Empire Magazine (Australia) x Joshua Budich Pays Homage To The Best Auteurs Of Our World...

Joshua Budich is a very talented artist and certainly one I assume would be up to the task of creating a epic cover for a magazine. But when it comes to tackling the amount of talent that is present in the "Filmmaker" issue of Australia's Empire Magazine, it is definitely a challenge for any artist to get it just right. Budich nails it, not only featuring 7 top filmmakers on the cover (Copolla, Spielberg, Weedon, del Torro, Fincher, Lynch and Cameron) but also including interesting tidbits of art from past works of the auteurs. But Budich based his art choices on what these directors ACTUALLY contributed to this issue, so there are Easter Egg hints as to what is discussed right there on the cover! The final result is nothing short of amazing, pretty much as good as a Mondo poster in its entirety. The issue is packed full of contributions from everyone mentioned above, as well as even more... I HAVE to get my hands on a copy of this magazine! You can enjoy the beautiful cover in its full glory after the jump...

CCD Links It Up Vol #6

It's that time again folks... time to make the rounds of what is popping around the Intrawebs. I think all of these stories are dope in their own right, and I know that I could not do it any better than the people who I am linking it towards. In this episode we got movie trailers, Lady Gaga in her thong, An explanation of why the fuck they killed ??? (spoilers ahead after the jump) off of Sons of Anarchy by showrunner Kurt Sutter, a kickstarter worth supporting, and how to make a magazine out of old magazine ads... Check out the links after the jump.

Steven Spielberg Proves You Don't HAVE To Be A Douche (Did You Hear That George Lucas???)

Pay attention Douche Nozzle. This is how to NOT make people hate you!!!

I came across these wonderful quotes from superstar director Steven Spielberg in regards to digitally editing some of his classic movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark & E.T. for future editions. You see George... you can make mistakes and still redeem yourself. Listen to your boy Stevie... (See Spielberg's quotes after the jump)

This Guy Must Have Had The Best Comic Con Ever!!!

This guy wore this shirt to this years San Diego Comic Con, got into the Steven Spielberg panel, and got his wish. Peter Jackson snapped some pics of the shirt & the guy with Spielberg and all I can say is double wow. Not only did you get to meet your icon, but you got Peter Jackson adding shots of your awesome shirt to his Flickr account. Best Comic Con Ever!!! Thanks to Jeff Bond for the tip.

Michael Bay Finally Comes Clean About Megan Fox Being A Douche

Fox, Spielberg and Bay

I think this one is hilarious. Two years ago Megan Fox announced she was leaving The Transformer franchise that made her the obsession of guys across America because director Michael Bay "... wanted to be like Hitler on the set" and "... he (Bay) is a nightmare to work for". I suspected that this was just another case of a celeb making something up to cover the fact that she got fired. At the time, Bay towed the line and said that there was no issue and Fox just wanted to move on to other projects. I knew this was fishy....

She is hot...

Fast forward two years.  Fox has made a few stinkers (Jennifer's Body anyone?) and never capitalized on the bazillion magazine covers she has graced. 'Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon' is set to open and I bet Fox wishes she would have stayed on the mega franchise. Fox has stuck to her guns, but Bay apparently couldn't take anymore and lost his mind during a GQ interview for the July issue. After being told that Fox was still bad mouthing him and saying she left the franchise, Bay exploded. He dropped some gems about Fox's work ethic, what really happened to make her leave the movie, and WHO really made the choice to 86 Fox. Here they are:

On Fox's work ethic: "She was in a different world, on her Blackberry. You gotta stay focused." "I'm sorry Megan. I'm sorry I made you work 12 hours. I'm sorry that I making you show up on time. Making movies is not all warm and fuzzy!"

On who pulled the trigger on firing Fox: "And you know, the Hitler thing... Steven (Spielberg) said FIRE HER RIGHT NOW".

The article interviews 60 other collaborators that have worked with Bay and sing his praises. Say what you want about his movies, but it seems that actors and co-workers love working with Bay. It was noble of Bay to try and allow Fox the chance to have a career, but now he has had enough and told the truth. Spielberg don't play that Nazi shit... he hit her with the patented Trump "You're Fired!" with the quick-fast.  Bay also adds that Fox texted him 3 months ago to see how he was doing. Hmmmmm... whats wrong Meg? Career not going as good as it would have been if you cashed that mega check from Transformers 3? I just have one question: How did Megan Fox text anyone with her mutant Troll Thumbs???

Good God... they are GIGANTIC!!!!

Notice how she tucks them monstrous thumbs in her panties?

The A to Z Challenge - Day #1 - Letter A - Animaniacs

Today is the 1st day of the A to Z Blogging Challenge, and the letter of the day is A. I have chosen the wonderful cartoon 'Animaniacs' to be my topic today!!!

Wacko, Yakko, & Dot... The Warner siblings.... cartoon stars of the 1930's locked in the water tower on the Warner Brothers lot until they escaped in the 1990's. These three nuts were an awesome breath of fresh air to the animation business of the 90's . The cartoons at that time couldn't even come close to the sharp humor and satire that each episode of Animaniacs pulled off so effortlessly. Created by Tom Ruegger & Executive Produced by Steven Speilberg, this show may be the most important new cartoon of the 1990's. Oh, and it was also the show where Pinky & the Brain got it's start.

My favorite sketches & skits on the show were the crazy songs that the gang used to sing. They were educational, but so well executed. Here are a few that I loved:

Yakko's Countries Of The World:

The Presidents:

Wakko's 50 States:

Best Animaniac Quotes:

Has It Really Been 25 Years???

I can not believe that it has been 25 years since The Goonies hit theaters and changed 80's babies lives forever. The kids of the 80's had to be able to find someone to identify with in the diverse cast... whether it was the fat kid Chunk, the wise ass Mouth, the Asian kid Data, the jock Brand, the doofy kid Mikey, the cheerleader Andy, her ugly friend Stef... there was something for everybody. Toss in a mutant monster, a couple of gangsters, a dead body, some absentee parents, and a pirate ship... and well, the rest is history. Directed by the great Richard Donner, the story was written by then unknown Chris Columbus (Future director of Home Alone and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) who got the idea from producer Steven Spielberg. While its hard to believe now, the movie was a financial bust even though it placed in the top 10 for 1985. But over the years the movie has attained a cult like status amongst children of the 80's, and we love this movie more then life itself. It has been chosen to represent us as a generation, and we pass it on to our children now. My son Mikey absolutely adores the flick, and its not like its a surprise why.

The cast of the film has gone on to have considerable success given the fact that the children were all relatively unknown. Mikey (Sean Astin) grew up to be Sam in The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy. Mouth (Corey Feldman) starred in dozens of 80's mainstay movies like Lost Boys and License to Drive and continues to make movies today. Stef (Martha Plimpton) is still that quirky actress that she was 25 years ago and is now featured on HBO's How To Make It In America. But the biggest star of the cast has got to be Brand (Josh Brolin) who has grown up to be quite the critically acclaimed movie star in films like No Country For Old Men and W,  as well as this summers soon to be blockbuster Jonah Hex. It's awesome to see so many of these guys grow up and continue contributing to the acting profession. There has been much talk of a sequel over the years, but nothing has ever gotten done.

Now, on the 25th anniversary, tons of stuff is being planned in honor of one of the 80's greatest movies. A new Blu Ray version of the movie will be coming out soon that will come with a board game, still photos and a remastered version of the film. Also, this past weekend, the town of Astoria, Oregon (where the movie was shot) had a celebration that included dinner with the cast and touring the shooting locations. You can check out the site for that here. All in all, I can't believe its been 25 years. But thanks for the memories, and I assure you my grand kids will grow up to Cyndi Lauper jamming out and Sloth screaming "Hey.... U.... Guys!!!!" See you in another 25 years for the 50th anniversary.

Trailer Trash Talk - Vol#5 by Kristen Grillo (Lost Week Edition)

Super 8 - Written & Directed by JJ Abrams and Produced by Steven Spielberg

Unless some of you herbwhorevors have yet to see Iron Man 2 or somehow managed to avoid the latest internet bizbuzz, you should know that Super 8 is Mr. JJ Abrams’s (Alias/Lost/Mission Impossible 3) latest trailer bait. Based on this so called teaser I am far from impressed, kids. Not even Stevie Spielberg’s name being splashed around can get my geek mojo aroused. Call me Ms. High Expectations but when I hear the word “teaser” I’m expecting something so delicious that it makes the ole bean move beneath my britches. So in those terms, this one and a half minute man hardly does that. What it does frankly, is remind me of an unpleasant memory in my movie viewing history.


I am immediately taken back to the summer of 2007. I was sitting in the very uncomfortable front row of the UA Midway movie theater on Queens Blvd. (bless you, Fandango for saving my infinite purchase history). My usual order of Junior Mints and H20 are in hand and I am patiently waiting for the cinematic shitstorm known as Transformers to begin. At that moment a trailer showing a bunch of NYC hipster douches throwing some party comes on. Their bulimic cokefest is then crashed by an earthquake, some Godzilla roars, followed by raining fireballs and the Statue of Liberty’s dome piece. The trailer abruptly ends with “01-18-08.” The next day, a whole internet frenzy ensues of dorks desperately trying to figure out the ambiguity behind 01-18.08. A few phony websites were constructed to keep the hype alive for 6 painful months, unlocking clues and clips of what this story was. 01/18/08 arrives and Cloverfield is a success. An ordinary one but a success nonetheless.

Fast forward two years later to….Super 8! (another working title I presume)…



While this time it’s a reckless douche in a pick up that causes the fireball party, I can’t help but feel that this is all so Cloverfield 2 to me. And for all we know, maybe it is or even a prequel for that matter. Whatever the case may be (no LOST pun intended), without more to go on here I can’t escape the feeling of this being more of the same. And since theaters are just flooded with terrible remakes and unnecessary sequels (::ahem:: Sex And The City TWO), I personally can’t take anymore repeat offenders right now. On the flip side, I do hope I’m all wrong about this and the next trailer takes a refreshing turn.

If you just happen to be someone who doesn’t really care about all that nonsense and just loves a good dose of movie déjà vu then you’ll be thrilled to hear that JJ & Co. have also created (surprise!) a website to keep the fun mystery hype alive until the movie’s release sometime in 2011. The wonderful blognerds over at www.fearnet.com have been so kind to do a little leg work & shed some informative light on the trailer’s “hidden message-turned website” and what it all means. Have a look-see here:

http://www.fearnet.com/news/b19132_uncovering_secrets_of_super_8.html

So my CCD pals, until JJ drops me a more informative trailer or a few thirsty nerds ban together and crack open more intriguing clues to the plot, my anticipation for this one remains a solid “big deal.”

Super 8: Anticipation Grade: C.