I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss
Episode 230: #ATLComicConvention - 1985 Action Movies - Sympathy for the Cannon Group
CatBusRuss may have finally broken the panel code. The audience was not large (What would you expect being placed in the furthest panel room of the ATL Comic Convention?), but the enthusiasm of director/producer Mario DeAngelisand dark fantasy author with a second-degree black belt Hollis Jo McCollum made the three flights to and from Atlanta worthwhile for our podcast host.
After the "V for Vendetta" panel on Friday, DeAngelis and McCollum were great gets for this CatBus's discussion. McCollum was a big supporter of Chuck Norris. DeAngelis wishes he would have been old enough to work for Menahem Golan & Yoram Globus. This ended up being a celebration of the questionable financial decisions made by Cannon, but no one could ignore the influence that Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger had on action in the 1980s.
Who wins the triple-threat match amongst Sly, Arnie, and Cannon? Is it box office that Sly had with "Rocky IV" and "Rambo: First Blood Part II"? Is it Arnie with the body count from "Commando"? Could Norris, legend Charles Bronson, and Michael "American Ninja" Dudikoff even compete? CatBusRuss is an underemployed pro-wrestler, so he can at least tell you the loser. Regardless of who got the W, everyone looks good in a one-loser/one-winner scenario. Thanks to Mario and Hollis Jo of course.
If you need an undisputed action suggestion, Russ decided to attach his review for "Ballerina: From the World of John Wick" to this podcast. The "John Wick" franchise has a simple, initial story, so it feels like 1985. We wanted violence 30 years ago. All we need is a motivation to justify it.
Episode 231 - 'Frank' & Capital City Comic Con Present: Hollyweird Squares Live
The crew in Lansing, MI, called the panel "Hollywood Squares", but we are not risking any infringement in this podcast episode's title.
For CatBusRuss's friends, this may have been the panel they were most intrigued by when he was invited to the Capital City Comic Con. Fans of the podcast get the show's gimmick, so who can blame them for wanting to be here rather than his pro-90-minute movie TED Talk?
The "I Dig Crazy Flicks" host had a ball getting to be the center square of the tic-tac-toe board. He hopes he can reapply for this panel in 2026 because he left knowing the character work that should be involved. If he knew he was going to be played in each round ahead of time, effort would have been taken to present a Paul Lynde impression or, at the very least, Roger from "American Dad".
It was also odd for Russ since after his square is called, the content was pretty much provided by the great talent around him like:
- Author and illustrator, "The Badger", Rob O'Neil;
- Owner of The Crooked Feather, costume maker and cosplayer, Alexis Noriega;
- Lansing visual artist, Ryan Holmes;
- Author, playwright, and teacher, Jason Douglas.
To make up for his lack for the lack of his voice on this episode, CatBus attached a review for the 2014 music-based comedy "Frank", a story about an unlikely band member trying to push his band leader into the world to be accepted. A guy who refuses to take off a paper-mache head would be far better suited to be at such at the welcoming Capital City Comic Con than SXSW.
