Marvel Comics and The Walt Disney Company salute the life and career of Stan Lee and offer our undying gratitude for his unmatchable accomplishments within our halls. Please join us in remembering Stan „The Man“ Lee.
Animation/VFX History
Marvel and Disney Remember Stan Lee
New York, NY – November 12, 2018
Today, Marvel Comics and The Walt Disney Company pause and reflect with great sadness on the passing of Marvel Chairman Emeritus, Stan Lee. With a heavy heart, we share our deepest condolences with his daughter and brother, and we honor and remember the creator, voice and champion of Marvel.
„Stan Lee was as extraordinary as the characters he created. A super hero in his own right to Marvel fans around the world, Stan had the power to inspire, to entertain, and to connect. The scale of his imagination was only exceeded by the size of his heart,“ said Bob Iger, Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company.
Stanley Martin Lieber, a.k.a. Stan Lee, loved the written word from an early age, and wanted to craft stories like those in his favorite books and films, which he consumed voraciously. From a simple upbringing in the teeming landscape of Manhattan, young Stanley worked his way through a succession of jobs until the day he found himself an assistant at a comic book publishing company — Timely Comics.
In between refilling artists‘ inkwells, erasing pencil lines from comic pages and fetching an untold number of lunches, Stanley expressed his desire to write and create tales of his own; in the May 1941 issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA COMICS #3, he got his wish. Readers would find a prose story in that issue, „Captain America Foils the Traitor’s Revenge,“ sporting the byline of „Stan Lee.“ A star was born.
As Stan’s roles and tenure with Timely Comics grew and evolved, so did the company itself. With Stan at its helm, Timely Comics morphed first into Atlas Comics and then into the name that would catapult it into legend and forever be synonymous with Stan Lee: Marvel Comics.
As Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, Stan „The Man“ Lee made his voice the voice of the stories themselves. Writing virtually every Marvel title and working with such luminaries as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Gene Colan and John Romita, Stan began building a universe of interlocking continuity, one where fans felt as if they could turn a street corner and run into a Super Hero. A rich collection of characters grew out of his nonstop plotting sessions with his artists, including the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and more. Today, it would be almost impossible to find a corner of the Marvel Universe that Stan didn’t have a hand in.
Stan Lee through the 1960s and 1970s
Marvel fans found a friend in Stan Lee. He introduced the famous „Stan’s Soapbox“ to speak directly to his readers, reaching a personal level rarely seen in comics of the day. Always pushing for new ways of creating comics, Stan also inaugurated the „Marvel method“ of plotting and art, creating some of the most iconic stories in the industry to this day.
When something mattered to Stan, you felt it in his words, whether in an editorial or in the stories themselves. With passion for the medium, he helped refine and reform the Comics Code Authority and addressed hot-button issues like discrimination, drugs, and intolerance.
Stan stepped up from his position as Editor-in-Chief in 1972 to tackle the role of Publisher at Marvel Comics, and while a strong succession of writers followed in his wake, his spirit and voice remained throughout the adventures that followed. His outspoken love for comics even extended to a series of college campus talks; given any chance to educate and illuminate on the industry, he took it. An entire generation of young readers expanded and strengthened their vocabulary and knowledge through Stan’s stories.
Marvel and the entire The Walt Disney Company salute the life and career of Stan Lee and offer their undying gratitude for his unmatchable accomplishments within their halls. Every time you open a Marvel comic, Stan will be there.
Please join us today in remembering Stan „The Man“ Lee.
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Zum heutigen Filmstart: SAG AFTRA Interviews zu Damien Chazelles „Aufbruch zum Mond“/“First Man“
Q&A with Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, Patrick Fugit, Olivia Hamilton, Lukas Haas, Shea Whigham and Director Damien Chazelle of FIRST MAN. Moderated by Scott Mantz. On the heels of their six-time Academy Award®-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar®-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history. The cast also features Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Patrick Fugit, Christopher Abbott, Ciaran Hinds, Olivia Hamilton, Pablo Schreiber, Shea Whigham and Lukas Haas. Written by Academy Award® winner Josh Singer (Spotlight), the drama is produced by Wyck Godfrey & Marty Bowen (The Twilight Saga, The Fault in Our Stars) through their Temple Hill Entertainment banner, alongside Chazelle. Steven Spielberg, Isaac Klausner, Adam Merims and Singer executive produce. DreamWorks Pictures co-finances the film.
Animation/VFX History: DOUGLAS TRUMBULL | Master Class | Higher Learning
Douglas Trumbull, the industry pioneer behind the special effects of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Blade Runner joins post-secondary students and faculty to discuss his remarkable career in visual effects and his own directorial projects.This Higher Learning event was held on December 9, 2010 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
Advice: The Near Future of Performance Capture by Doug Roble
Senior director of software R&D Doug Roble shares his vision of the future of performance capture during „Acting & Performance Capture: A Revolution in Technology & Collaboration.“
Designing the Stop-Motion Sets of Aardman Animation’s Early Man!
Even though a stop-motion animated film is shot at a smaller-than-life scale, the sets and environments that need to be built for its clay characters can still be massive. Adam Savage enters the production design room at Aardman Animations to learn how Early Man’s sets are blueprinted, prototyped, and then finally built to be filmed, one frame at a time.
Animation History: Chuck Jones – The Evolution of an Artist
If you grew up watching Looney Tunes, then you know Chuck Jones, one of all-time masters of visual comedy. Normally I would talk about his ingenious framing and timing, but not today. Instead, I’d like to explore the evolution of his sensibilities as an artist. To see the names of the films, press the CC button and select “Movie Titles.”
This video also had a wonderful animation consultant: Taylor Ramos (http://taylorkramos.tumblr.com/)
For educational purposes only.
Copyright is Brain Damage | Nina Paley | TEDxMaastricht
Ideas aren’t good or bad because of what licenses people slap on them. Just relate to the ideas themselves. [Filmed at TEDxMaastricht]
Nina Paley made her first animation when she was 13 and has been making animated movies and cartoons ever since. This is where her true passion shines through and this is where she has been able to make her mark as an outspoken and impactful voice for intellectual freedom! Acclaimed for her animated feature film Sita Sings the Blues, which she says “…like all culture belongs to you [the audience] already“.
She is an advocate of ‘copyleft’, the opposite –obviously- of copyright. Copyleft is a form of licensing and can be used to maintain copyright conditions. But Nina even goes a step further, a step beyond copyleft, by stating that licensing, even copyleft licensing, is still part of the „permission culture“ she advocates resisting.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki [Official US Trailer, GKIDS – Coming Winter 2018]
Coming Soon – Winter 2018 In 2013, film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki suddenly announced his retirement at the age of 72. But he couldn’t shake his burning desire to create. After an encounter with young CGI animators, Miyazaki embarked on a new endeavor, his first project ever to utilize CGI. But the artist, who had been adamant about hand-drawn animation, confronted many challenges. The film even faces the danger of being cancelled. Can an old master who thinks he’s past his prime shine once again? This program goes behind the scenes over two years as Miyazaki overcomes struggles to create his short film using CGI.
Neue Richtlinie zum Deutschen Filmförderfonds – Grütters: „Wir stärken Animationsfilme“
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Die neue Richtlinie gilt ab sofort für alle Anträge, die ab dem 15.10.2018 vollständig bei der FFA vorliegen. Zu den wesentlichen Änderungen gehören beim DFFF II:
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§ 22 (2)
Spezifische Einstiegsschwelle für Animationsfilme und animierte Filme regelt,
dass die deutschen Herstellungskosten bei Projekten, die den Eigenschaftstest für Animationsfilme und animierte Filme erfüllen, mindestens 2 Mio. € betragen müssen. Für alle Projekte die nicht unter den Eigenschaftstest für Animationsfilme und animierte Filme fallen, müssen die deutschen Herstellungskosten des geförderten Projekts weiterhin mindestens 8 Mio. € betragen. Auch die Einstiegsschwelle von mindestens 20 Mio. € Gesamtherstellungskosten bleibt unverändert.
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Mit einer reduzierten Einstiegsschwelle für Filme mit hohem VFX-Anteil ist am 15. Oktober 2018 die neue Richtlinie zum Deutschen Filmförderfonds (DFFF) in Kraft getreten: Bereits ab zwei Millionen Euro deutscher Herstellungskosten kann künftig eine Förderung beim DFFF II beantragt werden. Kulturstaatsministerin Monika Grütters sieht darin ein „großartiges Signal für die weitere Stärkung der internationalen Wettbewerbsfähigkeit des Filmstandortes Deutschland. Mit der neuen Richtlinie haben wir den DFFF an aktuelle Marktentwicklungen angepasst und wollen mit niedrigeren Einstiegsschwellen beim DFFF II insbesondere Dienstleister für digitale Produktionen, wie zum Beispiel VFX-Unternehmen, ansprechen.“
Die Staatsministerin betonte: „Dies ist mir angesichts der galoppierenden Digitalisierung auch in der Filmbranche ein wichtiges Anliegen, zumal wir hier in Deutschland hervorragende Talente haben. Deshalb hat die Bundesregierung die notwendige Senkung der Einstiegsschwellen mit Nachdruck gegenüber der Europäischen Kommission durchgesetzt. Allein für die wirtschaftliche Filmförderung stellen wir insgesamt 135 Millionen Euro jährlich zur Verfügung.“
Davon entfallen 125 Millionen Euro auf den DFFF. Während sich der DFFF I an Produzenten kleiner und mittlerer Produktionen richtet, zielt der 2017 eingerichtete DFFF II darauf ab, internationale Großproduktionen mit mindestens 20 Millionen Euro Gesamtherstellungskosten nach Deutschland zu ziehen, die hierfür Leistungen deutscher Produktionsdienstleister in Anspruch nehmen. So wurde die deutsch-britische Koproduktion DRAGON-TATTOO – THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB, eine Fortsetzung der Millennium-Trilogie von Stieg Larsson, bereits mit rund 8,8 Millionen Euro durch den DFFF II bezuschusst.
Nach der in Kraft getretenen Richtlinie werden künftig auch bei DFFF-II-geförderten Produktionen Auslandsdrehtage unter bestimmten Voraussetzungen als deutsche Herstellungskosten anerkannt. Insgesamt wurden seit Einführung des DFFF im Jahr 2007 bis Ende 2017 1.187 Filme mit 651 Millionen Euro gefördert. Dies zog Folgeinvestitionen in Höhe von 3,8 Milliarden Euro am Filmstandort Deutschland nach sich.
Nach der aktuellen DFFF-Richtlinie sind im Rahmen des DFFF 2 Produktionsdienstleister, wie beispielsweise Produktionsstudios oder VFX-Dienstleister, antragsberechtigt, die für einen bei ihnen in Auftrag gegebenen programmfüllenden Film oder auch nur für ein Teilwerk eines solchen Films verantwortlich sind.
Hierbei kann es sich sowohl um Spiel- als auch um Animationsfilme handeln, die in Deutschland im Kino aufgeführt werden sollen und deren Hersteller sich zur Einhaltung der Sperrfristen verpflichten.
Eine Zugangsvoraussetzung dabei ist, dass die Gesamtherstellungskosten des Films mindestens 20 Mio. Euro betragen und die beim Dienstleister in Auftrag gegebenen Deutschen Herstellungskosten bei mindestens 8 Mio. Euro liegen.
Die Förderung beträgt 25 Prozent der anerkennungsfähigen deutschen Herstellungskosten mit einer Kappungsgrenze von 25 Mio. Euro pro Projekt.
Die genauen Zuwendungs- und Bewilligungsvoraussetzungen finden Sie in der aktuellen Richtlinie, weitere Fragen beantworten Ihnen gerne die Förderreferent*innen.
Music Lesson: A Theory of Film Music
This video essay is a response to the Every Frame A Painting video, ‚The Marvel Symphonic Universe‘: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vfqk…
Should film music be original? That’s a question that goes right back to the earliest of film sound. But with new technology came changes – and just maybe, the answer to why all Marvel films seem to have forgettable music.
This video was made by Dan Golding: http://www.twitter.com/dangolding
For educational purposes only.
All credit to Tony Zhou for his incredible channel, and for finally getting me motivated enough to make a video essay.
Music – Lesson: The Marvel Symphonic Universe
And a new Twitter account about temp music we made: https://twitter.com/SoundsLikeTemp
Off the top of your head, could you sing the theme from Star Wars? How about James Bond? Or Harry Potter? But here’s the kicker: can you sing any theme from a Marvel film? Despite 13 films and 10 billion dollars at the box office, the Marvel Cinematic Universe lacks a distinctive musical identity or approach. So let’s try to answer the question: what is missing from Marvel music?
This video was made by
Brian Satterwhite: https://twitter.com/bmsatter
Taylor Ramos: https://twitter.com/glassesattached
Tony Zhou: https://twitter.com/tonyszhou
