Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
It is being reported that The Expendables is heading to FOX television as “an event series based on the movies, with the franchise’s writer and star Stallone executive producing alongside the films’ producer Avi Lerner and NCIS veteran Shane Brennan… as showrunner.”
Awesome news for Stallone and Expendables fans.
Source: Deadline Hollywood.
Mental_Floss posted 15 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines by Sean Hutchinson. Here are three of my favorites from the list…
1. ARNOLD CAME BACK—BUT AT A PRICE …
Arnold Schwarzenegger was paid $29.25 million to star in T3.
11. THE PRODUCTION CREATED AN ENTIRE STREET FOR ONE SCENE …
Several city blocks used during the crane chase sequence were created because the production needed a level of destruction that wouldn’t be possible on a real street.
12. … AND SCHWARZENEGGER FOOTED PART OF THE BILL.
During the crane chase sequence, The Terminator—hanging from the crane—swings through an entire building façade. The studio didn’t want to foot the bill for the sequence, so Arnold Schwarzenegger put up his own money to complete the scene.
Like millions of other viewers I enjoyed the recent Saturday Night Live anniversary special. Like any series that spans 40 years, SNL has had its ups and downs.
Truth be told, I haven’t watched SNL regularly for years… more like decades. But I sure tuned in to see the special.
My favorite parts were the scenes from the first years with the original cast and Celebrity Jeopardy, but even the stuff that wasn’t great was enjoyable.
Norm Macdonald sent out a series of tweets about preparations in the week leading up to the SNL 40th Special and they’re entertaining and informative. Thankfully the Gothamist pulled them all together for an easy read.
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.
Debra Birnbaum, of Variety, caught up with Justified’s Timothy Olyphant for a short interview that’s worth a read.
If I didn’t know better, the answers sure sound like Raylan Givens speaking.
Wayward Pines has a great cast and trailer to boot. Let’s hope the series lives up to them.
Edward Punn created the above Walking Dead animation character designs and they are spot on. There are even more Walking Dead cast member drawings at Punn’s site plus other cool art that he’s created.
I’ve added Punn’s site to my Feedly so I don’t miss any updates.
Source: CBR.com.
I am really diggin’ the poster and trailer for The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Congrats to Max Allan Collins. Collins’ fictional hit man, Quarry, the star of several novels, is going to become a tv star as well.
Cinemax has given the go-ahead for eight episodes with Logan Marshall-Green in the title role.
Now if only someone would give Collins’ Nate Heller the same treatment!
Source: ComingSoon.net.
Did you know there was an online comic story featuring the characters from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul?
There is. Better Call Saul: Client Development is written by Jenn Carol and Gordon Smith with art by Steve Ellis.
You can read it panel by panel on AMC or where I found it at Bleeding Cool.
Let’s go behind the scenes on Better Call Saul for some insight on the character and show!
This Michael Golden Walking Dead variant cover was given to all attendees who paid full price to get into the Wizard World Indianapolis show way back in 2015.
VIP attendees got a rarer black and white version of the same cover.
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.
One of my must-see tv shows is The Strain on FX.
The Strain is based on the novels created by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan and explores the idea of a vampire apocalypse.
Be advised: These are not your parent’s or your daughter’s vampires. They aren’t dark, brooding or romantic and they sure don’t sparkle.
Kara Kovalchik presents 18 Things You Might Not Know About Frasier.
Regular readers know the drill: using just Kovalchik‘s list, here are my three favorite facts…
7. THE FIRST CUT OF THE PILOT WAS SIX MINUTES TOO LONG.
After seven passes, it still came in sixty seconds more than it should and the creative team decided they couldn’t cut any more. NBC agreed and said they would find the extra time—not by cutting a commercial, but by taking 15 seconds from the other 4 shows on that night.
17. KELSEY GRAMMER PLAYED FRASIER FOR A VERY, VERY LONG TIME …
Counting the time he spent on Cheers, Kelsey Grammer played the character of Frasier Crane in prime time for 20 consecutive years, a record TV-land hadn’t seen since James Arness played Marshall Dillon on Gunsmoke for the same length of time. Grammer’s publicist invited Arness to join Kelsey on The Today Show in 2004, but according to Grammer, Arness rejected the idea with a brief expletive that rhymes with “duck shoe.”
18. … AND HE’S THE FIRST AMERICAN ACTOR TO BE NOMINATED FOR THE SAME CHARACTER ON THREE DIFFERENT SERIES.
Cheers and Frasier are obvious, but Frasier Crane also made an Emmy-nominated guest appearance on Wings.
Click here for the full list.
Source: Mental_Floss.
