SAVAGE STEVE HOLLAND RETURNS

One of the freshest voices of eighties pop culture, writer/director/animator Savage Steve Holland will be making his first theatrical film in eighteen years. Holland, best known for his films Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer and his Fox Kids animated series Eek! The Cat has spent the last several years directing television for the Disney Channel.

His new film, The Big One 3, is semi-autobiographical, completing his trilogy (and hopefully reuniting with former leading man John Cusack and co-star Curtis Armstrong) started over two decades ago. The Big One 3 is a family comedy centering on a father who will do whatever he can to make his 13-year-old son's birthday special because his was a disaster.

According to producer Warren Zide, "This is based on a true events in Savage's life. When he was a kid, he had his 13th birthday party and the only one that showed up was a clown, and all that that guy did was hit on his sister."

Now that Savage Steve is back, maybe the enigmatic John Hughes will return as well...


SOURCE

BRUCE CAMPBELL SPEAKS TO FOG!

This interview was considered "lost" after several computer snafu's and the long-in-hiatus return of FOG! We're happy to have located it and are even more happy to recommend Bruce in Spider-Man 3 and appearing in the latest television commercials for Old Spice cologne.


Bruce Campbell is not only one of the founders of Renaissance Pictures, but he is also a Renaissance man, writing, acting, directing and producing both film and television. With his distinct voice, impressive chin and rabid cult following, Bruce was kind enough to talk to FOG!

You tend to have a very blue-collar attitude toward the entertainment industry, treating your work as a job as opposed to "glitz and glamour". Are you happier working in the industry with some recognition and an incredibly devoted and faithful following as opposed to being a "movie star" whose every movement is tracked by paparazzi and is documented for the public's consumption?

Yeah, because then I can just be an actor. If you maintain a healthy amount of anonymity, you never lose sight of why you are an actor in the first place - for the fun of it. Once you lose that, it's all over.

Growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, you made films regularly with Sam and Ted Raimi, Josh Becker, Scott Spiegel and later, Robert Tapert. When you reunite with any of these people in a work environment, is there a different atmosphere and/or shorthand than you encounter on other sets?

Oh, sure, you can't help that. I just did a film called Alien Apocalypse with a pal, Josh Becker who I met in 8th grade study hall. We work well together because we don't have to reinvent the wheel.

You've made mention in the past and it's also evident in some of the physical humor that you've performed that the Three Stooges have been an influence on you. In your opinion, which Stooge has been the greatest personal influence to you and why?

Well, I don't know about "personally," but "comedically," I'm a big fan of Shemp - he was always underrated.


With several cancelled cult television series (Strangers with Candy, Firefly) being resurrected as feature films, would you have an interest in reprising Brisco County Jr. for the big screen?

Sure, but that's assuming somebody at three different companies wakes up in the morning and decides to get it done - these things don't "do" themselves. Old TV shows generally age like fish.

You've spent years trying to get your screenplay The Man With The Screaming Brain produced. You recently completed directing - producing - writing and starring in the project for the Sci-Fi Channel. What's it about and after having worked on it for so long, are you happy with the finished product?

It's a horror/sci-fi flick where an American Capitalist gets the brain of a Russian Communist in his head and the two must learn to live together in order to extract revenge on a Gypsy woman who killed them both. I'm happy with the end results, but I'm itching to show it to humans.


Your autobiography If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a 'B' Movie Actor was a hit. What can you tell us about your latest tome, Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way?

Well, it'll cost the same! Actually, it's a fictional romp through the whacky world of Hollywood with me as a central character.

You recently played Elvis Presley in the cult hit, Bubba Ho-Tep opposite the great Ossie Davis (as J.F.K.). You portrayed Elvis as an old man, something that has never been done before. What's the secret to playing the King and is there any truth to the rumored sequel, Bubba Nosferatu?

The secret is singing in the shower a lot and melting under lots of make-up - it makes you feel old and crabby! There is some truth to the rumor, but nothing to write about yet...

Besides directing series television and now features, you have also made documentaries including Fanalysis and the more recent, A Community Speaks which deals with land stewardship issues in Southern Oregon. With much of your career in front of the camera, what draws you to directing, and in particular, documentary filmmaking?

I like "job rotation" just like the next sap. I get tired of doing the same things all the time, but mainly, I like taking what I've learned about filmmaking and applying it toward subjects I'm interested in.

Sam Raimi has said that you are the best reverse actor in Hollywood. What is reverse acting and what makes you the best at it?

Well, you only understand that if you've been in a Sam Raimi movie. The point is, he used to shoot things backwards in order for a certain special effect to work, so I had to learn to perform backwards so that when you reversed the film, it still looked normal.


You've appeared in over fifty films and among the cult characters you've portrayed are Ash Williams, Elvis Presley, Brisco County Jr, Autoclycus and the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills. What kind of popular culture; films, literature, music do you enjoy?

I like 70s music - the finest decade in my opinion. I read almost all nonfiction because I get plenty of fantasy in my every day job.

BRUCE'S LATEST OLD SPICE COMMERCIAL

BRUCE'S SPIDER-MAN 3 APPEARANCE

A LONG....LONG TIME AGO..

In anticipation of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars IV: A New Hope this May, I figured I would help along the excitement with this unknown, forgotten, and beloved cartoon. Originally appearing as part of the now infamous Star Wars Holiday Special, it was important for it's inclusion of Boba Fett before his film debut in Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back. Airing only once on November 17th 1978. The special, amazingly, contained the entire core cast of 'A New Hope' along with appearances by Bea Arthur, Diahann Carroll, Art Carney, Jefferson Starship and Harvey Korman.

STATHAM IN A "DEATH RACE"

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Transporter himself, Jason Statham is in negotiations to star in Paul W.S. Anderson's Death Race, a remake of the 1975 Roger Corman cult classic, Death Race 2000.

The original film starred David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone and chronicled a dystopian future where the President presided over an ultra-violent road race from New York to Los Angeles, plowing down anything and anybody in their path.

I'm a huge Statham fan, but I can't not be a bit disappointed in the choice of Anderson (Aliens Vs. Predator, Soldier) as the director. A Death Race picture could be a lot of fun, especially if they hype up the violence and hyper-exaggerate everything a la Grand Theft Auto.


Jason, call Luc Besson.

Quickly.

MOVIE REVIEW - HOT FUZZ (2007)

Bring It!

Here comes the Fuzz! The creative team of Simon Pegg-Nick Frost-Edgar Wright return with their follow up to the Romantic-Zombie-Comedy Shaun of the Dead.

This time, the genre of choice are cop movies, in particular the buddy cop heroics found in most big budget blockbusters. At it's core (and like most buddy cop movies), it's a love story between two men, who bond after a requisite amount of friction before determining that they are both after the same objective.

Hot Fuzz focuses on Sergeant Nicholas Angel (Pegg), a British officer who focuses his entire life around his job, losing his girlfriend and the respect of the force (His arrest record is 400% better than the rest of the department making everyone look bad). After a mandatory reassignment to the small village of Sandford, Angel quickly becomes a novelty of the town as his attempts to enforce the law are rebuked by the leaders of the small community. Partnering with Frank Butterman (Frost) the eager and impressionable son of the Police Chief, Angel discovers that the many "accidents" in the village are all linked and are in fact, a series of murders.

What comes next is the smartest homage for movie geeks that I've ever seen, with references to Point Break, Leon, Bad Boys II, Matrix Revolutions, Lost Highway, Lethal Weapon, Requiem For A Dream, The Wicker Man, The Omen and their own Shaun of the Dead, among others.

With a colorful cast including Edward Woodward, Paddy Constantine, Martin Freeman, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent, Paul Freeman, Stuart Wilson, the brilliant Timothy Dalton and uncredited appearances by Steve Coogan, Cate Blanchett and Peter Jackson, Hot Fuzz manages to find and utilize every other talented British thespian that isn't contracted to a Harry Potter film.

The creative team of Simon Pegg and co-writer/director Edgar Wright have accomplished what Grindhouse failed to do; make a love letter to the kinds of movies that they don't seem to make anymore, bordering the line between parody and dead seriousness and still make it entertaining and a damn good film to boot.

"RE-RELEASE THE KRAKEN!!!"

Variety reports that writer Lawrence Kasdan has been tapped to write the re-make to the 1981 cult film, Clash of the Titans.

The original film chronicled the adventures of Zeus' son, Perseus, who must capture Pegasus, fight the Kraken and slay Medusa while trying to save Princess Andromeda.


In addition to an illustrious directing career, Kasdan also wrote The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

In other words, he's no slouch.

Let's hope this one doesn't get ruined by CGI.

"SORRY ABOUT THAT CHIEF" REDUX

USA Today has published the first photo of Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway as Agents Maxwell Smart and 99, respectfully, in the upcoming remake of the hit television series, Get Smart. The parts were originally portrayed on television by Don Adams and Barbara Feldon.

The film is being directed by Peter Segal (50 First Dates, Tommy Boy) and will focus on the anarchy group KAOS attempting to blackmail the United States by threatening to give away nuclear launch codes to our enemies. It's up to Smart and 99 and the rest of their agency, CONTROL, to stop them.

Also starring in the film are Alan Arkin as the Chief, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Ken Davitian and Terence Stamp.

Get Smart arrives in theaters June 2008.

MOVIE REVIEW - GRINDHOUSE

Everyone’s going to chime in about Grindhouse, the new “double feature” from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, so I’ll make my comments short and sweet. Grindhouse is a masterpiece, as near to perfect filmmaking as I am likely to see. I’ve heard some comments that Tarantino’s entry, Death Proof, isn’t as good as Rodriguez’s Planet Terror, that it’s overly long, and boring before it suddenly gets down to the action and gets good. It’s trite to say that this is comparing apples to oranges, that the films are intentionally and appropriately different, and therefore subject to separate critiques, but Tarantino would have been making a big mistake trying to follow an action packed zombie thriller with more of the same slam-bang action. Death Proof follows a different but equally important pattern of grindhouse movies, and if you (like me) have seen enough of them, then you’ll see that in most ways Death Proof is the superior homage to the grindhouse “genre.” Tarantino’s characters speak openly about the films that inspired their piece, White Line Fever, Vanishing Point and my fave, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, but his film also hearkens back to those odd little T&A films in which the point seems to be following around attractive women for as long as possible, getting ample close-ups of their bodies along with inane yet strangely compelling chatter, then suddenly remembering that we need a plot to string it all together. In my long years searching out odd films in forgotten drive-ins, burned out movie palaces and out-of-business video stores, I’ve seen more films like this than films like Planet Terror. The fact that Tarantino can fill his film with examinations of character that raise his piece above the level of his inspirations makes his film a different kind of animal, just as Rodriguez used state of the art CGI to raise Planet Terror above the level of cheesy SFX so prevalent in the inspirations for his piece. Many people I’ve talked with have expressed an interest in seeing some of the films previewed turned into full-length features. With the possible exception of Machete, I’d cast my vote for avoiding this. Just as many of the previews for old grindhouse films are far superior to the films themselves, because they can have all the best parts showcased without any of the dreck, I’d expect these previews, filled to feature length status, would collapse under their own weight. Don’t would be a boring British thriller, Werewolf Women of the SS a nudie-bore, and Thanksgiving a shlock shocker (though, with the right script, who knows?)

2007 has been a banner year for genre films, with 300, The Host and Grindhouse leading the way. In any other year, if they were the only three films being released, we'd call this one of the best years in cinema history.

CHUPACABRAS AND LUCHADORES UNITE!

Click on over to Cartoon Network for a look at two cartoons that are coming up from the network that I am really looking forward to.

The first, The Secret Saturdays, is a creation of artist/animator Jay Stephens. Bringing back the old school feel of action packed Saturday morning cartoons, this looks like a worthy successor to Johnny Quest, The Herculoids, and my personal favorite, Thundarr the Barbarian!

The second show is based on the most famous Mexican wrestler of all time, Santo! The biggest pop culture icon of Mexico is set to take over the States with what looks like a fantastic cartoon. Read more about the folk hero.

Make sure to watch the "sizzle reels" for both shows.

TV PILOT DOUBLE FEATURE STARRING ADAM WEST AND JACK BLACK

Okay kids, time to curl up with two of my favorites. Grab yourself a cup of cocoa, some Graham crackers and enjoy!

First up is LOOKWELL! starring Adam West, written by Conan O'Brien and Robert Smigel.

Then chase it with HEAT VISION AND JACK starring Jack Black and directed by Ben Stiller!

SUMMER CAMP

Exciting news via the folks at DavisDVD :

Warner Home Video will release a number of catalog titles on June 26th. Arriving under the "Cult Camp Classics" banner are Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman, The Big Cube, Caged, Colossus Of Rhodes, Giant Behemoth, Hot Rods To Hell, Land of the Pharaohs, The Prodigal, Queen Of Outer Space, Skyjacked, Trog and Zero Hour!. All come with newly mastered anamorphic transfers, except Caged which is fullscreen. Retail is $14.97 apiece.

The titles also will be available in themed boxed sets, including Cult Camp Classics vol. 1 - Sci Fi Thrillers, Cult Camp Classics vol. 2 - Women in Peril, Cult Camp Classics vol. 3 - Terrorized Travelers and Cult Camp Classics vol. 4 - Historical Epics. Retail is $29.98 each.

For me, the real interesting release in this set is Zero Hour! a film which I've been trying to find for almost twenty years after seeing a clip of it on television. Zero Hour! was a 1957 film that the Zucker Brothers and Jim Abrahams saw and spoofed in their film, Airplane! Among the actual lines of dialogue "homaged" by ZAZ are "I guess I picked the wrong week to give up smoking" and "Our survival hinges on one thing - finding someone who not only can fly this plane, but didn't have fish for dinner."

On it's imdb page, Zero Hour! is described as "A routine flight turns into a major emergency as passengers and crew succumb to food poisoning - is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?"

It's a shame that they didn't have an auto-pilot like Airplane! did.

TOP TEN TV SHOWS THAT NEED A DVD RELEASE (PART TWO)

And rounding out the ten...

6. NOW AND AGAIN

Lasting for only one season, Now and Again was created by Moonlighting creator Glenn Gordon Caron and told the story of the US government having developed the perfect human body for reconnaissance missions. Without a developed human brain, the Feds took the brain of married father Michael Wiseman, who was killed in a subway accident. The series focused on Michael's relationship with his government liaison, Dr. Theodore Morris and his attempts to reintegrate himself into the life of his grieving family.

Obviously, hijinks and hilarity ensue.


7. GET A LIFE

Chris Elliott. Paperboy. Chrono-Sync 2000 underwater watch. Handsome Boy Modeling School. Spewey. Neptune 2000 Atomic Submarine. Rabid squirrel.

One big box set. The complete series.



8. MAXIMUM BOB/KAREN SISCO

MAXIMUM BOBwas based on the book and characters created by Elmore Leonard, Beau Bridges played Judge Bob Gibbs, the eccentric judge of Deepwater Florida.

KAREN SISCOwas a spin-off of Leonard's book and film, Out of Sight. Carla Gugino took over Jennifer Lopez's role as a Federal Marshall, with able assists by veteran character actors Robert Foster and Bill Duke.

Neither series lasted more than seven episodes.

9. BLADE THE SERIES

Now, I have to confess, I only saw part of the pilot and I thought it looked like most shows shot in Canada. Nevertheless, interviews with series producer Geoff Johns have confirmed an R-rated box set on the horizon with plenty of violence and nudity. To this date, there is no scheduled release.

I know what you're saying, "but I like violence and nudity."

Me too, friend. Me too.

10. TOUCHING EVIL
Based on a British series, Touching Evil starred Jeffery Donovan as police officer, Dave Creegan, whose injuries after a shooting leave him with strange abilities to sense criminals. The Departed's Vera Farmiga played Creegan's partner, Detective Susan Branca. Lasting only thirteen episodes, Touching Evil is definitely a hidden gem that would find the audience that it deserved if a dvd release were to happen.


Honorable mentions include: Man From U.N.C.L.E., Brimstone, Strange Luck, G Vs. E, Dark Skies, It's Garry Shandling's Show, In Search Of and Lucky.

What shows are you waiting for?

TOP TEN TV SHOWS THAT NEED A DVD RELEASE (PART ONE)

With virtually every television show ever aired seemingly hitting dvd, my shelves are missing a few titles I can't live without.

1. BATMAN


Holy oversight! I know the delay is over rights issues between Warner Bros. and Fox, but come on! One of the biggest phenomenons in pop culture was Batmania in 1966! Adam West and Burt Ward were and in many ways are the definitive portrayals of the Caped Crusaders. I want season sets with commentary tracks, docu- mentaries, the screen tests and anything else that they can dig out of the vaults!

2. SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN

Steve Austin: astronaut. A man barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better…stronger…faster.

This show was so influential on my childhood that it convinced me that in order to run really, really fast, I should run in slow motion. Release the Bionic Woman series as well.


3. SPACED

I want a legal copy of this! From the creative genius' of Shaun of the Dead, Spaced is balls-out funny! If the BBC is listening, Region 1 releases of Life on Mars and Garth Morenghi's Darkplace would be appreciated as well.


4. ANDY RICHTER CONTROLS THE UNIVERSE

It makes me laugh. Plus it had an episode where Andy boxed a kangaroo.

See? Now you're smiling.




5. PARKER LEWIS CAN'T LOSE

Synchronize swatches!!! Parker Lewis was the Ferris Bueller for television series that worked (Ironically, the series that didn't work with the similar premise was in fact, Ferris Bueller.) With a great cast of characters (including Parker, Jerry, Mikey and Kubiack), Parker was a well-shot single camera show that was a high point on the Fox schedule prior to the Simpsons.

I'm aching for the simpler times of Fox Sundays in the early to mid-nineties. Bring me Parker Lewis!!!