Expendables 2 has its director

And he is Simon West. The same Simon West who directed the early 90s action flick Con Air and the recent and decent Jason Statham remake of The Mechanic. At least the man knows his action.

To be honest, we all know Sly Stallone is the driving force behind this sequel to his 2010 hit. And does it really matter who directs with him writing and returning along with fellow cast members Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Mickey Rourke? No. It doesn't. The awesome has already been brought.

The film begins shooting this summer. The plot, as we've reported before, is as follows: The Expendables are back and this time it's personal! After Tool (Mickey Rourke), the heart and soul of the Expendables, is brutally murdered on a mission, his comrades swear to avenge him. They're not the only ones who want blood. Tool’s beautiful young and wild daughter Fiona embarks on her own revenge mission, complicating matters when she is captured and ransomed by a ruthless dictator plotting to destroy a resistance movement. Now Barney and the Expendables must risk everything to save her and humanity.

Propane explosion sends six to hospital on Uwe Boll movie set

Here' a story I wrote for today's Kamloops Daily News about a former Kamloops resident turned movie extra who witnessed Tuesday's explosion on the set of In the Name of the King 2.

By JASON HEWLETT
Daily News Staff Reporter

A cloud of propane filled a tent full of movie extras minutes before an explosion sent several people to hospital in Maple Ridge with varying degrees of burns, a witness to the blast said Wednesday.
"It was a huge explosion. The fireball was bigger than the tent," said Adrian Berry, a former Kamloops resident.
Berry, an extra on the set of the Uwe Boll-directed movie In the Name of the King 2, narrowly avoided being caught in the blast himself.
He had just left the tent and walked about 10 metres down a path at Golden Ears Park in Maple Ridge where the fantasy/adventure was filming, he said. In the moment it took him to take a picture and turn back to the black, 24-metre long tent, the blast happened.
"Everyone came out on fire. Everyone just came flying out," he said.
At least one person dropped and rolled on the ground, said Berry. Most ran to a nearby lake and jumped in to douse the flames. One woman was trampled by the panicked crowd.
Berry ran to help and patted people down to make sure their costumes, which included capes and other medieval clothing, were out, he said.
"It was horrific."
Paramedics and firefighters were dispatched from Maple Ridge. RCMP Cpl. Alanna Dunlop said six people were burned but none of the injuries are believed to be life threatening.
RCMP and WorkSafeBC are investigating. Dunlop said the explosion occurred as a propane heater was being filled but the cause has yet to be determined.
Berry could see a white cloud of propane vent from the heater into the tent. He said the person who filled the heater did not properly attach the coupling and it came apart.
The tent was a gathering point for extras to rest and eat between scenes. Berry was on the set for a couple of days and the blast occurred on the last day of filming, he said.
Berry plays a medieval warrior in the film, which stars Swedish action star Dolph Lundgren.

Micro Review: The Expendables

Remember films like Commando, Missing In Action, Cobra, and Rambo? That's The Expendables in a nutshell. Plot? Who cares. Character development? Minimal. Pathos? Fuck off! This is man's movie. There's so much testosterone in this thing that I think my biceps will explode like the villains dispatched by Terry Crews' beautiful automatic shotgun. The action scenes in this thing are so awesome, well, I'm awesomed out by how awesome they are. The cameos by Willis and Schwarzenegger? Perfect. Did I mention the action scenes are awesome? Hollywood, take note: this is how you make an action movie. A pure action movie. A balls-to-the-wall, knife-in-the-throat, fist-to-the-face action film for people who grew up on them during the 80s. A Good review from The Basement on this one. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go eat a steak.

Guess Who's Guest Starring on 'Chuck' this Fall!

Following in the footsteps of such guest stars as Bruce Boxleitner, Morgan Fairchild, Scott Bakula and Christopher Lloyd - just to name a few - two new guest stars have been confirmed for the returning season 4 of Chuck this fall.

The first one is actor Dolph Lundgren, of Rocky IV fame and the upcoming Sylvester Stallone extravaganza The Expendables.

In Chuck, the actor will play the role of Marko, who's both Russian and a terrifying bad guy to boot (seriously, when is he not? Lundgren is a badass!).

The second guest-star is Harry Dean Stanton (Alien, Big Love) who will play the role of someone named . . . . Harry Dean! A role that's described by Chuck co-creator Chris Fedak as: “the man who comes between Chuck and his search for Mom. Who is he exactly? Well, we’ll say this: Only Harry Dean Stanton could play this part.”

Could he play Chuck's grand-father? Is Harry Dean a spy? Will he be friend or foe? I really wonder. . .  In any case, I'm psyched about the upcoming fourth season of Chuck. It's one of those shows I truly love with a passion.

Chuck is returning Monday, September 20th at 8pm on NBC.

Source

Van Damme and Lundgren Return For Unisol 4!

That's the good news. The bad news is the fourth installment in the long-running Universal Soldier series will be made in 3D.

Foresight Unlimited announced Wednesday that production would begin in the fall on the next film in the series. Dolph Lundgren will return, along with JCVD, to do some damage. John Hyams, director of Universal Soldier: Regeneration, will helm the project.

Fans of the podcast will know that Shawn and I quite enjoyed Regeneration, he more so. The film featured some great and gritty action scenes with nary a pixel of CGI noticeably in sight, which makes news of the 3D involvement somewhat upsetting for yours truly.

At least they aren't shooting it in 2D and converting it after.

We'll post more news as it comes in!