I think what catches my eye looking back at this issue are the names gracing the cover and how relevant some of them still are to today’s cult fans and even today’s box-office dollars in the case of a certain Mission Impossible star.
From what I dug up Media Scene Prevue magazine ran from 1972 thru to 1994. I have but a handful of issues tucked away and I guess it’s noticeable that the issues often featured attractive women in provocative poses on the cover much like a Hugh Heffner production. In this case, Laurene Landon. Among others you’ll see multiple covers with Sybil Danning. If not Sybil then maybe Bo Derek, Jane Seymour, Barbara Carrera, Maud Adams or Elvira Mistress of the Dark.
Before the pages even get to the glossy photos with the featured movie stars are the coming attractions. These are often proving to be the highlights when looking thru these old movie mags. Notably for the casting choices and movies that never materialized.
Upcoming highlights include Paul Verhoeven’s RoboCop, John Badham’s Short Circuit and the upcoming remake of the 1958 film The Fly from David Cronenberg. There’s mention that Alex Cox is working on a big budget version of Mars Attacks! That one took another 10 years and Tim Burton to finally get off the ground. The Princess Bride is in development as is Masters of the Universe with Dolph Lundgren. Star Trek IV, Death Wish IV and even Klaus Kinski in the all but forgotten Star Knight earns a paragraph. 12 Million dollars is to be spent on Terminator 2. No budget dollars are mentioned for Hardbodies II : Foreign Affairs. Plenty of other titles tossed about like Eddie Murphy’s The Golden Child, Angel Heart with Rourke and DeNiro, Madonna and Sean Penn’s Shanghai Surprise and how about rumors of the Tim Burton Batman flick looking for script approval. Tough Guys is set to be released reuniting Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas! Yeah I was there opening night for that one.
Titles that don’t ring a bell …. Fred Ward in Night City. Sally Field in First Sun on a Blue Day. John Travolta in Sunday Morning, Sunday Night. Gene Hackman in Finished With Engines. Richard Pryor in The Man Who Could Work Miracles. Robin Williams in Perfect Partners. Sidney Poitier in The Hall of the Mountain King and Anthony Quinn in Zorba The Musical.
John Schneider in Cocaine Wars … that one did get made.
Other tidbits I picked up included FX wizard Tom Savini is to make his directorial debut on Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift. Never happened. The film was eventually directed by Ralph S. Singleton and released in 1990. For those who need to know, Savini’s first film as a director was the 1990 remake of Night Of the Living Dead. That same paragraph let us know that George A. Romero will be directing Pet Sematary. Again, never happened. The film was released in 1989 and directed by Mary Lambert.
Lastly in the focus on coming attractions we have some breaking news on the 15th James Bond film to be titled The Living Daylights. Among the contenders to play 007 are Andrew Clarke, Anthony Hamilton, Simon MacCorkindale, Pierce Brosnan, Anthony Andrews and Charles Dance. Aside from Simon, Pierce and Charles I have no idea who these guys are and really CHARLES DANCE???? Sounds like Prevue got it wrong or maybe Mr. Dalton wasn’t quite yet on the radar.
First interview goes to cover girl Laurene Landon who I remember best from All The Marbles.
The majority of the interview focuses on her many action roles in overseas productions like Hundra, Yellowhair and America 3000 and her penchant for doing her own stunts. Plenty of photo coverage of Laurene in action is included in films like The Jade Jungle opposite David Carradine and Lee Van Cleef. In truth the film was released under the title Armed Response. She offers up an amusing story of her costar Dick Miller in that film and that she’ll be in the sequel …. never happened. Finally there is no nudity for Laurene when asked point blank in case anyone is wondering.
Now how about a two page spread on the soon to be seen Sexual Perversity in Chicago starring Demi Moore and Rob Lowe? That title doesn’t ring any bells with me but the rechristened one does, About Last Night.
Why did I pick this magazine up way back in 1986? Must be the 4 pages covering the 1986 film Murphy’s Law starring Charles Bronson.
No there is no interview with the reclusive star though plenty of quotes from past interviews are included but director J. Lee Thompson offers up some opinions of the tough guy he has worked with on five previous titles. “Bronson is clearly a force to be reckoned with. We’re depicting the time honored story of victims and villains, with a hero dispensing his own brand of justice. That’s what Bronson fans love.”
A long ago Bronson costar on TV’s The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters, Kurt Russell, is featured on the set of his latest John Carpenter duet, Big Trouble In Little China. I know this one is a popular cult title but I still can’t “get it.” No idea why but I’ll take The Thing any and everyday of the week when it comes to the Russell/Carpenter flicks.
What’s the centerfold? No it’s not any of those gals I mentioned that frequent the cover on a regular basis but rather a face off between the muscle men of the day. It’s a page turning article titled Stallone Versus Schwarzenegger.
Plenty of quotes from our two he-men heroes toting oversized machine guns like this one from Arnie in referencing Sly’s writing scripts, “I might like to produce my own movies someday, but I have no time for writing and directing. I’m too busy living.” The article buys into pitting them against each other in the race for box office supremacy and ends with, “As the cinema of violence becomes a bloody, predatory battlefield, audiences will burn-out looking for the ultimate confrontation. After all the battles have been fought, the MIAs brought home, the criminals buried, only one final onslaught will remain to be staged. STALLONE vs. SCHWARZENEGGER. “
More two page spread previews include Karen Black in Tobe Hooper’s Invaders From Mars. David Bowie in Absolute Beginners, Tom Cruise in Legend and the James Woods/Oliver Stone intense drama Salvador.
Stephen King’s name made the cover thanks to his upcoming directing debut, Maximum Overdrive starring Emilio Estevez. To this day it remains his only directing credit and yes it’s about time I actually watched it. For whatever reason I’ve never bothered with it despite having an original one sheet around here somewhere.
On set with Melanie Griffith gets some coverage for the newly filmed Cherry 2000 and the final interview of this month’s edition goes to sexy Angel Tompkins who will be seen in the aforementioned Murphy’s Law opposite Charles Bronson. Surprisingly or maybe not so surprisingly the interview has far more to do with her sexuality, nude scenes on camera and love life than her actual film career. So while I did learn about how she felt performing her first lesbian love scene and holding another woman’s breast I learned absolutely nothing about her working on screen with the likes of Bronson, John Saxon, Elliott Gould, Angie Dickinson, Anthony Quinn or Lee Marvin.
I usually love to spotlight the pages of merchandise one can order from these old movie mags but in keeping with the very “playboy” like coverage all the things one can order seem to be softcore publications like pin up books titled, Lingerie in Vogue, Leg Art and let’s not forget The Manual of Nude Photography.
Not your style then how about a Jacqueline Bisset photo album? If not Miss Bisset then there is always the Faye Dunaway photo book. Just $9.95 gets you a book devoted to Bo. As the ad states, “Bo is radiant with the stuff that has made her America’s newest sex goddess. A full color book without words!”
See you all next in August with our next throwback.
Mike's Take On the Movies 
Thank you for an informative article. Very unfortunate that Zorba the musical was never made. We had the pleasure of seeing this great production on a visit to San Francisco in 1983- it was a glorious night in the theatre. Not sure it would have translated well to the screen but it is pity that we donāt have a record of this great musical performance.
Thanks for sharing. I vaguely remember Quinn touring as it may have come to Toronto when I was too young to appreciate both him and the production.
Never heard of this magazine before Mike, it’s pretty cool. I was born in the late 80’s so I ended up missing all those cool mags by the time I was old enough to read. The 60’s through the 80’s were a good time to be a film fan for stuff to read.
the best movie mags for me were the ones of the 60’s and 70’s but this one served as a treat to the B films that I wanted to know more about and the eye candy never hurt either if I’m totally honest.
Hey, I remember this magazine. The only place you could get was from a cinema shop in St Martin’s Lane behind Charing Cross Road in Central London. Yes, there was always a seductive female draped across the cover, usually the star of a B-movie, but the contents I always remember as pretty interesting.
there was always plenty of content in them to go along with the over gals to satisfy everyone’s reason for picking up the latest edition.
And most of the gals were unlikely to turn up in Photoplay or Premiere.
Strange to think that, back then, these magazines were the place to go for news on upcoming movies (besides trailers in theaters, of course)…no internet to get instant updates on films in production. And this particular magazine looks like a good source for such information, as well as photos to go along with the stories.
And ‘Big Trouble in Little China’…c’mon, give it another try! Still a favorite of mine after all these years, loaded with quotes my brother and used for decades after seeing it back in ’86…and many we still use today.
I love to tell my sons how we’d go to the theater in hopes of seeing a trailer that got us really excited since it was very often how we learned of an upcoming release. Big Trouble….. yeah I know. I hear it from a coworker of mine all the time. LOL.