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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

Pop Culture

Geeky Ways to Propose: 15 Creative Pop Culture-Themed Rings and Boxes

By Julia Pugachevsky on

By now, photos of a Dungeons and Dragons-themed engagement ring (as well as a video of the actual proposal) have gone viral and drawn many admirers of the 20-sided die reference (the woman behind the magic says she “[feels] like [she] rolled a natural 20 when [she] started dating her.”) In fact, there are plenty of pop culture-themed wedding rings and boxes out there, with many betrothed couples sealing their betrothal with keepsakes of the fandom that brought them together in the first place. Whether bonding over a shared love of Ocarina of Time or finishing each other’s Star Wars-quoting sentences, there is something below for everyone (or, at least, every nerd). … 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

Art

Incredible Miniature Paintings of Pop Culture Icons on Matchbooks

By Emily Temple on

Bigger isn’t always better. Case in point: the miniscule-but-adorable work of Joseph Martinez, which we recently spotted over at Design Taxi. The Denver-based artist paints tiny portraits of pop culture icons — everyone from Darth Vader to Frida Kahlo — on appropriately tiny canvases: matchbooks in varying stages of use. After the jump, check out a few of our favorites from the series, and then be sure to head on over to Martinez’s website to see much more of his great work. … Read More

Books

The Best Fictional Libraries in Pop Culture

By Emily Temple on

Here at Flavorpill, we’re always on the lookout for a great library — even if that library happens to be fictional. So we’ve sifted through literature, film, and television to bring you ten of the best libraries ever… Read More

Pop Culture

10 of Pop Culture’s Most Famous Advice-Givers

By Emily Temple on

Like many of you, this week we were saddened to hear of the death of Pauline Phillips, the woman behind the legendary column Dear Abby, who infused the advice column industry with some much needed spunk and tough love. To celebrate her legacy, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite advice-givers of all time, both fictional and non-fictional, but all culturally relevant. Check out our picks after the jump, and if we’ve missed your favorite mentor, add them on to our list (perhaps with a choice sage missive or two) in the comments. … Read More

Film

Everything We Know About ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’ So Far

By Alison Herman on

News dropped yesterday that Man of Steel director Zack Snyder will be directing a new Star Wars movie, but it’ll be a stand-alone film based on the Seven Samurai, not the first in Disney’s planned trilogy of sequels. A few hours later his spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter that it simply wasn’t so: “While he is super-flattered because he is a huge fan, Zack is not involved in any way with the new Star Wars. He is currently in post on his two films, Man of Steel and 300: Battle of Artemisia.”

Confusing right? If you’re like us, then you’re having trouble keeping track of all of the recent Star Wars news. If Zack Snyder isn’t directing Episode VII — or the standalone film, for that matter — then who is? When’s it coming out? Will Carrie Fisher come back? And most importantly, will it at least be better than Phantom Menace? Here’s everything George Lucas, Disney, and others have let slip about what could be the most hotly anticipated movie since, well, the last Star Wars. … 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

Web

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

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we voted for Time’s Person of the Year. We crushed on Ryan Gosling in his new glasses. We remembered Tony Stark’s super sassy nicknames for his Avengers pals. We learned nine ways to make sure the restaurants we eat in are clean. We watched a… Read More