Category: Movies

Celebrity Encounters at MegaCon 2014

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This Friday and Saturday I spent time at MegaCon with my buddy John Beatty.  While I was at the show hanging with Big John, my wife, Doralya was relaxing at the hotel.

On Friday afternoon Doralya sent me a text that Steven Yeun (who plays Glen on The Walking Dead) was staying in our hotel and she saw him getting into a limo.  I could tell from her text and the number of exclamation points that she was excited to see a celebrity up-close.

At dinner that night Doralya told me of an encounter that she had with Bryan Johnson, one of the stars of Comic Book Men.  Doralya was sitting outside reading when Bryan Johnson walked by.

They made eye-contact and Doralya said, “I know you! I watch you on tv every week!”  Bryan smiled and replied, “You do?”  He was probably surprised since my wife doesn’t look like someone who would watch Comic Book Men.

A few minutes later Bryan walked back through the area and made a point to say, “Good-bye” to Doralya.

I teased Doralya a bit that the only thing she could think to say was, “I know you” to a complete stranger.  We laughed and headed back to the hotel.

Doralya was standing in front of me as the elevator doors opened and I heard her say in a surprised voice, “Well, hello!”  I heard a voice say, “Hello.”  It was Ming Chen of Comic Book Men.  As he left the elevator we made eye contact…

… and the only thing I could think to say was, “Well, hello.”  Ming replied, “Hello” as he continued to wherever he was going.

As we got on the elevator I expected Doralya to return the teasing I gave her.  At least her comment to a celebrity was original.  All I could think to say was to repeat what Doralya had said.  She didn’t tease me though.  I guess she understood that I wasn’t as used to celebrity encounters as she was.

How Many Gangs were in The Warriors?

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How many gangs were featured in Walter Hill’s cult classic The Warriors?

Let’s see…

There were, of course, the Warriors.

Everybody remembers the Baseball Furies.

The gang that called all gangs for a meet were the Gramercy Riffs.

Then there was the scary gang that rode [inside and outside] the school bus — the Turnbull AC’s.

The all girl gang was the Lizzies.

The gang that almost let the Warriors pass through their territory was the Orphans (so low on the gang food chain they weren’t even invited to the gathering).

The gang that set all other gangs on the Warriors were the Rouges.

There was a gang that dressed flashy and were only seen at the start and they were called the Boppers.

So I got 8.  Did you do better?

There were actually 21 street gangs featured in The Warriors and Mental Floss counts them down for us!

Powell & Churilla: “Big Trouble in Little China”

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That’s Eric Powell’s cover (one of many variants) for the new Big Trouble in Little China comic series coming from Boom! Studios.  Eric “The Goon” Powell will be taking on the writing chores with art from Brian “The Sixth Gun” Churilla.

Powell and Churilla were recently interviewed about the project at CBR,com so if you’re a fan you ought to click over.

David “Brohawk” Williams Takes on Rambo

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I’ve been a fan of David “Brohawk” Williams’ art from the moment I first laid eyes on it.  Most folks become fans that quickly because Brohawk is THAT great.  

When I had a chance to meet David at HeroesCon in 2012, I was thrilled when he agreed to do a Stallone Rambo sketch for me.  Awesome, isn’t it?  And that’s just from a photo.  The actual art is too big for my scanner!

Star Wars, Burger Chef, Mike Kott and Me

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Recently while cruising alone the virtual highway known as the internet I came across these three Star Wars posters.  They were available in the early 1980’s at Burger Chef when you purchased one of their meals.  I know this not because I read it in the poster descriptions but because I worked at Burger Chef in that same time period.

While the posters were popular, when the promotion ended we were left with several boxes of unsold posters.  My boss was at a loss.  He couldn’t send them back.  He didn’t want to throw them away.  He sure wasn’t going to give them away.

I had a friend named Mike Kott.  Mike and I played poker on a regular basis and shared a mutual interest in comic books, comic art, movies and the like.  Mike ran (and still runs The Intergalactic Trading Company).  I knew Mike would buy the posters if he could make a profit on them.

So I told my boss that I knew a guy who’d buy the posters if the price was right.  My boss figured that if he sold them at cost he’d be ahead of the game.  He told me the amount which was pennies per poster.

I contacted Mike and the deal was done.  My boss was happy and Mike was thrilled.  He even tossed me $100 for making the deal!  (Remember this was the early 80’s, I was working my way through college and working part time at Burger Chef.  100 bucks was big money… at least for me.)

Mike told me that he’d sell the posters for a few bucks a piece and though it may take him a while, he’d do more than alright on the deal.  I just checked and he still has a few of those posters available if you’re interested.

I know Mike said it might take him a while to sell all those posters, but I wonder if he thought that over 30 years later, he’d still have some in his inventory.

I have more Mike Kott stories that I’ll share… in the near future I’ll tell you about Mike Kott and the Burger King Star Wars posters.

Jeremy Treece’s Bad Rambo Quickie Bonus Sketch

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Jeremy Treece has created art for comic books, trading cards, animation and independent films. Last week I posted Treece’s take on Sly Stallone.

Today I want to share the quickie sketch that Jeremy drew on one of the backing boards sent to protect the art.  Gotta love it!

You can see more of Jeremy’s art here… and hopefully again here at the SZ in the future.

12 Action Stars Who Still Kicked Butt After 60

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On February 24, 2014, The Playlist ran an article by Gabe Toro titled 12 Action Stars Who Still Kicked Butt After 60.  The nicely written piece features Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Seagal, Takeshi Kitano, Samuel L. Jackson, Danny Trejo, Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Christopher Lee and Sylvester Stallone.

Here’s a bit of what Toro had to say about Sly…

His Career Pre-60: Stallone rose to fame as the Italian Stallion, achieving immortality as “Rocky,” using the underdog sports story to launch an unmatched career in action films…

As Rocky, Stallone is slipping on a warm coat, and this is easily his most touching, low-key performance.

Emboldened by the success of “Rocky Balboa,” Stallone jumped at the chance to return to the world of leading men, uniting the shiniest action stars of yesterday by kick-starting “The Expendables” as a franchise, where Stallone would rub shoulders with legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris.

Stallone remains in improbable action hero shape, ready to impress once again in this summer’s “The Expendables 3.”

I really enjoyed Toro‘s article and my only question is, “Why No John Wayne?”

Halloween Starring Captain Kirk & Boss Hogg

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The Halloween figures above are customs made by Dan Polydoris.  Dan who runs the Chicago Toy Collector Blog explains how he made the figures…

Admittedly, Captain Kirk and Boss Hogg from The Dukes of Hazzard seem like an unlikely team. But they actually ended up being the perfect models for my new customs. Best of all, each one required very minor “plastic” surgery…
Myers is just Captain Kirk with a white face and new hair. He’s wearing a Planet of the ApesAstronaut outfit without the zipper. Loomis is just Boss Hogg with a goatee and a slight haircut (in the back). His trench coat is a modified Barbie trench made for 12″ figures.
You can read the full construction explanation here.  Well done, Dan!
Source: Chicago Toy Collector and Retroist.