TRAILER: GRAVITY

IN TWEET: GEORGE CLOONEY AND SANDRA BULLOCK IN SPACE! A FIRST LOOK AT THE FALL RELEASE “GRAVITY” FROM DIRECTOR ALFONSO CUARON.

There has been more than a little curiosity about the Fall release GRAVITY. Less because it stars George Clooney and Sandra Bullock and more because of the guy behind the camera, director Alfonso Cuaron, and the roller coaster development history of the film.

Oscar-nominated for CHILDREN OF MEN (Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing) and the amazing Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (Original Screenplay), Cuaron also directed HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN (one of the only films in that series I could get through. Yes, I’m a muggle and damn proud of it). He writes, directs, produces, edits, chops, slices and juliennes. Alfonso Cuaron is a talent to be reckoned with and I am a big fan. Still, there are dark clouds on the GRAVITY horizon.

For a movie with only two principle characters, casting (especially for Bullock’s role) became an A-list turnstile. We’re talking about a process that started in the early months of 2010 after Universal put the film in turnaround and Warners picked it up. Everyone from Angelina Jolie (who wanted $20 million to grace us with her presence) to Natalie Portman was attached to the project at one time or another. Once Bullock signed and didn’t flee, Clooney replaced Robert Downey Jr. and a picture was born!

I suspect we are seeing the highlights of the boom boom in the GRAVITY trailer because the main plot of the film takes place after the harrowing disaster seen here. Clooney and Bullock are tethered together and stranded in the silent darkness of space. I wouldn’t mind hanging out with either of them…but not under these circumstances.

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GRAVITY opens October 4, 2013 in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.

LEGACY: RAY HARRYHAUSEN

IN TWEET: RAY HARRYHAUSEN, ICONIC VISUAL EFFECTS PIONEER, HAS DIED. HE WAS 92. JOIN OUR TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND WITH A LOOK AT VIDEO AND IMAGES OF HIS FINEST WORK.

There are many well-known people who make movies. Then there are the legends; pioneering geniuses who shaped and forever changed the modern cinema experience. RAY HARRYHAUSEN was in that class. The iconic visual effects wizard died in London today at the age of 92.

You would be hard pressed to find a filmmaker in the sci-fi, fantasy or horror genres who doesn’t credit Harryhausen as one of their influences. From his work on classics like MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1949) to lesser entries that were made infinitely more enjoyable because of his involvement (like the otherwise dreadful 1981 CLASH OF THE TITANS), Ray Harryhausen became a box office draw in his own right.

My father mentored me into the world of Harryhausen by taking me to matinee re-issues of JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963), THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1958) and THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1973). The special effects in these films are among the most celebrated examples of Ray Harryhausen’s visual wizardry and with good reason: stop motion animation is a painstaking art that few ever truly master. Harryhausen worked with his hands; not on a keyboard or drawing tablet but, instead, on articulated models. He moved each of them in tiny, incremental steps that were shot frame by frame.

The best way to pay tribute to Ray Harryhausen is to enjoy images and video of his finest work. These are my personal favorites: full stop-motion animation effects sequences from JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (the amazing skeleton fight), CLASH OF THE TITANS (the famous encounter with Medusa) and THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (Kali dances, a scene that freaked me out as a kid).

JASON & THE ARGONAUTS (1963)

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CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981)

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THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD (1973)

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Finally, check out this cool video compilation (in chronological order) that spans the entirety of the amazing career of Ray Harryhausen.

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