2008 November 07 « Entertainment Today and Beyond

STALLONE, STATHAM and LI to team up for THE EXPENDABLES

In a throwback to 80’s, action icons Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham (The Transporter) and Jet Li (Mummy 3) will team up to play a group of mercenaries in an action film titled THE EXPENDABLES. Sylvester Stallone wrote the script and will direct as part of his two picture deal with Nu Image/Millennium films. According to Variety, the main characters are sent to infiltrate a South American country and overthrow its ruthless dictator to liberate the population. This is clearly a type of film that isn’t made much anymore. A glorified B film in the tradition of 80’s fare like MISSING IN ACTION, DELTA FORCE, UNCOMMON VALOR and Stallone’s own RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD. Stallone, who’s RAMBO pulled in over $150,000,000 worldwide still has a lot to offer the world of movies. He’s a very talented filmmaker. Principal photography on The Expendables begins in February in Costa Rica and Louisiana. This cast should make for a very cool matchup. While I love comic book related films, the B-action film is a genre that needs a comeback and I hope this film goes a long way to reviving it! Here’s the Trailer to 1983’s Uncommon Valor. Its one of my favorite films in this genre.

November 7, 2008 Posted by Entertainment Today & Beyond | And Beyond - Trailers & News | Jason Statham Jet Li, sly stallone, Sylvester Stallone, The Expendables | Leave a Comment

Author MICHAEL CRICHTON passes

Author Michael Crichton has passed away at the age of 66. Crichton, who wrote the popular novel Jurassic Park, died of an unpublicized battle with cancer. The loss saddens me as I was a fan. I remember seeing WESTWORLD, a sci-fi thriller that Crichton wrote and directed, when I was kid in 1973. The film, which is similar in story to Jurassic Park about a theme park where robots turn on its patrons, was a really fun ride. The climactic showdown in the film’s last 30 minutes between Richard Benjamin and Yul Brenner (as the gunslinger) was classic. It was one of the coolest genre films of that decade. Steven Spielberg’s film version of his best selling novel, Jurassic Park (Crichton wrote the films screenplay), is still one of the very best movie going experiences of my life. A good friend and I traveled to NYC and saw that film twice on its opening day at the famed Ziegfeld movie theater in 1993. The reaction the movie received from the NY faithful was breathtaking as I can still hear them roar with excitement. It’s an experience that I’ll always hold dear to my heart. Crichton also created the NBC landmark medical drama ER, a show that I still watch religiously to this day. A major talent is lost! Michael will be missed. R.I.P.