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All Valley Karate Tournament Poster
You can buy a high-res version of this poster here.
I originally illustrated this poster design in summer 2011, but then when back and remade it in January 2012, which is what you see here. It’s a very popular item and I get many compliments about how great it looks.
The basis for this poster is a 3D model of the ring which was shaped to match the perspective of the poster seen in the film. It was textured and lit and rendered. The fighters and All Valley logo were then illustrated in vector. Everything was typed up using four versions of the Futura font. Lastly a lot of digital painting was used to complete the image.
Here are some samples from the poster (actual pixel size):
Pretty impressive wood grain if I may say so!
A Film Franchise That Can Be Salvaged: John Carter
Disney has already taken a bath on John Carter, so the likelihood of a sequel is pretty much extinct at this point. John Carter was slated to be a tentpole franchise that would be relied upon to be a cash cow for the next decade or two. This was supposed to be Disney’s Harry Potter*.
John Carter is steadily exiting theaters now, making room for The Avengers and Battleship and other widespread releases in the coming weeks (Note: I wrote this a few weeks ago). Can John Carter the film franchise still be salvaged? I think so. Here are some suggestions:
1. A re-release as part of a late summer double bill. Disney sibling The Avengers is one of those rare films that warrant repeat viewings in a theater. In the box office dead zone known as August and September, a double bill pairing John Carter with Avengers would bring more exposure to the overlooked Carter. This would be a break-even exercise with Theaters pocketing a bigger chunk of the gross, but the fanbase for Carter would grow and would convert more rentals of John Carter into purchases when the film hits home video.
2. Invoke the good name PIXAR for the home video release, albeit a different flavor of PIXAR. They didn’t market John Carter as a PIXAR film because of the violence and adult themes, which makes sense. Just as I have oft-mentioned that Cars 2 would be better served with a PIXAR Kids or PIXAR Family moniker**, John Carter could be buoyed by the PIXAR name if skewed for the adults. It would need a Criterion vibe; something like PIXAR Revue, PIXAR Cinema, or PIXAR Spotlight. This brand would give the film further credibility and perhaps a spot on the list of Disney PIXAR video collectors. Remember: strong video sales can give birth to a film franchise. Worked for Austin Powers, which tanked at the box office.
3. Acknowledge the different fan bases and provide alternate titles for the home video release. I haven’t done a Blu-Ray design here for a while, apologies. But for John Carter’s Blu I would include 2 additional covers for the box depicting alternate titles: A Princess of Mars and John Carter of Mars. This way fans can display the box with the title of their choosing. I’d go a step further and include those titles as being displayed when the film plays. Yes it would take a bit of trickery to allow for the choice and to swap titles on the fly, but it is do-able. This way fans can adopt the film title they like, and that adds a bit more appeal when it comes time to purchase.
4. Day one Director’s Cut. Film studios like to pocket Director’s Cuts for ‘double dip’ film releases down the road (usually opting to release a vanilla version first). Disney typically doesn’t do that, usually selling feature-rich combo packs to start off with. But for John Carter it would serve Disney well to throw in everything and the kitchen sink. That means a plethora of features and some game-changers like Director’s Cuts or Extended Editions. This release has to turn a lot of heads and get the cinephiles talking up a storm.
5. Supplemental media. This film must have been a merchandising nightmare. The books for which it is based are public domain, and you can’t do any toy tie-ins. How do you nurture a film franchise when the film is such a standalone product? In this day and age merchandise is a huge piece of the pie, and I’m a little surprised Disney sunk $250M on a film that relied almost entirely on box office alone. The Barsoom books were re-released in a shiny John Carter polish, but that was it. Put your Marvel acquisition to work Disney! Graphic Novels and Motion Comics would have introduced Carter to a new generation. These inexpensive mediums would grow the fanbase and expand the Barsoom lore.
This also addresses the lack of awareness for the John Carter character and Barsoom books. It seems to me that the film was released under the assumption John Carter was as engrained in the pop culture zeitgeist as Batman or King Kong. John Carter didn’t really have a built-in audience, at least not in this century.
*And Tron Legacy was supposed to be Disney’s Star Wars. Been a rough few years for the house that Mickey built.
** Cars 2 is not the same caliber of previous PIXAR films. I suppose Cars and even A Bug’s Life could be re-purposed for a kid-friendly PIXAR moniker too.
Be sure to check out the other entries in my “Salvageable Film” series.
Excellent article on the botched marketing for John Carter at Vulture.com.
Ghostbusters 3 Script Idea
With news that Ghostbusters 3 is in a stand-still, I thought I’d offer up my idea for the plot. Not just the premise, but a start, middle, and ending. It does introduce a new group of Ghostbusters, but I couldn’t assign them names or character traits. This is highly derivative of the first film.
This is just a rough story outline. Not quite a short story, not quite a script outline. It doesn’t dwell on characterization or action sequences for the most part. It is poorly-written and breaks the 4th wall often, but I enjoyed writing it. It’s fun to exercise my creative writing skills once in a while, no matter how horrendous. Here goes (4700 words, fair warning):
Peter Venkman decides he is done being a Ghostbuster, and starts a company called Ghobo Inc., which sells Roomba-like devices (also called Ghobos) that work as both ghost detectors and traps. The device makes Peter rich and the Ghostbusters redundant. So much so they closed down the Firehouse and released all the ghosts they caught, which are quickly scooped up by thousands of Ghobos throughout New York City.
When a Ghobo catches a ghost, it has a removable cartridge which is then be dropped in the mail Netflix-style. It is then sent to a massive containment unit in Japan, where the ghosts’ ecto properties are converted into a clean energy source. Read the rest of this entry
10 Films That Deserve A 3D Re-Release
Older 2D films being converted into 3D for theatrical re-release is a new Hollywood trend that’s starting to pick up steam. Disney has been leading the charge so far with the first two Toy Story films, the recent Lion King release, and soon Finding Nemo. The Star Wars franchise begins its slate of six 3D reissues next month with the Phantom Menace. James Cameron has also been hard at work on Avatarizing his blockbuster Titanic film, set for release this year.
The following films have lots of potential for the 3D treatment, based on their overall visuals. In no particular order:
1. The Fifth Element (1997). Going beyond the famous Taxi cab chase scene from the film’s first act, there is plenty of shots that lend themselves to the 3D format. Plenty of people pointing weapons at the camera, in-your-face action, and not much shakiness that is the norm now. If you watch this film, it’s almost like the Director wanted it to be immersive - lots of medium shots and tight close-ups (especially in Dallas’ apartment). It’s almost as if this film was shot with 3D in mind.
2. The Incredibles (2004). With Disney already converting three Pixar films into 3D, the Incredibles is the most likely on this list to get the 3D treatment. Dash’s chase scene in the third act would shine, but there are plenty of other shots that are at home in 3D. The family falling from the plane explosion, Mr. Incredible jumping over the waterfall, the entire opening sequence, and so on.
3. King Kong (2005). This film should be like Tron Legacy. Everything in 2D until they reach Skull Island. All the dinosaurs and creepy bugs turn this period piece into a sort of thrill ride. Who doesn’t want to see a giant gorilla swat planes out of the sky in 3D?
4. The Matrix (1999). The strongest of the Matrix trilogy by far, it has plenty of set pieces and effects that are begging for the 3D treatment. The lobby shootout and bullet-time sequences would be worth the cost of admission. You probably could retrofit the sequels in 3D too, but those might be ignored by audiences. Speaking of which…
5. Independence Day (1996). Laugh all you want, but this is a film that looks great in HD, and I think it would benefit from 3D release - especially in IMAX. I recall seeing a making-of FX film in IMAX (Which featured a peek at the Star Wars Special Editions) way back when. ID4 was showcased, and it was awesome to watch the White House getting destroyed on a 4-story screen. A 3D coat of paint for IMAX would make those giant spaceships a sight. UPDATE (June 1st 2012): Now this film will also be getting a 3D re-release.
6. Jurassic Park (1993). Another 3D release that would be a hit in IMAX (heck, just a regular IMAX re-release would suffice). Looking up at the Brontosaurus munching on a tree, or being chased by a T-Rex in 3D would drive people to theaters. I suspect this film would have a successful re-release, much like Star Wars or the Lion King, just because of how good it is by default. It appeals to fans old and new. UPDATE: Universal announced this film will be re-released in 3D for summer 2013 - the 20th Anniversary. Yay!
7. Spider-Man Trilogy (2002 - 2007). If you look at a lot of Raimi’s films, you’d swear he was shooting them in 3D, but forgot to use a 3D camera. They are all very much in-your-face, with so many objects being thrown at the camera. Swinging through New York with the webhead in 3D is the primary reason to plunk down the cash. Fortunately we’re getting a taste of that with the new Amazing Spider-Man this summer. And yes I included Spider-Man 3…despite its faults it would be a fun experience in 3D.
8. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010). After exiting the theater for this one my first thought was “Why didn’t they make this in 3D?” Because all the visuals seemed destined for the third dimension. I’d like to think the 3D would’ve offered more incentive for audiences to come flocking, making the release a success instead of falling short of the production budget. At the very least the 3D price bump would’ve had this film breaking even.
9. Wanted (2008). Like the Matrix, this one was chock-full of bullet-time effects. I’d like to think with the 3D added, you too will feel like you’re shooting the wings off a fly. This also reminds me that Angelina Jolie was the lone highlight of the Beowulf 3D release. *Sigh!*
10. Kung-Fu Hustle (2004). This one is over-the-top when it comes to action, and the use of CG to escalate many fight and action sequences was brilliant. The upgrade to 3D makes this a can’t miss film.
Honorable Mention: Fight Club, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, The Iron Giant, Men In Black, Starship Troopers, True Lies, Mission Impossible (1995), Labyrinth, Minority Report, and Star Trek (2009).
Related reading: If I owned a movie theater, and this orchestra entertainment idea.
Good Will Hunting Painting Now Available To Purchase
I still get e-mails from time to time asking where this can be purchased, so I decided to touch it up and upload it to Imageready, where you can buy it commission-free, at least until Miramax asks me to remove it (in a violent, yet critically-acclaimed fashion). Hit the link or the image to go to the store listing.
Recommend the smaller sizes for this print — 14″ x 11″ is close to the painting’s size from the film. Also because I suck at painting digitally, and a smaller print can hide that. I did my best (I painted the outer 30% all around), but it won’t hold up to close scrutiny. At a glance it bears a passing resemblance to what is seen in the film.
I did e-mail Miramax and alert them this was a popular item (I still get traffic hits daily for this painting, and it’s been up over a year or so), in hopes they could add it to their merchandise line. No response, of course, and that is to be expected. Just saying I tried!
One thing I don’t get, is when Will Hunting is describing this painting, he says “It’s also a Winslow Homer ripoff, except, uh, you got whitey rowin’ the boat there.” But you really cannot determine the race of the boat’s occupant at all, or even the gender. It could easily be Paddington Bear in that boat, navigating a harsh sea of marmalade. Doesn’t that thought just cheer you up??
Ghostbusters Blu-Ray Case
Click To Enlarge
This was an old design that has been redone in light of a recent tower case design I made.
