Moviefone Editorial

Tag: con-air

  • ‘The Girl in the Pool’ – Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter

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    Opening in theaters on July 26th is the new thriller ‘The Girl in the Pool’, which was directed by Dakota Gorman (‘All About Sex’). The film stars Freddie Prinze Jr. (‘Scooby-Doo’), Monica Potter (‘Con Air’), Kevin Pollak (‘A Few Good Men’), Tyler Lawrence Gray (‘Wolf Pack’), and Gabrielle Haugh (‘Jeepers Creepers III’).

    Related Article: Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård Talk Brandon Cronenberg’s ‘Infinity Pool’

    (Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. in 'The Girl in the Pool'. (Right) Monica Potter in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    (Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. in ‘The Girl in the Pool’. (Right) Monica Potter in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter about their work on ‘The Girl in the Pool’, their first reactions to the screenplay, working together again for the first time since 2001’s ‘Head Over Heels’, their characters’ complicated marriage and working with director Dakota Gorman.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

    Freddie Prinze Jr. in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    Freddie Prinze Jr. in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    Moviefone: To begin with, Freddie, can you talk about your first reaction to the screenplay and the themes you were excited to explore with this movie?

    Freddie Prinze Jr.: I was easy to say yes. This character was the opposite of every character that I’ve ever played, so it’s what every actor who gets known for doing one thing and they only want to try something else, and they want to show you what else they can do. This was that opportunity. I had made a movie called ‘Christmas with You’, with German Torres, and he brought this script to me and said, “Hey, man, this is super weird. I think you’re going to like it. It’s nothing you’ve ever done before, so check it out.” I read it and I loved it. I met with Dakota, the director, and we sat and talked about this guy, Thomas, and how much I hated him, how I didn’t like anything about him, and I didn’t find him loving or anything, but I did find a way to connect with him through vulnerability in that third act. So that’s really what attracted me to the role and made me want to show people what I could do with it.

    MF: Freddie, how did you get Monica involved in the project?

    FP: She got the script three days before we shot, and her kid said, “It’s Freddie, do it.” She said, “Okay, I’m going to,” and she called me on the phone, or I called her, I can’t remember which one, and we talked about it, and I told her how thankful and grateful I was that she was going to come and play again. That we would kick and how much I needed her and would depend on her in scenes. She laughs at that, but it’s the truth. So, she just came in and played. I love getting to answer that question.

    Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter in 'Head Over Heels.'
    (Left) Freddie Prinze Jr. and Monica Potter in ‘Head Over Heels.’ Photo: Universal Pictures.

    MF: Monica, what was it like reuniting with Freddie for the first time since ‘Head Over Heels’?

    Monica Potter: The running joke while we were filming was, I didn’t really read the script at all. I don’t know what it was. Maybe there was a reason because I love reading. I think also, I don’t like a lot of lines for myself. I wanted to be there for him because this movie is all about him, and he has this talent that no one has seen. I mean, I know it because I’ve worked with him before, but I just wanted to show up and be there and have fun and be there for him. I had the best time. It was awesome. I was blown away by his performance. For real. So, I just wanted it to be there for him. Because of where I was at my life a year ago, it was like a restart for me, like starting over in a personal way, and being with him and remembering what it was like twenty years ago.

    MF: Freddie, what was it like for you to work with Monica again?

    FP: I love Monica a lot. I told her how much I would depend on her in scenes. I knew that I wouldn’t have to worry about any scene that her and I were in, no matter what. I really wanted to knock this out. There were certain scenes that required more time than others. Any scene that Kristen and Thomas had together, I kind of just put on the side and was like, “We know how to do this. We can do this in our sleep, so let me really try and knock this other stuff out with the son and really try to focus on that relationship,” because I haven’t done that ever, or dealt with that as a character or as a human being either, when you watch the movie. But to have her in those scenes, it’s just easy. She really keeps me on my toes. I’ve said this before, but I can get caught in my own head and kind of lock into a performance. When you have someone like Monica and Kevin Pollak as well, they can bring you different angles. They can show you different looks, which can completely change the way you want to do something for the better. It just makes the whole scene kind of flow a lot more, and that you’re not just looking at it through your perspective.

    Kevin Pollak in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    Kevin Pollak in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    MF: Freddie, can you talk about Thomas and Kristen’s marriage, what he does to jeopardize it and the actions he takes to try and save it?

    FP: He’s like a beaten dog, you know what I mean? His spirit’s been broken, and there’s no real coming back from that. If you look at the three personality types, the alpha, beta, and omega, he’s a beta. He’s very susceptible to compliments and criticism. You can see the Hannah character, his mistress, sort of pushing and pulling and playing with him whenever she wants, and he really doesn’t have any sort of defense for it at all. He never really defends himself. As far as the second part of your question, him trying to fix it. Dakota, the director, describes it best. It’s like the dog in the meme where the fire’s going on behind him, and he’s like, “No, no, no, everything’s okay.” That’s Thomas. He’s like, “No, no, no. I’m going to fix this.” The son even says, “You’re not good at that. You can’t fix anything.” So, it’s a burning house, and he’s trying to put it out with a little bucket of water, basically. It’s just constantly saying, “Everything’s going to be fine.” What a ridiculous concept. He’s saying, “I just have to get through the party and everything’s going to be fine,” when we know it’s not.

    MF: Finally, Monica, what was it like working with director Dakota Gorman on set?

    MP: She was amazing. She would just come up to me and we made a joke, because we’re all water signs. She would just walk up to me and go, “Mm-hmm,” and I go, “Got it.” So, it was like telepathic. The same thing with Freddie. I would look at him and go, “Mm-hmm,” and I would squeeze his finger. I was in awe watching him, and she was great. They’re both awesome.

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    What is the plot of ‘The Girl in the Pool’?

    A well-to-do family man (Freddie Prinze Jr.) must get through a surprise birthday party thrown by his wife (Monica Potter) shortly after he has hidden the corpse of his murdered mistress.

    Who is in the cast of ‘The Girl in the Pool’?

    • Freddie Prinze Jr. as Thomas
    • Monica Potter as Kristen
    • Kevin Pollak as William
    • Tyler Lawrence Gray as Alex
    • Gabrielle Haugh as Hannah
    Freddie Prinze Jr. and Gabrielle Haugh in 'The Girl in the Pool'.
    (L to R) Freddie Prinze Jr. and Gabrielle Haugh in ‘The Girl in the Pool’.

    Freddie Prinze Jr. Movies and TV Shows:

    Buy Freddie Prinze Jr. Movies on Amazon

     

  • Aaron Eckhart to Star in Action Thriller ‘Raider’

    Aaron Eckhart as President Benjamin Asher in 'London Has Fallen'.
    Aaron Eckhart as President Benjamin Asher in ‘London Has Fallen’. Photo: Focus Features.

    Preview:

    • Aaron Eckhart is playing the US President in ‘Raider’.
    • He’ll discover a dark conspiracy.
    • ‘Con Air’s Simon West is directing.

    While Aaron Eckhart has played the U.S. President a few times in the past –– most notably in ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ and ‘London Has Fallen’ and in TV series ‘The First Lady’ (that one was real-life leader Gerald Ford) –– but he’s clearly not finished working in fictional White Houses.

    He’s now locked in the role of an unnamed Commander in Chief in new action thriller ‘Raider’.

    Related Article: Aaron Eckhart Talks ‘Chief of Station’ and Looks Back at ‘Sully’

    What’s the story of ‘Raider’?

    Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart in 'Olympus Has Fallen.'
    (L to R) Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart in ‘Olympus Has Fallen.’ Photo: Millennium Films.

    Written by ‘Miranda’s Victim’ scripter J. Craig Stiles, ‘Raider’ tells the story of a president, sworn in after a landslide victory, who discovers that the White House has been controlled by an elite shadow organization for decades.

    Refusing to bow to their demands or comply with the head of the Secret Service (Danny Huston), the president works to unravel a series of cryptic messages left by his predecessors hoping they are the key to freeing his family and the country from dark forces.

    Here’s what producer Steve Lee Jones said about the casting:

    “Our lead is a classy and honorable man who puts country first, despite the risks and impossible odds. When he realizes what’s at stake, he simply says, ‘No.’ We’re very excited to be working with Aaron again and I can’t imagine a better fit than Simon West to bring this pulse-pounding thriller home in spades.”

    Fellow producer Matthew Shreder compared the movie to ‘Air Force One’ and ‘The Da Vinci Code’. This is what he said about Eckhart:

    “People have come to love seeing Aaron take control, and this elevates that to an entirely new level.”

    Who is making ‘Raider’?

    Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich in 'Con Air'.
    (L to R) Nicolas Cage and John Malkovich in ‘Con Air’. Photo: Touchstone Pictures.

    ‘Raider’ has engaged the services of a filmmaker who has proved he can handle action in the past: Simon West, who directed ‘Con Air’ and ‘The Expendables 2’, will be putting Eckhart through his paces for the new movie.

    The movie is scheduled to start shooting this fall in Spain.

    Possibly our biggest question is whether Eckhart’s character will do well without ‘Olympus/London Has Fallen’s Gerard Butler to watch his back. We know Eckhart can take care of himself, so we have hope.

    When will ‘Raider’ be in theaters?

    Bee Holder Productions and Concourse Media are producing this one (with Concourse handling sales of the film at the Cannes Market), but with no distribution deals in place, there is no word on when the movie will be in theaters.

    Aaron Eckhart in 'Chief of Station'.
    Aaron Eckhart in ‘Chief of Station’. Photo: Vertical Entertainment.

    Other Simon West Movies:

    Buy Aaron Eckhart Movies on Amazon

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  • ‘The Flood’ Interview: Casper Van Dien

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    Opening in theaters, On Demand and digital beginning July 14th is the new action thriller ‘The Flood,’ which was directed by Brandon Slagle (‘Frost’).

    What is the plot of ‘The Flood’?

    A horde of giant hungry alligators is unleashed on a group of in-transit prisoners and their guards after a massive hurricane floods Louisiana.

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    Who is in the cast of ‘The Flood’?

    ‘The Flood’ stars Nicky Whelan (‘Hall Pass’) as Sheriff Jo Newman, Casper Van Dien (‘Starship Troopers’) as Russell Cody, Louis Mandylor (‘Rambo: Last Blood’) as Rafe Calderon, Randy Wayne (‘Megan’) as Dale Elkins, Ryan Francis (‘Hook’) as Jay Stamper, Kim DeLonghi (‘Marlowe‘) as Eva Carter, Bear Williams (‘Sheroes’) as Angela Cooper, Randall J. Bacon (‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’) as Jonathan ‘Jox’ Apone, Mike Ferguson (‘Amityville Uprising’) as Floyd McGraw, and Eoin O’Brien (‘Kate’) as ‘Big Jim’ Pruett.

    Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Casper Van Dien about his work on ‘The Flood,’ similarities with ‘Con Air,’ fighting alligators, the VFX, acting in water, and working with Nicky Whelan, Louis Mandylor, and the rest of the cast.

    Casper Van Dien as Russell Cody in the action thriller, 'The Flood,' a Saban Films release.
    Casper Van Dien as Russell Cody in the action thriller, ‘The Flood,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

    You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch the interview.

    Moviefone: To begin with, what was your first reaction when you read the screenplay for ‘The Flood’?

    Casper Van Dien: When I read it, I was like, “Oh, it’s ‘Con Air’ with alligators.” That’s how they promoted it. I think they also said ‘Anaconda’ but with alligators. That’s how it was pitched to me. Then I read the script and I said, “Okay, this looks like it’d be fun.” I Love Nikki, and I love Louis Mandylor and the guy that directed it, Brandon Slagle. I did another movie with him before, so I was excited about doing that. Thailand is an amazing place and that’s where we filmed it all and I had a lot of fun working with those people.

    MF: What was it like working with Nicky Whelan?

    CVD: Nikki is an amazing actress, and she’s a lot of fun. Just a sweetheart of a person. My wife and I adore her. We love her. She’s really all in. That’s the thing that’s good about her. So she’s all in and when she gets there, she’s just a joy to work with. I didn’t see all of her fights, so I don’t even know how they all went. I just know what I did with her when I was working with her. I was like, “Oh, this girl’s got something,” so that was awesome for me. She’s not just a pretty face. She’s got everything going for her. Now, my wife and her are really good friends and my wife just adores her. I mean, if we lived closer, I’m sure we’d hang out more. But she’s just a great person.

    Nicky Whelan as Sheriff Newman in the action thriller, 'The Flood,' a Saban Films release.
    Nicky Whelan as Sheriff Newman in the action thriller, ‘The Flood,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

    MF: Sheriff Newman and Russell are at odds when the film begins but eventually form an alliance together. Can you talk about the moment when she realizes she can trust him?

    CVD: Well, I think that she does see eventually that he has her back and I think that that’s questionable up until that point. That could go either way and I like that. Then in the end, I liked it all the way through. I hope it all worked. You never know. You come in. You throw this in as an actor, you try and the writing had it in there, but then we could add our other layers onto it and the director adds his layer onto it. Then, of course, the editor gets his in the end too.

    MF: Was it fun working with all the other actors that play the inmates?

    CVD: It was. I like all of them. I mean, all these guys are good. Eoin and I worked together also with Louis in ‘Battle for Saipan,’ so we had all worked together before. But that group was great. They’re a cool bunch of guys and they really got into it. It was fun working with all of them. I loved working with them. The other actors are always key. Every actor’s key in it. It is the relationships you have with them and everybody’s different story. I hate the movies back where, I’m not going to mention any names, but when actors would want to have all the lines and everything. I don’t think that’s as important. I think it’s better when you have all the developed characters and everybody putting their all into it, and feeling like it’s their story. I think it makes it more interesting and a lot more fun.

    Mike Ferguson as Floyd McGraw, Randall Bacon as Jonathan ‘Jox’ Apone, Bear Williams as Angelo Cooper, Eoin O’Brien as 'Big Jim’ Pruett, Nicky Whelan as Sheriff Newman, Ryan Francis as Jay Stamper, and Alexander Winters as Deputy Whitlock in the action thriller, 'The Flood,' a Saban Films release.
    (L to R) Mike Ferguson as Floyd McGraw, Randall Bacon as Jonathan ‘Jox’ Apone, Bear Williams as Angelo Cooper, Eoin O’Brien as ‘Big Jim’ Pruett, Nicky Whelan as Sheriff Newman, Ryan Francis as Jay Stamper, and Alexander Winters as Deputy Whitlock in the action thriller, ‘The Flood,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

    MF: What was your experience like working with Louis Mandylor on this movie?

    CVD: Louis’s always magnificent to work with. I think he’s super talented. I mean, he’s a great fighter, but I think he’s an even better actor and I love working with him.

    MF: Your characters have a history together, did you and Louis workout a backstory for their relationship?

    CVD: Well, we really wanted it to be like we had worked together and we wanted it to come across that maybe things weren’t so great, but we did like each other. It’s just that maybe I don’t like all of his principles and I’m a little bit worried about him. I don’t think it’s better if I just hate him and he is all horrible. There’s things I did like about him, but then, when push comes to shove, I’m not willing to take the chances. His character made a big mistake, and my character just can’t come to terms with that. But I think that before that, we had liked each other and then when it came to that turning point, I wanted it to be real. He and I, like I said, have we’ve worked together before and so we had a relationship. We knew of each other beforehand too. So that makes it all interesting, I think, and I’m hoping it came across. That’s what we were hoping for and that’s what I liked about the script because I don’t want it to be all black and white, and there are gray areas. I wanted to have those relationships and hopefully, that all comes across.

    Related Article: ‘Starship Troopers’ Casper Van Dien Talks New Thriller ‘Daughter’

    Louis Mandylor as Rafe Calderon and Casper Van Dien as Russell Cody in the action thriller, 'The Flood,' a Saban Films release.
    (L to R) Louis Mandylor as Rafe Calderon and Casper Van Dien as Russell Cody in the action thriller, ‘The Flood,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

    MF: Can you talk about the VFX used for the alligators and what it was like for you shooting those sequences?

    CVD: I was just acting, so there was nothing whatsoever. We didn’t have any practical effects. I didn’t see any. I just had the descriptions of what was going on in the set and then what the director was telling me. I had to trust that and then watch also the other actors’ performances. There was different things that different people had with them and how they were going to react, and they had to have the visual effects guy there with all that too. So it’s always fun. All that’s fun. I mean, in ‘Starship Troopers,’ we didn’t have the big giant bugs either, they did have some practical in that, but most of it was all us just visualizing what they were telling us, and what they were going to put in afterwards. It was just us fighting against dirt, the ships, and the blue screen and green screens. But other than that, it was just dirt.

    MF: Finally, can you talk about the challenges of working in water?

    CVD: That was not fun. I mean, parts of it were fun and in the beginning, it’s fun. But then the water has all these people in it, and then it gets dirty and people are coming up coughing and you’re in that water. It starts out clean but at the end of the day, I don’t care what they’re putting in it, it isn’t clean anymore. Louis and I, doing that fight sequence, that was in the dirtiest water at the end of the day after everything had been through. So I mean, we’d been through some things, and it was that way every day. Every day you’re in the water. It starts out clean, and then gets real dirty because you have the entire crew in there. You have the equipment coming in and out. You have all the actors coming in and out and you try to keep it clean. You try to do these things, but it just gets dirty and you’re in Thailand. So they’re filling up these things with just big water trucks, filling it up, and it’s just this makeshift water place. It’s a building that they then had to waterproof, and then have rain coming through the ceilings and that’s dirt coming through that. So then you’re in water that I wouldn’t swim in, but I am now acting in it, I’m fighting in it and I’m getting drowned in it, while other people are acting like they are dying in it. Blood is going in there, dirty water, dirty shoes, dirty people and people are sweating and then they’re coming in there and it’s kind of hard to keep it all clean. So that part of it is difficult. I think that on bigger movies, they have water tanks that they can do more stuff with. There’s no way they were being able to measure it out for this. Just all the variables that you were throwing in, and also, we’re in Thailand. We’re not in the States, so the control’s probably not the same as it would be over here. I think they tried to do their best and they would keep changing the water. The water also would drain out because it’s splashing and going around different things. But then, we’d also fill it up at different levels. So there’d be different scenes where it’d be like, “This is ankle deep today. This is waist deep and now, you’re in it.” But it was so much fun, though.

    Nicky Whelan as Sheriff Newman in the action thriller, 'The Flood,' a Saban Films release.
    Nicky Whelan as Sheriff Newman in the action thriller, ‘The Flood,’ a Saban Films release. Photo courtesy of Saban Films.

    Other Movies Similar to ‘The Flood’:

    Buy Tickets: ‘The Flood’ Movie Showtimes

    Buy Casper Van Dien Movies On Amazon

    ‘The Flood’ is produced by Hillin Entertainment, Ashland Hill Media Finance, BGG Capital, Benetone Films, Red Phoenix Productions, and The Video Store. It is scheduled to release in theaters, On Demand and digital beginning July 14th, 2023.

  • ‘Demolition Man’ and 13 More Great Guilty Pleasure Action Movies You Love

    ‘Demolition Man’ and 13 More Great Guilty Pleasure Action Movies You Love

  • Why Disney Will Never Make a Movie as Crazy as ‘Con Air’ Again

    Twenty years ago, the world was bestowed a magical gift in the form of “Con Air,” an action thriller so over-the-top and nonsensical that a longer, more methodically paced “directors cut” made it even more confusing. The film starred Nicolas Cage (back when his post-Oscar-win action movie streak was a novelty) as Cameron Poe (!), a disgraced Army Ranger sentenced to serious jail time after defending his pregnant wife from attackers (this makes no sense whatsoever). When his ride home, the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System aka “Con Air,” gets hijacked by a bunch of villainous freaks, among them Cyrus the Virus (John Malkovich), The Marietta Mangler (Steve Buscemi), Diamond Dog (Ving Rhames) and Pinball (Dave Chapelle), he’s forced to do his best to get the situation under control and aid US Marshall Vince Larkin (John Cusack) in the safe containment of the situation.

    Of course, everything goes to hell, in the most spectacularly violent and least plausible way possible. And the movie, which has the logline of one of those action movies that premieres on Cinemax on Friday night, is surprisingly handsome (British cinematographer David Tattersall, known for his longstanding relationship with George Lucas, shot it) and gleefully entertaining. It was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, who, in 1997, had his hand so firmly on the pulse of the American people that he could have probably been elected to office.

    “Con Air” is crazy. That much we know. But what’s pretty certifiable is that Disney (who produced the movie — more on that in a minute) will never make another movie as crazy ever again.

    First, an explanation about the whole Disney thing, especially when it comes to a movie that has a character named “Johnny-23,” named for the amount of women he raped before being sent to prison. In the early 1980s, the Walt Disney Company’s cinematic output was faltering. Walt had died in 1966 and, honestly, the company had been starved for hits ever since (think about it). In 1984, then-CEO Ron Miller, who was Walt’s son-in-law (he was married to Walt’s daughter, Diane), started Touchstone Pictures as a label that could release PG-rated movies since Disney only put out exclusively G-rated affairs. Their first film was “Splash,” which was a huge hit, and in 1986 they released “Down and Out in Beverly Hills,” the first R-rated Disney film. In 1989, another imprint, Hollywood Pictures, would be developed by Disney and released everything from Bruce Willis erotic thriller “Color of Night” to prestige pictures, like “Quiz Show,” “Evita,” and “Nixon.” In 1993 Disney bought Miramax (which also gave way to Dimension Films), which means that “Trainspotting,” “Pulp Fiction,” and “Priest” are all Disney movies. I’m sorry if your childhood is ruined; try not to think of Snow White shooting up.What movies fell into which offshoot remains hazy, although Touchstone seems to have had a more populist bent, while Hollywood was more niche and genre-oriented, and Miramax was basically whatever Bob and Harvey Weinstein wanted.

    When Bob Iger took over the company following Michael Eisner’s tenure, he began cutting away at what he felt were unnecessary lines of business. Iger wanted to streamline everything and centralize it under a single brand; Walt Disney Pictures wasn’t even used anymore. Everything was simply Disney. It’s easy to see why he did it, he wanted to easily establish what Disney meant and reinforce that meaning through the product. There wouldn’t be confusion over Touchstone versus Hollywood versus Miramax versus Disney, there’d just be Disney. And you’d know what you got when you showed up for a Disney movie, just like you’d know what to expect from a Disney Park or a Disney Cruise.

    That meant Touchstone, Miramax and Hollywood all went away, only resurrected for certain individual movies (like when Disney was releasing DreamWorks’ live-action slate) but without a continuous development slate. These shingles were supposed to be where Disney could release riskier movies and develop filmmakers who didn’t fit within the core Disney brand but that all went away. There’d be no more R-rated releases, only films that appealed to all “four quadrants” of moviegoers. That meant a violent, profanity-filled action-thriller would never be developed, let alone green lit and produced.

    Another reason why Disney will never again make a movie as crazy as “Con Air” is that producer Bruckheimer, who has shepherded such hits as “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “National Treasure” through the studio, has handled just as many costly flops, things like “Prince of Persia: Sands of Time,” “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” (again with Cage), and “The Lone Ranger.” Bruckheimer’s relationship with Disney has frayed; he no longer has a production shingle at the studio and now only produces the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films for the company. Ever wonder why there was never a third “National Treasure” movie? Well, it has a lot to do with the strained relationship between Disney and Bruckheimer.And maybe the most important reason “Con Air” would never get released today is that it is terribly offensive. The screenplay by Scott Rosenberg isn’t exactly filled with nuance and subtlety, but there are also things that would just be inadmissible to a major studio movie in this day and age (and this even goes beyond the “Johnny-23” character). Female characters are basically relegated to victims (I believe there’s a female guard), potential victims (like the small girl you think Buscemi is going to kill), or wallpaper (like Julia Roberts lookalike Monica Potter as Cage’s estranged wife).

    Even more problematic is the character of Ramon “Sally-Can’t Dance” Martinez, played by Renoly Santiago. If you can’t tell by the colorful nickname, this is a character who is flamboyantly gay and a cross-dresser, and if the other characters are cartoons, then he’s something that’s doodled on a cocktail napkin — barely recognizable as a character at all. It could be argued that the character works in the context of the super-sized world of the film, but it would also be something that would prevent the film from being made today.

    So yes, “Con Air,” that towering achievement of insanity, is the rare cultural relic that will never be able to be duplicated or improved upon. It is of its time, for sure, and was only able to exist because a few key factors came together to make it so. These days, Disney is about appealing to everyone and “Con Air,” while conventionally mainstream, would never achieve liftoff.

  • 12 Reasons Why 1997 Was the Best Summer for Movies Ever

    If you look back at the movies that were released May through September of 1997, your initial reaction will probably be, “whoa, those all came out in the same year?!” And what a year it was.

    From “Men in Black” to “The Fifth Element,” that year gave us was one heck of a blockbuster season. The (fictional) President of the United States went full “Die Hard” when his plane was hijacked, and Nic Cage went full action hero — twice. Oh, what a time to be alive.

    Here are 12 reasons why we’ll always be grateful for the films of summer ’97.

  • 10 Times Nicolas Cage Was the Most Cage He’s Ever Been in Movies

    Whether he’s swapping faces with John Travolta or stealing cars with Angelina Jolie, nothing can stop Nicolas Cage from being, well, Nicolas Cage.

    And we, and the internet, love him for that. Because no one gives better GIF than the Cage. From “Face/Off” to “Con Air,” the Oscar-winner refuses to acknowledge the concept of “over the top.” And there is nothing wrong with that.

    In honor of “The Rock” turning 20 years old this week, here are nine times the Oscar-winner went Full Cage on the big screen.