As you know, we hit an astounding 22 comic book and popular culture themed shows last year. After a short reprieve, we're right back on the trail as the semi regular Los Angeles Comic Book & Science Fiction Convention kicked things off downtown. Held at The Reef, access is pretty easy, there's paid lots of street spots, food trucks and it's only $12.00 to get in. There were posters and swag for the likes of upcoming The 5th Wave as well as released flicks Hunger Games and The Night Before. The show isn't huge but enough to keep you busy for a couple of hours. Transformers artist and Sunbow Celebration friend Livio Ramondelli was a featured guest and it's always great to see him on the circuit. The LA show always has actors and artists signing and this week it was Lando Calrissian himself, Billy Dee Williams along with much of the cast from Aliens including Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, Mark Rolston, Jeanette Goldstein, Carrie Henn and Ricco Ross. It would be cool if the show hosted a panel or Q&A with the guests instead of just having them out charging but it's their show.
Towards the end of last year I felt like all the cons were blending together, selling the same stuff and hocking the usual swag. But this time I quite enjoyed seeing what was on offer as new items and fads have arrived. Right away there was a guy selling DVD's for $2 so I grabbed Season 4 of Two and a Half Men along with the Mel Gibson-Richard Donner paranoid thriller Conspiracy Theory and the special edition of Witness. Once upon a time postcards were all the rage leading to buttons and now you've got booths full of branded metal lunchboxes. The Predator themed mini-mates hit the shelves so of course I picked up Dutch, Dillion and the creatures. I'll grab sweaty shirted Harrigan next month. A few years ago I grabbed some awesome laserdiscs from a guy at WonderCon as the oversized covers are like a vinyl piece of art. A gent had a crate full of Stallone titles but at $5 each my walls were fine without them. The dollar and fifty cent comic bins were calling my name but we didn't have time to flip through too much stock. I ended up with a short stack of the Jim Lee and Frank Miller All-Star Batman, isn't that the one where Bats says "are you retarded? are you dense? I'm the god damned Batman!"? I shall find out. A new line of Funko surprise Science-Fiction icons were around the floor and using the ol' box weight trick I figured I'd pulled either the Queen Alien or Godzilla. It was the fire breathing green machine.
The guests weren't scheduled to start signing until noon but 20 minutes before hand, lines were already formed and moving as Biehn, Rolston and Henriksen were rocking and rolling. I was hoping Mrs. Biehn, Jennifer Blanc, would be attending so I could ask about when their next films were coming out but looks like she didn't make it. The Biehn was rocking a knit cap to fight the winter chill which probably made for some interesting selfies. We had to get moving to LA Live to catch Star Wars in 4DX but walking out I was very happy with my haul and am looking forward to their next show in February along with Long Beach and then WonderCon in March. See ya at the show!
Since images of a proposed Alien sequel started popping up on Neill Blomkamp's Instagram account on New Years Day, the internet has been rife with rumors on what was going on. Blomkamp is a known fan of the Ridley Scott and James Cameron films and had revealed he'd been working on an Alien movie in his spare time without Fox's awareness or permission. The young director had just worked with Alien star Sigourney Weaver on the yet to be released Chappie and had apparently run ideas past her. Weaver's interest was piqued and soon it was officially announced that Blomkamp would be making a new Alien film, possibly two, that would follow the events of 1986's Aliens.
Fans were semi-divided on the inclusion of alive in Aliens but dead in Alien 3 Corporal Hicks, played by one Michael Biehn. Blomkamp's artwork showed off an older and scarred Hicks so unless it's a dream, the events of Alien 3 would essentially be jettisoned. I honestly don't have a problem with that as Alien 3 was released 20 years ago and was not exactly a celebrated entry into the franchise. Take into account that Hicks doesn't die on screen in Aliens and I don't see many casual movie goers being too upset about it. Approaching the release of Chappie, Weaver was announced to be returning to the series that would aim to be a sequel to Aliens without totally ignoring 3 and 4th flick Resurrection. Ridley Scott's Prometheus that was an entertaining if overreaching pseudo prequel/reboot to Alien that no one is clamoring for a follow up to. Chappie failed to garner much in terms of box office gross or positive reviews but Alien 5 is still moving forward. Scott is producing and asked Blomkamp to make a simple story change to not affect Prometheus 2.
With Weaver back, what did that mean for Biehn? With Hick's image and character so prominently displayed, readers were questioning if he would return. At a convention in Florida, it's alleged that Biehn was aware of the new film and had been contacted. Cut to last week and news hit across the internet from Empire to Dark Horizons that Michael Biehn's private Instagram was announcing his involvement in Alien 5 and his return as Hicks. The only problem is that Biehn isn't on Instagram as confirmed by wife and producing partner Jennifer-Blanc Biehn via Facebook. While it sounds like Biehn is interested and talks are in progress, nothing is official unfortunately. But on a congratulatory note, it looks like Blanc gave birth to son Dashiell Biehn this past weekend and is in good spirits.
It only took a year but Dammaged Goods has made the leap to another wave of the Internet Ocean, Facebook! Thanks to non-solicited shares from the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme himself, Lance Henriksen, Drew Struzan and Jennifer-Blanc Biehn among others, this little pastime has exceeded my non-expectations like an Elbow Rocket to the face. This will usher in a new phase for the site as I'm working hard to expand my horizons with live events, attending more conventions and beyond. Check out the FB page https://www.facebook.com/dammagedgoods and give it a Like.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for more Damme good stuff.
It's finally Emerald City Comicon weekend! While waiting for our flight out of Los Angeles, I spotted Alan Tudyk from Firefly and Dodgeball boarding. But an even bigger surprise was waiting onboard as the first passenger I saw was none other than Michael fucking Biehn! That's right, Biehn and wife Jennifer Blanc were sitting in front of Tudyk and made me wonder who else in first class and in general were on their way to the show. While it made me giddy to see Biehn a few rows in front of me in the flesh, there's not really a good way to try and get some bro time on a plane is there? Then the bookmark I had with me? A ticket stub from Aliens! Just meant to be...
Of course you know I'm not much of an obvious fanboy, asking for photos or autographs and the like so when I ended up walking beside Biehn in the airport I had to just try and keep cool and not yell out a quote from one of his movies. Biehn and Blanc are appearing at Emerald City all weekend but his panel is today so I'll unfortunately have to miss it as we're only attending Saturday.
Our Con hotel downtown is the beautiful and fancy Olympic Fairmont. You know it's classy because there's Arcade Shops, a lower level, a lobby and a mezzanine complete with a dude playing a piano for your enjoyment. A few blocks away is Rview, a bar and restaurant on the 28th floor of The Renaissance hotel that was surprisingly empty for a Thursday night. The ambiance and view are the main selling points while my burger was excellent but my cider was delicious. I can't recall the name sadly but it was just the right mix of smooth, dry and a touch sweet. Kind of like a Magners but better. Then it was off to Purple, a pretty slick bar with more wine bottles than I've ever seen complete with a "secret" door camouflaged by racks of fermented grape juice. Too bad they only had one cider that was expensive and the most sour tasting I've ever had.
Tuesday, May 11th, 2012 was a good day. I won a copy of Jean-Claude Van Damme's latest, 6 Bullets as well as tickets to Michael Biehn's new movie, The Victim, playing at The New Beverly.
Of course, with how small the crowd was that night, I doubt they had many entries but hey, free tickets are free tickets. The flick had been playing all weekend and director/star Michael Biehn (if you don't know how he is by now, GTFOOH!) and his actor/producer wife Jennifer Blanc were to be on hand following the film to discuss with one Mr. Beaks from Ain't It Cool.
The Victim is not a good movie. It's awkward to watch and cheaply made yet funny in a "what the fuck" kind of way and the final minutes where you're left pondering if Biehn's character is a serial killer display glimpses of his acting prowess that made me such a fan in the first place. Oh yeah, it's about two chicks hanging with dirty cops, an accidental death, a loner in the woods and a fight for survival. What I wish every viewing of the film had was an appearance by The Biehn after. The credits hadn't even finished yet and a voice screamed out "without him this woulda been a real piece of shit!", the voice of course, belonged to the star of Terminator, Aliens, Timebomb and American Dragons, Michael Biehn.
What followed was a funny, insightful and passionate look at the movie business. Basically, Biehn had encountered a script by Reed Lackey, using that as a base, Biehn rewrote the film while wife Jennifer drummed up financing and crew. They prepped for, not very long, then shot the flick around Los Angeles in 12 days. They took it on the festival circuit around the world and were eventually picked up by Anchor Bay. A handsome DVD complete with commentary and making of would be released later that summer. Now they're producing movies left and right. I actually ran into the Biehn's again at San Diego Comic-Con but it wasn't quite so happy an experience...
