Category: Celebs

Stallone “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” Pin by Matt Ryan Tobin

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Hero Complex Gallery decided to recognize director John McTiernan with their last showing of the year.  Click over and you will find some very cool Die Hard, Predator, Last Action Hero, Hunt for Red October original art, prints, pins and more.

What I thought fans here would dig most is the Stallone Terminator 2: Judgment Day pin by Matt Ryan Tobin.

Source: /Film.

Jon Bernthal Talks “Shot Caller”, “The Walking Dead”, “Sicario” and More!

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If, like me, you’re a Jon Bernthal fan, you’ll enjoy Jack Shepard’s Jon Bernthal Interview for Independent.  Bernthal talks about The Walking Dead, The Punisher, and more.  I’ll leave you with this quote from Bernthal…

I definitely don’t make choices based on becoming a leading man. I just want to work with the best people.

That, my friends, is the definition of an actor.

“The Terror” Trailer is Finally Here!

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In 2007, I wrote about The Terror by Dan Simmons.  Here’s what I said then:

The Terror by Dan Simmons is a novelization of the true doomed 1840s Franklin expedition to find a Northwest passage. History tells us there were no survivors and the men died from exposure, starvation and worse. Simmons’ story combines all of the interesting historical details and adds a new menace, a creature which feeds on men. The Terror was a national best seller. Stephen King listed it as one of his favorite books of the year. Who am I to argue with Stephen King?

Then in July of 2016 I posted…

AMC has greenlit 10 hour long episodes to air in 2017 with Ridley Scott and David W. Zucker serving as Executive Producers and David Kajganich on board to write and take the reins as showrunner.  This is a project worth keeping an eye on.

You can imagine my thrill at seeing this…

8 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT ‘THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW’

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Me-TV presents 8 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT ‘THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW’.  Here are three of my favorites…

EACH EPISODE WAS TAPED TWICE.
Despite having the feel of a live TV program, each episode was taped twice in front of different studio audiences. That meant that if an actor flubbed a line in both takes, it was still included in the final edited episode.

DICK VAN DYKE WAS A CAST MEMBER.
Although Burnett was the star of the show, she was supported by an incredibly talented cast that included Lawrence, Korman, Waggoner and Conway. When Korman left after the tenth season, Dick Van Dyke replaced him. The lack of chemistry among the cast members and Van Dyke proved to be a disaster, which is why he left after three months.

THE SHOW NEVER RANKED IN THE TOP 10.
The Carol Burnett Show is consistently ranked on critics’ lists as one of the best television programs of all time. However, the series was not a ratings juggernaut when it aired from 1967 to 1978. Although the show peaked at No. 13 in the Nielsen ratings during the 1969-1970 season, it consistently ranked in the 20s for the first nine seasons.

‘BRIAN’S SONG’ – Trivia You Might Not Know

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In 2017, Me-TV posted 12 FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT ‘BRIAN’S SONG’.  Although the article is no longer available here are three of my favorites…

JAMES CAAN WAS THE FASTER RUNNER IN REAL LIFE.
It seems James Caan grew up playing high school football and could run circles around Billy Dee Williams, so when they had to film their racing scene, Caan had to make himself go real slow to convince viewers that Williams’ was the speedier of the two.

BILLY DEE WILLIAMS WAS NOT THE ORIGINAL ACTOR CAST AS GALE SAYERS.
Louis Gossett Jr. was originally cast as Gale Sayers, not Billy Dee Williams. Just before shooting started, Gossett managed to tear his Achilles’ tendon. That’s when Williams stepped in and took over the role, shattering Gossett’s spirit worse than the pain of his injury. As the story goes, producer David L. Womper made a big promise to cast Gossett in the next beefy part he could place him in to cheer the actor up. That promise took six years to fulfill, but it was worth the wait when Gossett’s 1977 performance as Fiddler in Roots won him an Emmy and made him a star.\

‘BRIAN’S SONG’ WON MORE AWARDS THAN ANY OTHER ABC MOVIE OF THE WEEK
For airing Brian’s Song, ABC took home four Emmys and a Peabody Award. They also received commendations from both the NAACP and the American Cancer Society. In total, the movie was nominated for eight Emmy Awards. The only other ABC Movie of the Week films to get that kind of attention was The Immortal in 1969 (1 Emmy nomination) and That Certain Summer in 1972 (7 Emmy nominations, 1 win).

Mike Zeck & Dan Gearino Chronicle the 1971 Comic Art Con!

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Cosplayers are extremely popular these days.  Some of the best are listed as featured guests at comic conventions around the country.  The Black Bolt player above came in first place in one of the first large comic cons ever – the 1971 Comic Art Convention in New York.  What makes this even more interesting is that the person playing Black Bolt is Mike Zeck.

Yep.  Mike Zeck.  The uber-talented artist that went on to draw professionally for Marvel, DC and others.  The Mike Zeck known for his work on The Punisher, Batman, Spider-Man, Secret Wars… well, you get the idea.

Not only was Mike the winner at the 1971 Comic Art Convention but he took photos of his time at the show and the guests there — Frazetta, Gil Kane, Harvey Kurtman and others.  You can learn more about the con and see some of Mike’s photos by clicking over to Dan Gearino’s site.

50 Movie Trivia Facts You (Probably) Don’t Know

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Gem Seddon and GamesRadar present 50 Movie Trivia Facts You (Probably) Don’t Know.  Here are three of my favorites…

46. Rocky (1976)  Did you know? There’s a scene when Rocky Balboa points out a mistake in the poster at the match venue, and it was in fact entirely unscripted. Sylvester Stallone was forced to add the line because the art department made a genuine mistake when producing the prop, making the Italian Stallion’s boxing trunks completely the wrong colour. Although, it does work to signify how Rocky isn’t treated with much respect as an underdog.

41. Alien (1979)  Did you know? When the Nostromo crew explore the Derelict ship they discover a gigantic chamber full of xenomorph eggs. It’s a dark, sinister room that required a certain type of lighting to create the right feeling. Ridley Scott found a practical solution to lighting it by borrowing blue laser lighting from The Who, who were rehearsing their stage show in the soundstage next door.

31. American Psycho (1998)  Did you know? After catching an episode of The Late Show with David Letterman, on which Tom Cruise guest-starred, Christian Bale decided to base his portrayal of Patrick Bateman on the actor. According to director Mary Harron, Bale said it was Cruise’s “very intense friendliness with nothing behind the eyes” that he thought would be perfect for Bateman.

How Rocky Props Saved Paul Wintner’s Business in 2017

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Paul with Sly at The Expendables Premiere (Thanks Randy!)

Paul Wintner is a long-time SZoner and one of the most die-hard Sylvester Stallone fans in the world.  We’ve shined a spotlight on Paul’s Stallone Collection several times over the years. It’s always a pleasure interacting with Paul.  Until you see his collection, you’d never know the quality of his pieces or the number of props he has.  You probably wouldn’t know that he is also the CEO of Wintner Artists where he works with voice-over talent for movies and television.

When I recently visited Paul’s business site, I noticed he had a new logo (Hey, Yo! Eye of the Tiger!) and had posted on his front page the famous quote from Rocky Balboa (“Life is not about how hard you can hit…).  I knew that Paul’s agency had worked on several of Sly’s biggest films (Rocky Balboa, Rambo, The Expendables) but I wondered if something else was at play.

So, I asked.

Paul went on to tell me how Rocky saved him again.  Let me turn it over to Paul…

Last year my business partner and best friend of over 22 years decided to leave Wintner Artist Management.  Looking back, the signs were all there, but at the time it came as a huge surprise.  Over the years I had worked extremely hard to help talent of Wintner Artist Management build their careers.  My company became much more successful than most thought would be possible with me as the CEO (myself included).  And then an unfortunate thing happened.  I became complacent.  Like Rocky Balboa in Rocky III, I lost the eye of the tiger.

Paul's Rocky Fedora and Glove

Things were going well.  The company was established. I had guided some of these guys from their first jobs to being the biggest names in the business. I had taken my huge love for films and memorabilia and turned it into a career I loved.  My partner was working closely with the talent.  I was steering the ship and we were coasting along.  Maybe, looking back it was me who was coasting along.  It was like the saying, “Things were going great, until they weren’t.”  When my partner decided to quit Wintner Artist Management, every single voice-over artist except one decided to go with him.

Who could blame them?  He had been working closely with the talent.  He had their booking schedules and spent more time dealing with the daily grind.  Lately they felt he was their manager.  While I was still there making sure our talent were reading for the projects I wanted them to land since I had always kept a log of all the great movies coming soon. But I had lost some of the old Wintner fire. Going with my partner must have seemed like the smart move to all of them… all of them except one.

Lucky for me, it was my number one guy, Ashton Smith, who decided to stay with me.  Ashton had done voice-over work for Rocky Balboa, Rambo and Creed.  It meant the world when Ashton told me, “I’m staying with you my man, you always believed in me and I will always believe in you. I sit here in my studio in my beautiful home with my plane all because of you!”  It was almost like Burgess Meredith as Mickey, telling Rocky to get up ‘cuz he didn’t hear no bell.

As I sat in the middle of my office I realized I was CEO of a talent agency who after 20 plus years was left with no partner and one voice-over artist.  The odds against being able to start over again at 46 were against me.  I looked up and found myself staring at some of my most treasured Rocky memorabilia.  Stallone and Rocky had always resonated with me.  Like them, I was considered a longshot for success.  School was hard for me.  Sly and Rocky had made it.  So had I… once.  Could I do it again?  Could I regain the Eye of the Tiger?

It was almost like I heard the Rocky theme in my head.  I knew what I had to do.  First, I was going to give Ashton the attention he deserved for staying.  He had been my Mickey to inspire me, but now I would be his Mickey and promote him like the champ he was.  I immediately started looking for new voice talents – I wanted a big voice for blockbusters, a nice midrange guy and a few more to round out the roster.  I also knew that I would re-design my logo incorporating the Eye of the Tiger.  I went home and told my wife, my Adrian the news.  And like Rocky’s Adrian, she believed and encouraged me every step of the way.

My talent search led me to Matthew Rhode.  In just ten months I made Matthew a top-notch competitor.  Matthew landed Logan, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Blade Runner 2049, Ghost in the Shell, Kingsmen 2, The Mountain Between Us, American Made, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Jumanji, and is now heard on Star Wars: Last Jedi Verizon commercials.  Matthew even landed Star Trek: Discovery for the CBS network.  Ashton Smith (my Mickey) had his best year ever with film campaigns.  Jamie Anderson came on board just two months ago and out of the gates landed four films Roman J. Israel, Esq.; The Star,The Greatest Showman and I, Tonya.  2017 was one of the best years ever for Wintner Artists.  Talk about a comeback!

When I think back to me sitting alone in my office, at the lowest point of my business life, I can truthfully say, that it was my Rocky props and what they represent that gave me the strength and courage to get back up and go the distance!

I also want to thank my family for their love and support.

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I asked Paul if he ever speaks to his former partner/best friend.  Paul’s response was perfect: “Absolutely.  Things happen for a reason.  Rocky and Apollo stayed friends,” he laughed.

As my conversation with Paul came to a close, I asked, “So your Rocky props really saved you?”  Without hesitation, Paul responded, “My props, Ashton Smith and every Rocky film ever made and my family.  Because it ain’t over till it’s over.”

Paul’s story is truly inspiring and I’m grateful he was happy to share it.  Paul wishes some how Sly, who is probably sick of hearing it, knew how much that character has inspired people like him.  Like many Stallone fans, Paul was inspired to make fitness a part of his daily life since he was a teenager.  It was Rocky who got Paul through his rough teenage years, gave him the inspiration that he could succeed in business when he was just starting out and it was Rocky again who inspired Paul to make a comeback in business when others thought it would be impossible.

Thanks Paul for sharing your story (and Rocky props)! – Craig

“Life is not about how hard you hit.  It is about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” – Rocky Balboa