“Lost in Translation” by Various Artists

In retrospect, 2003 was a really strong film year. We got box office hits like Kill Bill, The Return of the King or Pirates of the Caribbean. But also allegedly smaller international films that were even better. 21 Grams by Mexican visionary Alejandro González Iñárritu for example. Or also two of the best Korean films ever: Jee-won Kim’s brilliant A Tale of Two Sisters and the original Oldboy by Park Chan-wook (which interestingly have both been remade into weaker Hollywood versions by now). There was one film however that stood out from the crowd and that was Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation. It’s not only an absolutely…

“The Hateful Eight” by Ennio Morricone

II‘ve had no plans for this one at all. But with The Revenant under my belt I just couldn’t let go of the other snowbound epic from this years winter season. Also it’s a brand-new Ennio Morricone score and you don’t say no to such a thing, do you!? Without any intention of deliberate puns, I’d like to start off this entry with a little warm up round. My remake of the original artwork (#1) was an obvious matter for various reasons. But mainly for the illegible composer’s credits. The alternate take (#2) is not by me, but by my custom covers creating fella Terry McCutchen. Instead of…

“A Nightmare on Elm Street” by Charles Bernstein

  Sleep. Those little slices of death. How I loathe them. Edgar Allan Poe   In the fall of last year someone at the Final Fantasy Shrine forums requested a Nightmare on Elm Street 30th Anniversary cover artwork. And because I like those old 80’s horror films – and especially the creativity of this particular one – I took the opportunity to work a little bit within this genre. Movie posters were sometimes pretty weird back then and Matthew Joseph Peak‘s hand-drawn design is no exception (#1, #2). It’s really great to see the current retro wave slowly splashing over into the 80’s, bringing…

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” by John Williams

October 30th 2012, 9:15 pm I’m lying in my bed with a cold and a headache, staring at my iPhone in pure shock. I’m reading a text message from my pal which says “Disney buys Lucasfilm for $4 billion. New trilogy coming. Episode VII due for 2015.” I have the weirdest fever dreams that night and it takes me a few days to fully realize the impact of that news. What follows are months and months of speculations, discussions, phantasies and dreams. What an amazing time to be a Star Wars fan… October 20th 2015, 8:15 pm I fire up…

“Wolf Totem” by James Horner

This requested custom covers series was an interesting one. Working on a soundtrack album that was released and marketed (from the same label mind you) under three different names was something new for me. How do I name it and what title do I put on which artwork? I liked the visual fluency of the Chinese logo. It went well in conjunction with the English title. The French one Le Dernier Loup however didn’t work for me so I left it out deliberately. While the official album for US markets (#1) comes across a little grim, the French one (#2) is indeed beautiful and evokes a true spirit of adventure. Milan Records added a butt ugly…