Truth (plus lies) » movies

Honestly, how often do you read the words “double amputee action star”?

Jefff — Sat, 28 May 2011 16:13:43 +0000

Mr. No Legs is the only film featuring Ted Vollrath — Korean War veteran, double amputee, and the only person to earn a black belt in karate training out of a wheel-chair.

From Dangerous Minds. Also IMDB.

Stanley Kubrick on Schindler’s List and the Holocaust

Jefff — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 19:09:06 +0000

Frederic Raphael, who co-authored the screenplay for “Eyes Wide Shut,” recalls Kubrick questioning whether a film could truly represent the Holocaust in its entirety. After Raphael mentioned “Schindler’s List,” Kubrick replied: “Think that’s about the Holocaust? That was about success, wasn’t it? The Holocaust is about six million people who get killed. `Schindler’s List’ is about 600 who don’t. Anything else?”

From The New Yorker, via Daring Fireball.

Finally, software will make movie stars fat … or thin, I guess

Jefff — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 23:28:12 +0000

Christian Theobalt of the Max Planck Institute has developed software that allows you to modify the body shape of an actor in a video. It works by matching a 3D model to one frame of film and then following the silhouette of the actor through the remaining frames. The population of LA can now start collectively letting themselves go.

Via Neatorama.

“Los Perros de la Fiesta y la Cocaína”

Jefff — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 04:00:23 +0000

www.youtube.com/watch?v=epl6L5TuGF4

Contest: Evolution in Two Minutes

Jefff — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:14:17 +0000

Discover Magazine is holding a contest to make a two-minute movie that explains evolution and its significance. Sounds exciting, and I look forward to seeing what people come up with. They did a similar thing with string theory, and it’s worth checking out the winner, String Ducky.

via Pharyngula

The Edgy Quest for Danger

Jefff — Tue, 24 May 2005 18:45:25 +0000

Edward Jay Epstein continues his fascinating series of articles about Hollywood finance with the skinny on movie insurance.

The hype of this sequel was that Jolie did “most of her own stunts” out of her own “edgy quest for danger.” In reality, the insurer, AIG, was so strict that it did not even allow director Jan de Bont to be at the Luna Temple set during shooting because he had a prior leg injury. … The insurer took even more precautions with Jolie, the only cast member insured by AIG as an essential element, since even a broken toe could cost the insurer a cool $134 million. Her “edgy quest for danger” notwithstanding, no fewer than three stunt doubles substituted for Jolie, bringing the stunt-person budget to a near-record $1,894,662.

I recommend reading all of the “Hollywood Economist” articles, which are linked at the bottom of the page.