Category: Crime

30 Things You Might Not Know About “Die Hard”

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Jennifer Wood and Mental_Floss present 30 Things You Might Not Know About Die Hard.

Here are my three favorites…

5. CLINT EASTWOOD PLANNED TO TAKE A STAB AT THE PART.

Originally, it was Clint Eastwood who owned the movie rights to Nothing Lasts Forever, which he had planned to star in in the early 1980s. That obviously never happened.

7. BRUCE WILLIS WASN’T EVEN THE STUDIO’S THIRD CHOICE FOR THE ROLE.

If Die Hard was to be a success, the studio knew they needed a bona fide action star in the part, so they set about offering it to a seemingly never-ending list of A-listers of the time. Rumor has it that Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, Robert De Niro, Charles Bronson, Nick Nolte, Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Don Johnson, Burt Reynolds, and Richard Dean Anderson (yes, MacGyver!) were all considered for the role of John McClane. And all declined it.

9. BRUCE WILLIS WAS BARELY EVEN SEEN ON THE MOVIE’S POSTERS.

Because the studio’s marketing gurus were unconvinced that audiences would pay to see an action movie starring the funny guy from Moonlighting, the original batch of posters for the film centered on Nakatomi Plaza instead of Willis’ mug. As the film gained steam, the marketing materials were altered, and Willis was more prominent in the promos.

Interview with President’s Vampire Author Chris Farnsworth

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Chris Farnsworth, the author of the excellent Nathaniel Cade series about a vampire secret agent of sorts… well, here’s how Fransworth describes Cade…

Turned into a blood-drinking abomination in 1867, Nathaniel Cade was offered a choice by President Andrew Johnson: serve the United States, or end his unnatural existence. Cade has served every president since, he is the most closely guarded of White House secrets: a superhuman covert agent who is the last line of defense against the nightmares that threaten the American dream.

If like me you’ve read and enjoyed all of the Nathaniel Cade novels you’ll probably get a kick out of Interviewing Authors interview with Chris Farnsworth which you can read or listen to.

Blood Oath [Nathanel Cade Book 1]

The President’s Vampire [Nathaniel Cade Book 2]

Red, White and Blood [Nathaniel Cade Book 3]

The Burning Men [A Nathaniel Cade Story]

The Journey to “Ciudad” – the Most Dangerous and Corrupt City in the World

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I first heard about Ciudad  back in March of 2012.  At that time Ciudad  was being prepped as a movie for Dwayne The Rock  Johnson and as a graphic novel co-written by Anthony and Joe Russo and Ande Parks.

Ciudad  sounded like something action fans would love…

Johnson will play a “black market mercenary” hired by a drug lord to rescue his kidnapped daughter in one of the most “dangerous and corrupt cities in the world.”

Since then Fernando León González came on to draw Ciudad and The Rock  is no longer attached to the movie.  [What about Thomas Jane or Vin Diesel or… ]

Cuidad the graphic novel is now available.  I’ve ordered my copy.  If you’re interested you can too.  If you’re still on the fence CBR.com has an interview with the Russo Brothers and Andre Parks as well as an extensive preview!

Bleeding Cool offers up Ciudad’s High-Octane Action Blows Readers Away, Just In Time For The Holidays.

Powell and Wiesch Have “Big Man Plans”

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Fans of revenge stories and crime fiction will want to check out Big Man Plans coming from Eric Powell, Tim Wiesch and Image Comics.

BIG MAN PLANS—A REVENGE STORY THAT WILL SHOCK YOU…  An all-new crime series with retribution at its heart…

In BIG MAN PLANS, even the most marginalized in society can exact revenge if they don’t care how they do it.

The two have discussed the project since late 2012, going back and forth over texts, emails, and phone calls. “This project was born out of drunken conversations Tim Wiesch and I had while I was a vagabond living in his basement for a month,” admitted Powell. “This is what happens when kids of construction workers get really drunk for a long period of time and are given a creative outlet. This book is nothing but brutality and in a weird way the most noble project I’ve done…

Wiesch added: “This is going to be dark. Very, very dark. What’s been amazing is working with someone who doesn’t flinch when you offer up an incredibly visceral or painful part of the story but instead wants to help push it even further.

“When we were coming up with the story, we were looking for a way to embody a truly marginalized version of a man without just playing with worn-out tropes and comic clichés. Someone that would never be even remotely considered tough, let alone as the violent specter of revenge and death that we were looking for. No super powers, no crazy martial arts. Just a man driven beyond his own limitations by rage.”

Source: Image Comics.