The Bearded Trio

Size Matters Not - HAPPY NEW YEAR, NEVER LET YOUR DREAMS BE SMALL.

The Wnston Effect: A book on the legend that was Stan Winston For Christmas I was delighted to have received a signed copied of The Stan Winston Effect. I could not put the book down. A wonderfully insightful and well-written, the book starts obviously at the beginning of Winston's career mentioning Gargoyles a 1972 TV movie. Winston was straight out of apprenticeship but he had no reservations about challenging the producers regarding crediting the make-up artists in the credits, a practice that was not the norm in the movie industry at that time. Gargoyles was his first job in TV and although Winston only worked on the background artists, he along with his artist colleges won an Emmy award. An award that would have not happened had Winston not insisted on the inclusion of the make-up artists in the credits as you can only be nominated if you are credited. The book is wonderfully illustrated and well laid out. If you have some Christmas money to spend you won't g...

Steven Spielberg has dropped out of directing a remake of the classic James Stewart movie Harvey, according to industry newspaper Variety. It is thought Spielberg struggled to find a lead actor after Tom Hanks reportedly turned the role down and Robert Downey Jr refused to commit. The original film was based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway play of the same name by Mary Chase. It is thought studio 20th Century Fox will continue with the project. Harvey, which tells the story about a man who claims his best friend is a giant invisible rabbit, was a huge success. Stewart received a best actor nomination at the 1951 Oscars for his performance, while his co-star, Josephine Hull, won best supporting actress. Spielberg has not confirmed what he is planning to direct next. He has recently completed production on The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn.

Hope you are all having a great day, let us know what Lucas/Williams/Spielberg presents you got! Tags: star wars , ilm

The Ewok Celebration.  Which One Is Better? Lets make no doubt that John Williams is a genius when it comes to musical scores. When George Lucas decided to change the ending of Return of the Jedi he asked John Williams to write a new ending to the film. Below are the two versions. Although they are both excellent I cannot help liking the original just that little bit more due to the memories it brings back. I am one of the few who loved the Ewoks and still do. Return of the Jedi will always hold a special place in my heart. 1997 Special Edition ending.   As I say, I love both versions.  The updated ending has a certain feel-good charm about it but the Ewoks singing will always bring a larger smile to my face.  The updated version includes scenes from Coruscant, Naboo, Bespin, and Tatooine giving the celebration a more grander scale, not just the forest moon of Endor. Nub!  Also, listen out for that Wilhelm Scream in the video below at 36 seconds...

Indiana Jones: The Soundtrack Collection Review I Received my I ndiana Jones: The Soundtrack Collection box set on Saturday and is it worth it? Well short answer is "Yes!" Long answer is "Definitely Yes!" Soundtrack collectors have been crying out for years for a complete soundtrack release of the Indiana Jones films and this is as close as they are going to get for some time.  Lets take a look at what we get starting with the box, and a nice looking box it is too. Each CD comes with a booklet with photos from each film, track listings and even some behind-the-scenes. Also included is a separate booklet that has some various photos from all the movies and an introduction from Laurent Bouzereau (Soundtrack Reissue Producer.) He also hosts the interviews with John Williams, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg on the fifth extras disc. For those who already have the soundtrack on CD and are thinking of getting this box set then just a word of w...

Get Ready For A Trip Down Star Wars Memory Lane If like me you are in your thirties then chances are you remember the first time you went to see Star Wars when it was released back in 1977. I do. It was the opening week and my Brother took me to see the film that changed Cinema forever. I was five years old. The film had created such a buzz that when we arrived at the cinema the queue was right around the building. I remember we waited in line for two hours, yes two hours! Strange thing is I don't remember anything about watching the film (I have seen the film so many times that my other memories have overwritten that part) but I do remember asking my Brother to hum the theme tune to me on the bus ride home in which he did in front of people. From that point on I was hooked and that moment in my life is what turned me into the Sci-fi geek I am today and proud if it. Also from that point I started collecting Star Wars toys in particular the kenner figures and ships and I still ...

This painting represents R2-D2 and C-3PO first arriving on Tatooine after their narrow escape from the Imperial Stormtroopers via a Life Pod (which can be seen in the background). McQuarrie used a photograph of the Oregon coast to guide his painting of the landscape, following the line of the cliff and replacing the ocean with sand dunes. C-3PO was inspired by the beautiful robot seen in Fritz Lang's classic silent film, Metropolis but George Lucas wanted it to look more male than female. McQuarrie's C-3PO looks much more graceful and slim than the 'droid was to become in the film. The problems of a person moving in all of that equipment made it necessary for C-3PO's body to be bigger and to have larger joints. Lucas wanted R2-D2 to be like a small tripod which would move by throwing one leg outward and pitching itself forward like a man on crutches. but the problems of getting R2-D2 to move in that manner couldn't be solved, so he had to be made to glide for...

What a piece of junk?  Well, its the Millennium Falcon so it proved to be a worthy ship.  The painting too!

Here we have an incipient confrontation as the small group of fugitives try to escape the Imperial Stormtroopers. Chewbacca is carrying the Princess; a bearded Han Solo can be seen in an earlier costume design - a blue outfit with a cape; and Luke is in the background. McQuarrie envisioned the hallways as being lit indirectly, through thin slots. Defying standard principles, the light would radiate from these narrow spaces at 360 degrees, while the slots themselves would be detectable only from particular angles. It would be a testament to the genious of these people that they discovered a key to the universe that permitted them to harness an incredible energy in this manner.

Steven Spielberg will produce an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's 1982 novel War Horse for DreamWorks. The book centres on a boy and his horse who are separated when the boy joins the fight during World War I, says Variety . "From the moment I read Michael Morpurgo's novel War Horse , I knew this was a film I wanted DreamWorks to make," said Spielberg. He added: "Its heart and its message provide a story that can be felt in every country." The Oscar-winning director is to produce alongside Frank Marshall, Kathleen Kennedy and Revel Guest. Billy Elliot scribe Lee Hall has been tapped to adapt the novel.

Enemy Pilot's view.  These are the kind of paintings that would set my imagination into overdrive.  Hoping that one day I would get to experience this for real.  My Sinclair Spectrum just couldn't cut it.

Imagine showing this to studio executives back in the 70's and saying this is what we are going to make?  You were either on board and believed it could be done with the grand scale in tact or marched them out of the offices and told them to never come back.  Thank goodness Alan Ladd, Jr. was on board at 20th Century Fox.

The Cantina scene.  A scene that frustrated George Lucas for many years.  The final product not living up to his expectations.  The bar was set at a high level thanks to McQuarrie's painting.

George Lucas wanted to show the scale of the Death Star trench in relation to the fighters as an aid to the special effects people doing the miniatures.

The Closest We Had To A Home Cinema Back In The 70s. I picked this up the other week off Ebay, Kenner's Star Wars Give-A-Show Projector. I Love this item! I always wanted one of these. Before the days of video recorders and DVD players this was as close as we could get to watching the Star Wars movies in our bedroom. It comes with 112 slides (some pictured below) on 16 strips which you manually feed through the slot on the front. Some of the slides are quite laughable.  Just check out Luke's reaction and the "floosh" expression in one of the slides below.  I've also created a video for you to enjoy some of the slides in "action."

Every Indiana Jones fan should own this book: The Complete Making of Indiana Jones I have to say this is probably one of the best, if not THE best making of book I have ever read! Three hundred pages of Indiana Jones bliss. The authors have certainly done their research. All four films are covered with amazing detail so its a complete book and an absolute must for any Indy fan. They have included snippets of original scripts including the idea George Lucas proposed for the sequel to have a haunted theme. Chris Columbus was hired to write the script. His first draft is set in Scotland where Indiana Jones is on a relaxing holiday and hears about a haunted mansion and people disappearing.  How different a movie it would have been if they had stuck with that concept. A second draft by Chris Columbus takes his adventures to Africa where he comes across a talking Monkey King who forces Indy to play chess with real people. If the piece is taken then that person ...