2011

Happy New Year from Sam's Myth... A few new things to share:

I just wrapped up this theatrical poster for IFCFilms for THE HOUSEMAID, a new remake of the classic Korean thriller. I saw this as a double feature with the original at Fantastic Fest this past year in Austin, so it was pretty neat to be asked to work on this poster. It's a great remake in that it doesn't tread to heavily on the original, but finds new elements in the story to explore, particularly the sexy. THE HOUSEMAID comes to theaters and On-Demand at the end of January. I've also just finished another theatrical poster that I'm excited to share soon.

Thanks to everyone for the outpouring of comments, links, and enthusiasm for my Top 10 of 2010 poster project. I'm glad a lot of you enjoyed this experiment of mine and liked some of the designs. I've had some people ask if prints will be available of any of these, and while there are no concrete plans right now to make digital prints or screenprints, I see some great potential in a screenprint of the BLACK SWAN design or an offset run of the Mark-Romanek-endorsed NEVER LET ME GO poster for fellow fans of that movie. If I get it together, I'll be sure to let everyone know. Thanks again for following me on this humbling little project.

Paying one last tribute to the year in film, I made my annual compilation of my favorite film scores from 2010. If you know me you know I'm a film score junkie, and I always look forward to assembling this playlist each year. You can stream this year's mix, featuring compositions by Rachel Portman, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Nigel Godrich, Sylvain Chomet, Alexandre Desplat & others here on 8Tracks.

The above illustration pays tribute to Gustav Holst's orchestral suite THE PLANETS, which will be performed next month by the Nashville Symphony. Each month, the symphony's program book cover features a different artist's interpretation of the month's selections and I was thrilled to be asked and assigned The Planets. This piece will appear on the February program cover.

I realized I hadn't updated my portfolio site in a while, so samsmyth.net is current once again. Thanks to everyone who's been coming by the blog and sharing links with friends and readers. Things may slow down a bit in the next month as I head back out on tour with Ben Folds, but I'll still have some new exciting things to share that I've been working on (particularly if you're a fan of the Criterion Collection), so please come back soon. Thanks again!

SATURDAY EVENING POSTER

NORWEGIAN NINJA. Designer unknown. Played at Fantastic Fest but didn't get to catch it. I can only hope its as awesome as this poster.

NEVER LET ME GO

Opening around the country right now is Mark Romanek's NEVER LET ME GO, one of the most profoundly beautiful movies I've seen recently. Because intelligent films for adults don't make money, Romanek himself sadly felt compelled to ask me to tell people about the film when I saw him present it to a lucky audience at Fantastic Fest, and that's what I'll be doing for the next couple of months. Starring Carey Mulligan, Kiera Knightley and Andrew Garfield, three of the most brilliant actors of their generation, and based on the beloved novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. It is a film about being alive, about the time we're given as human beings. Too often films like this slip through the cracks, in regards to how much money they make and how much attention they get from critics and awards groups; say what you will about the Academy, but any deserved nominations this film might get would only increase the amount of people that would be able to see it. If you have the opportunity, please do see it, and thereby make your own small pledge in support of well-made films for adults-- or even teenagers, who I'd imagine would respond very strongly to this film-- finding some success.