Sad to hear of the passing of director MARK RYDELL, who died today at the age of 97. He made such films as THE FOX, THE REIVERS, THE COWBOYS, THE RIVER, and ON GOLDEN POND. Rydell did two films with Bette Midler, FOR THE BOYS and THE ROSE -- both of which earned Midler Oscar nominations. The latter film remains especially powerful, particularly due to the gravitas and personality Midler poured into the role. The superstar seemed to understand the character's heartbreak and de

Exactly 57 years ago from this Saturday, August 15th, marked the beginning of a four-day music festival, held on a dairy farm in Bethel, New York. That location, a venue selected at the last minute following a desperate, chaotic process of failed plans and inadequate preparation, was actually about 60 miles away from the town that gave the event its eponymous name. 50,000 people were expected to attend, but in the end, Woodstock attracted nearly ten times that much. And so

Of all the unused movie poster art Richard Amsel created, I think my favorite remains THE SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION. It’s an absolutely gorgeous piece, reflecting the Alphonse Mucha / Art Nouveau period in which the film was set. A digitally restored image of Richard Amsel's unused SEVEN-PER-CENT SOLUTION poster. I remember seeing the film on television when I was a kid, and while much of it went over my head (it would be a few years before I even understood the significance

Following my last post about FUNNY GIRL and FUNNY LADY, two people have asked me about Amsel’s unused artwork for another Barbra Streisand classic, WHAT’S UP, DOC? Well, I aim to please. But first, let me give a little backstory on my Amsel art digital archives, and why I haven’t done any updates to the old www.richardamsel.info site in many, many years. Since that tribute site’s launch in 2008, I’ve collected well over a thousand art images – from Amsel’s polished illust

In 2021 I wrote about Richard Amsel’s proposed poster art for FUNNY LADY, the 1975 musical about the further adventures of Fanny Brice. Barbra Streisand returned to her Oscar-winning role with gusto and aplomb, yet while the FUNNY GIRL sequel was another box office hit, and received several Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, it did not quite match the critical praise of its predecessor. The artwork lingered in my memory primarily because it was more akin to the streamlined

Happy 80th birthday to megawatt Hollywood superstar, writer, producer, and director SYLVESTER STALLONE, who turns 80 today! Pictured: Richard Amsel's tragically unused poster illustration for PARADISE ALLEY, which was Stallone's follow up to his smash hit ROCKY, and directorial debut. While it wasn't particularly successful with critics or audiences, it's a much better film than its reputation, and Amsel's artwork better reflects the more whimsical character elements. Some of

As Bette Midler herself crooned, "You got to have friends." Following yesterday's post, I received a flurry of comments questioning my use of A.I. in reconstructing a lost Amsel piece of art. These criticisms were absolutely valid, which is why I felt compelled to be absolutely transparent, and further open the debate for the technical merits and artistic dangers of A.I. Happily, artist Matt Dicke just came to my rescue, providing a photograph of the original, unaltered BONNI

May has been a heartbreaking month for cinema lovers, as we lost three extraordinary individuals whose work helped shape, define, and elevate the golden age of modern movie-making. Whether slicing film stock to find the human heart of a massive space opera, creating the psychological blueprint for classic marketing campaigns, or revitalizing the lost art of the illustrated poster in the 21st century, these three creators left an indelible mark on how we look at the movies.

I’ve been going through edit after edit of extensive material filmed over the years, and now find myself able to finally fill in some of the narrative “gaps” through some new, additional interviews. One such person is TONY SEINIGER. Like Mike Salisbury , Spiros Angelikas , and Merv Bloch (all of whom I’m proud to say are featured in our film!), Seiniger is a titan in motion picture marketing. Through his advertising agency, Seiniger Advertising, he has been involved in over

I’ve been very slow to comment here on Drew Struzan , who died October 13 th at the age of 78. I heard the news within hours of his passing, and it broke my heart. Rather than write another simple blog post, I opted to film a little video on my iphone a few weeks ago. But with work at school and other commitments, I didn’t get around to editing it until tonight. I rambled on quite a bit, and had to trim out some parts where my emotions got the better of me. My deepest sy

I previously wrote about Amsel’s poster work for both PAPILLON and CUBA , neither of which were used for the films’ main marketing...

Sorry I haven’t posted any updates in a while. I’ve been busy this summer preparing for a new position at a nearby high school,...

Last Thursday, March 13th, I had the great pleasure of doing a Q&A about Richard Amsel's art for RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, following a...

I previously wrote about a current exhibit at The MUZEO Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim, "Painted for the Pictures: The...

David Edward Byrd – artist, genius, advocate, and one of my dearest, most cherished friends – died yesterday. I can’t write much about it, or him, right now, as I’m still processing the loss, and absorbing the terrible feeling of being in a world that no longer has him in it. I learned the news from his husband Jolino, just a few minutes after David’s passing. I wanted to give Jolino the opportunity to announce it publicly before writing anything here. Now that I am, I’m fumb

Last year I interviewed Clark Silva , a museum curator and art historian who has a special love of movie posters. He's been developing an...

OUR GRATITUDE As November comes to a close, I want to give thanks to all of you for your ongoing support of this project. Whether you’ve...

My most recent interview, filmed less than two weeks ago, was with artist and poster illustrator Robert Tanenbaum. Tanenbaum’s work...

When I first announced the documentary in late 2015, I was immediately bombarded with scores of messages resembling one of the following:...

The interviews done for the documentary include some distinguished names in the advertising world, from Spiros Angelikas to Mike...

There are a number of updates this week that I wanted to share... SPRING MATCH CAMPAIGN: Own one of Richard Amsel's personal MAD MAX...

Our fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, is distributing $1,000 to 20 different projects for their annual Spring Match campaign. Every...

I felt compelled to write about some recent news concerning poster art. While they don’t specifically pertain to Richard Amsel, they’re...

Hey guys, now that we’re approaching the end of March, I thought it’d be better to consolidate some recent updates and news... ...