October 13

Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI , 1986

Welcome back to another installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! The boys are entering week 2 of their annual SNMS October Halloween Movie Extravaganza, and serendipitously this Friday just happens to be the 13th... so J. Blake and Dion Baia put their heads together and decided to take on one of the most iconic series’ in the Horror genre. And after close examination, they’ve decided on a film they feel most embodies the spirit of that franchise. So the fellas are chatting about a guy named Jason Voorhees, and more specifically Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, from 1986!

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

The boys start off by Dion explaining why this series is particularly near and dear to his heart, and his story about his first experience as a child with the Friday the 13th film series in general. They set up this film, Jason Lives, by recapping Part V: The Beginning, and Dion also goes on record to defend that installment, as he and Blake explain why that movie is so important to the fate of Part VI. The guys also lay out all the elements that are introduced in Jason Lives , and how these tropes help set-up the next 6 (or so) films in the series. They get into the history of the character Jason Voorhees, going back to Sean Cummingham‘s original film and sum up the other installments that preceded this one. The lads explain Jason Lives director‘s vision of making this an almost gothic horror film, a kind of homage to the classic Universal and Hammer Horror films of yesteryear. They discuss the trims and extended scenes that were left on the cutting room floor, as well as the reason why there were actually 2 actors appearing as Jason in this Part VI. They also chat about the various book tie-ins that expand on Jason’s backstory, as well as the original ending for Jason Lives that introduced Jason’s father, Elias Voorhees, and why it was ultimately cut. And we also get some insight into the score by way of Blake‘s friend and the film’s composer, Harry Manfredini. So, what is the speculation of how the creators came up with the first name for the character Tommy Jarvis? Who is clearly the real hero in this story? What are the 2 connections this film has to the classic television series Welcome Back, Kotter? And what Jason installment(s) are the boys thinking of turning into a traveling one-man play? Well, make sure you don’t accompany a friend late at night to a spooky cemetery with he/she having the idea to dig up a serial killer (for the obvious fear of accidently reanimating him and inadvertently causing the deaths of scores of other helpless victims), because the boys are laying out a sad, disturbing cautionary tale in this brand new Halloween, Friday the 13th episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras:

Check out the original teaser trailer for Jason Lives: Friday the 13th Part VI!

Here’s the Alice Cooper music video for his song, He’s Back (The Man Behind the Mask)!

Have a look at the original scripted ending, that introduced Jason’s father, Elias Voorhees!

Take a look at all the extended and deleted scenes for Jason Lives!

Here is the Jason Voorhees Sideshow Statue that Dion has in his livingroom.

Check out two worlds colliding: Dion and Blake at Monstermania back in March of 2017, witnessing Jason meeting Jason!

July 29

Summer Rental, 1985

Get ready because it’s time for another brand new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! We’re in the hot, sweaty and sticky days of summer, when the daily grind really starts to try the patience of most. So Blake and Dion are planning a little excursion down memory land as they pack into the family car and head for a tiny beach house that they thought was going to be cozy and isolated, but instead ends up being a 100 year old bungalow which is ten feet away to the another identical house. Have you guessed? They’re watching the 80’s summer classic, Carl Reiner‘s Summer Rental, from 1985 starring the hilarious John Candy.

Summer Rental, 1985The boys start off with another quick installment of ‘what-has-Blake-brought-back-from-his-parent’s-house-to-surprise-Dion-with? ‘ game and briefly dip into the genre of 3D, after which they get into talking about memories of summer vacations (the backseat activities that used to occupy kid’s time while getting there), summer comedies we associate with them, and then the genius of John Candy and Carl Reiner. Dion and Blake trace back the many careers the comedian, actor, writer, producer and director Carl Reiner has had through the decades. They even go as far back to Reiner and his other contemporaries main influence, Vaudeville, and give a CliffsNotes’ overview, and the comedy genre’s evolution through the subsequent broadcast mediums. They also visit the backstory — the real life incidents that became the main inspiration for this screenplay, and how each small event contained within this story setup a beautiful and hilarious onscreen crescendo. So aside from the obvious John Candy association, how does Summer Rental actually share a meaningful connection with SNMS last episode’s film, Ghostbusters? How interchangeable would one say this plot is, within not only an 80’s summer comedy, but also an early 60’s, beach, bikini/surfer flick? How great is Richard Crenna and Rip Torn in this film, and full stop? And we again have another Alan Silvestri score to talk about..! Well grab your cooler, sunscreen and swimsuits, because we’re all piling into our family station wagons and minivans, and heading to the crowded beach, in another all new summer edition episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras:

Check out the original movie trailer for Summer Rental!

Here’s the very rare Jimmy Buffett song Turning Around he did for Summer Rental!

Have a look at this great, rare television commercial!

Take a look at these original, theatrically-issued 3D glasses that Blake discovered from when he went and saw the 1991 film Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare; and here are the boys trying them on and as before, Dion’s dog Babe wanting to again get in on the action.

The highly recommended book on the history of Vaudeville and it’s famous performers, mentioned in the cast is titled: No Applause ~ Just Throw Money by local New York writer and performer Trav S.D.. If you’re interested in this amazing and sadly almost forgotten influential genre, check out another book called: The Voice of the City: Vaudeville and Popular Culture in New York, by Robert W. Snyder, which highlights the history of the establishment and goes into the nuts and bolts about the the conglomerates who oversaw and pioneered the industry, men we still know today because of the theater chains that still bare their name.

 

 

November 25

Dutch, 1991

Happy Thanksgiving! Here at Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers, J. Blake and Dion Baia have lined up another, albeit lesser known holiday film that not only celebrates the Turkey-Day Season, but also is a John Hughes movie to boot! This year the boys are talking up the classic Dutch, from 1991, starring Ed O’Neill and Ethan Embry.

Dutch, 1991

After letting off some steam about dealing with disrespectful movie patrons while at the cinema, the boys get down to business. Often forgotten as both a Thanksgiving movie and one penned by John Hughes as well, Dutch is a fun road film that first teamed O’Neill and Embry, who would go on to reunite in a 2003 Dick Wolf/Dragnet reboot. But what the heck happened to this film? Why did it bomb at the box office and then fall through the cracks of time? Did Ed O’Neill’s hugely successful TV show Married… With Children actually help spell doom for this film perhaps because of a kind of type-casting of O’Neill? How does this stack up to the other titles in the John Hughes catalog, and does it share similarities to another Hughes/Thanksgiving film? And can this be added to the list of classic holiday movies? All these questions will tried to be answered in this all new, and hilarious edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! #nothingburpsbetterthanbacon

EXTRAS:

Who Do You Love is the other 2008 film that came out along with Cadillac Records that documented the Chicago Blues scene and Chess Records artists in particular, that the boys couldn’t remember the name of.

Check out the original theatrical trailer for Dutch!

Who knew?! Here’s Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and Gracie Academy Black Belt Ed O’Neill, with Ryron and Rener Gracie breaking down the moves of the 2012 UFC Belfort/Jones match.

Speaking of Jiu-Jitsu, listen to Ed O’Neill tell the story of his VERY First Class at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy with Grandmaster and UFC co-founder Rorion Gracie.

Take a look at some of the 1985 TV pilot Popeye Doyle, the spin-off sequel to The French Connection police officer of the same name, that was never picked up and made into a series.