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Stan Winston Birthday April 7, 1946

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Apr 072010

Stan Winston

Stan Winston (April 7, 1946 – June 15, 2008) was an American visual effects supervisor, make-up artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man and Edward Scissorhands.He won four Academy Awards for his work.

Winston, a frequent collaborator with director James Cameron, owned more than one effects studio, including Stan Winston Digital. The established areas of expertise for Winston were in makeup, puppets and practical effects, but he had recently expanded his studio to encompass digital effects as well.

One of the founders of visual effects companies Digital Domain, Stan Winston Digital and Stan Winston studios.

Only the second special effects artist to be honored with a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Stars.

He studied painting and sculpture at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and graduated in 1968.

He moved to Hollywood in 1968. At first he wanted to be an actor, but no jobs came his way and the following year he became an apprentice in the Makeup Department at Walt Disney Studios.

He has become known primarily as a “creature creator.” His first such assignment was for the TV movie Gargoyles (1972) (TV).

Father of actor Matt Winston and daughter.

Made a living as a stand-up comedian before moving into make-up effects.

Helped out on some Special Effects scenes in The Thing (1982) when Rob Bottin was suffering from exhaustion at the time due to his immensely heavy workload.

Father-in-law of Amy Smallman.

Has four grandchildren.

Has a brother.

While filming Predator (1987), Winston returned to his hotel one day, to find his shower crawling with frogs. Convinced that this was a prank by Arnold Schwarzenegger, he called in the help of members of his special effects crew in catching the frogs in a pillow case and releasing them into Arnold’s bed. Neither Stan nor Arnold dared to bring up the subject the next day. Years later, Winston was on a talk-show and recounted the entire story, knowing Arnold would be a guest in that show the next day. But the next day, Arnold commented on the story by swearing he had nothing to do with the prank, upon which Winston’s crew members finally confessed they had played the prank on him. They knew Arnold was innocent but had decided to let Winston get even with him anyway.

He was awarded the Virginia Film’s Festival Virginia Film Award in 1999 and was a member of the festival’s advisory board.

Robert Kurtzman Launches Creature Corps. Creations

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Apr 022010

FROM ShockTillYouDropNews

Source: Ryan Rotten, Managing Editor

April 1, 2010

Robert Kurtzman, when he’s not directing, is still slinging rubber and getting his hands dirty in the FX shop.

He’s launched Creature Corps., a division of Precinct 13 Entertainment which he founded when he parted ways with KNB EFX years ago. And the purpose of this new outfit is to create a costume line and original twisted creations which were on display at this year’s National Haunters Convention in St. Louis. See more pictures at http://shocktillyoudrop.com/news/topnews.php?id=14723

In addition to designing fantastic creations for the haunted attraction industry, the Creature Corps Team is currently busy creating FX the upcoming Bollywood superhero film RA-One staring India Superstar Shahrukh Khan, as well as the horror projects Jinn from director Ajmal Ahmad and Sucker with director Michael Mansasseri.

For more, visit CreatureCorps.net.

“Frankenstein” on Film Celebrating 100th Birthday

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Mar 152010

from Hollywood Reporter Source(s) Rueters

Thursday (March 18) marks the 100th anniversary of the American movie industry’s first attempt to bring “Frankenstein” to the big screen with a long-forgotten film made by Thomas Edison’s studio.

The centennial comes on the heels of recent news about a production based on Dean Koontz’s “Frankenstein” books, as well as the publication of Frederick C. Wiebel, Jr.’s book “Edison’s Frankenstein.”

While visiting his in-laws in Minneapolis 20 years ago, Wiebel happened to see a clip from the long-lost film on TV.

“I was astounded that any of it existed,” he said. “It had been 30 or 40 years since I’d first heard of the movie.”

Intending to write a magazine article about it, Wiebel began researching the film.

“I just kept getting more and more information until at some point it was too long for an article and too short for a book.”

Ultimately, he found enough material to write a book about filming “Frankenstein” as well as about how movies were made in the early 1900s. He also discovered the film’s one surviving print and arranged for its restoration and release on DVD.

When Edison shot his one-reel version of “Frankenstein” in January 1910, Mary Shelley’s novel was already 92 years’ old. It had been produced on stage for years and was already part of the culture through references like “creating a Frankenstein.”

As today’s movie marketers would say, “Frankenstein” had great brand awareness, so it made sense for Edison to bring it to life on screen.

“It took them three or four days to shoot it,” Wiebel noted, which was a little longer than usual.

“What they would do mostly would be to practice the whole film and try to do it, if they could, in one take. They’d rehearse it until they finally got it down and then they would roll the cameras.”

Wiebel said budgets back then were calculated in price per foot — about 50 cents a foot in 1910. The 13-minute “Frankenstein” ran 976 feet, which works out to about $488. But Wiebel said the film had a lot of special effects so it would have cost more.

“They probably spent more making the dummy,” he added, referring to the scene where Dr. Frankenstein creates his monster.

“They made what looks like a papier-mache dummy with a skeleton inside. They either turned the camera upside-down or were cranking backwards so that what came out on the screen would come forward.”

We see Frankenstein throw some chemicals in a cauldron, whose contents catch fire. From these ashes and flames the creature comes together by reversing the footage of the burning dummy.

“Frankenstein,” directed by James Searle Dawley, featured Edison stock players Charles Ogle as the monster, Augustus Phillips as Frankenstein and Mary Fuller as his bride.

Dawley isn’t remembered today despite having been one of Edison’s top filmmakers.

He’d been working with a theatrical stock company in Brooklyn and one of his jobs was renting films to show between theatrical performances. By doing that he met people working for Edison and wound up being offered a job making movies there.

“He got to meet Edwin Porter, who was Edison’s main director at the time,” Wiebel said.

Porter pioneered what evolved into basic filmmaking techniques like cross-cutting and using close-ups instead of full-length body shots. In his 1903 hit “The Great Train Robbery,” Porter showed a close-up of a gun being fired directly at the audience. The terrified moviegoers had never seen anything like this before.

Director D.W. Griffith started out working as an actor for Porter and learned much about moviemaking and film editing from him.

Porter took Dawley on because the theater veteran was good at blocking scenes and directing performances. Porter put him to work doing just that, allowing Porter to do what he enjoyed most — directing action sequences.

Actors were typically paid $5 a day in 1910, which was a pretty good salary then.

“There really weren’t named stars at the time,” Wiebel pointed out. “That developed a few years later. That’s why a lot of theatrical people didn’t want to do movies — because they wouldn’t get any credit for their work.”

Stage actors also looked down on movies because mostly they were shown in a vaudeville setting or thrown in to fill time between plays presented by local theater groups.

Working in Edison’s favor was the fact that its studio in the Bronx was just far enough north of Manhattan so that actors who journeyed uptown to work in movies didn’t risk being seen by their friends.

Creature from the Black Lagoon released March 5, 1954

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Mar 052010

Creature from the Black Lagoon is a 1954 American monster film directed by Jack Arnold, and starring Richard Carlson, Julia Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Moreno, and Whit Bissell. The eponymous creature was played by Ben Chapman on land and Ricou Browning in underwater scenes. The film was released in the United States on March 5 1954.

Creature from the Black Lagoon was filmed and originally released in 3-D requiring polarized 3-D glasses, and subsequently reissued in the 1970s in the inferior anaglyph format (this version was released on home video by MCA Videocassette, Inc. in 1980). It is considered a classic of the 1950s, and generated two sequels, Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us, each a year apart. Revenge of the Creature was also filmed and released in 3-D, in hopes of reviving the format.

Trivia:

Ricou Browning, a professional diver and swimmer, was required to hold his breath for up to 4 minutes at a time for his underwater role as the “Gill Man.” The director’s logic was that the air would have to travel through the monster’s gills and thus not reveal air bubbles from his mouth or nose. Thus, the costume was designed without an air tank. In the subsequent films, this detail was ignored and air can be seen emanating from the top of the creature’s head.
In this film, the eyes of the Creature were a fixed part of the rubber construction of the suit. The actors who played the part of the “Gill Man” could barely see, if at all. In the second film, the eyes have been, somewhat ludicrously, replaced with large, bulbous fish-eyes to assist in the actor’s vision.
Jenny Clack (University of Cambridge) discovered a fossil amphibian, found in the remnants of what was once a fetid swamp and named it Eucritta melanolimnetes – literally “the creature from the black lagoon”.
When William Alland was a member of Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre, he heard famed Mexican cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa tell of a legend about a humanoid creature that supposedly lived in South America. That legend became the origin of this film.
The Creature, using the name “Uncle Gilbert”, appeared in an episode of the TV series “The Munsters” (1964) The episode is titled “Love Comes to Mockingbird Heights.”
The physical appearance of the Creature was modeled after a likeness of the Oscar, the figurine awarded annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Two different stuntmen were used to portray the creature and therefore two different suits were used in the movie. Ricou Browning played the creature when it was in the water and wore a lighter suit. Ben Chapman played the creature when it was out of the water with a darker suit.
Milicent Patrick created the design of the Creature, although Bud Westmore, who was the head of Universal’s makeup department at the time, would take credit publicly for the Creature’s design.
When the Creature attacks Zee, the script called for him to pick him up and throw him into the camera for the 3-D effect. Unfortunately, the wires used to lift Zee up to make it appear as though he was actually being picked up by the Creature kept breaking. After two tries, Jack Arnold decided to just have Zee get strangled to death.
Originally produced in 3-D.
The Creature’s appearance was based on old seventeenth-century woodcuts of two bizarre creatures called the Sea Monk and the Sea Bishop. The Creature’s final head was based on that of the Sea Monk, but the original discarded head was based on that of the Sea Bishop. In one sequence Julie Adams’ character is captured by the creature and carried into a cave. During the filming the stuntman misjudged where the side of the entrance was and accidentally struck Ms. Adams’ head against the wall, knocking her unconscious.
Historically, the first script for this film was commissioned by Adolf Hitler in Germany. The script was to depict a ‘Golem’ that comes out of a swamp and kills ‘Good’ Germans. The script was 60 percent the same as the finished American universal film.
Ingmar Bergman watched this film every day on his birthday.
Originally titled simply: “The Black Lagoon”.
Jean Renoir was an uncredited script doctor on this film.

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman released March 5, 1943

Action, Directors, Dracula, Frankenstein, GoreMaster People, Horror, Makeup Artists, On this Date, The Wolfman, producers, werewolf No Responses »

Mar 052010

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, released in 1943, is an American monster horror film produced by Universal Studios starring Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein’s monster. The movie was the first of a series of “ensemble” monster films combining characters from several film series. This film, therefore, is both the fifth in the series of films based upon Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and a sequel to The Wolf Man.

Trivia:

The Frankenstein Monster, played by Bela Lugosi, is mute in this film, even though Boris Karloff’s monster spoke in the earlier Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Interestingly, Lugosi had refused the role in the original Frankenstein (1931) because he would have had no lines. When Lugosi accepted the part in this film, the original script contained dialogue for the Monster, which was later edited out.
Originally, Lon Chaney Jr. was to play both the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein Monster, but the producers decided the make-up demands and schedule wouldn’t permit this. However, late in life Chaney stated in an interview that he did play both monsters in the film.
When The Monster’s dialogue was deleted (see Alternate Versions), also removed were any references to The Monster being blind – a side-effect of Ygor’s brain being implanted into The Monster at the end of The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). As a result, Lugosi’s sleepwalker-like lumbering gait with arms outstretched is not explained and became the subject of ridicule. It also established the Frankenstein Monster-walk stereotype.
Several photos exist showing the deleted scenes (the fireside chat between the Monster and Talbot beneath the icy catacombs of the castle for instance; where Talbot & the audience learn that the Monster is still blind). This has been confirmed by several sources, including screen writer Curt Siodmak. In the mid-’80s a search was made through the Universal Studio vaults for a print or negative of the uncut prerelease version. As of this date, it has not yet been found.
The very first time we see the Frankenstein Monster, it is not Bela Lugosi in the makeup. Stuntman Eddie Parker also made appearances as the Monster – most noticeably during the final battle with the Wolfman.
Stuntman Gil Perkins doubled for Bela Lugosi in the action scenes, as well as the scene of the Monster being released from the ice. In the climactic fight scene, Eddie Parker doubled Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolfman, while Gil Perkins took over as the Monster. Based on interviews given years later, Perkins may have also doubled Chaney’s Wolf Man in the chase scene through the woods into the castle ruins. Some film scholars insist Eddie Parker appears as the Monster in a handful of shots in the climax.
The film was shot during WWII, amid a notorious anti-German public campaign by the United States government. Screen writer Curt Siodmak, a German Jew himself who had fled his country after hearing anti-Semitic speeches there in 1937, deliberately changed the location of Frankenstein’s castle from Germany to the fictional “Vasaria.” “Vasaria” translates loosely to “water place” in German, obviously correlating the dam, waterfall and hydroelectric turbine that are integral to the film.
The matte painting of the town of “Vasaria” is lifted from Universal’s My Little Chickadee (1940).
This is the first Frankenstein movie to not feature a “Dr. Frankenstein.” Lawrence Talbot seeks Dr. Frankenstein for help, but never does meet him. However, there is another “Frankenstein” – Baroness Elsa Frankenstein, played by Ilona Massey.
With Bela Lugosi’s dialogue scenes cut, he appears in less than five minutes of the film, with stunt men and doubles appearing in almost two additional minutes.
The dog in the film is actually Lon Chaney Jr.’s own German Shepherd, Moose who had made an earlier appearance as the werewolf that attacks Lawrence in The Wolf Man (1941).

Benicio del Toro Birthday February 19

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Feb 192010

Benicio del Toro

Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (born February 19, 1967), better known as Benicio del Toro, is a Puerto Rican actor and film producer. His awards include the Academy Award, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award and British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award. He is known for his roles as Fred Fenster in The Usual Suspects, Javier Rodríguez in Traffic, Jack ‘Jackie Boy’ Rafferty in Sin City, Dr. Gonzo in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Franky Four Fingers in Snatch , Che Guevara in Che, and most recently for his role as Lawrence Talbot in The Wolfman. He is the third Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award.

Trivia:

Son of Gustavo Del Toro and Fausta Sanchez-Del Toro, and Godson of Sarah Torres (all lawyers).

Passionate about oil painting.

Sent to boarding school in Pennsylvania when he was 13.

Has one brother, Gustavo, who is two years older and is a physician in the US.

Mother died when he was nine.

Family urged him to become a lawyer because they felt there was no future in acting.

Studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting on a scholarship.

Dated Chiara Mastroianni

Attended the University of California – San Diego (UCSD)

Burned himself with cigarettes repeatedly for the elevator scene in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) because the real ‘Oscar Zeta Acosta’ did as well. The shots of the burn were cut.

Reportedly turned down the role of Frida Kahlo’s husband Diego Rivera in Frida (2002) because of the weight gain that would be required, despite that earlier, for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), he had gained 40 pounds for his character.

Was offered the role of Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls (2000) that eventually went to Javier Bardem. He turned it down to be in friend Christopher McQuarrie’s The Way of the Gun (2000).

Attended Mercersburg Academy (graduated in 1985). He was a basketball star and artist there, but not an actor.

He badly injured his wrist during a stunt fight during the filming of William Friedkin’s The Hunted (2003). He fell on his wrist as he dove for a knife and actor Tommy Lee Jones fell on top of him. He was injured so badly that he was out of work for months, even though the film was virtually completed. He required 3 hours of therapy daily and reportedly there is a question whether he will regain full use of the wrist.

Cousin of Joshue Del Toro and Rebeca.

“Del Toro” means “of the bull” in Spanish.

Won the 2003 Audience Award for Best Actor at the Venice International Film Festival for his role in 21 Grams (2003).

Third Puerto Rican Actor to win an Academy Award. The other two were: Rita Moreno (West Side Story (1961)) and José Ferrer (Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)).

Benny Dalmau’s last name (his character in Basquiat (1996)) came from Raymond Dalmau, a Puerto Rican basketball player in the 70s and early 80s. Raymond Dalmau wore the shirt Benicio wears in the film when he was in the Puerto Rican National Selection.

From 1988 to 1992 he was in a relationship with Valeria Golino.

Before moving to Pennsylvania, was a student at Academia del Perpetuo Socorro in Miramar, Puerto Rico.

Because of his pay-or-play deal, he was paid $5 million for American Gangster (2007). the film was due to start shooting in October 2004 – with Denzel Washington co-starring – but Universal Pictures postponed it because of budgetary concerns. The film eventually got the green light in 2006, with Ridley Scott replacing Antoine Fuqua as director.

Is one of five Oscar winners – for Best Supporting Actor in Traffic (2000) – to play a character that spoke mostly in a foreign language. Most of his dialog was in Spanish. The other are Sophia Loren, Robert De Niro, Roberto Benigni and Marion Cotillard.

He was considered for the lead character of “Eddie Kagle” in “Angel on My Shoulder” (2005), a role that was played by Paul Muni in Angel on My Shoulder (1946). Producers not only wanted him for his his amazing talent, but also for his close resemblance to Muni.

Youngest person ever to portray a villain in a James Bond-movie: “Dario” in Licence to Kill (1989).

He was originally cast as Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). After the majority of the character’s lines were removed from the script by George Lucas, Benicio left the project.

He and his ex-girlfriend Claire Forlani both been in movies featuring Ryan Phillippe: Claire in Antitrust (2001) and Benicio in The Way of the Gun (2000). They have also both been in movies with Brad Pitt: Claire in Meet Joe Black (1998) and Benicio in Snatch. (2000). Claire and Benicio acted together in Basquiat (1996).

Acted with his ex-girlfriend, Valeria Golino, in three film: Big Top Pee-wee (1988), The Indian Runner (1991) and Submission (1995).

Was an extra in a Madonna video (La Isla Bonita).

Good friends with Johnny Depp. They worked together in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998).

His neighbor is Rade Serbedzija.

His father owned the property across the street from his childhood home and turned it into a full-size basketball court so he and his brother Gustavo could practice and play with their friends. The property has since been built into a condominium.

Lives in Los Angeles.

Vocalist Macy Gray is one of his fans. Both were born the same year.

Is of Spanish and Italian ancestry.

Michael Bay Birthday February 17

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Feb 172010

Michael Bay

Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for directing high-budget action-adventure films characterized for their fast edits and substantial use of practical effects. His films have grossed over 3 billion dollars world-wide. He is currently working on pre-production on Transformers 3, which begins shooting in May 2010.

Bay is a founding member of the commercial production house known as the The Institute, aka The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness. He is co-chair and part-owner of the legacied special effects house, Digital Domain. He co-owns Platinum Dunes, a production house known for its profitable remakes of classic horror movies including Friday the 13th, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the forthcoming A Nightmare on Elm Street.

Trade Mark:

Intense slow motion shots of characters

Films often feature a US President giving a major speech before a major action is to be committed.

Has the camera moving during most scenes. Very rarely uses static shots.

(2001) His last 3 films all share: a) two male leads at odds with another; b) a cataclysmic event as the narrative’s fulcrumic point; c) the film’s lead female character has i) been a long-haired brunette, and ii) watched the film’s climax from a control room

Actors/characters in his films are almost uniformly shot in tight, emphatic close ups, framed under the hairline and above the chin.

Often uses lightflashes (i.e. lightbulbs and cameraflashes) to enhance scenes.

Often has over-the-top visuals (i.e. key events taking place at sunset or dramatic events taking place behind actors doing routine activities).

Utilizes monotonic but intense musical cues during action-filled car chase scenes (Bad Boys II (2003), The Island (2005)).

Uses shots of aircraft against a setting sun, especially helicopters (Armageddon (1998/I), Pearl Harbor (2001), Transformers (2007)).

Often features a slow-motion shot of an object crashing into, or tumbling towards the camera.

Uses a shot where the camera spins in a circle around characters. (Bad Boys II, Transformers)

Frequently incorporates scenes that involve characters running or moving towards the camera (almost always shot in slow-motion)

Big explosions

He occasionally makes cameo appearances in his films: in Bad Boys II (2003) he plays a guy driving a small beat-up old car which Martin Lawrence attempts to borrow, a NASA scientist in Armageddon (1998/I), and in Transformers (2007) he is the “disgusting” human that gets flicked away by Megatron.

Has worked with producer Jerry Bruckheimer on all of his films, until The Island (2005).

Is known for his high grossing action-packed movies. All of his movies have grossed more than $100 million, except _Bad Boys (1996)_ and _Island, The (2005)_.

Frenetic editing of action sequences.

Often includes one black character as comic relief (Eddie Griffin in Armageddon (1998/I), Leonard McMahan in The Rock (1996), Mark Christopher Lawrence in The Island (2005), the minstrely robots Skids and Mudflap in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)).

Most of his films have a shot of pilots running toward their aircraft for takeoff.

All his films have at least one shot of a man screaming in slow motion. Usually as a battle cry.

Trivia:

Dated Playboy centerfold Jaime Bergman (45th Anniversary Playmate).

Educated at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design in California and Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. Was rejected by USC’s film school.

Owns mastiff hounds named Mason after The Rock (1996)), Grace after Armageddon (1998/I), and Bonecrusher after Transformers (2007).

“Movieline” revealed in 2001 that Bay’s father is John Frankenheimer. Frankenheimer, who always denied paternity, took a DNA test in the 1980s which was negative. Bay still maintains Frankenheimer was his father, and has countered that DNA work was less sophisticated at the time.

Shot over 1 million feet of film for Pearl Harbor (2001). Used only about 20,000 feet for the final, 9-reel cut.

In Bad Boys (1995), Bay paid $25,000 (one quarter of his fee) for the climax explosion scene. The initial shot was made impossible by a rainstorm, and the production company refused to pay for another try.

Member of Propaganda Films.

Actors have often noted that he places more importance on the visuals than on his characters and actors. He is also known to do very few takes of intimate character- driven scenes, as he prefers to spend more time on action sequences and visually- interesting moments.

All his films up to and including Armageddon (1998/I) made him the youngest director to reach the billion dollar mark world wide.

Since the age of 26, Bay has won every major commercial directing award, including the Gold and Silver Lions at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. He also won the Grand Prix Clio for Commercial of the Year for his “Got Milk/Aaron Burr” commercial, which also won him the Museum of Modern Art Award for Best Campaign of the Year.

Filmed the movie Armageddon (1998/I) with an eye towards Middle America. Has a love for Americana.

Studied under film historian Jeanine Basinger at Wesleyan University; Basinger later provided audio commentary, along with Bay, for the Pearl Harbor (2001) DVD.

He is a very close friend of writer/director George Lucas from whom he often seeks advice. As a teenager, he worked at ILM in the storyboard department for films like Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

He is a very good friend to Don Michael Paul and even lent him some aerial shots from The Rock (1996) to Paul’s movie Half Past Dead (2002).

Ranked #47 on Premiere’s 2005 Power 50 List. Had ranked #54 in 2004.

He filmed the dynamic shots of the thrown dice in the gambling scenes for Adrian Lyne’s Indecent Proposal (1993). He later “repossessed” the shots for a montage in Armageddon (1998/I).

President of The Institute for the Development of Enhanced Perceptual Awareness, a commercial and music video production company.

The Rock (1996) is his favorite of the films he has directed and Sean Connery is his favorite actor that he’s ever worked with.

Two of his films, Armageddon (1998/I) and The Rock (1996), are in the Criterion Collection.

Uses a Mark V director’s viewfinder while shooting a film. The viewfinder is often prominently featured in photographs of him, hung around his neck. It is engraved with his name and the names of every film he has directed.

Was offered the chance to direct Red Dragon (2002) but turned it down. Job went to Brett Ratner.

Raised by parents Jim Bay and Harriet Bay (Michael adopted when he was two weeks old), and sister Lisa Bay.

Turned down the offer to direct Van Helsing (2004) , opting to do The Island (2005) instead.

Was offered the chance to direct Man on Fire (2004).

Was offer the opportunity to direct Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) but pulled out of the project due to scheduling conflicts.

Good friends with Ben Affleck.

Was considered to direct Superman Returns (2006).

Cousin of Leonard Nimoy.

Was challenged by German filmmaker Uwe Boll to a charity boxing match in 2008.

Despite the amount of special effects in his films, he considers himself an old school director, preferring analog over digital, both in shooting on film stock and keeping CGI shots to a minimum, staging practical action and stunts whenever possible.

Jeremy “Boba Fett” Bulloch Birthday February 16

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Feb 162010

Jeremy Bulloch Star Wars the Empire Strikes Back Bobba Fett

Jeremy Bulloch "Boba Fett"

Jeremy Bulloch (born 16 February 1945) is an English actor. He is best known as the bounty hunter Boba Fett in the Star Wars original trilogy. He has appeared in numerous British TV and film productions, including Doctor Who and Robin of Sherwood.

Trivia:

Attended the I Central American Star Wars Convention at Guatemala City, Guatemala, to talk about his character “Boba Fett”, on 27-28 July 2002.

He said at the conference that his favorite line on his Star Wars appearances was: “Put Captain Solo on the cargo hold”.

He also confessed that the first time he said that line, it was: “Put Captain CARGO on the SOLO hold”.

In the 2004 DVD release of Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the voice of Boba Fett (voiced by Jason Wingreen) has been dubbed over by Temuera Morrison, who played Jango Fett (the father of Boba Fett, Bulloch’s character) in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002). Ironically, both Bulloch and Morrison will appear in Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005).

Half-brother of Robert Watts.

He has eleven grandchildren.

His sister was the child-actress Sally Bulloch, and their grandfather was one of the writers of the film Scott of the Antarctic (1948).

Star Wars the Empire Strickes Back Boba Fett

Cesar Romero Birthday February 15, 1907

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Feb 152010

Cesar Romero

Cesar Julio Romero, Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was a Cuban American film and television actor, who played The Joker in the 1960s television series Batman. In 1966, the show was transferred to movie theaters, and Romero became the first actor to portray the Joker in a motion picture.

Cesar Romero as The Joker

Trade Mark:

His moustache.

Trivia:

TV writer Mark Evanier remarked that Romero was usually easily available to cast for TV show guest appearances. Apparently, Evanier knew at least one crew member on a TV show who prepared roles with Romero in mind as a default choice in the likely event that a preferred guest star would pull out of a guest appearance.

Refused to shave off his mustache when he played the role of The Joker in “Batman” (1966). Close observation shows how the white clown make- up was applied right over his much loved mustache.

Believed in “liberation theology,” a political system of Marxism-Christianity, which purports that, despite the fact that ‘Karl Marx’ called religion “the opiate of the masses,” religion and communism are still compatible. Romero was very Christian yet still believed in a utopian society (believing that Christ’s kingdom would be very similar to Marx’s vision of communism) and clung to this belief until his death.

Towards the end of his life, he was interviewed by author Boze Hadleigh, and gave a revealing, often comic account of what life was like in the Golden Age of Hollywood for a openly closeted gay man (i.e., out to everyone but “the public”). The interview is included in Hadleigh’s book, “Hollywood Gays”.

His maternal grandparents were the exiled Cubans Carmen and her invalid husband, Manuel Mantilla. Their daughter María Mantilla, César Romero’s mother, is generally believed to have been the daughter of Cuban poet and Revolutionary leader José Martí, who also wrote “Guantánamera” (“Yo soy un hombre sincero . . . “).

Has never worked directly with George Clooney, but Clooney has starred in two remakes of movies Romero was in. Romero played the Joker in “Batman” (1966), and Clooney played Batman in Batman & Robin (1997). Romero also appeared in the original Ocean’s Eleven (1960), the remake of which starred Clooney.

He believed that to live well you must dress well. And never in the same outfit. His closets held 30 tuxedos, 200 sports jackets, and 500 suits.

Is one of two Batman villains to share roles with actors who played Batman. He, Adam West and Val Kilmer have all played John ‘Doc’ Holliday, in Frontier Marshal (1939), “Colt .45″ (1957), “Lawman” (1958) and Tombstone (1993), respectively. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger both played Bob Dylan in I’m Not There. (2007).

Was the first actor to play the Joker in a live action adaptation of the Batman character.

At 6′ 2″, he was the tallest actor to have played the Joker in a (non fan-made) live action Batman production. Heath Ledger was 6′ 1″ and Jack Nicholson was nearly 5′ 10″.

Dracula released February 14, 1931

Dracula, Fantasy, GoreMaster People, Horror, vampire No Responses »

Feb 142010

Dracula is a 1931 United States horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Béla Lugosi as the title character. The film was produced by Universal and is based on the stage play of the same name by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, which in turn is based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Trivia:

• Universal Studios commissioned a new musical score from composer Philip Glass. It premiered at The Brooklyn Academy of Music on 26 October 1999.
• When Universal purchased the rights to the 1927 Broadway play, Lon Chaney was considered for the title role. However, Chaney died on August 26, 1930, and the role went to Bela Lugosi.
• A Spanish-language version, Drácula (1931), was filmed at night on the same set at the same time, with Spanish-speaking actors.
• Cinematographer Karl Freund achieved the effect of Dracula’s hypnotic stare by aiming two pencil-spot-lights into actor Bela Lugosi’s eyes.
• The Royal Albert Hall sequence of the movie was filmed on the same stage where The Phantom of the Opera (1925) starring Lon Chaney had been filmed.
• The large, expansive sets built for the Transylvania castle and Carfax Abbey sequences remained standing after filming was completed, and were used by Universal Pictures for many other movies for over a decade.
• Among the other actors mentioned as possible candidates for the role of Count Dracula were John Wray, Paul Muni, Conrad Veidt, Chester Morris, and William Courtenay.
• Bela Lugosi was so desperate to repeat his stage success and play the Count Dracula role for the film version, that he agreed to a contract paying him $500 per week for a seven week shooting schedule, an insultingly small amount even during the days of the Depression.
• The spider webs in Dracula’s castle were created by shooting rubber cement from a rotary gun.
• Bela Lugosi played the role of Dracula on Broadway in 1927 before touring the country with the show. The American performance of the British stage actor Hamilton Deane’s adaptation of the book was a smashing success. Soon after the play began touring Universal started to express interest in the script.
• Due to studio demands to cut costs, the film was shot in sequence.
• Similar to the prologue in Frankenstein (1931), the original release featured an epilogue with Edward Van Sloan talking to the audience about what they have just seen. This was removed for the 1936 re-release and is now assumed to be lost.
• After the death of Lon Chaney, one of the first actors considered for the title role was Ian Keith.
• While it is rumored that Bela Lugosi, could not speak English very well, and had to learn his lines phonetically, this is not true. Lugosi was speaking English as well as he ever would by the time this was filmed.
• There was no real musical soundtrack in the film because it was believed that, with sound being such a recent innovation in films, the audience would not accept hearing music in a scene if there was no explanation for it being there (e.g., the orchestra playing off camera when Dracula meets Mina at the theatre).
• Several famous elements often associated with Dracula are not visible in this film. At no point does Dracula display fangs. Also, the famous vampire bite mark on the neck is never shown either (though it is visible in the Spanish version).
• Although it was his most famous role, Bela Lugosi played Dracula only once more on screen, in the comedy Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). However, he played Dracula-like characters in movies such as The Return of the Vampire (1944) and Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959).
• This Universal production became the most famous and successful film to pair David Manners with Helen Chandler. The pair had made two films at Warner Brothers/First National and one at Fox.
• The peasants inside the inn are praying The Lord’s Prayer in Hungarian.
• Bette Davis (who had a contract at Universal at the time) was considered to play the part of Mina Harker. However, Universal head Carl Laemmle Jr. didn’t think too highly of her sex appeal.
• The opening music to this film is from Act 2 of Swan Lake.
• In the scene where Dracula and Renfield are traveling to London by boat, the footage shown is borrowed from a Universal silent film called The Storm Breaker (1925). Silent films were projected at a different frames-per-second speed from that later adopted for sound films, accounting for the jerky movements and quicker-than-normal action of these shots.
• In the first scene, the young woman reading from the tourist book was played by Carla Laemmle, niece of Carl Laemmle, founder and head of Universal Pictures.
• When Carl Laemmle moved Universal to California in 1914, a version of “Dracula” was one of the first projects being considered. It was over fifteen years before this version was produced.
• The movie’s line “Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.” was voted as the #83 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).
• When Bela Lugosi died in 1956, he was buried wearing the black silk cape he wore for this film.
• Universal’s original plan was to make a big-budget adaptation of “Dracula” that would strictly adhere to the Bram Stoker novel. However, after the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression, Universal chose not to risk an investment on such a sprawling film. Instead, it adapted the much less expensive Hamilton Deane stage play.
• Universal acquired the film rights to “Dracula” from Bram Stoker’s widow and the play’s writer Hamilton Deane for $40,000.
• Before he was cast as Count Dracula, Bela Lugosi acted as an unpaid intermediary for Universal Pictures in negotiating with the widow of author Bram Stoker in an attempt to persuade her to lower her asking price for the filming rights to the Dracula property. After two months of negotiations, Mrs. Stoker reportedly lowered her price from $200,000 to $60,000. This, however, further demonstrated to Universal how desperate Lugosi was to repeat his stage success as Count Dracula and secure the film role for himself.
• Apparently morose over the loss of friend and collaborator Lon Chaney and in the midst of severe alcoholism, the normally meticulous Tod Browning was said to have been sullen and unprofessional during the shoot. Among his actions were to leave set, leaving cinematographer Karl Freund to direct scenes. He would also recklessly tear pages out of the script if he felt them to be redundant.
• The original Broadway production of “Dracula” starring Bela Lugosi opened at the Fulton Theater on October 5, 1927 and ran for 261 performances. Also in the original cast was Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing. These were the only two actors from the original 1927 Broadway production to repeat their roles in the film.
• Although he lived for 67 years after the film was released, David Manners (John Harker) claimed he never watched it.
• Edward Van Sloan and Dwight Frye also appeared in the horror classic Frankenstein (1931). They are the only 2 actors to have appeared in both films.
• Bela Lugosi never blinks even once throughout the film.

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