IMMORTALS GN EXCLUSIVE ON MTV

'Immortals' Graphic Novel Exclusive Clip: Go behind the scenes to see how "Immortals" was transformed for the big screen.

VIOLENCE PORN

This trailer for Gareth Evans's THE RAID received some criticism for it's violent content.
They likened it to "Violence Porn" and "Trash" prettied up with appealing modern movie making.



So here's my take.
The ugly can be appealing, it is just expression, and ultimately all film by the mere fact that it is filtered through one POV is compromised and artificial. Critics years ago focused on John Woo's (HARDBOILED) violence as if this was reality, while simultaneously condemning that it is also falsifying brutality by making it "appealing". The mere admission that it is appealing on a pure cinematic level raises it from "trash". "Trash" are gratuitous 'Faces of Death' type of images, it is "porn" because the visuals are devoid of pure cinematic content. Raw record keeping lacking journalistic integrity, sold merely for pleasure. Only the torture and violence is left without a trace of the director's fingerprints. Meaning anyone who can point and shoot ala surveillance cam uploads equals trashy violent films. Fans of Woo admire the masterful use of movement, composition, tone, and can differentiate the art from the trash. Lumping ALL violent imagery together as if the aesthetics and motion language of movie making itself does not matter is replacing moral judgement for artistic merit.

Looking forward to up and coming director Gareth Evans's latest effort. Perhaps he shall be the future of "trash". But then again, one man's trash is another man's treasure.

IMMORTALS TRAILER

MOMOA as CONAN

Interesting! ;)

ART OF ACTION

"It’s the Blues versus Techno, it’s straight up, nothing is hiding. That’s what I liked about the fight sequences in The Hunted." Benicio Del Toro

DEMO CLIP

BARSOOM CREATURES

A pre-viz drawing from the Paramount John Carter of Mars film back in 2005 (Conran as director).

GREEN LANTERN

Saw this up online and decided to tweak the colors a bit to match more of the comics rendition.
Mask shape ala Neal Adams version and added the gloves and black accents.

Did this pretty fast so its a bit rough around the edges.

CLOSEUP

Rick Magyar inked my pencils for TOPPS comics adaptation of the Frank Darabont scripted, Kenneth Branagh directed and Francis Ford Coppola produced FRANKENSTEIN.

This was done during the time I was inking CHIAROSCURO for Vertigo and still pencilling CONAN THE ADVENTURER.
Drank lots of coffee back in those days.

I think Rick did a great job on the inks. I only had about three pages of slides to work from and there was no online database to grab any screencaps or concept art so I was winging much of it. I didn't know how the finished film would look since I was already on the fourth issue when it finally hit the theaters.

Roy Thomas on the script and it's always a breeze working with Roy.

The film wasn't critically received but it had its moments and I still enjoy DeNiro's take on the monster.

Another plus was that John Bolton and Tim Bradstreet did some exceptional covers at the time for the comic series.

CONCEPT ART

This was for a NuImage film.

IMMORTALS by TARSEM

Behind the scenes clips on Tarsem's Greek God film! Did some concept designs for it the last year or so.

IMMORTALS ENTRY ONE

“I’m trying to define it like… The Gods are like superheroes so we can kind of like Batman does, not Superman, where you jump from up high and not get hurt when landing down. But he can’t fly up. So we have the same definition for Gods.” … “The movie’s got fantastical fighting and it’s got a bit Oldboy meets Caravaggio kind of stuff. And it also has this, which is just brutal and two people in a confined space.”

Read more: First Photos: Tarsem’s Immortals | /Film

SARASOTA FILM FEST BLOG

Sam Rockwell—the Transformation!

Written by "The Insider" for the SFF 2010 covering my stint as co- trainer for Clooney's "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind"

MOMOA as CONAN?

He has the height, a better voice for Conan than Arnold and many seem to forget that he is also half German-Irish as well as Hawaiian (which gives him the bronze skin).

Many have criticized his build the most.

Hmmm... things just got interesting.

I WAS ONE

"I was one of the horde that swarmed over the hills..."

TRANSFORMERS TWO

My brother Ricardo just uploaded 3D models that he created for the Transformers Two Game.
Check out all the cool stuff he makes here.:

KAYAN 3D

THREE MAGAZINES

KNIVES ILLUSTRATED voted the RnD hawk I designed with master bladesmith Daniel Winkler (LAST OF THE MOHICANS) one of the top five tactical tomahawks out there on the field. There's a short article in the recent issue.

Also, you can see my art on the recent issue of ALTER EGO covering Sword and Sorcery comics featuring REH's greatest heroes in a group pic.

Finally, recent issue of SCARY MONSTERS covers my work on the John Carter - PRINCESS OF MARS film.

Three different types of magazines that somehow relate in one form or other.

9

New Focus Feature film "9" has a cool Trailer. I like the textures of the basket weave on one of the characters. Above is a similar concept that I did several years ago.