Behind the Scenes with Stallone on “The Expendables”

Sly takes us behind the scenes on The Expendables in the first of five weekly videos. Check back weekly to see more behind the scenes action!
Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views

Sly takes us behind the scenes on The Expendables in the first of five weekly videos. Check back weekly to see more behind the scenes action!

Ask and ye shall receive: Michelle Rodriguez in her character poster for Machete thanks to the good folks at IMPAwards.com. You can also see larger versions of the character posters for Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Robert DeNiro and more at the IMPAwards site.

LOL. Don’t you love it? Be sure to share it with any idiots you know!

Let’s follow up last night’s Machete post with this Steven Seagal character poster. All I can say is, “Where is Michelle Rodriguez’s character poster? You can see Don Johnson’s character poster as well as a larger version of the Seagal poster here at IMPAwards.com.

I’m pretty sure that I’d go see Danny Trejo as Machete even if Michelle Rodriguez wasn’t in the movie.


Mike Fagan, from The Bloody Elbow breaks down (and uses video) to show how Brock’s MMA skills have improved to the point where he could win submission of the night by choking out Shane Carwin. I was already impressed with Brock’s win, but am even more so after reading Fagan’s analysis.

If you’ve got 3 minutes and 33 seconds to spare, you might want to check out a really cool video showcasing some talented young folks and their ability to create a realistic looking war scene using cardboard weapons. That’s right, the pistols, machine guns, rifles, grenades and tank are all made of cardboard. The special effects sell it.
Before you click over, the violence is bloody and intense… just remember — it’s a cardboard war. Click here to view the battle.
Thanks to Neatorama for the original link.

The other day I posted about Mick Foley being at Heroes Con this year. One of my goals for the show was to meet Mick and get him to autograph my copy of Have a Good Day. As I wrote here, it wasn’t to be… or at least that’s the way it appeared.
It was about an hour or so before the show was to end for the day. Several of us were going to go to dinner, so I decided to head back to the room at bit early to freshen up. As I was leaving the convention center to go to the escalator Mick Foley and I crossed paths. There was only one other person around so I decided to go for it.
“Hey Mick, any chance I could get an autograph?” I asked. Mick answered, “I’m going to the table to sign now.” “Ok, I’ll head back in,” I replied. Mick then asked, “Are you a guest of the show?” “No, my buddy is. I’m here with him.” Mick smiled and said, “Yeah, I’ll sign for you.” I thanked him and pulled out my copy of Have a Good Day. Mick asked me my name and signed it to me. He then posed for the photo above.
It was a great ending to a great day. So thanks to Mick Foley for being so cool and thanks to John Beatty for having me as his guest. Good times.

Alex Owens did the cool Rambo piece above. I discovered Alex’s art through his Deviant Art site. I commissioned this and a few other pieces last year.
Last night was the biggest MMA fight card ever! The undercard was solid, and the main event pitting UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar against undefeated, UFC Interim Champion Shane Carwin lived up to the hype.
Here are the results with my predictions:
Kendall “da Spyder” Grove vs. Goran Reljic.
- Prediction: Grove pulls out a win in a tough match.
- Result: Grove defeated Reljic by split decision (28-29,30-27, 29-28) making me 1-0 for the night
Seth“The Silverback” Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero
- Prediction: Petruzelli takes the win.
- Result: Romero defeated Petruzelli via armbar submission in round 2 making me 1-1 for the night
Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub vs. Chris “The Crowbar” Tuchscherer.
- Prediction: Schaub wins via TKO.
- Result: Schuab defeated Tuchscherer via TKO in Round 1 making me 2-1 for the night
Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos.
- Prediction: Sotiropoulos with the victory in a tough bout.
- Result: Sotiropoulos defeated Pellegrino via decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) making me 3-1 for the night
Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar vs. Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski.
- Prediction: Soszynski earns the “W”
- Result: Bonnar defeated Soszynski via TKO in Round 2 making me 3-2 for the night
Matt“The Immortal” Brown vs. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle.
- Prediction: In an upset, Matt Brown gets a hard fought victory.
- Result: Lytle defeated Brown via armbar submission in Round 2 making me 3-3 for the night
Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama.
- Prediction: Leben toughs out another victory, his second win in two weeks! Leban along with his oppenent,
- Result: Leben defeated Akiyama by triangle choke in Round 3 making me 4-3 for the night
Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar.
- Prediction: Carwin takes the title!
- Result: Lesnar defeated Carwin by arm triangle choke submission in Round 2 making me 4-4 for the night
Final thoughts:

Tonight is perhaps the biggest MMA fight card ever! The live gate is sold out and the prediction is that there will be a million buys of the pay-per-view. The undercard is solid, but it’s the main event pitting UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar against undefeated, UFC Interim Champion Shane Carwin. Both men are beasts.
Let’s take a look at the entire card along with my predictions:
Kendall “da Spyder” Grove vs. Goran Reljic. Although this may not be televised, it should be a good match. Grove has more experience but is a slight underdog due to Reljic’s better record (13-7 vs 8-1).
- Prediction: Grove pulls out a win in a tough match.
Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero. (Will air on SPIKE TV LIVE starting at 9PM EST) This should be another close bout. Will “The Silverback” be able to take out Romero like he did Kimbo Slice?
- Prediction: Petruzelli takes the win.
Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub vs. Chris “The Crowbar” Tuchscherer. (Will air on SPIKE TV LIVE starting at 9PM EST) Both fighters have excellent records (6-1 vs 18-2) but Schaub goes in the favorite.
- Prediction: Schaub wins via TKO.
Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino vs. George Sotiropoulos. Another great fight between two fighters with excellent records (21-4 vs 12-2). Pellegrino has more experience, is a fan favorite, and a nickname that makes it hard to go against him, but…
- Prediction: Sotiropoulos with the victory in a tough bout.
Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar vs. Krzysztof “The Polish Experiment” Soszynski. This should be another excellent fight. Both men have similar records (20-10 vs 14-7).
- Prediction: Soszynski earns the “W”
Matt “The Immortal” Brown vs. Chris “Lights Out” Lytle. This is a fight many are saying will be the fight of the night! That says a lot considering it’s on the same card as Lesnar vs Carwin. Lytle goes in the favorite.
- Prediction: In an upset, Matt Brown gets a hard fought victory.
Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Yoshihiro Akiyama. Although Leben fought (and won) just two weeks ago, he’s ready to step into the octagon again. Leben goes in the underdog, but…
- Prediction: Leben toughs out another victory.
Shane Carwin vs. Brock Lesnar. Let the 4th of July fireworks start now!
- Prediction: Carwin takes the title!

If you have a few minutes to spare why not take a tour of The Three Stooges Museum?
Thanks to Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine for the link.

It’s no secret that Frank Mir is one of my favorite MMA fighters. His twitter message above, is just another reason why. I appreciate the fact that Mir doesn’t want the winner of Lesnar /Carwin or an immediate rematch against Lesnar. Instead he talks about “working his way to fighting him again.” Here is the fight preview that featured Lesnar’s comments that irritated Mir.

I know that many ZONErs are fans of movies, comic books, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Conan the Barbarian. So I just had to link to a video short called Conan the Barbarian: The Musical.
Thanks to Miss Cellania for the link.