The Walking Dead – Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers

Dawn of the Dead, 1978

Welcome back to the 3rd installment of 2018‘s October Halloween Horror Movie Extravagnza! This go-round Dion Baia and J. Blake are hitting another movie that has an anniversary! Turning 40 this year, it is the quintessential sequel that literally helped kick-start an entire subgenre, domestically and overseas in Italy, the George A. Romero cult classic, Dawn of the Dead from 1978.

The boys are on a timetable this week as they break down this massive topic, decimating the various cuts of the film, and the Dario Argento influence–like with the cult Italian band Goblin. Blake and Dion discuss the impact the Romero “dead films” had on the industry. They both reminisce about their personal histories with Dawn, as well as the other movies in Romero‘s catalog. So grab your batteries, extra ammo, gasoline and door keys, because we’re all taking a road trip to take shelter in the Monroeville Mall, in this all October Halloween Horror Edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! And a special thank you to our sponsors this week, TiVo and Simple Contacts!

Extras!

Please go check out J. Blake’s book, Scored to Death: Conversations with Some of Horror’s Greatest Composers and also its companion, Scored to Death: The Podcast, to further explore the interviews Blake did with many of the men involved with Dawn of the Dead, among many others.

Check out the official website of the (Night of the) Living Dead Museum!

Have a look at the Tom Savini book talked about in the podcast, titled Grande Illusions: A Learn-By-Example Guide to the Art and Technique of Special Make-Up Effects From the Films of Tom Savini.

Take a look at the classic 1985 documentary that breaks down the making of both Dawn of the Dead, called Document of the Dead, courtesy of YouTube!

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April 22

Smokey and the Bandit, 1977

Hey all you gear-jammers, welcome back to another exciting and hilarious episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! This week J. Blake and Dion Baia are taking a trip down South and covering a film that endeared a generation to Trans Ams, CB Radios, Trucking, and Coors Beers. We’re of course talking about the comedic essential, the 2nd film behind Star Wars in 1977, the original Smokey and the Bandit, starring Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Paul Williams and Jackie Gleason.

The fellas go in depth with this beloved classic, unpacking for the listener the era this movie was released within, and set up the context for this all-star cast coming together to appear in stuntman Hal Needham‘s directorial debut film. Dion an Blake clear the air and actually spell out the details about why Coors Beer at the time wasn’t sold East of the Mississippi, and the reasons why Coors had such a short shelf life (a HUGE piece of this plot). The boys get into the nuts and bolts of the 70’s CB craze, even breaking down the various vehicles used in the movie for all those motorheads out there. How was Burt Reynolds‘ involvement integral in turning this into an A-list movie? How much of Jackie Gleason‘s dialogue was adlibbed? And what seen was entirely his idea? Why did the studio not want Sally Field? How cool is it to have singer/song writers Jerry Reed and Paul Williams in the same film together? And how does the remastering of these older film’s soundtracks into 5.1, sometimes actually muck up the original film’s sound? Well sit back and stretch out those legs because the boys are gonna put that hammer to the floor and give ’em hell, in this all new edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

EXTRAS:

For further reading on Jackie Gleason‘s forgotten but still legendary foray into music, check out this informative article penned by SNMS’ own Dion Baia, for Podwits.com

Have a look at Hal Needham talking about directing, Smokey and the Bandit.

Here’s the January 2016 Barrett-Jackson auction of the 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am from Smokey and the Bandit.

Check out Burt Reynolds explaining the backstory for the Trans Am that sold at the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Auction.

Take a look at this great 2015 video of the then and now locations for Smokey and the Bandit.

Have a gander at this brand new interview with Burt Reynolds and director Jesse Moss, whose 2016 film The Bandit documents the friendship between Reynolds and stuntman and director Hal Needham, and their journey to make Smokey and the Bandit!

Here’s episode three of television’s American Trucker, entitled Bandit and the Snowman, where the hosts retrace the 1,330 mile bootleg run from Atlanta to Texarkana and back in a replica of the movie’s star truck.

Have a look at this episode of GearZ, where they showcase and drive a 1977 Bandit Pontiac Trans Am Burt Reynolds Edition car.

Watch this short little featurette called Snowman, What’s Your 20?, a CB tutorial for the terms used in the film.

And lastly, but certainly not least, here is a long-lost and just discovered ORIGINAL teaser trailer for Smokey and the Bandit 3, whose original concept and way it was shot (and then scrapped), was having Jackie Gleason in the roles of both Sheriff Buford T. Justice AND The Bandit. Yep… that’s what we said. AND he’s an ultra rare, long-lost on-set photo of Gleason, as The Bandit.

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November 13

Harry and the Hendersons, 1987

The boys are back for an all new, exhilarating and enthralling episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! J. Blake and Dion Baia are both digging back into their childhoods and taking on the legend of the Sasquatch. Instead of looking at him as a terrible monster, they pick a film that makes everyone wish they could have a big, cuddly bigfoot of their very own… 1987’s Harry and the Hendersons.

Dion and Blake discuss the mythology of the creature, particularly as it relates to cinema and the small screen of the 1970’s-80’s. They get into the mixed reviews that this feel-good film received upon its initial release, and frankly don’t hold back their opinions regarding the matter. They chat about the overall themes, and how it related then (and now) to the social and ecological movements of the era. They also segue to the other elephant in the room, the genius that is SFX pioneer Rick Baker and his body of work, and their mutual disgust that he announced earlier this year that he is retiring because…wait for it… there is not enough work out there because of the use of CGI today in moviemaking. And again, the lads don’t hold back on their thoughts on the subject. So get your tent, outdoor gear, and a pair of binoculars because we’re off looking for Sasquatch and Yeti’s in this weeks all new episode of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers!

Extras:

Listen to the complete novelization here, courtesy of Audiobooks for the Damned!

Take a look at the Harry and the Hendersons 25th Anniversary Panel, featuring SFX Artist Rick Baker and director William Dear!

Here’s Rick Baker in 1987 sculpting Harry!

Check out the Up Close look at Harry and the Hendersons Prop Animatronics Head With Rick Baker, from 1987!

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August 14

Zombie, 1979

This week around Dion Baia and J. Blake delve deep into the video store racks and bring out an absolute cult classic and a very personal favorite of theirs; a film which practically reinvigorated an entire genre in Italy, and lured in legions of soon-to-be horror and zombie fans… we of course are speaking of the Lucio Fulci classic, Zombie, from 1979.

zombie poster

This film is known by many names: Zombie Fresh Eaters, Island of the Living Dead, Zombie Island, Zombie 2: The Dead Walk Among Us, Woodoo, and was officially released in Italy as Zombi 2.

The boys breakdown the state of horror cinema in the 1970’s, giving a quick summary of the zombie genre leading up to 1979 and a history of Italian horror up to this point. Why (and how) was this Fulci masterpiece actually released as a sequel to George A Romero‘s Dawn of the Dead? They discuss their love for Fulci, Italian horror cinema in general, and the fabulous Fabio Frizzi soundtrack. Dion and Blake also explain their shared journey of discovering this movie while in Film School. We’re dropping some knowledge in this week’s episode so come on down, grab a seat and take a listen to another exciting edition of Saturday Night Movie Sleepovers! And remember, FULCI LIVES!

*And as an added bonus for our listeners this week, we’ve included our very first audio commentary for a film, so you can watch and follow right along with your friends, Blake and Dion. They may cover some of the same ground that they do in the podcast but this debut commentary lets the fellas stretch their legs, and go step by step and get into the nuts and bolts of the film, while having fun and spontaneously opining about their love of Fulci, horror films, and Italian babes- all in real-time with the movie. So let us know what you think and maybe we’ll do more down the road but remember, it’s our first attempt, so we’re still feeling it out. We hope you enjoy!

(*It is Val Lewton, not Hal.)

Here is the entire 1979 film, courtesy of YouTube!

Take a peek at an alternate poster, which actually is a deleted/or lost scene from the film.

This is the 2010 Windows 7 television commercial that featured the shark/zombie scene.

Blue Underground explains its 2K restoration process to get this film remastered and ready to be available on Blu Ray and DVD.

Check out Bill Lustig‘s thoughts on Fulci’s Zombie!

Here’s a peek at the 12″ Zombie Maquette Statue, courtesy of ArtofToys.

The book about Quentin Tarantino that J. Blake refers to in the podcast was the first edition of “King Pulp: The Wild World of Quentin Tarantino” by Paul A. Woods.