Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Recently Eddie Deezen posted a nice tribute to Moe Howard at Neatorama. In the piece it tells of the time that a fan asked Moe, “How long the Three Stooges would go on.” Moe’s response…
“Forever is a long time, but with a little luck, we just might make it.”
We can only hope, Moe. We can only hope.
Did you know that Rocky Balboa was once a member of G.I. Joe? In 1986 it was announced that he was.
But then a month later came…
So the question remains… was Rocky a member of team G.I. Joe or was it a mistake made by an overzealous member of the G.I. Joe publicity team?
Or perhaps… just maybe, Rocky was a secret member of the Joe’s and the first file was somehow leaked so a denial was needed. ; ) – Craig
Source: iFanboy
That’s Scott Godlewski’s take on Sly as Rambo. I got this sketch when I ordered a couple of Scott’s sketchbooks. He also did me a killer Jack Carter that I post in the coming weeks.
Until then, you can see more of Scott’s art here. – Craig
Here’s the poster to Homefront starring Jason Statham with a screenplay by Sylvester Stallone [who also doubles as a producer on the film].
I like the look of this and can’t wait to see a trailer.
The Pitch: “Let’s make a zombie movie [zombies are hot] based on Max Brooks’ World War Z novel [that book is hot] starring Brad Pitt [he’s hot].”
The Overview: A worldwide zombie outbreak is spreading at such an alarming rate that it threatens to wipeout humanity. Brad Pitt plays Gerry Lane, a former UN investigator asked to go with a young scientist and a team of Navy SEALS into a hot zone to see if the scientist can get information to stop the zombie infection. Nothing goes as planned… but does it ever during a zombie outbreak?
The Good:
The Bad:
The Ugly:
The Rating: A
Here is the finished sketch of Sly as Jack Carter that Drew Moss did for me for pickup at HeroesCon. This is my first sketch from Drew and it wasn’t my last. I’ll post the second piece that I got from Drew in the near future.
Until then, if you’d like to see more of Drew’s art, you can here. – Craig
The poster for Escape Plan, starring Sly and Arnold Schwarzenegger was released this week and it is a nice one!
Inspired by the Escape Plan poster, StalloneZoner, Ferhat TEMİZ made these three wallpapers. Click on each to get the wallpaper-sized version. Thanks to Ferhat! – Craig
That’s the self-titled Corduroy Mafia at Heroes Con 2013. From left to right we have Brian Jones, me, Gene Gonzales, John Nacinovich and Royce Thrower. How we gave ourselves the name Corduroy Mafia is a tale for another time. Instead I present my HeroesCon 2013 summary.
The Drive Up:
Doralya and I left Friday morning. We planned to leave earlier, but a late start got us on the road at about 5am. Traffic was terrible, two different wrecks slowed us down and it rained almost the entire way. From now on, we plan to drive up the night before the con starts.
The hotel:
We usually stay at the Weston, but this year it was the Hampton Inn Charlotte – Uptown. What a great hotel! It’s super-clean with the friendliest staff I’ve ever seen. Free shuttle service and free breakfast made the stay even better. I’d definitely stay here again!
Main Goal of the Show:
My main goal was to meet (for the first time) and get a sketch from Rick Burchett. I’m happy to report that Rick is as nice as he is talented — yeah, he’s really that friendly! I hoped to get Rick to draw Jack Carter (Stallone) with Chris Mills/Rick Burchett’s character, Grave Digger (Lee Marvin). Rick said he could make that happen!
I then got Greg Rucka to autograph two of my Atticus Kodiac novels. I’ve been a Rucka fan since before he started working in comics — and was pleased when he teamed with Rick Burchett on Lady Sabre. Eric Newsome was at the table as well. Eric assists with the Lady Sabre website and more. Since I am a backer of their Lady Sabre Kickstarter, I knew the password to get an advance look at a Lady Sabre script! Eric also reminded me that he had done a Stallone sketch for the SZ! It was great talking to Rick, Greg and Eric.
Books signed:
All books autographed — mission accomplished.
Sketches:
Panels:
It’s only been in the last several years that I’ve made a real effort to attend panels. Without a doubt, they have made the con experience even more fun.
Drink and Draw:
Because of weather it was held in the lobby of the Hilton. Jack the Radio provided live music — they’re good! The place was packed, but the Hilton staff was very accommodating and brought out more seats. Patricia, Doralya and I enjoyed watching and messing with LittleJohn312 as he attempted to win some art — and he did!
HeroesCon Auction:
As always the auction was a fun night. LittleJohn312 won a Wizard of Oz piece (as well as the companion piece that was in next day’s auction). The move to have professional auctioneers is helpful, but Alison’s presence as the Mistress of Ceremonies was missed.
Kickstarter:
Some HeroesCon guests had Kickstarter projects that I had backed. I made sure to swing by and congratulate each on their Kickstarter success:
Meals:
The biggest surprise is that we only ate at Fuel once. It was good to keep that tradition alive, but not over do it. The best meal we had was at Fujo Bistro — we will definitely hit that place again next year! Bojangles and Einstein’s Bagels also got our business. Sadly we did not make it to Mert’s.
The Drive Home:
We left about 5:30 and arrived home at about 12:30am. Traffic and rain were both light and we were exhausted, but in a good way.
In closing:
HeroesCon this year was huge with twice the floor space as previous years. The wider aisles made movement easier. There were also additional sections this year with chairs and tables for con guests to sit, eat and visit. The bigger painting area was also a plus.
I’ve had to rewrite this sentence several times, because I come off like a real fanboy trying to say how “cool” it was to meet Rick Burchett and Steranko. Let’s just say it was great and leave it at that.
Seeing old friends and meeting new ones is always a fun part of the show. I won’t try to list them all because invariably I would leave some out.
Thanks to Shelton and his crew for another great HeroesCon — see everyone next year!
In just a few hours, Doralya and I will be heading up to Charlotte for our annual pilgrimage to HeroesCon. I can’t wait. It’ll be nice to get away for a “long” weekend… especially since I’ll be spending it at Heroes. There’s always plenty to do. Look at the guest list and schedule of events and you can see I’m not kidding.
Hope to see you there, but if you can’t make the show, don’t worry, I’ll post a full report later in the week.
[And Chris, if you’re reading this, remember: No parties! Be sure to feed Bruiser!]
Did you know that a scene was cut from The Godfather II in which Michael Corleone [played by Al Pacino] committed a revenge killing?
This rare deleted scene from The Godfather Part II brings closure to a massive loose end: Michael’s brutal, long-delayed revenge on Fabrizio, the man who planted the car bomb that killed his first wife, Apollonia.
The scene is a chilling display of Michael’s transformation. He ensures Fabrizio meets the exact same fate—a car bomb explosion—confirming Michael’s reign as a ruthless Don who always settles his debts. This clip was cut from the theatrical release but appears in ‘The Godfather Saga.’
These are the pencils to a sketch of Sly as Jack Carter that Drew Moss is doing for me for pickup at HeroesCon. This is my first sketch from Drew and I’m sure it won’t be my last. I’ll post the finished piece when I get back from Heroes.
If you’d like to see more of Drew’s art, you can here. – Craig
10 Entertainment Careers Cut Short by Unsolved Mysteries is an interesting piece by Robin Warder that was recently posted over at Listverse. While the article doesn’t discuss the deaths of George Reeves, Tupac Shakur or the Black Dahlia, the entertainers that it does cover definitely died/disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Thanks to Bill Crider for pointing me in the right direction.
SZoner, Gerardo Moreno is back with his new Barney Ross Expendables piece. I’ve always enjoyed Gerardo’s Stallone art, and know that I can see more of his art here.
When I learned that Kyle Holtz was taking on some mail order commissions, I just knew I had to try to get on his list. I was able to and Kyle agreed to give me his take on Sly as Jack Carter.
The first piece that Kyle created can be seen here. I think Kyle did an amazing job on it. Unfortunately, it was lost in the mail. I have hope that it will eventually turn up. Thankfully, Kyle sent a scan before mailing the art. When Kyle learned that the piece never arrived, he agreed to redo it.
Knowing how much artists hate to redraw something, and because I thought Kyle totally nailed it, I asked if I could upgrade to a larger piece. Kyle agreed. So Kyle created the Jack Carter drawing posted today. I absolutely love it.
If you’d like to see more of Kyle’s art, click on over to his Facebook page. I give Kyle the highest recommendation to folks that collect commissions.
Christopher Moloney is the talent behind FILMography — “…an ongoing art project… that matches scenes from movies with their real-life, present-day locations” in photographs taken by Moloney.
Here are three examples…
First up we have John Travolta (above) in Staying Alive.
Next we have Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis from Die Hard with a Vengeance.
Finally, we have Sylvester Stallone and Jack Lemon from The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
Thanks to Mark Evanier for his post pointing me in the right direction.
