First look: Enter the Joker — in the IMAX format. All directors promise that their sequels will be bigger and flashier than the predecessors’. But Christopher Nolan doesn’t mess around. The director’s sequel to Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, will become the first feature film to be partly shot in the IMAX format, an expensive and cumbersome process that typically is the province of documentaries and short films.
Archive for May, 2007
Doc Martens released upon the world a new ad campaign starring some familiar faces: Kurt Cobain, Sid Vicious, Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone. The deceased musicians were depicted wearing the shoes in ‘heaven’, but there was no approval for using their images. Courtney Love promptly issued a statement, the ad company was fired and Doc Martens - though apologetic - looked really, really bad. Now Joey Ramone’s brother, Mickey Leigh, has issued the following statement:
“Obviously, we are in the same position as Courtney Love, as well as the Estates of the others depicted (in the ad). We were never consulted about this ad. We were never asked for permission to use Joey’s image, or paid for the use of it. As Executor of my brother’s estate I never would have approved this ad as Joey never wore these shoes. And, not that my brother was terribly religious, but the fact that he was Jewish, and this ad is not exactly Kosher, makes it that much more inappropriate, inconsiderate and contemptible.
“Though we were about to formulate a statement to the above effect, Courtney certainly has a louder, more influential voice, and I am thrilled that she got through to them.”
iPod sex toy arouses Apple’s ire. A vibrating sex toy accessory for the iPod appears to have got Apple’s legal team all hot and bothered.
There’s a great Q&A interview with Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails in Melbourne’s Herald-Sun newspaper.
TR: It’s a very odd time to be a musician on a major label, because there’s so much resentment towards the record industry that it’s hard to position yourself in a place with the fans where you don’t look like a greedy asshole. But at the same time, when our record came out I was disappointed at the number of people that actually bought it. If this had been 10 years ago
I would think “Well, not that many people are into it. OK, that kinda sucks. Yeah I could point fingers but the blame would be with me, maybe I’m not relevant”. But on this record, I know people have it and I know it’s on everybody’s iPods, but the climate is such that people don’t buy it because it’s easier to steal it.
You’re a bit of a computer geek. You must have been there, too?
TR: Oh, I understand that — I steal music too, I’m not gonna say I don’t. But it’s tough not to resent people for doing it when you’re the guy making the music, that would like to reap a benefit from that. On the other hand, you got record labels that are doing everything they can to piss people off and rip them off. I created a little issue down here because the first thing I did when I got to Sydney is I walk into HMV, the week the record’s out, and I see it on the rack with a bunch of other releases. And every release I see: $21.99, $22.99, $24.99. And ours doesn’t have a sticker on it. I look close and ‘Oh, it’s $34.99′. So I walk over to see our live DVD Beside You in Time, and I see that it’s also priced six, seven, eight dollars more than every other disc on there. And I can’t figure out why that would be.
Read the entire article here.
Sitting in a car-park and looking over the dashboard onto a vacant car-lot. Feeling battered, worn-out and not wanting to face the day. Looking at the overgrown black crows perching on a half-lit street light. Listening to Pink Floyd softly pouring out of my iPod attached to my car’s sound-system. As I draw each breath and close my eyes - for a momentarily, solitary split second I feel at peace. But then I breathe out and open my eyes to a cloudy, overcast, grey day and I wish I was someplace else.
Driving past my old school. My god, it’s been a lifetime worth of years since I was here. I get a flashback. This is where I first saw the ‘Wizard of Oz’. This is where I first saw ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory’. This is where I learnt to read. To write. To dream.
The new image of Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight has now been removed from IBelieveinHarveyDentToo.com. It’s been replaced with red text that gives the error, ‘Page not found’. If you highlight the entire page, however, you’ll see a ton of ‘Ha Ha Ha’s’ with some letters here and there that don’t belong. String those letters together and what do you get? - ‘See you in December’.
So who is behind all this? It looks to be 42 Entertainment, the company which previously created the ‘I Love Bees’ promotion for ‘Halo 2′ and ‘Year Zero’ for the Nine Inch Nails album ‘Year Zero’. The company just registered SeeYouinDecember.com yesterday, so stay tuned.
Saw an article in this week’s Age newspaper about the re-located Wunderkammer store and decided… we gots to go there! I had never actually heard of the store before, but Sam told me they used to be located in Carlton. Had a great time doing some shopping for some ghoulish trinkets, (hey, they don’t call me Hellblazer for nothing you know!) and enjoyed chatting with one of the store owners. Can’t wait to go back! I especially want the authentic human skull!
More info at the Wunderkammer website.
Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor Slams Records Labels for Sorry State of the Industry. About time someone spoke up about the sorry state of some of Australia’s music pricing!
The city of Melbourne boasts an incredible array of street-art clearly making it the graffiti capital of Australia. No contest. Trawling through the streets and alleyways of this city - one can stumble upon an incredible selection of style and color and some of the finest urban art on display.
What makes it all the more exciting and vibrant is the fact that it is an art-form that constantly evolves and changes before your eyes almost on a daily level. What features on a wall one week, more often than not will be completely different in a week’s time.
Stencil art world draws the line. Melbourne’s street art community is up in arms following the acquisition of almost 300 stencil works by the National Gallery of Australia.
