Tagged: Smith & Wesson Model 19
Guy Pearce in Memento
Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby in Memento (2000)
Vitals
Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, vengeful insurance investigator with anterograde amnesia
Los Angeles, Summer 1999
Film: Memento
Release Date: September 5, 2000
Director: Christopher Nolan
Costume Designer: Cindy Evans
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
I have no short-term memory. I know who I am, I know all about myself, I just—since my injury, I can’t make new memories. Everything fades. If we talk for too long, I’ll forget how we started. The next time I see you, I’m not gonna remember this conversation.
Memento stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a former insurance claims investigator out for revenge after an attack on his wife that left him with a rare form of short-term memory loss. Appropriate for today (July 17th) being National Tattoo Day, Leonard covers his body with tattoos to help him instantly recall his understanding of the facts of what happened and who he must target for revenge. Continue reading
The Rockford Files: Jim’s Pilot Episode Gun Club Check
James Garner as Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files (1974-1980)
Vitals
James Garner as Jim Rockford, wisecracking private detective and ex-convict
Los Angeles, Summer 1974
Series: The Rockford Files
Episode: “Backlash of the Hunter” (Pilot)
Air Date: March 27, 1974
Director: Richard T. Heffron
Creator: Roy Huggins & Stephen J. Cannell
Costume Designer: Charles Waldo
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Today would have been the 91st birthday of James Garner, the charismatic actor who grew to stardom with his starring roles on the Western series Maverick and in The Great Escape (1963) before taking on what would be his signature role as struggling private eye Jim Rockford on The Rockford Files.
Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell developed The Rockford Files as a spiritual successor to Maverick, reinventing Garner’s charming gambler Bret Maverick as a modern-day private investigator with the same sarcastic yet sincere attitude and conflict-averse nature. Having already proven his private eye credentials by playing Raymond Chandler’s famous detective in Marlowe (1969), Garner stepped into Jim Rockford’s loafers and established one of the greatest TV roles ever.
This is Jim Rockford. At the tone, leave your name and number. I’ll get back to you…
Jason Bourne, 1988 Style
Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne in 1988’s mini-series The Bourne Identity.
Vitals
Richard Chamberlain as Jason Bourne, amnesiac ex-CIA agent
Zurich, Spring 1988
Film: The Bourne Identity
Release Date: May 8, 1988
Director: Roger Young
Costume Designer: Barbara Lane
Background
“HEY, THIS ISN’T MATT DAMON!”
That’s right. In 1988, Robert Ludlum’s wildly popular spy novel The Bourne Identity (I hope that you at least knew it was a book first) was adapted into a two-part mini-series that was much more faithful to the book’s plot.
While the 2002 version with Mr. Damon is often considered to be superior, the 1988 adaptation certainly held its own in terms of acting, action, and suspense. Continue reading