Exclusive Interview with Drew Struzan, Legendary Movie Poster Artist The word “legend” gets thrown around a lot nowadays. A person that truly deserves to be called that is Drew Struzan, an artists that didn’t need to be on a film set to leave his mark in the annals of cinema. He has created the most spectacular and aw-inspiring movie posters in history. Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, and The Muppets sagas are an example of over 200 projects that were elevated by the master. Sadly, in the past two decades Hollywood decided for some reason that his work “looked too much like art” (to quote one executive from Universal after declining to use his “Hellboy” pieces). Except for requests by friends and admirers like George Lucas, Frank Darabont, Guillermo Del Toro, and the company Mondo, Struzan’s artwork today has abandoned the commercial arena to focus on more personal pursuits. Do yourself a favor and watch the documentary “Drew: The Man Behind the Poster” on Netflix or another digital platform a.s.a.p. I love living in Los Angeles, specially when I get the chance to attend an event like the reception night for the exhibition “Drew & Bob – The Masters of Movie Art” last week inside Forrest Lawn, in Glendale (open to the public for free until May 26, 2014). Besides being exposed to sublime original art from Struzan and the late Bob Peak (Star Trek, Apocalypses Now, Excalibur, Superman: The Movie) I got an exclusive interview with the genius himself. Drew: The Man Behind the Poster highlights the career of poster artist Drew Struzan, whose most popular works include the Indiana Jones, Back to the Future and Star Wars movie posters. Telling the tale through exclusive interviews with George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Frank Darabont, Guillermo del Toro, Steven Spielberg and many other filmmakers, artists and critics, the journey spans Drew’s early career in commercial and album cover art through his recent retirement as one of the most recognizable and influential movie poster artists of all time.
