Jean-Claude Van Damme – Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Last Action Hero, 1993

Dion Baia and J. Blake are back, celebrating their 10th anniversary on the podcast. And what better way to celebrate than to take a deep dive into a cult classic film that was notoriously panned when first released but has gained a substantial fanbase, the classic Last Action Hero, from 1993. The boys unpack this movie’s epic failure, the amazing journey with its incredible cast of stars, and how this became Arnold’s first official dud at the box office. So, grab your magic ticket and a sleeping bag, and curl up in front of the television, as another episode of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers podcast heads straight at you.

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Category: Action, Adventure, Comedy | 1 Comment

February 21

Marked For Death, 1990

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.

Check out the founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba aka O-Sensei, doing unbelievable looking things, using his martial art.

Have a look at some early footage of Seagal before he was famous and in his prime, using some insane Aikido.

And here’s some more footage of him in Japan, in the late 80s.

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Category: Action, Classic, Crime, Gangster, Martial Arts, Thriller | 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

February 3

Masters of the Universe, 1987

Good Journey to you, and welcome back to another exciting and enthralling episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are revisiting a cult classic film that is tied to a legendary property that was one of the biggest franchises of the 1980s. So what do you get when you take a toy maker named Mattel® and have them shack up with the 80s action B-movie giant Cannon Films? You get the topic of this week’s podcast, Masters of the Universe, from 1987.

Masters of the Universe, 1987

The boys set up the movie on hand by reminiscing about their memories of where and when they first watched this epic. They then attempt to navigate through the steeped history of the He-Man character, explaining his basic origins and his initial backstory that was set up by Mattel when they first launched the toyline, before DC Comics it picked up and developed the vast story. Dion and Blake also try and sum up the status of Cannon in the 80s and that company’s influence in cinema, and even to moviegoers of that decade and how these two unlikely bedfellows wanted to make the “Star Wars of the 1980s” (to quote the Cannon hype). And they also spell out how and why, Masters ended up being one of the building blocks that caused everything to come crashing down- ultimately junking a toyline as well as being part of completely tanking a film company. So how vast was the He-Man franchise in it’s heyday? What problems ended up plaguing the film production from day one? What other comic book and cartoon character’s film was actually in preproduction but ultimately ended up getting halted because of the financial problems of the imploding Cannon? And what was the planned sequel to Masters of the Universe that was actually in preproduction and also had to be scrapped, AND what did that script get retooled and eventually released as? Well get your battle swords, cosmic keys, and gather your fellow Eterians, because here comes another mind-blowing installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

(*CORRECTION- Within the podcast the 1989 film The Punisher is commonly referred as being a Cannon film, when it was in fact a New World production. Our apologies. Thanks)

EXTRAS:

Have a look at this 2012 panel discussion of 1987 MOTU live action film!

Here’s a great behind-the-scenes circa 1987 documentary on the film!

Check out this awesome, retro poster of the many characters, vehicles and playsets of the He-Man universe.

To completely immerse yourself in anything and everything He-Man, check out the Grayskull: The He-Man and She-Ra Wiki site devoted to the franchise.

As discussed in the podcast, here’s Dion with legendary comic book artist Mark Texeira in 2014 at 4th Annual Comic Book Marketplace Comic Convention (photo taken by Blake).

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Category: Action, Adventure, Animation, Childrens, Comic Books, DC Comics, Fantasy, Film, Marvel, Sci Fi, Serial, Television, toys | 2 Comments

December 11

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

May 8

Hard Target, 1993

Welcome to another edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia delve way into the video racks and bring out a long-forgotten classic from the early 1990’s back when long, wet mullets were in style, and we didn’t question when villains were able to acquire scores of loyal and nameless henchmen with automatic weapons. Of course we’re talking the 1993 Jean-Claude Van Damme film Hard Target, which also debuted badass Action director John Woo to the Western Hemisphere.

Hard Target, 1993

The “Muscles From Brussels” puts in a Grade A performance in this entry into the sub-subgenre of hunting-men-for-sport films. The boys get into the career of JCVD, and talk about his highs and lows (the controversy of his off-screen beefs with other actors and the debate about his actual martial art ability, and the fascination he has for having twins in many of his films), and the age-old burning question of everyone’s minds: it is a slyly disguised mullet or just slicked-back long hair here? Hmmm… And how awesome are Lance Henriksen and Wilfred Brimley in this movie? And what’s a Zanenabe? We got a lot going on in another exciting and highly informative episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Here is the original source material for what has begot practically an entire subgenre of film, the short story The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell (which Dion mistakenly referred to as ‘The Deadliest Game” in the cast).

Check out pre-fame JCVD (in the black tank-top and short, tight biker shorts) as he busts-a-move in the 1984 film Breakin’.

Have a look at this behind the scenes making of Hard Target.

Take a gander at a link to some deleted scenes from the film.