Ghostbusted!

A little bit of a controversy has sparked up over my last post. Apparently, I should do more research before throwing around accusations about Ray Parker Jr. We were contacted by Barbara Shelley, who has worked for Mr. Parker Jr. for a long time now. She just wanted to clarify that Ray Parker Jr. is the only name credited on "Ghostbusters". There was legal action in the past, which was settled out of court and included a confidentiality agreement. Now all is resolved and it is legally right to state that Ray Parker Jr. is the man responsible for the recording.

I want to thank Ms. Shelley for all the helpful information. As for Ray Parker Jr., he is gearing up for an upcoming tour about which you can find out much more on his website

Also, I want to remind everyone how great the original music video for "Ghostbusters" was by posting it here. Points for the person who can identify EVERY 80's superstar that makes an appearance in the video. Also, I had totally forgotten about the little bit at the end where the 4 Ghostbusters themselves walk with Parker Jr. in Times Square.

The Legend of Van Damme Grows

Stealing Cable has never really dealt in gossip. My policy is whatever Lindsay Lohan wants to stuff in her vagina is her business. But sometimes a story comes along that is too juicy to let slide. The revelation that Jean-Claude Van Damme had a tryst with Kylie Minogue while making STREET FIGHTER is such a story.

In an interview with Empire Van Damme states "Street Fighter was corny to me," he told the magazine. "But there were nice things. I got to see the land of Australia and had a mini-affair with Kylie Minogue." Unreal. To think that while Raul Julia was slowly dying in his trailer Van Damme was knocking Minogue's combat boots.

In the same interview Van Damme drops some pretty deep logic. "I'm not a fighter, I'm a lover. If somebody's going to speak bad about me, I will walk away. But if a guy like Steven Seagal slaps me once, I will slap him twice as hard. Life is full of violence."

Well said Col. Guile, well said.

Ghostridin'

It seems like "The Real" Ghostbusters are all over the internet nowadays. With all that recent hoopla about the new Xbox 360 game that was supposedly in development and its footage that got on youtube AND the 1959 Completely converted Chrysler/ECTO-1 for sale (only for 150,000 dollars!), there seems to be a Ghostbusting renaissance going on.

Earlier, I believe I introduced the readers of this blog to Mistah Fab's excellent how to on the art of "ghostridin your whip". The song was aptly titled "Ghost Ride it" and it uses an excellent sample of the Ray Parker Jr. classic (which in itself basically ripped off Huey Lewis' "I want a new drug") theme song.

The video features all the staples of hip hop videos, but also features a first...The first attempt at "ghost ridin'" an ECTO-1. I think you will all be happy to know that it was a great success!

Break out the Kool-Aid!

It was a nice civilization while it lasted. There were a few laughs, some definite tears, but overall I'm proud of what we all accomplished. But it's time to pull the plug, cut our losses, and call it a day. That's right folks, EPIC MOVIE is the #1 film in the country.

I remember when I first saw the poster for EPIC MOVIE hanging in a theater lobby. I thought it was a spoof poster, perhaps some wacky frat kids having a bit of fun with the theater. But nope, it was an actual movie. I recall seeing the trailer in front of ROCKY BALBOA. Nobody laughed which was a sign to me that this flick would die a quick death and live out its years airing on Comedy Central at 10 in the morning on weekdays. Well the jokes on me. Actually the joke is on us.

I'm not in any way saying that I have to like every movie that becomes popular. For a few weeks NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM was #1. I get it, it's a family friendly comedy with big stars. Then STOMP THE YARD spent a couple weeks on top. Not my cup of tea but I can see why it would appeal to the hip youth culture that I know nothing about. Maybe I can see EPIC MOVIE being #1 in a real slow weekend, but both SMOKIN ACES (which I saw and is pretty good) and the Jennifer Garner rom-com CATCH AND RELEASE opened this weekend. Both of those should be making EPIC MOVIE their bitch.

What's really scary is that EPIC MOVIE has a shot at being on top 2 weekends in a row. Next weekend is traditionally slow because of the Super Bowl. 2 films go wide, the horror flick THE MESSENGERS and the Diane Keaton/Mandy Moore estrogen-fest BECAUSE I SAID SO. I have no interest in seeing either of those but I really hope some other people do. If not, make mine Mountainberry Punch.

Bon Voyage Curtis


It didn’t take long for “24” to start their season with a bang. Most people would say that the detonation of a nuclear bomb in southern California was the biggest development so far. I disagree. What has made me an emotional wreck for about the last 24 hours was the death of CTU pointman Curtis Manning. A death made even more tragic by the fact that he was taken out by none other than Jack Bauer himself.

The writing was on the wall for Curtis. Rick Schroder signed onto the cast as a new CTU field agent and there is just not enough room for 2 people to tell Jack things like “The tac team is in position.” I knew Curtis was in trouble when he actually started to show emotions during Monday night’s telecast. For the previous 2 seasons Curtis seemed near-robotic in his actions. On “24” emotions get you killed.

I wish the best for Roger Cross, who portrayed Curtis. I have no doubt that he’ll be on TV soon enough as the black guy on some CBS show about Port Authority cops.

American Idol Season VI: A New (hopefully not white) Hope


It's that time of year again, folks, when people come together in the spirit of giving and a jolly fat man let's people know if they're being naughty or nice: American Idol Season 6 begins today! Obviously at this point there's not much to say about it, other than noting the usual promises that it's the best, wildest season yet. My only hope is that America has learned its lesson from last year, and destroys any and all grey-haired soul muppets early on. Who knows how much DNA Joe Cocker spread across the United States during the 1970s? Surely one would have to measure it by the million-barrel, like oil, and you know that now it's all headed straight for Idol tryouts like that was magnetic North. I guess I do have another hope, and that is an end to Idol judges letting through the Scott Stappiest wiener-bones of all humanity's dregs. Chris Daughtry sucked. Bo Bice sucked. Pouty Greek guy sucked. What they're doing might resemble rock in some superficial way, but it's not actually rock: it's fossilized sloth dung from the days of ice and megafauna. That's about it, I guess. If I had three wishes, they'd be a billion dollars and then those two things. Either way, though I enjoy the whole competition, the tryouts episodes should be universally appealing to pop lovers and haters alike. It's second only to Cops for best delusional people caught on film at their peak for entertainment purposes.

Goggins Speaks!


We are about 3 months away from a new season of "The Shield." It wouldn't be such a long wait if F/X had something decent to currently put on Tuesdays at 10. Sadly, right know that slot is home to the new Courtney Cox gossip drama "Dirt." I only watched the first episode and that was enough to tell me that Cox was definietly not going to challenge Jennifer Aniston for the best post-"Friends" career anytime soon.

Anyways, back to "The Shield." Usually the only people you hear talk much about the show are Michael Chiklis or the show's creator Shawn Ryan. But IGN recently did an interview with Walton Goggins. His Shane character participated in the best scene of television last year opposite co-star Kenneth Johnson in the show's season finale. In the interview Goggins gives a lot of insight into his character and a few hints at what we can expect during season 6.

You can read the interview here. No official start date for the new season has been announced but if my math is correct then "Dirt" will end its season on March 27th. So if F/X acts in a logical manner "The Shield" should begin on April 3rd.

DVD Goodness: CRANK

Blasting its way to DVD tomorrow is one of my favorite films of last year, the Jason Statham fast-paced flick CRANK. 2006 was not a great year for action films but I do believe I'm going to name CRANK the best one produced during that subpar year.

To be honest the action sequences in CRANK didn't really blow me away. What makes this one a classic of the genre is its dark sense of humor and a lead who really puts everything he has into his part. I doubt that a minute goes by in this film in which Statham does not appear. This one lives and dies on Statham's back and he delivers a welcome over-the-top change from the more quiet persona he adopted in the TRANSPORTER films.

The release tomorrow will probably not be the last DVD we see of CRANK, especially since the studio behind the movie is Lionsgate who loves to take a few dips into the well. This release does feature a "Crank'd Out Mode" which includes audio and video commentaries and behind the scenes footage while the movie plays. For some odd reason there is a "Family Friendly" mode which will allow you to watch Statham kill his way through the story while his offensive language is removed. This option will allow you to watch the movie with your kids and not have to explain what the bad words mean, but you may want an answer ready for when the kiddies ask why Statham is banging the hell out of Amy Smart right in the middle of Chinatown.

Year of the Drago?

With ROCKY BALBOA doing solid business at the box office, Rocky-mania is at its highest level in years. Not only is Rocky making a comeback in the heart's of our nation but so too is another particular character from the boxing franchise. I am of course referring to Ivan Drago, the Soviet strongman who left a huge imprint while only having about 30 words of dialogue in ROCKY IV.

The evidence for this upswing in Drago interest can be seen here. It's an online video game titled "Ivan Drago: Justice Enforcer" in which the title character fights his way, "Double Dragon" style, through a series of foes. Along the way some familiar faces pop up to wreak havoc on the mighty Russian.

This game isn't the only Drago-related doings planned for '07. Due out in the spring is an Ivan Drago action figure which is one of many Rocky characters (including Paulie's robot!) that is being immortalized as a plastic toy. How long until a whole line of accessories will be available at Hot Topic?

Wahlberg does Berenger!

No, get your mind out of the gutters people. Mark Wahlberg is a true heterosexual, and I can prove it with the two youtube videos following the trailer for his new movie "Shooter". Its directed by Antoine "had plenty of trouble in school because of his last name" Fuqua. It co-stars Danny Glover and Ned Beatty! It looks like a combination of the classic Berenger film "Sniper", the "Bourne Identity", and "The Fugitive". I don't feel too excited about it.



these next two really poor quality videos are from an Arsenio interview of Wahlberg in his Marky Mark days talking about his sexual prowess. That must have been one lucky woman.



He still comes to kick ass and chew bubblegum...

Rowdy Roddy Piper has lymphoma. He is undergoing treatment for it. He is positive about his recovery.

We touched on the institution that is "The Kilt" in an earlier post, so I won't spend more time explaining why Mr. Piper is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. I will just direct you to a fantastic little interview he gave IGN today.

IGN INTERVIEW

Trailer: GRINDHOUSE

The trailer for the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez film GRINDHOUSE surfaced a couple weeks ago. But between holiday activities I didn't get around to throwing a link up here. Today being the first day of the year seems like a good time to make amends, especially since GRINDHOUSE is easily my most anticipated movie of 2007.

Tarantino and Rodriguez have made their own seperate films. Tarantino's is a slasher flick titled "Death Proof" while Rodriguez offers up a zombie-themed movie titled "Planet Terror." Some of the names that'll be along for this ride in front of the camera include Kurt Russell, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, Danny Trejo, Rose McGowen, Freddy Rodriguez, and Rosario Dawson.

The film opens on Good Friday, April 6th. Here is a link to the trailer. Keep your eyes open for a quick shot of a certain actor known for dying hard.