Category: Celebs

RIP: Larry King

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Larry King died this morning.  He was 87.  King had been hospitalized in December for complications from Covid-19.  King, who was born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger worked on radio and television for over 60 years.

King became a national celebrity when his Larry King Live interview program on CNN went viral in 1985.  King hosted the show for 25 years and interviewed just about everyone who was making headlines.  That was the joy of King’s program, one night he might be talking to a top political figure, the next night a celebrity or psychic.

King became so popular and well known that he began to appear in movies and television roles (hundreds listed on IMDb) usually playing himself.  Throughout his career King earned an Emmy, two Peabody awards and 10 Cable Ace awards.  When King left CNN he continued to work in television with Larry King Now (2012-2020) on Hulu and Politicking with Larry King (2013 until his death).

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Larry King’s family, friends and fans.

RIP: Gregory Sierra

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Although Gregory Sierra died on January 4, 2021, from cancer, his death wasn’t made public knowledge until yesterday.  Sierra, who had a long career acting in television and movie roles was probably best known for his co-starring role on Barney Miller.

Sierra made guest appearances on dozens and dozens of television shows with reoccurring roles on The Flying Nun, Sanford & Son, Soap, Hill Street Blues, Miami Vice, Murder She Wrote and more.  Sierra’s major theatrical film roles were in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Papillon, The Towering Inferno, Vampires and Vic (written and directed by Sage Stallone).

I always enjoyed tv shows and movies a bit more when Gregory Sierra appeared.   Our thoughts and prayers go out to Gregory Sierra’s family, friends and fans.

“The Godfather, Part III” Trivia!

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I imagine that most folks reading this would agree that The Godfather and The Godfather, Part II are two excellent films.  I wonder how many of us would agree that The Godfather, Part III, while not on the same level as I or II is still a good film? 

Todd Gilchrist at Mental Floss presents 20 Facts About The Godfather Part III.  Before you click over, here are my thoughts on three from Gilchrist’s list and one that didn’t make the cut.

ROBERT DUVALL WAS WRITTEN OUT OF THE GODFATHER PART III DUE TO A SALARY DISPUTE.  It was a mistake to not bring Duvall back.  Then they replaced him with George Hamilton as a new character.  It felt wrong and didn’t help the film.

ANDY GARCIA HAD A LOT OF A-LIST COMPETITION FOR HIS ROLE IN THE GODFATHER PART III.  Some of the actors in the running included Alec Baldwin, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, Matt Dillon, Val Kilmer, Charlie Sheen, and Billy Zane.  I thought Garcia did an excellent job in the role. From those listed my second choice would have been Alec Baldwin.

THE GODFATHER PART III FEATURED MANY FAMILIAR FACES BOTH IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND THE CAMERA.  This helped strengthen the film… and only made Duvall’s absence felt that much more.

A Godfather III fact that didn’t make the list is that at one point when it didn’t look like Francis Ford Coppola was going to return there were discussions of getting Sylvester Stallone to direct and star along with John Travolta.  While that would have been very interesting, critics would have been all over it with negativity… and we’d have never gotten Coppola’s return.

For Gilchrist’s complete list and his thoughts on each, click over.

“Creature from the Black Lagoon” Trivia

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One of my favorite horror movies is Creature from the Black Lagoon.  Nicholas Furnal at CBR.com recently posted 10 Things Everyone Missed In Creature From The Black Lagoon.  I’m proud to report that I only missed one, but it is a doozy.  Before you click over, I’ll tell you the one I missed plus two others that are favorties.

Telephone Pole In The Amazon.  I’ve watched Creature from the Black Lagoon dozens and dozens of times (once as recently as last week).  I never noticed the telephone pole.  Of course I am usually watching in the 1.37:1 screen ratio.  Well, now I have an excuse for another viewing.

No Visible Air Bubbles.  I applaud that director Jack Arnold made sure that no air bubbles were present for the Creature’s underwater scenes.  It made the monster all that more realistic.  Hats off to Ricou Browning for being able to hold his breath underwater during several minutes of filming!

Two Separate Creature Suits.  It would have been easier and cheaper to just create one suit, but the folks behind the movie made two (one for land and one for underwater) that varied in flexibility and color.  It’s attention to details like these that make Creature from the Black Lagoon a classic.

Click over to check out the other trivia items and see if any are new to you!

Syfy’s “Day of the Dead” Limited Series Ties into the Romero Classic and Sounds Great!

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John Squires at Bloody Disgusting broke the story that Syfy’s Day of the Dead Series Will Have Some Ties to George Romero’s Original Classic.  This is great news for Romero fans.  Not only will the 10 episode limited series tie in to Romero’s film, but will focus on…

 …six strangers trying to survive the first 24 hours of an undead invasion.

The thing I love about the best zombie (or any apocalyptic) movies is the interplay between strangers trying not only to figure out what is going on, but also how to best survive.  As you can guess, I’m looking forward to Day of the Dead.

For more details click over to Syfy’s Day of the Dead Series Will Have Some Ties to George Romero’s Original Classic at Bloody Disgusting.

Joe Dator’s Rediscovering “Columbo”

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Over the last year I’ve posted about my wife’s and my renewed interest and love for Columbo starring Peter Falk.  Because the series is so popular it appears on several networks daily which makes recording episodes easy. My wife and I have been working our way through every episode.  Joe Dator is doing the same thing.

Joe Dator is an accomplished cartoonist whose work can regularly be found in The New Yorker, often be found in Mad Magazine and Esquire and believe it or not, at his personal website.  Joe was a winner of The National Cartoonists Society’s 2018 Silver Reuben Award.

I tell you all of this as a way of introduction into Joe Dator’s Rediscovering “Columbo” in 2020.  The cartoon strip first appeared in The New Yorker last October, but can be seen in full at Joe’s website.  I agree with everything Joe says about the joys of watching Columbo.  The one thing I would add is that while Columbo’s first name is never spoken it does appear to eagle-eyed viewers when Columbo shares his ID in a few episodes.

RIP: Peter Mark Richman

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Peter Mark Richman died yesterday at the age of 93 from natural causes.  Richman was an accomplished actor who appeared in feature films, television and on Broadway, an author who wrote plays, short stories and novels, and an artist.  Talk about being a Renaissance Man.

I’d be willing to bet that you’ve seen Peter Mark Richman perform, even if you don’t recognize his name.  Richman has 159 credits on his IMDb resume.  I remember him best from the classic Twilight Zone episode The Fear, but that was one of well over 100 appearances Peter Mark Richman made on television.  In addition to Cain’s Hundred (which he starred in), you could see Richmond regularly show up on tv shows starting in the 1960s through the 1990s.  He had reoccurring roles on Longstreet, Three’s Company, Dynasty, Beverly Hills 90210, and guest appearances on just about every other major television show.  

 Richman’s features films include The Strange One, Black Orchid, Naked Gun 2 and Friday the 13th, Part 8, and Vic (a short film co-written and directed by Sage Stallone).  Starting the in the 1990s, Richman began doing voice work for Batman: The Animated Series, Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Superman: The Animated Series.  

Mr. Richman appeared on Broadway, had several of his one-act plays, novels and short stories published.  He also had 17 one-man exhibitions of his paintings.  

Peter Mark Richman was married to his wife, Helen for 67 and they have five children.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Peter Mark Richman’s family, friends and fans.  What an amazing creative life he led.

“Adverse” – 2 Posters, 2 Trailers and 2 Different Vibes for the Same Film. Let’s Take a Look!

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We have two posters and two trailers for Adverse.  Let’s take a look at each, because although they’re for the same movie, they give off a different vibe.

The first poster above has a pretty generic crime movie feel.  We have the heads of the stars photoshopped into the main figure.  The cast should be a selling point, but their names don’t really stand out due to the colors of the font and the poster’s background.

The poster above works much better.  Although you lose the headshots of Mickey Rourke and Penelope Ann Miller, the names of the cast (and their awards/nominations) show up much better and are more impressive.  The main shot of the guy with a crow bar is a medium shot with the city in the background, making him look less heroic and more like an “everyman”.  The photoshopped face of the young girl (his daughter) let’s us know what he is fighting for.  FInally, the film festival logos adds a bit of prestige to the movie.  This is my favorite of the two posters.

Let’s look at each trailer.

Trailer 1 above and 2 below

Okay.  Have you watched both?  If so, which did you prefer?

I liked the first one much better than the second.  The first had a good crime movie vibe.  The music was menacing and the pace of the trailer made it feel like the movie would move.  This is a film I want to see.

The second trailer’s vibe was more of a Lifetime movie.  I didn’t care for the music used or the way the trailer set up the film.  It left me feeling like it would be a movie I might watch if there was nothing else on.

Amazing how the same film can be sold two different ways.  I wonder which trailer best represents the final film.  I do like the cast and hope the movie aligns with the first trailer.  We shall see.

“Bliss” Staring Owen Wilson & Salma Hayek – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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The Bliss poster and trailer are here.  I like Wilson, Hayek and the Matrix vibe, so I’ll check out Bliss.

An unfulfilled man (Owen Wilson) and a mysterious woman (Salma Hayek) believe they are living in a simulated reality, but when their newfound ‘Bliss’ world begins to bleed into the ‘ugly’ world they must decide what’s real and where they truly belong.

“Cliffhanger” and Extreme Ghana Movie Poster Art!

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I like this Cliffhanger poster art way more than I should.  For some reason it works for me despite Sly’s wonky left arm and hand, his right hand showing only three fingers and a thumb and the likeness being close, but no cigar.  Heck, they even made Cliffhanger into two words.  Yet, I still like the overall effect of the poster.

If you’re wondering, the poster was used to promote Cliffhanger in Ghana.  The posters were painted on cloth and, – well, let’s have Sly Stallone explain.  Before you click on the video of Sly, thanks to  “Bobby Klump” for the post on my StalloneZone forum of the Ghana Cliffhanger and other movie posters.  Thanks also to “Foodfather” (also a SZoner) for finding and sharing the Stallone video explaining the poster.  Finally, if you want to know more about Ghana movie posters – check out Extreme Canvas: Hand-Painted Movie Posters from Ghana.

RIP: Steve Carver

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Steve Carver, best known for directing action films, died yesterday of a heart attack.  Mr. Carver was 75.

After graduating from college (BA from Cornell University and MFA from Washington University), Carver worked as a cameraman for the Wide World of Sports for the St. Louis Cardinals, taught at local colleges and made documentaries.  One of his documentaries earned him a spot in the American Film Institute.  Edgar Allan Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, one of the short films Carver created there, was well received and led to Carver meeting and working with Roger Corman.

Carver cut trailers for Corman’s New World pictures and began writing scripts.  Corman then gave Carver the opportunity to direct The Arena starring Pam Grier.  The success of that film led Corman to give Carter the helm of Big Bad Mama starring Angie Dickinson, William Shatner and Tom Skerritt.  The success of Big Bad Mama led to Carver directing Capone.  Capone starred Ben Gazarra, Harry Guardino, Susan Blakely, Sylvester Stallone and John Cassavetes.

The success of these films made Carver the potential director for Billy Jack Goes to Washington.  That fell through when Tom Laughlin decided to direct it himself.  Carver was instead hired to replace director Burt Kennedy on Drum which starred Warren Oates, Ken Norton, Pam Grier and Yaphet Kotto.  Although the film was successful, Carver didn’t enjoy the experience.

Carver had ideas for a couple of films but they fell through. Instead Carver went on to direct David Carradine and Brenda Vaccaro in Fast Charlie… the Moonbeam Rider and Steel starring Lee Majors and Jennifer O’Neal.

In 1981, Carver directed Chuck Norris, Christopher Lee and Richard Roundtree in An Eye for an Eye.  Two years later, Carver reteamed with Chuck Norris for Lone Wolf McQuade (co-starring David Carradine, Barbara Carrera and Leon Isaac Kennedy).  Both of these films were highly successful, but Carver was becoming less enchanted with Hollywood and more interested in photography.  Carter made six more films, but in 1995 opened his own photography studio and left directing behind.

Thanks to Steve Carver for many hours of entertainment.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family, friends and fans.

The Girl Who Didn’t “Flinch” Trailer is Here!

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Flinch looks good.  Of course I’m a sucker for crime films so your mileage may vary.  And how about Cathy Moriarty and Steven Bauer being in it?  I didn’t know Moriarty was still making movies.  Glad to see her and Bauer and hope Flinch is worthy.  

From director Cameron Van Hoy, starring Daniel Zovatto, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Cathy Moriarty, Tom Segura, Buddy Duress, Steven Bauer, and David Proval. The girl who didn’t “FLINCH.”

RELEASE DATE: January 21, 2021
DIRECTOR: Cameron Van Hoy
CAST: Daniel Zovatto, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Cathy Moriarty, Tom Segura, Buddy Duress, Steven Bauer, David Proval.
PRODUCERS: Cameron Eldred, Rod Hamilton, Justin Smith, Armen Aghaeian, Cameron Van Hoy
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Kai Saul
EDITOR: Justin Williams, Sam Bauer
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Matthew Ellis Siltala
ORIGINAL SCORE: Miami Nights 1984

Joe Doyle (Daniel Zovatto) is a young hitman following in his father’s footsteps. Quiet and reserved, he is observant and careful, making him very good at what he does. While studying his new target, city council member Ed Terzian (Tom Segura), Doyle develops a distant crush on the councilman’s assistant, Mia (Tilda Cobham-Hervey).
After she walks in on her boss’s assassination, Mia is caught by Doyle who must decide whether to let her go or to dispose of her for good. As Doyle aims the gun at her head, Mia doesn’t flinch, bringing him to a crossroads. Unsure of what to do, Doyle brings Mia to his home where he lives with his overbearing mother Gloria (Academy Award Nominee Cathy Moriarty), and holds her hostage until he can gain some clarity.
Doyle’s boss, Lee (David Proval) and his son, James (Buddy Duress), start questioning Doyle about the missing girl, and slowly he comes to find that Mia might not be entirely who he thinks she is. This brings Doyle to make the ultimate decision: does he kill the girl who didn’t flinch?