Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
My guess is that nearly all of you have seen the cover above created by Neal Adams for the Superman vs Muhammad Ali treasury comic.
Seen it. Owned it. Old news, right?
Well, how many of you knew that Joe Kubert created the original cover (see below) Apparently Ali’s folks weren’t happy with The People’s Champ‘s likeness, so Neal Adams was brought in to do the book.
Source: David J. Spurlock.
If you’re a fan of the original Star Trek you’ll get a kick out of Dusty Abell’s authorized tribute poster.
Dusty has 123 people and items for super Star Trek fans to identify. Here’s a larger version of the poster so you want have to strain your eyes. If you need some help, you can see an answer key chart /Film.
If you really like the poster you can buy a copy at Dusty’s site. And Star Trek fans will want to be on the lookout because word is that Dusty’s poster is being turned into a 1,000 piece puzzle.
Kara Kovalchik and Mental_Floss present 11 Fun Facts About My Three Sons. Here are three of my favorites…
1. THE STAR MANAGED TO NEGOTIATE A SWEET SET OF WORKING HOURS FOR HIS SCHEDULE.
Fred MacMurray was a well-established film star when he was approached by executive producer Don Fedderson about starring in a TV series. MacMurray agreed with two conditions: one, that he would own a percentage of the show, and two, that he only would be required to work three months of each year. In reality, MacMurray was a dedicated family man, and after years of being away on movie sets had planned to retire early and spend the majority of his time at home with his wife and four-year-old twin daughters. But the money Fedderson offered him was too tempting to pass up—and would secure his children’s future—so he signed on to play the widowed patriarch on My Three Sons.
MacMurray’s “three month” stipulation meant that the writers had to have each season’s scripts ready in advance so that MacMurray could film all of his scenes in one fell swoop and have them edited into the various episodes of the series after the fact. Years later, several other actors caught on to this concept and agreed to star in a project only if it was filmed in “the MacMurray Method.”
4. BILL FRAWLEY CARRIED A GRUDGE … TO GREAT LENGTHS.
That there was no love lost between former I Love Lucy co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance was certainly no secret in Hollywood, but Frawley had been willing to set aside any personal differences when Desilu proposed a spin-off series starring Fred and Ethel Mertz. Vivian Vance absolutely refused, however, and Frawley never forgave her for denying him a steady paycheck.
“On the third season of our show, lo and behold, Lucy decided to do The Lucy Show and they were on the next stage over from ours,” Stanley Livingston recalled. “She probably picked that stage knowing Bill and Vivian would have to pass each other. When Bill saw Vivian, he’d yell some sort of obscenity at her. He got me to participate in a couple of his pranks. When she was doing a scene, he’d get us kids on the show to sneak in and knock over a stack of empty film cans or throw them like a Frisbee to make a big racket and ruin her scene so she’d have to do it again.”
8. THE SERIES CHANGED NETWORKS MIDWAY THROUGH ITS 12-YEAR RUN.
My Three Sons was effectively cancelled by ABC in 1964 because the network was bowing to pressure from rival networks and slowly converting their black-and-white prime time shows to color. All things considered, in their opinion the added expense of filming My Three Sons in color was not worth it, so they axed the show from their schedule. CBS, however, thought the series still had some legs so they picked it up for the fall 1965 season (and continued running it through 1972).
Paul Gulacy sits down (or perhaps stands) for an interview /podcast with Doug Bost and Adam Bernstein.
Thanks to last year’s SYFY Twilight Zone Marathon which ran every episode in order, I can now say with complete certainty I’ve seen every Twilight Zone episode. Rod Serling deserves all the praise he’s received for creating not only the best television anthology series but one of the overall best tv series ever. Sure, there were some episodes which didn’t quite work, but overall the excellent episodes outweighed those that fell short.
There were eleven episodes that earned my top rating. These are the episodes that can be watched repeatedly without losing their impact. Here they are…
How could the devil be held in a cell? Are the monks insane? If so, Ellington is in danger as well. Isn’t his duty to help the man escape? These are the thoughts that race through Ellington’s mind before he makes a decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Kristen Hunt and Mental_Floss presents 15 Chest-Bursting Facts About Alien. Here are three of my favorites…
1. IT WAS ORIGINALLY CALLED STAR BEAST.
When Dan O’Bannon was drafting the screenplay that would become Alien, he had a more unusual title: Star Beast. He didn’t like it, but struggled to find a better replacement until one late-night writing session. As he was typing dialogue in which the crew members discussed the alien, that word jumped out at him. He promptly ditched Star Beast for the more simplistic title, which he loved because it was a noun and an adjective.
5. RIPLEY WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE A WOMAN.
O’Bannon and Shusett wrote the entire cast as men, but they left a note in the screenplay that “the crew is unisex and all parts are interchangeable for men or women.” Shusett admits they never dreamed of the lead being a woman, though. The producers made that call, believing a female Ripley would be more unique but also more palatable to their bankrollers. As Brandywine producer David Giler remembered, “Looking it over, [producer Walter Hill] and I thought, ‘Here’s this one character who’s not too interesting.’ And this studio—I hate to say this, but for very cynical reasons—this studio [20th Century Fox] is making Julia and Turning Point and they really believe in the return of the woman’s movie. [We’d] probably get a lot of points if we turn this character into a woman.”
12. THE ACTORS WERE GENUINELY SHOCKED BY THE CHESTBURSTER SCENE.
For the iconic scene where a chestburster shoots out of John Hurt’s torso, Scott wanted the best possible reaction from his cast. So he deliberately kept details hidden from all the actors, aside from Hurt. They knew a creature would emerge, they had seen the puppet, and they were more than a little suspicious of the raincoats they’d been given. But they had no idea what kind of gore was in store. Their reaction to the bloody burst is completely genuine. According to The Guardian, Yaphet Kotto (Parker) shut himself in his room right after the scene and wouldn’t talk to anyone.
Twilight Zone: “The Bewitchin’ Pool” [Season 5, Episode 36]
Original Air Date: June 19, 1964
Director: Joseph M. Newman
Writer: Earl Hamner, Jr.
Starring: Mary Badham, Dee Hartford and Tod Andrews.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Two young children of self-centered divorcing parents who are always fighting find a portal at the bottom of their swimming pool that takes them to a better place.
Rating:
Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 11 Facts About Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Here are three of my favorites…
1. THE TITLE CAME FROM AIRPLANE SALT AND PEPPER PACKETS.
By the time The Beatles took a three-month vacation in the latter part of 1966, they were all tired of being The Beatles. McCartney and tour manager/assistant Mal Evans ruminated on this problem as the two traveled together, ending their international adventures in Kenya. On their flight back to London, McCartney was developing an alter ego for the band for their next record.
“Me and Mal often bantered words about, which led to the rumor that he thought of the name Sergeant Pepper,” McCartney explained to author Barry Miles about how he came up with the name. “But I think it would be much more likely that it was me saying, ‘Think of names.’ We were having our meal and they had those little packets marked ‘S’ and ‘P.’ Mal said, ‘What’s that mean? Oh, salt and pepper.’ We had a joke about that. So I said, ‘Sergeant Pepper,’ just to vary it, ‘Sergeant Pepper, salt and pepper,’ an aural pun, not mishearing him but just playing with the words.” McCartney then added “Lonely Hearts Club” to “Sergeant Pepper,” and figured it would be a “crazy enough” band name, “because why would a Lonely Hearts Club have a band?”
5. RINGO REFUSED TO SING ONE LYRIC.
The song originally began with the hypothetical, “What would you do if I sang out of tune? Would you stand up and throw tomatoes at me?” Starr remembered what happened years earlier when fans constantly threw jelly babies on stage, after Harrison mentioned that he liked them. The drummer worried he would just be asking for it and take tomatoes to the face and other parts of his body for the rest of his life, and informed Lennon and McCartney there was”not a chance in hell” he was going to sing the line as written.
8. “SHE’S LEAVING HOME” WAS WRITTEN ABOUT A TEEN WHO REALLY RAN AWAY FROM HOME, AND HAD MET THE BEATLES YEARS EARLIER.
McCartney wrote “She’s Leaving Home” after reading in the local newspaper about 17-year-old Melanie Coe, who went missing without her car, checkbook, or any spare clothes. It turned out that Coe was shacked up with a croupier she had met at a nightclub, and ended up coming home 10 days later. What McCartney never realized was that he actually met Coe on October 4, 1963, when she won a miming contest on the TV show Ready Steady Go!. McCartney was the judge.
Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson died yesterday from heart complications at the age of 42.
Ferguson rose to fame after a series of videos showing him participating in one-on-one backyard brawls for money became an internet sensation. Because of the popularity of the fight videos and his charismatic personality, Ferguson was able to become a professional MMA fighter (for EliteXC, UFC and Bellator), an undefeated professional boxer and even a movie actor. People tuned in to see Ferguson fight and his bouts were always entertaining.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson’s family, friends and fans.
Twilight Zone: “The Fear” [Season 5, Episode 35]
Original Air Date: May 29, 1964
Director: Ted Post
Writer: Rod Serling
Starring: Peter Mark Richman and Hazel Court.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
A woman in a remote cabin. A state trooper sent out to check on her. Strange sounds and the trooper’s patrol car turned over as night sets in and you have the right set-up for The Twilight Zone.
Rating:
Stacy Conradt and Mental_Floss present 14 Breathless Facts About Marilyn Monroe. Here are three of my favorites…
2. SHE OFTEN REFERRED TO “MARILYN MONROE” IN THE THIRD PERSON.
Actor Eli Wallach once recalled that Monroe seemed to flip an inner switch and turn “Marilyn” on and off. He had been walking on Broadway with her one evening, totally incognito, and the next minute, she was swarmed with attention. “‘I just felt like being Marilyn for a minute,’” Wallach remembers her saying. Photographer Sam Shaw often heard her critiquing “Marilyn’s” performances in movies or at photo shoots, making comments like, “She wouldn’t do this. Marilyn would say that.”
5. SHE HAD A THING FOR INTELLECTUAL MEN.
Her marriage to writer Arthur Miller probably tells you that, but there’s more evidence. Monroe was once roommates with actress Shelley Winters, who said they made a list of men they wanted to sleep with, just for fun. “There was no one under 50 on hers,” Winters later reported. “I never got to ask her before she died how much of her list she had achieved, but on her list was Albert Einstein, and after her death, I noticed that there was a silver-framed photograph of him on her white piano.”
9. SHE HELPED ELLA FITZGERALD BOOK THE MOCAMBO CLUB.
The rumor has long circulated that Ella Fitzgerald was originally denied due to her race, but according to one biographer, race wasn’t the deterrent for nightclub owner Charlie Morrison; Eartha Kitt and Dorothy Dandridge had already played there. The problem was that Morrison didn’t believe Fitzgerald was glamorous enough for his patrons. A huge Fitzgerald fan, Monroe promised to be in the front row every night if Morrison would book her, guaranteeing massive amounts of press for the club. He agreed, and Monroe was true to her word. “After that, I never had to play a small jazz club again,” Fitzgerald said. “She was an unusual woman—a little ahead of her times. And she didn’t know it.”
Twilight Zone: “Come Wander with Me” [Season 5, Episode 34]
Original Air Date: May 22, 1964
Director: Richard Donner
Writer: Anthony Wilson
Starring: Gary Crosby, Bonnie Beecher and Jonathan Bolt.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Floyd Burney [Crosby], the “Rock-a-Billy-Kid”, drives way off the beaten path in hopes of finding a real country song that he can turn into a hit. He finds the song and his destiny in the deep woods.
Rating:
MeTV presents 10 Things You May Not Know About The Monkees. Here are three of my favorites…
ONLY PETER TORK AND MICKY DOLENZ APPEAR IN EVERY EPISODE OF THE TV SHOW.
Don’t worry, the other two had good excuses. Davy Jones had to be written out of an episode so he could attend his sister’s wedding. Michael Nesmith missed three shoots due to a tonsillectomy, the birth of his son Jonathan and a family trip to Texas.
PAUL WILLIAMS AND STEPHEN STILLS AUDITIONED TO BE MONKEES.
More than 400 young actors and musicians auditioned for the four roles. Stephen Stills and Paul Williams were among those who did not make the cut, as were Danny Hutton (of Three Dog Night) and Harry Nilsson. The original idea was to cast an existing act, specifically the Lovin’ Spoonful. Both Stills and Spoonful frontman John Sebastian bristled at the idea of turning over their song publishing rights to the studio. Contrary to urban legend, Charles Manson did not audition.
MICKY DOLENZ AND MICHAEL NESMITH BOTH AUDITIONED TO PLAY THE FONZ ON ‘HAPPY DAYS.’
Hey, hey, we’re the Fonzies / People say we Fonzie around… There is no bigger “What If?” surrounding Happy Days than the potential casting of Arthur Fonzarelli. The creators were keen on Dolenz, and even Henry Winkler thought his chances were slim when he spotted this adorable pop star at an audition. But it came down to inches. Six of them. Dolenz was deemed to be too tall, towering over his costars. Nesmith also auditioned and was considered too tall. The 5′ 6″ Winkler fit the frame perfectly. Aaaaaayyyyy!
Twilight Zone: “The Brain Center at Whipples” [Season 5, Episode 33]
Original Air Date: May 15, 1964
Director: Richard Donner
Writer: Rod Serling
Starring: Richard Deacon, Paul Newlan and Ted de Corsia.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Wallace Whipple [Deacon] looks to automate his company in every way possible to save money. Firing long-time dedicated employees is a small price to pay to increase profits. His goal is to automate every position possible… but of course he’s in the Twilight Zone so he should be careful what he wishes for.
Rating:
The extremely talented, extremely nice, Gene Gonzales created his take on Sly from “Rocky II” at the last Heroes Convention. Gene is funny, knowledgeable and really nice.
At every show he attends Gene is constantly signing autographs and sketching for fans, so I was happy to find he could fit me!
You can see more of Gene’s work at his blog. Gene is also available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.
Thanks again Gene!
