What if James Dean had Lived?

A new TVC for South African investment company Allan Gray imagines what life would have been like for James Dean had he not died in a car crash aged just 24. Ad agecy King James teamed up with director, Keith Rose, from Velocity Films to bring the creative to life. A combination of make-up, prosthetics, body doubles and CG face replacement helps bring the legendary actor to life – and then ages him, showing a rather realistic version of what might have been. He is shown receiving a lifetime achievement Oscar, as a director, protesting against the Vietnam War, and getting his Angelina Jolie on while being a humanitarian ambassador.

The idea of exploiting a Hollywood great like Dean to sell insurance may leave a bad taste in your mouth. But, in some ways, I think it helps to prolong his memory and exposes his talent to a younger generation who may not understand his cultural relevance. Allan Gray are by no means the first to do it. Ford did something similar with Steve McQueen in the TVC for the launch of the Puma some years ago.

Christopher Nolan’s Inception – Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming Inception was released in some US theaters with Inglourious Basterds last Friday, and the one-minute clip is now online. Inception is Nolan’s first original screenplay since The Dark Knight. The tagline of the movie is,”Your mind is the scene of the crime”. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page (Juno), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer) and Batman veterans, Cillian Murphy and Michael Caine, /Film is calling Inception a “a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind”. So, it sounds like your average Nolan mindfuck then. Can’t wait.

[via Flavorwire]

Kathryn Bigelow

Hands down, Point Break is one of the best action movies, since, like, ever! It was directed by one of the most underrated directors in Hollywood today, Kathryn Bigelow. Ms Bigelow has a new movie coming out called The Hurt Locker (trailer above) and the Times Online recently posted a great profile on her:

Bigelow is a Hollywood anomaly. Most obviously, of course, as a female director in a town that discourages them, she’s one of an endangered species. What makes her really interesting and unusual, however, is that she has spurned the romcoms and other chick-flicks that remain the only preserve of so many female American directors. Bigelow has macheted her own path through the Hollywood jungle, making intense, stylised action thrillers such as Near Dark, her early cult vampire thriller; Blue Steel, in which Jamie Lee Curtis played a tough rookie cop; Point Break; Strange Days, with Ralph Fiennes, a disturbing millennial crime thriller; and 2002’s K-19: The Widowmaker, about the crew of a malfunctioning nuclear submarine. As The New York Times noted: “No one will ever say she directs like a girl.”

Read the full profile here.

The Drifter – Rob Machado

This looks epic. Rob Machado is The Drifter. A Taylor Steele movie launching in the US on 29 September.

Jeff McMillan

SoCal based artist, Jeff McMillan was born in October of 1977 and his influences lie heavily in 80’s pop culture. I was doing a trawl of the interent and found his painting, All Together Now. It lives up to it’s name: The Dude (from The Big Lebowski), The Ex-Presidents (from Point Break), Borat, David Lynch and the creepy bunny from Donnie Darko all together – it’s like being hit by a dump truck full of awesome sauce!

Where the Wild Things Are – Movie Blog

Spike Jonze’s feature film rendition of Maurice Sendak’s classic story Where The Wild Things Are will hit movie theaters worldwide later this year. I am super pumped! The film represents years of work from hundreds of different artists, writers, photographers, musicians, actors, and creators of all degrees. Spike and Co have created the blog We Love You So as a place  to help shed some light on many of the small influences that have converged to make the making of the feature film a reality. Go there now!

Big Wave Surfing Filmed by a Typhoon HD4 Camera

Bali Strickland shot some jaw dropping footage of Dylan Longbottom in a 12 foot monster barrel using a Typhoon HD4 high-speed camera for the BBC – check it:

[via Monster Children]

Grizzly Bear vs The Red Balloon

This clip is just overwhelmingly lovely! Using footage from Albert Lamorisse’s “La Ballon Rouge” (The Red Balloon), and music from Grizzly Bear’s “Veckatimest” J Tyler has crafted a real gem.

David Lynch vs Moby: Shot in the Back of the Head

The video is by director (excuse me, I mean auteur) David Lynch and the song is from Moby’s forthcoming album, Wait For Me.

How the Greatest Movie One-Liners Of All Time Can Inspire Your Business

Gene Stark has written a nice piece for Australian Anthill Magazine about how businesses can improve the return on their marketing investment by taking some advice from great movie one-liners:

It’s not called the silver screen for nothing. Improve the return on your marketing investment using these unforgettable classics to find, attract and retain customers.TV advertisers have only 30 seconds to build rapport with their intended target audience and tell the whole story. The first five to 10 seconds are critical. Headlines in newspapers and magazines grab attention and are the deciding factor in whether the article is read or not. “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy,” said David Ogilvy, the father of modern advertising.

When talking about movies we recall funny, shocking and, in general, unforgettable scenes. However, we most remember and repeat the “one-liners” – the headlines, the movie positioning statement equivalent. They encapsulate the brand and propel the movie into the Hall of Fame.

The following greatest movie “one-liners” are memorable and hence will provide unforgettable advice that is simple, useful and, most importantly, fun.

Read the full article here.

‘Where The Wild Things Are’ – Official Poster!

The official poster for Spike Jonze’s eagerly anticipated Where The Wild Things Are has been released! I can’t freakin’ wait for this movie!

The movie, filmed just outside of Melbourne, combines live action, suitmation, animatronics and CGI. You can read an interview with Spike Jonze about the making of the movie (that I posted last year) here.

N.W.A. Movie?

It seems as if Notorious B.I.G.’s biopic is opening up doors for other legendary Hip Hop acts to tell their stories by way of the silver screen.

Sources are reporting that there is a N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude) biopic in the works that will highlight the rise and fall of N.W.A. The group were signed to Hip Hop’s bad boy, Suge Knight’s label, Death Row Records and included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and MC. Ren.

The movie is said to be produced by Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and Tomica Wright (Eazy-E’s widow). It will chronicle the creation and dismantling of the group, the impact the group had on Hip Hop, and the tragic death of Eazy-E to AIDS.

Read more here.