Here’s something a little off the beaten path: a short documentary about the work and puppeteer effort put into making Jabba the Hutt! Yeah! Jamie Benning makes video and audio interviews about film, along with short documentaries. He recently interviewed Toby Philpott about his work as a puppeteer as Jabba the Hutt, but it quickly grew and turned into a 20-minute documentary about the entire process behind the puppet. It’s really fascinating to hear about how it was manned, created, and the hurdles they faced along the way. Often restrictions can induce really creative solutions! Watch the whole documentary below! Read more…
Posted by Ben Huber on Nov 23, 2014 in Anime, Cinema
He means it! The upcoming documentary The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness will be particularly compelling due to Hayao Miyazaki’s recent retirement, as it goes in-depth about the making of The Wind Rises and The Tale of Princess Kaguya. It’s an amazing look at how Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki, and Isao Takahata make films. Especially since Miyazaki retired during the period the documentary covers, it’s fascinating to see the way that it affects the studio. The film is already out in Japan, but it’ll be showing in some theaters later this month, with a wide VOD release in late January. Trailer below! Read more…
If you haven’t seen the 2010 documentary The People vs. George Lucas and are a Star Wars fan, you’re missing out on a great examination of the lack of relationship between George Lucas and his fans. I thought it covered its bases pretty well, but apparently the filmmakers think there’s more to say, so they’ve announced The People vs. George Lucas Episode II and scheduled its release for December 2015, just in time for Star Wars Episode VII. In this documentary, they hope to examine further developments in the relationship between George Lucas and his fans, including the sale of Star Wars and Lucasfilm to Disney, as well as the future of the franchise without George Lucas. Read more…
We’d been hearing for a while about Valve’s long in-production documentary about the first Dota 2 tournament, called The International. They had beta-tested the film (yes, really) by screening it early to people and using their feedback to fix it up. Now, it’s finally available to watch, and it is of course free. To play. Yup. You can watch it on Steam or YouTube, and it runs about an hour and 15 minutes. It’s impressive to watch all the effort these players put into the game, and also the rise of esports in general. I’m really interested in taking the time to watch it later. Check it out! Read more…
It’s only fitting that the wonderful documentary, Indie Game: The Movie, would get DLC, just like a real video game, right? Ok, ok, it’s technically a special edition, but if you’re like me and own it on Steam as well, then you can now purchase DLC that will upgrade it to the “special edition.” This includes over 100 minutes of new short films, epilogues on what happened to the developers, and new commentaries from the director and Team Meat. If you prefer the feel of a real disc, a full special edition box set is on the way in early August, which you can preorder here. If you haven’t seen this amazing documentary yet – do it! Read more…
Have you ever wondered how journalists make it in between all the huge E3 conferences? Hooking up video feeds, running cable, getting everywhere on time, and making sure people have the latest news is complicated work. Giant Bomb’s Drew Scanlon has put together a nearly hour-long video covering day one of E3 2013 from the perspective of him and Vinny Caravella, the video crew. It’s more of a documentary than a news video – we already know all the E3 news. But seeing the behind-the-scenes look at all the conferences and the effort that goes into getting video content rolling is great (it also has a brilliant ending). Grab a drink, pull up a chair, and check out this great video. Read more…
Dota 2 (Defense of the Ancients) is hugely popular online. The action real-time strategy game genre is a massive industry with an enormous player-bases, and Dota 2, despite still being in beta, is already a major force and one of the most-played games on Steam. Valve, after picking up the creators of the original mod, made it into a polished, full-fledged game and now they want to document it. Not the game development, though – the players themselves. The doc will follow the lives of 5 professional gamers, their struggles and triumphs. Watch the full trailer after the break! Read more…
I’ve been fascinated by the digital vs. film argument that’s been going on for a bit now. 24 frames per second or 48? Texture and grain or crisp and clean? Have we been too accustomed to film to appreciate digital cinematography? I personally love the look of traditional film, but it’s a very nerdy subject to be sure, as many people hardly can tell the difference (or don’t care). Yet, I still am incredibly interested in the topic – and so are Chris Kenneally and Keanu Reeves who are creating a documentary about the different perspectives in the film industry relating to digital and film cinema. Click through for the trailer, featuring interviews with George Lucas, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese and more. Read more…
Looking for a little action? A new trailer was released recently to promote a documentary from D & E Entertainment focusing on the life of Bruce Lee. It features many interviews with the man himself, as well as many people who knew him. It’s getting a limited release on February 9th and 15th only, in select theaters, so if you’re interested in catching it, I recommend checking the full listing of showings here. Click through for the trailer! Read more…
How incredible would it be to have had a father who had been the creator of Star Trek? There’s no doubting that Star Trek has influenced peoples’ lives throughout the years. Perhaps the person who can speak best about this fact is Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry’s son Rod, who is the narrator and guide in the Science Channel’s recent documentary, Trek Nation: Read more…
Posted by Michael Pinto on Nov 21, 2009 in Comic Books
I think comics are a great way to reach an audience of kids who might not otherwise pick up a book — in fact a little know secret is that librarians across the nation are now putting graphic novels and manga on he book shelves to bring in young tweens and teens through the doors. The result? Not only do these kids read the comics, but they go on to read other books on related topics. That’s why this trailer for the film Comic Book Literacy got my attention — it’s drawing more attention to a powerful idea that works. Read more…
