GODZILLA Teaser Poster

awesome:

wish i could be @ San Diego Comic Con just for this panel-!

STAR WARS STORYBOARDS

I was pleased to find out that a new book collecting previously unpublished Storyboards from the STAR WARS PREQUEL TRILOGY was being released by LucasFilm.  I hadn't expected that any of this material would ever see the light of day, as Storyboards are often excluded from typical 'Art Of' books.

    Fortunately, our work had a champion in author J. W. Rinzler, who conceived and pushed for this edition. My Story contribution was entirely on EPISODE III, and much of the my artwork fills the last 60 pages of the book-!

  The book is also chock full of great Story material by Iain McCaig, Ed Natividad, Benton Jew, Rodolfo Damaggio, Brian Kalin O'Connell, and more...CHECK IT-!

RAY HARRYHAUSEN - R.I.P.

   So many heroes have been passing away of late, but few have had a more powerful impact on who I am as an artist and designer as the legendary RAY HARRYHAUSEN.  When fans,  students, or colleagues ask me who have had the most influence on my work, Ray usually tops the list.

    It is impossible to SUMMARIZE the scope and depth of Ray's contribution to Filmmaking, Visual Effects, Animation and Storytelling.  His influence was SO pervasive, that it becomes difficult to identify any Filmmakers of the last half century who haven't been impacted by Ray's work.

  Beyond all of his filmic achievements and innovations, it is in his ICONIC Creature Design and Animation that my heart connected with him.  His manifestation of character and pathos in his creations was staggering, and few have matched his delicate touch and sense of wonder.  I asked him once HOW he got so much emotional anguish out of his creatures ( especially in their death throes ), and he stated that he felt that it was only when he put real EMOTION and EMPATHY into his creation that it transformed from merely a 'Monster' to a 'Creature'  In all my life, I'd never considered that distinction...

 I will always have tremendous gratitude that I had the opportunity to meet with him on two occasions ( the first time pictured above ), and to talk to him about our mutual passion.

  I'll miss you Ray.

BLOWN OUT

 Back in the days when I worked in the ILM Art Dept, the phrase "BLOWN OUT" would be used from time to time to describe a particularly cool, awesome, thrilling, or generally over-the-top kind of thing...today's, "BLOWN OUT" nod goes to this WonderCon Promo Reel for the upcoming Kaiju-Robot-Lovefest, PACIFIC RIM-!

ROGER EBERT R.I.P.

 

 We lost a giant today, the hugely influential Critic and Writer, ROGER EBERT passed away at 70.  I grew up watching Siskel and Ebert review movies on the PBS show SNEAK PREVIEWS as well as subsequent programs, including AT THE MOVIES...and I sort of feel like I've lost a family member.
   I think I always related more to Ebert's take on the films ( Gene tended to be a bit too tightly wound, IMO ),  and I'll never forget the good impression Ebert's rave about EVIL DEAD 2 left on me. I couldn't find that clip online, so I'm posting S&E's review of ALIENS instead, in memoriam.

KAIJU FOOTPRINTS

I like the feeling of this new still from the upoming Kaiju vs. Robot film, PACIFIC RIM...and it reminds me of one of my faovrite shots from the 1954 classic GOJIRA:

Incidentally, Gareth Edward's remake of GODZILLA started shooting this week in Vancouver, BC....looks like it's going to be an interesting year for GIANT monsters!