(8) Leonard Smalls vs (9) Goblin King
(5) Stan Gable vs (12) Mola Ram
(7) WOPR vs (10) Freddy Krueger
(6) Lieutenant Harris vs (11) Principal Vernon
(7) Scott Farkus vs (10) Jack Torrance
80s Villain Tourney - Session 3
Villain Tourney: First Round - Session 2
Now, things are about to get interesting. Could we have our first upset of the tournament?
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| (1) Boss Hogg vs (16) Skroeder |
I'm not even putting this one up for vote. Boss Hogg is the top-seeded television villain and a force to be reckoned with. Skroeder is the villain from Short Circuit. I expect G.W. Bailey to have better luck with Lieutenant Harris from the Police Academy movies.
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| (8) Clubber Lang vs (9) Prince Humperdinck |
Clubber Lang (Rocky III) versus Prince Humperdinck (The Princess Bride) in an 8/9 matchup? My gut tells me one thing, but this is a potential bracket buster if you liked either of these guys to advance deep.
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| (4) The Kurgan vs (13) Chucky |
The Kurgan!! I'm a huge Highlander fan and the Kurgan is a first class, immortal psycho, but I wouldn't be shocked if Chucky somehow pulled off this huge upset. He's a goofy legend. We'll see which way the votes go.
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| (6) The Nothing vs (11) Cobra Commander |
The Nothing (The Neverending Story) going head to head with Cobra Commander. CC is surely the more famous of the two, even though animated characters were saddled with higher seeds. But, I know a lot of people out there have a soft spot for The Neverending Story. Does the Nothing still haunt their dreams?
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| (3) Gozer/Stay Puft vs (14) El Guapo |
Uh oh. We've got a literal and figurative heavyweight in this matchup. Gozer the Gozerian, the malevolent Sumerian god who took the form of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man versus El Guapo from Three Amigos. "Would you say I have a plethora of pińatas?"
VOTE NOW! On Twitter or Facebook
VILLAIN TOURNEY: First Round - Thursday Session
(2) Khan vs (15) Inky, Blinky, Pinky & Clyde
Khan
KHAAAAAAANNNNNN!!!Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde
They try to kill Pac-Man. Pac-Man eats them. They turn into eye balls, go to their box, try to kill Pac-Man again. You know how it works.(3) Fratelli Gang vs (14) Thunderlips
The Fratelli Gang
A couple boys who love to please their Mother and sing Italian operas. And what can you say about Ma Fratelli? She's tough as nails and keeps her third son (who she dropped repeatedly on his head as a child) locked up in a dungeon. The Fratellis are thieving, murdering snakes who chase the Goonies in a hunt for pirate treasure and if you didn't know that, this blog probably isn't the place for you.Thunderlips
"For all my love-slaves out there... Thunderlips is here! In the flesh, babuh!"Thunderlips may have only been a five-minute cameo in the third Rocky film, but his name is Thunderlips, the Ultimate Male.
(6) Belloq vs (11) Skeletor
Dr. René Belloq
The lead villain in one of the most revered movies of our generation. Belloq sells out to the Nazis to hunt for the Ark of the Covenant in a quest for ultimate power.Skeletor
I have no idea what Skeletor's deal is. He's a skull with a big, blue muscleman body. Skeletor wanted to conquer Castle Grayskull so he could learn its ancient secrets, making him unstoppable and able to conquer all of Eternia. And according to Wikipedia, he was once a man named Keldor who got acid splashed on his face.Just a couple dudes searching for ancient secrets.
(5) David vs (12) George and Eunice
David from The Lost Boys
David got several mentions when we were taking suggestions for this tournament, so I expect him to be pretty popular. The Lost Boys is just one of those films that everyone my age knows and knows well. And Keifer's David is a big reason it sticks with us. (For anyone born in the 90s, he's a vampire that wants to eat you instead of kiss you.)George and Eunice MacCready
George and Eunice (from Cloak and Dagger) are a seemingly nice old couple, that could easily be your kindly grandparents. That's what makes them all the more menacing when you find out Eunice is missing fingers and they are actually murderous super spies trying to smuggle national secrets in little Davey's video game cartridge. (For the full scoop on Cloak and Dagger, you can read our VHessay.)VOTE NOW
In the comments, on Facebook, or Tweet it with the hashtag #VillainTourney
CUJO KEEPS SEED
UPDATE: Although it pains me to say it, Garthe couldn't get overwhelming support in the vote, so we're going to keep Cujo so as not to screw up your brackets. Several people are actually doing this thing with their friends, so breathe easy, your brackets are intact. For now.
Garthe Knight is hijacking Indie Wednesday in a last ditch attempt for votes in his Villain Tournament play-in game. Behold:
http://youtu.be/wq_Dp01wVb4
You didn't know Garthe had it like that did you?
As you can see, its Garthe versus Cujo for an 11 seed.
Vote in the comments, on Facebook, or on Tweet your vote with hashtag #VillainTourney.
Garthe Knight is hijacking Indie Wednesday in a last ditch attempt for votes in his Villain Tournament play-in game. Behold:
http://youtu.be/wq_Dp01wVb4
You didn't know Garthe had it like that did you?
As you can see, its Garthe versus Cujo for an 11 seed.
Vote in the comments, on Facebook, or on Tweet your vote with hashtag #VillainTourney.
Play-In Game: Cujo vs Garthe Knight
We've got a play-in game!
Wait, there's no play-in game on the bracket? You forgot; this is a Villain tournament and Garthe Knight is trying to sneak his way in! You think these guys play by the rules? Adjust your brackets accordingly and prepare to vote.
Garthe Knight
Garthe is Michael Knight's arch-nemesis from Knight Rider and he's got his eye on Cujo's 11 seed. He isn't Michael Knight's evil twin. He's actually billionaire Wilton Knight's biological son. After Michael is shot in the face, Wilton reconstructs him to look exactly like his disappointing son. In other words, Garthe has Daddy issues.Garthe's resume is hall-of-fame worthy for a TV villain. He spent time in an African prison, came to America to steal missiles, constructed an invincible Semi truck to destroy KITT, kidnapped a scientist and changed his appearance, and even smuggled someone out of the country in a submarine. Top notch stuff, Garthe. I'm not surprised he snuck into this tournament through the backdoor.
Cujo
Cujo is the dog-version of Jaws. (With Rabies.)The plot in a nutshell goes like this: a friendly Saint Bernard gets bitten by a bat and shortly thereafter attempts to kill everyone.
Kill Count: 4 (3 directly, 1 indirectly)
VOTE!
Villain Tourney's News and Notes 3.18.13
Dems Da Rules
Here's how this is going to work. We've got a lot of match-ups to get through and once we start, it's going to be a mile a minute. We'll announce each matchup with a little breakdown on the blog. You'll then be able to cast your votes on Facebook with poll questions. Or on Twitter, with the hashtag #VillainTourney. Your poll results equal one vote, then two of the WSF guys get a vote. So each of us counts for a third and each of us can break a tie.
Seedings and Criteria
The number one factor we were looking for were villains that best exemplified the 80s era. Then we used iconic stature, memorability, and our own personal preference as additional criteria. The same criteria will be used to determine the winner of these match-ups. We are not looking for who would win in a fist fight or even who holds a higher place in cinematic/television history. Who do we remember the most? Who entertained us the most? Which character wreaks of 80s greatness?
The Rocky Trio
First of all, I can already hear the grumbling. How can one franchise get three spots in the tournament?! Well, as in college basketball, some conferences are just stronger than others. In a year that the Big East could get seven bids, the SEC might only get two. Look at the rest of the field and tell me Ivan Drago, Clubber Lang, and Thunderlips don't belong. Thunderlips was a cameo appearance at best, you say. Well, his name is Thunderlips the Ultimate Male, I say! Your argument is moot.
Lex Luthor and Jaws
Yes, Lex Luthor and Jaws are both 15 seeds. But before you burn the WSF compound to the ground, let's take a closer look at why. We're confined to films, shows, and games released from 1980-1989. That means earlier iterations from the original Jaws and Superman films don't count. Instead, we're talking about Jaws 3D and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. (Superman II was produced in 1980, but Zod was the primary villain and Luthor doesn't appear in the third film.) Makes more sense now, right? Trust me, both characters are lucky to even make the field with those stinkers.
Animated Characters and Video Games
Let's be honest; 64 slots are a lot to fill. When pickings began to get slim, we could have either trimmed the field down to 32 and leave some contenders behind or broaden our scope a bit and let in some legendary cartoons and video game characters. Early reactions indicate that most of you are onboard with the decision.
Wrestling
Ric Flair and Roddy Piper were two of the "Last Four In." The 80s were the golden era of professional wrestling, it is entertainment, it is scripted and these are characters, so I have no qualms whatsoever in giving them bids. In fact, I'd contend that these characters are as memorable as 90% of the field. Plus, Piper also had Saturday morning cartoon crossover exposure as the lead villain on Hulk Hogan's Rock n' Wrestling.
Enjoy the March Madness and get ready to vote!
80s Villain Bracket
It is time! March Madness is here and for us, that means the 80s Villain Tournament! Without further ado, download your Printable Bracket right now!
The Selection Committee was up until the wee hours seeding all 64 competitors and it was not an easy task. Just as with any tournament, I'm sure many of you will be up in arms over some of the seeds. Read all about the rules and process here.
Results start rolling in Thursday. Keep checking in for matchup breakdowns and voting right here at blog.walksoftlyfilms.com
march madness: 80s Villain Tournament!
March Madness! It's our favorite time of the year here in the great State of Kentucky. What better way to celebrate than by holding a little tournament of our own? Prepare yourselves for the 80s Villain Tournament!
We'll announce the field and seedings on Selection Sunday and you can grab your bracket for the office pool. The only guarantee I can give you is this: Johnny Lawrence is getting a 1 seed.
indie wednesday: friends and pies
This clip comes from the IFC channel, so that counts as indie, right?
No? Well, it made me laugh, so you're getting it anyway. Michael Cera improvises a song with Reggie Watts from a show I didn't know existed: Comedy Bang! Bang! on IFC. Apart from getting this song stuck in my brain for the foreseeable future, it also made me believe Michael Cera could easily step in as the lead singer for Train at any time.
Indie Wednesday is intended to be a haven for DIY, undiscovered, and micro-budget indie shorts. Creative people getting the absolute most out of minimal resources. The problem is, I'm having more and more trouble finding those things in conjunction with entertainment value. So, we turn to you fine people. If you want to point us in the direction of a short film or web series that should be featured here, email it to indiewednesday@walksoftlyfilms.com.
Have fun singing about pies for the rest of the week.
I hope we've all learned a lesson here today.
surreel film's news and notes 3.11.13
It's a tough time for News and Notes these days. Apart from Space Cops 4 (which has already been talked to death), the primary thing I'm working on is a double-hush secret. Not good for entertaining blogging.
However, there is hope for entertainment this Monday morning. Behold! The Surreel Film podcast! And I'm going to take one for the team by directing your attention to the newest episode. Don't get me wrong; Chris Ritter and gang do a great job with the show and you're going to enjoy it. But, I'm afraid their "exclusive interview" with yours truly will surely be an embarrassing, incoherent mess as usual.
To prove my point, let's make a game out of it. The interview starts at about the 12:30 mark and I am 99% certain that at some point in my ramblings, I actually said the word "glorious."
- Challenge 1: Find the moment I say it.
- Challenge 2: Try not to cringe when you hear it. (Impossible.)
Enjoy, everyone. My pain is all for you. And keep a look out for anything else we might hit you with this week, including Indie Wednesday.