Commando

well, much to my unbridled joy, a joy which was equal only to Michele's eye-rolling sighing, one of the most excellent films ever made in the history of motion pictures was on TV over the weekend.

i speak, of course, of the magnificent and reasonably celebrated 1985 classic Commando, starring a then up and coming Arnold Schwarzenegger. Michele, amongst others, asks why exactly i love this film so much. the answer is pretty simple, really - it is just pure, mental all out enjoyment. and, with something like a death every minute of the film, i do mean mental - i can't think of a film more dedicated to gratuitous violence for the sake of it. those of you who are as familiar with the film as i am will recall that very few of the deaths are dull or conventional - Arnold dispenses most with more creative style and panache than you would expect in a straightforward action film.


i think a great deal of my love for the film stems from the fact that we at school had a pirate copy of it something like a year before it was released in the UK. a lad at school had it on Beta, and one of my Dad's friends who ran a photo lab or something was able to convert it VHS.





i am not sure if what we got our hands on was a "workprint" or something. it was certainly a very bad copy, and it very certainly contained bits not quite the same as the final, released version. our copy, for instance, featured a dummy clearly dropping from the play when Matrix (Arnold) made his escape from the flight; a scene that was slowed down in the finished version to make it look, erm, convincing.





our copy, and i wish that i had kept it, also featured the full blown "garden shed scene". the scenes with the axe and, most commonly, the machete are cut from several versions around the world. our version, however, did not feature Arnold beating someone over the head with his own severed arm. this scene is rumoured to exist, but i have never seen any evidence that it does. oddly, the version on TV over the weekend featured both the axe and machete bits; i thought that at the least the last part had been deleted forever from the film.





i don't know just how much this film contributed to Arnold being the big star that he is, really. it sounds like the film did reasonable box office for an 80's non-family film. you would suggest that his film from the year before, The Terminator, is the one that made him the icon. i saw this before The Terminator, however, and thus it was the case that i proudly had a Commando poster up in my bedroom!





if you go along to the excellent web site thing Commando Fans, you may be delighted, like i was, to see that the love of this film stretches far and wide. it's easily one of the best fan tribute sites i have ever seen, and tells you all that you could want to know of the film. it also has an introduction from, and a great deal of homage for, one of the most interesting characters in the film...





oh yes, Bennett! played by Vernon Wells with the same psychotic insanity with which he played Wez in Mad Max 2, he is certainly one of the more interesting and memorable bad guys to be in a film.

if you stop and think about it long enough (and i encourage you not to), Vernon Wells as the only person apparently able to stand a chance to beating Arnold is ridiculous. physically, Arnold would clearly slap Vernon into the middle of next week within seconds. the clever film makers don't let that get in the way of an ace fight at the end, though!





also on the Commando Fans site is a rather bizarre look at the toys (!) one could buy for this film. i must say i would have loved my own Matrix action figure, or perhaps even the "toy grenade" that they have on display!


needless to say, if you have not seen this masterpiece of cinema, go find a copy!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

more of the action man

hi everyone


well, just a couple more pictures of James showing me how good he is on the climbing frame / jungle gym things that he has at school. i normally get to see this each and every day, but i thought i'd put some more pics up as he is wearing his ace "James" jumper!

here he is standing on the swing, something that Mummy has told him that he is not supposed to do, and has in passing mentioned to Daddy that i shouldn't really let him do it.





and here is James wondering what Mummy is going to do when she finds the pictures of his standing on the swing!!





and finally, stood atop of the climbing frame, it being conquered. he certainly seems (rightly) proud of himself, and contemplating the next challenge.





that's enough updates for one Sunday!!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

style corner

hi again

well, seem to be having a Sunday of updates right now! as reluctant as i am to usually feature me too much in these posts, my chums at verk on Friday had so many spectacular sunglasses that i felt morally obliged to try them on.

whilst i appreciate that one can't really look like The King without a jumpsuit (and those who apparently know better at verk have made it clear that a jewel-encrusted jumpsuit would be inappropriate in the verkplace), these excellent shades nonetheless serve as a tribute to The King.

first up, me in a sensational pair of shades owned by good friend Michelle.





i think these ones are more Bono than they are The King. this is no bad thing, really. someone saw a wedding pic of me not so long ago and asked if it was a pic of a "slightly chubby Bono". i must confess that is one of the nicer things i have ever been called!

earlier in the day, however, Zama sort of let me borrow his, and he would be upset if i didn't say that his were the better ones. i shall say nothing then, and let you decide.....





hmn, well, one could see The King wearing these i guess - certainly in a casual environment like verk. not sure if he would ever take to the stage in them, but they would certainly suffice for going to KFC for breakfast.

many thanks to my friends and colleagues who are always willing to indulge my occasionally odd ideas.

be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bridge Over The River Koi

hi everyone

well, the title is courtesy of Dad, who gave it that when he sent all the pictures through. well, i say "all the pictures", i got 38, i dare say there are several thousand of them sat on his computer!

and why not? it certainly looks like a most impressive project!





we did, i believe, all think that Dad had run out of things to build in the garden. it never occurred to me to have a bridge going over the rather large koi fish pond, but it's an idea that certainly makes sense! Marmite looks rather impressed with the idea of somewhere else to run around!





and, to their credit, the koi fish don't look too worried about losing a little bit of their world to the foundations for the bridge!





and here's the finished job! well, finished until Dad thinks of something else to do with it - i have no doubt that the eventual intention is for some sort of "Transporter Bridge" to be built!





looks very impressive Dad, well done!!






be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Hunter

hey everyone


well, after finding it on DVD at a bargain price, last night i sat down and watched The Hunter again, although it's so long since i last watched it that it was like watching it for the first time. except of course, for those who have seen it, the (ahem) 'demise of the Trans Am' scene, still as funny and impressive now as ever!





Steve McQueen plays Ralph 'Papa' Thorson, a bounty hunter reluctant to accept the modern world, even less reluctant to accept authority or conformity. his escapades are predictable but nonetheless enjoyable, and it's a rather good 90 minute slice of action-comedy entertainment.

this was of course McQueen's last role. it certainly doesn't stand as his greatest performance. that which has been said of Burton in 1984, Sellers in Being There or Ledger (sorry, Terry Gilliam) in The Dark Knight has never been spoken in regards of this, but that doesn't mean it's not enjoyable. it is a glimpse of "what might have been", as he seems more relaxed and comfortable here as the lead than in a number of his films.





for some inexplicable but happy reason, this film seems to be sat in the "bargain bin" section of most online DVD stores. if they wish to sell it at a giveaway price, that's up to them really, but the least you can do is accept their offer and pick up the film. enjoy!

the class action figure of McQueen from the film, alas, isn't quite as cheap these days, and is something of a collector's item with a collector's price attached. ho hum, if only one could afford it!





be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(belated) Happy Birthday Grant!

hey everyone

well, whilst sending pictures of Daniel's birthday celebrations on, Gillian obviously felt that now was as good a time as any to send some images of Grant's birthday from a week or so ago! it is a very good thing that she did too - the rock and roll lifestyle of Grant makes for some very exciting sights!

when not taking an interest in the hitherto innocent wildlife of New Zealand, a matter that we shall leave aside in celebration of his birthday, Grant is basically a non-stop party machine, the likes of which the world rarely sees. one of the more mental, 'out-there' things that he does is hang around at bus stands, eagerly jotting down the registration numbers of buses, or something like that.

to mark the occasion of his birthday, the whole family decided to join in with him in doing this for the day.





as you can see, though, this hedonistic, wild and whacked out lifestyle isn't really for Katie, who couldn't keep up with the frenetic pace of sitting on a bench and watching for a bus to come past.





never mind, at least there was a splendid Gillian-baked birthday cake to be enjoyed by all. at least i think all were there to enjoy it, it's pretty difficult to gauge from the picture Gillian sent.....





be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Hey everyone

well, where we are in the world it is still Daniel's birthday, but i think that where Daniel is it was yesterday. oh dear, if you are reading this in the fine, much envied timezone of New Zealand, please just pretend that this is yesterday. if you are reading this on the day after. if that makes sense.

erm, moving it all along nicely, a very, very happy birthday indeed to young Daniel, who turned two this weekend. there, that's a better way of dealing with time-space differences, isn't it?





it sounds like Daniel got quite an array of most excellent presents to celebrate turning two, but the one that he loves the most thus far, and indeed the one he tried to show us over the telephone last night, is a magnificent, most excellent looking wooden train and town set!!





that does indeed look first class, what an ace present! no wonder he was not too interested in hearing my rendition of happy birthday on the phone if he could go off and play with that!

having such a class present does leave one with a dilemma as to what to do with all the other presents. fortunately, Daniel has a lovely elder sister, Katie, who is happy to be assigned with the task of opening all the other presents to see if there is anything even cooler!





there was of course a birthday party to be had, and a birthday party just isn't complete without a birthday cake! fortunately for Daniel, he can have a none more so complete birthday party, as his Mummy is always excellent at making cakes for such occasions. Gillian has never really subscribed to that "just go and buy one" philosophy on cakes, but who can blame her with the great ones that she cooks?

not too sure about the idea of "candles for nipples" on Bob The Builder, though.........





ahem, aside from Gillian's "artistic licence" with where to put the candles, it looks like the cake was rather tasty, and indeed the most important recipient of a slice of it looks well impressed!





well, that looks like a most splendid day in New Zealand! certainly hope that it was!!!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Star Trek 2009 - remake/remodel

righty-ho, for those of you who are interested in this film but have somehow managed to avoid every single trailer, article, review and comment on it, here's your *** SPOILER WARNING ***. it's a bit of a pointless one as there's nothing that the makers haven't put in the public domain mentioned here, but there you go.

Star Trek 2009 is a remake that isn't a remake, a reboot that isn't a reboot, a sequel that really isn't a sequel and a rejuvenation of the series of films that might possibly not have required it. does that make sense? good for you, buy yourself a coconut. the major problem this film has, perhaps the only real problem, is that it doesn't know what it's supposed to be. it nonetheless manages to be entertaining, but perhaps not for the reasons that the makers wanted it to be.





as a plot premise goes, we are introduced to a young James Tiberius Kirk who, in a strange act of defiance, signs up for intergalactic concern Star Fleet to apparently spite an older starship captain. he manages to end up on the Starship Enterprise, but not as captain. he also meets Mr Spock, but the two are anything but friends and confidant. why this shift in the often told story of them? enter "Spock Prime", the, if you will future-present day Spock, to explain some sort of parallel universe / time travel incident. "Spock Prime", indeed played by Leonard Nimoy, needs to resolve the problem that caused this, and indeed ensure that the Kirk-Spock relationship goes as he lived it.

that bit might have cleared up my elaborate definition of the film, and help you see the problem here. it's an interesting twist on "getting away" with restarting the series, but i am not that sure that altering the characteristics of the central characters which Star Trek fans have come to know and love over the last 40-odd years is, in retrospect, all that good an idea.





the "reconstructed" or parallel characters are curious, and watching them takes up more of your thinking time than concentrating on the plot. Chris Pine as James T. Kirk is a good enough place to start. he doesn't do a William Shatner impersonation, which is very wise. he, however, doesn't play Kirk as we have known him; making him a rather different character to the one we all know, and indeed making him a character that it's difficult to have much sympathy or interest in. Uhura is some sort of "sex object with brains", Dr Bones McCoy is spot on, and Simon Pegg plays Scotty with a great deal of love and affection for the character that everyone has a soft spot for.

which brings us to someone called Zachary Quinto as Mr Spock. at first, he is brilliant, and plays the quasi-Vulcan to perfection. he's by far the most interesting character, and the one you want to follow the story of. until they go and bring the original Spock back into it. it's at this point that you go "oh", and just want more of the original Mr Spock, not this new version. rather fascinating that they undermine the best character they have by bringing in the original, superior version of him, but there you go.

the preoccupation you end up having with this business of redefining and remoulding the traditional characters means you more or less remain oblivious to the plot (which they explain and resolve in a handful of minutes of the film anyway), to the extent that you barely even notice that the "main baddie" is played by Eric Bana. where the hell did it go wrong for him? he was exceptional in Chopper and Troy, but as bland and anonymous here as he was in the rather dismal Hulk film. he really should be more careful with his part selection.





as confusing as my analysis of the plot this might be, but nonetheless i would suggest that this new Star Trek film is indeed worth seeing. when not confusing you with altering established knowledge and ideas of certain characters, it does get on with being a standard Star Trek film, and indeed is one of the more entertaining ones made. the space battles are all you would expect, Captain Kirk's daring rescues and tally-ho sense of adventure is one of the few things which remain in place, and the dream of one day being able to reach the stars is shared and cherished just as much as ever. oh and, most importantly, Leonard Nimoy's brief bits in the film make the whole thing very worthwhile.

with some luck the clearly talented ensemble cast here will make at least one more and in it be given a degree of freedom to play the parts properly. whether they will ever endear themselves to the audiences in the same way that the original cast or the cast of the magnificent Star Trek : The Next Generation did is debatable for now.


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

action man

hi everyone

well, as i am sure i have mentioned before here, James has developed something of a ritual of late when i go to collect him from school every day. well, school, day care, creche, whatever you call it in your part of the world, i guess. anyway, before we go home James gets rather keen to show off his skills on the various "jungle gyms" and climbing frames they have there. he was rather keen on me taking some pics of him today, and as it has been a while since i put any here, well, here you go!





as you can no doubt guess from his rather stylish attire, winter is very much with us at the moment. June and July tend to be on the cold side. those of you who intend coming to visit us for a certain notable event in 2010, pay attention - Africa does indeed get cold, get the jumpers and jackets in the case!





he is a right little poser when it suits him, isn't he?

i rather like the next one - he's getting rather brave and bold with his climbing across these constructions. not too brave, thankfully. i suppose the purpose of them, other than enormous fun, is to build up some confidence and balance skills. will leave that to the experts to comment on!





now then, James was very keen to have me take a picture of him on the swing, but was not particularly interested in my suggestion that he keep still on it so that i could tale a picture of him on the swing. here's the result!





on the one hand, it would be very nice indeed to pick him up (usually after sitting in traffic for an hour), head home, get dinner ready and do the housework. on the other hand, however, where's the harm in some fun and showing off how good he is?



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Journal For Plague Lovers

i was wondering if the new album from the Manic Street Preachers, Journal For Plague Lovers, would ever make it here. it has, sort of - apparently the album has been listed as being by the "Manic Street Preache", which is why searching for it has mostly turned up blank thus far. never mind, it, and the bewilderingly controversial cover, are at last here.





Journal For Plague Lovers is the 9th album by the band, although strictly speaking it should have been their 4th or perhaps 5th. as has widely been reported on, this album features lyrics left behind by Richey Edwards, the charismatic Manic who has been missing, presumed dead since 1995. well, legally presumed dead at the least. in terms of tone and content, it would certainly fit as a follow up to their much celebrated, arguably greatest work, The Holy Bible. then again, Richey had also delivered some of the lyrics for the album that would be the bands' official 4th release, the brilliant Everything Must Go. whether his lyrics from that album were meant to be included with the ones he left the band that have become this album or if he was working on two different albums at the same time is unknown, and certainly hasn't been commented on thus far.

in the end, it doesn't matter. what very much does matter is that the world once again, in a bizarre scenario, hears the Manic Street Preachers as a four piece band again. as tempting as an awful line like "welcome back, Richey" is to include in a review, it's not the case. instead, we need to go back to Richey and the time he wrote these songs, presumably 1993-1994.





and how things change. when Richey wrote these lyrics, there was no "internet" as we know it these days, and certainly no downloading music. that's right, if you wanted to hear some music, you had to go to a store and buy it. no cellphones either, no laptops, no ipods, not much in the way of satellite/cable tv, and no tv shows dominated by people famous for being famous alone. not that the album is in any way "dated" as a consequence, Richey never really made overt social commentary anyway. he did, however, live in a world free of 24/7 "multimedia" bombardment, and lived in a time where you focused on making an album full of lyrics as good as you could, not now when people seem to make songs that they think might make rather good ringtones for phones.

after the somewhat mellow sounds of This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours and the rather popular, hit-craving sounds of Lifeblood and Send Away The Tigers, the band have done Richey's lyrics a considerable justice by returning to the harsher, confrontational music style that prevailed on the records with Richey in the studio with them. a melodic, catchy and captivating sound certainly, but with a ferocious edge.

and what of the actual content of the album? well, let me make a bold statement up front that i am rather happy to live by - i defy anyone to find an album which starts off with three tracks of astonishing, audacious genius like this one does. perhaps The Stone Roses with the rather different direction from this, but that's about it. the three opening tracks, Peeled Apples, Jackie Collins Existential Question Time and Me And Stephen Hawking are three slices of outstanding music which demand to be played again and again, with each progressive listen being done so with the volume a touch louder than the last, your feet and shoulders tapping and shaking ever more. lyrically all three are of course a riotous journey - Peeled Apples is confrontational (the Levi jean will always be stronger than the Uzi), Jackie Collins is just plain catchy (oh, Mommy, what's a sex pistol?) and Me And Stephen Hawking is bizarre, bittersweet comedy (We missed the sex revolution when we failed the medical").

these opening tracks are as close as you can get to instant classics. just one of them would give most acts an entire career, for the Manics it's just further substance to James Dean Bradfield's rather bold claim from a few years ago; "not everyone can be a musician. not everyone can do this. only we can do this."





and the rest of the album? well above average. without listing them all, there's really not a bad song or "filler" to be found on this whole album. everything has a place here. Nicky Wire has commented that he was always a bit frustrated that he could never inspire James to write music the way Richey's lyrics did. whilst some of the stuff Nicky wrote alone ranks as the best the band has done, his frustrations are justified for all to hear here. it's a fact of life, sunshine, to quote All Is Vanity. James was lucky to meet a gifted lyricist as Richey, and Richey was very, very, very lucky indeed to meet such a sensational voice for his words and ideas as James is.

if it is possible to have a *** SPOILER WARNING *** for an album, then this is it. the last track, William's Last Words is, no matter how much they downplay it in interviews, an eerie, sad, depressingly beautiful end to the album. they have Richey's dear friend Nicky "i can't sing" Wire recite instead of sing this, under the claim that it was intended as "prose, not a song".

no one knows for certain if Richey ran away, disappeared under bizarre or mysterious circumstances or, despite his frequent denials that it was something he would never contemplate, committed suicide. the lyrics to this song / work of prose, however, pretty much make it clear that whatever did happen to Richey, he's not coming back : "Goodnight my sweetheart, Until we leave tonight, Hold me in your arms, Wish me some luck as you, wave goodbye to me, You're the best friends I ever had, Goodnight, sleep tight".





whereas the band have suggested fans do not read "too much" into the track, well, not only did they go ahead and record this, they recorded it with his non-vocalist friend doing vocal duties, and made it the last track on the album (excluding "hidden track" Bag Lady). this isn't the band saying he's dead or still out there, but it is difficult not to see this as them saying "sadly he's gone away, but remember him in this beautiful, eloquent way".

Richey Edwards was/is a beautiful, eloquent creature, someone who the world needed a good deal more than they needed the world. if this is really to be his epitaph, well, rather this beautiful, outstanding collection of songs than the memories of an abandoned car, a missing passport and vast sums of cash withdrawn from the bank, i guess. but as the album ends, it's like losing this cherished, loved being all over again.





if there is any crime or something amiss with Journal For Plague Lovers, then it's probably the bands' decision not to promote it beyond a limited amount of TV appearances, one or two interviews and a short tour, on which they play the album in full. as mentioned, the first three tracks are killers, and any of them would make stunning, classic and long remembered singles. to this end, the decision not to release any single is really odd, since they have gone to the trouble of making a promo video for perhaps the best, certainly the most catchy of the three, Jackie Collins Existential Question Time.





well, a video for it and a "special" clean radio edit of the song, since the premiere of it on radio featured the line "if a married man does a Catholic". the album version is somewhat more direct, shall we say. considerably more descriptive and direct than does, believe me.


after the all too brief and all too limited to Europe tour finishes, Nicky Wire says they are heading back to the studio to work on the next album. whereas it's great that they are not going to sit back and bask in the glory of this qualified masterpiece, well, i hope it's not a sign of them being prepared to casually forget about this album and the great songs on it going forward.

so, should you go and buy this album? oh hell, yes. whether you go for the standard version or the "deluxe" edition (the second disc of demos is not bad, but hardly essential), this is an actual, proper album, instead of a batch of songs just slammed together and released. unless Ian Brown delivers something astonishing later this year, Journal For Plague Lovers will unquestionably grab the title of best album of the year, and could well by the end of next year be seen as the greatest album of the first decade of the 21st Century. buy, embrace and cherish the artistry and sheer pleasure of this album; it has been a while since anything this good has come along to remind us of just how important music is, it could sadly be some time before we ever hear anything this good again.

and, as the band signs off every show, goodnight from Richey.

of ducks and ponies

hey everyone


well, Dad's been camera happy again, and what better forum to show off his pictures than right here? it looks like scenes from a rather splendid Sunday, going off to look at their new horse and see some ducks!

first up, in the bitter sting of autumn on the highveld, here's Richard, Lyla and a very rock n roll looking Mum out if the fields, looking for some ducks!





oh and, in one of the best pics my Dad has taken, here's Erika with the discovered ducks!





the above is a really good picture, well done Dad! or did Mum take it?

next up is a rather fascinating picture of the ducks they sought....





i imagine they are on the prowl looking for food, but i am intrigued as they are (sort of) walking in a straight line. we have a mate Jasper that could get chickens to march in a straight line, but he did that by and large due to giving them a rather heavy dose of acid. i have no idea if the same trick was done on the ducks, but i suspect not!

erm, moving on from that, and it's time to have a gander at the new horse! Lyla is clearly quite taken with him/her/it!





most impressive! and who should be joining them for a look other than the celebrated, much admired and cherished Terry Paine!





i gather they all had a nice spot of lunch after admiring the horse. if Terry and my Dad got on their histories, hobbies and passions as a subject, not to mention putting the world to rights, well then i imagine that the lunch is still going on now, a good few days later!!!


be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Don Richard

here, according to my dear sister-in-law Erika, is a good picture of my brother Richard.





erm, yes. "good" as in the sense that he has always been rather ace at looking like some sort of mafia don, i suppose! he looks like he's saying "i've ah just taken-a care of dat ting for ya".

here's another pic of him in this outfit - mostly here to show off Lyla, but partially to indicate that yes, he was indeed wearing the shoes to go with the suit.





nice one Richard - at least it's an improvement on your usual black and white outfits!!



be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Men Who Would Be McQueen

hey everyone

well, i suppose that the only surprising aspect of the proposed Steve McQueen "biopic" is that it has only come close to 30 years after his passing. perhaps someone has had the idea before, but it's only after the publication of the rather well received biography Steve McQueen - Portrait of an American Rebel by Marshall Terrill that a film of this legendary character has piqued the interest of those who can fund films.





the major problem anyone would have in making a film about Steve McQueen, it goes without saying, is casting the lead role. who on earth could possibly play one of the most celebrated, iconic characters from American cinema? it's a daunting task for any actor, you would have thought. they need someone who can look cool and considerably roughed up, who can be a gifted actor, a hellraiser that's miserable to be around at times, yet holds an intellectual capacity of note and deeply cares for those around him. someone somewhere, it seems, has come to the conclusion that the answer to this casting choice is Brad Pitt.





well, OK. on the pic above there's kind of a resemblance. his diverse and, for the most part, impressive filmography thus far suggest that Brad Pitt might be up to the task. as for the accusations of him being a "pretty poster boy", well, yeah, that's what McQueen was! Pitt's notable good looks always remain no matter how roughed up or sinister he is (think Fight Club), as was the case with McQueen. the only reservation i have, and one that would see me against this decision, is that Pitt has such a notable reputation himself that you are going to end up watching Brad Pitt, not an actor playing Steve McQueen.

the debate, however, could be rather academic, as Brad Pitt was recently asked about the project, and his answer was "what the hell are you talking about? i haven't heard anything about any Steve McQueen film". the prospect of a McQueen film has, however, provoked fans to give their suggestions as to who should play the Cooler King, and one or two are not bad at all.

one of the more prominent suggestions is current James Bond actor Daniel Craig. an English actor playing an American legend? hmn, well, all too often the Yanks have played some of Britain's finest, so it's worth considering. and there's the small matter of the striking physical similarities...





hmn, a quality, recognized actor who isn't exactly a "superstar presence" that can certainly match the demands of McQueen. he certainly walks the walk and, as it happens, talks the talk, if you recall how eloquent and soft spoken McQueen was. this, if they really go ahead with this film, is probably their best choice.


a fascinating suggestion is celebrated actor Eric Close. he's known considerably better for his TV work that anything movie related, i particular the brilliant and bewilderingly axed series Now And Again. he's recognizable enough for most of the intended audience, but not quite so well known and established as to have himself overshadow the character he would be playing. if, and it's a big if, they cast Eric Close as Steve McQueen, then it would put the project on the right track, which is to say it's as good an idea as Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, even perhaps Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles. that's if they are doing a proper, well-acted drama version of the life of McQueen, of course. alas, i suspect that they might lean to box office rather than artistic, and thus Mr Close's chances can't be seen as too good.


whatever the merits of these three actors it's rather difficult to see the sense in actually making a film about Steve McQueen since, as this image rather nicely illustrates, there's nothing much that can be said about the man which isn't spoken in his films. most actors would relish having a canon of work only half as cool and as iconic as the legacy left by Steve McQueen. i'd be somewhat interested in a film of the life of McQueen, but then again, as with the likes of Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Richard Harris and dear old Oliver Reed, the onscreen work speaks volumes, the offscreen antics are so legendary and widely known that you really don't need a film of them. if it came down to a choice between watching a film of McQueen's life story, filled with him falling in and out of love in between racing cars at tremendous speed, or watching one of his classics, well, Bullitt wins.


so, then. good luck to them if they go ahead with a film of McQueen, but if they don't, there's always the image of the man himself to live with.






be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!