Thanks to FilmPub I think we may have the first four set pictures of Indiana Jones 4! Now take this with a grain of salt as it isn’t comfirmed at all that these are legitimate pictures. But just for a minute take it that they are in fact real pictures of Indy 4, check them out below:

     Fans of the Saw series (which includes me I might add) will be interested in seeing the following “teaser” poster for the fourth installment in the series (shown below).

      

     Now I will just throw in my two cents on the general idea of making a fourth Saw film. For those of you who have seen the other three films, and especially the third, will be wondering the exact same thing as me - how in the world can they make a fourth one? The story effectively was over by the end of the third so how in the world they can carry it on is beyond me. But since they have decided to go ahead and make it anyway, however implausable the carrying on of the story is, I will no doubt be there at the cinema to see what they do with it.

      What are your thoughts on the poster and the idea of a fourth film in general?

     Found this over on Flixster’s profile for The Dark Knight. I think it’s fan made, but I don’t see it anywhere else on the net. Even if it is not real, it’s pretty cool.

     The actual photo is the same thing we’ve seen a million times now, but I like how it’s incorporated here with a tagline and kind of at an angle. It works well.

     I actually had mediocre hopes for Rob Zombie’s Halloween remake. The trailer looked kind of cool. The original poster was simplistic yet creepy. Now though, I’ve just seen the official poster through Slash Film and I have to say it looks terrible. It looks like just another horror movie poster. The faces in the mask are somewhat interesting but what does the long haired Rob Zombie look alike have to do with the frigging movie?

Source: Wikipedia.com

     According to Lucas, the film was inspired by numerous sources, such as Beowulf and King Arthur for the origins of myth and world religions.^[1] Lucas originally wanted to rely heavily on 1930s Flash Gordon film serials; however, Lucas resorted to Akira Kurosawa’s film The Hidden Fortress and Joseph Campbell’s The Hero With a Thousand Faces because of copyright issues with Flash Gordon. The scene in which Princess Leia awards Han and Luke is similar to a scene in Leni Riefenstahl’s 1934 film Triumph of the Will; both scenes have large, enthusiastic crowds seated in a shallow amphitheater bounded by columns, with a low dais where the leader stands.

The throne room of the Massassi Temple in Star Wars

     A similar shot from Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the WillStar Wars features several parallels to Flash Gordon, such as the conflict between Rebels and Imperial Forces, the “soft wipes” between scenes, and the famous “opening crawl” that begins each film. A concept borrowed from Flash Gordon — a fusion of futuristic technology and traditional magic — was originally developed by one of the founders of science fiction, H.G. Wells. Wells believed the Industrial Revolution had quietly destroyed the idea that fairy-tale magic might be real. Thus, he found that plausibility was required to allow myth to work properly, and substituted elements of the Industrial Era: time machines instead of magic carpets, Martians instead of dragons, and scientists instead of wizards. Wells called his new genre “scientific fantasia“.Star Wars was influenced by the 1958 Kurosawa film The Hidden Fortress; for instance, the two bickering peasants evolved into C-3PO and R2-D2, and a Japanese family crest seen in the film is similar to the Imperial Crest. Star Wars borrows heavily from another Kurosawa film, Yojimbo. In both films, several men threaten the hero, bragging how wanted they are by authorities. The situation ends with an arm being cut off by a blade. Mifune is offered “twenty-five ryo now, twenty-five when you complete the mission.” whereas Han Solo is offered “Two thousand now, plus fifteen when we reach Alderaan.” Lucas’ affection for Kurosawa may have influenced his decision to visit Japan in the early 1970s, where he borrowed the name “Jedi” from jidaigeki (which in English means “period dramas”, and refers to films typically featuring samurai). Lucas drew inspiration from J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy book The Lord of the Rings, in that Obi-Wan Kenobi is the Wizard Gandalf reincarnate, albeit in differing fashions, and Darth Vader and the Witch-king of Angmar are the chief servants of a higher evil power and dress in black. Luke watches the duel of Obi-Wan and Vader from across a chasm as Frodo witnessed the duel between Gandalf and the Balrog; both feature their respective blue and red melee weapons. Tatooine is similar to Arrakis from Frank Herbert’s book Dune. Arrakis is the only known source of a longevity drug called the Spice Melange; Han Solo is a spice smuggler who has been through the spice mines of Kessel. Lucas’ original concept of the film dealt heavily with the transport of spice, although the nature of the material remained unexplored. In the conversation at Obi-Wan Kenobi’s home between Obi-Wan and Luke, Luke expresses a belief that his father was a navigator on a spice freighter. Other similarities include those between Princess Leia and Princess Alia (pronounced [ə.ˈliː.ə]), and between Jedi mind tricks and “The Voice”, a controlling ability used by Bene Gesserit. In passing, Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru are “Moisture Farmers”; in Dune, Dew Collectors are used by Fremen to “provide a small but reliable source of water”.There are subtle parallels to the Japanese serial Space Cruiser Yamato (Star Blazers); both Wildstar and Skywalker are young and hot-headed but grow into mature leaders; Captain Avatar and Obi-Wan each portray the wizened old warrior; the similarities between R2-D2 and IQ-9 are unmistakable. Additionally, in both stories the heroes fly fighter plane-type spacecraft; the Death Star and the Comet Empire perform similar functions and the chief villains (Darth Vader and Desslok) meet similar fates.The Death Star assault scene was modeled after the 1950s movie The Dam Busters, in which Royal Air Force Lancaster bombers fly along heavily defended reservoirs and aim “bouncing bombs” at their man-made dams to cripple the heavy industry of the Ruhr. Some of the dialogue in The Dam Busters is repeated in the A New Hope climax; Gilbert Taylor also filmed the special effects sequences in The Dam Busters. In addition, the sequence was partially inspired by the climax of the film 633 Squadron directed by Walter Grauman.

     The opening shot of Star Wars, in which a detailed spaceship fills the screen overhead, is a nod to the scene introducing the interplanetary spacecraft Discovery One in Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The earlier big-budget science fiction film influenced the look of A New Hope in many other ways, including the use of EVA pods, hexagonal corridors, and primitive computer graphics. The orbiting space station in 2001 has a docking bay reminiscent of the one on the Death Star. The film also draws on The Wizard of Oz: similarities exist between Jawas and Munchkins, the main characters disguise themselves as enemy soldiers, and Obi-Wan dies, leaving only his empty robe in the same fashion as the Wicked Witch of the West. Although golden and male, C-3PO is inspired by the robot Maria from Fritz Lang’s 1927 film Metropolis. His whirring sounds were speculated to be inspired by the clanking noises of the Tin Woodsman in The Wizard of Oz.

Happy Birthday Star Wars!

     In keeping with our Star Wars theme over the weekend (the 30th Anniversary of the greatest film of all time is on Friday - check back then for our thoughts and remembrances as part of the great Star Wars Blog-a-thon), here are some images of the toys Kenner rejected from the Lucasfilm merchandising department from MCmoran.org via Filmrot. I can’t figure out why they were rejected; I’d love to play with the force for a little while in my backyard…

click unwrap to see more toys…

UNWRAP TEXT or SHOW **SPOILER**

     Once again, Cinema Fusion hooks us up with the news of the new Star Wars “cartoon” that is in production as we speak. The news is two-fold. One, Lucasfilm has released the first one-sheet advert for the series that shows us the general look of what the show will be like. And two, according to StarWars.com, it is announced that at Celebration IV in L.A., California, there will be a panel of producers and the director to give fans a “behind the scenes” look into what the show will offer us.

     Sounds exciting. I enjoyed the animated series of a few years back that took place between episodes two and three. It was a little too kid friendly, but it pieced the films together nicely with some further insight into Grievous and other shallow characters from the film. I didn’t realize this is to be CG-animation. By the looks of the poster it sort of looks like a cross between the realism of films like Final Fantasy and the toonishness of Toy Story. Of course, that’s just the poster; so who knows what the final product will look like.

Current Mood: Cool

     Some new images I found over at If Its Movies of the new Rambo film. Now, does anyone actually think this movie will be good? I just re-watched each previous film in rapid succession a couple months ago to prepare myself for part 4 and reaquaint myself with John Rambo. I have to say, they’re pretty cheesy, but there’s definitely a cool factor in there and they end up just being pretty fun if you go with ti for what they are. Anyway, here are some images from the new film (don’t know if they’re legal or if they’re even real) - Stallone looks as buff and kick ass as ever.

     I’m not overly excited about this film, in fact, not really at all. Still, I’ll probably see this on opening day if there’s nothing else big on that day. I think this could be fun. On the same par as Rocky Balboa (MoviePatron review) was I should think.

     Maybe this is old news, but Kurt just sent me some fun with movie posters. Just change one letter of a film title and you have an entirely different film. This is a contest that you can enter. Here’s the main page to enter yourself if you’re good with photoshop and being witty. You can see all the entries there, but here are a few of my favorites:

See the rest of the entries right HERE, at Worth1000.com

UPDATE: - OK, gotta mention two more:

I’m done now. I swear. Go check em yourself.

25:

Gun Crazy

The art for 1949’s Gun Crazy represents cinema’s obsession with the aberrant, highlighting a thrill-killing dame. The film was originally released as Deadly is the Female with a poster featuring a more seductive Peggy Cummins splayed out across the poster sans guns. But after a new title and poster was commissioned, the femme fatale flick turned into a hit.

24:

All About Eve

The bouncy, kinetic design of 1950’s All About Eve poster mirrors the movie’s cocktail shaker wit. Erik Nitsche was the artist who came up with the arrow-filled image that, like the film, features an all-too brief cameo by Marilyn Monroe, here in the bottom left corner of the one-sheet.

23:

The Hitch-Hiker

The poster for 1953’s The Hitch-Hiker blurs the line between advertisement and highway safety PSA. The Edmond O’Brien roadside nailbiter had a simple approach to selling its cheap thrills — a gun, a threatening tagline, and the simple, violent colors of red and black.

22:

The Seven Year Itch

If the designers of the poster for the 1955 Marilyn Monroe vehicle had substituted, say, Jimmy Durante for Tom Ewell on the right, do you think anyone would have noticed? No way. Monroe’s pose in this poster has become an enduring iconic image of the sex symbol. The film was the first collaboration between the film’s director Billy Wilder and Saul Bass.

21:

Rosemary’s Baby

Taking a cue from the film itself, the poster for Roman Polanski’s 1968 film makes an innocent object, a baby stroller, ominous. For a film where the concept was definitely more emphasized than stars John Cassavetes and Mia Farrow, Rosemary’s Baby had a poster that upped the creep factor with its unusual use of dark green as a predominant color.

20:

Yellow Submarine

As the film’s art director and man in charge of the advertising art, Czech graphic designer Heinz Edelmann came up with the overall brightly colored, Peter Max-esque look for The Beatles’ mostly animated 1968 romp, Yellow Submarine. Incidentally, the film’s Blue Meanies were originally supposed to be red, but when Edelmann’s assistant accidentally changed the colors, the film’s characters took on a different meaning.

19:

Sullivan’s Travels

Maurice Kallis, who also worked on the This Gun for Hire poster, was responsible for the minimalist Sullivan’s Travels poster. It emphasizes the beautiful blonde bombshell Veronica Lake in this otherwise seriocomic Preston Sturges film. Kallis had previously worked on The Lady Eve one-sheet for Sturges and Paramount advertising head Robert M. Gillham, and though the classic Lake image is the one that’s remembered, the studio also commissioned a less abstract take for their marketing campaign.

18:

Breakfast at Tiffany’s

You don’t need to go to great lengths to make an appealing poster when Audrey Hepburn’s playing the lead. Yet the image of the actress with a figure as slight as the cigarette that dangles from her mouth cemented Hepburn’s iconic status and helped forge the reputation of the now-classic 1961 romantic comedy based on Truman Capote’s hit novel.

17:

This Gun for Hire

Maurice Kallis, who learned the craft of making posters as an assistant to Paramount art director Vincent Trotta, styled the poster for this 1942 Graham Greene potboiler about a hit man who takes money from the wrong man. The presence of Veronica Lake renders the most of the plot irrelevant as far as the poster’s concerned; despite the top billing, Robert Preston isn’t even part of the image. (That’s actually fourth-billed Alan Ladd.)

16:

The Silence of The Lambs

The poster for 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs, designed by the ad agency Dazu, is as simple and disturbing as they come. Look very closely at the death’s head moth covering star Jodie Foster’s mouth, there appears to be an image of humans forming a skull on its back. Inspired by the famous Salvador Dali photograph of several naked women posed like a skull, the film’s director Jonathan Demme is said to have suggested the surreal augmentation to the moth’s natural skull-like markings.

15:

The Mummy

The poster for 1932’s The Mummy remains an auction champ: it once sold for $453,500. P.D. Cochrane was the advertising director at Universal who commissioned the work of illustrator Karoly Grosz which features sultry Zita Johann backed up against a tomb and a mummified Boris Karloff at rest above her.

14:

The Man With the Golden Arm

The stark simplicity of Bass’s poster for 1955’s The Man With the Golden Arm was perhaps the designer’s most daring work. The poster for the film, which stars Frank Sinatra as a man in the throes of drug addiction, conveys the essence of the main character’s struggle without being preachy. Other posters were commissioned that featured the faces of Sinatra and Kim Novak, but the twisted arm remains timeless.

13:

The Gold Rush

The shivering Tramp of 1925’s The Gold Rush immediately entered the pantheon of iconic images. As with many of Chaplin’s posters, it relied more on Chaplin’s bowler hat, mustache and facial expression to grab audiences than a suggestion of the film’s comic elements.

12:

Straw Dogs

The shattering violence of Sam Peckinpah’s 1971 Straw Dogs is disturbingly foreshadowed in this cleverly layered image. While the poster does have a closeup of one of the 1970s most famous leading men, the controversial Dustin Hoffman-Sam Peckinpah collaboration about a man forced to his breaking point is perfectly captured.

11:

King Kong

Star power being what it is, 1933’s King Kong merely needed a big ape to sell itself. Yet S. Barret McCormick and Bob Sisk did the artwork for the iconic ape, based on the production sketches of Mario Larrinaga and Byron Crabbe. The image of the creature terrorizing humans against the backdrop of the New York skyline represented nature versus the machine age at its most extreme.

10:

2001: A Space Odyssey

Originally designed, but discarded as a less prominent image to promote the film, this poster for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey became the main focus of the advertising campaign when it was decided that audiences weren’t as excited by traditional space age images as they had been during the 1950s. The image of an embryo embaced the film’s theme of human evolution and Kubrick had complete authority over the film’s marketing.

9:

The Thief of Baghdad

Douglas Fairbanks never looked better than he did in this one-sheet for the 1924 swashbuckler. But as the producer of The Thief of Baghdad, Fairbanks ensured his image would look good by asking illustrator Adrian Gill Spear to create the poster for the United Artists film.

8:

Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman

1958’s Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman is an awful movie — but the poster is memorable. Reynolds Brown, frequently employed by the studios to create horror one-sheets, designed this Cold War-era flick that was intended to lure teens away from their television sets.

7:

42nd Street

The deco-ish cascade of legs for 42nd Street (1933) brings to mind skyscrapers as well as dancing feet. Hubbard G. Robinson and Joseph Tisman, who also created the poster for Busby Berkeley’s other 1933 film Footlight Parade, captured the off-kilter attraction of Berkeley’s bubbly choreography with the poster’s use of sharp angles and an image from the film’s most famous (or infamous) under the legs sequence. The result was one of the top ten grossing films of the year for Warner Bros.

6:

Gilda

The image of Rita Hayworth in the title role of Gilda (1946) epitomizes the femme fatale. Robert Coburn took the picture and art director Jack Kerness did the rest with this sultry image of Hayworth in a Jean Louis gown. This poster touches on the scene that comes after the film’s most famous sequence in which Hayworth’s character does a striptease.

5:

Forbidden Planet

The Forbidden Planet artwork (1956), with its decidedly menacing robot and definitely-not-Anne Francis damsel-in-distress, evokes and entire ethos of pulp sci-fi. The prominence of Robbie the Robot also tapped into 1950s hysteria by appearing like some piece of domestic gadgetry.

4:

Downhill Racer

Downhill Racer’s breathtaking 1969 one-sheet is, among other things, a testimonial to just how freewheeling the ’60s were — only then were the studios daring enough to advertise a Robert Redford picture without showing Redford on the poster. Steve Frankfurt did the design and while the film was mostly ignored by audiences, the one-sheet is seen as a touchstone for future film posters.

3:

Vertigo

The image that Saul Bass — who also created the opening credit sequence of the film itself — designed for Hitchcock’s 1958 Vertigo is as classic as the movie itself. Perhaps because of his good work or merely because of his growth into one of film’s most gifted poster creators, Bass was given a credit on the film, which at the time wasn’t customary.

2:

The Sin of Nora Moran

Some great posters are from movies you may never have heard of — 1933’s The Sin of Nora Moran is a fairly inconsequential B picture, but its poster is an unforgettable image of ravishment. (As for truth in advertising, the film’s lead actress was not a blond.) Alberto Vargas, an artist who was a go-to guy for the studios during the 1930s, did the artwork on this Majestic release.

1:

Anatomy of a Murder

Mark Rothko meets the chalk outline. Artist Saul Bass (also an acclaimed title designer and visual consultant) brought poster design out of the golden age with a bold mix of the abstract and the figurative, of which this poster for the controversial 1959 Otto Preminger thriller is a prime example.