Podcast appearances and mentions of Deborah Foreman

Scotty and Andrew are invited to a private island for an exclusive weekend filled with fun and MURDER, as they discuss one of Scotty's favorites from the 80s, "April Fool's Day". They also read off some Spotify comments, and stay tuned until the end of the episode to hear what Andrew has chosen for their next movie!"April Fool's Day" was directed by Fred Walton. A group of college students are invited to their friend Muffy St. John's island getaway house to celebrate April Fool's Day and have some fun. But then the murders start....Feel free to send us a message! What did you think of this movie? Of this episode? Support us on Patreon! - https://www.patreon.com/FunWithHorrorPodcastFollow us on social media:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/396586601815924Twitter - https://twitter.com/funwhorrorInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/fun_with_horror_podcast/FWH + Fangoria collab:For 20% off at the Fango Shop, just enter FUN_WITH_HORROR_PODCAST at checkout!

On the 99th episode of the Slice By Slice podcast, Jesse and Josh finally spend April Fool's Day covering the 1986 Film. Recorded on 3/28/2025.IntroNews and AnnouncementsCorrections and UpdatesWhat We WatchedFilm DiscussionsApril Fool's Day (1986)Outro

THE WHEEL HAS SPOKEN - We finish 'Nic-Vember: Trapped In A Cage' (Nicolas Cage Month)! Next up: Valley Girl (1983) with guest: Jake Thurgood!

After the success of John Carpenter's Halloween, a slew of horror films arose around every holiday imaginable. (with Special Guest PJ Starks). We will discuss the films Mother's Day (1980), My Bloody Valentine (1981) and April Fool's Day (1986). Original Music and episode audio mastering by Beau Hitt. Check out more of Beau's music at the link below.https://spoti.fi/3OcxTMSFollow us on :FacebookInstagramLetterboxd

On this episode, our friend Paul joins us again to discuss the 1986 Adam Baldwin, Deborah Foreman, and Wings Hauser (?) vehicle 3:15 The Moment of Truth, the story of a D-II basketball prospect's struggle to defeat the biggest gang of dorks on the planet. We also discuss the wretched scourge of local Cleveland television Big Chuck and Little John, the various fits of Adam Baldwin, the disambiguation of Chooch, watching My Bodyguard in sociology class, Reggie's hat from Phantasm 2, Gene Labell, the ruthless efficiency of the Cobrettes, and the absolutely perplexing Wings Hauser cameo. ---- Website: www.queenvenerator.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenvenerator/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/queenvenerator.bsky.social

Welcome back to the Coming of Cage podcast, your Nicolas Cage movie review podcast, home of the Wheel-O-Cage, Cage-O-Meter, and CAGE-O Bingo! This is Episode 50 of the show and we're talking Nicolas Cage's 1983 romantic comedy, Valley Girl where Nic plays a cool guy on the fringe of society trying to woo a girl from the valley. It's totally tripindicular, dudes! He stars alongside Deborah Foreman, E.G. Daily, Michael Bowen, and more. Thanks for joining us. Let's hit it.Then we run our little computer system thingy to find out what movie joins the Wheel-O-Cage next!Don't forget to check out our social media pages to see the next Wheel-O-Cage spin and find out what movie we're reviewing next on the show!Plus, CAGE-O Bingo!Subscribe & Support Our ShowLinks: comingofcage.comMerch Store: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/derricostudios?ref_id=7261Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coming-of-cage/id1625687655Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1mVw6A52QjbMeQicIlj4i7Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coming-of-cage--6057154RSS Feed: http://derricostudios.com/feed/podcast/comingofcageJoin our Film Forum for news, memes, spoiler conversations, tournaments, polls, and more: Facebook.com/groups/ScreenHeroesComing of Cage Podcast CreditsA Derrico Studios ProductionHosted by Derreck Mayer & Ryan CoutureExecutive Producer & Editor: Derreck Mayer

This week, we're joined by Patron Marcia Potts as we travel back to a simpler time when the shirts were bright, the jackets Members Only and the music was...AWESOME! When director Martha Coolidge made her 1983 sleeper hit 'Valley Girl', she filled the movie with New Wave gems made popular by KROQ's "Rock of the 80s" format. Unfortunately the planned release of a soundtrack album was cancelled due to clearance problems with some of the songs. In 1994, Rhino Records FINALLY righted this wrong and released an official compilation of songs from the film's soundtrack on CD, making Marcia and her younger sister VERY happy! "Okay, fine Fer sure, fer sure..." Songs discussed in this episode: Valley Girl - Frank Zappa; A Million Miles Away - The Plimsouls; Hanging On The Telephone - Blondie; Johnnie, Are You Queer? - Josie Cotton; Johnnie, Are You Queer? - The Go-Go's; Fetch Me One More Beer (1978 Demo) - FEAR; Eyes Of A Stranger - Payola$; Angst In My Pants, This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us - Sparks; Who Can It Be Now? - Men At Work; Everywhere At Once - The Plimsouls; Boom Boom (Out Go The Lights) - Pat Travers Band (Live); I La La La Love You - Pat Travers; He Could Be The One - Josie Cotton; Love My Way - The Psychedelic Furs; Jukebox (Don't Put Another Dime) - The Flirts; Give Him A Great Big Kiss - The Shangri-Las; The Fanatic - Felony; Sidewinder - The New Order; She Talks In Stereo - Gary Myrick and The Figures; Oldest Story In The World - The Plimsouls; School Is In, Faster Pussycat - Josie Cotton; I Melt With You - Modern English; I Melt With You - David Hasselhoff (with Steve Stevens)

Henrique and David are back with an 80s Slasher classic that isn't what you expect at all! This week, we find our hosts in British Columbia where nine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's Day weekend, but nothing is as it seems in 1986's "April Fool's Day" !Directed by Fred Walton and starring Deborah Foreman, Griffin O'Neal, and Tom Wilson. Hear our hosts discuss what makes this a cozy Horror film, how the twist doesn't ruin the movie, how well it holds up years later, plus we give a tearful but fond farewell to the production manager, Henwolf! Visit our website: DoYouEvenMovie.com Email us: doyouevenmoviepod@gmail.com LIKE us on Facebook: Do You Even Movie? - PodcastFollow Us on Instagram: @DoYouEvenMoviePod Twitter: https://x.com/dyempodTik Tok: @doyouevenmoviepod Watch APRIL FOOL'S DAY on Pluto for FREE:https://pluto.tv/en/on-demand/movies/5f32f5cd3c1f34001332579d

After 2 weeks off, Henrique and David are back with an 80s Slasher classic that isn't what you expect at all! This week, we find our hosts in British Columbia where nine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's Day weekend, but nothing is as it seems in 1986's "April Fool's Day" !Directed by Fred Walton and starring Deborah Foreman, Griffin O'Neal, and Tom Wilson. Hear our hosts discuss what makes this a cozy Horror film, how the twist doesn't ruin the movie, how well it holds up years later, plus we give a tearful but fond farewell to the production manager, Henwolf! Visit our website: DoYouEvenMovie.com Email us: doyouevenmoviepod@gmail.com LIKE us on Facebook: Do You Even Movie? - PodcastFollow Us on Instagram: @DoYouEvenMoviePod Twitter: https://x.com/dyempodTik Tok: @doyouevenmoviepod Watch APRIL FOOL'S DAY on Pluto for FREE:https://pluto.tv/en/on-demand/movies/5f32f5cd3c1f34001332579d

Please enjoy this episode unlocked from our Patreon.com/letstalkturkeys in honor of April 1st or April Fool's Day! Movie Miss and (former co-host) Nikki Flixx discuss the 1986 "turkey" April Fool's Day, starring Deborah Foreman, Deborah Goodrich, Amy Steel, Ken Olandt, Thomas F. Wilson and more! *SPOILERS DUH!* At the time this episode was recorded, you can WATCH APRIL FOOL'S DAY HERE: Free of Pluto TV and pay streaming on Amazon Prime. Be part of our fun bad movie conversations (We Want To Interact With You and Hear Your Thoughts!) by following both our facebook discussion group and our official page Let's Talk Turkeys, on Instagram at letstalkturkeys (all one word), email us directly at ⁠letstalkturkeys@yahoo.com⁠, we're on X (Twitter) @gobblepodcast and check us out on Wordpress at ⁠https://letstalkturkeys150469722.wordpress.com/ Find Movie Miss on IG at movie_miss --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lets-talk-turkeys/message

With her new movie Suze now playing in theaters across Canada, the invaluable Michaela Watkins revisits Martha Coolidge's Valley Girl, the teen movie that paired Deborah Foreman and Nicolas Cage for a very '80s love story. Your genial host Norm Wilner hasn't seen this one in a while either.

We bring back writer Alana Phelan (@hellolibrarian) to talk about the horror-comedy Waxwork, which features the great David Warner doing his best Vincent Price impression as the villainous owner of a waxwork museum, and a group of college students as his victims.  Starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner, Dana Ashbrook, and Patrick Macnee. Written and directed by Anthony Hickox.

Book Vs. Movie: Valley GirlsThe Frank & Moon Zappa Song Vs. the 1983 Classic FilmWe know that Frank Zappa did not authorize using the song Valley Girl (co-written with his 14-year-old daughter Moon Unit in 1982.) But we had to cover this movie because if there was ever a song that influenced the culture of the early 80s --this was it.Moon Zappa is the oldest child of the late Frank Zappa, and after spending most of her childhood waiting for her dad to make time for her, she reached out to him with his favorite love language--snarky lyrics. Using expressions from her peers in the San Fernando Valley--the Zappas created a song that lampoons the white bread, snotty culture of “Vals.” The fact it became a hit song (and Frank's only Top 40 single) shocked everyone involved. The producers of the 1983 film tried to get Frank to sign the rights but only with the overall approval of the script and music. The film, directed by Martha Coolidge and starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman, became a classic teen film that must have stung Frank, who sued the producers as Valley 9000 and lost. So what are the main differences between the song and the film? Which version did the Margos like better? Have a listen and find out!This episode is sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, With Every Memory by author Janine Rosche:"At its heart, With Every Memory is the story of what happens when an already-broken family loses the one person holding them together. Lori Mendenhall returns home to a family she barely recognizes after the same car accident that killed her son stole the last eight years of memories from her. Lori's once-loving husband is a stoic workaholic with questionable intentions, and her teenage daughter has been chewed up and spit out by the world following the loss of her twin brother. As Lori's good and bad memories resurface, she must decide whether the family she's returned to is beyond hope. "In this ep the Margos discuss:The effect Valley Girl (the song) had on teens at the timeThe surprising old-fashioned love story (based lightly on Romeo & Juliet)The outstanding soundtrackThe cast of the 1983 film: Nicolas Cage (Randy,) Deborah Foreman (Julie,) Elizabeth Daily (Loryn,) Michael Bowen (Tommy,) Cameron Dye (Fred,) Heid Holicker (Stacey,) Michelle Meyrink (Suzi,) Lee Purcell (Beth,) Richard Sanders (Driver's Ed teacher,) Colleen Camp (Sarah Richman,) and Frederic Forrest as Steve Richman.Clips used:Valley Girl (Frank Zappa)Good Morning America, September 12, 1982, Moon & Frank Zappa interview)Nina Blackwood & Frank Zappa on MTV October 1981Valley Girl 1983 trailer)“I'm totally not in love with you!”“Let's get out of here.”Meeting Julie's dadHomecoming fight sceneMusic: Melt With You by Modern EnglishBook Vs. Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast Network.Find more podcasts you will love Frolic.Media/podcasts. Join our Patreon page “Book Vs. Movie podcast”You can find us on Facebook at Book Vs. Movie Podcast GroupFollow us on Twitter @bookversusmovieInstagram: Book Versus Movie https://www.instagram.com/bookversusmovie/Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.comMargo D. Twitter @BrooklynMargo Margo D's Blog www.brooklynfitchick.com Margo D's Instagram “Brooklyn Fit Chick”Margo D's TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@margodonohuebrooklynfitchick@gmail.comYou can buy your copy of Filmed in Brooklyn here! Margo P. Twitter @ShesNachoMamaMargo P's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shesnachomama/Margo P's Blog https://coloniabook.weebly.com/Our logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5406542/advertisement

Book Vs. Movie: Valley GirlsThe Frank & Moon Zappa Song Vs. the 1983 Classic FilmWe know that Frank Zappa did not authorize using the song Valley Girl (co-written with his 14-year-old daughter Moon Unit in 1982.) But we had to cover this movie because if there was ever a song that influenced the culture of the early 80s --this was it.Moon Zappa is the oldest child of the late Frank Zappa, and after spending most of her childhood waiting for her dad to make time for her, she reached out to him with his favorite love language--snarky lyrics. Using expressions from her peers in the San Fernando Valley--the Zappas created a song that lampoons the white bread, snotty culture of “Vals.” The fact it became a hit song (and Frank's only Top 40 single) shocked everyone involved. The producers of the 1983 film tried to get Frank to sign the rights but only with the overall approval of the script and music. The film, directed by Martha Coolidge and starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman, became a classic teen film that must have stung Frank, who sued the producers as Valley 9000 and lost. So what are the main differences between the song and the film? Which version did the Margos like better? Have a listen and find out!This episode is sponsored by Baker Publishing Group, With Every Memory by author Janine Rosche:"At its heart, With Every Memory is the story of what happens when an already-broken family loses the one person holding them together. Lori Mendenhall returns home to a family she barely recognizes after the same car accident that killed her son stole the last eight years of memories from her. Lori's once-loving husband is a stoic workaholic with questionable intentions, and her teenage daughter has been chewed up and spit out by the world following the loss of her twin brother. As Lori's good and bad memories resurface, she must decide whether the family she's returned to is beyond hope. "In this ep the Margos discuss:The effect Valley Girl (the song) had on teens at the timeThe surprising old-fashioned love story (based lightly on Romeo & Juliet)The outstanding soundtrackThe cast of the 1983 film: Nicolas Cage (Randy,) Deborah Foreman (Julie,) Elizabeth Daily (Loryn,) Michael Bowen (Tommy,) Cameron Dye (Fred,) Heid Holicker (Stacey,) Michelle Meyrink (Suzi,) Lee Purcell (Beth,) Richard Sanders (Driver's Ed teacher,) Colleen Camp (Sarah Richman,) and Frederic Forrest as Steve Richman.Clips used:Valley Girl (Frank Zappa)Good Morning America, September 12, 1982, Moon & Frank Zappa interview)Nina Blackwood & Frank Zappa on MTV October 1981Valley Girl 1983 trailer)“I'm totally not in love with you!”“Let's get out of here.”Meeting Julie's dadHomecoming fight sceneMusic: Melt With You by Modern EnglishBook Vs. Movie is part of the Frolic Podcast Network.Find more podcasts you will love Frolic.Media/podcasts. Join our Patreon page “Book Vs. Movie podcast”You can find us on Facebook at Book Vs. Movie Podcast GroupFollow us on Twitter @bookversusmovieInstagram: Book Versus Movie https://www.instagram.com/bookversusmovie/Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.comMargo D. Twitter @BrooklynMargo Margo D's Blog www.brooklynfitchick.com Margo D's Instagram “Brooklyn Fit Chick”Margo D's TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@margodonohuebrooklynfitchick@gmail.comYou can buy your copy of Filmed in Brooklyn here! Margo P. Twitter @ShesNachoMamaMargo P's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/shesnachomama/Margo P's Blog https://coloniabook.weebly.com/Our logo was designed by Madeleine Gainey/Studio 39 Marketing Follow on Instagram @Studio39Marketing & @musicalmadeleine

Great opportunity speaking to Director Stephanie Hensley and Executive Producer Cody Hesseling about the upcoming independent horror movie, "The Demons Within" starring Deborah Foreman, Ryan Lambert, Andre Gower, and Spencer Madison. We talked about how the movie was only made with less than a $40,000 budget, limited resources, and in a small town and yet the entire movie was filmed in 11 days. To me that is remarkable and an incredible feat!! As long as you have an awesome director, crew, and actors - anything is possible and this team certainly pulled off a miracle. Although the movie is not streaming anywhere just yet, it is available to watch at conventions and major events, so keep an eye out for the news! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/southjerseyhorror/message

Couch Potato Theater: Valley Girl (1983) & 40th Anniversary Screening Hollywood TCL Chinese Theatre Watch the video version of this Couch Potato Theater episode on the Fandom Podcast Network YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@FandomPodcastNetwork Welcome to Couch Potato Theater here on the Fandom Podcast Network! On Couch Potato Theater we celebrate our favorite movies! On this episode we celebrate the classic 80's teen comedy Valley Girl (1983)! And we discuss our first hand experience of the Valley Girl 40th Anniversary Screening at the Hollywood TCL Chinese Theatre on April 27th, 2023, which included a special Q & A with many members of the cast and crew. Valley Girl is a 1983 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge and starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Meyrink, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye and Michael Bowen. Valley Girl was released in the United States on April 29, 1983. The early 1980's story is based loosely on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The film originally was conceived as a teen film to capitalize on the Southern California valley girl fad inspired by the Frank and Moon Unit Zappa song "Valley Girl", released in June of 1982.   Fandom Podcast Network Contact Information - The FANDOM PODCAST NETWORK YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/c/FandomPodcastNetwork - Master feed for all FPNet Audio Podcasts: http://fpnet.podbean.com/ - Couch Potato Theater Audio Podcast Master Feed:  https://fpnet.podbean.com/category/couch-potato-theater - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fandompodcastnetwork - Email: fandompodcastnetwork@gmail.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fandompodcastnetwork/ - Twitter: @fanpodnetwork / https://twitter.com/fanpodnetwork Fandom Podcast Network Couch Potato Theater Host & Guest Contact Info: Host Contact Info: - Kevin Reitzel on Twitter & Instagram: @spartan_phoenix - Erin Reitzel Gill on Instagram: @eringill666 Guest(s) Social Media Contact Info: - Jennifer Walk on Instagram: @ChefStomp9 - Tee Public Fandom Podcast Network Store:  https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fandom-podcast-network #ValleyGirl #ValleyGirl1983 #ValleyGirl40thAnniversary #HollywoodTCLChineseTheatre

Bonus episode fourteen features the award-winning Lightnin' Lickers* Jay and Deon sharing what they've been sonically f#@%ing with as of late. A field trip to their record store of choice, Electric Kitsch, finds them seated in conversation with super special not-so-secret friend Trevor. Trev discusses then submits a LLR all-time record of FIVE (5) choice cuts to this month's mixtape. Five? You give an inch… Sonic contributors to the fourteenth bonus episode of Lightnin' Licks Radio include: Townes Van Zandt, the Jesus and Mary Chain, James Todd Smith, Supertramp, Wolf Alice, Jordana, Ohio Players, Arthur Brown, Liquid Mike, Arc of All, Jay Dilla, De La Soul, Madlib, A Tribe Called Quest, Flea, Nada Surf, Illuminated Hotti, Bonnie Hayes, Nic Cage & Deborah Foreman from Valley Girl, The Payolas, The Plimsouls, Yard Waste, John Fahey, Elizabeth Cotton, Sandy Bull, Bert Janache, Davy Graham, Quelle Chris, Aceyalone, Christopher Cross, Dave Coulier, Pesky Kid, The Meters, Elton John, The Neville Brothers, The Wild Tchoupitoulas, Adrian Young, Ali Shaheed Muhammed, Chico Hamilton, Yesterday's New Quintet, Ronnie Laws, Flying Lotus, Kendrick Lamar, Haim, Gorillaz, Buffalo Springfield, Lee Hazlewood, The Walker Brothers, Josh - Jordo - Deon, Rilo Kiley, Plains, Alabaster DePlume, Led Zepplin, and Kenny Beats. For the mix…Jay brought to the dining room table the musical stylings of:  FAZERDAZE, Pom Pom Squad, Gary Myrick, The Bambi Slam, and Gion Piero Reverberi. Deon suggested cuts from:  Slum Village, Suitcase, and Jenny Lewis. Our super special not-so-secret friend Trevor likes:  Leo Nocentelli, Gary Bartz, Thundercat, Neil Young, and Scott Walker. The wait is over, here's your gawl dang mix tape: [SIDE A] (1) The Bambi Slam – Long Time Coming (2) Thundercat – Friend Zone (3) Pom Pom Squad – Second That (4) Leo Nocentlli – Your Song (5) Slum Village – Look of Love (remix) (6) Gary Myrick – Time To Win [SIDE B] (1) Suitcase – Save Me Some Gravy (2) Scott Walker – It's Raining Today (3) FAZERDAZE – Winter (4) Gary Bartz – Spiritual Ideation (5) Jenny Lewis – Psychos (6) Gion Piero Reverberi – Cat Casanova (7) Neil Young & the Santa Monica Flyers – Mellow My Mind (live) [END] Q: Is there any bass better than dinosaur fart bass? *Review Magazine's Reader's Choice 2023. Thanks to whomever nominated and voted. You are appreciated. Coziness :) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/llradio/message

Below The Belt Show (www.belowthebeltshow.com) presents more exclusive interviews from our favorite horror pop culture con, Monster Mania! (www.monstermania.net)! BTB's own Chachi McFly talks to veteran actress Deborah Foreman from Valley Girl and Real Genius! Deborah discusses why she didnt watch the Valley Girl reboot film despite working in a cameo role, working with Nicholas Cage, her experience working on "Real Genius" and much more! Don't miss this interview with this amazing legendary actress!

Below The Belt Show (www.belowthebeltshow.com) presents another spectacular show! This week we present an exclusive interview from our favorite horror pop culture con, Monster Mania! (www.monstermania.net)! BTB's own Chachi McFly talks to veteran actress Deborah Foreman from Valley Girl and Real Genius! Deborah discusses why she didnt watch the Valley Girl reboot film despite working in a cameo role, working with Nicholas Cage, her experience working on "Real Genius" and much more! Don't miss this interview with this amazing legendary actress! In addition BTB's own Al Sotto talks to Andy Biersack aka Andy Black from the rock band Black Veil Brides who also stars in the superatural thriller film American Satan and the sequel series Paradise City. Andy talks about whether we can expect a season 2 of Paradise City, working with Malcolm McDowell and John Bradley and whether Johnny Faust shadowed the life of the man himself. Don't miss it! in addition we welcome composer, musician, playwright and writer Jonathan Hogue the creator of the off broadway musical, Stranger Sings: A Parody Musical (www.strangersings.com). Jonathan talks about how he came up with the decision to parody our favorite Netflix show, the writing process, assembling the amazing performers and much more! The musical had an amazing run but you can see the livestream on May 27th! Check out www.strangersings.com for more info! BTB's host with the most Al Sotto brings to you another entertaining program! This week on the panel we welcome Mike "General" Zad and the lovely Aussie, Jessica Rae "The Entertainer"! The BTB boys discuss the Mandalorian Season 3 finale and the panel also participate in the first improv segment in BTB history! So expect all the late-breaking news on pop culture, entertainment, and more! Listen to our gut busting humor, insightful commentary, and thought provoking opinions on the world of entertainment — uncensored — only on Below The Belt Show (www.belowthebeltshow.com)! Song Credits: Classic Cut - Toto "Africa"

On this episode, we continue our informal miniseries on the 1980s movies of director Martha Coolidge with a look back at her 1985 under appreciated classic, Real Genius. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   Before we hop in to today's episode, I want to thank every person listening, from whatever part of the planet you're at. Over the nearly four years I've been doing this podcast, we've had listeners from 171 of the 197 countries, and occasionally it's very surreal for this California kid who didn't amount to much of anything growing to think there are people in Myanmar and the Ukraine and other countries dealing with war within their borders who still find time to listen to new episodes of a podcast about 33 plus year old mostly American movies when they're released. I don't take your listenership lightly, and I just want you to know that I truly appreciate it. Thank you.   Okay, with that, I would like to welcome you all to Part Three of our informal miniseries on the 1980s movies of director Martha Coolidge.   When we left Ms. Coolidge on our previous episode, her movie Joy of Sex had bombed, miserably. But, lucky for her, she had already been hired to work on Real Genius before Joy of Sex had been released.   The script for Real Genius, co-written by Neal Israel and Pat Proft, the writers of Bachelor Party, had been floating around Hollywood for a few years. It would tell the story of a highly intelligent high school kid named Mitch who would be recruited to attend a prestigious CalTech-like college called Pacific Tech, where he would be teamed with another genius, Chris, to build a special laser with their professor, not knowing the laser is to be used as a weapon to take out enemy combatants from a drone-like plane 30,000 feet above the Earth.   ABC Motion Pictures, a theatrical subsidy of the American television network geared towards creating movies that could be successful in theatres before playing on television, would acquire the screenplay in the early 1980s, but after the relative failure of a number of their initial projects, including National Lampoon's Class Reunion and Young Doctors in Love, would sell the project off to Columbia Pictures, who would make the film one of the first slate of films to be produced by their sister company Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture between Columbia, the cable network Home Box Office, and, ironically, the CBS television network, which was also created towards creating movies that could be successful in theatres before playing on television. Tri-Star would assign Brian Grazer, a television producer at Paramount who had segued to movies after meeting with Ron Howard during the actor's last years on Happy Days, producing Howard's 1982 film Night Shift and 1984 film Splash, to develop the film.   One of Grazer's first moves would be to hire Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, writers on Happy Days who helped to create Laverne and Shirley and Joanie Loves Chachi, to rewrite the script to attract a director. Ganz and Mandel had also written Night Shift and rewrote the script for Splash, and Grazer considered them his lucky charm. After trying to convince Ron Howard to board the project instead of Cocoon, Grazer would create a list of up and coming filmmakers he would want to work with. And toward the top of that list was Martha Coolidge.   Coolidge would naturally gravitate towards Real Genius, and she would have an advantage that no other filmmaker on Grazer's list would have: her fiancee, Michael Backes, was himself an egghead, a genius in physics and biochemistry who in the years to come would become good friends with the writer and filmmaker Michael Crichton, working as a graphics supervisor on the movie version of Chricton's book Jurassic Park, a co-writer of the screenplay based on Chricton's book Rising Sun, and an associate producer on the movie version of Chricton's book Congo.   Once Coolidge was signed on to direct Real Genius in the spring of 1984, she and Backes would work with former SCTV writer and performer PJ Torokvei as they would spend time talking to dozens of science students at CalTech and USC, researching laser technology, and the policies of the CIA. They would shape the project to something closer to what Grazer said he loved most about its possibility, the possibility of genius. "To me,” Grazer would tell an interviewer around the time of the film's release, “a genius is someone who can do something magical, like solve a complex problem in his head while I'm still trying to figure out the question. I don't pretend to understand it, but the results are everywhere around us. We work, travel, amuse ourselves and enhance the quality of life through technology, all of which traces back to what was once an abstract idea in the mind of some genius.”   When their revised screenplay got the green light from the studio with an $8m budget, Grazer and Coolidge got to the task of casting the film. While the young genius Mitch was ostensibly the lead character in the film, his roommate Chris would need a star to balance out the relative obscurity of his co-star. A number of young actors in Hollywood would be seen, but their choice would be 25 year old Val Kilmer, whose first movie, Top Secret!, had not yet opened in theatres but had hot buzz going for it as the followup film for the Airplane! writing/directing team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.   Fourteen year old Gabe Jarret, whose only previous film work had been in a minor role in the 1981 Tony Danza/Danny DeVito comedy Going Ape!, would land the coveted role of Mitch, while supporting roles would go to Coolidge's former costars Michelle Meyrink, Deborah Foreman and Robert Prescott, as well as William Atherton, who at the time was on movie screens as Walter Peck, the main human antagonist to the Ghostbusters, as Chris and Mitch's duplicitous professor, Jerry Hathaway, and Patti D'Arbanville, who had made a splash on screens in 1981 as Chevy Chase's long-suffering girlfriend in Modern Problems.   Shooting would begin on Real Genius in Southern California on November 12th, 1984. Most of the film would be shot on sets built at the Hollywood Center Studios, just a few blocks west of the Paramount Studios lot, while several major set pieces, including the memorable finale involving Professor Hathaway's house, a space laser and 190,000 pounds of popcorn, were shot in the then quiet suburban area of Sand Canyon, a few miles east of Magic Mountain, a popular theme park and filming area about 45mins north of Hollywood Center Studios. Outdoor scenes standing in for the Pacific Tech campus would be filmed at Occidental College in Eagle Rock and Pomona College in Claremont, while some scenes would be filmed at General Atomics outside San Diego, standing in for an Air Force base in the film's climax. Shooting on the film would finish after the first of the year, giving Coolidge and her editor, Richard Chew, about seven months to get the film in shape for a planned August 7th, 1985, release.   Going in to the Summer 1985 movie season, Real Genius was positioned to be one of the hit films of the summer. They had a hot up and coming star in Val Kilmer, a hot director in Martha Coolidge, and a fairly solid release date in early August. But then, there ended up being an unusual glut of science fiction and sci-fi comedy movies in the marketplace at the same time. In March, Disney released the dinosaur-themed Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, which was not a good film and bombed pretty bad. In June, there was the artificial intelligence film D.A.R.Y.L., which was not a good film and bombed pretty bad. In July, there was Back to the Future, which was a very good film and became one of the biggest successes of the year, and there was Explorers, Joe Dante's followup to Gremlins, which featured Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix as teenage boys who build their own spacecraft to explore outer space, and although it was one of the best movies released in the summer of 1985, it too bombed pretty bad.    But then, in a seven day period in early August, we had Weird Science, which was not very good and not very successful, Real Genius, and My Science Project, another Disney movie about a glowing orb thing from outer space that causes a lot of problems for a lazy high school student looking for something to use for his science class final, which is one of the worst movies of the year, and bombed worse than any of the other movies mentioned.   Weird Science, John Hughes' followup to his surprise hit The Breakfast Club, released only six months earlier, would open on August 1st, and come in fourth place with $4.9m from 1158 theatres. In its second weekend of release, Weird Science would lose 40% of its opening weekend audience, coming in fifth with $2.97m. But that would still be better than Real Genius, which opened on Wednesday, August 5th, which would come in sixth in its opening weekend, with $2.56m from 990 locations. My Science Project, opening on August 7th, could only manage to open in 13th place with $1.5m from 1003 theatres. That would be worse than a reissue of E.T. in its fourth weekend of release.   In its second weekend, Real Genius would only drop 14% of its opening weekend audience, coming in with $2.2m from 956 locations, but after a third weekend, losing a third of its screens and 46% of its second week audience, Real Genius would be shuttled off to the dollar houses, where it would spend another seventeen weeks before exiting theatres with only $12.95m worth of tickets sold.   However, it is my personal opinion is that the film failed to find an audience because it was perceived as being too smart for a simple audience. Real Genius celebrates intelligence. It doesn't pander to its audience. In many ways, it belittles stupidity, especially Mitch's moronic parents. Revenge is dished out in the most ingenious ways, especially at the end with Professor Hathaway's house, to the point where the science behind how Chris and Mitch did what the did is still actively debated thirty-eight years later. Caltech students served as consultants on the film, and played students in the background, while Dr. Martha Gunderson, a physics professor at USC whose vast knowledge about lasers informed the writers during the development stage, played a math professor on screen. Finally, to help promote the film, Martha Coolidge and producer Brian Grazer held the first-ever online press conference through the CompuServe online service, even though there were less than 125,000 on the entire planet who had CompuServe access in August 1985.   Today, the film is rightfully regardless as a classic, but it wouldn't make Val Kilmer a star quite yet. That, of course, would happen in 1986, when he co-starred as Tom Cruise's frenemy in Tony Scott's Top Gun. Gabe Jarret would eventually become Gabriel Jarret, appearing in such movies as Karate Kid 3, Apollo 13 and The American President, and he continues to work in movies and on television to this day. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Michelle Meyrink, who would quit acting three years after making Real Genius, but we'll talk about that on our next episode. And, of course, William Atherton would cement his reputation as the chucklenut Gen Xers love to hate when he played the cocky television reporter Dick Thornburg in the first two Die Hard movies.   And with that, we come to the end of this episode. Thank you for joining us.    We'll talk again next week, when Episode 111, on Coolidge's 1988 comedy Plain Clothes, is released.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

On this episode, we continue our informal miniseries on the 1980s movies of director Martha Coolidge with a look back at her 1985 under appreciated classic, Real Genius. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   Before we hop in to today's episode, I want to thank every person listening, from whatever part of the planet you're at. Over the nearly four years I've been doing this podcast, we've had listeners from 171 of the 197 countries, and occasionally it's very surreal for this California kid who didn't amount to much of anything growing to think there are people in Myanmar and the Ukraine and other countries dealing with war within their borders who still find time to listen to new episodes of a podcast about 33 plus year old mostly American movies when they're released. I don't take your listenership lightly, and I just want you to know that I truly appreciate it. Thank you.   Okay, with that, I would like to welcome you all to Part Three of our informal miniseries on the 1980s movies of director Martha Coolidge.   When we left Ms. Coolidge on our previous episode, her movie Joy of Sex had bombed, miserably. But, lucky for her, she had already been hired to work on Real Genius before Joy of Sex had been released.   The script for Real Genius, co-written by Neal Israel and Pat Proft, the writers of Bachelor Party, had been floating around Hollywood for a few years. It would tell the story of a highly intelligent high school kid named Mitch who would be recruited to attend a prestigious CalTech-like college called Pacific Tech, where he would be teamed with another genius, Chris, to build a special laser with their professor, not knowing the laser is to be used as a weapon to take out enemy combatants from a drone-like plane 30,000 feet above the Earth.   ABC Motion Pictures, a theatrical subsidy of the American television network geared towards creating movies that could be successful in theatres before playing on television, would acquire the screenplay in the early 1980s, but after the relative failure of a number of their initial projects, including National Lampoon's Class Reunion and Young Doctors in Love, would sell the project off to Columbia Pictures, who would make the film one of the first slate of films to be produced by their sister company Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture between Columbia, the cable network Home Box Office, and, ironically, the CBS television network, which was also created towards creating movies that could be successful in theatres before playing on television. Tri-Star would assign Brian Grazer, a television producer at Paramount who had segued to movies after meeting with Ron Howard during the actor's last years on Happy Days, producing Howard's 1982 film Night Shift and 1984 film Splash, to develop the film.   One of Grazer's first moves would be to hire Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, writers on Happy Days who helped to create Laverne and Shirley and Joanie Loves Chachi, to rewrite the script to attract a director. Ganz and Mandel had also written Night Shift and rewrote the script for Splash, and Grazer considered them his lucky charm. After trying to convince Ron Howard to board the project instead of Cocoon, Grazer would create a list of up and coming filmmakers he would want to work with. And toward the top of that list was Martha Coolidge.   Coolidge would naturally gravitate towards Real Genius, and she would have an advantage that no other filmmaker on Grazer's list would have: her fiancee, Michael Backes, was himself an egghead, a genius in physics and biochemistry who in the years to come would become good friends with the writer and filmmaker Michael Crichton, working as a graphics supervisor on the movie version of Chricton's book Jurassic Park, a co-writer of the screenplay based on Chricton's book Rising Sun, and an associate producer on the movie version of Chricton's book Congo.   Once Coolidge was signed on to direct Real Genius in the spring of 1984, she and Backes would work with former SCTV writer and performer PJ Torokvei as they would spend time talking to dozens of science students at CalTech and USC, researching laser technology, and the policies of the CIA. They would shape the project to something closer to what Grazer said he loved most about its possibility, the possibility of genius. "To me,” Grazer would tell an interviewer around the time of the film's release, “a genius is someone who can do something magical, like solve a complex problem in his head while I'm still trying to figure out the question. I don't pretend to understand it, but the results are everywhere around us. We work, travel, amuse ourselves and enhance the quality of life through technology, all of which traces back to what was once an abstract idea in the mind of some genius.”   When their revised screenplay got the green light from the studio with an $8m budget, Grazer and Coolidge got to the task of casting the film. While the young genius Mitch was ostensibly the lead character in the film, his roommate Chris would need a star to balance out the relative obscurity of his co-star. A number of young actors in Hollywood would be seen, but their choice would be 25 year old Val Kilmer, whose first movie, Top Secret!, had not yet opened in theatres but had hot buzz going for it as the followup film for the Airplane! writing/directing team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker.   Fourteen year old Gabe Jarret, whose only previous film work had been in a minor role in the 1981 Tony Danza/Danny DeVito comedy Going Ape!, would land the coveted role of Mitch, while supporting roles would go to Coolidge's former costars Michelle Meyrink, Deborah Foreman and Robert Prescott, as well as William Atherton, who at the time was on movie screens as Walter Peck, the main human antagonist to the Ghostbusters, as Chris and Mitch's duplicitous professor, Jerry Hathaway, and Patti D'Arbanville, who had made a splash on screens in 1981 as Chevy Chase's long-suffering girlfriend in Modern Problems.   Shooting would begin on Real Genius in Southern California on November 12th, 1984. Most of the film would be shot on sets built at the Hollywood Center Studios, just a few blocks west of the Paramount Studios lot, while several major set pieces, including the memorable finale involving Professor Hathaway's house, a space laser and 190,000 pounds of popcorn, were shot in the then quiet suburban area of Sand Canyon, a few miles east of Magic Mountain, a popular theme park and filming area about 45mins north of Hollywood Center Studios. Outdoor scenes standing in for the Pacific Tech campus would be filmed at Occidental College in Eagle Rock and Pomona College in Claremont, while some scenes would be filmed at General Atomics outside San Diego, standing in for an Air Force base in the film's climax. Shooting on the film would finish after the first of the year, giving Coolidge and her editor, Richard Chew, about seven months to get the film in shape for a planned August 7th, 1985, release.   Going in to the Summer 1985 movie season, Real Genius was positioned to be one of the hit films of the summer. They had a hot up and coming star in Val Kilmer, a hot director in Martha Coolidge, and a fairly solid release date in early August. But then, there ended up being an unusual glut of science fiction and sci-fi comedy movies in the marketplace at the same time. In March, Disney released the dinosaur-themed Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend, which was not a good film and bombed pretty bad. In June, there was the artificial intelligence film D.A.R.Y.L., which was not a good film and bombed pretty bad. In July, there was Back to the Future, which was a very good film and became one of the biggest successes of the year, and there was Explorers, Joe Dante's followup to Gremlins, which featured Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix as teenage boys who build their own spacecraft to explore outer space, and although it was one of the best movies released in the summer of 1985, it too bombed pretty bad.    But then, in a seven day period in early August, we had Weird Science, which was not very good and not very successful, Real Genius, and My Science Project, another Disney movie about a glowing orb thing from outer space that causes a lot of problems for a lazy high school student looking for something to use for his science class final, which is one of the worst movies of the year, and bombed worse than any of the other movies mentioned.   Weird Science, John Hughes' followup to his surprise hit The Breakfast Club, released only six months earlier, would open on August 1st, and come in fourth place with $4.9m from 1158 theatres. In its second weekend of release, Weird Science would lose 40% of its opening weekend audience, coming in fifth with $2.97m. But that would still be better than Real Genius, which opened on Wednesday, August 5th, which would come in sixth in its opening weekend, with $2.56m from 990 locations. My Science Project, opening on August 7th, could only manage to open in 13th place with $1.5m from 1003 theatres. That would be worse than a reissue of E.T. in its fourth weekend of release.   In its second weekend, Real Genius would only drop 14% of its opening weekend audience, coming in with $2.2m from 956 locations, but after a third weekend, losing a third of its screens and 46% of its second week audience, Real Genius would be shuttled off to the dollar houses, where it would spend another seventeen weeks before exiting theatres with only $12.95m worth of tickets sold.   However, it is my personal opinion is that the film failed to find an audience because it was perceived as being too smart for a simple audience. Real Genius celebrates intelligence. It doesn't pander to its audience. In many ways, it belittles stupidity, especially Mitch's moronic parents. Revenge is dished out in the most ingenious ways, especially at the end with Professor Hathaway's house, to the point where the science behind how Chris and Mitch did what the did is still actively debated thirty-eight years later. Caltech students served as consultants on the film, and played students in the background, while Dr. Martha Gunderson, a physics professor at USC whose vast knowledge about lasers informed the writers during the development stage, played a math professor on screen. Finally, to help promote the film, Martha Coolidge and producer Brian Grazer held the first-ever online press conference through the CompuServe online service, even though there were less than 125,000 on the entire planet who had CompuServe access in August 1985.   Today, the film is rightfully regardless as a classic, but it wouldn't make Val Kilmer a star quite yet. That, of course, would happen in 1986, when he co-starred as Tom Cruise's frenemy in Tony Scott's Top Gun. Gabe Jarret would eventually become Gabriel Jarret, appearing in such movies as Karate Kid 3, Apollo 13 and The American President, and he continues to work in movies and on television to this day. Sadly, the same cannot be said for Michelle Meyrink, who would quit acting three years after making Real Genius, but we'll talk about that on our next episode. And, of course, William Atherton would cement his reputation as the chucklenut Gen Xers love to hate when he played the cocky television reporter Dick Thornburg in the first two Die Hard movies.   And with that, we come to the end of this episode. Thank you for joining us.    We'll talk again next week, when Episode 111, on Coolidge's 1988 comedy Plain Clothes, is released.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

This week, we take a look back at a movie celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its theatrical release this coming Saturday, a movie that made a star of its unconventional lead actor, and helped make its director one of a number of exciting female filmmakers to break through in the early part of the decade. The movie Martha Coolidge's 1983 comedy Valley Girl, starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   On this episode, we're going to be looking back at a movie that will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its original theatrical release. A movie that would turn one of its leads into a star, and thrust its director into the mainstream, at least for a short time.   We're talking about the 1983 Martha Coolidge film Valley Girl, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its release this Saturday, with a special screening tonight, Thursday, April 27th 2023, at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood with its director, doing a Q&A session after the show.   But, as always, before we get to Valley Girl, we head back in time.    A whole eleven months, in fact. To May 1982.   That month, the avant-garde musical genius known as Frank Zappa released his 35th album, Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. Released on Zappa's own Barking Pumpkin record label, Drowning Witch would feature a song he co-wrote with his fourteen year old daughter Moon Unit Zappa. Frank would regularly hear his daughter make fun of the young female mallrats she would encounter throughout her days, and one night, Frank would be noodling around in his home recording studio when inspiration struck. He would head up to Moon's room, wake her up and bring her down to the studio, asking her to just repeat in that silly Valspeak voice she did all the crazy things she heard being said at parties, bar mitzvahs and the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping center, which would become famous just a couple months later as the mall where many of the kids from Ridgemont High worked in Amy Heckerling's breakthrough movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. For about an hour, Frank would record Moon spouting off typical valley girl phrases, before he sent her back up to her room to go back to sleep.   In a couple days, Frank Zappa would bring his band, which at the time included guitar virtuoso Steve Vai in his first major musical gig, into the home studio to lay down the music to this weird little song he wrote around his daughter's vocals.   “Valley Girl” wold not be a celebration of the San Fernando Valley, an area Zappa described as “a most depressing place,” or the way these young ladies presented themselves. Zappa in general hated boring generic repetitive music, but “Valley Girl” would be one of the few songs Zappa would ever write or record that followed a traditional 4/4 time signature.   In the spring of 1982, the influential Los Angeles radio station KROQ would obtain an acetate disc of the song, several weeks before Drowning Witch was to be released on an unsuspecting public. Zappa himself thought it was a hoot the station that had broken such bands as The Cars, Duran Duran, The Police, Talking Heads and U2 was even considering playing his song, but KROQ was his daughter's favorite radio station, and she was able to persuade the station to play the song during an on-air interview with her.   The kids at home went nuts for the song, demanding the station play it again. And again. And again. Other radio stations across the country started to get calls from their listeners, wanting to hear this song that hadn't been officially released yet, and Zappa's record label would rush to get copies out to any radio station that asked for it.   The song would prove to be very popular, become the only single of the forty plus he released during his recording career to become a Top 40 radio hit, peaking at number 32. Ironically, the song would popularize the very cadence it was mocking with teenagers around the country, and the next time Zappa and his band The Mothers of Invention would tour, he would apologize to the Zappa faithful for having created a hit record. "The sad truth,” he would say before going into the song, “is that if one continues to make music year after year, eventually something will be popular. I spent my career fighting against creating marketable art, but this one slipped through the cracks. I promise to do my best never to have this happen again."   As the song was becoming popular in Los Angeles, actor Wayne Crawford and producer Andrew Lane had been working on a screenplay about star-crossed lovers that was meant to be a cheap quickie exploitation film not unlike Zapped! or Porky's. But after hearing Zappa's song, the pair would quickly rewrite the lead character, Julie, into a valley girl, and retitle their screenplay, Bad Boyz… yes, Boyz, with a Z… as Valley Girl.   Atlantic Entertainment Company, an independent film production company, had recently started their own distribution company, and were looking for movies that could be made quickly, cheaply, and might be able to become some kind of small hit. One of the scripts that would cross their desk were Crawford and Lane's Valley Girl. Within a week, Atlantic would already have a $350,000 budget set aside to make the film.   The first thing they needed was a director.   Enter Martha Coolidge.   A graduate of the same New York University film program that would give us Joel Coen, Amy Heckerling, Ang Lee, Spike Lee and Todd Phillips, Coolidge had been working under the tutelage of Academy Award-winner Francis Ford Coppola at the filmmaker's Zoetrope Studios. She had made her directorial debut, Not a Pretty Picture in 1976, but the film, a docu-drama based on Coolidge's own date rape she suffered at the age of 16, would not find a big audience. She had made another movie, City Girl, with Peter Riegert and Colleen Camp, in 1982, with Peter Bogdanovich as a producer, but the film's potential release was cancelled when Bogdanovich's company Moon Pictures went bankrupt after the release of his 1981 movie They All Laughed, which we covered last year. She knew she needed to get on a film with a good chance of getting released, and with Coppola's encouragement, Coolidge would throw her proverbial hat into the ring, and she would get the job, in part because she had some directing experience, but also because she was willing to accept the $5,000 Atlantic was offering for the position.   Now that she had the job, it was time for Coolidge to get to casting. It was her goal to show an authentic teenage experience in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, absent of stereotypes. As someone whose background was in documentary filmmaking, Coolidge wanted Valley Girl to feel as real as possible.   Her first choice for the role of Randy, the proto-punk Romeo to Julie's… well, Juliet… Coolidge was keen on a twenty-three year old unknown who had not yet acted in anything in movies, on television, or even a music video. Judd Nelson had been studying with Stella Adler in New York City, and there was something about his look that Coolidge really liked. But when she offered the role to Nelson, he had just booked an acting gig that would make him unavailable when the film would be shooting. So it was back to the pile of headshots that had been sent to the production office. And in that pile, she would find the headshot of eighteen year old Nicolas Cage, who at the time only had one movie credit, as one of Judge Reinhold's co-workers in Fast Times. Coolidge would show the photo to her casting director, telling them they needed to find someone like him, someone who wasn't a conventionally handsome movie actor.   So the casting director did just that. Went out and got someone like Nicolas Cage. Specifically, Nicolas Cage.   What Coolidge didn't know was that Cage's real name was Nicolas Coppola, and that his uncle was Coolidge's boss. She would only learn this when she called the actor to offer him the role, and he mentioned he would need to check his schedule on the Coppola movie he was about to start shooting on, Rumble Fish. Francis Coppola made sure the shooting schedule was re-arranged so his nephew could accept his first leading role.   For Julie, Coolidge wanted only one person: Deborah Foreman, a twenty-year-old former model who had only done commercials for McDonalds at this point in her career. Although she was born in Montebello CA, mere miles from the epicenter of the San Fernando Valley, Foreman had spent her formative years in Texas, and knew nothing about the whole Valley Girl phenomenon until she was cast in the film.   Supporting roles would be filled by a number of up and coming young actors, including Elizabeth Daily and Michelle Mayrink as Julie's friends, Cameron Dye as Randy's best friend, and Michael Bowen as Julie's ex-boyfriend, while Julie's parents would be played by Frederic Forrest and Colleen Camp, two industry veterans who had briefly worked together on Apocalypse Now.   As the scheduled start date of October 25th, 1982, rolled closer, Martha Coolidge would be the first director to really learn just how far Nicolas Cage was willing to go for a role. He would start sleeping in his car, to better understand Randy, and he would, as Randy, write Foreman's character Julie a poem that, according to a May 2020 New York Times oral history about the film, Foreman still has to this day. In a 2018 IMDb talk with director Kevin Smith, Cage would say that it was easy for his performance to happen in the film because he had a massive crush on Foreman during the making of the film.   Because of the film's extremely low budget, the filmmakers would often shoot on locations throughout Los Angeles they did not have permits for, stealing shots wherever they could. But one place they would spend money on was the movie's soundtrack, punctuated by live performances by Los Angeles band The Plimsouls and singer Josie Cotton, which were filmed at the Sunset Strip club now known as The Viper Room.   The film would only have a twenty day shooting schedule, which meant scenes would have to be shot quickly and efficiently, with as few hiccups as possible. But this wouldn't stop Cage from occasionally improvising little bits that Coolidge loved so much, she would keep them in the film, such as Randy spitting his gum at Julie's ex, and the breakup scene, where Randy digs into Julie by using Valspeak.   In early January 1983, while the film was still being edited, Frank Zappa would file a lawsuit against the film, seeking $100,000 in damages and an injunction to stop the film from being released, saying the film would unfairly dilute the trademark of his song. The lawsuit would force Coolidge to have a cut of her movie ready to screen for the judge before she was fully done with it. But when Coolidge screened this rushed cut to Atlantic and its lawyers, the distributor was pleasantly surprised to see the director hadn't just made a quickie exploitation film but something with genuine heart and soul that could probably have a much longer lifespan. They were originally planning on releasing the film during the later part of the summer movie season, but now knowing what they had on their hands, Atlantic would set an April 29th release date… pending, of course, on the outcome of the Zappa lawsuit.   In March, the judge would issue their ruling, in favor of the film, saying there would be no confusion in the public's mind between the song and the film, and Atlantic would continue to prepare for the late April release.   One of the things Coolidge really fought for was to have a wall of great new wave songs throughout the film, something Atlantic was hesitant to pay for, until they saw Coolidge's cut. They would spend another $250k on top of the $350k production budget to secure songs from The Psychedelic Furs, The Payolas, Men at Work, Toni Basil, The Flirts and Sparks, on top of the songs played by The Plimsouls and Josie Cotton in the film.   Valley Girl would be one of three new movies opening on April 29th, alongside Disney's adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Hunger, the directorial debut of filmmaker Tony Scott. Opening on only 442 screens, Valley Girl would come in fourth place for the weekend, grossing $1.86m in its first three days. However, its $4200 per screen average would be better than every movie in the top 15, including the #1 film in the nation that weekend, Flashdance. Not bad for a film that was only playing in one third of the country.   In its second weekend, Valley Girl would fall to seventh place, with $1.33m worth of ticket sold, but its per screen average would be second only to the new Cheech and Chong movie, Still Smokin'. Over the next three months, the film would continue to perform well, never playing in more screens than it did in its opening weekend, but never falling out of the top 15 while Atlantic was tracking it. When all was said and done, Valley Girl would have grossed $17.34m in the United States, not a bad return on a $600k production and music clearance budget.   There was supposed to be an accompanying soundtrack album for the film that, according to the movie's poster, would be released on Epic Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records whose eclectic roster of artists included Michael Jackson, The Clash and Liza Minnelli, but it turns out the filmmakers only ended up only getting music clearances for the movie, so that release would get cancelled and a six-song mini-LP would be created through a label Atlantic Pictures created called Roadshow Records. But then that album got cancelled, even though some copies had been printed, so it wouldn't be until 1994 that an actual soundtrack for the film would be released by Rhino Records. That release would do so well, Rhino released a second soundtrack album the following year.   The lawsuit from Zappa would not be the only court proceeding concerning the film. In July 1984, Martha Coolidge, her cinematographer, Frederick Elmes, and two of the actresses, Colleen Camp and Lee Purcell, sued Atlantic Releasing for $5m, saying they were owed a portion of the film's profits based on agreements in their contracts. The two sides would later settle out of court.   Nicolas Cage would, of course, becomes one of the biggest movie stars in the world, winning an Oscar in 1996 for his portrayal of an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death.   Deborah Foreman would not have as successful a career. After Valley Girl, it would be another two years before she was seen on screen again, in what basically amounts to an extended cameo in a movie I'll get to in a moment. She would have a decent 1986, starring in two semi-successful films, the sexy comedy My Chauffeur and the black comedy April Fool's Day, but after that, the roles would be less frequent and, often, not the lead. By 1991, she would retire from acting, appearing only in a 2011 music video for the She Wants Revenge song Must Be the One, and a cameo in the 2020 remake of Valley Girl starring Jessica Rothe of the Happy Death Day movies.   After Valley Girl, Martha Coolidge would go on a tear, directing four more movies over the next seven years. And we'll talk about that first movie, Joy of Sex, on our next episode.   Thank you for joining us.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Valley Girl.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

This week, we take a look back at a movie celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its theatrical release this coming Saturday, a movie that made a star of its unconventional lead actor, and helped make its director one of a number of exciting female filmmakers to break through in the early part of the decade. The movie Martha Coolidge's 1983 comedy Valley Girl, starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   On this episode, we're going to be looking back at a movie that will be celebrating the fortieth anniversary of its original theatrical release. A movie that would turn one of its leads into a star, and thrust its director into the mainstream, at least for a short time.   We're talking about the 1983 Martha Coolidge film Valley Girl, which is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its release this Saturday, with a special screening tonight, Thursday, April 27th 2023, at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood with its director, doing a Q&A session after the show.   But, as always, before we get to Valley Girl, we head back in time.    A whole eleven months, in fact. To May 1982.   That month, the avant-garde musical genius known as Frank Zappa released his 35th album, Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. Released on Zappa's own Barking Pumpkin record label, Drowning Witch would feature a song he co-wrote with his fourteen year old daughter Moon Unit Zappa. Frank would regularly hear his daughter make fun of the young female mallrats she would encounter throughout her days, and one night, Frank would be noodling around in his home recording studio when inspiration struck. He would head up to Moon's room, wake her up and bring her down to the studio, asking her to just repeat in that silly Valspeak voice she did all the crazy things she heard being said at parties, bar mitzvahs and the Sherman Oaks Galleria shopping center, which would become famous just a couple months later as the mall where many of the kids from Ridgemont High worked in Amy Heckerling's breakthrough movie, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. For about an hour, Frank would record Moon spouting off typical valley girl phrases, before he sent her back up to her room to go back to sleep.   In a couple days, Frank Zappa would bring his band, which at the time included guitar virtuoso Steve Vai in his first major musical gig, into the home studio to lay down the music to this weird little song he wrote around his daughter's vocals.   “Valley Girl” wold not be a celebration of the San Fernando Valley, an area Zappa described as “a most depressing place,” or the way these young ladies presented themselves. Zappa in general hated boring generic repetitive music, but “Valley Girl” would be one of the few songs Zappa would ever write or record that followed a traditional 4/4 time signature.   In the spring of 1982, the influential Los Angeles radio station KROQ would obtain an acetate disc of the song, several weeks before Drowning Witch was to be released on an unsuspecting public. Zappa himself thought it was a hoot the station that had broken such bands as The Cars, Duran Duran, The Police, Talking Heads and U2 was even considering playing his song, but KROQ was his daughter's favorite radio station, and she was able to persuade the station to play the song during an on-air interview with her.   The kids at home went nuts for the song, demanding the station play it again. And again. And again. Other radio stations across the country started to get calls from their listeners, wanting to hear this song that hadn't been officially released yet, and Zappa's record label would rush to get copies out to any radio station that asked for it.   The song would prove to be very popular, become the only single of the forty plus he released during his recording career to become a Top 40 radio hit, peaking at number 32. Ironically, the song would popularize the very cadence it was mocking with teenagers around the country, and the next time Zappa and his band The Mothers of Invention would tour, he would apologize to the Zappa faithful for having created a hit record. "The sad truth,” he would say before going into the song, “is that if one continues to make music year after year, eventually something will be popular. I spent my career fighting against creating marketable art, but this one slipped through the cracks. I promise to do my best never to have this happen again."   As the song was becoming popular in Los Angeles, actor Wayne Crawford and producer Andrew Lane had been working on a screenplay about star-crossed lovers that was meant to be a cheap quickie exploitation film not unlike Zapped! or Porky's. But after hearing Zappa's song, the pair would quickly rewrite the lead character, Julie, into a valley girl, and retitle their screenplay, Bad Boyz… yes, Boyz, with a Z… as Valley Girl.   Atlantic Entertainment Company, an independent film production company, had recently started their own distribution company, and were looking for movies that could be made quickly, cheaply, and might be able to become some kind of small hit. One of the scripts that would cross their desk were Crawford and Lane's Valley Girl. Within a week, Atlantic would already have a $350,000 budget set aside to make the film.   The first thing they needed was a director.   Enter Martha Coolidge.   A graduate of the same New York University film program that would give us Joel Coen, Amy Heckerling, Ang Lee, Spike Lee and Todd Phillips, Coolidge had been working under the tutelage of Academy Award-winner Francis Ford Coppola at the filmmaker's Zoetrope Studios. She had made her directorial debut, Not a Pretty Picture in 1976, but the film, a docu-drama based on Coolidge's own date rape she suffered at the age of 16, would not find a big audience. She had made another movie, City Girl, with Peter Riegert and Colleen Camp, in 1982, with Peter Bogdanovich as a producer, but the film's potential release was cancelled when Bogdanovich's company Moon Pictures went bankrupt after the release of his 1981 movie They All Laughed, which we covered last year. She knew she needed to get on a film with a good chance of getting released, and with Coppola's encouragement, Coolidge would throw her proverbial hat into the ring, and she would get the job, in part because she had some directing experience, but also because she was willing to accept the $5,000 Atlantic was offering for the position.   Now that she had the job, it was time for Coolidge to get to casting. It was her goal to show an authentic teenage experience in Los Angeles in the early 1980s, absent of stereotypes. As someone whose background was in documentary filmmaking, Coolidge wanted Valley Girl to feel as real as possible.   Her first choice for the role of Randy, the proto-punk Romeo to Julie's… well, Juliet… Coolidge was keen on a twenty-three year old unknown who had not yet acted in anything in movies, on television, or even a music video. Judd Nelson had been studying with Stella Adler in New York City, and there was something about his look that Coolidge really liked. But when she offered the role to Nelson, he had just booked an acting gig that would make him unavailable when the film would be shooting. So it was back to the pile of headshots that had been sent to the production office. And in that pile, she would find the headshot of eighteen year old Nicolas Cage, who at the time only had one movie credit, as one of Judge Reinhold's co-workers in Fast Times. Coolidge would show the photo to her casting director, telling them they needed to find someone like him, someone who wasn't a conventionally handsome movie actor.   So the casting director did just that. Went out and got someone like Nicolas Cage. Specifically, Nicolas Cage.   What Coolidge didn't know was that Cage's real name was Nicolas Coppola, and that his uncle was Coolidge's boss. She would only learn this when she called the actor to offer him the role, and he mentioned he would need to check his schedule on the Coppola movie he was about to start shooting on, Rumble Fish. Francis Coppola made sure the shooting schedule was re-arranged so his nephew could accept his first leading role.   For Julie, Coolidge wanted only one person: Deborah Foreman, a twenty-year-old former model who had only done commercials for McDonalds at this point in her career. Although she was born in Montebello CA, mere miles from the epicenter of the San Fernando Valley, Foreman had spent her formative years in Texas, and knew nothing about the whole Valley Girl phenomenon until she was cast in the film.   Supporting roles would be filled by a number of up and coming young actors, including Elizabeth Daily and Michelle Mayrink as Julie's friends, Cameron Dye as Randy's best friend, and Michael Bowen as Julie's ex-boyfriend, while Julie's parents would be played by Frederic Forrest and Colleen Camp, two industry veterans who had briefly worked together on Apocalypse Now.   As the scheduled start date of October 25th, 1982, rolled closer, Martha Coolidge would be the first director to really learn just how far Nicolas Cage was willing to go for a role. He would start sleeping in his car, to better understand Randy, and he would, as Randy, write Foreman's character Julie a poem that, according to a May 2020 New York Times oral history about the film, Foreman still has to this day. In a 2018 IMDb talk with director Kevin Smith, Cage would say that it was easy for his performance to happen in the film because he had a massive crush on Foreman during the making of the film.   Because of the film's extremely low budget, the filmmakers would often shoot on locations throughout Los Angeles they did not have permits for, stealing shots wherever they could. But one place they would spend money on was the movie's soundtrack, punctuated by live performances by Los Angeles band The Plimsouls and singer Josie Cotton, which were filmed at the Sunset Strip club now known as The Viper Room.   The film would only have a twenty day shooting schedule, which meant scenes would have to be shot quickly and efficiently, with as few hiccups as possible. But this wouldn't stop Cage from occasionally improvising little bits that Coolidge loved so much, she would keep them in the film, such as Randy spitting his gum at Julie's ex, and the breakup scene, where Randy digs into Julie by using Valspeak.   In early January 1983, while the film was still being edited, Frank Zappa would file a lawsuit against the film, seeking $100,000 in damages and an injunction to stop the film from being released, saying the film would unfairly dilute the trademark of his song. The lawsuit would force Coolidge to have a cut of her movie ready to screen for the judge before she was fully done with it. But when Coolidge screened this rushed cut to Atlantic and its lawyers, the distributor was pleasantly surprised to see the director hadn't just made a quickie exploitation film but something with genuine heart and soul that could probably have a much longer lifespan. They were originally planning on releasing the film during the later part of the summer movie season, but now knowing what they had on their hands, Atlantic would set an April 29th release date… pending, of course, on the outcome of the Zappa lawsuit.   In March, the judge would issue their ruling, in favor of the film, saying there would be no confusion in the public's mind between the song and the film, and Atlantic would continue to prepare for the late April release.   One of the things Coolidge really fought for was to have a wall of great new wave songs throughout the film, something Atlantic was hesitant to pay for, until they saw Coolidge's cut. They would spend another $250k on top of the $350k production budget to secure songs from The Psychedelic Furs, The Payolas, Men at Work, Toni Basil, The Flirts and Sparks, on top of the songs played by The Plimsouls and Josie Cotton in the film.   Valley Girl would be one of three new movies opening on April 29th, alongside Disney's adaptation of the Ray Bradbury story Something Wicked This Way Comes, and The Hunger, the directorial debut of filmmaker Tony Scott. Opening on only 442 screens, Valley Girl would come in fourth place for the weekend, grossing $1.86m in its first three days. However, its $4200 per screen average would be better than every movie in the top 15, including the #1 film in the nation that weekend, Flashdance. Not bad for a film that was only playing in one third of the country.   In its second weekend, Valley Girl would fall to seventh place, with $1.33m worth of ticket sold, but its per screen average would be second only to the new Cheech and Chong movie, Still Smokin'. Over the next three months, the film would continue to perform well, never playing in more screens than it did in its opening weekend, but never falling out of the top 15 while Atlantic was tracking it. When all was said and done, Valley Girl would have grossed $17.34m in the United States, not a bad return on a $600k production and music clearance budget.   There was supposed to be an accompanying soundtrack album for the film that, according to the movie's poster, would be released on Epic Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records whose eclectic roster of artists included Michael Jackson, The Clash and Liza Minnelli, but it turns out the filmmakers only ended up only getting music clearances for the movie, so that release would get cancelled and a six-song mini-LP would be created through a label Atlantic Pictures created called Roadshow Records. But then that album got cancelled, even though some copies had been printed, so it wouldn't be until 1994 that an actual soundtrack for the film would be released by Rhino Records. That release would do so well, Rhino released a second soundtrack album the following year.   The lawsuit from Zappa would not be the only court proceeding concerning the film. In July 1984, Martha Coolidge, her cinematographer, Frederick Elmes, and two of the actresses, Colleen Camp and Lee Purcell, sued Atlantic Releasing for $5m, saying they were owed a portion of the film's profits based on agreements in their contracts. The two sides would later settle out of court.   Nicolas Cage would, of course, becomes one of the biggest movie stars in the world, winning an Oscar in 1996 for his portrayal of an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who goes to Las Vegas to drink himself to death.   Deborah Foreman would not have as successful a career. After Valley Girl, it would be another two years before she was seen on screen again, in what basically amounts to an extended cameo in a movie I'll get to in a moment. She would have a decent 1986, starring in two semi-successful films, the sexy comedy My Chauffeur and the black comedy April Fool's Day, but after that, the roles would be less frequent and, often, not the lead. By 1991, she would retire from acting, appearing only in a 2011 music video for the She Wants Revenge song Must Be the One, and a cameo in the 2020 remake of Valley Girl starring Jessica Rothe of the Happy Death Day movies.   After Valley Girl, Martha Coolidge would go on a tear, directing four more movies over the next seven years. And we'll talk about that first movie, Joy of Sex, on our next episode.   Thank you for joining us.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Valley Girl.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

On this week's Haven't Scene It, Tim & Tommy cruise the coast as they watch Valley Girl. This is Tim's first time watching the movie. They discuss the iconic soundtrack, the chemistry between Nicholas Cage & Deborah Foreman and... is Nic Cage a creeper in this movie?All this and more on this week's Haven't Scene It!Follow us on Social Media:Twitter: @SceneItPodInstagram: @SceneItPodTiktok: @SceneItPodPlease subscribe and leave us a Five Star review!

Like, OH MY GOD!April 2023 marks the 40th Anniversay of "Valley Girl" (1983) starring Nicolas Cage (first leading role) and Deborah Foreman! Joining @ready2retro for the celebration is "The ENFORCER" aka Jesse from @heartgodmedia! Join us as we shed light to this very underrated 80s gem, talk about the Hollywood & valley cultures during that time, Frank and Moon Zappa's hit song of the same name and we start off the podcast with a top 5 Nicolas Cage movie draft!Like, TOTALLY!

Mike and Jesse discuss the 1991 fantasy horror rom-com Lunatics: A Love Story. Starring Ted Raimi, Deborah Foreman and Bruce Campbell. Leave us a message at https://speakpipe.com/cdfpod Get your CDF Pod merch at https://cdfpodmerch.com Our theme music was composed by CollinDomo AKA Chunky Krill. Find more of his work at soundcloud.com/chunky-krill Facebook: facebook.com/cdfpod Instagram: instagram.com/cdfpod/

Forty years ago, this low-budget teen comedy featuring a mostly unknown cast was released to little fanfare but it became an instant sleeper hit and it happened to also introduce the world to the unique screen presence of Nicholas Cage who was only 18 during production.  He plays Randy, a bohemian punkish kid from Hollywood who falls hard for the titular girl from the Valley, Julie played by Deborah Foreman - their romance from opposite sides of the tracks starts to resemble the tragedy of Romeo & Juliet, only with much less death. ;) Martha Coolidge directed this charming time capsure from the early '80's featuring a KILLER soundtrack including tunes from Modern English, Men At Work, The Human League, and Sparks.Host: Geoff Gershon  Editors: Geoff and Ella GershonProducer: Marlene Gershonhttps://livingforthecinema.com/Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Living-for-the-Cinema-Podcast-101167838847578Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/livingforthecinema/Letterboxd:https://letterboxd.com/Living4Cinema/

There aren't a whole lot of April Fools Day movies to choose from, but somehow we made it 8 years without discussing the movie named after the day and today we're cracking open the safe and letting this one free! We finally discuss APRIL FOOLS DAY (1986) starring Deborah Foreman and Biff, aka Thomas F. Wilson, and while it's difficult to accept the comparisons to Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," it's still a fun little forgotten holiday slasher. It's April Fools, everyone deserves a good laugh! If you like the show, be sure to Rate, Review & Subscribe! Email us at HMNPodcast@gmail.com Follow us on social media! Twitter: @hmnpodcast Instagram: @hmnpodcast Facebook Group:  Horror Movie Night Podcast | FacebookDonate to our Patreon:  Horror Movie Night Podcast | creating A Comedy Podcast about Horror Films | Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone is trying to bring the world to an end by any evil possible way, especially the owner of a wax museum. We get one of the best mummy's in cinematic history and some great special effects. Not to mention a few laughs in this 1988 horror comedy. Starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Jennifer Bassey, Michelle Johnson, and David Warner. Written and directed by Anthony Hickox. If you would like to become a supporter of the show you can check out our Patreon page and choose a tier. There are different perks at all levels and every contributor will have access to our Pre-Horror Show. Check out our favorite coffee by clicking on our link: Four Sigmatic Please share the podcast with your friends on social media to help us grow. Leave us a great review on whatever platform you are using. Check us out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Slasher. If you would like to watch our interviews, you can check out our YouTube channel. If you would like to ask us a question or make a suggestion for the show, send us an email at horrorscriptpodcast@gmail.com You can write us or record a voice memo of yourself asking the question and we can play it on an upcoming episodeSupport the show by picking up some Horror Script Podcast merchandiseIf you do reviews and interviews virtually try Squadcast for free by using our link. You also help support the show by using it. Special thanks to John Saccardo and Vince Lipscomb for the amazing music. Support the show

We continue our look back at the movies released by independent distributor Vestron Pictures, focusing on their 1988 releases. ----more---- The movies discussed on this episode, all released by Vestron Pictures in 1988 unless otherwise noted, include: Amsterdamned (Dick Maas) And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim) The Beat (Paul Mones) Burning Secret (Andrew Birkin) Call Me (Sollace Mitchell) The Family (Ettore Scola) Gothic (Ken Russell, 1987) The Lair of the White Worm (Ken Russell) Midnight Crossing (Roger Holzberg) Paramedics (Stuart Margolin) The Pointsman (Jos Stelling) Salome's Last Dance (Ken Russell) Promised Land (Michael Hoffman) The Unholy (Camilo Vila) Waxwork (Anthony Hickox)   TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   At the end of the previous episode, Vestron Pictures was celebrating the best year of its two year history. Dirty Dancing had become one of the most beloved movies of the year, and Anna was becoming a major awards contender, thanks to a powerhouse performance by veteran actress Sally Kirkland. And at the 60th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the films of 1987, Dirty Dancing would win the Oscar for Best Original Song, while Anna would be nominated for Best Actress, and The Dead for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Costumes.   Surely, things could only go up from there, right?   Welcome to Part Two of our miniseries.   But before we get started, I'm issuing a rare mea culpa. I need to add another Vestron movie which I completely missed on the previous episode, because it factors in to today's episode. Which, of course, starts before our story begins.   In the 1970s, there were very few filmmakers like the flamboyant Ken Russell. So unique a visual storyteller was Russell, it's nigh impossible to accurately describe him in a verbal or textual manner. Those who have seen The Devils, Tommy or Altered States know just how special Russell was as a filmmaker. By the late 1980s, the hits had dried up, and Russell was in a different kind of artistic stage, wanting to make somewhat faithful adaptations of late 19th and early 20th century UK authors. Vestron was looking to work with some prestigious filmmakers, to help build their cache in the filmmaking community, and Russell saw the opportunity to hopefully find a new home with this new distributor not unlike the one he had with Warner Brothers in the early 70s that brought forth several of his strongest movies.   In June 1986, Russell began production on a gothic horror film entitled, appropriately enough, Gothic, which depicted a fictionalized version of a real life meeting between Mary Godwin, Percy Shelley, John William Polidori and Claire Clairemont at the Villa Diodati in Geneva, hosted by Lord Byron, from which historians believe both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and John William Polidori's The Vampyre were inspired.   And you want to talk about a movie with a great cast. Gabriel Byrne plays Lord Byron, Julian Sands as Percy Shelley, Natasha Richardson, in her first ever movie, as Mary Shelley, Timothy Spall as John William Polidori, and Dexter Fletcher.   Although the film was produced through MGM, and distributed by the company in Europe, they would not release the film in America, fearing American audiences wouldn't get it. So Vestron would swoop in and acquire the American theatrical rights.   Incidentally, the film did not do very well in American theatres. Opening at the Cinema 1 in midtown Manhattan on April 10th, 1987, the film would sell $45,000 worth of tickets in its first three days, one of the best grosses of any single screen in the city. But the film would end up grossing only $916k after three months in theatres.   BUT…   The movie would do quite well for Vestron on home video, enough so that Vestron would sign on to produce Russell's next three movies. The first of those will be coming up very soon.   Vestron's 1988 release schedule began on January 22nd with the release of two films.   The first was Michael Hoffman's Promised Land. In 1982, Hoffman's first film, Privileged, was the first film to made through the Oxford Film Foundation, and was notable for being the first screen appearances for Hugh Grant and Imogen Stubbs, the first film scored by future Oscar winning composer Rachel Portman, and was shepherded into production by none other than John Schlesinger, the Oscar winning director of 1969 Best Picture winner Midnight Cowboy. Hoffman's second film, the Scottish comedy Restless Natives, was part of the 1980s Scottish New Wave film movement that also included Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl and Local Hero, and was the only film to be scored by the Scottish rock band Big Country.   Promised Land was one of the first films to be developed by the Sundance Institute, in 1984, and when it was finally produced in 1986, would include Robert Redford as one of its executive producers. The film would follow two recent local high school graduates, Hancock and Danny, whose lives would intersect again with disastrous results several years after graduation. The cast features two young actors destined to become stars, in Keifer Sutherland and Meg Ryan, as well as Jason Gedrick, Tracy Pollan, and Jay Underwood. Shot in Reno and around the Sundance Institute outside Park City, Utah during the early winter months of 1987, Promised Land would make its world premiere at the prestigious Deauville Film Festival in September 1987, but would lose its original distributor, New World Pictures around the same time. Vestron would swoop in to grab the distribution rights, and set it for a January 22nd, 1988 release, just after its American debut at the then U.S. Film Festival, which is now known as the Sundance Film Festival.    Convenient, eh?   Opening on six screens in , the film would gross $31k in its first three days. The film would continue to slowly roll out into more major markets, but with a lack of stellar reviews, and a cast that wouldn't be more famous for at least another year and a half, Vestron would never push the film out to more than 67 theaters, and it would quickly disappear with only $316k worth of tickets sold.   The other movie Vestron opened on January 22nd was Ettore Scale's The Family, which was Italy's submission to that year's Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The great Vittorio Gassman stars as a retired college professor who reminisces about his life and his family over the course of the twentieth century. Featuring a cast of great international actors including Fanny Ardant, Philip Noiret, Stefania Sandrelli and Ricky Tognazzi, The Family would win every major film award in Italy, and it would indeed be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but in America, it would only play in a handful of theatres for about two months, unable to gross even $350k.   When is a remake not a remake? When French filmmaker Roger Vadim, who shot to international fame in 1956 with his movie And God Created Woman, decided to give a generational and international spin on his most famous work. And a completely different story, as to not resemble his original work in any form outside of the general brushstrokes of both being about a young, pretty, sexually liberated young woman.   Instead of Bridget Bardot, we get Rebecca De Mornay, who was never able to parlay her starring role in Risky Business to any kind of stardom the way one-time boyfriend Tom Cruise had. And if there was any American woman in the United States in 1988 who could bring in a certain demographic to see her traipse around New Mexico au natural, it would be Rebecca De Mornay. But as we saw with Kathleen Turner in Ken Russell's Crimes of Passion in 1984 and Ellen Barkin in Mary Lambert's Siesta in 1987, American audiences were still rather prudish when it came to seeing a certain kind of female empowered sexuality on screen, and when the film opened at 385 theatres on March 4th, it would open to barely a $1,000 per screen average. And God Created Woman would be gone from theatres after only three weeks and $717k in ticket sales.   Vestron would next release a Dutch film called The Pointsman, about a French woman who accidentally gets off at the wrong train station in a remote Dutch village, and a local railwayman who, unable to speak the other person's language, develop a strange relationship while she waits for another train that never arrives.   Opening at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas on New York's Upper West Side on April 8th, the film would gross $7,000 in its first week, which in and of itself isn't all that bad for a mostly silent Dutch film. Except there was another Dutch film in the marketplace already, one that was getting much better reviews, and was the official Dutch entry into that year's Best Foreign Language Film race. That film, Babette's Feast, was becoming something more than just a movie. Restaurants across the country were creating menus based on the meals served in the film, and in its sixth week of release in New York City that weekend, had grossed four times as much as The Pointsman, despite the fact that the theatre playing Babette's Feast, the Cinema Studio 1, sat only 65 more people than the Lincoln Plaza 1. The following week, The Pointsman would drop to $6k in ticket sales, while Babette's Feast's audience grew another $6k over the previous week. After a third lackluster week, The Pointsman was gone from the Lincoln Plaza, and would never play in another theatre in America.   In the mid-80s, British actor Ben Cross was still trying to capitalize on his having been one of the leads in the 1981 Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire, and was sharing a home with his wife and children, as well as Camilo Vila, a filmmaker looking for his first big break in features after two well-received short films made in his native Cuba before he defected in the early 1980s. When Vila was offered the chance to direct The Unholy, about a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans who finds himself battling a demonic force after being appointed to a new parish, he would walk down the hall of his shared home and offered his roomie the lead role.   Along with Ned Beatty, William Russ, Hal Holbrook and British actor Trevor Howard in his final film, The Unholy would begin two weeks of exterior filming in New Orleans on October 27th, 1986, before moving to a studio in Miami for seven more weeks. The film would open in 1189 theatres, Vestron's widest opening to date, on April 22nd, and would open in seventh place with $2.35m in ticket sales. By its second week in theatres, it would fall to eleventh place with a $1.24m gross. But with the Summer Movie Season quickly creeping up on the calendar, The Unholy would suffer the same fate as most horror films, making the drop to dollar houses after two weeks, as to make room for such dreck as Sunset, Blake Edwards' lamentable Bruce Willis/James Garner riff on Hollywood and cowboys in the late 1920s, and the pointless sequel to Critters before screens got gobbled up by Rambo III on Memorial Day weekend. It would earn a bit more than $6m at the box office.   When Gothic didn't perform well in American theatres, Ken Russell thought his career was over. As we mentioned earlier, the American home video store saved his career, as least for the time being.    The first film Russell would make for Vestron proper was Salome's Last Dance, based on an 1891 play by Oscar Wilde, which itself was based on a story from the New Testament. Russell's script would add a framing device as a way for movie audiences to get into this most theatrical of stories.   On Guy Fawkes Day in London in 1892, Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, arrive late at a friend's brothel, where the author is treated to a surprise performance of his play Salome, which has recently been banned from being performed at all in England by Lord Chamberlain. All of the actors in his special performance are played by the prostitutes of the brothel and their clients, and the scenes of the play are intertwined with Wilde's escapades at the brothel that night.   We didn't know it at the time, but Salome's Last Dance would be the penultimate film performance for Academy Award winning actress Glenda Jackson, who would retire to go into politics in England a couple years later, after working with Russell on another film, which we'll get to in a moment. About the only other actor you might recognize in the film is David Doyle, of all people, the American actor best known for playing Bosley on Charlie's Angels.   Like Gothic, Salome's Last Dance would not do very well in theatres, grossing less than half a million dollars after three months, but would find an appreciative audience on home video.   The most interesting thing about Roger Holzberg's Midnight Crossing is the writer and director himself. Holzberg started in the entertainment industry as a playwright, then designed the props and weapons for Albert Pyun's 1982 film The Sword and the Sorcerer, before moving on to direct the second unit team on Pyun's 1985 film Radioactive Dreams. After making this film, Holzberg would have a cancer scare, and pivot to health care, creating a number of technological advancements to help evolve patient treatment, including the Infusionarium, a media setup which helps children with cancer cope with treatment by asking them questions designed to determine what setting would be most comforting to them, and then using virtual reality technology and live events to immerse them in such an environment during treatment.   That's pretty darn cool, actually.   Midnight Crossing stars Faye Dunaway and Hill Street Blues star Daniel J. Travanti in his first major movie role as a couple who team with another couple, played by Kim Cattrall and John Laughlin, who go hunting for treasure supposedly buried between Florida and Cuba.   The film would open in 419 theaters on May 11th, 1988, and gross a paltry $673k in its first three days, putting it 15th on the list of box office grosses for the week, $23k more than Three Men and a Baby, which was playing on 538 screens in its 25th week of release. In its second week, Midnight Crossing would lose more than a third of its theatres, and the weekend gross would fall to just $232k. The third week would be even worse, dropping to just 67 theatres and $43k in ticket sales. After a few weeks at a handful of dollar houses, the film would be history with just $1.3m in the bank. Leonard Klady, then writing for the Los Angeles Times, would note in a January 1989 article about the 1988 box office that Midnight Crossing's box office to budget ratio of 0.26 was the tenth worst ratio for any major or mini-major studio, ahead of And God Created Woman's 8th worst ratio of .155 but behind other stinkers like Caddyshack II.   The forgotten erotic thriller Call Me sounds like a twist on the 1984 Alan Rudolph romantic comedy Choose Me, but instead of Genevieve Bujold we get Patricia Charbonneau, and instead of a meet cute involving singles at a bar in Los Angeles, we get a murder mystery involving a New York City journalist who gets involved with a mysterious caller after she witnesses a murder at a bar due to a case of mistaken identity.   The film's not very good, but the supporting cast is great, including Steve Buscemi, Patti D'Arbanville, Stephen McHattie and David Straithairn.   Opening on 24 screens in major markets on May 20th, Call Me would open to horrible reviews, lead by Siskel and Ebert's thumbs facing downward, and only $58,348 worth of tickets sold in its first three days. After five weeks in theatres, Vestron hung up on Call Me with just $252k in the kitty.   Vestron would open two movies on June 3rd, one in a very limited release, and one in a moderate national release.   There are a lot of obscure titles in these two episodes, and probably the most obscure is Paul Mones' The Beat. The film followed a young man named Billy Kane, played by William McNamara in his film debut, who moves into a rough neighborhood controlled by several gangs, who tries to help make his new area a better place by teaching them about poetry. John Savage from The Deer Hunter plays a teacher, and future writer and director Reggie Rock Bythewood plays one of the troubled youths whose life is turned around through the written and spoken word.   The production team was top notch. Producer Julia Phillips was one of the few women to ever win a Best Picture Oscar when she and her then husband Michael Phillips produced The Sting in 1973. Phillips was assisted on the film by two young men who were making their first movie. Jon Kilik would go on to produce or co-produce every Spike Lee movie from Do the Right Thing to Da 5 Bloods, except for BlackkKlansman, while Nick Weschler would produce sex, lies and videotape, Drugstore Cowboy, The Player and Requiem for a Dream, amongst dozens of major films. And the film's cinematographer, Tom DiCillo, would move into the director's chair in 1991 with Johnny Suede, which gave Brad Pitt his first lead role.   The Beat would be shot on location in New York City in the summer of 1986, and it would make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Market in May 1987. But it would be another thirteen months before the film arrived in theatres.   Opening on seven screens in Los Angeles and New York City on June 3rd, The Beat would gross just $7,168 in its first three days.  There would not be a second week for The Beat. It would make its way onto home video in early 1989, and that's the last time the film was seen for nearly thirty years, until the film was picked up by a number of streaming services.   Vestron's streak of bad luck continued with the comedy Paramedics starring George Newbern and Christopher McDonald. The only feature film directed by Stuart Margolin, best known as Angel on the 1970s TV series The Rockford Files, Newbern and McDonald play two… well, paramedics… who are sent by boss, as punishment, from their cushy uptown gig to a troubled district at the edge of the city, where they discover two other paramedics are running a cadavers for dollars scheme, harvesting organs from dead bodies to the black market.   Here again we have a great supporting cast who deserve to be in a better movie, including character actor John P. Ryan, James Noble from Benson, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs from Welcome Back Kotter, the great Ray Walston, and one-time Playboy Playmate Karen Witter, who plays a sort of angel of death.   Opening on 301 screens nationwide, Paramedics would only gross $149,577 in its first three days, the worst per screen average of any movie playing in at least 100 theatres that weekend. Vestron stopped tracking the film after just three days.   Two weeks later, on June 17th, Vestron released a comedy horror film that should have done better. Waxwork was an interesting idea, a group of college students who have some strange encounters with the wax figures at a local museum, but that's not exactly why it should have been more popular. It was the cast that should have brought audiences in. On one side, you had a group of well-known younger actors like Deborah Foreman from Valley Girl, Zack Gailligan from Gremlins, Michelle Johnson from Blame It on Rio, and Miles O'Keeffe from Sword of the Valiant. On the other hand, you had a group of seasoned veterans from popular television shows and movies, such as Patrick Macnee from the popular 1960s British TV show The Avengers, John Rhys-Davies from the Indiana Jones movies, and David Warner, from The Omen and Time after Time and Time Bandits and Tron.   But if I want to be completely honest, this was not a movie to release in the early part of summer. While I'm a firm believer that the right movie can find an audience no matter when it's released, Waxwork was absolutely a prime candidate for an early October release. Throughout the 1980s, we saw a number of horror movies, and especially horror comedies, released in the summer season that just did not hit with audiences. So it would be of little surprise when Waxwork grossed less than a million dollars during its theatrical run. And it should be of little surprise that the film would become popular enough on home video to warrant a sequel, which would add more popular sci-fi and horror actors like Marina Sirtis from Star Trek: The Next Generation, David Carradine and even Bruce Campbell. But by 1992, when Waxwork 2 was released, Vestron was long since closed.   The second Ken Russell movie made for Vestron was The Lair of the White Worm, based on a 1911 novel by Bram Stoker, the author's final published book before his death the following year. The story follows the residents in and around a rural English manor that are tormented by an ancient priestess after the skull of a serpent she worships is unearthed by an archaeologist.   Russell would offer the role of Sylvia Marsh, the enigmatic Lady who is actually an immortal priestess to an ancient snake god, to Tilda Swinton, who at this point of her career had already racked up a substantial resume in film after only two years, but she would decline. Instead, the role would go to Amanda Donohoe, the British actress best known at the time for her appearances in a pair of Adam Ant videos earlier in the decade. And the supporting cast would include Peter Capaldi, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, and the under-appreciated Sammi Davis, who was simply amazing in Mona Lisa, A Prayer for the Dying and John Boorman's Hope and Glory.   The $2m would come together fairly quickly. Vestron and Russell would agree on the film in late 1987, the script would be approved by January 1988, filming would begin in England in February, and the completed film would have its world premiere at the Montreal Film Festival before the end of August.   When the film arrived in American theatres starting on October 21st, many critics would embrace the director's deliberate camp qualities and anachronisms. But audiences, who maybe weren't used to Russell's style of filmmaking, did not embrace the film quite so much. New Yorkers would buy $31k worth of tickets in its opening weekend at the D. W. Griffith and 8th Street Playhouse, and the film would perform well in its opening weeks in major markets, but the film would never quite break out, earning just $1.2m after ten weeks in theatres. But, again, home video would save the day, as the film would become one of the bigger rental titles in 1989.   If you were a teenager in the early 80s, as I was, you may remember a Dutch horror film called The Lift. Or, at the very least, you remember the key art on the VHS box, of a man who has his head stuck in between the doors of an elevator, while the potential viewer is warned to take the stairs, take the stairs, for God's sake, take the stairs. It was an impressive debut film for Dick Maas, but it was one that would place an albatross around the neck of his career.   One of his follow ups to The Lift, called Amsterdamned, would follow a police detective who is searching for a serial killer in his home town, who uses the canals of the Dutch capital to keep himself hidden. When the detective gets too close to solving the identity of the murderer, the killer sends a message by killing the detective's girlfriend, which, if the killer had ever seen a movie before, he should have known you never do. You never make it personal for the cop, because he's gonna take you down even worse.   When the film's producers brought the film to the American Film Market in early 1988, it would become one of the most talked about films, and Vestron would pick up the American distribution rights for a cool half a million dollars. The film would open on six screens in the US on November 25th, including the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills but not in New York City, but a $15k first weekend gross would seal its fate almost immediately. The film would play for another four weeks in theatres, playing on 18 screens at its widest, but it would end its run shortly after the start of of the year with only $62,044 in tickets sold.   The final Vestron Pictures release of 1988 was Andrew Birkin's Burning Secret. Birkin, the brother of French singer and actress Jane Birkin, would co-write the screenplay for this adaptation of a 1913 short story by Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig, about a about an American diplomat's son who befriends a mysterious baron while staying at an Austrian spa during the 1920s. According to Birkin in a 2021 interview, making the movie was somewhat of a nightmare, as his leading actors, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Faye Dunaway, did not like each other, and their lack of comfort with each other would bleed into their performances, which is fatal for a film about two people who are supposed to passionately burn for each other.   Opening on 16 screens in major markets on Thursday, December 22nd, Burning Secret would only gross $27k in its first four days. The film would actually see a post-Christmas bump, as it would lose a screen but see its gross jump to $40k. But after the first of the year, as it was obvious reviews were not going to save the film and awards consideration was non-existent, the film would close after three weeks with only $104k worth of tickets sold.   By the end of 1988, Vestron was facing bankruptcy. The major distributors had learned the lessons independents like Vestron had taught them about selling more volumes of tapes by lowering the price, to make movies collectables and have people curate their own video library. Top titles were harder to come by, and studios were no longer giving up home video rights to the movies they acquired from third-party producers.   Like many of the distributors we've spoken about before, and will undoubtedly speak of again, Vestron had too much success with one movie too quickly, and learned the wrong lessons about growth. If you look at the independent distribution world of 2023, you'll see companies like A24 that have learned that lesson. Stay lean and mean, don't go too wide too quickly, try not to spend too much money on a movie, no matter who the filmmaker is and how good of a relationship you have with them. A24 worked with Robert Eggers on The Witch and The Lighthouse, but when he wanted to spend $70-90m to make The Northman, A24 tapped out early, and Focus Features ended up losing millions on the film. Focus, the “indie” label for Universal Studios, can weather a huge loss like The Northman because they are a part of a multinational, multimedia conglomerate.   This didn't mean Vestron was going to quit quite yet, but, spoiler alert, they'll be gone soon enough.   In fact, and in case you are newer to the podcast and haven't listen to many of the previous episodes, none of the independent distribution companies that began and/or saw their best years in the 1980s that we've covered so far or will be covering in the future, exist in the same form they existed in back then.    New Line still exists, but it's now a label within Warner Brothers instead of being an independent distributor. Ditto Orion, which is now just a specialty label within MGM/UA. The Samuel Goldwyn Company is still around and still distributes movies, but it was bought by Orion Pictures the year before Orion was bought by MGM/UA, so it too is now just a specialty label, within another specialty label. Miramax today is just a holding company for the movies the company made before they were sold off to Disney, before Disney sold them off to a hedge fund, who sold Miramax off to another hedge fund.    Atlantic is gone. New World is gone. Cannon is gone. Hemdale is gone. Cinecom is gone. Island Films is gone. Alive Films is gone. Concorde Films is gone. MCEG is gone. CineTel is gone. Crown International is gone. Lorimar is gone. New Century/Vista is gone. Skouras Films is gone. Cineplex Odeon Films is gone.   Not one of them survived.   The same can pretty much be said for the independent distributors created in the 1990s, save Lionsgate, but I'll leave that for another podcast to tackle.   As for the Vestron story, we'll continue that one next week, because there are still a dozen more movies to talk about, as well as the end of the line for the once high flying company.   Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again soon.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

We continue our look back at the movies released by independent distributor Vestron Pictures, focusing on their 1988 releases. ----more---- The movies discussed on this episode, all released by Vestron Pictures in 1988 unless otherwise noted, include: Amsterdamned (Dick Maas) And God Created Woman (Roger Vadim) The Beat (Paul Mones) Burning Secret (Andrew Birkin) Call Me (Sollace Mitchell) The Family (Ettore Scola) Gothic (Ken Russell, 1987) The Lair of the White Worm (Ken Russell) Midnight Crossing (Roger Holzberg) Paramedics (Stuart Margolin) The Pointsman (Jos Stelling) Salome's Last Dance (Ken Russell) Promised Land (Michael Hoffman) The Unholy (Camilo Vila) Waxwork (Anthony Hickox)   TRANSCRIPT   From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today.   At the end of the previous episode, Vestron Pictures was celebrating the best year of its two year history. Dirty Dancing had become one of the most beloved movies of the year, and Anna was becoming a major awards contender, thanks to a powerhouse performance by veteran actress Sally Kirkland. And at the 60th Academy Awards ceremony, honoring the films of 1987, Dirty Dancing would win the Oscar for Best Original Song, while Anna would be nominated for Best Actress, and The Dead for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Costumes.   Surely, things could only go up from there, right?   Welcome to Part Two of our miniseries.   But before we get started, I'm issuing a rare mea culpa. I need to add another Vestron movie which I completely missed on the previous episode, because it factors in to today's episode. Which, of course, starts before our story begins.   In the 1970s, there were very few filmmakers like the flamboyant Ken Russell. So unique a visual storyteller was Russell, it's nigh impossible to accurately describe him in a verbal or textual manner. Those who have seen The Devils, Tommy or Altered States know just how special Russell was as a filmmaker. By the late 1980s, the hits had dried up, and Russell was in a different kind of artistic stage, wanting to make somewhat faithful adaptations of late 19th and early 20th century UK authors. Vestron was looking to work with some prestigious filmmakers, to help build their cache in the filmmaking community, and Russell saw the opportunity to hopefully find a new home with this new distributor not unlike the one he had with Warner Brothers in the early 70s that brought forth several of his strongest movies.   In June 1986, Russell began production on a gothic horror film entitled, appropriately enough, Gothic, which depicted a fictionalized version of a real life meeting between Mary Godwin, Percy Shelley, John William Polidori and Claire Clairemont at the Villa Diodati in Geneva, hosted by Lord Byron, from which historians believe both Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and John William Polidori's The Vampyre were inspired.   And you want to talk about a movie with a great cast. Gabriel Byrne plays Lord Byron, Julian Sands as Percy Shelley, Natasha Richardson, in her first ever movie, as Mary Shelley, Timothy Spall as John William Polidori, and Dexter Fletcher.   Although the film was produced through MGM, and distributed by the company in Europe, they would not release the film in America, fearing American audiences wouldn't get it. So Vestron would swoop in and acquire the American theatrical rights.   Incidentally, the film did not do very well in American theatres. Opening at the Cinema 1 in midtown Manhattan on April 10th, 1987, the film would sell $45,000 worth of tickets in its first three days, one of the best grosses of any single screen in the city. But the film would end up grossing only $916k after three months in theatres.   BUT…   The movie would do quite well for Vestron on home video, enough so that Vestron would sign on to produce Russell's next three movies. The first of those will be coming up very soon.   Vestron's 1988 release schedule began on January 22nd with the release of two films.   The first was Michael Hoffman's Promised Land. In 1982, Hoffman's first film, Privileged, was the first film to made through the Oxford Film Foundation, and was notable for being the first screen appearances for Hugh Grant and Imogen Stubbs, the first film scored by future Oscar winning composer Rachel Portman, and was shepherded into production by none other than John Schlesinger, the Oscar winning director of 1969 Best Picture winner Midnight Cowboy. Hoffman's second film, the Scottish comedy Restless Natives, was part of the 1980s Scottish New Wave film movement that also included Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl and Local Hero, and was the only film to be scored by the Scottish rock band Big Country.   Promised Land was one of the first films to be developed by the Sundance Institute, in 1984, and when it was finally produced in 1986, would include Robert Redford as one of its executive producers. The film would follow two recent local high school graduates, Hancock and Danny, whose lives would intersect again with disastrous results several years after graduation. The cast features two young actors destined to become stars, in Keifer Sutherland and Meg Ryan, as well as Jason Gedrick, Tracy Pollan, and Jay Underwood. Shot in Reno and around the Sundance Institute outside Park City, Utah during the early winter months of 1987, Promised Land would make its world premiere at the prestigious Deauville Film Festival in September 1987, but would lose its original distributor, New World Pictures around the same time. Vestron would swoop in to grab the distribution rights, and set it for a January 22nd, 1988 release, just after its American debut at the then U.S. Film Festival, which is now known as the Sundance Film Festival.    Convenient, eh?   Opening on six screens in , the film would gross $31k in its first three days. The film would continue to slowly roll out into more major markets, but with a lack of stellar reviews, and a cast that wouldn't be more famous for at least another year and a half, Vestron would never push the film out to more than 67 theaters, and it would quickly disappear with only $316k worth of tickets sold.   The other movie Vestron opened on January 22nd was Ettore Scale's The Family, which was Italy's submission to that year's Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The great Vittorio Gassman stars as a retired college professor who reminisces about his life and his family over the course of the twentieth century. Featuring a cast of great international actors including Fanny Ardant, Philip Noiret, Stefania Sandrelli and Ricky Tognazzi, The Family would win every major film award in Italy, and it would indeed be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, but in America, it would only play in a handful of theatres for about two months, unable to gross even $350k.   When is a remake not a remake? When French filmmaker Roger Vadim, who shot to international fame in 1956 with his movie And God Created Woman, decided to give a generational and international spin on his most famous work. And a completely different story, as to not resemble his original work in any form outside of the general brushstrokes of both being about a young, pretty, sexually liberated young woman.   Instead of Bridget Bardot, we get Rebecca De Mornay, who was never able to parlay her starring role in Risky Business to any kind of stardom the way one-time boyfriend Tom Cruise had. And if there was any American woman in the United States in 1988 who could bring in a certain demographic to see her traipse around New Mexico au natural, it would be Rebecca De Mornay. But as we saw with Kathleen Turner in Ken Russell's Crimes of Passion in 1984 and Ellen Barkin in Mary Lambert's Siesta in 1987, American audiences were still rather prudish when it came to seeing a certain kind of female empowered sexuality on screen, and when the film opened at 385 theatres on March 4th, it would open to barely a $1,000 per screen average. And God Created Woman would be gone from theatres after only three weeks and $717k in ticket sales.   Vestron would next release a Dutch film called The Pointsman, about a French woman who accidentally gets off at the wrong train station in a remote Dutch village, and a local railwayman who, unable to speak the other person's language, develop a strange relationship while she waits for another train that never arrives.   Opening at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas on New York's Upper West Side on April 8th, the film would gross $7,000 in its first week, which in and of itself isn't all that bad for a mostly silent Dutch film. Except there was another Dutch film in the marketplace already, one that was getting much better reviews, and was the official Dutch entry into that year's Best Foreign Language Film race. That film, Babette's Feast, was becoming something more than just a movie. Restaurants across the country were creating menus based on the meals served in the film, and in its sixth week of release in New York City that weekend, had grossed four times as much as The Pointsman, despite the fact that the theatre playing Babette's Feast, the Cinema Studio 1, sat only 65 more people than the Lincoln Plaza 1. The following week, The Pointsman would drop to $6k in ticket sales, while Babette's Feast's audience grew another $6k over the previous week. After a third lackluster week, The Pointsman was gone from the Lincoln Plaza, and would never play in another theatre in America.   In the mid-80s, British actor Ben Cross was still trying to capitalize on his having been one of the leads in the 1981 Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire, and was sharing a home with his wife and children, as well as Camilo Vila, a filmmaker looking for his first big break in features after two well-received short films made in his native Cuba before he defected in the early 1980s. When Vila was offered the chance to direct The Unholy, about a Roman Catholic priest in New Orleans who finds himself battling a demonic force after being appointed to a new parish, he would walk down the hall of his shared home and offered his roomie the lead role.   Along with Ned Beatty, William Russ, Hal Holbrook and British actor Trevor Howard in his final film, The Unholy would begin two weeks of exterior filming in New Orleans on October 27th, 1986, before moving to a studio in Miami for seven more weeks. The film would open in 1189 theatres, Vestron's widest opening to date, on April 22nd, and would open in seventh place with $2.35m in ticket sales. By its second week in theatres, it would fall to eleventh place with a $1.24m gross. But with the Summer Movie Season quickly creeping up on the calendar, The Unholy would suffer the same fate as most horror films, making the drop to dollar houses after two weeks, as to make room for such dreck as Sunset, Blake Edwards' lamentable Bruce Willis/James Garner riff on Hollywood and cowboys in the late 1920s, and the pointless sequel to Critters before screens got gobbled up by Rambo III on Memorial Day weekend. It would earn a bit more than $6m at the box office.   When Gothic didn't perform well in American theatres, Ken Russell thought his career was over. As we mentioned earlier, the American home video store saved his career, as least for the time being.    The first film Russell would make for Vestron proper was Salome's Last Dance, based on an 1891 play by Oscar Wilde, which itself was based on a story from the New Testament. Russell's script would add a framing device as a way for movie audiences to get into this most theatrical of stories.   On Guy Fawkes Day in London in 1892, Oscar Wilde and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, arrive late at a friend's brothel, where the author is treated to a surprise performance of his play Salome, which has recently been banned from being performed at all in England by Lord Chamberlain. All of the actors in his special performance are played by the prostitutes of the brothel and their clients, and the scenes of the play are intertwined with Wilde's escapades at the brothel that night.   We didn't know it at the time, but Salome's Last Dance would be the penultimate film performance for Academy Award winning actress Glenda Jackson, who would retire to go into politics in England a couple years later, after working with Russell on another film, which we'll get to in a moment. About the only other actor you might recognize in the film is David Doyle, of all people, the American actor best known for playing Bosley on Charlie's Angels.   Like Gothic, Salome's Last Dance would not do very well in theatres, grossing less than half a million dollars after three months, but would find an appreciative audience on home video.   The most interesting thing about Roger Holzberg's Midnight Crossing is the writer and director himself. Holzberg started in the entertainment industry as a playwright, then designed the props and weapons for Albert Pyun's 1982 film The Sword and the Sorcerer, before moving on to direct the second unit team on Pyun's 1985 film Radioactive Dreams. After making this film, Holzberg would have a cancer scare, and pivot to health care, creating a number of technological advancements to help evolve patient treatment, including the Infusionarium, a media setup which helps children with cancer cope with treatment by asking them questions designed to determine what setting would be most comforting to them, and then using virtual reality technology and live events to immerse them in such an environment during treatment.   That's pretty darn cool, actually.   Midnight Crossing stars Faye Dunaway and Hill Street Blues star Daniel J. Travanti in his first major movie role as a couple who team with another couple, played by Kim Cattrall and John Laughlin, who go hunting for treasure supposedly buried between Florida and Cuba.   The film would open in 419 theaters on May 11th, 1988, and gross a paltry $673k in its first three days, putting it 15th on the list of box office grosses for the week, $23k more than Three Men and a Baby, which was playing on 538 screens in its 25th week of release. In its second week, Midnight Crossing would lose more than a third of its theatres, and the weekend gross would fall to just $232k. The third week would be even worse, dropping to just 67 theatres and $43k in ticket sales. After a few weeks at a handful of dollar houses, the film would be history with just $1.3m in the bank. Leonard Klady, then writing for the Los Angeles Times, would note in a January 1989 article about the 1988 box office that Midnight Crossing's box office to budget ratio of 0.26 was the tenth worst ratio for any major or mini-major studio, ahead of And God Created Woman's 8th worst ratio of .155 but behind other stinkers like Caddyshack II.   The forgotten erotic thriller Call Me sounds like a twist on the 1984 Alan Rudolph romantic comedy Choose Me, but instead of Genevieve Bujold we get Patricia Charbonneau, and instead of a meet cute involving singles at a bar in Los Angeles, we get a murder mystery involving a New York City journalist who gets involved with a mysterious caller after she witnesses a murder at a bar due to a case of mistaken identity.   The film's not very good, but the supporting cast is great, including Steve Buscemi, Patti D'Arbanville, Stephen McHattie and David Straithairn.   Opening on 24 screens in major markets on May 20th, Call Me would open to horrible reviews, lead by Siskel and Ebert's thumbs facing downward, and only $58,348 worth of tickets sold in its first three days. After five weeks in theatres, Vestron hung up on Call Me with just $252k in the kitty.   Vestron would open two movies on June 3rd, one in a very limited release, and one in a moderate national release.   There are a lot of obscure titles in these two episodes, and probably the most obscure is Paul Mones' The Beat. The film followed a young man named Billy Kane, played by William McNamara in his film debut, who moves into a rough neighborhood controlled by several gangs, who tries to help make his new area a better place by teaching them about poetry. John Savage from The Deer Hunter plays a teacher, and future writer and director Reggie Rock Bythewood plays one of the troubled youths whose life is turned around through the written and spoken word.   The production team was top notch. Producer Julia Phillips was one of the few women to ever win a Best Picture Oscar when she and her then husband Michael Phillips produced The Sting in 1973. Phillips was assisted on the film by two young men who were making their first movie. Jon Kilik would go on to produce or co-produce every Spike Lee movie from Do the Right Thing to Da 5 Bloods, except for BlackkKlansman, while Nick Weschler would produce sex, lies and videotape, Drugstore Cowboy, The Player and Requiem for a Dream, amongst dozens of major films. And the film's cinematographer, Tom DiCillo, would move into the director's chair in 1991 with Johnny Suede, which gave Brad Pitt his first lead role.   The Beat would be shot on location in New York City in the summer of 1986, and it would make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Market in May 1987. But it would be another thirteen months before the film arrived in theatres.   Opening on seven screens in Los Angeles and New York City on June 3rd, The Beat would gross just $7,168 in its first three days.  There would not be a second week for The Beat. It would make its way onto home video in early 1989, and that's the last time the film was seen for nearly thirty years, until the film was picked up by a number of streaming services.   Vestron's streak of bad luck continued with the comedy Paramedics starring George Newbern and Christopher McDonald. The only feature film directed by Stuart Margolin, best known as Angel on the 1970s TV series The Rockford Files, Newbern and McDonald play two… well, paramedics… who are sent by boss, as punishment, from their cushy uptown gig to a troubled district at the edge of the city, where they discover two other paramedics are running a cadavers for dollars scheme, harvesting organs from dead bodies to the black market.   Here again we have a great supporting cast who deserve to be in a better movie, including character actor John P. Ryan, James Noble from Benson, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs from Welcome Back Kotter, the great Ray Walston, and one-time Playboy Playmate Karen Witter, who plays a sort of angel of death.   Opening on 301 screens nationwide, Paramedics would only gross $149,577 in its first three days, the worst per screen average of any movie playing in at least 100 theatres that weekend. Vestron stopped tracking the film after just three days.   Two weeks later, on June 17th, Vestron released a comedy horror film that should have done better. Waxwork was an interesting idea, a group of college students who have some strange encounters with the wax figures at a local museum, but that's not exactly why it should have been more popular. It was the cast that should have brought audiences in. On one side, you had a group of well-known younger actors like Deborah Foreman from Valley Girl, Zack Gailligan from Gremlins, Michelle Johnson from Blame It on Rio, and Miles O'Keeffe from Sword of the Valiant. On the other hand, you had a group of seasoned veterans from popular television shows and movies, such as Patrick Macnee from the popular 1960s British TV show The Avengers, John Rhys-Davies from the Indiana Jones movies, and David Warner, from The Omen and Time after Time and Time Bandits and Tron.   But if I want to be completely honest, this was not a movie to release in the early part of summer. While I'm a firm believer that the right movie can find an audience no matter when it's released, Waxwork was absolutely a prime candidate for an early October release. Throughout the 1980s, we saw a number of horror movies, and especially horror comedies, released in the summer season that just did not hit with audiences. So it would be of little surprise when Waxwork grossed less than a million dollars during its theatrical run. And it should be of little surprise that the film would become popular enough on home video to warrant a sequel, which would add more popular sci-fi and horror actors like Marina Sirtis from Star Trek: The Next Generation, David Carradine and even Bruce Campbell. But by 1992, when Waxwork 2 was released, Vestron was long since closed.   The second Ken Russell movie made for Vestron was The Lair of the White Worm, based on a 1911 novel by Bram Stoker, the author's final published book before his death the following year. The story follows the residents in and around a rural English manor that are tormented by an ancient priestess after the skull of a serpent she worships is unearthed by an archaeologist.   Russell would offer the role of Sylvia Marsh, the enigmatic Lady who is actually an immortal priestess to an ancient snake god, to Tilda Swinton, who at this point of her career had already racked up a substantial resume in film after only two years, but she would decline. Instead, the role would go to Amanda Donohoe, the British actress best known at the time for her appearances in a pair of Adam Ant videos earlier in the decade. And the supporting cast would include Peter Capaldi, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, and the under-appreciated Sammi Davis, who was simply amazing in Mona Lisa, A Prayer for the Dying and John Boorman's Hope and Glory.   The $2m would come together fairly quickly. Vestron and Russell would agree on the film in late 1987, the script would be approved by January 1988, filming would begin in England in February, and the completed film would have its world premiere at the Montreal Film Festival before the end of August.   When the film arrived in American theatres starting on October 21st, many critics would embrace the director's deliberate camp qualities and anachronisms. But audiences, who maybe weren't used to Russell's style of filmmaking, did not embrace the film quite so much. New Yorkers would buy $31k worth of tickets in its opening weekend at the D. W. Griffith and 8th Street Playhouse, and the film would perform well in its opening weeks in major markets, but the film would never quite break out, earning just $1.2m after ten weeks in theatres. But, again, home video would save the day, as the film would become one of the bigger rental titles in 1989.   If you were a teenager in the early 80s, as I was, you may remember a Dutch horror film called The Lift. Or, at the very least, you remember the key art on the VHS box, of a man who has his head stuck in between the doors of an elevator, while the potential viewer is warned to take the stairs, take the stairs, for God's sake, take the stairs. It was an impressive debut film for Dick Maas, but it was one that would place an albatross around the neck of his career.   One of his follow ups to The Lift, called Amsterdamned, would follow a police detective who is searching for a serial killer in his home town, who uses the canals of the Dutch capital to keep himself hidden. When the detective gets too close to solving the identity of the murderer, the killer sends a message by killing the detective's girlfriend, which, if the killer had ever seen a movie before, he should have known you never do. You never make it personal for the cop, because he's gonna take you down even worse.   When the film's producers brought the film to the American Film Market in early 1988, it would become one of the most talked about films, and Vestron would pick up the American distribution rights for a cool half a million dollars. The film would open on six screens in the US on November 25th, including the Laemmle Music Hall in Beverly Hills but not in New York City, but a $15k first weekend gross would seal its fate almost immediately. The film would play for another four weeks in theatres, playing on 18 screens at its widest, but it would end its run shortly after the start of of the year with only $62,044 in tickets sold.   The final Vestron Pictures release of 1988 was Andrew Birkin's Burning Secret. Birkin, the brother of French singer and actress Jane Birkin, would co-write the screenplay for this adaptation of a 1913 short story by Austrian novelist Stefan Zweig, about a about an American diplomat's son who befriends a mysterious baron while staying at an Austrian spa during the 1920s. According to Birkin in a 2021 interview, making the movie was somewhat of a nightmare, as his leading actors, Klaus Maria Brandauer and Faye Dunaway, did not like each other, and their lack of comfort with each other would bleed into their performances, which is fatal for a film about two people who are supposed to passionately burn for each other.   Opening on 16 screens in major markets on Thursday, December 22nd, Burning Secret would only gross $27k in its first four days. The film would actually see a post-Christmas bump, as it would lose a screen but see its gross jump to $40k. But after the first of the year, as it was obvious reviews were not going to save the film and awards consideration was non-existent, the film would close after three weeks with only $104k worth of tickets sold.   By the end of 1988, Vestron was facing bankruptcy. The major distributors had learned the lessons independents like Vestron had taught them about selling more volumes of tapes by lowering the price, to make movies collectables and have people curate their own video library. Top titles were harder to come by, and studios were no longer giving up home video rights to the movies they acquired from third-party producers.   Like many of the distributors we've spoken about before, and will undoubtedly speak of again, Vestron had too much success with one movie too quickly, and learned the wrong lessons about growth. If you look at the independent distribution world of 2023, you'll see companies like A24 that have learned that lesson. Stay lean and mean, don't go too wide too quickly, try not to spend too much money on a movie, no matter who the filmmaker is and how good of a relationship you have with them. A24 worked with Robert Eggers on The Witch and The Lighthouse, but when he wanted to spend $70-90m to make The Northman, A24 tapped out early, and Focus Features ended up losing millions on the film. Focus, the “indie” label for Universal Studios, can weather a huge loss like The Northman because they are a part of a multinational, multimedia conglomerate.   This didn't mean Vestron was going to quit quite yet, but, spoiler alert, they'll be gone soon enough.   In fact, and in case you are newer to the podcast and haven't listen to many of the previous episodes, none of the independent distribution companies that began and/or saw their best years in the 1980s that we've covered so far or will be covering in the future, exist in the same form they existed in back then.    New Line still exists, but it's now a label within Warner Brothers instead of being an independent distributor. Ditto Orion, which is now just a specialty label within MGM/UA. The Samuel Goldwyn Company is still around and still distributes movies, but it was bought by Orion Pictures the year before Orion was bought by MGM/UA, so it too is now just a specialty label, within another specialty label. Miramax today is just a holding company for the movies the company made before they were sold off to Disney, before Disney sold them off to a hedge fund, who sold Miramax off to another hedge fund.    Atlantic is gone. New World is gone. Cannon is gone. Hemdale is gone. Cinecom is gone. Island Films is gone. Alive Films is gone. Concorde Films is gone. MCEG is gone. CineTel is gone. Crown International is gone. Lorimar is gone. New Century/Vista is gone. Skouras Films is gone. Cineplex Odeon Films is gone.   Not one of them survived.   The same can pretty much be said for the independent distributors created in the 1990s, save Lionsgate, but I'll leave that for another podcast to tackle.   As for the Vestron story, we'll continue that one next week, because there are still a dozen more movies to talk about, as well as the end of the line for the once high flying company.   Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again soon.   Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode.   The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment.   Thank you again.   Good night.

Jeff chats with singer/songwriter Brian Seymour about the 80s classic "Valley Girl" and much more goodness including: Brian's new music, The Payolas, Fergie's Pub, Tom Waits, Asbury Park, early HBO and MTV, the mighty WHTG in Eatontown NJ, Peter Case, Deborah Foreman, Nic Cage, rom-com montages, 80s mall culture, 80s movie soundtracks, Psychedelic Furs, curating your past, Guadalcanal Diary, Men at Work and more!

This week it's just John and Planty and they are talking Bad dates, The Marquis De Sade, Voltron, Sarah Brightman and who we think are the worst vampires in Cinema.---Join our Patreon for £1 a month and we'll shout you out each episode as well as give you the chance to pick an episode each month and give you access to hours of bonus content like interviews, facts and lies and rock n roll and some afterschool TV chat!patreon.com/100thingsfilm ---Waxwork is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Anthony Hickox in his directorial film debut and starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner, Dana Ashbrook, and Patrick Macnee. It is partially inspired by the 1924 German silent film Waxworks.

More Fun Than a Barrel of Mummies. That's our new episode of 80s Revisited! Use code "Revisited" for 20% off and free shipping at MANSCAPED.COM. 80srevisited@gmail.com to talk with us, and leave a review for us! Thank you for listening 80s Revisited, hosted by Trey Harris. Produced by Jesse Seidule.

Waxwork (1988) Directed by: Anthony Hickox Starring: Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner, Dana Ashbrook, and Patrick Macnee Genre: Comedy/Horror --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/cinema-cult-network/support

What do, an 80's era love story between a wealthy girl and a city punk, and the staggering trials of a competitive cheerleading team, have in common? This week on THE MOVIE CONNECTION: Jacob Watched: "VALLEY GIRL" (6:45) (Directed by, Martha Coolidge. Starring, Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily...) KC Watched: "BRING IT ON" (44:47) (Directed by, Peyton Reed. Starring, Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Gabrielle Union...) Talking points include: A Movie Directors Rom-Com Cheerleading vs Dance vs Gymnastics How punk is Valley Girl? and more!! Send us an email to let us know how we're doing: movieconnectionpodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram Rate and Review on Apple Podcasts Check out more reviews from Jacob on Letterboxd Cover art by Austin Hillebrecht, Letters by KC Schwartz

This movie is NOT in 3-d, but your face is! It's Martha Coolidge's "Valley Girl" from 1983 and Comic Tina Gallo is here to discuss it all with Host and Corporate Comedian Steve Mazan.  Is this a guilty pleasure? Is Nicolas Cage good looking? Was Deborah Foreman the shining star here? Were there really girls talking like this? Is the soundtrack one of the best ever? All these questions and more get answered onthsi week's Mazan Movie Club Podcast. "Valley Girl" on IMDb  Home of the Mazan Movie Club Steve Mazan on Instagram Home of Corporate Comedian Steve Mazan  

Finishing up our Cage Match, we have a special guest! We are joined by Jon Solomon, DJ at WPRB and head of Comedy Minus One records, to discuss the LA-centric romantic comedy starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman. We talk about music, teen comedies, The Best Show, and what happens when a Punk Rock guy falls in love with a New Wave girl.

We're continuing our trio of L.A. and shopping movies this week with Valley Girl (1983), starring Nicholas Cage and Deborah Foreman. Are we bummed to the max that we watched this movie? Yes. Yes, we are. But you won't be when you listen to this episode!   

"Guess who's going to be the life of the party?" In this week's episode we discuss the slasher horror movie 'April Fool's Day' starring Deborah Foreman, Deborah Goodrich and Ken Olandt. This movie was directed by Fred Walton. April Fool's Day IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090655/?ref_=tttg_tg_tt April Fool's Day Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgeBYZSSIIc April Fool's Day - Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1001138-april_fools_day

No one loves a killer prank more than Muffy St. John. And we had the opportunity to chat with the star who brought this viciously vibrant character to life — Deborah Foreman. Tune in to hear all about bonding with the cast while filming “April Fool's Day,” whether Deborah would ever play a joke like that on her own friends, and the horror icons she's worked with throughout her vast career in the genre.

San Fernando Valley native Scott Gairdner (Podcast: The Ride, Saturday Morning All Star Hits!) joins Anne and Ryan to discuss Martha Coolidge's teen classic, VALLEY GIRL (1983) starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, and Elizabeth Daily. Does Gairdner bring his tubular expertise on Valley mall culture to the discussion? Fer sure! You, like, totally won't want to miss this episode.

This week, the guys are joined by Galen Howard and unintentionally continue with the theme of the Cold War and evil Russians by talking all about the John Travolta film The Experts. It's a movie in which two idiots are dropped into a fake American town in Moscow (unbeknownst as fake to them) to teach future undercover agents how to be hip! The guys talk about all of the bad improv scenes with no real jokes, the endless opening credits, the Travolta/Preston dance scene, sandwich pornography and much more. Check our social media on Sunday for the Sunday Screencrap and take a guess at our next movie! What We've Been Watching: Nightmare Alley Ghostbusters: Afterlife "Crashing" Licorice Pizza Questions? Comments? Suggestions? You can always shoot us an e-mail at wwttpodcast@gmail.com  Patreon: www.patreon.com/wwttpodcast Facebook: www.facebook.com/wwttpodcast Twitter: www.twitter.com/wwttpodcast Instagram: www.instagram.com/wwttpodcast Theme Song recorded by Taylor Sheasgreen: www.facebook.com/themotorleague Logo designed by Mariah Lirette: www.instagram.com/its.mariah.xo Montrose Monkington III: www.twitter.com/montrosethe3rd What Were They Thinking is sponsored by GameItAll.com and HostGator (use the coupon code 'SCHLOCK' for 25% off your first purchase) and is a proud member of the Age of Radio Podcast Network (www.ageofradio.org) The Experts stars John Travolta, Arye Gross, Kelly Preston, Charles Martin Smith, Deborah Foreman, James Keach, Rick Ducommun and Brian Doyle-Murray; directed by Dave Thomas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actor/musician Brian Bonsall (Family Ties/Blank Check) and Actress Deborah Foreman (Valley Girl/My Chauffeur/Real Genius/ April Fool's Day) join us on this episode of The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell broadcast live from the W4CY studios on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-jimmy-star-show-with-ron-russell9600/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Actor/musician Brian Bonsall (Family Ties/Blank Cheque) and Actress Deborah Foreman (Valley Girl/My Chauffeur/Real Genius/ April Fool's Day) join us on this episode of The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell broadcast live from the W4CY studios on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021.Visit us at www.JimmyStarsWorld.comThe Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell is broadcast live Wednesday's at 3PM ET. The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell TV Show is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com). The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell Radio Show is broadcast on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com).The Jimmy Star Show with Ron Russell Podcast is also available on Talk 4 Podcasting (www.talk4podcasting.com).

In this week's episode, William and Carey got together to talk about Waxwork a Horror/Comedy film from director Anthony Hickox and starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner, Dana Ashbrook, and Patrick Macnee. In addition, they also talk about  House of Wax from(1953), and the German silent film from 1924  titled Waxworks that may have loosely inspired the 1988 Waxwork. William introduced me to a film by Director David Fresina called When the Witches Came to Town, a documentary about the making of 1986's The Witches of Eastwick. get your copy on the link below. When the Witches Came to Town DVD 

Waxwork And Waxwork II: Lost in Time Horror Movie Watch Party. Home Video Headlines. Plus Malignant Movie Mini-Review.“That sweater hides a lot of secrets, folks!” “None of the skeletons fell out of his closet because they were hidden in his sweater.”Malignant Has Really Divided And Stirred Up Horror Movie Fans.Nicolas Cage Is Set To Play A Cowboy In The Old WaySpeaking Of Cowboys, The Official Title Of Young Guns 3 , Is Guns 3: Alias Billy The Kid - Confirmed Returning Stars: Christian Slater, Emilio Estevez, Lou Diamond PhillipsThey Can't Get Arnold For True Lies Series So It Is Steve Howey ( Shameless Actor, Stan Helsing As Stan Helsing )Disney Haunted Mansions Reboot With Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, And Lakeith Stanfield.Our Feature Presentation Is A Double Feature This Week  In Waxwork By One Of My Favorite Directors Anthony Hickox - A Wax Museum Owner Uses His Horror Exhibits To Unleash Evil On The World. And In The Sequel That Kicks Off Where The First One Ended … Our Heroes Mark And Sarah Must Use A Portal Through Time To Defeat Evil...Both Movies Parody And Incorporate Famous Film Monsters Into The Story.Director's awesome credits:  Full Eclipse  Warlock: The Armageddon, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, and Waxwork.The director said he had a messy break up with the star of Waxwork, so that is why Deborah Foreman is absent from Waxwork 2.The director got into a car accident with the producer of Waxwork, could not afford the car repairs, and so offered to fix the damages in trade by taking 3 days to write what is now the horror cult cinema masterpiece, Waxwork.And tune in to see our initial reactions about James Wan's Malignant horror movie.For special offers and more podcasts, visit bwpodcast.com#johnnyspoiler #dangerousdave #nickylates #castbox #movies #horrormovies #comedy #movienews #Malignant  #MalignantMovie 

Waxwork And Waxwork II: Lost in Time Horror Movie Watch Party. Home Video Headlines. Plus Malignant Movie Mini-Review.“That sweater hides a lot of secrets, folks!” “None of the skeletons fell out of his closet because they were hidden in his sweater.”Malignant Has Really Divided And Stirred Up Horror Movie Fans.Nicolas Cage Is Set To Play A Cowboy In The Old WaySpeaking Of Cowboys, The Official Title Of Young Guns 3 , Is Guns 3: Alias Billy The Kid - Confirmed Returning Stars: Christian Slater, Emilio Estevez, Lou Diamond PhillipsThey Can't Get Arnold For True Lies Series So It Is Steve Howey ( Shameless Actor, Stan Helsing As Stan Helsing )Disney Haunted Mansions Reboot With Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, And Lakeith Stanfield.Our Feature Presentation Is A Double Feature This Week  In Waxwork By One Of My Favorite Directors Anthony Hickox - A Wax Museum Owner Uses His Horror Exhibits To Unleash Evil On The World. And In The Sequel That Kicks Off Where The First One Ended … Our Heroes Mark And Sarah Must Use A Portal Through Time To Defeat Evil...Both Movies Parody And Incorporate Famous Film Monsters Into The Story.Director's awesome credits:  Full Eclipse  Warlock: The Armageddon, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, Waxwork II: Lost in Time, Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat, and Waxwork.The director said he had a messy break up with the star of Waxwork, so that is why Deborah Foreman is absent from Waxwork 2.The director got into a car accident with the producer of Waxwork, could not afford the car repairs, and so offered to fix the damages in trade by taking 3 days to write what is now the horror cult cinema masterpiece, Waxwork.And tune in to see our initial reactions about James Wan's Malignant horror movie.For special offers and more podcasts, visit bwpodcast.com#johnnyspoiler #dangerousdave #nickylates #castbox #movies #horrormovies #comedy #movienews #Malignant  #MalignantMovieSupport the show (https://www.paypal.me/bingewatcherspodcast)

What's the story as to how director Martha Coolidge found Nicolas Cage for his part in this film? And how great is he with Deborah Foreman as the two leads? The Romeo and Juliet story works well in this teen world of the San Fernando Valley vs. the grungier Hollywood/DTLA. How do the actors deliver in creating these two worlds? And how about Coolidge and her music selections? We talk about all of this and more on this week's show so check it out then tune in!

What's the story as to how director Martha Coolidge found Nicolas Cage for his part in this film? And how great is he with Deborah Foreman as the two leads? The Romeo and Juliet story works well in this teen world of the San Fernando Valley vs. the grungier Hollywood/DTLA. How do the actors deliver in creating these two worlds? And how about Coolidge and her music selections? We talk about all of this and more on this week's show so check it out then tune in!

The story of Valley Girl is simply another Romeo & Juliet type of tale, but director Martha Coolidge captured a lot more in her film. The movie depicts an authentic look at life as a teenager in the early 80s, particularly the culture that grew out of Valley Speak and the whole concept of what a ‘valley girl' represented, not just in the San Fernando Valley but anywhere in the country. Because of this sense of authenticity, Coolidge's film has stood the test of time. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our 80s Comedy With Coolidge & Heckerling series with Coolidge's 1983 film Valley Girl. Here's a hint at what we talk about in this episode looking at Valley Girl. Like, totally. Valspeak. Ironic or not, it was a part of our youth, for sure. How was Frank and Moon Unit Zappa's song connected to it though? And to this film? How did Martha Coolidge find the young Nicolas Cage and get him for one of her leads? And how easy is it to fall in love with Deborah Foreman? The cast is all together perfect in the film, and turns out they largely supplied their own wardrobes! Ah, indie filmmaking. There's a strong story about finding your own identity though, and that shines through strong. Martha Coolidge is as good at putting soundtracks together as Amy Heckerling is! Wall to wall music and we love it all. And how about the look that defines the two worlds? But what about the required breasts that Coolidge had to include per instructions from the executive producers? We talk about all that and more in this episode, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins! Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel's Discord channel! Film Sundries Learn more about supporting The Next Reel Film Podcast through your own membership — visit TruStory FM. Watch this on Apple or Amazon or find other places at JustWatch Script Transcript Original theatrical trailer Original poster artwork ”Valley Girl” • Moon Zappa Flickchart Letterboxd

The story of Valley Girl is simply another Romeo & Juliet type of tale, but director Martha Coolidge captured a lot more in her film. The movie depicts an authentic look at life as a teenager in the early 80s, particularly the culture that grew out of Valley Speak and the whole concept of what a ‘valley girl' represented, not just in the San Fernando Valley but anywhere in the country. Because of this sense of authenticity, Coolidge's film has stood the test of time. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our 80s Comedy With Coolidge & Heckerling series with Coolidge's 1983 film Valley Girl. Here's a hint at what we talk about in this episode looking at Valley Girl. Like, totally. Valspeak. Ironic or not, it was a part of our youth, for sure. How was Frank and Moon Unit Zappa's song connected to it though? And to this film? How did Martha Coolidge find the young Nicolas Cage and get him for one of her leads? And how easy is it to fall in love with Deborah Foreman? The cast is all together perfect in the film, and turns out they largely supplied their own wardrobes! Ah, indie filmmaking. There's a strong story about finding your own identity though, and that shines through strong. Martha Coolidge is as good at putting soundtracks together as Amy Heckerling is! Wall to wall music and we love it all. And how about the look that defines the two worlds? But what about the required breasts that Coolidge had to include per instructions from the executive producers? We talk about all that and more in this episode, so check it out then tune in. The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins! Join the conversation with movie lovers from around the world on The Next Reel's Discord channel! Film Sundries Learn more about supporting The Next Reel Film Podcast through your own membership — visit TruStory FM. Watch this on Apple or Amazon or find other places at JustWatch Script Transcript Original theatrical trailer Original poster artwork ”Valley Girl” • Moon Zappa Flickchart Letterboxd

Co-hosts Movie Miss & Nikki Flixx discuss another entry in their Friday Fun Series for June with the horror/comedy & "turkey" 1986's April Fool's Day, starring Deborah Foreman, Deborah Goodrich, Amy Steel, Thomas F Wilson, Clayton Rohner & Ken Olandt. *SPOILERS DUH* At the time of this episode release you can WATCH APRIL FOOL'S DAY HERE: Amazon Prime & most streaming services. Be part of our fun bad movie conversations by following our facebook page Let's Talk Turkeys, on Instagram at letstalkturkeys (all one word), email us directly at letstalkturkeys@yahoo.com & check us out on Wordpress at https://letstalkturkeys150469722.wordpress.com/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/lets-talk-turkeys/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/lets-talk-turkeys/support

Last show we featured April Fool's Day from 1986, starring Deborah Foreman. She's going to be featured again in this 1988 film which also stars Zach Galligan from Gremlins and the legendary David Warner. There have been countless House of Wax type horror films since the dawn of cinema. In 1988 writer/director Anthony Hickox gave us his very first feature film which was his take on this subgenre. It was a hidden gem for me when I first found it on the VHS shelf 30 years ago. It is rarely showed a lot of love in the horror community and for that reason we are going to spend this podcast giving the horror 101 treatment to Waxwork. Show Highlights: 01:00 Prelude to Terror 04:00 First finding this film... 14:00 Meeting Mr. Lincoln... 19:45 Tony and the Werewolf... 24:28 Massacre at Dracula's Castle... 30:15 The Curse of the Mummy... 35:40 Zombies... 36:49 The Marquis De Sade.. 41:02 Battle Wheelchair Finale... 45:25 Scoring the Film... 51:34 Conclusion! Thanks for listening!

Surprise! It's a new episode and somehow we've landed on another "holiday" on Slasher's Paradise. It's April Fool's Day and this film has a lot of fun tricks up it's sleeve. Join the fun as Lance and Danny get back to the basics of 80's horror cheese. It's the cult classic, April Fool's Day! Nine college students staying at a friend's remote island mansion begin to fall victim to an unseen murderer over the April Fool's Day weekend, but nothing is as it seems. Director: Fred Walton Writer: Danilo Bach Stars: Thomas F. Wilson, Deborah Foreman, Griffin O'Neal, Amy Steel, Ken Olandt, Deborah Goodrich, and Leah Pinsent Horror films, Fool, Slashword, Reviews, Podcast, Video Store Slasher's Paradise Hosted by Lance Knight and Danny Gonzalez Produced by DED Candy This show DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS Slasher’s Paradise is horror film podcast for every level of horror movie fan. Each episode breaks down a horror film from head to bloody toe with not only comical takes on the films but some interesting facts along the way. Danny and Lance not only review horror films but go over every detail from lighting, music and sound ambiance to hilarious dialogue, gore and acting choices. Infused with hilarious personal experiences and takes on each film Danny and Lance discuss, debate and challenge each other’s love for every film. If you love horror films or are just curious about what killer belongs to which horror franchise, Slasher’s Paradise is made for you. You can WATCH our Podcast and chat with us when we premiere our episodes for subscribers on Youtube! Here You Can Watch ALL of our Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...​ Slasher’s Paradise is also making short films about your favorite horror movie slasher’s as well original horror content. Here you can see all of our content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvw_...​ Slasher’s Paradise is Produced and Distributed by DED Candy Updates and video highlights of all of our content can be found on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/dedcandyfix​ Even more fun content can be found on the DED Candy Instagram: Instagram.com/dedcandy If you’d like to help our show, please subscribe and follow on our channels. Join a discussion with us and make requests on any one of our platforms! “Bolt your windows, lock your doors, the Slasher’s Paradise horrorthon is about to begin!” Support this podcast

April Fool's Day. It's April Fool's Day with the Ear for Fear Podcast! Join Donovan and Rick as they discuss this movie full of pranks and scares. Is this 80's flick one bad joke, or a pleasant surprise?

Episode #51 - It's April and Spring is in the air! Plus it's APRIL FOOLS DAY! This week we start to celebrate our HUGE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the HORROR VEIN Podcast, but before we get into that we celebrate April Fool's Day by reviewing 'APRIL FOOL'S DAY' (1986). Directed by Fred Walton and starring Deborah Foreman, Amy Steel, and Thomas F. Wilson. Thank you for support and keep listening to NEW episodes every Friday! Visit our Official website at HorrorVein.com Hosts: Robert Massetti and Don Fisher Produced by Robert Massetti Published by FEAR FILM Studios Podcast Network Support this podcast

Movie Meltdown - Episode 546 (For our Patreon "Horror Club") This session of The Meltdown Horror Club we discuss It Comes at Night the 2017 film written and directed by Trey Edward Shults. Plus we also address just how April Fool's Day fits into the arc of 80s slashers. And while we enjoy our common interests that are killing strangers together, we also bring up… incredible box art, Stanley, Night of the Living Dead, the fallen tree, The Sweet Hereafter, running out in the woods, Joel Edgerton, Amy Steel, A Quiet Place, friends… workin’ together, Christopher Abbott, metaphorical, why don’t mansions have nice basements, anxious brain thing, Carmen Ejogo, The Road, the evil twin, very bleak, Starfish, I’d name all the skeletons, Kelvin Harrison Jr., telepathic not telekinetic, Deborah Foreman, Bird Box, odd pandemic timing, the dream sequences, The Walking Dead, Thomas F. Wilson, would we survive, Waves, that’s why you don’t expand your quarantine bubble, Riley Keough, my cat’s a punk and a creepy hellscape Renaissance painting.  Spoiler Alert: Full spoilers for "It Comes at Night" and over-all plot spoilers for "April Fool's Day". You have been warned!  “What comes at night in the movie It Comes at Night?!”

This week Leah takes us on a deep dive into valley yogurt shops and food trends. Cupcakes! Pinkberry! Red Velvet! We're also joined by screenwriter Jamie Manelis to talk about the 1983 movie, Valley Girl starring Deborah Foreman and Nicolas Cage! It's a totally tripendicular episode.

Grab your leg warmers and your favorite record becuase we’re going back to the 80s for our first in-universe crossover discussing Valley Girl! Nicolas Cage plays a hopeless romantic whose punk rock roots upset the established order of Deborah Foreman’s valley girl life style. It’s Romeo and Juilet for the punk rock generation. In this episode, we discuss some of the film’s questionable plot decisions, themes of identity and mental health and much more! This episode is sponosred by our Patrons at our $5 tier. For five dollars you can help us cover the entire Nicolas Cage filmography and help us get mental health resources into schools!If you or someone you know is reading this right now and struggling with suicide, depression, addiction, or self-harm - please reach out. Comment, message, or tweet at us. Go to victimsandvillains.net/hope for more resources. Call the suicide lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Text "HELP" to 741-741. There is hope & you DO have so much value and worth!This production of Victims and Villains is written by Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (& produced by) and Micah Kimber.You can now support us on Patreon. Help us get mental health resources into schools and get exclusive content at the same time. Click here (http://bit.ly/vavpatreon) to join today.

We return to the Vestron Video Collector's Series, as we venture into the Waxwork (1988)! Twice. Kind of. But not really. Because despite being a sequel, Waxwork II: Lost in Time (1992), has nothing to do with any waxworks, at all. Well, you'll hear what I'm talking about. Featuring the superb acting talents and rollicking adventures of Zach Galligan and other thespians of the utmost quality! Okay, I'm having a little fun at Zach's expense. But even David Warner, Bruce Campbell, John Rhys-Davies, Patrick Macnee and David Carradine show up! Prepare yourself for a trip back to the convoluted vat of gooey, boiling wax that WAS the VHS era!

In this episode of the Bad Movie Night Podcast we talk about the 1988 horror movie, Destroyer! Support our show and get the bonus podcasts! https://www.patreon.com/badmovienightshow For our video show and other episodes please visit www.Bad-Movie-Night.com    Film: Destroyer Plot: An electrocuted murderer (Lyle Alzado) stalks the writer (Clayton Rohner), stuntwoman (Deborah Foreman) and cast on the set of "Death House Dolls." Director: Robert Kirk Year: 1988     Find Us On Social Media Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/badmovienightshow/ Twitter – http://twitter.com/_BadMovieNight Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/bad_movie_night/ Google+ – https://plus.google.com/102378654666304152117 Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/r/badmovienight

This week we kick off a retrospective on the Waxwork movies. Waxwork is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Anthony Hickox in his directorial film debut and starring Zach Galligan, Deborah Foreman, Michelle Johnson, David Warner, Dana Ashbrook, and Patrick Macnee. It is partially inspired by the 1924 German silent film Waxworks.This is Episode 323.

3:15 The Moment Of Truth (1986) synopsis: “A tough teen, Jeff (Adam Baldwin) used to be involved with a local gang, the Cobras. Tired of the violence and drugs, Jeff is through with gang life, but when members of his old crew take over the high school, he must decide whether to take on his former buddies or let them run wild. When the Cobras harm Jeff's girlfriend, Sherry (Deborah Foreman), however, his choice is clear, and he sets out to confront the gang's leader after the school bell rings.”Starring: Adam Baldwin, Deborah Foreman, Rene Auberjonois, and Gina GershonDirector: Larry GrossThis week on Podcasting After Dark, Zak and Corey sing their way through our 3:15 The Moment Of Truth (1986) review! Seriously, we don’t know what got into them but this turned out to be a very musical episodes lol! It’s not all song and dance though. The boys also get down into the nitty gritty of this cult classic teen revenge film. Is it the best one they’ve reviewed on the show thus far (3:15 is our fifth movie in that sub-genre)? You’ll have to listen to find out!— SUPPORT PODCASTING AFTER DARK —PATREON - Two extra shows a month, including our celebrity interview series, plus videos and other exclusive content!MERCH STORE - We have a fully dedicated merch store at TeePublic with multiple designs and products!REDDIT - Join our growing Subreddit community!INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK - Follow us on social media for updates and announcements!This podcast is part of the BFOP Network— SPONSOR LINKS —Purchase ‘Polybius’ by David Irons on either Amazon or Etsy

Brian welcomes his slumberers back for a part 2 of 2 sleep over with guests Kate Hudson and Mike Manzi as they continue their wine fueled conversation on 1983's Valley Girl staring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman. Kate continues championing director Martha Coolidge's vision for Valley Girl from her soap box before descending into a fun tornado of chaos in which she tells us how Valley Girl changed her life forever and mentions Keith Coogan a ton of times despite him not being in this film. Also, find out which Valley Girl star reached out to fact check us on some of the errors in part 1!

CJ Vogel, Gabriel Younes and Vernon X. Odemns overanalyze "Valley Girl" starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman and Elizabeth Daily.

Like oh my God! Our two most seasoned guests Kate Hudson and Mike Manzi hop back in the sleeping bag to talk about the early 1980's teen classic Valley Girl staring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman in part 1 of a 2 part conversation. Directed by Martha Coolidge, this totally awesome film deserves way more credit that it gets today so be prepared for Kate, Mike and Brian to hop on their soap box for this one! Also listen for some soundtrack talk and an Afterschool Special tangent! If you think this episode is bitchin', part 2 is going to be even more awesome this Friday.

Despite it's own best attempts to keep it down, like its terrible VHS cover and misguided title, this western with vampires is an absolute must-do and instant classic. Can we finally have peace with the bloodsuckers? So the premise here is that vampires have been sent into hiding and chose a small town in the west called Purgatory to sit out the years in relatively quiet peace built by Count Mardulak (David Carradine). They've built their own factory to produce a blood substitute so that they don't have to murder anymore and keep their numbers manageable. That's all going well until the Mayor or guy in charge of staffing (?) Ethan Jefferson (John Ireland) hatches a plan to take over the town and return to the old bloodsucking days. Add in a visit from Van Helsing's descendent (Bruce Campbell) and a family of four with a history to the CEO of Vampire Science Co and you've got a volatile situation brewing. Most times when you have a premise and a vision for a film such as this, you end up with complete failure. The jokes are groan-inducing, the plot gets loose with its own setup, the pacing and the tone shifts from scene to scene and someone (usually a Cameron Mitchell simulacrum or Coolio) botches their entire performance leaving the rest of the cast rolling their eyes at their colleague. None of that happens here. The cast chemistry is tight; it's clear they all had a great time making this. The actors are let loose upon us with no reins. Bruce Campbell is as "Brucey" as he gets outside of his Ash roles. David Carradine is allowed to be both creepy and charming at the same time. M. Emmet Walsh (the lovable Mort) is a show stealer and relative unknowns Morgan Brittany and Deborah Foreman work in tandem with the heavyweights seamlessly. Usually you need someone like Steven Sorderbergh to rangle this many egos and have it work, but director Anthony Hickox manages to get it done somehow. It's camp is at a 10 but never gets stale or too much. The jokes are hilarious. The action is bananas. The effects are super-cheesy and wonderful. Most importantly, it keeps the gas pedal mashed to the floor for it's run length and never lets off the brakes. I would change not a hair on its wonderfully shaped head and know that this deserves to be a staple in any cult movie collection.

Born on this Day: is a daily podcast hosted by Bil Antoniou, Amanda Barker & Marco Timpano. Celebrating the famous and sometimes infamous born on this day. Check out their other podcasts: Bad Gay Movies, Bitchy Gay Men Eat & Drink Every Place is the Same My Criterions The Insomnia Project Marco's book: 25 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Podcast October 12 Happy Farmers Day! Hugh Jackman, Josh Hutcherson, Deborah Foreman, Hiroyuki Sanada, Lin Shaye, The family sitcom Growing Pains made a teen idol out of Kirk Cameron , Susan Anton , Kate Beahan, Dick Gregory, Satoshi Kon, Jonathan Crombie, Aurore Clément , Luciano Pavarotti . --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/born-on-this-day-podcast/message

Ashley & Matt kick-off our annual 31 Days of Halloween spookathon podcast series with a gem from 1986. A group of college friends travel to their friend's island mansion, only to have pranks and murder befall them.

On Episode 015 of the RETROZEST podcast, your host Curtis Lanclos discusses two more nerdy science-fiction comedy films released just after WEIRD SCIENCE in honor of their 35th Anniversaries; REAL GENIUS (released on August 7, 1985) and MY SCIENCE PROJECT (released on August 9, 1985)! This show contains great content about Val Kilmer, John Stockwell, Michelle Meynick, Gabriel Jarret, Danielle von Zerneck, William Atherton, Deborah Foreman, Robert Prescott, Richard Masur, Barry Corbin and Dennis Hopper. Also, what do these movies have to do with TOP GUN? Listen and find out! Contact Curtis at podcast@retrozest.com, on the RETROZEST Facebook page.... (www.facebook.com/zestretro/ ) or via Twitter (twitter.com/RetroZest). Also, check out our blog at www.retrozest.com.

We finally reached our 15th birthday. For this episode, we share our top 15 favorite interview moments from Stuck in the '80s history, including chats with Brian Johnson, Martha Quinn, Deborah Foreman, Steve Perry, John Parr, Dennis DeYoung, Carl Weathers, Tom Bailey, Stan Ridgway and many more. We also have created a new "patron" program for Stuck in the '80s. To learn more, please visit our Patreon page. Stay tuned for links to each interview from today's show.

We got the opportunity to talk with Producer Steven Wolfe and Director Rachel Lee Goldenberg for the just released re-imagining of the film Valley Girl. This jukebox musical version is set in the present and Alicia Silverstone plays the grown up character of Julie originally played by Deborah Foreman. Her daughter is Jessica Rothe and her Randy, originally played by Nicolas Cage, is now played by Josh Whitehouse. Valley Girl is now available via video on demand and for a limited times in drive in theaters. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wddim/message

Erin and Paul review two films by director Martha Coolidge: the 1983 opposites-attract teen romcom VALLEY GIRL, starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman; and the sexually progressive 1991 dramedy RAMBLING ROSE, starring Laura Dern. Plus: our quick takes on BLOOD QUANTUM, THE LODGE, SWALLOW, and THE ASSISTANT, and a tribute to the late Bollywood stars Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor.

On this episode we take a non-spoiler look at Netflix's new action-thriller Extraction starring Chris Hemsworth as a black market mercenary who is hired to extract the young son of an international crime lord. We also review Apple TV +'s original music documentary Beastie Boys Story directed by Spike Jonze and featuring Mike D, and Adam Horovitz. As a bonus we take a look back at the 1983 cult-classic teen comedy Valley Girl starring Nicolas Cage and Deborah Foreman.

From Mitch's Notebook: "I have an archivist’s passion for things past and largely for aesthetic rather than political or sociological reasons - and the fact that it is aesthetic makes all the difference. I suspect that my psychological state is really about the same as the Thora Birch character’s response to the old artifacts she discovers from her friendship with the Steve Buscemi/Seymour character in the wonderful film version of Ghost World. She instantly falls in love with the objective beauty of the old blues vinyl record as well as animations and illustrations from the thirties to which she is exposed. Her curiosity and openness is essentially the aesthetic capacity of the human being and it is not coincidental that her character is someone in her late teens. The film Ghost World is discussing the first time you experience a work of art as much as it is discussing first friendships and loves. (The main reason I am taking this time to emphasize it in this context). There is a special understanding that you can have for something by it being completely new to you while you are also aware that what happens to be new to you in particular is in actuality old to many more other people and and is not tied to your actual lived experience. This is how I suspect historians and anthropologists must feel towards some things, as well as art preservationists. Conversely, there is a way to know something by virtue of having directly experienced it that is superior in ways to not having experienced it. But my main point is that you need both, contrary kinds of responses and reasons in your interaction with the culture. You need both the observer distance and participant closeness, not necessarily at the same time or for same things of course, but in the fullness of lived experience over a lifespan. Thus when Laurie Jill Strickland gave me this wonderful present of the original artwork for the poster of Martha Coolidge’s Valley Girl a powerfully similar state as in Proust’s Madeline took hold of me - because the dress the illustration depicts being worn by Deborah Foreman was identical to the one worn by a girl I had loved in my teenage years. I always have reservations about discussing the subjects of both love and sex, not out of any coyness on my part: to put it bluntly I am about as opposite a prude as you can imagine a human can be. I am not much less reserved when it comes to the subject of my personal life in general. You could chalk it up to my Libran sense of diplomacy. Or you could say it is my (inordinate) need to be loved, much like the part of me who plays piano. It is also most curious, even ironic, that something so universal as love can also be so controversial. Then again, universal things involve the most people which increases the chance of disagreement. I am anxious about all of these things. And yet….On the other hand, here we are in February and both love and sex are inevitably on everybody’s mind at this time. As well as movies of course, surely one of the most romantic of art forms. What I am really saying is that this movie Valley Girl is a beautiful and fun movie; it is as much entertaining as it is edifying in about equal measure. " For more information and for all those many links we mention in episode , visit our show Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/journeyofanaesthetepodcast/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/mitch-hampton/message

Hail, friends, and welcome to the first episode of Travolta/Cage! Think of it as Happy Cast, renewed and refreshed, with a groovy new purpose! It’s the same old Nathan and Clint, but this time, we’re going through the filmographies of John Travolta and Nicolas Cage — two of the strangest, most fascinating pop culture figures, warts and all — in chronological order. For our premier episode, we bring on ‘80s pop culture expert Scott Weinberg (‘80s All Over, now Science vs. Fiction) to help us talk about two of Travolta and Cage’s first big movie breakouts: 1976’s Carrie and 1983’s Valley Girl. In the former, we’ve got Travolta as pervy, evil teen Billy Nolan in Brian De Palma’s lurid horror classic; in the latter, we’ve got chiclet-toothed Nic Cage as a punky hunkasaurus chasing Deborah Foreman’s titular valley girl in Martha Coolidge’s surprisingly sweet and nuanced teen sex comedy. Who wins out? Listen and learn, my sweets! Pledge to our Patreon at patreon.com/travoltacage Follow us on Twitter @travoltacage Email us questions at travoltacagepod@gmail.com Podcast theme by Jon Biegen Podcast logo by Felipe Sobreiro

Soundtrack Six-Pack, Volume Seven What do Jamie Gertz, Elisabeth Shue, Deborah Foreman, and Meredith Salenger have in common?? Podcast co-hosts Jon Lamoreaux of The Hustle Podcast, Joe Royland of Sit & Spin with Joe, and Eric Miller of Pods & Sods return with the latest volume in the Soundtrack Six-Pack series.  And some of the aforementioned actresses of the day come up as we discuss our picks. We're also continuing our listener pick segment, featuring a wonderful pick from listener Dennis Dickinson! In Volume Seven, we're unpacking some classics from Danny Wilde (not to be confused with Matthew Wilder), Roger Daltrey, Comstat Angels, The Carnival Strippers, Toad The Wet Sprocket, and Willie Hutch.  

Kim tells Ket about the classic April Fool’s Day starring Deborah Foreman, Griffin O’Neal, and Clayton Rohner. We’ll learn that Ketryn does not like April Fools pranks… unless she’s the one playing them. The girls will tell the story of the “Birth of Cinq,” and they’ll reluctantly answer some very revealing 1986 Cosmo quiz questions. Most importantly, we’ll learn if Ket will live or die in April Fool’s Day. Dir. Fred Walton     Get acquainted with the ALL THINGS KIM & KET at www.kimandketstayalive.com Chat with the girls at kksampodcast@gmail.com Peep the girls on Instagram:  @kksampodcast Twit the girls on Twitter:  @kksampodcast Book the face of the girls on Facebook:  @kksampodcast Wear the shirts of the girls from the MERCH Store:  kimandketstayalivemaybe.threadless.com Support the girls on PATREON at:  www.patreon.com/kimandketstayalivemaybe Ok we'll stop now. Thanks for listening! xo and #StayAlive, K&K               Theme song is “Exhilarate” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In this April Fool's Day episode we are talking about..well... April Fool's Day from 1986. This film was directed by Fred Walton, written by Danilo Bach and stars Jay Baker, Deborah Foreman, Griffin O’Neal and Clayton Rohner. Enjoy! If you enjoy the show, give us a subscribe/rating/review and of course, tell your friends!

#Shakesyear continues as Beau and Sammi discuss the early 80's answer to Romeo & Juliet, Valley Girl! This movie won our hearts by featuring an incredibly young Nicholas Cage at his most adorable, the incredible face acting of Deborah Foreman, and one of the greatest movie soundtracks of all time. Valley Girl was directed by Martha Coolidge, who also directed Material Girls, featured on our very first episode (but we won't hold that against her).