Alan Silvestri – Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Predator 2, 1990

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 Morton Downey Jr. Documentary as Provocateur, when it is actually entitled, Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie. His sincere apologies.)

Extras!

For more on the backstory found within the novelization, check out this fan wiki link.
To see more on the legendary Dark Horse 1989 miniseries, Predator: Concrete Jungle, click here.
Take a look at the trailer to the 2013 documentary Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie, about the fascinating life and times of Morton Downey Jr.

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Category: Action, Comic Books, Horror, Sci Fi | 9 Comments

June 1

Back to the Future, 1985

The boys are at it again this week on an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! J. Blake and Dion Baia are taking on an absolute cinema classic–the Robert Zemeckis helmed masterpiece, Back to the Future from 1985!

Back to the Future

Filled with an all-star cast on the very top of their game, Dion and Blake can’t hold in their excitement and enthusiasm for this movie, as they gush over every aspect of the production. From the script, to the effects, to the themes–everything here is top-notch. They discuss the huge “what-ifs” in this movie, like the alternate cast choices, early versions of the script, and the alternate ending. It’s all going down this week. So grab your skateboards, portable cassette players, and make sure you have enough plutonium to get back and forth again, because once they get their newly built Delorean conversion to 88 mph…well you can guess what’ll happen this week, on an all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Check out the original 1985 trailer to Back to the Future!

Here’s some great deleted scenes from the film!

Take a look at these original screen tests with Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson!

Crispin Glover discusses his fallout and issues with Zemeckis and others that led to his lawsuit and none appearance in the sequels.

Have a look at Christopher Lloyd taking about Eric Stoltz and his exit from Back to the Future.

Lastly, as referenced in the podcast, if you wanna check out the early podcast episodes Blake & Dion did prior to the inception of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers, check out their Side-Casts on Podwits.com.

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Category: Action, Adventure, Classic, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci Fi | 2 Comments

August 18

Predator, 1987

Hello again and welcome back to an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This is a very special time for J. Blake and Dion Baia, because this signifies the 20th anniversary of their friendship. So they decided to tackle a movie that not only turns 30 this year, but also was something that they mutually loved when they entered film school and bonded over when they shared a dorm room. So this go around the boys are talking the Arnold Schwarzenegger/John McTiernan classic, Predator, from 1987!

Predator, 1987

After briefly reminiscing about their serendipitous pairing freshman year in college, Dion and Blake immediately realize that this is the first movie where the entire cast and most of the prominent crew have already appeared on SNMS, and should all be inducted in the SNMS Hall of Fame. The boys then get into the nuts and bolts of the film, while not in anyway hiding their love for this property. They first have an in depth discussion about the original alien suit and the Jean-Claude Van Damme controversy, and what led to bringing in Stan Winston for a complete redesign of that suit, to what we all love and know today. They compare elements of the novelization and some of the significant differences between it and the story we see in the finished film. And Dion also proposes a new theory for the creatures’ initial motivation to engage Arnold‘s elite team. So, in the novelization, why is the Predator hunting humans in the first place? What famous story concerning the folklore of this film does Blake take slight umbrage with? Does Van Damme actually get a raw deal here through the prism of history? And how many quotes and imitations can the boys fit into one humble podcast? Well grab your gear, face-paint and M134 miniguns, and make sure you watch your six, cause the boys are taking ‘Old Painless into the jungle and down memory lane on this all new and very special installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! #sleepovermischief

*Dion misspoke during the podcast- he meant the term “Over The Transom“.

Extras:

Here is some footage and behind the scenes of the original Predator costume with Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the story behind it.

Check out a deleted scene talked about in the podcast, of Dutch attempting to escape the Predator.

For more information about all the unique and custom weaponry in this film, check out it’s Internet Movie Firearms Database webpage!

Have a look at a great ‘making-of’ documentary from 1987, for Predator.

Take a glance at the original theatrical trailer for the film.

Lastly, here is Dion with Jesse ‘the Body’ Ventura, circa 2006 or 2007.

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Category: Action, Adventure, Classic, Fantasy, Horror, Sci Fi, Thriller | 4 Comments

June 23

Who Framed Roger Rabbit, 1988

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers. This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are going “way down the alley“, to discuss a monumental film that marked a seminal event in cinema history, something that to this day has never been replicated. What is it you might ask? Well have a listen as the boys talk the film noir/live-action/animated mash-up, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, from 1988!

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Dion and Blake jump right into things, reminiscing about the late 80s, discussing the time period this film was released within. Another movie highlighting the glory of the pre-CGI era, the fellas analyze the various practical methods used to bring this amazing story to the silver screen, from the hand-drawn cell animation, to the practical SFX, to the sheen ILM applied to help make the finished product look that much more ‘real’. The boys go through the 1981 Gary Wolf book the film is based on Who Censored Roger Rabbit? and the similarities and major differences in plot and tone. Blake and Dion attempt to add perspective and really underscore how amazing this project was to be able to bring together various characters from Warner Bros., Disney and Tex Avery‘s troupe at MGM– a colossal feat that still 29 years on, hasn’t again been achieved. They also discuss meeting pioneering animation Ink and Painter Martha Sigall, who personally knew icons like Chuck Jones and Mel Blanc, as well as meeting Hanna Barbara legend Bob Singer. So how dark is this film really, even though it was billed as a children’s picture? And is the book actually much darker? What is the real-life plot point in Roger Rabbit that audiences forget actually happened, and how is it somehow related to Robert Towne‘s Chinatown series? And what is Dion‘s Bob Hoskins story- did he actually carry him around on his back, Yoda-style for a day? Well get ready and make sure you take your heart medicine, because the lads are taking you on a trip into Toontown in this all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

*Dean Cundey actually directed Honey We Shrunk Ourselves, not the original Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

EXTRAS:

PLEASE check out our EXCLUSIVE interview with the late legendary Ink and Painter Martha Sigall about her career in the animation business, in a time when the industry was still in it’s infancy.

PLEASE check out our EXCLUSIVE interview with Hanna Barbara legend Bob Singer, as he reminisces about his work at the animation studios, and discusses the iconic characters he helped create.

Here is Dion with the amazing Bob Hoskins in 2005, when the former carried the latter on his back for a day while undergoing his Jedi training.

Have a look at this great 1988 behind-the-scenes TV special, Roger Rabbit and the Secrets of Toontown, hosted by Joanna Cassidy.

Take a look at this rare deleted scene, entitled the “Pighead Sequence“.

Check out the three rare Roger Rabbit post-film shorts: Tummy Trouble, from 1989; Roller Coaster Rabbit from 1990; and from 1993,Trail Mix-Up!

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Category: Adventure, Animation, Childrens, Comedy, Disney, Fantasy | 2 Comments

July 29

Summer Rental, 1985

Get ready because it’s time for another brand new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! We’re in the hot, sweaty and sticky days of summer, when the daily grind really starts to try the patience of most. So Blake and Dion are planning a little excursion down memory land as they pack into the family car and head for a tiny beach house that they thought was going to be cozy and isolated, but instead ends up being a 100 year old bungalow which is ten feet away to the another identical house. Have you guessed? They’re watching the 80’s summer classic, Carl Reiner‘s Summer Rental, from 1985 starring the hilarious John Candy.

Summer Rental, 1985 The boys start off with another quick installment of ‘what-has-Blake-brought-back-from-his-parent’s-house-to-surprise-Dion-with? ‘ game and briefly dip into the genre of 3D, after which they get into talking about memories of summer vacations (the backseat activities that used to occupy kid’s time while getting there), summer comedies we associate with them, and then the genius of John Candy and Carl Reiner. Dion and Blake trace back the many careers the comedian, actor, writer, producer and director Carl Reiner has had through the decades. They even go as far back to Reiner and his other contemporaries main influence, Vaudeville, and give a CliffsNotes’ overview, and the comedy genre’s evolution through the subsequent broadcast mediums. They also visit the backstory — the real life incidents that became the main inspiration for this screenplay, and how each small event contained within this story setup a beautiful and hilarious onscreen crescendo. So aside from the obvious John Candy association, how does Summer Rental actually share a meaningful connection with SNMS last episode’s film, Ghostbusters? How interchangeable would one say this plot is, within not only an 80’s summer comedy, but also an early 60’s, beach, bikini/surfer flick? How great is Richard Crenna and Rip Torn in this film, and full stop? And we again have another Alan Silvestri score to talk about..! Well grab your cooler, sunscreen and swimsuits, because we’re all piling into our family station wagons and minivans, and heading to the crowded beach, in another all new summer edition episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras:

Check out the original movie trailer for Summer Rental!

Here’s the very rare Jimmy Buffett song Turning Around he did for Summer Rental!

Have a look at this great, rare television commercial!

Take a look at these original, theatrically-issued 3D glasses that Blake discovered from when he went and saw the 1991 film Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare; and here are the boys trying them on and as before, Dion’s dog Babe wanting to again get in on the action.

The highly recommended book on the history of Vaudeville and it’s famous performers, mentioned in the cast is titled: No Applause ~ Just Throw Money by local New York writer and performer Trav S.D.. If you’re interested in this amazing and sadly almost forgotten influential genre, check out another book called: The Voice of the City: Vaudeville and Popular Culture in New York, by Robert W. Snyder, which highlights the history of the establishment and goes into the nuts and bolts about the the conglomerates who oversaw and pioneered the industry, men we still know today because of the theater chains that still bare their name.

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Category: Classic, Comedy, Film | 1 Comment

November 25

Dutch, 1991

Happy Thanksgiving! Here at Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers, J. Blake and Dion Baia have lined up another, albeit lesser known holiday film that not only celebrates the Turkey-Day Season, but also is a John Hughes movie to boot! This year the boys are talking up the classic Dutch, from 1991, starring Ed O’Neill and Ethan Embry.

After letting off some steam about dealing with disrespectful movie patrons while at the cinema, the boys get down to business. Often forgotten as both a Thanksgiving movie and one penned by John Hughes as well, Dutch is a fun road film that first teamed O’Neill and Embry, who would go on to reunite in a 2003 Dick Wolf/Dragnet reboot. But what the heck happened to this film? Why did it bomb at the box office and then fall through the cracks of time? Did Ed O’Neill’s hugely successful TV show Married… With Children actually help spell doom for this film perhaps because of a kind of type-casting of O’Neill? How does this stack up to the other titles in the John Hughes catalog, and does it share similarities to another Hughes/Thanksgiving film? And can this be added to the list of classic holiday movies? All these questions will tried to be answered in this all new, and hilarious edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! #nothingburpsbetterthanbacon

EXTRAS:

Who Do You Love is the other 2008 film that came out along with Cadillac Records that documented the Chicago Blues scene and Chess Records artists in particular, that the boys couldn’t remember the name of.

Check out the original theatrical trailer for Dutch!

Who knew?! Here’s Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and Gracie Academy Black Belt Ed O’Neill, with Ryron and Rener Gracie breaking down the moves of the 2012 UFC Belfort/Jones match.

Speaking of Jiu-Jitsu, listen to Ed O’Neill tell the story of his VERY First Class at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy with Grandmaster and UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie.

Take a look at some of the 1985 TV pilot Popeye Doyle, the spin-off sequel to The French Connection police officer of the same name, that was never picked up and made into a series.