“Expendables 3” – If Sly Asked Me…

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  • I would suggest something big on US soil for the Expendables’ mission. Go easy on the wisecracks and humor.
  • Olympus Has Fallen opened this weekend with over $30 million in receipts and an A- CinemaScore. Audiences will still show up for action movies.
  • Expendables members need to die. I love the characters, but let’s lose some on to shock the audience and raise the stakes.
  • Perhaps the team accepts a mission from Bruce Willis’ character. Since the CIA can’t operate on US soil, he brings in the Expendables to take down a home-grown terrorist group. Although way outgunned the Expendables accomplish their goal. Unfortunately several of the Expendables are killed during the mission.
  • Perhaps even have Couture’s character killed after the Expendables have stopped the terrorists. The terrorists know they can’t obtain their goal, so as payback to the Expendables they torture and kill Couture (perhaps Barney and the remaining Expendables are watching on live video feed). Once they kill Couture the terrorists make their getaway. Barney and the remaining team members call in new recruits and go after the terrorists.
  • This would show the Expendables are expendable. It would also show how good they are since they accomplish their mission against greater odds. This set-up would start the movie with a bang and give reason to bring in the young guns. It would also make the second part of the movie’s mission very personal.

Captain America and the Celebrity Bar

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CBR.com runs a regular feature where they post “Easter Eggs” hidden in comics.  These are drawings of actors, other comic companies characters and the like in the background of stories.  I love stuff like this. 

This week’s installment looks at Captain America #401 by Mark Gruenwald, Rik Levins and Danny Bulanadi.  It is packed with appearances by famous folks such as Dick Tracy, Reid Flemming: The World’s Toughest Milk Man, James Bond, Elvis Presley, The Adams Family, and more.

This issue is a lot of fun for eagle-eyed readers!

Casting: “Escape from New York” Remake

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It seems that there may be movement on a remake of John Carpenter’s Escape from New York. Reports indicate that Joel Silver and his Silver Pictures are teaming with StudioCanal to make it happen and current plans are for a trilogy of films.

Like most fans, I really liked Escape from New York.  Although I was happy to see the return of Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), Escape from L.A. just wasn’t as good.

Which of course begs the question, would a remake (or a trio of Snake Plissken films) work?  The correct answer is, of course, with the right script, actors and director.

So… let’s take a look at who should fill the roles in Escape from New York Remake:

  • Snake Plissken was originally played by Kurt Russell should now be played by Guy Pearce.
  • Hauk was originally played by Lee Van Cleef should now be played by Stephen Lang.
  • Cabbie was originally played by Ernest Borgnine should now be played by Brian Cox.
  • The President was originally played by Donald Pleasence should now be played by James Gandolfini.
  • The Duke was originally played by Isaac Hayes should now be played by Terry Crews.
  • Brain was originally played by Harry Dean Stanton should now be played by Michael Emerson.
  • Maggie was originally played by Adrienne Barbeau should now be played by Rosario Dawson.
  • Romero was originally played by Frank Doubleday should now be played by Walton Goggins.
  • Slag was originally played by Ox Baker should now be played by  Ryan Hurst.

So, what do you think?  Inspired casting or did I miss the mark?

MegaCon or Bust!

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This Friday, Saturday and Sunday, my buddy, John Beatty and I are going to be in Orlando hanging out with several thousand other like-minded folks.  Yep, it’s time for MegaCon. 

John is going as a guest  of the show.  That means while John is sketching for fans, I’ll either be hanging at his table keeping the fun at it’s maximum level or I’ll be visiting with other artists/friends looking to get a sketch or two for my Stallone Sketch theme collection.

If you’ve never been to MegaCon, you’re missing out.  There’s something for everyone.  There are celebrity guests, comic book creators, dozens of artists sketching for fans, panels, gaming, and more.

If you’re in driving distance of the show, come on down.  If not, there’s always next year.  Hope to see you there!

What the “Wizard of Oz” is Really About!

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I got kick out of 7 Theories of What the Wizard of Oz is Really About by Bilge Ebiri for Venture.com.  Hopefully you will too.

Here are tidbits from my three favorite theories in the article…

Religious Allegory

In this theory, The Wizard of Oz is seen… as an allegory of faith…The Yellow Brick Road is the path to enlightenment, with the characters encountering a variety of emblems of sin and temptation along the way toward the Emerald City, which is a kind of a heaven… the Wicked Witch is killed with water, suggesting baptism…

Atheist Allegory

Hilariously, this theory I.D.’s almost all the same elements as the religious allegory, but then interprets them in the opposite direction — that is, God, a.k.a. the Wizard, isn’t real, there’s a mortal behind the curtain, and all that spiritual mumbo jumbo is illusory…

The Glinda Conspiracy Theory

…Glinda the Good Witch might actually be the true villain of Oz…  Glinda gloats a bit too morbidly over the death of the Wicked Witch of the East, calling for celebrations and then actually taunting the witch’s sister… that Glinda… knows the ruby slippers will send Dorothy home, hides this fact from Dorothy and sends the unwitting girl off to do her dirty work for her, all so she herself can finally rule over the land of Oz…

Check out the article to read these three complete theories as well as the other four.

Mike Torrance: Nighthawks’ Deke DaSilva

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Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd is back! Mike has given us his take on Sly as Deke DaSilva from Nighthawks.

You can see more of Mike’s art at The Daily Sketch with The Krayola Kidd (and if you’ve never checked out Mike’s site, you ought to if only to see his Walking Dead cards!) and his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable.