Video
The Great Orson Welles
This is a video of my favorite director’s last TV appearance ever on the Merv Griffin show, October 10th, 1985 . Even at 70 years old, you can still see his wit, charm and intelligence come through. It’s a great video of a great and supremely talented man who’s influence on films and filmmaking is enormous.
And to make it even more interesting, two hours after his appearance on the show, Orson Welles died in his home of a heat attack.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hGgUQ9zbIk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]
But wait, there's more. Here's a trailer for a movie that Orson Welles supposedly (at least according to rumor) wanted to make -- Batman. With Welles himself playing the title role, of course. Even though this video is actually fake and was not made by Welles, its still very well done and poses a great "what if" scenario that I, as a fan of the master and <em>Batman</em>, would love to have seen.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpe5lJCabbI&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]
Video Friday
Because I liked the “photo a day” deal so much, I’m also going to try and find cool videos to post as regularly as I can – mostly on Fridays. I may end up shooting some of them but I also may just post other ones that I find around the Internets.
So, to get us going, here's the first one out of the gate. In some ways, this video is better and more original than many things that come out of Hollywood (or the BBC for that matter). This point is made all the more interesting because this video was not made by Hollywood (or BBC) pros, but by a family on vacation who simply love a show and wanted to do something fun. Enjoy.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRZAledkL6Q&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0]
Michael Mann's 'Lucky Star'
Here’s an interesting fake trailer for a movie called ‘Lucky Star’ that’s actually a commercial for the Mercedes SL500. Made in 2002, starring Benecio Del Toro and directed by Michael Mann, its one of the longest and most expensive commercials ever made. Sadly, I did not work on it. However, even without my involvement, it’s still pretty damn cool – mostly because Mann is pretty much a genius.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoCLxp2W9xE&hl=en&fs=1]
Happy 25th 'Return of the Jedi'
Loved the movie (of course) but I found those short, furry creatures kinda lame. But after this, I gave them a second chance. Maybe you will too.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xdd0edT-BeE&border=1&color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999&hl=en]
Uwe Boll is a Genius -- According To Him
I find this very amusing. I don’t think Uwe Boll is a very good filmmaker but I also agree a bit with his complaints about Michael Bay and the like. So much conflict for me at such a (relatively) young age.
Say what you will about his mostly-lacking skills as a filmmaker, but he sure <em>does not</em> lack self-confidence. Enjoy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxW_dj4cW0w&hl=en]
So long HD-DVD, I hardly knew 'ya
Guess it's time to put away the HD-DVD player attached to my XBox 360. Why? HD-DVD is going bye-bye.
Well, it was fun while it lasted. At least I don't have to worry about which player to use to watch movies. My PS3 will be so happy.In truth, I always thought Blu-Ray looked better anyway and the upsampling for standard-def DVD's is also very good. So, not a huge loss.
I need to spend less time in front of the TV anyway.
David Lynch on product placement
Direct and to the point, just how it should be. Plus, I happen to agree with him
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4wh_mc8hRE&rel=1]
What really happened to that X-Wing Fighter
Apparently, the previous video is not the complete story because there’s this. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Are we really alone?[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgF9hBL-CuA&rel=1]
Do you have your own X-Wing Fighter?
Build and launch your own X-Wing Fighter? Sounds impossible? Not for these guys. Although, it doesn’t end so well.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK-LKLxaieo&rel=1]
The Shower Scene from Psycho
This is pretty funny and features some pretty good performances (at least by potato standards).
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX7K9uSr6H0&rel=1]
Enjoy and happy Turkey Day all.
WGA Strike by The Daily Show Writers
Really, at this point, what more could I add?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzRHlpEmr0w&rel=1]
Obama or Clinton? Chris Rock Helps You Decide. Plus, A Great Commercial
It’s not a secret how I feel about our current President. If you’re not sure, let’s just be polite and say I think he’s not doing a very good job at all. In fact, I think he’s probably one of the worst Presidents we’ve ever had and will go down in history as one of the key reasons this country went from world leader to world joke. Well, maybe ‘joke’ isn’t the right word (we are still well-reagrded in some circles) but we sure don’t look as good as we used to.
The real question on my mind now is who the heck do we get to be our next President when we have our election in only eighteen months or so. We need someone who can help restore the world's faith in our country and help us reagin our standing as the world leader we should be.
I pretty much know how I'm going to vote but its always good to hear other opinions. Following that logic, here's what Chris Rock has to say on the subject:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/1RlVtsAvKfs]
Also, if you're a fan of interesting commercials (and great ones from the past), politics and the Mac as I am, then this next bit of video should be right up your alley.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/6h3G-lMZxjo]
I really like some of the more subtle updates to the add -- especially the inclusion of the iPod on the hip of the hammer-wielding woman. From a technical standpoint, also very well done. (Actually it occurred to me later that the person making this video probably used the updated version of the commercial already featuring the iPod and didn't add it himself/herself. Still, a great job.)
Lastly, I've been thinking about how to reform our government and the election process and have some ideas. But for now, just enjoy the video. We can get into massive change later.
Video Questions, SXSW and the Busy Tony Pierce
Oddly enough I can't embed a video here from a site called <a href="http://www.jumpcut.com" target="_blank">Jumpcut</a>. Even though the video is an interview with WordPress co-founder <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Mullenweg" target="_blank">Matt Mullenweg</a> conducted by LAist head honcho and all-around cool guy <a href="http://www.tonypierce.com/blog/bloggy.htm" target="_blank">Tony Pierce</a>. You would think they would make an exception this time, but no.
So, I can only link to LAist where the <a href="http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/03/14/sxsw_interview_with_matt_1_of_wordpress.php" target="_blank">video is</a> for you to have the opportunity to enjoy it. I find the whole situation pretty ironic. Oh well, at least Matt seems like a nice guy even if I sometimes don't quite understand the rules around here -- as in why YouTube videos are ok and Jumpcut videos are not. Still, glad to be here and: Go WordPress!
Tony was very busy and also got several more interviews while attending <a href="http://2007.sxsw.com/" target="_blank">SXSW</a> in Austin this week. Some of them include the <a href="http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/03/14/the_twitter_boys_answer_obvious_questions_in_austin.php" target="_blank">guys who started</a> Web 2.0 "it" site of the moment <a href="http://www.twitter.com" target="_blank">Twitter</a> as well as and <a href="http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/03/12/interview_with_mary_colvig_of_mozilla_discussing_firefox.php" target="_blank">interview with Mary Colvig</a> of Mozilla. Some interesting stuff -- especially if you love the tech like I do and are also super-jealous of Tony for being able to attend SXSW this year. Next year, dammit, I'm there for sure.
Oh, the picture has basically nothing to do with this post at all. Its just something I used over at LAist for a recent <a href="http://www.laist.com/archives/2007/03/16/tech_news_roundup_viacom_google_jack_thompsons_smackdown_and_yahoos_betrayal.php" target="_blank">Tech News</a> post and I liked it. Happy weekend all.
What Would Vincent Vega Do?
[youtube=www.youtube.com/v/SeDyK2l…]I find this funny so I thought I would post it here. Other than that, I am currently busting my butt to meet various deadlines and doing exactly what I feared I would do – not post here much. Well, even as I said I hoped to keep up I knew in the back of my mind that I may have been biting off more than I could, well, chew.
Anyway, I will still attempt to post here as much as I can but with all the Cinematical and Comic Book Resources stuff going on, I hardly have time for LAist – let alone this here blog. Still, it would be nice to be able to do what i said I was going to do. I’m trying. I really am.
Until then, enjoy this little bit of video and I hope you get a laugh from it. Oh, one more thing. If you happen to be in San Francisco at MacWorld Expo in January, feel free to say “hello.” I’ll be there checking out all the latest Apple goodness (and maybe even an iPhone). You never know what might happen.
News and where to get it plus Mel Gibson
as we all know, the middle east seems to be imploding by the minute. we can’t seem to get a handle on iraq and now isreal and pretty much anyone else are trying to kill each other. so, if you want all the bad news, i’m sure there are a few places around the net where you can get your fill.
if you have no clue where to go, following are a few suggestions. if you are like me, you like to get your news with a little opinion thrown in. hopefully, said opinion is an informed one and makes for an interesting read. the following links fill those criteria, at least for me. there are countless others but these also have a certain level of writing quality which i can only aspire to. i don’t always agree with what’s being said on these sites but they are rarely borning:
and if you lean more to the right:
or, there are the more traditional sites such as:
and, if you are less interested in cold hard truth and more interested in cold hard truth mixed with humor, try this:
and be sure to watch:
the daily show with john stewart
now don’t you feel much more informed and ready to speak at parties and not sound like an idiot? these sources of information can help you but you have to also keep in mind that drinking six beers and then trying to talk to people doesn’t make you smarter, it just makes you drunk. and many times drunk people are just annoying and say really stupid things that, of course, they don’t mean. let’s all learn a lesson from mel gibson, shall we?
Funny Stuff for the New Year
hopefully this will be as funny to you as it is to me even if yesterday was actually a lazy sunday. and, if you are ever in new york, the cupcakes at magnolia bakery are quite good. in fact, you could even say they are crazy delicious.
plus, check out andy samberg’s other stuff at the lonely island site back when he was just a local LA funny guy that hadn’t hit the big time yet on SNL. i’m especially fond of the ‘bu. good stuff. or, if you prefer other chris parnell goodies, get a load of farm slut.
All the best for 2006. now if the damn rain would stop. this is getting ridiculous.