When Mark G met John G

I would always confuse Guy Pearce with Heath Ledger. Maybe it was due to the fact that I began to take more notice of them both around the same time. Well, I guess it would be difficult for the confusion to continue seeing how that one is roughly 6ft and the other is under 6ft of rough.

As amazing as they both are, our focus today is on Mr Pearce. To be honest, I don't think I've seen many films starring Guy Pearce. It was the ultra gruesome and fantastic 'Ravenous' (with the inimitable Robert Carlyle) that made me take notice of him. If you haven't seen it then rectify that this instance. It also has a brilliant soundtrack courtesy of, I want to say G.Coxon from Blur...it might be...I'm sure it has something to do with Blur. Here's a trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO98NMMgp0Y

 'Ravenous' was released the same year as '10 Things I Hate About You' (the source of the confusion), then Pearce went on to render viewers mind boggled in Nolan's 'Memento'...which leads us nicely onto our film parody poster #2. The joke this time is completely in the title. I didn't swap out a word for a rhyming variant or a synonym, just tweaked what was there. Nolan had obviously wanted me to do this 12 years down the line. I would actually love to sit and type for hours about 'Memento', but I'll resist and throw up an official poster:

It does exactly what it needs to do: The polaroids (along with the title) imply that there are memories and moments involved, whilst the repetition informs you that the crux of the film is an Ouroboros style infinite loop. Poor Guy. He really gets a rough time of it in 'Memento'. Even the saucy Carrie-Anne Moss gives him more abuse than Jodie Marsh gives her Boots Advantage Card. However, the casting in 'Memento' is absolutely flawless. Easily one of the best line-ups of all time. Hell, even Ned from 'Groundhog Day' is in there.

And so here is my poster design for 'Memento'. Self explanatory really. Ok, I know that it's rare to get that many yellow fruit Mentos in a pack and 'Chewy Dragees' is positioned UNDER AND ABOVE the logo, but you know what...sue me. Oh...wait...you can't, thanks to my copyright evading design technique ;) . I tried to incorporate the 'Memento' logo into the poster but it didn't really fit. I did decide to keep it completely text-free and let the visuals do the talking (with the exception of 'Chewy Dragees' on the packet). Coming back to the design, though, it smacked me like a kipper to the balls that I should actually re-create the 'Mentos' logo. I'm glad I did because it works a 'sweet'............quite.

Mark

Hang Tough

I admit it, I never have been a huge fan of Stallone (or a fan at all, for that matter). I don't care that he made Rocky, was Rambo, was uncredited in The Godfather or manages to speak without moving his face. Actually, I lie: I did really like the piss-take, 'Spambo', in Round the Bend. You should all check it out here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXvCaUZn0Ao

Anyway, this brings me onto one of his flop films - Cliffhanger. I'm not using Wiki or IMDB here...just memory, so apologies if the facts aren't bang on. I remember it came out around the same time as Arnie's 'Last Action Hero'. Both were hyped beyond (deer)God knows what, and both suffered grilling by reviewers and the public. I think both films were instrumental in killing off both Stallone's and Arnie's big star statuses. They were to become like Van Damme - irrelevant, unnecessary and boring. But I digress...I REALLY enjoyed Cliffhanger. No idea why. Maybe it was the fact I saw it on 'pay-per view' in 1994 in Orlando when I was 14. Maybe it was the fact that I loved John Lithgow in Raising Cain. Or maybe it was the fact that I'm just thinking of the beginning of Ace Ventura 2. Regardless, the poster was, and still is, pretty cool (no pun intended):

Wait a second, not that one...THIS one >

Actually, looking at it now, it doesn't look that exciting at all. For all we know he could be on a washing line over a balcony. Although the font is still as memorable and as dramatic as ever. Give me a second here.

 That's more like it! Looks precarious, foreboding and quite a drop.

Still, for all its tackiness and nostalgic value, the washing line version is the one I hold dearest. So much so that I felt inspired to create my own parody version and call it 'Coathanger' Like Stallone, the coat hanger in my cupboard is stiff, bereft of personality and still fucking hanging around; so I thought it very apt.

These have been designed at A3 and I plan on doing a print run of 25. If anybody is interested then please email me for details. Every week or so I'll be designing a new parody poster, so keep checking back.

Mark