Month: October 2017

“Aliens” – 20 Facts You May Not Know

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Neil Gaskin and Film ’89 present Fact File – No.1 – Aliens (1986).  Here are three of my favorites…

2. Sigourney Weaver salary for Aliens was 28 times more than that of the first film:  Weaver was paid $35,000 for the first film and $1 million for the sequel. (she went on to earn $4 million for Alien 3 and $11 million for Alien: Resurrection).

5. For a science fiction film, it did usually well at the Academy Awards:  Aliens was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including a Best Actress nomination for Sigourney Weaver. It unsurprisingly won for Sound Effects Editing and Visual Effects.

14. It was the last roll of the dice for one of its stars:  Lance Henriksen had privately pledged to quit acting if this part didn’t work out for him after years of journeyman roles. It proved to be one of his most successful films.

34 Things We Learned from Edgar Wright’s “Baby Driver” Commentary

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Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 34 Things We Learned from Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver Commentary.  Here are three of my favorites…

10. Baby’s guardian, Joe, was written as a deaf African American man in his 80s, and CJ Jones was the only performer they auditioned who is actually deaf. “I started auditioning other very good actors who were pretending to be deaf, it made me feel immediately uncomfortable.”

13. The Michael Myers / Mike Myers mask gag originally featured two Halloween masks and one Austin Powers, but while Mike Myers had had granted permission “the Halloween people hadn’t said no, but they definitely hadn’t said yes.” Wright had to write an alternative for the scene and call Myers back to extend the permissions (for three masks). Myers shared a story with him about the first time he went to the bank with a paycheck from Saturday Night Live. It was made out to Michael Myers, and the teller said “Michael Myers? Are you gonna stab me?

21. The idea of having Doc’s nephew accompany Baby while casing the Post Office came from one of Wright’s interviews with ex-cons.

 

 

Jonathan Maberry: Born with a Love of Storytelling

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Jonathan Maberry: Born with a Love of Storytelling is an interview with, well, Jonathon Maberry.  Fans of Mayberry’s fiction as well as folks who’d like advice on writing should check it out.

If you don’t know… Jonathan Maberry is…

…a New York Times best-selling and multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning suspense author, editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. Jonathan Maberry was named one of the Today’s Top Ten Horror Writers, and his books have been sold to more than two-dozen countries. Jonathan is known for his writing that spans several different genres; including horror, mystery and young adult fiction.

Source: The Reading Lists.

 

S. Craig Zahler & Vince Vaughn Talk “Brawl in Cell Block 99”

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I’m a huge fan of S. Craig Zahler’s Bone Tomahawk and am really looking forward to his next film, Brawl in Cell Block 99.  Advance reviews are positive, especially singling out Vince Vaughn’s performance.

Although Brawl in Cell Block 99 is supposed to be in release now, it’s not playing at any theaters in my area.  Still, the publicity is coming and you can read interviews about the film with S. Craig Zahler and Vince Vaughn at Coming Soon, Film School Rejects and /Film.

David Gallaher on High Moon and More!

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David Gallaher was recently interviewed by Stefan Blitz for Forces of Geek.  Gallaher (who along with artist Steve Ellis) talks about their Harvey Award-winning series, High Moon and more.  You can read the interview here.

As for High Moon you can get it at the link that follows – and I recommend that you do!  High Moon Volume 1: Bullet Holes and Bite Marks

 

The Scariest Monsters that Came from the “Twilight Zone”

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The fine folks at Me-TV have posted their choices for the Scariest Monsters that Came from the Twilight Zone.  Using just their list, here are my top three and then my choice for the scariest monster that didn’t make their list but should have…

“NIGHTMARE AT 20,000 FEET”

“Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” first aired in October 1963, and it’s been giving us chills ever since, forever changing the way many people feel when they fly. Its central haunt is a furry gremlin who wreaks havoc on the wing of the plane. The beast can seemingly only been seen by the passenger Robert Wilson (William Shatner).

“THE INVADERS”

Knife-wielding miniature aliens are no less terrifying than their looming counterparts, “The Invaders” set out to prove in 1961. It’s one of the most aggressive episodes in The Twilight Zone canon, featuring the unrelenting force of its titular, tiny invader, and a protagonist who’s under attack the entire 25 minutes, nursing her wounds while viewers developed a reverse Napoleon complex.

“HOCUS-POCUS AND FRISBY”

Aliens are probably the most often repeated source of fear in The Twilight Zone. Among the scariest aliens from the show were the ones that came for a fibber named Mr. Frisby. His tall tales caused him to become a target for aliens who come to collect him as an exemplary specimen who represents humanity’s best. In the end, Frisby escapes, but few viewers could turn off the TV set without first putting themselves in Frisby’s shoes, all of us shaking in our boots aboard the alien ship.

+++++

My choice for the scariest monster from The Twilight Zone would be the Kanamits from To Serve Man.  Not only are the an advanced race of aliens that are over 9 feet tall but they eat humans!

The Original Ending to “Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?”

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If you’re a Twilight Zone fan, then you have to admire Rod Serling’s writing.  Best known for his twist endings, Serling could lead you down a path to believe one thing and then in the last scene come up with a reveal that made you understand something else.  It was often the difference between a good story and a great one.

One of the best Twilight Zone twist endings takes place in Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?.  Serling’s tale unfolds as a typical sci-fi story with a potential crashed alien space craft and a group of travelers stuck in a remote dinner during a bad snowstorm.  Serling ups the ante by dropping clues that one of the passengers is the alien!

To ratchet the tension Serling makes a case for each passenger being the alien.  Then like all really good scary stories, Serling makes us think all is well and – BAM! – he drops the twist ending on us… except in Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?, Serling follows the twist with a second twist that turns the episode into a classic.

Would you be surprised to know that wasn’t the ending that Serling had originally written?  Over at Shadow & Substance they have the lowdown on the way the story was supposed to end (it still would have been good, but without the classic double twist).  Click over and you can read Sterling’s original ending and learn more about the episode.