If actress Virginia Madsen can help it, she's not going to let the late acting legend James Coburn's final film performance fall below the radar.

Madsen recently took time out to talk with me about independent film "American Gun," a drama that had a limited release in theaters last fall and that has just debuted on home video and DVD (Buena Vista Home Entertainment). Coburn was 74 when he died in November 2002 of a heart attack.

"I just think it's so shocking that this could be Coburn's last film -- with such an exceptional performance -- and that someone wouldn't want to publicize it," Madsen said.

What breaks her heart is that while writer-director Alan Jacobs traveled to show the film at many festival venues across the country, it didn't get the wide distribution it needed to have a larger impact.

"The bummer about the distribution industry is that they want to sell things on a formula, and it's extremely difficult to get something sold unless you have sex and nudity and a lot of people getting killed," Madsen said. "For an independent film to make it into distribution is like one in a million."

In "American Gun," Coburn plays Martin Tillman, a WWII veteran plagued by a tragic incident during his time in the military, which is suddenly compounded by the shooting death of his daughter (Virginia Madsen).

In an effort to ease his pain, Tillman traces the history of the gun and also seeks out to reconnect with his estranged granddaughter (Alexandra Holden) -- and tell her of tragic circumstances of surrounding her mother's death.

While Madsen admitted that she didn't have the greatest time making the movie in cold temperatures of Vermont, her heart was warmed by the presence of Coburn.

"I had such a crush on Coburn, I loved him since I was a little girl," Madsen said. "I loved working with Coburn. It was a joy to be around him at every moment."

But what makes her sad now is that nobody in the cast and crew had any idea that this would be the last time to act with the screen legend.

"He was so vibrant -- we didn't know that this was going to be his swan song," Madsen said. "He didn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all. He just had a big old smile and nothing bothered him."

Wilson Pickett: Soul Survivor
For the lack of better words, legendary soul singer Wilson Pickett doesn't have to "wait 'til the midnight hour" to see the "wall come tumbling down." He's a rumbling, tumbling man 24/7.

What makes this amazing is that Pickett, 62, is showing no signs of slowing down. Proof of that is a look into the singer's life in the new DVD "Only the Strong Survive" (Miramax Home Entertainment), a documentary that catches up with the artist of the legendary Stax record label, such as Pickett, Isaac Hayes, Sam Moore (of Sam and Dave fame), Mary Wilson of the Supremes and the Chi-Lites.

Pickett is one of the first artists we meet in the film, and it's clear from the get-go that this man hasn't aged. In a recent interview, Pickett let me in on the secret to his longevity.

"When I was out there performing, I did the best that I could," Pickett said. "I ate right and tried to keep away from things that would be harmful to me. That's why I can say I'm among the number of artists in 'Only the Strong Survive,' because sometimes you have to be as strong to stay away from things that you know are going to take you under."

In the film, Picket and his fellow Stax legends delightfully share the stories of their past glories, hardships and challenges that they encounter today to stay viable as performers in the oldies circuit. Plus, they're not afraid to make their true feelings about the music business known.

In addition to "In the Midnight Hour," Pickett, of course, has recorded such classics as "Mustang Sally" and "Land of 1,000 Dances," the live versions on which are featured on the DVD.

And any fan of music movies knows that Pickett's songs had a strong impact in "The Commitments," a 1991 film where a band of Irish youths try to bring the sound of American soul music to Dublin.

But Pickett's presence wasn't only in his music. There's a scene near the end of the film where he was supposed to join the band at a club gig -- but Pickett wasn't anywhere to be found.

"I never knew that they were making the movie," Pickett told me. "But I didn't object to what they did about me in the film and with the kids singing my songs. I think it was a good gimmick because people would say to me, 'Why didn't you show up?' That movie, having my music in it, opened some other doors for me. It did me good."

Hamill Takes 'Comic Book' World By Force
Move over George Lucas, there a new director on the block -- and he can wield one pretty wicked lightsaber, to boot.

Lucas should know him well: it's Mark Hamill, who 27 years after the first "Star Wars" movie debuted is living his dream as the creative "force" behind "Comic Book: The Movie," his feature film directorial debut new on home video (Buena Vista Home Entertainment).

While Hamill's greatest notoriety comes for playing the Jedi knight Luke Skywalker in the original first "Star Wars" trilogy, he's actually spent the most time in the industry since behind-the-scenes, proving the voices for hundreds of animated characters.

It's there he met many of the people -- like "Spongebob Squarepant's" voiceman Tom Kenny and Billy West, who's voiced several characters including Stimpy of "Ren and Stimpy," Doug from "Doug," multiple roles in "Futurama" and most recently, Elmer Fudd in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" -- who are featured in "Comic Book: The Movie."

"I've been so lucky to work to be able to work with these voiceover people who I've admired for years," Hamill told me in a recent interview. "When I'd go to the recording sessions, I marveled at how gifted these people are."

In the film, Hamill plays Donald Swan, a comic book guru who's trying to protect the integrity of "Commander Courage," a golden-age comic book character who's about to go under a major Hollywood makeover for a big-screen adaptation. Hamill said the idea of using voice actors in a film actually came about with a movie about a real-life comic book close to his heart.

"It was something I thought about when I was trying to get my own comic book, 'The Black Pearl,' made into a movie," Hamill recalled. "When we'd go to smaller companies that didn't have the money to go for big stars, I told them, 'Believe me, I can cast this thing with the biggest stars you never heard of if I need.' To be able to let these people get some screen time was a thrill."

In addition to Kenny and West (pictured with Hamill, left), the voices that Hamill called upon for "Comic Book: The Movie" included such stalwarts as Lori Alan ("Spongebob," "Family Guy"), Jess Harnell ("Animaniacs," "Lilo and Stitch," "Scooby Doo"), Daran Norris ("The Fairly Odd Parents," "Jimmy Neutron" and the video game versions of "Spiderman") and Roger Rose ("Rugrats In Paris").

The film is also filed with endless cameos, including appearances by Stan Lee, Kevin Smith, Hugh Hefner, Bruce Campbell, Ray Harryhausen, Chase Masterson, Donna D'Errico and "Simpsons" and "Futurama" creator Matt Groening. But what made the movie complete for Hamill was the permission he got to shot at one of the biggest comic book events of the year: the San Diego ComicCon.

While Hamill had the right setting and group of people to project the words of his characters properly, adjusting to the surroundings and forming the characterizations was a different challenge. That's because "Comic Book: the Movie" is a documentary-style comedy, much in the vein of the masterworks by actors/filmmakers Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy.

"I've learned a lot from making 'Comic Book: The Movie,'" Hamill explained. "I realize now that 'Waiting For Guffman' and 'A Mighty Wind' are fully-realized scripts without dialogue with every beat and shot clearly delineated. We didn't even have that. Our movie could have really been a disaster. I think that's part of the fun, in a way -- that air of danger. That we were going to have a horrible crash from which there are no survivors."

Willard No Chump In 'Chump Change'
Perhaps the best way to describe Fred Willard's acting talents is to refer to three of his films, "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show" and "A Mighty Wind" -- his movies are worth "waiting for," he always gives his "best" and they are "mighty" funny.

Willard's fans are sure to delight once again in his amazing improvisational talents in the new DVD "Chump Change" (Miramax Home Entertainment): a comedy based on the true story of writer-director-star "Milwaukee Steve" Burroughs that skewers the process of getting a movie made in Tinseltown.

Among the many challenges are fair-weathered industry people he encounters along the way -- including Willard as a likable, but not-exactly-dependable manager.

"The character was a forerunner to my character I did in 'A Mighty Wind' -- he's kind of a wacky manager," Willard explained. "I have a lot of experience with them."

Willard then broke down for me the differences between an agent and manager.

"An agent's job is just to get you work and negotiate money," Willard said. "A manager is kind of nebulous -- they guide and advise you and I don't know if they're really needed. When you are starting out in the business, you listen to whatever anybody says and look for truth in that. You say, 'Well, he did this and he did that,' maybe I should take this advice. He must know something.' But when you look back, you realize most of them didn't know anything."

That's not to say that Willard thinks managers are evil -- well, sometimes.

"There are some very decent people out here -- when you're not? doing well, everyone seems evil, but when you are doing well, everyone is nice and open," Willard said, laughing. "So it depends on how you looking at things."

Looking at his gigs as far back as stints on television with "Fernwood 2Nite" and "Real People," to films like Christopher Guest's documentary style comedies and most recently, "American Wedding," there's not question Willard has a great handle on the acting trade.

But when it comes to sell the idea for a film like Milwaukee Steve in "Chump Change," Willard says has faced the fire only once -- and that was enough.

"I wrote an idea for a TV movie hero several years ago that used Mickey Mantle as the hero," Willard recalled. "I had one meeting with some Disney executives and pitched the idea, and at the end they said 'Why Mickey Mantle?' I had a feeling they didn't exactly know who he was and I knew right away the cause was lost."