A Scanner Darkly

Since this movie has such a distinct visual style already, I decided to really just sketch this one quickly without too much reference. I like concept, but I admit my Keanu is a little off (3 times!)

CASINO ROYALE

OK...I'm back on the project after a break of a few weeks to watch some movies. Saw this new James Bond a few weeks back. I didn't come away with much, but it was pretty fun to watch. Got sketches for a bunch of new stuff, including Grindhouse + Children of Men. Just saw Volver tonight which was great...just got to figure out what to do.

LOUD QUIET LOUD: A FILM ABOUT THE PIXIES

Took me a little while to get to this one, a movie documenting The Pixies 2004 reunion tour. The whole thing has this pervasive sadness...sad on the bus, quiet before shows, the drummer drinking after his dad dies. The music numbers just aren't fun when they come on. I'm a big fan of The Pixies and saw them on this tour, at what I think was the last show, and it was pretty fun, though we were way in the back up in the 3rd balcony, which isn't really the best way to see a band. Regardless, I felt a lot more joy on the stage than you see throughout this whole film...seems like they edited it to be a more dramatic "film" than a concert movie, at it sucks the life out of it.

RENO 911

We've been watching the first season of Reno 911. I don't know why I didn't watch it when I had cable a few years back. Is the movie any good? I recorded some vocals and guitars (not the shedding lead, unfortunately) for a Reno 911 tv ad with Eugene "Eucho" Cho a few years back. I couldn't find the video on YouTube or anything, but it's really funny...kids playing with Reno action figures.

GRUDGE 2

OK, so we watched the GRUDGE 2 over at John's. It was pretty dull, though I enjoyed it OK since I didn't see the first Grudge. That damn dead kid kept popping up to be scary every now and again. The other girl from Travelling Pants was the star I suppose, but she really had about as much screen time as the B-story girls, so I decide to draw one them instead.

I reallize I'm behind on my Pixies illustration (I nearly finished the sketch today). I think I wanted to finish this one first, because it seemed like a more natural transition from Lady Vengeance. Plus, I secretly watched disc 1 of Reno 911 the first season, so I've got to finish THAT illustration as well. Hopefully I'll make some progress tomorrow night.

On a side note, I got to spend some time today researching illustrators for an assignment at work, and came across some old names and some new ones that just blew me away. It's giving me ideas for how I can take this series into much more interesting directions.

daniel Krall http://dkrall.blogspot.com
yuko shimizu http://www.yukoart.com/
james jean http://www.jamesjean.com/
nina chakrabarti http://www.ninachakrabarti.com/
marcus oakley http://www.banjo.dircon.co.uk/mrwerewolf/mrw2.html