Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to Episode 486 0f the podcast with the most to say about…er…stuff!
This week: dead donkey; computer technical difficulties; crashing plane; internet island; crow heaven; George Segal; Russian Roulette; icky 70’s; inaction flicks; château-style; dismal sci-fi; best-named magazines; underappreciated actors; guilty pleasure; teachable moment; first gay; fairy tale celebs; Day of the Triffids; how to progress; crashing airplane again; vacation plans; Big Ben pedants; vampire royalty; you say “anus”; shame on us; hard to condemn your grandma; tough job; Egyptian-rules; no teeth money; hide your past; Kevin Smith; all-talk movies; Seth Rogen; an unwatchable piece of shit; you made it wrong; an Herzog moment; no Dork Shadows; recipe a day; chicked de-spining; manic chit-chat; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; teacher’s pet; macaroni cheese; poisoned; Dark Shadows death march; it’s on Dave; circus folks; alternative Superman; enticing onions; rain on hot pavement = blechhh; crowded house; and, finally, weird times.
Question of the week: Name a favourite underappreciated actor.
Sub-question: What is a notable, not-so-notable or favourite movie made where you live?
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My hometown of Gloucester UK is known for its historic Cathedral, construction of which began in 1089 – yes nearly 1000 years ago! Several Harry Potter movies were filmed at the Cathedral for the scenes in Hogwarts, also Sherlock and most recently Dr Who have filmed here on location. Gloucester is also known for its Victorian Docks which most recently appeared in the opening of Tim Burton’s Alice Through the Looking Glass. Swing by for a visit when you’re next in the UK.
He’s probably “underappreciated” all the way to the bank, but one actor whose face comes to mind is Christopher McDonald. I say “face” because I had to search the credits of shows he’s been in to find out his name. Whether he’s doing drama or comedy, he usually plays a slick lawyer, judge or other arrogant jerk. Look him up and you’ll say…oh, THAT guy! You might remember him as Shooter McGavin in Happy Gilmore. Then there’s Darryl Quon who is a local actor and stunt person and a former student of my sister’s. He’s a big Asian dude so a lot of his on-camera credits are Thug, Bouncer, Bodyguard or Hun. It’s fun to see him beating up heroes and/or getting beat up by them.
The first movie which was shot in Vancouver (standing in for Seattle) that I saw in a cinema was The Changeling (1980) with George C. Scott. It’s a pretty scary haunted house movie – the kind that is psychological and atmospheric but not slashery. It was one of the first big movies to shoot here and was a forerunner of all the creepy films and TV series that would be shot in Hollywood North. I’d say my favourite Vancouver-shot movie is Deadpool (2016). It shows that you can have a profane and murderous superhero as long you are aware that’s what a superhero ISN’T supposed to be like.
I remember “The Changeling”! A family favorite of ours and probably the first horror movie that comes to mind when the subject arises around my Dad. I’ll have to mention this neat tidbit of info about the film being shot in Vancouver the next time I talk to him!
Hi guys,
Sorry I haven’t been commenting, I’ve just been silently listing for a while. You could say I’ve been in the shadows… speaking of shadows, I’d like to say to Dave that I’m really enjoying these dark shadow recaps, keep em up!
I think Jonathan was the one who was talking about the smell of gasoline, and got me thinking about other smells I like that I shouldn’t. Besides gas, I think the smell of dry easer markers and sharpies are so good, and the worst of all is the smell of cigarettes. Whenever someone is smoking around me it makes me want one, and it’s not helped by the fact I associate the smell with my trip to France. I’ve never smoke one, mostly because I know that it’ll be over for me as soon as I do.
Anyway to talk about this weeks question, I currently live in close proximity to the Philadelphia Art museum, aka the Rocky steps. There’s actually a statue of Rocky Balboa right at the bottom. I know the Silver Linings Playbook was also shot here but I’ve never seen it. Lastly, who could forget Nation Treasure, though fun fact the independence hall scene was not actually shot in Philly.
I find that my favorite under appreciated acting roles come from comedians who are cast in serious or dramatic roles. Many have famously made careers out of the transition of comedy to drama, like Robin Williams or Bill Murray…as you guys were recently discussing a few weeks back. When I saw Adam Sandler years ago in “Punch Drunk Love”, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, I couldn’t believe how great his performance was. Not being much of a fan of Sandler’s comedy films, I saw him in an entirely different light. Sandler plays a lonely entrepreneur who longs to be with someone but due to the interference of his seven overbearing sisters, he finds himself prone to fits of anger and social anxiety. By accident Sandler meets Emily Watson and will do anything to further their relationship. Philip Seymour Hoffmann is also outstanding as an extortionist trying to blackmail Sandler who falls victim to a phone sex scam. Then I recently watched “Uncut Gems”, another serious breakaway for Sandler and I was astonished once again. I’d like to see more roles like this from Sandler. A little side note about Adam Sandler, one of my co-workers, who lives in L.A., enrolled her two girls into the same school that Sandler’s children were at. She told me that whenever there was a play or some kind of assembly where their kids performed, Sandler would have his production crew professionally film the event and make DVDs for all the families. A nice, good will story about Mr. Sandler.
There was also a television series called “Damages” around 14 years ago starring Glenn Close. Close played a conniving lawyer who stopped at nothing to win in court and brought everyone down to her level, it was a rather unsettling drama with little redeeming outcome but the performances were great! Every season featured a comedian who co-starred in a dramatic role opposite Close. Ted Danson was in seasons one and two as a corrupt billionaire, Lilly Tomlin and Martin Short were in season two as a rich family matriarch and her corrupt lawyer and John Goodman was in season four as a military contractor in a wrongful death suit. All comedians in some very serious roles. The series had more than its share of stellar performances by a huge cast of actors. As evil as the law plots were, it sure was an interesting show to watch.
I grew up in a the town of Mesquite, just outside of Dallas. The closest thing to a “Community Center” was Town East Mall, it was where everyone went and hung out. Years later Town East would come to be the first location of the Lone Star Comics I worked at only to be moved to a strip mall across town. Back in 1978, Town East Mall was a filming location for Ron Howard’s first Made-for-TV movie, “Cotton Candy.” “Cotton Candy” was actually the name of a high school band and starred Charles Martin Smith as the band’s leader…(I know, he barely passed for a teen in “American Graffiti” years earlier). The story is simple, there’s a high school rivalry between Cotton Candy and the more famous bad boy band, Rapid Fire, who are evil bullies. Town East Mall then became the venue where these bands faced off in a spectacular competition. When Howard shot the “Cotton Candy” at Town East Mall, everyone was encouraged to go watch so we could be the crowd that was gathering to watch this band competition in the film. We really didn’t know what was going on at the time, we just followed Howard’s direction and cheered when he told us to cheer and for the evil bad boy band. I’ll restrain myself from adding any links because this film is really bad and you can search at your own risk if you feel so inclined. The reason they picked Town East Mall was because it was a mall in a large circular building with a large open area and a high ceiling in the center for car shows, art shows and other assemblies. And yes, Clint Howard, brother of Ron, was there as well…it wouldn’t be a Ron Howard film without him.
Hey Ed! My husband and I watched all of “Damages”, too! Haven’t run into anyone before who has seen it, other than the sister-in-law who gave us the DVD set. It was a cool series, wasn’t it? And all of those guest stars were wonderful! I’m so glad to read YOUR take on it! Thanks for that!
I just have to add that by the time I hear you read this, I will be fully vaccinated. I get my second vaccination tomorrow on April 1st, and that’s no April’s Fool!!
Once upon a time – before Fox opened a movie studio in Sydney in the hope of luring Hollywood here – the only ‘significant’ international movie that had been shot in Sydney was the original ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,’ an utter stinkeroo from the early 90s.
There was much excitement and local pride when Lucasfilm announced that the second and third chapter in the Star Wars prequels would be filmed here in Sydney. And then the movies came out. And then there was no more excitement. Or pride.
But we are lucky to be doing okay with our Covid management – touch wood – which has unexpectedly resulted in quite a few films are shooting here now, so hopefully there are some good ones to come. Time will tell.
Hello to you Ian and David and to all the Sneakers out there!
I could not think of an answer to the first question. I’ll keep mulling that one over.
Meanwhile, I will answer the sub question!
In 1982 a movie was filmed in Buffalo, Wyoming where I was living for a couple years. The movie is called “Endangered Species” and starred Robert Urich (of “Spenser for Hire” fame), Hoyt Axton (singer/songwriter of “Joy to the World” popularized by Three Dog Night, among others) and JoBeth Williams, Paul Dooley and Peter Coyote. Before the film crew arrived in our little town, all the Main Street signs such as those pointing towards Wyoming highways were changed to Colorado signs, as that’s where the story takes place. Also, they parked cars along Main with only Colorado license tags.
My apartment was upstairs in an old building on Main Street. I could watch some of the filming out the window of the laundry room down the hall from my rooms… Robert Urich and Paul Dooley walking up and down the street over and over. As I recall, Mr. Urich kept his pack of cigarettes on the back bumper of a car parked at their starting position, so he could grab a smoke between takes. At the time, I worked downstairs in Seney’s Rexall Drug and the owner/pharmacist, Ralph Seney, was a very sweet guy. He would send me and my teenage coworkers running off at slow times in the store to watch filming in front of the courthouse one block over and other parts of Main Street.
In one scene, Hoyt Axton has to come tumbling down a set of outside steps of an old wooden building, all bloody nosed, and upset. We watched that over and over and at the end I approached Mr. Axton for a picture and autograph. He was very gracious and I even got a little fake blood smeared on the paper as he scratched out his name.
I’ve only seen the movie once, and was not impressed, but it gets fairly good reviews on IMDB, so maybe I’ll give it another try. Having it shot in Buffalo was all a fun experience for the whole town!
Take care, dear David and dear Ian, and all! Have a wonderful week!
Both my sons have appeared briefly in movies shot in the Highlands. Jacob was a footman, helping to serve a picnic to Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) in Stephen Frears’ Victoria and Abdul. (The midgies were fierce that day, my friends.) Meanwhile, Hamish just happened to be busking in the centre of Inverness when location scenes were shot for an independent production called Edie, and he wound up in the finished film. Neither movie is a classic, to be honest, but they’re both okay. One favourite film that was shot partly around here is Billy Wilder’s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, which made good use of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness.
I enjoyed this week’s banter about the Royal Family. The jokes about Her Majesty’s line of homemade products were pretty funny since I have read that Prince Charles has a line of “Royal Estate” products (honey, jams, etc.) that are produced off the Highgrove estate.
I have a couple of questions for you. What locales / places in England would you recommend to a first-time visitor? And which places / sites do you think are overrated and not worth investing the time to visit?
You asked about dressing up as Victoria Winters. It was a easy look to pull off as I already owned a few vintage outfits from the 1960s. I chose a navy blue dress from my collection and pulled my hair back like she wore it in the early “Beginning” episodes. It was a rather simple dress up. Here’s a photo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HzjvXaMcrD3UsyfTrB6bUsXeI5DLG7tQ/view?usp=sharing
And because I put so much effort into Lily Munster, here’s a photo taken with some patrons who stopped by the library that Halloween: https://www.facebook.com/lewislibrary/photos/a.2703982473003617/2703982636336934
Question of the week: It is hard for me to judge others’ appreciation levels for actors that I enjoy. I try to catch anything Ewan McGregor is in, but I’m not sure if he is collectively considered appreciated or underappreciated. He did appear Star Wars, so that gives him some level of celebrity. I also wonder if people realize what a national treasure Dick Van Dyke is– from mad dancing skills and physical comedy to a wide variety of films and television. I think he is an all-around talent (with the exception of his terrible accent in Mary Poppins).
Sub-question: Bandits of the Natchez Trace, starring Zachary Scott, was filmed at nearby Natural Bridge Resort in the late 1950s. An open casting call was held for extras so a number of residents had the opportunity to appear in the movie. I have heard from old-timers that production was slowed because the locals cast as extras would get excited and shout out things like, “Look out, he’s got a gun!” during the filming. I’ve never seen the film, and I guess that it must have been a B-grade film as it it has never had an official (or bootleg) release on VHS or DVD.
Looking forward to the next podcast!