NEW LINE CINEMA AND ICE CUBE WANT TO MAKE ANOTHER ‘FRIDAY’ FILM

If this comes together we will have four “Friday” films and while I’m not advocating for a return to the well after almost a decade, I am a huge fan of the original trilogy: “Friday” (1995), “Next Friday” (2000), and “Friday After Next” (2002). What all three accomplish beautifully is aiming for a target and hitting it.

One of the things I most appreciate about producer/star Ice Cube’s brainchild is how he wisely sets each chapter in a new location, which went a long way to help the concept from getting tired. The first is in Compton, the second in the suburbs, and the third mostly takes place at a Los Angeles strip mall during the Christmas season. Another decision that saved the franchise was replacing the hilarious Chris Tucker — who chose not to do the sequels — with Mike Epps, who stepped up beautifully. And John Witherspoon slays me every time he opens his mouth.

There’s an easygoing vibe to these films, a surprisingly old-fashioned theme and moral, and like too many comedies today, they’re not over-the-top with all that raunchy, disgusting non-humor. Don’t get me wrong, they’re R-rated and not for kids, but there are worse ways to spend a Sunday afternoon than with a “Friday” marathon.

FOR NO PARTICULAR REASON, A LOOK BACK AT THE JOE PISCOPO/TREAT WILLIAMS ZOMBIE FLICK ‘DEAD HEAT‘

I was really hoping to forget this movie ever existed; this and ‘Beastmaster 2.’

FIVE ONCE-PROMISING ACTORS AND THE FRANCHISES THAT RUINED THEM

Intelligent list.

BRETT BUTLER WAS HOMELESS AFTER ‘GRACE UNDER FIRE’

I remember liking that show:

(more…)

We’ll know more this afternoon after the lead Los Angeles detective on the case holds a press conference, but according to an interview with the man who captained the boat the night of Natalie Wood’s 1981 drowning, the finger is pointing at actor Robert Wagner.

On November 28, 1981, Wagner and Wood were nine years into their second marriage (they had married 1957, divorced in 1962, and then remarried in 1972). According to most reports, they were partying on a yacht with Christopher Walken, Wood’s “Brainscan” “Brainstorm” co-star. They were anchored near Catalina Island in Southern California, and according to the coroner’s report, Wood, died trying to leave the yacht or after trying to secure a dinghy that was banging against the yacht’s side. Everyone was partying and she had a lot of alcohol in her system.

There are plenty of rumors that one of the reasons Wood might have wanted to leave the yacht was due to an argument breaking out between Wagner and Walken, maybe even over Wood. I’ve read that things got so heated Wagner smashed a champagne bottle and in his 2008 auto-biography the actor not only blames himself for her death but confirms the drinking and the argument with Walken:

Wagner wrote that despite various theories about what led Wood to the water, which she feared, it was impossible to know what exactly happened.

(more…)

And so we finally reach the top ten. Admittedly, from here on in there will be few surprises. These are the greats, the perennials, the timeless classics that we all grew up on, pass on to our children, and give us one more reason to love and anticipate the holiday season. 

Nominated for Best Best Picture of 1947, everything about Miracle On 34th Street works, but what makes it uniquely special is the on-location shooting, most especially for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade which opens the film. It was rare for a production from this era to lug cast, crew, and equipment across the country when it was so much cheaper and convenient to reproduce wherever and whatever was needed on a Southern California backlot where everything from litter to weather could be controlled. Thankfully, some studio exec was thinking outside the box and so there it is, forever encapsulated on celluloid – a big, beautiful New York City all decked out for Christmas in glorious black and white. And if that doesn’t spark your holiday spirit, well, you’re hopeless. (more…)