charlton heston Tagged Articles at Cinematical

You kids today, with your Marvel Studios and your top-notch directors. Many of you are too young to remember just what ugly treatments comic books received in the 1980s and 1990s. Oh sure, there was Tim Burton's Batman, but treatments like David Hasselhoff's Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD were the norm. When a Thor movie was kicked around, the only requirement was muscles and blonde hair. In the 1990s, there was one man that fit that description: Fabio.

A funny little flashback has surfaced on Colleen Doran's blog, which has prompted a delightful trip back in time at Mania. In 1997, Fabio decided that he wanted to play Thor, so he approached animation director Seth Kearsley, and they cooked up a storyline with the help of Henry Gilroy. As Mania points out, this was not a Marvel movie , but it casually borrowed a few elements. The result, pictured to your right, was an unholy blend of Marvel's Thor and Captain Marvel / Shazam where Thor was punished for his arrogance by being shoved into the powerless body of a young boy. Despite its cheese and lack of Hollywood backing, it managed to recruit a lot of comic book talent for its designs, including Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. They were also desperately seeking Charlton Heston to voice Odin, and were in negotiations with Pamela Anderson to voice the Valkyrie Brunhild. But it died off, never to be seen again ... until the Internet could laugh about it.

This is what cameos are all about. Sometimes an actor performs a cameo in heavy disguise, and it's up to the viewer to "find" him or her. But the best cameos are the ones that take into account the personality of the performer/writer/athlete/politician, and then make some kind of wry comment on it. If you're wondering how an upstart like Mike Myers could have coaxed the Oscar-winning legend and Shakespearian actor Charlton Heston into a less-than-one-minute scene in a comedy sequel, just check out this clip. I doubt any actor could have resisted.

The joke here is doubly cool. For a time, Heston was considered a kind of parody of a great actor. He had appeared in many big, important classics, including The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur and Touch of Evil, but before long, he was the star of some big-budget drive-in movies like Planet of the Apes (and sequels) and The Omega Man, yet performed them with the same rock-faced dignity. Was he aware of the course his career had taken? Was he remarkably clueless? Was his ego getting in the way? In 30 seconds, Myers cannily deconstructs Heston by taking a "bad actor" (Al Hansen) out of a totally meaningless scene and replacing him with a "good actor" (Heston). Heston reads a silly speech about a girl he once knew, and Myers leaves -- moved almost to the point of tears. We initially laugh at the idea of Heston as "good actor," but at the end of 30 seconds, we're ready to believe it.

Watch the classic cameo after the jump.

I like to pride myself on having a pretty good memory for classic films, but man, my powers of recollection are nothing up against a dedicated film fan by the name of whoiseyevan. A couple of weeks ago I brought you his reworked Ghostbusters trailer as a 1954 classic starring Bob Hope and Dean Martin, and now he's back at work making trailers for Raiders of the Lost Ark and Forrest Gump as if they had been made in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

First up is Raiders, which was an ode to adventure serials of the '30's, but for the remake we've jumped ahead about thirty years. Now, it stars Charlton Heston as Dr. Jones, Anthony Quinn as Sallah, and the great Peter Lorre as everyone's favorite melty-face Nazi, Toht. Once again, you have to marvel at whoiseyevan's ability to find the perfect clips, and if you're as familiar with Raiders as I am, you will spot plenty of scenes that are almost identical -- right down to the monkey.

Now, transplanting Forrest Gump back to 1949 might have been a little bit easier, and it should come as no shock that Jimmy Stewart is standing in for Tom Hanks (especially since Hanks as been called our generation's Stewart on more than one occasion). Which would also explain how whoiseyevan might have selected some of these clips, because Stewart played a lovable man-child more than once during his career. For Gump, most of the clips look like they were taken from It's a Wonderful Life, but there are a few surprises to be had, including who gets to take over the role of Lt. Dan -- which I won't spoil for you because, frankly, it's genius.

After the jump: a trip back in time with Dr. Jones and Forrest Gump...

Just recently, I was able to wrap up work early and head down to my local rep theater to check out A Touch of Evil on the big screen, crackling from grainy, old film. It was my first taste of Orson Welles in a theater, one that was filled with the wonder of that jaw-dropping opening shot (which you can check out after the jump), as well as the continual amusement that Charlton Heston was supposed to be Mexican.

Throughout the entire movie, my brain was trying to rationalize a different story that would fit in the framework of the story and not seem so ludicrous. Maybe he was born to white parents in Mexico? Maybe he moved there at a young age? Nah. To think it is all because Welles changed the script. Still, while the attempts to change his race might have failed, this Heston film is so very worth the time and effort.

Rest in peace, Charlton -- I hope you're having a dandy, gun-laden afterlife.

*Last Rewind Answer: Believe it or not, it was Mick Jagger who was once considered for the role of Fletch.

There aren't many true "Hollywood legends" still with us, and now another one is gone, as Charlton Heston died Saturday at his Beverly Hills home after a six-year battle with Alzheimer's. CNN reports that his wife, Lydia -- to whom he had been married for an astonishing 64 years -- was at his side.

The timing of his death was oddly appropriate in several ways. Given that some of his most famous roles were religious in nature -- Moses, John the Baptist, Judah Ben-Hur -- it seems fitting that he should die exactly between the Easter and Passover holidays. His death also occurred one day after the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s death, and Heston was an ardent supporter of King's. He marched with King, and stood on the platform with him when he delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech.

I don't want to talk about Britney Spears this week. Personally, I've read more than enough news about her, and she barely qualifies as a film-related personality, anyway. I don't want to deal with Anna Nicole Smith either, at least until her daughter's paternity test comes back ... and even then, I'm on overload. And Rosie O'Donnell? I'm trying to ignore that whole thing with Donald Trump, which doesn't even make sense.

Unfortunately, it's a slow gossip week without the above-named celebrities. I realized at some point that if I am reporting items on Mary-Kate Olsen's boots and Charlton Heston's neighbors, it is definitely not a red-letter gossip week. I couldn't even find any George Clooney or Johnny Depp photo opportunities. However, at least I know I'll entertain the Jessica Alba fans with the last news item on the following list.