The Evil Dead 2 Commentary Track: Part One

   I love the Evil Dead films. Anyone that knows me personally will groan at hearing me mention them, since I have been known to profess my love for them often. but today's post is NOT about that...

   I believe that the Evil Dead 2 commentary track is one of the most enjoyable and funniest commentary tracks that has ever been recorded. It's not because I am an Evil Dead head, it is actually a hilarious insight into the minds of four of the men responsible for making the film work. They talk shop, they goof on each other, reminisce and generally have a great time together. You can tell these guys are friends and like each other a lot.

The four men involved are Sam Raimi, creator of the Evil Dead franchise.

Bruce Campbell, the star of the Evil Dead franchise (until the inevitable remake).

Scott Spiegel, the co-writer of Evil Dead 2.

Greg Nicotero, special Makeup FX master (who is currently working on The Walking Dead).

   So, sit back, crack a brew, hit the bong and enjoy my painstaking work at typing out the full 84 minutes of hilarity and fun of the Commentary track of the masterpiece "Evil Dead 2".

EVIL DEAD II COMMENTARY TRACK

DVD CHAPTER ONE:

BRUCE:

Sam won't tell this phoney story, so I will.

Sam had to shoot that logo.

Is that not true, Sam?

SAM:

That's correct, that's not true.

BRUCE:

Wha... Yeah, because I... because the...

Rosebud was not really a real company.

SAM:

That's right.

Dino Del Laurentis had a company...

uh... D.E.L. Is that it?

BRUCE:

DEG, at the time.

GREG:

Yeah.

SAM:

And uh, he could not release an X rated movie, which the MPAA had rated Evil Dead 2. So we had to make a cheesy new company called Rosebud Releasing and Bruce and I were in love with logos. So, uh, we shot a logo of this rose in front of this fake Warner Brothers type cloudy backdrop. Is that the story?

BRUCE:

That's the story, Sam.

GREG:

LAUGHS

BRUCE:

Say, who are you anyway?

SCOTT:

Aw, you missed all the cool stuff there!

SAM:

But, actually, it was shot by ano... by an animator. We gave him the backdrop, I gave him a storyboard and he actually did the uh stop motion animation.

I cannot remember the guy's name.

BRUCE:

Right. Well, who are you anyway?

SAM:

That what this who... this whole laserdisc is gonna be "What was that guy's name?"

BRUCE:

What was that guy's name? Well, what's your name?

We're supposed to introduce ourselves.

SAM:

Okay. My name is Sam Raimi.

I'm the director of this motion picture you're about to see - Evil Dead 2.

BRUCE:

Scott?

SCOTT:

And I'm Scott Spiegel, co-writer of Evil Dead 2.

BRUCE:

 I'm Bruce Campbell, I play the idiot Ash, and I co-produced this epic.

GREG:

Greg Nicotero, special makeup fx.

SCOTT:

And the movie begins...

GREG:
Dun dun dun.

SAM:

The movie's half over already... with that.

GREG:

The first story took us into it.

BRUCE:

This is actually shot in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

GREG:

 Wadesboro, North Carolina, that's where we shot this.

SCOTT:

This is the only part of the picture,

I think you guys really just dashed this off.

I absolutely had nothing...

BRUCE:
Right.

SCOTT:

 ...to do with this because we weren't sure about the uh the whole beginning sequence, which had some... we couldn't get the footage or something from New Line or Dino couldn't get the footage from New Line.

BRUCE:

Right. This is actually a brand new Linda, Denise Bixler.

SCOTT:

Right.

BRUCE:

 And there's been some confusion of whether Ash would be

stupid enough to go back to the cabin for another night

SCOTT:

Right.

BRUCE:

Which of course, he is. But uh that's another story.

GREG:

Well, didn't we actually reshoot the whole opening from the original evil dead with everybody sitting around with the tape recorder and all that stuff? I remember that there was another Scott that we had shot with, I remember.

SCOTT:

Oh really?

GREG:

Yeah, it was like the second day.

SCOTT:

 Yeesh, I know we wrote it.

GREG:

I remember shooting it.

SCOTT:

Hmmmm.

SAM:

Ever since the accident... I can't remember.

SCOTT:

Oh, that saucy little tramp! Baby. I am the chip and you are the dip.

BRUCE:

Actually, my favorite thing about her t-shirt is we parade 2 different t-shirts for her to try on. One was a normal t-shirt that just hung normally, the other one was this vacuu-formed one. And I remember Rob Tapert, the producer,. going

[imitates Rob Tapert]

"well, there's no question about it - the vacuu-formed one!"

SCOTT:

HAHA - Robbie! I know, he goes

[imitates Rob Tapert]

"Uh, baby, uh, you wanna play house?

You be the screen door and I'll slam you all night long!'

BRUCE:

HAHAHA!!!

SCOTT:

No, I'm sorry... I'm kidding, Rob. Sorry, Rob, just joking!

BRUCE:

Actually, I wanna talk about that little, that little amulet.

The one that was bought at Corey's Jewel Box in Michigan.

SCOTT:

Corey's Jewel Box?

SAM:

At the [down 12] mall, I think.

BRUCE:

Yes, the [down 12] mall. Sam bought it, didn't you,

because of the reflection gag... or the magnifying gag?

SAM:

Yes, originally in Evil Dead one what we were going to do was use that uh little magnifying glass in the amulet to let the sun shine through it and Ash was gonna witness it burning the book of the dead and he was going to realize at that point that burning the book was the key.

SCOTT:

Right.

SAM:

But, uh, that got cut out.

BRUCE:

So now, we're s.. s.. stuck with the little amulet.

SCOTT:

The fireplace will do just well, thank you.

SAM:

So, we got stuck with that cheesy necklace.

SCOTT:

Right.

SAM:

That's Bruce's dad's tape recorder.

I can remember making tapes with you in high school on that thing.

BRUCE:

Yeah, we used to actually put sound to some of the super 8 movies.

SAM:

Remember that, Scott?

SCOTT:

Absolutely.

Wasn't she married to Steve Guttenberg or something?

GREG:

For awhile.

BRUCE:

She was... for a while.

SCOTT:

For a while.

GREG:

Not anymore.

BRUCE:

So this.. that tape recorder is actually the same tape

recorder from the original Evil Dead movie.

SCOTT:

Right.

BRUCE:

I think it's one of the few actual holdovers cause this entire set was obviously rebuilt.

SCOTT:

And wasn't that a certain scale castle?

GREG:

Yep, there's the forced perspective miniature.

SCOTT:

That was in Wadesboro, right?

GREG:

Yeah

BRUCE:

 What kills me is that after months of building

that stupid thing, it looks like a matted in backdrop.

GREG:

It looks... exactly!

SCOTT:

Isn't that funny? But it still looks cool, though.

BRUCE:

It doesn't look real.

SCOTT:

And that's John Peakes on the left.

SAM:

Detroit actor.

SCOTT:

And he's also doing the voiceover right now, right? On the tape...

BRUCE:

Now, a little trivia: the guy who did the voice of the Professor, that same character, in the first Evil Dead is Bob Dorian, who now hosts American Movie Classics.

SCOTT:

Ah, that's right. Cool.

GREG:

No kidding. This was the first day of shooting. this is the first time we did any of the makeups 'cause she has uh henrietta has contact lenses and the makeup. And I remember trying to get the lighting right where she would rock forward into the light and she'd open her eyes and a horrible heinous horror hag...

BRUCE:

Played by Lou Hancock.

SCOTT:

I missed that! You shot that, but it didn't make it in, right?

GREG:

That's right.

SAM:

 I really liked that, too.

SCOTT:

That was really cool.

SAM:

It was a good moment, but somehow...

SCOTT:

Too slow.

SAM:

I don't know. It didn't seem to fit in the pace of this.

SCOTT:

Right.

BRUCE:

Sam, I have a question: was that clock the original clock, as well?

SAM:

That is the original clock.

BRUCE:

I think that was a holdover, too.

SAM:

The clock and the tape recorder both sat...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Valiant Funnies #2

Erica Pierce, the Mothergod, will hopefully be back to menace our heroes again.

Valiant Funnies #1

Valiant Comics is relaunching in 2012, but a few characters integral to it's success cannot be used due to Jim Shooter taking them to Dark Horse, only for them to fail.

The Genesis of Valhalla: Creating my Toyroom/Man-cave!

   So, Amy & I've been in the new place for 3 months, but I had to get the rest'a the joint situated first. Now, that it's pretty much all-together, I started working on my home within my home, Valhalla AKA Room 1148.

   Since I manage a storage property, I have a few units jammed with goodies in numerous 30 gallon bins. My OCD nature demands that everything is seperated by scale or theme. Yes, it's really fun to pack up over a thousand figures, let me tell you.

   So last night, after 12 hours of work, I came home and decided to start putting up shelves. I had to do a bit of cutting and lite sanding, but it's not a big deal. 6 shelves are up with 2 more to go (most likely tonight or Sunday).

   I brought a few bins home and just threw some figures up on them, so I can get what I want out of their plastic confinement and get the rest back to storage. This is the result. . .

THIS IS STRICTLY A W.I.P. (Work in Progress):
CLICK PICTURES IF YOU WANT THEM EMBIGGENED!



1) On the left, there are two bookshelves in the closet space (I removed the doors because I don't need it. I have a huge closet right outside that doorway to the right). In front are tool storage bins I use to keep individual loose figures in. That green and pink atrocity on the bottom right is called a "Pie Safe" and belongs to Amy. I'm trying to convice her to get rid of it (I need more room).

2) Top shelf is the start of my Bruce Campbell/Evil Dead shrine. Most of my friends know that wherever I have lived there has been some sort of Bruce display or, at the very least, a Necronomicon!
The bottom shelf is mainly DC Universe Classics figures with a few Marvel Legends & misc. figures thrown in (for now). I sold off 30 Marvel Legends figures 2 years ago in a severe financial pinch. I made $1200.00 but gave up some VERY nice figures that have tripled in price since (I'm not a TOTAL geek, part of this is financial).

3) I started laying out the figures and began a lil Avengers setup! Hulk, Thor, Iron Man & Nick Fury, plus a few GI Joes that will be moved when I set them up.

4) The Cobra Command: Arch Enemy of G.I. Joe. Cobra Commander in front of his Snake-Head throne with Tomax & Xamot in front of him and High Command at his side: Baroness, Storm Shadow, Dr. Mindbender & Wraith at his left hand, Destro, Major Bludd, Zartan & Firefly to his right, the Dreadnoks in front of them. To the far right is Serpentor in his Chariot that I put on a clear stand. Looks like his chariot is floating doesn't it? "This I command!" There are more Cobra Soldiers & Officers on each side, but I cropped the pic down for some details!

   Well, that's it for now, but looking at these pictures makes me think of a bit of dialogue from a film called "Free Enterprise" where the main character has a nice vintage toy collection (ala "The 40 year old virgin") and asks a girl he's just brought home if she likes his place. She looks around and says... "It looks like a really rich fourth grader lives here."

Nick Fury introduces the NEW S.H.I.E.L.D. Hovercar. . .

Captain America: The First Avenger Action Figure Review Part 2!

THE RED SKULL:

   Every hero has an arch-enemy. For Cap, it's Johann Schmidt, AKA the Red Skull. An early member of Hydra, the Red Skull has a long history of genocide. I cannot wait to see how they handle his portrayal in this film! And the great Hugo Weaving plays him? All the sweeter! Come get your evil!

PACKAGING:

FIGURE/ACCESSORIES:

   With the looks of an Imperial official, I've read a few places that some people feel that this fig is a rehash of the Col Vogel figure from the sadly deceased Indiana Jones line and I'm inclined to agree. I'm not bashing the fig at all, I dug the Vogel look. Let's face it, evil or not, the Nazi party had style when it came to their uniform military look. This is about the best thing that I could say about them and their kind... they knew how to dress and look sharp. The Skull is basically a Nazi Officer with a Skull for a face. The red hands threw me off for a minute. I couldn't remember if he had them in the comic or not! I wish the Skull here had some more and cooler accessories to fit him out with like a mask of Hugo Weaving or an extra head would have rocked, but he has enough to start some trouble with!. He gets a pistol, a ridiculous rocket-launcher with shooting missile and what can only be the "Cosmic Cube" last seen in the film "Thor", the artifact that will tie all the threads of the Marvel films together in next year's "Avengers". Unfortunately, I think Hasbro wanted to try and save a few bucks and went with that cheap Chap Mei plastic.

   And the last thing is... no holster? He has to hold that crappy plastic gun all the time?

SCULPTING:

   Basically looks like a skull that is red. The outfit looks good and appropriately Nazi-esque! He's very thin, like a Clone Wars figure and feels frail, but he probably gave me the least trouble holding a decent stance. In my Joe-verse, the Skull isn't really going to be running around and flipping over hero's attacks anyway. He's basically Cobra Commander which means he is relegated to sitting on a throne or running things from a situation room.

   His left hand is sculpted into an open claw, so he can hold the Cube. Have fun getting that to stay in place! I'm sure not many kids will worry about it because, inside of 5 minutes, they'll eat it, shove it up their nose or lose it.

   He's got the weird shirt/skirt thing which is a cool look for characters in film, but if you ever wore it like that, you'd get some seriously weird looks.

PAINT:

   It seemed to be an easy paint job and being the ONLY Red Skull figure I saw all day, I was getting it regardless. The little bit of black over his non-nose looks a bit weird if you stare at it too long.

ARTICULATION:

   Has all your basic articulation for a figure that won't see much action! His waist swivels, which is nice.

FINAL VERDICT: B-

   It's a good figure for what it is! And the Red Skull doesn't get the toy treatment as often, so it will be a nice figure to round out your evil leaders collection.

CROSSBONES:

   We all dig big bad dudes who can get the job done. And the Skull has his Crossbones, a burly wrestling type with weapons.

PACKAGING:

FIGURE/ACCESSORIES:

   Crossbones is a mean looking merc and a great fig. He has a nice weight to him, too and seems sturdy. He comes with an M16, 2 SMGs (maybe that gun nut can help me with these) and a removable tactical vest. Again, the weapons are that bad plastic, but the SMGs seem a lot harder than the mike one six.

SCULPTING:

   The vest is superbly done on this fig and really makes it mean. I love the mask, as well. I'm a big fan of masks in costuming. If you have ever been in a crowd with a mask, as I have been on many a Halloween, you know the rush it can give you. He's got some City Strike Snake-Eyes kneepads going on, too.

PAINT:

   Again, the paint looked great and thankfully, because I only saw 1 Skull and 1 Crossbones all day and I had visited 5 stores!

ARTICULATION:

   The articulation is adequate for a bulkier figure. This guy may give Sgt Slaughter a fight (if I can find one for a good price)! That hip articulation really sucks and on this figure, it looked as if his mid-thigh swivel was going to pop off on both legs if I pulled the hip out any further! I may have to mod some of these figures and, while a lot of fun, it also is a lot of work. Hence, my workshop is jammed with half completed projects!

   The figure looks weird when he loses the tac-vest. His chest looks to small for his arms, but I don't think many of you will have him chillin' without his vest on.

FINAL VERDICT: B-