Jay Chattaway – Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Invasion USA , 1985

Tis the Season! The boys are back with an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Dion and Blake are ushering in the holidays with a classic, Invasion USA, starring the great Chuck Norris and directed by the supremely underrated Joseph Zito.

invasion usa
Blake and Dion discuss the burning holiday questions, like does Santa shave his beard on December 26th, or has he had to up his game because of all the high-tech toys kids have nowadays? Then they get to the film: The year is 1985 and along with movies like Commando, Rambo: First Blood Part II and Missing in Action 2: The Beginning, a low-budget Studio named Cannon releases this gem, a great example of pure, unabashed 80’s Action Escapism. Chuck is Ex CIA agent Matt Hunter and is after a terrorist who plans to destroy America, at Christmas time no less! But why has this film fallen through the cracks of time and other Christmas-themed Action movies only bring Die Hard or say Lethal Weapon to mind? Does this deserve to be up there with those classics? Is this the film that helped solidify Chuck as the ultimate bad-ass? And what did Chuck really mean to say when he signed Dion’s poster?

All those questions (hopefully) will be answered in this all new holiday edition Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

(Dion mistakenly said Lebanon when he met Iran when speaking about he 1979-80 American hostage situation)

EXTRAS:

Check out the original trailer to Invasion USA

Have a look at a great Q & A with Chuck, as he discusses how he and Bruce Lee would fare today in MMA

Take a listen to the Jay Chattaway score to Invasion USA

Here’s Dion with the man, the myth, the legend, Chuck Norris

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Category: Action, Adventure, Martial Arts, Thriller, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

October 23

Silver Bullet, 1985 – SNMS Presents: The Side-Casts

For week 4 of SNMS’ epic October Halloween Month of Horror, J. Blake takes the show on the road and does a totally impromptu special Sunday Night Movie Sleepover “Side-Cast” from the nation’s capitol with a cherished old friend, former classmate and fellow sleepover & horror movie enthusiast, Dave…covering one of their all-time favorite 80s horror classics, Silver Bullet (1985).

In this first all new and original edition of SNMS’ “Side-Casts,” Blake calls on Dave’s love and knowledge of Stephen King to help examine this seldom mentioned King penned masterpiece. They discuss King as an author, Cycle of the Werewolf, (the novelette the film is based on) and King’s original screenplay. They discuss how the film is, at its core, really a beautifully executed family drama and marvel at the performances of Gary Busey and the late Corey Haim. They talk about composer Jay Chattaway and the film’s musical score. They explore the werewolf legend as metaphor. Blake tells the bone-chilling story about the first time he ever saw this movie and while under the influence of perhaps one growler of beer too many, the guys get a little deep.

Did Stephen King mean for some the dialogue to be a “tongue in cheek?” How does this film’s take on the werewolf transformation really work? Are we, as an audience, supposed know who the werewolf is before Janie does and are his intentions actually good? How loose is “The Buse” in this movie and why do Blake and Dave love this movie so darn much? Try your best not to “make lemonade in your pants,” because all these questions and more are answered in this special Halloween edition of SNMS’ Side-Casts!

EXTRAS:

Check out the original trailer!

Here’s a link to the printing of the film’s screenplay Blake and Dave talk about during the podcast.

Here’s a compilation of all of Silver Bullet’s werewolf attacks, by Gorey Bits on youtube.

Take a listen to Jay Chattway’s fantastic score!

Subscribe to SNMS on iTunes!

Listen to SNMS on Stitcher!

Listen to SNMS on Player FM!

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Category: Books, Horror, Side Cast, Thriller | LEAVE A COMMENT

June 19

Maniac, 1980

Well boys and girls, this week Dion Baia and J. Blake have a real treat lined up, a personal favorite of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers, the 1980 cult classic Maniac, directed by William Lustig and starring the late, great, Joe Spinell.

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The guys attempt to fit as much as they can into a humble little podcast about this movie, while not trying to go too overboard and show their true colors as absolute fanatics for this film. They discuss the amazing actor that was Joe Spinell, and how he hoped that this pet project of his would do for him what Rocky did for his close friend Sylvester Stallone. Dion and Blake also go on about how it all came together and who Spinell was able to get on board, like SFX legend Tom Savini and iconic director Bill Lustig, to name a few. And the love the boys have for this movie brings up very interesting topics: Is there really an homage to Spielberg‘s Jaws in the film? What were student reactions when J. Blake screened it for his college horror class? Does this movie maybe contain the best head explosion ever? How does the 2012 remake starring Elijah Wood compare? And why do the lads keep butchering actress Catherine Munro‘s name? Well all these questions and a few more get answered in this very exciting and quite informative all new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!