Austin Trunick - The Cannon Film Guide Volume II (1985–1987)

The Cannon Film Guide: Volume II, 19851987
Copyright 2021 Austin Trunick. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopying or recording, except for the inclusion in a review, without permission in writing from the publisher.

This book is an independent work of research and commentary and is not sponsored, authorized or endorsed by, or otherwise affiliated with, any motion picture studio or production company affiliated with the films discussed herein. All uses of the name, image, and likeness of any individuals, and all copyrights and trademarks referenced in this book, are for editorial purposes and are pursuant of the Fair Use Doctrine.

The views and opinions of individuals quoted in this book do not necessarily reflect those of the author.

The promotional photographs and publicity materials reproduced herein are in the authors private collection (unless noted otherwise). These images date from the original release of the films and were released to media outlets for publicity purposes.
Cover Illustration by Oisin McGillion Hughes.

Published in the USA by BearManor Media 1317 Edgewater Dr. #110 Orlando, FL 32804 www.BearManorMedia.com

Softcover Edition
ISBN-10: 000
ISBN-13: 978-1-62933-888-0

Printed in the United States of America

Dedication

For my uncle, Jon Gordon, whose affection for
b-movies clearly must have rubbed off on me.

Cannon surprised attendees of the 1986 Cannes Film Festival with a sixty-page spread in the trade papers promoting an over-ambitious slate of films, quite a few of which would never be made.

Table of Contents

Foreword by James Bruner

Menahem Golan continued to ignore Chuck Norris, his brother, Aaron, and me as he slowly thumbed through the script, pausing every so often to read a line or two. I had convinced Chuck and Aaron to take a chance on the storyline and the direction of our careers was at stake, but Menahems poker face gave nothing away. In the creative universe at Cannon Films, there were no committees making decisions. Menahems personal approval of a project was the alpha and omega.

After an eternity, Menahem took off his reading glasses. He held up the script - and grinned his infectious grin. Of course, we cannot call it American Ninja.

Chuck mentioned the other title we had in mind: Invasion U.S.A.

At the time, Missing in Action was in post-production and this was my first real experience in developing a film with Menahem. He had wanted Chuck to star in a movie titled American Ninja - and had even pre-sold the film on the concept alone, with no plot or story, which was the rule, rather than the exception for Cannon. Following the rule and his gut instinct, and understanding the worldwide marketplace, Menahem brought unrivaled success to Cannon Films.

I learned that while Menahem had extremely strong opinions, to put it mildly, he could also think on his feet and be persuaded to see another approach to a film. After An Eye for an Eye and Lone Wolf McQuade, Chuck was breaking out of the strict martial arts genre and didnt want to do a ninja movie, but he had a deal with Cannon and a ninja movie was going to be his next film. Unbeknownst to Menahem, I suggested a solution to Chuck: he would play a former government agent whose code name was American Ninja.

In the end, everyone was happy: we got to make a big, fun, blockbuster action movie and Cannon got a successful American Ninja franchise with Sam Firstenberg and Michael Dudikoff.

At the time, Cannon Films was renting space in the old CNN Building on Sunset Boulevard and Ivar in Hollywood. Shabby would be too nice of a word to use to describe the space. My wife, Elizabeth Stevens, who was invited by Menahem to come along on the adventure, observed that Cannon was like a collection of starving international film students who had been thrown into a whirlwind to cobble together movies. There was a strong David vrs. Goliath vibe: Everyone was a rebel of some kind and there was a crazy, creative energy that permeated the place. Cannon was a place where people werent just talking about making movies, they were actually making movies.

Flexibility, the ability to move fast and the concentration on popular genres and pop culture made Cannon successful and unique for its time. Traditional movie studios and production companies, then and now, generally move at a glacial pace. It can be years between the approval of a concept and the release of the final product.

When Menahem called to pitch me on writing a film, he talked about scheduling production in a matter of weeks, not years. More time for writing and pre-production would have most probably been helpful, but it was not part of the tried-and-true Cannon modus operandi.

The phone rang. Menahem was calling from New York. In typical fashion, he had a one line pitch: Jimmy, Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson. The Delta Force. You wanna write it? Hell yes, I wanted to write it. As usual, there was no plot, just a strong title and two of the most popular action stars of the day.

I had pitched Menahem a Delta Force project right after Missing in Action came out. I had learned about Delta from a close friend, James P. Monaghan, an ex-Special Forces officer who had helped train the original Delta operators, but Menahem wasnt interested until he saw a small article about Delta in Time Magazine a couple of years later. Now Delta was current news and he was ready to green-light a film.

Maybe it was the increased financial pressure, but Menahems freewheeling, high-risk, indie film approach changed when Cannon built its new headquarters on San Vicente Boulevard in Beverly Hills and started to try to compete with the major studios, but thats another story.

It amazes me that quite a few Cannon films remain popular worldwide to this day, almost forty years after they first burst on the scene. Why is that the case? Well, with a few noticeable exceptions, the vast majority of Cannon films were intended as popular entertainment and to a great extent, popular entertainment tends to stand the test of time.

By chronicling and preserving the unique and inspiring story of Cannon Filmsand of Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, two outsiders, who set out like countless others to conquer Hollywood, and succeeded, at least for a timeAustin Trunick is doing a tremendous service to everyone who loves the movies.

James Bruner

Los Angeles, 2021

James Bruner is a screenwriter and producer for film and television. His Cannon credits include Missing in Action, Invasion U.S.A., and The Delta Force.

Preface

The Cannon Film Guide, Volume II: 19851987 operates under the assumption that most of its readers have already read The Cannon Film Guide, Volume I: 19801984. Its not absolutely necessary to read these books in orderCannon themselves flipped the sequence on the first two Missing in Action