27 Things You Might Not Know About Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt

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Jake Rossen and Mental Floss present 27 Things You Might Not Know About Theodore ‘Teddy’ Roosevelt.  Here are three of my favorites and some thoughts about each…

1. HE WENT FROM WIMP TO WARRIOR.

Born on October 27, 1858, Roosevelt—often called “Teedie” or “Teddy” by friends—was a frail kid, prone to illness, asthma, and lacking physical strength. Despite his modest build, he was an avid outdoors enthusiast, and sometimes carried his fascination with wildlife indoors by practicing taxidermy. At 14, his family went on a tour of Egypt, and he traveled with his somewhat macabre tools of the trade, including arsenic. As a teen, Roosevelt put his stuffed birds aside and decided to become aggressive in his physical routine, training in gymnastics and weightlifting. Later, he would practice both boxing and judo. The intense interest he showed in combat sports made him a fitness advocate for the rest of his life.
Craig’s Thoughts:  His love of taxidermy before he was even in his teens makes me think of someone who would grow up to be a serial killer, not the President of the United States.

25. HE GAVE A SPEECH IMMEDIATELY AFTER BEING SHOT.

Roosevelt’s reputation as a “bull moose,” his term to describe anyone made of sturdy stuff, was never on better display than October 14, 1912, when the former president was giving a speech in Milwaukee and announced he had just been shot by a would-be assassin named John Schrank. A shocked crowd looked on as Roosevelt revealed a bloody shirt and a stack of prepared remarks with a bullet hole in them (above; you can see both the papers and the shirt at the Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City). Roosevelt spoke for 90 minutes before allowing his aides to take him to a hospital. The bullet had lodged itself near his ribs and would remain there for the rest of his life.
Craig’s Thoughts: This probably more than anything else would have been enough to give TR the reputation as a tough guy.  But when you add it to the fact that he went west as a young man (Shades of Horace Greeley) and made his living as a cowboy; that he volunteered to serve in the army, that he distinguished himself in battle, that he was a decorated war hero, that he boxed (and continued to spar at the age of 50, losing sight in one eye in the process), that he was an avid outdoorsman, then you have to admit that Teddy Roosevelt was a legitimate tough guy.

9. HE WAS A MASSIVE ENVIRONMENTALIST.

A lover of the outdoors, Roosevelt made protecting the natural wonder of American territory a priority. Over his tenure in the White House, he reserved 200 million acres of land for national forests and wildlife refuges; previous presidents combined had only done a fifth of that. “We have become great because of the lavish use of our resources and we have just reason to be proud of our growth,” he said in 1908. “But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil and the gas are exhausted, when the soils have been still further impoverished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding the fields, and obstructing navigation.

“These questions do not relate only to the next century or to the next generation. It is time for us now as a nation to exercise the same reasonable foresight in dealing with our great natural resources that would be shown by any prudent man in conserving and widely using the property which contains the assurance of well-being for himself and his children.”
Craig’s Thoughts:  I love that TR had the foresight and love of nature enough to work to preserve our natural resources for future generations.

SHOT BY SHOT: MEETING GILL-MAN IN ‘CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON’

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Will Digravio and Film School Rejects present SHOT BY SHOT: MEETING GILL-MAN IN CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON.   If you’re a fan of The Creature of the Black Lagoon, then you know the scene.  Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams) is taking a swim while unknown to her, the Creature is right below her.  It’s a tense, exciting scene and Digravio does a fine job of taking us through it.

I do have one nit to pick though.  Digravio wrote…

By all accounts, Creature from the Black Lagoon is not a great film. It’s a classic and loved by those (like me) who think that Gill-man is one of the coolest monsters.

I beg to differ.  Creature from the Black Lagoon is a great film.  It is a classic and loved by those who think the Creature is one of the coolest monsters, and by those who love classic (monster) films!

 

Treasures Retold: The Lost Art of Alex Toth

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Fans of great art are excited about Treasures Retold: The Lost Art of Alex Toth.  Toth is a legend among artists, animators and comic book aficionados…

 Alex Toth’s significance to comics and animation art cannot be overstated. During his career, he was the comic industry’s foremost proponent of modern design and composition. Starting in 1950, his work influenced almost every one of his contemporaries, and has continued to work its magic on the generations that followed. In animation, his 1960s model sheets for Hanna-Barbera are still passed around as swipe sources from animator to young animator in the 21st Century.

Included are complete stories from the 1950s and beyond, recently discovered color animation storyboards and presentation drawings, sketches and doodles, industrial comics, and individual pages from obscure comics and magazines. It’s a treasure trove that makes a fitting companion to the Eisner Award-winning Alex Toth: Genius trilogy.

I’m glad these Toth lost treasures have been found and will soon be shared with his fans around the world… especially the fan writing this post.

Byrne, Wolverine, Puck and Dan Panosian?!

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This vintage John Byrne drawing of Wolverine and Alpha Flight brought back some great memories.  I was am a huge fan of Byrne’s run on the X-Men with Claremont and Austin.  I also enjoyed Byrne’s Alpha Flight.

But both of those were decades ago.  I can’t remember the last time I bought a Marvel comic… or a Byrne comic for that matter.  I’d get my pre-order form in immediately if Byrne came back for a graphic novel starring Wolverine and Puck though.

That’s not likely to happen.  Hey, Dan Panosian!  What do ya think?  You could write and draw a Wolverine and Puck yarn!

Art Source: Cool Comic Art.

Taco Bell Will Celebrate “Demolition Man” at Comic-Con 2018

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2018 is the 25th anniversary of the Warner Bros. film Demolition Man, and to celebrate Taco Bell is bringing back Nacho Fries nationwide and planning a special set-up at Comic-Con.  Taco Bell…

…will offer a Demolition Man pop-up and a futuristic and upscale Taco Bell dining experience near the convention center, where you’ll presumably be able to pick up some Nacho Fries while you wait. You can stop by 658 Fifth Ave in San Diego from 6PM-12AM nightly for free food, and no badge is required. There will also be exclusive Taco Bell and Demolition Man merchandise available for purchase.

I wonder if Sly and Wesley Snipes will be involved?

If any readers of this site are going to Comic-Con and check this out, we’d love to hear a report!

Source: SDCCBlog.

31 Things We Learned from Tony Scott’s “Revenge” Commentary

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Yesterday we looked at the films of Tony Scott.  That brought to mind one of my favorite Tony Scott movies, Revenge.   Today we take a look at Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects’ 31 Things We Learned from Tony Scott’s Revenge Commentary.  Here are three of my favorites and my thoughts…

1. John Huston apparently worked for ten years attempting to bring this adaptation to the screen, and when that was no longer a possibility Scott, who had kept a close eye on the project, came aboard. Huston’s big roadblock was his producer, Ray Stark, who felt squeamish as to the story’s harsher elements. Scott says the theatrical cut of this film is Stark’s while this director’s cut is his preferred version. “He should never have made Revenge,” says Scott, “because it was something that was very contrary to his taste.”
Craig’s Thoughts:  I could definitely have seen Revenge as a John Huston film.  Revenge feels like a modern throw-back to The Postman Always Rings Twice or Double Indemnity.  And did you notice Scott said the director’s version is his preferred version of Revenge?  I didn’t even know there was a director’s version.  There is and I’m ordering a copy today.

19. Rocky the dog’s death scene strikes me as something that probably wouldn’t fly these days. They attached “an explosive pack” aka a squib to the dog’s chest and a snatch wire to his back, and when the dog barked Scott instructed the effects guys to trigger the exploding pack and yank the cable so the dog would fly into the wall. Scott tried to get a second take, but Rocky refused to bark again. “But he’s still around, he’s sixteen,” he promises. He also notes that test audiences gave them grief for what they did to the dog without mentioning that Costner gets beat to near death and Stowe has her face slashed in the same scene.
Craig’s Thoughts:  Yeah, the dog death scene would never fly today.  I’m surprised it did then, but that’s what makes this film seem realistic.  What Costner goes through to rescue Stowe and what she endures until rescued… whew!

30. The final face-off between Cochran and Tibey was shot in Mexico, but Stark and the studio requested Scott shoot additional footage with more dialogue to help explain both men’s motivations. Scott hated it and cut all of the new footage from the film.
Craig’s Thoughts:  I am so stoked to see this film again, especially since it will be the director’s cut a version totally new to me.

Revenge Unrated Director’s Edition Blu-Ray

 

Ranking the Films of Tony Scott

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Film School Rejects presents Celebrating the Films of Tony Scott.    Here are my three favorites and thoughts on each following FSR’s comments.

6. The Last Boy Scout (1991)
The second film in Scott’s unofficial “sloppy quadrilogy” (along with Beverly Hills Cop 2, The Fan, and Domino) is the best of the bunch for various reasons, but first out of the gate is the script by Shane Black. He’s riffing on his own Lethal Weapon, but while Richard Donner’s film wants to be liked, Black’s in a far more aggressive and mean-spirited mood here. Scott’s direction meets him beat for beat delivering memorable action set-pieces and a pair of charismatic leads (Bruce Willis, Damon Wayans) against an ugly story populated by uglier supporting characters. It’s a terrifically scuzzy affair delivered without the exaggerated stylistic flourishes that mar those previously mentioned titles, and it entertains like gritty gangbusters. – Rob

Craig’s Thoughts:  I was a huge fan of Shane Black (coming of Lethal Weapon and Predator) and Bruce Willis was the perfect choice to star.  I loved the combination of action and humor and remember liking The Last Boy Scout more than most folks.  The scene with the killer in the alley is priceless.

 

8. Revenge (1990)
My Kevin Costner love is well-documented and most certainly plays a role in my appreciation for this darkly somber character drama, but luckily I’m also a sucker for doomed love stories. It’s a far more sedately paced film than you’ll find across much of Scott’s filmography, and while time is given to the ridiculously steamy affair between Costner and Madeleine Stowe, even more is afforded to his desperate search for her after they’ve been violently separated. It’s not a pleasant movie for anyone involved, but its grip on human nature is undeniable as a man’s best and worst intentions and abilities lead to tragic consequences. Scott released a director’s cut of the film years later that actually runs 23 minutes shorter, and as with Mel Gibson’s Payback there’s value in both distinctly different versions. – Rob

Craig’s Thoughts:  I ended up liking Revenge a whole lot more than I thought I would.  And again, a lot more than the critics.  I’ve never seen the shorter director’s cut.  I may have to search that out.

 

3. Man on Fire (2004)
Based on A. J. Quinnell’s novel of the same name, this was a passion project for Scott that he wanted to make since the 1980’s with Marlon Brando as his lead. The original plan was adapt the novel as his second feature and set it in Italy as the country was rife for kidnappings at the time. But the director’s lack of experience saw the project escape him only to be adapted by Élie Chouraqui in 1987. Fortunately, though, he got to realize his dream eventually and the long wait paid off, because Man on Fire is a goddamn masterpiece. Denzel’s characters have rarely been this emotionally-charged or vicious as he plays a washed-up former mercenary who’s hellbent on revenge when the young girl he’s tasked with protecting gets kidnapped by some scumbags. This desire for both vengeance and redemption reignites his spark — and things get bloody. The brutality is ample and our sick demand for violent thrills is more than satiated, but the movie is also peppered with some touching and moving moments which make it so much more than your average body count action flick. – Kieran

Craig’s Thoughts:  My favorite Tony Scott movie.  Can you imagine Brando in the role?  Maybe at his peak, but Brando in the 80’s?  Yikes!

One other thought – It was difficult not to include True Romance. I love that movie and on a different day it may have edged out The Last Boy Scout.

The 25 Best Horror Movies Based on True Stories

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Gem Seddon and Games Radar present The 25 best Horror Movies Based on True Stories.  Here are three that I enjoyed and my thoughts on each following Seddon’s comments.

21. The Strangers (2008)

The horror movie: House invasion horror starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple who go to stay at a summer home, only to fall victim to a trio of menacing, mask-wearing psychopaths.

The true story: Director Bryan Bertino revealed the movie’s premise was based on an incident that happened to him; as a kid a stranger appeared at his door, asked for someone who didn’t live there and left. He later found out that a series of break-ins occurred in his neighbourhood that night. On top of that, he also drew inspiration from the infamous Manson killings, carried out by the minions of occultist Charles Manson.

Craig’s Thoughts:  The Strangers is a creepy movie.  The idea that murders would randomly choose your house — not much is more frightening.  No reason, no rationale other than you were selected.  Brrr!  That gives me the chills.

14. The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976)

The horror movie: A micro-budget indie slasher that pre-dates Halloween (but not Black Christmas). A hood-wearing killer terrorises a town in 1946 Arkansas, while a Texas Ranger attempts to bring him down.

The true story: A spate of murders in the 1940s, called the Texarkana Moonlight Murders, were carried out by the so-called Phantom Killer. Over a ten week period, the Phantom Killer murdered eight people… and the culprit was never found. Shudder.

Craig’s Thoughts:  I, like many folks, am intrigued by serial killers who never get caught.  First of all there’s something terrifying about a person who is compelled to kill again and again.  It’s even more frightening to think that despite the increasing publicity and police presence the killer still goes out and finds victims to slaughter.  Then add in that the killer could still be lurking around the corner…

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1990)

The horror movie: An Oscar-winning horror-thriller in which FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is chucked in at the deep end when she’s tasked with working alongside cannibal Dr. Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) to bring down Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine).

The true story: Author Thomas Harris based Buffalo Bill on a number of serial killers, including Ed Gein (skinning his victims) and Ted Bundy (using a cast to lure in innocent women). Harris also based the relationship between Starling and Lecter on that between Bundy and Robert Keppel, a criminal profiler and professor at the University of Washington.

Craig’s Thoughts: The Silence of the Lambs gives us two serial killers but interestingly enough, the one that gets remembered is the one that’s already caught!  Anthony Hopkins wasn’t the first to play Hannibal Lector, but he owned the role in such a way that not only is he the actor people remember, but it is THE role of his career.

Why not share YOUR thoughts by clicking on the link below and adding them?

11 Screenwriters Who Hated Their Own Movies

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Rudie Obias and Mental Floss present 11 Screenwriters Who Hated Their Own Movies.  Here are three of the eleven that I enjoyed despite the person(s) who wrote them didn’t.

1. QUENTIN TARANTINO // NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994) During the early 1990s, Quentin Tarantino sold his screenplay for Natural Born Killers to Oliver Stone and used the money to fund his debut film, Reservoir Dogs, which was released in 1992. Two years later, Stone released the film with Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis in starring roles.

While it was a box office hit, Tarantino despised the production because of the changes and alterations to much of his original content. “I hate that f*cking movie,” Tarantino told The Telegraph in 2013. “If you like my stuff, don’t watch that movie.”

Years after its release, the producers of Natural Born Killers sued Tarantino when he tried to publish the original screenplay as a book, as he had done with his original script for True Romance. The producers believed that Tarantino forfeited his rights when he sold it to them, but a judge ruled in Tarantino’s favor.
(Craig’s thoughts: Oliver Stone, like Tarantino has an over-powering style of movie-making.  Tarantino was probably most upset because the movie felt more like a Stone film than a Tarantino movie.  I liked Natural Born Killers.)

 

3. KURT SUTTER // PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008)  Before Marvel’s The Punisher made a comeback as a TV series on Netflix in 2017, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter was hired to write a sequel to The Punisher starring Thomas Jane and John Travolta. In 2007, Sutter started writing a new script and wanted to ground the antihero in a grittier reality and move the character from Florida to New York City.

However, after Jane dropped out of the project, Marvel Studios wanted to start over with a new sequel that felt more like the comic book version of Frank Castle instead of the more realistic idea that Sutter envisioned. The end result was so far removed from what Sutter had written that he asked for his name to be removed from what would turn into Punisher: War Zone.

“I threw away the first draft written by Nick Santora and did a page one rewrite,” Sutter wrote of the project in 2008. “I changed the locations, the characters, the story. I dropped Frank in a real New York City with real villains, real cops, real relationships. To me, the Punisher deserved more than the usual comic book redress. It shouldn’t just follow the feature superhero formula. Apparently, I was the only one who shared that vision.”

(Craig’s thoughts: I’ve only seen Punisher War Zone once, but I liked it a lot better than The Punisher starring Jane and Travolta.  I agree with Sutter that The Punisher needed to be grounded in a grittier reality and thought War Zone did a fine job.  Perhaps another viewing is in order.)

 

4. AND 5. LANA AND LILLY WACHOWSKI // ASSASSINS (1995)  During the mid-1990s, Lana and Lilly Wachowski sold the screenplays for Assassins and The Matrix to producer Joel Silver for $1 million per film. Assassins was the first to go into production, and Richard Donner signed on to direct with Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas attached to co-star.

Although Assassins was one of the hottest unproduced screenplays at the time (you can read the Wachowskis’ original version here), Donner didn’t like the darker tone and artsy symbolism, so he hired screenwriter Brian Helgeland to do a page-one rewrite to make it into a standard action thriller instead. The Wachowskis were not happy with the decision to tone down their screenplay, so the siblings wanted their names to be taken off the project, but the Writers Guild of America denied their request.

“The film was not really based on the screenplay,” Lana said in a 2003 interview. “The one thing that sort of bothered us is that people would blame us for the screenplay and it’s like Richard Donner is one of the few directors in Hollywood that can make whatever movie he wants exactly the way he wants it. No one will stop him and that’s essentially what happened. He brought in Brian Helgeland and they totally rewrote the script. We tried to take our names off of it but the WGA doesn’t let you. So our names are forever there.”

If there’s a silver lining to this story it’s that the experience with Assassins led the Wachowskis to want more control over their work—so they decided to become directors; they made their directorial debut with Bound in 1996.

(Craig’s thoughts: I was excited when it was announced Richard Donner was directing Sly in Assassins.  Although not as great as I hoped it would be, Assassins was still a lot of fun.  I’ve never read the Wachowskis’ original script so I have no idea if that might have been the way to go.  Still, the money that they received from selling Assassins led to The Matrix (the original) and THAT is a classic.)

13 Altogether Ooky Facts about “The Addams Family”

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MeTV presents 13 Altogether Ooky Facts about The Addams Family.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. Until the TV show, the characters did not have names.
Charles Addams, pictured here in his home office, did not name the creepy, charming characters in his one-panel cartoons. When the show was green-lit, Addams and producers came up with names for the clan. Did you know Wednesday’s middle name is Friday?

 

4. Ted Cassidy played two roles.
While best known for playing Lurch, Ted Cassidy also lent a hand — literally — by also playing Thing.

 

7. The Addams were the first TV family to have a home computer.
A couple years later, Bruce Wayne would utilize his Batcomputer in the Batcave, but the first family “P.C.” seen on TV was the UNIVAC on The Addams Family.

10 Big Facts About “Last Action Hero”

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Scott Beggs and Mental Floss present 10 Big Facts About Last Action Hero.  Here are three of my favorites (and for the record, I liked Last Action Hero!)…

1. THE PRODUCTION ITSELF GOT META EARLY ON.

Original screenwriters Zak Penn and Adam Leff wrote what would become Last Action Hero as a film that would work both as an adrenaline-fueled action ride and as a goof on adrenaline-fueled action, but the sources they drew inspiration from soon invaded the project. Action icon Jack Slater’s name was originally Arno Slater as a nod to Arnold Schwarzenegger, who then took the role of Arno Slater. Penn and Leff studied all of Shane Black’s scripts (the Lethal Weapon movies and The Last Boy Scout) to get the satirical rhythm right, but then Black was hired to rewrite their script. They also used Die Hard and other John McTiernan-directed movies as a baseline for the movie’s style, and then McTiernan was hired to direct their movie. Their comedic love letter was taken over by titans of the very genre they were mocking, who were then put in charge of mocking themselves.

7. THERE WAS AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF CAMEOS IN IT.

Schwarzenegger also called in a lot of favors from co-stars and connections he’d made while ascending to the very top of global Hollywood stardom. Sharon Stone shows up as her Basic Instinct character alongside Robert Patrick as a Terminator 2 T-1000 in a background shot. Schwarzenegger’s then-wife Maria Shriver appears as herself, Danny DeVito voices the police cat, and Joan Plowright plays a teacher showing a class her real-life late husband Laurence Olivier’s version of Hamlet (“You might remember him as Zeus in Clash of the Titans”). Plus, Leeza Gibbons played herself doing celebrity interviews, Tina Turner plays the mayor of Los Angeles, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jim Belushi, and Chevy Chase are in the audience for the premiere of Jack Slater IV. Tony Danza, MC Hammer, Little Richard, and James Cameron also pop up. There are even more, but the best is Ian McKellen playing Death, emerging from the screen from Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal.

8. THERE IS ALSO AN OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF REFERENCES TO OTHER MOVIES.

References are to be expected with any spoof, but Last Action Herosmothers you with them. IMDB lists 68 references, which means there’s a reference to another movie every two minutes. They range from King Kongto The Wizard of Oz to Serpico to E.T., but of course the bulk of the callbacks evoke movies from Schwarzenegger, Black, and McTiernan. There are nods to Commando, The Running Man, Die Hard, Total Recall, Raw Deal, and an advertisement for Terminator 2 (with Sylvester Stallone starring instead of Schwarzenegger). But the sharpest homage comes after Frank’s (Art Carney) house blows up when a black cop says with resignation, “Two days to retirement,” referencing Danny Glover in Lethal Weapon.

8 Things You Might Not Know About The Wizard of Id

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Jake Rossen and Mental Floss present 8 Things You Might Not Know About The Wizard of Id.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. THE IDEA FOR THE STRIP CAME FROM A DECK OF PLAYING CARDS.

Johnny Hart was already a successful syndicated cartoonist (the Stone Age comedy B.C.) before he and former Disney animator Brant Parker decided to collaborate on a different project. Hart was flipping through a deck of playing cards in 1964 when he came across a peculiar illustration used for the king. Drawing on it to create his own diminutive despot, Hart wrote most of the jokes for Id while Parker illustrated it.

5. JIM HENSON WAS GOING TO PUT IT ON TELEVISION.

An avowed fan of comic strips and of The Wizard of Id in particular, Muppets creator Jim Henson met with Hart in 1968 to discuss a possible collaboration. Henson wanted to create an Id television show that would use puppets against an animated backdrop. Hart agreed, and in 1969, Henson was able to shoot test footage featuring himself as the voice of the Wizard. But executives at Publishers-Hall, which had taken over syndication of the strip, were having trouble enticing networks into producing a series. By the time ABC showed interest, Henson had moved on to Sesame Street and other projects. Wizard of Id got translated into animation in 1970 as part of a Chuck Jones variety series titled Curiosity Shop.

8. BLONDIE AND BEETLE BAILEY CELEBRATED THE STRIP’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY.

When The Wizard of Id passed the half-century milestone in 2014, the entire comics page came out to celebrate. Hi and Lois featured a portrait of the Wizard in a panel, while Blondie and Family Circus made subtle references to the anniversary. (As modern-day strips, it would be difficult to regard a medieval strip with more overt acknowledgment.) In Beetle Bailey, the perennial screw-up shared a cell with the eternally suffering Spookingdorf.

“Rocky” by JC Richard – New Release from Grey Matter Art

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Grey Matter Art, under license from MGM, is proud to announce a new officially licensed, limited edition screen print featuring the classic 1976 Sylvester Stallone film, “Rocky” by artist, JC Richard. With the “Creed 2” trailer being released last week what a way to honor the original film. Below are details regarding poster and release information.

“Rocky” by JC Richard
12″ x 36″ hand-numbered screen print
Regular Edition: 150/40.00
Variant Edition: 75/50.00
Printed by: D&L Screenprinting

This poster will be released this Wednesday, June 27th on our website shop page at 1:00 PM est. at www.greymatterart.com

Follow Grey Matter Art on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and be sure to sign up for the GMA Newsletter for all future news & information.