Author Archives: robin
Before They Were Stars: 14-Year Old Kate Mara on “Law & Order”
In tribute to the clusterfuck that is the Fantastic Four reboot, I’ve been doing “Before They Were Stars” features on some of the cast members this weekend. Eighteen years before she donned a godawful wig to play Sue Storm, 14-year … Continue reading
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Robin’s Underrated Gems: Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999)
Few documentary filmmakers have had a more interesting career than Errol Morris. In 1978, Morris directed Gates of Heaven, a documentary about pet cemeteries. It was such an offbeat subject for a documentary that legendary director Werner Herzog stated that … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Miles Teller in “A Very Special Recipe”
The latest reboot of Fantastic Four has finally opened this weekend and by all accounts, it is nothing less than an unmitigated disaster. If that wasn’t enough, its star, Miles Teller, has recently had to deal with allegations that he’s … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: David Hyde Pierce in “Addams Family Values”
Later today, our Shouts from the Back Row podcast about summer camp movies will be posted which contains a discussion about the summer camp subplot in Addams Family Values. I haven’t watched that movie in many years, but looking back … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Jeremy Irons in “The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes”
In the early 1970s, there was a British television anthology series called The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, which presented adaptations of stories involving literary detectives who, well, were not Sherlock Holmes. This particular episode centered around Arthur Morrison’s detective character, … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Lizzy Caplan in “Hardcore Action News”
Well, here’s a pretty bizarre, ultra-obscure short film starring an unknown Lizzy Caplan. Filmed in 2003, Hardcore Action News featured Caplan as a broke, pregnant 18-year old who becomes so desperate that she willingly volunteers for an experiment in which … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Frank Miller in “RoboCop 2”
You might not know that after he started making a name for himself in the world of comics, Frank Miller tried his hand at screenwriting and penned the original screenplays for RoboCop 2 and 3. Unfortunately, Miller faced a ton … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Alan Cumming on “Blind Date” with Mr. Bean
Blind Date was a popular British dating game show which aired for nearly 18 years and was hosted by noted singer-entertainer Cilla Black (who just passed away a few days ago). In the early nineties, the Comic Relief charity special … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Hulk Hogan Cuts a Racially Sensitive Promo
Between the death of Rowdy Roddy Piper and Hulk Hogan having his career ruined by leaked racist comments, this hasn’t been the best week for World Wrestling Federation superstars from the 1980s. Before Hogan became the biggest star in the … Continue reading
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Before They Were Stars: Rowdy Roddy Piper Breaks a Bottle on His Head
The wrestling world lost one of its all-time greatest legends when Roderick Toombs, a.k.a Rowdy Roddy Piper, recently passed away at the age of 61. Even if you’re not a wrestling fan, you’ve probably still heard of Rowdy Roddy Piper, … Continue reading
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