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Film

Surprising Early, Alternate Versions of Iconic Movie Posters

By Jason Bailey on

Movie posters, as we’ve discussed before, are a tricky business, and a great movie poster must serve many functions: it must capture the essence of a movie, it must be aesthetically pleasing or interesting in itself, and it must sell the product in question. Unsurprisingly, the quest for that balance can result in reworking, re-imagining, and revisions galore, which is why the new Daybees online exhibit The Iconic Movie Posters That Never Were is so fascinating. In it, the designers behind some of Hollywood’s most memorable posters share their early drafts and alternate versions of classic posters; check them out after the jump, alongside the final drafts that became part of movie history, and visit Daybees to learn more about their creators. … Read More

Pop Culture

What’s On at Flavorwire: The Day’s Best Links

By Lillian Ruiz on

Everything Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto do together is adorable, as thiscar commercial confirms — Old Spock and New Spock in the same room will never get old. Speaking of cars, you can buy the Batman “Tumbler” for a cool $1.6 million. But perhaps you prefer more literary movies? If so,… Read More

Comics

‘Mad Men’ Characters and Their Comic Book Counterparts

By Alison Nastasi on

Today is Free Comic Book Day, which promises exactly what it advertises: you get a free comic book just for showing up at your local shop. The offerings have been specially selected, but nothing is preventing you from browsing while you’re there and spending a few dollars to support an oft-overlooked art form that has brought joy to many. To celebrate the occasion, and with a new Mad Men episode approaching, we wanted to combine two of our favorite things: 1960′s ad execs crippled by existential angst, and awesome comic book heroes and villains. The resemblance is greater than you think. See our pairings, and leave your own suggestions, below. … Read More

Pop Culture

Awesome Maps of Iconic Pop Culture Locations

By Tom Hawking on

If you hadn’t noticed, we’re pop culture geeks here at Flavorwire, and we’re also really rather partial to cartography. As such, we emitted collective “OMG” when we saw these awesome prints of maps from prominent locations in films, video games, TV shows, and comic books. They’re available as prints from a company called City Prints, which we spotted via Laughing Squid. It’s amazing how iconic and easily recognizable some of these maps are — go on, see how many you recognize without having to refer to the captions! … Read More

Film

Mind-Blowing Matte Paintings From Classic Movies

By Julia Pugachevsky on

Before 3D modeling came along, filmmakers had to rely on simpler means to give the illusion of a lavish set: paint. To create a dystopic city or elegant hall without spending the entire budget on a physical set, matte painters would create impeccably detailed backgrounds for the characters to look out into or even directly interact with. Reddit user Rowsdower_Rowsdower put together a compilation of some of the best photorealistic landscapes from classic films, many including photos of the artists at work. Here are some of our favorites from the collection. … Read More

Comics

Eye-Catching Portraits of Superheroes and Their Alter Egos

By Alison Herman on

Designer and animator Coran “Kizer” Stone is clearly a superhero fan, but he’s also interested in what everyone’s favorite costumed crime fighters look like on their days off. With his Alter Egos illustration series, Stone juxtaposes straightforward renditions of favorites from Batman to the Flash with plainclothes portraits of billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, forensic scientist Barry Allen, and other everyday identities of characters from both the DC and Marvel universes. Stone doesn’t limit his subjects to the heroes, either; both expert thief Catwoman and alien life form Venom make appearances in the series. Click through for the full Alter Egos series, and check out Stone’s DeviantArt and Blogspot sites for more comic-inspired illustrations.  … Read More

Film

The Most Bizarre Tie-In Merchandise from ’80s Movie Classics

By Jason Bailey on

Your Flavorwire resisted the temptation to wade into the recent controversy over those collectible figures from Quentin Tarantino’s Djanjo Unchained, but we’ll say this much: it’s important to remember that those toys were aimed at adult collectors, while we can recall (or have managed to suppress our memories) of some thoroughly strange movie tie-ins from our youth that were aimed directly at kids. After the jump, stroll back to the ‘80s with us, when any movie was marketable to anyone, no matter how bizarre or inappropriate. … Read More

Comics

Bin Laden, Zuckerberg, and Other Villains Mashed Up With Comic-Book Bad Guys

By Alison Herman on

Brazilian designer and illustrator Butcher Billy (also known as Bily Mariano da Luz) is over the “pure escapism” of comic-book art. To fix that, he’s created an awesome/creepy series of mashups between classic comic villains and real-life shady figures. Some are more villainous than others — Hitler vs. Mark Zuckerberg, anyone? — but whatever your opinion of his subjects, it’s hard not to find Luz’s handiwork impressive. Each mashup is set against a description of the real-life figure and even comes with an accompanying GIF, available at Luz’s Behance site. They’re certainly effective: if you thought Bin Laden was scary before, take a look at him with green scales and goblin eyes. … Read More

Comics

Classic Comic-Book Superheroes Reimagined as Pixar Characters

By Alison Herman on

Marvel, DC, and Pixar are three of the most titanic forces in entertainment, each with its own set of iconic characters and distinct aesthetic — that is, until now. Phil Postma, who runs the geek blog Minion Factory, has transposed Marvel and DC’s cast of superheroes and supervillains into Pixar’s instantly recognizable animation style. The result is a bizarro world where Peter Parker looks like the guy from Ratatouille and Magneto could have come straight out of The Incredibles. Postma has done similar work with the casts of Star Wars and Star Trek, but the comic-Pixar mashup is his most seamless yet. Take a look at the makeovers, which we discovered via io9, below.

… Read More

Film

10 Random Acts of Kindness That Will Restore Your Faith in Hollywood

By Alison Nastasi on

It’s easy to see Hollywood as a detestable machine. Between the unnecessary remakes, sequels, prequels, talking heads, and the advertising onslaught, it’s enough to make a true cinephile scream. There are great things about Hollywood, though. Sometimes we’re treated to a tale that thrills us to the edge of our seat or touches us profoundly — and sometimes those stories happen off screen. The Internet is abuzz with a report about a terminally ill Trekkie. Director J.J. Abrams — who is normally extremely secretive about his projects — granted the man’s dying wish: to see the upcoming film, Star Trek Into Darkness. Abrams screened the unfinished movie for a fan named Daniel who has been diagnosed with cancer and only has weeks to live. According to Dan’s family, they “enjoyed it immensely as a film and as a gesture.” We rounded up other heartwarming stories that restored our faith in Hollywood. Grab a tissue or two, and meet us after the jump. … Read More