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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

Film

Awesome Vine Trailers for Modern Classic Movies

By Jason Bailey on

As you may or may not have noticed, your Flavorwire didn’t bother covering this week’s maddening, seemingly frame-by-frame unveiling of the trailer for The Wolverine, a movie we’re not all that worked up over to begin with (seriously, didn’t we already do that once?). It was bad enough when we started getting 30-second teasers for movie trailers — an item that is, when you break it down, a commercial for a commercial. But Wolverine director James Mangold went a step further, first putting out a six-second Vine “tweaser” (yep, that’s what he called it), then the teaser, then the trailer, meaning that the Vine was a commercial for a commercial for a commercial and good God make it all stop please. But one good thing did come out of it: trailer editing house Tokyo got the nutty idea of recutting the trailers for eight modern classics into six-second form and posting them on Vine. The results are oddly captivating; check them out after the jump. … Read More

Art

Killer Italian Artwork Inspired by Great American Movies

By Jason Bailey on

Italian illustrator and cartoonist Massimo Carnevale has been capturing attention on film blogs all over the world for his beautiful and inventive artwork inspired by scenes from American movies; he makes striking use of color and repurposed iconography, creating works that are both recognizably his and true to the spirit of the films that inspired them. After the jump, join us for a quick stroll past some of our favorites by this prolific artist. … 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

How to Classify Movies Now That “Independent Film” Is Dead

By Jason Bailey on

This week, since the big sweep of the Independent Spirit Awards by the sure-doesn’t-feel-like-much-of-an-independent-movie Silver Linings Playbook, several film observers (including us) have raised the perennial question of what “independent film” even is, aside from a useful marketing designation that indicates the film you’re about to see will probably not include robots that transform into cars. This ongoing controversy got us thinking: if “independent film” is just a label to begin with, then why not expand it, and get a little more specific? Every film isn’t either indie or studio — let’s break it down, so we know exactly what we’re getting when we go to the cinema. Our suggestions for new, ultra-descriptive movie classifications, from lowest to highest profile, are after the jump. … Read More

Pop Culture

30 Amazing Tattoos Inspired by Quentin Tarantino Films

By Alison Nastasi on

It’s been three years since we’ve been graced with a film from hyper director, Quentin Tarantino, but western throwback tale Django Unchained hits theaters on Christmas, and fans are brimming with anticipation. QT has only directed about 10 films (unless you don’t count the scene he shot in Sin City), but his filmography is loaded with graphic and stylish imagery that makes a lasting impression. The intensity and loyalty of Quentin Tarantino fandom ranks just about as high as Star Wars, which is why we’re not surprised to see his films etched across the flesh of adoring fans everywhere. We scouted high and low for amazing tattoos that were inspired by Tarantino’s movies — the ones he’s directed, written, and starred in. If you have your own QT-inspired tattoo, leave us a link so we can check it out! … Read More

Books

15 of the Sexiest Book Covers of All Time [NSFW]

By Emily Temple on

This week’s release of T. Cooper’s Real Man Adventures, a heartfelt memoir with a sexy, pulp fiction-inspired cover, inspired us to seek out the sexiest book covers of all time.… Read More

Film

10 Proposed Movie Sequels That We Do. Not. Want.

By Jason Bailey on

From Warner Brothers’ latest attempt to revive Casablanca to Searching for Keyser Soze, here’s a look at some of Hollywood’s worst sequel ideas for its greatest… Read More

Pop Culture

10 Terrifying Facts About This Year’s College Freshmen

By Judy Berman on

It’s the end of August, which means it’s just about time to terrify all Americans over 25 with “The Mindset List,” Beloit College’s annual roundup of 75 facts about this year’s incoming freshmen. There’s some good news: Kids — sorry guys, adults – born in 1994 have grown up in a world that’s made significant strides in gender equity and LGBT rights. But then there’s the stuff that will totally shock you (or at the very least make you feel ancient), like the revelation that people for whom Kurt Cobain has always been dead and The Real World has always been on the air can now buy cigarettes. Click through to learn where the heads of our nation’s youth are at — if you dare — and visit “The Mindset List” for the complete rundown. … Read More

Film

Readers’ Choice: More of the Movies People Need to Stop Quoting

By Jason Bailey on

So come to find out, people are very attached to their movie quotes. Last week, we wrote a post that gently suggested there are some movies that everyone’s heard quoted back to them quite enough times, thank you very much. As the comments rolled in, many readers disagreed, often in colorful language! But let’s not focus on them — many of you not only agreed, but had your own suggestions for movies that others (and yourselves) should put lid on.

We combed through the hundred or so comments the piece received (both here and on our partner site The Atlantic), and while several additional titles were nominated for inclusion in the “stop quoting club” — Fight Club, Scarface, 300, Menace II Society, Blue Velvet, Team America, Jaws, Spider-Man, Psycho, Airplane, Tropic Thunder, Full Metal Jacket, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Caddyshack (I’m sorry, I just can’t diss Caddyshack; we all have our weaknesses) — several fine readers not only had suggestions, but mounted a case for the title at hand. After the jump, over a dozen more movies that you, the readers, insist we all stop quoting. … Read More