S3E44: Is Show Biz Dead? The How NOT To Make A Movie podcast

1:06:14

THE BLURB: There’s a difference between writing movies and TV shows about the PARANORMAL and living it. KYLE YATES is a PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR whose investigations overwhelmed his own initial skepticism. Meet a man whose willingly stood toe to toe with things that go bump in the night while they’re bumping in the night! SHOW NOTES I tackled the paranormal more than a few times while I was making Tales From The Crypt and The Outer Limits and various other TV and movie projects. But I never went at it from the perspective of Paranormal Investigator Kyle Yates. Though a skeptic […]…

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S4E8: Colman DeKay Knows EVERYBODY! 1:02:03

11 weeks ago1:02:03

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So – why do I say my friend Colman DeKay knows everybody? Because, as you’ll hear, HE KNOWS EVERYBODY! And, he’s so used to knowing everybody that he doesn’t even realize that he knows everybody. As you’ll also hear, Colman doesn’t drop names. But names – ones you recognize cos lots and lots of people know who they are – they come up in conversation because Colman was having a conversation with that person just last week. You know, like he’s having a conversation with you right now. An A List Literary Salon It’s been like that since Colman was […]…

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S4E7: Field Of Dreams 1:00:51

12 weeks ago1:00:51

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If ever there was a metaphorical “field of dreams”, it’s Hollywood. And, in order to get anywhere near that field of dreams, you’re gonna need either an agent, a manager or a producer. Hey – what if you could get all three in one person! In this episode I chat with JEFF FIELD – the man who manages my entertainment career. As you’ll hear, “manager” describes only one of the three Hollywood jobs Jeff’s held. Before he became a manager (mostly of writers, producers and directors), he was a topflight agent at THE WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY (which became William Morris […]…

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S4E6: Oscars Shmoscars - It's The Hack-Cademy A-Weirds! 49:34

13 weeks ago49:34

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Oscars-Schmoscars! It may be Academy Awards time in the rest of Hollywood, but here at The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast, we’re celebrating The HACK-CADEMY A-WEIRDS instead! It’s our bad-attitude approach to a business fast going down the creative toilet. As a matter of fact, GIL ADLER (producer of studio tentpole movies like SUPERMAN RETURNS, VALKYRIE and CONSTANTINE) is a VOTING MEMBER of THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS & SCIENCES. So, Gil will tell us how at least part of the Academy is thinking! But, before we get down to Oscars business, we have some catching up […]…

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S4E5: Endings Are NEVER Pretty 1:03:21

14 weeks ago1:03:21

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This episode is part five of the BORDELLO OF BLOOD SAGA. The story will still make sense if you haven’t heard the first four episodes, but you really do owe it to yourself to listen if you haven’t. Either way, you’ll agree: endings are NEVER pretty. Ever, ever EVER! As the production of “Bordello Of Blood” headed toward its climax, we knew we’d leave Vancouver with an unfinished movie in hand. That was ironic because our unfinished movie had finished one relationship (between Sly Stallone and Angie Everhart) and was on its way to finishing another – the decade-long creative […]…

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S4E4 Not So Special Effects 36:05

15 weeks ago36:05

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THE BLURB: What do SYLVESTER STALLONE, JOEL SILVER, DENNIS MILLER, ERIKA ELENIAK and ANGIE EVERHART have in common? They all contributed to making Bordello Of Blood a horrible, soul crushing experience. As things go from bad to worse, our local makeup special effects team wonders how to make blood, the whole cast and crew turn on Dennis Miller, Erika Eleniak decides she doesn’t want to do movies like “Bordello Of Blood” anymore, Angie complains to Joel Silver about Gil, and we hear an infamous story about SYLVESTER STALLONE, a wireless mic and a blow job from the Assassins set. Never […]…

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S4E3: Location, Location, Location 51:54

16 weeks ago51:54

51:54

THE BLURB: Location, location, LOCATION!!! Where you shoot your movie or TV show makes a huge difference. One surefire way to turn all your craftsmanship into pure crap is to shoot your movie or TV show somewhere it has no organic reason to shoot. For “Bordello of Blood“, that location was Vancouver, BC. Show Notes Vancouver is a fantastic place to shoot a movie. It’s a fantastic place to visit and live. I can’t recommend it highly enough! But, we didn’t go to Vancouver for any of the local scenery, culture or because of its movie-making chops; we didn’t go […]…

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S4E2: How NOT To CAST A Movie 31:29

17 weeks ago31:29

31:29

Show Notes In this episode – part two of our five part retelling of the Bordello Of Blood saga – we’ll get into how and why we cast Bordello the way that we did. Spoiler alert – it was sheer fucking stupidity. But, hey – the story of Bordello’s tortured making earned this story a “BEST FILM PODCAST OF 2022”! Here’s a basic rule of thumb for anything where you’re going to hire actors. Get the casting wrong and you’re screwed. You can’t undo bad casting – except maybe by firing the actor. But, sometimes, that choice isn’t on the […]…

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S4E1: How NOT To Make A Movie 41:42

18 weeks ago41:42

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SHOW NOTES Time flies when you’re having fun and, it turns out, especially when you do it while podcasting. As this podcast enters its fourth season – and fourth year in existence – I do it looking both backwards and forwards. The backwards part has to do with our origin story – the story we told when this podcast’s first episode dropped in March 2022. That would be the making of Bordello Of Blood. From my POV, the primo example of How NOT To Make A Movie. If you haven’t heard the origin story episodes (we repackaged them all together […]…

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S3E55: NOT Lost In Translation 50:33

19 weeks ago50:33

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When human beings began criss-crossing the globe, they took more than just strange and exotic products with them from place to place. They took stories, too. And despite sometimes vast cultural differences, very very often, those stories translated perfectly well. Different cultures might appreciate stories differently or for different reasons, but the essence of those stories translated and translates just fine. Great stories do not get lost in translation. In this episode, we’re going to talk about cinematic storytelling as an international language. Which, really, it is. Early moviemakers like Edwin Porter and D W Griffith more or less invented […]…

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S3E54 Princes & Thieves: The Art Of Being A Hollywood Agent 46:45

20 weeks ago46:45

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Making a return visit to the podcast is my very good friend – and former agent – NICK MECHANIC. If you enjoyed Nick’s first visit, you’ll love his second. And if you haven’t met Nick yet, prepare to be blown away by the INSIDE LOOK you’re about to get into the film and TV business. At the DEAL-MAKING level. Where the rubber of creativity hits the road of commerce. As Nick’s great stories reveal, it’s a world brimming with both princes and thieves. How I Met Mechanic I first met Mechanic during the down years after “Tales From The Crypt“, […]…

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S3E53: Standing Up For Standing In 1:04:37

21 weeks ago1:04:37

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In this episode, we’re finally standing up for standing in. Well, our guess RON OSTROW is standing up for standing in. And it’s about bloody time someone did! Ron’s been acting for more than 45 years – on BROADWAY, in TV SHOWS and in FEATURE FILMS. You’ll find him in A FEW GOOD MEN, SPORTS NIGHT, THE WEST WING and THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE. One of the appeals – to me – about the TV and movie business is how incredibly collaborative it is. It really takes a village of people to put on a show. No Small Parts When […]…

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S3E52: Die Hard V White Christmas - Which Is The Better Christmas Movie? 15:18

22 weeks ago15:18

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Way, way back in season two, we sat down with screenwriter extradordinare, our good friend STEVE DE SOUZA. Steve kinda invented the MODERN ACTION MOVIE. He wrote the scripts for 48 HOURS, COMMANDO, STREET FIGHTER and, of course, DIE HARD. Die Hard set a new gold standard for action movies. If ever a movie, its hero and the actor hired to play them achieved perfection together, Die Hard did it That was almost in spite of itself. Bruce Willis Like Bogie getting Rick in CASABLANCA, BRUCE WILLIS getting cast as John McClane was a happy accident. Die Hard was […]…

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S3E51: Rules In A Knife Fight 58:29

23 weeks ago58:29

58:29

Earlier this season, we had the absolute pleasure of chatting with SEAN CASSIDY, the son of actor TED CASSIDY and keeper of his dad’s flame. Sean does the horror convention circuit as SON OF LURCH. He really and truly does his dad proud! Ted Cassidy did something only a handful of actors can ever hope to achieve. Not only did Ted appear in iconic movies and TV shows (“BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID” and “THE ADDAMS FAMILY”), he got to speak iconic lines in both! Going in reverse order, Ted made his name playing the Addams Family butler LURCH. […]…

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S3E50: Encore - Was Bill Gaines Actually God? 1:05:45

24 weeks ago1:05:45

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There’s a bit of common wisdom that says, be careful when you meet the people you admire most. They can disappoint you profoundly and break your heart. Or they can exceed even your most heightened expectations and become gods in your mind. Or just plain old “God”. The creator of everything that matters. That’s how I felt about WILLIAM M. GAINES – publisher of EC COMICS and MAD MAGAZINE. I was one of those kids who read Tales From The Crypt and Mad under the covers. Not cos I had to, but because Bill Gaines’ oeuvre was so clearly subversive […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E49: What Do Horror, Parenting & Podcasting Have In Common? 59:03

25 weeks ago59:03

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The short answer is “The Dads From the Crypt Podcast“. One of the main reasons there’s a “How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast” is because there’s a Dads From the Crypt Podcast. I’ll dive into the story below, but one of the pleasures of podcasting – for me anyway – is watching other podcasters (especially ones I know) succeed. There are myriad reasons why podcasting is exploding right about now. And, one of those reasons is because podcasts can have horror, parenting and podcasting itself in common. The Dads From The Crypt I first met Jason Stein – one […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E48: Brandon Routh's Been Thinking 1:31:07

26 weeks ago1:31:07

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Our good friend Brandon Routh is one of those “thoughtful actors”. Some, by contrast, are more intuitive. They let their guts and gut instincts guide them and their creative choices. In most cases, their life choices, too. But, that’s another conversation for another day and another podcast. I’ve no doubt that had Brandon become anything else – a doctor, a teacher, a businessperson – he’d have been just as thoughtful. But he’s a storyteller by trade. Being “thoughtful” is part of the gig. Maybe that’s why he’s so good at it. An Excellent Superman It’s why Brandon made and still […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E47: Why REAL Movie Critics Matter 1:02:25

27 weeks ago1:02:25

1:02:25

Today we’re talking about criticism – and why REAL movie critics really do matter. Here’s the thing about criticism. If you can’t take it, you have no business being in show business. Show business is all about getting and taking criticism. There WILL Be Criticism! From the moment you put any sort of creative idea on the table – whether in the form of a pitch or a script or a concept package – whether it’s the people you’re working with or the people you’re trying to sell it to – there will be criticism. First thing? You cannot take […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E46: Soap Gets In Your Eyes 56:58

28 weeks ago56:58

56:58

Don’t ya just hate it when soap gets in your eyes? Nothing burns quite like it. Today, we’re going to talk about ACTING – but a very specific kind of acting. The kind they do in SOAP OPERAS like THE GUIDING LIGHT, GENERAL HOSPITAL, ALL MY CHILDREN, AS THE WORLD TURNS. Or like in the one soap opera aimed at people like me, DARK SHADOWS. It really is a particular kind of acting. And it requires a particular skill set to pull it off. Not every actor can. They get self conscious about it. Or they judge it. More fool […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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Early Christmas BONUS EPISODE - Have You Met THE DONOR? 43:55

29 weeks ago43:55

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It turns out starting The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast set a lot of things in motion and opened a lot of damned doors. The most exciting of those newly opened doors is the opportunity to tell some mind-blowing stories in this medium that I have truly come to love. So, I started a little podcasting company. Costard & Touchstone Productions. The first C&T original production is a podcast called “The Donor: A DNA Horror Story“. I really and truly hope that you’ll check it out. If you’re a fan of Tales From The Crypt – or horror […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E45: How To Write Like A Genius 59:52

29 weeks ago59:52

59:52

How to write like a genius… sounds easy enough! And the way our guest CHARLES FLEISCHER writes, he makes writing like a genius seem easy. Spoiler alert: it’s not. You probably know Charlie as the voice of ROGER RABBIT. He’s also in the TALES FROM THE CRYPT feature film DEMON KNIGHT and a kajillion other movies and TV shows. Or, you may know Charlie as a stand up. Or an artist. or from his scientific work (he’s published actual scientific papers and done extensive research on MOLEEDS). But, you probably don’t know Charlie as a writer of short stories. Charlie […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E44: Is Show Biz Dead? 1:07:56

30 weeks ago1:07:56

1:07:56

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E43: Movies We LOVE 51:10

31 weeks ago51:10

51:10

How can you not love movies? I grew up a movie lover. Movies – and the people who make them and appear in them – have shaped my life and the directions my life’s taken. Hell, one of the greatest joys of working on TALES FROM THE CRYPT was getting to work with some of the very people whose movies I adored. Like MALCOLM MCDOWELL, TOM HANKS, BUCK HENRY, KIRK DOUGLASS, BOB ZEMECKIS, JOHN FRANKENHEIMER, MICHAEL J FOX and WALTER HILL to name but a very few. I really do love movies! There are some – if I haven’t seen […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E42: The Next Wave 1:25:26

32 weeks ago1:25:26

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One of the things we care about deeply here at the How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast is the future of movies and the MOVIE BUSINESS. Spoiler alert: it’s not in a very good way right this second. Nonetheless the next wave of filmmakers – like Leah N. H. Philpott and Jacob Leighton Burns, our guests in this episode – are looking for the swell that will bring them in – and bring them success in this insane business. The kid of hockey legend Ed Philpott, Leah’s from Newfoundland, Canada. She went from being a quiet kid to a […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E41: Just Shootin' The Shit 58:00

33 weeks ago58:00

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Join Gil and I as we catch up! In fact, this episode’s pretty much Gil and I just shootin’ the shit. But, to be perfectly honest, it’s some pretty interesting shit we shot! As you’ll hear, Gil is working on some extremely compelling projects. In The Beginning… When we started this podcast – three years and a hundred twenty-five plus episodes ago – we wanted to tell the story of how making a dumb little horror movie – Bordello Of Blood – wrecked not just a great creative partnership, but a friendship. As we’ve told it here, we weren’t even […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E40: Style Meister 56:01

34 weeks ago56:01

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We’ve met a lot of talented film makers over the years. My friend ART SEVADA has made some remarkable shorts. His first was nominated at the CANNES FILM FESTIVAL! Art grew up outside of YEREVAN, ARMENIA as the Soviet Union wound down. Since moving to America (when he was a teenager), Art’s made movies, music, art and all sorts of artfully designed products. He really is a style meister! As I’ve detailed on this podcast, part of my story was a two decades-long writer’s block. I had convinced myself I had no more stories to tell. That was a crazy […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E39: "When Bad Roommates Attack" 1:28:44

35 weeks ago1:28:44

1:28:44

I have a confession: My freshman year of college, I was a bad roommate. I wasn’t trying to be one, I just was. My roommate – BRETT GOLDSTEIN – and I were both “dramaramas”. Drama majors. We came from similar backgrounds. We had a shit-ton in common. The one difference? I was very social and Brett was shy. Whereas I could have tried to help him cure his shyness by including him in my social life, I just went out and had my social life. In time – a couple of months – it created a wall between us. Unfortunately […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E38: "My Old S'Ghoul" 1:53:19

36 weeks ago1:53:19

1:53:19

Forgive me if I plant an earworm in your head: Steely Dan’s “My Old School”. In honor of it being September (as this episode drops), I’ve chosen to haunt that part of my long distant past, back when I was a student at VASSAR COLLEGE. Or, as I think of it sometimes, “My Old S’Ghoul”. Actually, I enjoyed the hell out of college. It was the mid to late 1970s. Far simpler in a kajillion ways. For me, it was a very good time socially. Even better creatively. I was in the drama department – a few years after an […]…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E37: Get Booped! 1:33:31

38 weeks ago1:33:31

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In the mood to get “Booped?” You’ve come to the right place! In this episode, we deep dive into all things FLEISCHER STUDIOS with our guest MARK FLEISCHER. While WALT DISNEY captured an idealized, orderly pastoral world that flowed from Disney’s Midwestern roots, Mark’s father MAX FLEISCHER and his uncle DAVE FLEISCHER reveled in the Urban America into which they emigrated – filled with oddballs and idiosyncrasies. Instead of MICKEY MOUSE, they created BETTY BOOP and KOKO and GRAMPY. And then they made POPEYE THE SAILOR a star and put SUPERMAN on the screen. Along the way, Max Fleischer invented the ROTOSCOPE – a way to project images onto a screen so as to trace them and use the traced images as the basis for the animation. Fleischer v Disney In the 1930’s and 40’s, Fleischer Studios and Walt Disney were the two big animation companies in Hollywood – and they very much competed with each other. Success in show business is never simple alas – and it wasn’t simple for the Fleischer’s either. And it didn’t necessarily produce happiness all around. We’ll talk about that, too. We’ll also talk about Mark’s father RICHARD FLEISCHER who was one of Hollywood’s most versatile, talented and successful directors ever . He directed movies like 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, FANTASTIC VOYAGE, COMPULSION, NARROW MARGIN, SOYLENT GREEN (“Soylent Green is people!”), AMITYVILLE 3-D and CONAN THE DESTROYER across a very long career. Boop Happens As this episode demonstrates, Boop happens . And a good thing, too. Because Betty Boop’s pretty much eternal. In fact, the first ever REAL LIFE BETTY BOOP is coming! Betty Boop is GOING TO BROADWAY in “ BOOP: THE MUSICAL ” – opening in 2025. We’re going to talk about that, too. So – if you’re in the mood to get Booped ? Even if you’re not – don’t sit here reading this, hit play – and Get Booped!…

The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

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S3E36: How To Make A Crypt Keeper 1:10:51

39 weeks ago1:10:51