Happy Birthday Robert DeNiro!

Hard to believe the Maestro turns 67 today!!! Some pics from my fave DeNiro film and fave DeNiro performance... as Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver"

"I think I got stomach cancer"

"Someday a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets"

"Now THAT you should see!!"

"I'll see ya later copper!"

"You talkin' ta me?"

"I dont think that one should devote themselves to morbid self-attention, I think that one should become a person, like other people."

"Suck on this!"

"All the animals come out at night..."

Essential DeNiro:

"Mean Streets" - 1973

"The Godfather II" - 1974

"Taxi Driver" - 1976

"The Deer Hunter" 1978

"Raging Bull" - 1980

"The King of Comedy" - 1982

"Once Upon a Time in America" - 1984

"The Mission" - 1986

"Midnight Run" - 1988

"Jacknife" - 1989

"Goodfellas" - 1990

"Awakenings" - 1990

"Cape Fear" - 1991

"This Boy's Life" - 1993

"A Bronx Tale" - 1993

"Casino" - 1995

"Heat" - 1995

"Jackie Brown" - 1997

"Ronin" - 1998

"The Score" - 2001

Happy Birthday Alfred Hitchcock!

The Master of Suspense was born today in 1899...A few pics to celebrate an incredible artist and one of the true cinematic geniuses!

I always think of Hitchcock, Capra and Ford as being very similar film makers. Not in style or types of films obviously but those 3 artists more than any others of their day had an incredible ability to combine commercial sensibilty and personal expression.

Hitch was an incredibly savvy self-promoter and made damn sure he was as well-known and recognizable as any star that ever appeared in his films! One might go so far as to say the real true star of an Alfred Hitchcock film was Alfred Hitchcock!

I love this shot!

"Notorious", imo the best of the 4 films he made for David O. Selznick.

"You do my murder and I do yours...Criss Cross!"

Robert Walker in the performance of his career as psychopath Bruno Antony, a very clever fellow!

On the set of "Rear Window", like I have to tell anyone!

One of the Master's most enjoyable films for me. This was the one that started my obsession with Hitchcock when I was a teenager.

"Vertigo" probably contains my favorite Bernard Herrmann's score. He did so many great ones but that one just gets inside me!

A rather iconic moment for Cary Grant!

"My mother...what's the phrase....she's not herself today."

Tippi Hedren in "Marnie" one of the Masters most underrated films imo. No way can anyone take in all the things going on in this film in just one viewing!

Hitch's sense of humor was priceless!

RIP Patricia Neal

January 20th, 1926 - August 8th, 2010

New Artwork...

Started this last night - finished it tonight, a pinup pic of DC's Harley Quinn.

2h and HB pencils on 14 x 17" sketch paper. Gonna do this one in color too.

Artman's Bedroom Antics....Part II

More dirty goings on in my bedroom....

Finished installing the drywall in the small closet.

And framed out the drop-ceiling.

That's as far as I can go with that part of the room until the electrical wiring gets taken care of. So we go on the other side of the room.

Some gruesome "before" pics. Of course Lil Miss Pewfy Pants had to get into the picture!

Ever seen such a drab, dreary room in your life? UGH!

It looks better already! Pretty much all the drywall on the next 2 walls had to come out. In the long run it will save me work and lots of headaches. I'll find a way to make new headaches I'm sure but we do things one headache at a time around here!

I did the last of the Demolition work today and finished scraping the popcorn shit off the ceiling too.

The 2 electrical outlets on that wall are gonna be removed and a major built in bookcase is gonna go on each side of the window. I'll lose about 10 sq. ft. of floor but the slanted wall area is useless space for the most part anyway. I've wracked my bain for about a week now trying to come up with a workable design for the bookcases and last night it finally all seemed to click, so now I just have to figure out how to build it, what type of wood to use, how to tie it in to the rest of the room, etc, etc!

I even ripped out the drywall that framed out the windows, opting instead to make a wood casing. If what I have in my mind and what I've got down on paper comes out right, I wont even be able to hear myself think over the sound of how awesome it's gonna be!

But it wont be easy.......

Happy! Happy! Clara! Clara!!

Another vintage Clara Bow Lobby Card came into my posession this afternoon!

11" x 14" Lobby Card from "The Fleet's In", 1927, condition is mighty nice considering it's 83 years old! the price was mighty nice too!

So tell me Steve, how many vintage Clara Bow Lobby Cards do I have now?

Here they are along with my last colored pencil drawing of her which still needs to be framed *sigh*

"Bright Lights"

I managed to watch 2 new-to-me films over the last 2 nights so I'll put the spotlight on the one I enjoyed most!

Tonight I watched "Bright Lights", a fast-moving 1935 Warner Bros production directed by Busby Berkeley that stars Joe E. Brown, Ann Dvorak and Patricia Ellis.

Joe E Brown is an actor I used to not like at all but over the last several years I have totally turned around my opinion on him! In this film he does it all - slapstick, jokes, sings, summersaults, back flips, swings onto the stage from a balcony and even gets involved in a wacky acrobatic nightclub act! Not once did I detect the use of a stuntman either!

It was great fun to see the lovely Ann Dvorak dancing and singing, she's been a fave of mine for years now. August 2nd was Ann's Birthday, born back in 1911.

I did say lovely didnt I?


Another treat for the eyes was Patricia Ellis, especially in this scene!
As Joe himself might say "WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPEEEEEEE!!!!!"

Here's Joe mixing it up with the "Maxellos"! I wonder how much of it was actually rehearsed because it looked to me like a lot of things were happening that no one had planned for!

So I say if you havent seen this or dont really know who Joe E. Brown is, check this one out if you get a chance.... he's in top form and it's a very entertaining little picture!

Last night I watched "Bardelys the Magnificent", a King Vidor silent from 1926 starring John Gilbert. It was fun, well-made and Gilbert was a treat as always, but I'd pick "Bright Lights" over it any day!