Ask Me a Question: The Warriors & Streets of Fire w/ Walter Hill

The Warriors is one of my favorite films of all time. Like Big Trouble In Little China, I first discovered the film on late night TV. But instead of TBS it was Joe Bob Brigg's Drive In on TNT. A friend's dad recognized the film, having seen it upon release in 1979. Soon a VHS copy was on repeat and I realized the TV version had additional scenes not featured in the theatrical. I loved the flick so much that middle school me found Sol Yurick's source novel from a neighboring library who then sent it to my local branch. It's not a long novel but I figured on reading it in a few chunks. After many a page, the book did not resemble the finished film much at all so I kept reading, waiting for the fight and chase scenes so prevalent in the film, to happen. They never did. Years later on the special edition DVD, writer/director Walter Hill mentioned being inspired by the Xenophon's Greek tale Anabasis where an army of soldiers are stuck deep in enemy territory and march their way back to the ocean. I found a copy of the text on Google and read that tome years ago.

Back in 2011 Edgar Wright hosted a screening of The Warriors where producers Lawrence Gordon and Frank Marshall along with actor James Remar and Hill attended. Cut to this weekend and The American Cinematheque's Aero Theatre was hosting a retrospective of the acclaimed filmmaker to celebrate the premiere of his latest work, The Assignment. On Friday night we hit newly renovated Margo's on Montana for Happy Hour (fantastic burger, fries and mussels) and headed over to the show. We were walking behind a small group and I realized one of them was Ajax himself, James Remar! Tied with Swan, Ajax was my favorite Warrior and part of my first e-mail address on Yahoo. The group was taking a picture with the marquee so I volunteered to take one of all of them then told Remar he was my favorite Warrior to which he was very gracious and a little surprised I recognized him. A terrific character actor, Remar has been many a Walter Hill film, was the original Hicks before being replaced by Michael Biehn, The Phantom, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and oh so many more. If I had more time I would have asked him about being directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme in The Quest! Once the theater filled up though, Remar was inconspicuous no more. Apaprently Wesley Snipes, star of Hill's prison boxing flick Undisputed was in the audience as well!

From the opening shot of Coney Island's Wonder Wheel with Barry De Vorzon's mood setting synth enhanced music, The Warriors is still as iconic and awesome as ever. Hill's bread and butter has always been creating a comic book fever dream world; Hard Times, The Driver, The Warriors and Streets of Fire are all ample examples of that. The outlandish make up and costumes, the gang meet up and ensuing pandemonium after would be street soldier general Cyrus is murdered by the squirrelly Luthor (David Patrick Kelly) who then frames The Warriors, causing them to bop their way back to Coney Island with every gang in the city on their tails, is thrilling, funny and inspiring. As a kid I wanted to be cool like Swan, warlord of the The Warriors played by the steadfast Michael Beck who deserved much more of a career afterwards. Or brash like Remar's Ajax who's always looking to fight or find some chicks aka strange wool. The personalities of the gangs is still strong, the fights and chases still kinetic and the shot on the streets of New York aesthetic still impressive.

After the film, Walter Hill received a standing ovation before taking part in a bit of a quiet Q&A. Hill discussed how the film was set up after another fell apart and owing much of his career to producer Lawrence Gordon. He commended the young, unknown cast for being in top shape, enduring a hard shoot but never complaining. Shot mostly at night, the film was behind schedule nearly immediately and studio Paramount was not happy with the results, thinking this "New York youth movie" would be similar to their hit Saturday Night Fever. Remar was nearly blown up during the car explosion scene and Hill joked he should have sued the studio for millions but probably settled for $50 from Frank Marshall. Hill also spoke about the recently deceased Bill Paxton (View In Peace), saying he truly was a great guy and a great friend who could pick up where you left off even after not seeing each other for a year.

On his carte blanche financial flop Streets of Fire, Hill spoke about making it a musical with action and guns to change things up and how Edward James Olmos came in to read for the sidekick role and said it was a poorly written Latino stereotype. Hill didn't disagree and when Amy Madigan came in, said the McCoy role was the best in the film and suggested rewriting it as a woman to create a new angle, thus creating arguably the most scene stealing role in the beautifully crafted, understated love story masquerading as an action film with a truly outstanding soundtrack. I also love the costumes with their emphasis on suspenders. When asked about the potential sequels mentioned in the script, The Far City and Cody's Return, Hill responded it was simply a matter of enticing the studio to make the film since they're always looking for franchises. Even though he had absolutely no ideas for sequels but it was his job to come up with stories.

New Tube: The Player

Back in July during San Diego Comic-Con, Wesley Snipes was on hand to promote his new show on NBC, The Player. #ActionMovieBro David J. Moore snagged a quick interview with the man and when I went to try and catch the panel it was already cashed out. Cut to a few weeks ago when The Player started it's run on NBC Thursday nights at 10:00 PM where we are greeted by a dead body and a disappointed Wesley Snipes before meeting Alex Kane (Philip Winchester), a former security, black ops, something something badass looking to start over. His wife gets killed, he gets caught up in some crazy game set up by the shadowy Mr. Johnson (Snipes) and run by his British, tech savvy assistant Cassandra King (Charity Wakefield). Something about a Game set up by high stakes gamblers where they bet on if The Player can rescue/complete an operation in a given time period. After the mysterious murder of his wife, Kane reluctantly goes to work for Johnson and King, protecting abused wives, hackers, drug cartel targets, etc. I never saw Strike Back on Cinemax where Winchester co-starred on an action centric series for several seasons but here he's just a bit bland. He looks the part of course, blonde, buff and stoic but he just doesn't hold your attention much and tends to overcook his dialog. A few online peeps seem to like him but it's kind of like Jon Hamm and Mad Men, people loved him on that show but I never saw it so seeing him in anything else he just came off BLEEP-ing bland.

Fans tuning in for some Wesley Snipes action will quickly tune out since the man is just a supporting character. Each episode contains a one on one scene with Kane to discuss their crazy world and the fact that thought dead wife might not actually be deceased. So if Kane wants Johnson's help, he's gonna have to play it Snipes' way. Of course the main draw of the show is the action and there it delivers quite handily. The Player basically goes into "action" mode with loud, heavy metal style music accompanied by onscreen shooting, fighting, chasing, kicking and mayhem. It's entertaining and you don't have to pay too much attention. Of course the mystery of Kane's wife comes in giving it all a little more heart and backstory. Snipes has quietly gotten to do a little more action each episode with this past week culminating in a sparring match turned exposition filled duel with Will Yun Lee that showed off a few flashy kicks before going into joint and wrist locks. Fights need more kicks, they're much more cinematic and visually impressive than Steven Seagal style joint manipulation. Five episodes in and the show is just starting to find it's groove as Kane protects a hacker from government double agents and Chinese mobsters. There's shootouts, car, motorcycle and foot chases, a knife fight on a helipad, geeky tech talk galore and a quick appearance from Chi Muoi Lo from Vanishing Son! Now where's Russell Wong?!

Sadly The Player has not been able to keep it's lead in audience from The Blacklist and premiered to a soft 4.68 million viewers but received an additional 2.5 million watchers from DVR. Since then the show hasn't picked up much steam, reviews were never kind and it was just announced that NBC is cutting the season from 13 episodes to 9 which just finished shooting, effectively canceling it. I'm not much of a TV guy but I've enjoyed The Player as it gave you a bit of high octane, brainless fun filled with a little snazzy tech that didn't require you to pay too close attention or listen to endless, would be dramatic droning as is most television. I'm not sure if the show would have done any better with Snipes in the lead role but I'll be sure to check out the last four episodes. At least NBC has the intention of showing the final chapters rather than yanking it off the air so my initial investment hasn't been in vain.

Gotta Hear! Piece of the Action Podcast

This past weekend I sat down over Skype with my #ActionMovieBro Eoin from The Action Elite. This time out we discussed San Diego Comic-Con, July birthday boys Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Navy Seals, summer movies and all things The Terminator! So sit back and let us talk you through traffic, your ride home or lying in the middle of the floor.

(Pre)miere: Pound of Flesh w/ Jean-Claude Van Damme

Skin Trade premiere in Hollywood at The Egyptian on Wednesday, 5.6 with Dolph Lundgren and Tony Jaa in attendance and hopefully co-stars Michael Jai White and Peter Weller as well. Awesome. Then the NEXT night, Jean-Claude Van Damme action-thriller Pound of Flesh holds it's premiere at The Grove a few minutes down the street! Mr. Van Damme has been in Los Angeles for a short spell, working out at Gold's Gym, hitting some clubs, supporting animal rights and looking yoked. It seems like all involved are very proud of Pound of Flesh as producer Kirk Shaw and Ernie Barbarash, along with their leading man, are putting in some solid promotional effort. I recently had the opportunity to speak with Shaw and Barbarash, both great guys and true professionals. Be on the look out for those write ups soon.

Pound of Flesh finds Deacon (Van Damme) partying it up in Manilla before he's due to donate a kidney to his niece. But after a night of booze and sex, Deacon wakes up in a bathtub full of ice missing one of his organs. We find out that Deacon is actually a badass mercenary who is ready to exact brutal and bloody justice on his attackers. The flick was shot in China and sports what looks like Van Damme's most elaborate fight scenes in quite some time. Hong Kong producer Mike Leeder brought in real life martial artist and instructor turned choreographer John Salvitti to bring his Flash Point and Special ID brand of realistic, rough and tumble, MMA style fights to the flick. The script by Joshua James is said to include plenty of drama as well and provides JCVD another chance to show off his underrated range that we've seen in J.C.V.D., Until Death, Wake of Death and The Expendables II.

Kirk Shaw has been a prolific producer for quite some time and has worked with the likes of Dolph Lundgren, Steven Seagal and Wesley Snipes in the action world. This marks his first outing with Jean-Claude so here's hoping we'll see another leading man vehicle for our man Van in the near future. Pound of Flesh reunites Van Damme with director Ernie Barbarash for a third time after 2011's Assassination Games with Scott Adkins and 2012's 6 Bullets. So far all signs point to Pound of Flesh being their biggest and best collaboration to date. See ya at the show!

Demolition Man Weekend

aka Demolition Man-ia!  No?  Ok...I've always loved Demolition Man, I saw it on video at some point, had the VHS, a tee shirt but randomly none of the toys.  It's just a slick, funny and well produced flick with great performances from star Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes as the villain and Sandra Bullock as the sweet and sassy sidekick.  The flick opens in a destroyed and on fire Los Angeles where Detective John "The Demolition Man" Spartan (Stallone) assaults the inner city compound of drug dealing maniac Simon Phoenix (Snipes) to find some kidnapped hostages.  Things go wrong, Phoenix frames Spartan for the death of the hostages and in this version of 1996, prisoners are cryogenically frozen and rehabilitated.  Cut to 40 years later where Los Angeles and San Diego have merged into a crime free utopia dubbed San Angeles run by the benevolent Dr. Cocteau (Nigel Hawthorne) after a massive earthquake gives society a fresh start.  But there's a pesky, underground movement headed by Edgar Friendly (Dennis Leary) stirring up trouble so Cocteau thaws out Simon Phoenix to get rid of the activist.  There hasn't been an unsanctioned death in 20 years and the wussy cops don't know how to handle 90's violence.  How do you catch a maniac?  You send a maniac!  Spartan is thawed out, reinstated and teamed up with Officer Lenina Huxley (Bullock) to help find Phoenix and the two reignite their epic battle to kill each other.

The world of Demolition Man's future is fully realized with technology, self-driving cars, laser disks, virtual sex, molecular future guns, rat burgers and high end Taco Bell.  Anything not good for you is illegal so no red meat, salt, sex, guns, cursing, etc.  You even get fined a credit for violation of the verbal morality code when you curse in public.  Instead of toilet paper, there's a little shelf with three seashells on it.  Stallone is hilarious here as the hardass cop/fish out of water, Snipes is also hysterical as the menacing and dangerous villain and Bullock is perfect as the naive 20th century loving action junkie.  A terrific supporting cast includes Lethal Weapon Captain and Richard Donner's cousin Steve Kahan, Rob Schneider, Benjamin Bratt, then comedian Leary, The Shawshank Redemption's Bob Gunton and Beetlejuice's Glenn Shadix.  Random cameos include Predator's Jesse Ventura, bodybuilding trainer Charles Glass and bit parts from an unknown Jack Black, MTV host Dan Cortese as well as Tatsu from Ninja Turtles himself, Toshishiro Obata. Of course it's an action movie so you get lots of shootouts (the two have the worst aim in the world), jumping from helicopters, cars and buildings exploding, hand to hand combat, car chases and the like. 

Directed by first timer Marco Brambilla from a script by Daniel Waters, Robert Reneau and Peter M. Lenkov, Demolition Man is extremely underrated as it's very clever, has some great quotable dialog (Schwarzenegger was President!) and of course, pulse pounding action.  I do recall the marketing being everywhere on MTV with Stallone, Snipes and Bullock on hand to demolish a Las Vegas casino and being handed Louisville Slugger baseball bats. Elaborate media promo packages were said to have contained bomber jackets, CD's with Sting's oddly chosen title track and a hard hat.  Taco Bell offered the Demo Deal. Reviews weren't kind for the Joel Silver produced spectacle but DM would gross a then record breaking $14.2 million in it's first weekend on it's way to a $58 million total and another $100 million worldwide.  That would be good enough for #18 on highest grossers for year behind Stallone's own Cliffhanger at #10.  His next film, the bomb expert, Miami set The Specialist would open in the same October weekend in 1994 and do near identical business.  A talented commercial director who landed the gig after impressive spots for Nike and Pepsi caught Silver's eye, Brambilla would only go on to direct the Benecio Del Toro/Alicia Silverstone kidnapping flick Excess Baggage in 1997 and episodes of 2002's Dinotopia.  Silver would hit and miss with horror titles and action flicks like Demon Knight and Executive Decision before the one-two success of Lethal Weapon 4 and The Matrix in the later 90's.  Snipes was riding a wave of action, drama and comedy in hits like New Jack City, White Men Can't Jump and Rising Sun.  Demolition Man put him into action mode where he had a huge hit as vampire slayer Blade and of course, reunited with Stallone for 2014's The Expendables III.  Bullock starred in Speed the next summer and has since become one of Hollywood's most bankable actors.

Over the years, Demolition Man has grown into a cult film with it's unique vision of the future and quirky sense of humor.  The three seashells seems to be the one of the most remembered aspects as it's never actually explained.  Years later Stallone said it was told to him that you were supposed to use two shells to wipe away and one to clean up while writer Waters only recently said the idea came to him from a friend who was going to the bathroom and had a jar of seashells on the counter.  Bullock has also humorously evaded the question and just shows you that some things are better left unexplained.  A commentary from Brambilla and Silver sticks mostly to technical issues while referring to the scope and tight schedule but Brambilla comments the film was well received and made money.  Behind the scenes stories ran rampant around Hollywood, though.  Before shooting began, several writers fought for credit and Monster Squad helmer Fred Dekker contributed a draft as well. Originally designed as a starring vehicle for Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme but the Belgian butt kicker objected to playing the villain.  While that would have been a great pairing, Stallone and Snipes are just too good in the film to imagine anybody else in the roles.  Stallone had flopped twice in comedies so a return to action but with humor was just what the doctor ordered.  Snipes turned down the film but producer Silver visited him on the set of Rising Sun and convinced the actor to join.

Originally set to be a 72 day shoot with a $45 million dollar budget, the production was quickly bogged down by Brambilla's feature film inexperience and the nature of a big budget action film containing concept cars, giant sets and huge action pieces.  Five Assistant Directors were hired and fired, Stallone missed nine days of shooting from a pinched nerve, original Lenina Huxley actress Lori Petty filmed one scene and was replaced, etc.  The shoot began in February then stretched into August as 72 days become 110 and the budget reportedly ended up in the near $60 million range.  Famed editor and clean up guy Stuart Baird cut the film through production to make it's 10.8.93 release.  Former military demolitions expert turned professional wrestler and actor Jesse Ventura was supposed to have a huge fight scene with Stallone but footage has never been released.

Watching it as a drinking game this weekend where the rules are simple, drink anytime you hear "John Spartan", "Simon Phoenix" or see/hear the Verbal Morality Violations and three seashells.  An hour in, you want to stop drinking because it's nearly nonstop. It's also fun to spot the locations around Los Angeles like the Design Center on Melrose, interior of the Los Angeles convention center downtown (which hadn't opened yet), the convention center in San Diego and what I thought was the Variety plaza by the Tar Pits on La Brea but is actually located in Irvine.  Must be the same architect.  Until next time, be well!

Summer Cinema: The Expendables 3

After the false fire alarm, a 30 minute delay and the theater's inability to start the 3rd film, my friends and I motored over to The Arclight in Hollywood to catch The Expendables 3.  On the way, two motorists got into some kind of road rage beef and were racing/cutting each other off.  Right next to me.  At one point, I passed one of the cars as they got caught behind a dump truck and hoped they wouldn't try to cut me off because then it would be bad news for both of them as giving the finger and brake checking is for bitches and bitches get stitches, you know?! Cause if we're gonna get into it, let's get into it!  Know what I mean?  Anyway, the theater was about half full for the 8:30PM show and I'm glad we saw it with an audience as having a theater entirely to yourself is cool, but it's also cool to see something with enthusiastic fans.

The Expendables 3 starts off with a rescue mission involving a helicopter, machine guns, an armored train, Wesley Snipes with crazy eyes and like parts I and II, some bad CGI.  Turns out that Snipes' character Doc was an original Expendable along with the faceless Hammer and Woodsman, that the team started with 5 and grew to 22 before Doc was captured after attempting a political assassination.  Now, free and teamed up with Barney Ross, Lee Christmas, Gunnar Jensen, Toll Road and Hale Caeser (Played by franchise staples Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture and Terry Crews) they're off to stop an arms dealer from purchasing some big ass bombs.  Said arms dealer is revealed to be Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), also a former Expendable who went dark and thought killed by Ross.  After Stonebanks shoots one of the team to torment Ross, Barney thinks it's time for the team to go on with their lives before someone punches their ticket.  With the help of crusty mercenary recruiter Bonaparte (Kelsey Grammer), he then slaps together a new, young and hungry team for a suicide mission to capture Stonebanks for the C.I.A. but instead of Bruce Willis' Church from I & II we're introduced to Max Drummer (Harrison Ford).  Things go bad on the operation and of course, the old Expendables bail out their buddy Barney and take on Mad Mel's army.

From the opening minutes, Expendables 3 looks brighter and sleeker than the first two installments.  Unlike 2, the picture is crisp and shiny, giving it a modern feel and in general the costumes, visual design, sets, locations and shooting style make for a slick and mostly handsome production.  Of course there's some bad CGI as usual with helicopters, planes and explosions looking REAL fake on the big screen.  Director Patrick Hughes and writers Stallone, Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt (that's a very Hollywood sounding name, isn't it?) attempt to pull things in a darker direction with Barney burning internally to get back at Stonebanks, even at the cost of his own life.  There's lots of quiet close ups for pontificating and moving shots that highlight the vast locations like a Somali port, metropolitan high rises, a grand forest and the rubble filled remains of a European hotel.  Acting wise, new addition Mel Gibson is terrific as the conscienceless art buying, arms dealing Conrad Stonebanks and his van scene opposite Stallone is one of the greatest of any of the 3 films.  He makes it look so effortless and it really shows the difference between an action star and an actor.  Bruce Willis replacement Harrison Ford gets to drop some boring exposition as C.I.A. guy before getting funny towards the end while looking all of his 70 some years.  Antonio Banderas as fast talking Galgo is also a highlight, stealing every scene he is in with excited but not annoying chatter that covers up a bit of sorrow.  Wesley Snipes looks lean and mean but delivers some of his dialogue with hammy, Boogeyman relish.  New kids on the block Kellan Lutz, Rhonda Rousey, Glen Powell and Victor Ortiz don't get much to do but handle their roles just fine.

On the action front, the PG-13 rating does negate some of the brutal impact displayed in the first two flicks so it will be interesting to see the R rated cut with bullet hits, throat slashing and all that good stuff.  For the most part it's a guns and grenades affair with some fast, spin move filled fisticuffs from Stallone, Rousey, Statham and Mel Gibson's stunt double.  But the truck chases, boat crashing, night club brawls, shootouts, collapsing rooftop, tank barrage, motorcycle jumping and helicopter chases all add up to an exciting time.  I enjoyed the flick as it's not as serious as the first or as jokey as the second.  There's still plenty of "what the crap" moments like Arnold squeezing in several of his famous lines and the random use of certain characters (Jet Li, cough, Jet Li).  But in the end the 3rd installment feels very modern and stylish in it's execution.  While Brian Tyler score seems to be mostly recycled from the first two films, instead of using 70's rock tunes, the film is filled with modern tracks.

Unfortunately, The Expendables 3 hit theaters on a wave of critical drubbing, PG-13 backlash and  millions of illegal downloads.  It opened up with a not fantastic $16 million, limping into 4th place after parts I & II opened up # 1 with $34 and $28 million.  The flick did earn an A- Cinemascore which means audiences are enjoying the film.  Mine was great as we applauded each introduction, one liner, big explosion, etc.  After pumping up the international release with appearances in Cannes, United Kingdom, Spain and Germany, global takes are down 45% in some territories so this may indeed be The Expendables' last ride.  Chalk it up to a crowded market, franchise fatigue (3rd movie in 5 years) and not really bringing anything new to the table, The Expendables is a victim of it's own surprise success as they haven't messed much with the formula, keep cramming in more faces and haven't taken much risk.  It's kind of like watching episodes of G.I. Joe, the good guys fight the bad guys, the good guys never die and we get new characters along the way.  Only instead of selling toys, we're selling legacies. 

San Diego Comic-Con 2014: Preview Night

Here we go boys and girls, it's officially time for Comic-Con!  Got down to San Diego early and walked around town seeing crews set up Vikings, Assassin's Creed, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and more exhibits outside the convention.  Lord of the Rings' Sean Bean's face was plastered on the side of the Marriott hotel to hype new show Legends and while Boromir is probably a cool guy, it would have been cooler to see Michael Biehn's face blown up to 50 feet...Checked in for volunteer duty and then picked up badges over at the Town & Country.  Preview Night was a bit crowded at the start but an hour in the herd started to thin.  Right away I saw Rob Liefeld walking the floor, his Image compatriot Jim Lee being interviewed at the DC booth then old school badasses like Walt Simonson and Jim Steranko meeting the fans.  Of course my phone decided to crap out just as I was walking in so photos will be at a minimum until tomorrow.  You always notice certain things at Cons and tonight it was an abundance of women dressed as Nintendo's Mario and Big Trouble In Little China!  Picked up a Lo-Pan Express themed shirt as well as some issues of the new comic series by BOOM!  The Goon artist Eric Powell was selling #1 at his booth and was super cool as I grabbed a quick signature.   Lionsgate was handing out posters for Divergent, Hunger Games and of course, EXPENDABLES 3!  Stars Dolph Lundgren, Wesley Snipes, Kellan Lutz and others will be signing tomorrow at 4:00PM.  Think I'm just gonna rock my custom Dolph shirt, get to the front of the line, get a fist bump and move on. 

People are already lining up for Hall H which makes no sense as tomorrow's offerings are pretty not once in a lifetime with DreamWorks animation, The Giver, Paramount, TV Showrunners and 1966's Batman TV show on deck.  I made a $10 bet that I would be able to walk in to Hall H at 2:00PM for Paramount's showcase of what I'm sure will be Ninja Turtles then maybe this weekend's Hercules starring The Rock and maybe Interstellar and/or The Terminator reboot?  Panel wise I'm looking at a day full of randomly awesome topics like music in film and tv, pitching, science fiction in media, Dark Horse's Predator and Aliens comics, everything 90's and movie trivia!

Now time to buy a Lamborghini and call it Michelangelo!

Cinema Swole: The Expendables 3

Proving that muscles still rule the world and movies, the cast of The Expendables III invaded the Cannes film festival and stole the spotlight as the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham, Randy Couture and new additions Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Harrison Ford, Kellan Lutz and Mel Gibson became their own traveling movie star parade.  The sight of so many famous faces has garnered much attention and validates Stallone's business acumen as the tough guy reunion series is his 3rd franchise and allegedly netted him $15 million this go round.  Stallone has long wanted to pull off a huge premiere stunt like landing a plane on the Las Vegas strip but until now has been unable to accomplish such a feat.  Lionsgate pulled out all the stops here spending "Super Bowl" commercial money to arrange the event.  In France, the cast rode on two military vehicles, not quite tanks, but still big, mean and armored.  Footage was shown and at a stacked press conference, Stallone dropped the bomb that this supposed final outing is going to be rated PG-13.  PG-13?  What the fuck?!  This immediately reminded viewers of the hubbub caused by part 2's Chuck Norris alleged mentioning of a possible less than R rating which of course, turned out not to be true.  The Expendables II wasn't a hard R but still featured tons of carnage, gunfire, riddled bodies, knives piercing flesh, CGI blood, Jean-Claude Van Damme kicking a knife into the chest of Liam Hemsworth and Stallone chopping off VD's head and carrying it in a dripping sack.  However, Stallone and Arnold's recent R-rated solo outings in The Last Stand, Bullet to the Head and Sabotage all failed to find audiences.

The PG-13 rating comes as a bit of a shock but not a surprise as Millennium Film's producer Avi Lerner is a business man and after several not cheap clunkers like The Legend of Hercules and Conan the Barbarian died at the box office, he's got to protect his investments.  2010's The Expendables was a surprise hit and grossed $275 million worldwide.  2012's part 2 upped the ante by adding 80's and 90's favorites Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme to the mix as well as fresh face from The Hunger Games Liam Hemsworth.  Grosses in America were down but the film made up for it overseas and pulled in $300 million.  Now, moving into part III, Stallone claims it's time to hit the widest audience possible and let the younger generation in a la The Fast and the Furious and Transformers saga of violence without blood, PG-13 setting.  It's kind of like when Die Hard IV was given a not R and ended up being the highest grosser number wise in the series.  When part 5 went back to the Restricted rating, it grossed $80 million less but that could be from franchise fatigue, poor word of mouth, etc.

On the tanks and at the press conference, Messrs.' Dolph Lundgren, Mel Gibson (sporting a sweet beard) and Arnold Schwarzenegger were looking particularly swole as they sported short sleeves.  Lundgren will also be shopping his human trafficking action flick Skin Trade, co-starring Tony Jaa, Peter Weller and Michael-Jai White at the festival.  Gibson was linked to a Jackie Chan period action flick, Dragon Blade but it's revenge thriller Blood Father that's for sale at the fest while Arnie is taking a hiatus from the in production Terminator: Genesis to do what he does best: sell his image and charm throngs of hungry journalists and fans.  The Expendables were everywhere: on daytime talk shows, riding on tanks in the streets then all dolled up later before a screening.  In an interview alongside Harrison Ford, Stallone was very complimentary of the fellow 90's superstar and described the two as being actors whose action movies were about ordinary men triumphing over extraordinary odds;  they weren't super heroes with powers beyond passion and commitment.

At it's core, Cannes is a marketplace where studios buy up films completed and not to distribute in their countries.  Guys like Stallone, Arnold, Ford, Gibson, Lundgren etc command a certain value on the international market and two producers who played the pre-sale game incredible well were Cannon Films' Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.  The two were famous for their go-go development in the 80's and paying top dollar for sure bets like Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris.  Golan had the script for Over the Top, the father/son driving cross country/arm wrestling adventure and wanted Stallone to star in it.  Sly's manager informed Golan that his client made a massive $6 million bucks a picture, thinking it would dissuade the mini-major exploitation mogul but Golan shocked everyone when he said he wanted to pay Stallone $10 million to star in the film.  History was made and Stallone became the highest paid actor in Hollywood at the time.  Stallone commented that he loved guys like Cannon as they were pioneers and had the guts to just go out and do it, not thinking about the mathematical, scientific approach that is prevalent today among the conglomerate owned, non risk taking, easily digestible gruel producing studios of the now.

Live Goods: Expendables II, Premiere!

Today, two friends expressed their surprise to me that a third Expendables movie was in the works.  I explained to them that Mel Gibson, Wesley Snipes and Harrison Ford were joining the 80's and 90's cinematic tough guy party and how I was pumped for all the press coverage August of 2014 is sure to hold.   It reminded me of the awesome summer I had in 2012 when The Expendables II was being released.  My birthday fell during San Diego Comic-Con where I saw some of my favorite actors and movie icons like Sly, Arnold, Dolph, Jackie Chan, Michael Biehn, Michael Jai White and Thomas Jane among many others.  I almost ran into my favorite comic book artist of all time, Jim Lee, as we both entered a room for a  panel about himself.  Things were just coming up Milhouse, know what I mean?

In August I attended two firsts, a movie premiere and a taping of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  My friend is a die-hard Stallone fan and got a hold of some premiere passes.  We jetted over to the Chinese Theater in Hollywood and got in line with some other action fans, tourists and people who randomly had passes.  I was wearing one of my custom WWJCVDD? shirts while my friend donned an Expendables tee from the first movie.  Maybe it was the power of our combined shirts but a security guard approached us and told us to follow.

We ended up being taken onto the black carpet and placed in the arrival zone across from all of the press.  How cool is that?  We were going to get to see all of the arriving stars and guests which would include new villain, Jean-Claude Van Damme!  A few random actors walked the carpet to little fanfare then a handful of returning Olympians from the London Games showed up, donning their medals and all.  They came over and asked how we got such good seats for the star gazing and were very down to earth.

After a while, things got serious as the main cast was starting to arrive.  I believe Dolph Lundgren was the first and he came over to sign autographs and take photos.  He would soon be followed by Stallone and Arnold who also came over to shake hands and greet the fans.  Mr. Van Damme did a few quick interviews before being whisked down the carpet as the fire Marshall began threatening to close down the parade if it didn't clear out.  While waiting I ended up recognizing Van Damme's assistant and we chatted about the movie he recently directed, insane travel schedules, etc.  Since the media outlets were more interested in talking to the household names, I had the chance to talk to Universal Soldier co-star Tiny Lister about that awesome 90's action flick as well as Ralf Moeller, who also appeared in Unisol and showed up with friend Arnold and his sons.  Moeller seemed genuinely surprised I recognized him but was cool enough to talk action movies with me for a few.

Chuck Norris and Terry Crews were on hand but stuck to the press line and didn't make their way over.  By now the sun had set and the Marshall really wanted the carpet cleared.  The press crews started to pack up as Jason Statham showed up and just hung out talking to fans and not giving a Damme about the movie playing inside.  Unfortunately the theater was packed so we didn't end up seeing the flick that night, we just had to settle for seeing all the stars up close.

Forbidden Eats: Nyotaimori

You know what would make for a bad ass, kick ass and memorable bachelor party for a guy who is totally selfless, caring and kind?  Who enjoys good/bad 80's and 90's action films, fried chicken and high top sneakers?

Nyotaimori.

AKA Adorned Body Of A Woman AKA Naked Sushi AKA Eating Fish Off Of Naked Chicks!

Unfortunately, what we saw as kids in 1991's Showdown In Little Tokyo (Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee fighting LA Yakuza) and 1993's Rising Sun (Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes fighting LA corporate Yakuza) is shockingly not part of the Friday night dinner scene.  A quick Google search brings up various rumored sightings around the world.  On Yelp, a service with one review touts it's professional and sanitary precautions (raw fish warmed up by the body could = salmonella) complete with artistic photos and your choice of model.

Sigh, looks like the movies lied to me again.  Here I thought we could find a happening spot in Little Tokyo with some neon lights and sashimi on the raw any ol' time.

Ah well, check out this best of SILT, especially the 4:00 mark.

Cinema Swole: Mel Gibson

Expendables III has officially begun production in Bulgaria.  In addition to franchise mainstays Sylvester Stallone, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li and Jason Statham; fellow 80s/90s juggernauts Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes have also RSVP'd to the movie tough guy reunion.

Gibson will be playing Conrad Stonebanks, former partner and co-founder of the Expendables with Stallone's Barney Ross.  The third flick will see the Expendables fighting for their lives as thought to be dead Stonebanks comes back to haunt them.  From the looks of it, Gibson won't be playing a typical suit and tie clad, mustache twirling villain.  Instead it looks like he's been hanging out with Stallone in the gym...and wherever else Stallone goes to stay in such good shape.

Given the history between characters, hopefully Stallone and Gibson can face off in some tense, meaty verbal scenes before beating each other senseless in a I'm sure what will be a fists, knives, guns, explosions and nukes filled final showdown.

Check out Mel being the best dad EVER:

Summer Celebrating: Biehn VS Snipes

Arnold's birthday was last week.  The day after was Messrs Michael Biehn (Arnie's Terminator co-star) and Wesley Snipes' who starred and sparred opposite one another in 2000's The Art of War; a well made, pre-Bourne Identity of sorts about a secret agent working for shadowy government agencies, getting betrayed and fighting his way to the truth.  Hot off the surprise success of 1998's Blade, Warner Brothers slotted the Franchise Pictures production in the same late August weekend of 2000 hoping to replicate the success.  I remember seeing this in theaters but can't remember if I even knew Michael Biehn was in it.  He got the WITH credit before AND Donald Sutherland which seemed pretty cool.  I just recall thinking Biehn looked like Joe Pantoliano in this flick because of all the hats...

Unfortunately, The Art of War wouldn't be a home run for anyone involved.  It was a modest hit that grossed less than half of what Blade did and was quickly forgotten.  Over the next decade Snipes' only big screen successes came from Blade sequels before being sent to prison for tax evasion.  Biehn, whose star confoundedly never rose after his collaborations with James Cameron, (Terminator, Aliens, The Abyss) battled substance abuse during the 90's but managed to pop up and deliver memorable performances in films like Tombstone and The Rock in between low budget DTV projects.

While it didn't set the box office on fire, The Art of War holds up as an enjoyable, slightly smarter than average government-conspiracy action-thriller.  Director Christian Duguay (Screamers, Peter Weller alert!) gives the production a polished look, utilizing the dense cityscape of Vancouver while assembling a stout supporting cast that includes Anne Archer, Donald Sutherland and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.  It's fisticuffs, shoot outs, car chases, mistaken identity and on the lam shenanigans at it's foreign pre-sale funded best.

If you haven't seen the movie, I'm about to spoil it for you.

Biehn plays Robert Bly, fellow agent to Snipes' Neil Shaw.  We meet Shaw infiltrating a Y2K bash (remember Y2K?!), hacking into computers, black mailing Chinese diplomats, fighting bodyguards and parachuting off the roof while Bly mans the control truck and watches his partner's back.  When Shaw is injured, it's Bly who comes to check on his recovery.  The two are quickly back to work on a surveillance gig when things seemingly go bad and Bly is shot and believed killed.  By the end of the flick we learn that Shaw's superiors are ramping up efforts to fight against a perceived Chinese threat and frame him for the murder of a key leader.  Bly is revealed to be in on it and the two come face to face and silencer to silencer in a final showdown; complete with "Hong Kong cinema techniques stolen by The Matrix" ripple, bullet time effects.

The Biehn has faced his share of colorful onscreen deaths and AoW is no exception.  Following a scrap that includes shooting, brawling and glass breaking across two stories, Snipes trips up The Biehn who falls throat first into a stand of broken glass.  Ouch.

Birthday boys Biehn and Snipes nearly re-teamed for 2007's DTV effort The Contractor with 300 and Game of Thrones star Lena Headey but Biehn's schedule on Robert Rodriguez's half of Grindhouse couldn't accommodate the trip to Eastern Europe.  Maybe with Biehn producing his own films now we may see the two team up again in the future.

Here's part of the final fight with some random music edited in: