As the son of an illustrator, I grew up appreciating movie poster artists more than probably do most movie geeks. And John Alvin, who passed away last Wednesday, was one of the artists I idolized. Alvin is considered one of the most important poster artists of the past 35 years, and it's no wonder. From E.T. to Gremlins to Blade Runner to The Goonies* to numerous Disney films, his art is as recognizable and iconic as poster design gets. The Smithsonian even named one of his works, for Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise, one of the best posters of the 20th century.

His name may not be as familiar as that of Drew Struzan, another well-known movie poster designer whose work is quite similar. And it isn't that strange to (as I did often in my youth) confuse the work of the two illustrators, both of whom attended the same school as my father, Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, and both of whom worked for many of the same clients and for many of the same films. But there's no doubting that Alvin, who got his start with the poster for Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles and worked on many of Brooks' film campaigns from then on, was a distinctly innovative artist.

In addition to designing original posters for more than 135 films, Alvin produced art for many special edition and anniversary releases, as well as collector's art for popular movies such as Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean. There's probably a good chance that, if you're a real movie geek, you have something of his hanging up in your room or home. I think the closest thing for me is a Blade Runner t-shirt on which his poster art appears. And, of course, I can see a bunch of his talent clearly when looking over at my DVD collection*.

For a good list of his work, check out the filmography on his Wikipedia page, and for a fairly comprehensive look at images of his posters, check out this fan site.

*I just realized that the poster for The Goonies that I'm most familiar with, and which is on my DVD, is the one by Drew Struzan. Oops.

I don't believe anyone has ever accused the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) of consistency. Their film ratings receive the most attention and cause the most consternation, most recently for the NC-17 rating given to Ang Lee's Lust, Caution and before that for their decision to consider cigarette smoking when assigning a rating. But the MPAA also approves all advertising for rated films to ensure that the material is "appropriate for viewing by the general public." That includes "all print ads, radio and TV spots, press kits, outdoor advertising such as billboards, Internet sites, video or DVD packaging, and trailers for both theatrical and home video releases."

Within the past year alone, controversy has arisen about the advertising for The Hills Have Eyes 2, Hostel II and Captivity (and probably others that I'm forgetting). With that in mind, Ray Pride at Movie City Indie notes a curious common theme among three MPAA-approved posters he's recently seen in Chicago. Pride comments on the 'huffing and puffing' that's "expended on how the MPAA makes sure that every piece of publicity and advertising for ratings-approved movies pass muster ... Strange, though, to see how many current wild-posted one-sheets are allowed to demonstrate a pronounced testicular fixation." Check out his post to see which posters he's talking about.

Now we circle back to the idea of consistency, or the lack thereof. Where the films themselves are involved, the MPAA seems to most often have problems with sexual matters. But when it comes to the posters, the MPAA appears most leery of violent images. I realize that the MPAA's Ratings Board and Advertising Administration are two separate groups within the organization, but c'mon, guys, which is it? Are the movies too violent or are they too sexy? Somehow I think the MPAA would answer that the problem isn't the movies, it's those darn pirates!

Tooling around the internet this morning, a number of movie posters from the Cannes Film Festival have somehow found a way invade my computer screen; one of which just happened to be the production poster for Charlie Kaufman's (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. Philip Seymour Hoffman stars as a theater director who, while attempting to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse for a new play, struggles to maintain the several different relationships he has with those of the opposite sex. ( I imagine the poster should make a lot more sense to people now.) Of course, since it's also written by Kaufman, look for lots of weird things to happen along the way. Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Hope Davis and Tilda Swinton also star.

Apart from Synecdoche, New York, we also have posters from flicks like Paranoid Park (the new Gus Van Sant flick), Leo DiCaprio's The 11th Hour (in which he attempts to be as cool as Al Gore), Tenderness (featuring Russell Crowe sporting a wicked mustache) and a new Jessica Simpson film called Major Movie Star (which in and of itself is a major contradiction). She wears an army-style bikini, and I imagine the film will have her joining the military as a dumb blonde -- gee, keep them original ideas coming boys. I don't get it, is it Simpson's goal to only star in films that are either inspired by or based on old 80s flicks and 70s TV shows?

And you thought the MPAA was strict on our movie posters -- check out some of the artwork for these films from Ghana. Yes, Ghana. A small homegrown film industry has slowly grown over in the African country, as audiences feast on a selection of home movie titles such as Demonic Cat, Ekulu and Child of Destiny. With the films come these posters -- painted by local artists on sack cloth and displayed on walls throughout the Ghanian ghettos.

But it's not just Ghanian film titles that get these vibrant, colorful posters -- they will also create their own take on some American films as well. An artist named Pascal Saumade discovered the posters and has since put them on display throughout Europe; currently, folks can check them out at the Dazed and Confused Gallery in London through December 12. There, they'll be able to catch a very cool poster for the horror film Child's Play, as well as one for that John Travolta/Christian Slater pic Broken Arrow. While the art is wonderful to look at, somehow I cannot imagine that poster for Demonic Cat slapped on the side of a New York City bus driving up fifth avenue. Yeah, it might freak out a few people.

[Thanks to AC for the tip]

Movie marketing is out of control these days with folks constantly searching for ways to up the ante and get their advertisements in front of as many eyes as possible. Not for nothing, but I'm just waiting for the day where someone gets seriously injured or even killed promoting a film. While it would definitely be a traumatic event for all involved, I'm sure some evil studio exec would love the publicity.

When it comes to Saw III, Lionsgate is looking to go above and beyond with their latest poster campaign. Instead of simply placing actor Tobin Bell (who plays the serial killer Jigsaw) in a red cloak, they've decided to go ahead and use Bell's own blood to enhance the color. I'm not joking, a vial of blood was drawn from Bell, then mixed with red ink and printed on a poster. (I take it Bell wasn't down for having one of his body parts ripped off instead -- they've saving that for the Saw IV marketing campaign.)

On the bight side, as they've done with previous Saw installments, Lionsgate will hold a blood drive in conjunction with the film's release on October 27. And, if you're interested in one of the posters, 1,000 from the first print will be sold for $20, save for the original which will be auctioned off with all proceeds going to the Red Cross. Seeing as the Saw franchise is known for causing controversy with their bizarre advertisements, the word is still out on who will have a beef with this latest edition. I take it vampires will be first in line with a complaint.

While I don't have any shiny new movie pics for you today, I do have a few new posters for those of you looking to cover up the beer stains in your dorm room. Check it out:

• Even though the film doesn't have a cast yet, Fox Atomic is wasting no time in promoting its Revenge of the Nerds remake. That's right folks, we officially have a teaser poster. Directed by Kyle Newman (Fanboys), Nerds reunites us with the Lamda Lamda Lamda fraternity as they struggle for acceptance and seek revenge upon those jocks who deserve it the most.
• Hey, guess what -- Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning to make another crappy thriller. Hooray! A new poster for The Return (aka Scott's most anticipated fall flick) has hit the net and, well, why am I not excited. Pic follows a traveling business woman (Gellar) who is drawn to an old farmhouse after having dreamt that a murder took place there 15 years earlier.
• Those of you itching for another fun-filled trip with the Hewitt clan will be happy to know that a brand new poster has been released for Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Going the prequel route, pic is said to detail the "beginnings of the Hewitt clan and expose their psychotic idea of family fun." Why do I feel a trip to Disney World is not on their agenda?