Category: Celebs

8 Out-of-this-World Facts about “The Invaders”

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Me-TV presents 8 Out-of-this-World Facts about The Invaders.  They’re so good I had a tough time picking my top three, but here they are! Then click over for all of ’em!

5.  The show is Jerry Lewis-level huge in France.
The French have a knack for developing cults around unexpected, overlooked pieces of American pop culture. Their Invaders fandom is a prime example, and it’s not just the how of it but the when of it. Thinnes himself explained the genesis of the French Invaders phenomenon in a 2008 interview with Premium Hollywood. “Back in the early ’80s, Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, who is a star anchorman with Télévision Française 1, he had a four-hour show on Sundays and he did a survey with the audience and asked… because they love American television, what would they like to see again,” Thinnes said. “And they got a lot of calls about The Invaders, so TF1 bought a few episodes and tested it and got a huge response. So they began running the series.” The reruns later jumped to cable and an “MTV equivalent,” airing in reruns for two decades.

6. Suzanne Plechette twice sacrificed herself as a friendly alien on the show.
Not all of the aliens on The Invaders had wicked motives. Some helped David Vincent along the way. In particular, Suzanne Pleshette of The Bob Newhart Show stands out, as she turns up twice, as two different such aliens. In the second episode, she plays a stripper who also happens to be an Invaders, albeit a “mutation” who can feel empathy. So she helps David, dying in the end. This is the first time we see the glowing red death of the aliens on the series. In the second season, Pleshette appears again as Anne, a more hot-headed alien who also gives her life in helping David. Those E.T. must have loved shifting into the shape of Pleshette.

7. The Invaders dabbled in zombies, too.
While it was never a huge ratings hit, The Invaders nevertheless spawned an expanded universe of tie-in books and comics. Perhaps the must interesting pulp Invaders novel was Army of the Undead, which centers around the alien Invaders turning humans into mindless “zombies.” What is perhaps most fascinating about its use of zombies is that the paperback hit stands in 1967 — a year before Night of the Living Dead. It was ahead of the curve.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Starring Bela Lugosi Coming in 2020!

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Over the years many actors have played Dracula, but my personal favorite is Bela Lugosi.  You can imagine my thrill to learn that Legendary Entertainment in partnership with Bela Lugosi’s estate will publish Bram Stoker’s Dracula Starring Bela Lugosi!  The graphic novel will be out in late 2020!

“There have been great Dracula graphic novels, but to unite Bram Stoker’s novel in a faithful adaptation with the definitive Dracula in the form of screen icon Bela Lugosi is a dream come true,” – Legendary Comics SVP Robert Napton.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter.

RIP – Robert Forster

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Robert Forster, the actor best known for his Academy Award nominated role in Jackie Brown has passed away at the age of 78 from brain cancer.

Forster was one of those rare actors who made everything in was in better.  I first became aware of Forster in the tv series Banyon.  I liked him better than the show and often that seemed to be the case.  The same could be said for his appearances in Reflections in a Golden Eye; The Black Hole; Alligator; The Delta Force; and so many more.

Forster was quoted in a 2018 interview with the Chicago Tribune…

“My career went like this for five years and then like that for 27. Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more. Near the end I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks.”

But Forster hung in taking whatever parts he could that would pay the bills.

Quentin Tarantino was a fan and had Forster audition for Reservoir Dogs. Ultimately Tarantino gave the part to Lawrence Tierney, but had another idea for Forster.  And that was the male lead in Jackie Brown.  Forster was nominated for an Academy Award and that restarted his career.  Better roles continued, and Forster worked until his death — having two films, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Story and Phil coming out in 2019.

I loved Forster’s acting and his attitude about life.  As he told this interviewer…

“You gotta be ready… Accept all things that give you a good attitude.  Deliver excellence right now… And never quit. You can win it in the late innings if you don’t quit.”

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

“Rambo” Trivia

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Thanks to Military.com today we have 8 Even More Incredible Facts About ‘Rambo’.  Check out three of my favorites before clicking over to all eight.

4. Stallone hated the first cut of First Blood.
The first time Stallone saw the edit for “First Blood,” he hated it. It was three and a half hours long, and Rambo’s dialogue was terrible. At first, Stallone wanted to buy the film so he could burn it. Instead of that, he re-cut the film to 93 minutes with most of his dialogue removed, which is what you see when you watch it today.

5. Without ‘Rambo’ there would be no ‘Predator’
When Rocky Balboa took on Ivan Drago in “Rocky IV,” no one in Hollywood was quite sure who Rocky’s next opponent could possibly be. The joke was made that Rocky would have to fight some kind of Alien in “Rocky V.” After a while, Screenwriters Jim and John Thomas began to take the idea seriously and wrote a Rocky-Rambo Hybrid movie that we call “Predator.”

3. Rambo wasn’t a killer – originally.
John Rambo never actually kills anyone in “First Blood.” There is only one death in the entire movie, and that happened as an accident when an overzealous cop falls from a helicopter while shooting at Rambo. (This refers to the movie “First Blood” not the novel on which the film was based. – Craig)

In subsequent movies, that all changes of course. Rambo’s body count is 76 in “First Blood: Part II,” and 132 in “Rambo III.” In “Rambo,” he appears to kill the entire Burmese Army with one .50-cal.

CBS Wins Stallone & Lundgren’s “The International”

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Sly Stallone and Dolph Lundgren’s The International, a one-hour on-going series will appear on CBS.  Lundgren is set to serve as star and Producer with Stallone taking the role of Executive Producer and the series coming from Stallone’s Balboa Productions.  

Lundgren plays…

…Anders Soto, described as a one-man covert black-ops team working for the U.N., who is called in to find asymmetrical solutions to the world’s most delicate and complex problems. He is part negotiator and part international spy….

Fans are hopeful that Stallone will make an appearance(s) and perhaps direct some of the episodes.

Sources: Deadline and Variety.

10 Terrifying Facts About “Creepshow”

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Matthew Jackson and Mental Floss present 10 Terrifying Facts About Creepshow.  Here are three of my favorites (with my comments) before you click over and check out them all!

1. IT BEGAN WITH SALEM’S LOT.
(Can you imagine if Stephen King and George Romero had made a theatrical version of Salem’s Lot?  I loved the tv version of Salem’s Lot, but the thought of a King/Romero movie makes me smile and wonder. – Craig)

9. CREEPSHOW INTRODUCED GREG NICOTERO TO FILMMAKING.
(If getting Nicotero into movies was the only thing that Creepshow was known for it would be enough. – Craig)

10. CREEPSHOW IS PART OF THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE.
(I love that Stephen King stories, for the most part, take place in the Stephen King universe. – Craig)

The “Acceleration” Trailer is Here! 

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The Acceleration Trailer is Here!  Starring Dolpj Lundgren, Natalie Burn, Sean Patrick Flanery, Chuck Liddell, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, and Danny Trejo.  This would be the featured film if we still had drive-ins.  🙂

DesVladik Zorich (Dolph Lundgren), a villainous crime lord, is double-crossed by his most trusted operative Rhona (Natalie Burn). Vladik’s propensity for power, control, and violence drives him to kidnap Rhona’s son forcing her to participate in a twisted plan to eliminate one of Vladik’s enemies. To keep her on a short leash, Vladik sets out the ‘rules’ to his ‘game’ and overseas Rhona’s every move as she navigates the darkened streets of Los Angeles. As her son’s life hangs in the balance, Rhona struggles to eliminate the most violent and depraved delinquents, however, Vladik underestimates the power of a mother’s love and finds himself losing control as his devious plan.

Michael Batista’s First Artist Alley Kickstarter

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Michael Batista did the art above and if you like it (I do!), then you might want to consider backing Michael Batista’s First Artist Alley Kickstarter.

If you want to participate you can simply make a donation or pony up for a digital or physical copy of Michael’s sketchbook or the sketchbook and any of several original art options.  If you do join in, you’ll be helping an artist and getting some cool art at the same time!