Maria Bello and Michael Sheen have wrapped production on Beautiful Boy, an indie film directed by Shawn Ku. It has quite an eclectic cast as it also stars Moon Bloodgood (Terminator Salvation), Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dollhouse), Kyle Gallner, Austin Nichols and Meat Loaf (Fight Club) according to Variety.

Bello and Sheen play a married couple on the verge of separation when they are hit with the news their 18-year-old son committed a mass shooting at his college, before taking his own life.

The film, which just wrapped in L.A., marks the feature directing debut for Ku, who created a stir in Sundance for his unconventional musical short film “Pretty Dead Girl.”

Bello was recently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for “Downloading Nancy,” and Sheen most recently starred in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “The Damned United.”

Sounds like an interesting yet harrowing tale and there are some cracking actors involved. Michael Sheen is always good as is Maria Bello (who seems to alternate between total sauciness as seen in A History of Violence to kid friendly The Mummy 3). Good to see Moon Bloodgood – pictured on the right – branching out from sci-fi such as Journeyman,Daybreak and Terminator Salvation).

listen, mr. backseat driver, if you don't like me driving through explosions, you can get out whenever you want!

PG-13

Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood, Bryce Dallas Howard

Marcus: What is that?
Kyle: Two day old coyote.  …Better than three day old coyote.

Skynet has launched its attack on the humans and only isolated pockets of human resistance remain.  Their leader, John Connor (Bale), knows that he must find Kyle Reese, the man that he apparently will send back in time to help his own mother survive against the Terminator sent to kill her.  But, he’ll need the help of Marcus Wright (Worthington), a murderer who was subjected to bizarre experiments years before and is now as much machine as man.

I had certainly heard a lot of bad buzz about this movie back when it came out in theaters, so I was ready for the worst going in.  As it turns out, I was pleasantly surprised.  Not that it was all that good, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as most reviews would have me believe.  Sure some of the characters, especially John Connor, could have been more interesting, but Marcus’ story was compelling enough to make up for at least some of that.

The movie really does belong to Sam Worthington as Marcus.  His character goes through more of an arc than anybody, and even though I wouldn’t call it a stellar performance, Worthington shows a pretty decent range.  One thing that did bother me, though, was that they have Anton Yelchin, a decidedly annoying actor, playing the young Kyle Reese, a character I loved as a kid.  Yelchin is no Michael Biehn.

My first post in this blog, back before it was just movie reviews, included something about this movie.  I mentioned that the trailer seemed to indicate that it had a more serious tone than some other big action movies, like Transformers.  Now having watched it, I can see that I was right, thankfully.  While it does have some quick references to the earlier movies in the series (e.g. Bale delivering the “I’ll be back” line), it doesn’t stoop to the goofy levels that most big blockbusters do.  Of course, it does have plenty of things exploding, with little rest between action sequences.

I have to wonder if maybe the weak ending is what really left people with a bad taste in their mouth.  The actions by the humans and Skynet both seem a little uninspired and hard to buy.  The whole final 4th of the movie doesn’t feel like it was very well thought out.  I don’t want to say much more about it, but even though it’s executed well, it just doesn’t have much kick to it.  And it’s not particularly believable.

I’d say the movie, for the most part, delivers on what you go in hoping to see.  Robots, big and small, battling it out with humans for control of the world.  It’s just less bloody than you’d expect.  Why the PG-13?  First Die Hard, now Terminator.  What’s happening to all my childhood favorite super-violent movie series!?

Don’t underestimate the machines.

10 – 1.2 for an uninspiring ending – 1.5 for lacking in much character development – .6 for a couple dull, unimaginative action sequences that go on way too long = 6.7

Erleben Sie die Rückkehr einer der größten Action-Serien aller Zeiten
TERMINATOR – DIE ERLÖSUNG
Ab 30. November 2009 wehrt sich die Menschheit auf High Definition Blu-ray™ & DVD
Blu-ray-Edition mit zahlreichen exklusiven Extras wie Extended Directors Cut und Maximum Movie Mode, mit dem die Zuschauer den Film gemeinsam mit McG sehen können!

München, 30. November 2009: In dem futuristischen Action-Epos TERMINATOR – DIE ERLÖSUNG starten die Stars Christian Bale (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) und Sam Worthington (Avatar – Aufbruch nach Pandora) einen Krieg zwischen Mensch und Maschine, den Sony Pictures Home Entertainment am 30. November 2009 auf Blu-ray und DVD veröffentlicht.

Die TERMINATOR – DIE ERLÖSUNG-Blu-ray und -DVD liefern viele spektakuläre Bonusfeatures wie *Die Zukunft neu erfinden *einen exklusiven Blick hinter die Kulissen der Filmproduktion *Der Moto-Terminator *eine Doku über die Zusammenarbeit zwischen dem Team für visuelle Effekte und Ducati bei der Entwicklung des ebenso rasanten wie tödlichen Moto-Terminators – sowie elf Mini-Dokus über die Entstehung der zukunftsweisenden Spezialeffekte.

TERMINATOR – DIE ERLÖSUNG stieg sofort auf Platz 1 der deutschen Kinocharts und erhielt darüber hinaus einen Bogey für 1 Millionen Besucher in 10 Tagen. Insgesamt gesehen schaffte es jeder Terminator zum Start an die Spitze der Kinocharts. Die ersten drei Filme spielten weltweit mehr als 1 Mrd. Dollar ein.

Die Blu-ray-Edition von TERMINATOR – DIE ERLÖSUNG bietet außerdem exklusiv Regisseur McGs Directors Cut des Films mit zusätzlichem, im Kino nicht gezeigtem Filmmaterial sowie die Maximum Movie Mode-Option, die es den Zuschauern erlaubt, den Film gemeinsam mit Regisseur McG zu erleben, und Picture In Picture (PiP)-Kommentare von Darstellern und Crew.

Außerdem gibt es 11 Mini-Dokus, Storyboards, Standbildgallerien und vieles mehr. Zu den BD-Live-Features der Disk gehören 10 downloadbare Terminator TechCom“-Videos, ständig aktualisierte Infos zum Film über movieIQ sowie cinechat, ein Feature, dass es Filmfans ermöglicht, live mit Freunden auf der ganzen Welt zu chatten, während sie diesen oder jeden anderen cinechat-fähigen BD-Titel von Sony sehen.

Der gefeierte Regisseur McG (3 Engel für Charlie 1 & 2) zeichnet für TERMINATOR – DIE ERLÖSUNG verantwortlich. Neben Christian Bale ist in diesem visuell atemberaubenden Kampf um die Rettung der Menschheit eine starbesetzte Darstellerriege zu sehen, darunter der australische Newcomer Sam Worthington (Avatar – Aufbruch nach Pandora), der dank einer persönlichen Empfehlung von James Cameron die Rolle des Marcus Wright“ übernahm, Bryce Dallas Howard (The Village – Das Dorf), der bekannte amerikanische Hip- Hop-Künstler Common (Wanted), der aufstrebende Jungstar Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) und Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter).

TERMINATOR – DIE ERLÖSUNG wurde von Moritz Borman (Terminator 3: Rebellion der Maschinen), Derek Anderson (After the Wedding), Victor Kubicek (Nach der Hochzeit) und Jeffrey Silver (300) produziert.

Das Autorenteam John D. Brancato und Michael Ferris (Terminator 3: Aufstand der Machinen, The Game – Das Geschenk seines Lebens) schrieb das Drehbuch.

Weitere Darsteller sind Jane Alexander (The Ring), Moon Bloodgood (Inside Hollywood) and Michael Ironside (Total Recall – Die totale Erinnerung). International wurde der Film von Sony Pictures Releasing veröffentlicht und hat eine Laufzeit von etwa 114 Minuten. Er ist für DVD und Blu-ray ab 16 Jahren freigegeben.

Let me preface this by saying… I am not a tv guy.

If you’ve followed this blog any, you know that.

I can, and routinely do, go months without watching TV. I in fact do not own a tv. But I do own laptops and quite an extensive DVD collection. I keep abreast of what people are saying is hot or good in TV land, and eventually get around to trying the DVDs.

And usually all these hyped shows… I’m unimpressed.

LOST, 24, PRISON BREAK, HEROES all shows I’ve heard rapturous praise, and finally seen… they’re uneven at best, with some great episodes, but mostly a lot of filler, sub-par episodes.

THE WIRE is another show that I heard so much praise for, and finally watched it cannot hold a candle to its predecessor HOMICIDE.

Typically it’s the British Television shows that I think are currently knocking it out the park. Shows like HUSTLE and ULTRAVIOLET and JEKYLL and TORCHWOOD: CHILDREN OF EARTH. Because their seasons are tight, they avoid the filler and weak episodes so common to American Television seasons.

There are exceptions, a few American shows, that are televison at its finest.

DAY BREAK is one of those shows.

To say it’s 24 meets Groundhog Day, gives you a crude and unwieldy signpost, and ultimately a lacking one. It is those two things, those two vague and well worn themes, but done right and brilliantly and strong for the whole season.

I have things to do, and places to go, and I cannot stop watching the bloody DVDs.

It’s BRILLIANT!

So of course it was canceled in one season.

I mean multi-ethnic cast, strong Black lead character… Oh please cancel me now, and let’s leave on crap like SMALLVILLE, or another CSI or LAW AND ORDER.

But while it may have only been one season, at least is was a GREAT FRIGGING SEASON!

Try it for yourself. And don’t forget to listen to all the commentaries, pretty great stuff.

Moon Bloodgood

Dentro de los numerosos rumores e información que suele salir antes del estreno del blockbuster de turno, hubo uno que circuló sobre “Terminator Salvation” que me hizo gracia. Aquí se hizo eco Swanson en su momento.  Se ve que un desnudo (que no lo era tanto, visto el vídeo que vais a ver a continuación) podía hacer temblar los resultados en taquilla de la cuarta entrega de Terminator, debido a una calificación por edades que haría mermar la venta de entradas. Es decir, una tetilla al descubierto es mucho más ofensiva que una cabeza reventada por un disparo. Pero ya sabemos cómo van estas cosas. Si muchas veces alzamos el grito por lo que hacen o lo que dicen en Estados Unidos, aquí tambien tenemos lo nuestro (la calificación de Saw VI o la censura en algunas ciudades al cartel de Diario de una Ninfómana). Pero lo más curioso es que no había tanto que ocultar. La escena en cuestión no es nada del otro mundo y la polémica creada es totalmente ridícula. Una escena de Los Vigilantes de la Playa podría haber sido más censurable que la que nos ocupa.

Para ver el vídeo del “topless de Moon Bloodgood” pincha aquí

Fdo: Snake  

Moon Bloodgood topless from Terminator Salvation

El topless de Moon Bloodgood eliminado de Terminator Salvation.

TERMINATOR franchise rights up for auction

No word on how this might effect Christian Bale’s already reported 3 movie deal for the new Terminator trilogy they had been working on. Seems unlikely he would return but that doesn’t mean his contract couldn’t be included in the purchase (or does it?).

——-
——-

Desde que llegó a las pantallas la cinta de Terminator Salvation, se habló de una escena eliminada, en donde la actriz Moon Bloodgood hace un breve topless. Sin embargo, una vez que la misma se dio a conocer, resultó ser un verdadero fiasco: Las tomas son deliberadamente obscuras, y en los acercamientos ella se cubre con las manos, de modo que el topless es prácticamente inexistente. Al parecer, se trata sólo de un gancho para impulsar las ventas de la versión en DVD. Así que es mejor que se apresuren a verla, pues es muy probable que sea retirada pronto.

A entrega do Scream Awards 2009, teve algumas surpresas, e reconhecimentos, True Blood, Watchmen  e Star Trek merecidamente.

Para quem não sabe o Scream Awars, é a premiação mais famosa voltada a SCI-Fi, filmes de terror, Quadrinhos e Fantasia.

THE ULTIMATE SCREAM (Melhor Filme)

Arraste-me para o Inferno
Deixe Ela Entrar
Star Trek
Transformers: A Vingança dos Derrotados
Crepúsculo
Up

melhor filme de fantasia
“Coraline”
“Harry Potter e o Enigma do Príncipe”
“Crepúsculo”
“Up”
“Watchmen”
“X-Men Origens: Wolverine”

melhor filme de horror
“Dead Snow”
“Arraste-me para o Inferno”
“Sexta-Feira 13″
“Deixe ela entrar”
“Dia dos Namorados Macabro 3D”
“Splinter”

melhor série
Battlestar Gallactica
Dexter
Fringe
Lost
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
True Blood

melhor atriz em filme ou série de ficção científica
Moon Bloodgood; “Exterminador do Futuro 4: A Salvação”
Eliza Dushku; “Dollhouse”
Megan Fox; “Transformers: A Vingança dos Derrotados”
Lena Headey; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”
Katee Sackhoff; “Battlestar Galactica”
Zoe Saldana; “Star Trek”

Melhor ator em filme ou série de terror
Bruce Campbell; “My Name is Bruce”
Michael C. Hall; “Dexter”
Kre Hedebrant; “Deixe ela Entrar”
Justin Long; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”
Ryan Kwanten; “True Blood”
Stephen Moyer; “True Blood”

 melhor atriz em filme ou série de terror
Jennifer Carpenter; “Quarentena”
Jaime King; “Dia dos Namorados Macabro 3D”
Lina Leandersson; “Deixe ela Entrar”
Alison Lohman; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”
Anna Paquin; “True Blood”
Monica Potter; “The Last House on the Left”

melhor ator revelação
Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Taylor Lautner (Twilight)
Robert Pattinson (Twilight)
Chris Pine (Star Trek)
Will.I.Am (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation)

melhor atriz
revelação
Anna Torv (Fringe)
Zoe Saldana (Star Trek)
Lorna Raver (Drag Me to Hell)
Isabel Lucas (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen)
Lina Leandersson (Let the Right One In) 
 Malin Akerman (Watchmen)

melhor roteirista de quadrinhos
Brian Michael Bendis (Dark Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man)
Joe Hill (Locke & Key)
Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman, Batman and Final Crisis)
Geoff Johns (Green Lantern, Justice Society of America)
Mark Millar (Wolverine: Old Man Logan,  Kick-Ass)
Brian K. Vaughan (Ex Machina)

melhor filme baseado em quadrinhos
“Dragonball Evolution”
“Punisher: War Zone”
“The Spirit”
“Watchmen”
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”

melhor diretor
J.J. Abrams; “Star Trek”
Tomas Alfredson; “Deixe ela Entrar”
Michael Bay; “Transformers: A Vingança dos Derrotados”
Pete Doctor & Bob Peterson; “Up”
Duncan Jones; “Moon”
Sam Raimi; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”

melhor vilão
Eric Bana as Nero; “Star Trek”
Cam Gigandet as James; “Crepúsculo”
Lorna Raver as Mrs. Ganush; “Arraste-me para o Inferno”
Liev Schrieber as Victor Creed/Sabretooth; “X-Men Origens: Wolverine”
Alexander Skarsgrd como Eric Northman; “True Blood”

Moon Bloodgood

ok, just rented this movie last night and i was tentative whether i’d actually review this piece of crap movie.  actually the only reason i watched it in the first place was on a recommendation from my buddy darcy who said “it’s pretty good so far” to which i initially replied “have you even finished the opening credits yet?”.  i should have stood fast to my gut feeling because this is one of the kinds of movies that makes you say – i can become a millionaire making movies!  why?  because i sure enough can make better sh*t than this

i have to say i’m usually a fan of martial art type movies and couple that with my smallville crush kristin kreuk and terminator: salvation’s sexy moon bloodgood, you’d think it might not be half bad.  well i guess i was right…it was half bad.  and the other half was bad too.  essentially making a whole bad movie.  so what makes this so bad?  great question!  streetfighter is based on the video game of the same name but focuses on chun-li (kruek’s character) whose  father is kidnapped for some unknown (but by the end of the movie turns out to be lame) reason by bad-ass kingpin of crime (neal mcdonough).  we follow chun-li as she eventually finds gen (robin shou) who teaches her a save this until you’re almost dead defeated then use it kung fu stuff that will help her defeat bad guys.

so where does moongood fit in?  unfortunately with can’t overact his way out of a paper bag chris klein from american pie shame fame.  this unnecessary subplot involves klein and moongood playing investigators looking for the bad guy who took out the crime syndicate heads in bangkok.  they also have this sexual tension that i think is there to spice up an otherwise very g-rated movie.  it doesn’t work.

in my opinion, all the characters are played too over the top with the unfortunate exception of kreuk who underplayed her character so much that it made chun-li boring and unbelievable as a heroine.  there was some interesting fight scenes but not enough to warrant any type of recommendation.  overall i give this movie 1 kick to the balls out of 5.   it would’ve got zero but moongood had a good wardrobe throughout the movie

Nash out!

– Charlie Nash

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li was a movie that I would not pay any money to see in theaters. It is widely known that anything based on a video game would suck major donkey balls. This movie is continuing that trend.

This is the origin story of Chun-Li (Kristin Kreuk) whose life is in shambles when Bison (Neal McDonaugh) kidnaps her father, Xiang (Edmund Chen). Bison inexplicably imprisons her father for over seventeen years so he could seize control of Shadaloo crime syndicate and slums of his Bison’s old neighborhood. Side note: am I the one that realizing that Bison’s voice sounds exactly like Lawrence Fishburne’s?

Chun-Li receives an ancient scroll to seek a person named Gen (Robin Shou) in Bangkok. Meeting Gen, he and Chun-Li begin her training in order to defeat Bison.

At the same time, an Interpol agent named Charlie Nash (Chris Klein) teams up with Det. Maya Sunee(Moon Bloodgood) to stop Bison dead in his tracks.

The story is generic. There are some glaring plot holes. It makes no logical sense. The action scenes looked like a twelve-year-old choreographed them. The acting is lackluster especially Klein’s character. It is like Nicolas Cage in the last five years levels of horrendous.

The dialogue is hysterically bad with lines like “[Bison] walks through the raindrops” or Chun-Li’s mantra “Sometimes you have to stand up, when standing easy. Wow! Give screenwriter Justin Marks an Oscar… or rather a Razzie for that shitty dialogue.

This abysmal movie shifts in tone with its computer-generated blood, the vanity of Vega played by Black Eye Peas member, Taboo, the WTF moments of gory, despicable violence and the ridiculously obvious wirework.

Judgment: This ridiculous movie should enjoyed Mystery Science Theater style.

Rating: *

Tie up your hair in ox-horns, because Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is the Greatest (?) Movie EVER!

Review in a Nutshell:  Brightly-lit but grimly-scripted, The Legend of Chun-Li is a train-wreck of a film.  Watch it just to prove you could.

This movie does not contain:

Chun Li?

M. Bison?

Vega?

Liu Kang?

The End Begins

Os meus receios poderão se concretizar? Istao não quer dizer que Terminator Salvation em si não seja um grande filme. Por acaso até é, mas começar de novo um franchise que tinha sido destruido com a ultima entrega de Jonathan Mostow e o seu Rise of the Machines é sempre complicado. Não esperava mais nenhum terminator no grande ecrã e foi com algum receio que me dirigi ao templo para assistir a isto. Os meus receios é que Terminator Salvation dé asas a realização de mais obras focadas na mais perfeita maquina de matar. Embora aqui se efectue de forma contrária, espero que esta saga não desemboque numa nova trilogia à la Star Wars. (eu sou fã da saga S.W., mas continuo a defender que George Lucas deveria ter feito os episódios 7, 8 e 9 da saga e não os três primeiros, em virtude de todos os fãs já saberem o que dali iria sair). Em termos de filme, Terminator Salvation faz com que um simples, porem magnifíco actor como Christian Bale, fique subjugado a duas das mais importantes figuras do cinema, John Connor e Bruce Wayne (provavelmente também ele será Stephen Strange, na nova adaptação de Dr. Strange). John, vive subjugado pelas máquinas e tenta aqui conhecer e salvar seu pai, um adolescente chamado Kyle Reese. Kyle foi capturado por Skynet e têm como triste sina a destruição pelas Machines. Eis então que surge a figura icónica de Marcus Wright, um humano mais maquina que outra coisa que irá ajudar John a salvar seu pai. O que mais me agradou a mim e a muitos dos fãs foi a presença em carne do verdadeiro (ou digital) Terminator em carne e exoesqueleto. Arnold Schwarzenegger apareçe em cameo para dar aos fãs talvez a prova de que este filme não iria desacambar num filme sem nexo, dando ritmo a producão dos T800 modelo 101 e como todos os fãs o sabem, só Arnie é este modelo. Adorei a cena da cicatriz no focinho de Connor, em virtude de que a primeira imagem que possuimos dele e mesmo com essa “scar” na tromba, já no original de 1984. McG atrás das câmaras e para além de Bale, conte com a presença de Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin, Jadagrace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Commom, Jane Alexander e Michael Ironside.

"Mais que raio de Bat-Arma é esta?". Ei Bale, isto é o Terminator e não o Batman

Rapte a filha do projeccionista para arranjar uma cópia pirata

Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation. USA (2009)

• Dir. McG
• Reparto: Cristian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anton Yelchin, Linda Hamilton (voz)

Calificación: 3.5 estrellas

¿ Qué era lo que nos gustaba tanto de esta historia? La generación ochentera (X) lo tiene muy claro: Terminator tenía una complicada trama que conjuntaba todo lo que  la sacudía: el fin del mundo, la modernidad y sus peligros, la visión no lineal del tiempo y la historia. Recuerdo los largos debates sobre la película que empezaban todos con algo así como: a ver, ¿entonces si matan a la mamá se altera el curso de toda la historia? Y es que hay que recordar que no habíamos visto Matrix.

Las secuelas mostraban elementos que hacían más complejo y apocalíptico el asunto, pero siempre partiendo de los elementos conocidos.  Esa quizás sea la enorme diferencia entre las entregas pasadas y ésta: aporta muy poco a lo que ya sabemos y parte de elementos que no habíamos visto, que en realidad no son relevantes para dar continuidad al relato.

La historia tiene -además-  enormes  huecos de continuidad. Pretendiendo mostrar el origen del Terminator que hiciera inmortal Arnold Schwartzenegger, acabamos por ver una complicada guerra de guerrillas contra un enemigo que ya casi no reconocemos. Las disputas internas de la resistencia, las colonias fugitivas que sólo buscan sobrevivir y que la guerra les importa poco, lo complicada que es en sí misma la raza humana cuando de sobrevivir se trata. Nadie habla por ahora de la tecnología que permitía viajar al futuro ( asunto central de toda la historia) y la misión ahora es salvar al padre de Connor, que no sabe todavía que lo es ( o será? me sigo haciendo bolas).

Pero yo creía que Connor y el papá eran casi de la misma edad. Y resulta que no. Y creía que Connor era consciente de que las máquinas pueden desarrollar apegos, por lo vivido en la segunda película donde termina llorando por la destrucción de Terminator. Y eso tampoco parece integrado en esta película. Y que nosotros somos la resistencia…si, la resistencia a no dejar morir un clásico para toda un generación. Y de verdad que solo por eso pagamos el boleto para entrar a verla.

Mucho mejor lograda que las anteriores en efectos especiales, nos hace sentir sin embargo que falta algo… y nunca creí decir ésto, pero definitivamente, ¡se extraña a Schwartzenegger!!!! el cameito que hace por ahí no es suficiente.

Lo mejor:

• Las tomas de cuando van en el interior de algún vehículo cuando se voltean o chocan. ¡ son grandiosas!
• Vemos nuevos robots gigantes y otros en moto..muy buen diseño y escenas verdaderamente impactantes.
• La capacidad de Helena Bonham Carter para transformarse de verdad que no tiene límites.
• La inclusión del tema de Guns´n Roses en una escena, es una decisión sumamente acertada.
• La aparición del Arnold virtual es soprendente. La sala se convulsiona, hasta aplausos hay… toda una experiencia.

Lo peor:

• Que no es sufciente. El “gobernaitor ” debió aceptar el papel de Marcus.
• Cristian Bale está corriendo el grave peligro de encasillarse: a veces Connor, a veces Batman, a veces perdido en el Reino del Fuego. Como actor de acción le hace falta reinventarse.
• Hacen falta datos. Hay huecos graves de continuidad que no logran resolverse.
• Salimos con la información que ya teníamos… ni más ni menos.

Actor Michael Papajohn. Photo taken on-location by Dimitri Halkidis (UPA) at The Ace Hotel, Palm Springs, CA; men's grooming by Barry/The Salon at The Beverly Hills Hotel; wardrobe by John Varvatos

Michael Papajohn has one of those faces that is instantly recognizable, especially to avid moviegoers. A veteran stuntman and talented actor, he was kicked in the jaw in Charlie’s Angels, fell out a window to his death in Spider-Man 3, and was even pumped full of lead courtesy of a gun-totting Bruce Willis in Live Free or Die Hard. During the past 20 years, this former college baseball player has appeared in dozens of TV as well as feature film roles and can currently be seen in four major motion pictures. Having worked with director McG on Charlie’s Angels, the actor was offered a role in Terminator Salvation, where his skills as both an actor and a stuntman served him well.

“I play a renegade, I guess you could call him, who has been surviving in the desert for three or four years and has probably had a bit too much radiation,” jokes Papajohn. “He encounters this beautiful woman, played by Moon Bloodgood, and in that scene my character tries to have a relationship with her in one way or the other.

“My experiences as a stuntman absolutely came in handy with this job. That’s one of my assets and I always try to play to my strengths in this business. I come from an athletic background, so I love physical roles, and I think directors like to work with me because I feel comfortable handling the dialogue along with the physicality of a character. So they don’t have to cut away to a stunt double. I mean, if I was directing a movie, I would love to be able to hold a shot for the entire time instead of worrying about cutting away and putting in a stunt double. Believe it or not, after we filmed the fight scene for Terminator, they brought us back to make it even more violent and intense.”

Papajohn and Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels. Photo courtesy of Papajohn's official website.

Papajohn was pleased to be directed once again by McG for this film. “I know when walking onto his set, that he’s going to be passionate about the work and he also gives his actors a lot of freedom to play,” says the actor. “When I worked with McG on Charlie’s Angels, he took me aside right before a scene I did with Cameron Diaz and said, ‘Hey, Papajohn, film lasts forever, so have fun.’ That freed me up insofar as my acting. When I subsequently showed up on the Terminator set in New Mexico, I brought that story back up to him and said, ‘I’ve always remembered that and use it on every movie that I do.’ All actors have their own ways of doing things, but I know that if I’m free in my body, then I’m free to play as an actor. Again, having an athletic background I work with my body and am always in tune with it, so that was a valuable piece of advice.”

From radioactive renegade to estranged parent, Papajohn plays Cal, the father of Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox) in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Although his character never appeared in the first Transformers film, there was a history established in the movie between father and daughter. The actor made sure to use that to his advantage when trying out for the 2009 sequel.

“My acting coach, Larry Moss, taught me a great deal about biography,” notes Papajohn, “so when I auditioned for this movie it wasn’t about how many lines I had in it, but rather my character’s background with his daughter, their experiences together and how he felt about her. I worked very hard on that, and when I showed up on the set, I was able to look at her [Megan Fox] and, without saying a word, you know that our characters are related. Cal has been in prison and hasn’t seen his daughter for a long time, so he has all sorts of questions for her and I enjoyed playing the ups and downs of that relationship.

Papajohn in the 2005 film The Longest Yard. Photo courtesy of Papajohn's official website

“Like McG on Terminator [director] Michael Bay also allowed me a lot of freedom with my work. He gave me some good dialogue choices on the set and also the chance to improv with Megan, which was fun. It’s been interesting to be part of such big blockbuster franchise-type movies like Transformers as well as Terminator and Spider-Man. The best part for me now, though, is that I have a 14-month-old son and it’s exciting that I can actually share all these experiences with my family, which means a lot to me.”

Hot on the heels of Terminator and Transformers, Papajohn worked on Land of the Lost, a big screen version of the 1974 Saturday morning live-action children’s series. “When I first saw the set I couldn’t believe it was a soundstage because of the big redwoods and water,” he says. “If you’ve seen the movie, you know what I mean. Brad Silberling is a cool director and just a real pleasure to be around and work with. They actually asked me to come back on the very last day of shooting to do some CGI [computer-generated image] work with a green screen When I walked onto the stage, I had the opportunity to watch Will Farrell [Dr. Rick Marshall] ride a 70-foot dinosaur and whip it like a rodeo star. Now that was something to witness,” enthuses the actor.

Rounding out Papajohn’s summertime film appearances is his role of an FBI Techie in producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s 3-D movie G-Force. In it, a specially trained squad of guinea pigs is dispatched to stop a diabolical billionaire from taking over the world. “It’s a Jerry Bruckheimer movie, so naturally when we filmed this military-type scene there was plenty of action,” he recalls. “They did a close-up shot following me and there were explosions and all this other stuff going on behind me. When I watched the playback I thought, ‘Wow, it really looks like there’s a war going on in the background.’

Michael Papajohn. Photo taken by Dimitri Halkidis (UPA) on-location at The Ace Hotel, Palm Springs, CA; men's grooming by Barry/The Salon at The Beverly Hills Hotel; wardrobe by John Varvatos

“I play a good guy in the film and I don’t get killed. This is something that I’ll be happy to show my son one day, and to top it off it’s in 3-D, so I can’t wait to sit on the couch with him, put on the 3-D glasses and watch it together.”

A native of Birmingham, Alabama, the actor graduated from Vestavia Hills High School in 1983. Two years later, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers, but instead of signing with the team, he accepted a baseball scholarship to Louisiana State University. In 1987, the cast and crew of Everybody’s All-American came to Baton Rouge for location shooting, and, while still attending college, Papajohn was chosen to play Dennis Quaid’s stunt double in the movie. He had no idea that this would forever change his future.

“As a baseball player, whenever I made a game-changing play I would get a high. When I doubled for Dennis for the first time, [director] Taylor Hackford said, ‘Action!’ I did the stunt, hit my mark, and they said, ‘Cut,’ well, I experienced that same type of high,’” says Papajohn. “I’ll always be grateful to Taylor Hackford for staying true to his word. At one point, he pulled me to the side – I was 22 at the time – looked me in the eye and said, ‘Hey, Papajohn, you’re an athletic guy and you’re very well-liked on the set. I think you should pursue a career in this business.’ Not much later, when I decided to do just that, I phoned Taylor, he took my call and then hooked me up with some quality people in the industry to kind of watch over me.

Papajohn up at bat in For Love of the Game. Photo courtesy of Papajohn's official website

“Now years later, all these great things are happening with my family as well as my career and it’s because of him. I get chills just talking about it. I don’t mean to sound cheesy or anything like that, but when I stop to think about it, I’m doing what I love to do and it’s because of someone who maybe saw something in me and stayed true to his word. It just foes to show how powerful words can be, especially when they’re backed up with action.”

Titanic, Starship Troopers, The Waterboy, Enemy of the State and Starsky and Hutch are just a few of the movies in which Papajohn worked as a stuntman and/or stunt double. It was after playing Tucker Kain in 1994’s Little Big League that he decided to make the jump from stunts to acting. “That’s not an easy thing to do in this business,” he explains. “I continued taking acting classes and studying with various teaches in Los Angeles, but I kept hearing about [acting coach] Larry Moss. I tried to get into his class but it was proving impossible, so I called his assistant and told her that I just got a really good role in a Denzel Washington movie and wanted to meet with Larry privately.

“That afternoon I went to his condominium, walked in and said, ‘Hi, Larry.’ He said to me, ‘Hey, Michael, congratulations. Let’s hear about your part and start working on it.’ I admitted, ‘Larry, I didn’t get the part. I just wanted to meet you and talk about acting.’ The two of us then went on to have an hour-long conversation that totally changed my life. He told me things I had to do and I did them. Larry is also a man who stays true to his word. It was another moment in one’s life when you look at someone and trust in whatever they say.”

Papajohn stunt doubling for Adam Sandler in The Waterboy. Photo courtesy of Papajohn's official website

One of the actor’s most memorable film roles is Dennis Carradine a.k.a. The Carjacker, who he played in the first Spider-Man movie. Much to the actor’s surprise, he was asked to reprise the role in Spider-Man 3, but this time around there was more to the part than even he imagined.

“Grant Curtis [Spider-Man 3 producer] called me to say that they were bringing me back in the movie, but he wouldn’t tell me anything else,” says the actor. “Three weeks later, my wife Paula and I were at a charity event and I saw [writer/director] Sam Raimi. I asked him, ‘Is it true, Sam? Am I coming back?’ He said, ‘Yes, you’re coming back, but you can’t tell anyone.’ I said, ‘I won’t. What’s going on?’

“Sam said, ‘We’re going to show that your character didn’t kill Uncle Ben [Cliff Robertson].’ I looked at him and said, ‘You mean I’ve been carrying that on my shoulders for four years and you’re just telling me now.’ Then I looked at my wife and said, ‘Hey, honey, now we can have kids,’ and Sam just about busted a gut laughing,” chuckles the actor. “Working on Spider-Man 3 was awesome, and it was the first time that my wife got to sit on-set behind the monitors with Sam Raimi and watch me work.”

Playing a baddie in Spider-Man 3. Photo courtesy of Papajohn's official website

Besides his film roles, Papajohn has guest-starred on such TV series as Without a Trace, The Shield, CSI:NY, The Unit and Castle. His fans can look forward to seeing him in an episode of the HBO cable series True Blood, which is in its second season, and the made-for-TV movie Dark Blue. The actor is also a documentary filmmaker, and his most recent project spotlights his friend and former NFL player Bo Eason. “Bo wrote a one-man show called Runt of the Litter, which he took to New York,” says the actor. “What I want people to see in my documentary is the work involved in properly putting on a show for the theater while having to deal with everything from rejection to family members getting sick along the way. Larry Moss directed the stage show and both he and Bo opened their lives up to me. I shot over 200 hours of footage over 10 years and we’ve just started the editing process.”

Looking back, Papajohn has no regrets about trading in his baseball bat and pursuing his dream to become an actor. “I love what I do, and I know so many people that may be in a business or make a lot of money, but they don’t love their job,” he says. “And I know, too, that when I’m hired to play a part, it’s not about me, it’s about telling the story and me making the best [acting] choices to do that. Also, it’s really gratifying to know that I can help tell a story that can change a person’s life. Believe me, I don’t say that arrogantly, but rather as a way of pointing out just how powerful storytelling is. It’s terrific to be a part of that and, in the process, affect people in a positive way.”

To find out more about Michael Papajohn and his career, check out his official website @ www.michaelpapajohn.com

 Steve Eramo

As noted above, all photos either courtesy of/copyright of Dimitri Halkidis or courtesy of Michael Papajohn’s official website, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any form. Thanks!