PARIS, 1978 - 140mph

On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB and had a friend, a professional Formula 1 racer, drive at breakneck speeds throughout the heart of Paris. No streets were closed, as Lelouch could not obtain a permit. Reaching speeds of nearly 140 MPH in some stretches, the driver completed the course in about 9 minutes - a good thing as the camera was only equipped with 10 minutes of film. The footage reveals him running real red lights, nearly hitting real pedestrians, and driving the wrong way up real one-way streets.

Upon showing the film in public for the first time, Lelouch was arrested. To this day he has has never revealed the identity of the driver and an air of mystery continues to surround the film. Was this really possible? Was the car a Ferrari 275 GTB as we are led to believe, or was it Lelouche's Mercedes. Was the sound on the film from the actual car or a different car? Numerous questions have led people to try to debunk the film. An interesting and informative article can be found here. Regardless of what you believe, it is still a pretty incredible little film. Remember... it was filmed in 1978.

Recently the film was restored and remastered producing a stunning DVD worth checking out. It is also online here.

LUC BESSON presents ANGEL-A

After a lengthy 6 year hiatus from directing, Luc Besson, who brought us the amazing films, The Big Blue, Leon aka The Professional, and The Fifth Element brings his latest movie to the big screen, Angel-A.

Starring Gilbert Melki (Crustaces et coquillages) and Sara Forestier (L'esquive) the production has been protected by a total media black-out, however, we are told that it is described as a romantic comedy by its principal actor. From the recently released trailer, we can also tell you that the film, like Besson's first feature, The Final Combat, is beautifully shot in stunning black and white.

LADIES & GENTLEMEN, BURT BACHARACH

Ladies and Gentlemen, Burt Bacharach is a tag line that is as famous as the man himself. It was made popular again by Mike Myers in his Austin Powers movies, but I recently heard it while walking out of a restauant in Los Angeles. Seems that there was a taping of a Christmas show featuring none other than Burt. Hard to imagine he needs a teleprompter to remember the words to his most famous song!

GORILLAZ PERFORMS LIVE

Gorillaz, the world's most successful virtual band recently won Best Group at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon - November 3rd, 2005. Then they took the stage and performed "Feel Good Inc." in a ground breaking live performance. It's hard to imagine a 2 dimensional, animated band performing live, but the result is what appears to be a 3 dimensional, almost holographic representation of the band.

Cara Speller, producer of the Gorillaz live extravaganza at the London animation house Passion Pictures, said: "It's quite old technology. It's essentially Pepper's Ghost, which was a Victorian invention of reflection and projection on to mirrors." Of course, there is a little more to it. Ms Speller added: "Our Gorillaz aren't holograms because holographic technology isn't quite up to what we need. It is digital animation projected on special transparent foil in a way that appears holographic." Read more here.

Some other Gorillaz music videos are:

Feel Good Inc. - Live MTV Performance
Feel Good Inc. - Normal Music Video
Dirty Harry
Clint Eastwood
Dare
BBC Radio 1 interview with Gorillaz narrated by Patrick Stewart

FLUFFY CUMSALOT, PORNSTAR DOCUMENTARY - ON DVD

It used to be that after you make a film and have it screened in the theatres it would sit on a shelf and gather dust. Now DVD's have enabled high quality distribution of films with the added bonus of the ability to include addition of material.

After we at United Nathan Productions made the documentary, Fluffy Cumsalot, Porn Star, it screened at a number of films festivals, had a successful Canadian pay-per-view and then a Canadian national broadcast on CHUM Television's SEX TV: THE CHANNEL. Now you are able to purchase your own DVD copy of the documentary that Playboy Magazine
has called, "Hilarious!", Ron Jeremy raved, "Funny as Hell!" and the Sex on Screen Festival wrote, "Hysterically funny, but also surprisingly revealing, director Nathan Garfinkel shows that there is a great deal more to a name than you might think."

The Fluffy Cumsalot, Porn Star DVD is packed with over 90 minutes of additional material and can be purchased here.

IF YOU'VE GOT THE BALLS...

Sony has got balls. 250,000 'superballs' shot from cannons flying down a San Francisco street can be quite dangerous, but director Nicolai Fuglsig thought this was a brilliant way to express that the Sony Bravia LCD TV is 'like no other'. The crew had to be equipped with safety helmets and protective shields to film this beautiful flood of colour. Check out the gallery and the behind the scenes for a look at how this was accomplished. Make sure to watch both the 60 second commercial and the 3 minute extended version.

Reposted via Industrial Brand Creative.

AMERICA'S NEXT MUPPET

Most of us at United Nathan Productions have fond memories of The Muppets which is why you will find the occasional posting about them here. Whether it was the original television show or one of their movies, we feel that The Muppets have earned our respect as entertainers, innovators and extremely talented puppets.

With that said, it seems that if you can't make a reality show, you might as well spoof one. ABC is developing America's Next Muppet, a new Muppet tv show that finds Kermit and the gang in search of a new muppet cast member. The current plan is to parody America's Next Top Model and American Idol.

Don't get me wrong, everyone at United Nathan Productions eagerly anticipates any project with a muppet in it... like this German BMW commercial for the new 1er featuring none other than Kermit! You can find a translation to Kermit's dialogue here.

MUPPETS OVER TIME

Muppets Over Time is a stunning hommage to muppets creator, Jim Henson. Directed by Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland and Damien Ferrie as a student film, it is haunting yet beautiful. A truly unique and inspiring film that more of us should aspire to. Watch it a number of times to appreciate the subtle nuances and attention to detail. The short features equally moving music from the Silberman Orchestra as well as compositions by Ornadel and the Starlight Symphony.

Originally Muppets Over Time was brought to our attention via the Joey Tomatoes web site, which disappeared briefly, but is now back up in an abreviated form. Joey Tomotoes offers exposure to unique commercials and is worth checking out.

WHILE MY UKULELE GENTLY WEEPS

At first this seems to be just a guy playing the George Harrison song, While my Guitar Gently Weeps, but give it a few minutes and you will be in awe of the raw talent he posesses. Jake Shimabukuro is not just some guy in the park. He has mastered the ukulele and his rendition of the George Harrison song, aptly renamed, While My Ukulele Gently Weeps is more than impressive.




It's hard to imagine that for such a small instrument, the ukulele can be so powerful. Imagine it in the hands of a 700 pound Hawaiian man. It may be hard to believe, but the result is one of the most moving renditions of Somewhere Over The Rainbow you have ever heard. The late Israel Kamakawiwo'ole was truly a talented man.

THE FIRST POST

It is now official... the United Nathan Productions BLOG is now open. This text marks the inaugural blog; the proverbial breaking of the bottle on the hull of a new ship. It is what we at United Nathan Productions hope will serve as an interesting resource to post updates on current, past and future projects. Not just a supplement to the United Nathan Productions website, but also a forum to discuss other things that pique our interest.

Bookmark us as United Nathan Productions is going to go where no other blog has gone before... we are going to allow our pet monkey the priviledge to post to our blog whenever he desires.