October 25

An American Werewolf in London, 1981

J.Blake and Dion are back for a 2024 Halloween Season Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! The fellas are going way down the alley, back to 1981 to cover one of the most classic and iconic horror films of all time, John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London. They chat about all the fascinating history of this essential lycanthrope centric movie. So carve a pumpkin, light a candle but most of all, beware of the Moon, because because the boys have a brand new episode coming at you!

November 9

Coming to America, 1988

Hey there! Today on this week’s all new episode of Saturday Night Movie SleepoversDion Baia and J. Blake are ringing in another anniversary, celebrating an iconic comedy classic that is turning 30, which set the bar. The fellas are talking Eddie Murphy‘s creation Coming to America, directed by John Landis, from 1988.

Coming to America

Blake and Dion unpack this quintessential cult classic, discussing the collaboration between Eddie Murphy and John Landis, and history of both men leading up to this epic and the confrontation that occured between the two on set. The boys also analyze the dirty comedy and R-rated moments within the story, and question how today’s audiences might react to some of the racy situations. Well, come and pull up a chair as the fellas follow proper royalty as they travel from their native Zamunda, Africa, all the way to Queens, New York circa 1988 in search for love, in an all new and exciting installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! Also a big thank you to this week’s sponsor, Green Chef!

 

Extras!

Check out the original trailer, which includes scenes not in the theatrical cut.

Have a look at this rare interviews of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in 1989 while doing press for Coming to America.

Take a look at Eddie Murphy talking about Coming to America with Arsenio Hall on the show BIO, on Biography.

And as promised, here’s That’s My Mama!

And of course, the infamous Coming to America TV pilot, starring Tommy Davidson.

 

March 9

The Last Man on Earth, 1964 & A Conversation with Victoria Price

Welcome back to another installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week Dion Baia and J. Blake are covering an absolute classic, a movie based on the famous novel by Richard Matheson, I am Legend , that was even cited by auteur George Romero as a direct inspiration for his film Night of the Living Dead, which basically created an entire zombie horror subgenre. We are first talking about Vincent Price, and then his groundbreaking film, The Last Man on Earth, from 1964.The Last Man on Earth

The boys explore this highly underrated classic and it’s influence on the entire zombie, vampirepost-apocalyptic and Italian zombie genres, and also the influence of it’s legendary star, Vincent Price. They get into the original groundbreaking novel by Matheson and the differences between this version as well as the other film incarnations that followed.

Victoria Price / Book cover

But more importantly as a bonus, the boys speak exclusively with Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria Price about her new book, The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self . In their in-depth interview they discuss the inspiration that inspired the book and her journey on the road to happiness, and rediscovering joy in the world, as well as what it was like being the daughter of such an esteemed Hollywood mega-couple. And also touch on the legendary but little known industrial designer and family friend, Henry Dreyfuss.

So come on down and listen to Blake and Dion show some love to such an underrated classic, AND check out this great, exclusive interview with Victoria Price in this all new and exciting episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras:

Check out The Last Man on Earth in it’s entirety, courtesy of YouTube!

Have a listen to the complete audiobook of I am Legend !

Take a listen to the 2006 BBC 7 audio-play adaptation of I am Legend !

As discussed in the podcast, take a listen to Vincent Price‘s amazing monologueThe Black Widow” in the Alice Cooper song Devil’s Food, beginning at the 1:30 mark.

And of course, here is Michael Jackson‘s Thriller video, featuring Vincent Price.

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!

October 8

5 Rentals for $5 – October Horror Film Recommendations

Maniac 1980
Courtesy of Mondo, poster by Ken Taylor

October is upon us and along with Autumn arriving, ’tis the season for scary movies! As a companion-piece to J. Blake & Dion‘s latest Side Cast in which they recommend 10 horror movies that they feel have either fallen through the cracks or have plain been forgotten, the lads have also put together another list of 10 films they wholeheartedly recommend, along with the podcast picks which can be found at The Podwits mother site.

 

 

 

But before we get to the 10 films the boys urge you to seek out, here is a round-up of the 10 recommended in the Side Cast Podcast: Continue reading