In 1981, movie magicians George Lucas & Steven Spielberg gave adventure a name, introducing one of cinema's most iconic characters to audiences worldwide... Indiana Jones.

As a small boy in rural Australia, it changed my life -- Raiders of the Lost Ark ignited my passion for archaeology, history, and of course, making whips out of rope and swinging from trees in search of backyard Inca treasure (and I'm sure quite a few Grailers will relate!). Even today, thirty years later, hearing the Indy music still sends a shiver up my spine.

I'm sure movie geek Jamie Benning feels the same. Undeterred by YouTube and 20th Century Fox removing his previous Stars Wars Begins filmumentaries, Benning turned his eye to Raiding the Lost Ark. Using cast & crew interviews (old and new), commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, deleted scenes, and original production notes, Jamie Benning has created a feature-length making-of film that captures the spirit of the 1981 classic Raiders of the Lost Ark... and makes an old film new again. Watch it while you can, before the movie suits spoil the fun. Here's hoping George and Steven enjoy this as much as we do.

**crraaaack!**

And the original 1981 theatrical trailer for the nostalgia:

Holy carp, can't wait to see this movie: Red Lights, starring Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver and Cillian Murphy. A thriller based on skeptical investigators pursuing a famous psychic...think it might be up my alley?

Seems to be a few nods to real-life events/phenomena in there, such as James Randi exposing Peter Popoff's use of an in-ear radio receiver to gain information about audience members (the actor even looks similar to Popoff). Director Rodrigo Cortes has some good observations about the skeptic-believer divide in this interview, so I'll be interested to see how it plays out on the screen. Great trailer, hopefully the movie is just as good.

Wall-E's Post-apocalyptic cutesiness + Scott's Sci-Fi creepiness = Win.

H/T Silver Screen Saucers.

When I spoke to writer/producer Daniel Knauf recently (creator of the wonderful esoteric TV series Carnivàle), he mentioned some paranormal-type happenings on the set of his new creation, BlackBxx: Haunted:

But even if Knauf wanted to leave the paranormal genre behind, it may just be that the weirdness could follow him. During the recent shoot for BlackBxx: Haunted, he noted that “weird stuff” happened without the slightest need for special effects; in one instance, the cast praised the convincing nature of a pot flying across the room, only to find that wasn’t one of the designed effects. Though Knauf wasn’t overly surprised that such things happened: “With all the energy crackling in that house, I wouldn't be surprised if the cast had generated some parakinesis”.

Knauf has now posted a couple of camera angles of the footage taken from different angles. I've embedded one of the views below:

Effects caused by cooling/heating on the stove top, or sympathetic poltergeist activity due to the subject matter of the show? Cue Twilight Zone music...

You can gain access to the upcoming BlackBxx: Haunted release via varying subscription/support levels at the BlackBxx website.

Update: Daniel Knauf offers the following details regarding the pot movement:

The pot in question has been placed squarely on the front burner. It hadn't been touched in over an hour. The nearest actors were approximately 20 feet away in an adjoining living room.

Official Prometheus trailer. Master Scott's still got it, methinks.

If the world does end next December, at least we'll go out with a bang ;)

A quick update on BlackBxx: Haunted, the new media project from Daniel Knauf, the creator of the esoteric television masterpiece Carnivàle. I spoke to Knauf last month about the project, when it was in the final stages of its Kickstarter crowd-funding drive. Unfortunately, the project didn't reach it's goal - however, you can now contribute to the project (and get your 'reward') directly at the BlackBxx website:

As some of you know, we didn't reach our Kickstarter goal. Some of our Backers surprised us by making unsolicited pledges to our PayPal acct. Since then, a number of BlackBxx fans have made contributions through PayPal.

In order to help facilitate their generosity (and make sure the pledges are directed into the correct account), we've created this page. Consider it "under construction" until we can give it more attention after the holidays. We plan on adding a Funding Goal amount as well as a running total of pledges, plus the names of our Backers. Daniel will be reaching out to each of you soon to thank you for your support.

If you wish to be a part of making BlackBxx a reality, any amount would be helpful, and for those of you who supported our Kickstarter campaign, we'll be happy to fulfill your chosen rewards.

I keep saying it, and hopefully a few of you out there are listening - we are living in a lucky age when we are being handed control of which creative projects we'd like to see go ahead. Go ahead and chip in a few dollars if you're interested in the BlackBxx concept - personally, I'm intrigued as hell as to how it's going to turn out.

Daniel Knauf, the creator of the wonderfully esoteric HBO series Carnivále, has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new type of video story-telling inspired by the internet: BlackBxx, a non-linear narrative experience in which the viewer chooses from which perspective and in what order they view the show. The bonus is that Knaupf's first 'BlackBxx' project will have a paranormal theme:

For his team's first project, BlackBxx: HAUNTED, a supernatural thriller in which a paranormal investigation goes tragically wrong, the entire story is confined to the eight rooms of a suburban house, each covered by several video cameras. The format is similar to reality shows such as Big Brother, but with one key difference. Explains HAUNTED producer, Douglas Hunter, “On Big Brother, the contestants are gerbils in a maze. The whole construct is designed to manipulate them into behaviors that the producers hope will be interesting or fun to watch. In a BlackBxx story, a writer scripts a drama and it's performed by professional actors in real time. It’s like a 48 hour movie, with scenes set in separate locations, playing simultaneously in all the theaters of an 18 screen multiplex.”

Meanwhile, HAUNTED’s director, Cliff Osmond, and the BlackBxx crew will be at a separate location, remotely monitoring the cameras capturing the action. “No cuts, no retakes,” says Osmond, “The cast will live the story.”

Once production is completed, the entire 800-plus hours of video content will be uploaded to a website and supplemented by background material presented in a variety of media, including character dossiers, video interviews, audio files, coroner’s reports, newspaper articles and other archival material related to the story. Visitors will access the story at blackbxx.com by selecting any moment they wish to see on a time-slider, then clicking on one of 18 camera icons positioned within a floor-plan of the house. "They can simultaneously open as many players as their systems will handle," says Jascha Rynek, who is designing the site. "They can watch action simultaneously in separate rooms, or even at separate chronological points in the story.”

“Each audience-member,” adds Knauf, “becomes the author of his or her own personal BlackBxx experience.”

The project is looking at around $73,000 to get off the ground - at this stage it's well on its way with $17,465 pledged. Check out the Kickstarter page for what benefits your donation will bestow upon you. You can also read Knaupf's own story about his journey at his BlackBxx blog.

We've all heard of viral marketing, but Warner Bros. have gone one step further in the marketing of their new movie Contagion: Bacterial Marketing.

Yes, I realise that their viral bacterial campaign has worked wonders, in that they've managed to convince me to post the video here! Good luck to them though...a great idea, well-executed.

I bow at the altar of Pixar, and love the techniques of animation, so really enjoyed this...thought Grailers would enjoy it too:

When I watch this, I start pondering how reality might differ to what we perceive (ie. in this case, multiple models in freeze-frame, vs perception of multiple moving models).

You might also like...

• In the Fall of Gravity
• Alma