Crickets Vs Cats - The Conclusion

Part 3 of Things In Jars Oscar Special

So far we’ve taken a look at Best Picture nominees District 9 and Avatar (post is here), looked at their similarities and differences (here) and now, to stop this entry from being as long as the Oscar broadcast itself, I’m going to reveal who I’d like to see win the top spot.

If it were up to me the Oscar would go to…. *drumroll*



District 9!

Why? The short answer is it reminded me why I love movies and why I want to work in the film industry.

I went into District 9 not really knowing anything about it other than it was produced by Peter Jackson, and I came out stunned. I found it a good, even blend of action and cool effects, with drama and realistic characters when I'd started to believe the focus in a film had to be on one or the other. The summer of 2009 was particularly bad for "turn off your brain" blockbusters where the public seemed ready to accept the most incomprehensible mess of a movie as long as there were lots of explosions. Not only accept it but the attitude seemed to be that there was no point in expecting anything more from a summer genre movie. So I walked into D9 disenchanted with the state of the movie industry (and genre films in particular) and I came out all excited about movies again. In fact I was quite torn because on the one hand I'd been deeply moved by the story and the characters and just wanted to sit there in shock and on the other hand I wanted to jump up and down in fangirlish glee because damn that had been a cool ride!

Thus it was a bit of a let down to turn around and find that Avatar, the film that was supposed to "revolutionize" film-making, was back to the same old Hollywood model. It’s not that the story is that bad – it’s not a movie that requires you to forget you have brain cells by any stretch of the imagination – and is well constructed for what it is. In fact I probably would have liked Avatar a lot more if I hadn't seen District 9 first. But given how close the stories are (as we’ve seen) I just found Avatar to be a very plain, cookie cutter plot in comparison to D9’s fresh take on things. In fact I remember watching Avatar thinking "There are normally two ways this type of story ends ... meaning the only question left is - is this going to be the happy ‘Fern Gully’ ending or the sad ‘Dances With Wolves’ ending?" I walked out, completely unsurprised going ... "well... at least it was pretty."

Because Avatar IS pretty. SO pretty! I am so envious of the design team because, come on, how cool must it have been to get to design an entire world as awesome as Pandora? The flora, the fauna, the geography – all mind blowing (I want a whirly-gig gecko of my own gosh darn-it!). Avatar is going to sweep the technical Oscars and it completely and utterly deserves to if only for the fact there were several scenes where I wish they’d just said “screw it” to the story and taken us on a “walking” tour of Pandora instead, so rich was the environment they’d created.

But the Oscar for Best Picture is supposed to go to the film that is the best across the most fields - and between D9 and Avatar the more rounded film is definitely District 9. Its juxtaposition of sci-fi strange with the utterly mundane had me going “wow – I could totally see this happening in real life” and by the end of the film it had be re-thinking my own attitudes to other people and cultures. So for not only giving me an adrenaline rush but also making me think, I vote District 9 the best movie of 2009.

Crickets Vs Cats Pt 2

Welcome To Part 2 of the Things In Jars Oscar Special

On the eve of Oscar night we’re looking at District 9 and Avatar – two very similar films both nominated for this year’s Best Picture Academy Award. Although I’ve seen no serious talk of District 9 taking the top award one can’t deny these movies share a lot more in common than just their status as genre films. Yet at the same time they sit at utterly opposite ends of the spectrum from a production point of view.

If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out Part 1, where there’s a little more background about each of the films.

SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING
I’ll be speaking extensively about both films in this entry so expect some MAJOR SPOILERS for each movie. If you prefer your discussions spoiler-free then this is not the blog entry you are looking for – YE HAVE BEEN WARNED!
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

District Nine Vs Avatar – Similarities

Story and Themes - Both Avatar and D9 have essentially the same story – in a conflict between humans and aliens, the protagonist changes his attitude and comes to the aid of the aliens after literally starting to become an alien himself.

In Jake’s case in Avatar this change is voluntary – and temporary. Whenever his avatar goes to sleep he awakens back in his human body in the research station. In fact he loves the change to the new body since it allows him the use of his legs again, having been rendered a paraplegic during a military campaign. By the end of the film he agrees to undergo a ritual which allows him to permanently transfer his consciousness into his alien body.

In District 9 Wikus’s change is accidental, and completely unwanted – in fact he resists literally kicking and screaming. Wikus’ major motivation through 95% of the film is his determination to change himself back to normal, by any means necessary, so he can return to his old life and his beloved wife. He’s been promised a cure by the alien Christopher Johnson, but by the end of the movie this promise still remains unfulfilled.

Wikus’ arc is really a mirror image of Jake’s – in a way they both end up in the place where the other began. Jake starts out physically and emotionally damaged and finds peace of mind, acceptance, and love amongst his new people. When we meet Wikus he has a wife he adores, a life he’s happy with and with his new promotion the feeling that his prospects are looking up. The last time we see him, his old life has been completely ripped away and he is left utterly alone – whether he then rises again from the ashes remains to be seen. Wikus has only just started down the road to redemption by the end of District 9 – although both men have come to learn to respect lives that are different from their own.

This connection between different forms of life, and how we must learn to respect this connection is given a very literal representation in Avatar - the Na’Vi can commune with the other creatures on Pandora through special nerve cells and by the end of the movie the planet itself literally comes to the rescue of its inhabitants. Although less obvious in D9, Sharlto Copley has mentioned in interviews that as the film progresses he feels Wikus "becomes more in line with life itself". As Wikus' conditioning is stripped away and everything he considered certain crumbles he learns to recognize and respect the aliens as other life forms.

District Nine Vs Avatar – David Vs Goliath

Production wise, the differences between District 9 and Avatar are immediately obvious. Weta Workshop did designs for both films (although the actual Prawns were created by Vancouver’s Image Engine) but there the similarities end.

Directors - Avatar has James Cameron at the helm, a very experienced director with a long string of hits under his belt. In contrast District 9 is Neil Blomkamp’s first feature length film after a number of successful commercials and several years as a computer animator.

Budgets - Avatar is now the most expensive movie ever made costing 20th Century Fox nearly $500 million dollars. D9’s budget? $30 million, a mere fraction of Avatar’s. Peter Jackson produced District 9 out of his own pocket, without studio backing.

Looks - District 9 has a true indy look to it. The hand held camera work is extensive and much of the footage is made to look as though it’s been recovered from security cameras and other less than pristine sources. Avatar uses absolutely cutting edge 3D technology to create a brand new world and is visually sharp and stunning.

Cast - Blomkamp purposely cast unknowns to give District 9 a more realistic feel and there is no better example of this than having Sharlto Copley, who had never acted in a feature before, as main character Wikus. Sigourney Weaver heads up the cast of Avatar, although Sam Worthington who plays Jake, is a relative newcomer.


Two movies so close in themes yet one is the absolutely embodiment of the mega Hollywood blockbuster, the other an indy film which came out of nowhere to become a sleeper hit. Who will win? Stay tuned tomorrow when I post my pick!

Space Shrimp Vs Cerulean Cat-People For The Golden Grouch Award

Welcome to Things In Jars Oscar special!

Thanks to the Academy deciding to shake things up this year, Sunday’s Oscar show will include an extra large slate of 10 Best Picture nominees, including two genre films – District 9 and Avatar. With the exception of the showdown between Shakespeare In Love and Elizabeth for Best Picture in 1999 it's rare, in the super subjective world of film awards, to have two Best Picture nominees that can be compared point by point as closely as Avatar and District 9 in terms of tone, plot, themes, etc.

So that’s exactly what we’re going to do! Over the next three days I’ll be looking closely at these two films – their stories, production backgrounds, and so forth, culminating on Sunday when I reveal who I would award the little golden statue to if I had the chance (and if you watch real close I’ll even slip in some pertinent and fun bits of GDT trivia here and there).

SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING SPOILERS
I’ll be speaking extensively about both films in the next few entries so expect some MAJOR SPOILERS for each movie. If you prefer your discussions spoiler-free then this is not the blog entry you are looking for – YE HAVE BEEN WARNED!
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Ladies and gentlemen, in this corner, returning champion James Cameron and Avatar

The Story - The story of a paraplegic space marine, Jake Sullivan, who joins a race of 10ft tall blue cat-like humanoids (the Na'vi) by means of an 'avatar' - a genetically engineered body into which he can transfer his consciousness. This avatar allows him to breath the poisonous atmosphere of the utopian planet Pandora. Initially there to open diplomatic relations between the indigenous people and the human mega-corporation which wants to mine Pandora's resources he eventually switches sides and helps the Na'vi repel the hostile company. The humans are sent back to Earth and Jake, after having his consciousness permanently transferred into his avatar, goes on to become leader of his new people.

The Background - James Cameron waited 14 years for the field of visual effects (motion capture and 3D technology in particular) to reach a point where he felt comfortable trying to bring Avatar to the screen - his first film since mega-budget mega-hit Titanic. Avatar quickly surpassed its older sibling in terms of both budget and profit. A huge amount of hype proceeded the film – 20th Century Fox and Cameron both marketed it as the next evolution in filmmaking, going so far as to hold “Avatar Day” in which people could get into see 20 minutes of the movie in select IMAX 3D theatres, prior to the film’s release. It looks like the hype may have paid off – although the film has its critics audiences have been flocking to the theatres. 3 months after release and in many cities Avatar is still showing on the big screen.
And, like Titanic it may yet land Cameron a Best Picture Oscar.

And in this corner folks, our challenger, newcomer Neil Blomkamp and District 9

The Story - Alien refugees in South Africa (known as “Prawns) are mistreated and abused by human society in general and in particular by MNU, the multi-billion dollar company in charge of the alien refugee camp (named District 9). Wikus van De Merve, a pencil-pusher for MNU, is put in charge of evicting the aliens from D9 so that they can be taken to a new encampment far away from Johannesburg. In the process he is accidentally sprayed by a strange alien fluid which triggers a bizarre transformation. On the run from MNU and cut off from his loved ones, Wikus joins with a Prawn father, Christopher Johnson, and Christopher’s son who are trying to engineer an escape from Earth. The escape is successful but Wikus is left behind in the remains of District 9 with only a promise from Christopher that he will return to Earth in three years time to reverse Wikus’ transformation and rescue the rest of the Prawns. The last shot of the film strongly hints that Wikus has become a Prawn himself and is now hidden amongst the other refugees of D9 awaiting Christopher’s return.


Background - Peter Jackson originally hired Neil Blomkamp to helm a movie version of the popular video game Halo. When studio backing for Halo fell through though Jackson, impressed with Blompkamp, suggested that they make a movie anyways - something small that could be produced and financed without any major studio backing. Blomkamp agreed and chose to expand on the concept of alien refugees in South Africa – something he’d originally devised for his short film, Alive In Joburg.
Blomkamp wanted the dialogue in the film to be entirely improvised and so turned to his long time friend, South African producer, Sharlto Copley. Although Copley had never acted professionally before, Blomkamp knew he was an excellent improver and was also familiar with the type of subtly racist, pencil-pushing bureaucrat Blomkamp wanted the main character of District 9 to be. After seeing a screen test of Copley as Wikus, Peter Jackson heartily agreed.
District 9 cost $30 million to make and was filmed entirely on location in South Africa. It became a sleeper hit for summer 2009 – gathering momentum by word of mouth after premiering to positive buzz at San Diego Comic Con.
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6 Degrees Of Guillermo Del Toro

- Guillermo is a long time friend of James Cameron’s, going back to GDT’s earliest days as a director in Hollywood. If legend is to be believed, at a party one night a rather drunken Guillermo even gave one of his famous notebooks to James Cameron.

- The Hobbit was not the first time Peter Jackson has offered Guillermo the director’s chair – Jackson originally approached Guillermo to helm the Halo movie. Guillermo said ‘no’ as he was about to direct Hellboy II. PJ eventually offered the Halo gig to Neil Blomkamp and it was when Halo was dropped that the team switched gears and began to develop the film that would become District 9. Can you imagine if GDT had originally said “yes” to Halo? No Hellboy II, no District 9, and probably a very different Hobbit.

That’s all for now but stay tuned! Tommorow we’ll look at the similarities and differences between D9 and Avatar more closely.

IMATS Toronto 2009 - Pt 2

(For more on IMATS Toronto check out Part 1 of my report)

I want to start by saying that, like Doug Jones and John Alexander, Mike Elizalde is another one of these supremely nice, friendly people that Guillermo Del Toro seems to surround himself with (I'm telling you - there's something in the water on the Hellboy sets... and whatever it is, I want some).
The last event of the Toronto IMATS was Mike's keynote address on Sunday (that's a picture of Mike, on the left, being interviewed by IMATS chief/Make-Up Artist Magazine editor Michael Key at the top of this post ). The keynote addresses are typically less of a speech and more of an interview (vaguely like an episode of Inside The Actor's Studio but without the questionnaire at the end). This one began by showing a demo reel for Spectral which had TONNES of behind the scenes shots of the monsters of Hellboy II - including some fascinating "skinless" views of some of the Troll Market animatronics in motion. Cool side note: Apparently when Spectral’s top animatronics wizard Mark Setrakian isn’t creating movie monsters he works at a robotics lab for the US government. So there’s some cutting edge electronics up there on the screen. Also on the reel were some shots of the Sleestaks from Land Of The Lost that look so cool they've almost convinced me to watch the film, Will Ferrell or no Will Ferrell.

Then the discussion moved onto how Mike got into make-up and effects (in elementary school he used to save blobs of paint on little wax-paper palettes, re-wet it once he got home, and use that as face paint since he couldn't get his hands on the real thing). As an adult, after a stint in the army, he moved out to California and worked as an air-conditioner repair-man in between looking for FX work. One day it turned out that the warehouse next to one of his job sites just happened to belong to Stan Winston Studios. Armed with his ever-present pocket album full of pictures of his work he eagerly knocked on the door. "They were very nice but they told me to come back when I had more practice," Mike said.

Eventually Mike DID get a gig – on a movie called Arena and from there he moved from film to film, befriending people like Steve Wang, who would one day come and do work for Spectral Motion.

What I had not fully realized until listening to Mike's talk, was just how instrumental Guillermo was in Spectral Motion's beginning. Mike Elizalde met Guillermo while working as a make-up artist on Blade II. Guillermo told Mike that if he got his own shop together then Guillermo would hire him on to do the effects for his next film. After a few hiccups along the way that next film eventually turned out to be Hellboy.

The fact that since then, Spectral Motion has gone on to become one of the top runners in the FX make-up field, expanding at a time when many shops are actually downgrading or outright closing, is a major accomplishment. At the IMATS “afterglow” party on Saturday night, where exhibitors and guests were free to mingle and hang out, Michael Key mentioned that make-up really is a field driven almost solely by passion. Very few make-up artists become either rich or famous. We do it because we love it –and Spectral Motion is an excellent example of that. From their small start Mike Elizalde and his team have gone on to create some amazing make-up and creature effects and from the looks of things have a fantastic time doing it. The fact that they are now being recognized as a leader in the field and receiving Oscar nominations and other awards is, I’m sure, just icing on the cake. Keep up the good work guys!

IMATS Toronto 2009 - PT 1

November 21st and 22nd marked the first annual International Make-up Artists Trade-show (IMATS) in Toronto, ON, Canada. Over the last year or so the IMATS have expanded greatly beyond their long-running shows in Pasadena, California and London, England to include a show in Sydney, Australia, and two Canadian shows - an upcoming one in Vancouver and this show in Toronto.
Not only was I excited by the prospect of an IMATS being a lot closer to home than Pasadena but there was the added bonus that one of the scheduled keynote speakers was Mike Elizalde of Spectral Motion!

Personally, I had a fantastic time at the show. This being its first year IMATS Toronto was quite small. If I'd been walking around solely as a spectator it would have been easy to see everything quite quickly (although there were two stages which kept up a steady stream of demos and talks all weekend where one could easily park themselves and just soak in the knowledge) However I was lending a helping hand at the FuseFX booth (literally and figuratively - there was a silicon copy of my hand sitting on the table all weekend) so I had lots to keep me occupied.

One of the coolest things to see was the museum area. The museum is a traditional part of the IMATS, and the Toronto museum, although again very small, was a real treat especially if you happen to be a big fan of the X-Men movies. Most of the pieces for the museum had been donated by Gordon Smith, of FXSmith, so it was 90% props and pre-production art from X-Men and X2: X-Men United.




I was particularly excited to see Nightcrawler's hands, feet, and tail on display. Having made my own version of the movie Nightcrawler outfit to wear for Halloween and SF cons a few years back it was awesome to see the "real" (or should I say "reel"?) thing up close. And now I want to do upgrades! ;)





"X-Men" was more or less the theme for the SFX portion of the show since the challenge for the SFX student competition on Sunday was "mutants" (Saturday's beauty competition revolved around "goth" looks). At the beginning of the competition students were given random prosthetic pieces and had to use these pieces to create a mutant make-up on their model within the alloted time period. Only the most general planning is possible before hand since no one knows what pieces they will be given during the actual competition. Since Spectral Motion had done the make-ups for X-Men 3, Mike Elizalde was the guest judge for the competition.

But more on seeing Mike - and in particular attending his keynote address in Part 2!

Tired of your average Jack O'Lantern?

Carve yourself a Thing In A Jar for Halloween!

You Will Need:

- an empty jar
- enough water to fill the jar
- some yellow food colouring
- 1-2 medium to large potatoes
- a paring knife and/or carving tools
- vegetable peeler
- toothpicks or straight pins
- paper and pen
- cauliflower pieces and/or bits of other white or pale vegetables (optional)

Step 1)

Peel the potato. With the paring knife and other tools carve the potato into the shape of your Thing. For example if you want a three-headed fetal pig for your jar, carve some legs and a little head into your potato. Just make sure it will fit into the mouth of your jar!

It's ok if things look a little wonky, like the legs are mismatched or you accidentally cut a bit off - remember you are making a freakish monstrosity, it's supposed to look misshapen. Re-attach severed or extra limbs with a bit of toothpick (good way to attach those extra pig heads). Insert one end of the toothpick into the limb and the other into the main body of the potato. Same with the bits of cauliflower or other veggies (tiny bits of cauliflower make cool looking "horns")

Be as elaborate or simplistic as you want just remember to BE CAREFUL WITH THE SHARP TOOLS. We don't want there to be any REAL severed limbs in your jar.

Step 2)

Once you have your "Thing" carved, very gently place it inside your jar. Fill the jar with water and add a few drops of yellow food colouring to give that preserving-fluid-look. Stir gently to disperse colouring.

Step 3)

Make up a suitably freakish name for your "Thing" like "Fetal Three-Headed Devil Pig", write a label with said name on it and place jar and label somewhere you can admire your Thing In A Jar.

(Note: Like a Jack O'Lantern, with just water in the jar you sadly won't be able to keep your "Thing" forever. Keep an eye on things and after a few days to a week or so empty out your jar before it gets too gross in there.)

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!



PS. If anyone actually tries this please send pics - it would be great to post a full menagerie of jarred creatures!

When The End Of The World Comes At Least I'll Know What To Wear

Sorry I haven't had a new post for awhile folks but lately I've been running around as though it were the end of the world – literally. I've been designing some post-apocalyptic costumes for a theatrical production and generally just having a grand ol'time. I'm becoming oddly fond of post-apocalyptic costumes.

Reason 1) You get to immerse yourself in a different world.
I suppose technically you get to do that anytime you design costumes or make-up for a project that isn't set in either a contemporary or historical setting but it's especially true for after-the-world-ends type costumes. You have to pay attention to the environment the characters inhabit because a) that's going to dictate the type of clothing they need (ie do they need to stay warm, cool, covered up, etc) and b) what type of materials are available to meet those needs.

For instance say what you want about the film as a whole, but Waterworld is a great example of building clothing with whatever you've got available. The costume designers looked at the traditional clothing of people like the Inuit whose main source of raw materials is the ocean, and from there derived outfits stitched from fish skins, netting, and the intestines of various marine animals (both real and synthetic). They even designed hats and skirts to look like they'd been made with dried jellyfish bodies (although they were in fact made from silk and nylon)

In the production I'm currently working on, the end of the world hits in the near-future at a point where the ozone layer is very weak and the sun very harsh – so we're using a lot of recycled cardboard, fabric scraps, old newspaper, and strips of plastic bags to create our costumes whose primary purpose is to protect the wearers' from the sun. Which brings me to fun reason #2

Reason 2) – Sometimes having a limited budget is a GOOD thing.
In Hellboy II the bedtime story scene depicting the origin of the Golden Army was originally supposed to be shot entirely live-action (a la the prologue in Lord Of The Rings). However when there wasn't enough in the budget to stage such an elaborate scene Guillermo made the decision to use puppets instead of live actors – resulting in a far more visually appealing, unique, and memorable sequence.

It seems a bit counter intuitive – after all if money is no object then you'd think the sky would be the limit as far as dreaming up whatever you wanted. But in fact, that initial limitation forces you to not necessarily go with your first instinct (which may in fact be cliched) and often opens the door to something a little more quirky and original.

Working with no budget on these post-apocalyptic costumes has really opened my eyes to seeing raw materials in just about anything and looking beyond an object's original purpose ( *while rummaging through recycling bins* “The covers of these water-damaged old books still feel really sturdy – let's turn them into flip flops!”). Which I'm sure causes my poor mother nothing but great consternation, since I was already a horrible pack rat to begin with. ;)

Reason 3 – It's OK if it isn't pretty – but you may find it's prettier than you think
The main thing to keep in mind when designing post-apocalyptic clothing is, of course, survival. It doesn't have to look good as long as it protects the wearer and doesn't get in the way. This definitely has it's advantages. I may be a bad costumer but hemming is not my favorite thing to do in the world. If I can get away without doing it, because it adds to the desired “look” that's great.
And for beginners it's nice because it also makes it really hard to make a mistake. Make a boo-boo? Just cheat and say you meant to do it.
At the same time though there is actually far more you can do to add style to such survival gear then may be obvious at first glance. Patchwork, macrame, and other folk craft techniques can all add a little more planned-if-rustic style to things if done with a bit of care.

So long story short – I'm discovering post-apocalyptic costumes hold a lot more fun and possibilities than I used to think. I may never look at a pizza box the same way again. ;)