darned close. Simpsonizeme is a clever Simpsons movie tie in website sponsored by Burger King.
The commercial above is for Toyota in Japan...
Special thanks to James Kaposztas (the man who invented the anime music video genre) for finding this gem for me!
I wonder who will be the next Arnold:
Millennium wins rights to 'Conan'
"In a seven-figure deal, Millennium Films has acquired the rights to make a new series of pics based on Robert E. Howard's mythical conqueror Conan the Barbarian. Company's aim is to start production by next spring.
Malmberg declined to renew another option with Warners when the rights lapsed in spring. He was frustrated that seven years' worth of development at WB had not yielded a production start on the franchise that launched the film career of Arnold Schwarzenegger in its first bigscreen go-round.
The recent summer success of branded properties like "Spider-Man," "The Simpsons" and "Transformers" led to a receptive marketplace for Conan. The property already is a globally established brand that has 40 licenses including a top-selling Dark Horse comicbook, an upcoming vidgame for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and the Funcom/Eidos massively multiplayer online role-playing game "Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures"."
If you live in NYC and love horror flicks and pizza, the new film Unholy will be playing at Two Boots Pioneer Theater on August 15th. The plot sounds very cool (I love the time travel twist):
"Adrienne Barbeau and Nicholas Brendon star in this provocative shocker about a mother's investigation into the grisly suicide of her daughter. But what begins as a family tragedy will soon lead to a conspiracy of bizarre crimes, occult carnage, and a necromancer who may control a dark new trinity of warfare. How far would our government go to harness a Nazi legacy of paranormal power? Has the U.S. military secretly attempted to develop time travel, invisibility, and mind control as weapons? Answers await in a mind-blowing journey that will take one woman from the trauma of the unimaginable to the ultimate horror of the UNHOLY."
Yes we all know that the real Skylab came crashing to Earth back in 1979 (too late for the Space Shuttle to save it), however a little bit of Skylab history is in danger of being lost. It seems that an organization is trying to save full scale training mockup from being lost to the ravages of neglect:
"In 1968 NASA ordered two identical flight qualified space stations (Skylab) built along with 3 full scale training mockups. One flight version, the 1st US Space Station was flown in 1973 and orbited the Earth until 1979; the second flight element is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum. One full scale mockup, used by astronauts and engineers at MSFC during the 3 crewed Skylab missions (73-74) was on display for many years at the US Space and Rocket Center (USRC) located in Huntsville Alabama. Several years ago the Skylab exhibit was moved outside. The original temporary weather coverings have failed and Skylab has suffered the effects of rain, sun, wind, plants, dust/dirt, mold, animals and vandals. Right now the Skylab artifact is nearing a point of no return.
To save Skylab the Alabama/Mississippi section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) started the Skylab Restoration Project (SRP). AIAA is seeking volunteers to help save this unique part the US Space Program."
...saveskylab.org is collecting funds, so give a hand if you can!
Shown above is the Yoda Lightsabre F/X:
"The latest FX lightsaber is an exact replica of Master Yoda’s. Its illuminating blade features a power up/power down effect thanks to sequentially lighting LEDs. Lightsaber sound effects have been recorded from the film and are activated by moving the saber or by impacting the blade."
Found via GeekAlerts.
If you're a Family Guy fanboy you may want to travel to Chicago to see this:
'Family Guy' hits the road
McFarlane and Co. to perform in Chicago
"Just in time for the show's off-net syndication launch, the cast behind "Family Guy" is taking it back out on the road. "Family Guy Live" will travel to Chicago for the first time Sept. 15, performing two shows at the Chicago Theater. Location was chosen because Windy City-based Tribune will launch the "Family Guy" syndie strip on its O&Os (including KTLA, Los Angeles; WPIX, New York; and WGN, Chicago) next month.
In the stage show, creator and star Seth MacFarlane leads the cast, including Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green and Mike Henry, in musical numbers from the show. Event includes a table read of an episode, a Q&A with the cast, and a preview of the "Star Wars"-themed season premiere."
Here's an must own item for every Futurama fanboy:
"To celebrate Bender's awesomeness, we bring you this tiny, shiny version of the future's favorite robot. At just slightly over 3" tall, this effigy is just like Bender - all metal! In fact, he's die cast and nickel plated. His head turns around (full 360 °) so he can look at, glare at, or target anything you want him to. Everyone needs a little Bender now and again. So grab one now, and celebrate the secret desire to become a folk singer in all of us. Each Bender is just over 3" tall, made of all metal (nickel plated!), and has a rotatable head."
I wish I went to Anime Expo this year! This video has some nice cosplay and Gundam coverage...
The idea of doing animation by spinning pottery is pretty clever:
Oldest Animation of the World Found In Burnt City
"Tehran (CHN) -- An animated piece on an earthen goblet that belongs to 5000 years ago was found in Burnt City in Sistan-Baluchestan province, south-eastern Iran. On this ancient piece that can be called the first animation of the world, the artist has portrayed a goat that jumps towards a tree and eats its leaves.
The earthenware found in Burnt City, one of the most developed civilisations dating back to 5000 years ago, show the images of goats and fish more than any other subject. It seems these animals were used more than any other by the people of this city."
Now you don't even have to add water:
Canned noodles emerging as hit product in Japan
"Canned noodles are emerging as a hit product across Japan following last year's rising popularity of canned oden in Tokyo's Akihabara district. Kyoto-based vending machine manufacturer Fujitaka was the first company to come out with canned ramen. In May this year it began selling Sapporo-style noodles, which gained huge popularity, mainly in the Akihabara district.
In June, the company added hiyashi-men (chilled noodles) to its lineup of canned products. The noodles are made from konnyaku to prevent them from going soggy when they soak up the noodle soup. Since no hot water is needed they can be eaten straight away."
For me the hallmark of a cool anime goodie is that it looks good to mundanes even if they know nothing about the show that the goodie is associated with, so the Misa Amane Mascot Cell Phone Strap (shown above) caught my attention right away. It has that wonderful goth feeling to the mascot, yet that smile gives it that nice sense of humor. If you want to adopt mascot Misa if you go here:
I like this commercial for the rainbow blend, but my favorite Boss coffee flavor will always be "Cafe au Lait"...
Is it me, or is there something just uninspired looking about the "leaked stills" from the upcoming Batman film?
I found the above scan from Kleefeld on Comics:
"Back in 1976, Fireside published the above book under an agreement with Marvel and featured 128 pages of exercises and workouts. The program was designed by Ann Picardo and showed various Marvel characters demonstrating the techniques through the illustrative talents of Joe Geilla. (Stan Lee also added some character dialogue, which is why his name's on the book too)."
Found via Neatorama.
I've been hearing a great deal about the Hong Kong film Eye in the Sky which just came out in June:
Is EYE IN THE SKY A New Hong Kong Masterpiece?!
"Eye in the Sky is an eye-catching masterpiece which urgently reminds us that the Hong Kong Cinema is not dead yet. This vibrant crime thriller casts a ray of hope onto the struggling film industry over there, telling us there are still some new, daring filmmakers working with passion and creative ideas in Hong Kong.
The movie is about an inconspicuous yet important unit of Police Force --- the Surveillance Unit. The officers working in this unit mostly spend their time on endlessly waiting for their targets, following the suspects, setting up eavesdropping bugs and preparing tracking devices. They usually don’t need to participate in any action or use their guns. So how can a movie about people doing these boring jobs be so interesting? It’s because we have ignored the very nature of their job --- they can only do things in secret and cannot afford any minor mistake. Once their covers are blown, so is the whole operation. To spice up the dramatic elements, the villains in the movie are not stupid at all --- they also counter-surveillance to get away from the police. It’s a deadly cat-and-mouse game that is not only about physical strength but also about quick wit, patience and focus."
A photograph of the basement of Cal Arts by the talented Ken Stein.
This photo made me smile because I loved playing with G.I. Joe and watching Godzilla flicks as a child. Photo by Jason, around the web as TCM Hitchhiker.