Brandon Bird’s art is delightful in a wonderfully playful way and is quickly gaining a cult following for his beautifully rendered pop-culture and movie references.
Way beyond simple parodies or caricatures, his works include this painting, titled “Lazy Sunday afternoon” depicting Christopher Walken making a model of Optimus Prime on a random weekend, and this arresting image, the title of which says everything and would make an excellent feature film - “No one wants to play Sega with Harrison Ford.”
Check out the rest of his works here.
www.brandonbird.com
Unfortunately, Steven Spielberg still wants to make films with him. And who suffers? WE DO.
Written by Matt on April 11th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
And Spielberg has what to do with Brandon’s art exactly?
Written by Mike on April 14th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
I think Matt’s mistaken Brandon Bird (artist) for Brad Bird (film director)…
Written by Graham on April 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
You are entitled to deride a film you’ve seen, but pre-empting something which isn’t even made yet (and isn’t even related to this article’s subject) with comments regarding your ‘suffering’ at the hands of one of the world’s most successful directors is beginning to become a theme in LWLies, inferring a growing superiority complex. The mag used to be unique and interesting because it offered opinion and experienced comment, but is becoming rather marked with a we-know-more-than-you-do attitude. You may find people don’t want to fork out 4 quid on something destined to make them feel inferior.
Rather than make churlish comments, just don’t go and watch it. In the meantime, whip away Indiana and keep painting Brandon.
Written by JJ on April 14th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Point taken. Film should screen soon - all will be revealed.
Just for the record, I was referring to Spielberg and Harrison Ford, rather than Brandon.
But, as before, point taken.
Written by Matt on April 15th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Actually, this has got me thinking… We’ve had a bit of discussion about how diverse our blog comments should be on films where we disagree. There’s a substantial section of the mag’s members who are super excited about, for instance, Indy IV. Would you rather see that diversity of opinion expressed on the blog? If so, we can certainly head in that direction.
I’ll also clarify my feelings on Indy a little bit: I think Raiders of the Lost Ark is arguably the best action adventure movie of all time. When we (I) get frustrated about the modern state of blockbusters, it’s because you can look back to a time when the blockbuster wasn’t an excuse to leave your brain at the door but was a byword for some of the world’s best directors working at the top of their game and making some of the most enjoyable, crowd-pleasing, but also nourishing and satisfying movies you’ll ever see.
That seems to have got lost somewhere along the way, quite possibly after Jurassic Park took us all down the road of CGI, which stopped being a tool and started being the point. Add to that, it seems like there’s more self-reflection and irony in summer films now, as if they don’t quite have the courage to go all the way and be pure pop, but have to maintain a knowing distance from themselves.
From the gestation of Indy IV (with George Lucas nixing script ideas, and obviously the age factor) my concern is that they’re taking one of the all time great franchises down a cul-de-sac. It began to happen in The Holy Grail - and not just in the hokey family dynamic (you can love Spielberg as much as the next man, but the guy is categorically not good at broad, knockabout comedy); look what they did to Brody in those films too. Made him into a buffoonish caricature. That’s why I worry: the signs of a great franchise in decline were, in my opinion, starting to become evident, and I suspect Indy IV might be pushing it too far. Kind of like, for me, personally, the Star Wars prequels have genuinely affected my enjoyment of the original trilogy. I don’t want that to happen again. To anyone!
But, to JJ: churlish? I promise you, nu-uh. Not us. We wouldn’t do what we do if were feeling churlish (or superior). We are all about the love. Except, possibly, when we keep having to review bad horror films. That does get annoying.
Written by Matt on April 15th, 2008 at 8:42 am
For what it’s worth, I’m super-excited about Indy.
Call me a naive fool, destined to be disappointed, but, despite my reservations about Harrison’s age, I watched the trailer the other day, and the theme music alone brought a smile to my face…
Written by Graham on April 15th, 2008 at 2:02 pm