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The Last Action Hero is Smarter Than You…

I wrote this review for a friend’s zine that it looks like may or may not ever come out.  But, I’m really proud of the review, and I hope you like it-

The Last Action Hero is Smarter Than You-

I know, I know.  You think I’m fucking with you.  You think I’m affecting some stance so I can defend it with ironic statements, and I’m just trying to be a hip dick.  But I’m not. I really, really like this film.
Now, keep in mind, I hadn’t seen Last Action Hero since it was in theaters…almost 20 years ago.  I was 16 in 1993, and there’s no way I was prepared for the film I was about to see.  I don’t think the damn world was ready for the film.  Now, stick with me here- I’ll get to the WHY this film is so good soon enough.  To prep for this article, I just re-watched it, and here’s a quick run-down/ refresher on the plot:

Kid (Danny Madigan) is a huge movie nerd, skips school to watch films in a run-down old cinema palace run by old-guy, much to the disappointment of his single-mother. His favorite movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a new release, Jack Slater 4, and the old guy who runs the theater has a print of it before the premier and the kid comes over to watch it at a midnight screening just for him.  Once there, old-guy gives kid a ticket given to him by Houdini, and during the screening, kid gets sucked into the film-world, and starts interacting with the fictional wold there.  Because kid has seen the first 10 mins or so of Jack Slater 4, he knows a bit about the plot and helps Slater foil some bad-guy plans.  Bad guy in the film gets his hands on the ticket and uses it to come into the ‘real world.’  Jack Slater and Kid have to stop bad guy from killing the real Schwarzenegger, which would end Slater’s life as well.  The good guys win, Slater goes back to the movie-world, and Kid keeps ticket. Somewhere in there is a cartoon cat.  The end.

I remember when The Last Action Hero came out.  It wasn’t what I wanted to see at the time.  In fact, I don’t think it was anyone’s idea of what they wanted to see.  The movie is a victim of audience expectations of what a Schwarzenegger movie SHOULD be.  But if this movie came out now- I firmly believe the critics would be falling all over themselves to say how brilliant it is.

Put yourself in this position- Terminator 2 was Arnold’s most recent film…the man was an action god, a stone-cold killer, and could do no wrong.  And THEN- he’s starring in a film who’s main intent was to play with and make fun of the trappings of the action movies you loved him for.  In essence, LAH is making fun of the very audience it was being marketed to.  And not only that- the REAL story going on is one about fictional characters transcending the bounds of the stories they’re trapped in, and wanting to run their own destiny, as opposed to the one written for them to act out on the screen.  No fucking way was that going to work in 1993.  Hollywood didn’t know how to market this, and audiences didn’t even know how to watch it.

http://movies.maxupdates.tv/wp-contents/uploads/2010/01/Last-Action-Hero.jpg

Holly wood still doesn’t know how to market this thing- does this looks like the DVD cover for a movie where the hero gets rescued by a cartoon cat?

READ THE REST AFTER THE JUMP!

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Still Clerkin’ after all these years…

Again, I was commissioned to produce a poster for one of my favorite movies for my favorite comic book store- Austin Books!

This Thursday, Austin Books and Comics is flying in Brian ‘Dante’ O’Halloran to be present at a screening of the original CLERKS film at the Blue Starlite Drive-In Theater here in Austin, TX.

With this poster, instead of focusing on one iconic scene, or do the floating-head-thing, I wanted to an Animal House poster thing where you show a bunch of stuff and scenes happening all at once, like the whole movie happening in one image.

WANT ONE? READ ON TO SEE THE VARIANT AS WELL!

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Original art for prints available-

Just a quick note-

I get requests every now and then for original art from past pieces.  Just to let all of you know, these are available!  If there is an older (or newer) piece of mine that you’d like to get the original artwork from, shoot me an email!

We’re actually selling some right now on eBay HERE (including the above pictured Transformers Movie print art).  We’ll be listing one a night for the next week or so, so keep you eye on that eBay store!

There’s also a small list and images of originals on my Flickr feed HERE.

We don’t have everything up in the gallery yet, so if you don’t see it, let me know.

Thank you-

Tim Doyle

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Transformers: The Movie print at Austin Books and Comics

I’m really happy to have been able to do this print.  It feels like I’ve been drawing Tranformers in one way or another for my ENTIRE life. There’s a file full of old Crayon drawings of Optimus Prime in my parent’s house right now.  I loves me some robots.

I am constantly and pleasantly surprised by Hollywood’s restraint in not making a Transformers movie SINCE 1986.  It’s really charming that this great property has been allowed to exist pure and undamaged in the memories of everyone who grew up in the 1980’s.  I mean, can you imagine if they let some dumb-ass lowest-common denominator director dirtbag take a huge dump all over Transformers?  And if they cast some schlub with a face like a foot in the lead, and tried to ‘sex it up’ with some bomb-shell in a crappy tacked on romantic story?

Good thing that didn’t happen.

DID. NOT. HAPPEN.

READ MORE AFTER THE JUMP!

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Quentin V. Coen- Round 2 Gallery recap!

Look at that freaking line.

Ken Harman, the owner/ operator of Spoke Art was kind enough to fly me and the wife out to San Fran for the weekend for the West Coast debut of Quentin V. Coen. They gave away my Big Lebowski Handbill set, “Sometimes There’s a Man”, to the first 50 attendees, and that did not last long!

The show on Thursday was a blast, and it was really great meeting and talking to everyone who came out. I got to meet a couple of artists at the show, including Greg Gigart, Serge Gay Jr, and Oliver Barret. Let me say one thing, Serge Gay Jr. is a handsome, handsome dude. I will have to steal his powers.

I GET WEIRDER AFTER THE JUMP! CLICK TO READ MORE…

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Vietnam on Wheels

I was asked to participate this year in Poster Cabaret’s annual Bike Print show, and my piece is pictured above!

The gallery opening was on 5/5 at Gallery Black Lagoon here in Austin, and it was a killer show, with over 60 prints by artists from all over the globe.

Poster Cabaret has just listed the show on line, and all prints are now available for purchase.  My print, “Vietnam on Wheels” is a 3 color 16×20 hand printed poster, signed and numbered in an edition of 75.  Poster Cabaret has the entire edition, so if they sell out there, none will be available on my site!

You can pick them up HERE.

Thank you,

Tim Doyle

 

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Quentin V. Coen prints-

 

 

Note- this was originally written by me for use on Slashfilm.com, and their coverage of the art show discussed below.  I’m reproducing it here with permission from myself.

The fine folks over at SpokeArt.net have put together a MASSIVE art show celebrating the films of Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Bros. and they’ve asked me to participate.  Since I did five prints for their previous show, a Wes Anderson tribute (called “Bad Dads”), I decided that I had to go even bigger this time around and set out to create SEVEN pieces.  As hard as it was to choose, I went with doing all seven of Tarantino’s features, and leave the Coens aside for now.  A heartbreaking choice, as Raising Arizona is in my top 5 desert island films- along with Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Robocop, Blade Runner, and Babe 2: Pig in the City.  (SERIOUSLY.)  But it did give me a chance to re-watch all of Quentin’s films, and see a couple for the first time.  I do realize that ‘having’ to watch movies being a large part of my job is just about the craziest thing that could happen to me, but I digress.

I’ve met and talked to Tarantino several times in the past, having been a manager/ creative type person at the Alamo Drafthouse at my last job.  And let me say, the guy is every bit as energetic and crazed as he appears to be in all those DVD special features.  He is a fanboy in the extreme.  A giant, tall, animated weirdo who will talk over and through you, and you just have to nod and hold on to the conversation for dear life.  In my limited experience, he’s exhausting to be around.  But, it’s that crazy passion and energy that he pours into his work and it comes screaming off the screen at you.  </namedrop>

READ THE REST OF THIS CRAZY BIG ARTICLE AFTER THE JUMP!

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The Sea Also Rises t-shirts are finally here!

It’s been a while since we’ve had some new T-shirts here at Nakatomi, and we’re super-happy to announce our new line! Based on art from my ‘The Sea Also Rises’ series of prints, these 100% ringspun cotton t-shirts feature BIG BIG printing with machine-washable waterbased inks for that super-soft fit! (No plastic crackly ink!)

Read More After the JUMP!

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Never Get Out of the Boat…

Back in Early December, I was asked to produce a print for the always-excellent-to-deal-with TommyGood.com to promote the Astor Theatre’s screening of Apocalypse Now coming up in February.  The Astor is in Australia, and I’m stuck here in dumb ‘ol Austin.  Sigh.  My artwork goes all the cool places, and I’m here.

Read more ramblings of an insensitive jerk after the jump!  (Detail pics, too)

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The Vietnam War Movie Memorial

I was asked to participate in an artshow that is also a fundraiser for a documentary about VHS art, and this is the piece I created for it. VHS will always hold a special place in my memory. I remember my family renting a VCR for birthdays and holidays from the local grocery store, along with some tapes. I always asked for the same tapes: Tron, Temple of Doom, Condorman, Black Hole, and maybe some Transformers cartoons. I used to work at a Suncoast Video when I was about 21, and I remember when DVD’s first came into the store. Here we were sitting in a store full of VHS tapes, with our little section of public-domain-title DVDs that were the first to market. The whole VHS medium was dead and it wouldn’t even know it for another 5 years or so. And now, even the rental culture is almost dead, and DVDs and Blue-ray will be gone in a few years in favor of streaming video. Strange times.

Please read more after the break-