We interrupt this blog for a special message from Ean

My friend Ean just finished working on the new film Coraline. He sends along this message:

Dear Everyone,

The time has come and after more than two years Coraline is ready to be seen.

It would mean a lot to me if you all went to see it on February 6th. I can't possibly be there with all of you physically- but if you go see it that weekend, and think of me when you see two little man bears splashing in a fountain, freakish bat-dogs attacking children, or passive aggressive monsters cooking in Martha's kitchen- then I'll be there in spirit. (probably drawing little naked dog men).

To be honest I'm starting a bit of a campaign for this film. For this week. The week before opening. If you could all, just for this week, be like little elves for me, to help better spread the word on this film, that would be awesome. (I can't pay you, but I can sing little songs for you on your answering machine).

Word of mouth is extremely important on a film like this. SO please talk loudly about it in laundromats and grocery lines all week. Point at things on the street and shout, “Wow, that totally makes me think of that cool film Coraline starring Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher.” (It's really fun if you single out other people's children in this fashion.)

Please phone or e-mail extended family and people I don't know to tell them about this movie coming out this weekend (February 6th). Tell them that it's really awesome, that it's based on a best selling book for kids (by Neil Gaiman), and that other movies coming out that weekend give you eye cancer. (This could be true, and do you really want to put them in potential danger?)

If you work in a place with lots of people, let's say for instance, a school, college, or library- maybe you can declare this week “Coraline Week” and offer free suggestions to go see the movie on February 6th.

Show everyone this site I put up on my site, with collected trailers for the film. (including our new creepy one, you all should look too, because it's awesome).

www.eanmcnamara.com/coraline.html

(if you all crash it by doing a good job, you can always go to the official, and harder to navigate site)

www.coraline.com

I love you all and thank you all for your support and guidance.

Best wishes!

-eAN (:

What are you waiting for? You heard the man, go see Coraline!

Who watches the Watchmen?

I try not to get excited at the faintest glimmer of promise, but I'm a little slow, and so the cycle continues.

Case in point: The Watchmen movie trailer.



Holy shit that looks awesome. Seriously, if you haven't read The Watchmen, you need to stop reading this blog immediately and go pick up a copy. The trailer is not shitting you when it says "The Watchmen" is the most acclaimed graphic novel ever. I could go on about how it's Alan Moore at his best, about how it reinvented the genre, about how freaking cool the Owlship looks...but I won't.

Instead, I'll resort to my favorite pastime. Worrying about shit.

The Watchmen? A movie? That's gonna be a hard one to pull off. One of the best things about The Watchmen is that it WORKED as a graphic novel. The story belongs in the comic book realm and I feel like if it were brought to the big screen it would be, well, pretty damn cheesy.

I mean, there's SO much goofy shit in there. But when you're reading a comic book, I think there's something in the back of your mind that's telling you "this is a comic book. Yes, the part where Dr. Manhattan transports himself to Mars* is silly, but it's a comic book so I can forgive that."

But people hold movies to a different standard. People watch movies all the time and say "That could never happen. " I don't know if it was always that way or that sort of thinking came about as special effects became more convincing. It's like you can see a painting and accept it for what it is because it's a painting, but film is always held to this "it's gotta be like real life" standard. I don't get it. And that's why I'm scared for The Watchmen movie.

I can look at every single scene in that trailer and tell you who the character is and what's going on plot wise. It looks so close to the book it's scary. Normally I dislike it when a movie strays too much from its original source, but in this case, I can make an exception. If details need to be changed to make it work as a movie, then I'm alright with that. The trailer looks awesome, but I have a terrible feeling that I'm going to be disappointed.

I guess we'll find out in March, eh?

*Sometimes I wanna be exiled to Mars like Dr. Manhattan. Just sayin'. I also want a martian castle.