The Joker (PhotoManipulation)

In one of my earlier blogs, I shared a picture of a photo-manipulation I did of POGO from the video "Wizard of Meh" where I colorized certain features to make him resemble the comic book character, The Joker. This is a remake of that picture where I added a red background to make his white skin more apparent and I also made the colors of his lips and clothes more vivid. I'm really glad how this picture turned out, and I just wanted to share it with you here. I hope you enjoy :)

Should/Could Wizard of Oz be Remade?

                     Last night in my Intro To Film class we watched Wizard of Oz so that we could write a paper on it talking about it's themes, motifs, and style of storytelling. I'm not going to talk about all that, instead I'm going to talk about something that was going through my mind while I rewatched this movie for another time in my lifetime; in this modern age of filmmaking when most movies seem to be getting remade, rebooted, reimagined, etc, could Wizard of Oz be remade, and should it? I think it's safe to say that we've probably all seen The Wizard of Oz, so I won't bother giving a summary on how the movie goes.
                   Now since the classic Julie Garland's Oz film was released, there has been many different Wizard of Oz films, but none were an actual remake of the classic film. We've seen other films sort of making a comical farce of Wizard of Oz where they make references to the film, but we never saw an actual remake. Whenever I watch a movie that's usually based on a source material like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Peter Pan, or Alice in Wonderland, I always imagine "What would I do differently?" to which I would imagine how I'd design costumes differently or how I'd pace this scene. I had this question going through my mind while I watched Oz and there were a few things I could've changed. I always thought the scene with Dorothy in Munchkin Land was too long. It's always when the Lullaby Guild shows up I always think to myself "Woah, this is still going?". I also would've maybe added more elements from the book, such as the scene where the Tin Man kills wild beasts. I also imagined I'd design characters like the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Lion differently.
                     So yeah there's ways The Wizard of Oz COULD be remade, but SHOULD it? To be honest, other than the points that I mentioned previous, I couldn't think of a reason the movie needs to be remade. Oz was one of those movies that is timeless even though it was made almost 80+ years ago. It's one those perfect movies. Now I have no doubt some studio will try to retell the story of Dorothy's adventures in Oz, and if that day ever comes I hope its directed by a director who knows his or her art and that the studio keeps their hands out of the way *COUGH*Fant4stic*COUGH*


But those are my thoughts.

A Quote I Live By

I was rereading the book "Tough Sh*t" which is an autobiography by Kevin Smith, and I came across a line that hits me everytime I read it and I wanted to share it.

"Remember: It costs nothing to encourage an artist, and the potential benefits are staggering. A pat on the back to an artist now could one day result in your favorite film, or the cartoon you love to get stoned watching, or the song that saves your life. Discourage an artist, you get absolutely nothing in return ever. I've spent the better part of my career getting up after movies and encouraging potential artists in the audience to give it a shot, pointing to myself as proof that anybody can make their dreams come true. I don't do this altruistically: I'm selfishly insuring that I have cool shit to watch one day by encouraging anybody to follow passions like film or storytelling. I've been sending a message to the next generations of filmmakers for the last two decades: get ready, 'cuz you're up next."
-Kevin Smith



I believe in encouraging creativity and originality and especially WIERDNESS. Some of the best movies aren't just guaranteed box office smashes. Sometimes its those movies you aren't sure would work but turns out its something more special than you'd believe. Movies like the ones Marvel releases now, Wreck it Ralph, Inside Out, hell STAR WARS was a HUGE risk back in the day.



Keep being original and creative folks.

Changing things around

If you visit this blog a couple of times and notice each time it looks slightly different, that's because I'm tinkering around with the layout and format to see what looks better. :)

Suggestions and Requests!

Since I just opened this blog a day or two ago, I am interested in expanding my audience. I plan to do this by listening to requests and suggestions from you all! Feel free to comment your ideas and requests and I will consider them. Thank you!

Hero Of Time by Joshua Kershaw

I'm a huge fan of the music composer POGO, and this Zelda themed collab by Josh Kershaw reminds me of POGO's work a lot. I am a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda and this song honest to God made me cry a bit. Nostalgia now and then is good for your mind in my oppinion

This happened while I was googleing my own name just for fun. This was recorded with my 3ds so sorry for the poor quality.

This is a photomanipulation I did today using the likeness of musical artist POGO at the request of a friend after she pointed out that he has the "ideal Joker face". Using that as inspiration I colored it to match the Clown Prince of Crime. I can't agree with her comment to be completely honest.

Hello,

           My name is Chris Westergaard. Welcome to my official blog. Here I will share stories of what's goin' on with little old me and I'll things I find interesting, as well as my thoughts on subjects that either appeal to me or I have an opinion on. Thank you for following me and I hope you'll have as much fun here as I do.