WonderCon '17: The Floor

After that tremendous Thursday of Extreme Studios anniversary, Irish pub happy hour and a quick trip to Disneyland's California Adventure Park, it was time to start the WonderCon! With badges being mailed out early, we breezed past a giant line waiting to pick up their badges outside. Inside, I had the immediate sense that the show was bigger than years prior and I think I'm right. For 2017, WonderCon was utilizing all four Halls A-D for registration, Arena queue and the actual exhibit floor. Compared to the first or second year where we shared with a large volleyball tournament which lead to some amusing co-mingling of athletes and cosplayers outside. While there weren't any huge installations or Hollywood showpieces, DC, Boom, Gold & Silver Age Comics, a pink unicorn looking thing, a sizable Artist Alley, Disney and Capcom were are all out in force.

Walking around for several hours, I realized we'd barely covered half the floor! There was a solid mix of comic books, action figures, Funko Pops, art pieces, mystery boxes, prints, movie posters and film soundtracks. For the older goer you had 50's and 60's Disney pieces or a frigging oil paint by numbers set featuring James frigging Garner as Maverick! With a Wild Storm 25th anniversary panel scheduled and Jim Lee being a guest of honor, I was hoping there would be some sweet 90's Image stuff and for the most part I was not disappointed. One booth had WildCats figures for $15-20 a pop while another had a beat up in package Zealot for $4, sold! On the hunt for a McFarlane Toys Shaft or Dutch figure from Youngblood but only saw the likes of Troll or Badrock, hello Amazon! Big Red Comics and another vendor had some sweet $1 bins, bagged, boarded and in alphabetical order.

Capcom had an awesome four sided installation with multiple Street Fighter games to play as it's the 30th anniversary but on one side was a real highlight, a faux bedroom decked out in 90's glory i.e. Michael Jordan and Home Alone posters along with tube TV's to play Ducktales or Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers! To top it off, you got a snap bracelet on the way out, 90's forever! On the new trinkets front, I grabbed some custom Cyclops and Captain America zipper pulls along with a bottle opener with Ron Lim Cap art. Cosplay wise you had Game of Thrones in groups, much Star Wars, stilted Transformers and Voltron and one Jack Frost.

While there were huge walkways in some of the hall, over in A things got narrow and crowded, cheaper real estate? Hand crafted hats, belts, phone cases and the like were on display along with prop weapons and real knives. Flash Gordon's Sam Jones was the most recognizable actor selling autographs. While there were a dozen food trucks outside, concession stands inside had surprisingly decent sustenance with usual offerings like pizza, deli sammiches, burgers and soft serve ice cream but no bars on the floor. All in, the best WonderCon floor I can think of in recent memory.

GRIP & RIP WEEKEND: The Castaway Cowboy

On Saturday afternoon we moseyed over to Quentin Tarantino's New Beverly Cinema in West Hollywood for a kiddie matinee of James Garner starring Disney flick, The Castaway Cowboy from 1974. I've never seen the film or even heard of it so what better way to enjoy some Garner than on the big screen? The New Bev's kid friendly day shows are great because they're $6 and include popcorn. I kind of wondered how many youngins would really be here and figured you'd get more western enthusiasts and James Garner completists attending. I was right. Not a single child in the audience, fools! With our popcorn, ice cream sammich and Reese's Pieces in hand, we sat down for the pre-show of Disney cartoons and vintage trailers. The print for The Castaway Cowboy has seen better days but it's a fun flick that finds Garner's shanghaied Lincoln Costain washed up on the shores of an island in Hawaii. Found by young Booton MacAvoy (Eric Shea), who lives on a 10,000 acre potato farm with his widowed mom Henrietta (Vera Miles), the MacAvoy's are having trouble staying afloat as land owner and suitor Calvin Bryson (Robert Culp) waits to snatch up the land and the lady.

As Costain mends, he meets the lovable but simple minded farm staff who deal with wild cattle trampling and grazing the plot. Ol' Costain figures you'd get $20 a head stateside but no one has figured out how to get the animals off the island. Cue montage and Garner looking oh so brawny and manly in his hat and button up shirts riding a horse and swinging a lasso. The film incorporates Garner's macho yet easygoing charm as he constantly calls Booton the wrong name, compares marriage to smallpox, warns young Booton no one is going to pin a rose on his shirt for doing his job and in addition to being a cowboy from Texas is a crack poker player that brings back memories of his hit western show Maverick. The flick is a strange mish mash of fish out of water, cowboy action and island living but somehow works as a funny and enjoyable 91 minutes. There's a crazy segue into black magic complete with a fight inside a haunted cave then a nice barroom brawl style fight that results in a dude getting punched out a window. Directed by Disney lifer Vincent McEveety with a script from Don Tait, Richard M. Bluel and Hugh Benson, Castaway Cowboy would be Garner's second family western with Disney but his last film for 6 years.

By 1974, Garner had already achieved big and small screen success with memorable turns in Maverick, The Great Escape, Grand Prix, Support Your Local Sheriff and more. Never one to accept things as they were, Garner sued studios and opened his own production shingle. In the same year, The Rockford Files debuted on television and ran for 6 seasons. By the 80's, Garner returned to films and racked up his sole Academy Award nomination for 1986's Murphy's Romance opposite Sally Field. Before his death in 2014, Garner continued to work regularly in film and television, returning to The Rockford Files as TV movies and recurring on sitcoms along with playing the elder Maverick in the Mel Gibson/Richard Donner hit, teaming with pal Clint Eastwood for Space Cowboys and epic love flick The Notebook. Sitting in the dark theater I couldn't help but chuckle at Garner's old school cool and "telling it like it is" charm.

Damme Words: My Husband, My Friend

I can't recall whose book it was I was reading on the ol' Kindle when an offer for My Husband, My Friend: A Memoir by Neile Adams McQueen popped up. It's running for a "can't not buy" price of $2.51 and was well worth the money. I'd seen Neile Adams in plenty of interviews about her late husband Steve and knew she was instrumental to his career and there from the start. The book gives you equal shares of biographical accounts of her and her world famous husband. She was doing quite well for herself as a dancer based out of New York City, making 10x what Steve was and got her agents to give the unconventionally handsome actor a shot. It's interesting to see how their lives changed as McQueen became more and more famous thanks to TV show Wanted: Dead or Alive and hit movies The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt among many more. From a small, cramped apartment to multiple homes around California, the two shared a crazy 15 years together.

Neile really highlights the not so glamorous side of being married to a movie star, especially one from a broken home with insecurity issues and a drug habit that included weed, LSD and cocaine. McQueen fell into the trappings of fame, feeling the need to prove his manhood and show the world that he was as sexy as they thought he was. Infidelity plagued the relationship but the one tryst Neile indulged in with Maximilian Schell nearly unraveled her philandering, movie star husband. Neile paints McQueen as funny, caring and adventurous but at the same time extremely insecure and vain as evidenced by his obsession with working out, staring in the mirror and keeping up with all the latest trends in youth culture and fashion. As the years went by and drug use continued, McQueen began to grow extremely paranoid, unable to keep many friends or get excited over movie projects.

References are made to co-star and neighbor James Garner as they were good social friends whose social relationship crumbled after Garner accepted a role McQueen passed on. It would take two years for McQueen to forgive Garner for the inane grudge. Paul Newman served as an early inspiration and mental rival to McQueen but the two eventually became friends over racing and cars then co-starred in mega hit The Towering Inferno after a team up in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid faltered due to McQueen's ego. Dustin Hoffman gets an interesting shout out as McQueen and Neile enjoyed The Graduate but McQueen couldn't believe such a non-handsome guy would ever challenge the dreamy ruggedness of himself or Newman. There's also several amusing references and examples of Steve McQueen's hippy speak that included quotes like "see where this kid's head's at" or "getting clean" as in making amends and personal favorite, "I needs mah time to howl, woman!". As Neile was with McQueen for Magnificent Seven and The Great Escape, it would have been nice to hear more about those sets or co-stars like Charles Bronson and James Coburn. Besides that, a quick and informative read with a somewhat sad behind the scenes look at living in the spotlight.

Con-Man: Long Beach Comic Con

After a late Friday night at Disneyland, Saturday morning we headed up to Long Beach for their Con. I've been attending LBCC since 2009 and watched it expand, contract and expand again. They've done Halloween themed shows, one day smaller cons, had lots of guests and panels, not many guests and panels, food trucks and Star Cars outside or nothing at all. This particular show seemed to be shaping up to be their biggest ever with the inclusion of several more celebrity guests available to charge for autographs, beefier programming and a reported 450 vendors. Their last show in March utilized the back side of the Long Beach Convention Center near the aquarium but the September edition would be holding court out front along Pike Street once again. Things seemed amiss near immediately when the two parking structures next door were closed off and drivers didn't know where else to go. Following the signs I realized that Lobster Fest was also going on nearby and they were herding everyone to park on the other side of Shoreline Drive. A huge queue was waiting to get in so they could pay $10 bucks then trek the half mile back to the convention center. That was not a very nice welcome, especially as LBCC has always been one of the easiest shows to attend.

Not accepting the grassy option, I found street parking five minutes away but would have to feed the meter every 2 hours. It's not that big a show so a couple of trips and 4 hours should be plenty, right? Well, the line to get into the convention center took up 3 huge queues and ended up taking 45 minutes! I asked some of the crew what the hold up was and they simply stated that the staff didn't expect such a large turnout. Wait, you're telling me in this day and age you can't tell how many tickets you've sold online to staff accordingly?! There's no excuse for poor crowd control in my opinion. People are paying to attend an event, not wait in line twice before getting to said event. The problem was that inside, there were only 4 booths open to scan tickets and distribute wrist bands. Horrible flashbacks to the shit show of Salt Lake City Con came back to me where they only had 5 people admitting those who actually paid extra to wait less but ended up waiting 2 hours. Like SLCC, it would have been faster to just buy a ticket onsite and go into the show. It seemed pretty crowded in the lobby but the actual show didn't seem any bigger than it's ever been so waiting so long was a doubly insulting.

 
It was great to catch up with William Stout and Mike over at the RAW Studios booth, Stout will be a guest at He-Man night this weekend while Mike is headed to New York. I introduced myself to future guest Alan Oppenheimer and chit chatted with a few vendors we see regularly on the con circuit. There were various new spaces on the floor highlighting NASA, Power Rangers, Cosplay and Star Signings along with your usual Artist Alley and Laser Tag.  There weren't a ton of big names at the show with John Barrowman, some actress from Agents of Shield, some guys from Daredevil and Sam Witwer holding down the paid meet and greet area. It's not the exhibitors fault that the organizers did such a poor job of getting people through the doors and I wanted to spend some dough on the floor but sadly came up short and bought...nothing. No comics caught my attention, the NECA Ripley still carries a stiff price tag and no random item looked like it should be on my shelf. Adam Kubert was making his LBCC debut and we saw awesome artists like Art Adams and Whilce Portacio on the floor. Mark Silvestri popped up at the Top Cow! booth while I never found Bryan Edward Hill to ask him about Dolph's The Russian Specialist. A group of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cosplayers had a booth complete with an April O'Neil but later I saw them hanging out with their prop helmets off, didn't you see Old School?! Put your head back on! We ran into G.I. Joe expert and Duke historian Diana Davis in line and caught the tail end of the Joe panel where cast members reminisced about their time working for Sunbow and the incredible legacy the cartoons and toys have created like they did back in March.

Outside your usual line up of cinematic and television famous vehicles were waiting to be checked out including the Back to the Future Deloreon, Jurassic Park jeeps, Bumblebee from Transformers, not one but two KITT's from Knight Rider and a new addition, the Firebird James Garner tooled around in for hit show The Rockford Files. Like the awesome discount book store before it, Geeky Mama's (moved to Anaheim) had also closed and we didn't hit the Auld Dubliner for any Dublin Donkeys since we were on the clock. It's interesting looking back on some LBCC posts as it's usually been one of my favorites to attend due to it's easy access, solid exhibitor floor and terrific surrounding area. Not long ago I thought they might be losing ground to Comikaze in terms of size, scope and social awareness but his weekend proved that LBCC's ready to grow. It was also a reminder that bigger isn't always better and quality still trumps quantity. Very disappointing.

Con-Man: D23 Expo '15 Sunday

 
Ah, Sunday. After a quick workout, we hit the hotel breakfast buffet instead of going to Carl's Jr. where we could have gotten the same amount of food for 1/3 of the price, ah well, I loaded up on buttered toast and sausages to make up the difference. Again there was a huge line out in front of the convention center, not waiting to find out for what, we entered the lobby and headed for the exhibit hall. Our main objective of the day was to check out the Disney Archives Exhibit, the line moved decently quickly while I traded cards with people and read few pages from Ready Player One while we waited. The lady received an update that a new card was being handed out with all signs pointing to Ducktales' funny but not a very good pilot, Launchpad McQuack. I headed upstairs and saw people running excitedly for the escalator. A huge line had already formed but there were plenty of cards to be handed out. We ended up grabbing 22 of the 31 available cards, not bad for a random convention time wasting activity.

The Archive Exhibit was pretty cool, lots of photos, plans and pieces of the park's past and present. One guy was taking photos of the first ticket handed out forever so I just sidled up next to him and took a look, I don't care if he didn't like it, nobody gives a shit about your photos, bro, so stop holding up the line. There was a wall of menus from eras past, one with Aunt Jemima! Since you know, back in the day, Walt had brands sponsor attractions and restaurants inside the park to finance it's construction. Also cool were all the set ups from Star Tours, Alice In Wonderland, Fantasmic, The Matterhorn, so on and so forth. While it was disappointing that Kirk Douglas was nowhere to be found over the weekend (I guess you get semi-erased from Disney history when you sue the big guy...) but D23 pulled through as both James Garner and protege Tom Selleck were included on the Guests of the park portion, showcasing celebrities and world leaders visiting Disneyland.

Taking one last loop around the floor we stopped at one of the multiple pin vendors. I heard that many of them are knock offs, that's why they only cost a few bucks. There was a cute one of Rowlf the piano playing, bartender dog from The Muppets but his frigging name was spelled ROLF! Thanks, Marcus Ray and Tommy Hendricks! We headed over to the Shanghai Disney display where many familiar rides were updated for the eastern audience. I don't know why Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters artwork looked so much cooler with that Asian style OOMF! artwork and coloring, but it did. I kind of wondered how the characters would translate across the world as they eat animals we don't and vice versa. There was a cool Disney version of the Zodiac calendar which upgraded The Rat to Remy from Ratatouille. For me as a Dog, I got Goofy, I think. My memory ain't what it used to be. It was a fun and relaxing morning to wind things down, I enjoyed my time at D23 and will check it out the next time it comes around. Until then, see ya at Star Wars Land...in 5 years.

Sunset Cinema: The Great Escape

This summer has already yielded seeing five new releases so it was time for our first repertory screening. It would be our third movie in as many days and my favorite of all time, The Great Escape! I've seen the World War II tale of POW's on the big screen twice from a Digital Print but this viewing was coming at you courtesy of The New Beverly Cinema owner Quentin Tarantino's personal 35mm print! A Steve McQueen trailer reel was also touted and the classic men on a mission flick played for a surprising four nights. In an awesome touch there were Japanese programs being handed out along with a giant French poster in the lobby. I was happy to see such a full house for the film that included a former co-worker and an actor I did an interview with the day previously (more on that later).

Why is this my favorite movie? I dunno, it's one of those perfect storm kind of movies. Director John Sturges is my favorite of all time, his The Magnificent Seven comes pretty close behind The Great Escape on my list. Then you have the marvelous cast that includes Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, James Donald, Donald Pleasence, David McCallum, Gordon Jackson, John Leyton and Angus Lennie among many more. The World War II setting is one of my faves and the simple tale of men doing something because they can and because it's their duty in the face of danger and death always spoke to me. It's also a pretty great thing when a movie makes you read a book. While I've actually never read the real life account the film is based on (no clue why not actually) by Paul Brickhill, I've devoured hundreds of pages by the likes of Sturges, co-producer Robert Relyea, producer Walter Mirisch and co-star Garner.

The print was Damme near gorgeous with the colors popping on the over 50 year old flick. A little scratchy in parts but nothing too distracting. Even though Steve McQueen had top billing, I feel this is more or less James Garner's movie. He's so suave and cool as Hendley the scrounger in his white turtleneck while McQueen is a little rougher and goofier as loner Hilts. Behind the scenes it was revealed that McQueen wanted to be the hero but not do anything heroic. Leading to being a bit of an outsider with many scenes focused on him instead of part of the committee. Attenborough has a great part and does a fantastic job as X, leader of the whole escape effort. The camaraderie among the prisoners and cleverness in the diversions and digging methods never gets old. In fact, I enjoy the film's first two hours in the camp more than the last hour when they're all on the run. Something I noticed this viewing I hadn't before was several characters have verbal cues to differentiate them among the physical. McQueen bounces his baseball, Bronson is revealed to be claustrophobic sure but this time out I realized that Pleasence says "splendid" a lot, Garner responds, "of course" in a funny-sarcastic way, Jackson has "brilliant" and Coburn says "bloody" more than a couple times.

After the film and a short break, trailers in various shape for flicks like Love With the Proper Stranger, Bullitt, The Reivers, Junior Bonner, The Getaway, The Towering Inferno and Papillion played back to back. My dad always had a copy of prison escape epic Papillion nearby and apparently it's one of Jean-Claude Van Damme's favorite books. Guess I'll have to add that to the list too.

Damme Words: Lee Marvin Point Blank

A few flights ago I purchased Charles Bronson: Menacing Face Worth Millions on my Amazon Kindle. They recommended I also look into Lee Marvin: Point Blank as it was on special for only a couple of bucks. Cut to my most recent flight to and from Oklahoma City and I finally cracked open Point Blank and polished it off in just a few sittings. Billed as the first full-length, authoritative and detailed account of the iconic actor's life, Point Blank is an incredibly entertaining and quick read on the great and gruff Lee Marvin. In short, Lee Marvin was a badass, an American man and a true individual. Dwayne Epstein goes way back in the Marvin family history to discuss ancestors with the same ornery, unique personality that Marvin would eventually inherit. Mainly in the form of a relative who embarked on a trek to the north pole and died in the cold. Marvin's father Lamont never did too well in life but served in both World War I and II.

Marvin's upbringing is highlighted by his troubles with authority and school. Today you could dub it Attention Deficit Disorder and Dyslexia but back then he was just a shit starter. Bouncing around a dozen schools on the east coast, Marvin dropped out and signed up for the Marines during World War II. After participating in 21 invasion missions in the Pacific, Marvin was injured and had had enough of war. Back in New York and having already dabbled in acting, Marvin set out to land in a Broadway play. Forces would take him to Los Angeles where he slowly built up his career working for directors like Don Siegel, Fritz Lang, Raoul Walsh, John Sturges and Richard Fleischer before latching onto tough guy helmers Robert Aldrich, John Ford and John Boorman playing opposite the likes of Marlon Brando, Charles Bronson, Jack Palance and John Wayne. Frustrated at playing villains and second banana, Marvin hit leading man status at age 40 with western comedy Cat Ballou and would go on to win the Oscar for Best Actor. The 60's were Marvin's go-go years with The Killers, The Professionals, The Dirty Dozen, Point Blank and Paint Your Wagon highlighting his most lucrative era. Known for starring in violent pictures, Marvin never tried to glamorize action or death, feeling that as filmmakers they could show how horrible violence could be to dissuade audience members from enjoying it. Never setting out to be an actor-producer or director a la Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Steve McQueen or James Garner, Marvin was at the whim of Hollywood's ebbs and flows. The 70's and 80's saw him working but never at the same level as his peak. Notable roles in Emperor of the North, Prime Cut, The Iceman Cometh, The Big Red One, Death Hunt and The Delta Force were largely ignored by audiences and only embraced years later.

On the personal side, Point Blank delves into Marvin's tumultuous lifestyle of drinking and rabble rousing. There's plenty of pages devoted to his wife Betty, mistress Michelle and later wife Pam. Marvin's excessive drinking is present through his adult life with the man himself claiming if you gave him a bottle of any booze, he'd drain it himself before the night was through. Surprisingly, his drinking never affected his work too much. Many a witness states that Marvin could drink all night but once he was on set and cleaned up, he'd always give his best. Today we'd call it Post Traumatic Stress but for Marvin, painful memories of the war would manifest themselves after many a drink leading to violence in the forms of fighting or waving guns around before accidentally discharging them in the house. Marvin's candor was always appreciated by the press and his likeable yet terrifying demeanor is highlighted by crude come on's to women, picking on fellow actors to make them look bad or in one case, seeing his competition on Oscar night crying after losing. Marvin's solution? Getting his attention, smiling wide and showing off his statue.

There's a good deal of information surrounding the development, production and release of Marvin's films but I could have used a more facts, figures or interview snippets as each film gets maybe a couple pages. Tidbits like Marvin developing The Wild Bunch, selling it to Sam Peckinpah but then passing on the film to make Paint Your Wagon are great. As are his examples of telling it like it is. One great case is describing co-star Charles Bronson's less than sunny demeanor and constant droning about working in coal mines as a kid. Marvin would mock Bronson for not being in a mine for 30 years and riding around in a Rolls Royce. In a bid to cut down on the craziness of Hollywood and Malibu, Marvin and wife Pam moved to Tuscon, Arizona. Marvin loved to fish and would act occasionally to get out of the house. His last role was in Cannon Films' Chuck Norris hostage rescue vehicle, The Delta Force. After making a million bucks for Paint Your Wagon, Marvin allegedly accepted $50,000 for Force after the producers described it to him on the phone for 15 minutes, made a deal with his agent in 20 then shortly after put him on a plane where he shot the flick in 8 weeks. No fuss, no muss.

I was surprised to read that Marvin was only 63 when he died as he looked much older. Prematurely gray at 40, Marvin looks frail and weak in Delta Force from his years of drinking and 5 packs of cigarettes a day. Fading fast, Marvin was hospitalized in 1987, suffered a heart attack and died on August 29th after living a very full life. For any fan of Marvin or macho, honest films from the 50's and 60's, Point Blank is definitely a must read. Format wise, there's photos peppered through but nothing too rare and the content is actually only 200 of the 300 page length with the remaining 100 devoted to notes and index.

Gotta See! James Garner Statue

On my way to Austin, I stopped off in Oklahoma City where an old buddy and I would then B'ROadtrip down to Texas. After picking me up from the clean yet empty airport we headed south of the capital to Norman so I could check out a ten-foot tall bronze statue of one of my favorite actors, James Garner! You see, Garner grew up in Norman and was a long time supporter of the local university and it's football team the Sooners. Welcoming you to a strip of picturesque small town America, Garner's statue is just past the train tracks and across from the Sooner Theatre, where Garner watched movies as a young boy. They even renamed the street to James Garner Avenue. Local friends and supporters raised the money, hired sculptor Shan Gray and in 2006, Garner was on hand for the unveiling. Although Garner had great success in films like The Great Escape, on television in The Rockford Files or on the race track as a driver, his role as television's Bret Maverick would always be a signature and the statue depicts him his western costume.

You know how I love to seek out sky high dining, comic shops and arcades, visiting statues of cinematic icons is another great way to see America and the world. With Garner off the list, I can set out to see Arnold's statue in Columbus, Ohio, Stallone's in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Bruce Lee's in Hong Kong and of course, Jean-Claude Van Damme's in Belgium. 

Workout of the Day: Vince Gironda

One classic bodybuilder I always admired but never really knew much about is Vince Gironda, the Iron Guru and owner/operator of Vince's Gym in North Hollywood.  A fitness competitor and professional back in the 1950's, Gironda employed various unorthodox exercises such as bench press to the neck, the drag curl, V-Bar dip and a huge dislike for squats.  Gironda also preached the importance of nutrition, claiming that training was 85% eating and suggested consuming up to 3 dozen fertile hen eggs a day, raw cream or milk and liver tablets on a high protein, low carb diet.  Mr. Olympia Larry Scott was a disciple and fellow bodybuilding luminaries like Frank Zane, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno put in time at Vince's Gym.  Movie stars Clint Eastwood, Carl Weathers, James Garner and Denzel Washington all trained at his famed gym before its doors were closed in 1995.  Gironda would pass away 2 years later.

Gironda believed in high volume training but did exercises in straight sets and employed an 8x8 set and rep scheme with lighter weight and little rest time.  After reading up on Gironda's method, I employed some of them this past week in an upper body routine.  I couldn't quite get to 8 straight sets my first time out but hit 6 with many of the following:

1) Incline Dumbell Bench - This gave me a nice pump but also made my shoulder sore
2) Drag Curl - 6 sets with a 45 lb barbell had my arms screaming
3) Tricep Extension - On a machine and my horseshoe started to spasm
4) Cable Row - Done leaning far forward and head down to start then pulling back and up had my lats cramping up
5) Wide Dips - Elbows wide to work chest versus tight for triceps, again a little hard on my shoulders
6) Lateral Shoulder Raises - Bent forward a bit to take the trapezius out with pinkies up like pouring a pitcher of water
7) Reverse Preacher Curl - Elbows in tight with hands wide
8) Seated Calf - Gironda believed in higher reps for calves so I pumped out 15-20

It was an interesting experiment but I don't think my shoulders would be able to take all of the straight sets.  Super Sets that work opposing muscle groups let the delicate joints and hinges rest between exertion which just seems to suit me better.  But I'll definitely keep reading up on Gironda's method and will have to look up some liver tablets...

Expendables Week: Mel Gibson

Aw yeah baby, let's keep this Expendables train rolling.  While it's been the main selling point and punch line of the franchise, the gathering of action heroes and cinematic leading men of the 80's and 90's has garnered a cool $575 million bucks at the world wide box office alone.  Throw in rentals, sales, TV and other ancillary rights and The Expendables is most likely a billion dollar brand already.  I'm pretty sure Sylvester Stallone is the only actor to ever sustain 3 franchises and has now successfully headlined films for five consecutive decades.  If you'll recall, part I gave us fellow throwback leading men like Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts and Mickey Rourke along with cameos by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis.  The sequel recruited Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris so the only 90's action star missing was Steven Seagal.  For the threequel, Seagal was still out so Stallone and the producers branched out to recruit 80's and 90's staples who dabbled effortlessly between dramatic and physical roles, landing Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford, Antonio Banderas and Wesley Snipes.

Playing former Expendable turned adversary Conrad Stonebanks, Mel Gibson continues his Hollywood return following a rough few years.  I love the guy and his work so it will be interesting to see how the next several years play out in this town of hypocrites and judgers.  Now let's look back at some of the flicks that led Gibson to joining The Expendables franchise:

Mad Max, 1979 - The role that launched a career, Gibson played Australian policeman Max Rockatansky, out for revenge against a sadistic motorcycle gang in a dystopian future.  I didn't grow up with Mad Max and honestly haven't seen it more than once.  Same goes for the beloved sequel The Road Warrior and third installment, Beyond Thunderdome.  But it was Gibson's first hit, a franchise and arguably most identifiable role until...

Lethal Weapon, 1987 - Now we're talking.  As wild eyed, suicidal, action junkie policeman Martin Riggs, Gibson deftly combines equal parts crazy, heart and physical in a signature role that would lead to a decade of imitators and clichés.  Partnered up with the family man, ready to retire but still a badass Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), the duo took on mercenaries, South African diplomats, crooked cops and the Chinese mafia over 4 action packed and hilarious entries that grossed nearly $1 billion dollars at the global box office alone.  Director Richard Donner and Gibson would ultimately collaborate on 6 films: 4 Lethal Weapons, Conspiracy Theory and...

Maverick, 1994 - An update of the James Garner western television series, the film finds Gibson as a smooth talking yet confrontation averting gambler on his way to a big game worth $250,000 bucks in old timey money.  A nice mix of humor and six shooting, horse riding action, Gibson shines as the charming yet somewhat shady Bret Maverick and looks to be having a ball along with co-stars Jodie Foster, James Garner, Graham Greene and James Coburn.

Braveheart, 1995 - Would you believe I've never actually seen Gibson's 2nd directorial effort that netted 10 Academy Award nominations and won the man statues for Best Picture and Director?  Sure, I know all about the "Freeeeedom!" and whatnot but for whatever reason this flick just passed me by in 1995 and I've never revisited it even though I own it on DVD.  I feel a film of this historic, epic scale needs to be witnessed on the big screen so I'll have to wait for it to come back around.

Ransom, 1996 - Playing a businessman instead a cop or warrior, Gibson acquits himself nicely as a dedicated dad just trying to get his son back in this 90's thriller.  A handsomely produced picture with a stellar supporting cast including Lethal Weapon co-star Rene Russo, Delroy Lindo, Gary Sinise, Liv Schreiber, Lili Taylor and Donnie Wahlberg.  Ron Howard delivers a solid for adults flick with real life implications on the horror of what it must be like to have your child abducted and then delivers the movie goods when dad won't play victim and goes after the kidnappers.

Payback, 1998 - A modern version of Donald E. Westlake's novel, The Hunter, Payback is a moody, stylish noir action flick that finds Gibson as Porter, a thief double crossed by his partner and left for dead.  Once recovered, he threatens, punches, blackmails, shoots, crashes and kidnaps his way up the local crime chain in search of his stolen $70,000.  A troubled production that saw writer/director Brian Helgeland fired days after winning an Oscar, seamless reshoots still add up to an edgy, dark, funny and violent time with another great supporting cast that includes Gregg Henry, Maria Bello, David Paymer, Bill Duke, Deborah Kara Unger, John Glover, Lucy Liu, William Devane, Kris Kristofferson and James Coburn.

The Patriot, 2000 - A change of pace from masters of disaster Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, The Patriot has Gibson as a former soldier living peaceably as a farmer and father in the days of The Revolutionary War.  When an evil Brit kills one of his sons and arrests another, it's time for Benjamin Martin to open up a chest of whup ass...and muzzle loading rifles...and tomahawks!  Seriously, the scene of Martin rescuing son Gabriel (Heath Ledger) is one of the best examples of movie fathering I've ever seen.  He places two of his younger sons on high ground and has them take out the troops from afar while dad goes in double fisting blades.  Of course there's more to the role and film than that as Gibson gives a serious and nurturing performance as a dad just trying to keep his family together.  But when you BLEEP with him, he'll BLEEP with you, hard!

Edge of Darkness, 2010 - Gibson's first starring role in 7 years following directing the mammoth hit The Passion of the Christ and experiencing the first of several public incidents, Edge has him in full on Liam Neesons mode for a dark, stark and shocking tale of revenge and corporate conspiracy.  When his daughter is murdered, Detective Craven uncovers her secret activist life and a local weapons manufacturers dirty dealings.  Action is sparse but well used to jolt the audience and Gibson again does a solid job of playing a stern yet sympathetic character just looking for the truth.

Of course shout outs go to Gibson's other fantastic work in flicks like Hamlet, Forever Young, Chicken Run, What Women Want, Signs and The Beaver among many more but you don't want to read my musings on all of those and they don't have much to do with an explosive, tough guy reunion a la The Expendables.  A mix of handsome, charming, funny, crazed, physical and slightly off balance, it was quite an arc for the New York born but discovered in Australia actor to go from Mad Max to Lethal Weapon to Hamlet before seguing into an award winning director and producer.  Adjusted for inflation, Gibson has fifteen $100 million grossing titles and two franchises to his name along with being one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, banking $25 million per picture at his peak.

Charm In Peace: James Garner

I was saddened to see that James Garner passed away on Saturday night in his Brentwood home at the age of 86 by what can only be deemed natural causes.  I had just watched The Great Escape over 4th of July weekend and was again reminded of what a cool, charismatic, funny and macho presence Garner was.  Arguably his role as smooth talking scrounger Hendley in The Great Escape is richer than star Steve McQueen's Captain Hilts, who got to add some motor cycle chase scenes to give audiences something to remember him for.  Garner was one of the last guys Hollywood had left.  What I mean is that he is one of the last of that era's leading men who could do physical, funny and dramatic without breaking a sweat.  He was a star with presence and personality not just fleeting fame.  A product of a broken family and later a veteran of the Korean War and merchant marines, Garner had that real life experience that many young actors are missing today who simply got into the craft from an early age.  He even went after both Warner Brothers and Universal in court, and won!  Of his Great Escape colleagues, director John Sturges, producer Walter Mirisch, co-stars McQueen, James Coburn, Charles Bronson, James Donald and Donald Pleasance among others have all passed away while other dynamic personalities from the period like Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum have also ascended to the Hollywood party in the sky.  I figure Kirk Douglas is the last of this strong willed, independent and status quo rejecting lot so I should probably write him to tell him how much I've enjoyed his work on and off screen.

I can't recall where I first saw Garner's work but I never really got into his TV stuff where he became a star on Maverick then cemented his legacy with The Rockford Files.

The Great Escape - Bob Hendley, the smooth talking, tool stealing, document procuring scrounger who looked so dashing in his white turtleneck while trying to escape a German camp.  Word is that a rough cut showcased Garner's character to the point that Steve McQueen walked out on the production causing director John Sturges to fire the actor and rewrite the script to blend his character with Garner's.  Of course The Cooler King stayed on and The Great Escape became one of his signature roles.  McQueen and Garner would become friends, neighbors and racing competitors with McQueen often throwing empty beer cans on Garner's beautifully manicured lawn.

The Americanization of Emily - Charles Madison, a smooth talking naval officer aide with an aversion to combat falls for Julie Andrews and gets sent to fight.  Great dialog from Paddy Chayefsky and wonderful chemistry with Andrews.  James Coburn pops up as his buddy nicknamed Bus, which is just an awesome nick name.

Support Your Local Sheriff - Jason McCullough, a big, burly dude in the west who uses his wits, charm and mouth to get out of most trouble in this western comedy.  Loved the bit where he stops a big fight so he can grab his lunch and eat in peace as well as the scene he sticks his finger into a threatening bandits gun and convinces him it will backfire.  Terrific supporting cast and the sequel, Support Your Local Gunfighter is amusing but not quite as good.  I believe he earned a career high salary for one of the flicks in the $750,000 range.

Tank - Sgt. Major Zak Carey, a loving father and Army legend serving his final tour of duty at a small base in Georgia who runs afoul of the corrupt, local law enforcement.  Uses his personal tank to break his son out of jail then goes on the run.  Funny and random flick from the 80's post Garner's 2nd successful TV run with The Rockford Files' 6 year, 122 episode run which saw the star sue Universal for compensation and profits and walking away with an alleged $14 million bucks.

Maverick - Marshall Zane Cooper, the elder straight arrow lawman to Mel Gibson's hot shot gambler who is afraid of guns Bret Maverick.  It looks like Garner, Gibson and Jodie Foster are having a ball in Richard Donner's update of the television show and that makes it more fun for the audience.  Watch out for cameos from Donner alum Corey Feldman and Danny Glover as well as a nod to Lethal Weapon even though the movie takes place in the 1800's.  James Coburn pops up again opposite Garner in a nice reunion. Apparently producers wanted Paul Newman but after he passed, they came to their senses and back to the man who originated the role.

Space Cowboys - Tank Sullivan, Clint Eastwood credits Garner with paving the way for TV stars transitioning to film after suing WB to get out of his Maverick contract.  Garner anchors a cast that includes Eastwood, Donald Sutherland, James Cromwell, William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones as a former test pilot turned reverend.  The young version of Tank is played by Body Armor's Matt McColm too boot.  The scene where Jones and Garner try to keep up with NASA's young astronauts lifting weights is a great one.

I just watched a documentary that interviewed Kurt Russell, an actor who always seemed like he was having a good time and went into semi-retirement to work on a vineyard.  It reminded me of Garner who was known to consider acting a means to an end, playing roles big and small, never chasing status, just working and happened to get lucky and made it on a bigger level.  The kind of guy who just comes off as a cool dude you'd like to kick back with and shoot the shit with.

4th of July Favorite: The Great Escape

Independence Day.  What does it mean to you?  A Roland Emmerich alien invasion film?  BBQ's and baseball games?  Fireworks?  Or thinking back to 1765 when the 13 Colonies decided they'd had enough of the British Empire's absentee ruling?  Rejecting monarchy and aristocracy in favor of liberalism and republicanism, The Colonies set out to change their fate and separate from the British Empire.  Combat troops were deployed to the US in a bid to reestablish control, leading to the American Revolutionary War that lasted from 1775-1783.  In July of 1776, Congress finalized the Declaration of Independence and the independent United States of America was born.  Here we are a few years later where you'll see plenty of American flags, picnics and displays of patriotism if you're fortunate enough to have the day off.  For those in the service industry and Military, keep on keeping things running smoothly.  With so much history directed at our independence, it really irked me when the royal wedding took over the world a few years ago.  Hundreds of millions of dollars spent on what?  Pomp and artificial majesty?  What exactly does the Royal Family do for its country?  Didn't the citizens of 1776 give up their lives so you could be free from royal rule but there we were, celebrating a now hollow monarchy?  I dunno, I just don't get certain things.

Anyways, relaxing over a long weekend after an 11 day work week, I celebrated part of July 4th with a viewing of 1963's World War II POW Camp classic and arguably my favorite film of all time, The Great Escape.  I've managed to see the John Sturges flick twice on the big screen since moving to Los Angeles thanks to The American Cinematheque's Egyptian and Aero Theatres.  Basically, I frigging love this movie.  Really quick: the German Luftwaffe (aerial division) create Stalag Luft III, a giant, new age prisoner of war camp housing only captured officers and built in a remote area where escape by tunneling would be difficult with barracks built off the ground and sandy, weak soil easily noticed and difficulty hidden.  The X Organization commits itself to performing their duty as prisoners to harass, confound and confuse the enemy in order to have more troops and resources dedicated to watching them instead of fighting on the front lines.  A motley prisoner crew of English, American, Australian and more band together to attempt a large scale escape that will have German troops scattered all over the country trying to round them up.

The major American characters, Hilts and Hendley are played by superstar in the making Steve McQueen and oh so handsome in his white turtleneck TV star James Garner.  In what could be the most macho or manliest cast of all time, joining McQueen and Garner are Richard Attenborough (Jurassic Park), James Donald (Bridge on the River Kwai), Charles Bronson (The Magnificent Seven), Donald Plesance (Halloween), James Coburn (Our Man Flint) David McCallum (The Man From U.N.C.L.E.) and many more.  They're not 80's macho or manly in the Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Sonny Landham, Jesse Ventua mold from Predator.  Instead, they're men who are physical, capable, intelligent, responsible and driven.  The Americans are particularly funny in a smart ass kind of way and from the very moment we're introduced to our cast, they're all scheming and itching to get out.  Each character has a particular skill or trait such as scrounging, dispersal, tunneling, forging, diversions and tailor.  McQueen is good at getting into trouble and riding motorcycles.  As we watch our guys plot their escape through clever, dangerous and amusing ways, the message of the film becomes clear: fight the man, at all times, at all costs.  The enemies of freedom must be opposed no matter what and the movie's depiction of real life events and the escape's execution in the face of a small probability of success shows the guts of our previous generations.  And at it's core, it's just about a bunch of cool guys getting shit done, no matter the odds.  And making moonshine out of potatoes to celebrate Independence Day.

Directed by vaunted yet seemingly forgotten "tough guy" director John Sturges, The Great Escape is a 3 hour ride that rarely lets up.  There's thrills, smarts and heart all the way through.  Watching it on the big screen last year, I realized I actually enjoyed the build up of the escape a little more than the actual action and chase filled finale where our crew is scattered across the enemy laden territory, trying to get out of Dodge via planes, trains, buses and bicycles.  The planning of the escape, the ingenuity of their techniques, puts a smile on your face while firing up your brain.  Based on the book by Paul Brickhill with a screenplay by future Shogun writer James Clavell and W.R. Burnett, The Great Escape was a hit upon release, grossing nearly $12 million dollars on a $4 million budget, good enough for #17 on the year's highest earning list.  Come Oscar time the film was nominated for Best Editing.  The film cemented McQueen as a bonafide box office star and he would go on a tear of hits that included The Cincinnati Kid, Nevada Smith, The Sand Pebbles, The Thomas Crown Affair and Bullitt.  Director Sturges already had several hits and an Oscar nomination for Best Director under his belt but would never find the same level of success.  Ice Station Zebra was still in his future, an ensemble cold-war spy thriller that reached #1 at the box office it's 2nd week of release.  And of course Richard Attenborough, James Garner, Coburn, Charles Bronson and company all went on to have lasting, movie star careers.