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

Booker is Back

Richard Grieco, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum at the premiere of 22 Jump Street
(c) Frazer Harrison/ Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

I'll be honest. I haven't seen 22 Jump Street yet.

I'm on my way to do that now. But, I've been waiting quite a while to write this post.

Back in November, I received confirmation from a very reliable source that Richard Grieco would be making an appearance in the sequel to Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill's 21 Jump Street movie--but, that it wasn't going to be publicly confirmed before the movie released.

So, I've been biting my tongue (and eagerly awaiting the movie), even when some skeezy set jockey sold the tip and several publications ran the story.

But, the day is here. If life (obligations with children and all that) hadn't intervened, I'd have seen the movie already.  Many of you have. So, we're free to talk about it.

Unfortunately, I don't have anything to say, since I'm just on my way out to see the movie now. Stay tuned, though. I'll be updating late tonight.

Update: I've seen the movie now and...well...it turns out that I'm not going to be updating this post after all. There's nothing I can tell you except that if you have any sense of humor at all, you should go see this movie.

New Richard Grieco Interview

It's no surprise that a publication with the subtitle "Charity Meets Style" would get around to interviewing Richard Grieco.

"Miss A" talked to Grieco about his charitable involvements, including The Wolf Connection, Cops4Causes and Fueled by the Fallen.

She was kind enough to share a nice screen cap from everyone's favorite episode of Booker, too.

Read the full article here: Charity Meets: Richard Grieco

Richard Grieco Salt Lake Comic Con Video

Richard's appearance at Salt Lake Comic Con last month was, a bit surprisingly, his first Comic Con experience. In the video below, he talks about 21 Jump Street, voicing Ghost Rider, the video games he played with Peter DeLuise back in the day (Madden) and the ones he's playing today (Call of Duty).

 And, in case you're into that kind of thing, he gives out his gamer tag.

 Stop back and share your experience if you happen to play Titanfall with him or anything...

 

SLCC Richard Grieco Photos

No, I wasn't there.

And, I'll be totally honest: I'm not at all sure who Rob Joseph is.

However, he was at Salt Lake Comic Con this past weekend, and he snapped quite a few pictures of Richard with various other celebs, fans, news crews and the like...and then it appears that he was kind enough to make his Facebook album open to all of us.

So, if you missed Richard at SLCC last weekend (or saw him there but can never get enough), check out Rob's pictures.

Throwback Thursday - Richard Grieco as Marker

Just in time for another Throwback Thursday, I got my hands on a copy of Richard's 1995 television series, Marker.

If you were a fan of Dennis Booker, you're probably going to want to seek this one out. Richard's character in Marker is the same type of smart-assed, reluctant hero as we saw in 21 Jump Street and Booker.

The premise of the show is that Richard's character (also named Richard) is estranged from his billionaire father and working in construction far from his native Hawaii. When he returns to the island for his father's funeral, Richard learns that he's inherited property and a mission: his father has asked that he take on responsibility for markers he's distributed to a number of people.

As he helps people from all walks of life to whom his father had in some way been indebted, Richard learns that there was far more to the man than he realized.

Some things never change. The
credits end at 4:00, and within 45 seconds
Richard is stripping down in the limo.

Like Richard's best-known character, the lead in Marker is witty, irreverent, good-hearted and prone to getting  in over his head in the name of justice or saving the girl (or child, or old man, or family business, or...)

He's also prone to whipping his shirt off at a second's notice, and with very little provocation. Just in case you're into that kind of thing. This is made easy and plausible by the fact that he's living on an island, approximately 50 feet from the ocean.

We see a hint of the college
football player Richard once was
in this series.

You know that (in my view, at least), Richard's film work covers a very broad spectrum--some I've watched more than once, one or two I've turned off before reaching the end or gone on about my business while letting them play in the background. This one is worth a watch for any Grieco fan, or anyone who was a fan of the 90s-era series like Silk Stalkings and High Tide. I'm a little surprised that it didn't last longer.

Richard Grieco at Salt Lake Comic Con this Weekend

If you happen to be in or around Salt Lake City or you're attending Salt Lake Comic Con this weekend, you'll have the opportunity to meet Richard Grieco on Saturday (only). You can buy tickets here.

It's not yet clear if/when photo ops will be available and at what price (that's all "TBD" on the convention website).

Here's a list of other celebrity guests and their schedules: FanX Master Guest Schedule

Happy Birthday, Richard Grieco

Richard Grieco is 49 today, and it's been roughly 28 years since he landed his first significant role on the daytime drama One Life to Live.  Here he is making his appearance in Llanview (and on fan radar).




In the intervening years, Richard had a key role in the popular Fox television drama 21 Jump Street, the lead role in his own spin-off from that series (Booker) and the lead in the television series Marker. He's also appeared in other television shows, including a recurring role in the cult favorite Veronica Mars. 

In 1991, he had starring roles in two major motion pictures: If Looks Could Kill and Mobsters. After that, Richard's profile dropped somewhat and less devoted fans may have lost track of him. But, he was never really off the radar. Since 1991, Richard has made 44 additional movies, including the SNL-branded A Night at the Roxbury. Two others are currently rumored, and 2014 looks like it could be a very big year for Richard.

But, this long list of acting credits only scratches the surface of what Grieco has been up to in the years since 21 Jump Street. He released a CD, Waiting for the Sky to Fall, and toured Europe. He voiced video game characters, automobile advertisements and cartoon characters. He conceived of an produces the Showtime reality show Gigolos. Oh, and all the while, he was actually an artist at heart.

That's more than a lifetime's work, but Grieco shows no signs of slowing down. Here's hoping he's having a great birthday and looking back with pleasure on the rich life he's led thus far.

Our Very First Throwback Thursday

In honor of "throwback Thursday," I'm going to throw decorum to the wind and share a site with you that I ran across a while back and...well...had my doubts about.

It appears to be a blog devoted entirely to screen shots, photos and video clips of male celebrities in "tighty whities". I say "appears" because, honestly, I didn't do all that much browsing. But, to each his own and all that.

So, if you're so inclined, following this link will lead you to a very extensive collection of screen caps from "the underwear scene" in Richard's first feature film, If Looks Could Kill.

Clothing aside, it looks like the old "underwear scene" was pretty eventful. I still haven't seen this film, but it's jumped up my list recently (no, NOT since I saw this blog!) because when I interviewed Christopher Don, he told me that If Looks Could Kill was the first thing he'd ever seen Richard in and the movie that had made him a fan.

 Enjoy or I'm sorry, depending on your world view.

Richard Grieco is Not a Scientologist

Just in case you were wondering.

There's been a recent flurry of Internet searches on the subject, and self-proclaimed experts confirming the rumors in comments on various websites.

I didn't really think Grieco was a Scientologist, but I decided to employ a radical technique I learned back when I was writing for local newspapers: I asked him.

The mere question was enough to drive the man to all caps.  As in, "I AM NOT". There may also have been an "lol" involved.

See how easy that was?

Hey, Grieco...you a Scientologist?

Nope.

Okay, then.

Grieco says his only affiliation with the Church of Scientology is that he recently showed his artwork at the Church's Celebrity Centre.  And, the two bursts of Internet speculation about his connections with Scientology do track to the week the show was announced and the week it actually took place.

In fact, Richard has been increasingly focused on his artwork over the past few years. In August, Gallerie Sparta hosted his Los Angeles premiere showing, and with new representation, significant press coverage and attention from the art world in play, we'll undoubtedly be seeing his work in more and more venues.

Most of those will also not signal religious affiliations.

Richard Grieco in 22 Jump Street?

This question has been on all of our minds for quite a while and...we still don't have an answer.

We do, however, have hope--at least, as much hope as we can gain from a tabloid story quoting an alleged (and presumably now unemployed) "insider". An online publication that would be called a "rag" if tabloids were still printed says that Richard has filmed a "secret cameo" for the upcoming 22 Jump Street film.

You kind of already had your hopes up when he cut his hair in the fall, didn't you? No? That was just me? Ah, well. You can get them up now. I wouldn't place any bets or anything--you saw how that went for fans of the roughly 30 stars who were leaked as the 50 Shades of Grey leads--but if you were on the fence about showing up for 22 Jump Street at midnight, you should probably go.

With or without Richard, it's bound to be entertaining.

Richard Grieco Fans - the 4th Annual Flicker Awards are For You!

If you have enough of an interest in Richard Grieco to be reading this blog, you won't want to miss your opportunity to vote in MatchFlick's 4th Annual Flicker Awards. Both AE: Apocalypse Earth and A House is Not a Home are heavily represented among the nominees. A House is Not a Home--which Richard co-produced--has four nominations:

Best Breakout Film
Best Boogeyman (the house itself)
Scariest Film
Best Haunted House Film

I haven't seen a lot of press surrounding this film, but it did take Best Horror Picture at the Burbank Film Festival when it premiered in September.

I know a little more about AE: Apocalypse Earth, having actually seen the movie and also interviewed writer/director Thunder Levin. A year ago, you couldn't have convinced me that I'd get excited about the category of Best Mockbuster Twin, but AE: Apocalypse Earth truly deserves a win in this category. If you have any doubt, check out this earlier post in which I compared The Asylum's knock-off to Will Smith's After Earth.

The second AE: Apocalypse Earth nomination goes to Costa Rican supermodel Bali Rodriguez in the category of Best Warrior Woman.

It takes just a minute or two to vote, and they're not requiring registration or anything you might want to avoid--why not take a moment right now and help ensure that Richard's films take five of these awards (6 if we count Bali's).