Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 2, 2008 in Animation
I think my favorite Bakshi story is from Howard Beckerman: According to Howard (and it’s hard for me to tell if this is just a legend or not) it seems that Ralph was borrowing mob money to finish an animated film which was way behind schedule. He would keep begging his animators to please finish the scene so he pay off his backers. But sadly the poor animators couldn’t pull of the deadline and the next day Ralph Bakshi showed up in the studio with a broken arm.
This story may not be true, although it’s a good reflection on just how hard it is to make an animated film — and Ralph was doing that in the late 70s and early 80s when it was very out of style and Disney was on the rocks. So it’s nice to see that Ralph’s work is being celebrated these days and there is a great book that’s out on him:
On a related note I discovered this great interview with Bakshi from 1982 when he had just finished the film Hey Good Lookin’ which was shot by Ira Gallen:
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 2, 2008 in Comic Books
Coco Wang is a comic book artist and animator from China, and he has an amazing collection of comics covering the earthquake. The stories are heartbreaking and touching at the same time, you can check them out here:
“Thousands of heart-breaking stories are happening 24 hours non-stop everyday, some are so sad that you can hardly bear, some are incredibly moving that you just can’t stop crying… I wanted to go to the front to help with all those people, some of my friends have already gone there, but I heard that the traffic needed to be kept totally clear for rescue transportation at the moment, people like me without knowledge of first-aid and experience of rescue operations going there now would cause choas and trouble… but I can’t just sit at home and do nothing, I have been crying my eyes out in the past three days, I have never felt more proud of my country and people… their love, courage and kindness rock me to my core! I have decided to tell these touching stories by drawing comics. I am going to send you comic strips almost everyday from now on, I hope you could know something about the earthquake in China, although you don’t have to do anything, but I hope you could feel our love and hope.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 2, 2008 in Pulp Fiction
There’s a great article by Charles McGrath at the New York Times on Ian Fleming the author of the James Bond books (his 100th birthday will be on Wednesday). I love how the article goes into detail on the difference between the print and film versions of the series:
“Albert R. Broccoli, a producer of the first 17 Bond films, could be said to be a co-creator of this other, meta-Bond. It was he or his writers who made a trademark of the “Bond. James Bond” line, for example, and who insisted on the “shaken, not stirred” business. Fleming’s Bond is not nearly so fussy about what he drinks, as long as there is plenty of it. He’s as apt to slug down bourbon as a martini. This Bond is also much more fetishistic about smoking than he is about drinking and makes a point of ordering his cigarettes (with three gold bands on the filter) from Morlands of Grosvenor Street. (In a pinch, though, he’ll also smoke Chesterfield kings by the carton, and it’s little short of miraculous that he can climb a flight of stairs, let alone swim for miles, as he so often does.) He likes fast automobiles but hates gizmos, except for the odd concealed knife, and wouldn’t get caught dead with the laser watches, ejector seats, tricked-out cars and exploding key chains the movie Bond has been kitted out with, not to mention that embarrassing jet pack.”
“A fire at Universal Studios has destroyed a set from “Back to the Future,” the King Kong exhibit and a video vault containing more than 40,000 videos and reels. Los Angeles County fire Captain Frank Reynoso says the blaze broke out just before dawn Sunday on a backlot stage at the 400-acre property. The fire has been contained.
Officials say the iconic courthouse square from “Back to the Future,” has been destroyed, and the famous clocktower that enabled star Michael J. Fox’s character to time travel has been damaged. NBC Universal President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer says 40,000 to 50,000 videos and reels were damaged in the video vault, but there are duplicates in a different location.”
It’s amazing for me to think that My Neighbor Totoro is now twenty years old! I guess that’s a tribute to the staying power and quality of Hayao Miyazaki and the team at Studio Ghibli. So if you’d like to tip your hat to Totoro, here’s a cute way of doing it:
“This hat features Totoro’s face and toothy grin, along with perky ears which contain plastic to keep them upright. This is perfect for convention attendees who don’t want to go all-out on a costume or for folks who want a little extra cute for puttering around town.”
Posted by Michael Pinto on Jun 1, 2008 in Comic Books
I dread looking through the Marvel covers each week because there are so many uninspired heroic images of dudes in tights — but this cover for Omega #9 caught my eye right away. Firstly the graphic designer in me loves the hand lettering at the top, it’s very unslick but shows a great deal of charm. And then the illustration hits you: Our hero is having a bad time of it! Not only won’t his super powers out wit the robots, but there seem to be a few working class bubbas in the horde looking for a piece of Omega. The humor is great, the draftsmanship is good, and even the crude coloring technique adds to it all. Credit for the cover goes to Farel Dalrymple and Paul Hornschemeier — and Omega hits the stores this week on Wednesday, June 4th, 2008.
