Movie News: VANGUARD signs Kung Fu Panda co-director John Stevenson to long-term deal

http://www.metallife.com/news/display_news.php?id=1947

Select Academy Invitations For Membership

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sent out invitations to join the Academy. We have chosen from the list of 135 invitations the ones we felt would be of most interest.

�The work of these individuals has been appreciated by moviegoers all around the world,� said Academy President Tom Sherak. �The Academy is proud to invite each and every one of them.�

The 2010 invitees include:

Actors
Tobin Bell � �Saw�
Jeremy Renner � �28 Weeks Later"
Zoe Saldana � �Avatar,� �Star Trek�


Animators
Darragh O�Connell � �Granny O�Grimm�s Sleeping Beauty� (no, really, she's made it creepy and funny)
Simon Otto � �How to Train Your Dragon,� �Kung Fu Panda�


Art Directors
Kim Sinclair � �Avatar�
Dave Warren � �Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street"


Cinematographers
Shane Hurlbut � �Terminator Salvation�
Dan Mindel � �Star Trek�
Tobias Schliessler � �The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3"
Stephen Windon � �The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift,� �House of Wax�
Robert Yeoman � �Get Him to the Greek�


Film Editors
John Refoua � �Avatar�


Makeup Artists and Hairstylists
Kris Evans � �X-Men The Last Stand," �Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl�
Mindy Hall � �Star Trek�
Joel Harlow � �Star Trek,� �Pirates of the Caribbean: At World�s End�


Music
Brian Tyler � �Fast & Furious,� �Aliens vs. Predator Requiem�


Producers
Jon Landau � �Avatar�


Set Decorators
Caroline Smith � �The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus�


Sound
Frank Eulner � �Iron Man 2,� �Hellboy�
Gary A. Rizzo � �How to Train Your Dragon,� �The Dark Knight�
Gwendolyn Yates Whittle � �Avatar,� "The Simpsons Movie"


Visual Effects
Matt Aitken � �District 9,� �The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring�
Karen Ansel � �Angels & Demons,� �Men in Black II�
Richard Baneham � �Avatar,� �The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers�
Paul Debevec � �Avatar,� �King Kong�
Russell Earl � �Star Trek,� �Transformers�
Steve Galich � "Transformers"
Andrew R. Jones � �Avatar,� �I, Robot�
Dan Kaufman � �District 9�
Derek Spears � �The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor�
Steve Sullivan � �Avatar,� �Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith�
Michael J. Wassel � �Hellboy II: The Golden Army�


Writers
Neill Blomkamp � �District 9�
Alex Kurtzman � �Star Trek,� �Mission: Impossible III�
Roberto Orci � �Star Trek,� �Mission: Impossible III�
Terri Tatchell � �District 9�

17th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival

Films of specific Interest:

2033
In the 2033 futuristic society of Villaparaiso, formerly known as Mexico, the general public is manipulated by religion and a dictatorship regimen lead by General Jamaro. Jamaro is also the president of Phaarmax, a company that develops an addictive beverage that allows for the working subclass to work more than 12 hours a day, deforming their bodies. Pablo, a privileged young man looking to find meaning in his life, discovers the cover up and leaves his life of luxury to help out the revolutionaries. With help of Miguel and Lucia, Pablo struggles to find an antidote and fight the status quo. Starring past SDLFF special guest Raul Mendez.

APARECIDOS, LOS
One night, Malena and Pablo, a sister and brother traveling together in Argentina, discover a diary that details crimes committed twenty years ago during Argentina's military dictatorship. Later, after checking into a hotel, the siblings hear a man being murdered in the next room and his family abducted in a manner described word for word in the diary. The siblings' trip soon becomes a nightmare where they cannot discern whether they people they are trying to save are real or ghosts from the past. As they dig deeper into the mystery of the diary, truths are revealed that tie them to the murders in a way they never imagined. Seamlessly combining horror and history, "Los Aparecidos" is an engrossing reminder that sometimes the sins can never be forgotten.

GIGANTE
Jara, a heavy-set surveillance officer working the graveyard shift, leads a dull and routine existence: he watches CCTV monitors all night long, goes home to sleep on a sofa while the television drones on in the background, solves crossword puzzles, listens to heavy metal on his iPod and spends some time with his nephew. On the weekends, he works as a bouncer/doorman at a local discotheque. Things change when he notices young cleaning woman, Julia on his monitors, and he becomes fascinated with her to the point of obsession. He starts to wait for her to come out in the morning after work and shadows her through the streets of Montevideo. Winner of three prizes at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival

IMAGINADORES
�What�s wrong with wanting to escape when you are in prison?� an Argentinean comic book artist asks, referring to the referring to transformative possibilities of fantasy-based literature. This powerful documentary, which focuses on the amazing cultural force that is the Argentine comic book industry, describes for all of us the appeal and potential of the fantasy genre. This journey into a vibrant art form reveals why, in Argentina, comic books are revered in ways that they aren't in most other countries. What began as a genre targeting children quickly evolved to take on bigger subjects, eventually challenging the country's most powerful people, and the cultural status quo. Exhaustively comprehensive, this doc introduces us to the major players in the field, and�an innovative touch�animates for us some of the best-known and influential four-color dramas. If you consider yourself a comic book nerd or a manga fan, this exploration of South America�s center for sequential art is a must-see.

NO DO
Francesca is a pediatrician who suffers from postpartum depression. Following the advice of friend and psychiatrist Jean, Francesca and her husband Pedro move out of the city to a new home. Unfortunately, the new house turns out not to be the respite they hoped. Francesca soon begins to see furtive figures and ghostly shadows everywhere. Jean and Pedro are convinced that her visions are manifestations of her illness but she believes that the house is possessed. This stylish horror film is based on a true story. Starring Ana Torrent ("The Other Boleyn Girl").


ABOUT
The 17th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival (March 11-21, 2010) will take place at UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas at Hazard Center (off 163 Freeway & Friars Rd.). Over 150 feature and short films are scheduled to be screened and close to 100 special guest actors and filmmakers will be in attendance.

http://www.sdlatinofilm.com/

The Crow

I haven't gotten a tattoo in a year, and have been feeling the itch. I have an appointment for this upcoming Wednesday. I decided to get two big crows with lightning bolts, they'll probably on my ribs, unless I wuss out. It's kind of a memorial tattoo for my dad, but not totally. Anyway, I'll post pictures and you guys can feel free to make fun of them as much as you want. In anticipation of my appointment, I decided to do some looking around for terrible crow tattoos. I found a lot.

Full disclosure: I was really into The Crow when I was a teenager. Here's a photo of me being totally awesome when I was 13 or 14.

I don't have any ridiculous makeup on in that photo, but I definitely went to school made-up like the crow. The movie was filmed in my hometown (Wilmington, NC) and I went on a pilgrimage to see where Brandon Lee died. I listened to the soundtrack to the movie every day. I still really enjoy the movie. Regardless of my history with the movie, my crow tattoo idea has nothing to do with the movie The Crow. These people's tattoos do. There are so many sweet crow images out there, I don't know why they picked these out....

So here you go. Awful crow tattoos!


I think this crow is supposed to be on fire? It just looks blobby to me.


This is supposed to be the Crow logo, but it's not executed well...


This one too. Plus! Bonus barbed wire armband! I love seeing terrible versions of the same thing. (See my zombie jesus and wizard posts for more)


Crow mask + tribal + cross = goldmine!


Scarred Kanji + flaming crow = bigger goldmine!



I don't understand the spacing and sizing on this. It looks like the tattoos just got slapped on completely randomly. Also the little spritzes of red and yellow are a real nice touch. What is the black blob on the left? Can anyone tell?


skldfskdjf Brandon Lee does not look like that!


And he really, really does not look like this!!!

I hope you enjoyed this confessional edition of awful tattoos. Check back next week to make fun of my crow tattoo!

Bad straightedge tattoos volume one: text

I have a confession to make. I secretly love bad straightedge tattoos (maybe because I am straightedge? probably because they are just goofy). I actually secretly love all bad tattoos, that's why I do this blog. But I have a special soft spot in my heart for three x's that are stick-and-poked into someone's ankle. Many people get them, many people regret them later, but they are still awesome. These abominations, however, are not so awesome. Behold: the bad straightedge tattoos, volume one.


Bad font, bad linework, bad coloring, bad placement, just a generally bad idea.


Ditto! Only worse.


Why did he decide to put the text in a pool of water? I don't understand!


And finally- starship troopers straight edge dude. I have to admit this is actually pretty awesome, because I too love science fiction and not drinking. I hope this guy had a sense of humor about what he was doing, because that instantly turns this questionable tattoo into a hilarious and rad one.

If you have any regrettable edge tattoos (or any other kind of regrettable tattoo, for that matter) feel free to email me: alice@vivalavinyl.org.

who ya gonna call?

Man oh man... I loved the movie too, but why?