One of the most legendary pieces of an iconic role almost going to a different actor is when Tom Selleck was initially offered the lead as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. He famously nailed his audition (which you can watch here) and was offered the part. However, he had just shot the pilot for Magnum P.I. and when that show was picked up, his opportunity to play the whip-wielding archeologist slipped through his fingers. He eventually got to star in his own period adventure movie in 1983, High Road to China, which is a bit of an unseen gem.

Selleck, who’s never had particularly sour grapes over the casting, writes about his shot at playing Indy in detail in his new memoir, “You Never Know:, lavishing praise on Spielberg, Lucas, Ford, and overall proving to be a good sport about the whole affair. Yet, one thing that did rub him the wrong way was when his 1983 adventure film, High Road to China, was dismissed by critics as an Indiana Jones-clone. As he said, “I did not appreciate the reviews that dismissed the movie as a Raiders knockoff. It wasn’t.”

Indeed, Selleck has a point, as if you’ve seen the movie he plays an alcoholic former WWI pilot haunted by PTSD. While it’s an adventure movie, with him helping a heiress rescue her long-lost father from warlords in China, the only thing about it that makes it similar to Indiana Jones is that it’s a period piece. There are no Nazis, and the action is mostly confined to the aviation scenes, while probably makes it more like old-fashioned Hollywood epics such as Only Angels Have Wings.

While dismissed at the time as a flop, Selleck notes that the movie actually opened at number one at the box office and says it was a solid hit. While the studio that produced it, Golden Harvest, stated it made $28.4 million domestically, in his book notes, “I had a conversation with an enthusiastic member of the Warner Bros distribution team (they distributed the film but did not produce it). He told me our film had grossed somewhere around fifty or sixty million dollars.” Why would Golden Harvest lie? Selleck says his deal included a chunk of the gross, with him calling their official figures “total bullshit.” Selleck’s follow-up movies, Lassiter and the cult classic Runaway (a Best Movie You Never Saw favourite), were flops, but he had a major hit in 1987 with Three Men and a Baby (which was the year’s highest-grossing film).

If you get a chance, definitely check out Selleck’s book. It’s a great read chockful of stories from his career. Buy it HERE. Should I tackle High Road to China for Best Movie You Never Saw? Let me know in the comments!

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In Tom Selleck’s recently released memoir, You Never Know (via Business Insider), he reveals how he gave the crew of Magnum P.I. bonuses of $1000 after the studio refused.

Tom Selleck was in the process of renegotiating his contract with CBS for what would be the eighth and final season of Magnum P.I. The studio had decreased the budget of the series, but Selleck wanted them to agree to an eight-day schedule as well as a bonus for the crew if they were able to deliver under budget. “The studio said yes to the eight days. But they responded that they could not under any circumstances talk about crew bonuses, that it would set a dangerous precedent,” Selleck said. “They always invoked precedent when you had an original thought beyond their contractual boilerplate. Honestly, that pissed me off.“

Instead of fighting it, Selleck pushed the studio a “substantial” bonus to him, which they naturally agreed to, and when the season had finished shooting, he put his plan in motion with his agent and lawyer. “I called Skip [Brittenham] and Bettye [McCart] and told them to tell Universal — not ask them tell them — to issue thousand-dollar checks to every regular member of our ‘Magnum’ company in both Hawaii and LA,” Selleck explained. “And that since it was coming out of my bonus money, there was no precedent involved.” The studio had no choice but to do it, and Selleck got a nice thank you from the crew.

“When the checks came out, I got a picture from our L.A. crew standing on a bleacher with big smiles on their faces,” Selleck said. “In front of them was a very big oversized check for a thousand dollars. The caption below read, ‘Thanks, Tom. What a ‘grand’ gesture.’ That made me happy.“

Tom Selleck currently stars in Blue Bloods, but it was announced last week that the long-running series would be coming to an end with its 14th season. “For the past 13 years, it has been an honor and a privilege to work on a show that not only celebrates the men and women who protect and serve in New York City, but also displayed the importance of family,” Selleck said in a statement. “Working alongside these incredible actors, writers, producers, directors, and crew has been a dream come true and I’m grateful to have been a part of this extraordinary group for over 275 episodes.“

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The police procedural series from CBS will be concluding its run this December. Blue Bloods, starring Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg, is currently in its 14th season, and it has turned out to be its last. The show’s star, Selleck, had warned CBS earlier this year that there are an “awful lot of people” who still enjoy the show and will not be ready to see it end. However, Deadline has reported that Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach has officially announced in a press conference yesterday that the show will wrap this year despite the network’s attachment to it.

The first half of Blue Bloods‘ 14th season premiered earlier this year on February 16. The second half, which will serve as the last batch of episodes for the series, will return in October. Reisenbach had told reporters at the press conference, “We really want to thank the cast and crew, everyone involved in the show. We absolutely will miss the family dinners. It is important to give show the sendoff it deserves.” The press conference was called to announce CBS’ slate of shows in the fall. And while many have campaigned to CBS to have them reconsider their decision to end it, Reisenbach insisted, “We love this cast, we love their passion for the show. All shows have to come to an end. It’s important to us to refresh the schedule. We are going to end the show come December.”

Blue Bloods started its run on CBS on September 24, 2010. It would give Magnum P.I. and Quigley Down Under star Tom Selleck a new hit series and the show became a long-running series that spanned over a decade. Selleck released a statement to the fans saying, “For the past 13 years, it has been an honor and a privilege to work on a show that not only celebrates the men and women who protect and serve in New York City, but also displayed the importance of family,” he wrote. “Working alongside these incredible actors, writers, producers, directors, and crew has been a dream come true and I’m grateful to have been a part of this extraordinary group for over 275 episodes.”

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THE PLAYERS: Starring: Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, Kirstie Alley, G. W. Bailey and Gene Simmons. Written and directed by Michael Crichton.

THE HISTORY: While most famous for his novels, Michael Crichton actually had a decent Hollywood career as a director, having a couple of solid hits under his belt (Westworld, Coma, The Great Train Robbery) by the time 1984 rolled around. At the time, Tom Selleck was riding high on the success of “Magnum P.I.” but was bent on breaking into films after landing the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but being forced to drop it due to his Magnum contract. Thus, in ‘83/84, we got a slew of Tom Selleck vehicles, High Road to China (a better-than-average Indiana Jones clone), Lassiter (not bad – not nearly enough action), and Runaway.

Jack Ramsay is not exactly a character whose name is on the tip of everybody’s tongue, but Runaway was a really great popcorn movie that Michael Crichton wrote and directed. It was very futuristic, it had robots and all sorts of stuff, and it was a nice movie. It was a good movie that I’m very proud of. It didn’t do very well, which was a great disappointment to Michael, who became a friend. And Gene Simmons was in it! Gene hadn’t been in a feature film before, but he was great. We had some great talks and good times. He played this evil guy named Luther who’d invented bullets that could go around corners and hone in on people, and he had robot spiders that could attack people and inject them with poison. I know it sounds hokey, but with Michael Crichton at the helm, it was pretty good stuff. – Tom Selleck- A.V. Club Interview 

Sadly for Selleck, none of the movies did particularly well at the box office, with Runaway doing just awful, opening in seventh place at the box office and being beaten by notorious bombs The Cotton Club and Dune. In the end, the film eked out a disastrous $6.7 Million at the box office and temporarily ended Selleck’s big screen career (although three years later, his Three Men and a Baby would become the biggest film of 1987). Crichton’s career as a director also took a hit, with him only helming one bad Burt Reynolds vehicle, Physical Evidence, in 1989, before turning his attention back to the page so he could write a crazy-sounding book about a dinosaur amusement park.

WHY IT’S GREAT: Ok, so “Best movie” might be a little too generous for Runaway, but as a kid growing up in the late eighties/ early nineties, Runaway was a favorite. It’s easy to look back at it now and laugh at the hilariously low-tech robots (a shot of Selleck’s robot nanny making pasta is especially bad), but this is still a fun sci-fi actioner. In fact, those of you who might be younger but super into eighties retro stuff like Kung Fury might get a real kick out of the unapologetically silly (made better by the fact that it tries to be so serious) flick.

There are a lot of things to like about Runaway, chief of which is Tom Selleck’s straight-laced performance. Say what you will about the guy, but he wanted to be a movie star, so he delivers in Runaway, even if I suspect he knew deep down there was no way this would really work. It’s kinda strange seeing him waltz around a futuristic L.A. Maybe copying Harrison Ford’s career so closely was a bad plan – as I’m sure him playing a futuristic L.A cop had more than a little to do with Blade Runner. Selleck really came into his own when he was more laid-back and likable, like on “Magnum P.I” and his latter-movies (Quigley Down Under is especially solid), so it’s weird to see him so serious here, but it works.

It’s also worth noting in this MeToo era that he’s among the most gentlemanly heroes of the eighties, treating his female partner with respect (they become an item but she makes all the moves), being ultra-professional with a female suspect he has to search (the late Kirstie Alley in an early role), and never indulging in the casual sexism you might expect given the era and genre. I’m not trying to be overtly P.C as these movies are a product of their time, but it’s a nice, forward-thinking touch.

BEST SCENE: The only thing people really remember about Runaway is the MacGuffin, and it’s a good one. Simmons’s baddie invents a heat-seeking bullet that chases Selleck around during the chase sequences, and the bullet POV shots are incredible, even if they seem to have eaten up the budget, with the animation for the bullets absent the entire third act.

SEE IT: Runaway is available on iTunes, YouTube, and Google Play, and also shows up on Crackle from time-to-time.

PARTING SHOT: Runaway is a silly slice of eighties cheese, but I’ve watched it many times over the years, and I always have a great time. It’s a pretty nostalgic flick for me, and a guaranteed good time for anyone interested in this era.

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As we’ve highlighted in previous videos and articles, those who exclusively purchase films through online services are not truly guaranteed to have it available in their collection when the buyer is at the whim of the service provider. The seemingly iron-clad way to have a movie ready-to-watch is if you can have it at your fingertips. There are thankfully some distribution brands that are releasing movies that have been previously hard to find. Shout Factory is one of those brands, and the company has now released details on the restoration of Quigley Down Under on Blu-ray.com.

Directed by Simon Wincer (Lonesome Dove), Quigley Down Under stars Tom Selleck as sharpshooter Matt Quigley. “Arriving in Australia with nothing more than a saddle and his prized six-foot Sharps rifle, American sharpshooter Matthew Quigley thinks he’s been hired to kill off wild dogs,” reads the description. “But when he realizes that his mission is murder — to eradicate the Aborigines from the property of a wealthy cattle baron — Quigley refuses … and quickly turns from hunter to hunted. Forced to wage a savage war against his former employer, Quigley proves that no one gets the best of a steely-eyed gunfighter — no one, that is, except the mysterious beauty who rides by his side … and captures his heart.” In addition to Tom Selleck, the film also stars Laura San Giacomo and Alan Rickman.

Special Features and Technical Specs include:

DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English subtitles for the main feature

DISC TWO – BLU-RAY

• NEW 4K RESTORATION OF THE FILM FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
• “Finding Crazy Cora” – Interview with Laura San Giacomo
• “This One Shoots a Mite Further” – Closer Look at the Sharps Rifle with Master Armorer Mike Tristano
• “The Rebirth of a Western” Featurette
• Theatrical Trailer
• TV Spots
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo
• Optional English subtitles for the main feature

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When beloved actor Matthew Perry passed away last October, the tributes from fans and collaborators poured in. Most of us anticipated the thoughts from his Friends co-stars, who made joint statements prior to individual ones. Now, Tom Selleck, who played Monica Gellar’s one-time love interest Richard Burke on the sitcom, is recalling his time working alongside Perry.

Speaking with USA Today, Tom Selleck remembered one moment where his character swapped mannerisms with Matthew Perry’s Chandler Bing, but the Blue Bloods actor had difficulty nailing Chandler’s trademark sarcasm. “Matthew had this speech pattern that I hadn’t been aware of…Matt told me, ‘It’s a joke, Tom.’ It’s the way he says it. But during that whole show, I kept going up to him asking, ‘Can you say it again?’ and he’d do the line. That was his signature.” On Perry’s skills overall, Selleck concluded, “He was raw talent. Matthew’s gone, so it’s easy to say this, but it’s true. I think he was the most talented of a very talented group of people.”

Tom Selleck also noted that he found a personal connection with Matthew Perry by bonding over the latter’s father, John Bennett Perry, who actually appeared on Selleck’s series Magnum P.I. “Everybody couldn’t have been nicer to me…But every day I’d see Matthew, and I’d ask him, ‘How’s your father?’ And he’d always smile and we’d catch up. I got to know his father when I was a young struggling actor. Almost any commercial or pilot I went out on, there was John. We became real good friends.” 

Tom Selleck would go on to score an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2000. Selleck had previously won for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, nabbing a total of five nominations for his work on Magnum P.I. Matthew Perry, meanwhile, would earn just one Emmy nomination for Friends in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category.

Selleck and the Friends cast got along very well – which wasn’t the case for all guest stars:

Tom Selleck was famously one of the most loved guest stars, with the Friends cast opening up in recent years about how some of the more famous people to be on the show felt it was below them. Jean-Claude Van Damme always said he was embarrased by his appearence, saying he was “hammy” and didn’t understand what the show was. By contrast, Aniston said Selleck was an angle, saying “Tom has an angel’s halo over his head, it’s just a permanent halo over Tom’s head.” Selleck, for his part, said he was intimidated by how good the cast was at comedy, but says they all made him feel at home, with him particularly praising his on-screen love interest, Courtney Cox.

“Courteney helped a lot. Courteney’s a big help. But that group’s an incredible group of friends. They obviously became friends in life as well as on the show. And it shows. It was a wonderful place to work.”

For her part, Cox remembered Selleck as “the nicest” and “tallest” guest star. At 6″4, she’s not wrong there!

What is the most memorable Matthew Perry moment from Friends? Outside of the sitcom, what is your favorite Perry movie or TV show? Let us know below.

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Deadline reports that Blue Bloods, CBS’ long-running family cop drama, will be coming to an end with a two-part final season.

The first ten episodes of Blue Bloods season 14 will debut on CBS on February 16th and stream live on Paramount+, with the remaining eight episodes running in fall 2024. The series follows the Reagans, a family who has a history of working in law enforcement. Tom Selleck stars as Frank Reagan, the New York Police Department Police Commissioner.

“Blue Bloods will forever be a beloved part of CBS’s legacy. It ruled Friday nights with unprecedented dominance since its premiere and established itself as a pillar of our winning lineup with an exceptionally devoted fan base,” Amy Reisenbach, President, CBS Entertainment and David Stapf, President, CBS Studios, said in a joint statement. “We’ll be forever grateful to the legendary Leonard Goldberg for developing this signature series and to the amazing cast led by Tom Selleck, who America embraced as family and watched as welcomed guests at the Reagan dinner table. We also sincerely thank the incredible writing and producing teams guided by executive producer Kevin Wade, for years of compelling episodes as they conceive this final chapter that we expect to be the most satisfying season yet for our loyal viewers.“

In addition to Tom Selleck, Blue Bloods also stars Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Will Estes, Len Cariou, Marisa Ramirez, and Vanessa Ray. When the final season wraps up, Blue Bloods will have spanned 293 episodes throughout its run. The series is still quite popular, as it was the most-watched primetime program of Friday night last season.

In his own statement, Tom Selleck added, “For the past 13 years it has been an honor and a privilege to work on a show that not only celebrates the men and women who protect and serve in New York City, but also displayed the importance of family. Working alongside these incredible actors, writers, producers, directors and crew has been a dream come true and I’m grateful to have been a part of this extraordinary group for over 275 episodes. Thank you to CBS Studios and CBS Network for their steadfast support and we offer heartfelt gratitude to the fans who gathered with us for dinner every Friday night.“

Are there any fans of Blue Bloods out there who are sad to see the series go?

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One of the coolest guys of the eighties was Tom Selleck, and everyone absolutely loved him playing the laid-back Thomas Magnum on the classic series Magnum, P.I. Running from 1980 to 1988; the show proved to be a mixed blessing for its star, as Selleck had auditioned to play Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark and was actually chosen to play the part. He had to pass because he had already shot the pilot for Magnum, P.I., and the network wouldn’t let him out of his contract.

While passing up the opportunity to play the whip-wielding archeologist must have stung, Magnum P.I. ran for eight years and was one of the biggest shows of the decade. Selleck became a household name and parlayed his success on the show into a series of film roles (including Best Movie You Never Saw fave Runaway), culminating with the release of Three Men and a Baby, which became the biggest hit of 1987.

In this episode of Gone But Not Forgotten, we take a look at the long-running Magnum P.I, which has since been rebooted yet lacks the magic of the original show, which sported a memorable supporting casting including Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti as Magnum’s NAM buddies T.C and Rick, as well as John Hillerman as Higgins, the estate manager for the elusive Robin Masters, who bankrolls Magnum’s adventures.

Are you a Magnum P.I. fan? Let us know in the comments!

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Here is some news that is bound to make my mom happy! CBS has renewed their veteran procedural series Blue Bloods for season 13.

The renewal was expected but it also came down to star and executive producer Tom Selleck closing his deal to return. A lot of long-running shows have been in a similar boat to lock down their veteran talent so that’s why renewals for shows like Blue Bloods, The Goldbergs, or Grey’s Anatomy, for example, have more complicated renewal deals.

Blue Bloods has been a true solid performer for CBS on Friday nights at 10:00 PM. The show has aired in that slot since 2010, other than a four-week try-out on Wednesdays in its first year. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it as they say. Blue Bloods is currently the number four broadcast series on television, averaging 9.81 million viewers, per The Hollywood Reporter. CBS Entertainment president Kelly Kahl had this to say about the renewal:

“America’s favorite first family of law enforcement is back for season 13. The Reagans possess an incredible bond with audiences literally everywhere and on every platform. And in its 12th season, with over 250 episodes, Blue Bloods not only continues to dominate in the ratings but excels at an exceptionally high creative level.”

Blue Bloods follows the Reagans, a family of New York City cops. Selleck is the patriarch of the family as Police Commissioner Frank Reagan. The series also stars Donnie Wahlberg as Detective Danny Reagan, Bridget Moynahan as ADA Erin Reagan, Will Estes as former patrol officer and now sergeant Jamie Reagan, and Len Cariou as former Police Commissioner and father to Selleck’s Frank Henry Reagan.

Are YOU excited to see Blue Bloods return for season 13?

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The eighties were full of incredible action movies, but while a lot of them are considered classics now, some of the best movies (you never saw) routinely get underrated, so here on JoBlo we’re celebrating some diamonds in the rough with three more of the best – Alien Nation (1988), Revenge of the Ninja (1983), and Runaway (1984).

Alien Nation (1988) – Directed by Graham Baker, Alien Nation stars James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, and Terrance Stamp in a sci-fi-action film that focuses on Earth’s first contact with an alien civilization. Three years after that encounter, these aliens, known as Newcomers, slowly begin to be integrated into human society.

Revenge of the Ninja (1983) – Helmed by Sam Firstenberg, Revenge of the Ninja stars Shô Kosugi, Keith Vitali, and Virgil Frye. After Cho’s family is killed by a group of ninjas, Cho and his son escape to America to start a new life. After opening up a doll shop, Cho discovers that he’s unwittingly importing heroin inside the dolls. As if that’s not bad enough, Cho’s friend betrays him, and thus the ultimate battle begins.

Runaway (1984) – Directed and written by Michael Crichton, and starring Tom Selleck, Cynthia Rhodes, and Gene Simmons of the band KISS, Runaway is a sci-fi crime thriller set in the near future and revolves around a police officer who specializes in malfunctioning robots. When a robot turns out to have been programmed to kill, he begins to uncover a homicidal plot to create killer robots… and his son becomes a target.

If you liked this list, check out BEST UNDERRATED 80’S ACTION MOVIES – PART 1 & PART 2 below, which feature Ridley Scott’s Black Rain, Walter Hill’s Streets of Fire, and John Badham’s Blue Thunder for Part 1, and Peter Hyams’ Running Scared (1986), Guy Hamilton’s Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985), and Robert Radler’s Best of the Best (1989) for Part 2.

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