Curio: Freaks of Nature

Alexa here. Lately I came upon the fantastical drawings of Jesse Bowie.  Presumably after some noodling on her subconsious, Jesse draws humans that aren't, anthropomorphizing the famous. (Her sketches remind me a bit of the film posters of Iain Hector, who reverses Jesse's centaur treatment, instead putting animal heads on film characters.) Here is a selection of Jesse's filmic sketches; she has also done her bit on the likes of Aziz Ansari,  Joanna Newsom and Elvis. For those of you who have a vision, she also does custom work! (Nicole Kidman as a unicorn, anyone?) Check out her shop for more.  

Click for Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum and Danny Trejo...

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Curio: The Dark Knight Rises, Posterized

Alexa here. It seems like anticipation for The Dark Knight Rises has been going on for years. With it has come an inevitable stream of fan poster designs that recently broke into a flood. (Riding the wave is Mondo, the indie press affiliated with Austin's Alamo Drafthouse, which recently showcased some Dark Knight Rises posters at Comic-con, including this stunner by Olly Moss.) I've been reveling in my own excitement (yes, I have my tickets already) by sifting through the multitudes to choose my favorites. The lack of strong designs featuring Hathaway's Selina Kyle has been disappointing; I'm hoping this will change once the film is released.  Here's what I've culled from the masses.

Design by Paul Shipper.

Pulp version by Shaun Watson.Click for more...

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Curio: Alan Cumming Snaps

Alexa here.  I've always enjoyed a bit of Alan Cumming; he seems to pop up every now and again, bringing a smile, even if it's just catching him hosting Masterpiece Mystery. As I'm not in New York I can't catch his one-man Macbeth currently at Lincoln Center, something I'd love to witness.  But we can all own a little piece of Alan's vision: turns out he is quite an avid photographer. 

"Listening To The Snow Falling"

Alan apes the look of old Polaroids by altering all his images to create saturated colors and a square format: as he says, "my life is a colorful blur, and so I think it only appropriate that the pictures I take embody that too."  If you have a few hundred dollars to spare, you can purchase signed prints here.  Here's a sampling of Alan's world. 

"Lustrous Pinnacle"

Here's a sampling of Alan's world... 

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Curio: Posters by Daniel Norris

Alexa here.  Daniel Norris is a graphic designer and illustrator out of the UK who is also a film buff.  Lucky for us, in his free time from working on packaging for Kettle Chips and tomato sauce he works on film posters.  He's used a signature inkblot-silhouette style to create quite a portfolio of onesheets, looking to everything from Sci-Fi to indie to classics. (His style reminds me a bit of Peter Strain, another illustrator I'm a fan of.)  You can see more of Daniel's designs on his tumblr, where you can also find information on purchasing prints.  Here's a selection of my favorites.

Click for Weird Science, The Machinist and Rear Window...

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Curio: Gypsy Rose Lee

Alexa here.  In honor of Magic Mike opening this weekend and Nathaniel's Stripper Week -- yes, the blog is going there -- I thought I'd celebrate my favorite film stripper, Natalie Wood as the titular Gypsy Rose Lee (née Louise Hovick). Of course, the film is far from one of the best musical adaptations put on film; if only Ethel Merman had been given the chance to put her Broadway signature performance of Mama Rose on screen (Rosalind Russell was such a drag).  But it is probably the rabid Natalie Wood fan in me that can't see anyone else as Gypsy.

Here are some curios (and one of my own) in celebration of the charming ecdysiast.

My vintage tie-in paperback, complete with striptease filmstills.

Click for more including a gorgeous illustration and a bizarre marketing tie-in from 1962.

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