Friday, December 30, 2005
Vanilla Kong
I finally got to see King Kong and thought it was great. If Carl Denham had any sense, he would've realized he could've made a shitload more money had he brought back one of those dinosaurs instead of Kong. Oh well, his loss. For Christmas, I received the new dvd of the original King Kong and the extras are wonderful. The best part is the re-creation, by Peter Jackson's WETA Workshop, of the lost Spider Sequence.
I also saw the Spanish film "Open Your Eyes" last night for the first time. This is the movie that was re-made into "Vanilla Sky" in 2001. Essentially, Vanilla Sky is a scene-for-scene replay of this film. The only slight difference is that the main character's facial deformity is much more extreme, and effective, in Open Your Eyes. I really enjoyed VS when it was released, though it received mediocre reviews. However, now seeing OYE, I can look back on Vanilla Sky and see that director Cameron Crowe had abosolutley NO VISION OF HIS OWN to add to the story. It seemed he spent more time hand picking the (overdone) soundtrack than shaping Vanilla Sky into something other than a copy of the original.
Here is the cover of an Escapist pitch I sent to Dark Horse.
I also saw the Spanish film "Open Your Eyes" last night for the first time. This is the movie that was re-made into "Vanilla Sky" in 2001. Essentially, Vanilla Sky is a scene-for-scene replay of this film. The only slight difference is that the main character's facial deformity is much more extreme, and effective, in Open Your Eyes. I really enjoyed VS when it was released, though it received mediocre reviews. However, now seeing OYE, I can look back on Vanilla Sky and see that director Cameron Crowe had abosolutley NO VISION OF HIS OWN to add to the story. It seemed he spent more time hand picking the (overdone) soundtrack than shaping Vanilla Sky into something other than a copy of the original.
Here is the cover of an Escapist pitch I sent to Dark Horse.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Kong Has To Wait
Okay, I am going to try and get a hold on this whole blog thing again, particularly the daily posts of sketches. I am pencilling the first half of Bite Club VCU #3 right now, as well as putting together pitches for projects to follow Bite Club.
I still haven't seen King Kong yet. If the me from two years ago knew I was so lacking in seeing cool movies on a timely basis, he would be disgusted.
Some things we don't need;
1. Ten year old kids ordering espresso and lattes in coffee shops. Since when do kids like coffee?
2. No more ripping off of Danny Elfman's Edward Scissorhands style of music for TV commercials.
3. Any expressions that have become expressions for their own sake. The best example is the expression "gone to the dogs". No one uses this term. The only time you ever hear it is on local news reports when anchors try to be 'funny' when reporting on dog related human interest stories.
4. The whole 'Q' must be followed by a 'U' in the English language. Can we just please agree the 'Q' can stand by itself? Fuck 'U'.
5. Always having to read the label on the oven knobs to know which burner they control.
6. That fucking creepy new Burger King mascot. He has all the charm of a pederast. And has anyone noticed that the Burger King logo isn't even a hamburger anymore? What was once the bun in the logo is now just an orange ball behind the 'Burger King'.
I still haven't seen King Kong yet. If the me from two years ago knew I was so lacking in seeing cool movies on a timely basis, he would be disgusted.
Some things we don't need;
1. Ten year old kids ordering espresso and lattes in coffee shops. Since when do kids like coffee?
2. No more ripping off of Danny Elfman's Edward Scissorhands style of music for TV commercials.
3. Any expressions that have become expressions for their own sake. The best example is the expression "gone to the dogs". No one uses this term. The only time you ever hear it is on local news reports when anchors try to be 'funny' when reporting on dog related human interest stories.
4. The whole 'Q' must be followed by a 'U' in the English language. Can we just please agree the 'Q' can stand by itself? Fuck 'U'.
5. Always having to read the label on the oven knobs to know which burner they control.
6. That fucking creepy new Burger King mascot. He has all the charm of a pederast. And has anyone noticed that the Burger King logo isn't even a hamburger anymore? What was once the bun in the logo is now just an orange ball behind the 'Burger King'.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Lost in Paradise
Many apologies for not keeping up with my blog. We all know how it goes. I just returned from a week in Hawaii (Maui) where my wife, daughter, and I attended the ten year anniversary/vow renewal ceremony of our friends Brian and Alisa Bendis. It was held at a beautiful resort and I got to hang out and catch up with fellow comic book folks Mike Oeming, David Mack, Alex Maleev, and Marc Andreyko. I also met Joe Quesada, whom I'd never met before, as well as made new friends with numerous good people in the Bendis friends/family tree (Hi John and Collette!) I'll post pictures soon.
Overheard on the bus today:
Person 1: "Someone's coffee smell's good. It's amazing how much coffee is bought and sold in this city. How many cups a day do you think?"
Person 2: (in all seriousness) "A billion. Maybe a tiny bit less."
Overheard on the bus today:
Person 1: "Someone's coffee smell's good. It's amazing how much coffee is bought and sold in this city. How many cups a day do you think?"
Person 2: (in all seriousness) "A billion. Maybe a tiny bit less."
