J. Blake and Dion Baia sit down, recollect, and reminisce about the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers Podcast, their favorite episodes, what they’ve been up to on their own adventures, and an upcoming SNMS surprise. Come hang with the boys like old times!
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The boys are at it again this week on an all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! J. Blake and Dion Baia are taking on an absolute cinema classic–the Robert Zemeckis helmed masterpiece, Back to the Future from 1985!
Filled with an all-star cast on the very top of their game, Dion and Blake can’t hold in their excitement and enthusiasm for this movie, as they gush over every aspect of the production. From the script, to the effects, to the themes–everything here is top-notch. They discuss the huge “what-ifs” in this movie, like the alternate cast choices, early versions of the script, and the alternate ending. It’s all going down this week. So grab your skateboards, portable cassette players, and make sure you have enough plutonium to get back and forth again, because once they get their newly built Delorean conversion to 88 mph…well you can guess what’ll happen this week, on an all new installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!
Extras!
Check out the original 1985 trailer to Back to the Future!
Here’s some great deleted scenes from the film!
Take a look at these original screen tests with Crispin Glover, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson!
Have a look at Christopher Lloyd taking about Eric Stoltz and his exit from Back to the Future.
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Spring is upon us, and we here at SNMS thought we should again 
started re-airing the original series that paired Dion Baia with his cohort in crime, J. Blake in a string of podcasts called the Side-Cast. Originally airing on their sister site Podwits.com, the Side-Cast was the series catalyst for what became SNMS. To showcase where it all began we are reissuing this program, highlighting the anthology podcast that covered a variety of topics, so that they can not only breath a second life, but also continue what started in the Fall (with the exclusive interviews with Randy Jurgensen and with contributor and Horror enthusiast Dave H–), where brand new content is generated as an off-shoot of the regular SNMS Podcast.
Since last week’s Dick Tracy Podcast mentioned legendary make-up artist Dick Smith, and was also about a film that relied heavily on practical make-up effects, we figured why not re-air a cast solely about this legend, which also contains Blake and Dion‘s personal story of their night with Mr. Smith. We hope you enjoy.
-(This podcast originally aired August the 4th, 2014, coinciding with Dick Smith’s passing.)-
In this very special edition of the Podwits Side Cast, Dion and contributor J. Blake celebrate the life of the “God among 
Gods“, SFX master, Dick Smith. They discuss his many groundbreaking achievements in cinema and touch upon the highlights of his extensive resume, bringing to light some films audiences may forget Smith was apart of. The boys then get to the gem of the cast (in their minds) and relay their personal, exciting and hilarious story of the time they spent an evening with the master himself, 15 years ago, at an event they organized!
It is truly an insightful and entertaining cast and a must for any film fan, celebrating the life and work of a great artist. Please come and have a listen!
EXTRAS:
Here’s a write up Dion did in 2012 about the evening he and Blake met Dick Smith!
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Welcome back to another all new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers‘ Side-Cast. We present Part 2 of our exclusive interview with retired NYPD Homicide Detective turned actor, consultant, writer and producer Randy Jurgensen. In this episode, we segue into Randy’s fascinating career in Hollywood and his body of work in the 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s. We go in-depth about the first film he was drafted to be an advisor and actor for, The French Connection, and how he prepped the actors to be New York City cops (back when background prep was rare). We also discuss his friendship with director William Friedkin, as well as the four plus films they would collaborate together on. He also explains his role as of one the stunt drivers in one of the greatest car chases of all
time. He then goes into great detail about becoming a producer, and fighting the Screen Actor’s Guild for Larry Cohen‘s God Told Me To ; ‘stealing’ filming locations in New York City for Maniac and Viligante ; surviving the jungle and the Federales in Central America while filming Friedkin’s Sorcerer ; to fighting city hall (literally) in a small Maine town to get Stephen King‘s Thinner completed. As astounding as it is that a retired Detective was able transition into a life in Hollywood, what’s more incredible is that legends like Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Roy Scheider were vying to hang out with him, because he was the ‘real’ deal, and moreover was the lead Detective on a very 
publicized case at the time involving probably the most notorious cop killing in New York City’s history! Again, it’s a case where truth is stranger (and more entertaining), than fiction! So come listen to an absolutely fascinating and exclusive installment of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! (above picture Randy and Roy Scheider in Sorcerer, 1977; left picture is Randy in the NYC Coroner’s Office in Cruising, 1980)
EXTRAS:
Here, here, here and here are behind the scenes shots of Randy on set on The Godfather, during the scene where Sonny is assassinated.
Check out Randy in The Godfather poster, up in the top right corner.
Here’s Randy at the end of Maniac, with real life partner Jimmy Aurichio!
Here’s another from Cruising, this time with a very young Ed O’Neill.
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Welcome to an ALL NEW edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers‘ “Side-Cast“. This episode takes SNMS listeners in an entirely different direction, presenting an all new and very rare interview with a retired NYPD Detective and Hollywood legend, Randy Jurgensen. He has appeared in over 50 films and television shows, including The French Connection, The Godfather, The Seven Ups, God Told Me To, Maniac, Sorcerer, Kojak, Fort Apache the Bronx, Superman, Vigilante, Cruising, C.H.U.D., Maniac Cop, Homicide: Life on the Street, The Juror, Thinner and Donnie Brasco among many others as an advisor, actor, producer and writer. Two of his cases were turned into major Hollywood films by his good friend William Friedkin, and are now classics.
But before all of this, Randy was a Homicide Detective in Harlem, “making a living among the dead” as he calls it, in the 2-8 Precinct dubbed “the Murder Factory“, navigating through some of the most awful times in New York City’s history. He and his fellow officers battled to keep the crime and murder rate down, while at the same time struggled to not lose a city to radical groups like the Weather Underground and the Black Liberation Army (BLA). He was involved in the worst cop killing in the city’s history and made it his mission to bring the killer to justice, even if it meant sacrificing his career as a police officer. The experience led him to write a book in 2006 about the case, entitled Circle of Six: The True Story of New York’s Most Notorious Cop Killer and the Cop Who Risked Everything to Catch Him, a must read and cannot be recommended more highly. But to understand how he got to work in films with legends like Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Johnny Depp, and his good friend (and SNMS favorite!) Joe Spinell, one has to hear the incredible and unbelievable story of how he got there.
Part One of our interview with Randy is the prequel to his film career, as he goes into detail on what it was like being a cop in a city that had on average 2000 murders a year, and speaks about some of the parallels that can be seen today with law enforcement. It is truly a case where fact is stranger (and at times more interesting) than fiction. A must listen! #RememberCardillo
(Here is Randy with Ol’ Blue Eyes)
Check out this short Documentary starring Retired Detective Jurgensen.
Here are some more interesting facts about Randy.
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A brand new addition to the Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers rotation is the Podcast that started it all, Dion and Blake‘s Side-Cast. Originally airing on the sister site Podwits.com, the Side-Cast was the catalyst for what became SNMS. To showcase where it all began we are reissuing this series, highlighting the anthology podcast that covered a variety of topics, so they can breath a second life, and because eventually it will be a new off-shoot of the regular SNMS Podcast, where brand new podcast content will be generated for SNMS website.
(This podcast was originally published on July the 30th of 2014, we hope you enjoy!)
Dion and J. Blake are back for an all new, exciting episode of The Podwits’ Side Cast! The topic today is the man, the myth, the legend…. Bruce Campbell; and all things Mr. Campbell! The boys get into the nitty-gritty and talk about his mainstream successes like The Evil Dead and Burn Notice, but also get into some lesser known gems like Moon Trap, Running Time and Crime Wave, and even some forget beauties like The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.and Bubba Ho-Tep. A mandatory listen for any Campbell or Raimi fan, or any Film fan for that matter!!! Come on down and have a listen!
Footnotes:
Please check out J. Blake’s exclusive interview with the man himself, Bruce Campbell!
Have a listen to SNMS Podcast on Campbell‘s 1992 classic Mindwarp !
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A brand new addition to Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers rotation is the Podcast that started it all, Dion and Blake‘s Side-Cast. Originally airing on the sister site Podwits.com, the Side-Cast was the series that became the catalyst for what became SNMS. To showcase where it all began we are reissuing this series, highlighting the anthology podcast that covered a variety of topics, so that they can breath a second life, and because eventually it will be a new off-shoot of the regular SNMS Podcast, where brand new podcast content will be generated for SNMS website as well.
(For the inaugural release of the Side-Cast here at SNMS, we present a Halloween-themed podcast originally published on October the 14th of 2014, to help get the word out on the then newly launch Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers Podcast and Website. We hope you enjoy!)
To help get the word out about their new Podcast Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers, Dion and J. Blake sit down to recommend 10 horror films for the Halloween season that they feel may be overlooked or forgotten in today’s times. The boys attempt to compile a list of amazing fright films that may not be considered first choice picks, but are a necessity for ANY horror fan. Along with their podcast, the lads have also co-wrote a companion posting over at Saturday Sleepovers, giving another 10 (5 each) that they couldn’t fit into the podcast but felt remise if they didn’t include as well. So please go have a listen and then go over to Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers to see the written list. We hope you enjoy!
(Please check out J. Blake‘s new Blues album When You Coming Home? and check out his interview with Alan Jones, the premiere aficionado on everything Dario Argento.)
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