geekosystem

If National Geographic wanted to get us interested in their Mythbusters-sounding new series How Hard Can It Be?, mission accomplished: As a promotional stunt, they managed to take a 16x16x18' house aloft using 300 8' helium balloons. The house reached an altitude of over 10,000 feet and flew for about an hour. More pics and video below:

It's the year 1965, and Disney has just finished it's latest live-action block buster film Up!. It's a star-studded cast, with Spencer Tracey, Kirk Douglas, and that lecherous talking dog from A Boy And His Dog. Throw in a flying house and  giant bird, and it's the hit that never was. (Ivan Guerrero via BuzzFeed)

If you're not familiar with it, The Disney Channel's BLAM! is a horrible show wherein Disney ruins classic cartoons by inserting an "xtreme" commenter who says that things are "bo-ooring," throwing the word BLAM! onscreen whenever a character is subjected to slapstick violence, and randomly rewinding cartoons so you can see the same slapstick violence in slow motion. (The so-called "BLAM!-cam.") MaltBlisneyPresents has taken the BLAM! trend to its logical conclusion by BLAM!ming up the more poignant moments in Pixar's Up. Apparently, many YouTube viewers weren't even aware this was a parody.

Letters of Note got ahold of this great letter that Pete Docter, the Oscar-nominated director of Up and Monsters Inc., sent to a young fan named Adam, who got more than he bargained for when he merely asked for an autographed photo. Not only did Adam receive some nifty original artwork of Monsters' Mike and Sulley, but he got a peek at Pixar's craftsmanlike approach to its productions straight from one of its top talents:

You are sure right about the importance of a good story in movies. Unfortunately, it's not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of work (and rework, and rework and rework) to get it right. And even then quite often we're not 100% pleased. As John Lasseter likes to say, our films don't get finished, they just get released.

Chances are you've seen Up. How could you not, right? Seeing as Disney/Pixar has a way with winning hearts and Academy Awards. So, if my guess is right, then I'm sure you're quite familiar with the story of Carl and Ellie. A pair who fell completely in love as they grew up together. Who married and grew old together. And in a testament to the power of the moving image (and the composing ability of one Michael Giacchino), we watch them walk through life together. As simply as the clouds rolling by, but with the color and brightness of every one of Carl's balloons brought to life.

So, when the newly engaged James and Lynnette decided to do an engagement photo shoot, they wanted the same thing. Nerdy, yes, but no less touching.

2009 was a good year for geek movies.  Of course, there were a few notable exceptions, but we are a culture that can occasionally embrace such duds as secret cinema gold, and usually forget the rest.  Usually. Yesterday's announcement of the 82nd Academy Awards nominees shows that Hollywood has also noticed that Science Fiction, animation, and, um, Quentin Tarantino stepped up to the plate and slammed out quite a few home runs this year. This year's awards ceremony includes the 2nd animated nominee for best picture in history, the first Wallace and Gromit movie since 2005, and... Well, we'll be honest with you.  Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was nominated for an award.  But its just Sound Mixing!  Nobody even knows the difference between that and Sound Editing.  The rest is much more exciting, we promise.  Follow the jump for the things we are most excited about in this year's Academy Awards.