Hello there. Let's watch Super Size Me. Please?

The S*#% Hits The Fan!

Wayne Coyne vs. The Arcade Fire... Let the Games Begin!

"The S.S. never intended to start the Indie War of '09 but when Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne went off on Arcade Fire recently, we had to go public. "We've played some shows with them, and they treated everyone in their vicinity like sh*t," Coyne told ROLLING STONE'S Andy Greene, clarifying that Arcade Fire were a**holes to their crew and fans. Though AF turned down a request to respond, frontman Win Butler took to the Web. "The only time we have ever shared the stage with the Flaming Lips was...over three years ago," Butler wrote. "We arrived the morning of the show from Brazil, slept all day and awoke into some surreal Vegas jet-lag dream in which we were playing after [them]." Butler tries to take the high road, mentioning his love for the Lip's '95 album The Clouds Taste Metallic, but then succumbs. "Unless I was way more jet-lagged then [sic] I remember, I hope I was less of a 'prick' then [sic] telling ROLLING STONE that a bunch of people I don't know at all are really a**holes". It's on!"

- Smoking Section, by Austin Scaggs, ROLLING STONE Issue 1075 April 2, 2009



ROUND 1 -
Courtesy of ROLLING STONE:

"I'm a fan of them on one level, but on another level I get really tired of their pompousness ... We've played some shows with them and they really treat people like s**t. Whenever I've been around them, I've found that they not only treated their crew like s**t, they treated the audience like s**t. They treated everybody in their vicinity like s**t. I thought, 'Who do they think they are?' I don't know why people put up with it. I wouldn't put up with it. I don't care if it's Arcade Fire or Brian Eno. If either of them walked into a room and treated people like s**t I'd be like, 'F**k you, get outta here.'

... People treat Arcade Fire like they're the greatest thing ever and they get away with it. Those sort of opinions change my view of their music. They have good tunes, but they're pricks, so f**k 'em. Who does Arcade Fire think they are? I've been around groups. I've been around the Edge from U2 and he's the f**king sweetest guy ever. I was around Justin Timberlake when he was young and he was just a normal, nice, kind person. Anyone can be polite and kind and people who have the privilege and money and attention should understand that. If they don't, then f**k 'em."

ROUND 2 -
Courtesy of ARCADEFIRE.COM (Click: "Win"..."Win's Scrapbook"..."I still like clouds taste metallic")

Wow,
I can't believe I am actually writing to defend my band's "real" personality. I wish I could not respond to something like this, but the reality is, is that people will be asking me questions for the next 5 years. I also fear that people will base their opinion of our band on the media quotes of a guy who doesn't even know us.

The only time we have ever shared a stage with the Flaming Lips was our last show on the Funeral tour at a festival in Las Vegas (over 3 years ago)...we arrived the morning of the show from Brazil, slept all day and awoke into some kind of surreal Vegas jet-lag dream in which we were playing after the Flaming Lips...how strange...I was really excited to meet Wayne. Clouds Taste Metallic was a huge record for me, and growing up in the weirdness of Houston, I always imagined Oklahoma City to be in the same universe. I was really nervous to meet him and I felt a little weird that we were playing after them. We traded a little hello, but he was a hard guy to get a read on. Steven Drodz was super nice, and I felt good after talking to him...

So...I am not sure Wayne is the best judge (based on seeing us play at a couple of festivals) if we are righteous, kind and goodhearted people like The Edge and Justin Timberlake (who I am sure he knows intimately as well). I can't imagine a reason why we would have been pompous towards The Flaming Lips, a band we have always loved, on that particular night, all those years ago. Unless I was way more jet-lagged then I remember, I hope I was less of a "Prick" then telling Rollingstone that a bunch of people I don't know at all are really a bunch of a**holes.
As a closing note, the main point that I am offended by in this whole thing is for Wayne to say we treat our audience like s**t...

At times like these I am comforted by knowing that even though Wayne slammed Beck all those years ago, he seems like a really nice guy to me. I guess everyone has a different idea of what being pompous means.

Win

GO NOVA - I'm about to have a heart attack!!

Documentary suggestions

The Pixar Story

Easily the most successful film making business. Pixar Studios always having a more than successful film, also award winning. Want to know how they started out? The Pixar Story shows the beginning of the business and how the founders struggled to begin the first computer generated animation studios. The Pixar Story also shows the evolution of their direction with each film, introduces the founders of pixar and the people in charge of all their success.

believe me this is good, and if you want to watch a good documentary, this is really good

If you haven't seen it yet!!

ARCADE FIRE!!!

So I'm curious, Film Institute

The Simpsons or Futurama?

Pokemon?

That's right, Pokemon.

Zander, i did this for you, so you better like it... you at least comment on it.

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/guess-the-pokemon/

I did... it takes forever to actually start to get some wrong, unless your a totally hard core pokemon fan.

Best Painting Ever

I know this isn't film related, but I believe the thematic qualities of this painting need to be discussed.

PIXAR FANS

some inside traditions and self references of pixar that you have all noticed!!

Perhaps the most famous set of self references to ever appear in a Pixar picture occurred in "Monsters, Inc." Where -- as Sulley finally returns Boo to the human world -- among the toys that we see scattered around this toddler's bedroom are the ball from "Luxo Jr." (You can see it in the photo below next to the easel) as well as a Jessie doll from "Toy Story 2" (On the white table to the left).

Which Boo now brings to Sulley. And then -- as the icing on the cake -- this cute little girl hands her favorite squeaky toy over to that blue-haired beast. Which (not-so-co-incidentally) is shaped just like that cute little clown fish who'll play the title characters in Pixar's Summer 2003 release, "Finding Nemo.""A Bug's Life" with the bug zapper ...... is also where Randall winds up after he gets banished to the human world in "Monsters, Inc." ?Believe it or not, this particular vehicle (which is modeled after the Toyota HiLux) has appeared in every single feature film that Pixar Animation Studios has produced to date. It's the truck that Woody & Buzz stow away in when they're trying to hitch a ride to Pizza Planet in the original "Toy Story."This is also the vehicle that Buzz "borrows" in "Toy Story 2," when that space ranger is trying to prevent Buzz, Jessie and Bullseye from being sent to that toy museum in Japan.You can also catch a quick glimpse of the Pizza Planet truck as Gill is explaining his latest escape plan to the Tank Gang. The Pizza Planet truck also makes an appearance in the Piston Cup sequence of "Cars." You'll find him to the far left in the photo below, next to the RV that looks like Elvis Presley.





http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.jimhillmedia.com/mb/images/upload/Bugs-Life-Woody-Eyes-Open-w.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2007/12/09/a-special-where-s-wall-e-edition-of-why-for.aspx&usg=__IeIkCBrVYIZ-Xobc5e05RwjI3Yo=&h=317&w=420&sz=47&hl=en&start=17&um=1&tbnid=Ms8HpfhMoCtsDM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=125&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBugs%2BLife%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

here is the link to the actual article, its actually really interesting, there are some others i didn't to put on so you can look on the site... pretty cool if you are a big fan of pixar and haven't stubble onto this stuff yet, i remember seeing these things before reading this article...have you??

If I Only Had A Brain

I thought since we've already seen the Wizard of Oz and we all love awesome commercials, I would contribute this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HieieGE3UNI

I hope you enjoyed it.

Monkey! Monkey!

Building upon Paul moving and nostalgic post on Courage the Cowardly Dog (my number two favorite show by the way) I feel that it's almost necessary to post something on other childhood favorites inspired by Cartoon Networks branch off channel Boomerang.

It's about 9:46 pm right now, and a segment,which most of us can remember from probably one of your most treasured cartoons, known as Monkey. The Monkey shorts probably made Dexter's Lab what it was, but let us not look completely into just the Monkey shorts themselves, but the cartoons and kid shows themselves. We had a an amazing line up from the top three kids channels at the time (four if you count PBS)

Cartoon Network Shows: Power Puff Girls, Courage The Cowardly Dog, Dexter's Laboratory, Cartoon Cartoon Top Five, Sailor Moon, the entire Toonamie line up, Johnny Bravo, Samurai Jack, Ed Edd and Eddy, The Grim Adventures Of Billy and Mandy

Nickelodeon Shows: KAH-BLAM!, Ren and Stimpy, As Told By Ginger, The Wild Thornberries, HEY ARNOLD!, Doug, Rockos Modern Life, Rugrats, Rocket Power, Cat Dog, OH YEAH! Cartoons, All That, The Amanda Show, Double Dare, Chalk Zone, Blues Clues, Guts (and Global Guts), Are You Afraid Of The Dark, Clarissa Explains it All, Pete & Pete, Angry Beavers... I think i got the majority of the Nick Shows...

Disney Shows: Tale Spin, Dark Wing Duck, Gargoyles, Kim Possible, The Proud Family.... If you remember any more Disney Shows please feel free to add them.

and of course, your friend and mine, PBS with shows like: Wishbone and Aurthur.

Looking back on all these great nostalgic shows from our past makes me wonder whats really happening to cartoons of now-a-days. For example, back in the glory days of cartoons (aka Costal and Weisbacks day) cats could get hit in the face with an iron, iron board, broom, rake, brick, and any other object that was blunt and very convenient. In our day, we have cartoons with a similar tone but yet it seems almost dumbed down and the violence was cut in half. I'm not dissing the cartoon industry of the 90's, oh god no, but what happened after Blues Clues came out?

It was right about the time Blues Clues was in it's second season when more and more "educational" cartoon shows crashed our fun-fest, sat us down, and made us watch the Discovery Channel and take notes while watching it. Now it's hard to find today's "Tom and Jerry" or even today's "Power Puff Girls" because Networks like Disney, Cartoon Network, PBS, and Nickelodeon are afraid of what the kids might be watching or to what the parents might think about what their kids might be watching. God only knows what poor child will receive an iron to the head due to his idiot friend thinking he's going to come back to life because he saw it in a CARTOON.

FEAR NOT THOUGH, A HERO HAS EMERGED FROM THE CARTOON DEPRESSION. HIS NAME?

Flap Jack

This rascally young fellow is just the "ump" the cartoon world needs in order to get back to the glory days of Dexter's Lab or the Powerpuff Girls. His bright and hilarious antics all for the quest of candy while accompanied by a while and a sloth-like-pirate make cartoons worth watching again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBCJbWBmtfU

Please enjoy the puntastic laughter that will ensue during and after you view this video

Robots, Zombies, and A Chicken from Outer Space

While driving a Light Cycle from Tron through the massive landscapes of the internet, I stumbled upon a treasure from the past that I never gave too deep of a look into. Dismounting the cycle, I meander over and picked up a rock which was covered in simple slapstick, a dog, and the Cartoon Network emblem. However there was some shine to this rock and much like Aladdin's lamp, this rock held inside treasures beyond the workings of time and space. With a few rubs I soon found great artistic vision, a dark and comical view on the paranormal, and enthralling story lines. There he stood in front of me, Courage the Cowardly Dog, my newest muse.

For those unfamiliar with this cartoon, here's John R. Dilworth's Golden Globe and Academy Award nominated animated short that started it all, The Chicken from Outer Space.

A major part that makes Courage, Courage is its artist design. Blending a world of cartoon with elements of 3D, such as the chicken's UFO, brings a level of creepiness and other worldliness.

 In many other episodes, vehicles, characters and other elements are created in the 3D format which makes them stand out within this shabby world Courage lives in. Another element of its artistic design, is the color choices. Courage the Cowardly Dog is drawn up much like Watchmen, keeping towards the secondary colors like green, purple, and orange. This ultimately gives the world a tone of it's own. Using secondary colors in a world dominated by primaries, allows the cartoon to look withdrawn from the world we're used to. These two elements allow the slapstick filled cartoon to continue to haunt us during each viewing.

In addition to the artistic vision, the story lines are mixture of Looney Tunes and The Twilight Zone. The opening of each episode, tells us everything we need to know about each character, who never grow, just continue being ignorant about the world they live in (except for Courage). Every episode starts with the conflict being introduced and Courage is then faced with a large amount of slap stick, one liners, and most important paranormal. Most episodes draw from a different seminal piece of work of science fiction or horror. References to Peter Lorre, Sweeney Todd, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame all are used as starting points for stories, however other stories pull ideas out of nowhere, such as an island inhabited completely by bananas or a gerbil vacuum salesman named Doc Gerbil. While many episodes follow similar curves of villain appears, Eustace and Muriel are in danger, and Courage gets beaten to a pulp but manages to save the day, the story stays fresh with the references and many other original ideas. This save the day story line combined with the dark paranormal references and slap stick comedy, creates a haunting tone which leaves you uncomfortable at times. When Courage has been comical brutalized by a Weremole and his teeth are knocked out, are we intended to laugh or feel sorry for our hero?

Courage the Cowardly Dog's greatest strength was it's fearless approach to create a story. No subject or reference was too far for this show. If the story was about foot fungus, then they have the fungus take over Eustace and act like Little Caesar. The Doc Gerbil episode ends with a boat chase dubbed over with operatic music. The show continued to test the bound of the comedic cartoon platform and ended with a haunting story of a dog seemingly living the same day over and over just with a new twisted turn of events. If Nowhere, Kansas isn't hell, I'd fear to find out what is. 

"...But there is already 'Milk' in the fridge!"

"Milk" is fantastic! (And yeah, I'll admit it... I cried!)

Gus Van Sant's film combined vintage/home-movie footage with newly-shot footage along with a compelling and beautifully written story-line (let's not forget the soundtrack!: powerful and breathtaking) to re-create and re-tell the life and legacy of Harvey Milk, the first "openly gay" man to run for public office in the United States.

Sean Penn's performance is nothing-short of brilliant, and there is absolutely no other way to describe it. He blows my mind as playing politician Harvey Milk... the great thing about Van Sant's story line, though, is that you feel a deep sense of connection and sympathy for each individual character--even supervisor Dan White, who eventually assassinates both Milk and George Moscone, the Mayor of San Francisco in the late 1970's. (...Something you can't get from "The Times Of Harvey Milk").


This movie is again, Fantastic... I am at a loss for words. I think EVERYONE IN AMERICA should see it, and let it have an impact on their lives and realize that what Harvey Milk preached was true, and it was real... and that the ideals of America, that "All Men Are Created Equal," could still be alive and well today...if we let them be.

“You gotta give ‘em hope.”

"Somewhere in Des Moines or San Antonio there is a young gay person who all the sudden realizes that he or she is gay; knows that if their parents find out they will be tossed out of the house, their classmates will taunt the child, and the Anita Bryant's and John Briggs' are doing their part on TV. And that child has several options: staying in the closet, and suicide. And then one day that child might open the paper that says "Homosexual elected in San Francisco" and there are two new options: the option is to go to California, or stay in San Antonio and fight. Two days after I was elected I got a phone call and the voice was quite young. It was from Altoona, Pennsylvania. And the person said "Thanks". And you've got to elect gay people, so that thousand upon thousands like that child know that there is hope for a better world; there is hope for a better tomorrow. Without hope, not only gays, but those who are blacks, the Asians, the disabled, the seniors, the us's: without hope the us's give up. I know that you can't live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you, and you, and you, and you have got to give them hope."
-Harvey Milk, 1978

From those who can say it better than I can:
Roger Ebert (4 Stars)
Variety
Rolling Stone (4 Stars)
The New York Times (by A.OOOO. Scott! & NYT Critics' Pick)

If you feel like investing more time to Harvey Milk:
The Times Of Harvey Milk (1:27:34)
(This Oscar-winning documentary film covers the successful career and tragic assassination of San Francisco's first openly gay man to be elected to office.)

CELTX

http://celtx.com/download.html

i just got this new program, very free, much more organized than cinergy....
better for script writing for us, they give an example from wizard of oz....
I WOULD GET IT

Explicit Ills - New Film about Philly

The new film Explicit Ills is premiering this Friday at the Bourse in Philly. It is a film by first time director Mark Webber about four people immersed in drugs and poverty in Philly. My wife's cousin is actually an actor in this film - Martin Cepeda (he's the little boy with the glasses). Reviews are mixed so far. Maybe he can visit us? Check out the trailer:

http://www.citypaper.net/blogs/clog/2009/03/04/explicit-ills-looks-siiick/

The script work :)

does anybody have any helpfull hints about how to transition from the exposition into the real script? I don't want to keep it flowing into one long thing....

Watchmen (again)

Fans of the comic: See it, great adaptation

Fans of super hero movies: Please, please do not go in expecting it to be TDK again

Fans of movies in general: See it and marvel at the technological feats Zack Snyder provides for this movie, and be entertained by the beautifully choreographed fight sequences, the wonderful use of CGI, and the acting which (for the most part) does not disappoint. However, don't blame me if you don't quite understand what's going on a lot of the time.





People who wander into a midnight showing in order to hoot and holler and then complain when it's not over yet: asdgasgksabdcubsaugfboiugboasubdvodusbnuvbansouvb

WO(t)W! I never knew radio could be so frightening!

When Mr. Costal first told our class about the first time he had heard the radio broadcast of Orson Welles reading H.G. Wells' "The War of The Worlds" for Mercury Theater, I didn't believe a word of what he was saying (haha). People fleeing from their houses? Running ramped through the city streets? All from a radio broadcast on the night of Halloween?? Pfft, yeah right...

So I went home and did a little (internet) exploring, and found some archives of this specific broadcast.

I started listening to this broadcast on Sunday night, home alone, at about 10PM. After about 10 minutes of listening, I was already beginning to feel bored, thinking "this is stupid! Where is Tom Cruise?!" But woahh, was I wrong.. at that point in the broadcast, Tom Cruise would have been a comic relief! At about 15:40, Welles begins to describe the creature emerging from the spacecraft, as corny as that may sound. But the vivid descriptions of the beings, its eyes and its face, its ship and its shadows, made it all come to life (Stephen King was spot-on with his statement that listening to the radio was more frightening than watching the television or a movie could ever be)! And perhaps the most frightening part of this broadcast was (as Costal said) the realism in characters voices, character reporter "Carl Phillips" listened to the reports of the Hindenburg disaster more than a dozen times before recording his take on "The War of The Worlds," (as well as the disturbing background ensemble of whirring and hissing, screaming and crying); as well as their blunt (but I'm sure, carefully planned out) actions, e.g. when the news reporter, cuts his report short and the broadcast slowly switches back to playing the music of Ramon Raquello and his orchestra...

"Good heavens, something's wriggling out of the shadow like a gray snake. Now it's another one, and another. They look like tentacles to me. There, I can see the thing's body. It's large, large as a bear and it glistens like wet leather. But that face, it . . . Ladies and gentlemen, it's indescribable. I can hardly force myself to keep looking at it. The eyes are black and gleam like a serpent. The mouth is V-shaped with saliva dripping from its rimless lips that seem to quiver and pulsate. The monster or whatever it is can hardly move. It seems weighed down by . . . possibly gravity or something. The thing's raising up. The crowd falls back now. They've seen plenty. This is the most extraordinary experience. I can't find words . . . I'll pull this microphone with me as I talk. I'll have to stop the description until I can take a new position. Hold on, will you please, I'll be right back in a minute."

...Perhaps it was horrifying because I was home alone. False. I listened to the broadcast for a third time, not two hours ago, with a house full of family and food, listening with sound-proof headphones, and I still got the chills (The Shakes, lol)...

Try and listen for the reporter "Carl Phillips," describing the barely mobile Martian before it incinerates the crowd with "heat-rays", as his shouts about the incoming flames are cut off in mid-sentence... probably one of the most frightening things i have ever HEARD!

..."The Silence is Terrifying"



Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre Broadcast of H.G. Wells' "The War of The Worlds", October 30, 1938: http://sounds.mercurytheatre.info/mercury/381030.mp3

Mercury Theater Archive: http://www.mercurytheatre.info/

WNYC.org/NPR: War of the Worlds gets out of hand!: http://blogs.wnyc.org/radiolab/2008/03/25/war-of-the-worlds/
(Describes how "Carl Phillips" used the crashing of the Hindenburg report to boost his own commentary, how children of the time were told to bring gas masks to school, and how Orson Welles and C.B.S. created the most successful media hoax of all time, that would eventually leave 6 dead in Quito, Ecuador).

The French Revolution

I'll be damned if I don't turn this into a music blog.


In today's installment is the up-and-coming pop artist, Yelle. A contemporary of so many teen pop acts, her style is comparable to that of Gwen Stefani or Britney Spears - but with a dash of Briochin zest. Her first full-length album, Pop-Up, has a distinct electronic feel not unlike The Ting Tings. This, coupled with the intoxicating vocals, makes Pop-Up a worthwhile listen and a great excursion into foreign territory.

Pop-Up is available here on Amazon. For those less-inclined to purchase music before hearing it, the better part of the album is available for listening on her Myspace, and the full album can be found with a bit of searching on the internet.

I'll leave two songs - Je Veux Te Voir and A Cause Des Garcons up as Youtube links.

Incredible and Bad

Now I know this is the Film Institute, but a huge part of any film is its soundtrack. So for my first serious post, I'm gonna expose your fragile young minds to Incredibad, by The Lonely Island.

Incredibad is nothing short of greatness, aiming squarely for comedy and nailing a perfect bullseye. It's a mashup of tons of different genres of music, being that it's a compilation of new content and songs from Samberg's SNL work. And if you're familiar with his skits, there are some gems to be found like "Lazy Sunday" and "D**k In a Box". It's a great album musically, and the lyrics are downright fun. At forty-two minutes, Incredibad is an average length for an album - great to listen to while doing work or just relaxing, while not overstaying its welcome.
I highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys fun, happiness, or even a light tickle upon their funnybone.



**WARNING**
IF YOU ARE OF WEAK CONSTITUTION OR HIGH MORALS, THEN PERUSE NO MORE, FOR FOUL LANGUAGE LIES BEYOND THESE LINKS
**WARNING**

I'll leave up my two favorites, Natalie's Rap (feat. Natalie Portman and Chris Parnell"), and Incredibad - both are youtube links. And to those of you that collect music, the full album is available on Amazon, but definitely can't be found on any torrent sites or in any google blog searches ;)

Meeeegggggggaaaaannnnnn....doesn't need to get out of the shot because she's the star!

Video has just been uploaded to the movie the Film Institute's own Megan Brady starred in. Takes a good month or so to load, but check it out.

I shall use this picture as proof when she is big time!