It’s no secret that I’m a fan of musicals.  My favorite musical ever is Little Shop of Horrors, and if I ever get around to ranking my 10 favorite movies of all time, there’s a pretty good chance it would make the list.  I first saw the movie when I was in third grade.  My parents took me and a bunch of my friends to see Three Amigos, but for some reason (maybe it was sold out?), we had to see Little Shop of Horrors instead.  At the time, I had no idea what it was about, but it instantly became one of my favorites.  I still know almost all the words to every song.  And oh, that’s not to say I don’t like Three Amigos.

It’s been a long time since third grade, so let’s see what happened to the cast of Little Shop of Horrors.

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When it comes to children’s movies, I have a hard time deciding which is my favorite; it’s either The Dark Crystal or The Neverending Story.  Both movies are pretty dark considering their target demographics, and I can remember certain aspects of each that used to scare me.  And both movies involved some incredible work by puppeteers and voice actors, helping to bring to life the wide array of fictional creatures.  Unlike The Dark Crystal, however, The Neverending Story featured live human actors that were, in my opinion, perfectly cast for their roles.  Keep reading to find out what happened to not only the on-screen actors from The Neverending Story, but to one of the greatest voice actors, as well.

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As I was watching Planes, Trains, and Automobiles the other day I realized that I don’t like that movie at all.  It’s just not that funny.  However, there is one scene in which Steve Martin says the F word about 25 times and who is he saying it to?  None other than Edie McClurg, best know for her role as Mrs. Pool in The Hogan Family and Grace in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Edie is a master at playing the homely nice woman role.  The care free, nothing is wrong with life, “have a nice day!” type.  She’s a staple in many John Hughes movies and has had a great career.   So you might wonder, “what is Edie up to these days?”  Well, with her perky voice she managed to land a gig on The Life and Times of Tim and she still gets bit parts on Television.  With over 160 credits to her name, Edie is still going strong.

Want to see a really creepy Ferris Bueller reunion type picture?  Check it out after the jump

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Normally, when I write a “Where Are They Now?” post, I take a look at what’s happened to the major cast members of movies I’ve grown up with.  For this post, though, I decided instead to take a look at the child actors that starred in classic horror films.  You might think that many of them go on to become screwed up, but you could probably say that about child actors in general.  Fortunately, many child actors from horror films – no matter how ridiculous or traumatizing for a child their roles may have been – have gone on to enjoy successful careers both in acting and through the pursuit of other interests.  Below, check out what happened to eight of the most memorable child actors from classic horror movies.

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It never had the fame of the famous out of pool scene with Phoebe Cates from Fast Times at Ridgemont High but those of us who are 80s buffs should remember the full out nude scene featuring Lea Thompson and Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves.  It was at that moment that Lea would be destined for greatness.

And destined she was.  Lea went on to absolutely kick ass for the next 17 years of her career.  Most notably appearing in 80s hits like Back to the Future,  Casual Sex, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Spacecamp.

Thompson took a bit of a lull in the early 90s but became relevant again in the mid 90′s with her show Caroline in the City (this is when sitcoms were sitcoms).   But like most women who are starting to show signs of age, Hollywood kind of writes you off unless you are a really really good actress.

So I’m wondering whatever happened to one of my favorite redheads of the 80s….

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The first time I saw Larry Clark’s Kids, I had no idea what I was watching (this was before the days of a Guide or Info button).  I was in high school and flipping through the pay channels late at night when I probably should have been sleeping, but the dialogue of the movie really stuck out to me.  Not only were these kids talking like the kids I knew, they were talking about the same types of things kids I knew talked about – namely, sex, drugs, and getting jacked.  Needless to say, Kids left quite an impression on me, and so I wasn’t surprised to learn that lots of people really liked this movie, too.

In addition to the dialogue and subject matter, the acting in Kids was superb.  It’s often difficult to watch the film and realize that these kids are acting and not actually living their lives.  So, whatever happened to the terrific cast of Kids?

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Since many of you seem to like our feature on obscure characters that we love, I figured it was high time to come up with a new segment that was equally as awesome.  And here we introduce you to “That Guy.”  “That Guy” is the actor or actress who you see in multiple movies and always say to yourself “I love that guy” but you never seem to remember his name.  Well, who better to start with than the guy up top?

You all know him.  It’s impossible not to recognize that bald head of his.  And you’ll never mistake the line “your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash” for anyone else.  It’s Commander Tom Jardian AKA “Stinger” from Top Gun.  His real name?  James Tolkan.

P.S. I almost went with Mr. Strickland from Back to the Future but come on, Top Gun is his claim to fame.

And here’s another line you can’t top.  It’s very obscure but it’s hilarious.  In the last dog fight scene in Top Gun there’s a part where Slider and Ice realize that there are 5 Mig Fighters instead of 4.  The radar picks up on this and the assistant guy says to Stinger, “there’s 5 sir.”  And Stinger says “THAT’S FIVE?”

If you own Top Gun I implore you to watch this scene again and rewind “that’s five” at least 20 times.  It’s very funny.  In any event, here’s to James Tolkan, token bald mean badass guy.  You are the dude.

*Here’s something cool.  In 1996 he played a guy named Commander Hondo on some crappy Top Gun thing on TV.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been almost 25 years since Pee-Wee Herman’s bike was stolen, resulting in a cross-country adventure complete with escaped felons, ghosts, hobos, dinosaurs, and a major motion picture from Warner Bros.  Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure was one of Tim Burton’s first films, and wasn’t drenched with the faux-gothic Burton-ness that we’re familiar with today.  No, Pee-Wee is one of the most original and fun movies I’ve ever seen, and a lot of that can be attributed to its eccentric cast.  So what has the cast been up to since 1985?  Keep reading to find out.

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So last night I was watching one of my favorite shows Dexter and rather than fast forwarding the intro I actually saw the opening credits.  If you must know (and Madison can attest to this) I’m a wizard with names of actors.  For some reason I can recognize any face or name that I’ve ever seen when it comes to this stuff.

So when I saw “directed by Keith Gordon” I said to myself “it can’t be.”  Could it be the same actor Keith Gordon from movies like Christine, Jaws 2, and Back to School?  The loveable dorky black haired guy who you think to yourself “how the hell did this guy land a role?

Why yes!  It’s the same guy.  Still dorky looking and more to the point, molester of children looking.  Man what happened to this guy?  I guess directing a show about a psychopath killer and insert gratuitous sex scenes (like last night’s cunnilingus) for no reason at all is absolutely perfect for Gordon.

Hey buddy!

A little over a week ago, we took a look at what the cast of Boyz N The Hood was up to.  This week, I figured we could take a look at the cast of the movie that almost always gets compared to its struggle-in-the-ghetto-themed counterpart, Menace II Society.  Released in 1993 and directed by the Hughes Brothers, Menace made Boyz look like a Disney movie.  I’m of the opinion that Boyz is a vastly superior movie, but that doesn’t mean that Menace II Society isn’t great and, like Boyz, Menace has its share of memorable cast members.  After the jump, take a look at where the cast of Menace II Society is now.

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It blows my mind that John Singleton was only 23 when he was nominated for Best Director for his work on one of the best movies of the 1990s, Boyz N The Hood.  It’s not like I was growing up in gated communities with butlers and tennis courts, but it was nevertheless startling and, to a degree, educational to see for the first time life in the ghettos of South Central Los Angeles.  The cast of Boyz N The Hood all went on to have some pretty interesting and impressive careers, so let’s see what they’ve been up to since 1992.  After the jump, take a look at where the cast members of Boyz N The Hood are now.*

*hat tip to A.C. from the ‘Wood

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