Two Vintage INTERVIEW Interviews with Sly Stallone!

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As I was going through the Zablo vault I came across the October 1994 issue of Interview magazine.  The photo header is NOT that cover.  Instead the picture above is of the September 1985 issue of Interview.  Let me explain.

As I was going through the vault, I found my copy of the October ’94 issue.  In it there is a new (for that time) interview with Sly Stallone.  But instead of a new photo, they reprinted the cover of the September ’85 issue. Well, as it turns out, you can read that interview here.  (By the way, I love the cover art of Sly,)

Getting back to the Interview October 1994 issue.  Below is that interview. Click on the photos to see a larger version, Enjoy! – Craig
PS – The thing that really struck me about the interview below is the question about Sly always having a sense of mortality.  Even then Sly new that time was our greatest currency.

“The Eagle” (2011) starring Channing Tatum & Jamie Bell / Z-View

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The Eagle (2011)

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Screenplay by: Jeremy Brock based on THE EAGLE OF THE NINTH by Rosemary Sutcliff

Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Paul Ritter and Julian Lewis Jones.

Tagline: The destiny of a soldier. The honour of a slave. The fate of an empire.

The Story:

The year is 140 AD.  Marcus Aquila (Tatum) has grown up in the shadow of his father, the Commander of the Ninth.  Twenty years ago, his father and the Centurions he led disappeared.  Also missing was the golden eagle – the standard they carried into battle.  Rumors persist that his Marcus’ father died a coward.  Some say he was a terrible leader and blame him for the loss of the golden eagle.

Marcus, in his first command at a remote Roman garrison, proves himself.  His decisive actions turn the tide of the battle and save the fort from being wiped out.  Sadly, Marcus sustains an injury that prevents him from continuing his career as a soldier.  While recuperating, Marcus hears a rumor that the golden eagle has been seen deep in the wilderness held by Pict warriors.

Still not fully recovered, Marcus and his slave, Esca (Bell) travel deep into territory held by warrior tribes hostile to Rome.  There Marcus will learn the truth about his father and the loss of the golden eagle.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers) 

The Eagle starts off like Gladiator and ends like a buddy movie.  If you compare the battle scenes to the last shot of the film, they are like two completely different movies.

Donald Sutherland seems so out of place in this film.  I have a hard time seeing him, looking like he always looks in modern movies, as a character in 140 AD.

I love the depiction of the Pict warriors.  I think the chase and battle scenes are the best parts of the film.

Ray-Anthony Height Gets Carter (with an interesting story)

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Today we have Sly Stallone as Jack Carter by Ray-Anthony Height.  It’s my third piece from Ray-Anthony and it has an interesting story.

My buddy, John Higashi was at a convention.  He saw this piece on display at Ray-Anthony’s table.  John told RAH that he had a buddy, Craig Zablo, who collected Stallone sketches.  RAH said that the art was originally for Craig, but that it got lost.  So he refunded Craig the money.  RAH later found the sketch and decided to see if it would sell at the convention.

And it did.

I’ve darkened the piece a bit for display here.

Rare Arnold Schwarzenegger Photos – “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” – Interview Magazine, June 1991

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The photo above comes from the Zablo vault.  It’s a centerspread from the June 1991 Interview magazine.  Arnold Schwarzenegger is featured on the cover and an interview.  This was prior to the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  Here’s an interesting exchange…

Interview: You’ve got a sequel coming to The Terminator, a film that did a lot of things for you.
Arnold: Pumping Iron was a good vehicle for me.  Conan the Barbarian was a good vehicle for me.  But, Terminator, which came three years after that, was a great vehicle.  It took me from the Conan-like parts that were being offered to me because of my body – which of course I understood, because that was my big asset then – and created good box office.  And that sent a whole new signal to the community.

Interview: This time there’s another terminator who’s badder than you.  Was it a concerted decision not to have you play the film’s villain this time?
Arnold: We talked about me playing the good guy and the bad guy – two terminators with two different missions.  Both look alike, but when they were taken off the rack they were programmed differently and then sent to the past.  We played around with the idea, but the more we talked about it, the more, I think Jim [James Cameron, the director of both Terminator films] felt the new terminator should be a streamlined-looking character.  It should look the opposite of me.  Very lean.

It’s interesting to read Arnold’s thoughts prior to the success of Terminator 2.  What do you think?  Would T2 worked as well with Arnold playing both parts?  I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.

“Monster on the Campus” (1958) / Z-View

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Monster on the Campus (1958)

Director: Jack Arnold

Screenplay by: David Duncan

Starring: Arthur Franz, Joanna Moore, Joanna Moore, Troy Donahue, Phil Harvey, Helen Westcott, Helen Westcott, Whit Bissell, Ross Elliott, and Eddie Parker.

Tagline: Co-ed beauty captive of man-monster! Campus terror! Students victims of terror-beast!

The Story:

Professor Donald Blake (Franz) accidently cuts himself on the teeth of a well-preserved million-year-old fish fossil. Right after, while putting the fossil away, his injured hand dips into the water holding the specimen.  Later Blake learns the fossil had been preserved using gamma rays.

That evening a woman is savagely attacked.  Her corpse is found hanging from a tree.  Professor Blake is found barely conscious on the ground nearby.  He has no memory of what happened.  When the police find a huge deformed handprint they believe it to be the killer’s.  While the police begin a hunt for the monster, Professor Blake worries that he is devolving into a creature from the past.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

At the start of the movie on a shelf in Professor Blake’s lab is a series of molds showing the evolution of man’s face.  The very first mold looks a lot like The Creature from the Black Lagoon.  Jack Arnold, who directed Monster On the Campus, also helmed The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Jack Arnold was the go-to director for horror/sci-fi movies in the 1950s.  He helmed It Came from Outer Space; The Creature from the Black Lagoon; Revenge of the Creature; This Island Earth; Tarantula; The Incredible Shrinking Man; The Space Children and Monster on the Campus.

Monster on the Campus was Troy Donahue’s last film for Universal.  The following year he signed a contract at Warner Bros. and soon became a top name star.

“GyeongSeong Creature” – The Poster and Two Trailers are Here!

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I wasn’t aware of GyeongSeong Creature until just now when I saw the poster and two trailers.  Sounds and looks like it could be a winner.  Since GyeongSeong Creature is going to be on Netflix, checking it out will be a no-brainer.  Deal me in.

Spring of 1945
All suspicions led to a hospital in Gyeongseong where there were humans and creatures.
Gyeongseong Creature Part 1 | December 22, only on Netflix


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Neal Adams’ Bruce Lee / “Enter the Dragon” Art for Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #17

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José Villarrubia recently posted this cover saying that he wasn’t a fan of the subject matter, but the Neal Adams painting was one of his favorites.  I’m on board with Villarrubia’s assessment of Adams’ art.  I am/was the perfect demographic for the subject matter.  Bruce Lee is a legend.  Enter the Dragon remains one of my all-time favorite films.

Thanks José Villarrubia for a post that took me back to my childhood.

“Chrome and Hot Leather” (1971) starring William Smith / Z-View

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Chrome and Hot Leather (1971)

Director: Lee Frost

Screenplay by: Michael Haynes & David Neibel and Don Tait from a story by Michael Haynes & David Neibel

Starring: William Smith, Tony Young, Michael Haynes, Peter Brown, Michael Stearns, Larry Bishop, Kathrine Baumann, Wes Bishop, Herb Jeffries, Bobby Pickett, Cheryl Ladd (aka Cherie Moor), Robert Ridgely, Erik Estrada, Dan Haggerty  and Marvin Gaye.

Tagline: A terrifying look at Motor Cycle Savagery – from the same studio that made “Born Losers”

The Story:

When a US Special Forces sergeant learns that his fiancé was killed by the member of a motorcycle gang, he recruits three of his service buddies to track down the murderer.  Four Viet Nam vets against an entire motorcycle gang?  Yeah, that sounds about right.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

William Smith and Peter Brown co-starred in the television series Laredo before working on this film.

Chrome and Hot Leather features some interesting cast member trivia…

  • Cheryl Ladd made her feature film debut billed as Cherie Moor.
  • Marvin Gaye, best known as a multi-Grammy award-winning singer, made his feature film debut as well.
  • Bobby Pickett, best known as the writer/singer of the classic The Monster Mash appears.
  • Herb Jeffries, a popular jazz singer and actor in films made for African-American audiences in the 1930s/1940s, shows up.
  • Erik Estrada can be seen in an uncredited role in only his second feature film.
  • Dan Haggerty also has an uncredited role.  He plays a bearded member of the biker gang.

Chrome and Hot Leather (1971) was made to cash in on the biker craze of the era.  It’s a low-budget drive-in film.  William Smith was built for biker films.  If he was a bit younger, he’d have been an action movie star of the 80s.  Still playing Conan’s dad is quite a notch on your resume.

“Day Zero” (2022) starring Brandon Vera / Z-View

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Day Zero (2022)

Director: Joey De Guzman

Screenplay by: Ays De Guzman

Starring: Brandon Vera, Pepe Herrera, Mary Jean Lastimosa.

Tagline: When the dead rise, humanity falls.

The Story:

As a zombie virus spreads like wildfire, Emon (Vera) fights to get home to his wife and child.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

Brandon Vera is a former MMA fighter.  He has the potential to become a better known action star.

Day Zero is low budget zombie film.  It also had potential.  Pepe Herrera was Vera’s comic relief sidekick.  Thankfully, the comedy wasn’t over the top.  As Vera and Herrera fought their way to save Vera’s family the action became to repetitive.  I taped out after 43 minutes.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK STORYBOARDS by Tony Lee Moral

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ALFRED HITCHCOCK STORYBOARDS by Tony Lee Moral will appeal to Hitchcock fans and movie lovers.

A one-of-a-kind historical document and celebration of the artwork behind several of the Master of Suspense’s greatest films.

This stunning coffee table book focuses on the storyboards for nine of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movies – Vertigo, The Birds, Psycho, North by Northwest, The 39 Steps, Torn Curtain, Marnie, Shadow of a Doubt and Spellbound. It includes never before-published images and incisive text putting the material in context and examining the role the pieces played in some of the most unforgettable scenes in cinema. Hitchcock author and aficionado Tony Lee Moral takes you through the last 100 years of cinema, with the Master of Suspense as your guide.

ALFRED HITCHCOCK STORYBOARDS drops February 6, 2024.

CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN (A Novel) by Richard Chizmar

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CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN (A Novel) by Richard Chizmar

First sentence…

When I first started clipping newspaper articles and jotting down notes about the tragic events that transpired in my hometown of Edgewood, Maryland, during the summer and autumn of 1988, I had no thoughts of one day turning those scattered observations into a full-length book.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Richard Chizmar just graduated college.  He’s making plans to marry his girlfriend.  He dreams of being a writer.  The only negative is that Richard will have to live with his parents for some months until he’s married.  Still, going back to the house he grew up in will provide time to strengthen family bonds and rekindle old friendships.  At least that’s how Richard thought things would be.

That all changes when mutilated bodies of dead girls begin showing up.  When Richard arrives home, there’s a curfew in effect.  Everyone in his small town is jumpy.  The F.B.I. has assisted local police, but there have been no solid leads.  Because of the way the murderer butchers and eludes detection, rumors are flying that the killer isn’t human.  When Richard learns that he knew one of the victims, his writer’s curiosity causes him to dig into the case.  The killer begins taunting the police, the FBI and Richard.  That’s when Richard realizes he has put himself and his family in danger.

+++

Richard Chizmar has written a novel that reads like a true crime story.  In addition to placing himself in the story, Chizmar provides maps, newspaper photos, and more in regard to the case. You may find yourself double checking to make sure it is fiction.

Often true crime tales read like procedurals. Not this baby.  It reads like one of the best true crime stories you could ask for. But remember, it’s fiction.

Rating:

“The Ballad of Maddog Quinn” – Think Steampunk “Mad Max” – The Short is Here!

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The Ballad of Maddog Quinn short is here.  Think Steampunk Mad Max.  I liked it.  My full review is coming.  Check it out.

Wanted and on the run, an infamous outlaw is pursued across the steam-powered dystopia of The State by a posse of relentless lawmen. In this desolate land of dust, rust and blood, there’s not many problems that a fast horse and a gun can’t solve, but things aren’t always what they seem on the wild wasteland frontier.

A selection of Short of the Week, the web’s leading curators of quality short films.

“JFK: What the Doctors Saw” (2023) / Z-View

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JFK: What the Doctors Saw (2023)

Director: Barbara Shearer

Tagline: None.

The Story:

Immediately after President Kennedy was assassinated conspiracy theories appeared.  The official story is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.  Despite witnesses who swore there was another gunman, the Warren Commission determined that Oswald was the sole gunman.

JFK: What the Doctors Saw documents what the doctors at Parkland Hospital dealt with when President Kennedy was brought in mortally wounded.  By using archival news footage, copies of official reports, and most importantly video interviews with these doctors, we are given first hand accounts of what these medical professionals dealt with.  What they saw does not line up with the official story,

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)

I was just five years old (by a month) when President Kennedy was assassinated.  Since I was young I’ve followed the news reports and conspiracy theories.  When I was in high school I read the Warren Commission Report.

Over the years there have been many documentaries and specials that “investigated” the assassination of President Kennedy.  What this documentary does is focus on what the doctors at Parkland Hospital saw when President Kennedy was brought in.  Despite there being no doubt that the President was mortally wounded, they did their best to save him.  While the official story is that the President was shot from behind, all of the doctors believed that at least one shot came from the front.  This would explain the small bullet wound to President Kennedy’s neck and the blown out portion at the back of his skull.

The doctors all agree that the official autopsy report is not consistent with the President’s injuries as they saw them.  The doctor’s have said this from day one and have never changed their stories.  You can see this from the written reports that had to submit.  It’s very powerful to see video interviews with the doctors shown to the public for the first time in this documentary.

If you’re familiar with the Kennedy assassination, there isn’t much new ground covered.  Still, hearing from the doctors about their personal experiences on that terrible day is powerful.

THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA by Ed Brisson, C.P. Smith and Tim Bradstreet

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THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA by Ed Brisson (writer), C.P. Smith (artist) and Tim Bradstreet (cover artist) sounds like a winner.  Here’s the synopsis…

“One last job” for washed-up demolitions expert Wyatt could mean the last days for all mankind in THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA, an apocalyptic crime thriller from AWA!

It’s supposed to be an easy score: An armored car traveling desert back roads with $50 million in dirty cash. But things go sideways, people end up dead, and there’s no money in the truck. What’s all this have to do with a cult called The Sons of the Salton Sea? And is mankind REALLY doomed to eternal damnation if the Sons don’t fulfill their deadly mission? It might just be the end of the world as we know it in this explosive crime thriller from Ed Brisson (Predator, Murder Book) and C.P. Smith (THE RESISTANCE: UPRISING, ARCHANGEL 8)!

Wyatt, a professional thief living off the grid, is recruited by his brother for one last job. Their target: an armored car traveling down a desolate stretch of California highway. But when it turns out that their target is carrying not gold bars but human cargo, Wyatt is plunged into a conflict between warring factions of a doomsday cult. The cult claims that it is their solemn duty to save the world by means of human sacrifice. Will Wyatt protect the boy who has come into his charge? Or will he be swayed by the cult’s increasingly convincing claims that the end of the world is fast approaching?

THE SINS OF THE SALTON SEA drops February 20, 2024.