Posts Tagged ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger’
5 items.
In an attempt to head off any questions:
1. Yes, that picture of Ah-nuld DID appear in a recent issue of People Magazine.
2. No, it is not his head super-imposed onto the body of some fat European on holiday.
3. No, I did not steal it from Something Awful.
4. Did Cami actually use this image in an attempt to dissuede me from seeing Terminator 3? Yes, oh yes – sly minx that she is.
As I write this, I am miserably hot. I just spent the evening helping Cami pick up trash at Yankee Doodle Pops – an orchestral event set to fireworks that my wife helps to organize every year.
Thursday was the hottest day we had all year. It was 94 degrees, but the humidity (or “heat index”, as they like to call it) makes it feel like 112. And this isn’t a “Oh, it’s a dry heat” kind of feeling like you get in Arizona. Oh, no. It’s more of a muggy, my-underwear-is-sticking-to-my-kidney kind of feeling.
And by-the-by, if you think picking up the garbage of over 85,000 people who came crawling out of the woodwork for a free show is fun… think again.
This has been the second night in a row where I have lost a few pounds just by sweating them off. The other night was at the Deftones show. GREAT concert. Somehow I wormed my way up to the front and against the barricade and now I have the bruises to prove it.
Again, if you think having 1,000 people smoosh you up against an immovable gate while burly security men glare at you is fun… well, it is! I could have done without all of the crowd surfers clocking me in the back of the head, but that’s the nature of the beast.
At the end of the show, Chino took a stage dive and I got to catch him. Well, not me ALONE – but you know how it works. He was the only crowd surfer I didn’t mind gouging my eye out with his thumb.
Other than that, I plan on having a kick-ass 4th of July. I can only hope the same for you as well.
I apologize this blog didn’t have anything specific to say about movies, but I haven’t gotten a chance to get out and see the new releases. Maybe on Saturday I’ll have an opinion on the new offerings.
Until then, have a fun and safe holiday!
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Today is the day of the big California recall election. If you’ve been watching the news, maybe you’ve heard about it.
I don’t know how much I can add to the cacophony of opinions on the matter, but I will say this: Only in California could a candidate like Arnold Schwarzenegger run for governor and be taken seriously. If he tried to pull something like that in, oh, Nebraska, they’d laugh him right back to Austria.
It’s a scary thought that Kindergarten Cop could be in charge of the 5th largest economy in the world. The decisions he makes in office could potentially affect us all.
I think Ah-nold has a pretty good shot at winning this thing. They say name-recognition is the largest deciding factor at the polls come Election Day. Whose name is more recognizable than Schwarzenegger? Well, if you can spell it, that is.
So what if the man has some skeletons in his closet. I think all of us can agree that a man who (as an actor) has performed scenes disposing enemies in some of the most gruesome ways captured on film might have a misogynist streak in him.
And don’t forget this is California we’re talking about. The state that insists on giving Robert Downey Jr. work no matter how many times he turns up stoned and passed out in the backyards of complete strangers. Arnold’s misadventures in groping look like me parking in a handicapped spot by comparison.
I’ll be monitoring the election tonight. You should too. It’ll be a fascinating and wholly terrifying examination of the democratic process.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this fun fact that I found on the Internet Movie Database:
Did you know that the Mattel Toy Company started to make some Conan the Barbarian action figures, but after viewing the film, the executives realized that they couldn’t afford to be associated with a film with such graphic sex and violence. They gave their doll blonde hair, called him “He-man”, and thus created He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.
Who ended up with the better deal? The world may never know.
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So, Arnold Schwarzenegger is now the new governor of California. Good work, left-coasters. You’ve now supplanted Florida and that whole “hanging chad” debacle as our nations greatest embarassment.
I think voting a former Austrian bodybuilder into the highest office of your state probably wasn’t the wisest move, but it’ll make for some great late-nite fodder for the rest of us.
Some might view the Schwarzenegger election as a triumph of the openness of American politics. I view it for what it is – a big, freaky circus greased with the money of special interests who thought they could win over the worlds 5th largest economy with a little star power. Looks like their bet paid off.
In less scandalous news, Cami and I are finally getting around to seeing School of Rock tonight after work. I missed it over the weekend since I was at that convention, but I’ve heard nothing but good things.
Frankly, I don’t see how it could fail. I’m a big Jack Black fan and you know that director Richard Linklater will do it right. I’ve enjoyed all of his movies immensely.
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I’m not as adverse to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson making kids movies as I depict myself in this comic. But I have to admit scratching my head in puzzlement when I first saw the trailer for The Game Plan. THIS was the guy that was supposed to replace Schwarzenegger? It might be a moot point. Truthfully, I don’t think we’ll ever see another era in action movies quite like what we had in the early 80’s. To that end, The Rock is smart for doing a kids movie – if it’s well crafted. As my good friend Joe pointed out, “one needs only say The Pacifier to know that even a successful family vehicle can stall an action heroes career.”
I think The Rock will emerge unscathed. I think that he moves quickly enough from role to role that audiences aren’t associating him with any one chracter – and that’s good. Plus, the guy has enough natural charisma, he won’t have trouble finding work.
People hold up Schwarzenegger as the pinnacle of action movie heroism but they kind of overlook the fact that action movies were all he was good for until he became bankable on name-recognition alone. Let’s face it – there’s not a lot of work for a near-mute, extremely musclebound guy in leading man roles. In many respects, Schwarzenegger had to pay his dues first.
Not much else going on at the moment. Although I want to remind you about the DVD giveaway I have happening right now. Two copies of Stargate Atlantis: Season Three. All you have to do is bookmark you three favorite Theater Hopper strips using the social bookmarking network of your choice and then e-mail me either a screen cap or a link to your profile page for the proof along with your name and mailing address to be entered. I can tell you right now that so far only FOUR people have entered the contest. So if you want some free stuff, your odds are pretty good. It’s a small way to help promote Theater Hopper and get something for yourself to boot.
I realize that Stargate Atlantis is probably a niche interest for some of you. But the next opportunity I get, I’m going to try this with a more popular selection and see if it sticks. Stay tuned.
I kind of got some bad news this week in regard to a site redesign I had been planning. I was trying to work with a local web design firm to help me impliment some air-tight comic archiving, blogging and content systems as well as helping me more fully integrate the site with social bookmarking networks. We had a few conversations over the phone, I met with them in person and outlined my thoughts, even the president of the company got involved to oversee things.
Then I get a note from them this week saying that they really aren’t equipped to partner with me in this way. Typically they design a site from concept to completion and don’t do much in terms of consulting. I was kind of pissed. I spent a month waiting for them to steer the ship in a certain direction and they totally bailed.
I’m very interested in taking Theater Hopper to the next level and I think a lot of that will rest of me elevating the design and interactive elements of the site to a competitive level. I need outside help to do this because I’ve been stewing in my own juices for too long.
Does anyone have suggestions? I want to work with a company. Not a freelancer. I need someone who will be accountable and on the clock if something breaks.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have some great people help me keep things running around here for a long time. I’m not discounting their efforts. But I want to build on their foundation and I don’t know where to go.
Part of me wonders if I should just switch everything over to WordPress and use the ComicSpace mod. I know a few people who have tried it and liked it. But the more I think about it, the more I’m convinced I need a customized buisness solution to meet my needs.
If you have any suggestions, please e-mail them to me at theaterhopper@hotmail.com.
Have a great weekend, everybody!
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The first trailer for The Expendables 2 came out yesterday. It’s so manly, I want to run my fingers through its chest hair.
For a big action movie, this trailer’s a little week. Just a buncha name. Then again, it’s a teaser trailer and the actual movie doesn’t come out until August 17, so what do you want?
It’s funny that I bristle at stunt casting in movies like Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. But I’m TOTALLY okay with a movie that stars Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damm, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, and Liam Hemsworth.
Okay, maybe not Hemsworth. I can take him or leave him.
Actually, I think I’m probably most excited about seeing Dolph Lundgren on screen. Yeah, I know he was in the first one. I just love that crazy Swede!
Who’s YOUR favorite Expendable? Leave your comments below!
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