ShowHype Greatest Hits - Burbanked

Tales of Blogging Passion, Part III.

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:59:11 +0000

One of the elements of discovering passionate bloggers that I find so exciting are the ways in which a given blogger embraces all of the tools and functionalities that are available to convey his or her message in a better, more compelling, more reader-friendly way. We’ve all seen blogs in which each post is served [...]

I am a walking movie cliché.

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:23:00 +0000

I am a fish out of water. I am an everyman. My wife and I met cute. There’s no place like my home. I’m getting a lot more than I bargained for. My life is based on a true story. I play fast and loose with the rules. I tend to think that things are quiet. A little too quiet. My kids are [...]

It might pay to be Matthew McConaughey's costar. Unfortunately.

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 13:26:00 +0000

I find it very difficult to get through most of Matthew McConaughey’s movies. Sure, there’s a Lone Star in there, a Dazed and Confused, but in general I find his delivery, his smug persona and his general smarminess to be real cinematic turn-offs. So it’s with an exuberant sense of “bleh” that I read a piece [...]

Lev Kuleshov and the history of dramatic film editing.

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 19:38:47 +0000

I thought we’d take a little educational detour here today on Burbanked and talk about the history of dramatic film editing. Long, long ago, many decades before Michael Bay ever hyper-edited a 6-minute shot into 48 component pieces, there lived a Russian filmmaker named Lev Kuleshov who had a revolutionary idea about film editing: that [...]

Hello, Santa. It’s me, Burbanked.

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:16:00 +0000

I know what you’re thinking. Here I haven’t written to you in roughly 36 years, and all of a sudden I’m going to drop you a line and make a request - just like everyone else does at this time of year. And I’m sorry, Santa, but as I get older the idea of Christmas [...]

As it turns out, it’s not the years or the mileage. It’s the baggage.

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 02:07:29 +0000

I’ve mentioned many, many times in these pages my great affection and affinity for the Indiana Jones character and all three movies created in the franchise. I truly believe that they represent among the best that cinema has to offer, and I hold them deeply in my heart because of what spectacular, precious gems they [...]

One of the more horrifying things I’ve ever seen.

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:13:00 +0000

“‘The podium, the backdrop, the sense of creative achievement that hangs about him - it’s all so vivid and detailed that you’d swear it was real.’ Added Krajcsik, ‘When you see Michael thanking his talented cast and crew and raising the Oscar above his head, it’s going to be hard to believe it never, ever [...]

Perhaps lightning strikes more than Once.

Sat, 1 Mar 2008 23:47:00 +0000

Nice. Variety is reporting that Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the Oscar-winning actor/songwriters of the great movie Once have signed a music publishing deal with the Warner Music Group. The pair, as well as the bands they’ve played with, have never had recording contracts before, so it’s damn delightful that their music will be able [...]

Exclusive trailer! Now THIS is something I can get behind.

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 21:00:42 +0000

Hollywood simply doesn’t make movies like this anymore. Such truth…and triumph of the human spirit. Makes me proud to be an American. Take a look and let me know what you think. movie, trailer, hulk, lost boys, sex and the city, love guru, madagascar, get smart, youtube, mash-up

The Dark Knight is all about the chaos, baby.

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:30:59 +0000

This is all the convincing I need that Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan have absolutely figured out how to bring innovation and excitement back to the way movies are marketed. Please go ahead and click on that one-sheet; make it bigger, drink in that red and orange fire, read that frigging great tagline again. Then [...]

Here’s the best advice I ever got about working in the film industry.

Mon, 5 May 2008 18:30:00 +0000

Disclaimer: If you’re a friend, coworker or landscaper of mine, you’ve likely already heard this story. Knowing me, probably more than once. I’d suggest that you visit another website for the next 10 minutes. Perhaps you’d enjoy a story about ancient animal dung? Carlo Conda is a blogger and aspiring screenwriter who visits and comments here [...]

Indiana Jones and the Revenge of the Darabont Draft.

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 03:43:53 +0000

As I’ve mentioned and speculated again, writer-director Frank Darabont’s rejected Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods draft has reached near-mythic heights of speculation around the bloguverse over the last year or so by fanboys such as myself who wondered why Lucas rejected it and what would come of the final product. Of course, now [...]

I’ve been tagged by The 12 Movies Meme.

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:00:00 +0000

Leave it to my blog-pal Piper to roust me out of the too-much-working, non-blogging malaise I’ve been experiencing lately by tagging me with one of his ever-loving movie memes. What a rascal! In Lazy Eye Theatre’s 12 Movies Meme, Piper challenges me and a handful of others to program two weeks’ worth of movies if we [...]

Hollywood’s promising you more superheroes, more crossovers, bigger films - but will they be any good?

Thu, 9 Oct 2008 04:01:00 +0000

It wasn’t so long ago when Hollywood was collectively freaking out, on a daily basis, about the “shrinking theatrical window” and the doomsday-like predictions of “day-and-date” movie distribution. Now that 2008 has seen the revitalizing effects of a few theatrical ...

Whatever Morgan Freeman's paying his agent, it's not enough.

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 12:05:08 +0000

OVER BLACK: “Nine months ago…” ring-ring. ring-ring. “Hello, this is Morgan Freeman. When I first answered the phone today, I didn’t think much of it. The truth is, it could have been anyone on the other end of that line; I just didn’t want to know. That was my first impression of that call.” “Oh, hi, Warren, sorry [...]

Weekend quickie - this is a joke, right?

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 15:00:38 +0000

I saw this flashy banner ad on CHUD.com recently, in which we’re encouraged to buy the DVD for Captivity, available October 30th. Apparently the DVD marketers have elected not to focus on the film’s scenes of torture and imprisonment. And they refuse to hype the young female charms of starlet Elisha Cuthbert. And if you’d [...]

At this rate I will be quite unable to Be Kind by the time this movie comes out.

Mon, 3 Dec 2007 21:56:00 +0000

There are a handful of things wrong with this one-sheet for Be Kind, Rewind, but I get way too hung up on the awful Photoshopping job on Black’s and Def’s faces to get too deeply into everything else that’s so annoying about it. Is it so impossible anymore to convince an actor to show up [...]

Here’s at least one one-sheet designer who has Taken liberties.

Tue, 11 Dec 2007 13:00:37 +0000

Wow, but that is one terrible Photoshop job on the face of Liam Neeson on the one-sheet for the upcoming kidnapping thriller Taken. Go take a look at Obsessed With Film where Matt shares the crappy poster and so-so trailer. Neeson plays a revenge-thirsty father whose 17-year-old daughter is kidnapped in France, but seeing the [...]

Tomorrow Burbanked is two years old. Hey now.

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:39:01 +0000

To be honest, I’m having a hard time wrapping my brain around the concept of whether two years of blogging is a lot or not. From one standpoint, it seems like a lot. With just under 500 posts to the site’s credit, I’ve tried hard to keep things fresh and interesting, although I know I’m [...]

Mildly amusing movie one-sheet juxtaposition #3.

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 22:33:32 +0000

(click to enlarge) Hollywood marketing pop quiz! Somewhere in Hollywood, some poor slob of a graphic designer in a studio production department just thought: “Crap. Those guys totally took my idea.” “Crap. I am definitely stuck in a rut.” “Hooray! My derivative work has once again saved my job!” movie, one-sheet, poster, jumper, 27 dresses, vantage ...