Category: Celebs

“Escape from New York” Got the Cinephilia Treatment!

Posted on by

Snake Plissken fans are going to love it that Escape from New York got the Cinephilia treatment.

Click on the link and you’ll find…

  • the Original Script
  • John Carpenter, High Adventure in the Future from Starlog #41 (Dec, 1980)
  • Kurt Russell Talks Escape From New York
  • an interview with John Carpenter from Starlog #48
  • On the Set with Escape from New York from Starlog #45
  • The Stars of Escape from New York: Kurt Russell and Adrienne Barbeau from Starlog #49
  • Interview with director John Carpenter and producer Debra Hill on Escape from New York
  • John Carpenter discussing the making of Escape from New York
  • Mick Garris interviews John Carpenter
  • Behind-the-scenes during production of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York.
  • and more!

George Romero Interview ‘Road of the Dead,’ & More!

Posted on by


George (Night of the Living Dead) Romero was working to arrange financing for Road of the Dead, a proposed new installment in Romero’s zombie franchise before he passed on. Romero pitched Road of the Dead by saying…

“In the darkest days of the zombie apocalypse, the last safe place on earth is anything but, as a mad despot uses the spectacle of high-octane carnage to keep control of his populace… “It’s ‘Fast and the Furious’ with zombies at the wheel”…

While Road of the Dead doesn’t sound like the zombie film that I’d like to see, I’d give it a go and hope to be pleasantly surprised.  Romero is the man who redefined the genre.

You can check out Romero’s thoughts on Road of the Dead, modern zombie films and more by clicking over to  George Romero Talks ‘Road of the Dead,’ His Disdain for ‘World War Z’ and Why He Liked ‘La La Land’ More Than ‘Moonlight’.

Source: IndieWire.

45 Things We Learned from Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg’s ‘This Is the End’ Commentary.

Posted on by


Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects recently posted 45 Things We Learned from Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg’s ‘This Is the End’ Commentary.   Here are three of my favorites…

8. The front of James Franco‘s house is mostly CG. The interior was built in a coffee bean warehouse. There were so many movies filming in New Orleans at the time that there were no proper sound stages available.

41. Franco fought them on his character dying as he didn’t think it should happen. Once he realized it was a losing argument he suggested the false rapture bit instead. “That joke’s literally from a Bugs Bunny cartoon.”

43. The movie originally ended with Seth and Jay rising up into heaven as the final shot, but early audiences demanded to see heaven.

11 FORGOTTEN FACTS ABOUT ABBOTT AND COSTELLO

Posted on by

Me-TV recently posted 11 FORGOTTEN FACTS ABOUT ABBOTT AND COSTELLO.  Here are three of my favorites…

COSTELLO HAD TO CHANGE HIS VOICE.
After several appearances on radio programs, including The Kate Smith Hour, Abbott and Costello were told by producers one of them had to change their voice. Apparently, they sounded too similar and listeners couldn’t distinguish between the two men. That’s when Costello adopted the higher pitch, for which he became known in his later years.

THEY WERE INSTANT HITS IN HOLLYWOOD.
The duo was first featured in the film One Night in the Tropics. Originally a bit part in the film, the duo provided so much good material that the lines of others actors had to be cut in order to meet the 90-minute requirement. Although the film was a flop, Abbott and Costello were a hit with audiences in their supporting roles.

COSTELLO MADE MORE MONEY THAN ABBOTT.
Once the duo arrived in Hollywood, Abbot and Costello earned a 50/50 split of the profits. However, Costello, being the comedian, felt he should earn more than Abbot, the straight man. Eventually, tension reached a peak when Costello threatened to break up the act if Abbott wouldn’t settle for a 60/40 split.

RIP – George Romero

Posted on by

George Romero passed away today at the age of 77 from a “brief but aggressive battle with lung cancer.”  I was shocked and saddened to read those words.  Romero is one of my movie heroes.

Most of you know that Romero co-wrote (with John Russo) and directed Night of the Living Dead, the movie that redefined zombies and created a horror sub-genre.  Romero always did things his way and followed NOTLD with several other “…of the Dead” zombie films.  He was currently working to get financing for Road of the Dead, which was set to become the next feature in his zombie franchise.

Although Mr. Romero was a bit older, I was truly surprised by his passing.  Just last weekend I listened to Jonathon Maberry talking about the joy of working with George Romero on Nights of the Living Dead: An Anthology.  I couldn’t wait to order my copy.  Now I want to get it in my mitts even more.  I have a post scheduled to go live in a couple of days about Mr. Romero working on financing for Road of the Dead.  There was no hint that he’d been ill.

Romero died peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by his family while the score of one his favorite films, 1952’s “The Quiet Man,” played in the background.  I can’t think of a much nicer way to go.  Thanks to George Romero for not only all of the movies he created but also for those his work inspired.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Source: Los Angeles Times.

Thomas Boatwright and Jack Carter

Posted on by

Thomas Boatwright is back and Jack Carter is with him.  Over the years I’ve gotten several Stallone pieces from Thomas.

If you’d like to see more of Thomas Boatwright’s art check out his blog. Send him some love.

If you get commissions, you should consider a piece from Thomas. He keeps you totally in the loop on his progress, finishes his commissions on or ahead of schedule, has very reasonable prices, is a fantastic artist and always gives you more than you’re expecting!   – Craig

16 Fascinating Facts About Peter Falk and “Columbo”

Posted on by

Me-TV presents 16 Fascinating Facts About Peter Falk and Columbo.  Here are three of my favorites (and it was tough to just choose three):

HE WAS THE FIRST ACTOR NOMINATED FOR AN OSCAR AND EMMY THE SAME YEAR.
In 1961, Falk earned the distinction of becoming the first actor to be nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy in the same year. He received nominations for his supporting roles in Murder, Inc. and television program The Law and Mr. Jones. Incredibly, Falk repeated this double nomination in 1962, being nominated again for a supporting actor role in Pocketful of Miracles and best actor in “The Price of Tomatoes,” an episode of The Dick Powell Theatre, for which he took home the award.

HE WASN’T THE FIRST ACTOR TO PLAY COLUMBO.
Though the character Columbo first appeared on television in 1960, it would be nearly a decade before Falk would become synonymous with the rumpled detective. First, Bert Freed played the LAPD flatfoot in a 1960 episode of anthology series The Chevy Mystery Show. A couple years later, Thomas Mitchell (pictured to the left) played the sleuth onstage in a production called Prescription: Murder in San Francisco. When it was decided that the play would be turned into a television movie in 1968, the lead was offered to Lee J. Cobb and Bing Crosby, but Falk landed the part.

HE SUPPLIED COLUMBO’S WARDROBE AND OFTEN AD LIBBED.
Perhaps to add further authenticity to the LAPD detective, Falk personally supplied his character’s shabby clothes. One anecdote purports that when asked whether Columbo’s trademark raincoat was in the Smithsonian, the actor retorted that the garment was in his upstairs closet. Falk also ad libbed extensively as the character, throwing adversaries (and fellow actors) off balance with improvised misdirection.

11 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE ANDY GRIFFITH DID BEYOND ‘THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW’!

Posted on by

MeTV  presents 11 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE ANDY GRIFFITH DID BEYOND ‘THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW’!  Here are three of my favorites…

HE TAUGHT HIGH SCHOOL.
After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Griffith hopped from Chapel Hill to Goldsboro, North Carolina, where he taught drama at Goldsboro High School for a few years. Go Mighty Cougars!

HE PLAYED SHERIFF ANDY TAYLOR ON FOUR DIFFERENT TV SERIES.
Okay, we are going to spend a little time talking about Andy Taylor. The Sheriff pulled off the rare feat of appearing on four different shows — The Danny Thomas Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Mayberry R.F.D. and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

HE WAS NOMINATED FOR TWO TONY AWARDS FOR HIS WORK ON BROADWAY.
Griffith took to Broadway in 1955, starring in Ira Levin’s comedic drama No Time for Sergeants. Roddy McDowell, seen here hanging from his leg, played Griffith’s buddy. The Tony Awards honored Griffith with a nomination for Distinguished Supporting or Featured Dramatic Actor at the 1956 ceremony. He lost to Ed Begley. Four years later, he earned a nomination for Distinguished Musical Actor for his lead role in Destry Rides Again.

 

Baby Driver (2017)

Posted on by

Baby Driver (2017)

Director: Edgar Wright

Screenplay: Edgar Wright

Stars: Ansel Elgort, Jon Bernthal, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Lily James, Kevin Spacey and CJ Jones.

The Pitch: “Hey, Edgar Wright has this cool idea for a crime love story wrapped around a killer soundtrack!”

Tagline: All you need is one killer track.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Baby is a young getaway driver working off a debt to a crime boss.  Baby has one more heist to drive and he’s out debt-free.  Then Baby meets the girl of his dreams and things get complicated, not because of her but because preparation for the job goes sideways.  People die and Baby finds himself on the run from his team and the cops.

Edgar Wright has created a cool, action-packed love story wrapped around bigger than life characters all moving through life to their own internal soundtrack.  The more I think about Baby Driver the more I like it.  Wright’s story is a fable or yarn that has all of the characters you’d want, played by people you’d cast.  Yeah, Baby Driver deserves an “A”.

Rating:

Joshua Greathouse Gets Carter!

Posted on by

This amazing watercolor was created by Joshua Greathouse. When I saw that Greathouse was taking pre-show commissions for HeroesCon, I contacted him about a Get Carter piece.  Man, did he nail it!

The funny thing is, when I picked up the art, Greathouse told me it was the second piece he’d ever done for me.  I was sure it was the first.  Greathouse went on to say he’d done a Rocky sketch for me at another show several years ago.  That night I checked my online posted art and there was nothing by Greathouse.  Of course I have many pieces that have not been scanned and posted yet.  When I returned home I found the piece Greathouse was talking about.  You won’t believe his growth as an artist.  I’ll post the Rocky piece soon.

In the meantime, if you’re a sketch collector, check out Greathouse on the web.  You can find him here and here.

55 Things We Learned from “The Rock” Commentary with Michael Bay and Nicolas Cage

Posted on by

Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 55 Things We Learned from The Rock Commentary with Michael Bay and Nicolas Cage.  Here are three of my favorites…

20. Sean Connery suggested that Bay “needed to rehearse more and just slow down in the morning,” and the director took the advice.

33. Cage was concerned that he “looked like a little Japanese schoolboy” in his SCUBA gear while the other actors all looked cool. Bay admits to intentionally making him look ridiculous.

39. It took a while for Bay to convince both Cage and Connery to go underwater while flames blasted above the surface at the 1:22:40 mark, but both actors eventually agreed. There are safety divers immediately outside of frame during the sequence. “It was very frightening,” adds Cage. “And Sean wasn’t happy about it.”

 

Breaking Bad: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Walter White

Posted on by

Craig Elvy and ScreenRant present Breaking Bad: 15 Things You Didn’t Know About Walter White.  Here are three of my favorites…

15. HE HAS MUCH IN COMMON WITH THE REAL HEISENBERG

It’s common knowledge that Walter White’s Heisenberg alias is inspired by real life scientist Werner Heisenberg, but like so much else in Breaking Bad, this was not a random choice, and the two figures share more than just a name.

Like Walter, the real life Heisenberg also suffered from cancer, albeit not of the lung. Both men also followed a similar career trajectory, in the sense that they started off on the straight and narrow before becoming involved in something darker. In the case of Werner Heisenberg, the scientist won a Nobel Prize in 1932 but would eventually form part of the Nazis’ Nuclear Research team.

Perhaps the main reason why Walter White was given the Heisenberg alias, however, is because of the scientist’s famous Uncertainty Principle. This theory claims that a particle’s momentum and exact position cannot both be known for certain. This acts as an metaphor for Walter White’s transformation from humble teacher to hardened criminal – as he gains momentum, his moral position becomes less clear.

9. JOHN CUSACK AND MATTHEW BRODERICK WERE CONSIDERED FOR THE PART

John Cusack and Matthew Broderick Breaking Bad: 15 Things You Didnt Know About Walter White

Before AMC was sold on Bryan Cranston’s suitability for the role of Walter White, several other actors were strongly considered, including big names such as John Cusack (High Fidelity, Being John Malkovich) and Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).

Although AMC’s apparent determination to cast an eighties coming-of-age movie icon is certainly odd, both actors would’ve likely been talented enough to portray White’s everyman-turned-criminal character. Cusack in particular has proven himself to be equally effective as both a protagonist and an antagonist.

With hindsight, however, it’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Cranston in the role, and Vince Gilligan has previously stated that he was actively against casting big-name actors, as he felt this would be detrimental to the show. Breaking Bad’s major success proved he knew exactly what he was doing.

4. WALT WAS ORIGINALLY GOING TO DIRECTLY KILL JANE

One of the most despicable acts Walter White commits during Breaking Bad is allowing Jesse’s girlfriend Jane to die of a drug overdose during the season two offering “Phoenix,” especially since he could have at least made some attempt to save her. As uncomfortable as this scene is, however, the original draft was far, far darker.

Vince Gilligan’s original intention was for Walt to kill Jane in a more direct way, either by injecting her with drugs himself or by actually moving her into a position that would make her choke. Other members of the writers’ room disagreed with this idea and felt that it would make viewers hate Walt more than was necessary at that point in the show.

Eventually, Gilligan came to the same conclusion, and Walt stood by and watched Jane die, rather than killing her directly. As if that’s any better.