Category: Celebs

Remembering Leonard Nimoy – RIP

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Leonard Nimoy died today at the age of 83 from the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Although best known for his role as Spock [which spanned the Star Trek  tv and movie series], Leonard Nimoy was not only an actor, but also a director, author, and photographer.

Had Mr. Nimoy only been known for his role as Spock, that would have been enough to merit a post in my blog. Spock as played by Leonard Nimoy was one of my first and longest-lasting heroes. I wasn’t alone in that thinking. I was able to convince my mom to let me have a Spock haircut, but thankfully, she drew the line when I asked for my ears to be made pointed.

After the original Star Trek  series went off the air I continued to be a Leonard Nimoy fan enjoying his performances on new television shows and movies, and discovering his past performances in both media as well.

It’s cliché but true for many baby-boomers when we lost Leonard Nimoy, we also lost a big piece of our childhood.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Leonard Nimoy’s family, friends and fans.

“Pitch Black” and the Unexpected Genius of Vin Diesel

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One of my all-time favorite movie characters is Riddick played by Vin Diesel in Pitch Black;  The Chronicles of Riddick  and Riddick.

It was in Pitch Black  that Diesel [along with writer/director David Twohy] laid the foundation for what Adam Bellotto summarizes as Pitch Black and the Unexpected Genius of Vin Diesel for Film School Rejects.

Well done, Mr. Bellotto.  Well done.

38 Things We Learned from the “John Wick” Commentary

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Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 38 Things We Learned from the John Wick  Commentary.

Here are my top five…

3. Their first “director’s cut” was two hours and twenty minutes. That’s thirty nine minutes longer than the film’s theatrical cut.

4. They acknowledge that in the real world a retired assassin probably would have changed his name, but they like they idea of this world being similar to that of a comic book.

13. They were heavily influenced by the style of graphic novels and attempted to capture some of that in the colors, framing and angles.

20. They love seeing people’s reactions to the gold coins, the cop (Thomas Sadoski) at the front door and other unexplained sequences. “A lot of people don’t give their audiences credit,” says Leitch. “You can leave it a little mysterious. They can think about it.”

18. They credit Reeves’ dedication and talent with their ability to do long takes during the fight scenes. “I think we really only cut for impact,” says Stahelski. “We didn’t really cut to get around moves, we didn’t cut to speed things up. We wanted you to see what happens before, during and after.” “You’re not using long lenses to hide bad action,” adds Leitch.

Romero’s Night of the Living Dead “Origins” Moves Forward

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Variety reported earlier this week that Cameron Romero [George Romero’s son]  zombie movie Origins is moving forward!

The movie has his dad’s blessing and the elder Romero will serve as an executive producer of the film which will be a prequel to Night of the Living Dead.

I like the idea that Cameron has taken up the mantle and plans to carry on the Romero zombie tradition.

 

Sly Stallone and “The Drawings of Bob Peak”

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The Bob Peak drawing above is of Sylvester Stallone from Paradise Alley!

I discovered the piece as part of an advertisement for a new book of Bob Peak drawings being put together by Thomas Peak through Kickstarter.  Here’s the book’s description…

“THE DRAWINGS OF BOB PEAK”.  This new 160 page oversized soft cover book (14″ x 11″) curated collection of his best drawings is a comprehensive look into a rarely viewed side of Bob Peak with never before seen charcoal, graphite, art marker, pen, ink, pencil, and pastel drawings from the maestro himself.  This oversized book will take on the look and feel of the actual artwork with drawings large enough to study and admire the mastery of the artist Bob Peak.  A “Collectors Edition” of (100 copies only) is also available.  Produced by Art Works Fine Art Publishing which also produced the original “The Art of Bob Peak” book, this new book will be of the same high quality that you expect and I require.  I will produce nothing surrounding the legacy of my father Bob Peak that does not meet with the highest standards.  I appreciate your support.  You will NOT be disappointed.

I’ve backed the project and the book was well worth the bucks.  If you missed out, you can still find copies on Amazon.

21 Things You Might Not Know About “Justified”

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Justified is my current favorite tv show so I was glad to read 21 Things You Might Not Know About Justified.

Here are my three favorite of the facts listed…

6. LEONARD WAS A FAN OF OLYPHANT’S PORTRAYAL.

Before his passing, Leonard was very vocal about being a fan of Justified—particularly with the way that Olyphant interpreted the character of Raylan. In 2012, The Wall Street Journal asked Leonard whether the series had influenced the way he visualized the character in his writing, to which he responded: “No, because Tim Olyphant plays the character exactly the way I wrote him. I couldn’t believe it. He’s laidback and he’s quiet about everything, but he says, if I have to pull my gun, then that’s a different story. And it works. There are very few actors that recite the lines exactly the way you hear them when you’re writing the book. George Clooney [in the 1998 movie Out of Sight] was one. He was very good.”

7. OLYPHANT ISN’T THE FIRST ACTOR TO PORTRAY RAYLAN GIVENS.

James LeGros got there first, playing Raylan Givens in the 1997 TV movie adaptation of Pronto. And LeGros has popped up on Justified, too: In 2011, he began a recurring role as small-potato criminal Wade Messer.

17. OLYPHANT CLAIMS TO BE DOING HIS BEST SAM ELLIOTT IMPRESSION.

In order to be the coolest guy in the room, Olyphant claims that he just acts as Sam Elliott might. The irony, of course, is that Elliott will star as one of the final season’s bad guys. “On his first day of work, I took [Sam] aside and said, ‘Look, buddy, here’s the deal: Raylan is really just me trying to be you and failing miserably,” Olyphant joked to Rolling Stone.

Source: Mental_Floss.

10 Facts You May Not Know About Elvis Presley

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Eddie Deezen recently presented 10 Facts You May Not Know About Elvis Presley.  Here are my three favs from the list…

5. He wanted to make guest appearances on Laugh-In and Hee Haw.
Elvis was an inveterate TV watcher.He enjoyed watching many popular television shows in the ’60s and ’70s.

He actually thought about making cameo appearances on both Laugh-In and Hee Haw. He thought he could do a brief cameo on Laugh-In when he rode a tricycle, incognito. It never happened.

6. He didn’t know the Beatles by name.
In 1965, the celebrated formal meeting of Elvis and the Beatles took place at Elvis’ house in Bel Air. Since Elvis had no idea which Beatle was which, during the meeting, he addressed each one as “Beatle,” instead of using their first names.

1. He was pals with Clint Eastwood.
Elvis and Clint Eastwood used to see each other around the studio they both worked at in the mid-60’s. According to Clint: “I was always wearing a gun. (Elvis) loved to do fast draws and stuff, so we always did fast draws together.”

“I liked him. He seemed like a good guy. Had a lot of guys hanging around, big entourage.”

 Source: Neatorama.