Lee Goldberg & Simon Brand Present Victor Gischler’s GUN MONKEYS Test Footage!

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From Lee Goldberg’s site:

Covert Media is also producing my screenplay adaptation of Victor Gischler‘s Edgar-nominated novel GUN MONKEYS , which will be directed by Simon Brand. The development history of GUN MONKEYS goes back years. I optioned the book myself, wrote the script on spec, and for a long while it was set up with actor Kevin Costner and director Ryuhei Kitamura. That project came real close to getting made…and then fell apart. A new producing team came on board, offers are going out to big-name actors now, and we’re on track to shoot in late 2017/early 2018.

Back in September, Simon shot an action scene from my script as a camera/lighting test…and I’ve just been given the okay to share it now that he’s posted it on his site. The key parts are played by his friends and it has a voice-over that isn’t in the script — I wrote it just for this so that the action makes sense out of context. I think the footage looks terrific. Here it is. I hope you like it!

Gun Monkeys from simon brand on Vimeo.

I dig everything about this test footage.  Gun Monkeys by Victor Gischler is an excellent book.  Kudos to Lee Goldberg for having the faith in it and himself to option the book, write the spec script and stick with it until a deal was made.

Goldberg managed in a short video that is mostly action to create a main character that we care about, a feeling that everyone in the clip has a backstory, plus he gives us a twist at the end not only in the climax but how things are resolved.  Bravo, Lee Goldberg!

My hat is also off to director, Simon Brand and director of photography, Pedro Luque.  I certainly hope that they will work together to create this feature film.  I don’t know who the actors are in the Gun Monkeys test but I’d like to see more of the actors playing Charlie and Milt.

I’ll be in line to get a ticket when Gun Monkeys hits the big screen and will keep us posted on any updates.

25 Things We Learned from the “Kong: Skull Island” Commentary

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Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 25 Things We Learned from the Kong: Skull Island Commentary.  Here are three of my favorites…

5. The image that Bill Randa (John Goodman) hands Senator Willis (Richard Jenkins) was originally of Godzilla, but he fought against that as he felt the film needed to be about Kong from the beginning.

25. The post-credits scene almost didn’t make the cut as several voices felt it didn’t fit, but he argued successfully for its inclusion knowing that audiences would love the tease into the bigger monsterverse to come.

14. The helicopter occupant falling into Kong’s mouth is an homage to the 1933 film version where Kong actually ate people.

 

R.I.P. – Glen Campbell

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Glen Campbell has passed on.  From his official website:

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and legendary singer and guitarist, Glen Travis Campbell, at the age of 81, following his long and courageous battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Glen is survived by his wife, Kim Campbell of Nashville, TN; their three children, Cal, Shannon and Ashley; his children from previous marriages, Debby, Kelli, Travis, Kane, and Dillon; ten grandchildren, great- and great-great-grandchildren; sisters Barbara, Sandra, and Jane; and brothers John Wallace “Shorty” and Gerald.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Glen Campbell Memorial Fund at BrightFocus Foundation through the CareLiving.org donation page.

I was and continue to be a Glen Campbell fan.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

Andy “The Martian” Weir is Back with Artemis!

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Andy Weir, who burst onto the scene with his blockbuster first novel, The Martian, is back with his second novel Artemis.

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.

If you’ve read this far, you’ll probably want to check out  Andrew Liptak’s interview with Andy Weir from The Verge.

“Death Wish” Remake Poster, Trailer and a Few Thoughts

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By now you’ve probably seen the poster and trailer for the new Death Wish movie coming out on November 22nd.  I’ll post my thoughts after the trailer.

I’m glad to see Willis starring in a feature (especially one heading to the big screen).  I’m a long-time Bruce Willis fan.  For the last few years we’ve seen him regulated to supporting roles with top billing in limited or direct-to-video releases.  So, yeah, it’s good to see him back.

Let’s talk the remake now.  First of all, why?  The original Death Wish with Charles Bronson is a classic. Perhaps the only (or best) reason is that if successful the remake could be a hit and spawn sequels.

In the original Bronson was an architect.  Making Willis a doctor does provide more conflict for the character.  After all, he did take an oath to save lives not end them.  Other than that it seems we have the same peaceful man turned into a killing machine.  In one earlier version of the script the idea was that the Bronson/Willis character would be a peaceful man but after his family’s murder we learn that he was once a violent gang member.  THAT could have been an interesting back story.

In the original film, Bronson’s wife and daughter get raped, his wife murdered and his daughter left in a coma with little hope of recovery.  Bronson has lost everything and gained a death wish.  In the remake Willis’ daughter appears well on the road to recovery.  Willis has something to live for.  For him to just go out to kill muggers treads the line of wanting to be a hero.  That gives the film a different vibe which still can work if done correctly.

The poster is not bad.  Not great and definitely has an 80’s feel with the tagline…

“They came for his family.  Now he is coming for them.”

(“Murdock, I’m coming for you!”  Rambo, anyone?)

The jury is still out on this remake.

10 Major Plot Holes that Classic TV Writers Didn’t Bother to Fix

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Me-TV posts 10 Major Plot Holes that Classic TV Writers Didn’t Bother to Fix.   Here are three of my favorites…

‘MAMA’ ACTUALLY DIES BEFORE SHE GETS HER OWN SHOW
In a recent interview with Las Vegas Magazine, actress Vicki Lawrence had a little laugh recalling that her famous 1983 spin-off Mama’s Family started after Mama’s funeral already happened on TV in 1982. In the made-for-TV movie Eunice, Thelma Harper is said to have died in 1978, but TV audiences didn’t seem to notice or care when she came back to life on NBC in the early 1980s. They likely took a page from Mama’s book and sighed, “Oh, I’d rather not talk about it.”

CAN’T ANYONE REMEMBER BARNEY FIFE’S MIDDLE NAME?
For the majority of The Andy Griffith Show’s run, Don Knotts’ character introduces himself as “Barney P. Fife.” However, this changes at least twice. In “A Plaque for Mayberry,” his middle name is Oliver, and in “Class Reunion,” it changes to Milton. That explains why Wikipedia makes his name look like such a mouthful: Bernard “Barney” P. Milton Oliver Fife.

THEY ALSO COULDN’T DECIDE HOW LONG BARNEY’S BEEN DEPUTY SHERIFF.
Between seasons 4 and 5 of The Andy Griffith Show, writers seemed to get hazy on how long Barney Fife had been Deputy Sheriff. In the episode “Citizen’s Arrest,” Andy recalls welcoming Barney to the force 10 years ago, but by season 5’s “Barney’s Physical,” writers must have assumed Barney had been Deputy Sheriff as long as the show had been on air. In that episode, Barney celebrates his 5-year anniversary as Deputy Sheriff, getting a commemorative watch with the sketchy number of years etched inside.

Marshall Rogers’ Strange Portfolio

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The Bristol Board posted all of the plates from the Marshall Rogers’ Strange portfolio and man, did it bring back great memories.  I have Rogers’ Strange portfolio in my collection.  I bought it when the Strange portfolio was originally released way back in 1979.  Plate 4 above (click on the art to see a bigger version) and plate 3 were my favorites.

In the mid to late 70’s through the early 80’s portfolios were a sign of status for artists and collector’s loved them.  Just off the top of my head I can think of the following portfolios that I still have in the vault…

  • Marshall Rogers’ Batman
  • Howard Chaykin’s Robin Hood
  • Howard Chaykin’s Cody Starbuck
  • Mike Zeck’s Punisher
  • Jim Starlin’s Dreadstar
  • Bill Sienkiewicz’s Moonknight
  • Terry Austin – Can’t remember the name of it, but Terry pencilled and had friends in his art

I’m going to have to dig in the vault and see what others that I’m not thinking of.  Those were the days, my friends.

3 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’! 

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Me-TV had a post titled 14 TOP SECRET THINGS YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’! Sadly the article is no longer available.  Below are three of my favorites that it listed.

THE FAKE FOREIGN LANGUAGE SEEN ON THE SHOW WAS REFERRED TO AS “GELLERESE.”
Vaguely German, vaguely Romanian, a phony foreign language can be seen on signs in the show. The letters are peppered with accents, S’s are liberally replaced Z’s. So as not to offend any actual nationalities, the language was entirely made up, and the crew referred to the fictional tongue as “Gellerese” in tribute to the show’s creator.

IN EARLY EPISODES, THE TAPE WOULD LITERALLY SELF-DESTRUCT.
Initially, the special effects crew applied a chemical to the tape to make it smoke and decompose. This was not only costly and tricky, it wasn’t quite as dramatic as they had hoped. Eventually, the crew resorted to piping smoke through the reel-to-reel player through a hidden hose. Yes, they were just blowing smoke, so to speak.

THE SHOW SHARED A STUDIO AND SEVERAL ACTORS WITH ‘STAR TREK.’
Both Mission: Impossible and Star Trek were the work of Desilu Productions, the production house run by Lucille Ball. As both shows were of the same family, cast members could be seen in both productions. After Landau left the series following the third season, Leonard Nimoy filled his shoes (well, masks and wigs) as “Paris.” It was ironic, as Landau had previously turned down the role of Spock! William Shatner and George Takei can also be seen on M:I, as well as dozens of Star Trek guest stars like Ricardo Montalban, Joan Collins, Michael Ansara, Willian Schallert, Gary Lockwood, Lee Meriwether and more.

I used to watch this show with my grandfather and I had forgotten that Peter Graves didn’t star in the first season.