Aug 25 2009 The Making of Your Favorite '80s Movie Besides 'Ghostbusters'

Remember that movie with the kids and pirate boat you liked to watch so much as a kid? The Goony, I believe it was called. Well, now you can see the difficulties director Richard Donner had in working with a cast of children in this 1985 making-of featurette. It looks like this film was probably Donner's most difficult shoot until Maverick, when the white hot chemistry between Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster was surely a distraction to all involved.

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Oct 16 2008 Forget About 'Goonies 2'

A year ago, Sean Astin was telling MTV that Goonies 2 was an "absolute certainty." Apparently that's no longer the case, as Richard Donner has told Variety that, despite his best efforts to taint my nostalgia, it "simply didn't pan out."

Rumors have been swirling for years about a "Goonies" sequel, but Richard Donner says his most recent attempt simply didn't pan out. "We tried really hard, and Steven (Spielberg) said, 'Let's do it.' We had a lot of young writers submit work, but it just didn't seem to call for it," he explains.

Lately, Donner has been chasing a different spinoff idea: "I'm in the process of trying to get it done as a musical on Broadway. Wouldn't that be great?"

Phew, thank god. One less ill-conceived, after-the-fact sequel to worry about.

Wait, now what was that about a Broadway musical?

Oct 14 2008 Phew! 'Lethal Weapon' No Longer a Threat

Mel Gibson has reportedly decided to spare us all from hearing the words "Now I'm REALLY getting to old for this shit!" and has walked away from plans for a fifth Lethal Weapon. From Geoff Boucher's LA Times blog:

Richard Donner, who directed and produced all four "Lethal Weapon" films but found himself excluded from the recent plans to make a fifth, now says that his old friend Mel Gibson has walked away from the franchise revival.

"Mel turned it down," Donner said. "I would like to think that Mel turned it down because I wasn't involved. Knowing Mel, I would like to think that. Would that be the kind of thing he does? It sure would be."

You'd like to think he turned it down because you weren't involved, Richard Donner? I'd like to think it's because it's LETHAL WEAPON 5, and he somehow has a quality (alcoholism?) that allows him to not beat things to death like Harrison Ford and Sylvester Stallone. But no, sadly, Donner's probably right. Except that it was probably equal parts Donner's non-involvement and Danny Glover's commitment to another Saw movie, which is shit he's still not quite too old for.