Dan Panosian Interview about Slots, “Logan” and More!
Brandon Bloxdorf over at Comicsverse interviewed Dan Panosian about Dan’s new mini-series Slots, as well as Dan’s influences, work on the movie Logan and more.
Forty Essential Film Noir Classics
JEC at Classic Movie Reviews posted his choices for Forty Essential Film Noir Classics. His list is a good one. I’ve seen all but about 10. Using just JEC’s list, here are three of my favorites…
4 Double Indemnity 1944 Foolish insurance man meets one of the best femme fatale in this must see drama. JEC
9 The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946 Infidelity and murder. JEC
23 The Big Heat 1953 A tough cop, played by Glenn Ford takes on a well-connected mob. Gloria Grahame is great in this film. JEC
“Mindhunter” Poster & Trailer with Direction by David Fincher!
The Mindhunters poster and trailer are here. David Fincher directed the first two episodes of the series. I’ll be watching.
Jason LaTour and Burt Reynolds?
I love Jason LaTour’s cover for Southern Bastards #17. Is THAT Burt Reynolds or just a guy who looks like him? Either way, I’m in. Southern Bastards is one of the best comics being published these days.
Source: Jason Aaron.
15 Great TV Shows Netflix Needs To Add To Their Library
Zak Wojnar and ScreenRant present 15 Great TV Shows Netflix Needs To Add To Their Library. using just their list, here are the three I’d request…
15. BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES
Who is the best Batman? Some people say Christian Bale, others say Michael Keaton. There’s probably one misguided fool out there who says George Clooney. But a big percentage of fans out there agree, the powerful timbre of the inimitable Kevin Conroy is the greatest take on the Caped Crusader.Batman: The Animated Series is widely regarded as one of the greatest animated programs of all time, and the definitive version of Gotham’s Dark Knight. The influence of the series cannot be overstated. When shows like Arrow and Gotham are at their best, they’re essentially live-action versions of the animated world created by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and co. all the way back in 1992.
It’s shocking, then, that this seminal superhero saga is currently unavailable on any subscription-based streaming service. Sure, episodes can be purchased for two bucks a pop on Amazon Video, but Warner Brothers is keeping way too tight of a leash on its most famous cartoon. For that matter, what about Superman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond? DC is in the midst of preparing a new digital streaming service (which will air original programming, including the eagerly-anticipated third season of Young Justice), but there’s no word yet as to whether any of these legendary shows might be added to the platform when it launches. Hint: they really should!
12. THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
Before Batman: The Animated Series in the ’90s, before The Incredible Hulk and Wonder Woman in the ’70s, and even before Adam West‘s Batman in the ’60s, there was The Adventures of Superman.This half-hour 1950s series starred George Reeves as the Man of Steel, and it remains a favorite among old-school comics fans for its admirable fidelity to the printed stories of the era. In the first season, written during the Golden Age of Comics, Superman went up against pinstriped-suited mobsters and their film noir molls. George Reeves shined as Clark Kent, hard-edged intrepid reporter, and when he eventually suited up as Superman, he brought an admirable physicality to the low-budget production, filling out his costume with barrel-chested gravitas and leaping out of windows with whimsical bravado.
The Adventures of Superman is required viewing for any fan of superhero media, but it’s currently unavailable on any streaming service. This is a situation which needs to be remedied – immediately.
1. MIAMI VICE
Before Miami Vice, every television show looked like Dragnet. Flat camera angles, sparse sets, old men in brown suits, and little personality. Michael Mann saw the dry state of television drama and decided to do something about it. He created Miami Vice, a cop show like no other, with film-style production values, unprecedented use of licensed music, and sexy, chic, charismatic leads in the form of Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas.Miami Vice changed the rules of television, featuring long stretches with little dialogue, letting licensed music, grand imagery, and emotional context to push the story forward. These days, pretty much every show relies on dramatic “music video sequences” to convey their stories, but Miami Vice did it first, and did it best.
The series was on Netflix for a time, but is no longer available there. The first four seasons are still on Hulu, though the fantastic fifth and final season is curiously missing from the service. Recently, the series was released on Blu ray disc, remastered in High Definition, but with the original 4:3 aspect ration intact (no needless cropping here!). This HD version of the so-called “MTV Cops” series needs to be brought over to Netflix, so the whole world can enjoy the entire Miami Vice story with the best visuals possible.
Shows that didn’t make their list that I’d add:
- The Wild, Wild West
- Cheyenne
- The Shield
- Deadwood
- The Wire
‘Atomic Blonde’: How They Turned One Amazing Action Scene Into a Seven-Minute Long Take
Atomic Blonde has some of the best action sequences in movies. The long fight scene on the stairway appears to be done in one continuous take.
It wasn’t.
Chris O’Falt at IndieWire talked with Sam Hargrave (Atomic Blonde second-unit director and stunt coordinator) who choreographed and filmed the fight scene. ‘Atomic Blonde’: How They Turned One Amazing Action Scene Into a Seven-Minute Long Take is well worth a read.
Clint Eastwood on Clint Eastwood
Ian Nathan & Kim Newman and EmpireOnline present Clint Eastwood on Clint Eastwood. The interview is well worth a look as Eastwood discusses the making of all of his major hits and few of his minor ones as well.
The “Suburbicon” Poster and Trailer
Suburbicon written by the Cohen Brothers, directed by George Clooney and starring Matt Damon.
Jarrod Alberich Creates Jack Carter for the Win!
Jarrod Alberich aka The Yard Sale Artist created the Jack Carter piece above for me after I won a contest he was running (something he regularly does for his fans).
Jarrod calls himself The Yard Sale Artist because he uses only materials that he finds at yard sales, thrift stores, dumpsters and so on. This is my second piece by Jarrod and my guess is that there will be more to come!
21 Things We Learned from “The Fate of the Furious” Commentary
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 21 Things We Learned from The Fate of the Furious Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
11. He has tons of footage that didn’t make the film simply of Johnson and Statham trying to one-up each other with insults. “I think something’s gonna come out of it,” he says, “we’ll see, but I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing a two-hander between Shaw and Hobbs.”
18. Letty’s (Michelle Rodriguez) fight scene at the Russian shipyard reminds Gray of the Patricia Arquette / James Gandolfini brawl in True Romance.
5. The script originally had Dom giving Raldo’s (Celestino Cornielle) keys to his cousin as the race dictated, but Gray suggested otherwise on the day of filming. “That’s what the old Dom would have done,” he says, “but I wanted to give the audience a more evolved Dom.”
Rare “King Kong” Production Art by Mario Larrinaga!
Today we have a rare production by Mario Larrinaga for the original King Kong. Click on the photo to see a King-Kong-sized version to get a better look at the beauty of the art.
Source: Darick Robertson.
Jonathon Maberry Talks George A. Romero & Nights of the Living Dead!
Most George A. Romero and Night of the Living Dead fans have probably already ordered Nights of the Living Dead edited by Jonathon Maberry and George A. Romero. (I did!)
Nights of the Living Dead is a…
…a collection of all-new tales set during the forty-eight hours of that legendary outbreak.
Nights of the Living Dead includes stories by some of today’s most important writers: Brian Keene, Carrie Ryan, Chuck Wendig, Craig E. Engler, David J. Schow, David Wellington, Isaac Marion, Jay Bonansinga, Joe R. Lansdale, John A. Russo, John Skipp, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Max Brallier, Mike Carey, Mira Grant, Neal and Brenda Shusterman, and Ryan Brown. Plus original stories by Romero and Maberry!
The fact that Romero signed off on this anthology makes the stories part of the Night of the Living Dead canon.
Jonathon Maberry recently spoke to Derek Anderson at Daily Dead about how Nights of the Living Dead came together and his thrill at getting to work with George Romero. As an added bonus we get access to an excerpt from Maberry’s contribution to the anthology!
Shawn McGuan Presents a New Swann & Wrench Adventure!
I dig everything about Shawn McGuan’s faux Swann & Wrench faux paperback cover. If you tuned in to the last season of Fargo, you’re probably right there with me.
McGuan nailed it perfectly. Not only did he capture the likenesses, but the beat-up look of the book, the font, the title (Two Against Unfathomable Pinheadery) and the fact that he included the line, A New Swango & Wrench Adventure. Sign me up for THAT paperback series!
If you’d like to see more of Shawn’s art you can here and here.
Joe Delagatta’s “The Thing” Poster!
Joe Delagatta recently posted his contribution to The Thing Artbook. I’ve long been a fan of Joe’s art, but if I hadn’t been already, his Thing piece would have won me over.
After Joe posted his Thing poster, I found myself repeatedly going back to check it out. So I decided to reach out to Joe and see if he would mind if I posted the art here. He didn’t, so I did.
I hope you enjoy it as much as me. If so, you can check out more of Joe’s art or follow him on Twitter. If you do, tell him “the Stallone guy” sent ya.
