The 1980s was a seminal period in the development of what we now define as the action movie. This was the decade that cemented the statuses of both Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the muscle-bound box office behemoths eating the competition for breakfast. Having emerged off the back of critically acclaimed efforts like Rocky and The Terminator, the years that followed saw the pair hone their greased-up on-screen personas to fine effect.
It wasn’t all about the muscles though. The 1980s also ushered in the era of the everyman action star with Bruce Willis in Die Hard and Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop opting for brains over brawn and reaping the benefits in multiplexes far and wide as a result. While Hollywood basked in the glory of a new generation of leading men, in the Far East, Jackie Chan was taking action movie physicality to a whole...
It wasn’t all about the muscles though. The 1980s also ushered in the era of the everyman action star with Bruce Willis in Die Hard and Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop opting for brains over brawn and reaping the benefits in multiplexes far and wide as a result. While Hollywood basked in the glory of a new generation of leading men, in the Far East, Jackie Chan was taking action movie physicality to a whole...
- 2/17/2024
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
Mardik Martin, a screenwriter who collaborated on such films as Raging Bull and Mean Streets, died today in Los Angeles. He was 82 and his death was confirmed by former WGA West president Howard Rodman in a tweet. No cause of death was given.
Martin was born in Iran and lived in Iraq, entering the film world by working for a distributor during his teens. He moved to New York to attend New York University as an economics major. But the lure of film proved greater, and his immersion in the film department led to meeting Martin Scorsese. Their friendship led to a life-long collaboration, including work on Scorsese’s feature debut, Who’s That Knocking at My Door?”
Rodman’s tweet recalled Martin fondly. “To say that Mardik was one of a kind is a wild understatement. No one—no one—will ever fill those shoes. May he rest in well-earned peace.
Martin was born in Iran and lived in Iraq, entering the film world by working for a distributor during his teens. He moved to New York to attend New York University as an economics major. But the lure of film proved greater, and his immersion in the film department led to meeting Martin Scorsese. Their friendship led to a life-long collaboration, including work on Scorsese’s feature debut, Who’s That Knocking at My Door?”
Rodman’s tweet recalled Martin fondly. “To say that Mardik was one of a kind is a wild understatement. No one—no one—will ever fill those shoes. May he rest in well-earned peace.
- 9/12/2019
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Screenwriter Mardik Martin, a frequent collaborator with Martin Scorsese on films including “Raging Bull,” “Mean Streets” and “New York, New York,” died Wednesday in Los Angeles at 82.
Born in Iran to an Armenian family and raised in Iraq, where he worked for a film distributor as a teenager, Martin moved to the U.S. to study economics at NYU, then gravitated to the film department, where he met Scorsese in 1961. Soon after, he began working with the director on some of his early films such as the 1964 short “It’s Not Just You, Murray,” then on Scorsese’s feature debut, “Who’s That Knocking at My Door?” and documentary “Italianamerican.”
Screenwriter Howard Rodman was among those who recalled his career.
My friend and colleague Mardik Martin died this morning. You may know him for his writing in Mean Streets, Raging Bull, New York New York.
To say that Mardik was...
Born in Iran to an Armenian family and raised in Iraq, where he worked for a film distributor as a teenager, Martin moved to the U.S. to study economics at NYU, then gravitated to the film department, where he met Scorsese in 1961. Soon after, he began working with the director on some of his early films such as the 1964 short “It’s Not Just You, Murray,” then on Scorsese’s feature debut, “Who’s That Knocking at My Door?” and documentary “Italianamerican.”
Screenwriter Howard Rodman was among those who recalled his career.
My friend and colleague Mardik Martin died this morning. You may know him for his writing in Mean Streets, Raging Bull, New York New York.
To say that Mardik was...
- 9/12/2019
- by Pat Saperstein
- Variety Film + TV
Mardik Martin, a longtime friend and collaborator of Martin Scorsese whose writing credits included “Mean Streets,” “New York, New York,” and “Raging Bull,” died Wednesday from undisclosed causes. He was 82.
The Armenian Film Society first announced the news Wednesday afternoon.
“My friend and colleague Mardik Martin died this morning,” his friend, former WGA West president Howard A. Rodman, said Wednesday night. “To say that Mardik was one of a kind is a wild understatement. No one–no one–will ever fill those shoes. May he rest in well-earned peace.”
Mardik’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
Born in Iran to an Armenian family and raised in Iraq, Martin immigrated from Iraq to the United States as a young man. He received a master’s degree in 1968 from New York University and subsequently taught at the school,...
The Armenian Film Society first announced the news Wednesday afternoon.
“My friend and colleague Mardik Martin died this morning,” his friend, former WGA West president Howard A. Rodman, said Wednesday night. “To say that Mardik was one of a kind is a wild understatement. No one–no one–will ever fill those shoes. May he rest in well-earned peace.”
Mardik’s representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.
Born in Iran to an Armenian family and raised in Iraq, Martin immigrated from Iraq to the United States as a young man. He received a master’s degree in 1968 from New York University and subsequently taught at the school,...
- 9/12/2019
- by Lawrence Yee
- The Wrap
In between the likes of Yoga Hosers and his directorial input on DC’s small-screen universe through The Flash and, soon, Supergirl, writer-director Kevin Smith has spent the past few months developing a TV spinoff based on cult MGM classic, The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension.
All of that progress has come screeching to a halt, however, with Deadline reporting that Kevin Smith has abruptly pulled out of the gestating Buckaroo Banzai TV show. Smith later posted a frank 18-minute Facebook video to explain his reasoning, which can be traced to the federal lawsuit filed by MGM against the original creator Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter, the director of the 1984 flick, over complicated rights issues.
Originally set for a 2017 premiere by Amazon Studios, there’s no word of an official statement from the studio at the time of writing, though the mere fact that Smith is...
All of that progress has come screeching to a halt, however, with Deadline reporting that Kevin Smith has abruptly pulled out of the gestating Buckaroo Banzai TV show. Smith later posted a frank 18-minute Facebook video to explain his reasoning, which can be traced to the federal lawsuit filed by MGM against the original creator Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter, the director of the 1984 flick, over complicated rights issues.
Originally set for a 2017 premiere by Amazon Studios, there’s no word of an official statement from the studio at the time of writing, though the mere fact that Smith is...
- 11/29/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
If you were one of those who were looking forward to Kevin Smith's adaptation of The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai for Amazon, I've got some bads news for you. Earlier today MGM filed suit against director Walter D. Richter and writer Earl Mac Rauch, the two men who brought Buckaroo Banzai to life with Peter Weller back in 1984. Both Richter and Rauch claimed to have rights in any... Read More...
- 11/29/2016
- by Kevin Fraser
- JoBlo.com
Earlier today, we reported that MGM had filed a lawsuit against Earl Mac Rauch and W.D. Richter, the director and writer behind The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension, over some disagreements regarding the rights to the original movie and its universe. MGM has been trying to make a Buckaroo Banzai TV series with Kevin Smith, but Rauch and Richter have been claiming that they control the rights to the characters, so the studio wants to stop them from trying to prevent the further development of its TV project.
Ironically, that seems to have backfired, as the show itself might not happen now because of the lawsuit. According to Deadline, Kevin Smith has dropped out of the project, explaining that he was “caught off-guard” by this legal disagreement. “This is not what I signed up for,” he said, adding that he “literally had no idea” that Rauch ...
Ironically, that seems to have backfired, as the show itself might not happen now because of the lawsuit. According to Deadline, Kevin Smith has dropped out of the project, explaining that he was “caught off-guard” by this legal disagreement. “This is not what I signed up for,” he said, adding that he “literally had no idea” that Rauch ...
- 11/28/2016
- by Sam Barsanti
- avclub.com
There hasn’t been a single ruling in MGM’s copyright lawsuit for a Buckaroo Banzai TV series, but there’s already two clear casualties: Kevin Smith and the show itself, at least for now. After the studio filed legal paperwork November 23 against the 1984 movie’s director W.D. Richter and writer Earl Mac Rauch, the Clerks creator went online today to declare “I’m no longer involved” with the proposed Amazon TV series version. “This is not what I signed up for,” Smith said…...
- 11/28/2016
- Deadline TV
Way back in May, we reported that Kevin Smith had started developing a TV show based on the cult classic film The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension for MGM. That project appears to be moving forward now, as MGM has begun getting its proverbial ducks in a row by filing a lawsuit against Earl Mac Rauch and Walter Richter, the writer and director behind that original film. The issue is that MGM claims to own the Buckaroo Banzai rights, but Rauch and Richter have apparently been sending letters to the studio indicating that they own the rights, so MGM wants to get it legally cleared up before it gets invested in this whole TV show thing.
This comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which says that the lawsuit claims that Rauch and Richter have been “aware” of MGM’s intention to make a Buckaroo Banzai TV show since...
This comes from The Hollywood Reporter, which says that the lawsuit claims that Rauch and Richter have been “aware” of MGM’s intention to make a Buckaroo Banzai TV show since...
- 11/28/2016
- by Sam Barsanti
- avclub.com
Joseph Baxter Louisa Mellor Nov 29, 2016
MGM is taking the creators of Buckaroo Banzai to court over the rights to the property; Kevin Smith exits the project...
Fans of the perennial cult classic sci-fi film The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension had plenty of reasons to get excited this past July when it was reported that a belated follow-up to the 1984 film was in the works, set to be revived by Kevin Smith – in conjunction with MGM – as a television series for Amazon.
See related Brad Peyton interview: San Andreas, The Rock, Statham, Star Wars Rampage movie to shoot this year, The Rock confirms new writers
However, it was later reported that original writer Earl Mac Rauch and director W.D. Richter were claiming the property rights. Consequently, it’s looking like this matter is destined to be settled in a courtroom.
It has been revealed (via THR) that,...
MGM is taking the creators of Buckaroo Banzai to court over the rights to the property; Kevin Smith exits the project...
Fans of the perennial cult classic sci-fi film The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension had plenty of reasons to get excited this past July when it was reported that a belated follow-up to the 1984 film was in the works, set to be revived by Kevin Smith – in conjunction with MGM – as a television series for Amazon.
See related Brad Peyton interview: San Andreas, The Rock, Statham, Star Wars Rampage movie to shoot this year, The Rock confirms new writers
However, it was later reported that original writer Earl Mac Rauch and director W.D. Richter were claiming the property rights. Consequently, it’s looking like this matter is destined to be settled in a courtroom.
It has been revealed (via THR) that,...
- 11/28/2016
- Den of Geek
It’s not a great interdimensional breakthrough, but MGM is taking legal steps to ensure it has rights to make a TV version of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. The 1984 cult pic about a rock star/surgeon and his Hong Kong Cavaliers battling an alien invasion was written by Earl Mac Rauch and directed by Walter D. Richter, and both of them claim to have rights to a television remake. MGM begs to differ. “There is now a substantial controversy…...
- 11/28/2016
- Deadline TV
It’s not a great interdimensional breakthrough, but MGM is taking legal steps to ensure it has rights to make a TV version of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. The 1984 cult pic about a rock star/surgeon and his Hong Kong Cavaliers battling an alien invasion was written by Earl Mac Rauch and directed by Walter D. Richter, and both of them claim to have rights to a television remake. MGM begs to differ. “There is now a substantial controversy…...
- 11/28/2016
- Deadline
The new branded line Shout Selects chooses Buckaroo for special-special edition treatment, with a long making-of docu just like the ones from the heyday of DVD. And this oddest of oddball sci-fi pictures has a backstory worth documenting. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Blu-ray Shout Select 1984 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 102 min. / Street Date August 16, 2016 / 34.93 Starring: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Ellen Barkin, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Lloyd, Lewis Smith, Rosalind Cash, Robert Ito, Pepe Serna, Ronald Lacey, Matt Clark, Clancy Brown, Carl Lumbly, Vincent Schiavelli, Dan Hedaya, Bill Henderson, Damon Hines, Billy Vera Cinematography Fred J. Koenekamp Production Designer J. Michael Riva Art Direction Richard Carter, Stephen Dane Film Editor George Bowers, Richard Marks Original Music Michael Boddicker Written by Earl Mac Rauch Produced by Sidney Beckerman, Neil Canton, W.D. Richter Directed by W.D. Richter
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Not content with its already well appointed special Blu-ray editions,...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Not content with its already well appointed special Blu-ray editions,...
- 8/2/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
One of the more exciting small screen announcements in the last month or so has been the news that filmmaker Kevin Smith is working on a TV series adaptation of MGM's 1984 cult classic sci-fi adventure "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension".
Smith scored the gig after his job directing an episode of The CW's "The Flash" series last year. Now he plans to continue the trend of getting high profile filmmakers guest directing random episodes of a TV series they're otherwise not involved in. Speaking with ComingSoon.net at Fantasia Fest, Smith revealed the names of a handful of directors that he hopes to recruit to helm episodes he's not involved in:
"I wanna get the people who loved it as much as me, so people like Richard Kelly, Edgar Wright, I'm gonna reach out to Quentin Tarantino, see if they'll direct an episode. 'Here's a chunk of change,...
Smith scored the gig after his job directing an episode of The CW's "The Flash" series last year. Now he plans to continue the trend of getting high profile filmmakers guest directing random episodes of a TV series they're otherwise not involved in. Speaking with ComingSoon.net at Fantasia Fest, Smith revealed the names of a handful of directors that he hopes to recruit to helm episodes he's not involved in:
"I wanna get the people who loved it as much as me, so people like Richard Kelly, Edgar Wright, I'm gonna reach out to Quentin Tarantino, see if they'll direct an episode. 'Here's a chunk of change,...
- 8/1/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Filmmaker Kevin Smith says his success directing last week's episode of The CW's "The Flash" has been such a success that it has opened up some "weird doors" all over Hollywood with three projects setup over the past week with one of them being MGM TV which produces FX's "Fargo" series.
Smith was invited to discuss the possibility of turning another film into a TV series, something much more genre and cult-based - the 1984 genre-defying sci-fi film "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension". Smith says he's "loved the movie forever" and speaking on a recent instalment of his Hollywood Babble-On podcast, he explained his idea for a TV series version:
"Basically you just do the entire movie for season one, then season two you finally do the sequel we've all dreamed about, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League."
MGM liked what they heard as Smith says...
Smith was invited to discuss the possibility of turning another film into a TV series, something much more genre and cult-based - the 1984 genre-defying sci-fi film "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension". Smith says he's "loved the movie forever" and speaking on a recent instalment of his Hollywood Babble-On podcast, he explained his idea for a TV series version:
"Basically you just do the entire movie for season one, then season two you finally do the sequel we've all dreamed about, Buckaroo Banzai Against the World Crime League."
MGM liked what they heard as Smith says...
- 5/16/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Stars: Peter Weller, John Lithgow, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin, Lewis Smith, Rosalind Cash, Robert Ito, Pepe Serna, Ronald Lacey, Matt Clark, Clancy Brown, William Traylor, Carl Lumbly, Vincent Schiavelli | Written by Earl Mac Rauch | Directed by W.D. Richter
Arrow Video know their cult movies, you just have to look at the ones they’ve released to see that. If you were to ask the question, how crazy can a cult movie be? I think you just have to look at their latest release for that. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is probably one of the strangest (yet still good) Eighties movies you’ll ever see.
When Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller), the brilliant physicist-neurosurgeon-martial arts master-secret-rock star manages to use the Oscillation Overthruster to travel to the 8th dimension he draws the attention of the Red Lectroids (an alien race obviously.) Working with Banzai’s...
Arrow Video know their cult movies, you just have to look at the ones they’ve released to see that. If you were to ask the question, how crazy can a cult movie be? I think you just have to look at their latest release for that. The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension is probably one of the strangest (yet still good) Eighties movies you’ll ever see.
When Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller), the brilliant physicist-neurosurgeon-martial arts master-secret-rock star manages to use the Oscillation Overthruster to travel to the 8th dimension he draws the attention of the Red Lectroids (an alien race obviously.) Working with Banzai’s...
- 7/22/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
Nearly every one of the great directors who came of age in the 1970s -- including Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, William Friedkin, Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Cimino -- had his own personal Waterloo. Within five to ten years of their breakouts, they'd each shot a massive flop, an epic where ambition and ego had outraced maturity and restraint. Coppola had "One from the Heart," Spielberg had "1941," Friedkin had "Sorcerer," Bogdanovich had "At Long Last Love," and Cimino (most infamously) had "Heaven's Gate." In Scorsese's case, the iceberg was his lavish musical "New York, New York" (released 35 years ago this week, on June 21, 1977). Its failure not only marred his career, it nearly killed him. The disaster may have begun with Scorsese's stylistic approach to the movie, a clash between incompatible filmmaking modes of the old Hollywood he admired and the new Hollywood he'd helped replace it with. It was...
- 6/20/2012
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
It’s quite possibly the weirdest sci-fi movie ever made, and features a great, eclectic cast. Jeff takes a look back at the classic Buckaroo Banzai…
It’s safe to say there are few movies out there like The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension, a film whose title alone announces its intention to diverge from the often prefabricated course of studio films (just as Banzai’s jetcar does in the film’s opening moments).
Based on the book by Earl Mac Rauch, and directed by Wd Richter, it’s clear that the early-to-mid 1980s were a good time for science fiction films to get made in the wake of the wild success of Star Wars and its ilk, which meant that some pretty weird and idiosyncratic ones trickled through as well (like some of Joe Dante’s work of the era).
Still, it’s a wonder the...
It’s safe to say there are few movies out there like The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension, a film whose title alone announces its intention to diverge from the often prefabricated course of studio films (just as Banzai’s jetcar does in the film’s opening moments).
Based on the book by Earl Mac Rauch, and directed by Wd Richter, it’s clear that the early-to-mid 1980s were a good time for science fiction films to get made in the wake of the wild success of Star Wars and its ilk, which meant that some pretty weird and idiosyncratic ones trickled through as well (like some of Joe Dante’s work of the era).
Still, it’s a wonder the...
- 11/3/2011
- Den of Geek
From the cult movie Buckaroo Banzai Moonstone is bringing back another hero, this one the human achievement of action and rock itself Buckaroo! The synopsis: Your favorite neurosurgeon/rock star/adventurer returns, along with his Hong Kong Cavaliers, in: Tears of a Clone!...where a Death's Head tank squad lurks in suburbia, talking bouncer-robots attack, expensive love wants to erupt, and Lectroids run with scissors, and thenÉ shotguns! The world may never be the same. Buckaroo Banzai #1 is written by Earl Mac Rauch and Paul D. Storrie, art's by David Daza, colors by Patrick Williams and covers are by Paul Gulacy and Bill Wiist. The Moonstone production will retail for $3.99 and be 32 pages. Heres the classic trailer: LEEE777 - I've seen the film before, I liked it, read looks good, how about you?...
- 3/14/2011
- ComicBookMovie.com
We've already argued that 1982 was a terrific year for geeky movies - but, wonders Jeff, did 1984 top it?
Earlier this week, it was put forth on this site by Ryan Lambie that 1982 was a great year to be a geek at the movies. While it's hard to disagree with this, it's my contention that the 84 vintage was even more refined.
Need nostalgic refreshment? Take a sip of these...
The Terminator
Somewhere between the original Conan and this film, Ah-Nuld became a bona fide mega-star (see Conan The Destroyer below). With this first instalment in the Terminator franchise, James Cameron showed that he knew how to craft a movie that's basically one extended chase sequence wrapped around a highbrow concept lifted from some Harlan Ellison-penned episodes of The Outer Limits. Relentless, cut so tightly you could bounce coins off it, and with Schwarzenegger at his emotionless best, it's the kind...
Earlier this week, it was put forth on this site by Ryan Lambie that 1982 was a great year to be a geek at the movies. While it's hard to disagree with this, it's my contention that the 84 vintage was even more refined.
Need nostalgic refreshment? Take a sip of these...
The Terminator
Somewhere between the original Conan and this film, Ah-Nuld became a bona fide mega-star (see Conan The Destroyer below). With this first instalment in the Terminator franchise, James Cameron showed that he knew how to craft a movie that's basically one extended chase sequence wrapped around a highbrow concept lifted from some Harlan Ellison-penned episodes of The Outer Limits. Relentless, cut so tightly you could bounce coins off it, and with Schwarzenegger at his emotionless best, it's the kind...
- 7/14/2010
- Den of Geek
On Monday evening, Ain't It Cool News' longtime film critic and entertainment writer Mr. Beaks hosted a q&a at Los Angeles' storied New Beverly Cinema for The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension. Although neither writer Earl Mac Rauch nor director W. D. Richter were in attendance, star Peter Weller and two members of Buckaroo Banzai's band, Billy Vera and Gerald Peterson, participated in a lively discussion about the film, fielded questions from the capacity crowd, and ruminated on the meaning (then and now) of this cult classic.
By comparison, the previous evening's q&a with cast members from Repo Man, including Harry Dean Stanton and Del Zamora, was underwhelming despite Stanton's reliable cantankerousness: Stanton seemed to have trouble hearing his fellow cast members, and eventually said that the session was going on forever. But as the last few seats got filled in, Mr. Beaks managed tenuously...
By comparison, the previous evening's q&a with cast members from Repo Man, including Harry Dean Stanton and Del Zamora, was underwhelming despite Stanton's reliable cantankerousness: Stanton seemed to have trouble hearing his fellow cast members, and eventually said that the session was going on forever. But as the last few seats got filled in, Mr. Beaks managed tenuously...
- 4/1/2010
- by Todd Gilchrist
- Cinematical
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