A Day Off Topic - Ridley Scott Films

I wrote about the Apple Car and the famous 1984 television ad directed by Ridley Scott. I watched one of my favorite Scott films, "Gladiator" last night. I started thinking about how many truly great films this man has directed and how I feel he is not given enough credit for his fantastic vision and work. So, I thought I'd write about some of his great films and ask you which one is your favorite. Let's talk about them chronologically from earliest to most recent...

In 1979 a Sci-Fi film set a new standard for effects and scared the hell out of movie goers! "ALIEN" introduced us to Sigourney Weaver and a female character who kicked some butt! This has always been one of my favorite films and I watch it constantly. The look, the story and that damn Alien never let's you get bored when watching this superb classic!





Then in 1982 Harrison Ford stars in Scott's next big hit..."Blade Runner!" A futuristic look at Replicants so alive, that even the experts hired to hunt them down can barely tell if they are human or not. We see the beautiful and sexy Sean Young in a role that defined her career. Another triumph of futuristic vision and story told by the amazing Ridley Scott!





In 1991 "Thelma and Louise" came calling. Ridley wasn't supposed to direct the film and decided to do it as a last resort. Another groundbreaking Scott film dealing with two women, Susan Sarandon (Louise) and Geen Davis (Thelma) who turn to crime after Thelma is raped. This movie introduced the public to another eventual star...Brad Pitt! Incrediblely beautiful shooting took place in Monument Valley along with a wild adventure that ends with the tragic demise of the two leads.





At the turn of the Century we went back a number of centuries to witness Ridley Scott's epic..."GLADIATOR!" This film amazed me with its incredible visual effects and the Oscar Winning performance that made Russell Crowe a Super Star! Another rising star Djimon Hounsou gave an incredible performance while Hans Zimmer wrote a haunting and beautiful soundtrack! One of my most favorite films of all time!





In 2001 Ridley decided to direct "Black Hawk Down." Based on the true story about American Rangers going into Somalia to rescue their fellow Rangers after their helicopters were shot down in Mogadishu. Another Scott film which introduces us to another future star in Orlando Bloom. The action scenes are fantastic, and as always, Scott's team casts greats such as Ewan McGregor, Josh Hartnett and Sam Shepard!





Finally, in 2007 Scott takes on another film based on a true story..."American Gangster!" Two of the finest modern actors, Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington head up a cast that tells the story about Frank Lucas, a Manhattan drug king peddling millions of dollars of heroin in the 1970's. The film is gritty, realistic and does not glorify crime.





There you have Six great films by Ridley Scott! Take a look at the trailers, then vote for your favorite in our poll at the top of the page.

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Disney Pixar Cars - How Do You Collect?

A friend who also collects Cars die cast toys called me and asked me how I collect. Basically, she wanted to know if I collect EVERY variation and anything that comes out. Personally, I follow a very simple strategy. As new Cars come out, I simply add them to my collection. I am not a collector who will buy every Desert backed character, then buy every World of Cars backed variation, and now the soon to be released Race Track backed variation. Why buy the same Car three times? To get the different packaging. Nah! It is still the same Car. Others would say getting every packaging variation is cool to them. I say it gets to be impractical and too expensive. But, as the saying goes, "To each his own."

I am collecting like a large number of collectors...I am building two sets, one to keep Mint On Card, and one to eventually open and display as part of a Radiator Springs diorama. I also collect Movie Moments that have unique characters. For example Flik and Flea, Sully and Mike, or Dinoco Blue Mia and Tia. I won't get Movie Moments such as Cruisin' McQueen and Sally because they've been released individually. The same holds true for triple packs such as Al Oft, Tow and Race Official Tom. They've all been released individually. Gold Mia and Tia with Bling Bling McQueen however, have not all been released individually, so I bought that triple pack.

I buy all the Limited Edition or Limited Release Cars such as Blu-Ray McQueen, Lightning Storm McQueen, Chase McQueen with Bumper Stickers and Chase Fred with Bumper Stickers. I also get the Promotional Cars such as the recently released Sidewall Shine in a display case.

One area of Cars collecting I'd like to get a few of are Error Cars. Cars with the wrong wheels or missing an obvious element. Fred without his license plate comes to mind. Would Kori Turbowitz be considered an Error? She has no side view mirrors. How about Mario Andretti's rims being the wrong color? Packaging errors are fun, but not really an error in the Car itself. A lot of those have been found. A yellow Ramone in a Lightning McQueen package, or a Doc Hudson in a Mater package for example.

Finally, I've been collecting Cars that have been autographed. I have Darryl Waltrip's and Mario Andretti's signatures on their respective Cars characters. I'm bummed I'll never be able to get George Carlin's signature due to his passing. I'll keep working on the rest of the characters and see where I end up.

So, how to you collect ? Are you similar to me? Are you a crazed completest? Do you only collect one character? There's no "Right" way! There's the way that makes you happy!

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Disney Pixar Cars - NEW Fred Measures Up!

I took a look at Cars the movie and froze the scenes that Fred was in. We first see him as he hangs out at the Rusteze sponsor tent at the Motor Speedway of the South. We can clearly see that he is a smaller Car, but we can't see his real comparative scale because Lightning drives past him.


Later at the Los Angeles Motor Speedway we see Fred trying to get by security as Mario Andretti comes in. Fred's wheels are about half the size of Mario's and we get a better idea of his size.


I'd conclude that Fred is indeed truer to scale as the New smaller version. Fred has been compared to the 1962 AMC Rambler. AMC was known for making smaller cars and it would make sense.


Here's a cousin to Fred, and that looks like a possible cousin of Mater's to his right. They need some Rusteze Medicated Bumper Ointment, and a visit from Doc Hudson to get them back on the road!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Ebay Contraband!

American Intellectual Property rights have been severely infringed on in places like China. An Ebay seller from Hong Kong is selling Disney Pixar Cars characters that Mattel has not even released. I spoke to a contact at Mattel who agreed with me that the items are highly likely to be stolen. Take a look...

I'm one of the most fervent of collectors and am aware that people want to get the newest release, but why buy stolen goods?! Not just that, but people are paying ridiculous prices for items they could get for $3.47 when they are legally released to the public. Sally With Cone sold for $101.23, Dexter Hoover for $40.99, Spinout McQueen also went for $40.99! How about some racers? Shiny Wax was low at $20.50, while View Zeen was the highest racer at $44.02, and Transberry Juice sold for $39.99!

It is not as if these Cars are not going to be abundant and easy to get folks!! So, what are you willing to pay for something that is truly rare? We see the lofty prices the Motor Speedway of the South set has hit (found one that sold for $1450 today). Right now Lightning Storm McQueen is looking like a bargain as he's selling for between $34.00 to $39.00! A supremely done Limited Edition of 7000 is selling for the same as these contraband Cars! Cars that will soon be out on the market by the hundreds of thousands. Use your brain people and boycott stolen items.

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Disney Pixar Cars - Big Fred & Little (Chase) Fred

I went to Saint Pete last night to see my Red Sox play the Devil Rays and witnessed some of the biggest idiots at a sporting event ever! Two rows of thirty-somethings that were drunk, obnoxious and inconsiderate. The entire night was spent trying to watch the game as the buffoons stood up and blocked everyone's view while acting like morons. What's this got to do with Fred?! Well, I'm not going to tell you the entire night's events because it is just too long to go into. What I'll tell you is that the night was a mess until I decided to go into a Wal-Mart on the way home. I went to the toy department and saw pallets stacked all over the place. I looked, and to my amazement found a T-Case! For the first time ever, I was lucky enough to get to a coveted case before the Ebay Hogs! I asked an associate if I could open it and get what I wanted. He pulled out his razor knife and cut it open for me. There inside was Fred with Bumper Stickers and Axel Accelerator!! I was elated and shocked to make the find. I decided to see if there were any other Cars cases. I saw a few E Cases and an M Case, all were already opened and picked over. Then, I spied one last Case and it had the letter T on it! How could they have missed it? I opened it and got my second Fred! So, my night finished up with a positive and unexpected bang!

So, how does Big Fred compare to the New Little Fred? To start, Big Fred is 2-5/8 inches long, while Little Fred is 1-7/8 inches long. Little Fred has bumper stickers on him, while Big Fred is sans stickers. They are the same otherwise. The packaging is slightly different. Big Fred has the World of Cars backer with NEW Shield, and the #44 for the collector's checklist. Little Fred has the Chase Shield, with the #87 and a fancier white name plate. I like both, and want to actually take a look at the film to see which is more in scale with the rest of the characters. As some have pointed out, the New Fred almost looks like a Mini. Either way, I scored for once and as any of you know, that's a great feeling! Good luck finding your Fred with Bumper Stickers.

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Disney Pixar Cars - Customer Service Phone #'s

Ever try to find a phone number to check on your Red Line Club order? How about a mess up with your MattyCollector.com Lightning McQueen order? Maybe you want to go to a Disney Special Event and need to find out more info. Well, to help make our readers' lives easier, we have posted Customer Service phone numbers just under "Our Preferred Site Links." So, if you are like me, and can't find a number when you need it, just make a quick visit to Alternator Valley and we're here to help!

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Disney Pixar Cars - Check Your Receipt At TRU!

I went to Toys R Us today to buy five more Cars die cast toys. I got my first Sidewall Shine yesterday and was blown away by how well it was done, thus I wanted to order another. I got home, looked at my receipt and realized the stupid woman rang in the same item twice! Why is this a problem you ask? Because now, my receipt doesn't match the UPC codes on the backer cards I need to send in to complete the offer. So, now I have to go back to the store and make certain the next person scans each one individually.

So, take my advice and learn from my misfortune...Make certain each car is individually rung in and matches the list of the UPC codes for the offer.

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Disney Pixar Cars - The Arrival of Sidewall Shine

Many have started to receive their Sidewall Shine die cast cars! I got mine today. Sidewall Shine was greeted by Lightning McQueen and Luigi. His packing was very thorough and he needed help being unpacked...

Sidewall Shine in his temporary transport vehicle

Luigi gets to work on unpacking Sidewall

Lightning awaits Sidewall's unveiling

The folks at Mattel packed Sidewall very well

Sidewall says hello to Lightning

This is a very nice addition to my collection. I have to say the display case is fantastic! Mattel does this right. Both Sidewall and Lightning Storm are superbly done. Wait till you see what they come out with on MattyCollector.com!! Today was a happy day!

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Disney Pixar Cars Short Card Backs - News or Not

I was in a Kmart about a week ago and saw New short card backs. It was the first time I had seen such an item. I recall reading something a number of months back, but have not seen or heard anything about them since. So, if this is News to you, then you'll eventually see them showing up in stores. If you've heard about these new short card backs, then this is old news to you and you are super cool!

The question now is, do you want short card backs as a collector? They take up less space, but don't cost you less. They cost Mattel and Disney less in packaging costs since the card back is about half as tall. How about those of you who've purchased Card Protectors as I have that are made for the tall card backs. Does this upset you? Is this the future for the entire "Mainline?" I'll have to ask my contacts at Mattel and let you know.

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