Epilogue – Painted Movie Poster Art Series – Feature #7: “They Live” 30th Anniversary

Series Overview:
– Epilogue Art Series is a mixed-media series by artist Damon Kardon honouring classic horror/sci-fi films and the creative promotional art that was presented to the public at the time of their premiere dates. All films represented in this art series celebrate a milestone anniversary of the films’ release and the impact they have made on pop culture history.

Kardon has chosen specific films that influenced him over the years through their distinct tone, cinematography and direction. He is expressing his emotions felt from viewing each film through his art process, painting key images and colors that also represent the story of each film. Each poster design starts as a painting and then is manipulated in Photoshop.

As a kid who loved going to the movies (and also enjoyed the classic painted poster designs of Drew Struzan ), Damon has dreamed of bringing his art style into the world of interpretive movie posters. The term “Epilogue”, in film, represents the final scenes in which a recap or narrative of what happens to the characters is given. It can be represented in a montage, which is how Damon interprets these works he is creating.

Sneak Preview :
– Be sure to enhance your viewing/reading experience by watching the original movie trailer for They Live, released on November 4th, 1988 via Universal Pictures.

About the Painting:
– I told you there would be more John Carpenter Classics in this series. “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick some ass…..and I am all out of bubble gum.” This might be one of my favorite lines ever from a movie. Rest in Peace Roddy Piper. Forget even the ideology that makes this movie so classic; I loved the visuals! Every time Nada would put his sunglasses on and see the ugly aliens and hidden messages in black and white, I got chills.

I think this is one forgotten masterpiece that needs to be celebrated. I tried to capture that same feeling in this poster of fighting the system to keep humans suppressed. I also knew early on I wanted to combine both black and white in the background with Nada and Frank in the foreground in color. This is really one of my favorites and transports me back to my personal golden era of cinema, the ‘80s! -Damon Kardon

Feature #7: “They Live”:
– Check out Damon’s creative process by scrolling through the photos below.

“They Live” – Original Poster Art from 1988:

The Series & Future Artwork:

– Coming up in Feature #8… “Blade”
– Feature #6… “Return of the Jedi” 35th Anniversary
– Feature #5… “Vertigo” 60th Anniversary
– Feature #4… “The Dark Knight” 10th Anniversary
– Feature #3… “2001: A Space Odyssey” 50th Anniversary
– Feature #2… “Rosemary’s Baby” 50th Anniversary
– Feature #1… “Christine” 35th Anniversary