Category: Cop Land

James Mangold, Sly & Cop Land

Craig / / 2011, Cop Land

On November 2, 2011, IndieWire posted a nice interview with director, James Mangold, with the focus being working with Sylvester Stallone on Copland.  Here are a few tidbits…

  • Mangold didn’t want Sly:  “I didn’t want him,” Mangold explained. “When he was first brought up to me, I was like, ‘Please God no!’ My whole perception of Sly at that point was, and he’s a friend and he would understand, but it was like he’d made this series of slightly-less than his best tentpole movies that weren’t very taxing for him, and he was just kind of an indestructible force in one picture after another. And I was looking to cast a vulnerable guy who was soft, who can’t quite pull the trigger – and I’m getting Judge Dredd?”
  • How Sly won over Mangold:  “All I laid out on the table was that I didn’t want to make this movie with him if he was going to take control of it, and I didn’t want to make this movie with him if he was going to change it, and I didn’t want to make this movie with him if he wouldn’t get fat,” Mangold explained. “And Sly in each case was like, look, it’s your movie, it’s your script, so we’ll do exactly what you wrote, and also, I’ll gain weight – I’d love to. And he was an angel about it in a way that a lot of other actors I’d approached before him were not angels about it. They were not happy about playing the unsexy or hesitant hero at the center of the movie, and here was this guy who was really into it. And I decided to take the leap with him, and for many reasons I’m glad I did.”

  • Miramax imposed a variety of changes upon the film because of test screening reactions and expectations that its high-profile cast would turn it into a box office champ. Describing how his cut differs, he said, “I think the biggest difference is that there’s a little less effort at the end to try and tie everything into a happy meal. I think there were several codas on the theatrically released version that were made to make audiences feel that their fanny was patted, their hair was combed and they were sent home with a warm and fuzzy feeling about everybody. I definitely never made the movie trying to make the feel-good movie of the year.”

Check out the interview for the full story!

And there’s more at…

Dustin Harbin Goes to Cop Land

Craig / / 2011, Cop Land, Craig's Sly Art

This week we have Dustin Harbin’s look at Freddy from Cop Land.

Dustin is a freelance illustrator working out of Charlotte, NC. I’ve known Dustin for years through his outstanding work with Heroes Con. It was only recently that I discovered Dustin’s talent for cartooning.  So I hit him up for two Stallone sketches.  You can see the first, Dustin’s take on Jack Carter, here.

If you like what you see, then check out Dustin’s blog and let him know.

Otis Frampton: Cop Land

Craig / / 2010, Cop Land, Craig's Sly Art

Otis Frampton’s art is no stranger to the StalloneZone.  I’ve told you about Otis’ 7-7-7 Sundays before.  I’ve been fortunate enough to get three previous sketches from Otis — Rambo, Jack Carter and Cosmo Carboni.  You can see them here.

I finally got to meet Otis in person at Heroes Con last year.  When Otis attends conventions he has sketchbooks that he sells for a buck each.  Yep, one buck.  And to make the deal even more enticing, Otis includes a free headsketch.  For mine he did Freddy from Cop Land.  I would have gladly paid a buck a piece to have Otis draw Sly from every movie he’s done, but the idea is to get new fans to give Otis’ work a look.  So instead, whenever I ran into a friend who’d never heard of Otis I’d slap a buck down and buy ’em a copy of the sketchbook with a free headsketch.  Luckily none of them requested Sly, or I might have had to keep the copy for myself.  ; )

Sly Mini-Interview

Craig / / 2010, Cop Land, Rocky Balboa

On August 17, 2010, TNTMagazine posted a short interview with Sly.  Here are a couple of quotes:

  • I think I’m past my prime doing dramatic films. It becomes like almost a pathetic cry to be recognized as a serious dramatic actor.   I’ve done my little moment. I’m very proud of the drama in Rocky Balboa – it’s about as deep as I can go – and in Cop Land. I would much rather just direct dramas.
  • I believe the violence is very justifiable. One thing in my films, I kill people that need to be killed. The ones that deserve it, get it and they get it good but the ones that go after women really get it.