It's VERY Hard...

My head is FULL of useless trivia and knowledge about things in which most people have no interest. This, coupled with my self-diagnosed attention-deficit disorder, sometimes cause me to come across as bizarre or overbearing. I at least get to entertain myself, though.
 This brings me to this post. I finally had a chance to stop and watch "FURY" (the WWII movie featuring Brad Pitt leading a tank crew) last night. Interesting flick, but-- of course-- I was distracted by a recurring feature of one of the main stars, Logan Lerman (of Percy Jackson movies fame).

You can't tell me that you don't see it.

SUPER Disappointment

(DISCLAIMER: I have been a SUPERMAN fan my ENTIRE life, since my older brother introduced me through his numerous comic books when I was a small child. I remember walking or riding my bike the mile up to the corner store once a month to check out the new arrivals on the comics rack, and wishing I could afford to take them ALL home. As an aspiring artist/cartoonist, I was fascinated by the colorful drawings and dynamic exploits of the pulp heroes, especially Superman.

Although I no longer regularly buy comics-- other than the occasional collected editions or specials-- the movie adaptations and incarnations are irresistible to me.)

Well, I went and used some of my "Premium Sitting Time" (due to my recurring debilitating lower-back issues) to go see Man of Steel. From the previews, I knew it would be visually stunning. Space. Battle scenes. Rockets. Explosions. I expected all of that. The movie delivered. In spades.

PLUS, They Got The Cape Right. Long, flowing, majestic. Like an ALEX ROSS painting. (Google it)

(SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen PoS-- I mean MoS-- yet, STOP READING!)

What I didn't expect was the gratuitous over-use of Russell Crowe's "JOR-EL", the Attention-Deficit-Disorder plot, or the TERRIBLE portrayal of Jonathon "Pa" Kent by Kevin Costner. He was so uninteresting and unlikable, I was kind of GLAD he got killed early on....

Even the handsome, well-built CAVILL can't watch this garbage...!

SURE, they HAD to re-tell the 'Origin of SUPERMAN'. Gratuitous sci-fi flick, with laser-battles galore. (BTW, Michael Shannon's striking resemblance to David Letterman made General ZOD a little distracting for me...!) I just couldn't get into it. Crash-landing on Earth, whole nine yards...

 The kid who plays the YOUNG Clark Kent DOES do a good TOM WELLING (TV's Smallville).

The movie jumped from 5-minute scene to 5-minute scene. No time to really build a connection with ANY of the characters. They touched on issues and scenarios without ever fleshing ANYTHING out.
General Zod's henchmen spoke with Russian accents...? Really..?
Jor-El 'sends his son to save them'...? Really...?
A 'Clark-on-the-lam' goes to church to ask a priest if he should surrender...? Really...?

A black Perry White, I'm okay with that. But with a diamond-stud earring...? Really...? Okay, I GUESS we can try a trendy update, but isn't he a bit OLD for that...?
The aforementioned out-of-character Jonathon Kent. He TRIED to be good, but it just didn't work for me.
Amy Adams-- Worst. Lois. EVER! (Corny team-up with holographic Jor-El didn't help, either...!)
The wanton destruction-- of both Smallville AND Metropolis-- was a bit much. Whole buildings and entire city blocks decimated, with NO mention of deaths or casualties...? Riiiight....
And the ending...?? Apparently, the people who wrote, produced and directed this movie NEVER READ THE COMIC. They missed the one character trait, the singular moral compass that has defined this superhero for 75 years.
Come ON....

But, maybe I'm wrong.... What do YOU think...?

New Movie "Superman" Is Chosen

Up! Up! And Awaaayyyyy....!!

Warner Bros. has announced that British actor Henry Cavill has been picked to portray the iconic superhero Superman in the upcoming feature.

Read the story HERE.

George Lopez Voices 'Speedy Gonzales', Jonathan Winters To Voice 'Papa Smurf' in Upcoming Films

George Lopez to Voice Speedy Gonzales in New Line Movie

(from Animation Magazine.net)Thursday, February 25, 2010
By: Ramin Zahed

It looks like another Looney Tunes character will be getting his own live-action/CG hybrid movie. A story in The Hollywood Reporter announces that New Line will be making a new feature based on Speedy Gonzales, penned by Garfield writers Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen. Comic George Lopez is also attached to voice the fast-moving rat.

Known as “The fastest mouse in all Mexico,” Speedy (voiced by Mel Blanc) made his first official appearance in Friz Freleng’s Oscar-winning short, Speedy Gonzales in 1955, in which he saved the other mice from Sylvester the cat at the Mexican border. The cartoon was the source of some controversy because of the way it promoted negative stereotypes about Mexicans. However, the new producer Anne Lopez assures fans that the new incarnation will be politically correct.

"We wanted to make sure that it was not the Speedy of the 1950s—the racist Speedy," Lopez is quoted in the article. "Speedy's going to be a misunderstood boy who comes from a family that works in a very meticulous setting, and he's a little too fast for what they do. He makes a mess of that. So he has to go out in the world to find what he's good at."

Speedy joins Yogi Bear, The Jetsons, The Smurfs and Marvin the Martian on a growing list of 2D cartoons that are being used as source material for live-action/CG hybrid movies. Let’s hope the movies are at least watchable and honor the memories of the talented animators who created and worked on them.

Jonathan Winters to Voice Papa Smurf

By Rick DeMott | Thursday, February 11, 2010 at 10:47 am | AWN News

Posted In | News Categories: CG, Films, People, Visual Effects, Voice Acting | Geographic Region: All | Site Categories: CG, Films, People, Visual Effects, Voice Acting

UGO reports that Columbia Pictures has hired comic legend Jonathan Winters to voice Papa Smurf in their live-action/CG animated THE SMURFS. SCOOBY-DOO director Raja Gosnall is helming.

Winters would be joining Wallace Shawn as Gargamel. John Lithgow and Julia Sweeney are also rumored to be involved.

J. David Stem and David N. Weiss have adapted a script from the characters created by Belgium cartoonist Peyo.

Talented Artist Really DOES Need "PAYING" Gig!

WELL, after months of delays and hesitancy, I took a regular job. At a retail auto parts chain store. I had vowed to "never work retail" again, but had to take the job because I can't make any decent regular money as an artist. Everyone either wants a 'donation' or doesn't want to pay what the work is worth. Since I am pretty fast, most folks presume it should be pretty cheap.
Well, they can kiss my ass. People who say "Well, it shouldn't cost that much, since it didn't take you that long to do it...." have NO idea just how difficult getting a likeness can actually be! (Just for shits and giggles, YOU try it sometime, Michelangelo!)
Listen up, morons. You're not paying for the short time it takes me to draw your picture, portrait, or caricature. You're paying for the 30+ years of experience to be able to get a likeness in such a short time!
And I can't make as much money at any kind of print shop or in any low-rung graphics position to make it worth my while, so in lieu of chasing people down for pennies, I have taken a position in a field I despise in order to make a living. I don't necessarily enjoy dealing with slack-jawed droolers, trying to avoid arguing with them over what type of car they have, or what part they mistakenly requested. (I meant the part that attachesTO this one.....!) I had forgotten what a joy it is to install a battery in someone's car who is perfectly physically able, but just lazy or ignorant. But it's a regular paycheck. It enables me to help meet my financial obligations and takes stress off of my lovely and patient wife. And it will allow me the small allotment of time to chip away at the details of a project proposal I am attempting to complete.

Please pray for me that I don't blow my brains out before I can finish my cartoon designs.
Thank you and ROLL TIDE.

When You Wish Upon Suing Family Guy

Well, seven years after the fact, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", a Family Guy episode directed by Dan Povenmire, is generating more controversy. Initially pulled from airing on network television due to material deemed offensive (on FOX, ironically enough!), the installment has since been included in the dvd collections and shown (several times) on Cartoon Network's ADULT SWIM.
Now, the music company who holds the rights to the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", the well-known tune featured in Walt Disney's Pinocchio, is suing Time-Warner, the parent company of Cartoon Network.



E-Online tells a little about it here:
http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=36351312-cb93-4ca2-af08-c6eddf2b9a4c&sid=fd-hot3-txt
And here's this this gem from Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117973320.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

NOW, on a totally unrelated note, here is a nifty video featuring an "Etch-a-Sketch" artist:

Pretty neat, eh? I don't think I have the patience or manual dexterity for THAT...!

In Case You Missed It.....

Last night, I happened across a cable-tv showing of a Warner Brothers animated feature from 1999, "The IRON GIANT". This was a well-written and superbly-animated film by Brad Bird (The Incredibles) before he joined Pixar. The animation was gorgeous, and Bird's eye-catching designs captured the 50's sci-fi feel perfectly. If you get a chance, I highly recommend watching it, and/or adding it to your collection.


The use of both traditional animation and computer graphics made for a beautifully-rendered production, and the plot was strong and entertaining. Think "Classic Disney"..... It was a very well-made film that I don't believe was marketed properly by Warner Brothers, otherwise it would have been a much bigger box-office success.

The WHO's Pete Townshend, who is listed as a producer, had previously adapted a version into a rock opera/musical in the late 80's or early 90's, and had attempted to get his made into a feature.

This was the cover to the original novel by Ted Hughes, before the story was watered-down and sugar-coated for mass appeal in America.

AND, on a totally unrelated note, I thought you would also appreciate an old character model sheet from the old 'TerryToons' series "TOM TERRIFIC":

I used to watch this when it was shown on "CAPTAIN KANGAROO".