THE FIRE WIRE Movie Recommendation: Moon Directed By Duncan Jones

First, I know I am late to the game on a recommendation for this two year old movie but I was fortunate to watch Moon this weekend. I had heard a lot of buzz about the new director Duncan Jones (Source Code) and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was not disappointed but instead stuck with a film that I cannot get out of my head.

Moon is one of the best science fiction movies that I have seen in a long time. Opposed to focusing on grandiose special effects the movie takes great care to tell a compelling story with superb acting from Sam Rockwell and the vocal talents of Kevin Spacey. For a reported budget of $5 million, Jones created a picture that looks like it cost a lot more.

The 2009 film starts off with a great opening sequence and continues to propel the audience forward with interesting twists and turns. I don’t want to ruin this recommendation with spoilers so I will provide a very simplified synopsis:

Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet’s power problems.

Special features on the Blue-ray Include:

- A commentary from Writer/Director Duncan Jones and Producer Stuart Fenegan

- Commentary from Duncan Jones, Director of Photography Gary Shaw, Concept Designer Gavin Rothery, and Production Designer Tony Noble

- The Making of Moon Featurette

- Creating The Visual Effects Featurette

- Whistle: A short film directed by Duncan Jones

- Science Center Q&A With Director Duncan Jones

- Featurette, Filmmaker’s Q&A At the Sundance Film Festival

- Moon Theatrical Trailer

If you are looking for a rare, intelligent, poignant science fiction film, then go to Redbox or Netflix right now and rent Moon.

An Astonishingly Detailed Scale Model of The Muppet Show Set

Canadian designer Lance Cardinal built this astonishingly detailed model of the Muppet Show set. Thanks to popular demand he has also posted a making-of showing his painstaking design and build process. The set is a companion to Cardinal’s collection of Muppet figurines from Palisades Toys, a collectible toy manufacturer that went out of business in 2006. (From Laughing Squid)

Obol – The Original Crispy Bowl

Obol ($19) is The Original Crispy Bowl that solves the problem of soggy cereal. With the unique Swoop n Scoop, the Obol makes every bite as crispy as the first bite. The Spiral Slide design makes it possible to enjoy your cereal until the last bite. You can set the Obol down to write an email or answer the phone knowing your cereal will never get soggy. The easy to hold, textured non-slip grip and rim makes it easy to eat anywhere. It’s perfect for eating in bed or while watching a movie. Kids love it! The Obol is great for crispy crackers with soup.

Enjoy Radio On Your Bose SoundDock System With The New Bose AM/FM App For The iPhone & iPod Touch

With the Bose AM/FM App you can listen to the radio on your SoundDock digital music system. Designed for iPhone and iPod touch, the Bose AM/FM App ($3.00) provides easy access to local radio stations. And if the radio station you want is unavailable, it automatically finds and plays the best substitute station. The Bose App is easy to use. An intuitive user interface resembling a traditional radio tuner lets you find and manage local radio stations quickly and easily. The app even lets you store personal favorite stations. And it remembers your home location, so you can go anywhere and your local radio stations will follow. Or, reset your home location wherever you go and receive stations from that area.

Retro Pixar Cars 2 Poster

This newly unveiled movie poster for Cars 2 is circulating on the internet today.  The retro image is an homage to James Bond-style 1960s era designs.  I hope it becomes available for purchase!

Pixar Introduces Two New Cars 2 Characters: Meet Max Schnell & Miguel Camino

Walt Disney Studios and Pixar have released the following new character descriptions from Cars 2, coming to theaters on June 24, 2011.

Max Schnell started as a humble production sedan from Stuttgart , Germany . An avid amateur racer, Max would practice alone in the back roads of the dense Black Forest —a trek that eventually caught the eye of a racing team owner. Soon Max was on a professional circuit, bearing the #4, and as his horsepower increased, he converted himself to carbon fiber, dropping his weight and getting into prime racing shape. He’s won more races at Motorheimring than any other World Torque Champion League car in history. A naturally brilliant engineer, he used logic and analytics to refine his build, and plans to approach the World Grand Prix in the same perfectly calculated manner.

Spain’s most renowned, admired and captivating car is Pamplona ’s Miguel Camino. He first caught his home country’s attention by participating in the infamous Running of the Bulldozers. His flair, style and speed as a toreador in the dozer ring has inspired a generation of young bulldozer fighters, and soon that same speed and verve turned headlights of fans and competitors alike on the Grand Touring Sport racing circuit. Bearing the #5 and the fiery colors of the Spanish flag, Miguel Camino is hoping to race his way into more hearts at the World Grand Prix.

Muhammad Ali Sculpture Made From 1,300 Punching Bags

“ReALIze,” by Michael Kalish and Oyler Wu Collaborative, is a sculptural tribute to Muhammad Ali made out of 1,300 punching bags. The sculpture is on display at L. A. LIVE in Los Angeles until April 9.

If Movie Trailers Ruined Endings

You know how they say that previews sometimes give away the best part of movies? Well, what would happen if trailers actually revealed the biggest secrets in movies too?

Watch Paul Simon Perform on Jimmy Fallon With Stomp

Paul Simon performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night. Simon took to the stage early in the show with a performance of “Cecilia” alongside Fallon and the cast of percussion-based musical Stomp, who provided hand claps, banging garbage cans and clinking glass bottles. The singer/songwriter returned to to the stage later in the program, performing three more songs: “The Afterlife,” a new track from his forthcoming album, followed by a cover of Jimmy Cliff’s “Vietnam” and his own hit, “Mother and Child Reunion.” Paul Simon’s 12th solo album So Beautiful Or So What hits shelves April 12.

Atari’s Greatest Hits For The iPhone

Atari just released its new iPhone app, Atari’s Greatest Hits (Free-$15) This blast from the past lets you indulge in 100 old school games (18 classic Atari arcade games and 92 Atari 2600 games), including Asteroids, Centipede, Battlezone and Star Raiders. You also get Bluetooth mutliplayer options, plus original cabinet and box art. You can purchase it two different ways — 25 separate packs available for download at $0.99 each or you can get all 100 games for $15.

Mondo To Release Second Disney Poster Tomorrow: Who Framed Roger Rabbit By Tom Whalen

Mondo will release their second new Disney poster tomorrow at a random time. This time the image is of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” by Tom Whalen. The image will be an 18″ x 24″ screen print; hand numbered for $40. The edition size is 210.

These posters will be going on sale Friday, April 8, 2011 at a random time. Please follow Mondo on Twitter for the on sale announcement.

Lost Dr. Seuss Stories To Be Published

Seven rarely-seen Dr. Seuss stories from the 1950s, which were tracked down by a Massachusetts dentist, will finally be published in book form this autumn.

Dr Seuss’s art director Cathy Goldsmith was on eBay when she stumbled across a sale for tear-sheets from 1950s magazines, purporting to be stories by the author, who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel in 1904. She bought the stories, and discovered that the seller, dentist Charles Cohen, was a huge collector of “Seussiana” and an avid Seuss scholar. She travelled to Springfield, Massachusetts, to meet him along with Random House vice-president and publisher Kate Klimo.

The stories include The Strange Shirt Spot, the inspiration for the bathtub ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back (“‘Have no fear of that ring,’ / Laughed the Cat in the Hat. / ‘Why, I can take cat rings / Off tubs. Just like that!’ / Do you know how he did it? / WITH MOTHER’S WHITE DRESS! / Now the tub was all clean, / But her dress was a mess!”) Gustav the Goldfish is an early, rhymed version of the Dr Seuss book A Fish Out of Water, about a fish that grows and grows, while The Bippolo Seed tells of a conniving feline (reminiscent of the Cat in the Hat, perhaps) who encourages an innocent duck to make a bad decision. The book is completed with The Great Henry McBride, about a boy whose “far-flung career fantasies are only bested by those of the real Dr Seuss”; The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga, about a rabbit saved from a bear with a single eyelash; Steak for Supper, about fantastic creatures who follow a boy home for dinner; and Tadd and Todd, a story about twins.

Due out in late September from Random House in the US, The Bippolo Seed and other lost stories will include an introduction from Cohen, explaining the significance of the stories in Dr Seuss’s career. The author, who died in 1991 aged 87, won a Pulitzer for his contribution to American education. He wrote and illustrated 44 books, making his name in 1957 with The Cat in the Hat. Containing just 225 words, it was written following a challenge from his publisher: to write a fun story using the list of words first-grade schoolchildren needed to learn. Read more HERE.

Bacon Cologne

As absurd as it sounds Bacon Cologne ($36) is the real deal. The pork tinged bottle scent includes just a hint of bacon essence in its Gold (citrus) and Classic (spicy maple) fragrances. Ladies, please try to restrain yourselves.

Maurice Sendak Returns To Being Author-Illustrator After 30 years

The “Where the Wild Things Are” creator is scheduled to publish Bumble-Ardy, the tale of a young pig’s birthday party, in September. Sendak has written or illustrated a host of titles over his 60-year career, but the last book the author both wrote and drew was “Outside Over There”, the surreal story of a little girl whose baby sister is kidnapped by goblins, in 1981.

Now Bumble-Ardy, the tale of a pig who, having reached the age of nine without ever having had a birthday party, decides to throw his own, is set for publication this September. Bumble-Ardy will be published in the US by HarperCollins on 6 September, with a first print run of 500,000. Susan Katz, president and publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books, said she was “thrilled” to be publishing the picture book. “Generations have grown up with his books, and this new picture book is a true testament to Maurice’s matchless ability to delight, entertain, and surprise us with every one,” she said. Read more HERE.

ABC Superheroes Print By Lishoffs

ABC Superheroes ($13.99 – $14.88) by Fabian “Lishoffs” Gzlez can be purchased as a fine art print on bright white, matte, ultra smooth, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using an advanced digital dry ink method to ensure vibrant image quality. Custom trimmed with 1″ border for framing. Can be purchased in a variety of sizes. It’s also available in a stretched canvas, t-shirt and hoodie.

When Harry Met Sally 2 – The Sequel

What would happen in a When Harry Met Sally sequel if Sally had died and Harry (Billy Crystal) was to meet another picky eater (Helen Mirren) in a luxury retirement community? It’s not what you think…

Netflix to Stream Up to Seven Seasons of Mad Men

Netflix and Lionsgate today announced a multiyear syndication deal in which Lionsgate has licensed the first four seasons of its Emmy Award-winning series “Mad Men” to be watched instantly by Netflix members starting July 27, with additional seasons being added annually after they complete airing on their respective seasons on the AMC network.

Under a separate agreement, the first four seasons of “Mad Men” are already available to watch instantly streaming from Netflix in Canada.

Lionsgate announced last week that it has entered into a new three-year agreement with “Mad Men” creator Matthew Weiner to continue as showrunner and “Mad Men” will return to AMC for Seasons 5 and 6 with the expectation of a seventh season as well.

When “Mad Men” debuted in July 2007 it quickly became one of the most talked about series on television. Set in 1960s New York, “Mad Men” is a sexy and provocative original drama that follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising. Produced, distributed and owned by Lionsgate, “Mad Men” has made television history as the only cable series to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama and the Golden Globe for Best Television Series-Drama for three consecutive years.

Mad Men’s award-winning ensemble cast includes Golden Globe-winner Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, Jared Harris, Rich Sommer, Aaron Staton, Robert Morse and Kiernan Shipka.

Steve Rogers To Don Captain America Suit Again

Marvel Comics said Monday that Steve Rogers, the young man who tried but failed to join the Army during World War II only to take a super-soldier serum that turned him into the agile, strong and daring Captain America, will return to the role in “Captain America” No. 1 in July.

Nearly four years ago, Rogers abandoned the costume, and the job, after he was gunned down on the steps of a courthouse and thought dead. Since then, his former sidekick, Bucky, has been sporting the shield and a sidearm, too.

But with a new film this summer from Marvel Studios — “Captain America: The First Avenger” — it’s unthinkable to have someone else wearing the costume and throwing the shield other than Rogers.

Marvel is keeping mum about the new series’ story but said it is being written by Ed Brubaker, who has been guiding the character for years, drawing critical acclaim for the gritty realism of the character. Rogers himself returned to the Marvel Universe in 2009 and, not surprisingly, wasn’t dead, but lost in time. Still, Rogers operated on the sidelines while Bucky continued to serve as Captain America. (Read more HERE)

Disney’s Gnomeo and Julet DVD & Blu-ray Due On May 24th

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has announced DVD ($29.99), 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo ($39.99), and 3-disc 3D Blu-ray/DVD Combo ($49.99) releases of Gnomeo and Julet for May 24th. The only extra material on the DVD release will be an Elton Builds a Garden feature, a Frog Talk with Ashley Jensen feature, and a “Crocodile Rock” Music Video featuring Elton John and Nelly Furtado. The Blu-ray releases will also include 2 Alternate Endings with Filmmaker Introductions, Deleted & Alternate Scenes with Filmmaker Introductions, and The Fawn of Darkness featuring Ozzy Osbourne.

Pixar’s Monsters University Pushed To June 2013

Walt Disney Studios announced today that it has pushed Monsters University — Disney-Pixar’s 3-D prequel to its 2001 hit Monsters Inc. — from its original Nov. 2, 2012 release to June 21, 2013. The Walt Disney Animation project Reboot Ralph will in turn take over the open release date, sliding from March 22, 2013 to Nov. 2, 2012.

Gallery 1988′s Required Reading Show Opens On April 15th

“Required Reading” is the name of the upcoming print show at Gallery 1988. The show will feature limited edition prints based on classic books. It opens April 15 from 7pm-10pm at the G1988 Melrose (Los Angeles) location. For more information please visit Gallery1988.com.

Pixar’s Viral Campaign Reveals Cars 2 Secret New Clip

This weekend at the San Francisco WonderCon, Pixar debuted a new viral campaign for Cars 2 in the form of a car parked outside the Moscone Center that featured the Twitter name @ChromeLeaks. The Twitter account sends fans to Cars-N-Deals.com, which is a false advertisement for “Cars N’ Deals of Emeryville”.

The false car ad features subtle hints about the sequel and even has a working phone number. You can watch it below…

Also, hidden within the ad (at the 57-second mark) is a URL (chromeA113.com) for an exclusive clip of Cars 2 which you can watch below…

Frank Miller’s 1986 Dark Knight Batman & Robin Splash Page Expected To Bring $100,000+ At Heritage Auctions

The iconic original art for the page 10 splash page from issue #3 of Frank Miller and Klaus Janson’s The Dark Knight Returns, the comic series that almost single-handedly re-vitalized Batman and defined the best of 1980s comics, is expected to bring $100,000+ when it comes up for auction as part of Heritage Auctions’ New York Signature Vintage Comics & Comic Art Auction, May 5, at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion (Ukranian Institute), 2 East 79th Street (at 5th Ave.)

“This splash page, to my mind, is the single most memorable image from the entire book and the greatest image from the decade ever to come to market,” said Ed Jaster, Senior vice President of Heritage Auctions, “as well as one of the handful of most desirable pieces of original comic art from any era to come to market. This one has everything going for it and has already generated considerable buzz in collecting circles.”

The amazing piece is a perfect stand-alone image of Batman and Robin (Carrie Kelley, the first female, full-time Robin) soaring high above Gotham City, an apt symbol of the entire intense storyline.

Artwork from this famed series is much scarcer than anything else from the period, as demonstrated by the fact that Heritage has only offered two Dark Knight panel pages previously, along with the fact that any splash page – much less a such an undeniably classic image – has never been offered at auction. This gem has been locked away in a single collection since being purchased upon the series’ original publication. Unlike many pages from the series, where differences between the original art and the published version are evident, no changes were made to this artwork for publication, and the original contains no paste-ups or stats – it’s pure art, just the way it appeared in print.

In short, this is one of the most important pieces of original comic book art Heritage has ever offered.

Press Release Link

2011 L.A. Times Festival of Books Schedule Announced: Patti Smith, Jamie Lee Curtis, Rainn Wilson, Ted Danson, T.C. Boyle, Mary & Carol Higgins Clark, Jillian Michaels, Dave Eggers, Patton Oswalt, Rick Springfield, R.L. Stine & Many More

The 16^th annual Los Angeles Times Festival of Books marks its first year in its new home at the University of Southern California the weekend of April 30th. The nation’s largest public literary festival’s change of scenery offers book enthusiasts, families and Angelenos of all ages the opportunity to discover new favorites and reconnect with cherished classics. The two-day schedule is packed with celebrity appearances, live music, cooking demonstrations, author readings, book signings and Q&As.  Attendees will find seven outdoor stages in the center of USC’s campus surrounded by hundreds of exhibitors and a variety of dining options. Dozens of indoor venues will host lively panel discussions on everything from the Middle East and the economy to the bright lights of Hollywood.

Program highlights include the Target Children’s Stage, featuring appearances by Mo Willems, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mallory Lewis and Lambchop, The Okee Dokee Brothers and R.L.Stine; the Cooking Stage showcasing Duff Goldman from “Ace of Cakes” and master chef Thomas Keller; the YA stage with such Young Adult luminaries as Gayle Forman, Judy M. Blundell and D.J. McHale; and The Times editorial staff will make appearances on the Los Angeles Times Stage and Pavilion.

General event information can be found at latimesfestivalofbooks.com or by calling 1-800-LA-TIMES, ext. 7BOOK.  Admission is free. Tickets are required to attend panel discussions and lectures due to limited seating. Writer’s workshop tickets and $30 panel passes will be available on Monday, April 11^th at 9 a.m. Individual panel tickets will become available on Sunday, April 24^th for a nominal fee. Frequent updates are also available on the Festival’s Facebook page and official Twitter stream @latimesfob. The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books is presented in association with USC, presenting sponsor Target, major sponsors Buick and GMC and official ticketing provider Eventbrite.

A Tour of A 90 Square Foot Apartment In Manhattan’s Upper West Side

By choosing a studio that measures just 12 feet by 7 feet, Felice Cohen can afford to live in Manhattan’s Upper West Side where apartments rent for an average of $3,600 per month. She pays just over $700 for her 90-square-foot microstudio. After a bit of adjustment she now loves living smaller, simpler and cozier.