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Blade Runner

Film

How ‘Star Wars’ Killed Smart Sci-Fi Cinema

By Jason Bailey on

In the opening sequence of Oblivion, the voice of Tom Cruise (playing the film’s protagonist, Commander Jack Harper) creeps onto the soundtrack and painstakingly explains the precise details of the film’s backstory. The year is 2077. The Earth is all but abandoned. An alien population known as Scavengers (Scavs for short) invaded the moon, which in turn nearly destroyed the earth. Most humans have moved to a space station. Drones and technicians like Harper roam the earth, and so on and son on. A metric ton of exposition is slammed into that opening sequence, but here’s what’s peculiar: at the beginning of the second act, after Jack discovers a hibernating astronaut (Olga Kurylekno) and saves her, he sits her down and gives her the whole spiel again. Why? Is this a safeguard in case people showed up late? Do they think we didn’t get it the first time? … Read More

Film

10 Authors Who Loved the Film Adaptations of Their Books

By Jason Bailey on

Last week, we had a good laugh at the recently uncovered notes from the producers of Blade Runner, who seemed united in their hatred for the “deadly dull” sci-fi noir that would prove one of the most influential movies of the ‘80s. But it’s important to remember that some of those casually involved in the production actually liked it quite a bit — particularly Philip K. Dick, whose book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was the basis of Ridley Scott’s film. And while there’s a long (and enjoyable) history of authors loathing what Hollywood does to their books, there are a few examples of writers who are utterly delighted with their page-to-film adaptations. We’ve collected them for you after the jump. … Read More

Film

Hilarious Notes on Modern Classics From Clueless Studio Executives

By Jason Bailey on

The image of non-creative types mucking about with (and screwing up) movies and television shows is nothing new — we’ve seen it in everything from Barton Fink to The Player to The Larry Sanders Show — but we got a rare opportunity to observe a real-life example of it recently, when a memorandum of notes from the suits at Tandem Productions to the makers of Blade Runner started popping up online. Those hilarious criticisms and suggestions got us wondering about other classic movies that came close to ruin thanks to studio interference. We’ll take a look at Blade Runner and several other examples after the jump. … Read More

Film

Awesome Storyboards from 15 of Your Favorite Films

By Jason Bailey on

With storyboards on our mind lately thanks to their use in both the opening sequence and the climax of Argo, we decided to put together a gallery of our favorites from iconic… Read More

Film

Fascinating Behind-the-Scenes Footage from Your Favorite Films

By Alison Nastasi on

Here at Flavorpill, we’re always interested in seeing how movies are conceived and created. When we spotted a behind-the-scenes video from the filming of the 1975 camp musical, The Rocky Horror Picture Show at The Film Doctor, we were excited to check out interviews and other rare clips of the cult classic revealed. We feature the footage after the jump, along with other videos that put you right on set with your favorite films. It’s a chance to see these iconic classics in a different light and experience the energy and action from a unique perspective. See more in our gallery, below. … Read More

Pop Culture

Famous Science Fiction Heroines Reimagined as Saints

By Caroline Stanley on

Ellen Ripley. River Tam. Replicant Rachel. Kara Thrace. If you’ve spent hours obsessing over these incredible female characters from science fiction’s greatest films and TV series, then you’re definitely not alone. In fact, Las Vegas-based illustrator Jska Priebe has devoted an entire series to these beloved pop culture icons, re-envisioning them as religious icons in bold, mixed media works. Click through to check out her clever visual odes to the leading ladies of sci-fi, which we spotted over on The Mary Sue, and let us know in the comments who you think is the most worship-worthy! … Read More

Design

Cartoon Posters for Classic Cult Movies

By Judy Berman on

We never tire of seeing reimagined posters for our favorite movies, and our favorite movies tend to be cult classics. So we’re heartily enjoying Canadian illustrator Ïve Bastrash’s cartoon-style posters for such trash masterpieces as Beetlejuice, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (along with a few legitimately good films, like Blade Runner). Click through to see a selection of Bastrash’s greatest remakes, which we discovered via Design Taxi, then visit his deviantART page to see much more of his work — including a set of Cher playing cards! … Read More

Music

10 Great Film Soundtracks That Were Impossible to Find

By Tom Hawking on

You may have noticed that we’re kinda David Lynch fanatics here at Flavorpill (we have an in-house band who do a live re-soundtracking of Twin Peaks, for Chrissakes), so we greeted the arrival yesterday of the fancy limited-edition double-LP Eraserhead soundtrack with unconstrained joy. The sound design on Lynch’s mind-bending debut is almost as important as the visuals, creating an atmosphere that echoes the film’s ominous, industrial setting. Until now, however, it’s been nigh on impossible to get a copy of, so in celebration of the fact that you can finally get it on vinyl, here’s a selection of other soundtracks that we had to wait way too long for — and some that we’re still waiting for. … Read More

Design

Science Fiction Films Cleverly Reimagined as Pulp Classics

By Caroline Stanley on

Thanks to the eagle-eyed editors over at Poster Collective, we’ve been turned on to the work of Tim Anderson, a concept designer for Electronic Arts in Salt Lake City. In particular, we’re excited by his series of illustrated movie posters for science fiction films that have been reimagined as pulp novels, a personal side project that he hoped would push him “into thinking more graphically.” Click through to check out the trio of prints that Anderson has completed so far (which are available for purchase here), and stay tuned for more work in the fantastic series. We’re curious: What film would you like to see him tackle next? … Read More

Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we read drunk texts from famous authors. We nominated this Tweet from Ronan Farrow — Woody Allen and Mia Farrow’s 24-year-old son — today’s winner. We hoped people would stop “begging the question.” We saw a bold visualization depicting the evolution of movie poster colors.… Read More