Steranko’s Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD Cover Recreation!
Feast your eyes on Steranko’s recreation of one of his classic Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD covers. You can see a space-sized version at Bendis!
Category: Celebs
33 Things We Learned from the “Conan the Barbarian” Commentary
Kate Erbland and Film School Rejects present 33 Things We Learned from the Conan the Barbarian Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
The narration at the beginning of the film was intended to be for Schwarzenegger. Milius points out that certain executives at Universal – he doesn’t name any names – didn’t trust Schwarzenegger, and there were concerns about his accent. “I said, ‘Of course, he has an accent. That’s why he’s Arnold.’,” says the director.
Milius hired actors to play against Schwarzenegger specifically based on their size, as he didn’t want many of Conan’s enemies to be smaller than he was. The director felt it helped build Conan as this iconic hero if he continuously took on and bested men who were much larger. “To have an opponent for Arnold, the guy has to be huge,” says Milius. Even James Earl Jones and Max Von Sydow are taller than the 6’2″ Schwarzenegger.
Executive producer Dino De Laurentiis wanted Milius to take out the scene with Conan, Valeria, and Subotai getting drunk in an inn, because he didn’t think it was dignified enough for the characters, particularly Conan. “The idea is that it’s great. They aren’t dignified. They have money, and they’re totally drunk and excited with power,” explains Milius. De Laurentiis especially didn’t like the shot where Conan passes out in his soup. “It’s like an Alka-Seltzer commercial,” says Schwarzenegger.
Frank Grillo is the “Wheelman” – The Teaser is Here!
The Teaser is Here! Frank Grillo is the Wheelman!
Across the Pacific (1942) / Z-View
Across the Pacific (1942)
Director: John Huston, Vincent Sherman (uncredited)
Screenplay: Richard Macaulay
Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet
The Pitch: “Bogart, Astor and Greenstreet with Huston directing.’”
Tagline: None
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
After a dishonorable discharge, Rick Leland (Bogart) finds himself on a Japanese ship headed to the Orient. On board Leland meets Dr. H.F.G. Lorenz (Greenstreet), a man with a shady past and
Alberta Marlow (Astor), a woman with a possible shared future. As in many Bogart movies, all is not what it seems on the surface.
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58 Things We Learned from James Gunn’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” Commentary
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 58 Things We Learned from James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
24. Glen Campbell’s “Southern Nights” was one of his favorite songs as a child, and he recalls the joy of attending a 4th of July party a couple years ago “at Jane Seymour’s house of all places” where he got to meet Campbell and listen to some live music from the man.
42. Stan Lee with the Watchers “doesn’t mean Stan Lee is a Watcher,”, but “who knows what Stan Lee is.”
55. Stallone asked how his line at Yondu’s viking funeral should be delivered, and Gunn replied “‘Have you seen the movie Babe?’ and he said ‘Yeah!’ I’m like this is you saying ‘That’ll do pig.’” My favorite part of this anecdote is the image of Stallone watching Babe.
Frailty (2001) / Z-View
Frailty (2001)
Director: Bill Paxton
Screenplay: Brent Hanley
Stars: Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Powers Boothe
The Pitch: “Bill Paxton wants to direct ‘Frailty’ – let’s do it!”
Tagline: There are demons among us
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Adam and Fenton are young brothers, being raised by their single parent dad. Dad is a hard-working loving parent and all is well with the family… until one night when their father wakes them up to reveal that he had been visited by an Angel. The Angel told dad that demons live among them and they have been chosen to slay them.
Fenton realizes his father had gone crazy, while Adam is convinced their dad was visited by an Angel. Fenton hopes this will pass, but when dad brings home a normal looking man who dad claims to be a demon and kills him, Fenton knows this is just the start…
Frailty is a classic that gets better with repeated viewings. Paxton’s acting and direction (the only film he directed!) is point on. Powers Boothe is, as always, excellent. This may be Matthew McConaughey’s best performance. Love the twists and turns.
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Jack Kirby Comic Con Tribute Book
Today is, as most readers here know, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jack Kirby. Mark Evanier (whose blog should be on your daily visit list) directed folks to a special treat…
This year’s Comic-Con International paid special note to Jack’s 100th birthday and its souvenir book included a wonderful 60-page section of articles, artwork and photo. For anyone interested in Jack, it’s a must-get…
And you can get it for free. Click over to Evanier’s post for the link and I’ll bet you enjoy all the other stuff he posts.
The 25 Best Action Movies to Get Your Blood Pumping
Gem Seddon and GamesRadar present The 25 Best Action Movies to Get Your Blood Pumping. Seddon has come up with a great list. It was hard to pick just three, so depending on my mood, my choices could change. But for now, here they are (with some thoughts to follow)…
5. Aliens (1986)
Action hero: Ellen RipleyThe film: Ridley Scott’s atmospheric opener saw Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) trapped on a spaceship with a single Xenomorph, so it made sense for James Cameron’s sequel to try and up the ante: an abandoned space colony, a unit of gung-ho marines and an entire hive of acid bleeding bugs.
Most action-packed scene: Confronting the queen in the bowels of the industrial complex, Ripley has a few nice mother-to-mother moments before later strapping into the power loader and fighting her claw to claw.
2. Die Hard (1988)
Action hero: John McClane
The film: New York cop John McClane picks the first of many wrong places and wrong times to visit his wife at work, but for star Bruce Willis and director John McTiernan, the timing couldn’t have been better. Putting an ordinary Joe in the middle of a firefight, confining a terrorist takeover to a single, claustrophobic building, and balancing quip-smart dialogue with hard and heavy action set-pieces, Die Hard set the mold and broke it at the same time.Most action-packed scene: A rooftop bomb. A short fire hose. A plate glass window. The rest is history.
8. John Wick (2014)
Action hero: John WickThe film: Director Chad Stahelski overcomes first-time jitters in his filmmaking debut, largely due to his experiences as a martial arts stunt co-ordinator. This revenge actioner throws in some dark motivating factors for Keanu Reeves leading man. His vendetta kill mission is the most dazzling work Reeves has accomplished since his first time tackling Neo.
Most action-packed scene: Wick enters a club wherein he punches, kicks, headbutts and shoots anyone who crosses his path. Each strike hits with an eerie precision.
I was glad to see Stallone made the top 25 with First Blood. I was also happy to see both John Wick films made the cut. If it was my list I would have found room for Rambo and Enter the Dragon.
“Brawl in Cell Block 99” Poster
The poster for Brawl in Cell Block 99 didn’t win me over, but I still can’t wait to see S. Craig Zahler’s folow-up to Bone Tomahawk.
15 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT ‘HAWAII FIVE-O’
Me-TV presents 15 THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT ‘HAWAII FIVE-O’. Here are three of my favorites…
THE “FIVE-O” SLANG FOR POLICE CAME FROM THIS TELEVISION SHOW.
Ever wonder where that piece of slang came from? Believe it or not, the TV series originated it. The series’ title actually was an homage to Hawaii being the 50th state of the U.S.A. Hawaii Five-O used the numerals as the fictional police division on the show. Over the year, the term came to be used as code for police in general.THE SHOW NEARLY STARRED GREGORY PECK.
Jack Lord will forever be associated with his character Steve McGarrett, but producers originally had other actors in mind. Richard Boone, the former star of Have Gun – Will Travel, was first offered the part. The former “Paladin” turned it down. Hollywood legend Gregory Peck was also considered for McGarrett. Robert Brown, perhaps best known for playing Lazarus in the Star Trek episode “The Alternative Factor,” nearly won the role, as well, before creators settled on Lord.ONE CONTROVERSIAL EPISODE WAS BANNED AND WILL NOT BE SEEN AGAIN.
When it originally aired on January 7, 1970, “Bored, She Hung Herself” was one of the stranger cases of Hawaii Five-O. Don Quine, best known as a regular on The Virginian, portrayed Don Miles. He was the primary suspect in the episode, after his girlfriend, Wanda (Pamela Murphy), was found dead, hanging from a noose in their Hawaiian apartment. Audiences were unaccustomed to seeing a character who practices a so-called form of “yoga” with a noose. Somewhere in America, a viewer tried the hanging technique performed by Don at the opening of the episode — and died. “Bored, She Hung Herself” was never shown again, and is no longer included in syndication packages.
Rare, Deleted Scene from “Rocky”
I thought readers might want to see the shot selected for my StalloneZone‘s POW [Picture of the Week]: Sly with Burgess Meredith and Stan Shaw in a rare, deleted scene from Rocky. Click on the photo to see a full-size version. – Craig
Movie Bloopers So Good They Made the Final Cut
And now… Movie Bloopers So Good They Made the Final Cut.
Bruce Lee’s Never Before Revealed Letters to Himself About Authenticity, Personal Development, and the Measure of Success
Maria Popova and BrainPickings present Bruce Lee’s Never Before Revealed Letters to Himself About Authenticity, Personal Development, and the Measure of Success. Fans will want to check out Bruce Lee’s thoughts displayed through photographs of his actual journal entries.
31 Things We Learned from Frank Darabont’s “The Mist” Commentary
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 31 Things We Learned from Frank Darabont’s The Mist Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
1. The opening set, where David Drayton (Thomas Jane) is painting, is designed after Drew Struzan’s actual studio and features copies of his most famous poster work including The Thing and Pan’s Labyrinth. “My idea was our artist here is painting a movie poster for a fictional Dark Tower film.”
6. He picked Melissa McBride (The Walking Dead) from tapes given them by the local casting director, and she impressed even the more seasoned actors during her initial scene in the market where she’s concerned about her kids. “The audition was thrilling, but what she did on set was even more thrilling.” The cast and crew burst into applause when he called cut.
23. The jump scare at 1:24:53 — William Sadler pounding on the glass door — made King jump in his seat on first viewing. “It was really one of the most gratifying moments because I scared the crap out of Stephen King, with the oldest trick in the book.”
