Category Archives: tribute

Rest In Peace, James Van Der Beek

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

It was such a shock to hear that James Van Der Beek passed away earlier today.  He was only 48 years old.

For me, James Van Der Beek will always be Dawson, even though he had a long career.  If he’s not Dawson, he’ll be Mox, the quarterback who wanted to read Vonnegut in peace and who most of all did not “want your life.”  When Dawson’s Creek was at its peak, I was just at the right age to develop a crush on a sensitive young man who just wanted to make movies and read books.  I know a lot of people turned against Dawson as Dawson’s Creek went on.  Joey ended up with Pacey and Lisa and I used to argue for hours about whether or not she made the right choice.  I liked Pacey but I loved Dawson, even when everyone else was turning against him.

James Van Der Beek went on to do some movies.  He played a version of himself in Don’t Trust The B—- In Apartment 23 and he was the funniest and best thing about that show.  The most important thing that James did was that he became a father to six children and my heart goes out to all of them.  Dawson wanted to go to Hollywood but James Van Der Beek left Hollywood to devote himself to being a dad.

Rest in Peace, James Van Der Beek.

Scenes I Love: John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

The legendary director John Ford was born 132 years ago today, in Maine of all places.  He may have been born in New England but few directors have done a better job of capturing, on film, the forces that shaped America.

He also directed one of my favorite films, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.  Today’s scene that I love comes from the end of that 1962 film and it features a line that would become a classic.  “Print the legend.”  That was a line that Ford clearly understood and I imagine it’s one that all great filmmakers eventually come to appreciate.

Happy Birthday in Cinema Heaven to Character Actor, Stuart Margolin!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I love the character actor Stuart Margolin. He’s well known for his work as Angel Martin on the James Garner TV series THE ROCKFORD FILES, but I’ll always appreciate him the most for his important performances with director Michael Winner and actor Charles Bronson in the movies THE STONE KILLER and DEATH WISH. Margolin passed away in 2022 but his legacy on film and TV live on forever!

For a bit of 70’s cinema trivia, if anyone ever asks you who gave Paul Kersey his Colt revolver in the original DEATH WISH, the answer is Aimes Jainchill, played by Mr. Margolin. Join me in celebrating his legacy by watching this scene from the vigilante classic!

Brad’s Scene of the Day: Rutger Hauer in SIN CITY!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Happy Birthday in Heaven to one of my all time favorite actors, Rutger Hauer. I was so happy when his career hit a resurgence in 2005 with roles in SIN CITY and BATMAN BEGINS. Today, I’m celebrating my wife’s birthday, and I’m also celebrating Rutger’s birthday by sharing this scene from the amazing SIN CITY.

Enjoy my friends, and Happy Birthday Rutger! You have brought me so much joy over the years!

Happy 64th Birthday to legendary South Korean Actor Choi Min-sik!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I’m a big fan of the South Korean actor, Choi Min-sik, especially due to his performance in the film OLDBOY (2003). I remember buying the foreign DVD when the movie came out. I had a region-free DVD player so I was able to watch it back in the early 2000’s before everyone else knew about it. Back in those days, it felt like I knew something that nobody else knew, and it was pretty awesome. Choi would soon go on to star in movies like LADY VENGEANCE (2005) and I SAW THE DEVIL (2010), cementing himself as an icon. On his 64th birthday, I invite you to celebrate this fight scene from his legendary performance in OLDBOY!

Happy Birthday, Choi Min-sik!

4 Shots From 4 Films: The Telly Savalas Edition! Happy Birthday, Telly!!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

Telly Savalas would have been 104 years old today. He’s been in many of my favorite movies so I’m glad to celebrate him today with 4 Shots from 4 of my favorites!

Who loves ya, baby? (Telly Savalas as Kojak!)
With Charles Bronson in THE DIRTY DOZEN!
With Clint Eastwood & Donald Sutherland in KELLY’S HEROES!
With Charles Bronson in VIOLENT CITY!

Happy 59th Birthday to the Incredible South Korean Actor Song Kang-ho!

Posted on by Bradley Crain

I discovered South Korean cinema when I ran across the blu ray for SHIRI (1999) at Best Buy some time around the turn of the century. Making the impulse buy, I discovered SHIRI to be an incredible action film. With my appetite sufficiently whetted, I hopped on the Internet and just started searching for more. The next movie I came across was JOINT SECURITY AREA (2000), another great film. I took notice of the actor Song Kang-ho in both films, so I started watching his career very closely. Soon he was starring in the psychological thriller SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE (2002) and the serial killer film MEMORIES OF MURDER (2003). Not only was Song giving incredible acting performances, he was working for two of the great South Korean directors at the time, Park Chan-Wook and Bong Joon Ho. These two incredible directors were making the best films in South Korean cinema and Song’s fingerprints were all over their best work. Films like THE HOST (2006), THIRST (2009) and SNOWPIERCER (2013) soon followed, culminating in Song’s lead performance in Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar winning film PARASITE (2018), the first foreign language film to ever take home the Best Picture Oscar! 

I have now been a fan of Song Kang-ho for over 25 years. He’s still working hard. I just noticed that he has a series that’s streaming on Hulu called UNCLE SAMSIK. I need to check that out. I also noticed that many of his best films are currently available for streaming on so many different platforms… Netflix, Tubi, the Roku Channel, PlutoTV, etc., etc.!

Check out this trailer for MEMORIES OF MURDER. If this doesn’t light your fire, your wood’s wet! Happy Birthday, Song Kang-ho. Thanks for a quarter century of entertainment!

Did you know that Snake Plissken was almost played by….. CHARLES BRONSON?

Posted on by Bradley Crain

If you’re following the page today, you know that The Shattered Lens is celebrating the 78th birthday of legendary Director John Carpenter. Did you know that there was a time when the studio “suits” wanted Charles Bronson to play the role of Snake Plissken in Carpenter’s classic, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK? A big star when the original idea of the film began kicking around, studio executives felt that an experienced, gritty actor like Bronson might be perfect for the role, especially since he was already a solid box office champ.

Carpenter, however, wanted a younger guy to play Plissken and may have even been a little intimidated to work with the veteran action star…

“Charles Bronson had expressed interest in playing Snake, but I was afraid of working with him. He was a big star, and I was this little-shit nobody.”

It all worked out well in the long run as Carpenter was eventually able to cast his first choice for the role, Kurt Russell, who was at an important stage in his own career as he was still in the process of reinventing his on-screen image from his days as a former child star and Disney star. John Carpenter had worked with Russell a couple of years earlier in the TV movie, ELVIS (1979), so he had confidence in the young actor. Russell turned out to be an incredible choice for the film and key to making it the classic it is today.

Still, for a Bronson fan like me, it’s quite interesting to know that there’s a multiverse out there that could have seen Bronson in the iconic role!