Another Boring Celebrity Arrest

As you can clearly see, I don't often update this blog anymore. I started it years ago during a long illness that kept me from working or doing much of anything else for several months, and then life went on, I went back to work, and a bunch of blogs fell mostly off my radar.

Every once in a while, though, something catches my attention--through a flurry of targeted visits. Over the past couple of days, a long-ago post called "Is Richard Grieco on Drugs?" has been getting a surge of Google traffic, so I knew that either Richard was in some kind of trouble or (more commonly for this sort of surge) had appeared on some gossip site looking like hell.

This time, the big scandal was an airport arrest for public intoxication. The dramatic story behind the headlines appears to be that the mixture of a prescription anxiety medication (verified by law enforcement) and a couple of drinks caused an agent at the airport to conclude that Grieco was intoxicated and deny him entry onto the flight. He got belligerent. Police came. An arrest followed. An arrest, I might add, for public intoxication and not for any of the interesting things that so often accompany that particular charge, like threatening anyone or property damage or resisting arrest.

Nothing to see here.

Watch Richard Grieco in Minutes to Midnight

If you're a fan of independent movies, you know the wheels turn slowly in that industry--so slowly that you may sometimes forget about a film you'd heard referenced or assume that it wasn't moving forward.

It's been more than five years since I first talked to writer Christopher Don about his film, Minutes to Midnight, and the role he reformulated specifically for Richard Grieco. (Here's a refresher, in case you've forgotten what this film is all about and why you want to see it.)

Since that time, the film has gone through some cast changes, a change in production companies, and more. But, it's finally here.

Here's the new trailer:

   

You can watch Minutes to Midnight TODAY on iTunes or Amazon, and a DVD version will follow in September. There's no reason to hold back: if you're eager to check out Don's New Year's Eve-based horror film, go ahead and rent it. Now. You can still buy the DVD when it becomes available.

Richard Grieco DVDs for Sale

I'm selling some hard-to-find Richard Grieco movies on DVD, starting with this e-bay listing for Rebel Run, Final Payback and Harold Robbins' Body Parts.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/272842221391?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Here's a pic from Final Payback to remind you how much you want to see the movie:



More to come.

20th Century Fox Brings Booker Back

Unfortunately, that's all the information I have at the moment.

Richard tweeted this picture today, along with a note that 20th Century Fox had a Booker movie in the works and he would be reprising the role.

I'm sure this is big news to any Grieco fan, since most encountered him for the first time as Booker and (in my view, at least), he did some of his best work in that role.

Stand by--I'll be watching out for more information and harassing Richard for details in the coming days and will share whatever I can.

Minutes to Midnight Trailer

I've been unforgivably delinquent in bringing you this one, which has been out for nearly a year.

 

The delay is especially bad in view of the fact that I've talked to writer Christopher Don about this film multiple times, through a false start and then the actual shooting. Don even talked about how he'd long wanted to work with Richard Grieco and had tailored the role for Richard.

The trailer, with its bright, sunshiny opening scenes and a bunch of pretty young people arriving for a stay in the woods brought A Cabin in the Woods to mind, but Don set me straight on that in no time. Minutes to Midnight is no parody: Don is an old school horror fan and that's the kind of film he's going to bring you.

The cast has changed a bit since the first iteration, losing Kane Hodder and gaining William Baldwin. No worries, though: the hot wrestler is still with us. And, of course, the man you're all here to read about, playing the Sheriff.

A House is Not a Home Available on DVD

It's been nearly three years since we saw the trailer for Christopher Olen Ray's A House is Not a Home and the film made a splash at the Burbank International Film Festival.

Now, after a limited theatrical release, you can pick up the movie on DVD...pretty much anywhere, including Amazon and your local Walmart.

If you don't find it on the shelf in the store, consider asking them to order it for you; maybe they'll pick up an extra copy or two when they're putting in your order.

In case you've forgotten or you missed it the first time around, here's the trailer again. Or, you could just skip right over it and let the story be a surprise when you pick up your copy.

The Green Fairy at the Arena Cinema This Week

If you're in or near Hollywood and you've been looking for an opportunity to see Dan Frank's "docu-fantasy" about absinthe, narrated by Richard Grieco, your moment has arrived.

The Green Fairy is showing from Friday, September 9 through Thursday, September 15 at the Arena Cinema in Hollywood. The Arena's scheduling is a little unusual, so be sure to check the calendar: The Green Fairy shows at a different time each day during its week-long run.

It's been a long time since I wrote about this film, so here's the trailer in case you need a refresher:




It's going to be a busy season for Richard Grieco fans--Christopher Olen Ray's A House is Not a Home will be available on DVD and digital platforms later this month (more to come on that). It's been almost exactly three years since A House is Not a Home received the Best Horror Film designation at the Burbank International Film Festival, so it's about time the rest of us got to see it!

If Looks Could Kill...25 Years Later

Just a quick share here: Forbes Media and Entertainment contributor Daniel Baldwin (no, not that Daniel Baldwin) looks back at If Looks Could Kill...quite fondly.

There's more to film than breaking even at the box office, right? In fact, though this movie's performance was disappointing in its day, it seems to have made an impression on a lot of young men from the era, including screenwriter Christopher Don, who went on to write a part for Richard Grieco in his upcoming horror film, Minutes to Midnight.

It apparently isn't without charm for new audiences, either, because my 20-year-old daughter (who is no Richard Grieco fan) at some point relocated that particular DVD to the shelf in her bedroom.

Minutes to Midnight Movie Poster

The official movie poster for Richard's upcoming movie, Minutes to Midnight, was unveiled today.

I'll have more information for you soon, but wanted to make sure you didn't miss this.

The Chemist with Richard Grieco

The Chemist premieres this weekend.

Here's a quick shot of Richard on set:

I don't have a lot of information about this film yet. The story revolves around a hit man who becomes a target. The main character is played by Olivier Gruner; it's not clear what role Richard plays, other than the character is named "Stone".  (I'm guessing that's going to be one of the killers for hire.)

Art Camacho directed, and The Chemist screened at the Cannes Film Festival in May.

For more information, check out this article, follow the film's Facebook page and stay tuned. I'll post more information as it's available.

Richard Grieco Artist Profile

Richard talks about his artwork in this short video filmed in his studio. It's a little more in-depth and personal than the responses we usually see when Richard is asked about his art on camera, and includes a pretty decent impression of Dennis Hopper.


Artist Profiles featuring Hollywood Actor and Painter Richard Grieco - Los Angeles, CA - 2015 Artist Roster from Amanda Brown on Vimeo.

Minutes to Midnight Wraps

On April 9, Minutes to Midnight screenwriter Christopher Don reached out to let me know that filming had wrapped on the film. I know I've been remiss in getting this news out to you, but I have a very good excuse--that very same day, my little town was hit by a tornado.

Having missed the "big reveal" moment, I thought today would be a good day to share the news, since it's Don's birthday. (I won't tell you how old he is because I don't want you to feel as old as I do.)

There have been some changes since I first talked to Don about Minutes to Midnight in 2013. But, we'll get to the details a little later. I know what you really want to hear about is Richard's role, and I think you're going to love what you hear.

Richard Grieco in Minutes to Midnight

Don told me that he was pretty confident this would be Richard's best role in 20 years. If that sounds ambitious coming from a guy who is just seeing his first feature film come to life, consider the history. First, as you may recall, Don is something of a Richard Grieco fan. In fact, I've heard a rumor (okay, I heard it from him) that in those pre-show-biz days when Don was parking cars on the graveyard shift, he'd watch 21 Jump Street on his laptop and think about working with Grieco one day.

M2M Screenwriter Christopher Don with Richard Grieco

He's also called Richard "the ultimate bad-ass" for his ability to both be tough and show an emotional side; in other words, he has a solid understanding of and appreciation for Richard's strengths as an actor. And, the role was beefed up and adapted to take advantage of those strengths after Richard came on board. I'm very interested to see where that takes us.

But, Richard isn't the only reason to watch out for this movie.

Other Reasons You May Want to See Minutes to Midnight

1. The production brings Richard back together with director Christopher Olen Ray, producer Gerald Webb and writer Victoria Dadi, who previously collaborated on A House is Not a Home--"Best Horror Feature" winner at the 2014 Burbank International Film Festival.

2. William Baldwin has joined the cast. The Baldwin boys have never been my type, but they can act. And, as an added bonus (in case you're one of the many who has trouble keeping them straight), this is the one I've recently heard referred to as "the Baldwin who's still pretty." He's the one who played Serena's dad on Gossip Girl.

3. John Hennigan is still in the cast. Okay, that's not new information, but have you seen this guy? If you're not a WWE fan, take a moment to Google him. I promise you're going to like it.

There's more, of course, but Minutes to Midnight is just days into post-production at this point and we'll have plenty of time to talk about it between now and the day we get to see the finished film. Stay tuned!

The Green Fairy Update

The Green Fairy is rolling right along, and you'll be able to see the trailer on February 1.  The film's official Facebook page suggests that we're going to love it (though they may not be entirely objective).

It certainly promises to be unique: docu-fantasy isn't a genre I've encountered before. The difficulty in classifying the film may be the reason that it's getting attention from sites like Horror Society, even though it isn't a horror film. Or, maybe it's just that intriguing.

(Okay, it may also be because Linda Blair is in the movie.)

Director Dan Frank originally said that he hoped to have the movie ready to go by Mardi Gras 2016, but it's currently showing a 2015 release date, so it may start making the rounds even sooner.

More to come as new information becomes available.

A Vow to Kill

A couple of years ago, when I was too sick to work and spending a lot of late night hours watching old Richard Grieco television shows and movies, A Vow to Kill was one of the films I went looking for. As you probably know, Richard has been in a lot of sci-fi/quasi-horror films, and that's not really my thing. He was even in a movie about giant spiders, which is definitely more than I could cope with.

But, he was also in a handful of television movies in which he played a very bad husband: one abusive, one rapist, one who pretended to kidnap his wife in order to extract ransom from her wealthy father.

A Vow to Kill is the ransom movie, but I couldn't find it. That wasn't a big surprise, given that it was a television movie from 1995. It was more of a surprise when I ran across it on Amazon recently. Clearly, it didn't just become available--especially since it only exists on VHS.

I liked it.

That's not much of a review, I know, but that's the upshot. If you were watching made for television movies in the mid-90s, you pretty much know what to expect. In terms of plot line and acting, it's just okay and fairly predictable--just like nearly all of the prime time movies from the 80s and 90s.

It's easy to see how Grieco's character is able to con, seduce and marry the rich man's daughter--these were his prime romantic lead days and this movie was a great vehicle for the soft voice and soulful looks that make a woman say, "Ah, what's a little ransom demand?"

If you're a Richard Grieco fan and haven't seen this movie (and you own a VHS player), it's worth adding to your collection--especially if you're the kind of fan who appreciates his eye and his smile at least as much as his acting. The main Amazon listing has a pretty discouraging price ($45), but look a little further--there are several used copies available for less than $10.

Kissing Richard Grieco

I know some of you (yes, you...you know I'm looking at you) are going to enjoy living vicariously through Trisha Paytas as she describes (in a bit of flustered detail) what it was like to kiss Richard during the filming of Viral Video.


 

Mobsters on Blu-Ray

Just in case you don't feel like you're seeing Richard Grieco's youthful glory in crisp enough detail on DVD, or you don't have a machine on which to play that well-worn old VHS tape, you'll be able to buy Mobsters on Blu-Ray this spring.

"He has two girlfriends?"
Love this scene.

You can pre-order here, but don't expect the movie to arrive until early March.

If you want to get in the spirit while you wait, take 97 seconds to check out this clip of Richard, Christian Slater, Patrick Demsey and Costas Mandylor presenting at the 1991 Oscars in their full Mobsters regalia. (For those of you who haven't seen the movie, that means hand-made tuxes. Feel free to watch as often as you like.)

Richard Grieco and Trisha Paytas in Viral Video

I nearly titled this post "A random Richard Grieco thing you will probably want to see." I'd never heard of Trisha Paytas and at just short of 14 minutes this video seemed too short even to be a short. Fortunately, I took a moment to look Trisha up, and it turns out that she's pretty well known if you're a part of the YouTube generation.

If you enjoy watching Richard do crazy--and we both know you do--this is definitely worth 15 minutes of your time.

After Midnight Available on VOD October 28

It's been a year and a half since we first saw the trailer for After Midnight with Richard and Tawny Kitaen (who is looking fabulous at 50+). And, the records may have become a little confused when Richard also signed on for the entirely unrelated Minutes to Midnight. But, the long wait (It was a long wait, right? That wasn't just me?) is almost over.

Though the DVD won't be available from Phase 4 until February, 2015, you can watch After Midnight on iTunes in just a couple of weeks.

Or, you could watch the movie on iTunes on October 28 and then buy the DVD when it comes out in February. Not that I know anyone who's planning to do both.

Richard Grieco to Narrate The Green Fairy

The Green Fairy is shooting right now, and Richard will not only be narrating but is listed as an Executive Producer.

I'll be honest: I was a little skeptical when I first heard about this one. Last time (that we know of) that Richard teamed up Dan Frank, it was for Coachella Massacre. If that doesn't sound familiar to you, it's because the film has apparently been in pre-production for a couple of years.

But, The Green Fairy is moving forward. People are tweeting about their days on set. The film's official Facebook page has a few behind-the-scenes photos from shooting last week.

The movie is billed as a "fantasy documentary" and Frank says that he hopes to take the viewer on a "psychedelic trip" as he explores the history of absinthe from 1730 to 1915.

The movie is slated for release some time next year - details to follow as they become available.

UPDATE: After this post went up, Dan Frank contacted me to say that Coachelle Massacre had been temporarily sidelined due to the death of a key player in the production. Apologies to Mr. Frank and his team for the skepticism, and my condolences. Frank also offered some hope that we may yet see Coachella, so look for updates on that, as well.

Richard Grieco on 22 Jump Street, Abstract Emotionalism and Coming Out as an Artist

Great interview on Studio 11 LA. Richard talks about his appearance in 22 Jump Street, the original 21 Jump Street series and his artwork. He even gets in a mention of The Apostate, a movie he appeared in with Dennis Hopper many years ago, during which Hopper encouraged him to go public with his painting. If you haven't seen that one, it's worth a watch, albeit definitely creepy. Los Angeles News | FOX 11 LA KTTV