Ragnarok Pictures

Films section online...your childhood still held hostage by a blunt-skull

VikingBrent@gmail.com — 2007-11-22T17:50:40-05:00

After many long months the film section is up! Currently featuring my student work, there are two movies there now. The Amazing Spider-Fan was my very first short film. Made with my good friends Ben and Tony, the film also features what I would estimate to be the most realistic CGI spider ever put on screen. I mean you've just got to see this thing to believe it. Shot it in an afternoon at Tony's place, it was fun to make, and still fun to watch.

Conversations Behind the Red Velvet Curtain was the last film I made in college; a real turning point kind of moment in my life. It was the movie that really defined the kind of film maker I continue to work towards becoming. This movie also established a link between my work and my friend and writing partner Grant's (check out his work at staproductions.net). What began as a series of shout-outs to each other's films has evolved into a sprawling mythology that we're in the midst of writing even now. The film is online (featuring two commentary tracks by the cast & crew) along with an accompanying photo gallery.

And in other news...
As you may or may not be aware, here at Ragnarok Pictures we (which is to say I) are committed to nothing short of the unconditional surrender of Michael Bayz. So as Christmas approaches, take a moment to think about what you can do to help the cause. For example, just over the weekend I found four copies of Michael Bayz' Transformers (which in the original latin translates to: Your Childhood Held Hostage) at a local second-hand store. Of course I bought them all (thus taking them out of circulation without putting a dime in Bayz' pockets or Paramount/Dreamworks for that matter) and I'm here to tell you, if you turn them gold side-up, they make the best coasters imaginable. After a Friday night cradling many bottles of delicious Leinenkugel's Red, they are scratched beyond all recognition, thus ensuring they will never again see the interior of a DVD player. Its not much, but I like to think of it as the proverbial butterfly flapping its wings in Peking.

...But mostly he taketh.

VikingBrent@gmail.com — 2007-08-23T03:45:30-04:00

Everyone who's sick of the format war and talentless celebrities making empty promises, take one step forward...not so fast Michael Bay.

After voicing his indignation concerning the aforementioned Paramount/Dreamworks decision to exclusively support HD DVD, Bayz had a change of heart. On his official blog, he states:

Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three Blu-Ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-Ray and I drank the kool aid hook line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted - nothing good ever comes out of early am posts mind you - I over reacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number. I like what I heard.

As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision.

So today I saw 300 on HD-DVD, it rocks!

So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!

Michael Bay

Gee Mike, thanks. A few points: First, you directing Transformers 2 is kind of like Napoleon invading Russia in winter...twice. The first time you try its an honest mistake, the second is just you being a blunt-skull. Second, 300 on Blu-ray outsold the HD DVD version 2:1. In fact Blu-ray titles have been outselling HD DVD by the same margin (65% to 35%) since January. Third, where "Paramount is coming from" is the vacation they just booked themselves in the Turks and Caicos islands courtesy of Microsoft's generous donation.

So, in summary: No Indiana Jones or Wrath of Khan on Blu-ray and, also, in addition to: Michael Bayz isn't finished destroying one of the greatest IP's of all time.

Lets employ a little paradigma: I once saw these kids mixing it up in the school cafeteria. This big guy sat down with this little dude and took away his ice cream. He said he'd give it back if Slim took a shot in the family jewels. Afraid of the total-body-beat-down that would come otherwise, the kid agreed. Big guy took a punter's lead and lifted the kid off the ground when he connected. Then he ate the ice cream while the kid lay fetal and cried. That kid felt a little worse than I do...but only a little.

He giveth...and he taketh: No Transformers 2 for Michael Bay

VikingBrent@gmail.com — 2007-08-21T15:31:09-04:00

Irony is a difficult thing to describe. Try it if you don't believe me. See? The next time you find yourself called upon to explain literary abstraction, consider employing a little paradigma; tell them the story of Michael Bayz, Paramount, and the great Format War. Hot on the heels of the Paramount/Dreamworks announcement that they would stop supporting Blu-ray and begin releasing titles exclusively on HD DVD (and amid rumor of a $100 million payoff from Microsoft), clan Bayz entered the fray. Stating on his official forums:

"I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!"

God help me...I agree with him. This sort of decision wouldn't have surprised me 18 months ago. But now? It seemed like tensions in the format war were beginning to ease. What was once a bitter feud was settling into a simple difference of opinion. You like Blu-ray? That's cool amigo. I prefer HD DVD myself. Good thing our favorite titles are increasingly available day-and-date on both hi-def formats. But alas.

If the Microsoft rumors are true, it smells of one thing to me: fear. While HD DVD dominated the market last year, the introduction of the PS3 and lower priced Blu-ray players, shifted the balance in '07. It would also say a lot about Microsoft that they look at the turning tide of the format disagreement and decide the best course of action is to invest $100 million in tipping the board. They could've spent a fraction of that money on...I don't know, how about a Blu-ray add on for the 360? They add to their bottom line, give their fan base (and potential customers) one more reason why their system is better than the other guys, and manage to not prolong the most pointless economic struggle of our time. But no. Old habits die hard in Redmond.

So huzzah! Michael Bayz isn't going to direct Transformers 2. But at what cost? All the Blu-ray homies missing out on the Indiana Jones trilogy? I couldn't wish that on anyone. Could you?

Under Constructi(c)on

VikingBrent@gmail.com — 2007-08-17T02:39:12-04:00

The site redesign has begun. The new site (which your looking at now) will slowly come on line in the next few weeks a section at a time. The Portfolio will be first, followed by the individual movie pages and associated pictures, etc. Hopefully, the whole site should be live by mid-September. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Thanks for looking.

In other news: As part of my continuing effort to help the world come to its effin' senses regarding the enormous defecatés known collectively as Micahel Bayz Transformers, I've decided to try to find a way to work in some G1 action wherever possible. This post is brought to you by the cover of Dreamwave's Transformers G1 Vol 1 #5. Why? Because somebody armed only with pencil, paper, and more talent in a forefinger than clan Bayz will muster in 10 consecutive reincarnations, figured out how to get Transformers right in a contemporary setting AND in a realistic fashion. Oh, and they didn't have to turn Frenzy into Jar-Jar-the-robot either.