Classic fantasy movies that launched Hollywood careers

Every actor or actress in Hollywood got their start somewhere. But sometimes, prolonged and successful careers have come out of arguably one of the most interesting and creative film genres - fantasy films.

I happened to run into a friend the other day who is a major fan of one such movie and we got to taking about the subject. That being the case, I thought I’d take a quick look back at a few that really stood out for me, especially in the 1980s, and the starts that now enjoy household names who were part of these very cool projects.

The Princess Bride – 1987

Arguably one of the most beloved fantasy films of all-time, this fairy tale/action/love combination directed by the talented Ron Howard showcased Robin Wright (before she became Robin Wright Penn) and featured the long-time Criminal Minds series star Mandy Patinkin.

Labyrinth – 1986

With a creepy, evil David Bowie as her rival, movie fans discovered the beautiful and talented Jennifer Connelly playing the role of a 15-year-old unexpected heroine. While the movie didn’t do well at the box office, it has since enjoyed a massive cult following.

Willow – 1988

Although he had a few earlier roles (including in the film Top Gun with Tom Cruise) Val Kilmer began to capture the eyes and hearts of fans in this unusual adventure.

Recent graphic design project

A local actor recently hired me

to create an online portfolio and some promotional materials for him. Here’s the post card I came up with:

The front features our home city of Pittsburgh in a washed out photo as the background. It also emphasizes his build and history as a boxer.

The back uses a plain white, non-distracting background for sort of a minimalist effect. It also shows a few different look variations with the small images as well. I’m sure he won’t mind the contact info being out there, after all, that’s the whole point of promotion isn’t it?

I made sure to use a fairly interesting font but also tried to keep it simple enough to be easily readable.

Here’s the online portfolio I built on his behalf:

Cool custom layout tool for the artistically inclined

I love WordPress

It’s an amazing platform to showcase your work and thoughts as well as to discover some really interesting things that others have put out for your viewing and reading pleasure. With that being said, I also enjoy another similar tool called Tumblr. With that being the case, I thought I’d share a site I found that can be a major asset to any graphics enthusiast who might want to design his or her own layout without having to be heavily technically skilled.

The site by Totally Layouts is provides a Tumblr theme generator allowing you to customize everything from fonts to backgrounds with just a little creativity on your part. If you use this platform at all or are considering doing so, this might just be a good place to start.

I know that being a provider of creative graphic services and recently starting to help others with SEO efforts through social media, the visual and creative can be just as important to drawing attention to your work as it is fun to work on in the first place.

Support for Boston through art

MIT’s Green Building

In Brooklyn, a group of visual artists projected a message of solidarity on the side of the Brooklyn Academy of Music:

Sending Love to Boston

Praying for Boston

 

 

 

 

How to overcome writer’s block

No matter what professional or recreational activities we may engage in, at some point, we’re all going to be off of our game. A surgeon may struggle with shaky hands, a public speaker may slip into a bit of a stutter, or any other number of samples can apply. But in many cases, these problems are more mental than they are physical.

One of the most notorious examples in the world of literature is that pesky little condition known as writers block.

Photo courtesy of Marya Jan

First off, make no mistake, it happens to everyone.

But as I can suggest by personal experience, there is really only one reliable way to deal with it and overcome this problem – writing through it.

Whether you are a sports fan or not, the easiest way to explain what I mean is through the world or athletics. Let’s take baseball. Even the best and most productive hitters in the game fall into a slump from time to time. During those slumps a pitch that they might normally knock right out of the park might send them to the bench as a victim of a strikeout. And worse yet, it keeps happening over and over again. But how does the hitter finally break out of the slump? He keeps hacking away until he succeeds and gets back into his typical rhythm.

The same approach should and must be taken when you find yourself in a state of writer’s block.

Here are two practical ways to do so:

1. Write for the sake or writing during a case of block. Just keep going despite the quality. This is essentially exercise and nobody ever even has to see what you write.

2. Use the condition as inspiration. Yes, write something, anything, about writer’s block. A few yea’s back I had a poetry assignment I had to write for a class and just couldn’t get going. So, I decided to write the poem about the need to be inspired. In the end, I got an A.

In the end, when you take the time to work through the frustration, things will work out just fine.

New book and another one coming

So as you may or may not know, my educational background is in the literary arts. And in 2006, a few years after graduating from college, I wrote my first book. Since then, I have added three more to that list. However, the newest isn’t a literary work but rather a visual showcase of artistic photography. And the next one will be an SEO guide.

I’d like to that this posting opportunity to provide a little detail on each of my books, starting with the most recent.

My books

Coming soon:

A yet untitled SEO guide for simple and effective website promotion.

Currently available:

“Attirance”

This is a visual piece focused on my work with model photography and showcasing several creative images built around the art.

“Making Beautiful Photography:  A Guide for the Novice and the Enthusiast”

This  publication (available in e-book format only) seeks to help those who have a passion for digital photography by offering basic photography tips and tricks that are sure to improve anyone’s understanding of this visual art.

“Shadows and Shade”

This book centers on the emotions and circumstances that we all come to experience at some point in  our lives.

“Wishing Wells”

In the amalgamation of three sections, the reader will be taken on a journey through the stages of life, the daily challenges of our world and the mysteries of our very own minds.

A hidden treasure for the creative mind

As most of the Creative Dreamers readers probably know, I’m a proud Pittsburgher. And as such, there are a few locations in my neck of the woods that I really like to use for creative inspiration. One such spot is known simply as “Seldom Seen.” OK, technically, the official name is the “Seldom Seen Greenway.”

There’s a reason for the name – very few people are aware that the scenic, tranquil spot even exists. And even for those of us who do, it’s really hard to imagine that this woodsy and isolated space is literally inside the city boundaries.

A while back, I created a walking tour of sort and posted it in several parts on Youtube. Feel free to check it out for yourself. Even if you can’t get there in person, maybe the very visuals will help to inspire you as well as they do me.

Five songs to make you happy

If has been well documented that music can effect the way people think and feel. With that in mind, I know that from time to time, we can all use a little pick me up. These five songs are a few of the many that do the trick for me, maybe they’ll be good for you as well.

Taylor Swift “22″

Skye Sweetnam “(Let’s Get Movin) Into Action”

Michael Franti & Spearhead “Say Hey (I Love You)”

Jessie J – “Domino”

Coblie Caillat “Brighter than the Sun”

New photos for my website are up now!

A little while back, I had asked for opinion and ideas form readers of the Creative Dreamers blog to help to determine the new photos to be featured on my arts services and photography website homepage. See post entitled: Help choose the new photos for my website.

Well, the deed is now done and three new photos have been added to replace a few of the older ones. I know I had initially said that six new images would be added but due to some technical issues that are a bit out of my area of expertise, I ended up only going with three.

Here’s a screenshot from the new front page:

Thanks for your feedback.

Eternal Spring (A Poem)

While I love to use a bit of symbolism in my poetry and almost always want to allow the reader to interpret my writing how they see it, this one is a bit different. It is heavily metaphorical, while also holding some literal meaning and is really meant to mean one thing and one thing only. I also reference two English Renascence era poets in specific lines and phrases. If you’d like a bit of an explanation, please read the notes after the photo below.

Please enjoy.

Eternal Spring

—————————————————

With the winter

All foliage does fade

And decay under the weight

Of frigid air and show

——————————————————–

Everything hides in waiting

Under the soil of the earth

———————————————————

Then comes the spring

And all rises anew

———————————————————

In the grand scheme of the cosmos

The longest winter has seen its end

And the eternal spring has risen

Resurrecting all things to new life

———————————————————–

This eternal spring shall never fade

Even against winter’s bitter sting

As the warmth of the sun’s love

Has truly set all free

Courtesy of Free13k.com

Explanation (or at least partial clues) as mentioned above:

Stanza 1 – “Winter”, the fading and “decay” of foliage and the “weight of frigid air and snow” all have direct metaphorical meanings.

Stanza 2 – The phrase “in waiting” and “under the soil” are representative of a specific state of being.

Stanza 3 – “Spring” and the phrase “all rises anew” also have direct relation to a desired state of being.

Stanza 4 – The “grand plan” and “the cosmos” refer to a specific entity. The “longest winter” further emphasizes the theme in stanza 1. “Resurrecting” has a fairly obvious connotation in my opinion and the phrase “new life” goes along with it.

Stanza 5 - The phrases “eternal spring” and “sun’s love” again refer to a specific entity. The “winter’s bitter sting” is a metaphor for the cause of the metaphor for winter.

The referencing of the eternal spring “shall never fade” is also a nod to Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 and the aforementioned “sun’s love” also is a tribute to something in one of  John Donne’s works from his Corona.  Feel free to check them out.