It is still alive...
|
For the last few years, my lady and I have been highly dissatisfied with our neighborhood’s public school, feeling the facility was failing to meet our 8 year old’s GT (‘gifted and talented’) needs. After many contentious conferences with teachers and administrators, it became overtly clear that the facility was unable to understand any viewpoint beyond what they had pre-prescribed, and was painfully obvious that the mission of their statement was to place kids firmly on a track towards ‘the middle.’ Expectations of anything more, or anything else, was either an inconvenient or inconceivable. Thus, we decided this year…for the first time ever….to homeschool our son. A terrifying and daunting proposition to say the least, but also one filled with hope and a (so far) great deal of promise. One of the tools we’re deploying in our effort is an online service called Khan Academy. It’s a bit dry and literal to be sure, but it’s a wonderful way to assess where one’s kid/student stands on subjects - and then expand their knowledge by filling in gaps. It has proven highly useful (arguably invaluable?) thus far, and we’re so, so glad it exists. While maintaining its decidedly dour, no-nonsense approach to the learning process, Khan Academy has now launched a new undertaking which promises to be highly informative to those interested in understanding more about the CG animation process: Pixar In A Box, which can be found HERE. I’m not clear what age group this is intended for, as material they indicate is suitable for 5th graders makes my eyes cross. I don’t know if this is a reflection on me (it probably is), or a misestimation on Khan’s part, but there’s a great deal of interesting information, and many insightful videos, to be found. A press release explaining more appears below: Khan Academy launches Pixar in a Box, a behind-the-scenes look at Pixar Animation Studios’ creative process Free online curriculum shows how Pixar filmmakers use science, technology, engineering, art and math to create movie magic MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Today, Pixar in a Box - a new online resource that explores the academic concepts behind Pixar Animation Studios’ creative process - goes live on KhanAcademy.org. Through a series of video lessons, interactive exercises, and hands-on activities, students will discover how the academic concepts they learn in school enable Pixar filmmakers to create new worlds, animate unique characters and tell stories through animation. Although designed especially for students in middle and high school, these resources are available to learners of all ages, completely free of charge. “Our mission at Khan Academy is a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere,” said Sal Khan, Founder and CEO of the not-for-profit Khan Academy. “Sparking student interest in math and other academic fields is a key part of that, and we’re delighted to collaborate with Pixar to achieve this goal. Pixar in a Box gives students a new way to engage with key academic concepts and see how creative these concepts can be.” "Learning makes us beginners again,” said Ed Catmull, President of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. “In my experience, creativity involves missteps and imperfections, which is one more reason it is important for every one of us to keep learning - in order to remain flexible and keep our brains nimble. By working with Khan Academy on Pixar in a Box, we hope to encourage the excitement of learning and creative thinking for middle and high school students and to provide the tools to do it.” “For years, we’ve heard from teachers at every grade level interested in creating animation-based curricula,” said Elyse Klaidman, Director, Pixar University and Archives. “We’ve wanted to provide free online resources for them, and Pixar in a Box makes that dream a reality. We hope that it not only gives students a behind-the-scenes look at how our movies are made but also gets them excited about STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) concepts.” Khan and Catmull officially unveiled Pixar in a Box at a special event yesterday evening on the Pixar campus in Emeryville, CA. After an introduction from Klaidman, local educators learned the story behind the project and then received a live demonstration of Pixar in a Box from two of its creators - Brit Cruise, Content Producer at Khan Academy, and Tony DeRose, Senior Scientist and Research Group Lead at Pixar. The evening concluded with a question-and-answer session moderated by Klaidman. “Many students start to lose interest in academics in middle and high school, partly because they don’t see how academic concepts relate to things they care about,” said DeRose. “Pixar in a Box aims to address this disconnect by showing how Pixar filmmakers use these concepts for creative benefit in their everyday work.” Students can access Pixar in a Box and learn: ● How combinatorics are used to create crowds, like the swarm of robots in WALLŸE ● How parabolas are used to model environments, like the forest in Brave. ● How weighted averages are used to create characters, like Buzz Lightyear and Woody. ● How linear and cubic interpolation are used to animate characters. ● How trigonometry is used to create the worlds in which Pixar stories take place. ● How simultaneous equations are used to paint all of Pixar’s images. “These lessons are the first phase of the project,” said Cruise. “While the first year focuses on math, future Pixar in a Box lessons will explore science, computer science, arts, and humanities.” All Pixar in a Box resources are available free of charge at PixarInABox.org. The site will be updated as additional lessons become available. PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind.
Hasbro’s catalogue featuring the initial line-up of toys from THE FORCE AWAKENS has made it to the Internet. Somewhat miraculously, it remains online nearly 24 hours later.
I’m not clear if this was a actually a ‘leak,’ or a more ‘official’ release meant to whet our appetites for September 4’s ‘Force Friday’ (when the first wave of substantive merchandise from the December 18 picture arrives). Whichever the case, here’s a look at the catalogue in all of its colorful glory. I'm totally digging those ‘Black’ figures ('Black' being the subset of STAR WARS figures offering improved detailing and increased size over the franchise's regular action figure releases)... 
And, while I’m not sure they make sense at all in terms of color scheme, the introduction of black TIE Fighters and X-Wings… 
...is an interesting aesthetic choice which makes for a paradoxically slight-but-dramatic design shift.
If nothing else, it'll be a blast to at long last behold a rather close semblance of the X-Wings as designed by Ralph McQuarrie for the original film so many years ago. Sure, these are really close to the X-Wings we eventually got, but TFA's fighters sport notable differences which recall McQuarrie's concept art for EPISODE IV... 
Sure, they’re really close to the X-Wings we eventually got, but there are notable differences, and it’ll be nice to finally see these beauties soaring the skies…and the stars...and intended.
At the end of the day, though, all that really needs to be said about any of this is: WOOKIEE FURBY! WOOKIEE FURBY! 
PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling , disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. I love LEGO almost as much as I love Christmas - which is very, very much. Thus, Christmas and LEGO have, in the past, proved an irresistible (and sometimes costly) temptation to me during the Holiday Season - and this year looks to be no different. Below is a gallery of newly issued images of the ‘Winter Village Toy Shop,’ described by LEGO further in this press release snippet… 8/18/2015 PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling , disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. If you’re aware of my work at all, you’ll know how thoroughly I tend to Geek out for Disney’s INFINITY game. INFINITY, in short, is a game allowing players to place themed INFINITY action figures into gameplay. By ‘themed’ I mean: various figures from a particular title in the Disneyverse can be placed onto a special sensor/base (portal), and inserted into mythologically appropriate gameplay onscreen. In the case of the upcoming INFINITY 3.0 - we’re getting STAR WARS figures. Many of them, encompassing all eras and all (cannon) titles within the franchise. Interestingly, these figures will be able to cross pollinate eras - so ‘prequel era’ figures will be able to interact with eventual FORCE AWAKENS environments, etc. The INFINITY 3.0 STAR WARS edition arrives in a few weeks, August 30, and here’s a newly issued (as of this posting) trailer promoting it’s prequel era gameplay…
Concurrently, the fine folks over at LEGO are nearing the release of DIMENSIONS, which will allow players to construct DIMENSIONS-specific LEGO sets, then import them into a game environment.
There appears to be enormous flexibility here in terms of cross pollinating franchises, an expanding list which includes DOCTOR WHO, BACK TO THE FUTURE, WIZARD OF OZ, JURASSIC WORLD, NINJAGO, GHOSTBUSTERS, PORTAL, DC Comics, and likely a few more I’m not recalling at the moment. Here’s our first substantive look at SCOOBY DOO gameplay, which look like tremendous fun. I really love the ‘look’ of the animation here… I’ve written before in the past about the hilarious correlations between SCOOBY-DOO and earlier DOCTOR WHO - the notion that I will someday soon be able to fuse the franchises bering me boundless joy. LEGO DIMENSIONS releases September 27th, with various franchise-themed expansions packs available then and across subsequent months. PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling , disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. 
Behold the peculiar and twisted wonder of MESSAGE FROM SPACE.
I’ve always held a special place in my heart for MESSAGE FROM SPACE. It’s imperfect, over-acted (featuring a maybe/maybe not sober Vic Morrow wearing a fur coat)…
…its effects are inconsistent to downright dodgy, and its pacing is all over the place - so much so that one gets the sense the filmmakers didn’t particularly care.
But, much like BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS a few years later, it’s so earnest…and so damn filled with abandon…that it’s hard not to fall at least a little bit in love with this one. A bizarre fusion of Samurai mythology with science fiction spectacle (very much like STAR WARS, although MESSAGE wears its inspirations far more overtly), the picture OTT and ADD - as evidenced by this frenzied asteroid sequence (more on this scene momentarily).
So, yeah.
What’s interesting about MESSAGE FROM SPACE is its content in relationship to the timing of its release. MESSAGE FROM SPACE, called UCHU KARA NO MESSEJI in its native Japan, was released as something of a STAR WARS ripoff roughly one year after the original film in that franchise hit screens. MESSAGE was, to that point, the most expensive film ever made in Japan. The release of MESSAGE pre-dates STAR WARS follow-ups THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK by two years, and RETURN OF THE JEDI by five year. Why is this significant? MESSAGE features a protracted asteroid chase sequence two years before Han Solo plummeted the Millennium Falcon into a field of space rocks in STAR WARS EPISODE V, and its conclusion sees fighter ships diving towards the core of an enormous planet ship - to destroy the power generator located in the center of the world/structure. Just as Lando Calrissian and Wedge Antilles did in the closing battle of RETURN OF THE JEDI in 1985. Am I insinuating that Team Lucas’ creative direction was somehow informed by a film which was itself a ripoff of their own work? That’s an amusing notion to be sure, although I’m not sure I’m willing to make such a pointed assertion. In matters like this, parallel development can easily occurr, and folks deriving inspiration from similar roots may naturally find their way to the same end. Whatever the case here, though, the timing and similarities are rather apparent. MESSAGE FROM SPACE is not currently available on Blu-ray anywhere in the world, although Shout Factory recently issued a rather respectable DVD, and other versions available overseas for folks with players who can accommodate multi-regional playback. A little known television spinoff of MESSAGE, called SAN KU KAI, made it to air in 1979 - adding a funky Wookie-like ape dude into the mix. It is available on DVD in several regions, and is recommended for anyone who thinks they might enjoy Japanese actors dubbed in French…performing beside a Funky Wookie. Which, like its bigscreen progenitor, seems pretty great to me. PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling , disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Hasbro offered a limited edition action figure of the First Order Stormtroopers (the ‘First Order’ equalling the rebranded ‘Empire’) from STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. This release was part of the franchise’s ‘Black’ line of figures - Black being a subset of action figures offering size and detail greater than what consumers might find in a customary STAR WARS action figure release. I didn’t make it to SDCC this year, but Hasbro listed a very small portion of these gems for purchase on its online shopping portal a few weeks after the conclusion of SDCC. They sold out in roughly two minutes, but I was lucky enough to score one. BELOW: I’ve pulled together a small gallery sampling the packaging and contents of this release. It’s difficult to convey the scale of the packaging here: the box itself is actually (roughly) the equivalent of a mid-sized oatmeal box, for example and surprisingly sturdy. This is not a cheap feeling collectible. I’ve also included some crude snapshots of the nice booklet which accompanied the figure and is cleverly engineered to be a part of the packaging. The booklet was printed on hard card stock paper, and featured translucent overlays (tissue paper, perhaps?) featuring samples of technology used by each generation of Stormtrooper appearing in the booklet. All in all, a very nice and surprisingly classy issuance, and a great product to bide the time until THE FORCE AWAKENS' September 4 toy release, and its theatrical on December 18... PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling , disrespect, or hate speak of any kind.
I love the LOGAN’S RUN movie. It's lumbering, funky, weird, cheesy, and flawed - but I love it. A good friend of my family wrote the book on which it is based - and he doesn’t harbor much love at all for the film, for understandable reasons. But still I love it. Released in 1976, roughly a year before the first STAR WARS hit screens, LOGAN’S RUN immediately seized my imagination and hasn’t relinquished its hold to this day. I spent countless hours attempting to replicate its ‘domed city’ with whatever materials I could gather: paint, glue, construction paper, oatmeal cylinders, you name it. It all looked terrible. But it was cool all the same…because it was LOGAN’S RUN. The picture marks my first exposure to (or at least vague understanding of) sociologically driven Science Fiction, and may also mark the first time I ever glimpsed a proper set of boobies. Thank you, Jenny Augutter. My crush has never waned. I’ve recently stumbled across some vintage media relating to this project. I’m not sure that any of this is ‘new,’ but some of this material…I’ve never seen before. Thus, it’s new to me. So I’m sharing it here. Because it’s cool. It’s cool because it’s LOGAN’S RUN. Below you'll find a promo reel featuring filmmakers talking about the challenges the faced bringing this picture to the screen. At the very end of this reel, you’ll glimpse a prototype Sandman costume. It’s modeled by David Hasselhoff. You’ll also see a small gallery of BTS images which are quite a bit of fun, including a poster prototype I’m not sure I’ve ever seen before, and a few shots from deleted sequences. PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind.
Promotional art for the original APES films was frequently as colorful and distinctive as the projects it was pimping - particularly outside of the US.
Here’s a small sample of how the films were sold overseas; there are a few striking domestic posters in this batch as well (I particularly love the more recently produced Alamo Drafthouse art). This is all bold, raw, evocative, provocative, and pretty great... [CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE] 
I’m a huge, HUGE fan of the the original PLANET OF THE APES films (even though I strongly contend one must see all five of them to fully appreciate the power of the concept...what they were doing, and how they went about it, was rather remarkable from a structural standpoint, even by today's standards).
I also love ancillary APES goodness from that era (like this short-lived NBC cartoon series which often seemed to embody Pierre Boulle’s literary source material more fully than any of the big screen adaptations)…
….and even the not-very-good-but-I-still-love-it-because-it’s-APES live action television series.
Someday, I’ll have a collection of these posters mounted and hanging on my walls. My lady will sigh, and my children will believe I'm more insane than they already think I am. But I will endure.
Someday… PLEASE NOTE: These forums are actively moderated. We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. |
Categories |
RSS Feed
