The Queen Is Dead

I remember back in '88 our school went on a field trip to The Science Museum where they were featuring a Hollywood Monster prop exibit. Of the two that stood out for me were the animatronic wolf head from An American Werewolf In London and the almighty queen alien from Aliens.



She was in the center of the museum posed fighting with the powerloader. Her tail was suspended around the whole exibit. I swear to God it was 100 feet long. My 14 year old jaw dropped to the floor. It was other worldly. The only other time I felt like that was witnessing the Pieta in St. Peter's Cathedral at the Vatican.

It's a shame kids today can't witness the awe that practical film magic can bring. I doubt the exibit would have been the same with a hard drive that designed the Na'Vi placed in the center for all to marvel at.

KISS MY ASS!

OK, I think I need to clarify something about my last post. I wasn’t wholeheartedly endorsing using CGI for The Walking Dead, I merely stated that amongst the sea of latex and practical zombie appliances and effects, I wasn’t going to fret over the CGI blood used.

Yeah, I’m a little biased since I’ve been dying for this to be turned into a show since 2004. It’s a show heavy on story and atmosphere. The fact that they used practical effects at all in this day and age was a bonus. For all intents and purposes, CGI will not be going away, like Katy Perry and Jack Black, it will be forced into our culture to the point where we have to cave a bit. Screw you! I liked Nacho Libre.

I also loved Lord of The Rings even though it had CGI infused throughout. I still won’t recant on my previous statement. I believe you have to pick your battles. Let’s all worry less about CGI blood in the Walking Dead and focus more on upcoming abominations like the prequel of THE THING.

So, to sum up, kiss my ass!

THE DEAD WALK! But not without the help of CGI.

Prepare yourselves. I am about to say something that may shock and disturb you. Get your vomit bags ready…



…I am not going to poop bricks over the CGI blood in the Walking Dead. I know, start unsubscribing now. It’s true though. In the greater scheme of things, the use of CGI in the show didn’t matter. It was minimal. Granted, squibs would have been a bonus, but what you get in the hour and a half premiere was pure practical effect heavy rotting gore with digital enhancement. Locations and mattes were digital, but hey, it was a TV show. Their budget was more limited. They have an excuse to cut corners. I will take a bit of CGI blood here and there if it means keeping the network from shelving the show due to inflated production costs.



The Walking Dead is everything a zombie TV show premiere should be. I was worried that they would tear through the first six issues of the Robert Kirkman comic, but they really did a hell of a job stretching out the story which in turn stretched out the dread. It gave you the, “what would you do in this situation” feeling that many current films of a similar genre lack. The emotions were layered. There was sympathy for the undead. I think it’s pretty safe for me to say that all my zombie film needs were met.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the amount of gore that was allowed for an AMC show. I figured this series would have been perfect for HBO or Showtime, but AMC has proven to be a worthy competitor. The amount of prosthetics and guts and brains were completely satisfying.

…and the flies… dear God, the flies.



I know where I’ll be every Sunday night. Thank you AMC.

Slightly Off Topic...

Yes, this deviates a bit off the track, but Kurt Russell is a valuable member of the practical effects film canon. He has starred in some of the best non CGI special effects films out there. That is why this post feels justified for this blog.

We can all agree that Hollywood is on a remake rampage. One thing that sticks out for me though is the insane amount of remakes of Kurt Russell films. The Thing, Escape From New York, Overboard. Yeah, so far that's only 3, but who's to say that Big Trouble In Little China, Used Cars and Breakdown aren't on the horizon? We Russell fans need to make our voices heard. We need to let Hollywood know that Kurt Russell is better than them!

I have designed this logo in the hope that the word can be spread. Shirts, stickers, posters, whatever! copyright withstanding of course.



We stand with you Kurt. Hollywood will not erase your films from us with their re-imagined garbage.

Thank You.

Now back to your regular scheduled air bladders.

The trolls in "Troll 2" looked more convincing

Why, oh why would you make a film in “Blair Witch” documentary style, and make the monsters absolutely craptastically CGI? I’m talking about SyFy quality. It’s really appalling and insulting to look at. We’re supposed to get into a “documentary” film about trolls when the trolls they show are 2D cartoons?

New “Death To CGI” rule: If you are making a shaky cam documentary and need to have obscured humanoid shapes appear from time to time, spend time to MAKE THE FLIPPIN’ COSTUMES! I guarantee the audience will laugh less.

Dammit Norway! What the hell?

Hope for Mankind

So, on the Disney Channel they have the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It's an all CGI cartoon that is fun for kids but excruciating for adults to watch. Seriously it's just like Dora the Explorer but without the multi-cultural learning.



Anyway, the boy was watching it and after the show was done, to fill the few minute gap, they played an old 40's Disney cartoon. My three year old was fixed to the screen. I could not tear him away. So now every time the new CGI show comes on, he asks me, "where is the other Walt Disney show? I want the other show!"


He makes me so proud. *sob*

Almost There...

Yes, I am still moving.
It's a month long process. Easing in, ya know.

Meanwhile, here is an INSANE stunt provided 100% CGI free for your pleasure...



...My question to you is, if this was made today, would it be CGI, or at the very least composited?

A Long Weekend

A long weekend approaches me. I will be in the process of moving so my posts may be a little sporadic. (more so than usual)

In the meantime, here are some fantastic matte paintings done by the legendary Albert Whitlock...



100% CGI FREE! How many can you name?


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The Walking Dead

AMC's The Walking Dead which will premiere in October is something I've been wating for for almost seven years now. I can only hope that the effects on the show will all be practical, but for budgetary reasons, esspecially for a TV series, that doesn't seem feasable.

It looks like they putting the non CGI effects to good use though. The zombie craze just got a new life again thanks to these guys...

Incredible Feats of Pre-CGI Ingenuity: “SB19”

The shot was called “SB19”. The 19th shot in the final space battle of Return of the Jedi (1983). The amount of designing and physical rendering of this piece was literally exhausting. Ken Ralston and his team at ILM were told by Lucas to make an eye popping and spectacular shot. I think they pulled off a little more than that.

As you can see in this video from a BBC documentary, Ralston, though thoroughly drained, had a great sense of accomplishment when it was all said and done, even though the scene lasted for only three seconds.



Sure, CGI could simplify all of this, but watch the space battle in Jedi compared to the confusing mess of a chase scene at the beginning of Revenge of the Sith(or was it Attack of the Clones? I seriously can’t remember!) and tell me which one has more heart.

One left you in awe while the other left you looking down in your box of Milk Duds trying to pry that last one out and then asking the person sitting next to you if they know what is going on because this space chase scene makes no sense and you know it’s supposed to establish that Anakin is an ace pilot, but the amount of shit that has been presented on the screen makes it unwatchable, like mixing every color of paint together to create the color diarrhea but you know the diarrhea must have a point so you look closer and closer but all you see is more diarrhea…




Anywho… hats off to Ralston and team for photographing one hell of a space battle. It actually holds up so well that Lucas didn’t really add anymore garbage to it in the Special Editions. For Lucas to hold back like that, it’s saying a lot.