I still can't believe it's been 25 years--25 years!!! since a movie called "Back to the Future" made its way into theaters across the country. Back then, I was a kid who had always loved movies, and had followed Michael J. Fox on one of my favorite '80s TV shows, NBC's "Family Ties."
Like most everyone else who saw it, I was simply blown away when I first watched this film. Everything about it just "clicked"--and it seemed to be flawless. All of the performances were spot on, and it was entertaining from beginning to end. The movie blended comedy with science fiction, a dash of drama, and yes, even a spark of romance--and folks, to be able to pull all of that off is very, very rare indeed. I was so taken with it that I saw "BTTF" 4 times at the movies that summer, and recommended it to everyone.
Great movie, great cast, great music--and today, you can see it for the first time on blu-ray. Although I liked the trilogy as a whole, the first one is still my favorite.
I was fortunate that on a trip to Los Angeles in the late '80s, I took the Universal backlot tour and the tram took us to the court square set. I got an up close and personal look at the courthouse, the gas station, and all of the shops along the square. They told us that the filmmakers were prepping to shoot the sequel, and it was quite a sight to see in person. I'm glad I got to see it before it was destroyed by fire. Since then, they've rebuilt the sets, but nothing can replace that memory. On another trip to L.A. a few years later, a couple of friends and I went to the movies, and Eric Stoltz, along with a couple of his pals, sat right behind us. Stoltz, of course, was first cast as Marty McFly before Fox. I hope you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, and if you haven't seen it in a while, now's a great time to go back to "Back to the Future."
Watch the cast reunion that happened this morning on the "Today" show below.
I've discussed this topic recently with friends, and this week, we've lost more very recognizable celebrities.
Among them, Arthur Penn, director of such films as "Bonnie and Clyde," and "Little Big Man," as well
as Tony Curtis, the Oscar-Nominated actor and who appeared in such classics as "Spartacus," and "Some Like It Hot," with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, and directed by the great Billy Wilder. I was fortunate enough to meet Mr. Wilder several years ago at a restaurant out in L.A.
Now, word that one of Hollywood's most legendary TV writers and producers has left us. Stephen J. Cannell has died at the age of 69. I grew up watching the shows he created, and always loved his signature production company logo at the end of each one, with him typing furiously on a typewriter, then tearing the paper out of the machine and tossing it into the air where it animated and formed a "C."
Here it is:
Here's the obit from the AP:
NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen J. Cannell, the voracious writer-producer of dozens of series that included TV favorites The Rockford Files,The A-Team and The Commish, has died at age 69.
Cannell passed away at his home in Pasadena, Calif., on Thursday night from complications associated with melanoma, his family said in a statement on Friday.
During three decades as an independent producer, he distinguished himself as a rangy, outgoing chap with a trim beard who was generally identified with action dramas full of squealing tires and tough guys trading punches.
But his range was greater than for which he was given credit. Tenspeed and Brown Shoewas a clever detective drama starring Ben Vereen and a then-unknown Jeff Goldblumin 1980. Profit was a shocking saga of a psycho businessman that was unforgettable to the few viewers who saw it: Fox pulled the plug after just four episodes in 1996. WithWiseguy (1987-90), Cannell chilled viewers with a film-noir descent into the underworld that predated The Sopranos by more than a decade.
The Rockford Files, of course, became an Emmy-winning TV classic following the misadventures of its hapless ex-con private eye played by James Garner.
"People say, 'How can the guy who did "Wiseguy" do "The A-Team"?' I don't know," said Cannell in an interview with The Associated Press in 1993. "But I do know it's easier to think of me simply as the guy who wrote The A-Team. So they do."
During his TV heyday, Cannell became familiar to viewers from the ID that followed each of his shows: He was seen in his office typing on his Selectric before blithely ripping a sheet of paper from the typewriter carriage, whereupon it morphed into the C-shaped logo of Cannell Entertainment Inc.
That was all the idea of his wife, Marcia, he said, and it "appealed to my sense of hooey. ... I'm a ham."
He was also an occasional actor, most recently with a recurring role on ABC-TV's series, Castle.
A third-generation Californian, Cannell (rhymes with "channel") got into television writing scripts for It Takes a Thief,Ironside and Adam 12. It was a remarkable career choice for someone who had suffered since childhood from severe dyslexia (he became an advocate for children and adults with learning disabilities).
Cannell in recent years had focused his attention on writing books. His 16th novel, The Prostitute's Ball, will be released this month.
"I never thought of myself as being a brilliant writer, and still don't," he said in the AP interview. "I'm a populist. With Rockford, we were never trying to be important. And as thoroughly hated as it was by critics, I loved The A-Team. I thought it was really cool."
He was a producer of the feature film updating The A-Team, released earlier this year.
Cannell is survived by Marcia, his wife of 46 years, their three children, and three grandchildren.
This past week, the program "At The Movies" ended its very long run. It's tough to compete in this day and age when you can find movie reviews just about anywhere. I watched the show ever since it started on public television and was called "Sneak Previews."
I always got a kick out of seeing Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel have a heated disagreement then give those famous "Thumbs Up" or "Thumbs Down" recommendations for any given movie.
It later years, the name of the show changed many times. As I recall, it went from "Sneak Previews," to "Siskel & Ebert: At The Movies," to "Ebert & Roeper: At The Movies," then finally just "At The Movies."
Part of the change was because sadly, co-host Gene Siskel died of a brain tumor in 1999. After a number of fill-in guest hosts, Richard Roeper sat in to review movies with Roger Ebert. Ebert fought (and is still vigorously fighting) cancer himself, and he eventually had to leave the show, yet still maintains his own website where he reviews movies--a lot of movies. The guy won't be beaten down by disease even though he can no longer speak. The show's final two hosts were A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips. They were both watchable enough, but no pair can ever hold a candle to the team of Siskel and Ebert. I even modeled the opening of a movie review program I hosted in college after one of their early openings, where the two argue as they walk into a movie theatre. Roger Ebert, a longtime film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, won a Pulitzer Prize, and is the author of several books about film. I'm glad he's still around to give us his take on movies today, and I hope he stays around for many years to come. I have many fond memories of "At The Movies," which won't be forgotten (by me, anyway) for a long, long time (I hope).
As they used to say at the close of each program, it looks like "The balcony is closed," but this time, for good.
BREAKING NEWS. I'm about to blog for the first time in months. That's right nerds and nerdettes, the closing ceremonies of Comic-Con brought the urge to share some geek thoughts. This year's festival was packed full of pop culture goodness. The unveiling of "The Avengers" cast on Saturday was the cherry on top for many fans, especially those hoping for a shot in the arm from Marvel Studios. Even with all the glitz, glamor, costumes, and screams, something was missing from this year's festival. Or maybe I should say someone....
Spider-Man. That's right, your friendly neighborhood movie franchise that's getting a reboot was nowhere to be found in San Diego. I was hoping for some casting announcements, villain choices, plot developments, anything, but all we got was a new Spider-Man video game teaser. Sony and Marvel want to keep this reboot at a low-budget price so maybe that was the plan all along? If I'm Sony and I'm throwing out one of the most popular superheros ever with a small budget and mostly unknown director, I'm using Comic-Con as a way of gaining some support.
Spider-Man is my favorite superhero of all-time. It's only natural that I want to see the new trilogy be successful, even if I am against a reboot (see earlier articles for more details). I just think that the team had the perfect opportunity to give us something over the weekend and bring us hope for the future. Maybe this is part of Marvel's master plan? Maybe they want "The Avengers" to take center stage and let Spidey stay under the radar.....
They have to give us something soon. My web is getting thick.
He was one of America's most well known actors with an edge. Dennis Hopper died over the weekend after a battle with prostate cancer. His last public appearance was just a few weeks ago as he received his star for the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At his side, longtime friend and fellow actor, the legendary Jack Nicholson.
Dennis Hopper first hit it big starring alongside none other than James Dean in "Rebel Without A Cause," and "Giant" in the mid-1950s. He also co-starred with John Wayne in "The Sons of Katie Elder," and "True Grit."
He went on to direct and star in the 1969 classic "Easy Rider," with Nicholson and Peter Fonda. He was nominated for an Oscar as co-writer of that movie. Although he didn't win, "Easy Rider" did take home an award from the Cannes film festival that year.
Through the years, Dennis Hopper made a number of other movies, and frequently appeared on television shows. Some people may remember him as the psychotic Frank Booth in David Lynch's "Blue Velvet," or the Mad Bomber in "Speed."
He played a trippy photojournalist in Francis Ford Coppola's look at Vietnam in "Apocalypse Now" in 1979, and won praise for his work with Gene Hackman in the basketball film "Hoosiers."
Sure, he made some not so memorable movies too: "Waterworld" anyone? But what star hasn't?
Dennis Hopper is a name that is probably most closely associated with movies of the 60s and 70s, but he had a long, varied career, and will certainly be missed. He was 74 years old.
It's been a week and half now since fans around the world said their goodbyes to, in my opinion, one of the greatest shows in the history of television. ABC's "Lost" aired its series finale on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010.
I threw a small party and had a few friends over to mark the occasion. Much has already been written about the ending, so I'll be brief.
Everyone wondered how this mysterious show would come to a close. How would it all end? There were so many questions about different characters, etc. Without giving away the ending, I'll just say that I thought it was one of the best, if not the best, close to a show that I've ever had the pleasure to witness. Yes, it left some questions. I think I would have been mad had it not done so. It tied up ends in such a fashion so that everything made sense, and all the things these characters had spoken about for the past 6 seasons could be reflected upon and thought about in a way only "Lost" could have done it.
If you want to find out how it ended, there are certainly no shortages of places to find out for yourself on the internet. But I would encourage you to start at the very beginning. The first episode. Start watching, and I promise you that you will not be sorry. I've told a friend of mine now that "Lost" is over, I'm really not looking forward to television much anymore, and that's true. Sure, there are shows I watch, but not in the same way that it caused you to really use your brain, and think about what was happening. I even picked up the book "The Gospel According to 'Lost'" and look forward to reading it. I'll miss the characters, but I'm very glad a show like this came along--and I'm very grateful to have had many philosophical discussions with my friends about it. I'm sure those will continue. Namaste.
