Skip to Content

Find your next home with Luxist's "Estate of the Day"

BoDiddley Tagged Articles at Cinematical

After Images: The Junkman (1982)

Filed under: Action », Quentin Tarantino », After Image »




Quick, what do H. B. Halicki and Louis B. Mayer have in common? They both went "from junk cars to movie stars" as the poster for The Junkman put it; both were scrap merchants who got into the film business. Wrecking shop owner turned auteur Halicki's homebrewed hit Gone in 60 Seconds led the 1999 remake by Dominic Sena, who reputedly worked on the original The Junkman as a camera man. The Junkman, the follow-up to the original 1974 Gone in 60 Seconds, is an even more extravagant car-cruncher. It's a film that makes Tarantino's great car chase in Death Proof look like an also-ran. (QT refers to this original by having Kurt Russell's character keep a row of sunglasses on his dashboard, just like Halicki did.) The Junkman is an all-out demolition derby with Hoyt Axton providing the vocals, a co-starring role by a pet pig named Farah and a finale with the Goodyear Blimp buzzing the Cinerama Dome. As the price of a gallon of gas reaches the inevitable $5 mark, let us return to this uniquely decadent actioner.

RIP: Reel Important People -- June 2, 2008

Filed under: Obits »

  • Lorenzo Odone (1978-2008) - ALD Patient - His story inspired the film Lorenzo's Oil, in which he was portrayed by child actor Zack O'Malley Greenburg and others. He died May 30 in Fairfax, Virginia. (Washington Post)
  • Cornell Capa (1918-2008) - Photojournalist - Founder and first director of NYC's International Center of Photography. He was also a still photographer on the set of The Misfits. He died of Parkinson's disease May 23, in New York City. (AP)
  • Alexander Courage (1919-2008) - Composer - Oscar-nominated for co-scoring Doctor Dolittle and The Pleasure Seekers (both with Lionel Newman) and best known for composing the original Star Trek theme. He also wrote original music for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Arthur Penn's The Left Handed Gun and André de Toth's Day of the Outlaws. As an orchestrator, he worked on Singin' in the Rain, Oklahoma!, Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Guys and Dolls, The Band Wagon, Funny Face, Porgy and Bess, Gigi, The Big Country, Hello, Dolly!, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Legend, Basic Instinct, Jurassic Park, Hook, L.A. Confidential, The Mummy, Mulan and many, many other films. He died May 15 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Variety)
  • Bo Diddley (1928-2008) - Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist - Blues and Rock legend whose songs "Who Do You Love?" and "Mannish Boy" have appeared on multiple movie soundtracks. He also appears in Trading Places, Blues Brothers 2000, Rockula, Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! and a number of documentaries, including D.A. Pennebaker's short Keep on Rockin' and Taylor Hackford's Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll. For info on his death, see Monika's full post.

RIP Bo Diddley

Filed under: Music & Musicals », Obits »



It may seem weird to include a Heathers clip for this post, but, the mention of Bo Diddley in the film is one of my favorite non-R-rated moments of the film. WARNING: NSFW for language after the first minute and a half, but that's after the Diddley reference.

I'm sad to say that Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Bo Diddley is no longer with us. CNN reports that the famous guitarist died today in Florida of heart failure. He was famous for his "Bo Diddley" beat, present in songs like "Who Do You Love," he opened for a diverse collection of performers from The Clash to The Dead, but his impact wasn't only on the musical world.

He wrote "Love is Strange" for Mickey and Sylvia, which became an uber-famous piece in Dirty Dancing. On film, to name a few, he played a pawnbroker in Trading Places, as you can see above -- his name was referenced in Heathers, and he popped up in other flicks like Blues Brothers 2000. Also, Diddley was one of the names under the Chess label, so hopefully we'll see him in the upcoming biopics on Leonard Chess.

Rest in peace, Bo. You'll be missed.
 
.