Tim Burton Blog Party
Hey guys you should really check out the Tim Burton Blog Party going on over at Paper Sparrow today and tomorrow. There are tons of Tim Burton inspired posts including a download from me to make Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy cupcake toppers (right here). Go check it out!
horrorthon
October is our season of horror movie watching. We try to pack in as many films into the month as possible. If you’ve been reading Cute and Delicious for awhile, you hopefully know about some of our past movie marathons. This year will be our fourth annual and we’re already planning what films to show. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
This weekend, we got the month off to a great start by attending the 4th annual Horrorthon at the New Beverly. Six movies, plus a handful of curated trailers, all in one night. The theater was packed but we managed to score some great seats in the center front. Our friend and fellow movie enthusiast, Jennifer, joined us for the evening.
So what did we watch?
Beyond the Door
Creature from the Black Lagoon (in original 3D)
Hell Night
Brain Damage
The Pit and the Pendulum
Horror Planet (aka Inseminoid)
Almost all the films were new to us (except Creature from the Black Lagoon). Beyond the Door was my favorite of the evening by far as it was totally a mash up of The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby, but a strange nonsensical version. It was cool to see films I hadn’t even heard of and even better to see them with an excited audience.
By the way I am always looking for horror film recommendations to expand our collection. What are your favorites?
halloween costumes
It’s the last day of September which means I am declaring it officially time to start talking about Halloween. I’ve even changed my header in honor or my favorite holiday.
First order of business is costumes. I always try to plan ahead so I can make my costume but then can’t decide until the last minute where I scramble to make something overly complicated and end up making myself crazy. Yet again, I’m stumped this year.
Looking back at the last few years, I’m really happy with my costumes, in fact, they’ve been some of my favorite.
Last year I was a prairie girl. The coolest thing about this costume was that it was super comfortable and totally re-wearable. I knew I wouldn’t have time to make a costume so I bought a lovely vintage dress on etsy.
In 2009 I had big ambitions that I would make an intricate Marie Antoinette dress, including a corset. I never finished it. It managed to get it to a wearable state but never made the hoop skirt that went along with it. This project nearly broke me. Despite not totally finishing it, I was still really happy to have a fancy and yet really creepy costume.
In 2008 I was a bat. I have wanted to be a bat for many years as I have wings already built in. This costume was a simple, black, shiny dress with an open back. It was easy to make just by draping. I added gloves, thigh highs and mask to finish it off.
Possibly my favorite costume of all time was this dear costume I made in 2007. Knowing in advance that I needed something I could wear on a bike ride, I made a super comfortable cotton jersey dress, spray painted the belly white and added ears and a tail. I also made the cape Shawn wore with his pumpkin head costume. It was one of the best Halloweens ever.
So what’s next? I’d like to go with something traditional and scary. Maybe something with horns? I much prefer things that are creepy than cute or sweet. I also love getting the chance to wear makeup and masks.
What are you going to be for Halloween? Do you make your costume or buy it? Let’s brainstorm ideas together!
craft night
Oh it’s almost October and I can hardly contain myself. Every day when the sun goes down a little earlier and the air is a little crisper, a feeling of elation passes over me. I adore fall time.
I’ve already been plotting decorations, and last week a few lady friends came over for some crafting.
With Halloween on our minds, everything we created had a sort of holiday theme.
A gaggle of ghosts were born. Or unborn? Not sure with those ghosts.
It was nice to spend the evening with some lovely women and talk about anything while we worked on our little projects.
At the end of the night I had a few ghosties of my own, and a dear little spider.
I can’t wait till our next craft night…I foresee pumpkin carving!
Pablo Ferro
Last night we went to a special screening at Cinefamily showcasing some of the work of Pablo Ferro. We were just blown away by how superb his trailer for Dr. Strangelove is. It was so cool to hear him speak about his work and experience. He even told us about the one tiny spelling mistake in the Dr. Strangelove titles that lives on forever.
But now you should watch the trailer…in full screen please.
Dr. Strangelove Trailer by Pablo Ferro
His titles and trailers feel so contemporary now, but were groundbreaking in the 50’s & 60’s when they were released. When looking at the title sequence for The Thomas Crown Affair, I can’t imagine how much more complicated it would be to create the entire sequence optically on film. His split screen of the polo scene from the film, seen below, at one point has 60 different frames of film all placed into one 35mm frame by hand. Make sure to watch it in full screen.
The Thomas Crown Affair – Polo Scene
It’s true that really exceptional design is timeless.
