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Movie Reviews: 'Son of Rambow'
2 May 2008 (StudioBriefing)
Sylvester Stallone has given his endorsement to the British film Son of Rambow [sic], which opens today (Friday) in five theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The film concerns two boys in the 1980s who discover a video of First Blood and go about making their own version of the movie. Stallone told today's Los Angeles Times that when he first heard about Rambow he "assumed it was going to be a very broad and stylized joke-a-minute comedy at Rambo's expense." But he thought otherwise after he saw it. "The fact that it was so heartwarming is the result of brilliant filmmaking by its creators," Stallone said. Nevertheless writer-director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith disclosed that it took an extraordinary amount of time to obtain the necessary permission to use clips from the Stallone movie in theirs. They said they used the delay as an opportunity to preview the film at film festivals, where "it wasn't being judged on whether it was doing anything at the box office, it was purely whether we made a film that worked. I can't tell you how satisfying that was," Jennings said. Initial reviews have been positive if not enthusiastic. Manohla Dargis in the New York Times calls it "a likable, lightly sticky valentine to childhood." To Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times, it's "a dewy-eyed, plaintive, unafraid-to-be-adorable exercise in stylish nostalgia." And Claudia Puig in USA Today describes it as "surprisingly charming."

Rambo, Charging Back Into Theaters, Faces Monster
25 January 2008 (StudioBriefing)
This weekend will provide a box-office test of whether the public will turn out to see a 61-year-old former action star in a role that he first made popular as a much younger man. Sylvester Stallone first introduced the character of John Rambo in 1982 in the movie First Blood. He last appeared as the character in 1988, helping rebels in Afghanistan oust the Soviet Union. (In the interim most of those rebels turned against the U.S.) "Hopefully, what our advertising has done is introduce Rambo to a whole new generation of younger males," Lionsgate distribution chief Steve Rothenberg told today's (Friday) Los Angeles Times. The question among box-office analysts was whether it could top Cloverfield, which had a spectacular opening last weekend. While Rambo is expected to take in $15-20 million, that figure would merely come close to equaling what Cloverfield would bring in if its ticket sales fell by 50 percent. It's also being challenged by the debuting comedy Meet the Spartans, a spoof of last year's 300, which has also been garnering considerable buzz in recent weeks. (Spartans was not screened for critics.)

Actor Richard Crenna Dies at Age 76
20 January 2003 (WENN)
Actor Richard Crenna, the Emmy Award-winning television actor who also made a name for himself in movies as Sylvester Stallone's commanding officer in the Rambo films, died Friday of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles; he was 76. Crenna started his career in radio and television, appearing on the Burns And Allen radio show and later in two popular TV series, Our Miss Brooks and The Real McCoys. Crenna began pursuing a film career in the mid-`60s, appearing in The Sand Pebbles, Marooned and Wait Until Dark. After toiling in B-movies throughout the `70s, he made a resurgence with 1981's Body Heat, playing the duped husband of Kathleen Turner, and appeared a year later as Col. Samuel Trautman in First Blood, playing mentor to Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo, returning for the two hugely successful Rambo sequels. He also appeared in 1984's The Flamingo Kid, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, and spoofed his Rambo character in 1993's Hot Shots! Part Deux. Crenna continued working in television through the 90s, most recently appearing in the drama Judging Amy opposite Tyne Daly. Crenna is survived by his wife, Penni, and three children. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Stallone Honored
23 April 2002 (WENN)
Sylvester Stallone's action days might be over, but he's going to be recognized for his blockbusters at this summer's Video Software Dealers Association Convention. Stallone will be named Action Star of The Millennium at the convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, in July. The award comes on the 20th anniversary of the theatrical release of Stallone's First Blood, the film which launched the highly successful Rambo series.

Rambo Returns
25 July 2001 (WENN)
Sylvester Stallone is oiling up and reaching for his Bowie knife again - as Rambo IV lumbers into production. Stallone, 55, became a major league Hollywood star after the first blood-soaked Rambo movie, First Blood, destroyed box-offices in 1982. Two others followed in 1985 and 1988 between Rocky movies, and caused a generation of kids to buy toy knives with compasses on the end of them. Rambo III raked in nearly $200 million at the box office - indicating that massive profits could be reaped from another instalment. When first asked about returning to the franchise, Sly said, "I don't know if I'd look good in a thong anymore." But now, Miramax chairman Bob Weinstein says Rambo IV is in the stages for a re-script this summer - with at least a $50 million budget. Weinstein says, "We'd love nothing more than for Stallone to be involved. We think it's a billion-dollar property." The new script involves Rambo tackling drug dealers in an American government building.

Stuntmen Fall Victim To Computers
22 July 1997 (StudioBriefing)
Computerized special effects are quickly replacing traditional stunt work in films, according to the co-founder of the 150-member Stuntman's Association of Motion Pictures and Television. "We're hurting, " said Loren Janes in an interview for today's (Tuesday) New York Post. Janes claimed that stunt work has already become "a lost art because they are doing it all on computers." Diamond Farnsworth, Sylvester Stallone's stunt double in Rambo, told the newspaper. "We are a dying breed. ... If a young kid comes up and says he wants to be a stuntman, I tell him to do something else. I tell him to get into computer graphics."