Category: Celebs

New “Day of the Dead” Series Based on Romero’s Classic Movie is Coming!

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Deadline broke the story that Syfy has given the green light given to a 10-episode series based on George A. Romero’s classic Day of the Dead that should air in 2021.  Here’s the synopsis…

Day of the Dead is the intense story of six strangers trying to survive the first 24 hours of an undead invasion.

I like the sound of this quite a bit.  The  most exciting parts of zombie movies are at the very start when people don’t know what is happening or how to deal with it.  The idea of strangers having to come together to survive is a winning concept.  I just hope that the zombies aren’t able to “learn” as in Romero’s Day of the Dead.

Steranko and the American Hero Gallery Showing!!

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If you’re able to get to Youngstown, Ohio between May 3 and July 5 this year, the Butler Institute of American Art will host a gallery showing of 60 select paintings by Steranko!

…STERANKO was cited by Stan Lee as one of the prime architects of the Marvel Universe; the co-creator of NICK FURY, AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D.; and the artist-writer of CAPTAIN AMERICA, THE HULK, SUPERMAN, and THE X-MEN (for which he designed the classic title logo). He generated more than 150 original storytelling devices and techniques that changed the direction of the comics’ medium, and evolved a devoted cult of followers who nicknamed him The Innovator.

Steranko has painted a multitude of movie posters, record albums, and book covers; and in 1975, created RED TIDE, the First Modern Graphic Novel. As the editor-publisher of the international newsstand entertainment magazine PREVUE, he conducted hundreds of superstar interviews and penned more than three million words. He numbers among his friends and associates writers Mickey Spillane, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury, and directors Federico Fellini, John Huston, and Orson Welles.

Michael Franzese, Ex-Crime Family Boss, Rates Movie Mobster Scenes

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Insider sat down with Michael Franzese, a former New York mobster and ex-caporegime of the Colombo crime family. After his release from prison in 1995 he became the only high ranking official of a major mafia family to ever walk away, without protective custodies, and survive. Michael is the author of “Blood Covenant” and “I’ll Make You An Offer You Can’t Refuse.” He now works as a public speaker and motivator.

The US mafia has featured in many classic movies from the 1920s onwards. We discuss the cultural significance and accuracy of famous crime scenes in movies and TV shows, such as “The Godfather” and “The Sopranos.” Michael also points out inaccuracies in scenes from mob comedies such as “Analyze This” and “The Simpsons.”

We also discuss true stories and real-life characters featured in “Goodfellas” and “Casino.” He talks about his proximity to the events of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” the Oscar-nominated movie starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.

Real vs TV Western Heroes by John Severin!

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It’s no secret portrayals of real people are often glamorized in movies and TV.  Well, way back in 1960, when westerns were king of television air waves, Cracked magazine had John Severin create drawings showing the differences between Real and TV western heroes. 

Above we can see the differences between the real and TV versions of Billy the Kid and a Bounty Hunter.  If you click over to BookSteve’s Library you can check out Real vs TV… Lawmen, Cochise, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hicock and Jim Hardie.

Stallone’s “Cliffhanger” Trivia!

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Cliffhanger and Cobra are probably the two movies that Stallone fans would most love to see get a sequel.  While I don’t have news of a sequel for either, I can tell you about Derek Draven’s post at ScreenRant: 10 Facts About Cliffhanger You Didn’t Know.

Because almost everyone here is a Stallone fan, you will probably know most if not all of the facts.  Still they’re worth a look.  

TCM: A Kirk Douglas Movie Marathon Tribute is Coming!

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TCM is running a Kirk Douglas Movie Marathon Tribute starting at 6am on March 5th.  Here’s the schedule…

  • 6 a.m.  The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
  • 8 a.m.  Two Weeks in Another Town (1962)
  • 10:00 a.m. The Story of Three Loves (1953)
  • 12:15 p.m.  Along the Great Divide (1951)
  • 2 p.m.  Out of the Past (1947)
  • 3:45 p.m.  Young Man With a Horn (1950)
  • 5:45 p.m. Lust for Life (1956)
  • 8 p.m.  Paths of Glory (1958)
  • 9:45 p.m.  Spartacus (1960)
  • 1:15 a.m.  Live From the TCM Classic Film Festival: Michael Douglas (2018)
  • 2:30 a.m.  The Bad and the Beautiful (1953)
  • 4:55 a.m.  Seven Days in May (1964)

My favorites are Along the Great Divide at 12:15, immediately followed by Out of the Past and then Spartacus at 9:45.

Sly Stallone Set to Star in “Little America” Action Film!

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Sly Stallone is attached to star in Little America which is set to star filming this summer.

Set in a dystopian future where America has become bankrupt and turned into a war zone, Sly will play a former Army Ranger hired by an Asian billionaire to find his daughter.

With the highly skilled sister of the missing woman along for the ride, Sly’s Ranger must navigate the dark underbelly of Little America, a walled-off city within a city in Hong Kong where many Americans have fled.

Rowan Athale will direct from his own screenplay.  Michael Bay is set to serve as Executive Producer.

For more details check out Deadline.

“The Most Dangerous Game” – The Story, the Movie and Tony Stella’s Poster

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Tony Stella created another great poster with his take on The Most Dangerous Game.  You can see a bigger version at Stella’s Twitter.

First published in 1924, The Most Dangerous Game began life as an award-winning short story by Richard Connell.  Over the years The Most Dangerous Game became required reading in schools across the nation.  I was in 9th grade when I first read it.  The Most Dangerous Game was the most popular of all our assigned reading assignments.

Over the years The Most Dangerous Game has been adapted for movies, television and even radio.  Tony Stella’s poster is for the first movie adaption. Made in 1932,  the adaptation starred Joel McCrea, Leslie Banks, Fay Wray and Robert Armstrong with the team of Ernest B. Schoedsack and Merian C. Cooper behind the camera (Schoedsack and Cooper would go on to make King Kong the following year).

I highly recommend The Most Dangerous Game (both the short story, now in public domain, and the 1932 movie).

RIP: Robert Conrad

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Robert Conrad died today at age 84.  Conrad best known for acting was also a singer, writer and director.  Although he starred in feature films, it was Conrad’s television roles that made him a star.  First with Hawaiian Eye, then his biggest hit, The Wild, Wild West and later The D.A., Black Sheep Squadron, A Man Called Sloane and High Mountain Rangers.

But it was The Wild, Wild West that Conrad’s fans loved the most.  Perfectly cast as James West who partnered with Artemus Gordon (played by Ross Martin, also perfectly cast) as spies in the old west.  The show ran for four seasons and was still doing well in the ratings when it was cancelled by CBS in an effort to reduce network violence.  The Wild, Wild West was so popular in re-runs that two tv movies were made over a decade later.

Conrad was a member of the Stuntman’s Hall of Fame and winner of the Distinguished Service Award in Broadcasting.

On a personal note, the death of Robert Conrad is heartbreaking.   I can’t tell you how many times I pretended to be James West as a kid or how many times I’ve watched each episode of The Wild, Wild West.  It’s still set to be recorded daily on my dvr (and I own the complete series on dvd).  A huge piece of my childhood died with him.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Robert Conrad’s family, friends and fans.

RIP: Kevin Conway

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Kevin Conway, the multi-talented actor who appeared in movies, on television and the stage died Wednesday, February 5th of a heart attack.

I first became aware of Mr. Conway when I saw him in back-to-back Sylvester Stallone films.  First up was FIST where Conway played Vince Doyle, a local mobster who provides Johnny Kovak (Stallone) with some “muscle” against the trucking company’s strike breakers.  A few months later Conway and Stallone appeared together again, this time in Paradise Alley.  Conway was a small town gangster but this time he and Stallone were adversaries.

What I didn’t know at the time was that Conway had already made appearances on Broadway, television and films!  Conway was still acting in movies and television as well as doing voice work for commercials, trailers and documentaries up until his death at age 77.   Some of Conway’s best known roles include his work in Mystic River, The Quick and the Dead, 13 Days and Gettysburg.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin Conway’s family, friends and fans.

RIP – Kirk Douglas

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Kirk Douglas died today at the age of 103.  His son, Michael Douglas posted (in part):

“It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” son Michael Douglas wrote on his Instagram account. “To the world, he was a legend, an actor from the Golden Age of movies who lived well into his golden years, a humanitarian whose commitment to justice and the causes he believed in set a standard for all of us to aspire to.”

Kirk Douglas was an actor, a director, a producer and writer.  He was always the coolest guy in the room.  Douglas made movies that he believed in, not always taking the roles that paid the most or had the best chance for box-office appeal.  It didn’t matter if Douglas played a hero or villain, he had audience appeal.  Douglas was a three-time Oscar nominee for Best Actor and received an Honorary Oscar in 1996.

Some of my favorite Kirk Douglas movies include: Spartacus; Out of the Past; Detective Story; Along the Great Divide; The War Wagon (thanks to memories of watching it with my Grandpa) and Oscar (with Sly Stallone.  Years earlier, Douglas was set to star as Col. Troutman in First Blood but it didn’t work out.).

Kirk Douglas was indeed a living legend.  103 years is a long life and Douglas lived it to the fullest.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, his friends and his fans.

“The French Connection” Trivia!

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Matthew Jackson at Mental Floss posted 14 Fascinating Facts About The French Connection.  Reading some of these facts it becomes clear that The French Connection was a longshot to be made let alone win five Academy Awards including Best Picture.  Here are three of my favorite facts and my thoughts.  Check ’em out and then click over for all the facts and details!

THE FRENCH CONNECTION WAS TURNED DOWN BY ALMOST EVERY STUDIO.  (Dick Zanuck at 20th Century Fox said he’d bankroll the film if it could be done for 1.5 million. Luckily for film fans, it could be. – Craig)

GENE HACKMAN WAS NOT THE FIRST CHOICE FOR POPEYE DOYLE.  (The film’s director, William Friedkin, wanted Jackie Gleason (?) or Jimmy Breslin (??) for the lead.  Another star considered was Rod Taylor.  Ultimately it came down to take Hackman as the lead or risk losing the movie.  Friedkin agreed to Hackman. – Craig)

FERNANDO REY WAS CAST BECAUSE OF A MIXUP. (Friedkin told the casting director  “let’s get that French guy that was in Belle de Jour…”  The casting director thought Friedkin was talking about Fernando Rey — but he wasn’t!  Friedkin signed Rey, sight unseen and it wasn’t until they met on the set that Friedkin realized the mistake and it was too late to make a change! – Craig)