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.
I never knew about this famous Belgian artist, Monsieur Folon, until I discovered — er, “stalked” — some of his fascinating designs at EMoviePoster…Enjoy!
If life were fair, you would have already heard of Larry Noble a long time ago (in fact, maybe some of you Star Wars fans have)…
IMHO, Larry Noble is probably one of the more underrated movie poster artists of the 70’s and 80’s. (Actually, I guess he goes by Lawrence nowadays!) And if you agree, he’s still out there working today — although he has since moved onto sculpture as his preferred medium and you can check out some of his highly collectible Yoda figures here.
I came across these handsome “re-envisioned” posters of old Hitchcock and Stephen King movies on WP by young graphic designer, Laz Marquez, who’s also busy at work on more current movie print ad campaigns.
Most famous for his vivid, swirling paintings of Midwestern landscapes, farmers, and railroad workers, the regionalist American artist, Thomas Hart Benton, also did a few brief cameos as a movie poster illustrator.
Though not nearly as bold or dramatic as his paintings, his takes on the John Ford classic, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Kentuckian, starring Burt Lancaster, clearly showcase his unique style.
Milton Glaser is one of the most famous graphic designers alive today and created the I LOVE NY logo, New York Magazine, and a whole slew of rock and political posters alike. But he did very few movie posters, other than Next Stop Greenwich Village, which The Auteurs wrote about last year.
Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan originally released a poster in 1989 with Jason slashing through an I LOVE NY poster — but that version was later recalled by Paramount for copyright infringement (of Glaser’s work). If you’re interested in learning more about the man and his work, you can check out the recent documentary, Milton Glaser: To Inform and Delight.
Meansheets generally sticks to movie posters, but news of the death of famed “Tennis Girl” poster photographer, Martin Elliott, could not go without mention.
I’m sure Mr. Elliott took much more beautiful portraits and landscapes in his career, but none sold two million copies like this ribald classic.
I guess this weekend’s box office numbers left little doubt that remakes make money. Here’s the innocent little original 80’s posters (by Gouzee and The Hildebrandt Bros, respectively) compared to the amped-up 2010 version.
Not many art lovers know this, but Salvador Dali was actually a wannabe movie poster designer on the side, but alas, many of his one-sheets never saw the light of day…Until now!
Here’s a few of his never-before-seen versions of The Empire Strikes Back and The Rose starring Bette Midler.
But of course, if you believe that, then…
Movie Poster Museum 