October 7

Day of the Dead, 1985

The boys are celebrating the Halloween season by revisiting a film they first watched together 25 years ago! Dion & J. Blake sit down to chat about George A. Romero and his 1985 cult classic, Day of the Dead. In classic SNMS fashion, they take a walk down memory lane before launching into an in-depth discussion about Romero, his zombie films, the special effects work of Tom Savini, the film’s original script, its ensemble cast, its musical score, and much more!

For more information about Blake’s documentary and to support SCORED TO DEATH: THE DARK ART OF SCARY MOVIE MUSIC, you can visit its Kickstarter page at:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scoredtodeathmovie/scored-to-death-the-dark-art-of-scary-movie-music

The campaign runs through November 1st, 2022. Or visit scoredtodeath.com.

July 17

The Lost Episode: The Fog, 1980

The boys have been cleaning off the desk and found the LOST episode– their foray back into John Carpenter for Patreon from last October 2020, with The Fog from 1980.

J. Blake and Dion Baia have a blast unpacking this classic, going down memory lane and discussing the locations, supporting cast and the film’s backstory. So if you’re jonesing to hang out with your old SNMS pals Blake and Dion, give this a spin on the old turntable tonight, and kick back and enjoy this forgotten gem, the LOST the episode of the legendary and acclaimed cult classic movie podcast, Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

ALSO

Please also check out the new books from both J. Blake and Dion Baia, which is a great way to continue to support the podcast:

Scored to Death 2 More Conversations with Some of Horror’s Greatest Composers, by J. Blake Fichera

Morris PI: The Men From Icehouse Four by Dion Baia

November 11

2020 Announcement

ANNOUNCEMENT: 2020 has been a tough year for everyone, including us & we appreciated everyone’s support as we reduced our schedule to once a month. However, with new projects in the works—Blake’s new book is coming out on December 1st & Dion’s new book is being released June of next year, as well as other projects—we have decided that, AT THIS TIME, there are just not enough hours in the day to do the type of labor intensive show that we do. So like many other podcasts, we will be moving to a “seasonal” format. After 6-plus years of continuous episodes [a very long Season 1, lol], Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers is going on hiatus. As of right now, the plan is to reconvene in a few months, and hopefully begin recording again by Spring…whether it is in our current format, or perhaps in a new one.

We appreciate everyone’s support. We love communicating with you here on social media, and we are planning to continue to post here, as well as on Twitter & instagram. So please continue to follow us, to stay in touch with what we are up to until the show returns. Also, you can follow Blake on social media @Scored to Death: The Book & Podcast, and Dion at @Dion Baia – Author.

Thanks! And, “Later.”

PS – Blake’s new Scored to Death 2 book is also available for pre-order on Amazon.

December 20

Batman Returns, 1992

The boys are closing out the 2019 season of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers with a Christmas favorite and epic superhero sequel, the controversial Tim Burton classic, Batman Returns, from 1993!

J. Blake and Dion take a deep dive back into the Tim Burton world of Gotham City, unpacking the potential what if’s that could have been for this follow up- like a Billy Dee Williams Two-Face setup, or a Marlon Wayans Robin, and the dark tone that ultimately scared merchandisers, and caused Burton not to be asked back for the third installment. It’s a jingle bell ringing, egg nog drinking, and Christmas decorating, all new season closer of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Check out the boys back in 2015 covering the penultimate classic, Tim Burton‘s Batman from 1989!

October 18

Creepshow, 1982

Welcome back to week 3 of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers’ 2019 October Horror Movie Extravaganza! J. Blake and Dion Baia are back covering a classic that set the standard, the George A. Romero masterpiece, Creepshow, from 1982.

Working off the prior week’s episodes, which kind of relates to the topic, the boys also utilize the 1982 Cinefantastique article, as well as Tom Savini’s Grande Illusions: A Learn-By-Example Guide to the Art and Technique of Special Make-Up Effects from the Films of Tom Savini, for background. They also discuss Blake’s interview with director/composer John Harrison about his work on the film, which offers insight into George A. Romeo‘s vision. Dion and Blake also relay funny stories about meeting actor William Sadler, and filmmaker and friend of the show, Jeff Lieberman. It’s all going down this week on an all new creepy installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS:

Check out Blake‘s interview on Scored to Death: The Podcast with John Harrison, composer of the Creepshow soundtrack!

Also discussed in the podcast, here’s our good friend Dave‘s YouTube George A. Romero interviews he taped off TV that got the attention of filmmaker Jeff Lieberman, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Have a look at Dion with William Sadler, circa 2004.

And take a listen to the Suspense Radio Show‘s legendary 1941 episode called The Hitchhiker, starring Orson Welles!

July 22

Dion & Blake Need a Favor, This is Not an Ad

This week the boys need a quick favor, and humbly ask for your help.

SNMS is in the running for the Podcast Awards and Dion & Blake need you to please VOTE NOW! They got a late start & listener voting ends on July 31st!

1) Go to the attached link
2) sign up 
3) Vote for us in the TV & Film category
4) Vote for us in the Adam Curry People’s Choice category 
5) Vote for whatever other categories you want
6) Hit Save Nominations at the bottom of the screen

There is a ton of competition in the TV & Film category, but Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers can win, because you are the best listeners around. So PLEASE vote and spread the word.

https://www.podcastawards.com/app/signup

December 21

Emmet Otter’s Jug~Band Christmas , 1977

Welcome to another Holiday Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! To close out 2018 J. Blake and Dion Baia are showcasing a cult Christmas classic that is getting some much-deserved love in recent years. They’re tackling the Jim Henson holiday classic, Emmet Otter’s Jug~Band Christmas, from 1977!

The boys lovingly unpack this once lost holiday gem that is celebrating its 40th anniversary in ‘the states’ this year. Dion and Blake utilize the original 1971 source book by Russell and Lillian Hoban for reference, and can’t hold back their utter amazement at the technical prose of the Jim Henson team and the unbridled magic they are able to create. Mixed with the genius that is Paul Williams and his music, they layout a Christmas Special that may have more film cuts than Blade Runner. So come pull up a chair and a have a listen as the boys grab their Mom’s washtub and head down to Waterville and Frogtown Hollow, on an all new holiday installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Extras!

Please go listen to J. Blake‘s 2014 Blues album, When You Coming Home?, as discussed in this week’s episode. 

Here’s Dion with Paul Williams when they met at an Emmet Otter event in Queens, in December 2018.

Check out these hilarious outtakes from the 1977-78 Christmas Special!

Have a listen to this amazing soundtrack, which has been released for the first time this year, showcasing the genius that is Paul Williams.

Here’s an unused song from the special, written for the meek Music Store Owner, titled Born in a Trunk!

Lastly, take a look at this stirring rendition of the song “When the River Meets the Sea“, song by Jerry Nelson and Louise Gold at Jim Henson’s Memorial Service.

March 9

SNMS Presents The Side-Cast: A Conversation with Victoria Price

Welcome to this exclusive edition of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers: The Side-Cast!

Tonight the boys chat with Inspirational Speaker, Designer, Blogger, Artist, Interspiritual Minister, and daughter to film legend Vincent Price, author Victoria Price to discuss her amazing new book: The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self.

Victoria Price / Book cover
Recorded soon after the horrific Florida school shooting, Victoria comes by with her companion and little doggie Allie and they talk about the crazy world we live in and her self-imposed homelessness and journey to rediscover happiness. They speak about being able to find joy in our own daily lives, the many issues everyone nowadays seems to encounter in life regardless of social status, race or creed, and what it was like to be the daughter of such a trend-setting and iconic Hollywood couple. An absolute must listen for both cinephiles, fans of horror or renaissance man Vincent Price, or anyone who is looking to find some true meaning in this crazy world of ours. They also take a brief left-turn and talk about the legendary and groundbreaking but sadly little known industrial designer, Henry Dreyfuss– someone whose innovations have literally touched everyone’s lives.

Victoria Pic 2
Dion, Victoria, Babe & Allie

Victoria Pic 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So please come have a listen as this SNMS exclusive, a fascinating and thought provoking conversation with Victoria Price in this all new and inspirational edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras:

Go listen to our episode on Vincent Price and his classic 1964 horror film, The Last Man on Earth !

Here’s a link to Victoria’s fabulous 1999 biography on her father, Vincent Price: A Daughter’s Biography.

Take a look at Victoria speaking about her father on show, Nichols at Night: Victoria Price. 

Have a look at the photos Dion took in 2016 while in St. Louis of Vincent Price’s childhood home, here and here, and the National Register of Historical Places plaque.

Please take a look at the 2015 reissue of Mary & Vincent Price‘s A Treasury of Great Recipes, 50th Anniversary Edition: Famous Specialties of the World’s Foremost Restaurants Adapted for the American Kitchen. 

Check out this amazing 1962 Industrial Training Film done for Sears personally by Vincent Price to train sales reps to sell Fine Art.  

Have a look at the 2017 reissue of the Vincent Price cookbook, Cooking Price-Wise: A Culinary Legacy.

Here’s the 2016 reissue of the Mary and Vincent Price classic, Come into the Kitchen Cook Book.

 

 

October 6

The Gate , 1987

Well it’s that time of year again, when Dion Baia and J. Blake sit down and up their output to one-episode-a-week for the Halloween season. And for the 2017 Horror-extravaganza the boys are kicking the month off with an often-requested film by SNMS listeners, the absolute cult classic, The Gate, from 1987.

The lads start off by reminiscing about their first childhood sleepovers in which they had friends attending; watching certain movies at a young age that they only learn the names of much years later in life; and the old idea from when we were all kids, that if you dig a hole deep enough, you’d make it to China– (remember that old myth?!) Blake and Dion then get down to business, discussing this horror classic. They chat about how the script got off the ground, shooting up in Canada, and how very early on it was decided to make this a horror movie specifically geared toward kids. They get into the occultism phenomenon that swept the country and world in the 1970s and 80s, giving us subgenres of horror films (like this one), music, and even things aimed at children, like Ouija Board‘s that are still mass-produced by companies like Hasbro. The fellas also talk about the excellent Special Effects in the film, particularly the amazing use of Forced Perspective, which really helped sell the Minions’ interaction with the human cast. So, what film did SFX man Randall William Cook screen for the filmmakers to sell them on this ideas for the SFX in The Gate ? How do those Effects hold up today? In what direction does the sequel go? And what’s the story with the film’s costar, Louis Tripp, and his journey from moving to Austrialia and changing his name from “Twelve Twenty“, to now Baph Tripp and releasing music under the name x.a.o.s? Well, make sure you don’t accidently read any dubious LP cover art or crudely dispose of any recently deceased family pets in any bottomless pits in the backyard, cause the guys are back with an all new, Halloween edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Check out the original trailer for The Gate !

Have a watch of a documentary called The GateKeepers, about the making-of The Gate!

Check out this making-of  about the SFX called, From Hell- The Creatures and Demons from the Gate !

Take a listen to Louis Tripp, aka Baphomet Tripp, aka x.a.o.s, and his song Big Daddy which was just released on YouTube.

July 19

A Tribute to George A. Romero – SNMS Presents: The Side-Cast

George A. Romero

(February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017)

On Sunday July 16th, 2017 it was announced that filmmaker George A. Romero passed away. His debut film, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968), is arguably one of the most influential films of all time and his work, on the whole, means a great deal to us here at SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIE SLEEPOVERS. So out of respect to a master that gave us so much, today on this special impromptu SIDE-CAST, Dion & Blake pay tribute to an artist and filmmaker who had set out to make a cheap horror film and in the process changed the world forever…as well as the lives of two movie-loving podcasters, with a penchant for sleepovers.

EXTRAS:

CLICK HERE to listen the episode of the WRONG REEL podcast, on which Blake discusses the work of George A. Romero.

CLICK HERE to watch the George A. Romero section of Showtime‘s fantastic Bruce Campbell-hosted documentary titled MASTERS OF HORROR from 2002.

CLICK HERE to watch the George A. Romero/Tom Savini episode of the 1989 British television documentary series SON OF THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE FILM SHOW.

CLICK HERE to watch the original cut of the legendary behind-the-scenes documentary, DOCUMENT OF THE DEAD.

June 1

SNMS Getting Some Love With This Awesome Fan Art!

 

Wow! We here at Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers are humbled by this great art done by everyone over at Retro Cat Adventures– they even included Dion‘s Yorkshire Terrier Babe in there as well!

SNMS Fan ArtWe are so grateful and love the pic! Thank you so much, and please everyone go check their page out cause it’s really, really cool. Thanks again guys!! You’re the best!

May 12

The Fifth Element, 1997

Hello and welcome to another all new, exciting edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This go around Dion Baia and J. Blake are celebrating the 20th anniversary of a Sci-Fi film that is held in a very high regard by many and conversely disliked by many others- so much so that upon it’s release it was hailed as both the best and worst summer blockbuster of all time! Wow, how polarizing! But the fellas are talking a SNMS audience favorite this week with Luc Besson‘s iconic film The Fifth Element, from 1997.

The Fifth Element

After briefly chatting about epic hair pieces and martial-art movies, Blake and Dion get down to business and reminisce about the summer of 1997 when this film was released and all the other movies they remember that were out that season. The boys both relate their experiences of seeing The Fifth Element in the theater, and discuss director Luc Besson‘s catalog, particularly his 2008 classic Taken, and their mutual love for the director’s film prior to this one, Léon: The Professional. They go into the background in the creation of Fifth Element‘s story, and the journey Besson went on getting this to the screen. They look at the gorgeous futuristic world that was created by French artists Jean-Claude Mézières and Jean (Moebius) Giraud, and the subsequential lawsuit that was filed against Besson after the film’s release. Dion and Blake gush over their mutual love for Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman, and attempt to contrast this movie against other futuristic, Future Noir, Sci-Fi properties that are comparable to this one. They speculate on Chris Tucker‘s potential real-life influences on his Ruby Rhod character, and also note Besson‘s reoccuring theme of older men helping younger women (or even young girls as in The Professional ) and how it oddly, in his case, mimics the director’s real life to an extent. So does the pairing of CGI, miniature and Practical Effects hold up, and because of their pairing, actually help the longevity? Why is this film so darn polarizing to fans and critics to begin with? And did John Carpenter actually successfully sue Luc Besson? Well grab your Multi Passes, your Zorg Industries ZF-1 Pod Weapons Systems, and make sure you’re blocking any incoming calls from Mr. Shadow, because we’re all going to the 23rd Century this week and an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Here’s China Pop Diva Jane Chang doing the impossible, singing live the Diva Dance.

Take a look at Milla Jovovich’s screen test for The Fifth Element.

Have a gander at Milla Jovovich’s costume tests for Leeloo.

Check out Milla Jovovich talking about being 19 and being cast in The Fifth Element.

Take a look at Chris Tucker talking about playing Ruby Rhod.

Here’s some great behind the scenes footage of The Fifth Element.

Have a look at the official 1997 Cannes Press Conference with the cast and crew.

Now take a look at the MTV hosted Cannes Afterparty for The Fifth Element.

April 7

SNMS’ Side-Cast: A Conversation w/ Wilford Brimley & Martin Kove

Wilfred BrimleyWelcome to a very special Exclusive Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers Presents, The Side-Cast! This week SNMS catches up with two legendary actors in their own right: the well-renowned Wilford Brimley, and film and television icon Martin Kove! Last month Dion Baia and J. Blake attended the 2017 Monster Mania Convention in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and Dion was able to sit down and chat with these two amazing thespians.

Mr. Brimley whose credits include The Thing, Cocoon, The Firm, Hard Target and The Natural just to name a few, briefly talks about his reasoning for getting into the film business, his favorite role, as well as setting the record straight on some of the stories online about his early life. Not one to mince words, Mr. Brimley is direct and to the point.

Martin KoveMr. Kove, known most notably as Sensei John Kreese of the Cobra Kai Dojo, also starred in such classics on the big screen as The Last House on the Left, The White Buffalo, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Steel Justice and Wyatt Earp, talks at length about his start in the film business, some embarrassing moments (he at least thinks) in his appearances in ’70s episodic television and why he feels The Karate Kid has become the cult classic it is today. Mr. Kove also goes into why he feels the 1980’s television show Cagney and Lacey, that he costarred on, was so ground-breaking and ahead of it’s time, and touches on other character’s he portrayed throughout his profound career.

Kove also laments about the one iconic actor he regrets not working with when he had the chance, and also laughs about the one legendary actor he caught up with years later, with who admitted to being a huge Cagney and Lacey fan. And he opines about the one American film genre that he has an immense passion for, and feels needs to be resurrected.

So come on down and take a listen to these exclusives, on another exciting installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS!

Here’s Martin Kove signing Dion‘s Cagney & Lacey boxset; and here is Mr. Kove doing his badass Cobra Kai pose; then after realizing Dion was a huge C & L fan, here is a straight pose.

Click here to check out Mr. Kove’s book recommendation, Wyoming Wind: A Novel of Tom Horn by Jon Chandler.

Check out the 1989 CBS show Hard Time on Planet Earth starring Martin Kove!

Watch Martin Kove in this 1977 Irish Springs Commercial!

Have a look at this great Wilford Brimley on Craig Ferguson in 2011!

Take a look at Wilford Brimley doing a PSA to combat the Meth epidemic in his home state of Utah.

Here’s a rare heard 1988 audio cassette of Wilford Brimley reading Clement Moore‘s poem, The Night Before Christmas (Just ignore the photo slideshow, which seems to be done to be funny).

And, check out Wilford Brimley and the Jeff Hamilton Trio Live, performing Pick Yourself Up!

March 4

Cmon out to Monster Mania 2017!!!

March 11th & 12th, 2017

Hey New Jersey/Philly people, just a quick reminder that Dion Baia & J. Blake will be at Monster Mania in Cherry Hill NJ, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel next week, March 11th &12th!

(*Blake will also be there on the 10th!*).

They will be selling copies of J. Blake‘s book Scored to Death & soundtracks, etc.

If you’re going, make sure you stop at their table and say hi!

Monstermania 2017

http://monstermania.net/

December 23

Santa Claus: The Movie, 1985

With Christmas just days away, J. Blake and Dion Baia decided to seek out a film that actually was the first to attempt to lay out the backstory of old St. Nick; a movie that sadly came and went, and like any good holiday film, it’s a perfect time capsule for the era it was made within. We’ve got Santa pitted against the evil and greed of the 1980s, in Jeannot Szwarc‘s Santa Claus: The Movie, from 1985.

Santa Claus the Movie

This forgotten gem starring the great Dudley Moore, David Huddleston and John Lithgow immediately have the boys thinking back to the Christmas’ of their childhood, and the memories that come along with those experiences, like the Sears and J.C. Penney catalogs and their toy sections, or shopping with Mom and watching her use coupons for everything and then get rainchecks for what was on sale but had been 86-ed. And because of the product placement and connected marketing campaign, it has Dion and Blake longing for a McDonald‘s meal circa 1985, and all it’s unhealthy heavenly glory. They discuss the superhero-esque origin story, and relish in the glorious pre-CGI practical effects, and the beauty that has been lost in those antiquated Special Effects. So playing the SNMS-patented What-if ?” game, who were some of the other directors considered to helm this film? Was a legendary horror director actually topping the list to, at one point, oversee this project? Was this entire movie, including the parts in New York City, shot on a soundstage in another country entirely? And is it really unheard of to have that many wild reindeer pull a sleigh? Well, this week the boys hook up with the Vendequm and watch them fulfill their centuries-old prophecy, in an all new Holiday Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRA:

Check out the original trailer for Santa Claus: The Movie!

Take a look at an original 1985 TV spot.

Here’s a great example of the product endorsements tied into the movie, where we have the elves selling Kodak Disk Cameras!

And here’s local reporter Roy Leonard from WGN Channel 9 reviewing the film on the nightly news, circa 1985.