Although Alvin & The Chipmunks are squeakin’ at the box office today, they don’t got nothin’ on legendary poster designer, John Alvin, who died tragically at the age of 59 from a heart attack back in 2008. Fortunately for us, his hopeful, inspirational work lives on…
Author Archives: russ
Saul Bass Presents Schindler’s List
Did you know that Steven Spielberg asked Saul Bass to do a poster for Schindler’s List? Neither did I! Regardless, I think Universal made the right choice in going with a more dramatic design.
Bass in Action!
I think if the movie posters of Burn After Reading and Saul Bass had sex, this is what their one-sheet would look like…
The Royal Tanenbaum
No, not the Wes Anderson movie — this is the work of Robert Tanenbaum! One of the go-to-poster artists for major movie studios back in the 70’s, he has since moved onto specialize in doing portraits of Native Americans, dancers, and sports figures.
My Faves of 2009
Here’s a bunch of my favorite movie posters from 2009. I can’t verify the brilliance (or lack thereof) of the actual films themselves considering how I didn’t get a chance to see many of them…but I dig the designs. And plus, there’s always Netflix!
Frazetta Family Fiasco!
The early work of Frank Frazetta mimicked the cartoony silliness of the late 60’s and 70’s. However, later on, his style drastically evolved and he is now commonly known as one of the preeminent creators of fantasy art, doing the paperback covers for Tarzan and Conan.
But just last week, Mr. Frazetta’s world of fantasy came crashing back to reality as police arrested his son, Frank Frazetta Jr., for breaking into the family museum and attempting to steal $20 million worth of his father’s artwork. Now that story in itself could be a movie!
Check out the news story on YouTube here.
Philberts
Phil Roberts is yet another contemporary artist who draws in that humorous Jack Davis style. In fact, he not only draws like him — he actually did the poster for The Bad News Bears remake in 2005. But what’s interesting is that he also happens to be a very well known surf artist, too!
Rick Meyerowitz
Yesterday, I mentioned the comedic movie poster stylings of Jack Davis — and today here’s Rick Meyerowitz, another incredibly prolific illustrator who worked at National Lampoon (where he did the infamous Animal House one-sheet) and later with Maira Kalman of The NY Times.
MAD MAN!
Jack Davis is like the Jerry Lewis of illustrators. What a ham! From Alfred E. Neuman’s MAD Magazine to countless TV Guide covers, his comedic, caricaturesque style has inspired and influenced (i.e., been ripped off by) legions of cartoonists. His parodies will likely be parodied forever!
Movie Poster Museum 