Nerd ๐ค Rondo-winning Word Monkey ๐ Co-author
#MastersOfMakeUpEffects
๐ Obtainer of rare antiquities ๐ฆ SWAG Etsy ๐ค BLOG Words of Nerd ๐๐
Happy 81st Birthday to pioneering electronic music artist Wendy Carlos, whose scores for A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and TRON are really just out of this world.
"A nice blend of prediction and surprise seem to be at the heart of the best art."
Happy 78th Birthday Steve Martin! ๐ช
"All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work."
(๐ฝ๏ธ Little Shop of Horrors, 1986)
Happy 60th Birthday Michael J. Fox!
"When you're a short actor you stand on apple boxes and walk on a ramp. When you're a short star everybody else walks in a ditch."
Fred Astaire was his own special effect. Here's a gloriously toe-tapping, smoothly gravity-defying clip from 1951's Royal Wedding, directed by late, great Stanley Donen.
Working alone, Ray Harryhausen spent 4ยฝ months animating Jason and the Argonauts' blistering battle with the Children of the Hydra's Teeth. That's what I call time well spent! ๐โ๐
Remembering George Harrison, born today in 1943. Not only the best Beatle, but also one of the great heroes of British cinema: as the founder of HandMade Films, he produced Life of Brian, The Long Good Friday, Time Bandits, A Private Function, Mona Lisa and Withnail & I.
Five years in the making, this animated passion project by Patrick Schoenmaker proves an Indiana Jones 'toon could capture the atmosphere, charm and excitement of the movies. Wouldn't you love to see a series of these, voiced by Harrison Ford?
Remembering the inimitable Mel Blanc - "The Man of 1000 Voices" - born today in 1908. Besides Bugs here, Blanc voiced fellow Looney Tunes legends Daffy, Porky, Tweety, Sylvester, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Pepรฉ Le Pew, Taz, Speedy, Wile E & more. Amazing!
Happy 82nd Birthday to pioneering electronic music artist Wendy Carlos, whose scores for A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and TRON are really just out of this world.
"A nice blend of prediction and surprise seem to be at the heart of the best art."
Gregory Hines said that if a biography of the Nicholas Brothers was ever made, their dance numbers would have to be computer-generated as no one alive could emulate them. Here they are in Stormy Weather (1943), performing an unrehearsed routine that they nailed on the first take!
The greatest make-up effect is not so much a showy monster as it is a convincing old age make-up that no one even realises is a make-up. Most people watched The Exorcist (1973) believing Max von Sydow was in his seventies, though actually he was only 44. Hell of a magic trick!
Working alone, Ray Harryhausen spent 4ยฝ months animating Jason and the Argonauts' blistering battle with the Children of the Hydra's Teeth. That's what I call time well spent! ๐โ๐
Missing Carrie Fisher on what would have been her 64th birthday, but better to have loved her and lost her, you know, than never to have had her flip us off a thousand perfect times.
โIf my life wasn't funny it would just be true, and that is unacceptable.โ
Back when they made this, they used to say, they don't make them like they used to, but sometimes they did make them liked they used to, and sometimes, they still do. ๐ฐ๐ช
(๐ฝ๏ธ Roller Coaster Rabbit, 1990)
Remembering lovely Jim Henson, born today in 1936.
"When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope still is to leave the world a little bit better for my having been here. It's a wonderful life and I love it."
An actor with greater range than the Hubble Telescope, actor Ned Beatty has sadly passed at 83.
(๐ฝ๏ธ Superman: The Movie, 1978; Network, 1976; Deliverance, 1972; Toy Story 3, 2010)
Remembering legendary Leonard Nimoy, born today in 1931. ๐
"My folks came to the US as immigrants, aliens, and became citizens. I was born in Boston, a citizen, went to Hollywood and became an alien."
Five years in the making, this animated passion project by Patrick Schoenmaker proves an Indiana Jones 'toon could capture the atmosphere, charm and excitement of the movies. Regardless of
#Indy5
's fate, my dream is to see a series of these, voiced by Harrison Ford.
Though Ledger and Phoenix's takes on the Joker earned them both Oscars, Kurtwood Smith's performance as Clarence Boddicker in RoboCop (1987) most closely captured the character's unbridled, anarchic menace. In all but name and design, he remains the best live action Joker.
Happy 77th Birthday Steve Martin! ๐ช
"All I've ever wanted was an honest week's pay for an honest day's work."
(๐ฝ๏ธ Little Shop of Horrors, 1986)