Workout of the Day: Sunday Style

Down to Disneyland for the weekend, I hit the hotel gym to get in a nice Sunday morning session. We'd already walked 15,000 steps the day before but I felt like hitting upper and lower body since I generally take Monday's off. I've been pushing hard and regularly for a few months now so may take a few days off soon as I wasn't getting a great pump and felt a little listless. But seeing Spartacus clips with Be Here Now along with guest Jai Courtney's rolled up sleeves and muscle popping posture plus the 3 course meal I had the night before provided motivation.

Goblet Squat/Leg Curl/Leg Extension x 4
Shoulder Press/Hammer Curl/Triceps Pushdown x 4
Sissy Squat/Larry Scott Side Raises/Concentration Curl/Lying DB Extension x 4
Calf Raises, Forearms
2.5 Kilometers on Elliptical Machine with 4 minutes of intervals

After stretching I took 8 flights of stairs just cause. If you've been training hard for weeks or months on end, it's never a bad idea to take a break, let the body and mind rest then figure out your next priorities. Guys like Arnold and Vince Gironda used to change up routines every 3 weeks with Gironda suggesting taking a full 7 days off to recuperate physically and mentally as planning, executing and tracking your workouts relieves stress but also is a form of it.

Ask Me a Question: Be Here Now

On Friday night we ventured to the crowded Promenade area of Santa Monica. It's a happening spot but a little too much going on for me. Sugar Fish had a longer wait then we could afford to have so we checked out The Craftsman Bar, a chill dive joint with a excellent happy hour prices but $13 Jameson, yeesh! Up the street is art house chain Laemmle's Monica Film Center where we saw Morgan Spurlock a while back with his Comic-Con documentary. Tonight it was the roll out premiere of Be Here Now, the story of Spartacus leading man Andy Whitfield and his battle with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of cancer that affects cells called lymphocytes, part of your immune system. Whitfield broke onto the scene with Starz's violent and sexual 2010 series about the slave turned gladiator turned rebellion leader. By the end of season 1, Whitfield was experiencing extreme back pain and was diagnosed. Doctors told him it was the type of cancer you wanted to get as 80% of patients recover after chemotherapy. Whitfield received treatment, the cancer went into remission and he prepared for season 2 of Spartacus. A routine insurance physical showed that masses had formed and Whitfield focused on fighting the disease.

Directed by Lilibet Foster, Be Here Now chronicles Whitfield's surprising life, a structural engineer who was discovered in a coffee shop, became a well known model and commercial actor before making an impact with feature film Gabriel in 2007. Securing the role of Spartacus, Whitfield trained for the regular shirtless and fight scenes then shot in New Zealand for 9 months, essentially breaking into Hollywood "overnight" with representation, the lead role of a series and a multi-year deal. Life had a different journey in mind as we watch Whitfield along with supporting and spunky wife Vashti  endure hardship after hardship as Andy fights the disease. Not wanting to jump back into chemotherapy right away, Whitfield explores holistic treatment in Australia and India like acupuncture, cleansing and seeing an astrologist. Months pass and Whitfield goes back to chemotherapy and then radiology to mixed results. We watch the husband and wife, parents of two young children, in intimate close up as Andy has good days and bad days through months and then a year of harsh treatment. On September 11th of 2011, Whitfield passed away peacefully in a hospice.

Producer Sam Maydew, Whitfield's former manager, was on hand to discuss the film along with Spartacus co-star and Whitfield's off screen buddy Jai Courtney. It was an interesting night of emotions as audience tears were shed during the film and you could see how close Whitfield and the documentary were to Maydew, who lost a family member during it's production. Maydew shared that he tried to stop Whitfield from documenting the experience, thinking it to be too personal. Thanks to Kickstarter, the film was completed and has hit festivals like the Los Angeles Film Festival where it picked up the Audience Award. Courtney had a more, celebrate his life approach, fondly remembering his friend and first professional idol as Whitfield had just landed the leading role, was happily married with kids and really taking off. Whereas Courtney was tending bar when he landed Spartacus and has now gone on to appear in Die Hard 5, Jack Reacher, Terminator Genisys and Divergent. He's also the godfather to Whitfield's kids and got heavily involved in producing the documentary.

Be Here Now is playing all week at the Monica Film Center with guests from the film, the Lymphoma Research Foundation, various medical associations and The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss? If you're not in New York or Los Angeles, demand a screening in your town via tugg.

Sneak Cinema: Death Valley

This Saturday sees the Hollywood red carpet premiere of Death Valley, a noir style crime thriller set in the harsh desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. What starts out as a drunken wedding run turns into a struggle to survive after a hit and run pits a group of strangers against one another. Directed and co-written by longtime Stunt Coordinator T.J. Scott with a script assist from Brad MacPherson, Valley stars Katrina Law (Arrow, Spartacus), Lochlyn Munro (Scary Movie), Victoria Pratt (Heartland, Mutant X), Nick E. Tarabay (Longmire, Crash) and Kelly Hu (X-Men 2). The film hits VOD on October 20th, until then check out the sex, sun, booze and betrayal packed trailer:

Busted! Manu Bennett

On Sunday night, word started to spread that Spartacus, The Hobbit and Arrow actor Manu Bennett was arrested in San Antonio, Texas and charged with misdemeanor assault. In town for the Alamo City Comic Con, Bennett was apparently arrested at 6:00 AM after punching an unknown 29 year old male in the face at 4:30 AM. Details have been sparse but Bennett was released later in the day. We've seen the formerly New Zealand based actor at a couple of shows and he always seems gracious, honest and genuinely cool. He's also a very physical actor, playing action oriented roles his whole career in The Marine, The Condemned and especially Spartacus where his top gladiator turned slave leader Crixus was a fan favorite. Candid in a way that is lacking by most of Hollywood, Bennett has never minced words at the politics of white leading men or had any reservations of calling out other actors like Jean-Claude Van Damme, who dropped out of a flick last minute that Bennett was co-starring in and spent months preparing. I can only imagine this was the result of a night and early morning of alcohol infused shenanigans and just goes to show you that not much good can happen if you're out til 4:30 AM. Allegedly, Bennett was asked to leave a hotel party after drinking too much then punched the unknown man in the face on his way out. Here's hoping the incident serves as a wake up call and we see more of the guy soon.

Gotta See! Universal Studios Hollywood

 
Labor Day Weekend! For those not in the service industry, it's a three day weekend to celebrate the working men and women with a national tribute to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country. On Saturday we headed over to Universal City to visit the park. It's been a while since we've hit Universal Studios, the last time being when The Simpsons took over Back to the Future. Since then, The Terminator stage and 3D show has been replaced by Minions, Backdraft made room for Transformers but the Waterworld show is still going strong. Harry Potter land is nearly complete with crews able to work 24 hours a day due to the lack of residential neighbors. The park didn't seem too crowded on this Saturday morning as we headed straight for the Tour before it got too jammed. Between line queues there are giant, bus stop style poster displays and way back when you could spot leading guys and gals from Universal flicks, most notably a mulleted Jean-Claude Van Damme from Timecop. Now there are large displays for prominent titles like Jaws, Spartacus, Meet the Parents and Apollo 13. Ron Howard is no longer your voice on the tour, replaced by Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon. At just under an hour, the tour is still the best attraction in the park, showcasing the dozens of classic titles produced, the city size studio and behind the scenes movie magic. Also, every other street is named Kirk Douglas Dr., which is cool.

Peter Jackson's King Kong 3D portion is a highlight where you watch the giant ape duke it out with pissed off dinosaurs. Towards the end you get another 3D showcase with the Fast and the Furious where you take off on a chase with Vin Diesel, The Rock and company. It's pretty cool because the tram platform moves up and down, wind blows in your face so you feel like you're moving but all of the action and actors look very CGI and video game like. From there we discovered the secret of Universal's lower lot, Single Rider Lines! Seriously, we avoided 35, 45 and 55 minute wait times on Jurassic Park, The Mummy and Transformers by simply riding solo and still ended up in the same cars. Outside JP is a cool new attraction, a raptor pen! A guy in an animatronic suit whips, slashes and hisses at you in a very cool character meet and greet. It's been a while since we've ridden JP, or basically a scarier version of Pirates of the Caribbean with a giant T-Rex coming to get you while you get soaked by spitting dinos and a waterfall. The Mummy is like their version of Indiana Jones and was a lot more fun than I remember it being the first time I rode it. Still short though. Transformers is a cool attraction as you tear around a studio, driving and flying in a jeep fighting giant robots. After conquering 4 awesome attractions and lunch by noon, we really had nowhere else to go as lines for The Simpsons and other attractions were pushing the 60 minute mark. I figure when Harry Potter land opens, we'll opt for some season passes and Front of the Line upgrades to really take advantage since we've already experienced everything else in the park.

It was interesting to see so many non-Universal attractions like Shrek, Transformers and The Simpsons accounting for so much real estate. Once upon a time they had theme park rights to Marvel characters but I believe those recently expired, just in time for Disney to utilize the brands at their parks and resorts. I was surprised Back to the Future didn't have much of a presence there beyond a Doc Brown character walking around and some Delorean models for sale in the shops. You'd think they'd have a picture car just hanging out for photos and nostalgia. I mean come on, they had a frigging Mustang from the new Knight Rider show on the tour, not even the old, badass Trans Am one!

Casey Casting: Stephen Amell in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II

Hitting the webs right before April Fool's Day was the announcement that former Hung, almost Spartacus and current Arrow Oliver Queen Stephen Amell would be donning the hockey mask to play the beat'em up vigilante Casey Jones in a sequel to Paramount's hit reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 2014. That flick, produced by Michael Bay had many a fan treading cautiously to the theaters but surprisingly delivered a fast, fun and of course, action packed time at the movies and grossed $464 million bucks worldwide. While the Turtles' CGI avatars and freakish size coupled with Splinter's seemingly unfinished appearance was a little jarring, overall the movie didn't take itself too seriously and had a few laughs along with brotherly rabble rousing. It was weird that Splinter learned the art of Ninja from a book but I guess it's not any more far fetched than a pet rat mimicking his masters movements from his cage like in the 1990 movie.

Amell has starred on 3 seasons of CW's hit show Arrow where he plays a stern and physical vigilante aiming to clean up his city through martial arts and archery. According to Variety Amell was among half a dozen Casey hopefuls but his chemistry with star Megan Fox sealed the deal. The casting came as a surprise to some but not much of a shock to me. Here's a guy already known to the comic book world who plays a vigilante already and probably didn't cost a fortune. With Warner Brothers not enlisting Amell for any big screen DC outings, more power to him for landing in another comic book based, fancentric franchise. I had seen Amell on Hung opposite former The Punisher Thomas Jane where he starred as a dim yet studly competitor to Jane's "happiness consultant". After the unfortunate passing of Andy Whitfield, the in shape Amell was a finalist for Spartacus but lost out to Liam McIntyre. He does a solid job on Arrow at playing a Bruce Wayne-esque party boy along with a sullen anti-hero who says "Thank You" a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Throw a wig on him and let him go crazy and I think he'll do a solid job.

Appearing in a Raphael one-shot in 1985 from Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, we're introduced to Casey Jones in his crap filled apartment where he's watching cop shows and movies on three televisions simultaneously while lifting weights. Convinced that there's too much scum on the streets and not enough good guys, Jones picks up a golf bag full of bats, hockey sticks and clubs, dons a hockey mask and sets out to help the cops take on the bad guys. Breaking the leg of a purse snatcher, the overzealous Jones runs into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and hothead Raphael who thinks this quest of justice has gone a little too far. The two battle for pages and pages finally coming to an understanding that no one deserves to die for stealing a tape deck. When the scream of a woman needing help catches both their attention, they dash off into the night to mete out some sports equipment and karate kicking comeuppance.

Jones made his cinematic debut in the 1990 film along with Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, Splinter, April O'Neil and The Shredder. Played by Montreal native but New York and Acting Studio trained actor Elias Koteas, we meet Jones stalking some purse snatchers and beating their butts with a hockey stick. Like the comics, Raphael intervenes and the two go at it with fists, trash cans, flips, kicks, Jose Canseco bats, cricket paddles and constant quips. Koteas is pitch perfect as the physical and attitude dripping Jones in his action scenes and opposites attract romance with April (Judith Hoag). Koteas would go on to have a solid career in TV and film popping up in The Thin Red Line, Collateral Damage, Shooter, Shutter Island, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and many more. Asked about his experience on the film and Koteas says he doesn't think about it much but remembers having fun playing a swashbuckling hero type and how it could take over a dozen takes to get the animatronic turtles right in a scene. Koteas returned to the role in 1993's present day and feudal Japan set part III. The role was voiced by The Human Torch and future Captain America Chris Evans in 2007's animated feature.

Until 2016, "Goongala! Goongala!"

The Action Elite Presents: Icons of Action

Last week, The Action Elite unveiled their top 70 list of the Best Action Heroes of All Time. Main man Eoin Friel enlisted the help of fellow writers, bloggers, screenwriters, directors and #MovieBros to chime in with write ups of their favorite heroes. I picked up two Jean-Claude Van Damme performances, first as Chance Boudreaux in John Woo's 1993 shooting, explosion and face kicking fest Hard Target at # 46 (ahead of Tom Cruise as Mission Impossible's Ethan Hunt and behind Chuck Norris as Lone Wolf McQuade):

“Hunting season is over.”
While Jean-Claude Van Damme was never known for machine gun mayhem a la Stallone in Rambo or Schwarzenegger in Commando; Hard Target’s Chance Boudreaux comes dangerously close to pure action movie territory.
As a decorated former member of Marine Force Recon turned down on his luck sailor, Boudreaux stumbles into a deadly game put on by rich hunters. Their prey? Military veterans. When beautiful and smart yet out of her neighborhood lawyer Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) comes looking for her missing father, she uncovers the darker side of Dixie in the violent and seedy underworld of New Orleans.
Teaming with Chance, the pair take on the evil Fouchon (Lance Henriksen), his right hand man Pik van Cleef (Arnold Vosloo) and their small army of well-armed sportsmen (including Arnold’s buddy Sven-Ole Thorsen).
Recruiting Hong Kong action maestro John Woo for his first American film, Hard Target is full of violently slick, slow motion fight and shootout sequences that see Van Damme filling the bad guys with lead before finishing them off with a spinning hook kick to the face.
Like a greasy mullet’ed samurai in a denim shirt and tight jeans; J.C.V.D.’s Chance fights, chases and shoots it out with Fouchon’s crew using fists, pistols, shotguns, pigeons, gasoline, roundhouse kicks and one-liners. All of this while moto-surfing on a motorcycles standing up, outrunning a helicopter on horseback through Louisiana’s streets, back country and of course a warehouse to save the girl and take revenge for their dead comrades.
If that weren’t enough, Chance flexes his muscles, gets shot, doesn’t get burned by fire and drops a grenade down Fouchon’s pants during the explosion and bullet filled finale.

Followed by Frank Dux in the underground fighting epic Bloodsport at # 18 (ahead of Steven Seagal in Under Siege, suck it! And behind Robocop, respect.):

“You told me to use any technique that worked.  Never to limit myself to one style. To keep an open mind!”
The appeal of Bloodsport and Frank Dux is twofold.  The purported true story of a covert military operator who fights in secret no holds barred tournaments seemed tailor made for the big screen.  Especially an 80’s, Cannon Films produced flick starring a then unknown Jean-Claude Van Damme.
While many of Dux’s military and martial arts claims have been debunked, the tale of an underground competition to find the world’s supreme warrior and fighting champion has entertained and influenced a generation. From video game Street Fighter to Mixed Martial Arts giant the UFC, Bloodsport’s world warrior, style vs style inspiration lives on nearly 30 years later.
In J.C.V.D.’s breakthrough and signature role, the Muscles From Brussels combined his background in karate, weight training and ballet to create a powerful yet graceful onscreen presence that more than made up for his lack of acting experience.  As A.W.O.L. Air Force Captain Frank Dux, Van Damme puts his career and life on the line in order to fight in the Kumite, a full contact event held every five years.
With high kicks and the ability to do the splits at his disposal, Dux battles the best in karate, sumo and muy thai to try and be the best he can be while honoring his mentor and avenging fallen friends.
Whether enduring nearly inhuman physical training, doing the splits between two chairs, fighting blindly in the final match, running the streets of Hong Kong in a Mustard suit or telling another man “I love you my friend”; Jean-Claude Van Damme shows us how an action hero can be kick ass, yet sensitive.

It was a lot of fun and a pleasure to be included. The full list is fantastic and houses contributions from a spectrum of devoted action movie junkies. It skewed a little modern and of course male but John Wayne, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen, Sigourney Weaver, Linda Hamilton and Uma Thurman made it in while we could have used some Lee Marvin or Kirk Douglas for The Dirty Dozen and Spartacus. And Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese aka the Father of the Future!

Damme Words: I Am Spartacus!

I ever tell you about the time I kind of met Kirk Douglas?  The Chinese Theatre was celebrating it's 85th anniversary and charging admission prices of decades past, .25 cents.  So for a couple of months patrons could check out classics like Shanghai Express, The King and I as well as my my personal favorite, Spartacus!  The inspired by true events epic of a slave turned gladiator turned leader who inspired a rebellion against the Romans starred Hollywood heavyweights Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov and Tony Curtis.  Director Anthony Mann was fired just weeks into filming and replaced by a barely 30 year old Stanley Kubrick.  To celebrate, Kirk Douglas attended a re-dedication ceremony of his hand and foot prints from 1962 as his 10th book, I Am Spartacus: Making a Film, Breaking the Blacklist was made available.  It was a pretty busy 2012 for the then 95 year old as he would also attend a special event celebrating the figure of Spartacus, made popular again by the Starz television show, introduce an Academy screening and be bar mitzahed for the third time, a world record.

It was a mad house outside the theater as Douglas spoke to the crowd about his book that tackled the fear mongering witch hunts of 1950's Hollywood, McCarthyism, Communism and the blacklist.  While in the lobby buying a copy of the book, Mr. Douglas himself ambled over and stood right next to me, telling the staff to make sure they were charging full price.  I could only smile and try to ask the living legend to sign my book before some idiot lady crowded us and tried to take a picture with her iPad but she couldn't figure it out before Mr. Douglas was whisked away by security.  The film, of course is a magnificent epic of Hollywood proportions as we meet uneducated, feral laborer Spartacus.  He attacks a guard and is then thrown into a school for gladiators where he quickly becomes leader of the pack and stages a revolt against the cruel owners and task masters.  With a small army at his side, Spartacus finds love and meaning to his life when he continuously defeats and embarrasses the well organized and armed Roman forces.  The title of the book comes from a pivotal scene where the Romans offer mercy on the captured slave army if Spartacus gives himself up.  Before the man himself can do it, others stand up and claim to be Spartacus until they're all on their feet chanting, "I'm Spartacus!" as a big F you to the Romans.  Unlike today's happy ending blockbusters, Spartacus like other true to life epics such as The Great Escape, ends on a seemingly down note with many of our protagonists dead or imprisoned.  Yet there's still the unquenchable feeling of hope that these characters risked it all and lost so much for the greater good so there's no sadness.

I Am Spartacus is a quick and entertaining read.  I've consumed several of Douglas' other books and they're all a nice mix of anecdotes, history, humor, inside stories and his own subconscious feelings on being an insecure, angry, passionate and horny guy who became a superstar.  In hindsight, Douglas' role in bestowing writer Dalton Trumbo credit on the film is viewed as a landmark in Hollywood history as it helped to break the blacklist.  By the late 1930's, the American Communist Party had lost steam  but the House Committee on Un-American Activities declared that the party still had roots deep in Hollywood.  The Hollywood Reporter released names of supposed Communists and sympathizers which became the first blacklist.  HUAC hearings found several  Hollywood professionals in contempt of Congress for not declaring their political affiliations.  Dalton Trumbo being one of them.  After being named on the blacklist and serving time in prison, Trumbo could only find work as a ghost writer and never be credited.  Trumbo would end up with 17 non-credits over a decade.

The book chronicles the making of Spartacus, from Douglas' first encounter with the source novel by Howard Fast (also blacklisted) and trying to turn it into a big, Hollywood movie.  Author Fast was not a screenwriter and struggled as Douglas enlisted Trumbo to secretly writer another draft.  Trumbo was an expert at dialog, story and could write quickly.  Unfortunately for producer Douglas, The Gladiators starring Yul Brynner, Anthony Quinn and directed by Martin Ritt was already in pre-production thus leaving little interest for Spartacus.  Talent agent Lew Wasserman was in the midst of buying Universal Studios and suggested Douglas take it there.  Priced at $5 million the film would end up costing around $12, shot for over a year and took three years to premiere.  The book goes into some great detail on the era surrounding the blacklist, how the cast shaped up, the conflicts between styles, Trumbo's secret involvement, Kubrick not changing his clothes, Douglas' wife Anne being a genius and a saint, his best friend and manager stealing his money and much, much more.  There's a great line from Douglas during a story meeting at Trumbo's home that sums up the hectic period, "I'm retiring...from sobriety" followed by the pouring and downing of a vodka.

Pressure in Hollywood mounted over the open use of blacklisted talent with one high profile case seeing Frank Sinatra folding and telling Kirk to kick them in the balls for everyone else.  In several bold moves, Douglas left studio passes for Dalton Trumbo at the gate, brought him to lunch on the lot for all to see and then gave him credit under his real name. Off screen drama aside, Universal was concerned with the film's political message, sexual undertones, violence and use of the word "damn" and made many cuts, 42 significant ones by Douglas' count.  The flick was finally released to rave reviews, boffo box office and received a half dozen nominations from the Golden Globes and Academy Awards each.  Newly inaugurated president John F. Kennedy even ventured out during a snow storm, crossed picket lines and sat down for the film, declaring it a great movie.  Coupled with the fact that Trumbo received credit on not one but two films in 1960, it seemed like the blacklist had come to an end.

End of Watch(ing): Spartacus - Blood and Sand

It must have started at Calgary Expo when we saw Manu Bennett on stage during The Middle Earth: EXPOsed event.  I had absolutely no idea who he was but he came out riding a piece of stage equipment and then showed off some sword play choreography with one of the other panelists.   He seemed like a cool dude and had a noticeable air of rugged yet funny charisma  but I couldn't place him in The Hobbit.  Upon further research, we learned that he performance capture played Azog the Defiler, leader of Orcs and ruler of the abandoned Dwarfish mines.  Then I started watching Arrow, where he played Special-Ops soldier Slade Wilson and he did a good job there teaching Oliver Queen how to fight while at the same time insulting him.  One article I read about him showed a very humanitarian side where he engaged a physically disabled fan behind the scenes at Comic-Con while another had him blaming Jean-Claude Van Damme for the collapse of his career in the late 2000's.  It seemed like his professional output took off with 2010's Spartacus series on Starz, which I recall creating quite a stir with it's over the top portrayals of sex and violence.  A friend was a big fan of the show and let me know how the seasons rolled out as IMDb just has all 4 just lumped together.

Now, this ain't your father's Spartacus i.e. The Man Kirk Douglas' 1960 epic film.  No this is Spartacus for the post-300, graphic novel, rated R age.  The 13 episode season starts off with Thracian fighters duped into assisting the Romans in fighting off a threat but the civilized Romans treat the tribal Thracian's like crap.  When one rebels, he's thrown into the arena to die by combat but ends up winning and embarrassing the brass.  Separated from his wife, this lone warrior joins the House of Quintus Batiatus, who along with his wife Lucretia, look to conspire and back stab their way into high society.  Dubbing the rebel Thracian Spartacus after an old king, our protagonist must now deal with life inside gladiator academy and learn to fight for the crowd if he intends to survive and be reunited with his lost wife.  Batiatus' champion is a fighter named Crixus, an undefeated Gaul and secret lover to Lucretia.  At first unwilling to participate, Spartacus slowly comes to realize that he is property and if he ever wants to see his wife again, he'll need Batiatus' help.

Through the season we watch Spartacus become a champion and legend in the arena while Crixus is injured and must fight to reclaim his former glory.  There's melodrama galore as Lucretia befriends Llithyia, the wife of the high ranking military commander Spartacus defied and educates her in the primal and taboo ways of a slave/gladiator facility while Llithyia teaches Lucretia how the other half lives.  Batiatus has his own plans for Spartacus and manipulates the new champion with promises of finding his wife.  By the end of the season, there's been so much betrayal and so many lies, there's only one thing for Spartacus to do: rebel!  In the first episode, the use of green screen, digital backgrounds, fake blood and way too much slow motion had me worrying I'd just purchased a dud of a season of TV.  I'm not the biggest fan of 300 so if Spartacus was just going to coast by trying to be a weekly version of the film, I would be out.  Luckily each episode got better as the relationships between gladiators, slaves and owners grew and the action helped highlight the stories, giving them weight and a sense of urgency.

The cast all do a splendid job starting with Andy Whitfield as the quiet yet strong Spartacus, The Mummy's John Hannah as the increasingly evil Batiatus, Xena's Lucy Lawless as his conspiring yet sympathetic wife Lucretia, guy in everything Jai Courtney as gladiator and Spartacus bro Varro and of course, Manu Bennett as asshole turned chick magnet turned ally Crixus.  The drama and subplots are all crafted quite well with plenty of shocks and surprises throughout the season and unlike Game of Thrones, doesn't string you along, it's all in your face and you feel it.  Action scenes are sword and shield heavy with lots of fake CGI blood and horrific yet funny stabbings, bone breaking and swords going through heads.  Spartacus has an odd sense of humor from the explicit sex and nudity (male and female) to the extreme, laugh out loud (knife to the eye!) or cringe inducing (Spartacus fights in bloody, underground matches) violence to random moments like Spartacus day dreaming about killing everyone or the heavy use of cursing and insults between the testosterone filled gladiators ("Jupiter's cock!"). 

Spearheaded by the likes of Steven S. DeKnight (Buffy, Smallville and the NetFlix's upcoming Daredevil), Robert Tapert (Xena, Hercules), Joshua Donen (Legend of the Seeker) and Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Spider-Man), Spartacus again uses New Zealand's tax breaks to produce an action oriented show that is like the raw and edgier evolution of kid and family friendly Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess from the 90's.  Only instead of utilizing the lush landscapes of the island like those shows, Spartacus is all shot on sets with green screen.  It doesn't hurt or hinder the style of the show but it would have been nice to see something that wasn't on a stage like some real grass or trees.  As 300 featured a cast mostly in their underpants and started a new fitness trend, the gladiators of Spartacus are all in tip top shape thanks in part to a 6 week Gladiator camp that put the actors through physical training to get lean and mean as well as fight choreography.  Leading man Andy Whitfield was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin Lymphoma so a 6 episode prequel, Gods of the Arena, was produced while Whitfield sought treatment but he was later replaced by Liam McIntyre for seasons 2 and 3, Vengeance and War of the Damned when he died in 2011.  During his fight against the disease, documentary Be Here Now was produced to capture his struggle and ultimate defeat.  

Van Dammage: Like a Diamond

"It's going to be big, the Ben-Hur of martial art!  It will be filmed in Europe and China and show the philosophy of karate, the epic sweep of its past history.  We have friendship, relationship, pirates, we have Shaolin temples...I want to show something special, before hanging up on karate."
     Jean-Claude Van Damme on his directorial debut, The Quest

Depending on who you ask, the idea for The Quest came to Jean-Claude Van Damme either in a dream which he then woke up his wife to tell about or in a dingy Thai restaurant where JCVD was somberly eating and drinking alone.  Whatever the inspiration, The Quest was to be Van Damme's final goodbye to the genre that made him, the martial arts flick.  Since becoming a near overnight sensation thanks to 1988's high kicking, world warrior tournament classic Bloodsport, Van Damme always had higher aspirations than low budget karate movies.  Inspired by the likes of Lawrence of Arabia, Spartacus, On the Waterfront and Ben-Hur, Van Damme has always wanted to go epic.  As his Hollywood profile grew, Van Damme attempted to go more mainstream, toning down his pure karate kicking antics in favor of big, Hollywood style shoot'em up, exploded up action as witnessed in Universal Soldier and Hard Target, which blended bullets and jump spin kicks.  Nowhere to Run featured nary a kick but many a punch'em up complete with love story and kids involved but was a bit of a misstep financially. 

After 1994's Timecop showcased explosions, splits and kicks in a classy way, Van Damme thought it was really time to shut down the karate machine.  1995's Sudden Death lacked any of his trademark high kicks, shirtless scenes or butt shots but still needed a throwaway line to explain his French accent (played semi-pro hockey in Canada).  A take on the popular Die Hard formula where one man takes on many to save the ones he loves, Sudden Death is all rough and tumble fights, gunfire, crashing helicopters, exploding cars and the like inside and outside a hockey arena.  The film performed worse than Van Damme's previous 3 releases.  Looking to take control of his own career, Van Damme announced he would be making the leap to the directors chair for The Quest, an epic martial arts film that would be his goodbye to the genre.  Hoping it to be Bloodsport, but bigger, JCVD approached Oliver Stone to direct who respected the Belgian for making his own way.  After describing the story and scenes, Stone politely declined stating that Van Damme didn't need him since everything was already in the actor's head.

The Quest was announced at the Cannes film festival in 1993 where Van Damme got the one up on Arnold's latest, Last Action Hero by placing a hot air balloon over the water and renting a yacht to throw a lavish party that attracted studio heads and super models.  Quickly selling millions of dollars worth of international rights, it looked like Van Damme's dream would be coming true.  The Quest follows Christopher Dubois, a street performer who steals from local mobsters and goes on the run but is then kidnapped by pirates before being sold off to muy thai fighters and embarking on a journey to enter a fabled tournament held in the Lost City in China where the prize is a dragon made of solid gold.  Van Damme looked to have real life boxer George Foreman, who was in the midst of a career comeback in the ring at age 45, to play his trainer in the film.  At some point that idea was jettisoned and durable character actor James Remar (The Warriors, 48 Hours) was brought in.  Van Damme always admired Sean Connery but settled for another former James Bond, Roger Moore to play a fancy yet shady con-man that helps him get to the tournament.  Names like Kim Basinger and Madonna were rumored to be on VD's wish list to play a spunky journalist but TV actress Janet Gunn ended up in the role.

Co-written by Steve Klein and Paul Mones based on a story by Van Damme and Bloodsport inspiration Frank Dux, The Quest is a polished effort and solid display of Van Damme's talent behind the camera, especially for a first time director.  Utilizing the 1920's setting, the film makes good use of urban and exotic settings from the streets of "New York", the jungles of Thailand and the arid desert of Tibet to create a romantic and exotic adventure filled odyssey with a golden sheen.  The trials of Van Damme include fist and feet fights on the streets, on a boat, during a pirate boarding and battle, on the beach and finally inside and outside the ring of the Ghang-Gheng.  Like Bloodsport before it, The Quest showcases fighters from around the world utilizing different fighting techniques like sumo, karate, savate, grappling, capoeira and boxing.  Sadly, the film can't quite top the fight scenes from Bloodsport which were fast, fun and brutal as they come off a bit repetitive and one-note with an overuse of slow motion that do little more than show off his glistening and striated muscles.

Post release, Van Damme would state he was not happy with the film as many pages of character development and training were removed to reduce costs.  Estimated to have cost $30 million dollars, Van Damme claims to have sold $20 million at Cannes which was an exaggeration according to producer Moshe Diamont.  Upon it's release, Van Damme would claim the film only cost $12 million which I'm guessing is a below the line figure.  Hitting theaters in April of 1996, The Quest would open in the #1 spot with a $7 million dollar gross on it's way to a tepid $21 million total and continue our man Van's career slide.  Worldwide the film brought in an additional $35 million for a $57 million total, far from the above $100 million grosses of Universal Soldier, Timecop and Street Fighter.  4 movies and 3 years later, Van Damme would be relegated to Direct to Video releases.