This week we have Sly from Cop Land by Tom Hodges. I discovered Tom’s art through his DA site. I saw that Tom was going to be drawing live on UStream so I commissioned several sketches which will be posted in the coming weeks. Tom still draws regularly on UStream and it’s always a blast watching him sketch and interacting with the crowd.
Category: Cop Land
James Mangold, Sly & 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…
- Big Hollywood: When Stallone Swapped…
- MTV Movies Blog: Director James Mangold…
Best Stallone Films
SFGate.com posted their choices for the Best Stallone Films along with the films that readers picked. You can see the choices above or here.
Dave Wachter Goes to Copland
Dave Wachter joins us this week with his take on Sly from Copland. I’m a huge fan of Dave’s art and own several pieces [and hope to get more in the future]. He’s a tremendous artist, but more importantly an all-around decent guy. You can see more of Dave’s art at his site. – Craig
Dustin Harbin Goes to Cop Land
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
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
AMC: Top 5 Sly Stallone Movies
On April 30, 2010, the AMC Movie Blog posted their choices for The Five Best Movies of Sylvester Stallone. Here are their choices and a little of the rationale for selection:
5. Demolition Man: …Nothing about this movie should work — dated jokes about Taco Bell, a ridiculous time-travel setup — but it work it does, from start to finish. Credit Stallone’s amusing fish-out-of-water performance…
4. Cliffhanger: …Die Hard on a mountain, Cliffhanger is as cool as it sounds… Stallone reminds us why he’s one of the best action stars ever. He radiates intensity.
3. Copland: …Stallone turned his career around with this serious (and underappreciated) drama…
2. Rambo: No. We’re not talking about the original — that’s First Blood. We’re not even talking about Rambo: First Blood II, the sequel. While we love those both, this bare-bones, bloody action film ranks as one of the best flicks in years..
1. Rocky: Not just Stallone’s best but also one of Hollywood’s best…
If I were making the list Rocky Balboa would have been near the top forcing Demolition Man off the list. And while it may not be one of Sly’s Top 5 best, Get Carter still is one of my favorites. To see AMC’s whole post with all of their comments as well as some Stallone movies that nearly made it to the Top 5, then click here.
Jon Riggle’s “Freddy”
Today’s piece is Jon Riggle’s take on Sly as Freddy from “Cop Land”. Jon is an illustrator and photographer. He also created the Sci-Fi comic strip Sonic Jack and is available for commissions. You can see more of Jon’s art here and here.
Thanks to Jon for the bang-up job and John Beatty for the gift.
Chris Moreno’s “Cop Land”
Chris Moreno worked up this very nice color take on Sly from “Cop Land” for me at a convention last year. My buddy picked it up when I had to leave the show early and I didn’t end up getting it in my possession until just recently. Man, I really like Chris’ art and my piece is an excellent example of “why.” He’s a talented artist with a huge sense of humor. What a great combination! You can check out more of Chris’ art here.