Gattaca’s gift is its unity of vision. Seldom do films combine music, art, and character with such exquisite resonance. When you think of Gattaca, you recall the score by Michael Nyman, because it embodies the longing the film conveys. Combined with memorable art direction, Gattaca becomes a powerful film that gracefully imprints the memories of those who see it.

Set in a not-so-distant future where the genetically enhanced are offered every social advantage, Gattaca follows the dreams of one un-enhanced man, Vincent Freeman (flamboyantly played by Ethan Hawke). In addition to his inferior genes, Vincent is also hindered by a heart disorder which makes his dream of space travel impossible in the eyes of potential employers. Desperate, he illegally poses as Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), and covertly passes security checks by using Jerome’s superior DNA.

The film is an eloquent parable on the pursuit of happiness. Jerome is born with every advantage but lives in crippled misery asserting, “he wouldn’t have it any other way.” Vincent desperately wants to leave his world; every morning he violently brushes his skin, trying to abolish as much of himself as possible. Yet he tackles his dream with ferocity – something few of us dare do.

Ultimately the film echoes our innermost desires – to love, to hope, and reach for dreams that reside at the extremity of our reach, just beyond the stars.

El actor Ernest Borgnine, uno de los tipos duros más famosos del western estadounidense, recibirá un reconocimiento por su trayectoria dentro del festival Almería en Corto, que se celebrará del 4 al 22 de diciembre en la citada ciudad. Pero curiosamente, a pesar de que sus largometrajes son célebres dentro del medio, el reconocimiento se le otrogará por los cortometrajes en los que ha trabajad, pero ésto sólo porque es sobre lo que gira el festival, pues los organizadores afirman que es toda su carrera la que resulta digna de reconocerse.

“Call me Snake.”

When the President of the United States is stranded in what is now a prisoned New York City, there is no one better to turn to than Snake Plissken. Snake, being sent to prison for life, has a chance for freedom if he agrees to rescue the President. Air Force One has gone down over Manhattan Island, which is now one big prison. The rest of the film are Snake Plissken’s adventures tracking down and rescuing the President.

Kurt Russell (Tombstone, Death Proof, Miracle) does a wonderful job playing Snake. An anti-hero much in the same realm as the Clint Eastwood’s “man with no name” character in the spaghetti westerns. In fact the director turns to spaghetti western film star, Lee Van Cleef (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, High Noon) as Snake’s nemesis who acts as a “warden” for the prison. The film also stars Earnest Borgnine (Best actor Marty), Harry Dean Stanton (Alien), Donald Pleasence (Halloween), and the Chef from South Park…Isaac Hayes.

I can see where Escape from New York may not be for everyone, as it is fairly low-budget, but for me John Carpenter (Halloween, The Fog, The Thing) makes it all work. It is a very entertaining film and has some comedic moments for relief. I would say give this one a chance if you haven’t, it is not that long and is a lot of fun.

The casting for Summit Entertainment’s adaptation of the Wildstorm Comics mini-series Red is hotting up. Julian McMahon, Ernest Borgnine, Richard Dreyfuss and Brian Cox are in negotiations to join Bruce Willis for Flightplan director Robert Schwentke’s new feature.

Red, originally written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Cully Hamner, tells the story of a former black-ops CIA agent now living a quiet life in retirement until the day a high-tech assassin shows up intent on killing him.

McMahon would play the Vice President, who is at the very heart of a massive conspiracy. 92 year-old Borgnine will play the keeper of the CIA’s darkest records, while Dreyfuss will be a wealthy man who builds a fortune out of lucrative government contracts. Cox takes the role of a former Cold War spy and nemesis of Willis, who plays the lead character. The line-up will also include Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John C. Reilly and Mary Louise Parker.

That’s some serious talent collected there and it’s great to see Wild Bunch star Borgnine still hard at work. I’m more than a little excited by the potential in this project. The film is scheduled to begin shooting early next year, for a projected November 2010 release.

Yes I know the Jaws quote makes no sense in the context of the film about a former black ops agent (Bruce Willis) heading out of retirement, but Dreyfuss is now in it so that’s cool.

Heat Vision had the news that Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck, Fantastic Four), Ernest Borgnine (Airwolf and loads of other things), Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind) and Brian Cox (Trick r Treat, X-Men 2, and another film also called Red) are in negotiations to join the cast for Summit’s adaptation of the Warren Ellis Wildstorm/DC Comics miniseries being directed by Robert Schwentke.

“Red” tells the tale of a former black ops agent (Bruce Willis), now in retirement, who has to contend with younger, more high-tech assassins who show up to kill him.

McMahon would play a Vice President with a dark side who is at the center of a shadow conspiracy.

Borgnine will play the keeper of the CIA’s darkest records, while Dreyfuss will be a wealthy man who builds a fortune out of lucrative government contracts. Cox is a former Cold War spy and nemesis of Willis.

The actors join a cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John C. Reilly and Mary Louise Parker.

The film is scheduled to begin shooting early next year.

“Red” marks the 92-year-old Borgnine’s first role in a major feature in quite some time; the Oscar winner and Bensky Entertainment-repped actor has been appearing in Hallmark movies such as “A Grandpa for Christmas” and making TV appearances for the past decade.

Well Red is certainly getting a big name cast. I hope some of the original coolness from the comic makes it through to the big screen.

What do you think about the casting?

Yeah, but that’s not why. Sure, today’s a mid-session crapshoot and there will be all sorts of political nonsense spewed from coast to coast. Sure, the phrase means prepare for trouble…but this is a politics-free blog.

Sure, I voted. But when I got home I was saddened to read that Lester Gruber is no longer with us. Or The Amazing Ballantine, for that matter. Because today, Meyer Kessler left this mortal coil.

All three of those people, of course, were Carl Ballantine, the cut-up on McHale’s Navy and the first magician to ever play Las Vegas…even though his whole act was being the world’s most inept magician. Carl was a character actor and a great storyteller from an age gone by, and for those lucky enough to meet him, a damned nice guy to boot. 

McHale’s Navy, in retrospect, wasn’t the funniest show on the planet, but it featured a likeable cast of guys who were always outsmarting the officers, and what kid could resist a show about thumbing your nose at authority? But it was a wartime show, and every so often the crew and their PT boat would be called upon to perform some semi-heroic deed. This was not M*A*S*H by any stretch of the imagination, but at those times, someone would invariably say batten down the hatches.

The show worked because of a great ensemble, including Billy Sands, Joe Flynn as the put upon Captain and Bob Hastings as his buffoonish aide. And while you don’t think of Ernest Borgnine as a comic actor, he held his own, although it was Ballantine and a fresh-faced Tim Conway who brought the biggest laughs.

There must have been something in that fake ocean water on the backlot at Universal Studios, because Ballantine was 87 years old and still active, and Borgnine is still making movies at 92! Hastings,  now 84, is the voice of Commissioner Gordon in some Batman games. And that young pup Tim Conway doesn’t look so bad for a guy who will be 76 next month.

They don’t make shows like this anymore. And there aren’t many around like Carl Ballantine, either. Rest in Peace.

Witness The Great Ballantine!

Another hatch battened

The Decisions That Changed the Face of Hollywood As We Know It

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The Decisions That Changed the Face of Hollywood As We Know It

‘Twilight’ without Kristen Stewart? No Brangelina without ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’? ‘Friends’ without Jennifer Aniston? ‘Titanic’ without Leonardo DiCaprio? It could have been. With one decision from the casting directors, one suggestion from a co-star or a gut reaction from a director, our favorite movies and TV shows could have wound up completely different. Take a look at some of the decisions that changed the face of Hollywood.

Fate in Hollywood: What Almost Was

Everett Collection / Paramount Vantage

13 photos

Robert Pattinson supposedly attended the ‘Twilight’ casting because he liked Kristen Stewart’s performance in ‘Into the Wild.’ See More Coincidences & Casting Decisions That Changed the Fate of Our Fave Flicks and Shows >>>

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Fate in Hollywood: What Almost Was

Robert Pattinson supposedly attended the ‘Twilight’ casting because he liked Kristen Stewart’s performance in ‘Into the Wild.’ See More Coincidences & Casting Decisions That Changed the Fate of Our Fave Flicks and Shows >>>

Everett Collection / Paramount Vantage

Everett Collection / Paramount Vantage

//

– Bruce Willis was originally cast as Danny Ocean in ‘Ocean’s Eleven.’ Replacement George Clooney celebrated by having a keg of Guinness installed in his dressing room. Jon Favreau, who wrote ‘Swingers,’ turned down the offer to write the screenplay. Owen and Luke Wilson dropped out of playing the brothers Virgil and Tuck to film ‘The Royal Tenenbaums.’ Michael Douglas and Warren Beatty were all considered for the role Terry Benedict which eventually went to Andy Garcia.

– Englishman Hugh Laurie, star of ‘House,’ won the British national title as a member of the junior coxed pair and was a varsity rower at the University of Cambridge before quitting due to mononucleosis. He rebounded by taking up acting and starring alongside love interest Emma Thompson with the Cambridge Footlights. In response to Laurie’s audition for ‘House,’ producer David Shore exclaimed “See, this is what I want; an American guy.” The audition video was shot in a hotel bathroom in Namibia. “It was the only place with enough light,” confessed Laurie.

// — Ewan McGregor turned down the role of Neo in ‘The Matrix’ to work on ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.’ His uncle, Denis Lawson, acted in the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy and was McGregor’s inspiration to get involved in show business. Will Smith turned down the role of Neo because he “wasn’t smart enough as an actor.” Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Morpheus but refused because he couldn’t understand the script. Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) didn’t tell anyone she twisted her ankle while filming for fear she would be re-cast.

– Steve McQueen was the first to turn down the role of Captain Willard in ‘Apocalypse Now.’ Jeff Bridges auditioned for the role and Nick Nolte expressed interest but director Francis Ford Coppola instead went with Harvey Keitel. Within two weeks of shooting, he was replaced by Martin Sheen.

– ‘Entourage’ is loosely based on the experiences of executive producer Mark Wahlberg as an up-and-coming Hollywood star. Kevin Connolly, who portrays Eric, had retired from acting but was convinced to act in the show after the creators said his part was written with him in mind.

– Paramount Pictures considered Ernest Borgnine, Orson Welles and George C. Scott for the role of Vito Corleone in ‘The Godfather.’ Director Francis Ford Coppola preferred either Laurence Olivier or Marlon Brando. Olivier was too sick so the role went to Brando. Sylvester Stallone was rejected for a role and shifted to screenwriting, later penning the script for ‘Rocky.’ Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson all turned down offers to play the role of Michael Corleone, a role which turned Al Pacino into a star.

– Patrick Dempsey, aka McDreamy, auditioned for the role of Dr. Chase on ‘House’ before taking the role of Dr. Shepherd on ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ Rob Lowe passed on the role. Isaiah Washington (Dr. Burke) also auditioned to portray Dr. Shepherd. The show was originally titled ‘Complications.’

– Quentin Tarantino plied Brad Pitt with five bottles of Pink Floyd Rose wine at Brangelina’s Chateau Miraval estate before he accepted a role in ‘Inglourious Basterds.’ Tarantino approached Adam Sandler to star as a Nazi but was rebuffed by his choice to film ‘Funny People.’

– ‘Gossip Girl’ was originally pitched as a feature film starring Lindsay Lohan as Blair Waldorf. After repeated failings, the show’s backers eventually approached Josh Schwartz, producer of ‘The O.C.,” to turn it into a television series. Mischa Barton turned down the role of Georgina Sparks. It was later given to Michelle Trachtenberg. Leighton Meester dyed her blonde hair brunette to audition to play Blair Waldorf.

– Despite rampant speculation to the contrary, Heath Ledger was director Christopher Nolan’s only choice to portray The Joker in ‘The Dark Knight.’ Rachel McAdams, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Emily Blunt were rumored to play Rachel Dawes, a role turned down by incumbent Katie Holmes and eventually portrayed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Josh Lucas, Mark Ruffalo and Liev Schreiber were considered for the role of Harvey Dent but Aaron Eckhart won out.

– Nicolas Cage was so close to starring in ‘The Wrestler’ that he was seen doing research for the part at a Ring of Honor Wrestling event in New York City. But director Darren Aronofsky decided against the desires of investors that Robinson could only be played by Mickey Rourke.

Sources: IMDB | Research by Dino Sossi and Megan Rumph

Ross recently mentioned that he wouldn’t want to rent a good movie when having a date over. Although I understand his point of view, I disagree and would gladly rent something worthwhile. First, if the date is a bust, you can lose yourself in a fine movie and then call it a night once the credits roll. However, if there happens to be some promise to the date then it can all unfold after the ending. If you’re part of Ross’ school of thought, by all means, avoid renting any of the following for movie date-night. If you share my view then I’m sure you’ll take pleasure in watching any of the movies from our Top Five Westerns list, which was inspired by AskMen.com’s  profile on Clint Eastwood’s anti-western Unforgiven and is this list’s honourable mention.

Tied at No. 5

For a Few Dollars More / A Fistful of Dollars

Both starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Sergio Leone.

No.4

The Wild Bunch

Starring William Holden & Ernest Borgnine. Directed by Sam Peckinpah.

No. 3

Once Upon a Time in the West

Starring Henry Fonda & Charles Bronson. Directed by Sergio Leone.

No. 2

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Starring Paul Newman & Robert Redford. Directed by George Roy Hill.

No. 1

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

Starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef & Eli Wallach. Directed by Sergio Leone.

VERDICT:
7/10 Badass Conventions

Can’t believe it took me this long to get around to this movie, also hard to believe that this was my first introduction to Lee Marvin, but man, just check out that poster, what the hell was I waiting for?

The Dirty Dozen is about a renegade Major in the U.S. military that’s ordered to take 12 soldiers who are either on death row or are serving life sentences and turn them into a mean band of Nazi-killin’ brothers so they can win back their freedom and help win WWII for the good guys in the process.

For those of you who have seen Inglourious Basterds and liked it as much as I did, you might want to give this baby a look, the inspiration is pretty obvious. That is definitely a good thing.

But aside from the whole Tarantino connection, there are probably two reasons one would want to see this movie. The first being the whole “badass convention” I mentioned up top there, and the second being that this is a “badass convention” which also happens to revolve around killing Nazis, and those are two kickass reasons to go see any movie.

So the highlighted members of the Dirty Dozen themselves are Lee Marvin as the Major in charge of the operation (who was actually a military sniper before becoming an actor, just thought I’d throw that out there), Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, Jim Brown (that’s right, football legend Jim Brown) and John Cassavetes make up five of the said dozen, and why not give two bit roles to Ernest Borgnine and George Kennedy while they’re at it. If some of these names aren’t ringing any bells, I recommend you go watch this just so you won’t have to lose any more sleep over what you’ve been missing. There aren’t a whole lot of movies out there that can claim to have what is arguably the most manly collection of guy movie legends of all time and also have them turn out solid performances to drive it all home. Kelly’s Heroes is up there, but then again, that’s just kind of a knockoff of The Dirty Dozen anyway. Sorry, Clint, nothing against you, man. You’re still a god.

But the area where this movie starts to slip is the second reason I mentioned, about this being a WWII movie. Now, from what I hear, World War II was some gritty, hardcore, brutal shit, but for some reason I really didn’t get that vibe from The Dirty Dozen. It takes a good two hours for the dozen to get their asses through boot camp and over to Germany, and only then does it start to feel like a war movie, everything else had me feeling like I was watching a group of guys dicking around and getting into various hijinks instead of acting like the hard-as-nails death row mother effers they’re supposed to be. It’s not an issue of the movie being too long or the actors living up to their badass reputations, it’s just that the writing and the dialogue is surprisingly weak and sugarcoated. Maybe it’s just dated considering how much movies have changed over the past 40 years, but it doesn’t feel serious or mean enough to be the war movie I was hoping it would.

It also has a really abrupt non-ending that I was really surprised by. I was this close to giving it an 8…then the credits started rolling. What the hell’s with that?

Anyway, I can’t say that I was blown away by The Dirty Dozen, but I wasn’t exactly disappointed by it either. It’s definitely got its merits and there are a couple great scenes here that really had me on edge and made me forget about some of the more boring parts, and it’s hard to knock a movie that’s filled to the brim with some of my all-time favorite actors. Might not be the best war movie out there, but damn if it isn’t one hell of a guy movie.

Here Marty Looks for Something to Do

The best way to learn screenwriting is to watch the great films and read the best scripts and see what works. So, I rented Marty last night and really enjoyed it. I really laughed during Network, and I guess I never realized how prolific a writer Paddy Chayefsky was. And I never realized that there were specific ways Chayefsky writes a convincing, interesting, and good script. Basically, his good movies are made up of good elements. Let’s talk about them.

Place. During the first scene in the café, Marty and his buddy Angie talk about different parts of Manhattan they could pick up girls. It’s a simple but an evocative scene that not only gives us a glimpse into Marty’s difficulties with women, but also an entire geography of New York. I believe Marty because it sounds like he lives somewhere—a gritty postwar New York, one equally intent on pleasure as work; this same city appears in flashes during the later date scenes. Later directors would delve deeper into this nighttime New York world, including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen, but Chayefsky paves the way. Marty, and the city, both come alive for me in this scene.

Stakes. There are very few “stakes” in this movie, nor does there need to be. At the Starlight Ballroom, a cad asks Marty to take his date, Clara, home because she is a “dog.” He offers him five bucks. He refuses. The cad asks someone else to do it, this someone agrees, but Clara refuses to be taken home. End scene. Now, a modern screenplay coach would write all over this scene, “Raise the stakes!” but guess what, simplicity works. Screenplays need not depict life, but I care more about the movies that give me believable characters and plot; I don’t need an angry brawl, a ripped dress, or a public scene to make me believe that both Marty and Clara are unhappy. Stakes are for situational comedies and idiots. Make the scene intrinsic to the characters and their behavior, not how you would want them to behave.

Character. Marty is ultimately the reason this movie works for me. He is lovable, kind, and hilarious. In one scene, again in the Starlight Ballroom, Clara and Marty dance. They talk, yet it becomes clear to the audience that Marty is dominating the conversation. When he finally takes Clara home, they have a five minute conversation on butchering or rather Marty delivers a monologue on the right way to cut a loin. He is eccentric and he is clueless.

If this were today, Marty would be focus-grouped into becoming some Gap wearing hipster that middle America could “understand.” Yet losers, huge losers, are the life-blood of the movies, and Chayefsky knew this. You can identify with any number of coffee-swilling white-bread male, but it’s the Rockies, the Forrest Gumps, the underdogs that you root for.

So, let’s make movies that emphasize these three things: believable place, believable characters, and reasonable stakes. Movies require no more and ask for no less.

This past Tuesday, September 8th was the anniversary of the first Miss America contest way back in 1921.

According to Cindy Adams gossip column here are several famous women who were once…excuse me?..Yes, that’s right Cindy Adams gossip column…hm?…all right that’s enough of that, not all my sources are the Encyclopedia Britannica. Anyway there are a great many beauty pageant losers and winners that went on to fame afterward; for instance, actress  Dyan Cannon was once Miss West Seattle– “not even all of Seattle”– carps Ms. Adams.

So okay, like what beauty pageant did Ms. Adams ever win even that she can make fun of Dyan Cannon winning Miss West Seattle? Oh I see, none. Wow. Big surprise. Bet the smartass wouldn’t even win a beauty pageant in her apartment building.

Gena Lee Nolin of “Baywatch” (Pamela Lee Anderson Part Deux) was Miss Las Vegas. Or as Miss Adams might scoff, “Hmph..not even all of Nevada.” And Maria Conchita Alonso was 14-years-old when she won Miss Teenager of the World. Or as Ms. Adams might say, “Pfft…not even all of the solar system.” Speaking of Pamela Lee, her ex-husband Tommy Lee is from pageant-winning pedigree. His mother, Vassiliki Papadimitriou was Miss Greece in 1957.

Susan Anton won Miss Muriel Cigars in 1970, which led of course to her sweet and excellent prestigious job as an actress in Muriel Cigar TV commercials.

Halle Berry was a Miss USA runner-up, and Cloris Leachman was a 1946 Miss America runner-up. Faye Dunaway was a Tallahassee May Queen loser, in good company with Linda Evangelista, a loser in the Miss Teen Niagara Pageant. Jeez, what did the winner look like if Linda Evangelista lost? Ah, but you never know. Ever see a picture of Jennifer Garner as a kid? Puzzling.

Some women were apparently beautiful immediately upon leaving the womb. Beginning when she was 13-years-old, Raquel Welch won Miss La Jolla, Miss Photogenic, Miss Contour, Miss Maid of California, and lots of men’s hearts with her Cave Woman “One Million Years B.C.” poster.

Similarly, before pin-up hottie Loni Anderson entranced America on “WKRP in Cincinnati” the busty star represented Miss Roseville in the 1964 Miss Minnesota Pageant. She was runner-up. Get this though: She was a brunette. In fact she was born with jet-black hair, dying it blonde when she moved to Hollywood.

Natural blonde actress Cybill Shepherd was Miss Teenage Memphis in 1966, at age 16, and a decade later, Deborah Norville was 1976’s Georgia Junior Miss winner, the same year that Michelle Pfeiffer was Miss Orange County. And two decades later again, Ali Landry, the Doritos Girl from that 1998 Super Bowl commercial (no relation to Super Bowl-winning Dallas Cowboy coach Tom Landry) was Miss USA in 1996.

Even Alan Alda’s mother, nee Joan Brown, was in on the action, winning a beauty pageant in which she was called “Miss New York”. I worded that coyly because a list of Miss New York winners does not show her to be among them. So I guess there was some other Miss New York-like pageant? You would think that with all the idiosyncratic pageant titles out there–Miss Muriel Cigars, Miss Burbank (won in 1948 by a barefoot Debbie Reynolds), Miss Eleganza in Naples (won by a 13-year-old Sophia Loren in white shoes she painted black)–you would think that a pageant wouldn’t have to name its winner the same name as another pageant.

There was a Miss Greenwich Village, which smoky-voiced Lauren Bacall won in 1942. At least it is believed smoky-voiced Lauren Bacall won. Being Greenwich Village it could have been…well…let’s just say a “smoky-voiced” impostor.

Oh now here’s a fun one: Martha Stewart won Glamour magazine’s Best-Dressed College Girl in 1961. “Best Dressed College Girl”. It almost sounds like one of those consolation descriptions when someone’s getting set up on a blind date: “You’re asking me what does she look like? Oh. Well, She’s got a great personality.” Or, “You wanna know what his hair looks like? Oh. Well, it’s a lovely flesh-tone actually.” “Best Dressed College Girl”. Technically speaking, you can look like Ernest Borgnine and win “Best Dressed College Girl.”

Vera Miles, the actress who played Janet Leigh’s sister in “Psycho” won the swimsuit competition at the 1948 Miss America contest. She lost the overall competition though, coming in 3rd place. The winner? A Minnesota farm girl named BeBe Shopp, who played the marimba in the talent portion. I think I was in a BeBe Shopp once–buying pellet gun ammunition.

Speaking of “Psycho”, Kathie Lee Gifford was an America’s Junior Miss Pageant contestant representing Maryland. She was disqualified however when she accidentally broke the rules by talking with a man in public. Did they actually think Miss Gifford would be able to NOT talk in public for any extended period of time. But in her defense, “Talking with a man in public” was her crime? Is that a typo? Maybe they meant “talking with a man in pubic?” Tsk tsk.

Before Regis Philbin teamed up with the perky Kathie Lee Gifford for their morning TV show, Regis co-hosted PM Magazine with perky Mary Hart who finished in the top ten in the 1970 Miss America Pageant. She was Miss South Dakota.

The following year, Miss Texas won the 1971 Miss America title. Phyllis George was her name and she went on to fame as a TV host on many shows. She has the distinction of being the only winner to drop her crown on live television. So naturally she was steered into sports broadcasting by the TV network geniuses. Ms. George was maligned in the beginning of her career as being a pretty face placed unfairly into various hosting duties.

Former pageant contestant Diane Sawyer faced the same sort of criticism at the start of her career, perhaps even moreso. Maybe because she was blonde. Or maybe because she was a press aide to Richard Nixon during his presidency and after his Watergate resignation. After his Watergate resignation. Regardless, Ms. Sawyer’s career isn’t exactly suffering, being one of the highest paid newswomen in history, so who’s to say blondes don’t make smart moves.

Take fellow blonde Marla Maples  for instance, who placed 4th in Georgia’s Miss Teen Pageant, winning Miss Photogenic. A wily and smart young lady, she set her sights on Donald Trump, or vice versa, and look at her career now! She’s in a reality TV show! Yeah I swear! A real honest to goodness reality TV show! Top that Ms. Sawyer!

Here’s another fun pageant title: In 1957 Ali McGraw was a contestant in the “Prettiest Waitress” pageant. I’m not kidding. The winner received a pinch on the ass by Bob Barker while being told: “Hey sweet cheeks, I’ll have another cup of coffee when you get around to it.”

True Amazing Trivia Alert! Which of the following ladies is a pageant champion? Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, Imelda Marcos or Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis? The answer? None other than the enchantingly gorgeous Imelda Romualdez who reigned as Miss Manilla in 1953 before becoming First Lady of the Philippines beside hubby Ferdinand Marcos. Who knew? In the final question phase of the competition I wonder if she mentioned her goal to own a bazillion pairs of shoes.

I like that Delta Burke is an actual former beauty pageant contestant who played a former beauty pageant contestant on the show “Designing Women”. She was Miss Florida in 1974 but came up short in the Miss America Pageant after the talent portion of the contest in which Miss Burke performed a British dramatic theatrical recitation by the soon-to-be-beheaded Queen Anne Boleyn…in a Southern accent. Maybe she should have played the marimba.

There’ve been many more beauty pageant contestants who became famous I could mention…Vanessa Williams, Jeri Ryan, Mary Frann, Sharon Lawrence, Kim Basinger, someone named Oprah Winfrey, Debra Messing….

But the last one I will mention is actress Sharon Stone who won the Saegertown Spring Festival Queen title and the 1976 Miss Crawford County Pageant. As it happens I used to date a woman who had competed in that very same pageant! Not the same year as Ms. Stone, but a few years afterward. I asked her if she would share any details she can remember about what it was like to be a contestant in that Pageant. Kindly answering back, she wrote: “… several years prior to my entering the pageant, this was the place that Sharon Stone launched her career by actually winning the Miss Crawford County Pageant.” And with regard to the activities involved she remembered: “Well, all the contestants had to meet in a place about 5 miles from the fairgrounds, and we all were assigned to a topless Corvette. We had to sit on the top of the seat so that our bodies were up in the air and had the crap blown out of our nicely styled hair as we were paraded through town to the fairgrounds.”

I had to do a double take when I read “assigned to a topless…” before registering the sentence correctly in my mind.

Well that’s the trivia for today. I’ve been remiss the past few days due to working long hours on “Law and Order” which I hope to provide fun details about later.

Right after I solve world peace.

(Sources: http://www.missamerica1933.com/missamerica.html; http://www.pageantcenter.com/famous.html; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America’s_Junior_Miss)

If there’s anyone who likes to say “I told you so” more than me I’d like to meet him and shake his hand because it would make him the most awesome person in the world.*

I of course would still retain my World’s Most Handsome Boy title.

Anyway.

I TOLD YOU SO!

Since the fucking 80s(1986)  I’ve been telling anybody that would listen that human teleportation is an accident waiting to happen and that Howard Jones was  the future of music.

As usual I was right. 

And so the worst has happened.

Last month Mr. Impatience, Bob Seger teleported himself to a golf match unaware that Ernest Borgnine was napping in-between performing routine maintenence in the same pod.

Happy now people?

Recipe for disaster: 

Take one heartland hippie leftover……

I fucking hate your music. (the early stuff.  From 2000 on you rock!)

Add one snoozing Eight ball……

                                      I gotta give you Pelham 1-2-3.

And here you have it……….

            If it tries to sing, shoot it.   Then shoot yourself just to be safe.

* I didn’t say “her” because I wouldn’t want to shake the woman’s hand that says “I told you so” more than me.  I’d call her a steady stream of names and have sex with her friends in an effort to give her as many disorders as possible because it’s funny and also because I’m a dick, Ms. Know it All Hammer Toe.

by Jonathan Burrello

Spencer Tracy is one of those actors who no matter what, always manages to remain consistently entertaining, real, powerful, and strangely understated. Many of his performances were quiet and earnest, yet one might always suspect that there rested a stern bite beneath the surface. His later work in such films as the phenomenal “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961) which chronicles the trials for the Nazis’ crimes against humanity following World War II; the racially charged “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967) in which his white daughter is engaged to a black man (played by Sidney Poitier); and even a wryly comic role as the straight-laced Capt. Culpepper who decides that he might be entitled to more in “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” (1963) to name a few are very memorable.

His white hair, craggy face, and gentle, thoughtful timber (in his later films anyway) added much to many films. Not terribly fond of rehearsals, Tracy would read the script once several days before shooting and not look at it again (in order to preserve the freshness). Tracy (much like Frank Sinatra) was also not fond of multiple takes.

Today I wish to highlight what can best be categorized as a “neo-western.” The Spencer Tracy vehicle, “Bad Day at Black Rock” (1955), follows many of the familiar conventions of typical cowboy/western fare, but the added touch of taking place in 1945 gives it a unique contemporary flare to it.  The film is directed by John Sturges (“The Great Escape”), and “Bad Day at Black Rock” also stars Robert Ryan (“Battle of the Bulge”), Lee Marvin (“The Dirty Dozen”), Ernest Borgnine (“Marty”), Anne Francis (“Forbidden Planet”), and Walter Brennan (“The Pride of the Yankees”).

“Bad Day at Black Rock” is set in a quiet—too quiet—western town in the middle of nowhere. There are only a few residents and the train never stops there…that is until the mild-mannered John J. Macreedy (Spencer Tracy) shows up. Macreedy, a one-armed war veteran, is greeted with hostility and suspicion by all. It seems everything the intelligent and likable Macreedy does bothers the residents of Black Rock.

Macreedy, a simple gentleman, with a streak of hopelessness since the loss of his arm, has come to Black Rock with one simple purpose: to give a medal to man who’s son saved him in the war. The catch: the man is a Japanese-American named Komoko. Macreedy learns (despite many attempts to chase him out of town) that tough guy, Reno Smith (Ryan), and his thugs are extremely racist and murdered Komoko. From then on it’s a taut suspense thriller to see if Macreedy can stay alive until the next train comes (the next day). In addition to being an older guy with one arm against a town of cowardly thugs out to get him, Macreedy also is filled with a new purpose: to avenge Komoko and bring his murderers to justice, but as the Black Rock residents close in and gradually cut off communication and transportation to the outside world the situation becomes increasingly dire. The few friends he has made in Black Rock are all too conflicted and afraid to help him so Macreedy truly is alone in the wretched desert town. It all culminates into an edge-of-your-seat final showdown (but definitely not your typical western showdown).

“Bad Day at Black Rock” is a satisfying film with great performances and a sharp look. The suspense and feelings of isolation really boost the story into something quite special. A rather humorous and violent exchange between Borgnine and Tracy in a bar is particularly enjoyable. Macreedy’s transformation from a man whose handicap has led him to give up on himself into a man full of righteous indignation and a profound sense of purpose that awakens his will to survive is electrifying. Once again Spencer Tracy gives a very fine performance as the exceedingly polite but resolve-filled John J. Macreedy.

I strongly recommend you seek out and watch “Bad Day at Black Rock.” It’s a pleasurable little film with a lot of strong atmosphere, color, and suspense. I loved it and I think you will too.

picture references:
LIFE magazine
The Fedora Lounge

Hace algo más de un mes os presenté mi particular recopilación de feos de la gran pantalla ya desaparecidos.

Esta segunda entrega la dedico a los que por su edad, aún estando con nosotros, ya no podemos verlos en nuevos papeles, a esos, que aunque mayores, aún trabajan, y a los que andan rozando la tercera edad, y aún pueden dar mucho de sí durante unos cuantos años.

Son feuchos, pero algunos de ellos, entrañables y excelentes actores, y nos han hecho, y nos hacen disfrutar, con sus películas.

Veamos sus fotos, y repasemos un poco sus vidas.

Por su edad, es Ernest Borgnine el que encabeza esta entrega. El no muy agraciado rostro de este norteamericano nacido en Connecticut el 24 de enero de 1917, hemos podido verlo en la pantalla casi sin interrupción durante cinco décadas (su último trabajo lo realizó para televisión en 2007, y para el cine, un año antes, en “La cura del gorilla”). Excelente actor, no siempre contratado para papeles principales, comenzó su carrera para el cine en 1951. Los espectadores de entonces, pudieron acostumbrarse a ver su rostro en roles secundarios, en películas como “De aquí a la eternidad” (1953), de Fred Zinnemann, o “Johnny Guitar” (1954), de Nicholas Ray, hasta verlo interpretar magistralmente el papel protagonista de “Marty” (1955), de Delbert Mann, que en la edición de ese año de los Oscar, consiguió cuatro galardones, uno de ellos, el de Mejor Actor Principal, otorgado a Borgnine. Una larguísima lista de títulos de películas, acompaña a la también larga vida de este actor. En esas películas hemos podido verlo principalmente en papeles de buena persona, pero también en interpretaciones de “malo”, en las que sus chispeantes ojos, se han vuelto acerados, y su sonrisa, que parece exhibir más dientes que el resto de los humanos, se ha torcido en una mueca que nos ha sobrecogido. Borgnine: Un feo pero entrañable buen actor.

Henry Silva, un neoyorquino nacido en 1928, de padres portorriqueños, no ha conseguido a lo largo de su carrera, la merecida fama de Borgnine, pero sus rasgos exóticos, aunque calificables de feos, se han paseado por la pantalla en multitud de films. Esos rasgos no convencionales, nada más comenzar en el cine le encasillaron en papeles de villano, muchas veces dando vida a personajes orientales, como en “El mensajero del miedo” (1962), en la que al lado de Laurence Harvey, interpretaba a un guía coreano. Dos años más tarde protagonizó “The return of Mr. Moto”, en la que daba vida a un detective japonés. Hemos podido verle en westerns, en papeles de indio americano o en roles de mexicano, y ha participado a lo largo de su carrera en varias series de televisión. Lleva alejado de la pantalla desde 2001, en ese año realizó su último trabajo en “Ocean´s Eleven”. El anterior fue en 1999, con un papel en la estupenda película de Jim Jarmusch, “Ghost Dog: El Camino del Samurai”. Silva es de los que su físico no ha mejorado con la edad.

El francés Jean-Paul Belmondo nació en 1933. A mediados de los años 50, ya se podía ver en la pantalla su rostro no muy agraciado, pero simpático y con su punto atractivo. En 1960, Jean-Luc Godard, lo eligió para protagonizar al lado de la malograda Jean Seberg, “Al final de la escapada”, pionera de la “Nouvelle Vague” del cine francés. Corta, pero recordada, es su interpretación en “Dos mujeres”, también de 1960, la excelente película de Vittorio de Sica, en la que Sofía Loren consiguió el Oscar a la mejor actriz por su papel protagonista. Dos años más tarde, se ganó a los espectadores aficionados al cine de aventuras dando vida a “Cartouche”, un carismático ladrón que robaba a los ricos para darlo a los pobres. La rodó a las órdenes de Philippe de Broca, con quien ha colaborado a lo largo de su carrera en varias ocasiones, y que ha sido uno de los últimos directores que le ha dirigido (“Amazone” – 2000). Su último trabajo lo realizó en 2008, en el film “Un homme et son chien”. Belmondo, al que se conoció durante años como “El hombre más feo del cine francés”, sobre todo, por la deformación de su nariz, rota durante sus escarceos juveniles con el boxeo, ha trabajado con los grandes directores de su país. Claude Chabrol, Henri Verneuil, René Clément, Louis Malle, François Truffaut y Claude Lelouch, entre otros, han contado con el. La edad tampoco le ha favorecido.

Richard Lynch, que según unas biografías, datan su nacimiento en 1936, y otras en 1940, puede que sea el más difícil de ubicar por algunos de los lectores de “Tierra de Cinéfagos”, y no precisamente por no ser extensa su filmografía. Pero aunque extensa, en contadas ocasiones ha protagonizado un film (de esas “contadas”, en este momento no recuerdo ninguna), y eso puede influir a la hora de reconocerle. Eso, y que, las fotografías que he encontrado para ilustrar su apartado, no hacen justicia a su fealdad. No sé si alguien coincidirá conmigo, pero su rostro plagado de pequeños surcos, sus labios incoloros y su pequeña nariz, siempre me ha producido la sensación de estar viendo unas facciones desdibujadas. Por supuesto, Lynch en sus roles, casi siempre ha estado en el lado de los “malos”, y desde principios de los 70, década en la que comenzó su profesión de actor, hemos podido verlo tanto en la pantalla grande, como en la pequeña, en numerosas ocasiones. Colaboraciones en “Battlestar Galactica” (1978), “Starsky y Hutch”, “Los Ángeles de Charlie”, “Galáctica”, para televisión, y en “Espías sin identidad”, de 1988 (que protagonizaba el desaparecido River Phoenix), o “Scanner Cop” (1994), para el cine, han hecho que su cara nos resulte familiar. No es un actor al que recordamos por sus grandes interpretaciones; nunca hemos podido verle en papeles relevantes, porque las películas en las que ha intervenido tampoco lo son, pero ahí está, feucho, pero trabajando sin descanso, siempre con proyectos entre manos.

Danny Trejo, californiano de ascendencia mexicana, nacido en 1944 y primo del director Robert Rodríguez, no era muy atractivo en su juventud, pero la edad ha marcado todavía más sus duros rasgos, y los surcos de su cara. Es otro de los actores a los que hemos podido ver en multitud de films de acción. Por supuesto, sus roles son los del “malo”. Su carrera cinematográfica comenzó con “El tren del infierno” (1986), película en la que interpretaba a un convicto. Entre otros títulos, hemos podido verlo en “Desperado” (1995), en “Abierto hasta el amanecer” (1996) y todas sus secuelas, en “Con Air” (1997), en “xXx” (2001), y al año que viene podremos verlo protagonizando “Machete”, dirigida por Robert Rodríguez. Este feo del cine todavía tiene mucho que decir…

Nacido en 1947,  californiano y también de ascendencia mexicana es Edward James Olmos. Comparte además surcos en su rostro con Danny Trejo, que son mayormente lo que afean sus facciones. Una de las primeras veces que pudimos verle en pantalla, fue en la ahora convertida en todo un clásico de la ciencia ficción, “Blade Runner”, que dirigió Ridley Scott en 1982. Fue posteriormente el autoritario teniente de policía Martin Castillo en la serie televisiva “Corrupción en Miami”, y realizó un excelente trabajo en 1998, coprotagonizando “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit”, basada en un relato de Ray Bradbury. Mucho más dedicada su profesión al mundo televisivo, actualmente interpreta a William Adama, el almirante de la flota interestelar, en la nueva versión de la serie “Battlestar Galáctica”.

Gérard Depardieu vino al mundo en 1947 en Francia, al igual que Belmondo, y comparte una parte de la fealdad de este, relacionada con su nariz, también rota y prominente. En 1976, en uno de sus primeros trabajos para el cine, pudimos verle al lado de Robert de Niro en “Novecento”, de Bernardo Bertolucci, y su interpretación nos resultó totalmente convincente. Su físico no lo ha llevado a interpretar papeles de villano, si no, que al igual que Belmondo, la comedia y el drama se han ido entrelazando en su carrera. Compuso un magnífico “Cyrano de Bergerac” en 1990, y en 1992, puso rostro a Cristóbal Colón en “1492: La Conquista del Paraíso”. Al año siguiente rodó “Germinal”, una dramática superproducción, en la que nuevamente exhibió su talento interpretativo. Entre las muchas películas que componen su filmografía, hemos podido verle en los últimos tiempos, interpretando al orondo y entrañable Obélix en las tres entregas que se han realizado sobre el personaje de “Astérix”, creado por René Goscinny (guión) y Albert Uderzo (dibujo). Excelente Depardieu…

Michael Berryman, nacido en California en 1948, es ese actor que no necesita maquillaje para interpretar personajes terroríficos. Padece Displasis Hipohidrótica Ectodérmica, que en sus estadios mas agudos, como es el de este actor, impide la sudoración, el desarrollo del cabello y las uñas, y la alteración de las facciones. Muy solicitado por su físico para películas de terror, principalmente de la serie B, hemos podido verle también en películas como “Stark Trek IV” (1986).

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Podéis ver la primera parte de “Feos”, pinchando en el enlace de abajo

Los Feos del Cine – (1ª parte) – Los que ya no están

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Swanson 

Everyone has their own way to coach;  their own way to motivate, inspire and discipline their athletes.  We all have a different approach.  What works for one, may not work for another.  Bob Knight and Thad Matta do things differently yet both are successful.    A few nights ago I was watching one of my favorite movie’s of all-time, ‘The Dirty Dozen‘.

Guys like Lee Marvin, Jim Brown, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy and  John Cassavetes lead an all-star crew directed by Robert Aldrich about a bunch of prisoners who, led by Marvin, who portrays a tough Major assigned to command a squad of felons on a mission against the Nazi’s.

Twelve men strong,  ranging from the funny and tough to the psychotic are promised their freedom if they can survive the almost impossible, top-secret mission.   After recruiting his team from jail,  Marvin takes them through a tough training regime, resulting in their molding into an efficient and ruthless fighting crew.   ‘The Dozen’,  build their compound out in the field from the ground up all the while complaining about everything.  They took part in field drills by climbing ropes with perseverance, grit and determination.  Along with sharpening their self-defense skills, these guys made a pretty strong team.

They kidded with each other and they came to blows with each other.  In one classic scene Cassavates wants to escape at night but Brown and Bronson hear him trying to cut through the fence and quickly put a stop to any escape.

The training session finishes up in a war game, pitting Marvin’s troops against another unit.

“We gotta get ‘em thinking like a team.” Marvin says.

Here’s one of my favorite scenes of all-time in any movie with Donald Sutherland playing the part of a ‘make-believe’ General.

-Coach Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

In case you weren’t aware, the Rhode Island International Film Festival – held every year in downtown Providence – kicks off its 13th annual seven-day star-studded event tomorrow, August 4. And in case you aren’t sure how big the Fest really is, consider these stats:

235 films from 57 countries

38 world premieres and 21 North American premieres

special guest appearances by Ernest Borgnine (accepting a RIIFF lifetime achievement award) and William Shatner (accepting a Nathaniel Greene Humanitarian Award), and NBA sports legend Wat Misaka, among others

The RIIF bills itself as the largest public film festival in New England and an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences qualifying event. Considering that Providence is a mere hour and some change from Lowell, this is a great opportunity for film fans.

If you’re looking for a good day to go, opt for this Saturday, August 8 – the beautiful downtown Providence Waterfire celebration will be going on simultaneously with the film fest. Waterfire is truly an amazing experience that starts at sundown and continues well into the evening – the perfect diversion from celluloid overload…if you actually need one.