Sherman Oaks Saturday: Books, Movies, Video Games, Oh My!

On Saturday we trekked up the 405 to quaint yet happening Sherman Oaks. We hit up a surprisingly dense library sale with books, CD's and DVD's up for grabs for rock bottom prices. Hardback tomes and paperback novels were aplenty and only set you back a buck or less. The lady found a copy of Moneyball by Michael Lewis for me and I grabbed multiple flicks on DVD, some that weren't even opened! After that it was off to the mall for a little walking around and checking out what Spring/Summer fashion entailed. Newsflash, it's about the same as every year but with more bright pastels...

Then it was on to Ventura Boulevard for old standby The One-Up for brunch (chicken and waffles seemed like a good idea but were WAY too sweet), some cocktails and arcade madness. Newly added Time Crisis and a new two-player, stand up cabinet where we played some The Punisher side scroller. Next door is Von Eaton Animation Galleries which had some general cartoon cels up including Johnny Quest and stacks of cels from the likes of X-Men and The Little Mermaid. Then a nice used book store had an entire American West section with titles on Doc Holliday and Johnny Ringo and I grabbed the former. Looking forward to the dime store or actual story of one of the west's most intriguing characters.

Blast Off Weekend: Stars Wars Day & Guardians of the Galaxy Double Feature

Space opera fans had much to celebrate as Thursday was May the Fourth Be With You and Friday was Revenge of the Fifth. At the office I had the films playing in random order, themed menu items and restrooms were decorated with Luke, Leia, Finn and Rey. We watched The Force Awakens at home and picked up a Poe Dameron figure on sale at the local Disney store. Now I have the hankering to watch Ex Machina... The Han Solo movie is currently in production and Episode VIII: The Last Jedi hits theaters in December.

Thursday also saw the summer movie season take off with the release of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2. We ended up taking in a double feature at the nearby Arclight Cinema. Part one still plays quite well as an entertaining, space trotting thrill ride even if it doesn't hold up to much deep thinking or scrutiny. Written and directed by James Gunn, Volume 2 starts off with a big and funny action sequence but surprisingly goes into character depth mode with Chris Pratt's Star-Lord being found by his dad (KURT RUSSELL), Zoe Saldana's Gamora tries to reconcile with sister who tried to kill her last movie Nebula (Karen Gillan), Dave Bautista makes a would be lady friend then Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Yondu (Michael Rooker) bicker because they're afraid to lose their adopted families. While things seemed to move quickly, the character beats and humor work but it felt like nothing really happened. Kurt Russell is great as the manifestation of an entire planet but badass assassin Gamora gets little to do. Sylvester Stallone shows up in a small role opposite Rooker for a nice Cliffhanger reunion even if we don't get a Tango & Cash or Tombstone one. All in I probably liked the film an extra 20% because of Russell and Stallone.

It was great to see Russell doing so much press for the flick and Stallone did his fair share as well. Russell and long time partner Goldie Hawn were honored with Stars on the Walk of Fame this week as Hawn has Snatched with Amy Schumer opening next week. Since taking a bit of a hiatus from filmmaking in 2006 to make wine, it's been awesome to see Russell return with Quentin Tarantino, Peter Berg, the Fast and Furious movies and now Marvel. Located past the Pantages theater, we checked out the shiny new stars and did the Tango & Cash high five over them. Now we just need Jean-Claude Van Damme to work with Spielberg, Nolan, Marvel or DC to get his honor.

View In Peace: Tombstone

The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power hit home video and streaming recently starring a plethora of mixed martial artists along with genre staples Barry Bostwick, Rutger Hauer, Lou Ferrigno and Michael Biehn.  2002's The Scorpion King was of course a spin off from 1999's blockbuster update of The Mummy starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz that was produced by Sean Daniel and James "Jim" Jacks. It's been over a year since former Wall Street analyst turned screenwriter and producer Jacks passed away. Biehn had worked with Jacks years previously on 1993's Tombstone, the latest retelling of the Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday myth starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. Like Hard Target before it, Tombstone's production was rife with issues but in this case nearly fell apart. Many in the cast and crew credit Jacks and especially Russell for holding the film together which became a Christmas box office hit and has lived on to become a fan and genre favorite.

Rambo: First Blood Part II and Glory screenwriter Kevin Jarre produced a well researched, epic scale script based on the trials and tribulations of the Earp family coming to Tombstone seeking riches in silver and gambling, butting heads with cowboys and the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral. At first attaching Kevin Costner to the project, the Dances With Wolves star walked and went to set up his own version with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves director Kevin Reynolds and The Bodyguard writer Lawrence Kasdan. Andrew Vajna, formerly of Carolco, picked up Jarre's script and attached Russell after rumored Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp fell out. So strong was Costner's pull at the time, no studio wanted to release Tombstone except Disney's Hollywood Pictures. Permutations of casting saw the likes of Richard Gere and Willem Dafoe up for the Wyatt and Doc roles before Russell and Kilmer settled in. Jarre's script attracted a who's who of familiar faces with Michael Biehn wanting the already claimed Holliday role and choosing "villain" Johnny Ringo instead. Bill Paxton and Sam Elliott came on as Wyatt's brothers Morgan and Virgil while Powers Boothe sided with Biehn to lead the Cowboys, a vicious gang of gunfighters and rustlers. Screen legends Charlton Heston and Robert Mitchum gave the cast gravitas while up and comers Stephen Lang, Jason Priestley, Jon Tenny, Thomas Haden Church, Dana Delaney, Michael Rooker, Joanna Pacula, Billy's Zane and Bob Thornton filled the ranks of lawmen, ranchers, entertainers and hooligans.

Jarre was handed directing reins and the large ensemble cast headed to Arizona in May of 1993 where the skilled writer but novice director quickly fell behind. Meticulous in his research and approach, Jarre would get hung up on every detail from facial hair to costumes to saddles and saw the actors as figures only there to say his dialog his way. Shooting Heston's scenes as Earp ally Henry Hooker first, Jarre was warned by cast and crew that he would soon be fired for his lack of progress, overlong script and dailies that failed to showcase the famous cast. Disposing of close ups and instead opting to shoot everything in wide master shots. Just weeks into the shoot, Jarre was fired. John McTiernan was interested in replacing Jarre but wanted two weeks to review already shot footage to which producers could not oblige. Russell kept the picture together and with the help of friend Sylvester Stallone, brought in Cobra and Rambo II director George P. Cosmatos to finish the film. Along with Cosmatos came young writer John Fasano (Another 48 Hours) who was also working for Vajna's Cinergi Pictures at the time. Hopping on a private jet to Arizona, the new director and writer were introduced to the disgruntled cast and crew just hours after Jarre had been taken off the picture. Russell immediately backed Cosmatos and began working with Fasano to cut down the epic script. Retreating to the cast hotel, Fasano would work with Russell and Kilmer every night, shaping and rewriting scenes to fit the new schedule.

Jarre's original script depicted the Earp clan moving to Tombstone, setting up homes and being introduced to the bustling town. Robert Mitchum's character Old Man Clanton is more involved and we see the Cowboys battling local law enforcement from the states and Mexico. Characters are more fleshed out, especially Michael Rooker's Cowboy turned Earp supporter McMasters and Biehn's Johnny Ringo who in the film is seen a quiet, cold blooded killer but in the script comes off as more weird and anxious who turns to violence without warning. Truer to history, Wyatt forms an uneasy alliance with Curly Bill that is broken when tensions between the lawmen Earps and some of the Cowboys. Now it was Fasano's job to cut 20-30 pages that Jarre would not.

Russell bit the bullet first and volunteered to have scenes and lines cut, thus not making it solely about him and setting the precedent. Mitchum was rumored to have been injured in a riding accident and had his scenes removed, instead narrating the start and finish of the film. Fasano then had the unenviable task of approaching each actor and asking what handful of scenes made them take the part then jettisoning others. In real life the Earp's weren't as squeaky clean as Hollywood had depicted while the Cowboys weren't quite as evil but those tones of gray were removed in favor of clear cut good guys and bad guys at the behest of Disney and finishing on time. Russell and Jacks worked with Cosmatos, giving him a shot list every night and "ghost directing" the picture to a degree. While some actors were troubled and angered by their reduced roles, Val Kilmer simply said he'd sit back with his cough and little cup and steal every scene he was in. Tensions mounted on set with the new director, altered schedule and stifling heat. A reported 100 cast and crew members quit or were fired from the production.

After originally being scheduled to film for 62 days, delays stretched the production to 80 and into August with post production needing to come quickly as their December release date loomed. A two hour popcorn western came from the editing room that held together remarkably well. But Disney put little promotion behind the picture and it opened at # 3 on Christmas Eve of 1993 with a $6.4 million weekend behind repeat champs The Pelican Brief and Mrs. Doubtfire. The seemingly soft opening would put it at #51 for the year but the film garnered decent reviews and word of mouth quickly spread as grosses went up in it's 2nd weekend. Tombstone would go on to gross $56 million on a $25 million dollar budget and rank #20 for the year. Kilmer's performance was particularly singled out and has since become one of his signature roles.

Russell would follow up with successful big budget action films Stargate and Executive Decision then earn a reported $10 million to reprise his role as Snake Plissken in Escape From L.A. which grossed half it's $50 million budget. Kilmer replaced Michael Keaton as Batman in 1995 and cast opposite Robert DeNiro in Michael Mann's Heat immediately after. Starring vehicles The Ghost and the Darkness and The Saint would do little to prop up his leading man status. Powers Boothe showed up as the villain in Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1995 Die Hard in a hockey arena effort Sudden Death before re-teaming with Bill Paxton directorial effort Frailty. Michael Biehn reunited with director William Friedkin on the big budget bust Jade before being cast as a Navy Seal commander in Michael Bay's $300 million grossing The Rock.

Sadly, director George P. Cosmatos died in 2005 and shortly after stories of the troubled production on Tombstone began to emerge from among others, star Kurt Russell. Russell openly discussed the difficulties of production and bringing in Cosmatos as a ghost director. He sees the finished film as fine but feels it could have been a western Godfather if he had been able to edit it and Disney actually believed in the picture. Five time Academy Award nominated cinematographer William A. Fraker died in 2010 after a battle with cancer. History buff Kevin Jarre would work with Jacks on The Jackal and The Mummy but never recovered from the Tombstone experience and died of a heroin overdose in 2011. Jacks passed away in January of 2014, still upset that much of the film's fantastic original script ended up being cut out or left on the editing room floor. Writer/artist John Fasano died in his sleep in July after a 25 year career. Fasano would go on to work with Tombstone veterans Rooker, Biehn, Boothe and Zane among others stating that the difficult experience bonded them forever.

Enjoyable and epic in it's own right, Kevin Costner's 1994 Wyatt Earp would eventually cost more than twice as much but gross less than half than Tombstone with it's bloated 3 hour run time missing the mark with audiences to end up in DVD bargain bins. While Tombstone may not the be film it's makers originally intended, it still holds up as an entertaining, star studded and action packed affair for casual and dedicated western fans alike. It's a title that has jumped generations via cable, video and special edition DVD for Russell, Kilmer, Paxton, Boothe, Biehn and Elliott. Here's hoping we get to see the extra footage Kurt Russell has in his garage someday.

The Flash: 90's Reunion

What is it about the good ol' 90's and special Christmas episodes of TV shows that just make you feel good?  On this week's The Flash, fans of the original 1990 show were treated to a bit of nostalgia as stars of the former CBS series John Wesley Shipp and Amanda Pays both made appearances.  This is hot on the heels of news that Mark Hamill, who played the memorable Trickster on the former show will be appearing as an older version on the 2014 series.  If that weren't enough nostalgia, this week's installment was directed by Ralph Hemecker, a veteran of TV shows like Renegade and Silk Stalkings and helmer of one of Michael Biehn's greatest Direct to Video flicks, American Dragons (aka Double Edge depending on country of release).  The Biehn himself was in Phoenix, Arizona this week for a convention that yours truly was supposed to attend as press but instead played tour guide to a visiting friend from out of town.  You can still check out Biehn talking about Tombstone, Terminator and loads of other cool things with this video.

So far, 2014 The Flash has been a hit with viewers and critics alike while I've been tuning in each week as well.  It's a fun show dripping with comic book references, thanks in no small part I'm sure to writer and DC dude extraordinaire Geoff Johns.  Johns wrote some of the best Flash tales in recent years and along with Jim Lee is helping to spearhead DC's vast library of comic book character's penetration into pop culture via animation, TV, video games, etc.  Up to this point, young Barry Allen has struggled with the knowledge that some strange "yellow blur" killed his mother but his father was sent to prison for the crime.  After a freak accident involving lightening and a particle accelerator at STAR labs, Barry becomes the crimson streak aka The Flash, taking out crooks and other "meta-humans"; individuals given power from the science charged explosion.  I'm surprisingly ok with this "freak of the week" approach more so than I was with Smallville as at least The Flash comes right out and says it's a superhero show and everyone draws their powers from a similar source as our protagonist.  Unlike Smalls where the mandate was "no flight, no tights" because they were ashamed of the source material or didn't want to compete with any big screen versions.  To be fair, the superhero genre on film and television has come a long way since 2000, for better and for worse.

I had just gotten finished re-watching a handful of 1990 episodes where Barry Allen (John Wesley Shipp) and STAR labs scientist Tina McGee (Amanday Pays) fight the likes of Captain Cold, The Deadly Nightshade and Mirror Master.  With a nice mix of action, drama, humor and super heroics set in an art-deco pulp world with a big, moody, orchestral soundtrack, it's easy to see that The Flash was truly ahead of it's time.  Episode 18 features former The Partridge Family crooner David Cassidy as Mirror Master, a crook who has gotten his hands on a set of batteries that project lifelike holograms to confuse and terrify people with images of snakes, cowboys and hostile police officers.  During a botched sting/meeting, Barry poses as the eccentric criminal mastermind Professor Zoom, alleged creator of The Flash in a random nod to the comics villain.

Cut to this week's episode of the new series and Amanda Pays shows up as Tina McGee only now working for MERCURY labs, a competitor of STAR's with $500 billion in funding and some nifty new tech.  It's nice to see Pays looking so regal 24 years later and her distinctive voice still lends her performance a memorable quality.  Meanwhile, Shipp has been playing Henry Allen, father to new Barry (Gustin Grant) and all we know about him is that he seemingly loves his son and is sent to prison for the murder of his wife after mumbling about a man in a crazy whirlwind of lightening actually doing it.  There's been no indication that Shipp would be revealed as a former Flash himself and it was kind of meta-confusing to know that Pays was playing her former character yet Shipp was not. Or is he? A visit to dad in prison along with an ambiguous performance from Shipp had me wondering if he was going to turn up as Professor Zoom somehow even though it's alluded to and then confirmed that Barry's mentor Dr. Harrison Wells (Tom Cavanuagh) is actually the villain.  At the end of the episode it's revealed that young Barry actually saw two super high speed beings doing battle over his mother.  Which, along with Mark Hamill's Trickster being brought back, can only lead me to believe that Shipp will actually be the former Flash which will then lead to me throwing my arms up into the air, cheering and knowing that I've always had good taste.  It just took the world 24 years to catch up.

Keep runnin':

San Diego Comic-Con 2014: Friday aka Panels on Panels on Panels!

After the awesome Paramount panel, it was time for a break and then Hero Complex's rooftop party at the Hotel Solomar where I not only saw two former co-workers and met some nice Con goers but Michael Rooker of Tombstone, Mallrats and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy was in attendance!  IMAX was on hand with Hercules and Guardians swag along with an open bar and flip book photo booth.  Then it was off into the Gaslamp District for sustenance and more Jameson.

Friday morning I was beat and bummed around a while before heading over to the show.  Not feeling like navigating the exhibition floor I opted for an afternoon of panels where one turned into six!

First up was Secret Origins: How the Industry's Best and Brightest Began with Chip Mosher, David Steinberger, Mike Marts, Shannon Watters, Marc Bernardin and Frank J. Barbiere who collectively have worked for Marvel, Starlog, Entertainment Weekly and DC shared their sagas of breaking into the comics game.  From starting off as an intern who never left to selling 60 copies of a self financed book at conventions to a Singing Major who changed careers at 34 to e-mailing Jim Lee once a month for 13 months, it was a very cool and inspiring panel that reminded us, especially in this day and age that you just have to do what you love and there's no excuse for not setting goals big and small in this era of fans easily becoming creators thanks to the internet and advancements in technology.  As ComiXology was recently purchased by Amazon, the first 2 individuals who asked questions received a free Kindle Fire!

Next was Free Enterprise: 15th Anniversary Reunion which celebrated the 1999 release of low budget romantic comedy Free Enterprise starring Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) and William "Bill" Shatner.  Writer/producer Mark A. Altman shared hilarious stories of trying to land Shatner in the role of himself, written as a uber-sage to two pop culture loving nerds trying to make it in Los Angeles.  Shatner declined on the basis of not wanting to play a God like character but was open to the idea of giving him everyday problems like trying to meet women.  Altman also told a great story about Al Pacino seeing Star Trek: Generations and loving the fact that it took a mountain to crash on Shatner's Captain Kirk to kill him while the "Shakespeare guy" (Patrick Stewart) took a pebble to the shoulder and went down.  Altman and company are looking to resurrect FE as an online series and shared a pitch video from their ongoing Kickstarter.

After that it was time for Brands Gone Geek:  How Media and Marketers Are Harnessing the Might of the Superfan which looked at the way big business is targeting the Comic-Con and pop culture crowd with insights from a large panel of guests involved with BOOM! Studios, a former movie producer turned comic book store owner, the Bonfire Agency, online reporting, Hero Complex and many more.  Hosted by Sydney Pollack doppleganger Steve Rotterdam, it was an eye opening look at what I've been saying for years, we live in a time when you can sell people's childhoods back to them.  Comic books, collectibles and the like account for over $1 billion dollars in sales a year with the average con goer spending more on their cool swag and stuff than sports fans.  Basically, all the kids who were made fun of in school for liking comic books, cartoons, fantasy literature etc are now in control of popular culture from the plethora of comic book and fantasy movies topping the box office to Chase bank, Dunkin Donuts and Carl's Jr. among others vying for the Comic-Con crowd without insulting them through commercials and campaigns.

Then it was time for the annual Street Fighter! panel where Capcom's Francis Mao and company took us through all things SF like the new Street Fighter 4: Ultra, merchandise and the yearlong Capcom Cup/e-sports league where players from all over the world compete for a spot in the finals in December.  Qualifying rounds are happening over SDCC weekend with the finals taking place on Sunday at the Omni hotel with $3,000 bucks on the line. Attention was shifted to successful online series Assassin's Fist where actor/writer/director Joey Ansah and actors Mike Moh and Gaku Space talked about making the series, working on wires, translating fights to live action, staying faithful to the source material and future plans that includes a stacked Blu-Ray release with commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes and more as well as official word that sequel series World Warrior is in development.  Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono showed up dressed as Hugo after coming in as Chun-Li last year.  Audience members partook in some live SF play with was surprisingly fun and draining to watch.

Penultimate panel of the Friday was a real treat for movie buffs with The Superheroes of Legacy Effects with John Rosengrant, Shane Mahan, Lindsay MacGowan and Jason Lopes taking the audience through their company's wide ranging work that includes design, make up f/x, sculpting, 3D printing and animatronics for commercials, television and film.  I recognized Rosengrant and Mahan from watching copious amounts of The Terminator and Aliens featurettes as the former was their first big movie.  The duo started at Stan Winston's studio and have worked on the likes of the Jurassic Park and Terminator series including the upcoming 2015 releases.  Legacy now has a random niche market with suit making after 4 Iron Man adventures, Pacific Rim and 2014's Robocop.  With a staff of about 100, Legacy works on 200 commercials and 20 + movies a year.  Their shop includes half a dozen 3D printers straight from military and aerospace manufacturers.  Rosengrant and Mahan singled out director James Cameron as the pinnacle of a strong director with his talent and vision and I wanted to ask what they thought of Michael Biehn...free shirts on the way out too boot, a really cool panel overall.

Finally I caught a few minutes of An Inside Look at Shout! Factory where sub-brands Kids and Scream Factory crew talked about the process of getting hired, procuring and restoring titles then outfitting them with special features.  Shout does a great job of asking fans what they want and reaching out to anyone involved with the production.  Two fans actually sent in prints of an obscure title when the company couldn't find a suitable copy for restoration and release.  I didn't realize they put out so many titles as last year saw 300 some releases up for grabs.  So far 2 of them have starred Dolph Lundgren so keep'em coming please.

Gotta Drank! The Bowery

The 80's keep on rocking and rolling at The Arclight Hollywood this week as screenings of Aliens and Back to the Future remind us how great they are.  This would be my 2nd viewing of Aliens on the big screen while it was something like the 7th of BTTF.  Yeah, that's a lotta Flux Capacitating!  It's also week one of two of seeing Michael Biehn on the big screen as next Wednesday it's time for The Terminator.  The crowds have been a little subdued this week but you can bet your ass I'll be clapping and getting rowdy for Arnold, Biehn, Cameron, Paxton and Henriksen.  The last time I saw The Terminator, it was preceded the week earlier by a screening of The Abyss.  Hopefully Navy Seals and Tombstone are next in my double Biehn screen viewing.

Anywho, before Aliens, we walked a couple blocks over to Vine where there's a slew of bar and restaurants like The Well, grilled cheese house The Melt, some Italian joint and The Bowery; a cozy and dimly lit establishment that claims to have the best hamburger in Los Angeles.  I've had it and wasn't wowed but then again, it's served on an English muffin.  To me, English muffins are only good if they're toasted to a nice crispy finish and slathered in butter.  Bowery has some other tasty selections as well though on it's small menu.  Happy Hour runs the entire week I believe from 4-7.  As I'm fighting a cold, it was Hot Toddy time.  You know, whiskey and hot tea with lemon and honey on the side?  This might have been the best Hot Toddy I've ever had simply due to the fact that they gave me a shot glass full of honey with it.

Goodnight, future boy!

)

View In Peace: James "Jim" Jacks and Hard Target

Earlier this week, the death of movie producer James "Jim" Jacks quietly hit the news and interwebs in the form of a few brief articles and a couple detailed write ups from friends and collaborators like Kevin Smith and Harry Knowles.  His name might not strike the household familiarity of say a Jerry Bruckheimer or to a lesser extent Joel Silver but Jacks amassed a list of timeless classics like Jean-Claude Van Damme as a greasy mulleted samurai in Hard Target, the action ensemble western classic Tombstone, Richard Linklater's seminal Dazed and Confused, Kevin Smith's maligned but awesome Mallrats, Benecio Del Toro and Tommy Lee Jones' Rambo update The Hunted and his most successful work, 1999's The Mummy.  The Mummy was followed by two hit sequels and a successful spin off, The Scorpion King; which has had now spawned 3 direct to video sequels (the latest featuring Michael Biehn!).

A former wall street analyst who turned to screenwriting before working acquisitions at Universal and segueing into producing, Jacks is said to have been a hardcore movie lover.  1993 was a banner year for him as Hard Target, Dazed and Confused and Tombstone all hit theaters across the country.  Each holds it's own place in my and cinema's lore as they have all transcended generations and still resonate 20 years on.  Even though each title is held in high regard, at least two of them never matched the original intent of Jacks and his partners in celluloid.

By the early 90's, Jean-Claude Van Damme was the still the hot, young guy coming up the action ladder following Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger while competing with fellow new to the scene martial artist, Steven Seagal.  After a string of successful, low budget karate movies, 1992's Universal Soldier was his first decent budget, more mainstream action affair that had a talented director and studio support.  The flick performed well around the world and JCVD tried his hand at further broadening his audience with Nowhere To Run, a modern day Shane where VD protects a mother and her kids from evil land owners.  With nary a roundhouse kick or full split to be seen, Nowhere To Run might have fulfilled the Belgian's desire to try something different but audiences did not turn out and grosses were less than his previous 3 films.

Hard Target was the beginning of Van Damme's real push into the big leagues (it was also my second R-rated movie in a theater).  Universal saw his potential and figured with the right support, he could break into the $50-60 million grosses and join Arnold and Sly at the top of the mountain.  Former Navy Seal Chuck Pfarrer's (Navy Seals!) script is the story of Chance Boudreaux, a Merchant Marine struggling to make a living who helps out a young lawyer searching for her missing father.  Turns out her dad was a Vietnam veteran who agreed to be the subject of a twisted game that finds rich hunters paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to track and kill their fellow man.  Lance Henriksen and Arnold Vosloo turn up as the dastardly duo behind the sick scheme and it's up to Van Damme, the chick from Drop Zone (Yancy Butler) and mother fucking Wilford Brimley to stop them.

I'm not sure whose idea it was to go after noted Hong Kong director John Woo but the mayhem maestro behind The Killer signed on for his first American feature after Jacks and Universal set their sights on him.  Van Damme gave his stamp of approval but unfortunately, the $18 million production would be awash with problems from Van Damme being given far reaching creative control to Woo's unfamiliarity with the English language and American filmmaking process.  See, in Hong Kong, movies shoot for a while, stop and assess then continue on.  You can't do that kind of thing in America as studios need product to fill their slate so Woo was stranded without his team, working in a language not his own and a nervous studio watching over his shoulder.  Universal enlisted Evil Dead and Darkman director Sam Raimi to the production, ready to take over if Woo fell behind.  Even though Raimi was in awe of Woo and didn't think he would be able to bring anything better to the project.

After re-shooting the final confrontation between Van Damme and Henriksen, editing the picture would find the Muscles From Brussels presenting his own version along with Woo's cut that had to be trimmed down to avoid an NC-17 rating.  Jacks supported Woo's version as they didn't want a typical "Van Damme movie".  Test screenings were horrendous but finally on August 20th of 1993, Hard Target hit theaters, opening to $10 million on it's way to a $32 million total.  The tally was higher than Nowhere to Run but less than Universal Soldier.  Critics would deem it Van Damme's best but Woo's worst.  As it stands, Hard Target is a well made and violent action picture that does it's best to mesh Woo's human drama mixed with balletic gun violence and Van Damme's high kicking super heroics.  You get way too much slow motion, lots of close ups, bad puns, shoot'em ups, kick'em ups, jack rabbits slapping bears, horses, snake smacking, Mardi Gras, Lance Henriksen being set on fire, mama's taking chances and Ted Raimi saying "I ain't got no change, man!".

Post mortem, Van Damme would dismiss Hard Target for having a bad script and too much "John Woo bullshit" but having some good action and making him look strong.  Woo would remain political and say they did the best they could with what they had and didn't close the door on working with Van Damme again.  It never happened.  Van Damme would go on to his biggest hit, Timecop, before turning down a huge deal with Universal and sliding into a career funk filled with drug problems and messy divorces.  Woo would go on to find success after success, working with John Travolta, Nicolas Cage and Tom Cruise on Broken Arrow, Face/Off and Mission Impossible II before returning to Chinese cinema following the poorly received Windtalkers and Paycheck.

Come back next time as we check out Jacks' work on a fellow, troubled production: Tombstone.  Until then, enjoy Van Damme beating up some thugs after having some tragic gumbo.

Ask Me a Question: Escape From New York

Entertainment Weekly's Cape Town Film Festival picks up steam with it's Friday night main event screening of 1981's Escape From New York.  The American Cinematheque showcases writer/director/musician John Carpenter's work regularly but this night was special.  Why?  Because Snake Plissken himself, the man behind Jack Burton, the dude who brought Wyatt Earp to life and took a shower with Sylvester Stallone as Gabriel Cash, yes friends, KURT RUSSELL was doing a rare appearance afterwards to speak about the film.

The courtyard was bumping as the music was playing and EWites were taking photos of the crowd and handing out free magazines.  I'm not sure if this was all a mea culpa for changing up the night's schedule and putting TNT series Falling Skies first (a smart if annoying move by the sponsor).  Falling Skies also provided free drinks and popcorn for the night so you can't complain too much.

I had heard of Falling Skies but don't watch television unless it's called Home Improvement, Two and a Half Men Classic or involves cooking in a non-competition setting.

Season Three is about to hit your TV screen and we were treated to a taste of the premiere.  It played like a jumble of Starship Troopers, Independence Day, War of the Worlds and some other sci-fi stuff you've seen before.  Not in a bad way either, it's just difficult to jump into a show three years in and seeing a chop shop version of an episode.  Familiar faces like Noah Wyle, Will Patton, Moon Bloodgod, Terry O' Quinn and Doug Jones (in alien prosthetic of course) showed up throughout.

Cast and crew showed up to speak about the show:

- Executive Producer Steven Spielberg is heavily involved in the pre-production of the show.
- Noah Wyle has been working for Spielberg for twenty years and describes their relationship as a kid trying to impress his father.
- Moon Bloodgod was pregnant during shooting and giving birth on screen is nothing like real life.

There were some bits about Season Three spoken about but this place ain't about the spoilers!

Some custom made Escape From New York tee-shirts were put up for Twitter auction and some band played a crappy song about Snake Plissken.

And.  Then.  It.  Was.  Time.

Rialto had produced a new DCP print (Digital version of a 35mm print) just for this night and it was time to Flux-Capacitate our way to 1997 via 1981 for Escape From New York.  

This movie kicks ass.  You've seen it, right?  If you haven't, do it.  Basically, in the future New York becomes a maximum security island prison where the President has crash landed.  It's up to former soldier turned thief Snake Plissken to get the Commander In Chief out alive.  Crazy gangs, sewer dwellers, a woman of the night, a psychotic warlord, his giant wrestler henchman, jugular vein bombs, fifty flights of stairs and a booby trapped bridge stand in his way.  Big whoops right?

It's badass, iconic, funny and sad all at the same time.  Carpenter always knows how to set up a slow burn pace that leads up to an all out finish.  The characters, this cast, is awesome.  Kurt Russell (Tombstone (Michael Biehn and Bill Paxton alert!)), Lee Van Cleef (millions of westerns), Ernest Borgnine (The Wild Bunch), Isaac Hayes (Shaft!  You damn right), Adrienne Barbeau (cleavage!), Harry Dean Stanton (Alien), Tom Atkins (Lethal Weapon) and Donald Pleasance (The Great Escape (Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson!)) all make their characters stand out memorable.  It was a little sad to see the opening credits and four names after Russell's have all passed.  Circle of life I suppose.

Post flick, it was time.  Time to see the man.  Mr. Russell came out to a standing ovation, shook a few mittens, handed out a couple of high fives and waved to the cheering crowd with sincere eyes.

To preface, Kurt Russell was great because he was real.  Funny, gregarious, complimentary, sincere and sensitive.  He cracked himself up a few times telling stories and mentioned a few things I won't repeat because they're personal to the subject.  Mr. Russell was rocking a mane of long gray hair and a mustache/beard combo that made him reminiscent of Kenny Rogers.

- Never talks about his movies so this event and the one at AFI prior are pretty special.
- John Carpenter is like an older brother who was always trying to do his best.
- The pair could sit and watch a basketball game, share a six pack of beer and say less than ten words to each other.
- Scripts like Escape From New York just got him, as did Tombstone and so did future project, Bone Tomahawk (why he was rocking the long hair and facial cover).
- Studio wanted Charles Bronson but JC fought for him.
- Snake's costume was put together from multiple sources, skin tight arctic camouflage pants instead of typical baggy green ones, motorcycle boots, the eye patch was his idea.
- Spoke about being a young actor and athlete and knowing one day he'd have to pick one path.  Getting injured playing baseball sealed his fate to become an actor.
- Got injured around 22-23 and really into acting around 25-26.
- Goldie Hawn told him making Ladyhawke with Richard Donner would be a mistake.  Shooting in Europe would add months to the schedule.  He arrived and crews were on strike.  Once he saw himself in the costume, i.e. tights, he knew he was wrong for the role and begged Donner to let him go.  Said he knew Donner wanted Rutger Hauer and he could get him (Russell had no ties to Hauer) and somehow it worked out.
- Snake Plissken would win in a fight against R.J. Mac Ready and Jack Burton.
- FOX didn't know what to do with Big Trouble In Little China.  At a screening, a studio head didn't realize Kurt and JC were in the crowd and openly dissed the movie and his character.
- Was told by a reporter that his career looked like it had been driven by a drunk to which he was flattered as he and agent Rick Nicita had planned it that way to secure interesting roles.
- On the EFNY remake, reiterated that Snake should be played by an American and that baseball bats were used during the death match for a reason.  Not a hockey stick, not a curling stick, but an all American bat!
- Doesn't really matter who they get to play Snake, more important selection will be John Carpenter's replacement because it's JC's world.
- Has affinity for Escape From LA and says people don't realize difference between the Big Apple and the Big Orange.
- Floated around idea of Escape From Earth so Snake could finally be left alone.
- Highest regards for producer Debra Hill, she was a trail blazer for women in film and is deeply missed (Hill died of cancer in the early 2000's).

Moderator Geoff Boucher tried to wind down the session but Russell was uber cool and told the audience to shout out questions and he'd answer them quick.  He finally said goodnight and walked out to another standing ovation.  The evening was everything you wished it would be and more.  A truly great night at the movies.