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July
13,
2008
Also of note is this Daily Telegraph article about Kubrick's personal archives and collection of props used within his films. Kubrick's family has donated them to the University of the Arts London, where they will be available for viewing by the public! This alone gives me reason enough to renew my passport and fly over. 2008 also marks the 40th (!) anniversary of the filmmaker's seminal 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and I was fortunate enough to attend a special lecture at the AMPAS with VFX wizard Douglas Trumbull about the movie's groundbreaking special effects. It was hosted by Tom Hanks -- himself a lifelong devoted fan of the film -- and Trumbull shared many behind-the-scenes images from his own personal collection, most of which had never been made previously available to the public. While I was in college I'd met Trumbull at his Ridefilm company in Massachusetts, and later (albeit briefly) after moving out to Los Angeles. His lecture was extraordinary, and the material warrants, at the very least, an in-depth book or documentary of its own. 2001 is a film that has stood the test of time, both thematically and visually, and the achievement is all the more mind-boggling when you consider the technical limitations the production faced. (NO CGI! NO BLUESCREENS!) There has never been (nor, I suspect, ever will be) a film quite like it.
If you're planning on going, by all means shoot me an email. I'll be participating in the Indyfans event, set for Sunday 7/27 2-3pm. (See the gratuitous "Indy girls" photo at right for more info.) I'm also planning to have some prints of my work on sale within the artists' auction, and this time I hope it will be more successful. I made the mistake of trying to sell originals last year, which just aren't affordable to casual buyers. (I also learned the hard and painful way that framed canvases are damn difficult to carry around whilst waiting in a three-hour line.) The convention itself is quite an event, but seeing San Diego alone makes the trip worthwhile. It really is a beautiful city, and should I ever have the finances and opportunities, I'd seriously consider moving there someday.
One of my favorite American voices fell silent yesterday. I was lucky enough to have seen George Carlin perform in late 2006, though somehow in the back of my mind, I was fully expecting to see him in concert again at some point. Much has been said about Carlin's use of extensive profanity in his comedy routines, but this clearly overlooks the often deeply thoughtful and profound, always brilliantly witty meanings behind his words. This piece, written shortly after his wife's passing, is a strong case in point. (Footnote: Carlin's last interview, another thing of poetic beauty, can be read here.)
New legislation is being developed that could have far-reaching effects for artists and illustrators over the authorship and royalties of their work. Even if you can't draw a straight line, anyone and everyone who respects creative copyright should have extreme cause for concern.
The alleged motive behind this bill is to more easily allow for the commercial use of creative work by an artist or author who is hard to find or identify. But the scope of the bill is so great that it would affect everyone -- even those artists who are alive and well...and working!!! So...who would actually benefit from this bill? It's surely not the artists, but all those profiting from the "registries" artists would be forced to go to -- and pay for! -- in order to protect their work. Under the conditions of the bill, any creative work not listed within such a registry could more easily be used without the artist's knowledge or consent. (In other words, stolen.) Worse still, this legislation would also make it considerably more difficult for artists to pursue legal action should their work be infringed. From the Illustrators Partnership of America: "If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we've created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won't successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free. In short, if Congress passes this law, YOU WILL LOSE THE RIGHT TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR OWN CREATIONS!" This audio clip offers an in-depth discussion of the matter. There is also an online petition to fight the bill at http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-to-orphan-works-act.html. Authorship protection and copyright are fundamental issues under American law, and this proposed bill could irrevocably damage the very notion of creative ownership.
June
15,
2008
If you like the poster I did (right), I've donated a large 33 x 48" print to Indiana Jones Collectors for their June prize giveaway. Check our their site for more info. No need to thank me -- I'm a giver! To the thirty thousand or so people who've asked for my thoughts on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, I found much to like in the film but was also disappointed. The first 40 minutes are on par with the best moments of the series (even if the nuked refridgerator scene was a bit much), but the story gets bogged down once the action moves to Peru, and the finale feels tired and by-the-numbers. The minor characters (Ray Winstone, John Hurt) seemed silly, as did much of the action, and Karen Allen's return as Marion Ravenwood was a wasted opportunity -- a far cry from the strong-willed, Howard Hawksian heroine who held her own in the original Raiders. Her relationship with Indy could have been the heart and soul of Crystal Skull (at least it was in the Frank Darabont draft), but instead it's criminally reduced to little more than a mere plot point. On its own terms, Crystal Skull is a fun, entertaining movie to watch, but it never really captures the magic, awe, or grand sense of adventure that Raiders had -- and in spades
It's seldom that you get to really know such an individual on a personal level, so when it does happen it becomes a geniune privilege. This was the case with illustrator David Edward Byrd, with whom I talked a great deal while researching my Richard Amsel article. David is one of those American rarities -- an artist with a superior talent, a personality with more than a little eccentricity. He is always warm and gracious, and is often happy to share tall tales of Hollywood royalty, and his own personal stories of Broadway and showbiz personalities. Recently David and his partner Jolino Beserra (a formidable artist in his own right) invited me to their home in the Hollywood Hills, and it was amazing to see their work firsthand. Their house itself is a work of art, which Beserra filled with elaborate mosaic tile patterns. We also had dinner while watching the premiere of HBO's RECOUNT, which didn't make us feel any better about the last seven years.
David's work includes such iconic posters as GODSPELL, FOLLIES, WOODSTOCK, and LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Take a look at his website; you'll be glad you did.
June
4,
2008
May
29,
2008 I'll be among the artists donating work for an Indiana Jones tribute charity show this Saturday, May 31st, at 7-10pm, at Capsole. Proceeds go to the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. If you decide to visit, be sure to say hello!
MAY 31st UPDATE: The event was a lot of fun, for a good cause, and I was grateful for all the compliments my artwork received. Here are photos of me and the young woman who won the poster:
I never tire of watching this. | ||||||||
Here
you'll find a variety of samples of my artwork, from illustrations and
posters to set designs and production designs over the years. You'll also
find information on some writing projects, as well as miscellaneous interviews
and any other nonsensical tidbits of curiosity.
England's
Channel 4 has 
The
paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but
shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend
more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses
and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more
degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts,
yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness. We drink too
much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive
too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read
too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. 
The
essence of the proposed "orphan works" legislation is that any
creative work you do -- be it for published commercial work or for your
own private use (even a home video!) -- must be registered under a commercial
registry in order to be protected by copyright law. In theory, this proposal
would require an artist to digitize, register, and publish each and
every work of art in order to have them copyright protected -- an
extraordinarily difficult investment for anyone to make, in both time
and money. Those
works that are not registered would be considered "orphaned",
and would be more easily susceptible to infringement.
