![]() Odd Obsession quickly became ground zero for Chicagoans with the best and most distinct taste in cinema. The store, which both rented and sold titles, carried everything from renowned but hard-to-find global art cinema to slimy C-movie gorefests. In 2004, Chankin maxed out a half dozen credit cards to open Odd Obsession, an analog refuge for Chicago’s most hardcore cinephiles. “I saw everything that guy did and I was like, ‘Well I could do this shit.’” I don't even know if he knew antiques, to be honest.” At the time, Chankin was buying up obscure movies and selling them on eBay and figured he already knew enough about running a store to do it on his own. “The antique store was really interesting, but the guy running it was so lame and bad - a racist, sexist, old asshole. “I thought it was cool because I got to talk about art all day, sell art, and talk with people who are interesting,” he recalls. Originally from New Mexico, he came to Chicago in 2002 and got a “really crappy job” at an antique store. ![]() ![]() Doubtfire is to show the title character jamming a broomstick into someone’s eye.Ĭhankin’s all-consuming pursuit of Ghanaian movie posters can be chalked up to his longtime, compulsive need to collect esoteric art. The posters would go up outside of theaters in major Ghanaian cities like Accra and Kumasi, but they were primarily used for mobile cinemas, trucks that traveled around the country with projectors and a library of titles, playing in villages without electricity. Ghanaian movie-poster painters took such liberties because they’d never seen the films beforehand - the artist would depict whatever the video operator would tell or show them - and to generate interest in the screenings. But more noteworthy is the artists’ gonzo lack of fidelity to the film itself: The deformed baby from Eraserhead appears on a poster for Twin Peaks The Outsiders features all the characters as anthropomorphic tigers. The paintings have a distinct aesthetic - rich and deep colors, bold lines and brushstrokes, and frequently, various scenes underneath a larger central figure or object. An avid collector of movie posters, he was immediately drawn to Ghanaian artists for their unusual approach to the format. Rather, the painting was commissioned halfway around the world by a bespectacled, sweet-natured, 41-year-old Chicagoan named Brian Chankin.Ĭhankin’s ethical allegiance to the artists has a lot to do with his appreciation for the artform. It was made in Ghana, by an artist named Magasco most likely, he hasn’t even seen The Royal Tenenbaums. The unusual poster wasn’t actually released by the studio - in fact, it wasn’t even produced on this continent. You might recall Owen Wilson driving a convertible in face paint, but not a wolf attacking him while he was behind the wheel. The images don’t quite reflect scenes you viewed. What do you remember from it? Gwyneth Paltrow walking in slow motion, set to the Nico song “These Days”? Ben Stiller and the two children playing his sons, all clad in red Adidas track suits? Do you remember the scene where one of the two boys was decapitated? No?! Well, just take a look at the movie poster.Įxcept this poster isn’t the one you remember from when The Royal Tenenbaums initially came out. Have you ever seen The Royal Tenenbaums? You know, the Wes Anderson movie, starring Gene Hackman.
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