Retro Commercials

The 1stOfficial TV Spot for “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”, titled “Only Hope”. Release Date: 25 May 1977 (USA) Part IV in a George Lucas epic, Star Wars: A New Hope opens with a rebel ship being boarded by the tyrannical Darth Vader. The plot then follows the life of a simple farmboy, Luke Skywalker, as he and his newly met allies (Han Solo, Chewbacca, Ben Kenobi, C-3PO, R2-D2) attempt to rescue a rebel leader, Princess Leia, from the clutches of the Empire. The conclusion is culminated as the Rebels, including Skywalker and flying ace Wedge Antilles make an attack on the Empires most powerful and ominous weapon, the Death Star. Written by P. Wong {pwong@nt.net} Distributor: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1977) (USA) (theatrical), Lucasfilm, Director: George Lucas Writer: George Lucas Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, David Prowse Genre: Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Sci-Fi [IMDB.COM]

RoboCop 2 was directed by Irvin Kershner from a script by Frank Miller and Walon Green. After the success of The Dark Knight Returns, Frank Miller was contacted by producer Jon Davison about writing a sequel to the Davison-produced box-office smash RoboCop, directed by Paul Verhoeven. Miller enthusiastically accepted the offer, eager to make an impression in Hollywood the way he had in comics the past decade. Millers screenplay was regarded as an ample follow-up to the original; filled with dark humor, socio-political commentary, and graphic violence. However, the realities of the Hollywood studio system soon became apparent to Miller. Although he enjoyed being handsomely paid for his contributions, he lamented the fact that he was bombarded by notes from studio execs telling him that his script was unfilmable. His script was muted through rewrites, and drastically re-written into what became RoboCop 2. Even when his tenure as screenwriter was officially over, Miller showed up on set everyday, eager to learn all about the movie-making process from start-to-finish. He was even given a cameo as Frank the chemist. Miller would come into contact with the fictional cyborg once more with the critically-acclaimed, best-selling limited series, RoboCop vs. The Terminator. His original screenplay for RoboCop 2 took on an almost urban legend status as fans wondered about what could have been. Nevertheless, Miller returned to write the script for the third film in the series, RoboCop …

Hotter Than Hell (1974) is the second album from the rock group Kiss. It was certified Gold on June 23, 1977, having sold 500000 copies. The album was re-released in 1997 (along with most of Kiss’ earlier albums) in a remastered version. The album peaked on the charts at number 100 without the benefit of a hit single. Musically, Hotter Than Hell is darker than the band’s first album. This is partly due to the murkier production values, but also to the lyrical content of some of the songs. “Goin’ Blind,” which details a doomed romance with a 93-year-old and an underage girl, was a song written by Gene Simmons and Stephen Coronel during Wicked Lester’s existence. The original title was “Little Lady.” Hotter Than Hell featured far more overdubs than the first album. While Kerner and Wise wanted to produce a record that captured Kiss as a live act, they decided to take advantage of the experience the band had gained as recording artists. Although the album featured two songs penned solely by Frehley, he did not sing on either one of them. His lack of confidence in his singing abilities at the time led to lead vocal duties for “Parasite” and “Strange Ways” going to Gene Simmons and Peter Criss, respectively. Frehley’s guitar solos in “Stange Ways” has been called one of his best.