Starring Stan Lee
One of the hallmarks of a Marvel Comics movie is a cameo appearance by co-creator Stan Lee, master of many words, avatar of alliteration and prince of power-packed prose. A video compilation has been made of his cameos up to Iron Man 3 (2013).
So far, Mr. Lee has appeared in:
— “X-Men” (2000) — Hot Dog Vendor
— “Spider-Man” (2002) — Man in Fair
— “Daredevil” (2003) — Old Man at Crossing
— “Hulk” (2003) — Security Guard (our personal second favorite)
— “Spider-Man 2” (2004) — Man Dodging Debris
— “Fantastic Four” (2005) — Willie Lumpkin
— “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006) — Waterhose Man
— “Spider-Man 3” (2007) — Man in Times Square
— “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer” (2007) — Stan Lee, Rejected Wedding Guest
— “Iron Man” (2008) — Stan Lee (aka Not Hugh Hefner)
— “The Incredible Hulk” (2008) — Milwaukee Man Drinking From Bottle
— “Iron Man 2” (2010) — Stan Lee (aka Not Larry King)
— “Thor” (2011) — Stan the Man (our personal favorite)
— “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011) — General
— “Marvel’s The Avengers” (2012) — Stan Lee
— “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012) — School Librarian
— “Iron Man 3” (2013) — Pageant Judge
— “Thor 2: The Dark World” (2013) — Himself (Not on video)
— “Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier” (2014) — General (Not on video)
But there are some Marvel films in which Lee doesn’t appear, among them the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy. Bryan Ink has a report here.
Sir Alec Guinness Talks Star Wars
On December 17, 1977, Alec Guinness is interviewed for the first time on television (Source: Radio Times, December 17/23, 1977.). The show is Parkinson, broadcast on BBC1 from 11:20 to 12:19. Guinness discusses his career, including his involvement with Star Wars, which would soon premiere in London on December 27, 1977.
UKToyCollector1977 uploaded the clip on September 6, 2013. Enjoy:
“This is Me” in American Animated Features
Have animated films seemed a little stale lately? Is there something about them that’s … repetitive? Animator Jacob Kafka noticed a lot have something in common: the use of first-person narrative, in which the main character addresses the movie audience, telling the story from his or her perspective. He made a video to prove his point:
Uploaded January 2, 2014.
The video throws a spotlight upon:
101 Dalmatians (1961)
The Emperor’s New Groove (2000)
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Ratatouille (2007)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
Megamind (2010)
Tangled (2010)
Brave (2012)
Wreck-it Ralph (2012)
The Croods (2013)
Animation historian Amid Amidi comments upon the trend at Cartoon Brew, here.
Train Your Dragon, Take 2
DreamWorks Animation is ramping up its second phase for its How to Train Your Dragon franchise. The TV series entered its second season with a title change to DreamWorks Dragons: Defenders of Berk, trumpeted with the following trailer:
The feature sequel comes June 13, 2014, moving the story ahead some five years later.
Teaser trailer:
Full trailer:
http://youtu.be/Ve7p5CqTTIM
Top Gun with Dragons. Oh, yeah.
Liberace’s Holiday Salute
Yes, it’s Liberace’s Musical Salute to the Holidays, as only SCTV can present it. Starring the incomparable Dave Thomas as Mr. Frivolity! See Liberace’s musical duel with Elton John, as played by Rick Moranis. Listen, as Andrea Martin as Ethel Merman shatters Christmas tree lights. Watch, as John Candy as Orson Welles throws a tantrum. Enjoy:
Exposing Hidden Facts of the Founding Era
From now until Christmas, the Kindle edition of Hidden Facts of the Founding Era, by Bill Fortenberry, is available from Amazon.com … for free!
A real bargain! Click here.
From the book description: “Have you ever wondered how some authors can claim that the founding fathers of America were Christians while other authors claim that those very same founders were atheists, deists or even theistic rationalists? In this artfully written volume, Christian apologist and debater Bill Fortenberry examines several of the quotes from our founding fathers that are frequently used to argue against the Christian heritage of America. In doing so, Mr. Fortenberry opens up to us a treasury of facts about our nation’s founding that have been hidden by modern scholarship.”



















