Category: Movies

John Beatty: The Expendables

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The art above was created by my brother from another mother, John Beatty at our second annual Black “Stallone” Friday. Last year Big Beatty decided to create a new piece for my Stallone art collection live on U-Stream. This allowed Stallone fans as well as fans of John’s art to watch and interact with us live as John created the piece. We called it “Black Stallone Friday” and had a blast.

This year, John decided to sweeten the pot with a free, Expendables Blu-Ray giveaway. We fired up the Beattytron and began broadcasting from the beautiful JBI Studio in downtown Holly Hill a little before 2pm. The show ran until 9pm — and John still had more to do on the piece. Along the way we were joined by Shana, Sophie, Mike aka Killer Karl Krupp, Royce, Rob Smith Jr., The Mad Pirate, Husky Courdoroy, and others. Shana was the lucky winner of the DVD set.

I can’t thank John enough for the art. As great as it looks on screen, it is even more impressive in person. John set the bar high and surpassed all expectations.

Want to Win The Expendables?

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WANT TO WIN A FREE COPY OF “THE EXPENDABLES” 3 DISC SET BLU-RAY DVD OR A FREE COPY OF “THE EXPENDABLES” SOUNDTRACK?

How to win:

You need to do two things:

  • 1: Re-Tweet this post using the “hashtag” #BlackStalloneFriday
  • Don’t have a Twitter account? Sign up HERE
  • On twitter, follow @CraigZablo or @_JohnBeatty_
  • 2: Be in the room watching the LIVE Ustream show on 11.26.2010
  • Don’t have a Usteam account? Sign up HERE
  • Ustream show link HERE

MUST BE PRESENT TO WIN!!!

Ustream Starts At 2:00pm Eastern Time: USA!

Contest will be announced during the stream.

Winner must have valid shipping address in the USA

for physical shipment!

May also choose digital download via iTunes!

Outside the USA a digital download will be available via iTunes!

YES…it’s that simple!

All-Time Scariest Movies

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A few weeks ago, EW.com posted their choices for the 20 Scariest Movies of All Time.  Using just their picks here are my top five:

5. CARRIE (1976): I saw this at a midnight showing during it’s initial theatrical release.  I thought that Carrie [Sissy Spacek] was creepy, but her mom [Piper Laurie] was terrifying.  And I’m man enough to admit that the ending made me jump out of my seat.

4.  JAWS (1975):  I went with the family and saw Jaws in a sold out theater.  Everything about this movie worked: the cast, the direction, the story, the music and the mechanical shark that appeared, oh so, real.  And I’m man enough to admit that at one point I jumped so high in my seat that I thought I was going to go over the back.  [Hey, I’m starting to see a pattern about me jumping during scary movies…]

3.  NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968):  I first saw NOTLD on a small tv using a VHS machine. [Yes, I’m that old.]  I’d already seen “Dawn of the Dead” in a theater, but found NOTLD to be much scarier.  It was easy to see how this classic spawned a new genre of zombie movies.

2.  28 DAYS LATER (2003):  I saw this during it’s initial theatrical release with my oldest son.  There are so many great scares… the priest banging on the door and then coming down the hall; the church full of what appear to be dead bodies, and then one turns his head; being chased up the stairwell; the car getting a flat tire in the tunnel and so many more.  Just writing about the movie makes me want to watch it again!

1. THE EXORCIST (1973): Although I did get to see The Exorcist in a theater, it wasn’t until it was re-released in 1979.  I went with my future wife and best buddy.  Without a doubt, this is the creepiest/scariest movie I’ve ever seen.  A lot of people talk up the gross/shocking scenes with the vomit spewing, cursing possessed child.  To me, the scariest stuff were the subtler scenes: grandma walking up the steps and then turning and walking back down, the marks appearing on the child with no explanation, and so on. This is the one movie that stayed with me long after I saw it… and continued to creep me out.

Black “Stallone” Friday

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The poster above was created by my buddy, John Beatty to announce our second annual Black “Stallone” Friday. As most of you are probably aware, the day after Thanksgiving is traditionally a day of shopping. For many businesses it’s their biggest day of the year. For those of us who don’t like crowds and traffic, it’s a pain. So last year Big Beatty decided to create a new piece for my Stallone art collection live on U-Stream. This allowed Stallone fans as well as fans of John’s art to watch and interact with us live as John created the piece.

We called it “Black Stallone Friday” and had a blast. We had so much fun that we decided to make it an annual event. So this Friday, we’re going to do it again. John and I will post the specifics later this week, but our hope is that we can get a lot of folks to tune in, even if only for a bit. The more fans that pop in with questions and comments, the more fun it becomes. So check back here or at John’s site later this week for full details. Oh, and I posted the art from last year’s event to give you an idea of what we can expect this year.

Judging Dredd

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The first still of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd from the upcoming movie “Dredd” has arrived.  I like the fact that this adaptation is supposed to be grittier and more in line with the comic, but man, I still think that Sly Stallone made a great Judge Dredd. [Via CBR.com]

Who Needs a New Mechanic?

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I like this poster.  Shows a bit more creativity than a couple of photoshopped heads, right?

Although I’m looking forward to seeing this updated “The Mechanic”, the original which starred Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent is going to be hard to top.  This remake, at one point, was touted to star Sylvester Stallone in the Bronson role and Statham as the J-M Vincent character.  I think THAT would have worked.  Statham is a bit young to be the “older” hitman… then again, maybe he was to old to be the younger one.   [Poster via IMPAwards.com]

Dark Shadows Filming Set to Start…

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Way back in July of 2007, it was announced that Johnny Depp was going to team with Tim Burton for a big screen adaptation of the cult tv classic Dark Shadows.  Although over the last 3 1/2 years there’s been some movement, it was pretty much just talk.

That may have changed today, since Slashfilm has posted that filming will begin in April 2011.   An April start date sounds good to me… especially since they didn’t specify it would be on the 1st.

Chris Stevens Gets Carter

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I’ve been a huge fan of Chris Stevens’ art since I first discovered him on Deviant Art. When I first met Chris, he was pretty much an unknown artist just starting to make waves. He wasn’t even a guest at the show. Suddenly Chris burst on the scene and it seemed everyone loved his style. And why wouldn’t they? The following year, Chris was a featured guest and a line of fans that would make any artist proud!

When I found out that Chris was putting together his first sketchbook, I knew I was going to want one. The fact that Chris included free headshots with advance purchases was a beautiful bonus. I’m hoping that Chris will have a new edition sketch book next year, and will offer the same deal again! Until then, we have Chris DA Art Gallery to hold us over!