Author Archives: russ

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About russ

Russ Ryan is an avid fan of movie posters -- sometimes even more so than the actual movies themselves! But he's not just a poster geek, he also was lucky enough to have a film produced by the makers of AMERICAN PIE -- the classic, unforgettable, much less successful National Lampoon presentation, REPLI-KATE, starring Ali Landry, James Roday, and Eugene Levy.

Cinco de Movie Posters

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Guess I’m a little late on this since Cinco de Mayo 2010 is nearly half over — but there’s a whole wonderful world of Mexican movie posters out there! So if you have any interest, go pick up Cine Mexicano: Poster Art from the Golden Age 1936-1956 by Mexican Film Archivist, Rogelio Agrasánchez Jr., or just head on down to SantoStreet.com, which carries an excellent selection of vintage south of the border one sheets.

And now for your viewing pleasure, here are the comedic stylings of legendary Mexican artist, Ernesto Garcia Cabral…


J-Lo’d!

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Uh-oh, J-Lo. Looks like somebody went all Banksy on this bus stop poster of her new movie, The Back-Up Plan…

But it’s not like this poster couldn’t’ve used some serious retouching since it bears a very strong resemblance to this Target ad for mens t-shirts!

What’s up with all these movie posters now that mimic fashion apparel spreads? See Surrogates and Law-Abiding Citizen.

Obrero-Gate Continues…

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I got a hold of Mr. Obrero over the weekend to explain the Dorero-Obrero mishap and he sent me an early version of what his Never Say Never Again poster looked like “before the lawyers took everything out”.

What I also didn’t know is that he did the artwork for the original Masters of the Universe toys and lunchboxes.

So if you’re into all things Obrero, check out Rudy’s own masterful website here — as well as this interview with him from 2009.

You Say Dorero, I Say Obrero!

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Last month, I wrote about an “unknown” artist named R. Dorero who did the Never Say Never Again one-sheet. Well, the reason this Dorero character was such a mystery is because he doesn’t exist!

The real artist who did this James Bond classic happens to be a very accomplished illustrator named Rudy Obrero who has done a whole slew of other movie posters, including The Postman Always Rings Twice, Oh God You Devil, A Fish Called Wanda as well as work on more recent pics such as The Cat In The Hat and Russell Crowe’s Master and Commander.

But I wasn’t the only one fooled — it appears that LearnAboutMoviePosters and EMoviePoster also made the same mistake. My best guess is that someone misread Obrero’s signature on the original Never Say Never Again poster and the search engines ran with it, thus the confusion. Anyway, the truth is that Rudy Obrero is the real creator behind 007’s NSNA and is still doing great work. So sorry, Rudy. I will never again mistake a Dorero for an Obrero!

Fatal Abstraction

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When I first started looking at Polish movie posters, I’ve gotta be honest: they kinda made me sick. I mean, not physically sick. But more that feeling you get when you walk into a freaky video exhibit at a contemporary art museum and immediately want to dash for the nearest exit.

Well, I’ve gotten more comfy in my own skin since then and couldn’t be happier looking at these Polish takes on our 80’s Hollywood classics…

Rand-om Thoughts

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The self-taught graphic design guru, Paul Rand (1914-1996), was most famous for his corporate logos and identities for such companies as ABC, IBM, and UPS — and was even hired by Apple king, Steve Jobs, to develop the branding for his NeXT computers. Like Saul Bass, his clean, simple lines pretty much defines the 50’s and 60’s Mid-Century Modernist look. However, unlike Bass, he chose to stick to the more steady commercial work of designing trademarks and completed only one movie poster for No Way Out, starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier.

It’s a shame, too. There’s no doubt Rand could’ve whipped out some classic one-sheets! If you want to learn more about the man and his philosophy, check out this video tribute.

Bollywood Babylon

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I was at the LA Times Festival of Books this weekend and came across this little gem in the Taschen booth.

This poster book features lots of wonderful, colorful hand-painted posters and original art from Bollywood’s past motion picture history, focusing mainly on early 20th Century productions — so unfortunately, that probably means no Aishwariya Rai!

Bugsy & Hooch!

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No, this is not a sequel to the Tom Hanks dog buddy comedy. I’m talking movies about Prohibition! I finally got around to seeing Public Enemies with Johnny Depp and started getting a little nostalgic about some other gangster/moonshiney movie posters of yore…

But if you literally want to get into the Prohibitive spirits, check out the Speakeasy Ales brewery in San Francisco. And The Atlantic also recently published an article about Hipster Moonshine.

Wow, after all this liquor talk, I need a drink!

Flashback: Poster Lawsuit!

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Hollywood lawsuits are common…even in the world of movie posters. And famous artists are no exception. Back in 1987, Saul Steinberg sued Columbia Pictures for filching his classic 1976 New Yorker mag cover (“View of the World From 9th Avenue”) to use for their 80’s Robin Williams immigrant comedy, Moscow On The Hudson. And it looks like Steinberg had a pretty good case.