The Black Hole – The SIDE-CAST UPDATE, 1979
The boys are back, for a quick *new* special, revisiting a cult classic, Disney’s The Black Hole, from 1979!
Dion Baia 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 Foster novelization, the Jack Kirby comic 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!
*Dion at one point referred to Robert Forester as William Forester… his apologies.
Extras!
Check out the Jack Kirby Comic Strip Adaptation!
Here’s the full 4 issue Whitman comic book translate, which continues once they go Beyond the Black Hole!
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The boys get right into it by setting up the backstory of the film, and how it was originally pitched as a Disney television movie, then languished in developmental hell for ten years until it was brought in front of Bette Midler. They debate the theory of how some seasonal-themed films become cult classics, holiday staples because of repeated viewings on television and cable. They analyze the elements within the film that showcase another example of Disney tip-toeing into somewhat dark, erotic material- cleverly disguised inside a light-hearted fairytale. Dion and Blake unpack the historical context of this story, briefly summarizing about how Wiccan and Pagan religious ideologies were deemed to be akin to being in league with the devil, and the horrible witch-hunts that swept through Salem, Massachusetts, at the end of the 15th Century. They also compare the tone of Hocus Pocus to other properties at the time, like Eerie, Indiana and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. So, what is the fan speculation behind this story: going to the How and the Why of the Sanderson Sisters becoming witches? Was Leonardo DiCarprio once considered to star in this movie? Playing their own What if Game, could this film have been envisioned as a Tim Burton/Danny Elfman vehicle at the time? And are the fans finally going to see a sequel to this film, and why would Disney actually not be interested in making a sequel/reboot to this beloved property? Well, you better make sure no virgins are trespassing and lighting any candles, hide your children, and actually listen to that black cat trying to talk to you… because the boys are back with the Halloween-specific episode of SNMS‘ October Halloween Horror Movie Extravaganza!
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!
The fellas reminisce about this often lost art, the major network horror movie, and how unique these forgotten templates were for this once-popular format on the small screen. A forgotten classic and a great example of a comeuppance tale, Dion and Blake plot the origins of Scarecrow and try to confirm if this the first example of a scarecrow character as an antagonist (or protagonist?) in a horror film. They also go into the backstory of the players involved, like the great Charles Durning and the story’s director, Frank De Felitta. The boys also discuss the differences of a story like this, where less is more and implication is the name of the game at a time when the slasher genre was in full swing, and how a movie with no gore but instead relies on terror and suspense, can holdup within that time period when blood and guts were the norm. So how does this TV movie hold up 35 years later? How does Ray Bradbury have a connection to this work? And how good is Charles Durning in this demented role? And why did they make him a mailman? Well come on down and check out our final installment of 2016’s October-horror Halloween binge here on an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
