Sly Appearance in “Watchmen”

If you get a chance to see “Watchmen” pay close attention to what’s on television screen.  At one point in the movie you’ll see Sly as Rambo.  As director, Zack Snyder explains to Larry Carroll for MTV:

What’s Rambo’s Problem Now?
Another of Veidt’s televisions plays “Rambo: First Blood Part II,” which made us wonder: If the U.S. won Vietnam so quickly and easily in the “Watchmen” reality, would the “Rambo” movies even exist? “There might be a couple M.I.A.’s still there,” Snyder said of John Rambo’s mission in the sequel. “The reason I put that shot in there was that Sly [Stallone] is walking with another character from the movie — I forget the actor’s name — but he has a [smiley-face] button on — only he has a frowning smiley face. I was like, ‘They just totally missed the point of that,’ but I thought it was really interesting that it was pop culture invading a movie that, in some ways, didn’t understand it was being mocked by [‘Watchmen’].”

The actor’s name is Martin Kove.  Since I plan to see “Watchmen” today, I’ll keep an eye out of Sly’s “cameo.”

Sly Has 4 on !00 Favorites List

Phil Villarreal is the movie critic for the Arizona Daily Star. He recently posted his 100 Favorite Movies of All TimeSly was in four of them.   Here’s what Mr. Villarreal had to say about his Stallone choices:

90. “Over the Top” (1987) In one of action great Sylvester Stallone’s many appearances on this list, he plays a trucker who must arm-wrestle his way to the respect of his estranged son. I could watch this one every week.

65. “Rocky Balboa” (2006) Stallone goes back to the well for a movie that re-energized his tired persona and served as a requiem for the fall of a once great sport.

50. “First Blood” (1982) People think “Rambo” and tend to refer to the nonsensical mayhem of the sequels. But the disgruntled war vet’s first outing was a poignant and gripping tale of alienation.

06. “Rocky” (1976) Many deride the Academy for choosing “Rocky” over “Taxi Driver” for best picture, but watch the films back-to-back and then ask yourself which one you’d rather watch again. For me it’s “Rocky” every time.

Mr. Villarreal has some interesting choices on his list. He’s not afraid to speak his mind and go with his favorites as opposed to movies critics are “supposed” to like.   Check out his 100 favorites by clicking here.

Why JCVD is not Expendable

TotalFilm.com has an excerpt from their interview with Jean-Claude Van Damme about why he turned down a role in “The Expendables.” Here’s what he had to say:

“Stallone gave me a part in his next movie,” he told us. “But I ask him about the subject, about the story.”

“He said, ‘You’re gonna make lots of money.’ I don’t want to hear that, I want to hear what was my character.  He was unable to tell what it’s going to be.”

“[Stallone said:] ‘You know, uh, well, the fighting will be good.’ [So I said:] ‘Sly, what is my character?’ So I didn’t do the movie.”

I can understand Van Damme wanting to know about his character, but since Sly is writing the piece and would adapt each character to the actor, perhaps Van Damme should have taken a leap of faith and signed on.  The full interview with Jean-Claude Van Damme can be found in Total Film magazine.

Rambo Sculpture Selling Out!

Last week I posted about the Rambo statue from Hollywood Collectibles Group being available for pre-order. Shortly after the post, the following e-mail arrived:
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Hi Craig,

Thanks for that!

The statue is now getting very close to being sold out for the whole production run.

I have a pre production sample from the factory & it looks great – just like the paint master. So it is now in production.

So if any of your guys want one with the discount, they need to be quick! This has sold through very quickly and I would imagine will sell for more down the line on the secondary market. Especially when Rambo 5 comes out!

Best,

Mark
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Remember SZONErs, to get your discount enter “R412” (case sensitive for the “R”) when ordering. Thanks to Mark and the great folks at Hollywood Collectibles Group for hooking us up! – Craig