139. 'Halloween' (1978)

In the late 90s three 28-year-olds with zero documentary filmmaking experience re-ignited a college dorm room pipe dream about making a documentary about the life and career of singer/songwriter/actor/activist Bobby Darin.  What followed was equal parts kismet and catastrophe and might serve as a useful blueprint and cautionary tale for anyone contemplating stepping into the unknown of a dream and ambition. With a combination of naive conviction and a blessed unawareness of the stop signs in their path, these two (one dropped out along the way, his story is in the pod) kids ended up making their documentary for PBS, interviewing heavy hitters like Dick Clark and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun while having some gonzo adventures along the way with colorful characters like Monkees co-creator and New Hollywood film studio BBS principle Steve Blauner.  In this Very Special Episode of the Full Cast and Crew Podcast, we'll unfold this funny and heart-felt tale with plenty of anecdotes and lessons learned by our two filmmakers. LINKS: Buy the 'Bobby Darin: Beyond The Song' DVD from Amazon. Or, watch it on YouTube Buy Al DiOrio's great book about Bobby Darin, referenced in the podcast, here. Get Dodd Darin's excellent book about his parents 'Dream Lovers' here. Support podcast guest and 'Beyond The Song' co-director Henry Astor's UK farm shop Bruern Farms. Thanks for listening! Please hit FCAC with a 5-star review on Apple, it helps more people discover your favorite little film podcast.

14 Mars 20231h 39min

James Cameron has made 3 of the top 4 highest-grossing films of all time, with a collective box office of more than EIGHT BILLION DOLLARS. Recently I had the occasion to watch both 'Avatar: The Way of Water' (currently the #3 highest-grossing film) and the 4K 3D re-release of 1997's 'Titanic' (#4). Collectively, that's about 7 or 8 hours in the Cameronverse.   In this ruminative episode, I share the existential crisis thus unleashed upon my cinema-going Avatar, a crisis of conscience and consciousness in equal measures. Also in this episode, I recommend the Bob Lefsetz Podcast and Lefsetz Letter...so...join me, won't you?? LINKS: 'Titanic' alternative ending. The Bob Lefsetz Podcast.

7 Mars 20231h 8min

Joined again by Full Cast and Crew spirit-animal Richard Brown for a deep discussion about James L. Brooks' 1987 picture 'Broadcast News', a stealthily subversive rejection of Hollywood Rom-Com tropes and one of the greatest films about television ever made.   Topics include: The great, troubled life and career of Polly Platt. Jim Brooks and 'Terms of Endearment' The research/interview based origination and approach to writing 'Broadcast News' Wrestling with the legacy of William Hurt, his transgressions and sobriety in the era of cancel culture. Holly Hunter and Albert Brooks LINKS: Great and useful articles about 'Broadcast News': A great piece by Haley Mlotek about the making of 'Broadcast News'.   A great profile of Polly Platt by Rachel Abromowitz from Premiere Magazine.   A funny period piece about news industry insiders seeing themselves in the characters of 'Broadcast News'.   A Collider piece on how 'Broadcast News' blows up Hollywood Rom-Com conventions.   CLIPS:   The 'Broadcast News' alternative ending, inspired by the French film 'A Man and a Woman'.    'Broadcast News' playlist of clips.

28 Feb 20231h 36min

Hey, where you been? I guess it's me, not you...where have I been? Sitting through Avatar! THREE HOURS AND TWELVE MINUTES! Feel my pain.  In this catch-up episode we'll talk Oscar noms and snubs, Best Picture thoughts on 'Tar', 'The Fablemans', 'Top Gun: Maverick', 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', 'All Quiet on the Western Front', and 'Triangle of Sadness'. Plus a speculation on why 'She Said', a film made by women and containing several Oscar-worthy turns, was snubbed by an Academy voter contingent that went out of its way to nominate the safer, less potentially awkward winning moment represented by 'To Leslie'. Also: post-rehab celebrity apologies, some great film books I've read recently, some series recommendations and MORE!

14 Feb 202354min

A favorite on the podcast is 'movies about making movies' and Tim Burton's funny, moving, spot-on 1950's Hollywood cautionary tale/celebration of the business 'Ed Wood' is one of the best.  Guesting on this episode is Brad Kane, Co-Show-Runner of HBO Max's forthcoming Stephen King 'It' prequel series 'Welcome To Derry'.  Brad's been an actor, director, producer, and writer, and brings such interesting depth, perspective, experience and insight to our wide-ranging conversation about the making of this extraordinary film.   -RABBIT HOLE LINKS- IF your curiosity is piqued (peaked?)...some great links to explore: 'Ed Wood' Wiki Brad Kane Wiki 'Plan 9 From Outer Space' can be watched for free on YouTube A great documentary about the life and work of Ed Wood, referenced in the podcast, is 'The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr'. Ed Wood's groundbreaking and bonkers cross-dressing film 'Glen or Glenda' is a must-see. Wikipedia page for the great Bela Lugosi A must-have handbook for all Hollywood wannabe's is Ed Wood's still-vital 'Hollywood Rat Race', a distillation of all his hard-earned wisdom. Watch Tim Burton's 'Ed Wood' on Amazon. Or Watch on YouTube. Full Cast and Crew episodes mentioned in this episode: -'Carrie' with Lee Wilkof -Brian De Palma's 'Blow Out' -David Fincher's 'Zodiac' -Peter Bogdanovich's first film, the Roger Corman-produced 'Targets' co-starring Lugosi nemesis Boris Karloff (and a very young Jack Nicholson, in a brief cameo).

24 Jan 20231h 36min

'Chinatown' has it all: premium 1960's and 70's counter-cultural bona fides in Jack Nicholson and Robert Towne.  The ultimate Robert Evans production, as Producer AND head of the studio; a situation that allowed the barren earth from which 'Chinatown' sprung to be watered and tended to carefully despite strong headwinds against it ever coming to fruition. In this episode, I get into the backstory of 'Chinatown' and its origins in Towne's interest in the rapidly-expanding development swallowing up the Southern California of his 1940's childhood. And Polanski, having fled LA following the horrific 1969 murder of his wife, Sharon Tate and their unborn child, was in no hurry to return.   But the combined efforts of Evans and Nicholson changed Polanski's mind, and he and Towne embarked upon a reworking of the script.  And the result is a timeless classic, a jaundiced look at American (and male) power and politics. An upending of the tropes of the femme fatale noir character perfectly embodied by a never-better Faye Dunaway was the icing on this particular cake. And Polanski's simple but incredibly thought-out direction is a wonder to contemplate, which this episode does with soundbites from David Fincher, Robert Towne, Steven Soderbergh, and Kimberly Pierce. Finally, Jerry Goldsmith's incredible, indelible score is all the more remarkable given that it was a replacement score, written and recorded in just 9 days with the film's release date looming.

5 Jan 20231h 48min

As we wrap up the Full Cast and Crew year, I'm sharing some off-beat Christmas cheer with you all in this, our first-ever Weird Christmas Spectacular.  Frequent listeners to the pod have heard me say "weird is good" many times, and the picks in today's episode reflect not films or tv shows or songs that are weird for weird's sake; they reflect things with a decidedly bent holiday spirit in all the right places.  Rick Brown joins me as we share our picks for a weird-is-good Christmas film, TV episode, and song that represents something essential to us respectively. Films discussed: Henry Winkler's 'An American Christmas Carol' from the peak of his Fonzie/Happy Days tv superstardom is a refreshingly dark and candid look at the Dickens classic.  Also in the film category: 'Black Christmas', a film that predates "Halloween" and "Blow Out" owe a hell of a lot to. Starring Margot Kidder, Keir Dullea, Andrea Martin, and John Saxon, this is a really funny and impressively malevolent film. On the TV side, Rick tries his best to convince me that the "Alice" episode 'Mel The Magi' is, of all the worthy 1970's sitcom Christmas episodes, something to celebrate.   MY pick, the Bob Newhart Show episode 'His Busiest Season' proves easier to defend. Finally, we explore some off-the-beaten-path Christmas songs, with Rick selecting the 1940's classic big-band composition 'Snowfall' as sung by Doris Day and me choosing something right out of the FCAC wheelhouse; 1981's 'Christmas Wrapping' by The Waitresses, with lead vocals by the irrepressable, irreplaceable Patty Donahue. Happy Holidays to all the listeners and thank you for making 2022 our best year ever on the Full Cast and Crew podcast!

20 Dec 20221h 32min

A heartfelt appreciation about how good and truthful Steven Spielberg's deeply personal, funny, and moving film 'The Fabelmans' is.   Go and see this film in a theater.  It's hard for the film's trailer to capture the unique and intelligent tone of the film, so I position this episode towards those of you who judge a book by its cover and a movie by its trailer (which is all of us, let's face it). Praise for: Paul Dano, Michelle Williams,  Gabriel LaBelle, Judd Hirsch, Julia Butters, Seth Rogen. Sound from Spielberg, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen, and Paul Dano about the film. Clips, making-of information, and MORE!

6 Dec 202250min