This year’s San Diego ComicCon is now underway, offering a number of streaming events over the next few days. Among them is the return of a monumental panel for all you movie poster lovers out there – MASTERS OF THE ILLUSTRATED FILM POSTER, which streams Sunday, July 26th, at 3pm PST.

Artists on the panel include titans of talent spanning decades of the art of entertainment, including GREG HILDEBRANDT (Star Wars), WILLIAM STOUT (Wizards), STEVE CHORNEY (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), ROBERT RODRIGUEZ (The Two Jakes), RORY KURTZ (Baby Driver), JAMES GOODRIDGE (Deadpool 2), and AKIKO STEHRENBERGER (Funny Games).

There’s also a guy named DREW STRUZAN. (If you haven’t heard of him, shame on you.) But more on him in a moment…

The moderator is PAUL SHIPPER, who has become one of the most prominen...

OK, time for me to share a little more personal news. It’s been on the forecast for some time, but now I can finally divulge it.

After nearly twelve years at Warner Bros., I’ll be leaving the company come mid-August.

While it might sound like the stuff that warrants tears, particularly in light of everything going on in the world, I’m happy to say it’s also the most dignified departure I could have hoped for. I’ve been longing for the opportunity to free up time for my own creative projects – so in many ways, the planets have aligned.

People have been prodding me for updates on the status of my documentary, so now I’ll no longer have an excuse to brush them off. I’m looking to have the first trailer near completion sometime in the 4th quarter of this year. There’s well over 100 hours of mat...

It’s been hard for me to think of a proper update in light of current world events. Things have escalated so far, so fast, and I doubt I could bring any insight or perspective that hasn’t already been expressed before, or do it with any greater eloquence.

COVID-19 has devastated so many lives, including a number people I know. My heart goes out to all of them. I wish I could find the words to offer their families and friends some degree of comfort.

For the rest of us, I wish for your health and safety. It goes without saying that these are incredibly dangerous times. That such a global health crisis should also be exacerbated by an incompetent, indifferent, and corrupt political establishment makes me lose faith in the human race.

I’m scared for my country, particularly in light of the curre...

This only came to my knowledge tonight, but it put a smile on my face and I felt it was worth sharing...

My friends Mitch Hallock and Ed Dolista, who host a new videoblog about all things pop culture, Mitch & Ed's Excellent Adventure, recently dedicated an episode to their personal favorite movie posters. And what made the top of their lists? Richard Amsel's RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

Mitch and Ed also made a kind mention of my documentary. You can watch it below:

I wanted to pay tribute to the late KENNY ROGERS, who passed away Friday. Richard Amsel did a portrait of Rogers for the singer's 1982 album, LOVE WILL TURN YOU AROUND.

I had tried within the last two years to reach out to Rogers' team to see if he could be available to interview for the film, but I wasn't aware of his health issues. My thoughts go out to his family, friends, and generations of admirers.

In researching the album art, which is very evocative of Amsel's first poster of Harrison Ford in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, I found that the artist completed not one but two different portraits of Rogers. The first, textless image here was from a professional photographic transparency taken many years ago of the original artwork; the second image is the final album cover. All this time I jus...

I bought another one of Amsel's original works about six months ago, and had been meaning to write about it ever since: Amsel's unused artwork for the film RYAN'S DAUGHTER (1970).

I'd seen this artwork online for a number of years, and it's an interesting composition. My only real reservations are 1.) The awkward tree branch and leaves that form Sarah Miles' left eye, and 2.) The dominance of the color pink...especially when green should be more prominent!  The movie is set in Ireland, after all...

But why carp? Every piece I acquire is a treasure to me, and runs circles around anything I could ever hope to do.

For those unfamiliar with the film -- a loose reinterpretation of MADAME BOVARY, set in Ireland in 1916 -- it was David Lean's follow up the massively successful DOCTOR ZHIVA...

I'm only a month overdue on this...so, yeah, my bad. Sorry. 

Announcing the winner of the giveaway prize! (Sorry for the ridiculous screengrab.)

I did this video to prove that the selection was completely impartial. As a number of donations came from dear friends of mine, I had to take steps to avoid favoritism...though admittedly, I love YOU ALL!  :)

 Pictured: Carly the cat supervises the name drawing.

Congrats to JASON NAGEL for winning the RAIDERS print giveaway -- part of the "perks" for those who contributed to our documentary through our Fractured Atlas donation page. Fractured Atlas is an arts service organization that is our 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor; contributions are tax deductible where allowed by law. 

These art reprints were made directly from photographic transparencies...

Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of the RAIDERS print. I've been recuperating from a hospital stay, and bedridden this past week. I plan to announce the winner on Saturday Jan. 18th. I'll be making a video where I draw the winning name from a bowl, just to ensure there's no bias on my part. Everyone who donated $30 will get one entry; $60 two entries; $75 three entries, and so on...

(Winner is not responsible for any shipping fees. Those who have previously donated since the initial November 3rd announcement are already entered to win.)

These art reprints were made directly from photographic transparencies taken of Amsel's original artwork, and were professionally scanned and color-corrected. None of these reproductions are intended for commercial sale.

Just a quick update regarding the quilt display on World AIDS Day: R. Schuyler Hooke of the SUNY Downstate Medical Center provided these pics of Richard Amsel's panel. Schuyler said that it was discussed with visiting groups of schoolchildren. Perhaps one of them may be an artist or illustrator in the making...

The panel is now en route to Washington D.C. for inclusion within the AIDS Memorial/NAMES Project.

For more information on the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Names Project, go to www.aidsquilt.org.

Limited prints of this panel are included among the thank you gifts for donations to the documentary. Click here for more information.

December 1st marks WORLD AIDS DAY, and I wanted to remind everyone about the panel I had made in Richard Amsel's memory for The AIDS Memorial Quilt.

It will be viewable to the public for the very first time on Monday, December 2nd, at:

SUNY Downstate Medical Center

394 Lenox Rd.

Brooklyn, NY 11203

Coincidentally, Dec. 4th marks what would have been Richard Amsel's 72nd birthday.

For more information on the AIDS Memorial Quilt and the Names Project, go to www.aidsquilt.org.

I'm indebted to R. Schuyler Hooke and Amy Urquhart, of the Department of Student Life at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, for their kind assistance in making this display happen.

Limited prints of this panel are included among the thank you gifts for donations to the documentary. Click here for more information.

I've decided to add yet another incentive before the year's end! Those who donate at least $30 to our project through our Fractured Atlas donation page will be entered to win a 24"x30" print of Amsel's 1982 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK artwork!

Often cited as one of the greatest movie posters of all time, Amsel's rerelease artwork for RAIDERS is printed on Premium Photo Luster paper. Only one print will be available, and the winner will be selected at random. Donations must be received by Dec. 31st, 2019, and the winner will be notified in the first week of January, 2020.

(Winner is not responsible for any shipping fees. Those who have previously donated since the initial November 3rd announcement are already entered to win.)

These art reprints were made directly from photographic transparencies...

At the end of last year, I gave a set of postcards to everyone who contributed at least $25 to the film.  Now that 2019 is drawing to a close, I'd like to offer some additional thank you gifts in time for the holidays, to those new contributors who donate $75 or more to our project through our Fractured Atlas donation page.

UPDATE: I've actually added additional prints and postcards to this rewards perk! All those who have already donated shall still receive these additional items!

This set is limited to 25 copies only, and includes:
 

Eight postcards, now including THE SHOOTIST, CHINATOWN, THE STING, FLASH GORDON, and both the original and rerelease poster illustrations for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. 
 

• Seven of these postcards are double-sided (see the top two rows for comparison), while...

I just returned from yet another trip to the East Coast, having traveled through four states in less than two weeks. I managed to spend some time with family, revisit old friends, and film some additional interviews for the documentary -- the latter of which I'll be detailing here soon.

I was also able complete a very important errand before my return flight to Los Angeles. I handed the Richard Amsel AIDS quilt panel over to the staff at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where it will be viewable to the public for the very first time, before its eventual inclusion within the AIDS Memorial Quilt in Washington, D.C.

I've long sought a proper venue to debut the panel, as most places hosting portions of the quilt did not have room for additional entries. I also believed that, since Amsel spent the...

I’m heartbroken to learn that Bob Esty passed away last Thursday, Sept. 26th.

Bob was a close friend of Richard Amsel’s, and he was among the first people I interviewed for my documentary. The filming, which took place almost four years ago in Esty’s West Hollywood apartment, was filled with laughter, bawdy humor, touching remembrances…and more than a bit of singing.

For those who knew Esty, the latter will hardly come as a surprise. Esty has been referred to as “The Man Who Created Disco” – a musical genius who collaborated with Cher, Donna Summer, Sally Kellerman, LaRue, Billy Preston, Dusty Springfield, and Barbra Streisand. He was a music producer, arranger, composer, songwriter, and singer, whose work included such songs as “Take Me Home” and disco-era films such as THE MAIN EVENT, TH...

The past few years I've tried reaching out to a number of people whom Richard Amsel had created portraits of. One such person was Valerie Harper, who sadly passed away Friday after a long struggle with cancer. My sincere condolences go out to her family and friends. How I wish I could have met her.

Below is Amsel's lively portrait of Harper for the cover of TV GUIDE.