...is the running length of our very, very rough assembly. This is without animations, B roll, or some of the additional footage we plan to shoot. Not to mention color correction, audio tweaking, and all the other post-production bells and whistles. Thank God I finally caved in and decided to hire a professional editor, who was able to do in a few weeks what would have taken me at least another six months. He went through the 100+ hours of footage, and broke down all the key

When I began work on the Richard Amsel documentary, one of the first people I reached out to was Jerry Alten. Alten was the art director of TV GUIDE for over 30 years, and was the driving force behind hiring some of the world’s best illustrators to do the covers. Norman Rockwell, Savador Dali, David Byrd, Mark English, Jack Davis, and Bob Peak were just a few of the luminaries whose art graced the magazine. Yet two artists are tied for creating the most published covers (37)

I’ve previously shared a few posts highlighting some of Richard Amsel's unused and rarely seen works. I wanted to share just a small handful of sketches Amsel created for the 1983 film YENTL. Amsel had a unique talent for capturing iconic, larger than life personalities, while imbuing them with sensitivity. This was especially true with his portraits of women -- Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Lucille Ball, and Liza Minelli among them. Yet I don't think it's an overstatement to su

Jeffrey Wells called out a little edit made to Amsel's MCCABE & MRS. MILLER poster on the HBO Max page, and it gave me a laugh. Warren Beatty's cigar has mysteriously vaporized. Beatty now has his right hand raised in a zen act of Tai chi. (At least it wasn't replaced with a walkie-talkie, as Spielberg did to the rifles in the re-release of E.T. some years back.) I'm not going to feign outrage here -- just use it as an excuse to comment on something remotely Amsel related. I'

I’ve previously shared a few posts highlighting some of Richard Amsel's unused and rarely seen works. Over the years I’ve acquired many hundreds of images, including art that has never been published. They’re a fascinating look into the work and talent of an artist who had many unfulfilled dreams. I’ve held onto a few particular images for ages, but now I want to share them. They’re special, and for a special reason. Richard Amsel was more than a world-class illustrator. He w