Stanley Kubrick Was Much More Than A Filmmaker...

I haven't blogged for a while, but when I saw this treasure trove of Kubrick's photography work from before he was a filmmaker I knew I found the right topic to start up again with. Kubrick is by far my favorite film director, it is not really close. I adore all of his movies, and I love each of them for very different reasons. The subtle touches and unique watermarks that Kubrick leaves on all of his work make his films stand out. I identified these touches very early on and they made me fall in love with his work. But he didn't start making films until his early 20s... so what was he doing before that? Well, starting at the ripe ole age of 16 Stanley was a professional (ie: PAID) photographer that worked mostly for LOOK Magazine (the leading competitor for Life Magazine back then). He loved life photography, or photographing people participating in everyday activities. The grittiness and realness of the photos is what makes them great, and if you look at the various sets on file over at The Museum of the City of New York's website there are some fantastic looks into NYC of the past. The one set that really caught my attention was the set that took place on the subway. What a great look into the past, and how different the trains were back then! As a native New Yorker I love these pics, and as a uber-fan of Kubrick I can see his markings all over these. The man was truly a genius!!! Click the above link for even more wonderful pics from Kubrick's other career, and click after the jump to see more of the subway series of pics that I enjoyed so much....

The Movies Of Stanley Kubrick

Of all of these, my favorites are Dr. Strangelove and the first half of Full Metal Jacket.  I have to admit that I have never seen The Shining and got through about ten minutes of Eyes Wide Shut. Clockwork Orange freaks the hell out of me still but so did the novel it's based on. Barry Lyndon did nothing for me because I always have hated Ryan O'Neil. 2001? I hate to say I needed to see 2010 to fully get what was going on which made A Space Odyssey so much more enjoyable to watch the second or third time around.

Stanley Kubrick: An Animated Tribute by Deadly Puppies

I don't know where the animation team Deadly Puppies came up with their name, but boy is their work fantastic. Their name not so much... but their work, priceless. In their latest incarnation they tried to take on the mastery of Stanley Kubrick and his iconic filmography. Kubrick is my favorite film director by a long shot, and seeing his movies being brought to life by the unique style of the Deadly Puppies is a thing of beauty. My favorite had to be the use of Dr. Strangelove... done quite perfectly. This one is short and sweet, so give us two minutes of your time and honor the greatness that is Stanley Kubrick after the jump...

The Shining by Fro Design

There is no hiding the fact that I am a huge Stanley Kubrick fanboy. I love all of his movies, especially his collaborations with my favorite actor Peter Sellers. But one of my favorite films of his has to be his foray into the horror genre with his adaption of Stephen King's The Shining. The creepiness of the forest location in the movie is just such a huge part of the why the film is so dark & ominous, so it is no real surprise that Fro Designs chose The Overlook Hotel as the centerpiece for their newest poster. There are only 150 of these being printed, and they run a mere 45.00 dollars. Click here to grab one of them right away, cause once they are gone, they are gone. A great new poster for and old classic movie! Click after the jump to see the poster in all its glory....

CCD Links It Up Vol #15

It is that time again folks... time to see all the other great work people around the Net are doing! I do spend a lot of MY free time creating the CCD experience, but I spend an inordinate amount of time perusing the intrawebs & intranets for some cool stories. Today you can check out some Pokemon noir in comic form (for all you Poke kids who are all grown up now!), take a look at how the Evil Dead remake just gained further approval from horror fans everywhere, get the Ipad/Iphone app that will truly bring you inside the world of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, check out our weekly hooties via The Chive, and buy some horror themed winter hats... all after the jump!!!!

Evolution Of... by Jeff Victor

Jeff Victor is a terrific artists who obviously loves movies. He is trying to figure out a way to portray some of his favorite film characters in an interesting and original light, so he decided to go with a timeline format for some of our favorite actors & actresses. This allows him to draw someone like Tom Hanks in a plethora of characters that he has portrayed over the years. I think this is a cool idea, and shows us just how much a characters roles have varied over the years. You can see a ton of his timeline pieces and other fantastic art that he has to offer by clicking over to his page, or you can continue after the jump and see my faves in his 'Evolution Of...' series...

Room 237: A Peak Into The Hidden Meanings From Kubrick's 'The Shining'

I have been hearing about this documentary 'Room 237' for almost 2 years. It doesn't take much to get me to watch a film in general, but with as exciting a premise that this film has there is NO WAY I could possibly resist. The film delves into the mysteries & hidden meanings of Kubrick's The Shining, promising to change the way you view the classic film forever. The trailer doesn't offer much in the way of footage, but it certainly does build the tension by using Kubrick-esque music and the signature carpet from The Overlook hotel. Even though this film faced some complications in therms of getting a release, it is now scheduled for a 2013 release. I will be on the lookout, that is for sure... check out the trailer after the jump...

The Overlook Hotel by Mark Maddox

Here is a great piece of fan art from an artist by the name of Mark Maddox. He portrays Jack Torrence (as played by Jack Nicholson) from the Kubrick classic The Shining. This is one of my all time favorite films and probably one of the spookiest. The key images from the film are burned into the mind of any person who has seen the film. Yet somehow Maddox brings us a fresh take on the films many character and makes him even spookier. Wow... just wow. You can see the full size piece after the jump...

Stanley Kubrick - The One Point Perspective

The one point perspective is a film technique in which a director focuses on one point in the background of a shot, no matter how busy the action in the scene may be. It picks out a destination and focuses on that point, and the actors & actresses seem to play off of that spot. I am a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick, yet I must admit that I had never realized just how much he employs the one point perspective technique. This video by Kogonada shows just how often Kubrick has employed this technique over the years, and when you see these familiar scenes once again you will see them in a whole new light. Check out the video after the jump...

CCD Links It Up Vol #2

Click after the jump to see more of whats happening around the Internet. These stories are all cool as hell in their own way, but couldn't make up a whole post here on CCD on their own. Enjoy....

'2001: A Space Odyssey' As A Modern Summer Blockbuster

2001: A space Odyssey is one of my all time favorite films from my all time favorite director, Stanley Kubrick. 2001 is the grandfather of modern sci-fi movies, basically mapping out just how to make a science fiction movie for the next few generations of filmmakers. But what if the masterpiece itself was made today and was one of the summer blockbusters that emulate it so well? The trailer might look a bit like this. Thanks to my main man Jeff Bond for the find on this one...

In Other News, Malcolm McDowell Just Don't Give A F@#K...

Malcolm McDowell is one of my favorite actors. He is one of those guys that has always caught my eye in every film he is in. I first remember seeing him in Time After Time, and then as a teen I discovered him in A Clockwork Orange & Caligula. And more recently I loved him in the Rob Zombie Halloween films as well as Gangster #1, which is one of the greatest gangster films ever made. I always loved Mr. McDowell, because the dude just brings it in every film.... but he also old now, and that means he just doesn't give a fuck about speaking candidly anymore! When people get old, they just seem to care less and less about being politically correct and what other people care about. While he sat down at the Hero Complex Film Festival with an LA Times writer at the 40th Anniversary screening for A Clockwork Orange for 15 minutes he went on to: Tell a story about Peter Sellers doing dope, talk about how he was unimpressed with Kubrick's genius, bashed The Avengers and other modern action movies, abused the Star Trek franchise and said just how much of favor he did Trekkies by killing Captain Kirk, abused Professor X's life, meeting Gene Kelly and just how fun the rape scene to Singing In The Rain was, and lamented the fact that he will never watch A Clockwork Orange again. All that in 15 minutes!!! I really love old people for the fact that they give way less than a fuck... and they are not afraid to tell you about it! Great interview all around. Click after the jump to see the full interview...

'The Shining' Sculptures May Be Creepy Than The Original People In The Movie... Maybe!!!

The Shining is one of the creepiest movies ever created, a pure horror classic from the genius mind of Stanley Kubrick. It is one of the first horror movies to cross over to the mainstream and is always on the top of peoples 'Greatest Horror Movies...' lists. One of the things that makes it so spooky for me has to be the look of the characters. When the film starts the three members of the Torrance family seem to be pretty normal... and way I say normal I mean in appearance as well as mental state. But as they spend more and more time at the Overlook Hotel the family begins to unravel in both of those aspects. By the end of   the film the characters look horrific and make it even harder for us to ignore the traumatic experiences they have just gone through... Enter sculpture Clare Monaghan and her ability to recreate this haggard look of the Torrances from the end of the film in her busts. These are just so detailed and weird. Great find by the gang over at Super Punch. You can see detailed pictures of each individual bust after the jump...

'Paths of Glory' by Jay Shaw For Mondo

Mondo makes some killer posted, most of which get posted all over the Internet on many sites similar to mine. That is partially the reason why I don't go crazy re-posting them, because you have probably seen it elsewhere. But they have and up and coming artist (who has been around for a minute but is gaining momentum as the premiere guy at Mondo) Jay Shaw (aka Iron Jaiden) who is doing incredible things with the opportunities he is given. One of his most recent posters has to be his take on Stanley Kubrick's 'Path's of Glory', which is one of the greatest war movies ever made starring Kirk Douglas. Douglas ended up picking Kubrick to replace the director in Spartacus because of what he saw in the young film maker, and that launched him into the stratosphere as a Hollywood legend. It all started on 'Paths of Glory', and Jay Shaw brings a great poster to commerce a excellent film.

'Day Of The Fight' - Stanley Kubrick's First Movie!!!

I love me some Stanley Kubrick... who can argue that he is one of the best directors of all time? A Clockwork Orange, Dr. Strangelove, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket.... the list goes on and on! But before Private Pyle could blow away the drill sergeant or Alex could be cured of his ultra violence, Stanley was filming a 16 minute short film for Look Magazine about a boxing match between Walter Cartier & Bobby James. Watch this one after the jump and become a Kubrick completest like me....

'2001: A Space Odyssey' In One Minute... With Legos!!!

Spite Your Face Productions is the shit... bottom line. They are an awesome animation company that have been making dope clips for quite a bit. Need proof? Check out this sick video they made 12 YEARS AGO that re-tells 2001: A Space Odyssey in just over ONE MINUTE... in Legos!!! Legos... you gotta be fucking kidding me. A must see for all fans of Kubrick and/or 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The Kubrickian Kollection Vol #1: 2001: A Space Odyssey

Stanley Kubrick is my all time favorite director. No one comes close, in my personal opinion. His movies are works of art, and he spend years developing them then anyone has ever done before or since. Part of teh reason why he only made a handful of films throughout his 40 year career is because he was so meticulous. Kubrick was a stickler for the details. I have decided to explore some of the fan art that is being created out there by Deviant Artists dedicated to Stanley's movies. We will call these the Kubrickian Kollection. Today we take a look at 2001: A Space Odyssey. Enjoy the pics after the jump...

Stephen King Reads From 'Dr. Sleep', His Sequel To 'The Shining'... I Promptly Faint & Bash My Head On My Coffee Table!!!

The Shining is without a doubt Stephen king's most famous work. That is not belittling his other works... this guy has sold more books than Jesus himself. But due to the fact that Stanley Kubrick decided to adapt the novel for a movie (albeit by changing tons of shit from King's original novel and Jack Nicholson's famous "Here's Johnny!!!" axe wielding portrayal of Jack Torrance) and it became wildly popular, it has always been regarded as the touchstone of King's literary works. Last year King announced a new book, entitled 'Dr. Sleep', which is a legitimate sequel to The Shining. I almost fainted at the thought of the return of Danny Torrance... where would King take this character with the psychic ability to "Shine"? Well, King is starting to do public readings from the novel in preparation of it's release (no official release date as of yet, but I'm assuming its somewhere near the end of 2012-beginning of 2013) and somebody cell phone cam-ed him reading the first chapter of the book. I almost fainted...   This one sounds great!!! Catch the clip & book synopsis after the jump and tell me what you think about this upcoming sequel project.....

'I'd Buy That...As a Tee!' Vol 33

Always on the look out for inspiring art... emblazoned across the chest of humanity. Here's some of the t-shirts I have my eye on to do just the trick but, there's only one problem....they aren't for sale yet! Please click each of the links below to the Threadless.com voting pages and give these beauties '5' ratings so I can throw 'em on my charge card one day.

**Please click READ MORE for tee-licious tees!**

Visit 'The Shining' Set Through The Eyes Of Stanley Kubrick

My boy Johnny Boots over at Freddy In Space runs one of the coolest blogs on the 'Net. He is always posting up awesome horror related stuff and sending me cool ass packages, and that's why I love him. But this time he has out done himself. He located a retro commercial from a British TV channel promoting an upcoming Stanley Kubrick marathon, and it is freaking awesome. It is a tour of the set of 'The Shining' as seen through Kubrick's eyes. This one is amazing. Check out the full video after the jump... and make sure you check out Freddy In Space!!!