3. Pumpkinhead (1988)

Young Frankenstein is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Gene Wilder as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein, and Peter Boyle as the monster. The supporting cast includes Teri Garr, Cloris Leachman, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Kenneth Mars, Richard Haydn, and Gene Hackman. The screenplay was written by Wilder and Brooks. The film is a parody of the classic horror film genre, in particular the various film adaptations of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein produced by Universal Pictures in the 1930s. Much of the lab equipment used as props was created by Kenneth Strickfaden for the 1931 film Frankenstein. To help evoke the atmosphere of the earlier films, Brooks shot the picture entirely in black and white, a rarity in the 1970s, and employed 1930s' style opening credits and scene transitions such as iris outs, wipes, and fades to black. The film also features a period score by Brooks' longtime composer John Morris. A critical favorite and box office smash, Young Frankenstein ranks No. 28 on Total Film magazine's readers' "List of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films of All Time",  No. 56 on Bravo TV's list of the "100 Funniest Movies", and No. 13 on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 funniest American movies. In 2003, it was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the United States National Film Preservation Board, and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. It was later adapted by Brooks and Thomas Meehan as a stage musical. On its 40th anniversary, Brooks considered it by far his finest (although not his funniest) film as a writer-director. PODCAST NOTES: Jason is joined by two (or is it three?) time FCAC Very Special Guest Star Jenny Pinzari to delve DEEP into 'Young Frankenstein', her college a capella career, her teenage tv habits, and more!  (00:05), the Ovaltine scene between Cloris Leachman and Gene Wilder (3:00), 'Young Frankenstein' original 1974 trailer narrated by Mel Brooks (5:00), James Whale and the original Frankenstein movies (8:00), 'Airplane' and 'Zero Hour' clip comparisons (11:00), Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn train depot scene from 'Young Frankenstein' (16:00), Marty Feldman: Genius (18:00), 'Walk This Way' by Aerosmith was named because of 'Young Frankenstein', clip from Gene Wilder's cameo in 'Bonnie and Clyde' (22:30), Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman "help with the bags" clip and Gene's continual breaking on-set (25:00), incredible Gene Wilder interview clip about his fame and success (26:30), Madeline Kahn and 'Flames' (29:00), 'Frau Blucher' apocryphal origin stories (31:30), Cloris Leachman is 93 and STILL working (32:00), Jenny's a capella life at Boston University (36:30), 'Sedagive' clip from 'Young Frankenstein (43:30), Madeline Kahn's incredible love scene with Frakenstein's monster (45:30), Blind Priest scene between Gene Hackman and Peter Boyle (50:00), Jenny and husband Adam's 90's song parody 'Interesting Girl' (53:00), Latch-Key TV: Shari Lewis & Lambchop and 'The Song That Never Ends' (60:00), 'Saved By The Bell' (61:00), Jenny went to  mall dressed as Kelly Kapowski to see Mark-Paul Gosselear was appearing and signing autographs (63:00), Jenny's first boycrush was Jonathan Taylor-Thomas who got out of acting and went to like three Ivy League colleges (64:00), 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' and David Boreanz and Sarah Michelle Gellar (67:30), ABC's 'TGIF' block of programming with 'Full House', 'Perfect Strangers', 'Family Matters', 'Step By Step', 'Hangin' With Mister Cooper', and 'Sabrina The Teenage Witch' and 'Dinosaurs' (70:00).

6 Feb 20201h 18min

Alien is a 1979 science-fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and written by Dan O'Bannon. Based on a story by O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, it follows the crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo, who encounter the eponymous Alien, a deadly and aggressive extraterrestrial set loose on the ship. The film stars Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, and Yaphet Kotto. It was produced by Gordon Carroll, David Giler, and Walter Hill through their company Brandywine Productions, and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. Giler and Hill revised and made additions to the script; Shusett was executive producer. The Alien and its accompanying artifacts were designed by the Swiss artist H. R. Giger, while concept artists Ron Cobb and Chris Foss designed the more human settings.   PODCAST NOTES Jason is joined by Bruce Edwards, a veteran of the TV and film business whose shared background with Jason includes time spent at the MTV Networks offices working for VH1 in the later 90's. Bruce's time working at the Garden State Plaza Mall in the 90’s (02:00) Working at the Starlog Magazine/ Starlog Store (04:00) Meeting Lazlo from 'Real Genius' at the mall (5:00) WPIX Chiller Thriller opening from 80's and 90's TV. (07:00) Seeing Alien for the first time (09:00) Renting movies from video stores (10:00) Dan O’Bannon and Ronnie Schusett original screenplay origins (15:00) Walter Hill/ David Giler renaming characters and editing the original version (18:00) John Carpenter’s The Thing as influences by Alien (20:00) 3 perfect movies: Jaws, Alien, and The Thing (24:00) Script controversy by Hill and O Bannon (30:00) Scene where crew of Nostromo haggles over investigation of signal. (34:00) Alternative Casting with Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and the original Kane, John Finch (36:00) Latch Key TV with 'Three's Company', 'Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee', and '227' and 'Night Court'. (45:00)

30 Jan 20201h 14min

A highly skilled jewel thief, Frank (James Caan) longs to leave his dangerous trade and settle down with his girlfriend, Jessie (Tuesday Weld). Eager to make one last big score in order to begin living a legitimate life, Frank reluctantly associates with Leo (Robert Prosky), a powerful gangster. Unfortunately for Frank, Leo wants to keep him in his employ, resulting in a tense showdown when he finally tries to give up his criminal activities once and for all.  On this episode of Full Cast and Crew, Jason is joined by his good friend and fellow Michael Mann and 'Thief' fanboy, James Kittle.  Leavening the testosterone inherent in any Michael Mann film, Jason and James also get into James' long-time love for the music of Natalie Merchant and The Indigo Girls.  Also: the path not taken with James not becoming a New Your City Police Department cop in the early 90's, his collection of Polo towels, and mail as a foreign concept to millennials.  Skating at Yale's Beinecke Plaza and being townies in and around Yale in New Haven (47:30), New Haven childhoods and high school scenes (49:00), Tuesday Weld's incredible performance in 'Thief' and particularly her car and diner scenes with James Caan (50:00), Latch Key TV with 'Miami Vice', and 'Hill Street Blues' (61:30), the iconic Phill Collins "In The Air Tonight" scene from Miami Vice (63:30), the opening scene of the very first episode of 'Hill Street Blues' (64:00) and how well it holds up today, the 'Hill Street Blues' theme (68:30).

23 Jan 20201h 11min

Harold and Maude is a 1971 American coming-of-age black comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby and released by Paramount Pictures. It incorporates elements of dark humor and existentialist drama. The plot revolves around the exploits of a young man named Harold Chasen (Bud Cort) who is intrigued with death. Harold drifts away from the life that his detached mother (Vivian Pickles) prescribes for him, and slowly develops a strong friendship, and eventually a romantic relationship, with a 79-year-old woman named Maude (Ruth Gordon) who teaches Harold about living life to its fullest and that life is the most precious gift of all. The film was based on a screenplay written by Colin Higgins and published as a novel in 1971. Filming locations in the San Francisco Bay Area included both Holy Cross Cemetery and Golden Gate National Cemetery, and the ruins of the Sutro Baths. Critically and commercially unsuccessful when originally released, the film developed a cult following and in 1983 began making a profit.[1][2] The film is ranked number 45 on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Funniest Movies of all Time and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1997, for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".[3] The Criterion Collection special-edition Blu-ray and DVD were released June 12, 2012.[4] EPISODE NOTES: (1:00) My guest Becca Faulkner covers her British childhood in the 80's, and her work at an independent cinema in Leeds in the early 90's, where she first encountered 'Harold and Maude', (8:00) British youth fashions then and now, (9:00) seeing movies by yourself, (9:30) Cat Stevens 'Don't Be Shy' and intro credits to 'Harold and Maude', (10:30) Colin Higgins and the origins of the screenplay for 'Harold and Maude', (12:00) black comedy and 'Harold and Maude' and 'The Graduate' from 1967, (14:00) the scene where Harold meets Maude, (18:00) browsing in video stores in the 80's and 90's, (19:00) Jack Black in 'High Fidelity', 'Harold and Maude' and timelessness, (20:00) Roger Ebert's negative review of 'Harold and Maude', (21:00) 'Rushmore' as descendant of 'Harold and Maude',  but would it pass the "Teenager Litmus Test'?, (25:00) why did 'Harold and Maude' flop upon release and why has it become an iconic film since release?, (27:00) other 1971 film releases, including 'Klute', 'The French Connection', (31:00) revisiting the beloved films of our youth through the eyes of our children and note: don't do that or suffer what Becca has with showing her teens 'Ghostbusters' and 'Footloose', (33:00) insane and overwrought clip from 'Footloose' with incredible guitar riff, (34:00) clip of Liza Minelli singing 'Life Is A Cabaret' from 'Cabaret' with her usual subtlety and aplomb, (35:00) the love story between Harold and Maude compared to 'Amour', (36:00) Bud Cort in 'Harold and Maude', (37:00) Alternative Casting with Richard Dreyfuss, Bob Balaban,  John Savage, and Elton John, (40:00) Bud Cort's excellent, uncredited cameo in Michael Mann's 'Heat', (42:00) Bud Cort's suicide origins speech from 'Harold and Maude', (49:00)Vivian Pickles' questionnaire scene, (52:00) Becs drinks water, (55:00) Cat Stevens on the use of his music in 'Harold and Maude' and the 'Miles From Nowhere' scene,

16 Jan 20201h 24min

The Star Wars Holiday Special[a] is a 1978 American television special set in the universe of the Star Wars science-fiction media franchise. Directed by Steve Binder, it was the first Star Wars spin-off film, set between the events of the original film and The Empire Strikes Back (1980). It stars the main cast of the original Star Wars and introduces the character of Boba Fett, who appeared in later films. In the storyline that ties the special together, following the events of the original film, Chewbacca and Han Solo attempt to visit the Wookiee home world to celebrate "Life Day". They are pursued by agents of the Galactic Empire, who are searching for members of the Rebel Alliance on the planet. The special introduces three members of Chewbacca's family: his father Itchy, his wife Malla, and his son Lumpy. The program also features the rest of the main Star Wars characters, including Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, R2-D2, Darth Vader and Princess Leia, all portrayed by the original cast (except R2-D2, who is simply billed as "himself"). The program includes footage from the 1977 film and a cartoon produced by Toronto-based Nelvana featuring the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Scenes take place in space and in spacecraft including the Millennium Falcon and a Star Destroyer; segments also take place in a few other locales, such as the Mos Eisley cantina from the original film. The special is notorious for its extremely negative reception and has never been rebroadcast or officially released on home video.[2][3] It has become something of a cultural legend due to the underground quality of its existence. It has been viewed and distributed in off-air recordings made from its original telecast by fans as bootleg copies, and it has also been uploaded to content-sharing websites.

26 Dec 20191h 1min

Seven (stylized as SE7EN) is a 1995 American crime thriller film was directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. It stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey and John C. McGinley. The film tells the story of David Mills, a detective who partners with the retiring William Somerset to track down a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as a motif in his murders. The screenplay was influenced by the time Walker spent in New York City trying to make it as a writer. Principal photography took place in Los Angeles, with the last scene filmed near Lancaster, California. The film's budget was $33 million. Released on September 22, 1995 by New Line Cinema, Seven was the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year, grossing over $327 million worldwide.[2] It was well received by critics, who praised the film's dark style, brutality and themes. The film was nominated for Best Film Editing at the 68th Academy Awards, losing to Apollo 13.

19 Dec 20191h 18min

Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone.[3] It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated, but kind-hearted working class Italian-American boxer, working as a debt collector for a loan shark in the slums of Philadelphia. Rocky, a small-time club fighter, gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship. The film also stars Talia Shire as Adrian, Burt Young as Adrian's brother Paulie, Burgess Meredith as Rocky's trainer Mickey Goldmill, and Carl Weathers as the reigning champion, Apollo Creed. The film, made on a budget of just over $1 million, was a sleeper hit; it earned $225 million in global box office receipts, becoming the highest-grossing film of 1976. The film was critically acclaimed and solidified Stallone's career as well as commenced his rise to prominence as a major movie star.[4] Among other accolades, it went on to receive ten Academy Award nominations, winning three, including Best Picture. In 2006, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". Rocky is considered to be one of the greatest sports films ever made and was ranked as the second-best in the genre, after Raging Bull, by the American Film Institute in 2008. The film has spawned seven sequels: Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982), Rocky IV (1985), Rocky V (1990), Rocky Balboa (2006), Creed (2015), and Creed II (2018). Stallone portrays Rocky in all eight films, wrote six of the seven films, and directed four of the six titular installments. In July 2019, Stallone said in an interview that there have been ongoing discussions about a prequel to the original film based on the life of a young Rocky Balboa.[5]   SHOW NOTES: Rocky intro (0:01), we're joined by special guest and Rocky completist Paul Tinelli who discusses his special connection to Rocky the movie and the character (1:30), Sly Stallone's home life growing up and entry to movie business (3:00), Rocky origin story versus reality (3:45), Our guest Paul Tinelli gave his wife a 'Diner' test with Rocky on VHS on their first date (4:30), Rocky original ending and poster (7:00), How they shot the arena/fight scene with only 500 extras (08:00), 70's hangover decade and driving around in your Mom's Pinto (12:00), Rock with Cuff & Link the turtles and Moby Dick clip (14:00), Rocky is approached for the Apollo Creed fight clip (16:00), Rocky press conference shout-out to Adrian clip(17:30), Rocky has all the feels clip (18:00), Talia Shire clip with her and Burt Young from 'Rocky' (22:00), The 'Rocky' production design with LA interiors on sets and the run-and-gun Philly shoot (24:00), Rocky and Mick's fight at the gym (25:00),   Rocky and Mick's incredible scene in Rocky's apartment (29:00), Burgess Meredith's great Twilight Zone appearance (30:00), Mike Medavoy and Arthur Krim story about Krim confusing Perry King with Stallone in 'Lords of Flatbush' (32:00), Joe Spinnell as Willie Cicci and the gangster in 'Rocky' (33:30), Michael Dorn from Star Trek is in Rocky, as is Troma Pictures Lloyd Kauffman (34:00), Stallone's online store is filled with amazing clothes, knives, and weird Stallonia (36:00), John Cazale was in five movies nominated for Best Picture (38:00), John Avildsen's career as a director (39:00), Paul's rundown on the best Rocky films (39:30), Bill Conti's iconic theme from 'Rocky' (43:00), Carl Weathers role as Apollo Creed (46:00), Philly Eagles fans eat horsepoop (47:00), Stallone and the ownership issues on 'Rocky' (48:30), Alternative Casting w/ (for Rocky) Ryan O'Neal, Robert Redford, Burt Reynolds, James Caan, John Travolta, Robert DeNiro, Warren Beatty, Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Harvey Keitel; Lee Strasberg for Mick; Carrie Snodgress, Susan Sarandon, and Cher for Adrian; Stallone, Chevy Chase, and Travolta all auditioned for Han Solo in 'Star Wars'; for Apollo Creed, Ken Norton was considered, and Roger Mosely who was TC on 'The A Team' (51:00), Columbo Cinematic Universe (1:02:00), Latch Key TV w/ the opens and themes to 'Charlie's Angels', 'Laverne & Shirley', 'Alice',  'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' theme was written by Sonny Curtis, a great songwriter who also wrote 'I Fought The Law And The Law One' and 'More Than I Can Say' (1:04:00), Voicemail to the pod from Super-Listener Frazer Rice recommends 'The Hidden' directed 'Wishmaster 2' director Jack Shoulder, and we play the trailer (1:12:45), Super-listener Jeffrey D Stevens is a set medic for major motion pictures and TV shows and wrote to the pod and we're gonna do a movie he suggested on next week's pod (1:17:00), 'Se7en' trailer (1:19:00). Et Finis.

12 Dec 20191h 21min

In a Manhattan cafe, word processor Paul Hackett (Griffin Dunne) meets and talks literature with Marcy (Rosanna Arquette). Later that night, Paul takes a cab to Marcy's downtown apartment. His $20 bill flying out the window during the ride portends the unexpected night he has. He cannot pay for the ride and finds himself in a series of awkward, surreal and life-threatening situations with a colorful cast of characters. He spends the rest of the night trying to return uptown.  'After Hours' was directed by Martin Scorcese from a screenplay by Joe Minion with an assist from Joe Frank. PODCAST NOTES: Chris' tribute to radio pioneer/legend Joe Frank/cold open (00:00:01), Joe Frank's "Lies" excerpt, legal settlement, and Joe Minion's script for 'After Hours' (00:03:00), Chris' play with Larry Block (00:05:00), Phil Hendrie radio program (00:08:00), Lisa Robinson and Griffin Dunne's anecdote about Tim Burton and Scorcese (00:11:00), Cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and his 16 films with Fassbinder (00:15:00 ), Scene with Griffin Dunne and Bronson Pinchot as word processors (00:18:00), Rosanna Arquette and Griffin Dunne diner / Wizard of Oz scene (00:22:00), Rosanna Arquette is or isnt the inspiration behind Toto's 'Rosanna' and Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes' (00:30:00), Griffin Dunne in 'I Love Dick' (00:31:00), the brilliant Teri Garr with Griffin Dunne in the apartment scene from 'After Hours' (00:33:30), Griffin Dunne and Linda Fiorentino's scene with the great Will Patton as 'Horst' (00:39:30), Neil & Pepe played by Cheech & Chong (00:40:00), Terminal Bar's appearance in 'Taxi Driver' and Emerald Pub in Soho (00:45:00), Clarence Felder as a hilariously philosophical bouncer in the nightclub scene from 'After Hours' (00:46:00), Catherine O'Hara's great scene as a Mr. Softee driver screwing up Griffin Dunne's phone call from 'After Hours' (00:49:00), Griffin Dunne's brilliant recap monologue in his pick-up's (Robert Plunket) apartment (00:52:00),  Alternative endings suggested for 'After Hours' by everyone from Spielberg to Terry Gilliam, to Michael Powell, husband of Spielberg editor Thelma Schoonmaker (00:55:00), Scene from Lars Von Trier's 'The Kingdom', because: Chris (00:56:00), Cheech & Chong's quotes on art (00:59:00), Ebert on Scorcese (01:00:00), Rants 'n Raves with Michael Apted's '63 Up' series, Bong Joon-ho's 'Parasite',  (01:02:00), Martin Scorcese's quote's on Marvel movies and why Bong Joon-ho says he won't be able to direct a Marvel movie, Headlines (01:09:15), Bomb Squad with 'Cats' Trailer #2 and box office correction to 'Ford v Ferarri' (01:10:30), Latch-Key TV with 'Beverly Hills Teens' (01:15:00), Final Lines (01:16:00)   After Hours IMDB page. Joe Frank website. Phil Hendrie website.

5 Dec 20191h 17min