The #1 Sylvester Stallone Fan Site in the World!
This week’s piece is Sly as Rambo by Scotty Schumaker. I’d been following Scotty’s work at his Deviant Art site for a while, so when he offered up sketch commissions, I had to jump on board. Scotty was great through the whole process, keeping us all informed on where he was on his posted commission list. He sent the art in a package that a tank couldn’t have destroyed.
Thanks to Scotty for a wonderful commission experience.
SZoner, Ian Cranston, [who happens to be Evan Bryce‘s brother] wrote in to say:
I came across an article which might be of interest since it has to do with 90’s Stallone video games. You can check it out by clicking here.
Also wanted to say thanks for being so supportive of my brother, and it’s kind of funny because I’ve been going to your site for about ten years now. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for the link Ian, and don’t worry, we’ll continue to support Evan!
On July 3, 2009, WAToday.com.au posted a nice article focusing on Sly’s process in bringing “The Expendables” to the big screen. Here are a few highlights:
- .. arguably is the toughest cast of brutes put together in a Hollywood film…
- … Stallone handpicked a who’s who of tough guys…
- “These guys don’t fit in this world,” Stallone says.
- “I went to Brazil and got the baddest, toughest MMA fighters. They could snap us like spaghetti. That’s just the extras.”
- “The biggest alpha dog of course is Sly so he keeps everybody in check…”
- The Expendables is the most extravagant project of Stallone’s 50-plus film career.
Check out this excellent article by clicking here.
On July 2, 2009, News.Sky.com posted a smaller version of the photo above with a summary of “Kambakkht Ishq”. You can read the full article here.
Larry Phillips of the Mansfield News-Journal.com posted his all-time favorite sports films. “Rocky” came in third and here’s what he had to say:
3. Rocky (1976)
Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire. Supposedly, Stallone was inspired to write this picture after watching a 1975 fight in Cleveland when Muhammad Ali struggled to put away Chuck Wepner. Rocky Balboa is the quintessential palooka, a southpaw with a Philly left hook as his only weapon against the world. The brilliance of this film, which won the Oscar for Best Picture, is captured in the final seconds. One has to listen closely to discover who won the big fight. Of course by that time we all know a winner isn’t judged by a scorecard.
On June 27, 2009, ScreenRant.com posted an excellent piece titled “Meet the Expendables”. What else do you need to know? Click over now!
On June 27, 2009, Christopher Crespo at the Orlando Movie Examiner posted an article titled “Why Rocky Balboa Works Where the Other Rocky Sequels Failed”. Crespo actually has some good things to say about “Rocky II” and “Rocky III” but focuses his attention on how “Rocky Balboa” (like the original “Rocky”) mirrors what was happening in Sly’s life and “Stallone (didn’t) pretend things (were) different from what they (were).” You can read the full piece by clicking here.
I’m a big Evan Bryce fan. I’ve been following his work for a few years now and we’ve become friends via the internet.
When I saw that Evan was going to be at this year’s Heroes Convention, I knew that I’d want to get a sketch from him to go with my other two. We talked and Evan asked what character I wanted. I told him it was his choice and handed him the reference photos. I had high expectations for what Evan would come up with. He exceeded them all.
Evan is an exciting artist and one to keep an eye on. You can see more of his work at his blog or his Deviant Art site. Plan to spend a while.
On June 22, 2009, Christopher Monfette posted a very nice set report from location filming of “The Expendables”. Here, Sly describes how “The Expendables” script took shape:
“This started out as a dark comedy, as a satire,” admits Stallone. “Then it became a really hard-R, then it went back. It wasn’t until, literally, a week before filming that we just said, ‘OK, let’s make it this kind of movie.’ It has poignancy, but it’s not preachy. It’s a dark comedy, but it takes the stereotypes of guys like Jason Statham and shows that for as tough as he is, he has problems with women, or that the only thing I’ve acquired in my life is a truck. That I can’t even relate to human beings anymore. They’re very, very tough in their own world and extremely weak in the real world.”
You can read the full piece here.
Harry at AICN also provides a set report and breaks down a particular scene that was giving Dolph problems. It’s cool to hear Harry explain the process that Dolph, Sly and the others went through to get it right, as well as a potential back-up plan should it not be able to be worked out.
I’m not sure what they were thinking, but you can order a Rocky, Apollo or Mr. T USB that is NOT a memory stick. Click here to see what I’m talking about.