April 6

The Goonies, 1985

Welcome back to another exciting episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Dion Baia and J. Blake are two kids on an adventure! They’re headed up to the Goon Docks, and taking up where Chester Copperpot (aka Keenan Wynn) left off, looking for One-Eyed Willy‘s treasure as they take on an absolute cult classic, The Goonies, from 1985!

The Goonies

Always a huge request from listeners, this film brings it all back for Blake and Dion. They chat about the idea of all of us having a shared collective of ‘childhood memories’ consisting of bikes, skateboards, snack food and junk food, and plain fun and adventure, as they reminisce about this classic epic. They discuss this subgenre of “kids on an adventure“, and other films of the time period which shared commonalities with this template, and the various forces that came together to get The Goonies made. They analyze the superb cast and crew, and the surprising tidbits of info that may not be commonly known- (such as the dropped subplot of gorillas escaping a local zoo and stealing a golf cart and then a car, all of which was shot Second Unit by Steven Spielberg!) -among others. The boys attempt to unpack as much as they can in another enthralling, hilarious and informative edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

#Craptoad #TickletheBrim

(During the podcast while talking about the 1996 film Mulholland Falls, Dion mistakenly said John Lithgow when he meant John Malkovich– our apologies.)

Extras!

Here’s the Cyndi Lauper tie-in music video, The Goonies ‘r’ Good Enough !

Check out these deleted scenes from the movie!

Take a look at this Making of Featurette from 1985!

Brought up on the podcast, here is a short documentary about the life of iconic football player John Matuszak, who played Sloth, and his untimely death.

And also discussed on this episode, here is child star Ernie Reyes Jr. from the mid-80s, taking on some local bully/gang members, and kicking Don Cheadle‘s butt.

August 4

The Lost Boys, 1987

Hello again and welcome back to another all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Dion Baia and J. Blake are talking another absolute cult classic film that turns 30 this week. A movie about beach boardwalks, teen angst, and of course vampires, Joel Schumacher‘s The Lost Boys from 1987.

The Lost Boys Poster

The boys fondly reminisce about the era The Lost Boys came out within, and how the concept of teenage vampires was a relatively new idea for audiences. Blake and Dion discuss the vampire lore and the ‘classical’ representation these characters had in cinema, and how this film kind of turned that traditional idea on end. They talk about the obvious connections to novelist J.M. Barrie‘s story Peter Pan, as well as the other cultural influences peppered in the story, such as the reoccurring presence of rock icon Jim Morrison and the symbolism invoked, which goes to the greater themes layered within. They discuss the family dynamics in the story, be it the Emerson family’s or the Lost Boys gang themselves. The lads go into the Corey connection, and the relationship between Haim and Feldman that all started with this movie. They compare this film to the novelization, and interject some of the subplots and scenes that were discarded in the final cut of the 1987 movie. And they also chat about the sexual tension between the main characters in the story, and ponder the question: who is really attracted to who here? So, how monumental was The Lost Boys’ soundtrack when it came out? Did director Joel Schumacher maybe put himself a little bit into young Corey Haim‘s character? What’s Blake‘s Billy Wirth story? How about Dion‘s Jason Patric encounter? Well it’s about time that you sharpen those wooden stakes, gather as much Holy Water as you can find, and above all, don’t invite any strangers into your house because an all new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers is coming your way!

(* The two stories referred to in the podcast that predate Bram Stoker‘s 1897 Dracula, were the 1819 short story entitled The Vampyre by John William Polidori, and the 1872 lesbian vampire novella Carmilla, by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu– both in public domain and available online free to read.

Extras:

Check out the original trailer for The Lost Boys!

Watch the deleted scenes, here!

And check out more deleted scenes from the film, here!

Take a look at Corey Haim and Feldman talking about The Lost Boys!

Have a look at the 2004 The Lost Boys 17 year old Retrospective!

December 23

Gremlins, 1984

Welcome to another episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Dion and J. Blake are taking on another holiday classic for their Christmas viewing this season, and have decided on an iconic genre mash-up. It’s a film that really goes to show you the 1980’s was a time when you could practically market anything you wanted to children, even a dressed up Horror film parading as a cute, Christmas/Comedy that subtlety pokes fun at American and Western culture in general. Of course we’re talking about Joe Dante‘s classic, Gremlins, from 1984.

Gremlins

The trifecta of Chris Columbus writing, Steven Spielberg executive producing, and Dante directing, gave us one of the most interesting and fun films of the 1980s. Blake and Dion try to flesh out the back story of this love letter to Frank Capra, B-Horror films of the 1950’s, and Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes cartoons, among a slew of others, while trying to wrap their heads around some terrifying concepts layered within. How much darker was this film originally supposed to be? Does this movie really convey themes like anti-technology, as well as lament about the ignorance of Western society as a whole? Have some critics read into the film and actually injected elements of supposed racism which surprisingly, doesn’t even have to do with the culture that is presented within the story? How has the movie held up after 30+ years, as both a genre mash-up and holiday film? And is this a movie that could even be attempted in 2015 without severely changing the story itself and its primary antagonists? Well the boys are wearing their Santa hats and have their sleigh bells ringing in this all new, Christmas installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

(We’d like to give a shout out to Jason Derenick for recommending Gremlins, and we’d like to apologize for not remembering his name during the podcast. Thank you!)

(When speaking about New Line Cinema, Blake mistakenly said Friday the 13th, when he was actually referring to Nightmare on Elm Street.)

Extras:

Jason’s name isn’t the only thing we forgot this time around; we’d like to share straight out of the SNMS Archive, a clay Gremlin bust sculpted by Rick Baker‘s SFX team for Gremlins 2: The New Batch, something we completely forgot to bring up, and something we will touch on at the beginning of the next Podcast. Check out this bad-boy here, here, here, here, and here.

Check out the original theatrical trailer!

Take a look at the 1943 Merrie Melodies Bug Bunny short Falling Hare, which is credited by director Joe Dante as an influence on his 1984 film Gremlins.

Also mentioned in the podcast, please watch the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED documentary on the artist, animator and auteur Chuck Jones, entitled Extremes and In Betweens: A Life in Animation.

Go read the HUGELY RECOMMENDED book Outrageous Conduct, which examines the events surrounding the infamous filming of the John Landis short for Twilight Zone The Movie, where veteran actor Vic Morrow and two children were killed.

Here’s the cartoon adaptation of the book Monster’s Ring, mentioned by Blake in the Podcast.

Have a look at this absolutely hilarious parody of Gremlins mashed-up with Taken, courtesy of How it Should of Ended.