Restraint is a foreign concept when it comes to marketing
genre films. Studios would rather use
advertising to bludgeon audiences into submission than to entice them into the
theater. That makes it very hard for
those of us who avoid spoilers like the plague.
The new domestic trailer for Looper
is a great example of this practice at work.
It comes right on the heels of the international trailer. Not only does it reveal new shots, but offers
slightly extended versions of ones that were merely teased in the first two
trailers. The result is the movie
marketing equivalent of a car wreck. In
this particular case, the carnage is so beautiful that one can’t bear to look
away.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Amazing Attractions: The Man With the Iron Fists - Red Band Trailer
On Tuesday, RZA began rationing out marketing materials
for The Man With the Iron Fists via
his twitter account. First came an “official”
still image, followed a day later by the poster. Now comes the coup de grace: the red band trailer,
which premiered on IGN last night.
Labels:
Chop Socky,
Grindhouse,
Images,
Lucy Liu,
Martial Arts,
Movie Trailer,
Movie Trailer Review,
Red Band Trailer,
Russell Crowe,
Rza,
Shaw Brothers,
Stills,
The Man With The Iron Fists
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Blood on the Battlefield: ‘Five Element Ninjas’ Turns 30
By the early 1980’s, the once powerful Shaw Brothers Studios was a shadow of its
former self. To make matters worse, The Hong Kong new wave was
in full swing. Rival studio Golden
Harvest had risen to prominence on the strength of the "Terrific Trio." The acrobatics and superb comic timing of Jackie Chan, Sammo
Hung, and Yuen Biao dazzled audiences worldwide. By contrast, the Shaw Brothers approach seemed
hopelessly dated.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
The Poster for ‘Man With The Iron Fists’ Bleeds Purple
The color purple is said to represent leadership, wealth,
happiness, trustworthiness, and the power of creation. To fans of the Wu-Tang Clan, it represents
the exact same thing that the number seven represents in the bible: perfection. Indeed, many of RZA’s aesthetic choices have
been informed by numerology and color coding, both in the studio and in the
boardroom. Judging by the poster for The Man With The Iron Fists, his first
foray into feature filmmaking will be no different.
Amazing Attractions: ‘Looper’ International Trailer
I love modern crime dramas, but I also love science fiction. I’ve often wondered if there was a credible
way to consolidate the two without sacrificing the integrity of either. Judging by the international trailer for Looper, it seems that writer/director Rian
Johnson and I are on the same page.
Webisode Review: Super Power Beat Down: Batman vs. Wolverine - Live Action Battle
Comic book fans have always debated hypothetical battles
between their favorite characters. Super Power Beat Down uses this ages old
practice as the basis for a web series.
Imagine Spike Television’s Deadliest
Warrior done with superheroes instead of historical figures and you’ll get
the idea. A group of self-styled experts
pits two characters (often from different fantasy worlds) against each other. A debate then ensues regarding the likely outcome. A fight scene featuring both characters is
then filmed by Bat in the Sun Productions.
It ends with the most probable/logical (and I use term loosely) outcome. Viewers are allowed to vote well in advance
of each episode. Each episode begins
with the debate to properly set the stage.
The fight scene is then shown before the final voting tally is revealed.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Eye Popping First Image from ‘The Man With The Iron Fists’
The Man With The Iron Fists
has to be one of the most closely guarded films in recent memory. It wrapped production over a year ago, yet
not so much as a single frame of footage has surfaced in that time. That can easily be seen as a bad omen. After all, The RZA’s two previous directorial
efforts (The elusive Bobby Did It and
Wu-Tang Vs. the Golden Phoenix) have
yet to see the light of day. One would
hope that same fate doesn’t befall The Man
With The Iron Fists, especially seeing as how it boasts considerable talent
both in front of and behind the camera. Perhaps
hoping to curtail any sort of bad buzz before it starts, RZA recently tweeted
the first official image from the film.
Television Show Trailer: Make It Rain
I have a couple of confessions to make. I like strippers, and
I like strip clubs. To be
fair, it’s been years since I’ve actually set foot in one. They happen to be a colossal waste of money,
and aren’t very good places for finding a girlfriend or a wife. Still, they have their appeal. Back when I used to frequent such places regularly,
I’d go to a club called Sue’s Rendezvous. Sue’s is located in Mount Vernon, New York,
and caters to a mostly Black and Latino clientele. Some wild things used to happen there from
time to time. Me being the movie buff
that I am, I soon realized that a Black strip club would be the ideal setting for
a modern crime story. The Players
Club, Ice Cube’s directorial debut, doesn’t really count. It was mostly an after-school special that
alternated between broad melodrama and broader slapstick. That's not nearly gully enough for true aficionados of booty clubs and/or gangster flicks.
Movie Trailer: Alex Cross
The trailer for Alex
Cross has finally arrived. Skeptics will
now chime en masse about their fears having been confirmed. That is understandable, to a degree. As thrillers go, it looks like a fairly
standard stuff. All the tropes and
trappings are clearly in place. It isn’t
enough for the villain to simply be psychotic and murderous, he must be eccentrically
and/or perfectly so. The character of Michael
"The Butcher" Sullivan, played by Matthew Fox, is an MMA fighter with
Special Forces training. With that kind
of resume, he might as well be a super villain.
Mr. Cross has no such attributes.
He’s simply an exceptional psychologist/detective. The more I think about, the more I see parallels
to one of this summer’s most anticipated releases: The Dark Knight Rises. Think
about it: a super detective faces off against a villainous bodybuilder who
means to destroy all that he holds dear.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Bolaji Badejo, the Man Inside the Monster
The popular misconception is that Yaphet
Kotto was the only Black actor to appear in Ridley Scott’s Alien. This misconception
persists because the other Black actor was cast not as a Nostromo crewmember,
but as the film’s title creature. He
spent the entire movie in a latex suit with an amazingly awkward head. So unusual was his lanky physique that it
essentially became the film’s most remarkable visual effect. The actor I’m talking about is Bolaji Badejo,
a 7ft 2in actor from Nigeria.
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Movie Trailer: The Prototype - Teaser V.3
There are only six stories you can tell, or so the saying
goes. There aren’t any new ideas, just
endless ways to repackage old ones. Everything
has been done before, and is derivative to some degree or another. Bearing that in mind, you’d think that so-called
cineastes wouldn’t be so quick to label everything that comes down the pike as plagiarism. That kind of attitude can keep so called fans
from seeing the forest for the trees. Even
more crippling is the idea that something has to be revolutionary to be worth
the time of a true connoisseur. I am so
thankful that I have never fallen victim so such a narrow mindset. Otherwise, I’d never be able to muster any
kind of excitement for small pleasures such as the teaser trailer for The Prototype.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Keanu Reeves Seeks to Break New Ground With His Directorial Debut
The Matrix still
stands as one of the most revolutionary films of all time. It brought the traditions of Hong Kong action
cinema to western shores, and made them part of Hollywood’s filmmaking language. Alas, that proved to be both a blessing and a
curse. Instead of prompting Hollywood filmmakers
to step up their fight choreography game, they simply used CGI and other tricks
to enhance otherwise lackluster fight scenes.
That tendency grew progressively worse over the past 13 years, leading
to the glut of incoherent “chaos” filmmaking that now rules the multiplexes. It is somewhat fitting that the star of the
watershed film that helped usher in the current era of action cinema is now
trying to take things back to a more classical approach.
Television Series Trailer: Black Dynamite: The Animated Series
Last August, the pilot episode for Black Dynamite: The Animated Series premiered on adultswim.com. Some thought its brand of
raunchy humor much too crude, and its zany tone over the top. I found it to be aggressively faithful to the
source material. I’d even argue that it’s
exactly what Michael Jai White and Scott Sanders would’ve done with the live-action
film had he been given a larger budget. I
also figured that the pilot was merely a taste of the sheer insanity to come,
seeing as how a full season of shows would only push farther in the same Looney
direction. As I suspected, the full trailer
for Black Dynamite: The Animated Series
indeed promises a walk down the wild side.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Tonight on The Gentlemen’s Club Talk Radio: Beware of Bullies!
By Torrey Fields
How many of us growing up heard the phrase "Sticks and
Stones may break....well you know the rest.
That was usually what a lot of parents told us to say when we were
picked on by others. Wow, times
definitely changed!! Bullying has become
the crowning topic of discussion lately and has plagued communities across the
country for years. The aftermath can be
damaging to both the physical and mental health. So, how do we fix this? What are the
signs? Where do we turn for help? Have
you or someone you know ever been bullied?
Share your story and find out the answers to these questions and more on
this special edition of The Gentlemen's Club Radio Show.
New Music: Nas Ft. Rick Ross - Accident Murderers (Life Is Good)
Nas has always been among rap’s lyrical elite. Over the past few years, has genius has been
recognized by Hip-Hop’s current ruling class.
YMCMB has featured him on both Lil Wayne’s mega-selling The Carter IV and Tyga’s debut studio
album Careless World: Rise of the Last
King. Nicki Minaj kissed him in the video
for “Right By My Side.” Even Waka Flocka
Flame, whose lyrically regressive style would seem to be the polar opposite of what
Nas stands for, names the QB legend in his personal all-time top five. Of all these latter day admirers, only one
has effectively bridged the gap from fan to collaborator: Ricky Ross. Rosay has logged a number of effective collaborations
with the Nas over the last 3 years, none of which have been lackluster. In fact, these two bring out the very best in
each other. Their latest paring, a new
single from Life is Good titled “Accident
Murderers,” continues their winning streak.
Movie Trailer: Dredd
For years, the first Judge
Dredd movie had been my only reference point for the character. Upon discovering this, a knowledgeable friend
suggested I check out the comics. He
enticed me to do so by saying that on the comic page, the character was like a
British forerunner to Robocop. Years later, upon finally getting my hands on
a trade paperback that included the legendary “The Cursed Earth,” story arc, I
found his summation to be correct. Judge
Dredd was very much a dark satire filled with brutal action. I then realized that a proper Judge Dredd film should be just like Paul
Verhoven’s Robocop. The first trailer for Dredd seems to promise just that, sans the satire.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Machinima Teases Ten Seconds of Their Exlcusive Trailer for ‘Dredd’
The first Judge Dredd
movie sucked. There’s just no other way
to put it. It was one of the worst
blockbusters of 1995. In a year that
included Batman Forever and Waterworld, that’s really saying
something. It marked such a low point
for comic-book adaptations that any future Judge
Dredd film could only be a marked improvement, no matter how bad it turned
out. While the buzz on the upcoming
reboot Dredd hasn’t been exactly
promising, fans continue to hold out hope.
That hope seems to have been validated by ten seconds of footage that was
previewed by Machinima today. It comes
from the trailer that will be premiering on Thursday.
Movie Trailer: The Dark Knight Rises - Exclusive Nokia Trailer [HD]
Trailers and TV Spots for The Dark Knight Rises have been coming at rapid fire succession for
the past few weeks. One would think it
possible to piece together the entire film with all the footage that has been
revealed thus far. Yet, the barrage has
no signs of slowing down. An exclusive
Nokia trailer for The Dark Knight Rises
appeared online earlier today. Those hoping
for more spoilers and secrets will be sorely disappointed, as it offers nothing
that previous trailers haven’t. It does,
however, manage something much more subtle.
It compiles elements of previous trailers and TV spots into a much more
coherent narrative. It also lets the
images speak for themselves, to the point where dialogue hardly seems necessary. A moment where Bane catches Batman’s fist in
mid-air spells out the threat level of the film’s villain better than anything
else that has been shown up until this point.
The anarchic scenes of Police clashing with Bane’s mob in the streets of
Gotham are startling in their scope. There
also seems to be many more shots of Batman in broad daylight than ever before.
Monday, June 18, 2012
The Dark Knight Dissected: An Interview With Batman Expert Dr. Will Brooker
Batman is the most
enigmatic of all superheroes. He exudes
the most pathos, and invites the most analysis.
He’s also the most enduring. He’s
survived any number of incarnations over the past seventy three years, to
varying degrees of success. Amazingly,
his mystique has remained intact throughout.
A number of different artists, all working in various mediums, have tried to pin
him down. None of them have been
able to conclusively answer the million dollar question: Who is Batman?
![]() |
Photo by Theo Botha. |
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Bullets Fly in the Jungle and Bottles Fly in the Club on this Week's Scottscope Podcast!
Bottles fly in the club while bullets fly in the jungle on
this week’s Scottscope Podcast! The Scottscope Roundtable takes a look at the
recent altercation between Chris Brown and Drake at the W.i.P nightclub in New
York City. Did Drake actually start the
fight? Will C. Breezy ever get a handle
on that funky temper of his, and where does Rihanna fit into all of this? We also discuss the bullet-riddled and blood
soaked international trailer for Django
Unchained. Is it disrespectful for a
revenge flick to use slavery as a backdrop?
Does Quentin Tarantino have a right to such a film? Last but not least, we celebrate the 25th
Anniversary of Predator, one of the
greatest action films ever made. Is
there a hidden racial subtext? What do the
Predator’s dreadlocks symbolize, and where does this movie rank in Arnold’s
filmography? These questions and more
will be answered on this week’s edition of Scottscope!
Saturday, June 16, 2012
King of the Jungle: ‘Predator’ Turns 25
1987 was a big year for producer Joel Silver. Lethal
Weapon was released on March 6th to great success. It launched a franchise and reinvented the buddy
cop genre. Three months later, another
Joel Silver production would stake a similar claim at the summer box
office. It was yet another
“high-concept” offering, as well as a genre mash-up. It would combine the militaristic jungle
adventure motif of Rambo: First Blood
Part II with the otherworldly menace of Ridley Scott’s Alien. While that might
sound like an uneasy match, director John McTiernan made it work like gangbusters. Though the production nearly swallowed him
whole, he stayed the course and finished the game. On June 12th, 1987, the world
beheld the fruit of his labor. It was
titled Predator.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Guns Blaze and Blood Sprays in the International Trailer for ‘Django Unchained’
Quentin Tarantino is known for both labored dialogue and
extreme, sudden violence. Those two
elements have always been his main calling cards. One thing that he has never been associated
with is nonstop action. Though his
movies contain their fair share of bloodletting, they aren’t particularly fast
moving. His characters often spend way
more time talking to each other than they do shooting at each other. Nevertheless, the international trailer for Django Unchained shows both the title
character and his white liberator to be very trigger happy.
Book Review: Frank C. Matthews - Below the Radar
On July 16th 2011, all Hell suddenly breaks across
the five boroughs. In Queens, a gang leader
finds himself on the run from the cops. In
Brooklyn, a young woman narrowly escapes being taken down in a drug bust. In the South Bronx, a young man flees the
scene of a dogfight after engaging in a shootout. In Staten Island, a successful hustler
narrowly escapes being murdered in his own home, only to find himself in a much
worse predicament soon after. In the Bronx,
a hooker breaks free of her brutal pimp while carrying his personal fortune in
tow. Finally, things go horribly wrong
when an armed robber in Yonkers turns what was supposed to be a routine job
into a bloodbath.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
A Very Cool Moment in a Very Bad Movie: Bruce Wayne Comes Face to Face With His Darker Half
In light of Christopher Nolan’s massive success with the
Batman brand, I find it interesting to look back at where the franchise was
just before he came on board. After Batman Returns proved a bit too dark for
mass audiences, Warner Brothers took the directing reigns from Burton and
handed them over to Joel Schumacher. They
hoped he’d be able to take things in more lucrative direction. He actually managed to do just that with 1995’s
with Batman Forever. He then turned around and killed the franchise,
and by extension the modern superhero film, with 1997’s Batman and Robin. Both films
are equally bad, but the former wasn’t a total loss. There was a very memorable
scene filmed for it that ended up on the cutting room floor. If nothing else, it proves that Joel
Schumacher’s vision for the character wasn’t totally execrable.
The Scaredy Cat Chronicles: How I Was Emotionally Scarred by ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’
E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial celebrated its 30th anniversary yesterday. For many, the film is a magical childhood
touchstone. Its sentimental portrait of
friendship struck a chord with audiences the world over. That is a testament to the skills of its
writer/director, the legendary Steven Spielberg. Though it hasn’t quite stood the test of time
the same way that other classics have (As the slightly disappointing box office
returns of its 2002 re-release proved), it still looms large in the public
consciousness. While its 30th
birthday might bring about fond memories for some, it’s a bit of a downer for
me. It reminds me of a deep dark secret
I have harbored for all these years. As
much of a Spielberg fan as I am, I’ve never really liked E.T. the
Extra-Terrestrial. In fact, as a child,
I found it downright terrifying.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Scottscope Podcast 6/11/2012: Wu-Tang Lives Forever, The Prometheus Lands, E.T. Phones Home, and Nas Plays Executioner.
It’s all about Hip-Hop and aliens on this week’s Scottscope
podcast! Hosts Scott Wilson, Chicago
Wind, and Iron Lion will take listeners from the slums of Shaolin to the
deepest reaches of space. First on the docket
is the 15th anniversary of the Wu-Tang Clan’s second album, Wu-Tang Forever. Has it aged well over the last decade and
change? Next is up is the Alien Prequel Prometheus. Is it a worthy
addition to Ridley Scott’s sci-fi resume?
Also this week, Steven Spielberg’s all time box office hit E.T. the Extraterrestrial celebrates its
30th anniversary. Is it still
the heartwarming classic it’s remembered to be?
Last but not least, the Scottscope
roundtable discusses Nas attempted mock lynching of Jay-Z at the 2002 Hot
97 Summer Jam. Did Godson take it just a
tad too far?
Viva La Revolución: ‘Wu-Tang Forever' Turns 15
At the dawn of the late 1990’s, Hip-Hop was in a
transitional period. The murder of Tupac
Shakur brought the reign of Death Row Records to a tragic end. It also seemed to signal the death knell for
west coast gangsta rap as a whole.
Likewise, the murder of the Notorious B.I.G seemed to signal the end of
New York’s reemergence on the national rap radar. Though the Hip-Hop nation was in mourning,
the time was clearly right for a new regime to assert its authority. Since the fall of 1993, Staten Island
supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan had been carrying out a silent coup. In the wake of the East Coast/West Coast
wars, they were poised to deliver their collective finishing move. Their five year plan would culminate in a
massive double album opus. 1997 might
have been the year that the greatest rapper of all time died, but it was also
to be the year of the Wu.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Rare Video Footage of The Hot 97 Summer Jam Stunt That Never Was
Despite last weekend’s debacle now infamous debacle, Hot 97’s
annual Summer Jam is no stranger to controversy. Hip-Hop is nothing if not provocative. Rappers are habitual envelope pushers, and
will do just about anything to get a reaction from fans. Sometimes that tendency can get out of hand. In
such moments, the powers-that-be step in and set clear boundaries. Nas found
that out a decade ago, when he attempted to use the Summer Jam stage to
decimate a popular opponent.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Movie Review: Prometheus
In the year 2089, archeologists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace)
and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) make a startling discovery. The couple uncovers a star map which seems to
lead to a mysterious Alien race on a far off moon. They believe the map to be an invitation, and
become obsessed with the idea of making contact with these strange beings. Elizabeth suspects they may be the architects
of life on earth. Multibillionaire Peter
Weyland (Guy Pearce) agrees to fund the expedition, which includes the
construction of a scientific space vessel called the Prometheus.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
GZA’s Classic Sophomore Album ‘Liquid Swords’ to be commemorated with a New 2 CD Box Set
Special editions and boxsets have long been de rigueur for the
home video format. Almost any notable
film that one can think of gets the royal treatment sooner or later. Even not-so-notable films come loaded for
bear with a number of special features and the like. With classic rap releases, such gifts and
goodies rarely come down the pike. Even
albums with actual liner notes are few and far between. That has been slowly changing over the last
decade, as a number of seminal rap releases are now being treated with the reverence
they deserve. The GZA’s
second album, Liquid Swords, will
soon become part of that exclusive club.
Movie Review: Superman vs. The Elite
Superman’s personal code demands that he bring violent
criminals to justice as opposed to killing them on the spot. He has always done so dutifully, and his
public has always loved him for it. Alas,
times are changing. The masses have
grown weary of homicidal villains who seemingly don’t respond to Superman’s methods. Consequently, many world leaders begin to
question Superman’s effectiveness as a hero.
Enter The Elite, a violent super-team who offer themselves as a viable
alternative. Unlike Superman, The Elite
have no problem administering capital punishment. They see Superman as a relic of the past, and
openly defy his authority. The
ideological differences between the two culminate in a deadly showdown. Will truth, justice, and the American way
ultimately prevail?
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Movie Trailer: Flight
In a sense, Denzel Washington and Robert Zemeckis have
always been two peas in a pod. While both have
made substantial contributions to popular cinema over the past 30 years, they’ve
also always been their own worst enemies.
Robert Zemeckis has a filmography full of all-time favorites, yet his Achilles
heel has always been his lack of a distinctive filmmaking style. Denzel is a movie star in the classic sense,
complete with an iconic persona. His
problem has always been his ability (or lack thereof) to choose films which are
worthy of his monumental acting talents.
While a collaboration between these two might not remedy their perceived
flaws, it still might yield something well worth watching.
Movie Trailer: Django Unchained
To say that the trailer for Django Unchained starts off boldly is an understatement. It begins with a procession of African slaves
being led through the desert in chains. After
nightfall, their armed captor leads them through the woods by gaslight. They happen upon the seemingly harmless Dr.
King Schultz (Christophe Waltz). Just
after Django (Jamie Foxx) himself is introduced as one of the slaves, Dr. King Schultz is
revealed to be his liberator. As James
Brown’s “The Big Payback” kicks in on the soundtrack, a newly unshackled Django
throws off his shroud as though he were the Godfather of soul himself. Thus begins the world’s first real look at Django Unchained.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Is The Black Panther Getting His Own Movie?
During my interview Michael Jai White, he toyed with the idea
of playing The Black Panther. It’s a
tantalizing prospect, to be sure. Mike definitely
has the attitude and the physicality to pull it off. He’s also a pretty capable actor
to boot. However, the likelihood of a
Black Panther movie actually getting made is very low. Equally low is the probability that such a
film would actually be done right. Well,
it seems that Marvel Studios means to prove such notions wrong. T’Challa
might be making his cinematic debut as early as 2012.
Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s Scottscope’s First Ever Podcast!
This has been a long time coming, but good things are worth
waiting for. I’ve finally decided to
take the plunge and do my very own podcast.
The Scottscope will very much
be an extension of this blog, and hopefully much more. Instead of reading my words, you’ll get to
hear my sultry voice (or so I’ve been told).
Since the show doesn’t really have a strict format yet, I’ve enlisted
the help of my Gentlemen’s Club
alumni. Both Chicago Wind and Iron Lion
will be cohosting this time out. We go
live at 6:30pm EST tonight.
Labels:
30th Anniversary,
Chicago Wind,
Controversy,
Hip-Hop,
Hip-Hop Beef,
Hot 97 Summer Jam,
Iron Lion,
Lil Wayne,
Mr. T,
Nicki Minaj,
Peter Rosenberg,
Podcast,
Rocky III,
Scottscope,
The Dark Knight Rises
Monday, June 4, 2012
New Trailer Reveals the Mystery Behind the Cover Art for ‘Life is Good’
Trailers are usually the best part of the movie going
experience. They play like a highlight
reel for the films they advertise. They sometimes
even function as a more economical mode of storytelling than the main feature
itself. That’s the one thing that both mainstream
rap albums and summer blockbusters have in common. Both are preceded by tons
of advance hype. These marketing campaigns
are often more engaging and entertaining than the final product. If one rapper has consistently tried to be the
rare exception to that unfortunate rule over the years, it’s been Nas. His tenth studio album, Life is Good, is rightfully one of this year’s most anticipated
releases. The cover art for it was finally released today. It shows a rather pensive Nas sitting in a
club with a green dress draped across his lap.
Eye of the Tiger: ‘Rocky III’ Turns 30
People love a good comeback story. The public loves to see an underdog defy the
odds and rise to the top, only to sadistically relish in his downfall. Only then can he be cheered on as he gets off
the mat and back onto the saddle. After
all, can anyone truly relate to a hero who never loses? How boring is a champion who makes it to the
top only to coast for the rest of his career and retire undefeated? Surely, such a hero isn’t worthy of having
his own film franchise. Sylvester
Stallone certainly didn’t think so, hence how he treated his most beloved
cinematic creation. In Rocky III, the title character faced a
much more fearsome challenge than ever before.
That challenge made for one of the entertaining films of the 1980’s.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Street Royalty: Seth Ferranti Lifts The Shroud of Mystery Surrounding the Supreme Team Part 1
Hip-Hop may have been born in The Bronx, but much of its attitude and
style was derived from the borough of Queens.
Throughout the 1980’s, the burgeoning street culture flourished and
thrived in neighborhoods like Hollis and Jamaica, as well as public housing
developments such as Queensbridge. In those
same areas, another culture developed alongside Hip-Hop, and at an equally
prodigious rate. Its legacy is much
darker, but no less far reaching. It
produced legends of a much different sort, ones who sold narcotics and lorded
over entire armies that held court in housing projects and local nightspots. These organizations became infamous throughout
New York City, and none loomed larger than Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff and the
Supreme Team. By the mid 1990’s, their
exploits would be known the world over thanks to a new generation of rap
artists.
Labels:
Books,
Crime/Gangster,
Gerald Miller,
Hip-Hop,
Interviews,
Kenneth McGriff,
Murder Inc.,
New York City,
Prince,
Queens,
Run D.M.C,
Russell Simmons,
Seth Ferranti,
The Supreme Team,
True Crime
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