Clash of the Titans Trailer

The first teaser trailer for Louis Leterrier’s Clash of the Titans has hit the web, the film is a remake of Desmond Davis’ 1981 original of the same name.  Leterrier who previously directed Unleashed, Transporter 2, and The Incredible Hulk, sought the involvement of legendary effects artist Ray Harryhausen for his remake.  Harryhausen’s amazing stop-motion creature effects were the highlight of the original film.  The remake of Titans stars Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation, Avatar) as the legendary Greek hero Perseus and Liam Neeson as the god Zeus.

This film could really go either way, the original screenplay for Clash of the Titans was written by the legendary writer-director Lawrence Kasdan, but the script has since been reworked by the writers of Æon Flux and The Tuxedo.  However, Leterrier has an extremely good eye for action and that’s what you’re looking for in a sword and sandals epic like this.  Let the comparisons to 300 begin.  Clash of the Titans is set for release on March 26th, 2010.

Via FirstShowing.net

Great Moments in Stop Motion Animation

When I was 10 years old my mother introduced my brother and me to Ray Harryhausen.  We watched Jack the Giant Killer, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts and other films featuring Harryhausen’s amazing stop-motion effects.  By this point in my life I was already well versed in the works of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, but I had no idea of the connection between the Harryhausen films and the Lucas/Spielberg movies I so loved.  I became obsessed with stop-motion animation and special effects in general for a period in my youth. I would mold things out of clay, building massive models out of Lego and destroy them both respectively. Sadly, I never realized I could film any of my creations, nor did I have the means at my disposal to do so.  I watched uncounted hours of Movie Magic on the Discovery Channel; a show that gave viewers a behind the scenes look at the effects that went into Hollywood blockbusters of the early 90’s.

From watching Movie Magic I learned about the lineage of some of the great special effects pioneers, specifically those specializing in stop-motion effects. Thomas Edison, or more likely those he employed were some of the earliest stop motion pioneers.  Early stop motion techniques were present in Edison Company films as early as 1902!  Willis O’Brien, the man responsible for the stop motion effects in 1933’s King Kong got his start animating movies for Thomas Edison’s company.  O’Brien would in turn train and later collaborate with Ray Harryhausen, the man who inspired generations of filmmakers and effects artists.  One such filmmaker and artist was Phil Tippett, who after seeing The 7th Voyage of Sinbad as a child became determined to get into the special effects business.  Tippett would go on to do all of the stop motion effects in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies.  Directors like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, Guillermo del Toro and Sam Raimi have all cited O’Brien and Harryhausen as influences and many eventually went on to employ Tippett on their films.  Even today stop motion is still used in film and television, most notably Robot Chicken and South Park.

Recently, I’ve once again become enamoured with stop motion animation.  Not just the creature effects of O’Brien, Harryhausen and Tippett, but the obscure and experimental uses of this effects technique as well.  Pinscreen animation, cut-out animation, puppet animation, etc. ; there are so many ways in which stop motion effects can be used and employed.  I’ve assembled a list of some of the most important, impressive and interesting moments in the history of stop motion animation.

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