Master of Kung Fu #31: Snowbuster – THAT is a Splash Page!
Master of Kung Fu #31: Snowbuster from May 1975 by Doug Moench, Paul Gulacy, and Dan Adkins. THAT is a splash page worthy of being a movie poster.
14 Sizzling Facts About Steak ‘n Shake
Jeff Wells and Mental_Floss present 14 Sizzling Facts About Steak ‘n Shake. Here are three of my favorites…
1. It started as a gas station serving fried chicken and beer.
Founder Gus Belt and his wife, Edith, feeling squeezed by the Great Depression, began offering fried chicken, fries and coleslaw at their Normal, Illinois Shell station for $.45. Beer was just $.09. After the town council voted 2 to 1 to ban the sale of alcohol, the Belts decided to open a burger restaurant, and in 1934 Steak ‘n Shake was born.
4. Gus wasn’t afraid to get dirty.
According to Robert Cronin, former Steak ‘n Shake CEO and author of Selling Steakburgers, Belt used to go through the restaurant’s trash and returned plates to see what customers weren’t eating. He used his disgusting findings to further hone the menu.
8. Roger Ebert was a huge fan.
The longtime Chicago Sun-Times columnist had his first restaurant meal there as a kid (steakburger, fries and a Coke) and claimed unwavering devotion the rest of his life. He gushed about the chain in a 2009 blog post: “If I were to take President Obama and his family to dinner and the choice were up to me, it would be Steak ‘n Shake—and they would be delighted.”
Hollywood’s 100 Favorite Films
The Hollywood Reporter recently polled people in the industry to come up with Hollywood’s 100 Favorite Films.
Overall, I’ve seen 85 of the 100. Not bad, but could be better.
I was also glad to see Rocky made the cut.
16 Things You May Not Know About “The Brady Bunch”
Kara Kovalchik and Mental_Floss present 16 Things You May Not Know About The Brady Bunch. Here are three of my favorites…
4. GENE HACKMAN WAS IN CONTENTION TO PLAY MIKE BRADY.
For the role of Mike Brady (the family’s surname had changed by this time), “there were a number of men I wanted to interview, including Gene Hackman,” recalled Schwartz in Brady, Brady, Brady. “Paramount wouldn’t even okay Gene Hackman for an interview because he had a very low TVQ. (TVQ is a survey that executives use to determine the audience’s familiarity with performances. TV executives have don’t admit to the existence of TVQs, but it is commonly employed in casting.)”
They finally chose Reed because he was already under contract to Paramount, and he had a certain amount of marquee value because of his co-starring role on the popular legal drama series The Defenders. “The year after The Brady Bunch debuted, unknown Gene Hackman with no TVQ starred in The French Connection and won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and has been a major star ever since,” added Schwartz.
14. THE SHOW WAS NEVER A HUGE HIT.
The Brady Bunch was never a huge Nielsen hit during its original run; in fact, it never managed to crack the Top 30 shows. But it did well enough to run for five seasons, which gave Paramount enough episodes to sell as a package for syndication. The syndicated reruns were often shown in the late afternoon, which gave it more exposure to a younger audience. As a result, the show’s fan base grew exponentially after it had ceased production, and continues to grow today as each younger generation discovers it.
15. MANY FLUBS WERE NEVER CORRECTED.
Like most shows of that era, no one who worked on The Brady Bunch thought that the show would still be airing regularly over 40 years later after it had been cancelled. So sometimes little mistakes were left unfixed in the name of finishing an episode on schedule. After all, the show aired in the days before every home had a VCR, so who would notice something like the family leaving the house in a convertible and returning from the same errand in a station wagon? Or Jan’s hair mysteriously switching from a ponytail to loose around her shoulders repeatedly while the kids were building a house of cards? Those flubs and others—like a tired Susan Olsen sticking her tongue out as she exited a scene, thinking it was still a rehearsal—have become part of the show’s legend thanks to syndication, DVRs, and viewers with too much time on their hands.
Netflix’s “Daredevil” is Full of Easter Eggs!
Netflix’s Daredevil is a really well-done show that is deeply embedded in the Marvel Universe. Check out the Easter Eggs in the video below to see how deep.
10 Interesting Facts About Christopher Columbus That You Weren’t Taught in Class
When I was a little kid we were taught that Christopher Columbus discovered America… that he was a hero who went against conventional wisdom in his belief that the world wasn’t flat… and so many other things that were just not true!
Johanna and Top10zen present 10 Interesting Facts About Christopher Columbus That You Weren’t Taught in Class. Here are three of my favorites…
His real name was not Christopher Columbus
The name Christopher Columbus is actually an Anglicized version of the actual name, Cristoforo Colombo, which he acquired in Genoa, his birthplace. The name has also been translated to other languages, and hence we have instances like the Spanish version Cristóbal Colón and the Swedish version Kristoffer Kolumbus. Strikingly, even the name given to him in Genoa is not definite, as supporting historical credentials are rare.
Columbus was a cheapskate
While embarking on his voyage in 1492, Columbus pledged an award of gold to the person who would be the first to see land. Rodrigo de Triana, a sailor, was the first one to view land on 12th October, 1492. He actually sighted what is presently an island in Bahamas named San Salvador by Columbus. Unfortunately, Rodrigo was never given the reward, because Columbus cleverly kept the gold to himself, telling the others that the previous night, he could see some blurred light but had not revealed it because the light was hazy.
Nobody knows where Columbus’ remains are
Columbus’ death occurred in Spain in the year 1506 where his remains were placed until 1527 when they were moved to Santo Domingo. There his remains were kept until 1795 after which they were allegedly sent to Havana. In the year 1898, the remains were believed to have returned to Spain, but astonishingly, a box bearing the name of Columbus and filled with bones was uncovered in Santo Domingo. Ever since then both Santo Domingo and Seville in Spain claim to possess Columbus’ remains. Interestingly, in each of the cities, the concerned bones have been kept in highly structured mausoleums.
50 Things We Learned from “The Rundown Commentary” with Peter Berg and the Rock
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 50 Things We Learned from The Rundown Commentary with Peter Berg and the Rock. Here are three of my favorites…
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cameo wasn’t planned, but when he joined Johnson for lunch on set one day Berg was able to “twist his arm” into making a brief appearance. “He flew himself to New Jersey,” says Berg. “And met with the Jamoans,” adds Johnson.
13. Both men express their love for Walken with Berg pointing out that he’s just as much of an entertaining genius off camera. Like Lucking, Walken also apparently scared Scott on occasion. “He kept walking up to Seann,” recalls Berg, “looking at him and kind of getting up close and saying ‘Do you steam? I love to steam. Do you want to steam?’”
23. Johnson says the two parts of the film most mentioned to him in public are the “Option A, option B” bit and Travis’ “Thunder and Lightning” shtick. Berg agrees and shares that he was — surprise — at a high school football game in Texas the week before and witnessed the cheerleaders having a playful “Thunder and Lightning” fight. “Were they paying attention to the game?” asks Johnson.
Predator: Dark Ages
Predator: Dark Ages is a low-budget fan film pitting a Predator against Templar Knights. Overall I’d rate it a “C” but it has its moments.
The Top Ten Detective Films of All Time
Jandy Hardesty and Flickchart recently posted their choices for The Top Ten Detective Films of All Time. Using just their list, here are my top three…
- The Maltese Falcon
- The Big Sleep
- Kiss Me Deadly
I’m sure some folks are wondering how I could have picked Kiss Me Deadly [or maybe even The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep] over Chinatown, but that’s how I’m feeling today. Your mileage may differ.
15 Things You Might Not Know About “Thelma & Louise”
Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 15 Things You Might Not Know About Thelma & Louise. Here are three of my favorites…
3. GEORGE CLOONEY AUDITIONED FIVE TIMES TO PLAY J.D.
Clooney was on the short list for the role that eventually went to Brad Pitt, and became his big break. “The funniest thing is, I didn’t watch that movie for a long time,” Clooney admitted during a Q&A at the Telluride Film Festival. “I was really stuck doing a lot of bad TV at that time. And I had auditioned and auditioned, and it got right down to Brad and I, and he got it. And I just couldn’t watch that movie for a couple of years … When I saw it, I thought actually that was the right choice. [Brad] was really good in it…”
4. BRAD PITT WAS PAID $6,000 FOR HIS WORK IN THE FILM.
That was in 1991. Just five years later, he earned $10 million for his work in Barry Levinson’s Sleepers.
8. HOLLY HUNTER, FRANCES MCDORMAND, JODIE FOSTER, MICHELLE PFEIFFER, MERYL STREEP, AND GOLDIE HAWN WERE ALL CONSIDERED FOR THELMA OR LOUISE.
In its early stages, Khouri pictured her movie as a low-budget affair, with Hunter and McDormand as the leads. (In what was probably a coincidence, Hunter and McDormand knew each other from when they were roommates at the Yale School of Drama.) With Ridley Scott as producer, Foster and Pfeiffer were attached, but eventually moved on to do other work. Streep and Hawn met with Scott, with Streep wanting either Thelma or Louise to survive the movie.
15 Things You Might Not Know About “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”
Michael Arbeiter and Mental_Floss present 15 Things You Might Not Know About Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Here are three of my favorites…
1. SPIELBERG MADE LAST CRUSADE TO APOLOGIZE FOR TEMPLE OF DOOM.
After the masterpiece of spirited adventure that was Raiders of the Lost Ark, some critics and audience members felt betrayed by the grim and gruesome sequel, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Director Steven Spielberg was hardly a defender of the movie—in 1989 he admitted, “I wasn’t happy with the second film at all. It was too dark, too subterranean, and much too horrific. I thought it out-poltered Poltergeist. There’s not an ounce of my own personal feeling in Temple of Doom.“
Spielberg’s involvement in a third Indiana Jones film sprang from his desire to apologize to viewers for the series’ disappointing second outing, and to revive the earnest spirit of the original. He rehired supporting stars Denholm Elliott and John Rhys-Davies to double down on the Raiders ambiance.
7. A RENOWNED PLAYWRIGHT SECRETLY PENNED THE INDY/HENRY MATERIAL.
Since the relationship between Indy and his estranged father, played by Sean Connery, provided the emotional meat of the story, Spielberg and Lucas hired a ghostwriter to bolster the gravity of the characters’ interactions. Celebrated playwright Tom Stoppard contributed the bulk of the Jones boys’ material but didn’t receive a writing credit.
6. SPIELBERG WAS AFRAID THE MOVIE WOULD REMIND PEOPLE OF MONTY PYTHON.
Last Crusade’s eventual screenwriter Jeffrey Boam held onto the Holy Grail element despite Spielberg’s uncertainty about how it might be received. His apprehensions came from the association of the sacred cup with the 1975 comedy film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “Of course, I was worried that people would hear ‘Holy Grail,’ and they would immediately think about a white rabbit attacking Monty Python,” Spielberg told Entertainment Weekly. “My first reaction was to say, ‘Everybody run away! Run away!’”
15 Painless Facts About “Road House”
Roger Cormier and Mental_Floss present 15 Painless Facts About Road House. Here are three of my favorites…
12. SAM ELLIOTT SAID HE GETS RECOGNIZED MOST FROM ROAD HOUSE.
Though he has nearly 90 credits to his name, in 2007 Elliott told Collider that he’s most recognized from Road House. Earlier this year, he admitted to Vulture that he “wasn’t so good” in the film. Joel Silver cast him due to his “baggage.”
8. THE DIRECTOR TRIED TO MAKE THE FIGHTS A LITTLE FUNNY.
The movie’s humor is somewhat intentional; director Rowdy Herrington said he wanted to make the fights “like a Keystone Cops melee.”
15. THERE WAS A DIRECT-TO-DVD SEQUEL.
2006’s Road House 2: Last Call killed off Dalton, who was finally stopped by a bullet to the head. It starred Johnathon Schaech as Dalton’s son, D.E.A. agent Shane Tanner, who runs his uncle Nate’s bar the Black Pelican while trying to solve his father’s murder. In 2013, it was reported that a remake of Road House was in the works, directed by original Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen.
[Did anyone know about the Road House 2: Last Call movie? Kill off Dalton? Really? – Craig]
10 Famous People Who Were Afraid They’d Be Buried Alive
It’s hard to imagine many things worse than being buried alive. Thankfully with modern technology the odds of waking up in a coffin six feet under is unlikely.
That wasn’t always the case.
Many famous people [including George Washington, Hans Christain Anderson, Frederick Chopin and others] took great lengths to avoid being buried alive as Bess Lovejoy points out in 10 Famous People Who Were Afraid They’d Be Buried Alive.
Source: Mental Floss.
Bad Lip Reading Presents The Redneck Avengers!
Bad Lip Reading Presents The Redneck Avengers!
10 Things You Might Not Know About Mr. T
Garin Pirnia and Mental_Floss present 10 Things You Might Not Know About Mr. T. Here are three of my favorites…
1. HIS ICONIC “I PITY THE FOOL” LINE CAME FROM ROCKY III.
In his first starring role, in 1982, Mr. T plays Rocky Balboa’s competitor Clubber Lang in the Sylvester Stallone written and directed Rocky III. During a part in the movie when Lang’s being interviewed about his upcoming boxing match, he’s asked if he hates Rocky: “No, I don’t hate Balboa, but I pity the fool. And I would destroy any man who tries to take what I got.” His prediction for the fight? “Pain!” Unfortunately, Rocky beats the crap out of Lang, so who’s the fool now? Nevertheless, the catchphrase stuck and launched more than 30 years of double entendres and jokes, including Mr. T starring in a reality show called I Pity the Fool, where he was a motivational speaker.
3. HE BEAT HIS TOUGHEST ENEMY: CANCER.
In 1995, after finding a small malignant tumor on his ear, Mr. T was diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma. “Can you imagine that? Cancer with my name on it—personalized cancer,” he recalled to Coping with Cancer magazine. At first he was lucky: after five treatments of radiation spanning four weeks, the cancer dissolved. But 11 months later the cancer returned, which resulted in him undergoing six weeks of high-dose chemotherapy. “My fame couldn’t save me!” he said. “My gold, my money couldn’t stop cancer from appearing on my body. If they can’t save me, then I don’t need them.” He then gave some advice: “I pity the fool who just gives up. We all gonna die eventually from something or other, but don’t be a wimp. Put up a good fight.” Mr. T’s now cancer free.
9. HE’S IN DEMAND TO STAR IN THE EXPENDABLES 4.
One person who’s been absent from The Expendables franchise is Mr. T, and some people think it’s an outrage. A Facebook page called “1,000,000 Strong for Mr. T in The Expendables 4” serves as a petition to Hollywood to cast Mr. T in the next Expendables project. The page was formed a few years ago during the casting of The Expendables 3, but Mr. T was overlooked. “Did you sleep on your Bruce Willis sheets when you were a kid? Did you eat Sylvester Stallone cereal? Did you play with an Arnold Schwarzenegger action figure or was it of a character he played? Mr. T had his own cartoon. Mr. T should be cast in the next Expendables movie,” reads the page’s mission. Earlier this year Fox announced that they are developing an Expendables TV series, so maybe there’s a chance for Mr. T yet.
