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!
Welcome back to another exciting, all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! J. Blake and Dion Baia are getting lost in the backwoods this week, covering a cult classic and very polarizing film, Dan Aykroyd‘s only directorial effort, Nothing But Trouble, from 1991.
The boys talk about the script changes and editing to make it a PG-13 from a Rated R, as well as how wacky this comedic-horror genre is, and perhaps why this zany film bombed at the box office. Is it really that bad? They also go through the insane story that Warner Bros. let Aykroyd put on the screen. So come on down and bail Dion and Blake out before it’s too late as they give some love to this forgotten gem, on this hilarious and fun all new edition of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers‘ podcast!
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 another exciting, social-distancing episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! After a short delay, J. Blake and Dion Baia are going way down the alley to discuss a personal favorite, the haunted house classic The Changeling, from 1980 starring George C. Scott. The boys discuss the real life history on which the film is based, and gush over their love for the amazing, George the C. Scott. So sit on back and listen as Dion and Blake throw some much-deserved love to this trail-blazing epic, on a brand new, exciting edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
*Dion mistakenly referring to the 1971 filmThe Last Runstarring George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere as The Rundown– sorry about that.
Welcome back to another exciting edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers ! J. Blake and Dion Baia are throwing up an episode a week early to coincide with the Saint Patrick Day holiday, and to surprise and celebrate a film that’s been on the boy’s short-list since the inception of the SNMS podcast– the 1959 Walt Disney classic, Darby O’Gill and the Little People!
After some present giving, Dion and Blake jump right in, unpacking this epic masterpiece. They discuss the 1959 Magical World of Disney Television episode, I Captured the King of the Leprechauns, where Walt Disney and Irish actor Pat O’Brien venture to Ireland as a setup to convince King Brian Connor of the Leprechauns to star in Mr. Disney‘s big budget Hollywood film. This incredible marketing ploy, along with the astounding Special Effects which used a combination of matte painting and forced perceptive, came together to create one of the best fantasy movies of all time with effects that still hold up some 60+ years later. So settle in and listen to the lads take a journey to County Kerry, Ireland and visit their old mate, Darby O’Gill, on this much requested Saint Patrick’s Day installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
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.
“They say Eddie Egan(aka Popeye Doyle) stepped on the gas and that SonnyGrosso would step on the brake- no… Back then, Eddie was the Doberman Pinscher and Sonny held the chain.” -Randy Jurgensen
Randy in the 1977 TV film, Contract on Cherry Street
Randy Jurgensen has lived an amazing life. The former NYPD Homicide Detective, Korean War veteran turned film consultant, producer,writer and actor worked on some of the biggest cases in New York City’s history and also some of the biggest and most important films of the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s.
With the passing of his lifelong friend and formerNYPD partner Sonny Grosso, Randy sat down exclusively with Dion Baia to discuss the loss of someone who was also able to seamlessly transition into the film industry, becoming a producer, actor and writer, and most memorably was played by Roy Scheider in the 1971 classic, The French Connection.Randy unpacks his friendship with the legendary detective and film icon, and discusses their intertwining careers that involved some of the most notorious cases in NYC‘s history. He talks about the memories he’s never disclosed publicly, and his recollections of some of the biggest films they worked on together. He chats about how Sonny got his nickname “Cloudy“, and how Eddie Egan got the nickname “Bullets” and “Popeye“. He also explains their singular contributions to the original Godfather film. Along with the amazing stories, Randy also relays the biggest regret Sonny had about TheFrench Connection movie. It’s an incredibly insightful, fascinating and exclusive interview that you’ll only find here, on Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
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!
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!
It’s that time of year again! J. Blake and Dion Baia are getting ready for the holidays at Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers and bringing down the decorations from the attic! They have on deck, an iconic film that has become an absolute cult classic, and one that turns 30 this year. So, this week the boys are taking on Chevy Chase‘s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, from 1989!
Dion and Blake jump right in, exploring the history of National Lampoon Magazine, and how it went to presenting movies, and how a short story by a young writer named John Hughes morphed into an epic and iconic franchise. So come listen to the fellas put the Christmas lights up outside on the house, in this all new exciting, informative, and hilarious edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
(*In the cast Dion mentioned that Chevy Chase left SNL after the First Season– in fact, he did perform in a handful of episodes of Season 2 before he jumped ship.)
Welcome to an all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are back, covering a sports classic, the 1993 college football epic, Rudy!
The boys explore the life of Daniel Eugene “Rudy” Ruettiger and his epic journey to Notre Dame, and getting to play college football. They dissect the 1993 film and both Sean Astin and Charles S. Dutton‘s incredible true-life stories. It’s all going down in this brand new Fall edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Welcome back to another installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Blake and Dion are covering a classic that is turning 40 this year, Jim Henson‘s masterpiece, The Muppet Movie, from 1979!
The boys also unpack the ground-breaking Sesame Street program which is also sharing a birthday, turning 50 this year, and the backstory of getting the show on the air in 1969. They track JimHenson’s journey through public television to the hugely successful Muppet Show, and to the 1979Movie. So come on down as Dion and Blake jump into their 1951Studebaker Commander and hit the road, on this all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Welcome to week four of the 2019 Horror Movie Extravaganza on Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Dion Baia and J. Blake decided to continue down the same route and do another anthology that has been related to the others they’ve profiled this past month, covering the cult classic Tales From The Darkside: The Movie, from 1990!
The boys unpack the iconic 1980’s series Tales From The Darkside, and set the stage for how the 1990 feature film came about. Blake discusses his interviews with composer and (this film’s) director John Harrison– about the backstory involving George A. Romero and Stephen King, and getting this film made, and how Creepshow and even Creepshow 2 were the catalyst. So make sure you don’t scare easily, because Dion and Blake are back to tell you some more spooky tales on this all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
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’sGrande 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/composerJohn 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!
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.
Welcome back to week two of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers’ 2019 Horror Movie Extravangza! Dion and Blake are back and trying to fill a tall order, doing an old double feature this Saturday Night. They’re heading back to the well, tackling the films that bred life back into the historic EC Comics property–the Amicus classics Tales From the Crypt from 1972 and Vault of Horror from 1973!
Blake and Dion jump right in, laying out the lengthy and fascinating history of EC Comics, and how a British Company named Amicus reinvigorated a forgotten franchise that’s still going strong, almost 70 years on. They also utilize both novelizations to help breakdown these incredible double-features. So gather round your streaming devices as the fellas act as pseudo “horror hosts”, to take you through this week’s spooky and ghostly installment of SaturdayNight Movie Sleepovers!
