Henry Winkler Credits Sly Stallone…

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Henry Winkler co-starred with Sly Stallone in Lords of Flatbush before he rocketed to fame as Fonzie on Happy Days.  Most fans know that Winkler credits Stallone with his take on the Fonz.  Winkler has a real admiration for Sly.  Check out this section of Winkler’s interview with the Archive of American Television and you’ll see,  but first a quote from the interview…

“I studied Sly, Sly Stallone.  He was big, beefy… what Sly really was inside was funny, witty, unbelievably articulate and a brilliant writer… the tenderness inside… just a fabulous human being…  The shame of Sly is you’ve never witnessed his wit.  You’ve never seen him play that kind of humor.  He is so fast and so funny!

Source: MeTV – Henry Winkler once explained how Sylvester Stallone inspired Fonzie’s voice.

Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips Get “Reckless”

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This is the cover to Reckless, the first of three new graphic novels coming from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips through Image Comics.  Each of the graphic novels will be a complete separate standalone crime story.  Here’s how Brubaker describes Reckless…

Meet Ethan Reckless: Your trouble is his business, for a price.

A former student radical, with the scars to prove it, Ethan is one part repo man, one part private eye, and one part wrecking ball. But when a fugitive from his Weather Underground days reaches out for help, Ethan will have to face the only thing he really fears… his own past.

It’s sex, drugs, and murder in early ‘80s Los Angeles, as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips launch their first graphic novel series with an electrifying new take on the paperback pulp hero.

Brubaker goes on to say that Reckless will be 144 pages, premiere in December with the second book scheduled for April 2021. Again, each of these books will be a completely standalone graphic novel.  Man, this hits a bunch of my crime fiction sweet spots.

If you subscribe to Brubaker’s free newsletter you are able to see three pages from Reckless and they look wicked.  If you don’t subscribe, you’ll definitely want to check out The Hollywood Reporter’s coverage: Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips to Launch Graphic Novel Series ‘Reckless‘.

Dead Body Road: Bad Blood #2 / Z-View

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Dead Body Road: Bad Blood #2 is part of a six-issue mini-series published by Image Comics.

Writer: Justin Jordan
Artist: Benjamin Tiesma
Colorist: Matt Lopes
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Cover Artist: Matteo Scalera and Moreno Dinisio

*** Beware – spoilers may be found below ***

Hunter Hale is on the run from Monk Sinclair, boss of everything underground in their county…at least until Bree Hale declares war on him to defend her brother.

Dead Body Road: Bad Blood 2 picks up where issue one left off.  The chase is on.  Hunter Hale is scared and on the run with Monk Sinclair’s woman. Monk is following leads and growing more enraged with each passing moment.  Bree (Hunter’s sister) doesn’t know what Hunter has gotten himself into, but she knows if she doesn’t reach him first, Hunter won’t live to tell her.

Justin Jordan,  Benjamin Tiesma, Matt Lopes and Pat Brosseau are back with another great issue.  And let’s not forget the cover by Matteo Scalera and Moreno Dinisio.

Dead Body Road: Bad Blood continues with a story that should entertain all crime / action fans.


Rating:

Later Stephen King’s New Crime Thriller is Coming!

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Stephen King is coming back with another Hardcase crime story.  Later will drop on March 2, 2021.  Here’s the synopsis…

#1 bestselling author Stephen King returns with a brand-new novel about the secrets we keep buried and the cost of unearthing them.

SOMETIMES GROWING UP
MEANS FACING YOUR DEMONS

The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine – as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave.

LATER is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King’s classic novel It, LATER is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.

Pre-orders are available now!

RIP – Reni Santoni

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Reni Santoni, 81, died on August 1, 2020, at hospice after a long illness.  Sanotni appeared in over 100 film and television roles.  Most folks probably know Santoni best from his role as Poppie on Seinfeld.  My favorite Santoni performances were in Dirty Harry and Cobra but it was always a pleasure when Santoni appeared on any show or movie.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Rocky Balboa & Apollo Creed by Jarrod Alberich & Mark Hatherley!

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Check out this sweet Rocky / Apollo poster created by Jarrod The Yardsale Artist Alberich and Mark Hatherley.  Jarrod took on Rocky and Mark brought his talents to Apollo.

What makes this even cooler is that the created the art during one of their weekly Livestream sessions.  They were joined by John Beatty (creating a commission for one of his fans).  I also provided some color commentary for the video.  I’ve embedded the video below, if you’re so inclined.

Also if you’re interested, Jarrod has made the Rocky / Apollo print available for fans!

“Seized” Starring Scott Adkins & Mario Peebles – Poster and Trailer!

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The poster and trailer for Seized are here.  Glad to see Mario Peebles in this Scott Adkins action movie.  Hopefully it will be a fun couple of hours.

Hiding out with his son Taylor on the Mexican coast, Nero (Scott Adkins, Doctor Strange) hopes to put his violent Special Forces career behind him. But after Nero’s home is attacked and Taylor is abducted, the mysterious Mzamo (Mario Van Peebles, Heartbreak Ridge) orders Nero to slaughter the members of three rival crime syndicates. If he fails, Taylor will die. With bullets flying and bodies dropping, Nero must now complete his mission ― and find Mzamoʼs hideout, to exact his revenge.

Director: Isaac Florentine

“Airplane” Trivia

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I saw Airplane in a packed theater when it was initially released.  The laughter was non-stop.  Airplane is a film that benefits from a crowd.  I’ve watched it several times since and the bigger the crowd the bigger the laughs.   Airplane is still worth a watch either alone or with others.

Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 31 Things We Learned from the ‘Airplane!’ Commentary.   Before you click over, here are three of my favorite comments…

These early drafts (of the script) were initially titled The Late Show as they intended to include their commercial gags as well with the spoof movie itself being filler. They brought it to Lloyd Schwartz who suggested that the airplane story was “funnier and more interesting” than the commercial spoofs.

(I think that they were wise to drop the commercial gags.  Playing it straight made for a much funnier film. – Craig)

Lloyd Bridges had a lot of questions trying to understand his character, his motivation, and his dialogue, and Robert Stack pointed out that the visual gags were so frequent and nonsensical that no one in the audience was going to care. “Lloyd, we are the joke,” said Stack to Lloyd.

(Can you imagine you’re the director prepping the scene and Bridges wants to discuss background and motivation for his, “I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue” line? – Craig)

Stack was apparently offered a percentage of the film or an extra $20k, and he chose poorly.

($20K in the hand or a percentage on a risky film with Hollywood bookkeeping?  Not an easy choice. – Craig)

RIP – Wilford Brimley

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Wilford Brimley died yesterday at the age of 85 after being hospitalized for two months with kidney problems.

I first saw Wilfred Brimley in an uncredited role with John Wayne in True Grit.  At that point I had no idea who Wilfred Brimley was, but that would all change with his tv appearances in Kung Fu, The Waltons, How the West was Won and The Wild, Wild West Revisited.  After that it wasn’t surprising to see Brimley popping up in movies (The Electric Horseman, Brubaker, Absence of Malice) or television (Walker, Texas Ranger; Seinfeld).

My favorite Wilfred Brimley roles were in The Thing and Hard Target, but it didn’t matter the role or movie, Wilfred Brimley always made it better.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Wilfred Brimley’s family, friends and fans.

“Fargo: Season 4” Trailer starring Chris Rock!

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Below is a teaser for the 4th season of Fargo.  I love that each season tells a complete story and the following season, while may be related in some aspect to the previous, features new characters and new situations.

The fourth installment of Fargo is set in 1950 Kansas City, where two criminal syndicates fighting for a piece of the American dream have struck an uneasy peace. Chris Rock stars as Loy Cannon, the head of the African American crime family who trades sons with the head of the Italian mafia as part of tenuous truce.