June 26

F/X (1986) and FX2 (1991) Double Feature!

Welcome back to another exciting edition of the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Dion Baia and J. Blake are doing a double feature this week, covering a forgotten but classic franchise, F/X from 1986 and FX2 from 1991, both starring Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy. The boys discuss the many legendary character actors who fill out both movies, and amazing premise that has become a common theme on the podcast, the fascination movie audiences had/have with practical SFXs—specifically makeup FXs; and the terrific rollercoaster rides these films take us on. So come reminisce about 2 forgotten gems on another enthralling installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

May 17

Assault on Precinct 13, 1976

Welcome back to another exciting edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are back, and opening up the Spring/Summer season up with a classic, a debut [of sorts] from a director who went on to become sleepover royalty. The boys are tackling John Carpenter‘s thriller, Assault on Precinct 13, from 1976!

Dion and Blake discuss their history with this film and the horrifying and controversial aspects it presents, and unpack the various influences on John Carpenter that helped him pen and direct this terrifying genre film. They also talk about the groundbreaking soundtrack, and the various inspirations it drew from. Plus, the lads make their big summer announcement! It’s all going down in this episode, so keep an eye out when you visit your local ice cream trucks because anything can happen on an all new Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

And we would like to thank this week’s sponsor, Keeps!

November 21

Grumpy Old Men, 1993

An all new Thanksgiving edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers is coming at ya! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are covering a 25 year old essential that reunited a legendary duo and became a breakout hit! The boys tackle the Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau classic, Grumpy Old Men, from 1993!

Blake and Dion jump right in and discuss the careers of Lemmon, Matthau, and Burgess Meredith, and how it led to this surprise hit that spawned a direct sequel and a series of other films teaming up the hilarious duo. The boys discuss Matthau and Lemmon‘s amazing chemistry and their catalog of films together. The winter is setting in on this hilarious and exciting all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Go have a listen today!

And thank you to this week’s sponsor, Robinhood!

Extras!

Check out the original theatrical trailer with jokes that are not in the 1993 movie!

Do yourself a favor and watch the outtakes to Grumpy Old Men!

Get into the holiday spirit and watch Burgess Meredith in Kenny G‘s 1994 music video for his Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas!

And have a listen to Burgess Meredith in the Chieftains Christmas song, Don Oiche Ud I mBeithil!

September 7

Bullitt, 1968

Welcome again to an all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Dion Baia and J. Blake are exploring a film that turns 50 this year, a classic and a pioneer in the genre, the Steve McQueen police-thriller, Bullitt, from 1968!

Bullitt

Blake and Dion go way down the alley- dissecting the history of this ground-breaking movie and take a deep-dive into the man, the myth, the legend, Steve McQueen. They lay out his upbringing to give context to the legendary career and short life he led. The boys then utilize the original 1963 source novel, Mute Witness, to flesh out the background of the film. They unpack all the elements like the car chase, McQueen’s style, Peter Yates’ direction, and the Lalo Schrifrin score – all of which turned this movie into the classic it became. And the fellas reveal Dion’s surprise as well! So, grab your Ford Mustang Fastbacks, cause the boys are heading back to San Francisco on an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras:

For more about Dion’s new book, Blood in the Streets, have a look here!

Check out this behind-the-scenes, making of featurette for Bullitt, narrated by Steve McQueen.

Please check out this great site on the many styles worn in cinema, at BAMF Style: Iconic Style from Movies and TV.

Take a look at this GREAT Janaury 2018 commercial for the new Ford Bullitt Mustang, featuring Steve McQueen‘s granddaughter, Molly McQueen, in a great nod to the 1968 film.

Have a look at this 2005 Ford commercial for the new Bullitt Mustang, featuring Steve McQueen in a Field of Dreams kind of situation.

Here’s an article on the amazing story of the lost Ford Bullitt Mustang found in 2017 in a Mexican junkyard (the car that did a lot of the jumping, stunts, and took most of the abuse) thought to be lost forever!

Check out this article on the other lost Ford Bullitt Mustang used in the film (the one for close-ups and the car McQueen tried to buy back), and it’s story of where it’s been over the past 50 years!

Bullitt is going back into the theaters for it’s 50th birthday!

February 23

Enter The Dragon, 1973

Welcome back to another installment of Kung Fu February on Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Dion Baia and J. Blake are going back to the well, covering one of the original ‘tournament‘ films with a motion picture that not only, arguably, introduced the West–and the mainstream in general–to this style of movie, but also became a pillar for an entire genre. The boys are covering a classic and the legend who brought us this film, Bruce Lee and his masterpiece, Enter the Dragon, from 1973.

Enter The Dragon

Blake and Dion also have a real treat in-store for this week, because joining them to discuss all things martial arts is their long-time friend and film school colleague, actor and podcaster, Michael C. Maronna!

So come listen to the trio discuss and analyze all things Bruce Lee and Enter The Dragon, as they explore the incredible journey that martial arts cinema’s greatest legend took to get himself and this movie to the screen–and the lasting legacy it had on the world, that Lee never lived to see. It’s all going down on this all new and exciting, hilarious and action-packed Kung Fu February edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras!

Check out Michael C. Maronna‘s podcast, The Adventures of Danny and Mike !

Here’s Jackie Chan’s very famous Bruce Lee story, involving bowling!

Have a look at these rare bloopers and outtakes for Enter The Dragon !

Take a look at the 40th anniversary for Enter The Dragon, with Shannon Lee, Bob Wall, John Saxon, Fred Weintraub, Paul Heller, Gil Hubbs, and Lalo Schifrin.

And as mentioned in the cast, check out the YouTube channel AikidoFlow, and their great little videos, like here and here.

 

July 15

Ghostbusters, 1984

The boys are back with another exciting episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week and Dion and Blake take on a popular favorite from their childhood that has stood the test of time and is regarded now as a cult classic. Of course we’re talking about the spook and goblin-filled spectacular, Ghostbusters, from 1984!

Ghostbusters, 1984

After briefly dipping back into last podcast’s discussion on the ‘Wold Newton Universe‘ theory by bringing up the companion ‘Tommy Westphall Hypnosis‘, and after also playing another exciting addition of what-has-Blake-brought-back-from-his-parent’s-house-to-surprise-Dion-with? game (which ends up playing brilliantly into this week’s choice of movie), the boys attempt to dissect the origins of the Ghostbusters by laying out the backstory and various incarnations of the script. They play their patented what-if’ game, and discuss the many people who were originally envisioned to play the now famous characters. They also talk about Elmer Bernstein‘s score and his issues with unused portions of his compositions for the film, leading to a bigger chat about other legendary music cues in cinema that have went unused, or completely omitted scores altogether (see Lalo Schifrin‘s notorious rejected Exorcist soundtrack), and then the eventual legal problems that Ray Parker Jr‘s now iconic song saw. So what was the idea for the potential third installment in the series that Dan Aykroyd outlined in the 1990s involving a ‘ManHellTown‘? Was the original Ecto-1 really supposed to be a different color and fly? What about the bigger world that was fleshed out by the NOW/Marvel UK comics, and the fabulous cartoon? How about that elephant in the room, an explanation to what the heck was the difference between The Real Ghostbusters cartoon series and the Filmation Company’s live-action 1970s Ghostbusters show and it’s subsequent 1986 cartoon reboot?(which ended up confusing the heck out of all of us kids at the time!) So prepare for an eerie, mysterious and terrifying journey as Dion and Blake try to do the Ghostheads some justice, as they throw on their jumpsuits and proton packs, jump into their converted ‘59 Cadillac Miller-Meteor, and embark on another edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS:

As discussed in the cast, take a look at some of the deleted scenes from the original film!

Have a look at the original full Ghostbusters television commercial with the cast from the 1984 film.

Here’s a great 1984 interview with Harold Ramis about the film.

Check out this vintage 1984 commercial for the Ghostbusters toys.

Watch this EXTREMELY RARE the behind-the-scenes video from the voice recording sessions of The Real Ghostbusters cartoon show featuring the legendary Frank Welker, alongside fellow voice acting great, Maurice LaMarche!

Take a look at the classic Ray Parker Jr. music video for his song Ghostbusters.

Have a look at London’s Waterloo Station and see what has invaded!

Here’s the picture Dion snapped of the new Ecto-1 parked in Manhattan.

These are Blake’s original 1984 Ghostbuster pinsHERE and HERE!

Lastly, here’s the progression of selfies Blake and Dion attempted to take wearing their pins, as Dion’s Yorkshire Terrier Babe wanted in on the action: HERE, HERE, and HERE!