Proudly Resents: The cult movie podcast

Boiler Room, the Vin Deisel/Ben Affleck sausage fest, is proudly resented by Shawn Marek (Sideshow Network hot shot). We talk about the movie, lots of nerd stuff, the best Batman show on TV and Shawn and I compare telemarketing stories. I can’t remember the book where I read the interview with the director of this movie. I know I told you to come to the show notes for them. I ain’t got it. So sue me. (Please don’t, it will be a huge waste of both our times.)  Here’s some more about the movie from Wiki – Boiler Room is a 2000 American crime drama film written and directed by Ben Younger, and starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Ben Affleck, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Tom Everett Scott, Ron Rifkin, and Jamie Kennedy. Boiler Room is based on interviews the writer conducted with numerous brokers over a two-year period, and is inspired by the firm Stratton Oakmont and the life of Jordan Belfort, whose autobiography was later adapted into Martin Scorsese‘s 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Belfort. Boiler Room received generally positive reviews. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 67% based on reviews from 98 critics; the site’s consensus is: “Its ending is disappointingly tidy, butBoiler Roomboasts just enough sharp writing and brisk pacing to make getting there worthwhile.” Plot From IMDB: Seth Davis is a college dropout running an illegal casino from his rented apartment. Driven by his domineering fathers disapproval at his illegitimate existence and his desire for serious wealth, Seth suddenly finds himself seduced by the opportunity to interview as a trainee stock broker from recent acquaintance Greg (Nicky Katt). Walking into the offices of JT Marlin, a small time brokerage firm on the outskirts of New York – Seth gets an aggressive cameo performance from Jay (Ben Affleck) that sets the tone for a firm clearly placing money above all else. Seth’s fractured relationship with his father and fl...

Dan Miles brings two films with him. He proudly presents his favorite movie,  Christopher Guest’s “The Big Picture” and proudly resents his least favorite, “Bamboozled.” About Guest’s new Netflix deal (directly from Deadline.com) First Adam Sandler, then Brad Pitt and now … Christopher Guest. Yes, the man who brought you Best In Show, A Mighty Wind, For Your Consideration and The Big Picture — and starred in This Is Spinal Tap — is taking his satire to a streaming service likely near you. Netflix said today that it will host Guest’s next film, Mascots. Details are sparse, but it is set in the world of mascoting — and if his previous films are any indication, it likely is a cutthroat world. To wit: “Welcome to all the drama, intrigue and occasional excitement of the 8th World Mascot Association Championships, where a group of ‘unusual’ men and women, with big heads and furry suits, compete to win the prestigious Gold Fluffy Award and be crowned best mascot in the world.” About “The Big Picture” “The Big Picture” is the 1989 Christopher Guest movie starring a 31 year old Kevin Bacon as a film grad entering the the dog-eat-gluten free-dog world of Hollywood. Dan tells the story behind the scenes of this Christopher Guest Film. It’s crazier than the fiction Guest created. Dan came on the show to talk about “The Big Picture” and he’s ready for it! He has great insight about the film. Nick Chapman graduates from film school, and his short film wins a special prize. This gives him a high enough profile that he can get Hollywood to back the film he has long dreamed of making. Studio exec Allen Habel is interested. But Nick soon is seduced by Hollywood and makes one concession after another until his original movie is lost altogether. Worse, Nick is lost, too, turning on girlfriend Susan and old buddy Emmet. Will he come to his sense before everything is lost? During filming they rented a luxury house for three days to shoot in, not knowing that actor Charles Bronson had just purchased a home across the street. Before the three days were up the crew had managed to kill Bronson’s cat by accident. The story is related in the book “I Killed Charles Bronson’s Cat”, written by the movies location manager Barry Gremillion. (imdb.com) Spike Lee’s “Bamboozled” (2000) lampoons the racism that still infests the film and TV business today. I loved “Bamboozled” when I saw it the first third and tenth time. But it has many flaws and we talk about them and why it stays with Dan. Dan has been hosting “Friends of Dan Music Podcast” for five years. He tells us his best interviews and greatest moments.

                “Mr.  Robot’s” Christian Slater is a skate punk who doesn’t give a crap! It’s like Repo Man without without the quality. Rob Logan from “Geek Generation Podcast,” proudly resents “Gleaming The Cube.” From Rotten Tomatoes: 29% ! That’s generous! MOVIE INFO Gleaming the Cube does for skateboarding what Over the Top did for arm wrestling — i.e. not a hell of a lot. Christian Slater is the skateboarding star, playing Brian Kelly, a sneering and laconic teen outcast. He feels left out and envious of his adopted Vietnamese brother Vinh’s (Art Chudabala) success as an honor roll student and as the center of attention in his family. When Vinh commits suicide, Brian is suspicious and rolls away on his skateboard to find out what really happened — and ultimately to avenge his murder. Brian’s investigation is aided and abetted by a sardonic detective named Al Lucero (Steven Bauer), a collection of skateboard aficionados, and an incredibly attractive Vietnamese girl, Tina (Min Luong). Rating: PG-13 (adult situations/language, violence) Genre: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense Directed By: Graeme Clifford Written By: Michael Tolkin In Theaters: Jan 13, 1989 Wide On DVD: Jun 1, 1999 Runtime: 1 hr. 42 min. Watch the movie for free on YouTube:

Adam Sandler shoe horns a all of his bad film retreads and puts them through the NYC Indie Filmlook. Mike Spiegelman (best known as “Spiegs’ brother”) takes the movie and steps all over it. Links from the show: Watch – Joe Dirt 2  7 PPl I owe $ 2 Mike’s funny book Tangerine review Breaker, Breaker Review Media Yenta From Wikipedia: The Cobbler is a 2014 American magic realism comedy-drama film directed by Thomas McCarthy and co-written with Paul Sado. The film stars Adam Sandler, Dan Stevens, Dustin Hoffman and Steve Buscemi. It was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.The film was released on March 13, 2015, by Image Entertainment. On September 19, 2013, Adam Sandler was in talks to join Thomas McCarthy‘s The Cobbler, which began shooting in November 2013. Voltage Pictures fully financed the film and it was produced by Mary Jane Skalski. On November 12, 2013 Dan Stevens joined the cast.Dustin Hoffman and Steve Buscemi also joined cast during shooting on November 18, 2013. Other cast members include Melonie Diaz, Method Man, Sondra James, Kevin Breznahan, Greta Lee and Craig Walker. On September 9, 2014, Image Entertainment acquired the US distribution rights to the film for $3.5 million. The Cobbler has been panned by critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 11%, based on 46 reviews, with a rating of 3/10. The site’s critical consensus reads, “The Cobbler represents a slight step up from Adam Sandler’s recent comedies, but while its cloying sentiment proves a more palatable substitute for his usual crass humor, it still isn’t terribly compelling.

Writer, director and podcaster, Paul Sullivan comes to give us the three (plus bonuses) worst baseball movies ever. Paul is the host of the daily baseball podcast, “Sully Baseball.” That show is going to hit episode #1,000 real soon. Buy Paul’s film “I’ll Believe You.” So I invited him on to talk about the nation’s two favorite past times, baseball and listening to Sully’s podcast. I mean movies. As Paul points out, the list of the best BB movies are usually the same. SO he picks films that didn’t quite knock it out of the park (get it?) I’ve seen most of the films Paul’s talking about. Which doesn’t make a lot of sense, since I HATE watching baseball games. I like going live. That’s an event. But watching on TV or as my dad did, listen on the radio, never made sense to me. Like I tell Paul, when people start talking sports, they might as well be speaking Chinese. Not at all fun. This is a great list of bad baseball movies. Plus we go off and talk about other things. Vin Diesel going “full Steve Segal,” good and bad Albert Brooks, Marc Maron’s search for your “guys,” how we met, Paul’s Holocaust denial and Paul’s Holocaust denial, denial.   Here are other shows with Paul!      

Sorry France, this Jerry Lewis clunker is le marde. My big Bro Mike Spiegelman and I review the film our mom would not let us see when it came out in the theater. Check out Mike’s funny joke book. Discount for listeners (and you!). A couple of things I forgot: If this is supposed to be for kids, why is Jerry Lewis at a strip club? Is it for kids who like a good scotch and can take a punch? classic typewriter skit! In honor this masterpiece of meh, I am re-posting Roger Ebert’s review in full of jerry Lewis is “Hardly Working”  (Until Jerry Lewis asks me to take it down.) “Hardly Working” is one of the great non-experiences of my moviegoing life. I was absolutely stunned by the vast stupidity of this film. It was a test of patience and tolerance that a saint might not have passed–but I didn’t walk out. I remained for every single last dismal wretched awful moment. I was keeping a pledge to myself. Watching the “Today” show in a hotel room in Los Angeles, I saw Jerry Lewis being interviewed by Gene Shalit. Jerry was convinced that the critics had it in for him. He hinted, none too subtly, that the chances were Shalit would dislike the film when he saw it (Shalit claimed not to have seen it already, which was an excellent ploy). In “Variety” I’d read that the critics were barred from the Miami premiere of the film because, and I paraphrase, Jerry Lewis makes films for the masses and critics are unequipped to understand his appeal. Horse manure. “Hardly Working” is one of the worst movies ever to achieve commercial release in this country, and it is no wonder it was on the shelf for two years before it saw the light of day. It is not just a bad film, it is incompetent filmmaking. Jerry Lewis, as director, has no sense of timing–and timing is the soul of comedy. He leaves people standing onscreen waiting for something to be said. He throws in random, odd pieces of comic business that are inexplicable and not funny. He has made his film into an educational experience: See it, and you will learn by default what competent film editing is. The plot stars Jerry as a born loser who is fired from his job as a circus clown (and no wonder; the film’s one clown sequence is not even remotely funny). He throws himself on the mercy of his sister and brother-in-law, and then tries his hand at a variety of jobs, including gas station attendant, before finally winding up with the U.S. Postal Service. The movie sets us up for several comic set pieces, none of which deliver. Example: Applying for a job at the gas station, Jerry sneaks up behind the owner, who is making a tall stack of oil cans. Jerry scares him, and the owner tips the cans over. Later, Jerry lets a customer’s gas tank overflow. The owner, nearly finished rebuilding the stack, sees what Jerry is doing and so deliberately knocks over the stack again. Why? That is an excellent question to ask again and again during this movie. Some scenes are totally inexplicable. These include a conversation Lewis has with himself in drag (it doesn’t even use trick photography, just over-the-shoulder shots with stand-ins wearing wigs); a scene in which he waits for a very long time in a supervisor’s office, to no avail; and several scenes in which he spills things on people. Once, a very long time ago, Jerry Lewis made me laugh. I was seven at the time. He still seems to be making movies for the same audience.

Producer Daniel Sollinger returns to talk about his films, “In My Sleep” among others. He tells us what works in a vanity project and what doesn’t. We disagree about the amount religion is in his religious film. Also the pros and cons of the DGA and PGA. We talk about the recent court decision concerning a fatality on a movie set.  Plus, what’s cinematic immunity? Sollinger’s latest film “LA Slasher” opens June 12th.   Listen to Daniel’s previous interview here: From IMDB.com Daniel Sollinger is a graduate of New York University’s Film School, and the producer of more than 350 commercials, music videos, and short films for clients including Pepsi, Warner Brothers Records, CBS, Sony, and Comedy Central. His work has won awards from New York University, The American Film Institute, The Accolade Awards and the American Motion Picture Society. After working on numerous rap videos for artists such as Will Smith, and A Tribe Called Quest, Daniel produced “Rhyme & Reason,” a feature film documentary on hip-hop culture. It was distributed by Miramax Films and played in 280 theaters nationwide. Since then, Daniel has gone on to produce or line produce over 30 independent feature films, including “The Alphabet Killer,” “Girls Against Boys,” “In My Sleep,” and “Without Men.” He is a member of the PGA and a DGA Unit Production Manager.

Mad Max: Fury Road is out and we saw it! Adam Felber (NPR) and Todd Levin  (Conan) join me in their review. “Mad Max:Fury Road” stars Tom Hardy, and Nicholas Hoult. Todd and I record in a sketchy alley behind Sunset and Curson. Right near Meltdown Comics where you can watch “Horrible Movie Night.”  From IMDB: n a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, two rebels just might be able to restore order: Max, a man of action and of few words, and Furiosa, a woman of action who is looking to make it back to her childhood homeland. Instead of the reboot being a remake of Mad Max (1979), revealing how Max Rockantasky became The Road Warrior.  George Miller decided that the reboot will take place in the post-apocalyptic Australia, years after the new Max (Tom Hardy) lost his family, because he did not wish to do a remake or retell the story that had already been told and had wanted to update the universe and the wasteland and wanted new moviegoers to remember Max as a man with nothing to lose after losing his family. After George Miller screened some footage at SXSW film festival. A man stood up and asked: “How the hell did you film that!?” That man was none other than director Robert Rodriguez. Over 80% of the effects seen in the film are real practical effects, stunts, make-up and sets. CGI was used sparingly. Mainly to enhance the Namibian landscape, remove stunt rigging. Also for Charlize Theron‘s left hand which in the film is a prosthetic arm.   BIG SEQUEL NEWS! FROM AV CLUB “Mad Max Fury Road”! In the week’s most expertly timed announcement, director George Miller has let Twitch know that he’s shooting not one but two Mad Max films back to back. With an eye on “rapid release.” It’s a reboot of the post-apocalyptic franchise that laid the foundation for Mel Gibson’s eventual rise to the top of the fellatio-demanding food chain. It will star Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, and pick up shortly after the events of 1985’s Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Miller says the next film and its sequel will be titled Mad Max: Fury Road and Mad Max: Furiosa, respectively, which suggests the second part will find Max traversing the wasteland in a sporty Italian hatchback.

Ritch Duncan, werewolf expert, joins me to recap the Canadian cult classic Werewolf movie “WolfCop.” If you like alcoholic werewolves, exploding private parts and endless amount of bad guys, but don’t want to use more than 76 minutes of your time, then this movie is for you. Ritchie and I take apart the Canadian wolffest. Ritchie is a real werewolf expert. He co-wrote (let’s be honest, “wrote”)  The Werewolf’s Guide to Life: A Manual for the Newly Bitten with Bob Powers. So if you’re feeling furry, buy their book. About the book, From Amazon: Have you been attacked by a wolf-like creature in the last 30 days? Was it after the sun had set and under a full moon? If you answered, “yes” to both these questions, there’s a very good chance that you were bitten by a werewolf. You now have less than a month before the full moon returns and with it your first transformation into a savage, bloodthirsty beast. Survival is an option, but first, know this: * Werewolves are real. * The majority of lycanthropes who do not have access to this book die during or shortly after their first transformations, generally due to heart failure, gunshot wounds, exposure, drowning or suicide. * Hollywood horror movies are NOT to be used as guides to living as a werewolf. Their goal is not to educate, but to entertain. As a result, they are largely ignorant of the realities of the condition. * Ignorance creates monsters; lycanthropy does not. * You are not a monster. The Werewolf’s Guide to Life cuts through the fiction and guides you through your first transformation and beyond, offering indispensable advice on how to tell if you’re really a werewolf, post-attack etiquette, breaking the news to your spouse, avoiding government abduction, and how to not just survive, but thrive. You cannot afford to not read this book. Your Very life depends on it.

Nicko finally gets me to watch “Ghost Shark.” Spoiler alert: It’s spoiled. A shark dies in a mysterious cave and that make him a ghost. He can pass through anything as long as it water. You know, puddles, hoses, drool. But the can still eat you. Watch below. But not while driving, you might fall asleep at the wheel. On this show: Nicko and I talk about her new book, she mentions I’m Jewish, shitty co-workers, Nicko’s viral video, her shirtless boyfriend washing dishes, men who play with toys, how to rip off other shows,  my cat makes an appearance and of course, Nicko refers to me being Jewish. *Relax, listen to the show to figure it out.   Bad CGI, dull dialogue, dumb adults and Bull from “Night Court” wrap up this sh*t show. More about “Ghost Shark.” From IMDB When rednecks on a fishing trip kill a great white shark, its spirit comes back for revenge, and soon turns its sights on the town of Smallport. Teenage Ava, her younger sister Cicely and friend Blaise witness the start of the ghost shark’s rampage but the authorities don’t believe their story. With the help of a crotchety lighthouse keeper named Finch the teens discover that the spectral shark can hunt wherever there’s water, and that the town’s dark past may provide the clues they need to defeat it.  

What do you do if your actress walks off set b/c she wants a better IMDB ranking? Or you catch your PA making out w/ a random woman? Or the modeling agency want twice the money the night b4 a shoot? Daniel can solve it. He’s like a superhero whose super power is putting out fires. WWDD? What would Daniel do? Find out. For over 20 years, (AKA the LOw Budget Czar) has been the one people turned to make their film look like expensive without a lot of cash. Sollinger answers the question “What does a producer do?” He gives his secrets to negotiating, what to do when Russell Simmons rips you off and gently informs me that I was cut from his movie “The Pact II.” Mainly DS is here to talk about his latest films. Sollinger reveals how he got big names to appear in his little movie, “LA Slasher” (opening June 12th). Plus Sollinger takes a local web series (“Ktown Cowboys”)and shoots for crossover success. There was so much great info, that I cut the show into two parts.     Bonus: Find out what kind of PA I was. (Spoiler: Handsy) From IMDB.com Daniel Sollinger is a graduate of New York University’s Film School, and the producer of more than 350 commercials, music videos, and short films for clients including Pepsi, Warner Brothers Records, CBS, Sony, and Comedy Central. His work has won awards from New York University, The American Film Institute, The Accolade Awards and the American Motion Picture Society. After working on numerous rap videos for artists such as Will Smith, and A Tribe Called Quest, Daniel produced “Rhyme & Reason,” a feature film documentary on hip-hop culture. It was distributed by Miramax Films and played in 280 theaters nationwide. Since then, Daniel has gone on to produce or line produce over 30 independent feature films, including “The Alphabet Killer,” “Girls Against Boys,” “In My Sleep,” and “Without Men.” He is a member of the PGA and a DGA Unit Production Manager.

“Furious 7” opens today. Here’s another instant review. Listen, either you are going to see this film or not. No one is waiting to see how many stars AO Scott gives this movie. But Sean Conroy and I saw a special screening and we’re giving you the scoop? Why? Because you’re a “Proudly Resents” listener? No! You’re family!    

3 Must-See Films, Nic Cage rage and Killer Rats.What are Todd’s three must see movies before you die? How do you react when your former boss says “Vampire’s Kiss” is the best film ever? Ouch, that was awkward. His other choices sound good though. We then talk about the Oscars. Todd thinks Lego Movie got snubbed, I wail about David Oyelowo’s while I butcher his name. It’s some fun conversation with Todd that didn’t quite fit the last episode. Check out my interview with Todd from the last episode.   Editor’s Note: There’s some great Oscar talk. Ok, not great, but I’m watching “L&O:SVU” while I write this. These people are creepy. It’s the one with the male gamers attack a female gamer. So this gamer girl is beat up. the cop asks, “What did they do?” The victim responds, “They leveled up.” Ice-T is an expert on gaming. So he’s knows all the lingo.  He wearing a hoody to work. I wonder if he skateboards to work. You have to listen to Ice-T’s podcast. THe one with Kool Keith is great. When they arrested the gamers Ice-t said, “There’s no reset button.” This show still gots it! Enjoy the show.

Big time TV producer, Todd Yasui is the guest today. Todd was the Executive Producer of “Late Late Show” with Kilborne and Ferguson. He was also my boss on “The Queen Latifah Show.” It’s amazing to learn that he got his first job by cold calling the infamous Helen Kushnick of the “The Tonight Show.” Todd gets into detail about his the early chaotic days of that show. It’s the truth behind “The Late Shift.” (Ok, the book was pretty close.) Todd is very open and frank. if you love backstage showbiz stories, this is the show for you. Todd also talks about fighting with Steven Segal and we discuss our experience dealing with Bill Cosby as the allegations began. Check out Bonus Yasui! Todd tells us his 3 must see cult movies. Related shows:  Robert “Morty” Morton talks about Letterman and the “Late Shift.” Bobcat Goldthwait talks “Shakes the Clown.”     From Broadcast and Cable: “Yasui joined Queen Latifah in season one after serving as the executive producer of the Australian primetime talk show, Rove LA. Prior to that, he was executive producer of The Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn. Yasui also was senior VP of late-night programming at Fox for five years, and he’s executive produced several comedy, late-night and variety shows for Oxygen, ABC and Fox. He also spent five years as a booker and segment producer at NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Yasui started his career at The Washington Post, working as an assistant to Pulitzer Prize-winning TV critic Tom Shales and rising to assistant editor of arts and entertainment.”

Filmmaker Eric Schaeffer makes a return visit (via Skype) to talk about his new transgender romcom “Boy Meets Girl.” Eric also discusses the failure of Kickstarter, Shooting Vermont as Kentucky, cyber sex with strangers and I bust him for ignoring what I told him to do when I produced him on a talk show. His other works include, “Fall,” “After Fall Winter” and the TV shows “Gravity” and “They’re Out of the Business.” Check out the screenings near you! WARNING: THIS EPISODE IS DIRTY! TELL YOUR FRIENDS! SYNOPSIS Boy Meets Girl is a tender, poignant, sexy, romantic coming of age romantic comedy about three twenty-somethings living in Kentucky: Robby, (Michael Welch, Twilight) and his best friend since childhood, Ricky, a gorgeous transgender girl, have never dated.  Lamenting the lack of eligible bachelors, Ricky finds herself attracted to a girl she meets in the coffee shop where she works. Francesca is a beautiful young debutante waiting for her Marine fiancé to return from the war. Ricky and Francesca strike up a friendship, and maybe a little more, which forces Robby to face his true feelings for Ricky. This is a sex/human positive modern fable and identification with its story and themes cross all gender and sexual orientation lines. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT I’m passionate about breaking the mold of sexual and emotional convention in the pursuit of creating more unity in our increasingly fractured world. Being a ‘straight man,’ albeit one who admits to many things most straight men don’t, and living my life with a colorful spectrum of sexual and emotional tastes, desires and behaviors that don’t always seem to be accepted, I feel a duty to portray characters in my films who, like myself, admit to and accept without condition the parts of themselves and others that can be best described and must start being labeled as one thing and one thing only: human.  That is why I make any film. That is why I was inspired to make this romantic comedy.  I hope it’s meaningful to you. Peace and All Love, Eric Here’s the first interview with Eric. The Director of “If Lucy Fell” and “My Life’s In Turnaround,” Eric Schaeffer, talks about life as an indie director. How he went from cabbie to indie darling and back again. (Not really back, but it sounded good.) He addresses The fall out he had with his partner and the reunion. Also sex in his films, casting and we even get a cameo from his mom. Eric Schaeffer and Frank Conniff live talking about “Birdemic.”