It may not be looking too good for the box office of The Fall Guy, but there have been slow-starting movies before. Ryan Gosling has revealed that there is already a script written for a sequel and all that’s left is the hope that audiences vote with their wallets so another one gets greenlit. While The Fall Guy is an established intellectual property, it’s not exactly a title that the masses geek out over. The star power of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt was seen to be a big driving force for audiences. While this year sees some stalls in releases due to the strikes, The Fall Guy was expected to open with at least $30 million in its opening weekend, but fell shy of that number.

Gosling, who portrays a stuntman in the film, has told Men’s Journal that a script for a sequel came together rather quickly. He stated, “These days everyone always hopes their movie can become a franchise. I’d be a little terrified for you about the notion of making another Fall Guy where you’d be expected to outdo the stunts in this one, but what do you think about doing this all over again?” He continued to elaborate on the script, “The sequel sort of wrote itself. We already know [the story] intimately. We’re just hoping that people like this movie enough that we get to keep telling the story of these characters. We love them so much, and we love this world, and I feel confident that we can do it.”

It remains to be seen how The Fall Guy will close out, but Gosling is for sure excited to see what happens in further adventures of these characters, “We love these characters so much that we wanted to know, just for ourselves, what happens to Colt and [Emily Blunt’s character] Jody after the movie ends? What’s the next phase for them? And we know exactly what it is. So hopefully the audience wants to know, too.”

The Fall Guy will soon have to contend with a new franchise sequel in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. While those movies never quite reached Marvel-level numbers, every entry in the new series has shown consistent performances in terms of audience quality and box office numbers. The Matt Reeves trilogy seemingly closed out the prequel arc. However, the studio is banking that there’s more story to tell and intrigue audiences with.

Meanwhile, our Chris Bumbray had a blast with The Fall Guy, saying, “The Fall Guy really is a terrific summer action movie and a throwback to a different (better) time in genre movie-making. More than anything, it’s a tribute to the stunt industry and a demand that it gets the recognition it deserves, with the point made over and over that CGI action is lame and can’t hold a candle to the old ways.” You can view his full review HERE.

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With the release of The Fall Guy this weekend, the summer movie season is finally upon us. While it’s a thinner summer than usual due to the dual writer and actors strike bringing movies to a standstill for much of 2023, there should still be a lot of stuff worth checking out, even if the summer seems short of anything that can aspire to Barbenheimer levels of success. Yesterday, we teased some of our most anticipated horror movies, so now we’re tackling the rest of the blockbusters in our 2024 summer movie preview!

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (May 10)

In my opinion, there’s never been a bad Planet of the Apes movie. Going all the way back to the classic 1968 original and its four sequels, through Tim Burton’s remake and the Caesar trilogy from Fox, all of the movies have at least been interesting. With Disney now owning 20th Century Studios, the hit-strapped studio hopes for a breakout franchise starter from director Wes Ball. So far, the early buzz has been promising, with CinemaCon audiences being treated with fifteen minutes of footage that promised perhaps the most visually stunning and immersive apes movie to date. But, without Andy Serkis as Caesar, will audiences embrace this new entry into the saga? We’ll have to wait and see, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

IF (May 17)

Ryan Reynolds is generally considered one of the biggest stars in the world. But, other than Free Guy, most of his movies have been on streaming lately, and the summer movie season is set to test his box office mettle not once, but twice. IF is seen as the riskier movie, with it a big, broad family film that teams him with director John Krasinski in this story of a man helping a child connect unwanted IFs (invisible friends) with new children. It sounds a bit twee. But, with Steve Carrell, Matt Damon and a who’s who of stars voicing the CGI invisible creatures, this could be a box office bonanza.

The Garfield Movie (May 24)

However, IF has one big piece of competition for family audiences – The Garfield Movie. Many are thinking this will be one of the biggest hits of the summer, with Chris Pratt voicing everyone’s favorite fat cat. The last time he voiced an animated film, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, it was a monumental smash. Clearly, the studio financing this one is hoping lightning will strike twice.

Furiosa (May 24)

Speaking of lightning striking twice, George Miller’s long-awaited Max Max: Fury Road prequel, Furiosa, is finally set to hit theaters. It’s worth noting that Fury Road, despite being seen as one of the greatest action movies of all time, was only a modest box office hit, so those predicting blockbuster numbers for Miller’s R-rated prequel might need to think again. However, even if it doesn’t break the bank, many of us are thinking that of all the movies coming out this summer, this one has the best chance of becoming a new classic. 

Bad Boys: Ride or Die (June 7th)

The fourth Bad Boys movie marks Will Smith’s first theatrically released feature since the infamous Oscar slap. It’s being seen as the test of whether or not audiences are going to be able to move past the controversy and embrace him as the big star he used to be. Certainly, Bad Boys: Ride or Die seems like a good bet, with the last Bad Boys movie being a surprise mega-hit.

Inside Out 2 (June 14)

Just like its parent studio, Pixar needs a hit. While everyone called Elemental a flop when it came out last summer, the movie still managed to eke out a respectable worldwide gross in the $500 million neighbourhood. Still, this is a far cry from the numbers Pixar used to post. Hence, all eyes are on the long-anticipated sequel, which reunites much (but not all) of the original voice cast in what’s considered Pixar’s biggest and best hope at regaining its former glory.

Horizon: An American Saga (June 28 & August 16)

Kevin Costner’s Horizon is like a unicorn in today’s risk-averse movie climate. It’s a mega-budget, multi-part Western epic and is so far removed from the kids of movies Hollywood makes nowadays the star had to largely finance the films himself. And yes, I said films because no matter how the first movie fares at the box office, WB has the sequel coming out less than two months later. 

A Quiet Place: Day One (June 28)

I strongly feel this will be one of the summer’s highest-grossing movies. People love this franchise, with A Quiet Place: Part 2 managing to gross $160 million domestically despite being released during the pandemic. While director John Krasinski and star Emily Blunt are sitting this one out, the buzz on this prequel is sky-high. This depicts the initial invasion in New York City and stars Lupita Nyong’o and Stranger Things breakout Joseph Quinn. 

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F (July 3)

This is the only streaming movie I have on this list, as to me it’s the only one that has a chance of going toe-to-toe with the summer’s big blockbusters. Fans have been waiting thirty years for a proper Beverly Hills Cop 4, and the early trailers suggest this just might have been worth the wait.

Despicable Me 4 (July 3)

While that title may make more than a few of you groan, this franchise has minted money for Universal and Illumination, with audiences flocking to see Steve Carell’s Gru and his minions. Even if the franchise might have jumped the shark a few films back for some of us, I’d be shocked it this didn’t end up as one of the summer’s biggest moneymakers. 

Twisters (July 19)

Universal’s putting a lot of faith into this big-budget sequel to Twisters, which boasts a newly minted megastar with lead Glen Powell, who co-stars with Fresh’s Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos. Minari director Lee Isaac Chung isn’t known for his blockbusters, but the early footage I saw at CinemaCon this year was epic, so this could be huge.

Deadpool and Wolverine (June 26)

That said, Twisters has a natural disaster of its own on its hands the next week, when Disney’s Deadpool and Wolverine is set to suck all the air out of the box office. If any movie on this list is a guaranteed smash, this is it. Many believe it will become the biggest summer hit and the only movie that could give last year’s duel Barbenheimer threat a run for its money. Given how dire folks expect the box office to be this season, some may well be calling the Merc With a Mouth the summer box office saviour by the time August rolls around. 

Trap (August 9)

M. Night Shyamalan’s got what looks like a killer thriller hitting theaters this summer, with the early footage from Trap blowing away the audience at CinemaCon last month. The premise is awesome, with Josh Hartnett playing a suburban dad who brings his daughter to a concert, only to discover it’s all a ruse to capture a serial killer – and he IS that killer. This could be a huge comeback for Hartnett and one of the year’s sleeper hits.

Borderlands (August 9)

Eli Roth’s Borderlands has had a bit of a tortured production history. It started shooting three years ago, and Roth infamously stepped aside for reshoots last year in order to make Thanksgiving. The new trailers for this one have serious Guardians of the Galaxy vibes – so much so that you might even call it a clone. It’s also got a pretty unusual cast, with Cate Blanchett making her debut as an action hero in the lead. 

Alien: Romulus (August 16th)

Will this be the summer that brings the Alien franchise back from the dead? Originally, Fede Alvarez’s Alien flick was supposed to debut on Hulu, but the runaway success of the Predator prequel, Prey, convinced Disney to give this a shot at big-screen glory. So far, the buzz is this is a gory throwback to the original movie, with hardcore R-rated action and chest-bursting xenomorphs galore.

The Crow (August 23)

And finally, will the summer end with a whimper or a bang as the controversial Crow reboot hits theatres? The reaction to the trailer has been divisive to say the least, with some (including original Crow director Alex Proyas) slamming this as “Crow Wick”. Yet, the studio (Lionsgate) seems high on it, and Bill Skarsgard showed promise as an action star in the largely unseen Boy Kills World. We’ll have to wait and see, I guess.

What summer movie are you most excited to see? Let us know in the talkbacks!

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While the big-screen adaptation of The Fall Guy was never expected to open to mega-blockbuster numbers, no one thought the well-reviewed Ryan Gosling movie would stumble out of the gate to this extent. Indeed, Hollywood insiders assumed this had a shot at a $40 million plus opening (we expected about $35 million). Now it looks like David Leitch’s film will only make $28.5 million over what’s widely considered the first weekend of the summer movie season. Last year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 made $110 million in the same frame.

The Fall Guy was never expected to open anywhere near that number. Indeed, it was originally planned as a March release, only to be moved thanks to how empty the release calendar is due to the SAG/WGA strikes from last year (take a look at our Summer movie preview, and see how low wattage a summer this is likely to be). Still, given how well it was reviewed (we loved it) and the fact that stars Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are coming off of Barbenheimer, box office pundits expected this to overperform. Alas, it was not to be, with the huge-budget movie (at least $130 million before publicity) posting a number that suggests it won’t even get close to $100 million domestically unless it has incredible word-of-mouth.

So what happened here?

Yesterday, I put the blame on the changing habits of cinema-goers, and it should also be noted that movies are REALLY expensive to see nowadays. So, people won’t go through the expense of going to a theater unless they view them as a special event. Given how small theatrical to digital windows have gotten, I imagine a big chunk of the audience is waiting for the imminent digital release, which should be within six weeks.

So, what’s the way forward for movies? It’s hard to say, but one thing worth recognizing is the rise of limited-run engagements. In a shocking turn of events, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace has actually beaten Challengers to take second place this weekend, with an estimated $8.1 million finish, compared to the Zendaya movie’s $7.6 million haul. The Phantom Menace is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and fans seemingly turned out in droves for the re-release. Before you say this is embarrassing for Challengers, note that the movie posted a modest 49 percent decline, now standing at a $29.4 million total. It should finish in the $45-50 million range, which is very decent for a movie that’s due to hit streaming (on Prime Video) before too long, given that it’s an Amazon-MGM production. 

Meanwhile, the poorly reviewed horror flick Tarot (which our critic Tyler Nichols despised) made $6.5 million, which was good enough for fourth place. Given that Sony barely publicized the movie and the fact that it has a budget in the $8 million-ish range, it should turn a profit for the studio, even if I wouldn’t expect a Tarot 2 to hit theatres anytime soon. Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire showed amazing staying power in fifth place, with a $4.5 million weekend and a $188 million domestic total (so far). It should easily cross the $200 million mark.

A24’s Civil War continued to perform well, making $3.55 million for a $62 million total. It’s bound to wind up the studio’s second highest-grossing movie ever (after Everything Everywhere All At Once). Surprisingly, the well-liked Christian flick Unsung Hero posted a 61% decline for a $3 million weekend, suggesting it won’t be a grassroots hit in the vein of Jesus Revolution. Kung Fu Panda 4 managed to reach eighth place in the top 10, with family audiences giving this a $2.4 million weekend for a $188 million total. It looks like it will finish just shy of $200 million domestically. Radio Silence’s Abigail started to wrap up its run with a $2.3 million finish for a $22.7 million total. It seems like this fun horror flick just never found an audience. In better news, Sony’s Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire showed a lot of staying power, with it finishing ahead of Dune: Part Two in 10th place with $1.8 million for the weekend and a $109.9 million total. It hits digital retailers on Tuesday.

Next weekend will (hopefully) give the summer box office the shot in the arm it so desperately needs, with 20th Century Studios opening Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Will it crack $50 million? Let us know in the comments!

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With great reviews, tons of publicity, and two more-popular-than-ever movie stars in the leads, The Fall Guy should have kicked the summer 2024 box office off in high style. Indeed, Hollywood was expecting a $40 million opening (we expected a more modest $35 million). Still, according to Deadline’s early numbers, The Fall Guy looks like it won’t even crack the $30 million mark. This is a bad opening for a mega-budget action movie and seems to be further evidence that movie stars – as we used to know them – don’t exist anymore.

Think about it. Is there any actor or actress who can guarantee a movie “opens”? It used to be that people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Julia Roberts, Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, and a bunch of others were considered “bankable” in that having them in your film was basically “money in the bank.” There’s not really anyone like that left anymore, with audiences, perhaps, taking their new stars for granted. 

Why?

Part of it has to do with streaming. While Emily Blunt has been in many box office hits, she also did a streaming show (The English) that went totally under the radar, and no one seemed to watch her Netflix movie, Pain Hustlers. The same goes for Ryan Gosling. Barbie was huge, but did anyone really watch The Grey Man on Netflix? And before you go saying Gosling is nothing without his Barbie co-star Margot Robbie, consider that the two movies she made just before that one were box office disasters, Amsterdam and Babylon.  It also doesn’t help how small release windows have gotten. Why would people shell out money to see The Fall Guy in theaters when they know there’s a good chance that they’ll be able to see it at home within six weeks? If anything, its poor box office showing guarantees it’ll be available digitally that much sooner. 

Whatever the case may be, this is an ominous start to the summer of 2024, with only Marvel’s Deadpool and Wolverine being considered a super sure thing at the box office. The rest of the weekend isn’t much better. While Zendaya’s Challengers is expected to have a decent hold in second place, the new horror flick, Tarot (which was eviscerated on our first horror live stream last night) is a disaster with a $6.25 million weekend in the cards (pun intended). It’s being beaten by the Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace re-release, which should make over $7 million. 

Do you shell out money to see The Fall Guy? Let us know if you think it’s worth seeing.

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The summer movie season is upon us. Ryan Gosling’s new film from David Leitch is a love letter to the stunt world and the promotion for the film has seen a lot of fun developments. Gosling and SNL cast member Mikey Day reprise their roles from the viral sketch where they resemble Beavis and Butt-head for the premiere. Additionally, the red carpet would feature some amazing live sequences from stunt performers, as well as Gosling fighting off a number of henchmen while appearing on talk shows.

Deadline has reported that the new action movie has kicked off its run on Thursday with $3.15M from showtimes that began at 5PM as well as Wednesday advance screenings. Analysts expect The Fall Guy to reach $30M+ in its opening gambit, with some studio execs saying the film could reach $35-40 million. Previously, The Fall Guy was scheduled to release a couple months earlier on March 1st, but Universal would push the premiere later as Disney/Marvel Studios delayed Deadpool & Wolverine to the end of July. The Fall Guy cost a reported $130 million to produce and while the numbers estimated for the opening aren’t typical for high-action summer fares, this year will definitely show an unnatural nature of performances due to the delays caused by the union strikes of last year.

The Fall Guy is receiving a warm reception as it gets a certified fresh rating at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, and our own Chris Bumbray had a blast with the film, saying, “The Fall Guy really is a terrific summer action movie and a throwback to a different (better) time in genre movie-making. More than anything, it’s a tribute to the stunt industry and a demand that it gets the recognition it deserves, with the point made over and over that CGI action is lame and can’t hold a candle to the old ways. I’m inclined to agree.” You can view his full review HERE.

The new film adds to the newfound popularity of Ryan Gosling as the actor takes on more commercial roles and has said he will take less and less dramatically intense ones, “I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,” Gosling said. “This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us. The decisions I make, I make them with [wife] Eva [Mendes], and we make them with our family in mind first.” 

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Tomorrow brings the much-anticipated release of The Fall Guy. The action comedy looks like a hell of a lot of fun, and fun is the name of the game for Ryan Gosling moving forward. The actor recently told The Wall Street Journal (via THR) that he’s been avoiding taking on dark roles for the sake of his family.

“I don’t really take roles that are going to put me in some kind of dark place,” Ryan Gosling said. “This moment is what I feel like trying to read the room at home and feel like what is going to be best for all of us. The decisions I make, I make them with [wife] Eva [Mendes], and we make them with our family in mind first.” The Fall Guy star added that La La Land was the first project he took on with this new perspective.

“It was just sort of like, ‘Oh, this will be fun for them, too, because even though they’re not coming to set, we’re practicing piano every day or we’re dancing or we’re singing,’” Gosling said. “Their interest in Barbie and their disinterest in Ken was an inspiration. I thought they were already making little movies about their Barbies on the iPad when it happened, so the fact that I was going off to work to make one too, we just felt like we were aligned.“

Gosling added that he became “way more conscious of everything” once he had children, and now that he doesn’t have to take roles purely to make money, he wants to focus on passion projects. “I want to make stuff that’s inclusive, and that’s not for an audience of one,” he said. “I think for so long I was just trying to pay the bills and work. It’s only recently that I feel like I realized that I have this opportunity to actually make the kind of films that made me love movies.“

Gosling stars in The Fall Guy as Colt Seavers, “a battle-scarred stuntman who, having left the business a year earlier to focus on both his physical and mental health, is drafted back into service when the star of a mega-budget studio movie—being directed by his ex, Jody Moreno. While the film’s ruthless producer, maneuvers to keep the disappearance of star Tom Ryder a secret from the studio and the media, Colt performs the film’s most outrageous stunts while trying (with limited success) to charm his way back into Jody’s good graces. But as the mystery around the missing star deepens, Colt will find himself ensnared in a sinister, criminal plot that will push him to the edge of a fall more dangerous than any stunt.“

Our own Chris Bumbray loved The Fall Guy in his review. “The Fall Guy really is a terrific summer action movie and a throwback to a different (better) time in genre movie-making,” Bumbray wrote. “More than anything, it’s a tribute to the stunt industry and a demand that it gets the recognition it deserves, with the point made over and over that CGI action is lame and can’t hold a candle to the old ways. I’m inclined to agree.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here. The Fall Guy will hit theaters on May 3rd.

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The 80s were a time when country music and a type of hero born of the good ol boy class that came into his own.  This could be seen in shows like The Dukes of Hazzard, BJ and The Bear, as well as movies like Any Which Way But Loose and Smokey and the Bandit.  They were a time of what would be considered fun action films and TV.  Again, this was personified in shows where usually no one got seriously hurt, like The A-Team. The bad guys went to the same shooting school as your friendly neighborhood Stormtroopers.  But, one TV show that would personify this “nobody better get hurt” adventure series was The Fall Guy.  

The series was designed as a vehicle for star Lee Majors, who had become a household name thanks to The Six Million Dollar Man, but struggled to find a worthy follow-up. This would be it, with him playing Colt Seavers, a likeable stuntman who supplements his income as a bounty hunter. For Majors, this would be a passion project, with him even singing the theme song. The show became a major hit, with Majors riding a second wave of fame while his gorgeous co-star, Heather Thomas, would become one of the biggest pin-ups of the 80s. The show has just been given the big-screen treatment, with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt starring in the well-received remake (read our review here), so now it’s time to pay tribute to the original show.

How did The Fall Guy get made?

The Fall Guy came to be in probably one of the most bizarre ways a TV show would happen.  And yet…for those who grew up with the series and that epic theme song, it makes complete sense.

Glen Larson, a name Gone But Not Forgotten viewers should recognize, was one of the gods of 80s television. He was hanging out with a friend of his named David Somerville who just happened to be a member of a music group named The Diamonds.  Somerville had written a theme song for a project about stuntmen called “The Ballad of the Unknown Stuntman,” which he was humming and singing. Larson heard him and asked his friend what it was. He had Somerville perform the whole song.  Based on that song, Larson had an idea for a TV series.

Armed with Somerville and literally no script, Larson went in to pitch the idea of a show to ABC.  The pitch consisted of Larson and Somerville singing the song.  Lo and behold, that was enough for them, and the show got the greenlight. It’s as crazy as some scenarios Colt Seaver would wind up in.

Larson’s idea became a series that would give viewers exactly what was promised: crazy stunts and behind-the-scenes of what it was like making Hollywood action films. But consistently doing that for an hour a week would get really expensive and exhausting.  So the lead character of our Fall Guy, Colt Seaver, would have a gig between his stunt jobs as a bounty hunter for bail jumpers, a scenario the film dropped for some reason.  This concept would keep a level of action still going and allow Colt to use his stuntman abilities and training while dealing with this other dangerous line of work.

Where is The Fall Guy cast now?

The Fall Guy wasn’t a deep premise, but it was a hell of fun.  And this was helped along in spades by casting Lee Majors as Colt Seaver.  Majors had a history with Glenn Larson thanks to his work in Six Million Dollar Man.  Lee was likable, had a glimmer in his eye, and was not from bionics this time. He had been around stuntmen and the industry for a while.  He had a good ol boy charm, which was something that would work years later when he was cast in the role he seemed born for, Bruce Campbell’s father in Ash Vs Evil Dead.

Majors would do many of his stunts in the series besides singing the theme song.  He also directed some episodes and produced the series.  A number of the guest stars who would show up or cameo were friends of Majors who had been around a while by this point in his career in numerous TV and film roles, several which were based in the Western genre.  

The Fall Guy definitely lent itself to this sort of “Redneck Cinema” genre, which was growing in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s, and Major’s western resume helped greatly with that mystique.  It was something Larson would bring to the small screen in other series like The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, BJ and the Bear, and, to some extent, Simon and Simon.

Majors is still working in both TV and film, most notably in the previously mentioned Ash Vs Evil Dead where he gave as great a chin as Bruce Campbell on screen.  

Douglas Barr played Howie, the naïve and lovable sidekick for Colt.  Howie loved the ladies and would try his hand at being a stuntman alongside Colt and Jody, using his many failed attempts at degrees in college to help out when needed.  Barr’s charming smile, good looks, and loveable personality made him a great foil for Major’s, and there was a great chemistry there.  

Barr had already been in a few TV series and films at this point.  He’d go on to co-star alongside David Rappaport in the fantastic tv series called The Wizard as his bodyguard and partner.  He’s since become more known for writing and directing TV movies like the Hallmark Channel’s Notes from the Heart Healer and Taking a Chance on Love.  He’s also become a winery owner with the snazzily named Hollywood and Vine Cellars.

Heather Thomas played Jody, the stunt woman who helped keep Howie in line and was Colt’s right hand.  Thomas was a stunning actress whose poster wound up on the wall of a LOT of 80s teenage boys.  She appeared in several TV series in guest roles and some great cult films like Zapped alongside Scott Baio.   But my favourites were the Fred Olen Ray-directed Cyclone opposite a very young Jeffrey Combs and Red Blooded American Girl, where she starred alongside Kim Coates, Christopher Plummer, and Andrew Stevens.

Thomas’s time in Hollywood wasn’t an easy one though, and she’s talked about the struggles that happened while she was more in the public eye.  Stalking became a life-threatening issue when one of Thomas’s stalkers came to her house and climbed a fence while brandishing a knife.  Thomas did return to acting though and also became a writer, penning the book called Trophies.  

Jo Ann Pflug would star for the first season as Big Jack, Colt’s bondswoman boss.  Pflug was in many TV roles, TV films, and feature films.  But I’ll always remember her as the fast-talking Louise Harper from The Night Strangler.

Markie Post would take over the bail woman role as Terri Shannon for all but the series’ last season.  Post was a staple on TV throughout the 80s and had a massive career, with her most well-known role being Christine from Night Court.  In fact, her commitment to being on The Fall Guy prevented her from joining Night Court until its third season. Sadly, she would pass away at the young age of 70 in 2021 after a long battle with cancer.

But, we can’t recite the cast of The Fall Guy without mentioning its most iconic character…and that’s Colt’s GMC Pick-Up. Many who owned the toy car version of this baby would have it race alongside the other famous vehicles of the 80s like KITT, The ATEAM Van, and, of course, The General Lee.  The 1980’s was a magical time to be a car geek. The truck was a GMC K 2500 with some additions.  They did many stunts and jumps with the trucks. Eventually, GMC would modify the pickups to help cut down on the number of them being trashed during stunts.

The Fall Guy would become a major, pun not intended, hit for ABC thanks to a great mix of comedy, action, and a massive guest star list.  As said, Lee Majors got many friends to show up in the series.  Just in the pilot alone, Lou Rawls would play Country Joe.  And when you have a guy with a voice like Lou Rawls, you have to find someone with an equally unique voice to play the villain harassing him.  That role went to Percy Rodrigues, the voice of over 100 movie trailers. When you heard that voice coming onto a trailer you knew you were in for something terrifying.  From Jaws to The Exorcist, Rodriguez’s voice was always involved.  

Besides Rawls and Rodrigues, Delta Burke would appear as a waitress, and Lara Parker was a very unhappy resident in town.  Terry Kiser (Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s) was Jody’s director.  Eddie Albert, another staple from film and TV played Big John, the child hit and runner in a villainous turn.  

James Coburn played himself, and so did Farrah Fawcett.  Farrah’s appearance almost didn’t happen.  In reality, she and Majors were getting divorced, and it was playing out across many tabloids and in the news.  Her friends had asked her not to do the cameo, which was a really sweet moment where you could see the affection the actors still had for each other.  But Farrah wanted to show the world that she and Majors weren’t at each other’s throats as the headlines would have you believe.  So she did the cameo, which lends itself to the line Majors sings in the theme song (“I’ve been seen with Farrah”).

The guest stars and brief appearances over the show’s run were MASSIVE.  Here’s a short sampling.  Richard Kiel, Milton Berle, Linda Evans, Vincent Schiavelli, Lou Ferrigno, Tom Selleck, Heather Locklear, Richard Burton, Roy Rogers, Lindsay Wagner and many more.  Much like Dukes of Hazzard, some country music performers like Johnny Lee, Mickey Gilley, Dottie West, Ray Stevens, and Charlie Daniels would be a part of the show.

But my favourite episode of The Fall Guy had to be the one that aired on October 31^st, 1984…with the original title called October the 31^st.  This episode sees Colt, Howie, and Jody all at a supposedly haunted mansion alongside Elvira and John Carradine.  But John isn’t the only Carradine here as his sons David, Keith, and Robert are also in the episode.  This episode would be followed up the following year with October the 32^nd, which would have Elvira return where Colt and company are filming a horror film and dealing with an escaped mental patient.  This would see Doug McClure return as well as Schiavelli, and would also co-star Vernon Wells.

As I said previously, there were toy cars of Colt’s truck in different sizes and an airplane.  The merchandise was huge, with things like lunchboxes, action figures, t-shirts, and a board game. 

Overseas, the show was also a hit, with Fall Guy Annuals produced in the UK, which was something done for series like Doctor Who and the like.  If you want to see the original Fall Guy series, you can order it on Amazon Prime.

Is the movie a fitting tribute?

The answer to the question of if Fall Guy should return has already been answered.  This week, Ryan Gosling is starring in a big-budget remake feature film called The Fall Guy, with him playing Colt Seavers who in this isn’t a bounty hunter for bail jumpers but is simply a stuntman.  The Jody here, played by Emily Blunt, isn’t his assistant but the film director of the project he’s working on and who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend.  There’s no Howie around, but the rumour is that Lee Majors does have a role in the film, which follows Colt as he tries to find the missing leading man of the movie, Tom Ryder, played by Aaron Taylor Johnson before Jody’s film is shut down.

The trailers all show this looks like a great time with a funny and charming cast and lots of explosions and crazy stunts…which is exactly what The Fall Guy should be.  It’s an amped-up peek into Hollywood.  But more than that, it gives the guys and gals who risk their lives for our entertainment a spotlight that’s been well-deserved for a long time.  And here’s hoping that with a film like this most assuredly being a hit, it will inspire the Oscars to give us a best Stunt Person award FINALLY.  Check out our EIC Chris Bumbray’s review HERE!

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This weekend marks the official start of the summer movie season. Yeah, I know – it’s still springtime, but if you follow blockbuster movie release dates, you’ll know that May’s always been prime real estate, with many of the biggest money earners of all time coming out in that month. Last year, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 kicked off the season with a muscular $118 million opening. Sadly, this year’s first big would-be blockbuster, The Fall Guy, looks like it will only open with about a fraction of that take, with the industry predicting a $35-40 million opening. 

That opening would put it right in line with director David Leitch’s last big action flick, Bullet Train, which opened with $30 million on its way to a $103 million North American cume and a $239 million worldwide total. That was considered a more-than-ok number, considering the film only had a budget in the $90 million range. However, The Fall Guy, which is based on the classic TV series, costs significantly more and has been getting hyped like crazy. After all, it unites two stars of last year’s Barbenheimer phenomena for an action romance. The reviews have been more than decent (including ours), and star Ryan Gosling’s career seems hotter than ever.

So why isn’t it expected to open any better?

Truth be told, the business has changed a lot in recent years, with audiences now accustomed to waiting until they can catch a film at home. Release windows have shrunk, and home theaters have gotten more affordable, so audiences have to be sure they’re getting their money’s worth. For an epic like Dune: Part Two, they’re happy to shell out cash, but I imagine a lot of people are on the fence about The Fall Guy, making it a movie that will live or die by word-of-mouth.

That said, I’m expecting it’ll open on the low end of expectations, with $35 million, although it could play very well throughout the month if it manages to appeal to a wide audience, just like Barbie did. The Fall Guy will be helped by the fact that it’s a good movie, and maybe, with its relatively tame PG-13 rating, it’ll bring in a family audience, although it will have big competition next weekend with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. It can’t be denied that the fact that a $35-40 million opening will be considered a “win” goes to show how dire the theatrical exhibition business has become. 

Otherwise, the rest of the top 5 should be low-wattage, with Zendaya’s Challengers likely to slip to second place with about a $7 million weekend. At the same time, I expect the Christian pic, Unsung Hero, to end in third place with about $6 million. I think the little-discussed horror flick, Tarot, should open at about $5 million in fourth place. And, finally, Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace is celebrating its 25th anniversary this weekend with a re-release. Nostalgic fans should give it a decent enough opening to get it to fifth place.

Here’s what we’re thinking the weekend box office will look like:

1. The Fall Guy: $35 million
2. Challengers: $7 million
3. Unsung Hero: $6 million
4. Tarot: $5 million
5. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (re-release): $4 million

What are you going to see this weekend?

The post Box Office Predictions: Will the summer movie season kick off with a whimper or a bang? appeared first on JoBlo.

There is a lot of hype surrounding this month’s The Fall Guy, and considering it’s a tribute to the world of cinematic stunt work, it’s no surprise that Tuesday’s Los Angeles premiere pulled through, with stuntmen jumping through glass and leaping off balconies to dazzle the crowd before the movie even started. But Ryan Gosling had his own moment, reprising his runaway rendition of Beavis (to Mikey Day’s Butt-Head), bringing the metalhead slackers to one place you’d never expect to see them.

Appearing at The Fall Guy’s premiere, Gosling and Day stepped out as the characters, dressed from enormous head to toe just as they were on Saturday Night Live last month – although it is still a little bothersome that their Beavis and Butt-Head are in shirts that say “Death Rock” and “Skull”, since Beavis would always rock a Metallica shirt and Butt-Head would have on an AC/DC tee. It should be noted that Ryan Gosling didn’t spend his entire The Fall Guy red carpet time dressed as Beavis, as prior to that, he did step out in more appropriate digs…

The original SNL sketch was an immediate part of the highlight reel for the 49th season. It began with a discussion between Heidi Gardner’s news host and Kenan Thompson’s expert professor on the prominence of artificial intelligence. But the sketch quickly veered when it was revealed that somebody in the audience (Gosling) looked remarkably like cartoon character Beavis, something that distracted Thompson’s character enough where Beavis had to be removed…only to have his spot filled with a spot-on Butt-Head (Day).

The Beavis and Butt-Head sketch was one of the most memorable moments from Gosling’s April 13th hosting gig, which also found him starring in a sequel to the 2017 “Papyrus” video, which saw his character becoming disturbed that Avatar would use the namesake font for its title.

Speaking at the premiere, Ryan Gosling was far more intellectual and insightful than Beavis, saying, “Obviously this a love letter to the stunt community, they are the hardest-working people in show business. They risk more than anyone. This movie is just a giant campaign to get stunts an Oscar,” referring to the so-far failed one to recognize stunt work at the Academy Awards. He added, “I don’t know what to say, how do you say thank you to someone that got set on fire eight times for you, jumped from a helicopter, rolled a car eight times for you — this is just such an example of what they do for us, what they contribute to cinema, what they risk for all of us. It’s really been an honor to be a part of something that tells your story in some small way.” The Fall Guy opens on May 3rd.

Were you a fan of Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day’s Beavis and Butt-Head sketch? Will you be checking out The Fall Guy on opening weekend?

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Hype can kill a great moviegoing experience. And frankly, there was a lot of hype even before I stepped into David Leitch’s take on the classic series, The Fall Guy. Thankfully, this time, it’s beyond well warranted. Starring the ridiculously charismatic Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, this love letter to the amazing world of stuntwork shines. The action is predictably glorious – it’s David Leitch, the man excels at this – and the performances are perfection. It’s that rare cinematic treat that manages to do nearly everything well, and it works. Whether or not you are familiar with the cool as hell Lee Majors series (1981-86), you will fall for Leitch’s amazing work. A couple of weeks back, I had the incredible chance to step onto the sound stages of Universal Studios. I was there to interview the cast and director about their latest. First up was Mr. Leitch. I can’t say enough about what a great guy he is. We talked about the references in the new film, one of which was especially fitting for my viewing experience. He discussed finding the right balance a humor and heart, without letting up on the brilliant stunt work and action set pieces.

Next up, we talked with co-stars Hannah Waddingham and Winston Duke and it was yet another treat. The two talked about working on a set with Leitch, and building grounded, yet entertaining characters. Both of these actors are terrific in the film. In fact, Hannah is so good in the movie, I was half expecting her to be drinking the same beverage during the interview as the person she plays in the film. She did not. In fact, she is about as far from that as possible. These two were terrific.

And finally, I made my way to my final interview with Emily Blunt and Ryan Gosling. While waiting for Ms. Blunt, I had the chance to speak off camera with Mr. Gosling. Having had the pleasure before, the man is one of the nicest guys you could ever talk to. As is his wonderful co-star. The two talked about taking on this fantastic film. For Emily, she talked about playing out the real life stakes portraying an up-and-coming director. And Ryan talked about his experiences with stuntmen throughout his career. It’s hard to imagine a more pleasant couple of actors to sit down with, as Gosling and Blunt are lovely people on-screen and off.

The Fall Guy is one of the most engaging and thrilling movies so far this year. It’s the kind of big budget tale that will likely find the same success as Top Gun and Barbie. You all are going to dig this (check out our review HERE).

Let us know what you thought of our The Fall Guy interviews by leaving a comment below!

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