Hot Damme! Dammaged Goods on Facebook

It only took a year but Dammaged Goods has made the leap to another wave of the Internet Ocean, Facebook!  Thanks to non-solicited shares from the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme himself, Lance Henriksen, Drew Struzan and Jennifer-Blanc Biehn among others, this little pastime has exceeded my non-expectations like an Elbow Rocket to the face.  This will usher in a new phase for the site as I'm working hard to expand my horizons with live events, attending more conventions and beyond.  Check out the FB page https://www.facebook.com/dammagedgoods and give it a Like.

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more Damme good stuff.

Now that's enough talk, time for battle:

Snow Screen: Drew: The Man Behind the Poster

Several years and a couple of San Diego Comic-Con's in the making, Drew:  The Man Behind the Poster, received a limited theatrical release before hitting DVD and Netflix this fall.  The story of Drew Struzan, one of if not the most known and beloved movie artists of all time (seriously, can you name another poster artist?); Drew is a study of the man's work peppered with bits about his life and now legacy featuring a plethora of famous interviewees and fans including George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Thomas Jane, Frank Darabont, Leonard Maltin, Michael J. Fox and Guillermo Del Toro.  The last two being particularly funny in their comments and recollections of describing their relationship with the artist.


The documentary opens with a brief and melancholy look at Struzan's loveless childhood that led him to moving out after high school.  A Los Angeles native, Struzan attended Art Center in Pasadena where he honed his craft for six years.  Newly married with a child, Struzan went to work designing album covers which culminated in his much revered piece for Alice Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare in 1975.  An advertising agency came calling and convinced Struzan to switch to movie poster art which paid much more handsomely.  The die cast, history was now in the making.

  
Drew's narrative focuses on a few major eras of his work, the first being Star Wars, which came in as a partnership offer from a friend who was good at robots but not humans.  George Lucas loved the combined work and as time has shown us, commissioned Struzan for dozens more pieces for the original 1977 trilogy, 1997 Special Edition releases and 1999's second trilogy.  His collaborations with Steven Spielberg, primarily Indiana Jones, is the next era highlighted with many an observation by the man himself, Harrison Ford.  Struzan's work with Jim Henson on The Muppet movies comes after which was a surprise as you forget how many wonderful posters he's created over the years.

As a documentary, Drew delivers a wonderful 90 minute look at the artist whose work defined a generation at the movies.  His textured, vibrant and better than photo-real style conveyed story, action, excitement and wonder in a single image in less than a second's glance.  The 80's were arguably his go-go years with iconic posters for Back to the Future, First Blood, Coming to America, Blade Runner, The Goonies, Police Academy, Big Trouble In Little China and Masters of the Universe among dozens more forever embedded themselves into the mind of young viewers like myself.  The last title is subject to some slight ire as an example of the poster being better than the movie.  It's an absolutely stunning poster but I disagree it's a bad movie because I whole-heartedly love Masters for all it's "Conan the Barbarian meets Star Wars done on the cheap" sensibility.

As a narrative feature, Drew might not be as interesting to unaware or casual fans as conflict isn't a heavily featured topic and there are no high stakes to speak of.  Struzan's hardships as a child and his later professional strife with shady business partners are covered by not dwelled upon showing that the soft spoken, kind hearted artist has not become bitter.  In the end, Drew is a lovingly insightful look into the career and influence of an artist who unknowingly put a stamp on cinematic history without even trying.

For more information on the documentary and how to see it, check out the official site.

Comic-Con'do w/ Drew Struzan: The Man Behind The Poster

It all started in the Men's Room where I was pretty sure poster artist/painter legend Drew Struzan was washing his hands next to me.  I wanted to ask him about his awesome poster for 1987's Masters of the Universe but didn't want to bother the guy who produces vibrant and inspirational work but is a soft spoken, no ego type.

Tonight's panel was the culmination of four years of hard work from a dedicated group of admirers and fans.  They had traveled the world and interviewed the likes of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Guillermo Del Toro, Harrison Ford, Thomas Jane, Michael J. Fox, Frank Darabont and Steve Guttenburg.  All of whom consider Struzan the gold standard of movie poster artist for the last three decades.  Now this labor of love is finally complete and the resulting 95 minute documentary is ready for the rest of us to enjoy.

Struzan was humble, introspective and humorous to all of the accolades.  The artist referred to a hard life and upbringing; the first person to show him love was the woman he married.  He feels blessed to been able to pursue his passion and have met so many people he now considers friends.  The panel included two special guests, How To Train Your Dragon writer/director Dean DeBlois and actor Sam Witwer from The Mist and  TV's Being Human.  DeBlois recalled his quest to have the semi-retired Struzan work on the sequel to Dragon.  While Witwer commissioned some work for his show, to which Struzan obliged but only do if he could paint Witwer and his girlfriend for fun.

Witwer's story led into another tale of when Struzan taught Thomas Jane (The Punisher, Deep Blue Sea!!!!!!!) the basics of looking like he could paint for The Mist.  Struzan says Jane had the actions down pat but in the actual movie, took the advice of a loud mouth on set and forgot all he had been taught.  When Jane asked Struzan what he thought, Struzan just shook his head in dissatisfaction.

Towards the end of the panel, there was a knock at the locked exit door.  Seconds later, we realized Jane was crashing the panel to pay his respects to a friend and inspiration.  Right away, Jane told the story from The Mist we had just heard.  Struzan teased Jane about his long hair ("I'm supposed to do a western.")  and you could see they were actual friends.  Jane then suggested we all march up the street to the local theater playing the documentary to coincide with Comic-Con.

Another friend of the man behind so many great posters (seriously, Back to the Future, The Goonies, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Big Trouble In Little China) is George Lucas, who was the first interview for the documentary.  Their working relationship basically consists of Lucas asking if Struzan wants to do the picture then Struzan FedEx-ing the results.  The two finally met at a premiere party for Spielberg's Hook where someone who didn't know Struzan casually told him how excited Lucas was to meet him.


It was a great panel showcasing one of the unsung heroes of cinema.  You might not know his name but you definitely know his work.  The documentary is out now through Kino Lorber.