Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy (originally Plainclothes Tracy), a square-jawed, hard-hitting, fast-shooting, and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate. Gould wrote and drew the strip until 1977.
Although stories often end in gunfights, Tracy uses forensic science, advanced gadgetry, and wits, in an early example of the police procedural mystery story. Stories typically follow a criminal committing a crime and Tracy's relentless pursuit of the criminal. The strip's most popular villain was Flattop Jones, a freelance hitman hired by black marketeers to murder Tracy. When Flattop was killed, fans went into public mourning, and the Flattop Story was reprinted in DC's series of Oversize Comic Reprints in the 1970s. Reflecting film noir, the villains' small crimes led to bigger, out of control situations. Similarly, innocent witnesses were frequently killed, and Tracy's paramour Tess Trueheart was often endangered by the villains. As the story progressed, Tracy adopted an orphan under the name, Dick Tracy Jr., or "Junior" for short, who appeared in investigations until becoming a police forensic artist in his father's precinct, and cultivated a professional partner, the ex-steel worker Pat Patton, who gradually became a detective of skill and courage enough to satisfy Tracy's requirements.
by The Centurion October 25, 2014
Airwolf is an American television series that ran from 1984 until 1987. The program centers on a high-tech military helicopter, code named Airwolf, and its crew as they undertake various missions, many involving espionage, with a Cold War theme.
The show was created by Donald P. Bellisario. The first three seasons star Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, and (from the second season onwards) Jean Bruce Scott. After the original series was cancelled, a fourth season, with an entirely new cast and on a much smaller budget, was filmed in Canada for the USA Network.
The show was created by Donald P. Bellisario. The first three seasons star Jan-Michael Vincent, Ernest Borgnine, Alex Cord, and (from the second season onwards) Jean Bruce Scott. After the original series was cancelled, a fourth season, with an entirely new cast and on a much smaller budget, was filmed in Canada for the USA Network.
Airwolf (TV Series):
The full 50 second narration, as spoken by actor Lance LeGault, is as follows: "This briefing is from file A56-7W, classified top secret. Subject is Airwolf, a mach one plus attack helicopter, with the most advanced weapons systems in the air today. It has been hidden somewhere in the Western United States by it's test pilot, Stringfellow Hawke. Hawke has promised to return Airwolf only if we can find his brother, Sin Jin, an MIA in Vietnam. We suspect that Archangel, deputy director of the agency that built Airwolf is secretly helping Hawke in return for Hawke flying Airwolf on missions of National concern. Stringfellow Hawke is 34, a brilliant combat pilot, and a recluse since his brothers disappearance. His only friend is Dominic Santini, who's air service is the cover for their government work. With Hawke and Santini flying as a team at speeds rivaling the fastest jets, backed by unmatched firepower, Airwolf is too dangerous to be left in unenlightened hands. Finding it is your first priority. End of file."
The full 50 second narration, as spoken by actor Lance LeGault, is as follows: "This briefing is from file A56-7W, classified top secret. Subject is Airwolf, a mach one plus attack helicopter, with the most advanced weapons systems in the air today. It has been hidden somewhere in the Western United States by it's test pilot, Stringfellow Hawke. Hawke has promised to return Airwolf only if we can find his brother, Sin Jin, an MIA in Vietnam. We suspect that Archangel, deputy director of the agency that built Airwolf is secretly helping Hawke in return for Hawke flying Airwolf on missions of National concern. Stringfellow Hawke is 34, a brilliant combat pilot, and a recluse since his brothers disappearance. His only friend is Dominic Santini, who's air service is the cover for their government work. With Hawke and Santini flying as a team at speeds rivaling the fastest jets, backed by unmatched firepower, Airwolf is too dangerous to be left in unenlightened hands. Finding it is your first priority. End of file."
by The Centurion November 27, 2012
Rex Smith (born September 19, 1955, Jacksonville, Florida) is an American actor and singer. Smith debuted in the Broadway play Grease in 1978. He is noted for his role as Jesse Mach in the 1985 television series Street Hawk, as well as being a singer and stage actor. During the late 1970s, Smith was popular as a teen idol. Because of his good looks, he was featured regularly in 16 Magazine and Tiger Beat. He also had a gold Top 10 single, "You Take My Breath Away," in 1979.
Rex Smith is best known for his role in the short-running 1985 television series Street Hawk: The show itself is about a police officer and former amateur dirt-bike racer named Jesse Mach (Rex Smith) who is secretly chosen to test a top-secret project—an all-terrain attack motorcycle capable of speeds in excess of 300 miles per hour. Backing the motorcycle was a computerized command system that allowed its operator to provide the motorcycle's rider with real-time information from various sources, and even operate the motorcycle on "autopilot" during its high-speed runs, achieved through a process called "hyperthrust".
Norman Tuttle (Joe Regalbuto) was the designer of the motorcycle. An engineer previously employed with the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration of the Department of Justice and subsequently with one of its successor agencies (exactly which one was never specified in the stories) who reported to a certain Mr. Kirby, who never appeared in the stories, Tuttle was initially reluctant to choose Mach to test the motorcycle. But once he had, he was able to convince Mach to commit to the program for life.
Mach began to lead a double life, a police public relations officer by day, and crime-fighter by night. Street Hawk (actually "The Street Hawk") was regarded as a lawless vigilante, and hence a fugitive from justice, by the police.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Smith
Norman Tuttle (Joe Regalbuto) was the designer of the motorcycle. An engineer previously employed with the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration of the Department of Justice and subsequently with one of its successor agencies (exactly which one was never specified in the stories) who reported to a certain Mr. Kirby, who never appeared in the stories, Tuttle was initially reluctant to choose Mach to test the motorcycle. But once he had, he was able to convince Mach to commit to the program for life.
Mach began to lead a double life, a police public relations officer by day, and crime-fighter by night. Street Hawk (actually "The Street Hawk") was regarded as a lawless vigilante, and hence a fugitive from justice, by the police.
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rex_Smith
by The Centurion June 05, 2013
Thor is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, based on the Norse mythological deity of the same name, is the Asgardian god of thunder and possesses the enchanted hammer Mjolnir, which grants him the ability of flight and weather manipulation amongst his other superhuman attributes.
Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug. 1962) and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby. He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers, appearing in each volume of that series. The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, clothing, toys, trading cards, video games, and movies.
The 2011 film Thor, based on the character and comic, was directed by Kenneth Branagh and starred Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Hemsworth reappears as Thor in The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Thor placed 14th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time in 2011.
Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic Books, the character first appeared in Journey into Mystery #83 (Aug. 1962) and was created by editor-plotter Stan Lee, scripter Larry Lieber, and penciller Jack Kirby. He has starred in several ongoing series and limited series, and is a founding member of the superhero team the Avengers, appearing in each volume of that series. The character has also appeared in associated Marvel merchandise including animated television series, clothing, toys, trading cards, video games, and movies.
The 2011 film Thor, based on the character and comic, was directed by Kenneth Branagh and starred Chris Hemsworth as Thor. Hemsworth reappears as Thor in The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World as a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Thor placed 14th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time in 2011.
Like all Asgardians, Thor is incredibly long-lived and relies upon periodic consumption of the Golden Apples of Idunn to sustain his extended lifespan, which to date has lasted many millennia. Being the son of Odin and the elder goddess Gaea, Thor is physically the strongest of the Asgardians. If pressed in battle, Thor is capable of entering into a state known as the "Warrior's Madness" ("berserkergang" in Norwegian), which will temporarily increase his strength and stamina tenfold, although in this state he attacks friend and foe alike.
by The Centurion December 26, 2014
Blade is a 1998 American vampire-superhero action film starring Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson and Stephen Dorff, and is loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Blade. Snipes plays Blade, a human-vampire hybrid who protects humans from vampires.
The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Despite mixed reviews, Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $131.2 million worldwide. It was followed by two sequels, Blade II and Blade: Trinity.
Facts about Blade (1998)
1. Wesley Snipes became attached to the project because he was in discussions with Marvel Comics to be Black Panther, a project that is still pending as of 2005.
2. Jet Li was offered the role to play Deacon Frost, but opted to do Lethal Weapon 4 instead.
3. LL Cool J was originally considered for the part of Blade.
4. When David S. Goyer first pitched the idea of doing a Blade movie, the executives of New Line felt there were only three actors who could possible do the role: Wesley Snipes, Denzel Washington and Laurence Fishburne, but in Goyer's mind, Snipes was always the perfect choice for the character of Blade.
5. Kris Kristofferson's character Whistler was created for Blade's cameo on the Spider-Man: The Animated Series cartoon show. He was liked so much by Marvel CEOs that he was adopted into the Marvel Universe.
The film was directed by Stephen Norrington and written by David S. Goyer. Despite mixed reviews, Blade grossed $70 million at the U.S. box office, and $131.2 million worldwide. It was followed by two sequels, Blade II and Blade: Trinity.
Facts about Blade (1998)
1. Wesley Snipes became attached to the project because he was in discussions with Marvel Comics to be Black Panther, a project that is still pending as of 2005.
2. Jet Li was offered the role to play Deacon Frost, but opted to do Lethal Weapon 4 instead.
3. LL Cool J was originally considered for the part of Blade.
4. When David S. Goyer first pitched the idea of doing a Blade movie, the executives of New Line felt there were only three actors who could possible do the role: Wesley Snipes, Denzel Washington and Laurence Fishburne, but in Goyer's mind, Snipes was always the perfect choice for the character of Blade.
5. Kris Kristofferson's character Whistler was created for Blade's cameo on the Spider-Man: The Animated Series cartoon show. He was liked so much by Marvel CEOs that he was adopted into the Marvel Universe.
Despite the fact that the Marvel character, Blade, was essentially unknown to the general public (at the time), this factor did not stop the film from being successful.Blade (1998) is seen as having been one of the better comic book movies of its time and started the trend for much more of these films:
1. Blade was one of the first successful comic book based films to be released after the disastrous performance of Batman & Robin and Steel. Its success, along with the even bigger success of the earlier Men in Black, convinced Marvel to develop the X-Men film series as well as the Spider-Man film series.
2. IGN ranked Blade as the 63rd greatest comic character stating that Blade is the most iconic hero to spring from the period of monster-themed stories. UGO Networks placed Blade as one of the top heroes of entertainment quoting that "Blade has to get props for being the most obscure Marvel character to ever get a film deal... and television deal, too!"
Source: rorytufano.blogspot.co.uk / Wikipedia
1. Blade was one of the first successful comic book based films to be released after the disastrous performance of Batman & Robin and Steel. Its success, along with the even bigger success of the earlier Men in Black, convinced Marvel to develop the X-Men film series as well as the Spider-Man film series.
2. IGN ranked Blade as the 63rd greatest comic character stating that Blade is the most iconic hero to spring from the period of monster-themed stories. UGO Networks placed Blade as one of the top heroes of entertainment quoting that "Blade has to get props for being the most obscure Marvel character to ever get a film deal... and television deal, too!"
Source: rorytufano.blogspot.co.uk / Wikipedia
by The Centurion December 07, 2012
Transformers: Age of Extinction (or simply Transformers 4) is a 2014 American-Chinese science fiction action film based on the Transformers franchise. It is the fourth installment of the live-action Transformers film series and the final installment for Michael Bay to direct and stars Mark Wahlberg in the lead role. It is both a sequel to 2011's Dark of the Moon and a soft reboot of the franchise, the film takes place five years later, after the Decepticon invasion of Chicago. Like its predecessors, the film is directed by Michael Bay and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. Ehren Kruger is the film's screenwriter, having written every Transformers film since Revenge of the Fallen. The film features an entirely new cast of human characters and is the first in the series to feature the Dinobots. Returning Transformers include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Leadfoot, Brains, and Megatron (now known as Galvatron). The film was released on June 27, 2014, in IMAX and 3D.
Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014):
1. Galvatron in this film is based on his original version from The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (Megatron resurrected as a minion, who eventually rebels and returns to leading the Decepticons) and Nemesis Prime from Transformers Prime (2010) (a human-built duplicate of Optimus Prime). His black color scheme is also a homage to the The Transformers (1984) Decepticon Motormaster, an Earth-built clone/rival of Optimus Prime.
2. Ratchet appears to have already known Lockdown prior to the movie's events. This could be a reference to the online Cyber Missions episodes, which took place between Transformers (2007) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) and featured Ratchet and Lockdown fighting against each other (itself a homage to Transformers: Animated (2007)).
3. Optimus Prime's alternate mode in this film is a cab-over truck and later a customized Western Star 4900 SB truck. The cab-over truck is a homage to Optimus Prime's original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984); and the tanker truck pays homage to Prime's G2 mode (where he was a 1995 Western Star 4964EX tanker truck) and Transformers Prime (2010) mode (where he took on the alternate mode of a military truck).
4. At the end of the film, Optimus Prime leaves Earth to embark on a quest to find the creators of the Transformers. This was one of the originally proposed ideas for the plot of The Transformers: The Movie (1986) that was rejected for unknown reasons.
1. Galvatron in this film is based on his original version from The Transformers: The Movie (1986) (Megatron resurrected as a minion, who eventually rebels and returns to leading the Decepticons) and Nemesis Prime from Transformers Prime (2010) (a human-built duplicate of Optimus Prime). His black color scheme is also a homage to the The Transformers (1984) Decepticon Motormaster, an Earth-built clone/rival of Optimus Prime.
2. Ratchet appears to have already known Lockdown prior to the movie's events. This could be a reference to the online Cyber Missions episodes, which took place between Transformers (2007) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) and featured Ratchet and Lockdown fighting against each other (itself a homage to Transformers: Animated (2007)).
3. Optimus Prime's alternate mode in this film is a cab-over truck and later a customized Western Star 4900 SB truck. The cab-over truck is a homage to Optimus Prime's original alternate mode in The Transformers (1984); and the tanker truck pays homage to Prime's G2 mode (where he was a 1995 Western Star 4964EX tanker truck) and Transformers Prime (2010) mode (where he took on the alternate mode of a military truck).
4. At the end of the film, Optimus Prime leaves Earth to embark on a quest to find the creators of the Transformers. This was one of the originally proposed ideas for the plot of The Transformers: The Movie (1986) that was rejected for unknown reasons.
by The Centurion November 10, 2014
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden is a 80-hectare studio complex in southeastern England. Formerly known as Leavesden Film Studios and still colloquially known Leavesden Studios or simply Leavesden it is a major film and media complex owned by Warner Bros. The studios and backlot were all converted from the site's original use as a Rolls-Royce plc factory and airfield known as Leavesden Aerodrome, which was an important centre of aircraft production during World War II. It is situated in southwestern Hertfordshire approximately 29 kilometres (18 mi) northwest of central London, in Watford.
Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden, is one of only a few places in the UK where large scale productions can be made. The studios contain approximately 50,000 m2 (538,196 sq ft) of flexible space which includes stage space, one of the largest filtered and heated stage-based water tanks in Europe, production office space and support buildings, along with an extensive 32-hectare (79-acre) backlot which offers a 180 degree uninterrupted horizon, favourable for exterior sets.
Since acquiring the site Warner Bros. has opened a public attraction called The Warner Bros. Studio Tour – London, which sees over 5,000 visitors a day to the site whilst maintaining a secure studio space within the same complex.
Since acquiring the site Warner Bros. has opened a public attraction called The Warner Bros. Studio Tour – London, which sees over 5,000 visitors a day to the site whilst maintaining a secure studio space within the same complex.
by The Centurion December 21, 2014