Saturday, February 2, 2019

Motion Plus Design


I've the design, you got the motion...

On Oscar Weekend,
The Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood Hosts
Motion Plus Design
The Acclaimed International Motion Design Festival 
For its North American Debut
Saturday, February 23, 2019 – All-Day
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Speakers include Renowned Designers Beeple, Jr.canest, Kyle Cooper,
Karin Fong, Joyce N. Ho, Andrew Kramer, Marti Romances and Min Shi

The acclaimed festival Motion Plus Design touches down in North America for the first time at the historic Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood on Saturday February 23, 2019. After years of sold-out events in Paris and Tokyo, the Motion Plus Design team is thrilled to bring this unique festival to the U.S. On Oscar weekend, the international event will host a full day of presentations from 10:00am until 6:30pm with renowned designers BeepleJr.canestKyle CooperKarin FongJoyce N. HoAndrew KramerMarti Romances and Min Shi. Doors open at 9:00am. Tickets are available for $75 (general admission) and only $25 for students. For an additional $25, VIP packages will include access to the rooftop cocktail reception with the speakers. The Montalbán is located at 1615 Vine Street, Hollywood, CA 90028. For tickets and to learn more, please visit http://motion-plus-design.com/losangeles2019
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“On the weekend of the Academy Awards, Motion Plus Design will celebrate eight of the world’s top motion designers,” enthuses Founder and Festival Director Kook Ewo. “Film title sequences are an essential part of feature films and yet their creators are unsung. While the Emmys recognize Outstanding Main Title Design for television, unfortunately, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has yet to introduce an Oscar for Best Film Titles.”
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Motion Plus Design Los Angeles speakers will share the secrets behind their latest creations, such as the Emmy Award-winning title sequence Counterpart from Karin Fong or the UI graphics of Avengers: Infinity War from Marti Romances. Several speakers will debut never-before-seen design work. See full speaker bios below. 
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Motion Plus Design Event Schedule:
• 9:00am - Doors open, coffee available in Mezzanine
• 10:00am: 3 Talks
• 12:35pm: Lunch Break 
• 2:00pm: 3 Talks 
• 4:10pm: Break 
• 4:55pm: 2 Talks
• 6:30pm: Rooftop Cocktail Reception for VIP ticket holdersO
A new generation of designers, celebrated by Motion Plus Design, are building on the work of the late, great pioneers of film title and motion design such as Saul Bass (North by Northwest, Psycho, Anatomy of a Murder, Casino), Maurice Binder (14 James Bond films starting with Dr. No, as well as The Grass Is Greener, Charade) and Pablo Ferro (Dr. Strangelove, The Thomas Crown Affair, Bullitt). Ferro recently passed away, at age 83, in November 2018. 
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“Design conferences and events often price out students and young professionals,” said Festival Curator and Producer Ronan Guitton. “When we created the first and only festival dedicated entirely to motion design, we wanted to make it accessible to the very people who could benefit from this shared knowledge the most.”

LINKS:
• Motion Plus Design | Los Angeles - http://motion-plus-design.com/losangeles2019
• Motion Plus Design Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/motionplusdesign
• Motion Plus Design Twitter - https://twitter.com/Mo_Plus_Design
• Motion Plus Design Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/motionplusdesign
• Event Trailer on Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/311944629
• The Montalbán Event Page - https://www.themontalban.com/motion-plus-design
• The Montalbán’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/TheMontalban
• The Montalbán’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/themontalban
• The Montalbán’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_montalba

Friday, February 1, 2019

Film Buff Friday: Audition


The notorious "Audition" hits the streets on Blu-ray 2/12/19 - can you stomach it?!
One of the most shocking J-horror films ever made, Audition exploded onto the festival circuit at the turn of the century to a chorus of awards and praise. The film would catapult Miike to the international scene and pave the way for such other genre delights as Ichii the Killer and The Happiness of the Katakuris. Recent widower Shigeharu Aoyama is advised by his son to find a new wife, so he seeks the advice of a colleague having been out of the dating scene for many years. They take advantage of their position in a film company by staging an audition to find the perfect woman. Interviewing a series of women, Shigeharu becomes enchanted by Asami, a quiet, 24-year-old woman, who is immediately responsive to his charms. But soon things take a very dark and twisted turn as we find that Asami isn't what she seems to be... Pulling the audience into a story that will lead to one of the most harrowing climaxes in cinema history, Miike twists and turns us through delirious editing and shocking visuals for one of the most depraved nightmares of all time!

Bonus Materials

  • Brand new 2K restoriation of original vault elements
  • Original 5.1 Dolby Surround Audio
  • Optional English subtitles
  • Audio commentary with director Takashi Miike and screenwriter Daisuke Tengan
  • Brand new commentary by Miike biographer Tom Mes examining the film and its source novel
  • Introduction by Miike
  • Ties that Bind – A brand new interview with Takashi Miike
  • Interviews with stars Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Renji Ishibashi and Ren Osugi
  • Damaged Romance: An appreciation by Japanese cinema historian Tony Rayns
  • Trailers
  • Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Matthew Griffin
  • FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anton Bitel

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Michael's Musings

#TBT: Take A Bow
Michael Shinafelt
Today is the last day of the first month of 2019 - if this is any indicator of how the rest of the year is going to play out, damn slow the F#ck down! I need to take some time to smell the napalm in the morning. Or at the very least how fresh my clothes smell after I wash them, that's the practical choice. Fresh clothes smell for the win Alex.

Time to dive in...

Hello January 31st 2019!

We all know now what many have suspected, Tori Spelling is a Unicorn

The Superbowl is this Sunday, so there's that

When people tell me to go to Hell, Uh, I can't. Satan has a restraining order against me

Make out naked

If life knocks you down, get back up and tell it "You hit like a bitch"

Tomorrow is another day. The more you know.

Your legs are like jam, you can't spread them just a little
Jussie Smollett
Sending positive energy Jussie Smollett's way 

MAGA my ass!

Celine Dion, worth it, or not? Discuss...

It only takes two, but wait till you try three 

Maroon 5 declined to do a press conference regarding the Superbowl in case you care

Apparently you can now sue people for accidentally colliding with you on the ski slope, things that make me go yawn

Wake up with a dose of me at:

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

Just Because...Gaga & Martin

I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin
Just Because she's a Lady, Just Because he's Livin La Vida Loca & Just Because they are together on the red carpet, look boys & girls it's Lady Gaga & Ricky Martin!

Awards Shows, in this case the SAG Awards, can make for some strange yet wonderful bedfellows. I mean seriously never did I ever entertain the thought that I would see Gaga & Martin together. It was the image no one knew they needed until they were captured together forever in this photo op.

Photo ops are good for that sort of thing. 

I wonder if perhaps we could expect some sort of collaboration from these two in the near future? If so, one wonders if it would be of the music or acting variety. Give it time I am sure it will go down, so to speak.

Now get out there and make Daddy proud...

Mic Drop

Gaga on the Gram -
https://www.instagram.com/ladygaga/?hl=en

Ricky on the Gram
https://www.instagram.com/ricky_martin/?hl=en

Monday, January 28, 2019

"Homewrecker"



Filmmaker and horror fan Robert Hensley has made a delectable short film in the genre with the title Homewrecker - let me give my opinion on it before Robert explains it all to you.

I really love that he has gotten to the root of horror films from my youth, yeah they weren't all slasher films and bloodbaths, stuff like that. They had character, and played upon our inner anxiety and fears. 

Robert's short which won the Direct Monthly Online Film Festival is well deserved. It does  a quite modern take on an old tale La Llorona and it works like a charm. I have actually watched it a few times, it's that good. I felt the best way to convey the cool factor of it to all of you minions was this statement from the man behind it all Robert Hensley!!! 

"When did horror films become a vehicle for grotesque gore and franchisable maniacs with the weakest of plots barely gluing it all together? Thankfully, filmmakers such as James Wan are producing films which throw back to a more story and character-rich horror genre. This, too, is where I found the inspiration for HOMEWRECKER.

Rona
A huge fan of Hitchcock and Carpenter, I set out to create a short horror film which built up a sense of anticipation. The audience knows something is going on, something is coming, and it all leads up to that reveal. Blood and guts were incidental to the story as a whole.

I was inspired by the traditional fable of “La Llorona,” also known as the Wailing Woman or Woman in White. There are several variations of the tale, all featuring a beautiful woman who married for money, and kills herself in despair when her husband leaves her for another woman. In one version, she kills her children in a rage and then takes her own life when she realizes what she’s done. In all the various tellings, she comes back and walks the riverside where she drowned and wails for the loss of her children or her marriage. Whoever hears her scream is cursed to die.


For HOMEWRECKER, I focused on a failing marriage and a philandering husband. This was the catalyst for Rona to take her own life and her transformation into a vengeful spirit. While “La Llorona” is always connected to water: a stream, a river, or a lake, I chose to consider more domestic uses for water such as bathing, showering, and laundry. 

C&C (Chests & Crack)
The first horror film I actually had permission to watch was “My Bloody Valentine,” which has an infamous laundromat scene. Being a child of the eighties, the horror films I grew up with were R-rated, T&A, boy’s club franchises. I also wanted to pay tribute to these movies in some way. Getting permission to film a scene in a laundromat was a start!

Nudity was another. However, I made the decision to keep my female talent clothed, and undress the men, turning T&A into C&C (chests and crack). I cast actors who were not afraid to disrobe and appear nude on camera for a vigorous sex scene, which builds along with the drama happening with Rona at home.

Finally, the colors, saturation, and tones in the finished film find comparisons to the horror films of the 70’s and 80’s. Jason Lange, our cinematographer, who lit and shot HOMEWRECKER by himself, created a beautiful visual tribute to the films which inspired me."


Become a Homewrecker at:

Sunday, January 27, 2019

Sunday Funday -

Betty White
Today is Sunday, that means it's supposed to a Funday. Today I am feeling dorky, thus I am bequeathing my peeps with a gallery of celebrities making silly faces. "Yes" this is the Sunday Funday gift you never knew you needed until now. You're welcome...
Katy Perry
Daniel Radcliffe
Britney Spears

James Dean