Category: Celebs

Too Old for Action?

Craig / / 2009, Celebs

On September 25, 2009, in their Entertainment section, FOXNEWS.com ran a piece called “Too Old for Action” by Amy and Nancy Harrington. The authors take a look at “aging stars” who they feel are too old to play in “action roles”. The stars that they consider too old are: Bruce Willis [54], Steven Seagal [58], Arnold Schwarzenegger [62], Clint Eastwood [79], Harrison Ford [67], Sylvester Stallone [63], Jean-Claude Van Damme [49], Mel Gibson [53], Jackie Chan [55], and Nicholas Cage [45].

Here’s what they had to say about Sly:

Sylvester Stallone is clearly not willing to accept that he’s a 63-year-old former action star, and he won’t let go.  Quite the contrary. In his next film, “The Expendables,” he’s pulling together a who’s who of fading action heroes, from Dolph Lundgren to Mickey Rourke. Sly explained, “I wanted to do a film that was more about men and just doing things that we did back in the ’80s and ’90s with films that were a little bit more men on men, and actual physical stunts, and also a story that isn’t super-gigantic.” Thank goodness someone’s perpetuating the Hollywood legacy of overblown action films with no story line.

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I find it somewhat humorous that the photo of Sly that they chose to run with the article clearly shows that he’s not too old for “action roles”.  “Rocky Balboa” and “Rambo” received positive critical reviews and great box office… and “The Expendables” is one of the most anticipated films of next year.  Perhaps these authors should have given more thought to putting Sly in the mix. 

As to the other stars, none of them are working mainly as “action stars” and to pre-judge their ability to play a role based soley on age is pretty weak.  You can, however, read the whole article by clicking here.

Sage Moonblood Makes the List

Craig / / 2009, Celebs, Sage, Uncategorized

On September 10, 2009, SFGate.com ran a piece about unusual names celebrities have given their children. Of course, Sage Moonblood Stallone’s name made the list along Apple [Gweneth Paltrow and Chris Martin], Moxie Crimefighter [Penn and Emily Jillete], Rocket Rodriguez [Robert Rodriguez and Elizabeth Avellan], Tu Morrow [Rob and Debbon Morrow].

You can check out the whole piece here.

A few days later Fashion.ie posted an even longer list of unusual celebrity names with “witty” commentary.

Bruce Willis is “Expendable”

Craig / / 2009, Celebs, Expendables

Earlier this week, Bruce Willis confirmed that he will be joining the cast of “The Expendables.”  As you can imagine, this news made waves throughout the web:

Sly Talks Expendables

Craig / / 2009, Celebs, Expendables

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.

Sly’s in Great Company

Craig / / 2009, Celebs

AMCtv.com ran a piece on aging action stars saying, “hanging around at the top of your game until your 50s, 60s or even 70s isn’t uncommon”.  The article praises Charles Bronson, Sean Connery, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Samuel L. Jackson.  Here’s what they had to say about Sly:

Sly’s been kicking ass since the ’70s and even made an ill-fated attempt at dramatic acting. In 1997, he packed on the pounds to play a small-town cop dealing with corruption in Cop-Land. Maybe it was a mid-life crisis, but the movie didn’t live up to Sly’s blockbuster standards and Sly went into a nearly decade long slump where his biggest hit was the middling Spy Kids (2001). Luckily, he dove into his golden years wiser and just as strong (literally) and got back to his action roots. With Rocky Balboa (2006) and Rambo (2008), Stallone clearly realized that even as an older gentleman, he’s at his best jacked and beating down young bucks.
Born: 1946
Current Status: Still going strong. Very, very strong.
Senior Fact: We all know Stallone ended the Cold War in Rocky IV (1985), but when Stallone was born, the Cold War had yet to begin.

You can read the full piece here.

Dolph Talks A Lot of “Expendables”

Craig / / 2009, Celebs, Expendables

On May 28th, Dolph Lundgren sat down with IGN.com for an exclusive interview.  Dolph talked about directing, “Direct Contact”, the “Universal Soldier” sequel and more.  Here’s some of what he had to say about “The Expendables”:

“It’s the biggest movie I’ve worked on. And I realized the other day that I think it’s the biggest movie that Sly’s worked on, too. I don’t think there’s anybody who’s made more big action movies than he has. He has a lot of experience and he’s great to work with as a director because he knows.”

“There’s one scene toward the end of the film where everybody’s there – Mickey Rourke and Stallone and Jet Li and Jason Statham and Randy Couture and Eric Roberts. You see all those chairs lined up, like in those old pictures at MGM where they’d line up all the stars, and I’m just pleased and honored to be one of the group.”

You can read the whole piece here.

Dolph also spoke with MovieWeb.com and when the talk turned to “The Expendables”, he had this to say:

“…it’s a pleasure working with Stallone again. He’s a very experienced guy. You know, I direct myself, so I appreciate his advice because I can pass it on. Few people have more experience than him, a lead in a big action movie. I mean, how many big movies has he done in his career? Maybe 30? Big studio pictures? That was fun, so now that I get to suck up his advice and it’s really fun for me. It’s a pleasure.”

“It’s a really good character for me too. I’m the outcast-of-the-family sort of thing. I go back and forth between the good family and the bad guys, so there’s a lot of great stuff and certainly a lot of action… I get to play both good and bad. It’s a little crazy. He’s a guy with a heart, and Stallone is no friend of his in the movie. He was my old buddy and we end up parting ways, it gets ugly and there’s sort of a surprise. You’ll see.”

To read the full MovieWeb.com interview, click here.

Dolph also spoke about “The Expendables” to JoBlo.com. Here’s a taste:

“Stallone wanted to do a kind of DIRTY DOZEN type of picture with a bunch of action guys. So he came up with the idea about this group of mercenaries, they all have problems of various sorts. And Stallone is the leader who put it together… I loved the script…”

“You know what I like about it is there was a real feeling of real people and it’s not superheroes and there is nobody flying though buildings. Nobody is out to save the world. You know, it’s quite down to earth.”

“Stallone writes those things very, very well… I think THE EXPENDABLES is one of his better scripts. It’s funny and it’s touching and it’s going to be cool.”

You can read the full JoBlo interview right here.

Sly Now and Then

Craig / / 2009, Celebs

On May 4, 2009, DailyMail.co.uk posted a piece about Dolph Lundgren that contained the two photos above which favorably compares the shape Sly is in now and over twenty years ago.  You can read the full article here.