Pirelli Commercial Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

To celebrate the historic wins for Kathryn Bigelow last night at the Oscars I wanted to share her most recent commercial work, this short film starring Uma Thurman and shot by Janusz Kaminski for Pirelli titled, Mission Zero.

and check out this peek behind the scenes for a scope of the production, the stunts, and the special effects.

Hugh Jackman's Oscar Opener on a Budget

I was so impressed by Hugh Jackman, what a fun and entertaining show. I loved the homemade feeling props - and the Craigslist dancers - just too funny!

Oscar Nominated Short - This Way Up

It's Oscar time again and I just had to showcase one of the films from my favorite category, Best Animated Short, This Way Up.

This Way Up is a comedy in a particularly dark setting about having trouble laying the dead to rest, from Nexus Productions and directing duo Smith& Foulkes.

Of course the full film is still underwraps but the trailer below should be enough to get you excited.

Smith & Foulkes have an amazing protfolio of film, commercial, and music video projects including award winning Honda Hate and Coca Cola Video Game.

Priceless Oscar Commercials

I have to say, the only commercials that stood out for me last night were the Mastercard Priceless spots. I think it's impressive how they have kept the same campaign going for so long and continue to reinvent it and keep the spots fresh and entertaining.



"Studious Pupil" directed by Christian Bevilacqua of Therapy Films via Mccann Erikson, New York.

Honorary Oscar

I know I posted about this already, but I was lucky enough to present to Robert Boyle when I was production designing a film at the AFI and just feel that he is a living legend. I think his speech was one of the highlights of last nights ceremony, the perspective on the world, the film industry, and the life journey this man has is humbling and inspiring, we're lucky to have heard from him while he is still with us. I mean c'mon he refers to Alfred Hitchcock as Hitch!

It's long but here is a YouTube clip I found of the speech for those of you who missed it.

Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf

In honor of the Oscars this Sunday I wanted to share another animated short nomination, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. When you think of Peter and the Wolf the first thing that probably comes to mind is the music, I know when I was a kid i had one of those storybook records that told the story over the songs and BONGed when you needed to turn the page.

Sergei Prokofiev composed and wrote this version of the tale in 1936 for his son, arranged so that each character in the story is represented with it's own instrument.
The story is told through claymation and puppetry directed by Suzie Templeton for Breakthru Films. Templeton's version of the classic tale adds a bit of darkness to the somewhat jovial orchestration, through the lighting, color scheme and even the puppets themselves.

You can view the trailer here. You also may be interested in checking out some of Suzie Templeton's previous work, Stanley and Dog.

Hitchcock's Designer to Receive Honorary Oscar

Legendary Production Designer Robert F. Boyle will be receiving an Honorary Oscar at this year's Academy Awards for his lifetime achievement in Art Direction and Production Design.








Boyle has a seemingly endless list of credits, including In Cold Blood, Fiddler on the Roof, and Cape Fear. Most celebrated is his work as Production Designer for Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest and The Birds.

98 year old Boyle is a living legend in his field, nominated for four Academy Awards in his career, and offering his talents to the next generations of Production Designers as a professor at the American Film Institute Conservatory.

To learn more about the art of Hitchcock's films Hitchcock's Notebooks is full of storyboards, sketches and other behind the scenes info.

I Met the Walrus

In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatles fan named Jerry Levitan snuck into John Lennon's hotel room and convinced him to do an interview, the whole thing was documented on his reel-to-reel tape deck.
The animated film created to accompany the soundtrack, I Met the Walrus, has been wowing viewers and winning awards throughout the festival circuit, including the award for Best Animated Short at this years AFI Fest. I Met the Walrus is now in the running for an Oscar in the same category.

Not only is the animation unique and engaging in a playful stream of consciousness way, but the subject matter though from 30 years ago seems so current. As The US vs. John Lennon also made abundantly clear, we could use a little John Lennon right about now to stir things up.

View the trailer for I Met the Walrus.