Mechner at Comic-Con for Prince of Persia

"I’ll be in San Diego next Friday for an 11:30 am Q&A panel about the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time graphic novel anthology I’m writing for Disney, with artists Todd McFarlane, Cameron Stewart, Bernard Chang, Tommy Lee Edwards, Josh Middleton, and Niko Henrichon, many of whom will be on the panel as well. (Check the Comic-Con schedule for updated details.)

It’s been a very cool project and one I’ve had a lot of fun doing. The book is a prequel to the movie (I use the word “prequel” advisedly, for those who think time is like a river that flows swift and sure in one direction), with each chapter drawn by a different artist in a different style. It’ll be published next April as part of the Prince of Persia movie pre-launch.

This is the second Prince of Persia graphic novel I’ve been involved with — the first, written by A.B. Sina and illustrated by LeUyen Pham and Alex Puvilland, was published last year by First Second Books — and they’re very different projects".
Source: jordanmechner.com

"Not to nit pick, but there has been some footage released from this movie and Jake Gyllen-I-have-the-greatest-six-pack-ever-haal is dressed as the Prince from the game's sequel, "Prince of Persia: Warrior Within." Why specifically call the movie "Sands of Time" and then dress him in the style of a different title? Just call the movie "Prince of Persia: We Didn't Play Any of the Games, But We Liked the Box-Cover Art and You Should Just Be Happy We're Making a Movie About Any of Them at All, Nerd." Source: www.asylum.com.au

Natalie Portman, Thor's love interest

"Variety and The Hollywood Reporter confirm that Natalie Portman will star as the love interest in Marvel Comics' upcoming adaptation of Thor.

Chris Hemsworth has already been cast in the title role. Portman will play Jane Foster, a nurse who becomes Thor's first love interest early in the comic book series. The story involves Thor's banishment to the world of everyday humanity after he commits reckless actions in battle.

The movie is being directed by Kenneth Branagh, who is best known for his cinematic interpretations of Shakespeare. It is set to begin shooting early next year and is slated for a May 20, 2011 release.Other upcoming Portman projects include Jim Sheridan's Brothers, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire; Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan; David Gordon Green's Your Highness; and the ensemble vehicle New York, I Love You".
Source: www.reelzchannel.com

Taciturn Pattinson, Gyllenhaal, Hirsch, Penn, Gosling, Gordon-Levitt

"Robert Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin filmed late into the night yesterday, sitting and talking on the steps of a brownstone in Brooklyn. The duo looked picture perfect as usual and Rob took the chance to sneak smokes between takes. Robert will be done shooting Remember Me soon and before he starts on Eclipse he's expected at Comic-Con in San Diego and the Teen Choice Awards in LA where he'll have costars — like yes, Kristen Stewart — by his side". Source: www.popsugar.com

Taciturn Jake Gyllenhaal and Hearth Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain".Jake Gyllenhaal, Holden in "The Good Girl".Taciturn Emile Hirsch, "Into the wild" scan.Taciturn Sean Penn.Taciturn Ryan Gosling.Taciturn Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

"Burned Rain" poem

José Luis, my only true love (*crossing my fingers* forever).
Me, feeling native in my hometown Zaragoza's streets again.
(uggh, I hate my yellow teeth, I guess I should use white crests or something!)

I want to dedicate to all of you, weirdos, and José Luis, an old poem I wrote time ago and which was published in two of my local city literary university magazines: "Aquisgrán" and "Calibán" (based on la Isla de Calibán), this poem was attached to a short story titled "Terrestre". My three main tales that became a trilogy were: "Terrestre", "El Tubo de Braun" (with echoes of "Network") and "Ciudad Carrusel".

This poem is entitled: "LLUVIA QUEMADA" (its translation in English would be "Burned Rain"):

"Lluvia quemada incendiando el océano helado,
El sonido invadiendo la línea,
Imagen de pantano en la retina del mago
La nieve estrellada en cosmos colgante,
Girando como un hombre en los muelles trotantes
De una sola certeza.
Una vez estuvo allí,
habían abierto su cabeza,
sus ojos, chinchetas fluorescentes,
daban vueltas incontables al amor.
Tarde y noche en las ferias.
Su cuerpo, gigantesco poster,
se mecía. Noche y tarde en las ferias.
Una derrota con piel de foto.
Volveremos a las líneas
de las playas rojas azuladas,
amapolas de mar, ciudad invertida,
Allí no habrá despedida".

"Brothers": Oscar contender?

"Originally scheduled for release last fall, "Brothers" was pushed out of 2009 and there were rumors it was headed to this year's Cannes Film Festival. Needless to say, that didn't occur and the film finally found a December release date. It was also unclear who was releasing the Relativity Media financed film. MGM was supposedly original distributor, but Relativity quietly moved the film to Lionsgate where it has a new overall distribution deal. Lionsgate have some true creative mavens and as you can tell by the pretty poster below, "Brothers" is being positioned as a drama, not an in-your-face thriller as the embedded trailer suggests (or at least in its second half).The movie finds Natalie Portman as a young mother of two whose husband (Tobey Maguire) seemingly is lost in Afghanistan. During a period of mourning she becomes involved with his caring and sensitive brother (Jake Gyllenhaal). When Maguire's character is discovered alive, he comes home a changed man, jealous and suspicious of his wife's actions while he was gone. Maguire is refreshingly dark and manic as the type of on edge character we rarely see him play, but the preview doesn't do much to convince anyone Portman or Gyllenhaal are doing anything but the one-note mopeyness both have spent years perfecting. It also doesn't help that the trailer's second half has a forced thriller arc that seems out of place when compared to the picture's poster or the tone of the beginning of the preview. Note to Lionsgate: this trailer may have tested better than other versions, but it feels like you're selling the movie as something it's not and audiences will smell it a mile away. If it's a drama, sell it as a drama and hope the critic's fall your way". Source: www.hitfix.com

Jake & Reese at Hollywood Bowl and The AMC Theatre

"Reese Witherspoon kicks back with a bottle of premium Belgian beer, Stella Artois, during a concert at the Hollywood Bowl with beau Jake Gyllenhaal in Los Angeles on Sunday night (July 12).

The couple watched performances by Ray LaMontagne (with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, conducted by David Campbell), Jenny Lewis and Blitzen Trapper. After the concert, Jake was swatting away paparazzi". Source: justjared.buzznet.com

Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon leaving The AMC Movie Theatre in Beverly Hills on 13th July 2009. Source: www.iheartjakemedia.com

Twilight's meaning

"Twilight is just the book for these times. It’s the ultimate story of abstinence, of acknowledging the carnal instincts but just saying ‘no.’ If you are a teenager, or remember being one, then you know that this is near impossible.In many ways, the most unrealistic element of the story isn’t the vampire but the notion that bad boy love could be eternal. Only a teenaged girl could believe that, but this book was written for them. Meyer may not have mastered the subjunctive (eg if Edward was a vampire?) but she has mastered romance. The anticipation is more than the kiss. Edward is incredibly appealing, and the story is a fast paced page turner. I would have adored Twilight as a teenager. Meyer captures first love but also the tortuous insecurity of trying to fit in and not having control of the future". Source: blog.sarahlaurence.com

"Twilight Delight" photographs.

"Twilight: in that zone between the certainty of day and fear of the dark, Gregory Crewdson sets his eerie, enigmatic photographs. A woman floats in her flooded living room, a cow appears to have fallen from the sky onto a front lawn, a gang of teenagers, seemingly hypnotized, pile up household objects for a bonfire. Created as elaborately staged tableaux, this series of images suggests the bizarre yet beautiful surrealities behind deceptively familiar suburban facades.

Scheduled to accompany three simultaneous gallery exhibitions in Spring 2002 and a subsequent retrospective at Mass MoCA, this book chronicles the completion of the Twilight series, which Crewdson began in 1998. Including both production stills and the 40 finished images, all in full color, it also features an essay by Rick Moody, a novelist equally renowned for exposing the underbelly of small-town, middle-class America".
Source: www.luhringaugustine.com
Source: www.amazon.com

Watch "Into Twilight" video directed by Andrew Bennet

Watch more videos of Andrew Bennett in www.mergefilms.com

A musical video featuring some stills from "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" and the song "Twilight" by The Raveonettes.

Twilight 1

Definition: faint light; a dubious or uncertain medium through which anything is viewed.

Twilight 2

Definition: Seen or done by twilight.

Twilight 3

Definition: Imperfectly illuminated; shaded; obscure.

twilight 4

Definition: the diffused light from the sky when the sun is below the horizon but its rays are refracted by the atmosphere of the earth

twilight 5

Definition: a condition of decline following successes; "in the twilight of the empire"

twilight 6

Definition: the time of day immediately following sunset; "he loved the twilight"; "they finished before the fall of night".
Source: ardictionary.com