I’m diggin’ everything about the poster and trailer for Briarpatch. I hope the series is as good.
BRIARPATCH follows Allegra Dill (Dawson), a dogged investigator returning to her border-town Texas home after her sister is murdered. What begins as a search for a killer turns into an all-consuming fight to bring her corrupt hometown to its knees. The season celebrates the beloved genres represented by Thomas’ book — a stylish blend of crime and pulp fiction — while updating his sense of fun, danger and place for a new generation.
The season also stars Jay R. Ferguson (Mad Men, The Romanoffs), Brian Geraghty (Chicago P.D., Ray Donovan), and Edi Gathegi (StartUp). The first season will shoot in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
This very cool drawing of James Garner as Maverick was created by the uber talented artist Dan Spiegel. You can see a larger version by clicking on the image above.
Screenplay: Steve Zallian based on the book by Charles Brandt
Stars: Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, and Jesse Plemons.
The Pitch: “Martin Scorsese wants to do a new gangster movie!”
Tagline: His story changed history.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
On his deathbed in 2003, Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran, a former bodyguard and alleged mob hitman confessed to a killing that if true would resolve a mystery that has remained unsolved for decades. Sheeran’s confessions (of that murder and more) became the basis of I Heard You Paint Houses: The Inside Story of the Mobsters, the Teamsters & the Last Ride of Jimmy Hoffa by Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran and Charles Brandt. That book became the inspiration for The Irishman.
The Irishman re-teams Scorsese, De Niro, and Pesci, then adds Pacino for good measure. De Niro plays Sheeran who accidentally meets and becomes friends with mobster, Russell Bufalino (Pesci). As the years pass Sheeran works his way into Bufalono’s inner circle because of his willingness to take care of business. Sheeran’s choices take him down a road that leads inevitably to the loss of his family, friends and the betrayal of those he cares about.
The Irishman is getting almost universal praise. It should. Scorsese is in top form and gets the best performances from De Niro and Pacino that we’ve seen in years. Pesci gives his best performance ever. Pesci deserves all of the awards he’ll receive for this role. I was worried that Pacino would be too over the top for his role as Hoffa, but he reined it in and pulled it off.
Now to the two nits, many are picking: 1) The de-aging CGI and 2) the length of The Irishman.
I’ll admit that at first the CGI is distracting. As the film went on it became less so. Scorsese has said that a lot of attention was paid in the de-aging scenes to make sure the main actors (all 70+) moved age appropriately for their scenes. (“Uh, Al, let’s do that again. Remember when you’re getting out of the chair in this scene, you’re 45.”) There were a couple of scenes where the faces look younger but the body movements don’t have the same snap as a younger man. Minor distractions in my opinion, but some folks are complaining big time so your mileage may vary.
The second nit some are picking is the length of The Irishman which clocks in at 3 hours and 29 minutes making it the longest movie Scorsese has directed, and reportedly the longest mainstream film released in decades. I thought the film moved at the right pace. I was never bored. I never checked my watch. It didn’t feel like a three hour plus movie. Again your mileage may vary.
If you’re in the area on January 12, 2020, you ought to consider swinging by The DeLand Comic and Collectibles Show. It’s a small, fun one day convention. My best bud, John Beatty will be a guest. So will my pal, Rob Smith. You can see the full guest list here. Hope to see you there!
Frank Miller and Legendary Television have reached an agreement to turn Miller’s Sin City into a television series. An agreement to bring Robert Rodriguez (Miller’s co-director on the Sin City films) on board is also in the works.
The deal would guarantee a minimum of one season if picked up by a network or streaming service. In addition to the Sin City tv series, the agreement also provides for a Sin City R-rated animated series!
I love both of these ideas. And wouldn’t animated Sin City series done in the style of Miller’s graphic novels would be interesting?
The poster and trailer to Fantasy Island are here. The poster is pretty “meh” but that trailer was a surprise. Definitely not the Fantasy Island I was expecting or grew up with… and that’s a good thing!
Of Mice and Minestrone: Hap & Leondard: The Early Years, by Joe R. Lansdale has been announced for May 14, 2020. Fans are already putting in their pre-orders. Any book by Lansdale is cause for a celebration, but H&L tales call for a special party. Here’s what we can expect…
Pull up a seat and sit a spell. Master storyteller Joe R. Lansdale has cooked up a passel of tales for you about the unlikeliest duo East Texas has to offer.
Hap Collins looks like a good ol’ boy, but from his misspent youth on, his best compatriot is Leonard Pine―black, gay, and the ultimate outsider. Inseparable friends, Hap and Leonard attend family gatherings, climb into the boxing ring, get in bar fights, and just go fishing―all while confronting racism, righting wrongs, and eating copious, delicious food.
Chock full of Lansdale’s unique blend of humor, ferocity, and insight, Of Mice and Minestrone delivers five never-before-seen (plus one perhaps familiar) Hap and Leonard stories, a selection of the boys’ favorite recipes, and an introduction from New York Times bestselling author Kathleen Kent.
So come discover the legends of Hap and Leonard, created by Joe R. Lansdale his own self, and featured in the by Hap and Leonard TV series starring Michael K. Williams (The Wire), James Purefoy (The Following), and Christina Hendricks (Mad Men).
Stars: Aaron Paul, Jonathan Banks, Matt Jones, Jonathon Banks, Matt Jones, Charles Baker, Larry Hankin, Marla Gibbs and Robert Forster.
The Pitch: “Vince Gilligan wants to do a Breaking Bad movie!”
Tagline: A Breaking Bad Movie.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When Breaking Bad ended, Vince Gilligan thought he had told the story he had wanted to tell. As time went on he realized that although the story was told, there were more details to share.
When Breaking Bad ended Jesse Pinkman was last seen speeding away as police cars raced to the lab where he had been held prisoner, tortured and forced to produce meth. Walter White lay on the floor bleeding out from a gunshot wound received while freeing Jesse. Fans speculated if Jesse really would get away and if Walter would really die.
El Camino answers those questions. And in doing so we get to revisit characters from the series and fill in the gaps. El Camino ultimately does answer our questions, but leaves us guessing right up until the reveals. The great thing about El Camino is it doesn’t feel forced and fans of the series who don’t tune in (can’t imagine there would be many) don’t miss out on the broad strokes. Those who never watched Breaking Bad should still enjoy El Camino, but to a lesser extent. As for me, I really liked it.
5. The show is Jerry Lewis-level huge in France. The French have a knack for developing cults around unexpected, overlooked pieces of American pop culture. Their Invaders fandom is a prime example, and it’s not just the how of it but the when of it. Thinnes himself explained the genesis of the French Invaders phenomenon in a 2008 interview with Premium Hollywood. “Back in the early ’80s, Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, who is a star anchorman with Télévision Française 1, he had a four-hour show on Sundays and he did a survey with the audience and asked… because they love American television, what would they like to see again,” Thinnes said. “And they got a lot of calls about The Invaders, so TF1 bought a few episodes and tested it and got a huge response. So they began running the series.” The reruns later jumped to cable and an “MTV equivalent,” airing in reruns for two decades.
6. Suzanne Plechette twice sacrificed herself as a friendly alien on the show. Not all of the aliens on The Invaders had wicked motives. Some helped David Vincent along the way. In particular, Suzanne Pleshette of The Bob Newhart Show stands out, as she turns up twice, as two different such aliens. In the second episode, she plays a stripper who also happens to be an Invaders, albeit a “mutation” who can feel empathy. So she helps David, dying in the end. This is the first time we see the glowing red death of the aliens on the series. In the second season, Pleshette appears again as Anne, a more hot-headed alien who also gives her life in helping David. Those E.T. must have loved shifting into the shape of Pleshette.
7. The Invaders dabbled in zombies, too. While it was never a huge ratings hit, The Invaders nevertheless spawned an expanded universe of tie-in books and comics. Perhaps the must interesting pulp Invaders novel was Army of the Undead, which centers around the alien Invaders turning humans into mindless “zombies.” What is perhaps most fascinating about its use of zombies is that the paperback hit stands in 1967 — a year before Night of the Living Dead. It was ahead of the curve.
Robert Forster, the actor best known for his Academy Award nominated role in Jackie Brown has passed away at the age of 78 from brain cancer.
Forster was one of those rare actors who made everything in was in better. I first became aware of Forster in the tv series Banyon. I liked him better than the show and often that seemed to be the case. The same could be said for his appearances in Reflections in a Golden Eye; The Black Hole; Alligator; The Delta Force; and so many more.
“My career went like this for five years and then like that for 27. Every time it reached a lower level I thought I could tolerate, it dropped some more, and then some more. Near the end I had no agent, no manager, no lawyer, no nothing. I was taking whatever fell through the cracks.”
But Forster hung in taking whatever parts he could that would pay the bills.
Quentin Tarantino was a fan and had Forster audition for Reservoir Dogs. Ultimately Tarantino gave the part to Lawrence Tierney, but had another idea for Forster. And that was the male lead in Jackie Brown. Forster was nominated for an Academy Award and that restarted his career. Better roles continued, and Forster worked until his death — having two films, El Camino: A Breaking Bad Story and Phil coming out in 2019.
“You gotta be ready… Accept all things that give you a good attitude. Deliver excellence right now… And never quit. You can win it in the late innings if you don’t quit.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Robert Forster’s family, friends and fans.
Sly Stallone and Dolph Lundgren’s The International, a one-hour on-going series will appear on CBS. Lundgren is set to serve as star and Producer with Stallone taking the role of Executive Producer and the series coming from Stallone’s Balboa Productions.
Lundgren plays…
…Anders Soto, described as a one-man covert black-ops team working for the U.N., who is called in to find asymmetrical solutions to the world’s most delicate and complex problems. He is part negotiator and part international spy….
Fans are hopeful that Stallone will make an appearance(s) and perhaps direct some of the episodes.
Matthew Jackson and Mental Floss present 10 Terrifying Facts About Creepshow. Here are three of my favorites (with my comments) before you click over and check out them all!
1. IT BEGAN WITH SALEM’S LOT.
(Can you imagine if Stephen King and George Romero had made a theatrical version of Salem’s Lot? I loved the tv version of Salem’s Lot, but the thought of a King/Romero movie makes me smile and wonder. – Craig)
9. CREEPSHOW INTRODUCED GREG NICOTERO TO FILMMAKING.
(If getting Nicotero into movies was the only thing that Creepshow was known for it would be enough. – Craig)
10. CREEPSHOW IS PART OF THE STEPHEN KING UNIVERSE.
(I love that Stephen King stories, for the most part, take place in the Stephen King universe. – Craig)
