I'm telling you people, low-fi recreations....they're reaching critical mass. This production promises to recreate live on stage, scene by scene, the entirety of Spielberg's finest work of cinema. How will they do it? Much paper mache is said to be involved, and probably no small amount of theatrical ingenuity. This event has been talked up quite a bit from the Village Voice to the NYTimes, so I know I'm getting there early.
UPDATE 3/4/08: If you missed this, we've got a full report.
Your chance to meet a whole bunch of comic creators, after the jump... Tuesday, March 4
Midnight @ Midtown Comics West, 200 W 40th Street, Manhattan
If you really want to stalk Peter David, you actually have two event options; at 8pm at Comic Book Club, Peter will talk nerd shop with the lads from The Stack, so if you go to that first you can have something to talk to him about during those all important 20 seconds when he's signing your copy of Dark Tower (or any of the other great books he's writing, for that matter).
7pm @ Housing Works Cafe, 126 Crosby Street, Manhattan
French comic-book creators Philippe Dupuy and Charles Berberian, the duo responsible for the award winning comic anthology Get A Life, will talk about "the global graphic novel", which sounds very grandiose and probably has something to do with Tin Tin.
Wow, so many comic artists are doing events this week! They must all be in town to see the Jurassic Park show. Adapted from the book Three Days as the Crow Flies, '85 is a graphic novel about NYC in a tumultuous time, with lots of drug addicts, artists, and other off-the-grid grittiness.
It appears that Steven Spielberg is trying to make sure his new Indiana Jones movie isn't screened in anything but its original format--beauteous 35mm film. This comes as somewhat of a slap to digital pioneer (and Indy executive producer!) [and killer of beloved franchises!] George Lucas. I'm behind this decision, as Indy has always had a nostalgic sensibility, with throwback special effects and an earthy aesthetic. It's not a shiny clean franchise, so projecting it exclusively on dirty film just makes since. I'm also taking this concern over the presentation as a sign that Spielberg really cares about this film, which hopefully means he is proud of his work and hasn't ruined the franchise. Note this is all subject to change if Steven has "a last minute change of heart."
Remember when we brought you the video of tech genius Johnny Lee turning a Wiimote into a head tracking system to awesome effect? If not, hit the jump for that video and then get excited, because unlike the trillion other homebrew gaming innovations that never make it into an actual product, Joystiq says head tracking IS COMING. The only bad news is that it's coming in the form of Steven Spielberg's action puzzler Boom Blox, where I can't imagine it will be useful for anything more than a cool parlor trick. But hey, a published game is a published game, Spielberg is Spielberg, and soon some smart company will realize the tech is viable and it would make any first person shooter a must buy. Oh yes. We're almost there.
Hit the jump for that video and thoughts on the announcement from head tracking pioneer Johnny Lee...
On his blog, Johnny Lee had this to say about the announcement:
Reward the developers who decided this was worth including and send a signal to EA and the greater game development community that this is a desired step forward in the evolution of game play technology.
I'm proud. If this pans out, it'll be only 5 months between the initial research prototype to integration into a major product release. Sweet!
Just in case you are wondering: No, I don't get any royalties or benefits for the use of this technique in games. Personally, I'm much happier impacting the state of technology on such a large scale in such a short period of time rather than struggling to transform it into personal financial gain. In terms of my original intent behind creating the head-tracking demo, it has already been a wild success beyond my highest expectations.
Hoo boy, this is good. I'm a little bit less wary of this film now. It seems to have a lot of practical special effects, with only a couple of really noticeable ugly CG things. There was only one joke about Indy being old, and it wasn't too bad. And also, there appears to be a lot of action going down in the mysterious storage room that we saw a glimpse of at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark! That room has always been the most enduring image from the trilogy for me, so I'm both excited to see more of it and terrified that the film will ruin the special spot that room holds in my brain. What does everyone else think?
The Official Indiana Jones website has posted a video of the martini shots from all of the Indy films. Watch as Spielberg ages from a shirtless stud to a sun protected grandfather! Marvel at the geek cred of his swanky Blue Harvest cap in 1984! Sweat as Harrison Ford blows things up, cuts a rope bridge, and wears a horrendous bowtie! It's all there, folks.
One of the big Indiana Jones reveals at Comic-Con was that Karen Allen will be reprising her role as hard-drinkin', tough-talkin', Indiana-lovin' Marion Ravenwood in the new Indiana Jones movie. Oh, and also Shia LaBeouf looks ridiculous with facial hair. See them all walking and talking to a Comic-Con crowd via satellite in the video section of the official site. On a side note, can anyone recall if Marion's absence from Temple of Doom was explained? It bothers me when love interests disappear in sequels so our hero can bed a new damsel.
I checked out the special screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation at Anthology Film Archives over the weekend. I was turned away from Friday's show because I only showed up an hour and a half in advance, and apparently that wasn't enough to combat the Village Voice-reading hipster hordes. Saturday worked out much better for me, because my "all or nothing" girlfriend dragged me down there SIX hours before the show started. Dizzy dame.
If you don't know, The Adaptation is a shot-for-shot remake of Spielberg's first Indy flick started by 12-year olds Eric Zala (director), Chris Strompolos (producer/star) and Jayson Lamb (special effects) in 1982 and wrapped up seven years later when they were nineteen. It's painstakingly complete, with the only omission being the runway fight that ends in a gruesome propeller chopping. Everything else is there, from the rolling boulder to the Wrath of God. More words and pics after the jump. With dark features and a soft midsection, Strompolos doesn't look much like Harrison Ford at first glance, but his performance (impression?) is pitch perfect. Ford uses his face to great comic effect in the original Raiders, and Strompolos has every eye roll, every chin rub, every grimace down perfectly. It's clear this kid spent hours in front of the mirror practicing these bits, and it reeks of awesome geeky obsession goodness.
The film is incredibly exciting, and one of the main reasons for that is the fact that the kids playing all the parts are in nearly constant danger. Not shiny, make believe, Hollywood danger, but the tangible, terrifying, seriously life-threatening kind. You'll witness gasoline-doused kids catching on fire, startled snakes snapping at adolescent faces, kids falling out of and being dragged under moving trucks... The Adaptation has every peril of Spielberg's original, except without the safety nets inherent in an adult production. There's a persistent feeling throughout this movie that you won't feel watching a Hollywood film, the feeling that at any moment the on screen action could turn into real life tragedy. Seriously, if you love seeing kids in mortal danger, skip Hostel 2 this Summer and track down The Adaptation.
Experiencing the filmmakers' insane accomplishments in extreme closeup is what lends the movie its charm. Their enthusiasm for pulling off particularly harrowing scenes is overtly visible in their performances, making it impossible to keep a smile off your own face. You never forget, no matter what's happening on screen, that you're watching kids grow up in front of your eyes. You'll remember the feeling of young love when Strompolos plants one on his Marion (Angela Rodriguez) and can't hold back an excited grin for the rest of the scene, and it's impossible to not recall your own adolescent awkwardness when Rodriguez nervously undresses in front of her male peers to recreate Marion's imprisonment by Belloq (played here by director Eric Zala). This vicarious experience persists throughout the movie, and it's a big part of what makes it such a unique moviegoing experience.
