Everything You Didn’t Know About “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”!
Syfy Wire presents Everything You Didn’t Know About Invasion of the Body Snatchers! I’ve enjoyed all versions a bit, but there’s no beating the original!
Category: Celebs
TCM Remembers “When the Night is Over” by Lord Huron
Turner Classic Movies has put together a touching tribute video to the many actors and filmmakers who have passed away in 2018. The song that accompanies the video, “When The Night Is Over” by Lord Huron is a beautiful, haunting tune that I can’t get enough of. Enjoy!
Why Stallone is Still the Greatest Action Star
Renaldo Matadeen and CBR.com remind us why Stallone Is Still the Greatest Action Star. Here are a few tidbits…
Stallone picks up this accolade for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s his longevity that really puts him ahead in the field. His resume is stacked, with untouchable franchises like Rambo and Rocky under his belt, not to mention other projects that impressed fans of the ’80s and ’90s action scene.
…Creed and Expendables franchises perfectly illustrate his staying power…
…another reason he deserves the title of greatest action star — he’s adapted to the landscape…
That’s another reason why he’s the best action star, period. He mixes drama with his heroics in a style unlike any of his peers. Creed got Stallone an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and he was previously nominated for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay for Rocky in 1976, which is something the likes of Bruce Willis, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean Claude Van Damme can’t boast.
Check out the Matadeen’s entire piece, it’s worth your time.
“Mission Impossible: Fallout” Trivia
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 51 Things We Learned from the Mission: Impossible – Fallout Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
7. They tested shorter cuts of the film per the studio’s request, but each attempt saw the scores plummet. Cruise told them “it doesn’t matter how long it is, it matters how long it feels.”
17. The HALO sequence saw them jumping out of the plane at 25,000 feet, and it’s all done live in a single shot. The city lights below are added in post, but the jump and fall are 100% real. “We talked about this for a year. How are going to get this shot?” The camera operator for the scene is wearing a camera mounted to the top of his own helmet, and the whole thing is a legitimately thrilling sequence. Here, I’ll let a very excited and proud Cruise tell you about jumping out of the plane for the scene. “Now he’s backwards. He leaves backwards. I’m coming right at him. Now I have to get from there I have to get within three feet, not two feet ten inches, not three feet and two inches. I have to be right at three feet to be in focus. Now I go past him in that and we had a window of three minutes to get that shot. Now I do this spin, now you’re in my face,I’m up on my back, he’s going up and around. It really is a dance between the two of us. I had to always make sure that the sunset was on my left shoulder. Now we’re traveling at 200 miles an hour at times toward the ground. I’m coming in, it’s like a sprint, boom, I have to hit him. When I hit him, I have to hit him, I don’t know where I’m gonna hit him on his body, I just have to try and take him out and down. And not break his neck, my neck, and not entangle the chutes, deploy his chute or my chute. Any of those things could have led to serious problems.” They built the largest wind tunnel in the world to train and considered filming some of the sequence in there, but it didn’t look real enough.
27. The “what if” sequence at 44:13 where they show the hijack and subsequent killing of dozens of police officers under the overpass was a concern as paparazzi and Parisian gawkers lined the other side of the river watching. They hung 300 feet of silk across the archways so that people wouldn’t see police being murdered, and the unintentional but welcome effect is the “eerie light” across the scene.
How Sly Stallone Made the Cover of a French Graphic Novel
Today we have the Colin WIlson cover to the French graphic novel Du Plomb Dans La Tête written by Matz and illustrated by Colin Wilson. If you think the the tough-guy on the cover looks like Sylvester Stallone, you’d be right.
See, Du Plomb Dans La Tête was the basis for Stallone’s film Bullet to the Head.
What’s interesting to note is the character (that Sly ended up playing) from the original graphic novel was drawn to look a bit like Sly as Jack Carter. When Sly took on the role for Bullet to the Head, Walter Hill (the director) opted for a different look and Sly agreed. So in the movie Sly doesn’t look like Jack Carter but on the Du Plomb Dans La Tête cover he does.
And now you have the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey would say).
Jack Carter and John Wick by John Beatty!
On November 23, 2018, aka Black Friday, John Beatty and I met in his studio to do a livestream broadcast of John’s John Wick / Jack Carter drawing for my Stallone Sketch Collection. Click on the photo above to see a much bigger version. We were joined in the studio by Ron Wendt who took the photos below.
That’s John…
That’s me…
And that’s John with his reference working on the art. You can click on the video link below to see and hear how everything went down. We had a blast with viewers texting in questions and even a couple of call-ins to the studio.
John is considering adding tones to the Carter / Wick piece and if he does I’m sure I’ll join him in studio, so maybe you will consider swinging by as well. John draws live most Monday through Fridays and loves to interact with those who tune in. You should give it a go and tell him I sent ya.
Dead Film Franchises Begging to Be Revived
ComingSoon ran a piece called Dead Film Franchises Begging to Be Revived. Of the films listed, here are the three I felt most deserving and a couple of more that didn’t make the list but should have…
Kill Bill – Tarantino has talked up a sequel for many years now. The set-up was right there in Kill Bill, Volume 1: Ambrosia Kelley (who played Vivica Fox’s daughter) is now grown and would return to take revenge on The Bride.
Blade – I didn’t care for Blade; loved Blade II and thought Blade: Trinity was good. So, why not bring back Snipes for another outing?
Dirty Harry – My initial thought was, “No.” But the idea of Scott Eastwood picking up his dad’s role as Harry Callahan got me thinking that it could work. My biggest concern is that the social climate is much different now than it was when the original Dirty Harry was released.
Two movie franchises that didn’t make the list but should have…
Billy Jack – I’d love to see a remake of Born Losers, the film that introduced Billy Jack to the world. Get someone like Kurt Sutter to take the reigns and you’d have a winner.
Escape from – Snake Plissken continues to be a popular character with fans. Have Wyatt Russell (Kurt’s son) put on the eye patch and let’s go.
Chris Pine Introduces “I am the Night” Trailer!
I am the Night looks better and better!
“Creed Poster by Chris DiBenedetto
Once a week Joblo.com posts Awesome Art We’ve Found Around the Net.
I always enjoy seeing what JoBlo has found because with each post they list the artist’s name and a link to more of his/her art. That’s where I saw this Creed poster by Chris DiBenedetto.
“The Big Chill” Trivia
Scott Beggs and Mental Floss present 10 Memorable Things About The Big Chill. Here are three of my favorites…
3. KEVIN COSTNER PLAYS A DEAD BODY.
The entire movie revolves around the suicide of Alex Marshall, an unseen college friend linking all the other characters together. Alex was originally in the film for one scene, but Kasdan cut it, effectively removing a young Kevin Costner from the movie except for one sequence where he lies motionless as Alex’s body is prepped for the funeral.
7. IT CONTRIBUTED TO GLENN CLOSE MAKING SOME ACTING HISTORY.
Everyone’s obsessed with EGOTing, but with an Oscar nomination for The Big Chill, a Tony nomination (and win) for The Real Thing, and an Emmy nomination for Something About Amelia, Close became the first actress to score all three major acting award nominations in a single calendar year. That’s a feat even fewer people have pulled off than the EGOT. Bob Fosse did it with directing and choreography in 1973, and Jason Robards became the first actor to do it in 1978. Unfortunately, she didn’t win the Oscar—and never has, despite six nominations (so far).
9. AN OCTOPUS ACTS AS A SUBTLE SYMBOL.
If we only saw an octopus once in the movie, it might be a happy accident, but there are at least two times that a soft-bodied cephalopod appears on a TV screen in the massive home the friends are sharing. You don’t have to dig too deeply to see the connection: eight limbs, eight friends, all interconnected and living (for the time we spend with them) as a single unit.
“The Naked Prey” Trivia
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 24 Things We Learned from The Naked Prey Commentary. Before we get into my favorite trivia items, if you’ve never seen The Naked Prey, please put it on your To Be Seen list. It’s an under-rated action adventure film well worthy of your time. Now for three of my favorites…
5. Writers Clint Johnston and Don Peters were nominated for an Academy Award for their script, and they worked again with Wilde on his follow-up film Beach Red (1967).
10. The story is inspired by the true story of a man named John Colter who endured a long journey on foot while pursued by members of the Blackfeet tribe in the early 1800s. (I’d read a short story about this incident before seeing the film and thought the similarities were too much to be coincidence. – Craig)
24. The film was Wilde’s favorite of the ones he directed, and he even wrote a script for a sequel. “He was negotiating with Paramount to do it when he died in 1989, so it was never to be.”
“Creed II” (2018) / Z-View
Creed II (2018)
Director: Steven Caple Jr.
Screenplay: Sylvester Stallone, Juel Taylor
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Dolph Lundgren, Florian Munteanu, Russell Hornsby, Wood Harris, Milo Ventimiglia, Andre Ward and Brigitte Nielsen.
The Pitch: “The Rocky/Creed saga continues!”
Tagline: None.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
After winning the Heavyweight Championship, Adonis Creed under the tutelage of Rocky Balboa is on top of the world. He’s ready to marry Bianca and start a family, his step-mother has accepted that he’s a fighter and Rocky is doing better with his cancer battle. The bad thing about being on top of the world is there is always someone who wants to take your spot.
Victor Drago, son of Ivan Drago is a monster of a man. He’s been winning fights by devastating knockouts and has his sights on Creed’s title. A Drago/Creed match-up would be a boxing fan’s and promoter’s dream. Ivan Drago killed Apollo Creed in an exhibition boxing match. Rocky traveled to Russia to fight and beat Ivan Drago in a follow-up match. After that fight Rocky was never quite the same and Drago disappeared from the boxing scene. A fight between Apollo’s son (who is trained by Rocky) against Victor Drago, (trained by his father, the man who killed Apollo) is a bout that sells itself.
The idea that Drago didn’t just lose the fight to Rocky Balboa, he lost everything – his standing in his country, the privilege being the best fighter brought him, the honor and prestige granted a superior athlete and most importantly his wife. Drago has lived with this hurt and humiliation for over 30 years. It has hardened him and made him bitter. Drago has, as Rocky says, “raised (his son) in hate.” Ivan and Victor travel to the US to issue a personal challenge to Adonis who instantly wants to take the fight. Rocky doesn’t want it and refuses to train Adonis. To give away more would be wrong.
Any time a sequel follows a successful, wildly popular movie, expectations are high. Creed II lives up to them. Of course the actors do a great job – the movie is again perfectly cast with all the main players returning to reprise their characters. New additions, Russell Hornsby as promoter Buddy Marcell and Florian ‘Big Nasty’ Munteanu as Victor Drago are excellent in their roles and add to the Rocky/Creed universe.
The story rises well above the reprise of a Creed/Drago replay. Creed II has (as it should) call backs to the earlier Rocky movies but they feel natural. Hats off to screenwriters Stallone and Taylor for avoiding clichés, providing unexpected turns and excellent dialogue. Director, Steven Caple Jr., had big shoes to fill and does so. Sly Stallone, nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Creed, should get a nomination for Creed II and this time he should win. Also, Dolph Lundgren should be given kudos — his scene with Sly early on was my favorite of the movie.
The movie works so well because it doesn’t just focus on the fight drama. Each of the major characters has a life beyond just the scenes that they appear in. Milo Ventimiglia and Brigitte Nielsen appearances were icing on the cake.
Creed II will of course appeal to fans of the Rocky/Creed series, and to all who love great movies. Bring on Creed III.
Rating:
The Best Movies Starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
Taylor Sanders and ComingSoon posted the 10 Best Dwayne The Rock Johnson Movies. Usually with posts like this, I use just the choices in their top ten and list my three favorites. Not this time.
I think Sanders really missed the mark. My two favorite Dwayne Johnson movies didn’t even make his top ten! So, without further adu, here are my top three movies starring The Rock
1. The Rundown – Johnson plays a man sent to the jungles of the Amazon to bring back a rich man’s son but finds himself caught up in a fight for a lost treasure. Also starring Sean William Scott, Rosario Dawson and Christopher Walken. Directed by Peter Berg.
2. Faster – The Rock plays Driver, a just-released ex-con out to kill the crime partners that murdered his brother and left him for dead. Billy Bob Thorton and Carla Gugino play cops trying to catch Driver before he kills again… and Oliver Jackson-Cohen plays a hitman hired to kill Driver. Faster deserves more love than it gets.
3. Fast Five – This was Johnson’s first outing as Hobbs for The Fast and the Furious franchise. Johnson has been excellent in each outing but since this was his first appearance it is the one I went with.
