The Real-Life Legend of the Cannonball Run

If you've been watching American Idol the last few weeks you've no doubt noticed the numerous promos for a show called Drive. It's an action series about a secret, illegal road race and the people that participate in it (some of them, possibly, under duress). The show starts on April 15 and is produced and written by Tim Minear (one of the main contributers to the tv shows Angel and Firefly). The promos are vague, but in my mind, it looks like a cross between Cannonball Run and Death Race 2000. These promos got me thinking about the Cannonball Run movies and how much I enjoyed them. It also got me thinking about how I heard those movies were based on a real race. Well, I did a little research, and this article is the result. So if you are at all curious about the origins of the movie Cannonball Run, then read on, dear sir, for the ride starts here.

The legend begins with Erwin George Baker. Baker was born in Indiana in 1882. Throughout the 1930s, he became an extremely popular motorcycle and automobile race driver. Among the many accomplishments in his prestigious career; he won the first ever race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, placed 11th in the 1922 Indianapolis 500 and became the first commissioner of NASCAR. However, he gained his greatest notoriety in 1915 after a New York to Los Angeles drive which took 11 days and 7 hours. It was this intercontinental drive that earned him the nickname "Cannonball" after the famous Illinois Central railway car, "The Cannonball". In 1933 he would make the cross country trek again, but this time, he'd do it in only 53 hours and 30 minutes, a record that would stand for almost 40 years. "Cannonball" Baker would pass away in 1960 as one of the most revered and popular automobile and motorcycle drivers of all time. He was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

Fast forward to 1968. Brock Yates is an executive editor for Car & Driver magazine. He writes a scathing article called "The Grosse Pointe Myopians", which critiques the auto industry, its management and its products which makes him infamous within the auto industry. Then, in 1971, Yates, along with fellow Car & Driver editor Steve Smith, decides to create an unofficial, and illegal, intercontinental road race. Inspired by the travel records of Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, the race begins in New York and ends in Redondo Beach, CA. Officially dubbed the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, the race would serve as a celebration of the US national highway system and also a protest of the soon-to-be passed 55mph speed limit. Yates wanted to prove that careful drivers can safely navigate this country's interstate system at high speeds in much the same way the Germans do with the Autobahn. Yates also believed that if Erwin Baker could complete the journey in a record time of 53 hours and 30 minutes over unfinished roads and horrible conditions, then a modern driver should have no problem doing it over the uninterrupted expanse of the national interstate system.

The first run of the Cannonball was made by Yates, his son and Steve Smith in May 1971. Since it was not widely publicized, no one else showed up. After that initial run, the Cannonball was held four more times throughout the '70s. The race really gained some notoriety during the 1972 run, but after the 1975 run, Time Magazine published a series of articles describing the races thereby thrusting the event into the public consciousness. Although no accidents or serious injuries had been sustained in the five runs, Yates thought it was only a matter of time before the law of averages caught up to them as the number of participants grew with each race. Yates and Car & Driver decided to quietly discontinue the race in 1979. The record time amongst all five runs of the race was 32 hours and 51 minutes set by Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough in the final Cannonball in 1979.

After the dismantling of the race, Yates wrote about his experiences in a movie screenplay. Before he could get the film made, he was beat to the movie theaters by two movies; Cannonball! and The Gumball Rally. He would rework his screenplay into more of a slapstick comedy picture and have it made as the original Cannonball Run. Did you know that Steve McQueen was originally the favorite for the lead role that eventually went to Burt Reynolds? McQueen died right before filming, and Reynolds said yes because he was in need of a hit after several misfires. The original Cannonball Run movie did so well it had two sequels; Cannonball Run II and Speed Zone! Needless to say, Speed Zone! did not fair as well with critics...or audiences.

In 1984, Car & Driver would decide to re-instate the Cannonball Run, but they renamed it One Lap of America. This time, though, they instituted a speed limit rule which penalized drivers for arriving at the finish line too soon. This was done to avoid any accidents or problems with the law.

Since the original Cannonball was discontinued, many movies and tv shows have celebrated the idea of an underground auto race. In 1975, Death Race 2000 created a darker, comedic version of the race where points were awarded for killing people with your car. In 2001, Rat Race would continue the road race tradition with a star-studded ensemble cast. Also in 2001, Yates would officially allow the Cannonball Run moniker to be used for a reality show called, what else, but "Cannonball Run 2001". It would be the precursor to the currently popular Amazing Race. Suprisingly, there are many movies BEFORE Cannonball Run that included a cross country vehicle race. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in 1963 would gather many tv/movie stars of the day and send them on a cross country search for treasure. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines in 1965 would also include a star-filled cast but pit them in a wacky, international airplane race. In 1968 there was even a cartoon called Wacky Races that pitted many popular cartoon characters of the time in a large multi-vehicle, international race. It seems using the plot device of zany vehicle races has usually provided lots of fun filled plots for movies and tv shows.

This, of course, leads us to the show I mentioned in the beginning of this article, Drive. Check out an extended promo for the show here. It looks to be a more serious take on the Cannonball Run premise, whereas the participants are, for the most part, blackmailed into participating, oh, and they don't know where the finish line is. It looks very intriguing and it has many actors I really like, so I can't wait to catch it on Fox on April 15.

Well, there you have it. The story behind the Cannonball Run. Hope you found it as interesting as I did. I have to go back into training for the rest of the week so please pity me. Please.

Technorati Tags - pop culture movies Cannonball Run TV shows cars

The Real-Life Legend of the Cannonball Run

If you've been watching American Idol the last few weeks you've no doubt noticed the numerous promos for a show called Drive. It's an action series about a secret, illegal road race and the people that participate in it (some of them, possibly, under duress). The show starts on April 15 and is produced and written by Tim Minear (one of the main contributers to the tv shows Angel and Firefly). The promos are vague, but in my mind, it looks like a cross between Cannonball Run and Death Race 2000. These promos got me thinking about the Cannonball Run movies and how much I enjoyed them. It also got me thinking about how I heard those movies were based on a real race. Well, I did a little research, and this article is the result. So if you are at all curious about the origins of the movie Cannonball Run, then read on, dear sir, for the ride starts here.

The legend begins with Erwin George Baker. Baker was born in Indiana in 1882. Throughout the 1930s, he became an extremely popular motorcycle and automobile race driver. Among the many accomplishments in his prestigious career; he won the first ever race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1909, placed 11th in the 1922 Indianapolis 500 and became the first commissioner of NASCAR. However, he gained his greatest notoriety in 1915 after a New York to Los Angeles drive which took 11 days and 7 hours. It was this intercontinental drive that earned him the nickname "Cannonball" after the famous Illinois Central railway car, "The Cannonball". In 1933 he would make the cross country trek again, but this time, he'd do it in only 53 hours and 30 minutes, a record that would stand for almost 40 years. "Cannonball" Baker would pass away in 1960 as one of the most revered and popular automobile and motorcycle drivers of all time. He was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1998.

Fast forward to 1968. Brock Yates is an executive editor for Car & Driver magazine. He writes a scathing article called "The Grosse Pointe Myopians", which critiques the auto industry, its management and its products which makes him infamous within the auto industry. Then, in 1971, Yates, along with fellow Car & Driver editor Steve Smith, decides to create an unofficial, and illegal, intercontinental road race. Inspired by the travel records of Erwin "Cannonball" Baker, the race begins in New York and ends in Redondo Beach, CA. Officially dubbed the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash, the race would serve as a celebration of the US national highway system and also a protest of the soon-to-be passed 55mph speed limit. Yates wanted to prove that careful drivers can safely navigate this country's interstate system at high speeds in much the same way the Germans do with the Autobahn. Yates also believed that if Erwin Baker could complete the journey in a record time of 53 hours and 30 minutes over unfinished roads and horrible conditions, then a modern driver should have no problem doing it over the uninterrupted expanse of the national interstate system.

The first run of the Cannonball was made by Yates, his son and Steve Smith in May 1971. Since it was not widely publicized, no one else showed up. After that initial run, the Cannonball was held four more times throughout the '70s. The race really gained some notoriety during the 1972 run, but after the 1975 run, Time Magazine published a series of articles describing the races thereby thrusting the event into the public consciousness. Although no accidents or serious injuries had been sustained in the five runs, Yates thought it was only a matter of time before the law of averages caught up to them as the number of participants grew with each race. Yates and Car & Driver decided to quietly discontinue the race in 1979. The record time amongst all five runs of the race was 32 hours and 51 minutes set by Dave Heinz and Dave Yarborough in the final Cannonball in 1979.

After the dismantling of the race, Yates wrote about his experiences in a movie screenplay. Before he could get the film made, he was beat to the movie theaters by two movies; Cannonball! and The Gumball Rally. He would rework his screenplay into more of a slapstick comedy picture and have it made as the original Cannonball Run. Did you know that Steve McQueen was originally the favorite for the lead role that eventually went to Burt Reynolds? McQueen died right before filming, and Reynolds said yes because he was in need of a hit after several misfires. The original Cannonball Run movie did so well it had two sequels; Cannonball Run II and Speed Zone! Needless to say, Speed Zone! did not fair as well with critics...or audiences.

In 1984, Car & Driver would decide to re-instate the Cannonball Run, but they renamed it One Lap of America. This time, though, they instituted a speed limit rule which penalized drivers for arriving at the finish line too soon. This was done to avoid any accidents or problems with the law.

Since the original Cannonball was discontinued, many movies and tv shows have celebrated the idea of an underground auto race. In 1975, Death Race 2000 created a darker, comedic version of the race where points were awarded for killing people with your car. In 2001, Rat Race would continue the road race tradition with a star-studded ensemble cast. Also in 2001, Yates would officially allow the Cannonball Run moniker to be used for a reality show called, what else, but "Cannonball Run 2001". It would be the precursor to the currently popular Amazing Race. Suprisingly, there are many movies BEFORE Cannonball Run that included a cross country vehicle race. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World in 1963 would gather many tv/movie stars of the day and send them on a cross country search for treasure. Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines in 1965 would also include a star-filled cast but pit them in a wacky, international airplane race. In 1968 there was even a cartoon called Wacky Races that pitted many popular cartoon characters of the time in a large multi-vehicle, international race. It seems using the plot device of zany vehicle races has usually provided lots of fun filled plots for movies and tv shows.

This, of course, leads us to the show I mentioned in the beginning of this article, Drive. Check out an extended promo for the show here. It looks to be a more serious take on the Cannonball Run premise, whereas the participants are, for the most part, blackmailed into participating, oh, and they don't know where the finish line is. It looks very intriguing and it has many actors I really like, so I can't wait to catch it on Fox on April 15.

Well, there you have it. The story behind the Cannonball Run. Hope you found it as interesting as I did. I have to go back into training for the rest of the week so please pity me. Please.

Technorati Tags - pop culture movies Cannonball Run TV shows cars

Enough Academy Awards Trivia to Choke a Donkey

The time is nigh, my friends, the Academy Awards are here. Well, almost here. They'll officially be here on Sunday at 8pm EST. I. Can't. Wait. The wife and I, being rabid, movie whores, are throwing a huge (read "small") shindig to celebrate the occasion. No expense will be spared. Our guests will drink out of the finest gold color paper cups and eat off the most delicate black and gold paper plates that Wal-Mart can provide. We'll dine on the most succulent tiny quiches and taquitos a microwave oven can cook. Extravagant doesn't even begin to describe it. Our guests will feel like Gary Coleman at the Soul Train Awards. ROYALTY.

At the party, we pass out ballots and you have to choose who you think is going to win each category. Points are weighted towards the major Awards like Best Picture and Best Actor. It makes things fun when you start wagering on categories. Before we started the ballots, we'd be falling asleep by the time Best Documentary Short was presented. Now, the group is arguing whether No Time For Nuts or The Little Matchgirl is gonna win Best Short Film (Animated). And NONE of us have seen either one. AWESOME.

Anywho, while surfing through some move websites preparing for this weekend's festivities, I came across a treasure trove of Oscar trivia that I thought was pretty cool. Read on, sir, for some unbelievable, face rockin' tidbits about the Academy Awards and those who win them.

# The first Academy Awards ceremony was in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and was hosted by Douglas Fairbanks and William deMille. Tickets cost $5 and the attendance was 270 people.
# In the beginning, the winners list was sold to the newspapers prior to the ceremony for publication. In 1940, guests could buy the 8pm LA Times edition and read who won each award. This lead to the sealed envelopes system in 1941.
# NBC first televised the ceremony in 1953 (25th Academy Awards)
# Longest Award Ceremony was the 2001 Academy Awards hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. It lasted 4 hours and 16 minutes but, thanks to Whoopi, felt like 36 hours.
# Walt Disney holds the record for having the most Academy Awards: 22 won, and 4 honorary.
# Jessica Tandy at age 80 is the oldest person to ever win (for Driving Miss Daisy) an Academy Award.
# Tatum O'Neal at age 10 is the youngest person to ever win (for Paper Moon) an Academy Award.
# Katharine Hepburn is the only person to win more than 3 major Awards (four times for Leading Actress) (1933 Morning Glory, 1967 Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, 1968 The Lion in Winter and in 1981 On Golden Pond .)
# James Dean is the only actor to receive a nomination after death. Dean was killed in a traffic accident in 1955, but was nominated in 1956 for East of Eden and 1957 for Giant.
# Only three movies have swept the top 5 awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay): It Happened One Night, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and The Silence of the Lambs.
# Only three movies have been nominated for the top 5 awards and missed by one win: American Beauty (didn't win Best Actress), Annie Hall (didn't win Best Actor), Gone With the Wind (didn't win Best Actor)
# Only three Best Picture winners have achieved a 'clean sweep' at the Oscars, winning every award for which they were nominated: Gigi (nine nominations and awards), The Last Emperor (nine), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (eleven).
# John Cazale, the man who played Fredo Corleone, holds the distinction of being the only actor whose every film was nominated for best picture (The Godfather, The Conversation, Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, The Deer Hunter). After his death, Cazale appeared in archive footage in Godfather Part III, which was also nominated for Best Picture. Fredo no longer brings shame to the family.

# The film with the most nominations without a best picture nomination: They Shoot Horses, Don't They with 9 nominations.
# Actress Bess Flowers has appeared in the most Best Picture winners: 5. Number I actually saw: 1.

Hope you enjoyed the trivia. Have a good week and weekend everyone and we'll talk on the other side.

Peace.

Technorati Tags - Academy Awards Oscars movies humor

Oscars Wild!

Well, it's mid-January and everyone should be girding their loins for two of my favorite beginning-of-the-year events. First is the SuperBowl on Feb 4. My boy Peyton Manning takes on the phenomenal defense of the Chicago Bears. Should be a good matchup. After the SuperBowl is the Academy Awards.

Being movie buffs, the wife and I love the Oscars. For several years we threw Oscars parties and everyone would contribute 5 bucks to the betting pool. We printed out ballots and had everyone select who they thought the winners were going to be and the one with the most points wins the whole she-bang. As a tie breaker you had to pick the running time of the show without going over. It's a lot of fun and makes categories like Best Foreign Language Film or Documentary Feature a little more exciting. We didn't throw the party last year but we are thinking about doing it this year.

Well, the Oscar nominations were announced on Tuesday. As usual, there are some oversights and a few, "They nominated wha?!". Since I obviously know better than the Academy, I thought I'd take a stroll through some of the academy's decisions this year. You may disagree with many or all of my comments, but these are only my opinions. We may very well have wildly differing tastes in movies. I just ask that you take this list in jest. Moving on to some nominees.....


Best Leading Actor:
Leonardo DiCaprio - Blood Diamond - This is nice, but I would have put his performance in The Departed here instead. He's good in Blood Diamond, but better in The Departed.
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson - The dude from Notebook was in another movie? Who knew?
Peter O'Toole - Venus - This is a fabulous choice by the Academy, as O'Toole is a fine actor. It's too bad I've never even HEARD of the movie Venus. Is it about the planet, or the goddess of love? And why should I care?
Will Smith - Pursuit of Happyness - Does it bother anyone else that they misspelled Happiness in the movie title? Anyone?
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland - What's with the wierd movie titles? Forest plays Idi Amin who, last I checked, was black and not from Scotland.

Best Leading Actress:
Penelope Cruz - Volver - Um. Okay. Did I go to bed and wake up in Spain? WTF?! Yahoo Movies says it's a generational story of three women set in Spain. It might as well have said 'Don't Watch Me, I Suck'.
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal - I think Judi Dench puts in all of her contracts that she will be nominated for her performance. That's just how she rolls.
Helen Mirren - The Queen - Excellent choice. Saw this last weekend. Phenomenal performance.
Meryl Streep - The Devil Wears Prada - The Devil Wears Prada is now an oscar nominated movie? I think Meryl Streep might also be on the must-nominate list. She could star in the auto-biography of Carrot-Top, playing Carrot-Top, and still be nominated.
Kate Winslet - Little Children - I love Kate Winslet. She's gorgeous and a wonderful actress. However, despite being in roughly 20 movies since Titanic in 1997, off the top of my head I can remember only 2. Of those 2 I can remember, I've seen only 1. This isn't either one of those.

Best Picture:
Babel - Even the trailers for this look bad. The plot description on Internet Movie Database begins 'A poor Morrocan family acquires a rifle to protect their goats...' Sounds like a winner, but I'll be in Theater 2 watching Pirates of the Caribbean 3.
The Departed - This is what I'm talkin' bout, Academy. More like this, please.
Letters from Iwo Jima - I can understand why this made it. I haven't seen it, but I don't like war movies, or war veteran movies, so I have no interest. You could also substitute United 93 or World Trade Center here. Same thing.
Little Miss Sunshine - I'm speechless that this little gem of a movie made it to Best Picture. Wonderful cast, funny dialogue, crazy situations. Something the Academy should recognize more. Nicely done.
The Queen - Another wonderfully acted movie. I'm happy that Mirren is recognized above, but I'm sad Michael Sheen who plays Tony Blair is not also recognized (as Supporting Actor, not Best Actress). He is just as good as Mirren.

Best Director:
Babel - Goat protecting gets a best director. Really?
The Departed - Scorsese. Represent, yo!
Letters from Iwo Jima - Sentimental. Patriotic. Yada yada.
The Queen - Good choice.
United 93 - Wha? So you are saying Little Miss Sunshine is a better movie but United 93 has a better director? Whatever, dude.

Some quick shots on other categories:

Mark Wahlberg in The Departed for Supporting Actor? Not that he was bad, but his character disappears halfway through the movie. A better choice would have been Jack Nicholson in The Departed. He was awesome (and I don't really even like him). I'm a little sad that no other actor in The Departed is recognized for their performance. They were all spot on.

The movie An Inconvenient Truth got a nod for Best Original Song? It's a documentary. About the weather. I guess Dreamgirls didn't have a fourth song to nominate.

Borat got a nom for Best Adapted Screenplay? ADAPTED? From what? Is there a Borat novel out there I'm unaware of? Or a Broadway play, maybe?

I'm loving that American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson has a nomination for Best Supporting Actress and Beyonce "You Must Not Know 'bout Me" Knowles got nothing.

As usual the Academy nominated a bunch of stuff most of America will never get to see, so it keeps things interesting. Bottom line, like what you like, not what the Academy tells you to like. If Dreamgirls is your Best Picture, then so be it. If Borat was your Best Picture, then fine. No one can tell you what a better movie is. It's all subjective.

Regardless, this year should be a good broadcast. Check it out on February 25, 2007 at 8pm EST.

Technorati Tags - Academy Awards Movies Oscars humor

War Games 2 and Other Movie Sequels

I was perusing what the youngsters like to call “the net” the other day and came across this article on one of my favorite movie news sites. According to the article, Hollywood is apparently making a War Games 2. This got me thinking about movie sequels, good and bad, and what I think about them. I’m pretty sure you’re going to be interested in what I have to say, otherwise you’d be doing laundry or washing your car right now, so I thought I’d pass along some “nuggets” from my own noggin about movie sequels. Write them down, grasshopper, cause these nuggets are gold, I tell ya, GOLD.

First off, I am not patently against sequels. I don’t automatically think they are going to be awful. Being a movie whore gives me the wonderful freedom of thinking movies that should suck, are going to be awesome. It’s liberating. If I enjoyed the first movie and some or most of the original cast returns, then I’m willing to give it a try. But what sounds like a good idea on paper, may turn out to be box office poison. In light of this, let’s look at some of the factors that, I believe, will immediately count against the success of a sequel.

One type of sequel that I will immediately hate is the “in name only” sequels. You know the ones, more often than not they didn’t have a theatrical release. You see them sitting in Blockbuster and you’re like, “HOLY CRAP, THEY MADE A SEQUEL TO BAMBI?!” (yes they did). If these eyesores were released in theaters, there would be chaos in the streets, it would be the Kent State riots all over again. I ask you, how is the movie a sequel when not one person from the original movie appears? Even worse is when one of the characters in the sequel is the son/daughter/uncle/cousin of one of the characters in the original to make up for the fact that the studio was too much of a Scrooge to pay for the original actors. That’s the definition of cheap, people.

Let’s talk a bit about the aforementioned War Games: The Dead Game. First off, the title. They use the original title, but instead of putting a giant 2 in it, they give it some generic ominous sounding subtitle. You aren’t fooling me, MGM. Also, the odds are against Matthew Broderick coming back for this. Likewise for Ally Sheedy (is she still alive?) and Dabney Coleman. It’ll be all new people we’ve never heard of who look like they should be in a WB hour long drama doing something vaguely similar to the events in the first movie. Why even call it War Games, why not just The Dead Game? I’ll tell you why; to get people who wouldn’t normally go see a movie filled with nobodies to go see it. Even if Broderick gives a small cameo at some point (which would help), this is just lazy. War Games 2, to me, is Matthew Broderick as David Lightman, grown up, working for a software development company and he uncovers a plot by his company/the government/some random shmuck to take over the company/stock market/country/world. THAT is War Games 2. MGM, call me when it’s in the can.

Another example you ask? Of course, I answer. How about Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights? Another omission of the giant 2 and the addition of a sultry subtitle. In reality, this movie should have been called just…Havana Nights. There was absolutely NO need to tack on Dirty Dancing to the beginning except for the simple fact that no one would have seen it. Yes, I realize Patrick Swayze himself had a small part, but, come on, they didn’t even call him Johnny (his character in the original). He was credited as DANCE INSTRUCTOR. WTF?! WHY?! He’s in the movie, he has several scenes with the main characters, why couldn’t SOMEBODY call him Johnny?! ONCE?! Drove me up the wall. The movie wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t that great either. I kinda feel the same way about the original, too (Sorry, Steph). Moving on….

So you see what I mean about the “in name only” sequels. 9.9 times out of 10, they are going be a huge pile of dog ass. Let’s move on to another factor that will most definitely sink a sequel; recasting the main actors. I hate it when a sequel is announced and one of your favorite characters is recast. I would actually prefer the character is dropped than have another actor brought in. What usually winds up happening is the original actor left such an impression that the newer upstart is overshadowed, leaving you feeling like he’s just copying the original performance. One of the better examples of this is Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd. While this movie could have stood on it’s own as a dumb high school comedy (maybe), the studio instead forces the actors to ape the characteristics of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. Parts of this movie made me laugh, but parts were cringe-inducing. Another example is Major League 2. I really enjoyed all three of the Major League movies, but one of the main characters, Willie Mays Hayes, is recast. Originally played by Wesley Snipes, in part 2 Hayes is played by Omar Epps. Epps did a nice job, but he’s not Wesley Snipes. While Major League 2 did have a few other issues, this was one of the big ones (the original and Part 3 are the best of the trilogy). The last glaring example of recasting I'll bring to your attention is The Sting II. The original, starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman, was a classic heist movie that helped launch Newman and Redford even further into superstardom. The sequel, using the same characters but different actors, barely deserves to be mentioned. The studio did get Jackie Gleason to take over the Paul Newman role, but, despite that, continue on your merry way.

These are just a few of the examples. How many other crappy sequels are out there? Did anyone see Starship Troopers 2? Son of the Mask? How about Hollow Man 2? American Psycho 2? What about the 15 or so “sequels” Disney churns out every year? Did the public at large really need 3 sequels to the Lion King? I mean really. There are tons of other titles that litter the Blockbuster shelves like a giant landfill. To be sure, sequels can be bad. Very bad. Like, genitals wired to a car battery bad, but they can be good, too. If not for sequels we wouldn’t have Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future II, Clerks II and Godfather Part II. But, then again, no sequels means no Godfather III, so it’s a double edged sword.

Personally, I like the idea of sequels because I love revisiting the characters I’ve grown to love in a movie. If you entertained me once, I’ll give a second movie a chance, but I’m prepared to be burned. Gigli 2, anyone?

Fun movie links:

1. Trailer for The Sting II

2. Trailer for Dumb & Dumber re-edited to look more like a drama

3. Hilarious MTV Parody of Star Wars Episode III starring Jimmy Fallon

BTTF Slots & Studio 60 TV Show

I've got two quick notes for everyone:

According to BTTF.com, Las Vegas has just started receiving the new Back to the Future Video Slots. Interesting that my last two articles involved the demise of Back to the Future The Ride and slot machines. It's like two kids are walking down the street, one carrying the BTTF The Ride article and one carrying the slot machine article. Then, like the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cups commercials, the kids trip, fall into each other and BAM!, everything is all mixed up into something new, different...and DELICIOUS.

Also of note in the above article is that Christopher Lloyd reprised his role of Doc Emmette Brown for the live action segments which were also overseen by writer/director/producer Bob Gale. Click here to see pics of the prototype of the Back to the Future slot machine.

Quick Note #2:

I watched a preview of NBC's new show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It's by Aaron Sorkin who created Sports Night and West Wing. It doesn't premier until Sept 18, but Netflix is shipping out early preview DVDs as a promotion.

I watched it last night and the show, in a word, is incredible. I didn't really get into West Wing like I wanted to, but I did love Sorkin's Sports Night which showed the behind the scenes drama of a sports talk show similar to ESPN SportsCenter. It starred Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman and was fun to watch. Studio 60 is very similar to Sports Night in that it's behind the scenes of a sketch comedy show similar to Saturday Night Live. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford play a famous writing duo who are asked back to Studio 60 after being fired because the eccentric show's creator melted down during a live broadcast. The writing is sharp and funny and the actors are brilliant. I can't wait until this starts airing during the regular season. I will definitely start watching it.

Technorati Tags - Casinos Slot Machines Back to the Future tv shows Studio 60

In Memorium: Back to the Future...The Ride

It makes me very sad that I have to write this article. I've heard rumors for a while, but it was officially announced that Universal Studios Orlando was going to "phase out" the 15 year old ride for something newer, presumably a Simpsons ride.

I have a long history with Back to the Future. I saw it at the theater in 1985 when it was released. I remember my dad checking me out of school to go see an earlier showing (it was still packed). Then when the original was released on VHS, I had my dad (god love him for it) show up at Blockbuster the day it was released to rent it (we copied it). I remember losing my f'n mind when, at the end of the movie on VHS, there appeared the words TO BE CONTINUED... which didn't appear in the theatrical release. I then eagerly waited the four years it took to release Parts 2 and 3. I bought all the magazines and books I could find. Click here to see my review of the Back to the Future novels. I also had the Back to the Future official movie magazine but it fell apart I read it so much. So, in 1999, when I was assigned to a project in Tampa, FL, I was beside myself thinking that I would be an easy 1 hour drive from Universal Studios Orlando and Back to the Future The Ride. I made several trips to Orlando to visit Universal studios and have ridden The Ride many times since then. I even got to ride it at Universal Studios in Hollywood. Everytime it takes me back to the feeling of watching the movie when I was a kid.



Now it seems that the studio brass feel it's time to retire the ride. I hate to say it, but I agree. The ride was pretty shabby the last time I rode it. I love going to the ride and seeing the props and enviroments and the atmosphere, but the ride mechanism and IMAX dome screening always makes me motion sick. I would love to see it updated, but with the DVDs released a few years ago and no new movies or TV shows on the horizon, the prospects for the property have pretty much played out. It's sad to see it go and I'm glad I got to ride it just a few weeks ago as the ride looks to be phased out by October.

Here I am outside the main entrance to The Ride at Universal Studios in Orlando in 1999.

Here I am outside the ride with a Doc Brown impersonator. We are posing in front of an actual Delorean model used in the movie. This is also from 1999 in Orlando.

Fun Back to the Future links:

1. Here is the video footage of Back to the Future The Ride. It's the video you'd see if you were sitting in the ride, not the video while waiting in line. Very cool.

2. Bloopers from the filming of Back to the Future.


3. Did you know that Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly? Roughly 30% of the movie was shot with Stoltz as the lead but the director thought he looked too old and played Marty too straight. Here are some pics of the legendary "Eric Stoltz" footage.


Take care BTTF The Ride, we knew ye well!!

Technorati Tags - Pop Culture Movies Universal Studios Movie Rides Back to the Future

Pirates of the Caribbean 2 Opens Today!!!

        

Capt Pax Holley and Capt Jack Sparrow...Separated at birth? You decide. If you ask me, I think Capt Jack wishes he had the looks and chutzpah of Capt Pax. But that's just me.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opens today. Steph and I will probably go see it tomorrow afternoon to avoid the lines. I am really looking forward to this sequel because we loved the first one. As a matter of fact, we tried to rent Curse of the Black Pearl this week and every single copy was rented. EVERY SINGLE COPY. Since the movie is older, Blockbuster kept only 2 or 3 copies. Well, I guess everyone else wanted to see it too, because they are ALL gone. But I'm not just talking about our local Blockbuster, but every Blockbuster in our area. And that's a lot of Blockbusters. As you know, Blockbuster is like the Starbucks of DVDs. There's usually two or three right around the corner...and usually right next to a McDonald's.

I even slummed and went to Hollywood Video to find a copy. Let me tell you, that place is a friggin' HOLE. It looked like a DVD War Zone inside the store. Movies and candy littered the floor, shelves have gaping spaces where there are no DVDs. So much crap on the checkout counter that you couldn't even see the 12 year olds they have working there. Not to mention the fact that the movies weren't in any semblance of order. Oh, the shelves are labeled Action, New Release, Comedy, etc. But those seem to be more like guidelines, and not hard-and-fast categorical titles because the workers just put the stuff back on the shelf wherever they happen to be. You need Smokey & the Bandit? It's in the Drama section. Aliens? Kiddie section. WTF?! And they aren't laid out nicely on the shelf. It looks like a giant dorm room as some are stacked with their backs to the shelf and some are stacked sideways like on a bookshelf. You can forget about alphabetical order. You're lucky the workers can even read the title, much less put it in it's proper alphabetical order. I will NEVER go back to that place. I feel like I need to go to the free clinic and get shots after walking in for 10 minutes.

After all that, the sad thing is, I own Curse of the Black Pearl, but my mom borrowed it and has not returned it. You like apples? How you like them apples?

Anywho, have a good weekend everyone and I'll see you on the other side.

Technorati Tags - Jack Sparrow Pirates of the Caribbean pirates Blockbuster Hollywood Video

Superman Week: Day 3

We are finally here. Day 3 of Superman Week. Superman Returns releases nationally today. Those of us who aren’t famous or aren’t in the “biz” can now, finally, watch the movie. I, however, won’t be able to see it until tomorrow night. So, in lieu of reviewing the movie, I’ll do quick reviews of the first four movies staring Christopher Reeve. Enjoy.

Day 3 - Review of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies

Superman: The Movie – A classic. I really don’t have to review this as everyone has undoubtedly already seen it. Christopher Reeve’s dual portrayals of Superman and Clark Kent are nothing short of spectacular. The effects, while sometimes dated, still work very well. Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor is played more for comedy than the comic version, and I really liked it. Hackman is great in whatever he does. I’m still not a fan of Margo Kidder as Lois Lane. I don’t know why, I just don’t like her. I wish they would have gone with Ann Archer or Leslie Ann Warren. But that’s just me. There is a reason this is considered the model for comic book movies. If you haven’t seen it, I ask, why?

Superman II – Another classic, both in the movie itself, and the behind the scenes drama between the producers, the Salkinds, and the director, Richard Donner. Easily 70% of this movie was filmed during the production of the first movie. When budgets were tight, they stopped shooting this picture and finished the first one. After the first one was a hit, the producers decided to return to this. Due to failing relationships between the director and the producers, they picked Richard Lester to finish shooting. All of the main scenes were shot including all of Gene Hackman’s stuff. He refused to work with anyone but Richard Donner. Lester finished the picture and it finally released. It turned out to be a very good, if flawed, movie. The three main villains from the Phantom Zone were a great idea and the final showdown at the Fortress of Solitude was exciting (if a little confusing as it showed powers Superman had never shown before….he can disappear?). Also having the plot device of Superman losing his powers was a really nice touch (at least I thought so). But why did Supes have to sleep with Lois? Kinda creepy. All in all, a very good followup. For a breakdown of the different footage shot by each director go to Superman Cinema's Superman II Section.

Note: The new Superman movie will ignore all the movies after this point. Superman Returns takes place roughly 5 years after Superman II. After watching parts III and IV, you'll see why.

Superman III – Here’s where things get a little dicey. Despite it’s glaring problems, I enjoyed this movie. Richard Lester continues as director and the cast adds Richard Pryor as a bumbling computer programmer. I did not like Pryor’s character, but I loved the subplots of Superman exposed to “dirty” Kryptonite and turning evil and Clark’s journey back to Smallville where he reunites with Annette O’Toole as Lana Lang. Those two subplots made the movie for me. The fight at the end with the supercomputer was silly and Robert Vaughn as the main baddie made me cringe. This is a toss up whether you will like this movie.

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace – The first Superman movie with a subtitle. Where do I begin? I don’t even think the word HORRIBLE begins to describe the absolute atrocity of this movie. Superman decides to rid the Earth of nuclear weapons and throw all of them in the sun. Luthor plants DNA on one of the rockets and uses the sun’s radiation to create Nuclear Man, one of the stupidest, most ridiculously dressed villains of all time. I wish Reeve had stuck with his initial idea of retiring the role of Superman to someone else. Even though Gene Hackman returns for this final sequel, I can’t in good conscious recommend this to anyone. Seriously. You’ve been warned.

BONUS:
1. Check out the original theatrical trailer for Superman: The Movie
2. Here's a short sketch from a show called Robot Chicken. It's a parody of Real World where 5 super-heroes are picked to live in an apartment together. It's called Real World: Metropolis.
3. Here is a trailer for a Superman/Batman team-up movie called World's Finest. It's fan-made, but very well done.

Technorati Tags - Superman Superman Movies Christopher Reeve Superman II Superman III Superman IV Gene Hackman

Movie Reviews: Da Vinci Code & Mission Impossible 3

I saw this a few weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to the review. I wrote reviews of the first two Missions in an earlier article, so I want to continue with the newest installment in the franchise.

To recap the earlier reviews, I very much enjoyed the first movie. It was a little confusing, but very suspenseful and had some good action. I did not like the second movie. I don't know what John Woo is smoking these days, but it must really be some good stuff because he's focusing on getting more of that stuff than he is on his movies. When I saw MI:2 for the second time, it was marginally better, but still not a very good movie. Once again, the action was good, but the rest of the movie was a mess. It was almost a spoof on a Mission Impossible movie. So I was glad they waited 6 years to try to get the third one right.

In those intervening six years, though, Tom decided to make one movie I hated (Vanilla Sky), one movie I only somewhat hated (War of the Worlds) and two movies I kinda liked (Last Samurai and Minority Report). Tom also decided to lose his mind on Oprah, belittle the medicinal use of drugs, infiltrate Dawson's Creek cutie Katie Holmes with his alien seed and buy a sonogram machine to perform illegal physical examinations on his closely guarded wife and aforementioned alien seed. So, with the announcement of another Mission Impossible, I was a little worried. Would I be able to enjoy this movie even though I think Tom's a complete looney? We'll see.

The first good news occured when they announced JJ Abrams as the writer/director. I had recently watched the first three seasons of Alias on DVD and thought he was the perfect choice. Next, the cast was coming together nicely. Ving Rhames was returning, Keri Russell was going to be a fellow agent and Phillip Seymore Hoffman was going to be the bad guy. His recent Oscar win for Capote aside because I didn't see it, I had loved him in State & Main and Twister. The cast was pretty strong, hopefully the story will be too.

Well, the script is tight. The movie was fantastic. The style and action reminded me very much of The Bourne Identity. Gritty, realistic, personal. Many of the action scenes are intense, too. Literally, in the first ten minutes, several people have died. Not as many as in, say, Lucky Number Slevin or Saving Private Ryan, but several people bite it that you weren't expecting. The cool gadgets make a nice return, too. You see how the cool masks get created and more neat little toys. There is a phenomenal action piece where Cruise breaks into a building to retrieve the "Rabbit's Foot". Left me on the edge of my seat.

I will confess, there may be some parts where the going gets pretty confusing. The action is fast, and you pretty much just have to hold on and enjoy the ride. For me, though, this was easily as good, if not better, than the first one. See it with confidence.



While consulting in the early 2000s, I was surrounded by people reading The Da Vinci Code on the plane. I knew I had to read it, but I wanted to wait until it came out in paperback. Little did I know, at that time, that it would take YEARS. While in New York I stumbled across a discarded copy of Angels & Demons, the prelude to Da Vinci. Knowing it came first, I read it (and Da Vinci still hadn't hit paperback). I loved it. The reading was fast paced and the subject matter was fascinating. This made me even more excited to start The Da
Vinci Code. Since, at this time, it still wasn't out in paperback I borrowed a well-worn copy of it from my mother. I read it and loved it. The story pace was very similar and the subject matter, again, was fascinating. I still prefer Angels & Demons, though, to its more famous brother. I enjoyed these two so much I read Dan Brown's other two books, Deception Point and Digital Fortress, which have nothing to do with Robert Langdon or the previous two books. They are also very fascinating, fast-paced and remarkable reads. As a matter of fact, of Brown's four books, my favorite is Digital Fortress, followed closely by Angels & Demons.

I heard there was to be a movie of The Da Vinci Code after reading the book. I was excited until they announced Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon. I had trouble seeing him as the titular symbologist. I would have preferred seeing Mark Harmon or George Clooney (who was actually on the list of potential actors). I did celebrate the casting of Ian McKellen as Sir Lee Teabing and Paul Bettany as Silas. All that was left was to sit and wait.

My wife and I finally got to see the movie on the Sunday afternoon after it was released. The theater was still packed. The movie was very enjoyable. I think people who have read the book might be more inclined to enjoy it than those who haven't. Even though they gloss over a lot of the historical details, it can still be pretty daunting to comprehend all that the characters are talking about if you haven't read the book and been exposed to it. As for my wife and I, we really enjoyed it and, by the end, Tom Hanks had persuaded me that he was a good pick for Robert Langdon. I also enjoyed the very pretty French lady they cast as Sophie Noveau.

The movie practically flies through scenes and takes you on a breakneck, information laden chase through Europe for the truth behind the "Holy Grail". There has been much controversy of the theories presented in the book and movie. Apparently people are taking what they read in this book as historical fact and thinking that the Catholic Church performed a worldwide coverup of the marriage between Jesus and Mary. If you go to Dan Brown's website, there is a FAQ on The Da Vinci Code which explains that a lot of the ideas put forth by the book are just theories that have never been proven. The groups/sects of people and their rituals were true, but the way he uses them and their significance were all created by him for the novel. The ideas are interesting as just that, ideas in a historical fiction novel. Nothing more. The "controversy" has been good for the movie's publicity though, no?

I know the movie will do well, so I hope they decide to move ahead with Angels & Demons next. That will be a sight to see.

Technorati Tags - Mission Impossible 3 The Da Vinci Code Movie Reviews Movies

Movie Novelizations #3: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Everyone has heard of the tv show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, the show is a darkly humorous take on horror movies and teen dramas that has captured a very specific and loyal audience. The mythology of the show is very intricate and the rules very strict. In fact, the tv show Buffy the Vampire Slayer bears little resemblance to the 1992 movie that birthed it.

Back in 1992, 20th Century Fox decided to release Joss Whedon's creation about a cheerleading vampire killer. Unfortunately, they also thought his vision was too dark. They decided to re-write it and make it more humorous and remove some of the darker aspects of the slayer myths and much of the killing. They continued to re-write throughout filming. So much so, that Joss walked off the set never to return. 20th Century Fox went ahead without him and we all saw the result. The movie tanked. I saw it in the theater because I thought it had a very interesting premise. While the underlying ideas were very cool, the execution was a complete disaster. If you are familiar with the tv shows Buffy and Angel, then you can hear parts of the movie that shadow what may have been. Donald Sutherland is great as the watcher, Merrick. Kristy Swanson is a pretty good, Buffy, too. The movie falls apart with the performances of two people. Rutger Hauer as Lothos, and Luke Perry as Pike. These two are bad, laughably bad. Not laugh ha-ha, but laugh "oh my god this is awkward" bad. I expected this from Luke Perry, as I was never a fan of him, even when I was watching 90210 religiously. But Rutger Hauer has had some really good roles. I have no idea what happened, but it wasn't good whatever it was.

 
Since the movie was so bad, it took Joss another 5 years before he could begin to get the ball rolling on the Buffy storyline again. Figuring the damage done by the movie had long been forgotten, he wrote a somewhat "sequel" to his original Buffy script that became the pilot to a new show about the same character. To further distance the show from the movie, he moved the setting from LA to the fictional Sunnydale, CA and recast the lead actress. The show became a hit and spawned a very successful spinoff, Angel. I didn't jump on the Buffy bandwagon right away. It was one of the first shows on the new WB in 1997 and I was just not convinced. After hearing about it for several years I checked it out but was a little lost because the storyline was so involved. Although I didn't like it, I watched Angel which aired right after it. This show, while also confusing, had several characters I very much enjoyed and a darker premise. I really enjoyed Angel and watched it off and on until it was cancelled in 2004. I joined Netflix while consulting so I could watch the entire 5 season DVD collection of Angel. I finished it in Spring 2005 and the show stands as one of my favorite shows of all time. Buffy has been harder to finish. I am currently working through the season 3 DVDs as I have time (I bought the seven season Chosen Collection cheap during a sale last november). The show definately improves each season.

Anywho, that brings me to the 1992 movie novelization. What I was really hoping for was that the book would reflect the original Joss Whedon script and not the shooting script. I was wrong. There are several differences between the book and movie, though. Don Sutherland's Merrick kills himself in the book to save Buffy, but he gets killed in the movie (like a bitch). The prologue in the book gives more information on the history of the slayers as opposed to the movie. Also, in the end, you see Buffy and Pike ride off into the sunset on a motorcycle. In the book, you see them ascending a long staircase at an old stone building, I guess alluding to their further adventures. The rest is pretty much the same. I enjoyed the book and there was definately more evidence of Joss' writing in the book than in the movie. It's an interesting proposition to think what would have been the result of the movie and tv show if they had used his original, and darker script. Would the movie have been successful? Would that have led to more movies and no tv show? Who knows.

A final note on the 1992 movie. I was suprised how many famous faces show up in this movie. One of Buffy's group of girlfriends is Hilary Swank. Luke Perry's buddy is David Arquette. If you watch closely at the end during the final basketball game, you'll see Ben Affleck in a quick scene. The school's counselor is Stephen Root who played Milton in Office Space and Jimmy James on the TV show NewsRadio. Several suprises I didn't expect. Doesn't really help the watchabilty of the movie, though.

Other Movie Novelization Reviews:
Clue: The Movie
Back to the Future Trilogy

Technorati Tags - Pop Culture Movies Novels Movie Novelizations Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Movie Novelizations Review #2: Clue: The Movie

Ever since I was a kid I've loved the game Clue. My friend Steve and I used to play it in his basement. It was so much fun. For Christmas, I even got the Clue VCR Mystery Game. Even though that VCR game was insanely hard, I still loved seeing the characters come alive. So, in 1985, when I heard there was a movie coming out, I had to see it.

I have stated before that Clue: The Movie is one of my (and my wife's) favorite movies. It told the story of our six hapless dinner guests holed up in mysterious Hill House. One by one people in the house start dying and they have to figure out who among them is the murderer. The script is very quick and clever, and the actors perform the script with utmost enthusiasm. It is easily one of the most enjoyable and funny films I've ever seen. My wife and I quote it all the time.

When it was released, the movie screened one of 3 endings randomly sent to the theater. I had kept the newspaper clipping advertising the endings, but have since lost it. The theater by my house in Birmingham, AL got the ending that included all three with title cards telling you when one ending ends and another begins. This is the incarnation that would later appear on VHS then on DVD.

For such a large ensemble movie, I don't remember there being too much advertising prior to the movie release. In January of 2006, I was Googling around the internet and found the Cluedo Fan Site which is a large site celebrating the history of the board game Clue (or Cluedo in countries outside the USA). On this site's Clue: The Movie Guide, I was "clue"d (haha) in to the existence of the Clue movie novelization and the fact that the novel included an as-yet-unseen fourth ending. I was floored. I had no idea up until this point that this book or the extra ending even existed. I had to own it.

Needless to say, the book was tough to track down. In the span of a few weeks, I had found only one eBay auction that was offering it.....at 85 bucks. I don't think so. I did some digging and procured a copy from an anonymous source.



You can see the book above. This novelization was a fascinating read because you can see the improv work done by the actors throughout the movie. Martin Mull as Col Mustard had several good ones. Like this:

Mustard: "Are you trying to make me look stupid in front of the other guests ?"
Wadsworth: "You don't need any help from me."
Mustard: "That's right!"

The last line was not in the novel. I guess during shooting Martin Mull ad-libbed this comeback. They must have liked it because Martin Mull does this same comeback later in the movie in the kitchen while yelling at Mrs. White, but this is also not in the book. Madeline Kahn had the classic line:

Mrs. White: Yes, I did it. I killed Yvette. I hated her so... much... it... it... the... it... the... fee... flames... flames... on the side of my face... heaving... breathless... heaving breaths...
[mumbles on]

This was also not in the book meaning it too was ad-libbed on the spot. Such classic lines and they were created on the spot. During other scenes, there are some interesting tidbits about Michael McKean's Prof Plum, and how he's scared of screaming. Just little things that didn't make it into the movie that I found intriguing. Other than these small tidbits, I am surprised how much the movie sticks to the script and the novel. Until, that is, we get to the infamous fourth ending.

To be honest, it was a little disappointing, but I had built it up pretty big in my mind. The ending involved Wadsworth telling how all the murders were done by Peacock and Plum. Plum protests his innocence and realizes that the gun is missing. Whoever has it, must be the killer. It is revealed that Wadsworth did it and he also poisoned the brandy, so everyone is going to die in the next few hours. The cops bust in like every other ending and Wadsworth recounts the entire story again, mesmerizing everyone. When he opens the door describing how Col Mustard arrived, he steps outside, shuts and locks the door. He then speeds away in his car, satisfied that he got away with it, but hears a low growl in the back seat. Apparently one of the German Shepards stowed away in the back seat and attacks him. Fade to Black....THE END.

As you see, it is the least clever ending and one that I'm glad got cut. Nevertheless, it was good to finally read it. If you've seen and loved the movie, by all means, track this book down, but you won't be missing anything. Seeing the performances by the on-screen actors is better than the book anyway.

Check out Review #1:
Back to the Future trilogy movie novelizations

Technorati Tags - Pop Culture Movies Novels Movie Novelizations Clue The Movie

Steve Alten's book, MEG, finally becoming a movie

The above pic is pre-production art from an upcoming movie called Meg. Click here to read the original story on CHUD's website. Meg, the movie, is based on the novel, Meg by Steve Alten. I ask you, how ridiculously bad-ass is the above pic? I'll answer that it's so bad ass I almost wouldn't care what the name of the movie was, I'd go see it. Not only that, just take a look at the cover for the book. A giant pre-historic shark chomping down on a T-Rex?! Where do I sign up? Well, actually, I already did sign up. I read Meg several years ago along with the followup sequel, The Trench (with a not as exciting cover...or story). I really enjoyed Meg which is about a long thought extinct pre-historic shark, Megalodon, that is brought up from the Marianas Trench by accident. And, of course, it goes on a killing spree. It's like Jaws on steroids. The sequel has a little less excitement and focuses on the original Meg's offspring, but the first book is a thrilling read and I highly recommend it.


The movie Meg has been in development for a while. You can see it's IMDB page here. I've been waiting for it to come out but there were several things deemed too expensive effects-wise that caused the delay. On the IMDB page you can see a pic of the Megalodon jumping out of the water to attack a helicopter. Definately one of the money shots of the book. This was one scene deemed too difficult or expensive to shoot. I guess the technology is now there to build the shark. I for one, can't wait to see it.

Technorati Tags - Meg Steve Alten Upcoming Movies Movies

Movie Novelizations #1: Back to the Future Trilogy

By the mid '80s I was 10 years old and I loved to read. Now, I wasn't reading Tolstoy or Shakespeare, but I was reading nonetheless. Movie novelizations were one thing that really got me interested in reading. I'm not talking about books that "inspired" a movie, or the novel a movie was based on. I'm talking about a novel written AFTER the movie script was written or based on the script of an in-development movie. In the '80s and '90s, movie novelizations were everywhere, yet today, they are rare if the movie isn't based on a comic book. Every awesome genre movie got one. Demolition Man, War Games, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Batman movies, even more recent movies like the 1996 Mission Impossible remake had a movie novel based on its script. There was a WaldenBooks in the Riverchase Galleria many years ago (it's a clothing store now) that had an entire section of movie novelizations. That's where I spent most of my time at the mall (when I wasn't in the mall arcade, Diamond Jim's). Any movie that I enjoyed at the theater, I'd go pick up the movie novelization. For the most part, I still do it. One thing movie novelizations have going for them is that they are, for the most part, only released in paperback. This makes it extremely portable and easy to read anywhere.

In these books, the movie story was basically the same, but since the book was usually written on an earlier draft of the script, scenes that were cut out of the movie are still in the book. In some of the better novels, you also get inner monologue of the main characters. It gave an entirely new dimension to the story.

Being a pack rat, I still have most of these books. I thought it would be interesting to review some of these novels for you and let you know the good ones and the bad ones and how they compare to the movie they represent. Since I have so many of these books, I'll only do a few at a time and make this an ongoing series. For a preview of some of the books, see the pic above. I have more, but I need to find them as they are hidden away in cardboard boxes after my move from Birmingham, AL to Jacksonville, FL. The first series of books today will be the books based on one of my favorite series of movies...the Back to the Future trilogy.

These were 3 of my favorite movies when I was a kid. When the first was released in 1985, I saw it in the theater at least 10 times. I was a freak for this movie. I almost died when it took 4 years to release the sequel, Back to the Future Part II. Part II was the first novel I bought of this series (at the aforementioned WaldenBooks). I had no idea the first movie had been released in novel form also. Many years later, after all the Back to the Future movies had been released on video, a "garage sale" store opened up about 20 minutes from my house. Now these places are called antique shops, but originally it was a garage sale store. This place was a goldmine for old books as it had an entire room dedicated to selling them. I can't even tell you how many books I've found in this store. It was here that I stumbled across the paperback for the original Back to the Future. It even had the original sales receipt dated 1985. I was dumbstruck. I read it immediately. I began wondering if Part III had a movie novelization. I searched high and low. This was before the proliferation of the internet and Amazon.com or eBay. If it wasn't at a local bookstore or at a garage sale or second hand store, you weren't finding it, my friend.

After over a year of going back to the garage sale store, it finally appeared, like a great desert oasis, Back to the Future Part III: The Novel. It was my Holy Grail and I had found it. Giddy as a schoolgirl, I bought it and began reading it that night.

The books in this series are very true to the movies. You'll find little tidbits here and there that weren't in the movie. For instance, the original Back to the Future novel starts with Marty in school instead of in Doc's lab. Some scenes are longer and some dialogue is slightly different, but overall it's a really good adaptation of the movies.

Years later, before the garage sale store closed, I did find an alternate cover for Back to the Future Part II, it was white instead of blue, but I thought enough is enough. I believe you can find these on Amazon right now from third party sellers, but I'll always cherish these books because it took me years to complete the set.

Coming up I'll have looks at the novels for Clue: The Movie, The original Batman movies, the Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies and the X-men movies. If I find my old stash of books, maybe I'll have some more suprises.

Technorati Tags - Pop Culture Movies Novels Movie Novelizations Back to the Future

Inside Man AWESOME! Heist TV show review, Ocean's 13 news

For the wife's birthday, went to see Inside Man with Clive Owen, Denzel Washington and Jodi Foster. As you can tell from my earlier post about heist movies, I LOVE this sub-genre. Heist movies, for the most part are so much fun. I love seeing new entries. I was underwhelmed recently by the movie Firewall with Harrison Ford. A limp, home/invasion, bank heist movie that really went nowhere for me. Paul Bettany as the robber was the only thing to save the movie. Harrison Ford continues on his rapid decent into mediocrity. But I digress. Inside Man is everything I ever wanted. Cool, smart mastermind, clever plan and interesting backstory. There is a lot going on, but it's unbelievable how Clive Owen's character is one step ahead of the police. The backstory and the ending are very cool and interesting also.

The performances also add to the wonderful script. Clive Owen is perfect as Dalton, the mastermind behind the bank robbery. He continues to impress me with his roles. Jodie Foster is great as usual with the hauty, smugness of her character Madeline, someone used to getting things done...discreetly. Denzel disappoints a little bit, but I fully confess to not really being a fan of him anyway. His character complements Owens' Dalton nicely.

I was very suprised this is a Spke Lee movie. There's lots of smart humor and really good action in this script. The ads and trailers I've seen do not play up the fact that he directed it, nor does it seem like his usual fair (of which I am also not really a fan). If this is how Spike can perform when not preaching about the ghetto, then consider me interested from now on. This movie had me entertained and out-guessed from the beginning and I applaud Spike and the other actors for finally putting a good movie out in a so far slow movie season.

Speaking of the heist sub-genre of movies, Steph and I watched the TV show Heist on NBC Sunday night (I had TiVo'd it. It actually aired last Wednesday).

It wasn't bad. It had elements of Ocean's 11 mixed with Out of Sight. Some of the dialogue I thought was trying too hard. The two main characters, Mickey and James, are having a discussion and they talk about topics no one on Earth would have regular conversations about like Mother Teresa and famous historical dates. For me, it was trying a tad too hard to be smart. You can have witty banter without having the characters off-handedly discuss the content of Mother Teresa's letters and the date of the last Mongol invasion. Unnecessary.

Other than that, the show was very slick and executed itself very well. The heist in this episode was just the initial job to raise some money for the big heist to be executed later. After this first heist, I am definately interested in how they pull off the next heist.

Reading reviews of this show, I saw some online criticism that the heist depicted in the episode would have had to have too many things go right to realistically pull off. I say, if you watch and enjoy heist movies, you have to realize going in that timing and execution is everything. Of course everything has to happen with an insane, supernatural sense of execution and timing, otherwise it would be boring. But that's just me.

I was not a fan of the lead, Dougray Scott, going into this (he was originally cast to play Wolverine in X-men but had to decline when filming on Mission Impossible II ran long), but he performs admirably here. As does the rest of his team. Check out pics from this series here.
The female member of the heist team, Lola, is HOOOOOOOOOT. I'll definately tune in (with my TiVo at least) next Wednesday to see where this goes.


I'm in a heist state of mind, so, here is some news about Ocean's 13. Filming starts by the end of the year and all the boys are back. The girls, however, will not be returning. I say yeah! for no Julia Roberts, but NO! for Catherine Zeta-Jones. Oh well. This is one of my favorite franchises so I'll be there regardless.

Technorati Tags - TV Shows Entertainment Movie Reviews