Weekly Mondo Round-Up: The Non Stop Whitman's Sampler Mix

The past week has been a veritable carousel of getting assorted article and film writing related activities done and out there. In short, it's been ideal. The biggest, by far, was getting to participate in the the tuber-fantastic William Castle Blogathon, hosted by the fine ladies at both GoreGirl's Dungeon and The Last Drive In. The assortment of different writers and Castle related goodies has been any genre film lover's dream. I would highly recommend checking out all of the entries, especially if you are a fan of the man. Getting to craft both a tribute, as well as delve into his pink-cheeked spy film, “13Frightened Girls!”, was a ton of fun. The man & legend that is William Castle has left a thumbprint on the world of cinema that will never be duplicated and this blogathon gives you plenty of examples why.

 

More on the not so quiet on the film front, my contribution to the “Underrated Dramas” feature on the fine site, Rupert Pupkin Speaks, went live this week. It was a great challenge, especially since the word “drama” has always made me a little itchy. Everything I love usually does not fit cleanly into any box, especially one as mainstream-respected as “drama.” But doing this list made me think outside of my own box, which is always a healthy thing. So I hope everyone enjoys it and immediately runs out to check out all the titles listed.

Earlier in the week, I appeared on my friend Frank Cotolo's podcast, “Cotolo Chronicles.” Last time around we discussed the living dead and this time around we discussed the living end of character actors. I didn't get to mention all of my favorites and while I think we got hit with the dreaded brain lapse that comes with the territory of live radio, as a whole it was fun. Plus, I got to plug my holy trinity of character actors: Joe Spinell, Rip Torn & Timothy Carey. Start building your altars now, if you haven't already.

One actor I did not get to mention that I desperately wanted to was Anthony James. He maybe a classic example of “Hey! It's that guy.” but once you see his mug, you will never forget him. Such an amazing face with the talent and presence to back it up. The lanky frame, sharp cheek bones, black-as-a-ravens-wing eyes and thin,wide smile—these are all just a few of the awesome things about Anthony James. My favorite James appearances include his turn as the lead villain in the Jay North-Angel Tompkins exploiter, “The Teacher,” the creepy chauffeur in “Burnt Offerings” and, of course, his fabulously sleazy agent in the music video for Poison's “Fallen Angel.” My only beef with that is the girl doesn't realize how good she's got it...nice clothes, great hair and the presence of a real, albeit highly oily man. Some girls...pffft. 

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