Hugo - What is Old is New Again

(upper) Asa Butterfield as Hugo Cabret in Martin Scorsese's Hugo and (lower) Harold Lloyd as The Boy in Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor's Safety Last!

From Turner Classic Movies:
In the 1923 silent film Safety Last! - "The clock face stunt was inspired by Bill Strothers' performance of a similar human fly act, discovered by Lloyd while walking in Los Angeles one day. Strothers' grand finale to the stunt involved him riding a bicycle along the rooftops edge and then standing on his head on a flagpole. Lloyd was deeply impressed by the event, remarking, "It made such a terrific impression on me, and stirred my emotions."

Lloyd immediately placed Strothers under contract at the Hal Roach studio, and cast him in Safety Last! as "Limpy Bill," the Boy's lovable roommate and construction worker who also has human fly capabilities.

Many of the interior scenes for Safety Last! were shot at the L.A. department store Ville de Paris, which was owned by a close friend of producer Hal Roach. Each evening when the store closed the crew would set up their equipment and then work during the midnight hours."

Bill Gold Posterworks

I have always been amazed that the person who designed the iconic poster for Casablanca also did the poster for Woodstock and Dirty Harry. Bill Gold is not only remarkable for the range of his design style and setting design standards, but for his longevity. His career started with the poster for Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942). He went on to do Giant (1956), My Fair Lady (1964), The Sting (1973), Bulitt (1968), Unforgiven (1992), The Big Sleep (1946), The Searchers (1956), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Dog Day Afternoon (1975) , All the President's Men (1976) (all of these titles are on the National Film Registry) and many, many more. A complete list can be seen at the following Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gold

A new book entitled, Bill Gold Posterworks, was recently published by Reel Art Press. It is an impressive piece of publishing (as the price suggests: $650.00). Bill is 90 years old and still going strong. According to The Hollywood Reporter Bill is retired, but would consider consulting on a poster design if the right project comes along. His influence on popular culture cannot be overstated.

Reel Art Press, a British outfit, has other equally amazing titles such as The Rat Pack and the affordable movie star series - Weddings and Movie Stars ($79.95).

Bill Gold: Posterworks at Reel Art Press

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