Saturday, September 7, 2013

How Game of Thrones Used Geese and Tennis Balls on Sticks to Make Daenerys’ Dragons

Not only were the three dragons meticulously computer-generated, but Pixomondo had to create the fictional beasts completely from scratch using the movements of real Komodo dragons, birds, and bats as inspiration.

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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

10 Years After The Room, Tommy Wiseau Is Still Hollywood’s Biggest Mystery


Despite renting a giant billboard on Highland Avenue in Los Angeles to advertise what he hoped would be a successful Hollywood film, the self-funded drama flopped pitifully in 2003 — before making a miraculous comeback as a cult favorite.

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Why Risky Business's Director Vanished


“Risky Business,” the film that made 21-year-old Tom Cruise a household name, was also a promising directorial debut for Paul Brickman, the Chicago native who also wrote the tale ... But as Cruise’s star rose, Brickman retreated from Hollywood.

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Sunday, September 1, 2013

Director Hayao Miyazaki to Retire


Koju Hoshino announced Miyazaki's intention to retire Sunday, but declined to take questions, deferring to a news conference next week in Tokyo. "He wants to say goodbye to all of you, " the Studio Ghibli president said.

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Monday, August 26, 2013

Will Vinton Receives Lifetime Achievement Award


Claymation master Will Vinton received a Lifetime Achievement Award this past weekend at a special ceremony at the Italian Cultural Institute of Los Angeles. The special tribute to the Oscar- and Emmy-winning animator was presented by Cinema Without Borders, the Italian Cultural Institute and the Art Institute of California, Los Angeles. Phil Roman, Phil Mendez, Terry Thoren, Sarah Baisley, Cinzia Angelina and Marco Regina were among the special evening’s attendees.

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Thursday, August 8, 2013

Wizard of Oz Munchkin Margaret Pellegrini Dies


Margaret Pellegrini, who played the flowerpot Munchkin in the 1939 classic The Wizard of Oz, died on Monday at the age of 89.

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Monday, August 5, 2013

The Personal Television Revolution Is Horrifying — And Brilliant


The fall of family TV screen and the rise of personal television appears to be influencing people’s psychology in a lasting way, at least within the U.S. In a study released earlier this summer, Greenfield and two other scholars surveyed the attitudes of high school seniors and determined that during the most recent recession they developed a more inflated sense of self.

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