Sign Me Up for the Kool-Aid: My Voice on Sound Of My Voice

Let's dissect the first twelve minutes of Sound of My Voice, the new film from Fox Searchlight Pictures in association with 1737 Films / Skyscraper.

The first thing I'm going to need you to do is check out the trailer, so you know the context, and then we'll discuss.

So, Peter and Lorna are documentary filmmakers intent on investigating and discrediting a Los Angeles cult leader. And they get a little too wrapped up in it.

I watched the first twelve minutes of Sound of My Voice (and you can too; see below). But here are my thoughts on the three scenes presented in the film's opening:

First, the couple of Peter and Lorna are provided strict instructions on the way to approach and gain entrance to the cult. There's something truly unnerving about the sequence, as they read the rules and are approached by a silent, imposing figure. Don't get out of the car. Remove your possessions. Dress in the garments of followers. Put on a blindfold. The sequence is a balance of follower faith (or risk, as we know that Peter and Lorna are subversives) and cult leader distrust. From this first sequence alone, you immediately want the cult to be brought down. It's a bad thing, and you know it.

We move onto the 'entrance exam,' as a cult higher-up, Klaus, engages Peter in a sophisticated and undeniably silly dap greeting. Despite all the slapping, fist bumping, and hand-jiving, it's a test that's taken very seriously. Klaus is cold, almost dangerous, as he and Peter perform the greeting. As ludicrous as the experience is, you can read a hint of fear in Peter's expression, until that moment when the greeting is completed, and the once-predatory Klaus becomes a kindly, welcoming older man. The switch is flipped, and Klaus' humanity is turned on. Chilling.

And then' we meet Maggie.

This is how cults grow in power and influence. For all the outlandish behavior, the very obvious and sinister shadiness of it, there's something that appeals, that draws us in. Maggie, quiet and peaceful as she can be, has a magnetism about her ' she's mysterious and alluring, fragile and believable. She tells a tale of herself as a victim, lost in the strange and frightening landscape of the Big City (haven't we all been there?). It's a performance that makes us, as viewers, drop our guard. I may not be 100% convinced that Maggie's a time-lost prophet from the future, but I'm compelled to learn more about her.

If the rest of the film can unnerve me and keep me guessing as much as its opening sequence, then Sound of My Voice will have me gladly drinking the Kool-Aid.

Now it's your turn. Let's see if you feel the same. Enjoy the first twelve minutes below.

REmake/REmodel: The Shadow Competition Results

The Bleeding Cool competition. Redesign The Shadow,win an Alex Ross sketch cover of The Shadow #1 and a Jae Lee sketch cover of #1. Here are some of the entires we received' and the winning two at the end!

Robert Rath ' It was a tough challenge to come up with a way to redesign The Shadow that didn't suddenly turn him into an existing character. Put a mask on him? Suddenly he's the Golden Age Sandman. Goggles? Dr. MidNite. And on and on'.I thought it would be fun to make him more Steampunk inspired, so that's the direction I took.

 

Kenny Matlock

 

Jacob Haynes

 

Timothy Lim

 

 

Chris Campbell ' The design for this was tough to get it straightened out at first but I wanted to try to stay original and true to The Shadow and his Legacy, so I kept his traditional scarf and his cape, But I went with a cloak instead of a hat to try to make him look even more mysterious. as for the things on his sides I figured I'd add gun holsters to his belt. as well as Gauntlets and armor instead of the overcoat' I tried my best on this piece, I'm still trying to my best to improve on my art.

 

 

Matt Price ' His redesigned mind power is, The Shabro has the ability to 'Blind the brains of bad brothers, with visions of big booty bitches!'

 

Karl Brown ' In the interests of full disclosure, most of the figures are traced from some fairly easily identifiable Disney stills ' Guess which one was hand drawn?

 

Dene Conway

Raymond  Roel ' My idea for the redesign is simple.  When the host (Cranston)  is asleep the 'shadow' emerges from him.  The Shadow now in physical form can become virtually anything or anyone easily disappearing into smoke or darkness. The Shadow is unstoppable unless The host is woken or killed. [I read DP7 too - Rich]

 

 

 

Dave Withers

Sean Andress

Evan M Dent

Matt Kane

Basically its clothing that projects what is behind you.  Basically making you invisible.

Now my idea is that the Shadow's outfit is made of this technology.  His name is derived from a Shadow is about the only thing you can see when it is active.

If you can imagine the pic it would be a faint outline of a person plus the trademark hat and scarf, the only real visible piece is his eyes, except for the shadow that can clearly be seen on the ground.

Jason Smith

Jay Sellers

1) The Chav Shadow ' baseball cap and Burberry scarf with two bling guns

2) The Brit Shadow ' bowler hat, red umbrella and a walking stick ( with a silver handle in the shape of a nose)

3) The Future Shadow ' robot with on-going snigger every time a joint moves ( hahahaha), key processor unit in the nose and two laser guns

Alan Henderson

RUNNER UP: ' winner of the Jae Lee sketch cover.

Phoebe Peterson

WINNER: ' winner of the Alex Ross sketch cover.

 

Kent Heidelman ' The concept of my character is that he's albino and his shadow is all white and it comes alive and attacks!   Except it's not alive at all.  It's all just hypnotic, because he's a master of hypnosis (like the original shadow).  People just imagine it and hurt themselves! I wanted half and half of old and new.  So I flipped color scheme on head and instead of shadow being the only thing seen by criminals' to the focus of his attacks against them. His classic shadow ring is now his main weapon for hypnotic attacks (continuing old and new theme).  As well as an extra brooch (because brooches are awesome on men, haha).  He also has a hidden sword in his umbrella for when hypnosis fails (always does sometime right?).  Along with far east mystical training he has eastern sword style training.  I also kept the classic red bandana as a swell necker-chif.

 

Andy Lau Said To Be Lining Up Role In Iron Man 3, Bringing His Iron Army With Him

As soon as it was announced that Iron Man 3 would be co-produced by a Chinese company, as well as partially filmed in the country, I started speculating as to which Chinese stars would be making an appearance.

First to get linked to the film is Andy Lau, star of Infernal Affairs, House of Flying Daggers and Detective Dee. I'm sure he's far from the last.

Neon Punch (via Twitch) say that he's in negotiations to play 'an old friend of Tony Stark' who enlists China's own armored heroes ' I didn't even know they had any ' to help fight The Mandarin.

It seems a little awkward that the notoriously censorious Chinese film industry would support a film that features a villain called The Mandarin, but who knows: maybe he won't even be Chinese in this new film.

Or perhaps Andy Lau and the iron army do more than enough to redress the balance? Neon Punch are reputable enough, and I think they're at least working with a kernel of truth here, however the fine points shake out.

How long now, do you think, until a Chinese movie star heads up a Hollywood movie, all by themselves? It's starting to look more and more likely that somebody will take that gamble soon.

Avengers Assemble: Action Figure Smackdown.

Well, if Archie Comics are doing it, why not the Legion Of Superheroes?  Take this fight scene with a certain physically malleable young lady. Going in for the kill there, she's got no leverage, what's she going to' Of course, grow a ten foot hinged barbed penis. That will work. Still, despite the fighting, at'

Dave McKean On The Power Of Story, Mythologizing Jesus And Retelling The Passion

I recently got to sit and speak with Dave McKean for a good long chat, about his past and future work, both in print and on screen, and particularly about his current film, The Gospel of Us.

McKean's film was filmed over the Easter weekend in 2011, capturing and reframing a live, three-day theatrical event that located the story of the Passion Play in modern Port Talbot. Michael Sheen took the lead role of The Teacher, an analog of Jesus Christ, and over three days, acted out the gospel of his trial, suffering and death.

For McKean, this film is not a simple case of following the play with a video camera on his shoulder, nor of simply tossing out a tale from the Bible. His ambitions lie in exploring belief, and the power of story ' and not just this one.

Here is some of what he told me about how this film came together in the way that he wanted it.

The Port Talbot Passion happened whether I was there or not. I'm credited as being a director but I didn't direct anything [of the play]. Whatever happened between Michael and Bill Mitchell, his co-director, and Owen, his co-writer, happened whether I was there or not. I just fetched up in Port Talbot with nine other camera men.

Ten cameras in all. We had a day briefing where we went round to all of the locations and told them, as far as I knew, what would happen, when it would happen, and from which direction the actors would come in. We tried to work out which shots we would have tried to get if we had been shooting 'a proper film.' I told them, roughly, what kind of shots I like, and what shots I imagined working well.

I knew it would have a guerrilla style, documentary style, because it would have to, with people all around fighting for room. For this, I like stuff in the foreground and finding the subject in the background, dirty shots, and asymmetry. Changing focus or zooms during the shots were down to them. We took on people who were not just camera operators but fully fledged DPs. They didn't have crews and were completely autonomous units ' a man and a camera.

My tacit agreement with Michael and the theatre company was that we would be discreet, blend in with the crowd. That was the only way they would allow it to happen. We just shot stuff like it was a live event. Like a real thing. The actual direction, if any took place, was in the selection and shaping of that material.

My film is my witness of what happened and even though I've added animation and effects and various treatments, essentially, that's what I saw. As that story was telling, that's what was going on in my mind.

I'm an illustrator really, and so that was the relationship here too. Michael and the theatre piece were like the writer creating the text, and then I, as the illustrator, shaped it and emphasised certain things, and tried to communicate the ideas in the best way for an audience.

I worked out what the ideas were, for me. And it's very much a personal thing. Owen has written a novel, and that's his gospel. The locals who were at the premiere had made this beautiful big exhibition and that's their gospel. It is a parallel of how story works.

And if the film is about anything it's about how story works. There probably was a man called Christ ' there's scant evidence for it but let's just say there was. Let's say that he was a traveling preacher, one of many. Let's say he was a very charismatic man and he said some very sensible and wonderful things. And let's say that he upset locals, and powers in the local religious groups, and that the Romans crucified him ' they crucified thousands of people, it was common practice. And out of these little pieces of historical evidence, these powerful and extraordinary stories developed.

The weird thing is, even now, in our age of 24 hour news and CCTV, there were people in Port Talbot that swore that The Stereophonics played at the social club [during the weekend of The Passion]. They didn't. Already it's been fictionalised, even in an era when everything is recorded. So imagine what it was like 2000 years ago when nothing was recorded and it was all word of mouth.

What we're dealing with is a mythologised version of a kernel of truth, and that's what I wanted to try and suggest with the film ' what we're watching is a mythologized version of a little piece of truth. I'm not a religious person but I think the power of the story, and it's a great story, is its ability to be reinterpreted, and to still mean something today.

The Gospel of Us is currently touring the UK, with Dave McKean appearing, as he said, at some screenings, for a Q&A. Keep an eye on the New Cinema Quarterly page to see if it will be coming your way.

Lots more from McKean later.

Rian Hughes Designs New Valiant Logo

Well, if Archie Comics are doing it, why not the Legion Of Superheroes?  Take this fight scene with a certain physically malleable young lady. Going in for the kill there, she's got no leverage, what's she going to' Of course, grow a ten foot hinged barbed penis. That will work. Still, despite the fighting, at'

Sunday Runaround ' Brian Wood's Free Massive

PoliticsWatch: Ostensibly a kids comic, the rather successful Spirou in France goes rather political with its upcoming issue, declaring that in the midst of political uproar, France needs saving. The last time it did this was when Belgium was without a government'

NovelWatch: Darkroom, is an autobiographical graphic novel by Lila Quintero Weaver about growing up in Alabama, in a time of racial upheaval. And it gets reviewed by those who live there.

As the years passed, the young Lila Quintero became more aware of the segregation and racial tension around her. In fact, being brown-skinned (her father's skin was designated wheat color), with full lips, put her into an uncomfortable no-man's land. She was not the same kind of Anglo white as her neighbors, but was not African-American either. And she had no culturally inherited racial prejudices.

LegacyWatch: Nicolas de Crecy and David B are feted as continuing the legacy of Moebius, by the Guardian.

So David B is pretty good; one of the most sophisticated cartoonists in the world, even. Certainly The Armed Garden blows the mind. But when it comes to producing work that is indescribably strange and yet beautiful, even he must bow before the 'mad genius' of French comics, Nicolas de Crecy.

DigitalWatch: Marvel is being seen as a digital pioneer for their embedded digital code in print copies' and the New York Post sees it as a model for other magazine publishers.

ClothesWatch: Cartoonist Paul Rainey tweeted 'I split my trousers in Gosh Comics this morning.'

This is Computo the Comic Link Conqueror speaking. I come for your women. But for now I merely collate comic-related bits and pieces online. One day I will rule. Until that day, read on.

They say I am a work in progress. The fools.

Read The Massive & Save the Planet this Earth Day :: Blog :: Dark Horse Comics

So head on over to the Dark Horse Digital store and download The Massive digital one-shot for FREE on EARTH DAY this Sunday!

DC Women Kicking Ass ' Before Super BFF there was almost Supergirls

Artist Saxton Moore posted some illustrations on Flickr this week that caught my attention. He told me they were for a never done animated project called 'Supergirls'