Category: Celebs
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.
Rating:
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.”
Comedian Jim Carrey is a Serious Artist!
Comedian Jim Carrey has become quite the serious artist. And that’s no joke!
Stephen King Interview!
Jenelle Riley has a nice interview with Stephen King at Variety. Here are a couple of tidbits…
Do you enjoy acting? A lot of people cite your performance in “Creepshow” as memorable.
What they really talk about is the bit I did in “Sons of Anarchy” where I played a crazy guy who cleans up bodies. That was fun. Look, I like to sing in the shower, too, but that doesn’t mean anybody’s ever going to put me on a record.Is there anything that scares you?
Oh God, yes. Air travel is a big one with me because I feel like I’m not in control. I’m close to 70 now, so I’m worried about basically having the cheese slide off my cracker — Alzheimer’s, dementia, stuff like that. I don’t like bugs, I don’t like bats, I don’t like things that creep and crawl. With the exception of snakes, somehow they don’t really turn my dials. But I’m also afraid of people like Brady Hartsfield, they’re out there. And it crosses my mind every time I do a public event. You think about somebody like Mark David Chapman, and you think maybe somebody’s got a knife out for you. But that’s part of life.
Hard to believe Stephen King has been knocking out best-sellers for over 40 years!
The Walking Dead: 15 Awesome Things You Didn’t Know About Daryl
Caitlin Leale and ScreenRant present The Walking Dead: 15 Awesome Things You Didn’t Know About Daryl. Here are three of my favorites…
15. HE’S STRICTLY FOR TV
Don’t expect Daryl Dixon to pop up in the comics anytime soon – or ever, according to The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman. He got fans’ hopes up on April Fool’s Day back in 2014 when he posted a joke comic book cover with Daryl on the front. However, Kirkman was quick to clarify that the cover was a joke, saying in an interview with MTV that he’ll never bring Daryl to the comics. The creator cited Daryl’s “immense popularity” as the main reasons that he’ll never write a crossover, explaining that despite the fact the television show is based on the comics, the two are on different paths and have core differences as a result. Unfortunately, Daryl just happens to be one of those differences.10. YOU MIGHT BE READING INTO HIS TATTOOS TOO MUCH
Crossbow, motorcycle, tattoos – Daryl has all the “tough guy” bases covered. Daryl’s tattoos have been revealed on the show before, most notably in Season 3’s “Home.” Merle rips off Daryl’s shirt in the midst of a quarrel during the episode and reveals a host of scars over Daryl’s back. The point of the shot was to emphasize Daryl’s traumatic upbringing, but fans latched on to something else: what could Daryl’s devil-like back tattoos mean? According to Norman Reedus, not much. The actor has said that he opted out of covering his tattoos or giving Daryl his own unique designs and simply kept all of his personal tattoos for his Walking Dead character. Reedus also has several other tattoos besides the two revealed on his back: he also has his dad’s name (also Norman) on his chest, his son’s name “Mingus” on his right forearm, and several others.3. DARYL WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN AS A RACIST DRUG ADDICT
It turns out Norman Reedus was an excellent choice to play Daryl Dixon, and not only because his talent shines through onscreen. Daryl was originally written as a harsher, more antagonistic character, akin to his brother Merle. Basically, he was just supposed to be another racist drug addict. Kirkman says you can see these characteristics come out the most in Season 1. However, Reedus wasn’t so convinced that this was the right choice for his character. As the show went on, the actor transformed his character from one exactly like his brother to one more resentful of his past and upbringing. Kirkman has said that it’s Daryl’s complexity that fans enjoy so much today is all due to Reedus’ creative choices, so if you’re a big fan of Daryl’s character, you have the actor to thank.
Jonathan Maberry Interview!
ComicBook101.com recently posted an interview with Jonathon Maberry that’s worth a read.
Jonathan Maberry is a NY Times bestselling author, executing a wide-ranging body of work for Marvel, Dark Horse, and more. He is currently doing loads of stuff with IDW, from the frenetically-paced, terrifyingly good ‘V-Wars’, to the angst-loaded, twist-laden ‘Rot & Ruin’. A fan would be breathless following the work of this writer, just as we were when he granted us the following interview, in which he promised lots of rot, ruin, and paranoia, among other things.
