Avatar is Actually #26

When looking at ticket sales vs ticket grosses, Avatar is actually the 26th biggest movie in the world. Box office is arguably more straightforward to report than TV ratings yet one respect in which boxoffice reporting is pretty odd- emphasizing ticket grosses yet rarely mentioning ticket sales. With everybody reporting how "Avatar" is The Biggest Movie of All Time based on grosses ($2.039 billion and counting), it's important to remember how rising ticket prices skew the returns. "Avatar," despite topping the worldwide gross list is only No.26 on the ticket sales list…at least, so far..

Here's the Top 20 movies of all time- by number of tickets sold

Lady Gaga Named Creative Director at Polaroid

Eek.

Okay, good news is that the partnership will reignite Polaroid and make it the perfect analog product in the digital world. Bad news is the desperate attempt Polaroid made by hiring a celebrity with no relationship to photography. It’s a marketing move pure and simple- put a famous person on my brand. But naming someone “Creative Director”, I think that is where people may find a problem.

Ads will launch during the 2010 holiday season

Back in Basquiat

Graffiti and neo-expressionist painter Jean-Michel Basquiat (bas-kee-a) is soon to be reignited into the mainstream consciousness. At the Sundance film festival, director Tamra Davis released her documentary “Jean-Michel Basquiat- The Radiant Child,” to much appraise. Davis was friends with the painter and while in film school began shooting footage of him at work in his loft and at exhibits. Also at Sundance, a quasi-doc called “Exit Through the Gift Shop” covers the history of graffiti art, starting with Basquiat in the late 1970’s. These are both perfect additions to Julian Schnabel’s 1996 fictional film “Basquiat” starring Jeffrey Wright and David Bowie and Andy Warhol. See it!

Andy Warhol and Basquiat- Rare Interview 1986 (turn up volume)

Bird and Wisdom- Andrew Zuckerman

I’ve never been crazy about animal photography but photographer Andrew Zuckerman really takes the genre to the next level. His latest book and film “Bird” is so stunning and simple in style even those completely apathetic to birds will find beauty in his work. Telus should think about hiring him to spice up their animal campaign.

Zuckerman is also behind the acclaimed “Wisdom” project. The film includes the advice and perspectives of over 50 people who have all made their mark in the world.

Virgin* Runners!

Just when you thought the work of Andy Rementer couldn’t get much better he went and animated it. Part of a series of promotional videos for the 2010 London Marathon, they almost make you want to run the 26 miles and 385 yards...

*Mobile Marathon.

Madonna for D&G

“This is crazy!” Stefano Gabbana enthuses, waving a page of his new ad in the air. “Madonna washing dishes? This will go down in history!”
The designer may be overstating things, but a housewife performing mundane daily chores a-la Italian neo-realism certainly represents a new identity for the world’s most famous chameleon. And the photograph Gabbana is so excited about is just one of nine black and white Steven Klein shots depicting Madonna in her latest incarnation. M can also be seen wielding a broom, peeling vegetables and eating spaghetti with her fingers. Together the images make up D&G's spring campaign, which launches worldwide in February.

Best Posters of the Decade

I was inspired to gather my favorite film posters of the decade after looking at Adrian Curry's selection at the auteurs.com. There are many great ones out there but these are the ones that come to mind. If you've seen any of these films you'll notice how great these posters are in achieving a visual summary of what one can expect to see. They're essentially one-frame synopses.
Here are my top 10, in no particular order.

The Art of Taxidermy

Polly Morgan, a young British taxidermy artist, removes her subjects from their classic poses and habitats and challenging the viewer look that them as if for the first time.

"What [taxidermists] are trying to do is to recreate a wildlife image in 3D, a classic pose, something you'd see in the countryside. I am more interested in the moment between something dying and decaying - anything between a few hours and a week. There's something beautiful about that."

- Polly Morgan

We Will We Will Pollock You

A fan of Jackson Pollock or not, you've gotta admit it's fun to paint like him, even if it is using your mouse.

To paint your own Pollock click HERE

Drag mouse to paint

Click mouse to change the colour of the drip

Press SPACE to erase

Press ALT when you're done!

Swinton for Scotland

Two days- two Pringle of Scotland videos. No, I don’t work for them. But you might be interested to know that the lovely Tilda Swinton- a heritage Scot herself, has become the new face of the company’s Spring/Summer campaign.

Photographer Ryan McGinley photographed and filmed Swinton in iconic Scottish locations for the campaign (below). The collaboration is the first in a series of creative projects planned for the brand with the aim of promoting Scotland’s renewed cultural surge.

This is the perfect harmony of branding and filmmaking proving that advertisement CAN be art.

Tilda Swinton for Pringle of Scotland

Dieter Rams- Master and Commandments

It’s not an overstatement to say Dieter Rams is perhaps the most influential living industrial designer of modern times. His ‘Ten Principles’ of good design have become a mantra – a checklist and a rule book – for industrial designers all over the world. In ten simple commandments, Rams defined what design for a post-war modern world should be. They're useful to not just the industrial designer, but to any creator, be it art, photography or film.

Lo and behold, The Ten Commandments.

Tough Love- Gaultier vs DSquared2

DS2 one-ups Gaultier in model blood bath. On January 18^th Jean Paul Gaultier presented his A/W 2010 men’s collection in Paris. Boxing influences were taking quite literally when models came out with bloody noses and cut-up lips. With athletes jumping rope and audio archives of the fights of Mohammed Ali in the soundtrack, beat-up models paraded in perfectly tailored suits and jackets. Just when we thought Gaultiers bloody models were one-of-a-kind, two days later DS2 goes American Psycho on their collection. With blood-drenched models sporting corporate-chic suits, hand-stiched denim and biker jackets, DS2 took over Milan with another glam-rock phenomenal. If you thought clothes could make you look tough, getting beat-up and flaunting your scars might be the next level of cool. KIDDING!

Back in Blood; backstage with Jean Paul Gaultier (above) and DSquared2 (below), taking tough to the next level

Pringle of Scotland- Life Behind The Scenes

Pringle of Scotland is a luxury knitwear manufacturer established in…Scotland!

Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley has created an animation telling the story (with a few artistic tweaks) of Pringle's history, full of Scottish charm. The film was unveiled on 18th January during Pringle's menswear presentation in Milan.