48. Being There (1979)

In his new book, Charles Elton tackles the impossible; a biography of late director Michael Cimino, an elusive, mysterious, obfuscating, and contrary Hollywood figure in real life...and, if possible, a man even more complicated and gossiped about online, in the press and in the power lunch spots of Hollywood than any other Oscar-winning director of his or any time. From Long Island roots to Mad Men-era success in advertising to the 9 Academy Award Nominations for 'The Deer Hunter' to the debacle of 'Heaven's Gate' and to Cimino's final and often-misunderstood final decades of personal transformation, Charles Elton's book reads like an unfurling mystery, following clues and attempting to pin down elusive or outright combative Cimino friends and loyalists in pursuit of several important accomplishments that I think the book deserves credit for. The first is a resetting of the narrative that Cimino's 'Heaven's Gate" was responsible for bankrupting a major Hollywood studio in United Artists.  Elton's book reveals how, excess notwithstanding, Cimino himself was less guilty than the studio executives who were unable to reign in the rising costs and delays that they themselves set in motion. The second is a sensitive handling of Cimino's dramatic altering of his physical self in his final decades.  Was he, as was rumored, transitioning to live as a woman?  Was he someone who simply enjoyed wearing women's clothes from time to time but otherwise lived a heterosexual lifestyle? Is it telling that as Cimino altered his appearance so drastically as to be unrecognizeable from his 20's and 30's and 40's he also became more voluble and open and "himself" when he did speak to the press, however infrequently that was. Here, too, Elton parses the record with sensitivity and curiosity not of a prurient nature; how did this man who directed a masterpiece in "The Deer Hunter" never do it again and what fueled his drive and need for total, dominating control...even as he had a 50-year partnership with his producer, protector, and friend Joann Carelli which blurred the lines between their two lives to a degree never before so closely reported as in this new book.

19 Apr 20221h 13min

Thrilled to be joined again by pop culture historian and author Richard F. Brown to do the definitive 'Taxi' total rewatch and episode. We get into the mysterious beauty and melancholy of Bob James' 'Taxi' theme song 'Angela', and the temporary filmed open that became so identified with the ennui and thwarted ambitions of the beloved cabbies of the Sunshine Cab Co. We discuss all the characters and the actors who played them: Latka and Andy Kaufman, Danny DeVito and Louie, Marilu Henner and Elaine, Judd Hirsch and Alex, Christopher Lloyd and Reverend Jim Ignatowski, Tony Danza and Tony Banta, Jeff Conaway (RIP) and Bobby, Carol Kane as Simka, and more. 'Taxi' is one of the most interesting sitcoms in television history because of the originality of its approach to filming with four cameras instead of the sitcom-traditional 3 cameras. This allowed director Jim Burrows to capture what he calls the essential surprise of comedy being performed live in front of a studio audience. Any discussion of 'Taxi' offers the best opportunity we have to discuss Andy Kauffman and his unique and often challenging approach to comedy and performance art in everyday life. We cover his outstanding and long-shelved 1977 TV special, which features one of the most amazing and little-discussed Andy Kauffman bits: a heartfelt and very real and emotional conversation he has with Howdy Doody, his childhood TV hero.  And we cover Andy's famous prank on the Taxi cast and brass through the casting of his alter ego Tony Clifton, and Tony Clifton's firing and subsequent massive scene on the soundstage involving security guards and several extremely pissed off producers and actors. This is an episode that will hopefully share with you some things you might not have known about 'Taxi' and afford us all the opportunity anew to appreciate the fact that this series uniquely brought us out of this world talents like Andy Kauffman, Christopher Llloyd, Danny DeVito, and Carol Kane in ONE SHOW. Any series would and could be built on having one of those dynamic talents in the cast; Taxi had all four. Unreal!

7 Apr 20222h 7min

Dissecting the latest attempt at reinventing the Oscars and assessing where, if anywhere, the telecast goes from here.

28 Mars 202248min

Thrilled to be joined this week by Kyle Buchanan, a NY Times writer whose new book 'Blood, Sweat & Chrome: The Wild & True Story of Mad Max: Fury Road' is out now from William Morrow. Kyle and I talk about the incredible 30-year-journey of Fury Road; two times called off just prior to shooting, casting issues with Mel Gibson flaming out (and aging out) of the role, a non-traditional storyboard screenplay, a prolonged shoot in the remote Namibian desert, War Boy training of surprising emotional depth, Eve Ensler of 'The Vagina Monologues' contributing essential feminist backstory to the Vulvalini and Brides characters, tension between Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy, life-threatening stunts every day, all day, and, at the center, the maverick, iconoclastic, grandfatherly genius George Miller.  A former doctor whose directing credits veer wildly from all the Mad Max films to 'Happy Feet' and 'Babe: Pig In The City', his mercurial presence, unconventional process, and essential Australian-ness are what makes Mad Max movies so unique. Kyle's book is a must-have for any film buff.  His more than 130 interviews above and below the line insure the story is told by the people who were really there.  I'm very thankful for Kyle giving Full Cast and Crew podcast a bit of his time during his busy Oscar season.

24 Mars 202259min

Jason and FCAC returning guest Bruce Edwards, a television and film line producer and production manager as well as a filmmaker, collector, and cinema and comic geek par excellence to dive into the making of Ridley Scott's 1982 cinematic masterpiece 'Blade Runner'. Topics covered include Alternative Casting, the 7 versions of the film, the actor's strike that resulted in 9 additional months of planning for the film's VFX departments, whether Deckard is or is not a replicant, Vangelis' forever score, the fact that Blade Runner was shot on the Warner Bros backlot "NYC Street" set, Ridley's unique directorial aesthetic and style, and more. Watch Ridley's Scott's 'The Final Cut' and the incredible making-of documentary featurettes here.

17 Mars 20221h 33min

Joined again by good friend of the pod and pop cultural maven and scholar Richard Brown, this week we dive into all the 70's goodness of iconic sitcom 'WKRP in Cincinnati'.  We talk the theme song, Tim Reid's impressive career and contributions to the series and to 'Frank's Place', the KRP cast, some iconic KRP episodes, KRP-adjacent content like the feature 'FM' and MORE..so, baby, if you've ever wondered...wondered what ever became of me.....listen to this episode, it'll put a smile on your face!

8 Mars 20221h 35min

Jason is thrilled to be joined by crime writer Joseph Schneider, author of two (and soon to be three) LAPD Detective Tully Jarsdel novels (links below), to discuss the criminally-underrated Peter Bogdanovich thriller 'Targets', Joseph's novels, 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood', and much more. 'Targets' was made in 1967 when  Bogdanovich, then working for Roger Corman's B-Picture factory of filmmaking alongside other future legendary directors like Francis Ford Coppola, was given the chance to direct his first feature film provided he used aging horror icon Boris Karloff for two owed days of shooting, used some footage from another Corman/Karloff picture 'The Terror' (starring a young Jack Nicholson in one of his first roles), and kept the budget under $120,000...other than that Corman said, he could make whatever picture he wanted. What Bogdanovich did was make a still-prescient, taut, spare look at a mass shooter in the making.  Interwoven with a b-story involving the Karloff character's quitting of a film industry due to changing times and mores, the two stories collide brilliantly at a drive-in-movie theater. 'Targets' is a stunning indictment of American middle-class detachment, and the debut of one of Hollywood's enduring iconoclast directors.  Bogdanovich (who died this year) lamented in the 50 years subsequent to the film's release that American society's attachment to guns had not progressed at all from the time he made the film.  Threads from this movie connect to other classics like Michael Mann's 'Heat' and Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon A Time In Hollywood', another movie about a film star fearing he is past his prime as society changes around him. And in the pod Schneider connects 'Targets' and Karloff and OUATIH's Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth to different types and times of American horror, fear, and violence.  'Targets' is brilliantly directed with impressive directorial control and restraint and features incredible contributions from Hollywood legends like director Sam Fuller, Oscar winner Verna Fields, and Cinematographer Lazlo Kovacs. Watch 'Targets' at any of these streamers. Buy Joseph Schneider's debut novel 'One Day You'll Burn' and its sequel from Amazon Pre-order Joseph Schneider's forthcoming 3rd Tully Jarsdel novel here

22 Feb 20221h 19min

Late to the party, as ever!  Topics: My weird aversion to watching what's popular. My weird aversion to Adam McKay (con't). A certain HBO series' production staff puts LabelMaker labels on EVERYTHING in our shared office space. The Jeremy Strong New Yorker hit piece and how it enraged me to action-viewing Succession.

15 Feb 202252min