Category: Rambo

Jesse Munoz Draws First Blood

Craig / / 2011, Craig's Sly Art, Rambo

I’m a fan of Jesse Munoz’s art.  I discovered him though his DA site and then a web search to his website.  Recently Jesse ran a contest where the person who could send him a screenshot of his DA site the closest to hitting the 25,000 page view mark would win a 3 card sketch set. 

I watched as the days went by and the hits got closer to 25,000.  I hoped to be around when the number was hit.  I had been sick with a bronchial infection and woke up in the middle of the night coughing.  I decided to get up and check my e-mail.  Then I decided to check in on Jesse’s site.  Guess what page view number I landed on?  Unreal.

Jesse came through in flying colors with three cool Stallone themed cards.  This Rambo piece is the first.  I’ll show you the other two soon.  Until then, why not visit Jesse’s sites and show him some love?

Brian Tyler: “Rambo” & “The Expendables”

Craig / / 2011, Celebs, Expendables, Rambo

Moviehole recently interviewed Brian Tyler [pictured above with Sly], the composer behind the scores for “Rambo” and “The Expendables.”   Tyler is currently composing music for “Fast Five” and “Battle for LA” but took time out for the interview.  Here’s what he had to say about working with Sly:

  • Jonathon Urban: After a 20 year absence, Sylvester Stallone brought back one of his two iconic characters, John Rambo, in 2008’s “Rambo.” For over 25 years, Jerry Goldsmith’s name was synonymous with the epic scores for “First Blood”, “Rambo: First Blood Part II” and “Rambo III.” What was it like stepping into such a beloved franchise that also had such a well-known score?

    BT: Daunting! I wanted to honor the Jerry Goldsmith scores and incorporate those great themes into my overall tapestry which had new themes as well. Rambo is now older and wiser and that evolution needed to be reflected in the score.

    JU: There’s clearly a “hero theme” and not per se a “love theme,” but one that is clearly for the character of ‘Sarah.’ How did you come up with these?

    BT: Well the themes for “Rambo” took awhile to come up with. Hmm. I think I sat down at the piano and just went for it!

    JU: There are several classic Goldsmith cues that meld very nicely with your original work. Was there ever any challenge on working in the Goldsmith cues into your original pieces?

    BT: Well I wrote my themes to be compatible with Jerry’s themes. They worked together by design. My biggest challenge was composing next to a giant’s shadow.

    JU: And like you have done with several other directors, you scored your second film with Stallone, “The Expendables.” Before I ask you about “The Expendables”, it has to be a good feeling working again with a director you have worked with before. Do you feel that you and the director’s chemistry gets better with each film and that you’re able to compose a score that encompasses the director’s vision even more so?

    BT: There are a number of directors that I have worked with a number of times. Bill Paxton, Sylvester Stallone, Jonathan Liebesman, William Friedkin, Justin Lin, George Gallo, Greg Yaitanes, and others. It is always great to grow closer with a creative collaborator.

    JU: Okay, “The Expendables”, which was the macho movie of all macho movies. Were you Sly’s first choice to score the movie?

    BT: I was indeed. At least I was told that. (Laughing.)

To read the whole interview, click here.

Welcome to Rockyland

Craig / / 2010, Demolition Man, Expendables, Rambo, Rocky 5, Rocky Balboa

On December 29, 2010, IFC News posted Matt Singer’s article, “Welcome to Rockyland: Sylvester Stallone’s Viagra Cinema.” In the piece Singer explores Sly’s resurgence to the top at an age when “action stars” have long since retired.  Here are some excerpts:

  • On July 6, 2011 Sylvester Stallone will turn 65 years old. At an age when most Americans are considering their Social Security benefits, Stallone’s career is the healthiest it’s been in decades.
  • His latest film, “The Expendables,” was the first he’s headlined to gross over $100 million in the U.S. since “Rocky IV” back in 1985. Ten years ago, Stallone’s career was dead and he was a joke. Now he’s the world’s leading manufacturer of viagra cinema, movies designed to showcase the aging male frame as it performs unnatural but remarkable physical feats.
  • What Stallone’s done is basically without precedent. All of his former rivals for action film supremacy have faded away or moved on; all of his predecessors turned to moodier and more reflective work by the time they were his age.

  • …the world of Stallone’s viagra cinema: a place of physical and moral decay, the Philadelphia of “Rocky Balboa,” the Burma of “Rambo,” or the corrupt fictional island of Vilena in “The Expendables.” The heroes Stallone plays in these films refuse to concede to the decay around them or bend to the physical limitations of their age. The world may decay; Sylvester Stallone does not.
  • Given Stallone’s age, and the fact that he surrounded himself in “The Expendables” with fresh action stars like Statham and Terry Crews, it seemed reasonable to assume that he was making the film as a symbolic passing of the torch; that it would be about what it’s like to realize you’re not faster than light anymore. Nope. Ross is correct about his skills… “The Expendables” isn’t about making way for a new generation. It’s about putting that new generation in their place and showing them how it’s done. Casting Stallone’s old contemporaries like Dolph Lundgren and Mickey Rourke was good for some chuckles; it was also good for showing how good Stallone looks in comparison to them.
  • In “Rocky V,” when Rocky was forced into retirement (a first time), his constant refrain was “I didn’t hear no bell!” signifying that his life is not over and that he continues to endure. Twenty years later, Stallone is still fighting, still refusing to hear the bell. The longer he refuses, the deeper he gets into Rockyland, the more strangely compelling his viagra cinema gets.

Singer has written an excellent piece and I highly recommend it to all SZoners. – Craig

SZoner’s Rambo Tat

Craig / / 2010, Rambo, Sly Fan

SZoner, Mr. Blackwell recently got his first tat to celebrate, well, let’s let him explain…

Hi, new to here but a BIG Sly fan since 1977…I was 12 and saw Rocky at a school film club. Since then, I watched all of his movies and regard him as one of my ‘heroes’…..hell, I even watched Spy Kids 3 on TV the other day!

I went back into education in 2005 and got a B.A.Hons Degree in Creative Lens Media. My final year dissertation was entitled ‘Rambo, Reagan and Bush: American Politics and the Rambo movies.

I then did a Masters degree and promised myself that I’d get a tattoo if I passed it…which I did.


I thought it might be an appropriate tattoo to share with you folks. As you can see, it is from the publicity posters for the last Rambo movie.

***
Congrats on the degree and the tat! – Craig

SZ Exclusive Rambo Premiere Photos

Craig / / 2010, Rambo, Sly Fan

The following message and these pics came to us from SZoner, SlyStalloneFan…

Dear Craig,

SlyStalloneFan is back again with a few pictures that I took during the Rambo premiere in Las Vegas. I can not tell you how excited I was to be at the premiere and to get to see my idol in person (Again). There is nothing more exciting to me than attending a premiere for a movie starring Sylvester Stallone. It was a wonderful night. I got to see the whole cast from Rambo. What was amazing is that Arnold Schwarzenegger was there too. Him and Sly standing a few inches away from me. Talk about great moments in life. So here are some of the pictures I captured. Hope you enjoy them and again I apologize if some were not best quality. Thanks :)

Thanks to SlyStalloneFan for sharing! – Craig

SZoners Rambo Tat

Craig / / 2010, Fan Art, Rambo, Sly Fan

I received the photo above and e-mail below from SZoner, Samantha:

Hello Mr Zablo,
I have followed your website StalloneZone for many years: I love watching for new pictures and others’ fan art of Stallone, as I have always been a big fan of him. I would love it if you would post a picture of my Rambo tattoo that I got yesterday on your website. It was done by Mike Magee in Thunder Bay, ON and Mike hopefully will be sending a photo to Devries, Stallone’s tattoo artist, so that maybe Stallone may see it as well.
Please let me know,
And thank you so much for your time!

There’s no denying that Samantha is a huge Stallone/Rambo fan! Thanks for sharing your body art, Samantha! – Craig

Gary Daniels: Sly & The Expendables

Craig / / 2010, Celebs, Expendables, Fan Art, Rambo

The California Chronicle recently interviewed Expendables co-star Gary Daniels.  Here’s a bit of what he had to say about filming with Sly…

  • “Working on The Expendables was definitely a great experience, just to be directed by and work with Sylvester Stallone was truly memorable. Also, getting to work out in the gym with him and to experience his kind of energy was very inspirational…
  • “…Sly is very intense as a director but, because of his energy, he is always moving around the set while giving direction so I found myself really having to keep up with him and payattention. He always had a cigar in his mouth so sometimes it was a little tough to understand, but he is a very physical guy and would often demonstrate what he wanted…
  • “…Who knows if it will be done again? But it takes a man of Sly’s stature to bring it together because everyone respects him in the action genre. When someone such as Stallone, Clint Eastwood or Steven Spielberg calls, you just don’t say no. Will it happen again? I am sure they are already prepping Expendables 2…

To read the full interview go here.