Inspired by Federico Fellini's brilliant 8 1/2, Rob Marshall directs Nine, a film musical following the life of director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he suffers from a mid-life crisis that is stifling his creativity and leading him into a variety of complicated romantic involvements. Also staring Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard and Penelope Cruz, the film looks to be this year's Moulin Rouge... I am so down.

Ever since 2005's Alive in Joburg, I've been a huge fan of Neill Blomkamp's work. From Tempbot to the Halo 3 shorts, the naturalistic way that Neill integrates visual effects never ceases to amaze. District 9 will be his first big-budget Hollywood production (if you don't count the recently shafted Halo film) and if the trailer is of any indication, it's bound to be this summer's sleeper hit. Let's just hope it doesn't get lost amidst this year's big dumb sci-fi drivel.

Illustrator James Jarvis recently collaborated with Nike on this wonderful short film titled "Onwards". The film features a Martin-esque character jogging through a surreal, psychedelic landscape inspired by Jarvis' own experiences in long distance running. Set to a wicked track by Caribou, the short is directed by James Jarvis and Shynola's Richard Kenworthy. Check it.

Via High Snobiety.

Normally I'm adverse to the idea of fashion photographers taking on film (with the exceptions of Nick Knight and Sean Ellis) as most of their projects end up being a mess of incoherent imagery and sound being passed on as 'pseudo-art' at best. Anyway this one isn't that much better, but it does remind me a little of Blue Velvet and it features Amber Valletta doing something naughty so I guess that's good enough for me.

Via Frillr

PIXAR's next short film is titled Partly Cloudy and will be shown alongside Disney's Up. Partly Cloudy will be about where Storks go to get the babies they deliver. My parents always told me that place was China, but I guess PIXAR thinks otherwise.

Via Ain't It Cool.

Providing an intimate portrait of Rick Owens in his own words and his own clothing, this filmic diptych, shot live during the action on set, explores Nick Knight's monograph of an American fashion legend.

Via SHOWstudio.

The second poster of Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are and it looks a little more menacing than the last one.

Via Ain't it cool

Spike Jonze. Where The Wild Things Are. New Trailer... need I say more?

View in Quicktime here.

The film 歲月 (The Days) from director Boi Kwong, tells the tale of Singapore’s rival street gangs as they clashed between the years of 1989 and 1990. Josef Lee/Mojo directed this insane titles sequence for the film, which condenses the entire narrative into a 2 minute Manhua-style animation. The title track is "My Freedom" composed by indie rock group Black Forest. Check it.

Via Motionographer.

Today the first poster of Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are has finally surfaced and boy does it look fantastic. Whoever designed this absolutely killed it; the tasteful cropping, Carol, the charming hand lettered type, and Max's expression... perfect.

Here's hoping that a trailer will soon follow!

Here's to catching up with old news. 1st Avenue Machine's alter ego Special Guest recently signed on Brazilian director/illustrator Vinicius Costa, and to celebrate the occasion they commissioned him to direct this gorgeous short titled "The Journey". The concept behind the film emerged from Costa's own "journey" to his new home at Special Guest. Check it.

Thanks to Ozan for the heads up.

So on Friday I watched Watchmen, and to my surprise it was actually pretty damned good. I could have done without Snyder's excessive use of slow motion (and yes, there is an assload of it here) but the film certainly wasn't the flop many fanboys had expected it to be. Anyway, this is not a film review so I'll just cut to the chase. One of my favorite parts of the film was (surprise, surprise) the opening credits. Created by L.A.-based yU+Co, the sequence features Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'" set to a gorgeous montage of historical events in the Watchmen universe.

Unfortunately, Flickr caps all of its videos at 90 seconds, so I've only been able to upload half of the sequence. Drop me a line if you want the full Quicktime video.

In a New York Times op-ed piece, designers Emily Oberman and Bonnie Siegler argue that the Oscars should have a category for the design of title sequences.

Titles have always played a significant part in motion pictures. They may have started out as simple black-and-white cards. But in the days before sound, they already did more than identify key players: they communicated dialogue and advanced plot. And as filmmaking evolved, so did title design. Titles have become wonderful bridges from reality into the cinematic world and back out again. At their very best, they are themselves innovative, emotional experiences, microcosms of their movies.

Their list of notable nominees (if such a category were to exist) include names as Saul Bass (though he'd probably be a better fit for Lifetime Achievement), Kyle Cooper, Pablo Farro and other contemporaries as the Prologue Films crew and this year's would-be winner, Pixar. Check it.

Via Kottke.

This beautiful film by Chiara Clemente was recently screened at the New York Film Forum. In Our City Dreams, Clemente documents the inspirational journey of five women from different generations who have migrated to New York in hopes of fulfilling their dreams as artists. The documentary features Kiki Smith, Swoon, Ghada Amer, Marina Abramovi and Nancy Spero as its five subjects.

“The idea for the film began to form on my return to New York. I had left New York with the eyes of an adolescent and returned with the eyes of an adult - it is a place so familiar yet so mysterious and exciting... This film is inspired by those who have been lured to New York and have stayed for the ride. I respect especially those determined women who have fought their battles and found their voice in a stubborn town. Some of the most significant artists working in New York today are women. It is time that we discover some of these brilliant artists not only through their work, but through an intimate glimpse into their worlds.”

View the trailer here.

Harry over at AICN recently gave his readers a glimpse at three new posters for the highly anticipated Tarantino flick Inglorious Bastards. I'll admit, the posters are pretty bad-ass (the one pictured above in particular) but I wish the designers were a little less tame with the imagery and came up with something more brutal to match the film's tone... whatever.

View the rest of them here.

Apologies for adding to the already ridiculous amounts of Watchmen hype, but this is pretty awesome. Illustrator Alex Pardee recently did this piece of Watchmen-inspired fan art that debuted at the weekend's New York Comicon (ending today).

Via Josh Spear.

I blew my load when I saw this. I can't believe they've revealed both Devestator AND Ravage in the teaser. Fuck the G1 fan boys, this shit is crazy! Feel free to disagree but Transformers looks like it will kill G.I. Joe and (possibly) Star Trek. Peep the HD teaser here.

Directed by Ted Chung, A Thousand Words is a short film about the fleeting moments people share without being aware of it. It's also about how a Sony Cybershot camera can bring these people together.

On the real though, wouldn't this make a great viral campaign for Sony?

Via Swissmiss.

A review of 2008's greatest cinematographic moments: part one and part two.

This year the challenge was of a different sort. The field was curiously thin. It wasn't that the talent wasn't on display. God knows, a number of the greats were lining up behind the camera this year. But the images weren't as instantly iconic or as viscerally gripping as they were in 2007, which might have left me a bit disappointed on one hand. Then again, it just made searching for my favorites all the more involved and interesting, and I'm happy to offer my findings to you in this space, even if it meant doubling up.

This list is definitely on point, but giving The Dark Knight two spots might be a little overkill. I also love how Let The Right One In got first place, that scene was fucking brilliant.

Via kottke.

I’ve been eyeing this one closely since they paired up Neil Gaiman with Henry Selick. I liked the concept of marketing this as “the first handmade movie” but the trailers always seemed to shy away from the horror aspect of the story. Instead, it comes across as an offbeat children’s fantasy-adventure (à la Charlie and The Chocolate Factory). Okay, it is that, but it was also the underlying sense of dread that made the original so memorable for me. I mean Jesus Christ man, you’re talking about sewing buttons onto the kid's eyeballs!

Anyway, I’m glad to say that the latest trailer remedies this completely, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of the novel. Harry over at AICN claims that this is Selick’s personal favorite trailer and it’s easy to see why. Check it.