Originally, Yves Geleyn had intended “Kotori” to be for the Tokyo Mode Gakuen. But when they decided not to pick up the project, he forged ahead anyway, sewing bits of tissue and cloth together to create an endearing little narrative about a bird who’s as persistent and creative as Yves himself.
Yves’ portfolio is full of hybrid approaches to animation and illustration. Ever sensitive to his subject matter, his creations are cute without being cutesy, and they always adhere to the narrative at hand. The result is a buoyant body of work that’s full of surprises.
By the way, the music and sound design in “Kotori” is from Mark Webster, with whom Yves has collaborated on several other projects. Mark runs a fantastic blog about motion design called… well… Motion Design. Check it out for thoughtful looks at the history and current state of motion graphics.
My original headline for this post was “Simon Cowell attacked by rogue Ethopian.” Then I did some investigative journalism (i.e. Wikipedia) and learned that it’s actually Simon’s fiancé British TV personality Teri Seymour. The couple are on vacation in Barbados for the holiday. I can understand why he keeps her around. She seems handy. Simon could always use Teri as a walking stick if he were on a long hike. Or, I dunno, maybe as a karate staff if he wanted to fight crime or play Ninja Turtles with Ryan Seacrest who always wants to be “Naked Shredder.”
Our big Best of ?07 stories run Sunday, but because I?m such a smug gasbag there wasn?t enough room to bloviate about the acting I loved this year. And there was a lot to love - so much, apparently, that I actually forgot a few (thanks, Mark Feeney). Some of the parts were tiny in movies nobody saw. Some of them everybody did. Even if the film didn?t really work, the actor really did. And the distinction between a lead role and supporting one seems arbitrary to me. I know the difference when I see it. But it?s really a combination of a character?s narrative function and whatever the actor brings to the part. Javier Bardem, for instance, probably has less screen time in "No Country for Old Men" than Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones, but, to my mind, his character fuels the chase. Plus, he?s just so good ? not to mention, with that haircut, so ready to paint my bathroom.
George “Tailor Made” Weisgerber, the winner of VH1’s I Love New York 2, may love more than just his recent fiancé Tiffany “New York” Pollard. Tailor Made was seen making out and flirting with three different women at a company holiday party, according to spies for NY Daily News:
"He was a hot mess," says the snitch. "He was dancing, and kissing a blond with curly hair, then holding hands with a girl with short straight brown hair."
And when the third girl tried to help him up after he "fell on the floor of the bathroom," he hit on her!
Can anyone blame the guy? If I were engaged to New York, I’d be hooking up with anything but her. There’d be paparazzi shots of me zapping my nads with a taser gun while screaming “This is so much better than sex with my fiancé!” Then I’d make out with a lit BBQ grill and cry tears of joy because, for once, I actually love where my face is.
Mischa Barton was picked up for DUI and narcotic possession early yesterday morning. Officers pulled Mischa over when her car straddled two lanes and she failed to use a turn signal. A source for the West Hollywood police provided TMZ with the details of her arrest and what Mischa had on her:
Mischa Barton blew a .12 on her breathalyzer test, admitted to smoking marijuana earlier that day (which cops found in her car) and had what cops say looked like prescription drugs in her car -- in an unlabeled bottle.
That’s why I keep my prescription drugs in a clearly labeled bottle that reads “Fuck You Up Pillz.” I use the “z” instead of an “s” because I’m wack. And also because I took a handful of them while swimming in an above-ground pool full of bourbon. Or at least I was until my neighbor came home and started asking why I filled his pool with booze. He didn’t seem to believe me when I said “Jesus told me to.” But yet he said “Jesus thinks I should hit you with a shovel.” Which he did. God, what a hypocrite.
Jessica Simpson isn’t the box-office draw you’d expect a hot chick with a creamy stupid center to be. Her latest film Blonde Ambition was headed straight for DVD until the producers decided to show the film in Jessica’s home state of Texas. It not only bombed but set the stage for the rest of her film releases, according to Page Six:
The turkey took in just $1,322 on its opening weekend in eight Texas theaters. Jessica's next picture, "Major Movie Star," with Vivica A. Fox and Steve Guttenberg, is also heading straight to DVD.
I did the math on this one and it’s bad. Assuming movie tickets are $10, roughly 16 people saw this movie at each theater over a three day span. If this isn’t a giant sign that says “Jessica Simpson, it’s time for porn” then I don’t know what is. I mean, besides that billboard I built outside her bedroom window that says “Jessica Simpson, it’s time for porn.” Her dad was a big help though, so I can’t take all the credit.
Lindsay Lohan’s father Michael Lohan offers some of his recently acquired spiritual advice to the Spears family as they cope with Jamie Lynn’s teenage pregnancy. Michael knows what it’s like to get caught up in the “whirlwind” that comes from having celebrity children. Here’s what he told the Spears, as reported by Extra:
“Stand together," he insisted. "Stand by each other and don’t let anyone come between you.”
Michael added, “Even if you have to get really like insanely close to your daughter’s unfathomably large breasts for her age, just keep standing by each other. Don’t let anything come between you. Especially pants: The devil’s most sinister form. I rebuke you, pants!”
NOTE: I added some pictures of Lindsay Lohan in black tights just for the hell of it.
But you don't want to hear my spleen-venting, you want to know what movies to see. Well, ya can't see "There Will Be Blood" yet, like I said. But the kids will probably like "The Water Horse," even if it is "E.T." regurgitated and reshaped into the Loch Ness Monster. And "The Great Debaters," the new drama directed by and co-starring Denzel Washington manages to overcome its innate Oprah-ness and stand on its feet as a fine film. Recommended if you want a feel-good movie that doesn't make you feel like you've been played. Really.
Otherwise, grown-ups have "The Savages" (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney and that's all you need to know), "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (Julian Schnabel and cameraman Janusz Kaminski re-invent human consciousness), and "Sweeney Todd" (Burton and Depp do right by Sondheim, mostly) to warm the dark cockles of their hearts this weekend.
The Brattle is playing to the fan-boys by bringing back "Blade Runner: The Final Cut" through the end of the year, then kicking off 2008 with a Marx Brothers marathon. We'll probably all need a good laugh by then. Hey, is it still possible to retroactively elect Rufus T. Firefly President of the United States?
It's a sunny Friday morning but I'm in a black mood. The dog just threw up on the carpet for one thing, and it's not even my dog. (We're minding him for friends.) The Times says the Golden Globe ceremonies may not happen due to the writers' strike but I'm finding it tough to care given the state of the rest of the world. My boss sends me an e-mail wondering why there was such a disparity between movie quality and commercial success this year -- why, essentially, "Spider-Man 3" and "Shrek the Third" are the top box-office films of 2007 despite being measurably dreadful (and don't get me started on "300"; real no-brainer entertainment never needs to try that hard) -- and I hesitate to answer that American audiences are increasingly desperate to be diverted from current realities. (Why we don't actually engage said realities isn't much of a mystery; why change the world when you can change the channel, or the playlist, or the Wii)?
Like I said, a black mood. Not helped, either, by a reader e-mail getting all up my nose over my review of "Aliens vs Predator: Requiem" because, come on, the first "Alien vs Predator" sucked much worse and if you'd been paying attention you would have seen the PredAlien at the end of that installment and known that's why it showed up in #2. To which my response is mostly unprintable. Other than, dude: it's "Alien vs Predator". It means precisely nothing. Read a newspaper and get a life.
Oh, and one more thing: "There Will Be Blood," a movie that in its magnificent, eccentric way actually does manage to explore the roots of the American personality, the 20th Century, and why we love oil so much, is already playing in New York City but doesn't come to Boston until January 4th. Am I drinking the Kool-Aid on this one? Yes, gratefully, since so much else tastes like swill.
