Dion Baia and J. Blake are back, celebrating their 10th anniversary on the podcast. And what better way to celebrate than to take a deep dive into a cult classic film that was notoriously panned when first released but has gained a substantial fanbase, the classic Last Action Hero, from 1993. The boys unpack this movie’s epic failure, the amazing journey with its incredible cast of stars, and how this became Arnold’s first official dud at the box office. So, grab your magic ticket and a sleeping bag, and curl up in front of the television, as another episode of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast heads straight at you.
The boys are back for the 2024 summer season! J. Blake and Dion Baia are diving headfirst into one of the most covered classics in all of cinema, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws from 1975. They analyze the original novel, the Jaws Logbook, and various other sources to unpack this iconic and ground-breaking film and the people who made it happen. Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers is breaking it all down for you! Come have a listen.
Dion Baia and J. Blake are tackling the third film in the iconic Spielberg/Lucas series which charted the exploits of adventurer and archeologist Indiana Jones, in what was thought to be the final in a trilogy, 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. In typical SNMS fashion, Blake and Dion utilize the original novelization, comparing and contrasting what made it into the final cut, and what scenes and subplots were ultimately discarded and left on the cutting room floor. They also discuss the Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV series and Harrison Ford’s reprisal of Indy in the 1993 TV movie, Young Indiana Jones and the Mystery of the Blues. Better grab a drink and put your feet up because it’s a gonna be long one, on this all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
The boys are back for a Spring 2023 edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! J. Blake and Dion Baia bring the band back together and cover a film near and dear to their childhood, The Fugitive from 1993. They discuss the movie’s origins and the epic original 1963 television series, and try to put into context how big of a deal this film was for their generation. So, grab your bucket of pizza and some Mega-jolt cola, because Dion and Blake are running from the law in this brand-new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
The boys are back, covering one of the most iconic films of their early friendship, and a 90’s classic, Leon- The Professional. In their classic format, J. Blake and Dion Baia talk about the US cut verse the International Cut, the provocative storyline, and the auteur-styling. So sit back, crack open a cold one as the fellas take you back in an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Dion Baia and J. Blake continue in their impromptu summerSide-Casts series, this time around returning to a classic and doing a supplement edition for The Terminator, from 1984. They dive into the original novelization, (which they had not read for their original podcast episode that covered this iconic film). The boys also expand their discussion of the Brad Fiedel soundtrack, utilizing interviews Blake has done with the legendary composer. Blake and Dion highlight tidbits from the novel that add a lot of dimensions to the characters, and unpack the elements of the fabulous Fiedel score- even chatting about the three pop songs supplied by the pop rock group, Tahnee Cain & Tryanglz. It’s all going down on this special, surprise edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Welcome back to another exciting edition of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Dion Baia and J. Blake are doing a double feature this week, covering a forgotten but classic franchise, F/X from 1986 and FX2 from 1991, both starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy. The boys discuss the many legendary character actors who fill out both movies, and amazing premise that has become a common theme on the podcast, the fascination movie audiences had/have with practical SFXs—specifically makeup FXs; and the terrific rollercoaster rides these films take us on. So come reminisce about 2 forgotten gems on another enthralling installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
The boys are back, for a quick *new* special, revisiting a cult classic, Disney’s The Black Hole, from 1979!
DionBaia and J.Blake are dropping a brand new add-on to their 2015 podcast on this iconic film. They’ve now read the Alan Dean Fosternovelization, the Jack Kirbycomic newspaper strip translation, and the Whitman comic book adaptation– which also goes Beyond the Black Hole. The fellas learned a crap load more that answer a lot of questions they posed in their 2015 episode, and even see what supposedly happened once crew of the Palomino passed through the black hole! They also go deeper into the John Barry’s soundtrack and the journey to get it reissued and remastered. Come on down for this special companion piece ‘update‘ on an all new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
*Dionat one point referred to Robert Forester as William Forester… his apologies.
Welcome back to a proper martial arts edition of Kung Fu February on Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Dion & Blake are back and taking on a cult classic, featuring the man, the myth, the legend, Steven Seagal, in his 1990 iconic film, Marked For Death!
The boys unpack the 3rd film in Steven Seagal‘s catalog, discussing his backstory and more importantly, they discuss the martial art he practices, Aikido and it’s history, and Dion‘s connection to it. They then take the way-back machine way down the alley to 1990, and analyse the movie/marital arts scene at the time, and how bad-ass Seagal was. They lay out the argument of why we need a director’s cut of this film, on this all new proper Aikido installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
EXTRAS!
Here, here and here is Dion back in 2010 when he met Seagal.
Welcome to the 2020 season of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers. J. Blake and Dion Baia decided to go way down the alley and kick off the year with a personal favorite for the duo, a film that became a gritty, New York cult classic. The boys are tackling the Sylvester Stallone classic Nighthawks, from 1981.
Dion and Blake unpack the many stories revolving around the making of this movie, from an original two and a half hour cut that was severely chopped down to scale back the gore and remove the lead character background subplots, to the stories of the tension onset told to them by SNMS‘ old friend, retired NYPD Detective turned actor, producer and film consultant, Randy Jurgensen. The fellas are taking the Christmastree down and putting the decorations away for this season opener in and all new 2020 edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! And thank you Moose!
Welcome back to another episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! J. Blake and Dion Baia are celebrating the 5th anniversary of the podcast and after wrapping up the critically acclaimed 2019 Summer of Sequels, the boys figured they’d perform an encore to close out the season! And what better way to celebrate their anniversary then by exploring the iconic and legendary superhero sequel Superman II, from 1980!
Dion and Blake unpack the lengthy history of the Superman character, and do their best to lay out the timeline of lawsuits by creatorsSiegel and Shuster in their attempt to regain the rights to the character they created. The fellas then segue to Superman II and discuss the tension while filming the incredible sequel, and compare and contrast the different cuts of this film, juxtaposing the theatrical cut, to the television cut and the notorious Donner Cut. And Dion relays his fun Dean Cain story as well. So it’s a fun, fact-filled and lengthy, high-flying anniversary-installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
As the summer comes to a close, the boys want to welcome you back the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers‘ 2019 Summer of Sequels! Dion Baia and J. Blake are wrapping up the season with a bang, as they pull out all the stops and cover the underrated (and their favorite in the series) spaghetti western masterpiece, Sergio Leone’sFor a Few Dollars More from 1965, starring Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef.
The fellas bring separate suitcases as they unpack and discuss the impact that this film, For a Few Dollars More, and the Italian western sub genre, had on the greater western genre on a whole. Blake explains the evolution of the Italian Spaghetti western and Sergio Leone‘s influence, while Dion lays out the incredible era of the American television westerns of the 1950’s, and Clint Eastwood’s journey to television and then to the groundbreaking, career-defining and trend-setting Fistful of Dollars, in 1964. It comes together for the lads as they argue why (in their humble opinion ) For a Few Dollars More is the best of the Eastwood/Leonewestern trilogy. And they hit on the influence of Morricone’s amazing score and its impact. So kick the dust out of your boots, put your feet up and settle in around the campfire, as Dion and Blake hit the trail one more time in the roundup of the 2019 Summer of Sequels in an all new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
(*The David JanssenTV mountain film mention within the episode is called High Ice, and not Avalanche. Sorry for that. )
Extras! As mentioned in the podcast, here are some shots from the original theatrical program for the play Mister Roberts, with Dion‘s mother‘s family goat, Bertha, making her Broadway debut. Check them out HERE, HERE, HERE, HEREHERE, and HERE.
Welcome back to an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers’ 2019 Summer of Sequels. This week Dion Baia & J. Blake are covering a film that has been polarizing ever since it first was released, with supporters and naysayers on both sides of the cinematic aisle. The boys are taking on Predator 2, from 1990!
Blake and Dion jump right in, tying in elements of the novelization, as well as the limited Dark Horse run of Predator: The Concrete Jungle, which premiered the year prior. They discuss the violence and setting of the dystopian inner city as a backdrop, and the awesomeness of the Predator character. So sit back and make sure you come unarmed and bring all your lucky voodoo charms, because the fellas are going to gritty and sweaty LA on the hunt, in the all new edition of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers Podcast! (*Dion mistaking referred to the 2012 MortonDowney Jr.DocumentaryasProvocateur, when it is actually entitled, Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie.His sincere apologies.)
Welcome back to another epic edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers’ 2019 Summer of Sequels! And this week Blake and Dion are covering a true epic, the 1984 Steven Spielberg / Harrison Ford classic, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom !
The boys jump right into unpacking the multiple layers of this groundbreaking installment in the Indiana Jones series. Theylayout the backstory infused within the novelization. Dion and Blake also discuss the surrounding events and controversy (before and after) that this film generated, and connect and analyze the similarities Temple of Doom shares with the 1939classic, Gunga Din. Plus, they sneak in their hilarious Harrison Ford story. So grab your popcorn and Indy voodoo dolls because Anything Goes as the fellas head all the way to Asia in an all new, massive and comprehensive installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Welcome back to another edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers’ 2019 Summer of Sequels!Blake and Dion are leaving the car in neutral this week, staying in 1990, and hitting up a sequel that doesn’t seem to get a fair shake–the dystopian future noir Motor City film, RoboCop 2!
The boys breakdown this disturbing sequel, utilizing the novelization, and deleted scenes and other outtakes, to paint a broad comprehensive overall picture of what the writers and filmmakers were going for. They discuss the complexities of the Robocop 2 miniature design, and the reasons behind it, and again tell their Tom Noonan sighting story… which leads to reflections of encounters with John Lithgow and Peter Weller. So grab your popcorn and Auto 9 pistols, because the boys are headed to the old 313, Detroit, on an all new exciting and hilarious episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
