Category: Celebs

“ROCKY” SPECIAL EDITION DVD REVIEW

Craig / / 2001, Celebs, Rocky

Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes returns with yet another SZ NEWS item. The pics and text can be found in the June issue of TOTAL FILM.

ROCKY: SPECIAL EDITION

The Film: The only real knockout in the Rocky series has aged pretty well. Grittier and nastier (well, relatively) than the four sequels, the dingy look, solid performances and triumphantly teary ending make it easy to understand how this bagged itself nine Oscar nominations and three statuettes (including Best Film).

The extras: Audio commentary with cast and crew, video commentary with Sylvester Stallone, behind the scenes featurette with director John Alvidsen, tribute to Burgess Meredith, tribute to James Crabe, trailers.

The verdict: Not exactly championship material but still able to go the distance,
this is an enjoyable, well-assembled package. The video commentary
(basically a glorified interview with
Mr. Sly) is entertaining stuff, especially if you never realized just how

much of a shoestring affair making the film was (dodging
in and around Philadelphia
trying not to get nabbed by
the authorities, grabbing shots wherever they could ). Also
look out for John Alvidsen‘s
8 mm behind – the – scenes footage (an amusing peek at how the fight was assembled) and the genuinely touching tributes to Burgess Meredith and James Crabe. Completists will be glad to know that the Special Edition is also available as part of the Rocky Anthology box set, but, let’s face it, this is the only one worth owning.

Cerl Thomas
Film: ****
Disc: ****

During rehearsals Rocky director John Alvidsen shot cheap 8mm films of his stars prancing around the ring. He talks us through it on the Special Edition disc…

“When the time came to rehearse, what I wanted to rehearse more than anything was the fighting ‘cos I knew that the film wasn’t going to look good unless the fighting looked good. A couple of weeks before we started shooting I got Sylvester and Carl Weathers into the ring to see what it was going to look like. Well they got into the ring and one guy said: “I’m gonna do this” and the other guy said: “I’m gonna do that!” I realized that we weren’t gonna get anywhere.So I suggested to Sylvester: “Why don’t you go home and write this thing out? A left and a right, an uppercut, you fall down, he falls down. Whatever you want, write it out and bring it back and we’ll learn it like a ballet. It’ll be choreographed and we’ll do the same thing in the ring day after day until we really get it down. So when you do this, he does that and we put a big whack on the soundtrack and people will believe it.

So Sylvester liked the idea and the next day he came back with 32 pages of lefts and rights and that’s what we learned.”

Thanks, Jazz!  – Craig Zablo  (June 21, 2001)

Sly and Anthony The Last Pic

Craig / / 2001, Avenging Angelo, Celebs

Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes sent in the following report: “The June 19, 2001 of the Enquirerhas a reportedly ” last photo” of ANTHONY QUINN and SLY on the set of “Avenging Angelo.”

Excerpt: ” I’m in a state of shock, ” STALLONE told the Enquirer in an exclusive interview. “His death scene is brilliant ! He was a wonderful talent and had a wonderful presence. I fell grateful for the chance to have worked with him. “

CO-STARS SLY STALLONEand ANTHONY QUINN are all smiles on the set of their movie “Avenging Angelo.”

Thanks to Jazz for the tip! – Craig Zablo

SLY’S CAR ON DISPLAY

Craig / / 2001, Celebs

On Father’s Day, Sly is set to join other celebs who will put their collectable cars on display for public viewing. The 4th annual Concours on Rodeo even is free to the public, is sponsored by Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge to benefit the Amie Karen Cancer Fund for Children. – Craig (June 17, 2001)

Sly Joins Other Celebs to Support Amie Karen Cancer Fund

Craig / / 2001, Celebs

From Yahoo News by Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
VROOM-VROOM II: It’s going to be a big day on Father’s Day in Beverly Hills, when the fourth annual Concours on Rodeo event takes place — and when the famous street will be crammed with costly collectable cars of such celebs as SYLVESTER STALLONE, JAY LENO, TIM ALLEN and members of Aerosmith. The event, which is free to the public, is sponsored by Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, and benefits the Amie Karen Cancer Fund for Children. If you’re in the neighborhood, mosey over. It’s always a grand, fun affair.

Anthony Quinn, RIP

Craig / / 2001, Avenging Angelo, Celebs

Two-time Oscar winner ANTHONY QUINN, left, and actor SYLVESTER STALLONE are shown in a scene from the film “Avenging Angelo,” in this recent handout photo.

Anthony Quinn died of respiratory failure today. He was 86.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Quinn’s family, friends and fans.

– Craig Zablo

STALLONE to Ressurect “Rambo IV?”

Craig / / 2001, Celebs, Rambo 4

From Total Film: Guns and Ammo: STALLONE to Ressurect Rambo IV?
With mad George Dubble-Yer squatting in the White House. what better time for Hollywood to ressurect the grand-daddy of Republican chest-beating ’80’s throwbacks? Be afraid: Miramax big-wig Bob Weinstein wants to get “Rambo IV” into American cinemas for 2003. So far, RICHARD CRENNA [grumpy army fella] and BRIAN DENNEHY [grumpy smalltown sherif] have both apparently agreed to reprise their roles. with Mr. SLY uhmming and duuhing until he sees the final script, which writers’ strike permitting should be completed in late summer. “We’d love nothing more than for STALLONE to be involved. We think it’s a billion dollar franchise,” Weinstein babbled. And the plot? Depressingly Die Hardesque with Mr. Rambo taking on drug dealers hidingin a government building. And despite previous rumours pitching JACKIE CHAN as an evil drug lord, it now seems more likely he would pop up as [oh, the horror] a chopsocky Rambo buddy.

Sly in Racer

Craig / / 2001, Celebs, Driven

Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes sent in the following: In the June 2001 issue of Racer there is a profile on racing movies by Adam Cooper entitled Last Action Heroes . Some excerpts … “SYLVESTER STALLONEand director RENNY HARLIN faced a long , hard struggle to realize their pet project that originally began life with an F1 theme.”

“…Of course, STALLONE knows a little about sports movies. In 1976 he shot to stardom on “Rocky,” a project he conceived and fought to bring to life, and which earned the best picture Oscar. Will “Driven” be a knockout ?”

Text for pic … Former Indy 500 winner and formula 1 Champion Jacques Villeneuve makes a cameo appearance in “Driven.”

Thanks to Jazz for the tip! – Craig Zablo

“Driven” DVD Extras

Craig / / 2001, Celebs, Driven

USA Today features an article by Scott Bowles about the extra bonus material found on DVDs. References to “Driven” are made which will excite most STALLONE fans.

“After five takes of an elaborate race scene for his movie Driven, director RENNY HARLIN requested yet another shoot. The crew was growing tired and frustrated. Didn’t they have enough footage? ‘Yes, for the film,’ HARLIN responded. ‘But we need more for the DVD…’ “HARLIN shot 1.5 million feet of film – 150 times longer than the movie itself – and his first cut of Driven ran longer than 4 1/2 hours. You can’t see that race epic at the local cineplex, but you may on DVD, he says.  HARLIN also hopes to turn the disc into a video game of sorts, allowing viewers to take “virtual races” in the movie, as well as choose camera angles and character perspectives.”

SLY IN HELLO

Craig / / 2001, Celebs, Driven

Ernest “Jazzman” Resendes is back with another scoop!

In the May 15, 2001 issue (#662) of HELLO! mag there is a feature entitled MICHAEL SCHUMACHER AND HIS WIFE CORINNA. The pic above appears (much smaller) with the caption: “A rare celebrity moment for Michael
as he poses with Sylvester Stallone while making the film Driven.”

Thanks to Jazz for the tip! – Craig Zablo (May 24, 2001)