Tag Archives: Lisa Marie Bowman

Retro Television Reviews: Fantasy Island 2.10 “The Flight of the Great Yellow Bird” / “The Island of Lost Women”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Tuesdays, I will be reviewing the original Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1977 to 1986.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi!

Smiles, everyone, smiles!  It’s time to search for Bigfoot!

Episode 2.11 “The Flight of the Great Yellow Bird / The Island of Lost Women”

(Dir by Joseph Pevney, originally aired on November 25th, 1978)

This week’s episode is all about people looking for things.

Tattoo, for instance, is looking for success on the stock market.  He thinks he’s got a hot tip on how to make a lot of money.  Mr. Roarke rolls his eyes when Tattoo speaks about it.  Obviously, Mr. Roarke has heard a lot about Tattoo’s hot tips and he’s given up on pretending to have any respect whatsoever for his loyal assistant.  Later, Mr. Roarke will order Tattoo to get his stock ticker out of the office.  One gets the feeling that, much like Joseph P. Kennedy in the 1920s, only Mr. Roarke will be smart enough to escape the collapse of the world’s economy.

(Legend has it that Joseph Kennedy — father of the Kennedy children — got out of the Stock Market when the guy who was shining his shoes started giving him stock tips.  Kennedy figured that if even the shoe shine guy was playing the market, that meant there were too many deals being made.  Kennedy turned out to be correct and, as a result, his family suffered not at all during the Great Depression.  Of course, after the Great Depression, there would be suffering all around.)

While Tattoo looks for money, this week’s guests look for ancient legends.

For instance, Barney Shore (Robert Morse) is a sailor who spent two years on an atomic submarine.

“He went two years without seeing a woman!?”  Tattoo says, “Boss, what did he do?”

Well, what do you think he did!?  Mr. Roarke, being a gentleman, says that Barney spent all of his time reading and researching legends of an island that was populated only by women.  Barney’s fantasy is to discover the island and indeed, he does.  Barney is dropped off on a tropical island that is populated by women who all dress as if they’re extras in an Italian Hercules movie.

Unfortunately, for Barney, Queen Delphia (Cyd Charisse), has very strict rules about men on the island.  Only one man is allowed to be around the women per year.  That man is crowned the Harvest King and his job is to …. well, make sure that the population continues to grow.  Of course, once the Harvest King has done his job, there’s no reason to keep him around and he’s sacrificed.  Barney falls in love with one of the women and he convinces the rest of the tribe that it’s okay for men and women to live together on the same island.  Good for Barney….

“But what about Bigfoot!?”

I hear you, I’m getting to him.  Barney’s a nice guy and I’m glad he survived his trip to the island but obviously, the main attraction here is to watch Peter Graves play the world-renowned adventurer Singapore Eddie Malone.  Eddie comes to Fantasy Island to give a lecture about his hunt for Bigfoot.  However, he’s hired to help Prof. Smith-Myles (Barbara Rush) explore an isolated area of the island where Bigfoot may indeed live.  Eddie is here to help the professor experience her fantasy of finding Bigfoot while Eddie’s fantasy is to be a true explorer and everyone’s fantasy comes to true!  Of course, Eddie is also an old friend of Rourke’s and, at the end of the episode, Tattoo suggests that maybe the whole thing was just Roarke’s fantasy to make Eddie feel better about his life.

But what about Bigfoot!?

The actual Bigfoot doesn’t really get much screen time, sorry.  Then again, I think that’s why Bigfoot is so intriguing.  He’s elusive!  He’s fun to search for.  He’s fun to talk about.  But spending too much time with him would just take away the mystery.  Besides, who needs Bigfoot when you have Peter Graves glowering and doing his whole “international man of mystery” routine?

This was a silly episode and both stories felt a bit rushed but Peter Graves gave such a grave, deep-voiced performance that the episode was still entertaining.  Hopefully, Bigfoot will return!

Retro Television Reviews: Hang Time 3.21 “Kristy Connor” and 3.22 “Game Point”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Mondays, I will be reviewing Hang Time, which ran on NBC from 1995 to 2000.  The entire show is currently streaming on YouTube!

Hang Time!  I’ll always remember me and my friends at hang time …. damn, that song really get stuck in your head.

Episode 3.21 “Kristy Connor”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 22nd, 1997)

So, apparently, Coach Fuller’s basketball camp is still a thing and the members of the team are still his camp counselors.  As I mentioned last week, it really does seem like everyone should be going to class and playing high school basketball but apparently, school is on hiatus.

After a long day of counseling basketball players, Kristy — who is NOT a basketball player so I’m still not really sure why she’s even at the camp — heads into town to get a pizza.  She borrows Julie’s jacket.  While at the pizza joint, she meets Jordan.  Jordan is a handsome and totally charming counselor at another camp.  He sees that Kristy is wearing Julie’s jacket and he immediately decides that Kristy must be his favorite basketball player, Julie Connor!  “You’re famous!” he says.  Julie is also blonde while Kristy has red hair so you have to wonder if Jordan is really that smart.  I mean, does he assume that anyone wearing a football jersey actually plays football?  Does he assume that the guy wearing a LeBron James t-shirt is actually LeBron James?  Or is he just really obsessed with that jacket?

Speaking of stupid, Coach Fuller asks Vince to call his father to have some hamburgers delivered to the camp.  Vince accidentally orders a cow.  Instead of telling Fuller what happened, the team tries to hide the cow in the camp.  Because that makes sense….

Anyway, Coach Fuller challenges the other camp to a basketball game.  Since Jordan is on the other team, Kristy has to pretend to be Julie on the court.  Jordan comes to realize that Kristy isn’t Julie but assures her that he still likes her.  “I like your red hair,” he says, which totally disproves my theory that he’s color-blind.

Eh.  I hate all of this camp stuff.  Let’s move on.

Episode 3.22 “Game Point”

(Dir by Patrick Maloney, originally aired on November 22nd, 1997)

“Remember that time you guys helped Teddy stop smoking?  Or helped Danny stand up to his bully?” Kristy asks, as this episode begins.

Oh, dammit, it’s a clip show.

Despite still being at the basketball camp, Kristy is having to do schoolwork.  It turns out that not all of her credits transferred from her “old school,” which I believe is the first time that the show has acknowledged that Kristy just kind of showed up out of nowhere at the start of season 3.  She’s having to write a paper on how team sports help people learn how to get along.  The players are a bit cynical about Kristy’s theory but she shows them the error of their ways by saying stuff like, “Remember when Michael first joined the team?”

It’s a clip show, with all of the awkward banter that tends to go with it.  It’s difficult to convincingly deliver lines like, “Remember that time we all stole Coach Fuller’s car?” or “Remember the last twelve guys Julie’s dated since this show began?”

Hopefully, next week, basketball camp will be a memory and the Tornadoes will be back in school!

Lisa Marie’s Week In Review: 2/13/23 — 2/19/23

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I have a migraine like you wouldn’t believe but if Rocky could beat Ivan Drago, I can beat this!

Movies That I Watched:

  1. Major Payne (1995)
  2. Moving Violation (1976)
  3. The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999)
  4. Raquel! (1970)
  5. Rocky IV (1985)
  6. The Terminators (2009)

Television Shows That I Watched:

  1. Abbott Elementary
  2. Accused
  3. The Brady Bunch Hour
  4. California Dreams
  5. Hang Time
  6. Fantasy Island
  7. The Love Boat
  8. Night Court
  9. Night Music
  10. The Watcher

Music To Which I Listened:

  1. Adi Ulmansky
  2. Aly & AJ
  3. Animotion
  4. Britney Spears
  5. Carly Simon
  6. The Chemical Brothers
  7. Christina Aguilera
  8. Coma_Cose
  9. Daughter
  10. Dillon Francis
  11. DJ Hanzel
  12. DJ Snake
  13. Fatboy Slim
  14. The Human League
  15. Jessica Simpson
  16. Katy Perry
  17. Paramore
  18. Paris Hilton
  19. Rita Coolidge
  20. Saint Perry
  21. Taylor Swift
  22. Tomoyasu Hotei
  23. Tove Lo

Live Tweets:

  1. Major Payne
  2. Moving Violation
  3. Rocky IV
  4. The Rage: Carrie 2

Awards Season:

  1. Visual Effects Society
  2. Set Decorators Society
  3. Houston Film Critics Society
  4. Art Directors Guild
  5. Directors Guild of America
  6. Vancouver Film Critics Society
  7. Minnesota Film Critics Alliance
  8. Makeup Artist and Hair Stylists Guild

News From Last Week:

  1. Raquel Welch Dies At 82
  2. Stella Stevens Dies At The Age of 87
  3. Actor and comedian Richard Belzer dies at 78
  4. Director George T. Miller Dies

Links From Last Week:

  1. RIP Raquel Welch…An Appreciation Of Her Life And Career…
  2. Tater’s Week in Review 2/18/23

Links From The Site:

  1. I reviewed Hang Time, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, City Guys, The Brady Bunch Hour, California Dreams, and The Tower!
  2. I shared my week in television!
  3. I shared music videos from Aly & AJ, Paramore, Coma_Cose, Raquel Welch, Tove Lo, Carly Simon, and Daughter!
  4. Doc wished everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day!
  5. Erin shared Wild Magnolia, You Light Up My Life, 1912 Suffragist Parade in New York City, De Fatale Sex-Bom, Film Fun, Beauty Parade, and Argosy!
  6. Erin celebrated Love!

More From Us:

  1. At Days Without Incident, Leonard shared songs from Gloria Estefan, Cherrelle and Alexander O’Neal, Bon Iver & St. Vincent, and The Art of Noise!
  2. At her photography site, Erin shared Just A Light Dusting, Red Balloons, The View On A Winter Morning, Snowy Morning, Next Door, Neighbors, and Neighbors 2!
  3. At my music site, I shared songs from Katy Perry, Rita Coolidge, Paris Hilton, Taylor Swift, DJ Hanzel, Animotion, and Christina Aguilera!

Want to see what I did last week?  Click here!

Retro Television Reviews: The Tower (dir by Richard Kletter)

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Sundays, I will be reviewing the made-for-television movies that used to be a primetime mainstay.  Today’s film is 1993’s The Tower!  It  can be viewed on YouTube!

The plot of 1993’s The Tower could probably best be described as, “Paul Reiser gets a job and gets everyone killed.”

Technically, Paul Reiser is playing Tony Minot, a guy who would rather spend his time in his apartment, composing new age synthesizer anthems and eating left over pizza, than actually go to work. But make no mistake about it. Tony is basically Paul Reiser, all the way down to the neurotic mannerisms and the bad jokes.

Anyway, through the help of an old friend, Tony has gotten a job. He’s going to be working in a state-of-the-art tower, one that is totally run by a computer system known as CAS. CAS is designed to eliminate any and all security threats. For instance, when an unauthorized pigeon lands on the tower’s roof, it doesn’t take long for CAS to reduce that pigeon to a bunch of floating feathers. Tony has been told that it’s very important that 1) he have his security card with him at all times and 2) that he not damage his security card in any way.

So, of course, Tony damages his security card.

With the help of a security guard, Tony still manages to get inside the tower but, since his card doesn’t work, CAS considers Tony to be a security risk. When Tony proceeds to casually violate several security rules and stays in the building after hours, CAS decides to destroy him. Unfortunately, since Tony is kind of needy and always has to have people around him, everyone else in the building ends up getting killed too.

(This is a 1993 film and it was made for television so none of the kills are especially interesting. One guy gets caught in the closing doors of an elevator. Someone else gets trapped in an overheated sauna.)

The majority of the film deals with Tony crawling around the building, just like Bruce Willis in Die Hard. CAS is determined to kill both him and his potential love interest. We’re supposed to be angry at CAS and concerned about the world’s dependence on technology but you know what?

THIS IS ALL TONY’S FAULT!

Seriously, if Tony hadn’t damaged his card, none of this would have happened. Tony was specifically told not to damage his card but obviously, it didn’t occur to him that maybe he should try to follow the rules of his new workplace during his first day on the job!

The Tower is very much a film of its time. That’s obvious just from the cartoonish CGI and the fact that someone thought casting Paul Reiser as a Die Hard-style action hero was a good idea. Beyond that, it’s a film that’s very concerned about the rise of computers and technology. In 1993, I’m sure audiences were like, “OH MY GOD! COMPUTERS CAN’T BE REASONED WITH!” but, when I watched the film last night, I was just like, “So, they don’t have voice or facial recognition? What type of company is this?”

Anyway, The Tower is not exactly a good movie but it’s oddly watchable. Maybe it’s just because of how strange it is to see Paul Reiser doing the whole Die Hard thing. (Before anyone asks, The Tower was not meant to be a spoof. In fact, it takes itself pretty seriously.) Or maybe it’s just the fact that, by the end of the movie, you’ll totally be on the Tower’s side.

Go, CAS, go!

The Visual Effects Society Honors Avatar: The Way Of The Water

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

On the 16th of February, the Visual Effects Society announced their picks for the best of 2022.  The winners and nominees are listed below but there’s a lot of them so let me quickly give you the TL;DR version:

Avatar: The Way of Water swept the awards and will likely go home with at least one Oscar for Best Visual Effects.

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water – Richard Baneham, Walter Garcia, Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, JD Schwalm
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Christian Mänz, Olly Young, Benjamin Loch, Stephane Naze, Alistair Williams
Jurassic World: Dominion – David Vickery, Ann Podlozny, Jance Rubinchik, Dan Snape, Paul Corbould
The Batman – Dan Lemmon, Bryan Searing, Russell Earl, Anders Langlands, Dominic Tuohy
Top Gun: Maverick – Ryan Tudhope, Paul Molles, Seth Hill, Bryan Litson, Scott Fisher

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Death on the Nile – George Murphy, Claudia Dehmel, Mathieu Raynault, Jonathan Bowen, David Watkins
I Wanna Dance With Somebody – Paul Norris, Tim Field, Don Libby, Andrew Simmonds
The Fabelmans – Pablo Helman, Jennifer Mizener, Cernogorods Aleksei, Jeff Kalmus, Mark Hawker
The Gray Man – Swen Gilberg, Viet Luu, Bryan Grill, Cliff Welsh, Michael Meinardus
The Pale Blue Eye – Jake Braver, Catherine Farrell, Tim Van Horn, Scott Pritchard, Jeremy Hays
Thirteen Lives – Jason Billington, Thomas Horton, Denis Baudin, Michael Harrison, Brian Cox

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – Aaron Weintraub, Jeffrey Schaper, Cameron Carson, Emma Gorbey,
Mad God – Chris Morley, Phil Tippett, Ken Rogerson, Tom Gibbons
Strange World – Steve Goldberg, Laurie Au, Mark Hammel, Mehrdad Isvandi
The Bad Guys – Pierre Perifel, Damon Ross, Matt Baer, JP Sans
The Sea Beast – Joshua Beveridge, Christian Hejnal, Stirling Duguid, Spencer Lueders
Turning Red – Domee Shi, Lindsey Collins, Danielle Feinberg, Dave Hale

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
House of the Dragon “The Black Queen” – Angus Bickerton, Nikeah Forde, Sven Martin, Michael Bell, Michael Dawson
Prehistoric Planet “Ice Worlds” – Lindsay McFarlane, Fay Hancocks, Elliot Newman, Kirstin Hall
Stranger Things 4 “The Piggyback” – Jabbar Raisani, Terron Pratt, Niklas Jacobson, Justin Mitchell, Richard E. Perry
The Boys “Payback” – Stephan Fleet, Shalena Oxley-Butler, Tristan Zerafa, Anthony Paterson, Hudson Kenny
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “Udûn” – Jason Smith, Ron Ames, Nigel Sumner, Tom Proctor, Dean Clarke

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL EPISODE
Five Days at Memorial “Day Two” – Eric Durst, Danny McNair, Matt Whelan, Goran Pavles, John MacGillivray
See “I See You” – Chris Wright, Parker Chehak, Tristan Zerafa, Oscar Perea, Tony Kenny
Severance “Pilot” – Vadim Turchin, Nicole Melius, David Piombino, David Rouxel
The Old Man “Episode III” – Erik Henry, Matt Robken, Jamie Klein, Sylvain Théroux, J.D. Streett
Vikings: Valhalla “The Bridge” – Ben Mossman, Melanie Callaghan, Matt Schofield, Chris Cooper, Paul Byrne

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A REAL-TIME PROJECT
God of War: Ragnarok – Christopher Lloyd, Carrie Watts, James Adkins, Kevin Huynh
Gotham Knights – Jay Evans, Bryan Theberge, Mathieu Houle, Alexandre Bélanger
Supermassive Games “The Quarry” – Aruna Inversin, Paul Pianezza, Kevin Williams, Kimberly Cheifer
The Callisto Protocol – Glen Schofield, Steve Papoutsis, Chris Stone, Demetrius Leal
The Last of Us Part I – Erick Pangilinan, Evan Wells, Eben Cook, Mary Jane Whiting

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A COMMERCIAL
B&Q “Flip” – Patrick Krafft, Holly Treacy, Alex Snookes
Frito-Lay “Push It” – Tom Raynor, Sophie Harrison, Ben Cronin, Martino Madeddu
Ladbrokes “Rocky” – Greg Spencer, Alex Fitzgerald, Mickey O’Donoghue, Adame Boutrif
Minions: The Rise of Gru – Gerome Viavant, Gilles de Lusignan, Benjamin Le Ster
Virgin Media “Highland Rider” – Amir Bazzazi, George Reid, Sebastian Caldwell, Alex Kulikov

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A SPECIAL VENUE PROJECT
ABBA: Voyage – Ben Morris, Edward Randolph, Stephen Aplin, Ian Comley
Avengers: Quantum Encounter – Alan Woods, Bernice Howes, Scott Sohan, Jason Fox
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind – Christopher Smith, Meghan Short, William George, Jon Alexander
Jumanji: The Adventure – Martin Cutbill, Liam Thompson, Baptiste Roy, Marco Parenzi
Star Wars: Galactic Star Cruiser – Rob Blue, Patrick Kearney, Khatsho Orfali, Gabe Sabourin, Daniel Joseph
Stranger Things: The Experience – Javier Roca, Antoine Sitruk, Cale Jacox, Julien Forest, Camille Michaud

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water: Kiri – Anneka Fris, Rebecca Louise Leybourne, Guillaume Francois, Jung-Rock Hwang
Beast: Lion – Alvise Avati, Bora Şahin, Chris McGaw, Krzysztof Boyoko
Disney’s Pinocchio: Honest John – Christophe Paradis, Valentina Rosselli, Armita Khanlarpour, Kyoungmin Kim
Slumberland: Pig – Fernando Lopes Herrera, Victor Dinis, Martine Chartrand, Lucie Martinetto

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Geppetto – Charles Greenfield, Peter Saunders, Shami Lang-Rinderspacher, Noel Estevez-Baker
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: Pinocchio – Oliver Beale, Richard Pickersgill, Brian Leif Hansen, Kim Slate
Strange World: Splat – Leticia Gillett, Cameron Black, Dan Lipson, Louis Jones
Turning Red: Panda Mei – Christopher Bolwyn, Ethan Dean, Bill Sheffler, Kureha Yokoo

OUTSTANDING ANIMATED CHARACTER IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law: She-Hulk – Elizabeth Bernard, Jan Philip Cramer, Edwina Ting, Andrew Park
Skull & Bones: Sam – Jonas Skoog, Jonas Törnqvist, Goran Milic, Jonas Vikström
The Callisto Protocol: Jacob Lee – Martin Contel, Glauco Longhi, Jorge Jimenez, Atsushi Seo
The Umbrella Academy: Pogo – AIdan Martin, Hannah Dockerty, Olivier Beierlein, Miae Kang

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water: Metkayina Village – Ryan Arcus, Lisa Hardisty, Paul Harris TaeHyoung David Kim
Avatar: The Way of Water: The Reef – Jessica Cowley, Joe W. Churchill, Justin Stockton, Alex Nowotny
Jurassic World: Dominion: Biosyn Valley – Steve Ellis, Steve Hardy, Thomas Dohlen, John Seru
Slumberland: The Wondrous Cuban Hotel Dream – Daniël Dimitri Veder, Marc Austin, Pavan Rajesh Uppu, Casey Gorton

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: In the Stomach of a Sea Monster – Warren Lawtey, Anjum Sakharkar, Javier Gonzalez Alonso, Quinn Carvalho
Lightyear: T’Kani Prime Forest – Lenora Acidera, Amy Allen, Alyssa Minko, Jose L. Ramos Serrano
Strange World: The Windy Jungle – Ki Jong Hong, Ryan Smith, Jesse Erickson, Benjamin Fiske
The Sea Beast: The Hunting Ship – Yohan Bang, Enoch Ihde, Denil George Chundangal, John Wallace
Wendell & Wild: The Scream Fair – Tom Proost, Nicholas Blake, Colin Babcock, Matthew Paul Albertus Cross

OUTSTANDING CREATED ENVIRONMENT IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Andor “Reckoning”: Ferrix – Pedro Santos, Chris Ford, Jeff Carson-Bartzis, Alex Murtaza
The Book of Boba Fett “In the Name of Honor”: Mos Espa – Daniel Schmid Leal, Phi Tran, Hasan Ilhan, Steve Wang
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “Adar”: Númenor City – Dan Wheaton, Nico Delbecq, Dan LeTarte, Julien Gauthier
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “Adrift”: Khazud Dûm – James Ogle, Péter Bujdosó, Lon Krung, Shweta Bhatnagar

OUTSTANDING VIRTUAL CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A CG PROJECT
ABBA: Voyage – Pär M. Ekberg, John Galloway, Paolo Acri, Jose Burgos
Avatar: The Way of Water – Richard Baneham, Dan Cox, Eric Reynolds, A.J Briones
Prehistoric Planet – Daniel Fotheringham, Krzysztof Szczepanski, Wei-Chuan Hsu, Claire Hill
The Batman: Rain Soaked Car Chase – Dennis Yoo, Michael J. Hall, Jason Desjarlais, Ben Bigiel

OUTSTANDING MODEL IN A PHOTOREAL OR ANIMATED PROJECT
Avatar: The Way of Water: The Sea Dragon – Sam Sharplin, Stephan Skorepa, Ian Baker, Guillaume Francois
The Sea Beast – Maxx Okazaki, Susan Kornfeld, Edward Lee, Doug Smith
Top Gun: Maverick: F-14 Tomcat – Christian Peck, Klaudio Ladavac, Aram Jung, Peter Dominik
Wendell & Wild: Dream Faire – Peter Dahmen, Paul Harrod, Nicholas Blake

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN A PHOTOREAL FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water: Fire and Destruction – Miguel Perez Senent, Xavier Martin Ramirez, David Kirchner, Ole Geir Eidsheim
Avatar: The Way of Water: Water Simulations – Johnathan M. Nixon, David Moraton, Nicolas Illingworth, David Caeiro Cebrian
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: City Street Flooding – Matthew Hanger, Alexis Hall, Hang Yang, Mikel Zuloaga
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – Jesse Parker Holmes, Grayden Solman, Toyokazu Hirai, Rob Richardson

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN ANIMATED FEATURE
Lightyear – Alexis Angelidis, Chris Chapman, Jung-Hyun Kim, Keith Klohn
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish – Derek Cheung, Michael Losure, Kiem Ching Ong, Jinguang Huang
Strange World – Deborah Carlson, Scott Townsend, Stuart Griese, Yasser Hamed
The Sea Beast – Spencer Lueders, Dmitriy Kolesnik, Brian D. Casper, Joe Eckroat

OUTSTANDING EFFECTS SIMULATIONS IN AN EPISODE, COMMERCIAL, OR REAL-TIME PROJECT
Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities: Graveyard Rats – Amit Khanna, Oleg Memukhin, Mario Marengo, Josh George
Stranger Things 4: Hawkins Destructive Fissures – Ahmad Ghourab, Gavin Templer, Rachel Ajorque, Eri Ohno
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Udûn” Volcano Destruction – Kurt Debens, Hamish Bell, Robert Kelly, Gabriel Roccisano
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: “Udûn” Water and Magma – Rick Hankins, Aron Bonar, Branko Grujcic, Laurent Kermel

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A FEATURE
Avatar: The Way of Water: Landing Rockets Forest Destruction – Miguel Santana Da Silva, Hongfei Geng, Jonathan Moulin, Maria Corcho
Avatar: The Way of Water: Water Integration – Sam Cole, Francois Sugny, Florian Schroeder, Jean Matthews
The Batman: Rainy Freeway Chase – Beck Veitch, Stephen Tong, Eva Snyder, Rachel E. Herbert
Top Gun: Maverick – Saul Davide Galbiati, Jean-Frederic Veilleux, Felix B. Lafontaine, Cynthia Rodriguez del Castillo

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN AN EPISODE
House of the Dragon “The Black Queen” Dance of Dragons – Kevin Friederichs, Sean Raffel, Florian Franke, Andreas Steinlein
Love, Death and Robots: Night of the Mini Dead – Tim Emeis, José Maximiano, Renaud Tissandié, Nacere Guerouaf
The Book of Boba Fett: “From the Desert Comes a Stranger” – Luke Alike, Peter Demarest, Tami Carter, Brandon McNaughton, Sirak Ghebremusse
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “Udûn” Tirharad Cavalry Charge – Sornalingam P, Ian Copeland, Nessa Mingfang Zhang, Yuvaraj S

OUTSTANDING COMPOSITING & LIGHTING IN A COMMERCIAL
Cartier “Tank” – Stephane Pivron, Mathias Barday, Valentin Lesueur, Eric Lemains
Ladbrokes “Rocky” – Greg Spencer, Theajo Dharan, Georgina Ford, Jonathan Westley
Samsung “Playtime is Over” – Damien Canameras, Guillaume Dadaglio, Sébastien Podsiadlo, Christophe Plouvier
Samsung “The Spider and the Window” – Marta Carbonell Amela, Stefan Susemihl, Lonni Wong, Jiyoung Lee

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL (PRACTICAL) EFFECTS IN A PHOTOREAL PROJECT
Avatar: The Way of Water: Current Machine and Wave Pool – JD Schwalm, Richie Schwalm, Nick Rand, Robert Spurlock
Black Adam: Robotic Flight – JD Schwalm, Nick Rand, Andrew Hyde, Andy Robot
Mad God: Phil Tippett, Chris Morley, Webster Colcord, Johnny McLeod
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “Adrift” Middle Earth Storm – Dean Clarke, Oliver Gee, Eliot Naimie, Mark Robson

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS IN A STUDENT PROJECT (AWARD SPONSORED BY AUTODESK)
A Calling. From the Desert to the Sea – Mario Bertsch, Max Pollmann, Lukas Löffler, Till Sander-Titgemeyer
Boom – Romain Augier, Charles Di Cicco, Gabriel Augerai, Laurie Pereira De Figueiredo
Macula – Hady Abou Ghazale, Lothaire Rialhe, Marta Rodriguez-Noriega Nava, Jules Machicot
Maronii – Maxime Guitet, Dimitri Allonneau, Lucas Plata, Ngoc Mai Nguyen

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AWARD
Avatar: The Way of Water: Depth Comp – Dejan Momcilovic, Tobias B. Schmidt, Benny Edlund, Joshua Hardgrave
Avatar: The Way of Water: Facial System – Byungkuk Choi, Stephen Cullingford, Stuart Adcock, Marco Revelant
Avatar: The Way of Water: Water Toolset – Alexey Dmitrievich Stomakhin, Steve Lesser, Sven Joel Wretborn, Douglas McHale
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio: 3D Printed Metal Armature – Richard Pickersgill, Glen Southern, Peter Saunders, Brian Leif Hansen
Turning Red: Profile Mover and CurveNets – Kurt Fleischer, Fernando de Goes, Bill Sheffler

The Set Decorators Society Honors Elvis, Tar, and Top Gun: Maverick!

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

I missed this when it happened but, on February 14th, the Set Decorators Society of America announced their picks for best of 2022!  You can see their nominees by clicking here and you can check out the winners below!

Contemporary Film (TIE)
TÁR
Top Gun: Maverick

Period Film
Elvis

Fantasy/Science Fiction Film
Everything Everywhere All at Once

Musical/Comedy Film (TIE)
Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Everything Wins In Houston

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Houston Film Critics Society has announced their picks for the best of 2022.  You can see the nominees by clicking here and you can check out the winner below!

Best Picture
Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Director
Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actor – Leading Role
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Actress – Leading Role
Cate Blanchett, Tár

Best Actor – Supporting Role
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Actress – Supporting Role
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Screenplay
The Banshees of Inisherin

Best Animated Feature
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Best Cinematography
Top Gun: Maverick

Best Documentary
Good Night Oppy

Best Foreign Language Feature
RRR

Best Original Score
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio

Best Original Song
RRR, Naatu Naatu

Best Visual Effects
Avatar: The Way of Water

Best Stunt Coordination Team
RRR

Best Ensemble Cast
Women Talking

Texas Independent Film Award
Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood

The Art Directors Guild Honors Babylon

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The DGA may have gotten all the attention last night but the Art Directors Guild also announced their picks for the best of 2022!

And here they are:

PERIOD FEATURE FILM
“All Quiet on the Western Front” (Production Designer: Christian M. Goldbeck)
“Babylon” (Production Designer: Florencia Martin)
“Elvis” (Production Designers: Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy
“The Fabelmans” (Production Designer: Rick Carter)
“White Noise” (Production Designer: Jess Gonchor)

FANTASY FEATURE FILM
“Avatar: The Way of Water” (Production Designers: Dylan Cole, Ben Procter)
“The Batman” (Production Designer: James Chinlund)
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” (Production Designer: Hannah Beachler)
“Everything Everywhere All at Once” (Production Designer: Jason Kisvarday)
“Nope” (Production Designer: Ruth De Jong)

CONTEMPORARY FEATURE FILM
“Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths” (Production Designer: Eugenio Caballero)
“Bullet Train” (Production Designer: David Scheunemann)
“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs)
“Tár” (Production Designer: Marco Bittner Rosser)
“Top Gun: Maverick” (Production Designer: Jeremy Hindle)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” (Production Designers: Guy Davis, Curt Enderle)
“Lightyear” (Production Designer: Tim Evatt)
“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” (Production Designer: Liz Toonkel)
“Puss In Boots: The Last Wish” (Production Designer: Nate Wragg)
“Turning Red” (Production Designer: Rona Liu )

ONE-HOUR PERIOD SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
“The Crown: Ipatiev House” (Production Designer: Martin Childs)
“The Gilded Age: Never the New” (Production Designer: Bob Shaw)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Maisel vs. Lennon: The Cut Contest, How Do You Get to
Carnegie Hall?” (Production Designer: Bill Groom)
“Pachinko: Chapter One” (Production Designer: Mara LePere-Schloop)
Peaky Blinders: Black Day” (Production Designer: Nicole Northridge)

ONE-HOUR FANTASY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
“Andor: Rix Road” (Production Designer: Luke Hull)
“House of the Dragon: The Heirs of the Dragon” (Production Designer: Jim Clay)
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Adar” (Production Designer: Ramsey Avery)
“Stranger Things: “Chapter Seven: The Massacre at Hawkins Lab” (Production Designer: Chris Trujillo)
“Wednesday: Woe is the Loneliest Number” (Production Designer: Mark Scruton)

ONE-HOUR CONTEMPORARY SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
“Better Call Saul: Wine and Roses, Nippy” (Production Designer: Denise Pizzini)
“Euphoria: You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can, The Theater and Its Double,
All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name” (Production Designer: Jason Baldwin Stewart)
“Ozark: The Beginning of the End, Let the Great World Spin, City on the Make” (Production Designer: David Bomba)
“Severance: Good News About Hell” Production Designer: Jeremy Hindle
“The White Lotus: Ciao” (Production Designer: Cristina Onori)

TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES
“Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities” (Production Designer: Tamara Deverell)
“Moon Knight” (Production Designer: Stefania Cella)
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Production Designers: Todd Cherniawsky, Doug Chiang)
“Pinocchio” (Production Designers: Doug Chiang, Stefan Dechant)
“Station Eleven” (Production Designer: Ruth Ammon)

HALF HOUR SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
“Emily In Paris: What’s It All About…, How to Lose a Designer in 10 Days” (Production Designer: Anne Seibel)
“Hacks: Trust the Process” (Production Designer: Alec Contestabile)
“Only Murders in the Building: Framed” (Production Designer: Patrick Howe)
“Our Flag Means Death: Pilot” (Production Designer: Ra Vincent)
“What We Do in the Shadows: The Grand Opening, The Night Market, Pine Barrens” (Production Designer: Shayne Fox)

MULTI-CAMERA SERIES
“Bob Abishola: Inner Boss Bitch, Two Rusty Tractors, Estee Lauder and Goat Meat” (Production Designer: Francoise Cherry-Cohen)
“The Conners: Sex, Lies, and House Hunting, The Best Laid Plans, A Contrabassoon and A
Sinking Feeling” (Production Designer: Jerry Dunn)
“How I Met Your Father: Pilot” (Production Designer: Glenda Rovello)
“The Neighborhood: Welcome to the Remodel” (Production Designer: Wendell Johnson)
“United States of Al: Kiss/Maach, Divorce/Talaq, Sock/Jeraab” (Production Designer: Daren Janes)

VARIETY, REALITY OR COMPETITION SERIES
“A Black Lady Sketch Show: Anybody Have Something I Can Flog Myself With? Bounce Them Coochies, Y’All! Peaches and Eggplants for Errbody!” (Production Designers: Cindy Chao, Michelle Yu)
“Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls: HBCYOU Band” (Production Designer: James McGowan)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race: Catwalk, 60’s Girl Groups, Daytona Wind” (Production Designer: Gianna Costa)
“Saturday Night Live: Jack Harlow Hosts Season 48 Episode 4, Jack Harlow Musical Guest” (Production Designers: Keith Raywood, Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, N. Joseph De Tullio)
“Waffles + Mochi’s Restaurant: Honey” (Production Designer: Darcy E. Prevost)

VARIETY SPECIAL
“64th Annual Grammy Awards” (Supervising Art Director: Kristen Merlino)
“94th Annual Oscars” (Production Designer: David Korins)
“Hasan Minhaj: The King’s Jester” (Production Designer: Scott Pask)
“Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party” (Production Designer: Keith Raywood)
“Trevor Noah: I Wish You Would” (Production Designer: Star Theodos Kahn)

COMMERCIALS
“American Horror Stories: Dollhouse” Promo (Production Designer: Marc Benacerraf)
Bud Light Seltzer: “Land Of Loud Flavors” (Production Designer: François Audouy)
“Just Eat & Katy Perry: Did Somebody Say” (Production Designer: François Audouy)
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – Title Announcement” (Production Designer: Brian Branstetter)
Paramount+: “Wildlife Promo” (Production Designer: Maia Javan)

SHORT FORMAT: MUSIC VIDEO OR WEBSERIES
Adele “I Drink Wine” (Production Designer: Liam Moore)
Coldplay x Selena Gomez “Let Somebody Go” (Production Designer: François Audouy)
Kendrick Lamar “Rich Spirit” (Production Designer: Scott Falconer)
Taylor Swift “Anti-Hero” (Production Designer: Ethan Tobman)
Taylor Swift “Bejeweled” (Production Designer: Ethan Tobman)