Category: Celebs

Ranking the Films of Tony Scott

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Film School Rejects presents Celebrating the Films of Tony Scott.    Here are my three favorites and thoughts on each following FSR’s comments.

6. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
The second film in Scott’s unofficial “sloppy quadrilogy” (along with Beverly Hills Cop 2, The Fan, and Domino) is the best of the bunch for various reasons, but first out of the gate is the script by Shane Black. He’s riffing on his own Lethal Weapon, but while Richard Donner’s film wants to be liked, Black’s in a far more aggressive and mean-spirited mood here. Scott’s direction meets him beat for beat delivering memorable action set-pieces and a pair of charismatic leads (Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans) against an ugly story populated by uglier supporting characters. It’s a terrifically scuzzy affair delivered without the exaggerated stylistic flourishes that mar those previously mentioned titles, and it entertains like gritty gangbusters. – Rob

Craig’s Thoughts:  I was a huge fan of Shane Black (coming of Lethal Weapon and Predator) and Bruce Willis was the perfect choice to star.  I loved the combination of action and humor and remember liking The Last Boy Scout more than most folks.  The scene with the killer in the alley is priceless.

 

8. Revenge (1990)
My Kevin Costner love is well-documented and most certainly plays a role in my appreciation for this darkly somber character drama, but luckily I’m also a sucker for doomed love stories. It’s a far more sedately paced film than you’ll find across much of Scott’s filmography, and while time is given to the ridiculously steamy affair between Costner and Madeleine Stowe, even more is afforded to his desperate search for her after they’ve been violently separated. It’s not a pleasant movie for anyone involved, but its grip on human nature is undeniable as a man’s best and worst intentions and abilities lead to tragic consequences. Scott released a director’s cut of the film years later that actually runs 23 minutes shorter, and as with Mel Gibson’s Payback there’s value in both distinctly different versions. – Rob

Craig’s Thoughts:  I ended up liking Revenge a whole lot more than I thought I would.  And again, a lot more than the critics.  I’ve never seen the shorter director’s cut.  I may have to search that out.

 

3. Man on Fire (2004)
Based on A. J. Quinnell’s novel of the same name, this was a passion project for Scott that he wanted to make since the 1980’s with Marlon Brando as his lead. The original plan was adapt the novel as his second feature and set it in Italy as the country was rife for kidnappings at the time. But the director’s lack of experience saw the project escape him only to be adapted by Élie Chouraqui in 1987. Fortunately, though, he got to realize his dream eventually and the long wait paid off, because Man on Fire is a goddamn masterpiece. Denzel’s characters have rarely been this emotionally-charged or vicious as he plays a washed-up former mercenary who’s hellbent on revenge when the young girl he’s tasked with protecting gets kidnapped by some scumbags. This desire for both vengeance and redemption reignites his spark — and things get bloody. The brutality is ample and our sick demand for violent thrills is more than satiated, but the movie is also peppered with some touching and moving moments which make it so much more than your average body count action flick. – Kieran

Craig’s Thoughts:  My favorite Tony Scott movie.  Can you imagine Brando in the role?  Maybe at his peak, but Brando in the 80’s?  Yikes!

One other thought – It was difficult not to include True Romance. I love that movie and on a different day it may have edged out The Last Boy Scout.

The 25 Best Horror Movies Based on True Stories

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Gem Seddon and Games Radar present The 25 best Horror Movies Based on True Stories.  Here are three that I enjoyed and my thoughts on each following Seddon’s comments.

21. The Strangers (2008)

The horror movie: House invasion horror starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple who go to stay at a summer home, only to fall victim to a trio of menacing, mask-wearing psychopaths.

The true story: Director Bryan Bertino revealed the movie’s premise was based on an incident that happened to him; as a kid a stranger appeared at his door, asked for someone who didn’t live there and left. He later found out that a series of break-ins occurred in his neighbourhood that night. On top of that, he also drew inspiration from the infamous Manson killings, carried out by the minions of occultist Charles Manson.

Craig’s Thoughts:  The Strangers is a creepy movie.  The idea that murders would randomly choose your house — not much is more frightening.  No reason, no rationale other than you were selected.  Brrr!  That gives me the chills.

14. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

The horror movie: A micro-budget indie slasher that pre-dates Halloween (but not Black Christmas). A hood-wearing killer terrorises a town in 1946 Arkansas, while a Texas Ranger attempts to bring him down.

The true story: A spate of murders in the 1940s, called the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, were carried out by the so-called Phantom Killer. Over a ten week period, the Phantom Killer murdered eight people… and the culprit was never found. Shudder.

Craig’s Thoughts:  I, like many folks, am intrigued by serial killers who never get caught.  First of all there’s something terrifying about a person who is compelled to kill again and again.  It’s even more frightening to think that despite the increasing publicity and police presence the killer still goes out and finds victims to slaughter.  Then add in that the killer could still be lurking around the corner…

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1990)

The horror movie: An Oscar-winning horror-thriller in which FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is chucked in at the deep end when she’s tasked with working alongside cannibal Dr. Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to bring down Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).

The true story: Author Thomas Harris based Buffalo Bill on a number of serial killers, including Ed Gein (skinning his victims) and Ted Bundy (using a cast to lure in innocent women). Harris also based the relationship between Starling and Lecter on that between Bundy and Robert Keppel, a criminal profiler and professor at the University of Washington.

Craig’s Thoughts: The Silence of the Lambs gives us two serial killers but interestingly enough, the one that gets remembered is the one that’s already caught!  Anthony Hopkins wasn’t the first to play Hannibal Lector, but he owned the role in such a way that not only is he the actor people remember, but it is THE role of his career.

Why not share YOUR thoughts by clicking on the link below and adding them?

11 Screenwriters Who Hated Their Own Movies

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Rudie Obias and Mental Floss present 11 Screenwriters Who Hated Their Own Movies.  Here are three of the eleven that I enjoyed despite the person(s) who wrote them didn’t.

1. QUENTIN TARANTINO // NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994) During the early 1990s, Quentin Tarantino sold his screenplay for Natural Born Killers to Oliver Stone and used the money to fund his debut film, Reservoir Dogs, which was released in 1992. Two years later, Stone released the film with Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in starring roles.

While it was a box office hit, Tarantino despised the production because of the changes and alterations to much of his original content. “I hate that f*cking movie,” Tarantino told The Telegraph in 2013. “If you like my stuff, don’t watch that movie.”

Years after its release, the producers of Natural Born Killers sued Tarantino when he tried to publish the original screenplay as a book, as he had done with his original script for True Romance. The producers believed that Tarantino forfeited his rights when he sold it to them, but a judge ruled in Tarantino’s favor.
(Craig’s thoughts: Oliver Stone, like Tarantino has an over-powering style of movie-making.  Tarantino was probably most upset because the movie felt more like a Stone film than a Tarantino movie.  I liked Natural Born Killers.)

 

3. KURT SUTTER // PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008)  Before Marvel’s The Punisher made a comeback as a TV series on Netflix in 2017, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was hired to write a sequel to The Punisher starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. In 2007, Sutter started writing a new script and wanted to ground the antihero in a grittier reality and move the character from Florida to New York City.

However, after Jane dropped out of the project, Marvel Studios wanted to start over with a new sequel that felt more like the comic book version of Frank Castle instead of the more realistic idea that Sutter envisioned. The end result was so far removed from what Sutter had written that he asked for his name to be removed from what would turn into Punisher: War Zone.

“I threw away the first draft written by Nick Santora and did a page one rewrite,” Sutter wrote of the project in 2008. “I changed the locations, the characters, the story. I dropped Frank in a real New York City with real villains, real cops, real relationships. To me, the Punisher deserved more than the usual comic book redress. It shouldn’t just follow the feature superhero formula. Apparently, I was the only one who shared that vision.”

(Craig’s thoughts: I’ve only seen Punisher War Zone once, but I liked it a lot better than The Punisher starring Jane and Travolta.  I agree with Sutter that The Punisher needed to be grounded in a grittier reality and thought War Zone did a fine job.  Perhaps another viewing is in order.)

 

4. AND 5. LANA AND LILLY WACHOWSKI // ASSASSINS (1995)  During the mid-1990s, Lana and Lilly Wachowski sold the screenplays for Assassins and The Matrix to producer Joel Silver for $1 million per film. Assassins was the first to go into production, and Richard Donner signed on to direct with Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas attached to co-star.

Although Assassins was one of the hottest unproduced screenplays at the time (you can read the Wachowskis’ original version here), Donner didn’t like the darker tone and artsy symbolism, so he hired screenwriter Brian Helgeland to do a page-one rewrite to make it into a standard action thriller instead. The Wachowskis were not happy with the decision to tone down their screenplay, so the siblings wanted their names to be taken off the project, but the Writers Guild of America denied their request.

“The film was not really based on the screenplay,” Lana said in a 2003 interview. “The one thing that sort of bothered us is that people would blame us for the screenplay and it’s like Richard Donner is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can make whatever movie he wants exactly the way he wants it. No one will stop him and that’s essentially what happened. He brought in Brian Helgeland and they totally rewrote the script. We tried to take our names off of it but the WGA doesn’t let you. So our names are forever there.”

If there’s a silver lining to this story it’s that the experience with Assassins led the Wachowskis to want more control over their work—so they decided to become directors; they made their directorial debut with Bound in 1996.

(Craig’s thoughts: I was excited when it was announced Richard Donner was directing Sly in Assassins.  Although not as great as I hoped it would be, Assassins was still a lot of fun.  I’ve never read the Wachowskis’ original script so I have no idea if that might have been the way to go.  Still, the money that they received from selling Assassins led to The Matrix (the original) and THAT is a classic.)

13 Altogether Ooky Facts about “The Addams Family”

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MeTV presents 13 Altogether Ooky Facts about The Addams Family.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. Until the TV show, the characters did not have names.
Charles Addams, pictured here in his home office, did not name the creepy, charming characters in his one-panel cartoons. When the show was green-lit, Addams and producers came up with names for the clan. Did you know Wednesday’s middle name is Friday?

 

4. Ted Cassidy played two roles.
While best known for playing Lurch, Ted Cassidy also lent a hand — literally — by also playing Thing.

 

7. The Addams were the first TV family to have a home computer.
A couple years later, Bruce Wayne would utilize his Batcomputer in the Batcave, but the first family “P.C.” seen on TV was the UNIVAC on The Addams Family.

10 Big Facts About “Last Action Hero”

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Scott Beggs and Mental Floss present 10 Big Facts About Last Action Hero.  Here are three of my favorites (and for the record, I liked Last Action Hero!)…

1. THE PRODUCTION ITSELF GOT META EARLY ON.

Original screenwriters Zak Penn and Adam Leff wrote what would become Last Action Hero as a film that would work both as an adrenaline-fueled action ride and as a goof on adrenaline-fueled action, but the sources they drew inspiration from soon invaded the project. Action icon Jack Slater’s name was originally Arno Slater as a nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who then took the role of Arno Slater. Penn and Leff studied all of Shane Black’s scripts (the Lethal Weapon movies and The Last Boy Scout) to get the satirical rhythm right, but then Black was hired to rewrite their script. They also used Die Hard and other John McTiernan-directed movies as a baseline for the movie’s style, and then McTiernan was hired to direct their movie. Their comedic love letter was taken over by titans of the very genre they were mocking, who were then put in charge of mocking themselves.

7. THERE WAS AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF CAMEOS IN IT.

Schwarzenegger also called in a lot of favors from co-stars and connections he’d made while ascending to the very top of global Hollywood stardom. Sharon Stone shows up as her Basic Instinct character alongside Robert Patrick as a Terminator 2 T-1000 in a background shot. Schwarzenegger’s then-wife Maria Shriver appears as herself, Danny DeVito voices the police cat, and Joan Plowright plays a teacher showing a class her real-life late husband Laurence Olivier’s version of Hamlet (“You might remember him as Zeus in Clash of the Titans”). Plus, Leeza Gibbons played herself doing celebrity interviews, Tina Turner plays the mayor of Los Angeles, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jim Belushi, and Chevy Chase are in the audience for the premiere of Jack Slater IV. Tony Danza, MC Hammer, Little Richard, and James Cameron also pop up. There are even more, but the best is Ian McKellen playing Death, emerging from the screen from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.

8. THERE IS ALSO AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF REFERENCES TO OTHER MOVIES.

References are to be expected with any spoof, but Last Action Herosmothers you with them. IMDB lists 68 references, which means there’s a reference to another movie every two minutes. They range from King Kongto The Wizard of Oz to Serpico to E.T., but of course the bulk of the callbacks evoke movies from Schwarzenegger, Black, and McTiernan. There are nods to Commando, The Running Man, Die Hard, Total Recall, Raw Deal, and an advertisement for Terminator 2 (with Sylvester Stallone starring instead of Schwarzenegger). But the sharpest homage comes after Frank’s (Art Carney) house blows up when a black cop says with resignation, “Two days to retirement,” referencing Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon.

“Rocky” by JC Richard – New Release from Grey Matter Art

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Grey Matter Art, under license from MGM, is proud to announce a new officially licensed, limited edition screen print featuring the classic 1976 Sylvester Stallone film, “Rocky” by artist, JC Richard. With the “Creed 2” trailer being released last week what a way to honor the original film. Below are details regarding poster and release information.

“Rocky” by JC Richard
12″ x 36″ hand-numbered screen print
Regular Edition: 150/40.00
Variant Edition: 75/50.00
Printed by: D&L Screenprinting

This poster will be released this Wednesday, June 27th on our website shop page at 1:00 PM est. at www.greymatterart.com

Follow Grey Matter Art on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to sign up for the GMA Newsletter for all future news & information.

 

James Byron Huggins is Back!

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James Byron Huggins is back!

Long-time readers probably remember Huggins best as the author of Hunter.  Huggins wrote Hunter specifically with Sylvester Stallone (who bought the movie rights) in mind as the book’s hero.  Hunter is one of my all-time favorite novels and would make an exciting movie!  Stallone fans continue to hope that Sly will helm a movie version of Hunter even if he doesn’t star in it (and he should!).

Huggins wasn’t a one-hit wonder.  He also wrote The Reckoning, Cain, Leviathon, Rora, and other novels.  (And I recommend each of them!)  Huggins’ novels are a combination of thriller, action-adventure and horror.  His skill at seamlessly combining the genres made Huggins an international best-selling novelist.  When two of his books were optioned for over a million dollars a piece, Huggins turned his attention to work on films.

But now James Byron Huggins is back!

International and New York Times bestselling thriller author James Byron Huggins is back with a vengeance. The former police detective-turned successful author has signed with Denver based WildBlue Press to release two new novels and four backlisted titles. The backlisted books will begin release in April, starting with the thriller The Reckoning.  More backlisted titles will release in 2018, including The Hunter, a sci-fi/thriller with film rights owned by Sylvester Stallone. Dark Visions, a brand-new thriller from Huggins will release in July 2018. In the novel, Joe Mac, a legendary homicide detective forced into retirement when he lost his eyesight in the line of duty, is compelled to find whomever or whatever killed his grandson. Even if it costs him his life.

“I am both honored and privileged to put out the books I’ve been working on for so long,” Huggins said.  “I wouldn’t go with any other company. WildBlue will always be my company. They are solid. The best there is.”

Dark Visions will release July 31, 2018.

I am excited to revisit Hunter and The Reckoning.  It will be great to have the new Huggins’ novel, Dark Visions in July.  Now if Sly will add Hunter to his “Films to Do” List…

RIP – Koko

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Koko the gorillia known throughout the world for her ability to use sign language has passed away peacefully in her sleep at the age of 46.   Koko was able to understand over 1,000 signs and approximately 2,000 words.

Koko was born at the San Francisco Zoo but lived most of her life in The Gorilla Foundation’s preserve in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California.  Koko was a celebrity and made headlines for her love of kittens as well as her meetings with other celebrities such as Robin Williams, Betty White and Mr. Rogers.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Koko’s friends and fans throughout the world.

George Romero’s Tribute Statue Gets Perfect Location!

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If you were going to decide on the perfect place for this bust of George Romero, the man who re-invented and re-invigorated the zombie movie genre, where would it be?

If you asked me (and no one did) I’d say the mall where the original Dawn of the Dead was filmed.  Guess what?

The Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylania just got 1000% times more in touch with it’s creepshow roots. A large copper bust of indie horror director (and grandfather of the genre) George A. Romero was finally installed… in the very shopping center that served as the location for much of his ‘birth of the modern zombie’ classic, 1978’s Dawn of the Dead.

Source: SyFy Wire.