Sly clears my confused mind

Had coffee with Arnold and a couple of his friends today – BTW he looks amazing – fit and tan.  He just returned from Israel where he traded ideas on the environment.  Then he headed to Iraq to visit the troops.  I had the honor of traveling with him to Baghdad, Balad, Kuwait City and a few other places on July 4th 2003 so I know a). how much he loves meeting the brave men and women who put their lives on the line everyday and b). how much the troops LOVE having Arnold  visit their bases and the gyms.  He slept in Saddm Hussein’s Summer Palace which is now Camp Victory (ironic name by the way).  We also visited the palace in 2003 and I have video of me in one of the bathrooms where everything was gold including the toilet.  But I digress…As we were saying goodbye Sly pulled up and I had a few minutes to ask him some more questions about Rambo 5 guz honestly people I was a little confused and the comments on this blog did nothing to give me any clarity.

Right off the bat I asked him to clarify – was Rambo 5 two stories in one …and this is what he told me… When he first agreed to do another Rambo the idea of JR against something way way bigger was the logical step- he knew that this time out Rambo needed the ultimate challenge physically and mentally.  But as the creative process took hold Sly found himself veering away from that concept with the real pull towards the story of the  horrendous violence inflicted on the women and girls caught in the Mexican drug war.  It will have all of the trademarks of a Stallone film and the story will be provocative, revealing and totally kick ass. And while the chess game governments play using innocents as pawns has been told before I am prepared to bet the farm Sly will come up with stuff that will blow our socks off – figuratively and literally!! So now I’m clear – this Rambo will be Rambo and Hunter will be made in the future as a stand alone as it should be.  Sly is also talking about collaborating with a writer for Rambo.  The Expendables went through over 100 drafts and took a huge toll on Sly…it will be interesting to see who he teams up with.

I also asked about Poe…again… because that to me has the potential to be an award winning film even if the studios don’t get it.  He told me not to get him started on that one and as much as I wanted to ignore  and go for it I didn’t.  So I’m hoping Sherlock Homes does well so that someone will wake up and put some money behind it.

It was a good day…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

I hope you all enjoy the day in a way that makes you happy and I ask you to think of those less fortunate – especially the children – who  with no food and in some cases no home don’t have much to be thankful for.  Make a difference by volunteering or donating to your local foodbank or pantry.  Or go to http://www.lafoodbank.org if you are in SoCal.

Cheers!

ok that was pretty interesting

Honestly folks I have to admit I wasn’t that jazzed about Sly doing Rambo 5 or whatever number it is.  I felt the last one was so totally kick ass balls to the wall old school action there’d be no need to do another one. Then there was the possibility of shooting in Bulgaria which really didn’t appeal to me so I was thinking I might have  to sit this one out. But that all changed after my oh so interesting conversation with Sly on Saturday about the new Rambo.   I told him how happy I was after reading Zablo’s blog in which Sly said that he had changed the storyline. And while I have utmost respect for Sly’s writing and directing ability I just wasn’t psyched about John Rambo going Predator like on me.  So I told Sly that I was excited about him tackling the subject of the brutality women and children caught in the drug wars in Mexico face.  He spoke passionately about shining the high beams on the situation.  He said he is doing tons of research and the deeper he digs the more complex and dangerous the subject matter becomes.  It was clear this story has struck a chord in him so I am expecting a lot of intensity.  He commented it will be a brutal shoot…more brutal than The Expendables I asked…oh yeh he said.  Ok now I’m hooked. But I had to ask…what about Bulgaria. Absolutely not was the answer (phew). It will be shot in the US, probably somewhere in the southwest where there’s desert – perhaps New Mexico.  He is hoping for a spring 2010 start.  Me too

By definition…

cameo role. a minor part played by a prominent performer in a single scene of a motion picture or a television play.