Richard Kiel, famous for his role as the James Bond villain “Jaws” in the 1970’s Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker has passed away just a few days shy of his seventy fifth birthday. The 7 foot 2 inch actor was born in Detroit Michigan in 1939. Though he appeared in a number of other films and television shows his role in the James Bond films will forever be remembered. 
S.M. Douglas
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As many of you know by now, Robin Williams died yesterday at age 63 (apparently suicide being the cause of death).
My first exposure to his work was via the TV Show Mork & Mindy. From there, and though Mrs. Doubtfire gets so much attention, three of my favorite performances of his were in Good Morning Vietnam and of all things, two of his darker roles; in the 2002 films Insomnia and One Hour Photo. In addition I would be utterly remiss to ignore the 1980 film Popeye, in which he played the titular character. The movie was in heavy rotation on HBO and was a staple of my childhood.
Rather than go into a long introspective piece on the greatness that was his particular brand of comedy I would like to show you some examples of why he was such a riveting entertainer:
For you fantasy fans you probably know the movie “Hercules” is being released next week (July 25th). Dwayne Johnson is playing the titular character, and I for one am quite pleased.
No offense to Kevin Sorbo (who stood a respectable six feet three inches but weighed a somewhat lean 235 pounds)….
….but Dwayne Johnson’s six foot five inch 260 pound frame is the most imposing to play Hercules in quite some time.
In spite of Johnson’s freakish size the great Lou Ferrigno (at an equally imposing six foot five inch height but a weight of anywhere between 275 and 325 pounds during his competitive bodybuilding career and a weight of around 275 plus pounds when he played Hercules in the 1983 film) is still the biggest baddest dude to ever play the Greek hero.
Now, as fit as Johnson is at this time compare him to Ferrigno (perhaps the biggest bodybuilder ever and quite likely a man who would have won multiple Mr. Olympia’s had not Hollywood beckoned in 1976).
You can also compare Johnson to Schwarzenegger….
….(who might have been the greatest bodybuilder ever and packed 240 pounds of pure muscle on his six foot two inch frame) when Arnold played Hercules in 1969.
For that matter 1950’s bodybuilder Steve Reeves was no slouch either (at 215 pounds on a six foot one inch frame) when he played Hercules….
….but as the smallest of the most famous Hercules stars we have to give the edge to Johnson here over Reeves.
In addition, we can’t forget Reg Park (at six foot one inch and 220 to 250 pounds) who would also give Johnson a run for his money….
So as you look over the accompanying images you decide: does Johnson meet the standard created by Reeves, Park, Schwarzenegger and Ferrigno?
Star Wars fans got some good news just prior to the July 4th holiday. Apparently J.J. Abrams invited Kevin Smith (director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, etc… and a notorious Star Wars fan) to the U.K. Pinewood Studios Star Wars set. There Smith was allowed to see what was going on, and since his June 30th visit to the set he has provided further evidence that J.J. Abrams is on the right track with the latest episode in the Star Wars universe.
For instance, Smith hasn’t held back and enthusiastically described walking the set as a “f–king magical” experience. Smith went on to single out not just our old favorite’s wandering around the set but, and just as importantly, the overwhelming lack of CGI usage evident on set:
“What I saw, I absolutely loved. It was tactile — it was real. It wasn’t a series of f–king green screens and blue screens in which later a bunch of digital characters would be added. IT was there, it was happening…. I saw uniforms, I saw artillery I haven’t seen since I was a kid. I saw them shooting an actual sequence in a set that was real. I walked across the set, there were explosions. And it looked like a shot right out of a ‘Star Wars’ movie.”
Sounds very good to me. Keep it up J.J. I have high hopes you will produce something light years better than the wreckage of Episodes I and II (which were dreadful and only marginally redeemed by a slightly better Episode III). In the meantime, here are some oldie but goodie candid shots tweeted out earlier this year from the one and only Peter Mayhew, whom I met at Comic Con a few years back. By the way, other than the first pic (including Carrie Fisher’s stunt double) you should know everyone in these pics (okay I will give you Stuart Freeborn in the Yoda pic) otherwise if you don’t then you should ask yourself; Star Wars fan are you?
Last month H.R. Giger died at age 74. The Swiss painter, sculptor and set designer is best known for his haunting surrealist imagery. Perhaps the most iconic of his works being of course the Xenomorph featured so prominently in the 1979 classic Alien and that film’s sequels. What many don’t know however is that this design actually went through a long gestation of its own.
The first rendition of what would become the “Alien” or “Xenomorph” appeared in Giger’s lithograph entitled Necronom IV as seen below:
In this image one can easily see the core elements that would lead to the eventual “Alien” (as encapsulated by a unique aesthetic Giger had created and termed biomechanical, meant to describe a fusion of the organic and the mechanic). One of the key elements of the Alien’s design was that after it was implanted in its host it would develop in part by mimicking the host’s own physical features. This progression can be seen in the following drawing as Giger began adapting his original lithograph to the concept that would become the titular character of the movie “Alien”.
In the image above we can also also see extending from the Alien’s mouth the second inner set of jaws extended at the end of an elongated tongue-like appendage. In viewing this image one can understand why Fox Studios was so hesitant to initially approve Giger’s role in designing the Alien; as they feared that his work was so disturbing it would turn people off. However, the final rendition of the adult Alien, as seen below, is so strikingly horrific one cannot look away.
The visceral reaction produced by Giger’s designs, and how the creature developed from “face hugger”, to cannibalistic parasite, to an extraordinarily lethal predator, are the core reasons the film was able to achieve such a striking and enduring reaction that leaves it to this day perhaps the pre-eminent horror film of all time (though the movie was a science-fiction film one cannot deny the centrality of the horror aspect).
To say H.R. Giger was influential is an understatement. His creation’s if nothing else truly do make you think, and the images he birthed do what any great artist would hope; they evoke strong emotions that demand a response from their viewers. He will not be forgotten.
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