Podcast appearances and mentions of gary sinese

The Matt and Tubes face down "Snake Eyes".  An epic "Political Thriller?!?"  I'm not sure of the genre, but I am sure that "Snake Eyes" is Crucial!   NIcholas Cage gives his all as "Rick Santoro" a dirt-bag detective who gets forced into doing the right thing. He will have to compete with Gary Sinese who is chaneling his manliness into "Kevin Dunne" a Navy Commander who may be up to no good.    The whole affair turns into one of the greatest Neo-noir adventures of all time! It's really Neo-noir, I promise!   This was a fun one! Enjoy!   Love, 2bs    Up Next: "Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol"  

A new film by Gary Sinese and Jake Rademacher takes an unflinching and personal look at the struggles and triumphs of US soldiers and veterans returning home from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.To see the film please use the following link: https://tickets.brothersafterwar.com/For free tickets for Veterans: https://brothersafterwar.com/free-tickets-vettix/

This week, why managing your time is better than managing tasks.  You can subscribe to this podcast on: Podbean | Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | TUNEIN Links: Email Me | Twitter | Facebook | Website | Linkedin Get Your Copy Of Your Time, Your Way: Time Well Managed, Life Well Lived Subscribe to my Substack  Take The NEW COD Course The Working With… Weekly Newsletter Carl Pullein Learning Centre Carl's YouTube Channel Carl Pullein Coaching Programmes The Working With… Podcast Previous episodes page Script | 356 Hello, and welcome to episode 356 of the Your Time, Your Way Podcast. A podcast to answer all your questions about productivity, time management, self-development and goal planning. My name is Carl Pullein, and I am your host of this show. There is a scene in the movie Apollo 13 where astronaut Ken Mattingley, played by Gary Sinese, is trying to find a way to power up the Command Service Module to bring the three in danger astronauts through the earth's atmosphere and safely back to earth.  All they had to play with was 16 amps; that's it. Sixteen amps isn't enough to boil a kettle. And we're talking about life support systems and navigation that was critical to bring Jim Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise back to earth safely. In the scene, we see Ken Mattingley testing every switch in every possible combination so they do not exceed 16 amps . It's painstaking; it takes a lot of time, but eventually, they devise a sequence that the astronauts can use to power up the command service module within the 16-amp limit. We know that Apollo 13 landed, or splashed down, safely to earth after five days. Each day, you, too, are dealing with a similar situation. You have a limited resource—time—and that's it. You get the same 24 hours every day that everybody else gets. How you use that time is entirely up to you. The problem is you don't have 24 hours because some critical life support measures require some of that time, including sleep. If you don't get enough sleep, that will have a subsequent effect on your performance that day; you won't be operating at your most productive.  This is one of the reasons why it is crucial to have a plan. No flight ever takes off without a flight plan. They know precisely how much weight they are carrying. They can estimate to some degree of accuracy the weight of the passengers, and they know precisely where they're going and what weather conditions to expect. Yet many people start their day without a plan; they turn up at work and email messages. Bosses, customers, and colleagues dictate what they do all day, and they end up exhausted, having felt they've done nothing important at all. And that will be very true. Well, not important to them.  This week's question is about getting control of your time. So, let me hand you over to the Mystery Podcast Voice for this week's question.  This week's question comes from Tina. Tina asks, Hi Carl, I am swamped with all the stuff I have to do at work and home. It's never-ending and I don't have time to do it all. Do you have any tips on getting control of everything? Hi Tina, thank you for your question.  There's an issue when we focus on everything that we have to do. We forget that ultimately, whether we can or cannot do something will come back to time. Time is the limiting factor.  There are other resources—money, ability, energy, etc but if you have all those resources, and you don't have time, it's not going to get done.  Things get even more messy when we consider that as humans we are terrible at estimating how long something will take to do. There are too many variables.  For instance, as I am writing this script, my wife is messaging me and Louis, my little dog, is looking at me expectantly, hoping I will give him his evening chewy stick early.  When I began writing, I thought it would take me a couple of hours, I've already spent an hour on it and I am nowhere near finishing it.  One place to start is to allocate what you have to do by when you will do it. This helps to reduce your daily lists which in turn reduces that sense of overwhelm.  I recommend starting with a simple folder structure of: This Week Next Week This Month Next Month Long-Term and on Hold.  When something new comes in, ask yourself: What is it? What do I need to do and when can I do it?  The questions what is it and what do I need to do will help you to classify the task.  Classifying a task is helpful because it will allow you to group similar tasks together.  For example, if you walk into your living room and notice the windows are looking dirty, you may decide to create a task to clean the windows.  The next question is when will you do it? The best time to do this kind of task is when you do your other cleaning.  Grouping similar tasks together work to prevent procrastination.  When I was growing up, my grandmothers and my mother all had what they called “cleaning days”. This was a day, once a week when they did the big clean. Vacuuming, dusting and laundry. It was a non-negotiable part of their week.  And if you think about it, you don't pop out to the supermarket to buy food individually. It's not like you run out of broccoli and go to the supermarket to buy only broccoli. You would add broccoli to your shopping list and buy it when you do your grocery shopping.  Well, we can adopt the same principle here.  Like most people, I get email every day. The problem is, you and I have no idea how many emails we will get. It's a random number. This makes it practically impossible to know before the day starts what you will need to do.  However, what you can do is have a set amount of time to deal with your actionable email each day.  I have a process. Before the day starts I clear my inbox, filtering out the stuff I don't need and archiving things I may need. The actionable email goes into an Action This Day folder in my email app and later in the day I dedicate an hour for clearing that folder.  I have my Action This Day folder set up so the oldest email is at the top of the list and I start there. It doesn't matter if I have fifty or eighty actionable emails. I give myself an hour work on it and once the hour is up I stop.  I repeat this every day, so my emails are not backlogging. Most days I can clear them all, some days I cannot. But as I always begin with the oldest email, nobody will be waiting more than 24 hours for a reply.  This means it really doesn't matter how many messages I get each day. While I can't predict how many I will get each day, I have been able to pin down how long I spend on it each day (around an hour and twenty minutes) and that's it.  Another thing you can do is to default all new tasks to next week, not this week. It's tempting to throw everything into this week, but if everything goes into this week, you're going to be swamped.  Much of what we are asked to do doesn't need to be done straight away. It can wait. The advantage of waiting is many things end up sorting themselves out.  There's a story about former Israel Prime Minister Yikzak Shamir, who would take every letter, memo and document he received and put it on a pile on a side table. He wouldn't look at it for a week or ten days.  When he did go through the pile, he found 90% of what he was being asked to sort out had sorted itself out and the remaining 10% needed his attention.  Of course, today not touching something for a week to ten days might not be practical, but it does highlight another issue we find ourselves in—rushing to do something that if left alone will sort itself out.  The final piece of this puzzle, is how you organise your day. This is where your calendar takes priority and where the time limit comes to play.  We have twenty-four hours. From that we need to sleep, eat and take care of our personal hygiene. That's going to take up around nine to ten hours of your day. So, in reality you have around fourteen hours to play with.  Where will you do your most important work? This is where your calendar comes in.  Most of us have meetings and often we have no control over when those will be. However, what you can do is block your calendar for doing your most important work.  For example, you could protect two hours in the morning for doing your critical work. And then an hour in the afternoon for dealing with your communications—the action this day folder.  That's only three hours. If you're working a typical eight hour day, that still leaves you with five hours for meetings snd other stuff that may need to be done.  If you can consistently follow that practice, you'll soon see a lot of that work that's piling up getting done.  One thing to keep in mind is the work will never stop.  There's a story that on Queen Elizabeth's final day, she still had to deal with her official documents and messages. It's likely you will too. Stuff to do will never stop coming.  All you have are your resources and of those time is the most limited. The question is—how much time are you will to give to those tasks?  So, Tina, the best advice I can give you is to sort your tasks by when you will do them. This week, next week, later this month or next month.  From there, categorise your tasks into the type of work involved. That could be Writing time, communications, admin, chores etc.  Then. Look at your calendar and see where you can protect time for doing that work.  And that's it. If you are consistent in following your calendar, you will find the right things are getting done on time and you'll feel a lot less frazzled and overwhelmed.  Thank you, Tina for your question and thank you to you too for listening. It just remains for me now to wish you all very very productive week.   

Happy Thanksgiving from the entire crew at The Adam Carolla Show! On today's podcast, Adam presents his annual cranberry sauce recipe. All new episode out Monday with comedian Dustin Ybarra and actor Gary Sinese. Thank you for supporting our sponsors: ● http://ShopMando.com, use code: ADAM ● For a limited time, get 20% off your entire order with code ACS at PublicRec.com ● http://OReillyAuto.com/Adam

After reading about the characters in this book, I made it my mission to have their kind of life for myself. Today we meet David Ciminello and we're talking about the book that saved his life: More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.David Ciminello is a Lambda Literary Fellow and author of The Queen of Steeplechase Park. As an actor, David guest starred on Seinfeld (“The Barber”), Murder She Wrote, Matlock, and Kojak. His original screenplay Bruno was made into a motion picture directed by Shirley MacLaine and stars Kathy Bates, Gary Sinese, and Jennifer Tilly.In More Tales of the City, the tenants of 28 Barbary Lane have fled their cozy nest for adventures far afield. Mary Ann Singleton finds love at sea with a forgetful stranger, Mona Ramsey discovers her doppelgänger in a desert whorehouse, and Michael Tolliver bumps into his favorite gynecologist in a Mexican bar. Meanwhile, their venerable landlady takes the biggest journey of all--without ever leaving home.Connect with Davidwebsite: davidciminello.cominstagram: @djciminelloFacebook: facebook.com/david.ciminelloOur BookshopVisit our Bookshop for  new releases, current bestsellers, banned books, critically acclaimed LGBTQ books, or peruse the books featured on our podcasts: bookshop.org/shop/thisqueerbookTo purchase More Tales of the City visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9780060929381To purchase The Queen of Steeplechase Park visit: https://bookshop.org/a/82376/9781942436614Become an Associate Producer!Become an Associate Producer of our podcast through a $20/month sponsorship on Patreon! A professionally recognized credit, you can gain access to Associate Producer meetings to help guide our podcast into the future! Get started today: patreon.com/thisqueerbookCreditsHost/Founder: J.P. Der BoghossianExecutive Producer: Jim PoundsAssociate Producers: Archie Arnold, K Jason Bryan and David Rephan, Natalie Cruz, Jonathan Fried, Paul Kaefer, Nicole Olila, Joe Perazzo, Bill Shay, and Sean SmithPatreon Subscribers: Stephen D., Stephen Flamm, Ida Göteburg, Thomas Michna, and Gary Nygaard.Creative and Accounting support provided by: Gordy EricksonMusic and SFX credits: visit thiqueerbook.com/musicQuatrefoil LibraryQuatrefoil has created a curated lending library made up of the books featured on our podcast! If you can't buy these books, then borrow them! Link: https://libbyapp.com/library/quatrefoil/curated-1404336/page-1June 18: 2-Year Anniversary Livestream: Follow us on Instagram @thisqueerbook. (7:30am EST/6:30am CST)June 22: Queer Speculations: A Reading and Gathering. On Zoom. Visit armenianliterary.org to register. (1pm EST/12pm CST)June 29: Live broadcast from Twin Cities PRIDE. 2pm CST. Listen to AM950 Radio on your radio app or am950radio.com. Or, visit our tent!Support the Show.

Danny Gottlieb is an All-Star Drummer. He's played with The Pat Metheny Group, John McLoughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, the Gary Burton Quartet, Mark Egan and Elements, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Gary Sinese's Lt. Dan Band, and many more. We discuss all the incredible musicians that he met and played with at the U. of Miami, the Jazz Fusion era, and so much more.My featured song is my version of Chick Corea's “Sea Journey” from my “lost” 1994 debut album Miles Behind. Spotify link.---------------------------------------------The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries!For more information and other episodes of the podcast click here. To subscribe to the podcast click here.To subscribe to our weekly Follow Your Dream Podcast email click here.To Rate and Review the podcast click here.“Dream With Robert”. Click here.—----------------------------------------“LOU'S BLUES” is Robert's new single. Called “Fantastic! Great playing and production!” (Mark Egan - Pat Metheny Group/Elements) and “Digging it!” (Peter Erskine - Weather Report)!Click HERE for all links.—----------------------------------------“THE RICH ONES”. Robert's recent single. With guest artist Randy Brecker (Blood Sweat & Tears) on flugelhorn. Click HERE for all links.—---------------------------------------“MILES BEHIND”, Robert's debut album, recorded in 1994, was “lost” for the last 30 years. It's now been released for streaming. Featuring Randy Brecker (Blood Sweat & Tears), Anton Fig (The David Letterman Show), Al Foster (Miles Davis), Tim Ries (The Rolling Stones), Jon Lucien and many more. Called “Hip, Tight and Edgy!” Click here for all links.—--------------------------------------“IT'S ALIVE!” is Robert's latest Project Grand Slam album. Featuring 13 of the band's Greatest Hits performed “live” at festivals in Pennsylvania and Serbia.Reviews:"An instant classic!" (Melody Maker)"Amazing record...Another win for the one and only Robert Miller!" (Hollywood Digest)"Close to perfect!" (Pop Icon)"A Masterpiece!" (Big Celebrity Buzz)"Sterling effort!" (Indie Pulse)"Another fusion wonder for Project Grand Slam!" (MobYorkCity)Click here for all links.Click here for song videos—-----------------------------------------Intro/Outro Voiceovers courtesy of:Jodi Krangle - Professional Voiceover Artisthttps://voiceoversandvocals.com Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with Danny at:www.dannygottlieb.org Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast:Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music:Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com

On Huckabee, Governor Mike Huckabee speaks about the anti-Israel protests sweeping the U.S. and Joe Biden's plan of offering Gazans American citizenship. Gary Sinese joins to speak about the loss of his son, McCanna “Mac” who passed away from a rare form of cancer earlier this year, and Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) shares insight on rising inflation rates. Bill Spadea explains how he is fighting against the propaganda machine by informing Americans of the truth through his Common Sense Club. Plus, don't miss a jaw-dropping crossbow performance from Anna Dangerous. Don't miss all this and more on Huckabee! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to West Coast Corresponded Deborah, filling in for Patti who is off celebrating our intern's graduation. Deborah's bfs are making up for lack of bats with all the steals. Elly continues to climb the all time steal boards, and Zack Short becomes Zack Short Stay. Willson Contreras' injury leads to some choices about how to avoid catcher interference dangers – robo umps? Catcher's box? How ‘bout that other Contreras, leading the Brewers? Paul Skenes debuts to comparisons to Stras, including Cutch batting lead off for both. We have to talk about an interpreter but we'd rather tell animal stories. Stay tuned for snakes, weirdly fast turtles, and a chill pelican. Hey! Make your travel plans to see the Ballers! Deborah brings some Bay Area cross-training balance to the all Boston all the time situation.We say, “general skullduggery,” “I'm glad these girls have something to scream for,” and “a butterfly flapped its wings in Argentina, y'know?” Fight the man, send your game balls to Meredith, get boosted, and find us on Twitter @ncibpodcast, on Facebook @nocryinginbball, Instagram @nocryinginbball and on the Interweb at nocryinginbball.com. Please take a moment to subscribe to the show, and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to NCiB. Become a supporter at Patreon to help us keep doing what we do. Say goodnight, Pottymouth.

Faithwire's Billy Hallowell shares the intersection of faith and the news, including his talk with actor Gary Sinese ("Forest Gump") about how his faith in Christ helped him as he and his family struggled with his son's cancer diagnosis and his death.  Psychologist and podcaster Melissa Mork, author of "Mental Health Matters," talks openly about hers and her family's mental health struggles and about principles for improving your mental health. Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: Click here  

Part one of Red Eye Radio includes a new poll that shows for the first time a majority of Americans support building a wall. Trump and Biden win their primaries in Michigan. Voter enthusiasm higher for all Republicans in Michigan primary.  A Republican PAC ad on the border crisis. The mayor of New York City wants to modify it's sanctuary city law. Nearly half of all young voters are not willing to pay 10 dollars per month to combat climate change. Gary Sinese's son Mac passed away in January. The Fani Willis disqualification hearing.  For more talk on the issues that matter to you, listen on radio stations across America Monday-Friday 12am-5am CT (1am-6am ET and 10pm-3am PT), download the RED EYE RADIO SHOW app, asking your smart speaker, or listening at RedEyeRadioShow.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The crew of Apollo 13 were headed tot eh moon but when an explosion on the space craft causes irreparable damage, it becomes a test of knowledge and a little luck by scientists at NASA to devise a plan bring the astronauts home. In what would become one of the nation's finest hours in history, the drama unfolds on the big screen in a Ron Howard film starring Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinese, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris and an amazing cast of extras in this riveting real life tale.  We look back at Apollo 13! We also discuss the first 3 episodes of season 3 of Star Wars: The Bad Batch, plus other things we watched this week and much more.  Plus a preview of next weeks film as we get ready to discuss, Dune Part One on next week's show. Visit us for all episodes & more at the www.therebelradiopodcast.com Please leave us a 5-Star review on iTunes! You can also find us on Spotify iHeartRadio Follow us on Facebook  

After Luke Graham becomes the lone survivor of the Martian Space Tornado Security System™, Jim, Woody, and Terri must make the Mission to Mars (2000) to save him. Little do they know, Mars' most unpopular citizen may be the only reason they (and we) were there to begin with.Music created by Jack Parsons.Follow us on Twitter & Instagram and check out our YouTube channel.

On this episode, we talk about the great American filmmaker Robert Altman, and what is arguably the worst movie of his six decade, thirty-five film career: his 1987 atrocity O.C. and Stiggs. ----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 talk about one of the strangest movies to come out of the decade, not only for its material, but for who directed it.   Robert Altman's O.C. and Stiggs.   As always, before we get to the O.C. and Stiggs, we will be going a little further back in time.   Although he is not every cineaste's cup of tea, it is generally acknowledged that Robert Altman was one of the best filmmakers to ever work in cinema. But he wasn't an immediate success when he broke into the industry.   Born in Kansas City in February 1925, Robert Altman would join the US Army Air Force after graduating high school, as many a young man would do in the days of World War II. He would train to be a pilot, and he would fly more than 50 missions during the war as part of the 307th Bomb Group, operating in the Pacific Theatre. They would help liberate prisoners of war held in Japanese POW Camps from Okinawa to Manila after the victory over Japan lead to the end of World War II in that part of the world.   After the war, Altman would move to Los Angeles to break into the movies, and he would even succeed in selling a screenplay to RKO Pictures called Bodyguard, a film noir story shot in 1948 starring Lawrence Tierney and Priscilla Lane, but on the final film, he would only share a “Story by” credit with his then-writing partner, George W. George. But by 1950, he'd be back in Kansas City, where he would direct more than 65 industrial films over the course of three years, before heading back to Los Angeles with the experience he would need to take another shot.   Altman would spend a few years directing episodes of a drama series called Pulse of the City on the DuMont television network and a syndicated police drama called The Sheriff of Cochise, but he wouldn't get his first feature directing gig until 1957, when a businessman in Kansas City would hire the thirty-two year old to write and direct a movie locally. That film, The Delinquents, cost only $60k to make, and would be purchased for release by United Artists for $150k. The first film to star future Billy Jack writer/director/star Tom Laughlin, The Delinquents would gross more than a million dollars in theatres, a very good sum back in those days, but despite the success of the film, the only work Altman could get outside of television was co-directing The James Dean Story, a documentary set up at Warner Brothers to capitalize on the interest in the actor after dying in a car accident two years earlier.   Throughout the 1960s, Altman would continue to work in television, until he was finally given another chance to direct a feature film. 1967's Countdown was a lower budgeted feature at Warner Brothers featuring James Caan in an early leading role, about the space race between the Americans and Soviets, a good two years before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. The shoot itself was easy, but Altman would be fired from the film shortly after filming was completed, as Jack Warner, the 75 year old head of the studio, was not very happy about the overlapping dialogue, a motif that would become a part of Altman's way of making movies. Although his name appears in the credits as the director of the film, he had no input in its assembly. His ambiguous ending was changed, and the film would be edited to be more family friendly than the director intended.   Altman would follow Countdown with 1969's That Cold Day in the Park, a psychological drama that would be both a critical and financial disappointment.   But his next film would change everything.   Before Altman was hired by Twentieth-Century Fox to direct MASH, more than a dozen major filmmakers would pass on the project. An adaptation of a little known novel by a Korean War veteran who worked as a surgeon at one of the Mobile Auxiliary Surgical Hospitals that give the story its acronymic title, MASH would literally fly under the radar from the executives at the studio, as most of the $3m film would be shot at the studio's ranch lot in Malibu, while the executives were more concerned about their bigger movies of the year in production, like their $12.5m biographical film on World War II general George S. Patton and their $25m World War II drama Tora! Tora! Tora!, one of the first movies to be a Japanese and American co-production since the end of the war.    Altman was going to make MASH his way, no matter what. When the studio refused to allow him to hire a fair amount of extras to populate the MASH camp, Altman would steal individual lines from other characters to give to background actors, in order to get the bustling atmosphere he wanted. In order to give the camp a properly dirty look, he would shoot most of the outdoor scenes with a zoom lens and a fog filter with the camera a reasonably far distance from the actors, so they could act to one another instead of the camera, giving the film a sort of documentary feel. And he would find flexibility when the moment called for it. Sally Kellerman, who was hired to play Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, would work with Altman to expand and improve her character to be more than just eye candy, in large part because Altman liked what she was doing in her scenes.   This kind of flexibility infuriated the two major stars of the film, Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland, who at one point during the shoot tried to get Altman fired for treating everyone in the cast and crew with the same level of respect and decorum regardless of their position. But unlike at Warners a couple years earlier, the success of movies like Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider bamboozled Hollywood studio executives, who did not understand exactly what the new generation of filmgoers wanted, and would often give filmmakers more leeway than before, in the hopes that lightning could be captured once again.   And Altman would give them exactly that.   MASH, which would also be the first major studio film to be released with The F Word spoken on screen, would not only become a critical hit, but become the third highest grossing movie released in 1970, grossing more than $80m. The movie would win the Palme D'Or at that year's Cannes Film Festival, and it would be nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Ms. Kellerman, winning only for Best Adapted Screenplay. An ironic win, since most of the dialogue was improvised on set, but the victory for screenwriter Ring Lardner Jr. would effectively destroy the once powerful Hollywood Blacklist that had been in place since the Red Scare of the 1950s.   After MASH, Altman went on one of the greatest runs any filmmaker would ever enjoy.   MASH would be released in January 1970, and Altman's follow up, Brewster McCloud, would be released in December 1970. Bud Cort, the future star of Harold and Maude, plays a recluse who lives in the fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome, who is building a pair of wings in order to achieve his dream of flying. The film would feature a number of actors who already were featured in MASH and would continue to be featured in a number of future Altman movies, including Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, John Schuck and Bert Remson, but another reason to watch Brewster McCloud if you've never seen it is because it is the film debut of Shelley Duvall, one of our greatest and least appreciated actresses, who would go on to appear in six other Altman movies over the ensuing decade.   1971's McCabe and Mrs. Miller, for me, is his second best film. A Western starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, was a minor hit when it was first released but has seen a reevaluation over the years that found it to be named the 8th Best Western of all time by the American Film Institute, which frankly is too low for me. The film would also bring a little-known Canadian poet and musician to the world, Leonard Cohen, who wrote and performed three songs for the soundtrack. Yeah, you have Robert Altman to thank for Leonard Cohen.   1972's Images was another psychological horror film, this time co-written with English actress Susannah York, who also stars in the film as an author of children's books who starts to have wild hallucinations at her remote vacation home, after learning her husband might be cheating on her. The $800k film was one of the first to be produced by Hemdale Films, a British production company co-founded by Blow Up actor David Hemmings, but the film would be a critical and financial disappointment when it was released Christmas week. But it would get nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score. It would be one of two nominations in the category for John Williams, the other being The Poseidon Adventure.   Whatever resentment Elliott Gould may have had with Altman during the shooting of MASH was gone by late 1972, when the actor agreed to star in the director's new movie, a modern adaptation of Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel The Long Goodbye. Gould would be the eighth actor to play the lead character, Phillip Marlowe, in a movie. The screenplay would be written by Leigh Brackett, who Star Wars nerds know as the first writer on The Empire Strikes Back but had also adapted Chandler's novel The Big Sleep, another Phillip Marlowe story, to the big screen back in 1946.   Howard Hawks and Peter Bogdanovich had both been approached to make the film, and it would be Bogdanovich who would recommend Altman to the President of United Artists. The final film would anger Chandler fans, who did not like Altman's approach to the material, and the $1.7m film would gross less than $1m when it was released in March 1973. But like many of Altman's movies, it was a big hit with critics, and would find favor with film fans in the years to come.   1974 would be another year where Altman would make and release two movies in the same calendar year. The first, Thieves Like Us, was a crime drama most noted as one of the few movies to not have any kind of traditional musical score. What music there is in the film is usually heard off radios seen in individual scenes. Once again, we have a number of Altman regulars in the film, including Shelley Duvall, Bert Remsen, John Schuck and Tom Skerritt, and would feature Keith Carradine, who had a small co-starring role in McCabe and Mrs. Miller, in his first major leading role. And, once again, the film would be a hit with critics but a dud with audiences. Unlike most of Altman's movies of the 1970s, Thieves Like Us has not enjoyed the same kind of reappraisal.   The second film, California Split, was released in August, just six months after Thieves Like Us. Elliott Gould once again stars in a Robert Altman movie, this time alongside George Segal. They play a pair of gamblers who ride what they think is a lucky streak from Los Angeles to Reno, Nevada, would be the only time Gould and Segal would work closely together in a movie, and watching California Split, one wishes there could have been more. The movie would be an innovator seemingly purpose-build for a Robert Altman movie, for it would be the first non-Cinerama movie to be recorded using an eight track stereo sound system. More than any movie before, Altman could control how his overlapping dialogue was placed in a theatre. But while most theatres that played the movie would only play it in mono sound, the film would still be a minor success, bringing in more than $5m in ticket sales.   1975 would bring what many consider to be the quintessential Robert Altman movie to screens.   The two hour and forty minute Nashville would feature no less than 24 different major characters, as a group of people come to Music City to be involved in a gala concert for a political outsider who is running for President on the Replacement Party ticket. The cast is one of the best ever assembled for a movie ever, including Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakely, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert DoQui, Shelley Duvall, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, Cristina Raines, Lily Tomlin and Keenan Wynn.   Altman would be nominated for two Academy Awards for the film, Best Picture, as its producer, and Best Director, while both Ronee Blakely and Lily Tomlin would be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Keith Carradine would also be nominated for an Oscar, but not as an actor. He would, at the urging of Altman during the production of the film, write and perform a song called I'm Easy, which would win for Best Original Song. The $2.2m film would earn $10m in ticket sales, and would eventually become part of the fourth class of movies to be selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 1991, the first of four Robert Altman films to be given that honor. MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and The Long Goodbye would also be selected for preservation over the years.   And we're going to stop here for a second and take a look at that list of films again.   MASH Brewster McCloud McCabe and Mrs. Miller Images The Long Goodbye Thieves Like Us California Split Nashville   Eight movies, made over a five year period, that between them earned twelve Academy Award nominations, four of which would be deemed so culturally important that they should be preserved for future generations.   And we're still only in the middle of the 1970s.   But the problem with a director like Robert Altman, like many of our greatest directors, their next film after one of their greatest successes feels like a major disappointment. And his 1976 film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, and that is the complete title of the film by the way, did not meet the lofty expectations of film fans not only its director, but of its main stars. Altman would cast two legendary actors he had not yet worked with, Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster, and the combination of those two actors with this director should have been fantastic, but the results were merely okay. In fact,  Altman would, for the first time in his career, re-edit a film after its theatrical release, removing some of the Wild West show acts that he felt were maybe redundant.   His 1977 film 3 Women would bring Altman back to the limelight. The film was based on a dream he had one night while his wife was in the hospital. In the dream, he was directing his regular co-star Shelley Duvall alongside Sissy Spacek, who he had never worked with before, in a story about identity theft that took place in the deserts outside Los Angeles. He woke up in the middle of the dream, jotted down what he could remember, and went back to sleep. In the morning, he didn't have a full movie planned out, but enough of one to get Alan Ladd, Jr., the President of Twentieth-Century Fox, to put up $1.7m for a not fully formed idea. That's how much Robert Altman was trusted at the time. That, and Altman was known for never going over budget. As long as he stayed within his budget, Ladd would let Altman make whatever movie he wanted to make. That, plus Ladd was more concerned about a $10m movie he approved that was going over budget over in England, a science fiction movie directed by the guy who did American Graffiti that had no stars outside of Sir Alec Guinness.   That movie, of course, was Star Wars, which would be released four weeks after 3 Women had its premiere in New York City. While the film didn't make 1/100th the money Star Wars made, it was one of the best reviewed movies of the year. But, strangely, the film would not be seen again outside of sporadic screenings on cable until it was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection 27 years later.   I'm not going to try and explain the movie to you. Just trust me that 3 Women is from a master craftsman at the top of his game.   While on the press tour to publicize 3 Women, a reporter asked Altman what was going to be next for him. He jokingly said he was going to shoot a wedding. But then he went home, thought about it some more, and in a few weeks, had a basic idea sketched out for a movie titled A Wedding that would take place over the course of one day, as the daughter of a Southern nouveau riche family marries the son of a wealthy Chicago businessman who may or may not a major figure in The Outfit.   And while the film is quite entertaining, what's most interesting about watching this 1978 movie in 2023 is not only how many great established actors Altman got for the film, including Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Howard Duff, Mia Farrow, Vittorio Gassman, Lauren Hutton, and, in her 100th movie, Lillian Gish, but the number of notable actors he was able to get because he shot the film just outside Chicago. Not only will you see Dennis Christopher just before his breakthrough in Breaking Away, and not only will you see Pam Dawber just before she was cast alongside Robin Williams in Mark and Mindy, but you'll also see Dennis Franz, Laurie Metcalfe, Gary Sinese, Tim Thomerson, and George Wendt.   And because Altman was able to keep the budget at a reasonable level, less than $1.75m, the film would be slightly profitable for Twentieth Century-Fox after grossing $3.6m at the box office.   Altman's next film for Fox, 1979's Quintet, would not be as fortunate.   Altman had come up with the story for this post-apocalyptic drama as a vehicle for Walter Hill to write and direct. But Hill would instead make The Warriors, and Altman decided to make the film himself. While developing the screenplay with his co-writers Frank Barhydt and Patricia Resnick, Altman would create a board game, complete with token pieces and a full set of rules, to flesh out the storyline.   Altman would once again work with Paul Newman, who stars as a seal hunter in the early days of a new ice age who finds himself in elaborate game with a group of gamblers where losing in the game means losing your life in the process. Altman would deliberately hire an international cast to star alongside Newman, not only to help improve the film's ability to do well in foreign territories but to not have the storyline tied to any specific country. So we would have Italian actor Vittorio Gassman, Spaniard Fernando Rey, Swedish actress Bibi Andersson, French actress Brigitte Fossey, and Danish actress Nina van Pallandt.    In order to maintain the mystery of the movie, Altman would ask Fox to withhold all pre-release publicity for the film, in order to avoid any conditioning of the audience. Imagine trying to put together a compelling trailer for a movie featuring one of the most beloved actors of all time, but you're not allowed to show potential audiences what they're getting themselves into? Altman would let the studio use five shots from the film, totaling about seven seconds, for the trailer, which mostly comprised of slo-mo shots of a pair of dice bouncing around, while the names of the stars pop up from moment to moment and a narrator tries to create some sense of mystery on the soundtrack.   But audiences would not be intrigued by the mystery, and critics would tear the $6.4m budget film apart. To be fair, the shoot for the film, in the winter of 1977 outside Montreal was a tough time for all, and Altman would lose final cut on the film for going severely over-budget during production, although there seems to be very little documentation about how much the final film might have differed from what Altman would have been working on had he been able to complete the film his way.   But despite all the problems with Quintet, Fox would still back Altman's next movie, A Perfect Couple, which would be shot after Fox pulled Altman off Quintet. Can you imagine that happening today? A director working with the studio that just pulled them off their project. But that's how little ego Altman had. He just wanted to make movies. Tell stories. This simple romantic comedy starred his regular collaborator Paul Dooley as  Alex, a man who follows a band of traveling bohemian musicians because he's falling for one of the singers in the band.   Altman kept the film on its $1.9m budget, but the response from critics was mostly concern that Altman had lost his touch. Maybe it was because this was his 13th film of the decade, but there was a serious concern about the director's ability to tell a story had evaporated.   That worry would continue with his next film, Health.   A satire of the political scene in the United States at the end of the 1970s, Health would follow a health food organization holding a convention at a luxury hotel in St. Petersburg FL. As one would expect from a Robert Altman movie, there's one hell of a cast. Along with Henry Gibson, and Paul Dooley, who co-write the script with Altman and Frank Barhydt, the cast would include Lauren Bacall, Carol Burnett, James Garner and, in one of her earliest screen appearances, Alfre Woodard, as well as Dick Cavett and Dinah Shore as themselves.   But between the shooting of the film in the late winter and early spring of 1979 and the planned Christmas 1979 release, there was a change of management at Fox. Alan Ladd Jr. was out, and after Altman turned in his final cut, new studio head Norman Levy decided to pull the film off the 1979 release calendar. Altman fought to get the film released sometime during the 1980 Presidential Campaign, and was able to get Levy to give the film a platform release starting in Los Angeles and New York City in March 1980, but that date would get cancelled as well. Levy then suggested an April 1980 test run in St. Louis, which Altman was not happy with. Altman countered with test runs in Boston, Houston, Sacramento and San Francisco. The best Altman, who was in Malta shooting his next movie, could get were sneak previews of the film in those four markets, and the response cards from the audience were so bad, the studio decided to effectively put the film on the proverbial shelf.   Back from the Mediterranean Sea, Altman would get permission to take the film to the Montreal World Film Festival in August, and the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals in September. After good responses from film goers at those festivals, Fox would relent, and give the film a “preview” screening at the United Artists Theatre in Westwood, starting on September 12th, 1980. But the studio would give the film the most boring ad campaign possible, a very crude line drawing of an older woman's pearl bracelet-covered arm thrusted upward while holding a carrot. With no trailers in circulation at any theatre, and no television commercials on air, it would be little surprise the film didn't do a whole lot of business. You really had to know the film had been released. But its $14k opening weekend gross wasn't really all that bad. And it's second week gross of $10,500 with even less ad support was decent if unspectacular. But it would be good enough to get the film a four week playdate at the UA Westwood.   And then, nothing, until early March 1981, when a film society at Northwestern University in Evanston IL was able to screen a 16mm print for one show, while a theatre in Baltimore was able to show the film one time at the end of March. But then, nothing again for more than another year, when the film would finally get a belated official release at the Film Forum in New York City on April 7th, 1982. It would only play for a week, and as a non-profit, the Film Forum does not report film grosses, so we have no idea how well the film actually did. Since then, the movie showed once on CBS in August 1983, and has occasionally played on the Fox Movie Channel, but has never been released on VHS or DVD or Blu-Ray.   I mentioned a few moments ago that while he was dealing with all this drama concerning Health, Altman was in the Mediterranean filming a movie. I'm not going to go too much into that movie here, since I already have an episode for the future planned for it, suffice to say that a Robert Altman-directed live-action musical version of the Popeye the Sailor Man cartoon featuring songs by the incomparable Harry Nilsson should have been a smash hit, but it wasn't. It was profitable, to be certain, but not the hit everyone was expecting. We'll talk about the film in much more detail soon.   After the disappointing results for Popeye, Altman decided to stop working in Hollywood for a while and hit the Broadway stages, to direct a show called Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. While the show's run was not very long and the reviews not very good, Altman would fund a movie version himself, thanks in part to the sale of his production company, Lion's Gate, not to be confused with the current studio called Lionsgate, and would cast Karen Black, Cher and Sandy Dennis alongside newcomers Sudie Bond and Kathy Bates, as five female members of The Disciples of James Dean come together on the 20th anniversary of the actor's death to honor his life and times. As the first film released by a new independent distributor called Cinecom, I'll spend more time talking about this movie on our show about that distributor, also coming soon, suffice it to say that Altman was back. Critics were behind the film, and arthouse audiences loved it. This would be the first time Altman adapted a stage play to the screen, and it would set the tone for a number of his works throughout the rest of the decade.   Streamers was Altman's 17th film in thirteen years, and another adaptation of a stage play. One of several works by noted Broadway playwright David Rabe's time in the Army during the Vietnam War, the film followed four young soldiers waiting to be shipped to Vietnam who deal with racial tensions and their own intolerances when one soldier reveals he is gay. The film featured Matthew Modine as the Rabe stand-in, and features a rare dramatic role for comedy legend David Alan Grier. Many critics would note how much more intense the film version was compared to the stage version, as Altman's camera was able to effortlessly breeze around the set, and get up close and personal with the performers in ways that simply cannot happen on the stage. But in 1983, audiences were still not quite ready to deal with the trauma of Vietnam on film, and the film would be fairly ignored by audiences, grossing just $378k.   Which, finally, after half an hour, brings us to our featured movie.   O.C. and Stiggs.   Now, you might be asking yourself why I went into such detail about Robert Altman's career, most of it during the 1970s. Well, I wanted to establish what types of material Altman would chose for his projects, and just how different O.C. and Stiggs  was from any other project he had made to date.   O.C. and Stiggs began their lives in the July 1981 issue of National Lampoon, as written by two of the editors of the magazine, Ted Mann and Tod Carroll. The characters were fun-loving and occasionally destructive teenage pranksters, and their first appearance in the magazine would prove to be so popular with readers, the pair would appear a few more times until Matty Simmons, the publisher and owner of National Lampoon, gave over the entire October 1982 issue to Mann and Carroll for a story called “The Utterly Monstrous Mind-Roasting Summer of O.C. and Stiggs.” It's easy to find PDFs of the issues online if you look for it.   So the issue becomes one of the biggest selling issues in the history of National Lampoon, and Matty Simmons has been building the National Lampoon brand name by sponsoring a series of movies, including Animal House, co-written by Lampoon writers Doug Kenney and Chris Miller, and the soon to be released movies Class Reunion, written by Lampoon writer John Hughes… yes, that John Hughes… and Movie Madness, written by five Lampoon writers including Tod Carroll. But for some reason, Simmons was not behind the idea of turning the utterly monstrous mind-roasting adventures of O.C. and Stiggs into a movie. He would, however, allow Mann and Carroll to shop the idea around Hollywood, and wished them the best of luck.   As luck would have it, Mann and Carroll would meet Peter Newman, who had worked as Altman's production executive on Jimmy Dean, and was looking to set up his first film as a producer. And while Newman might not have had the credits, he had the connections. The first person he would take the script to his Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols, whose credits by this time included Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff?, The Graduate, Catch-22, and Carnal Knowledge. Surprisingly, Nichols was not just interested in making the movie, but really wanted to have Eddie Murphy, who was a breakout star on Saturday Night Live but was still a month away from becoming a movie star when 48 Hours was released, play one of the leading characters. But Murphy couldn't get out of his SNL commitments, and Nichols had too many other projects, both on Broadway and in movies, to be able to commit to the film.    A few weeks later, Newman and Altman both attended a party where they would catch up after several months. Newman started to tell Altman about this new project he was setting up, and to Newman's surprise, Altman, drawn to the characters' anti-establishment outlook, expressed interest in making it. And because Altman's name still commanded respect in Hollywood, several studios would start to show their interest in making the movie with them. MGM, who was enjoying a number of successes in 1982 thanks to movies like Shoot the Moon, Diner, Victor/Victoria, Rocky III, Poltergeist, Pink Floyd - The Wall, and My Favorite Year, made a preemptive bid on the film, hoping to beat Paramount Pictures to the deal. Unknown to Altman, what interested MGM was that Sylvester Stallone of all people went nuts for the script when he read it, and mentioned to his buddies at the studio that he might be interested in making it himself.   Despite hating studio executives for doing stuff like buying a script he's attached to  then kicking him off so some Italian Stallion not known for comedy could make it himself, Altman agree to make the movie with MGM once Stallone lost interest, as the studio promised there would be no further notes about the script, that Altman could have final cut on the film, that he could shoot the film in Phoenix without studio interference, and that he could have a budget of $7m.   Since this was a Robert Altman film, the cast would be big and eclectic, filled with a number of his regular cast members, known actors who he had never worked with before, and newcomers who would go on to have success a few years down the road. Because, seriously, outside of a Robert Altman movie, where are you going to find a cast that included Jon Cryer, Jane Curtin, Paul Dooley, Dennis Hopper, Tina Louise, Martin Mull, Cynthia Nixon, Bob Uecker, Melvin van Peebles, and King Sunny Adé and His African Beats? And then imagine that movie also featuring Matthew Broderick, Jim Carrey, Robert Downey, Jr. and Laura Dern?   The story for the film would both follow the stories that appeared in the pages of National Lampoon fairly closely while also making some major changes. In the film, Oliver Cromwell “O.C.” Oglivie and Mark Stiggs are two ne'er-do-well, middle-class Phoenix, Arizona high school students who are disgusted with what they see as an omnipresent culture of vulgar and vapid suburban consumerism. They spend their days slacking off and committing pranks or outright crimes against their sworn enemies, the Schwab family, especially family head Randall Schwab, a wealthy insurance salesman who was responsible for the involuntary commitment of O.C.'s grandfather into a group home. During the film, O.C. and Stiggs will ruin the wedding of Randall Schwab's daughter Lenore, raft their way down to a Mexican fiesta, ruin a horrible dinner theatre performance directed by their high school's drama teacher being attended by the Schwabs, and turn the Schwab mansion into a homeless shelter while the family is on vacation. The film ends with O.C. and Stiggs getting into a gun fight with Randall Schwab before being rescued by Dennis Hopper and a helicopter, before discovering one of their adventures that summer has made them very wealthy themselves.   The film would begin production in Phoenix on August 22nd, 1983, with two newcomers, Daniel H. Jenkins and Neill Barry, as the titular stars of the film. And almost immediately, Altman's chaotic ways of making a movie would become a problem. Altman would make sure the entire cast and crew were all staying at the same hotel in town, across the street from a greyhound racetrack, so Altman could take off to bet on a few of the races during production downtime, and made sure the bar at the hotel was an open bar for his team while they were shooting. When shooting was done every day, the director and his cast would head to a makeshift screening room at the hotel, where they'd watch the previous day's footage, a process called “dailies” in production parlance. On most films, dailies are only attended by the director and his immediate production crew, but in Phoenix, everyone was encouraged to attend. And according to producer Peter Newman and Dan Jenkins, everyone loved the footage, although both would note that it might have been a combination of the alcohol, the pot, the cocaine and the dehydration caused by shooting all day in the excessive Arizona heat during the middle of summer that helped people enjoy the footage.    But here's the funny thing about dailies.   Unless a film is being shot in sequence, you're only seeing small fragments of scenes, often the same actors doing the same things over and over again, before the camera switches places to catch reactions or have other characters continue the scene. Sometimes, they're long takes of scenes that might be interrupted by an actor flubbing a line or an unexpected camera jitter or some other interruption that requires a restart. But everyone seemed to be having fun, especially when dailies ended and Altman would show one of his other movies like MASH or The Long Goodbye or 3 Women.   After two months of shooting, the film would wrap production, and Altman would get to work on his edit of the film. He would have it done before the end of 1983, and he would turn it in to the studio. Shortly after the new year, there would be a private screening of the film in New York City at the offices of the talent agency William Morris, one of the larger private screening rooms in the city. Altman was there, the New York-based executives at MGM were there, Peter Newman was there, several of the actors were there. And within five minutes of the start of the film, Altman realized what he was watching was not his cut of the film. As he was about to lose his stuff and start yelling at the studio executives, the projector broke. The lights would go up, and Altman would dig into the the executives. “This is your effing cut of the film and not mine!” Altman stormed out of the screening and into the cold New York winter night.   A few weeks later, that same print from New York would be screened for the big executives at the MGM lot in Los Angeles. Newman was there, and, surprisingly, Altman was there too. The film would screen for the entire running length, and Altman would sit there, watching someone else's version of the footage he had shot, scenes put in different places than they were supposed to be, music cues not of his design or consent.   At the end of the screening, the room was silent. Not one person in the room had laughed once during the entire screening. Newman and Altman left after the screening, and hit one of Altman's favorite local watering holes. As they said their goodbyes the next morning, Altman apologized to Newman. “I hope I didn't eff up your movie.”   Maybe the movie wasn't completely effed up, but MGM certainly neither knew what to do with the film or how to sell it, so it would just sit there, just like Health a few years earlier, on that proverbial shelf.   More than a year later, in an issue of Spin Magazine, a review of the latest album by King Sunny Adé would mention the film he performed in, O.C. and Stiggs, would, quote unquote, “finally” be released into theatres later that year.   That didn't happen, in large part because after WarGames in the early summer of 1983, almost every MGM release had been  either an outright bomb or an unexpected financial disappointment. The cash flow problem was so bad that the studio effectively had to sell itself to Atlanta cable mogul Ted Turner in order to save itself. Turner didn't actually want all of MGM. He only wanted the valuable MGM film library, but the owner of MGM at the time was either going to sell it all or nothing at all.   Barely two months after Ted Turner bought MGM, he had sold the famed studio lot in Culver City to Lorimar, a television production company that was looking to become a producer and distributor of motion pictures, and sold rest of the company he never wanted in the first place to the guy he bought it all from, who had a kind of seller's remorse. But that repurchase would saddle the company with massive bills, and movies like O.C. and Stiggs would have to sit and collect dust while everything was sorted out.   How long would O.C. and Stiggs be left in a void?   It would be so long that Robert Altman would have time to make not one, not two, but three other movies that would all be released before O.C. and Stiggs ever saw the light of day.   The first, Secret Honor, released in 1984, featured the great Philip Baker Hall as former President Richard Nixon. It's probably Hall's single best work as an actor, and the film would be amongst the best reviewed films of Altman's career.   In 1985, Altman would film Fool For Love, an adaptation of a play by Sam Shepard. This would be the only time in Shepard's film career where he would star as one of the characters himself had written. The film would also prove once and for all that Kim Basinger was more than just a pretty face but a real actor.   And in February 1987, Altman's film version of Beyond Therapy, a play by absurdist playwright Christopher Durant, would open in theatres. The all-star cast would include Tom Conti, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Guest, Julie Hagerty and Glenda Jackson.   On March 5th, 1987, an article in Daily Variety would note that the “long shelved” film would have a limited theatrical release in May, despite the fact that Frank Yablans, the vice chairman of MGM, being quoted in the article that the film was unreleasable. It would further be noted that despite the film being available to international distributors for three years, not one company was willing to acquire the film for any market. The plan was to release the movie for one or two weeks in three major US markets, depending on its popularity, and then decide a future course of action from there.   But May would come and go, without a hint of the film.   Finally, on Friday, July 10th, the film would open on 18 screens, but none in any major market like Chicago, Los Angeles or New York City. I can't find a single theatre the film played in that weekend, but that week's box office figures would show an abysmal $6,273 worth of tickets were sold during that first weekend.   There would not be a second weekend of reported grosses.   But to MGM's credit, they didn't totally give up on the film.   On Thursday, August 27th, O.C. and Stiggs would open in at least one theatre. And, lucky for me, that theatre happened to be the Nickelodeon Theatre in Santa Cruz. But despite the fact that the new Robert Altman was opening in town, I could not get a single friend to see it with me. So on a Tuesday night at 8:40pm, I was the only person in all of the region to watch what I would soon discover was the worst Robert Altman movie of all time. Now, I should note that even a bad Robert Altman movie is better than many filmmakers' best movies, but O.C. and Stiggs would have ignobility of feeling very much like a Robert Altman movie, with its wandering camera and overlapping dialogue that weaves in and out of conversations while in progress and not quite over yet, yet not feeling anything like a Robert Altman movie at the same time. It didn't have that magical whimsy-ness that was the hallmark of his movies. The satire didn't have its normal bite. It had a number of Altman's regular troop of actors, but in smaller roles than they'd usually occupy, and not giving the performances one would expect of them in an Altman movie.   I don't know how well the film did at the Nick, suffice it to say the film was gone after a week.   But to MGM's credit, they still didn't give up on the film.   On October 9th, the film would open at the AMC Century City 14, one of a handful of movies that would open the newest multiplex in Los Angeles.   MGM did not report grosses, and the film was gone from the new multiplex after a week.   But to MGM's credit, they still didn't give up on the film.   The studio would give the film one more chance, opening it at the Film Forum in New York City on March 18th, 1988.   MGM did not report grosses, and the film was gone after a week. But whether that was because MGM didn't support the film with any kind of newspaper advertising in the largest market in America, or because the movie had been released on home video back in November, remains to be seen.   O.C. and Stiggs would never become anything resembling a cult film. It's been released on DVD, and if one was programming a Robert Altman retrospect at a local arthouse movie theatre, one could actually book a 35mm print of the film from the repertory cinema company Park Circus.   But don't feel bad for Altman, as he would return to cinemas with a vengeance in the 1990s, first with the 1990 biographical drama Vincent and Theo, featuring Tim Roth as the tortured genius 19th century painter that would put the actor on the map for good. Then, in 1992, he became a sensation again with his Hollywood satire The Player, featuring Tim Robbins as a murderous studio executive trying to keep the police off his trail while he navigates the pitfalls of the industry. Altman would receive his first Oscar nomination for Best Director since 1975 with The Player, his third overall, a feat he would repeat the following year with Short Cuts, based on a series of short stories by Raymond Carver. In fact, Altman would be nominated for an Academy Award seven times during his career, five times as a director and twice as a producer, although he would never win a competitive Oscar.   In March 2006, while editing his 35th film, a screen adaptation of the then-popular NPR series A Prairie Home Companion, the Academy would bestow an Honorary Oscar upon Altman. During his acceptance speech, Altman would wonder if perhaps the Academy acted prematurely in honoring him in this fashion. He revealed he had received a heart transplant in the mid-1990s, and felt that, even though he had turned 81 the month before, he could continue for another forty years.   Robert Altman would pass away from leukemia on November 20th, 2006, only eight months after receiving the biggest prize of his career.   Robert Altman had a style so unique onto himself, there's an adjective that exists to describe it. Altmanesque. Displaying traits typical of a film made by Robert Altman, typically highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective and often a subversive twist.   He truly was a one of a kind filmmaker, and there will likely never be anyone like him, no matter how hard Paul Thomas Anderson tries.     Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again in two weeks, when Episode 106, Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy, 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 talk about the great American filmmaker Robert Altman, and what is arguably the worst movie of his six decade, thirty-five film career: his 1987 atrocity O.C. and Stiggs. ----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 talk about one of the strangest movies to come out of the decade, not only for its material, but for who directed it.   Robert Altman's O.C. and Stiggs.   As always, before we get to the O.C. and Stiggs, we will be going a little further back in time.   Although he is not every cineaste's cup of tea, it is generally acknowledged that Robert Altman was one of the best filmmakers to ever work in cinema. But he wasn't an immediate success when he broke into the industry.   Born in Kansas City in February 1925, Robert Altman would join the US Army Air Force after graduating high school, as many a young man would do in the days of World War II. He would train to be a pilot, and he would fly more than 50 missions during the war as part of the 307th Bomb Group, operating in the Pacific Theatre. They would help liberate prisoners of war held in Japanese POW Camps from Okinawa to Manila after the victory over Japan lead to the end of World War II in that part of the world.   After the war, Altman would move to Los Angeles to break into the movies, and he would even succeed in selling a screenplay to RKO Pictures called Bodyguard, a film noir story shot in 1948 starring Lawrence Tierney and Priscilla Lane, but on the final film, he would only share a “Story by” credit with his then-writing partner, George W. George. But by 1950, he'd be back in Kansas City, where he would direct more than 65 industrial films over the course of three years, before heading back to Los Angeles with the experience he would need to take another shot.   Altman would spend a few years directing episodes of a drama series called Pulse of the City on the DuMont television network and a syndicated police drama called The Sheriff of Cochise, but he wouldn't get his first feature directing gig until 1957, when a businessman in Kansas City would hire the thirty-two year old to write and direct a movie locally. That film, The Delinquents, cost only $60k to make, and would be purchased for release by United Artists for $150k. The first film to star future Billy Jack writer/director/star Tom Laughlin, The Delinquents would gross more than a million dollars in theatres, a very good sum back in those days, but despite the success of the film, the only work Altman could get outside of television was co-directing The James Dean Story, a documentary set up at Warner Brothers to capitalize on the interest in the actor after dying in a car accident two years earlier.   Throughout the 1960s, Altman would continue to work in television, until he was finally given another chance to direct a feature film. 1967's Countdown was a lower budgeted feature at Warner Brothers featuring James Caan in an early leading role, about the space race between the Americans and Soviets, a good two years before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. The shoot itself was easy, but Altman would be fired from the film shortly after filming was completed, as Jack Warner, the 75 year old head of the studio, was not very happy about the overlapping dialogue, a motif that would become a part of Altman's way of making movies. Although his name appears in the credits as the director of the film, he had no input in its assembly. His ambiguous ending was changed, and the film would be edited to be more family friendly than the director intended.   Altman would follow Countdown with 1969's That Cold Day in the Park, a psychological drama that would be both a critical and financial disappointment.   But his next film would change everything.   Before Altman was hired by Twentieth-Century Fox to direct MASH, more than a dozen major filmmakers would pass on the project. An adaptation of a little known novel by a Korean War veteran who worked as a surgeon at one of the Mobile Auxiliary Surgical Hospitals that give the story its acronymic title, MASH would literally fly under the radar from the executives at the studio, as most of the $3m film would be shot at the studio's ranch lot in Malibu, while the executives were more concerned about their bigger movies of the year in production, like their $12.5m biographical film on World War II general George S. Patton and their $25m World War II drama Tora! Tora! Tora!, one of the first movies to be a Japanese and American co-production since the end of the war.    Altman was going to make MASH his way, no matter what. When the studio refused to allow him to hire a fair amount of extras to populate the MASH camp, Altman would steal individual lines from other characters to give to background actors, in order to get the bustling atmosphere he wanted. In order to give the camp a properly dirty look, he would shoot most of the outdoor scenes with a zoom lens and a fog filter with the camera a reasonably far distance from the actors, so they could act to one another instead of the camera, giving the film a sort of documentary feel. And he would find flexibility when the moment called for it. Sally Kellerman, who was hired to play Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan, would work with Altman to expand and improve her character to be more than just eye candy, in large part because Altman liked what she was doing in her scenes.   This kind of flexibility infuriated the two major stars of the film, Elliott Gould and Donald Sutherland, who at one point during the shoot tried to get Altman fired for treating everyone in the cast and crew with the same level of respect and decorum regardless of their position. But unlike at Warners a couple years earlier, the success of movies like Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider bamboozled Hollywood studio executives, who did not understand exactly what the new generation of filmgoers wanted, and would often give filmmakers more leeway than before, in the hopes that lightning could be captured once again.   And Altman would give them exactly that.   MASH, which would also be the first major studio film to be released with The F Word spoken on screen, would not only become a critical hit, but become the third highest grossing movie released in 1970, grossing more than $80m. The movie would win the Palme D'Or at that year's Cannes Film Festival, and it would be nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Ms. Kellerman, winning only for Best Adapted Screenplay. An ironic win, since most of the dialogue was improvised on set, but the victory for screenwriter Ring Lardner Jr. would effectively destroy the once powerful Hollywood Blacklist that had been in place since the Red Scare of the 1950s.   After MASH, Altman went on one of the greatest runs any filmmaker would ever enjoy.   MASH would be released in January 1970, and Altman's follow up, Brewster McCloud, would be released in December 1970. Bud Cort, the future star of Harold and Maude, plays a recluse who lives in the fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome, who is building a pair of wings in order to achieve his dream of flying. The film would feature a number of actors who already were featured in MASH and would continue to be featured in a number of future Altman movies, including Sally Kellerman, Michael Murphy, John Schuck and Bert Remson, but another reason to watch Brewster McCloud if you've never seen it is because it is the film debut of Shelley Duvall, one of our greatest and least appreciated actresses, who would go on to appear in six other Altman movies over the ensuing decade.   1971's McCabe and Mrs. Miller, for me, is his second best film. A Western starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, was a minor hit when it was first released but has seen a reevaluation over the years that found it to be named the 8th Best Western of all time by the American Film Institute, which frankly is too low for me. The film would also bring a little-known Canadian poet and musician to the world, Leonard Cohen, who wrote and performed three songs for the soundtrack. Yeah, you have Robert Altman to thank for Leonard Cohen.   1972's Images was another psychological horror film, this time co-written with English actress Susannah York, who also stars in the film as an author of children's books who starts to have wild hallucinations at her remote vacation home, after learning her husband might be cheating on her. The $800k film was one of the first to be produced by Hemdale Films, a British production company co-founded by Blow Up actor David Hemmings, but the film would be a critical and financial disappointment when it was released Christmas week. But it would get nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score. It would be one of two nominations in the category for John Williams, the other being The Poseidon Adventure.   Whatever resentment Elliott Gould may have had with Altman during the shooting of MASH was gone by late 1972, when the actor agreed to star in the director's new movie, a modern adaptation of Raymond Chandler's 1953 novel The Long Goodbye. Gould would be the eighth actor to play the lead character, Phillip Marlowe, in a movie. The screenplay would be written by Leigh Brackett, who Star Wars nerds know as the first writer on The Empire Strikes Back but had also adapted Chandler's novel The Big Sleep, another Phillip Marlowe story, to the big screen back in 1946.   Howard Hawks and Peter Bogdanovich had both been approached to make the film, and it would be Bogdanovich who would recommend Altman to the President of United Artists. The final film would anger Chandler fans, who did not like Altman's approach to the material, and the $1.7m film would gross less than $1m when it was released in March 1973. But like many of Altman's movies, it was a big hit with critics, and would find favor with film fans in the years to come.   1974 would be another year where Altman would make and release two movies in the same calendar year. The first, Thieves Like Us, was a crime drama most noted as one of the few movies to not have any kind of traditional musical score. What music there is in the film is usually heard off radios seen in individual scenes. Once again, we have a number of Altman regulars in the film, including Shelley Duvall, Bert Remsen, John Schuck and Tom Skerritt, and would feature Keith Carradine, who had a small co-starring role in McCabe and Mrs. Miller, in his first major leading role. And, once again, the film would be a hit with critics but a dud with audiences. Unlike most of Altman's movies of the 1970s, Thieves Like Us has not enjoyed the same kind of reappraisal.   The second film, California Split, was released in August, just six months after Thieves Like Us. Elliott Gould once again stars in a Robert Altman movie, this time alongside George Segal. They play a pair of gamblers who ride what they think is a lucky streak from Los Angeles to Reno, Nevada, would be the only time Gould and Segal would work closely together in a movie, and watching California Split, one wishes there could have been more. The movie would be an innovator seemingly purpose-build for a Robert Altman movie, for it would be the first non-Cinerama movie to be recorded using an eight track stereo sound system. More than any movie before, Altman could control how his overlapping dialogue was placed in a theatre. But while most theatres that played the movie would only play it in mono sound, the film would still be a minor success, bringing in more than $5m in ticket sales.   1975 would bring what many consider to be the quintessential Robert Altman movie to screens.   The two hour and forty minute Nashville would feature no less than 24 different major characters, as a group of people come to Music City to be involved in a gala concert for a political outsider who is running for President on the Replacement Party ticket. The cast is one of the best ever assembled for a movie ever, including Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Ronee Blakely, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Robert DoQui, Shelley Duvall, Allen Garfield, Henry Gibson, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Barbara Harris, Cristina Raines, Lily Tomlin and Keenan Wynn.   Altman would be nominated for two Academy Awards for the film, Best Picture, as its producer, and Best Director, while both Ronee Blakely and Lily Tomlin would be nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Keith Carradine would also be nominated for an Oscar, but not as an actor. He would, at the urging of Altman during the production of the film, write and perform a song called I'm Easy, which would win for Best Original Song. The $2.2m film would earn $10m in ticket sales, and would eventually become part of the fourth class of movies to be selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 1991, the first of four Robert Altman films to be given that honor. MASH, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, and The Long Goodbye would also be selected for preservation over the years.   And we're going to stop here for a second and take a look at that list of films again.   MASH Brewster McCloud McCabe and Mrs. Miller Images The Long Goodbye Thieves Like Us California Split Nashville   Eight movies, made over a five year period, that between them earned twelve Academy Award nominations, four of which would be deemed so culturally important that they should be preserved for future generations.   And we're still only in the middle of the 1970s.   But the problem with a director like Robert Altman, like many of our greatest directors, their next film after one of their greatest successes feels like a major disappointment. And his 1976 film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, and that is the complete title of the film by the way, did not meet the lofty expectations of film fans not only its director, but of its main stars. Altman would cast two legendary actors he had not yet worked with, Paul Newman and Burt Lancaster, and the combination of those two actors with this director should have been fantastic, but the results were merely okay. In fact,  Altman would, for the first time in his career, re-edit a film after its theatrical release, removing some of the Wild West show acts that he felt were maybe redundant.   His 1977 film 3 Women would bring Altman back to the limelight. The film was based on a dream he had one night while his wife was in the hospital. In the dream, he was directing his regular co-star Shelley Duvall alongside Sissy Spacek, who he had never worked with before, in a story about identity theft that took place in the deserts outside Los Angeles. He woke up in the middle of the dream, jotted down what he could remember, and went back to sleep. In the morning, he didn't have a full movie planned out, but enough of one to get Alan Ladd, Jr., the President of Twentieth-Century Fox, to put up $1.7m for a not fully formed idea. That's how much Robert Altman was trusted at the time. That, and Altman was known for never going over budget. As long as he stayed within his budget, Ladd would let Altman make whatever movie he wanted to make. That, plus Ladd was more concerned about a $10m movie he approved that was going over budget over in England, a science fiction movie directed by the guy who did American Graffiti that had no stars outside of Sir Alec Guinness.   That movie, of course, was Star Wars, which would be released four weeks after 3 Women had its premiere in New York City. While the film didn't make 1/100th the money Star Wars made, it was one of the best reviewed movies of the year. But, strangely, the film would not be seen again outside of sporadic screenings on cable until it was released on DVD by the Criterion Collection 27 years later.   I'm not going to try and explain the movie to you. Just trust me that 3 Women is from a master craftsman at the top of his game.   While on the press tour to publicize 3 Women, a reporter asked Altman what was going to be next for him. He jokingly said he was going to shoot a wedding. But then he went home, thought about it some more, and in a few weeks, had a basic idea sketched out for a movie titled A Wedding that would take place over the course of one day, as the daughter of a Southern nouveau riche family marries the son of a wealthy Chicago businessman who may or may not a major figure in The Outfit.   And while the film is quite entertaining, what's most interesting about watching this 1978 movie in 2023 is not only how many great established actors Altman got for the film, including Carol Burnett, Paul Dooley, Howard Duff, Mia Farrow, Vittorio Gassman, Lauren Hutton, and, in her 100th movie, Lillian Gish, but the number of notable actors he was able to get because he shot the film just outside Chicago. Not only will you see Dennis Christopher just before his breakthrough in Breaking Away, and not only will you see Pam Dawber just before she was cast alongside Robin Williams in Mark and Mindy, but you'll also see Dennis Franz, Laurie Metcalfe, Gary Sinese, Tim Thomerson, and George Wendt.   And because Altman was able to keep the budget at a reasonable level, less than $1.75m, the film would be slightly profitable for Twentieth Century-Fox after grossing $3.6m at the box office.   Altman's next film for Fox, 1979's Quintet, would not be as fortunate.   Altman had come up with the story for this post-apocalyptic drama as a vehicle for Walter Hill to write and direct. But Hill would instead make The Warriors, and Altman decided to make the film himself. While developing the screenplay with his co-writers Frank Barhydt and Patricia Resnick, Altman would create a board game, complete with token pieces and a full set of rules, to flesh out the storyline.   Altman would once again work with Paul Newman, who stars as a seal hunter in the early days of a new ice age who finds himself in elaborate game with a group of gamblers where losing in the game means losing your life in the process. Altman would deliberately hire an international cast to star alongside Newman, not only to help improve the film's ability to do well in foreign territories but to not have the storyline tied to any specific country. So we would have Italian actor Vittorio Gassman, Spaniard Fernando Rey, Swedish actress Bibi Andersson, French actress Brigitte Fossey, and Danish actress Nina van Pallandt.    In order to maintain the mystery of the movie, Altman would ask Fox to withhold all pre-release publicity for the film, in order to avoid any conditioning of the audience. Imagine trying to put together a compelling trailer for a movie featuring one of the most beloved actors of all time, but you're not allowed to show potential audiences what they're getting themselves into? Altman would let the studio use five shots from the film, totaling about seven seconds, for the trailer, which mostly comprised of slo-mo shots of a pair of dice bouncing around, while the names of the stars pop up from moment to moment and a narrator tries to create some sense of mystery on the soundtrack.   But audiences would not be intrigued by the mystery, and critics would tear the $6.4m budget film apart. To be fair, the shoot for the film, in the winter of 1977 outside Montreal was a tough time for all, and Altman would lose final cut on the film for going severely over-budget during production, although there seems to be very little documentation about how much the final film might have differed from what Altman would have been working on had he been able to complete the film his way.   But despite all the problems with Quintet, Fox would still back Altman's next movie, A Perfect Couple, which would be shot after Fox pulled Altman off Quintet. Can you imagine that happening today? A director working with the studio that just pulled them off their project. But that's how little ego Altman had. He just wanted to make movies. Tell stories. This simple romantic comedy starred his regular collaborator Paul Dooley as  Alex, a man who follows a band of traveling bohemian musicians because he's falling for one of the singers in the band.   Altman kept the film on its $1.9m budget, but the response from critics was mostly concern that Altman had lost his touch. Maybe it was because this was his 13th film of the decade, but there was a serious concern about the director's ability to tell a story had evaporated.   That worry would continue with his next film, Health.   A satire of the political scene in the United States at the end of the 1970s, Health would follow a health food organization holding a convention at a luxury hotel in St. Petersburg FL. As one would expect from a Robert Altman movie, there's one hell of a cast. Along with Henry Gibson, and Paul Dooley, who co-write the script with Altman and Frank Barhydt, the cast would include Lauren Bacall, Carol Burnett, James Garner and, in one of her earliest screen appearances, Alfre Woodard, as well as Dick Cavett and Dinah Shore as themselves.   But between the shooting of the film in the late winter and early spring of 1979 and the planned Christmas 1979 release, there was a change of management at Fox. Alan Ladd Jr. was out, and after Altman turned in his final cut, new studio head Norman Levy decided to pull the film off the 1979 release calendar. Altman fought to get the film released sometime during the 1980 Presidential Campaign, and was able to get Levy to give the film a platform release starting in Los Angeles and New York City in March 1980, but that date would get cancelled as well. Levy then suggested an April 1980 test run in St. Louis, which Altman was not happy with. Altman countered with test runs in Boston, Houston, Sacramento and San Francisco. The best Altman, who was in Malta shooting his next movie, could get were sneak previews of the film in those four markets, and the response cards from the audience were so bad, the studio decided to effectively put the film on the proverbial shelf.   Back from the Mediterranean Sea, Altman would get permission to take the film to the Montreal World Film Festival in August, and the Telluride and Venice Film Festivals in September. After good responses from film goers at those festivals, Fox would relent, and give the film a “preview” screening at the United Artists Theatre in Westwood, starting on September 12th, 1980. But the studio would give the film the most boring ad campaign possible, a very crude line drawing of an older woman's pearl bracelet-covered arm thrusted upward while holding a carrot. With no trailers in circulation at any theatre, and no television commercials on air, it would be little surprise the film didn't do a whole lot of business. You really had to know the film had been released. But its $14k opening weekend gross wasn't really all that bad. And it's second week gross of $10,500 with even less ad support was decent if unspectacular. But it would be good enough to get the film a four week playdate at the UA Westwood.   And then, nothing, until early March 1981, when a film society at Northwestern University in Evanston IL was able to screen a 16mm print for one show, while a theatre in Baltimore was able to show the film one time at the end of March. But then, nothing again for more than another year, when the film would finally get a belated official release at the Film Forum in New York City on April 7th, 1982. It would only play for a week, and as a non-profit, the Film Forum does not report film grosses, so we have no idea how well the film actually did. Since then, the movie showed once on CBS in August 1983, and has occasionally played on the Fox Movie Channel, but has never been released on VHS or DVD or Blu-Ray.   I mentioned a few moments ago that while he was dealing with all this drama concerning Health, Altman was in the Mediterranean filming a movie. I'm not going to go too much into that movie here, since I already have an episode for the future planned for it, suffice to say that a Robert Altman-directed live-action musical version of the Popeye the Sailor Man cartoon featuring songs by the incomparable Harry Nilsson should have been a smash hit, but it wasn't. It was profitable, to be certain, but not the hit everyone was expecting. We'll talk about the film in much more detail soon.   After the disappointing results for Popeye, Altman decided to stop working in Hollywood for a while and hit the Broadway stages, to direct a show called Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. While the show's run was not very long and the reviews not very good, Altman would fund a movie version himself, thanks in part to the sale of his production company, Lion's Gate, not to be confused with the current studio called Lionsgate, and would cast Karen Black, Cher and Sandy Dennis alongside newcomers Sudie Bond and Kathy Bates, as five female members of The Disciples of James Dean come together on the 20th anniversary of the actor's death to honor his life and times. As the first film released by a new independent distributor called Cinecom, I'll spend more time talking about this movie on our show about that distributor, also coming soon, suffice it to say that Altman was back. Critics were behind the film, and arthouse audiences loved it. This would be the first time Altman adapted a stage play to the screen, and it would set the tone for a number of his works throughout the rest of the decade.   Streamers was Altman's 17th film in thirteen years, and another adaptation of a stage play. One of several works by noted Broadway playwright David Rabe's time in the Army during the Vietnam War, the film followed four young soldiers waiting to be shipped to Vietnam who deal with racial tensions and their own intolerances when one soldier reveals he is gay. The film featured Matthew Modine as the Rabe stand-in, and features a rare dramatic role for comedy legend David Alan Grier. Many critics would note how much more intense the film version was compared to the stage version, as Altman's camera was able to effortlessly breeze around the set, and get up close and personal with the performers in ways that simply cannot happen on the stage. But in 1983, audiences were still not quite ready to deal with the trauma of Vietnam on film, and the film would be fairly ignored by audiences, grossing just $378k.   Which, finally, after half an hour, brings us to our featured movie.   O.C. and Stiggs.   Now, you might be asking yourself why I went into such detail about Robert Altman's career, most of it during the 1970s. Well, I wanted to establish what types of material Altman would chose for his projects, and just how different O.C. and Stiggs  was from any other project he had made to date.   O.C. and Stiggs began their lives in the July 1981 issue of National Lampoon, as written by two of the editors of the magazine, Ted Mann and Tod Carroll. The characters were fun-loving and occasionally destructive teenage pranksters, and their first appearance in the magazine would prove to be so popular with readers, the pair would appear a few more times until Matty Simmons, the publisher and owner of National Lampoon, gave over the entire October 1982 issue to Mann and Carroll for a story called “The Utterly Monstrous Mind-Roasting Summer of O.C. and Stiggs.” It's easy to find PDFs of the issues online if you look for it.   So the issue becomes one of the biggest selling issues in the history of National Lampoon, and Matty Simmons has been building the National Lampoon brand name by sponsoring a series of movies, including Animal House, co-written by Lampoon writers Doug Kenney and Chris Miller, and the soon to be released movies Class Reunion, written by Lampoon writer John Hughes… yes, that John Hughes… and Movie Madness, written by five Lampoon writers including Tod Carroll. But for some reason, Simmons was not behind the idea of turning the utterly monstrous mind-roasting adventures of O.C. and Stiggs into a movie. He would, however, allow Mann and Carroll to shop the idea around Hollywood, and wished them the best of luck.   As luck would have it, Mann and Carroll would meet Peter Newman, who had worked as Altman's production executive on Jimmy Dean, and was looking to set up his first film as a producer. And while Newman might not have had the credits, he had the connections. The first person he would take the script to his Oscar-winning director Mike Nichols, whose credits by this time included Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff?, The Graduate, Catch-22, and Carnal Knowledge. Surprisingly, Nichols was not just interested in making the movie, but really wanted to have Eddie Murphy, who was a breakout star on Saturday Night Live but was still a month away from becoming a movie star when 48 Hours was released, play one of the leading characters. But Murphy couldn't get out of his SNL commitments, and Nichols had too many other projects, both on Broadway and in movies, to be able to commit to the film.    A few weeks later, Newman and Altman both attended a party where they would catch up after several months. Newman started to tell Altman about this new project he was setting up, and to Newman's surprise, Altman, drawn to the characters' anti-establishment outlook, expressed interest in making it. And because Altman's name still commanded respect in Hollywood, several studios would start to show their interest in making the movie with them. MGM, who was enjoying a number of successes in 1982 thanks to movies like Shoot the Moon, Diner, Victor/Victoria, Rocky III, Poltergeist, Pink Floyd - The Wall, and My Favorite Year, made a preemptive bid on the film, hoping to beat Paramount Pictures to the deal. Unknown to Altman, what interested MGM was that Sylvester Stallone of all people went nuts for the script when he read it, and mentioned to his buddies at the studio that he might be interested in making it himself.   Despite hating studio executives for doing stuff like buying a script he's attached to  then kicking him off so some Italian Stallion not known for comedy could make it himself, Altman agree to make the movie with MGM once Stallone lost interest, as the studio promised there would be no further notes about the script, that Altman could have final cut on the film, that he could shoot the film in Phoenix without studio interference, and that he could have a budget of $7m.   Since this was a Robert Altman film, the cast would be big and eclectic, filled with a number of his regular cast members, known actors who he had never worked with before, and newcomers who would go on to have success a few years down the road. Because, seriously, outside of a Robert Altman movie, where are you going to find a cast that included Jon Cryer, Jane Curtin, Paul Dooley, Dennis Hopper, Tina Louise, Martin Mull, Cynthia Nixon, Bob Uecker, Melvin van Peebles, and King Sunny Adé and His African Beats? And then imagine that movie also featuring Matthew Broderick, Jim Carrey, Robert Downey, Jr. and Laura Dern?   The story for the film would both follow the stories that appeared in the pages of National Lampoon fairly closely while also making some major changes. In the film, Oliver Cromwell “O.C.” Oglivie and Mark Stiggs are two ne'er-do-well, middle-class Phoenix, Arizona high school students who are disgusted with what they see as an omnipresent culture of vulgar and vapid suburban consumerism. They spend their days slacking off and committing pranks or outright crimes against their sworn enemies, the Schwab family, especially family head Randall Schwab, a wealthy insurance salesman who was responsible for the involuntary commitment of O.C.'s grandfather into a group home. During the film, O.C. and Stiggs will ruin the wedding of Randall Schwab's daughter Lenore, raft their way down to a Mexican fiesta, ruin a horrible dinner theatre performance directed by their high school's drama teacher being attended by the Schwabs, and turn the Schwab mansion into a homeless shelter while the family is on vacation. The film ends with O.C. and Stiggs getting into a gun fight with Randall Schwab before being rescued by Dennis Hopper and a helicopter, before discovering one of their adventures that summer has made them very wealthy themselves.   The film would begin production in Phoenix on August 22nd, 1983, with two newcomers, Daniel H. Jenkins and Neill Barry, as the titular stars of the film. And almost immediately, Altman's chaotic ways of making a movie would become a problem. Altman would make sure the entire cast and crew were all staying at the same hotel in town, across the street from a greyhound racetrack, so Altman could take off to bet on a few of the races during production downtime, and made sure the bar at the hotel was an open bar for his team while they were shooting. When shooting was done every day, the director and his cast would head to a makeshift screening room at the hotel, where they'd watch the previous day's footage, a process called “dailies” in production parlance. On most films, dailies are only attended by the director and his immediate production crew, but in Phoenix, everyone was encouraged to attend. And according to producer Peter Newman and Dan Jenkins, everyone loved the footage, although both would note that it might have been a combination of the alcohol, the pot, the cocaine and the dehydration caused by shooting all day in the excessive Arizona heat during the middle of summer that helped people enjoy the footage.    But here's the funny thing about dailies.   Unless a film is being shot in sequence, you're only seeing small fragments of scenes, often the same actors doing the same things over and over again, before the camera switches places to catch reactions or have other characters continue the scene. Sometimes, they're long takes of scenes that might be interrupted by an actor flubbing a line or an unexpected camera jitter or some other interruption that requires a restart. But everyone seemed to be having fun, especially when dailies ended and Altman would show one of his other movies like MASH or The Long Goodbye or 3 Women.   After two months of shooting, the film would wrap production, and Altman would get to work on his edit of the film. He would have it done before the end of 1983, and he would turn it in to the studio. Shortly after the new year, there would be a private screening of the film in New York City at the offices of the talent agency William Morris, one of the larger private screening rooms in the city. Altman was there, the New York-based executives at MGM were there, Peter Newman was there, several of the actors were there. And within five minutes of the start of the film, Altman realized what he was watching was not his cut of the film. As he was about to lose his stuff and start yelling at the studio executives, the projector broke. The lights would go up, and Altman would dig into the the executives. “This is your effing cut of the film and not mine!” Altman stormed out of the screening and into the cold New York winter night.   A few weeks later, that same print from New York would be screened for the big executives at the MGM lot in Los Angeles. Newman was there, and, surprisingly, Altman was there too. The film would screen for the entire running length, and Altman would sit there, watching someone else's version of the footage he had shot, scenes put in different places than they were supposed to be, music cues not of his design or consent.   At the end of the screening, the room was silent. Not one person in the room had laughed once during the entire screening. Newman and Altman left after the screening, and hit one of Altman's favorite local watering holes. As they said their goodbyes the next morning, Altman apologized to Newman. “I hope I didn't eff up your movie.”   Maybe the movie wasn't completely effed up, but MGM certainly neither knew what to do with the film or how to sell it, so it would just sit there, just like Health a few years earlier, on that proverbial shelf.   More than a year later, in an issue of Spin Magazine, a review of the latest album by King Sunny Adé would mention the film he performed in, O.C. and Stiggs, would, quote unquote, “finally” be released into theatres later that year.   That didn't happen, in large part because after WarGames in the early summer of 1983, almost every MGM release had been  either an outright bomb or an unexpected financial disappointment. The cash flow problem was so bad that the studio effectively had to sell itself to Atlanta cable mogul Ted Turner in order to save itself. Turner didn't actually want all of MGM. He only wanted the valuable MGM film library, but the owner of MGM at the time was either going to sell it all or nothing at all.   Barely two months after Ted Turner bought MGM, he had sold the famed studio lot in Culver City to Lorimar, a television production company that was looking to become a producer and distributor of motion pictures, and sold rest of the company he never wanted in the first place to the guy he bought it all from, who had a kind of seller's remorse. But that repurchase would saddle the company with massive bills, and movies like O.C. and Stiggs would have to sit and collect dust while everything was sorted out.   How long would O.C. and Stiggs be left in a void?   It would be so long that Robert Altman would have time to make not one, not two, but three other movies that would all be released before O.C. and Stiggs ever saw the light of day.   The first, Secret Honor, released in 1984, featured the great Philip Baker Hall as former President Richard Nixon. It's probably Hall's single best work as an actor, and the film would be amongst the best reviewed films of Altman's career.   In 1985, Altman would film Fool For Love, an adaptation of a play by Sam Shepard. This would be the only time in Shepard's film career where he would star as one of the characters himself had written. The film would also prove once and for all that Kim Basinger was more than just a pretty face but a real actor.   And in February 1987, Altman's film version of Beyond Therapy, a play by absurdist playwright Christopher Durant, would open in theatres. The all-star cast would include Tom Conti, Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Guest, Julie Hagerty and Glenda Jackson.   On March 5th, 1987, an article in Daily Variety would note that the “long shelved” film would have a limited theatrical release in May, despite the fact that Frank Yablans, the vice chairman of MGM, being quoted in the article that the film was unreleasable. It would further be noted that despite the film being available to international distributors for three years, not one company was willing to acquire the film for any market. The plan was to release the movie for one or two weeks in three major US markets, depending on its popularity, and then decide a future course of action from there.   But May would come and go, without a hint of the film.   Finally, on Friday, July 10th, the film would open on 18 screens, but none in any major market like Chicago, Los Angeles or New York City. I can't find a single theatre the film played in that weekend, but that week's box office figures would show an abysmal $6,273 worth of tickets were sold during that first weekend.   There would not be a second weekend of reported grosses.   But to MGM's credit, they didn't totally give up on the film.   On Thursday, August 27th, O.C. and Stiggs would open in at least one theatre. And, lucky for me, that theatre happened to be the Nickelodeon Theatre in Santa Cruz. But despite the fact that the new Robert Altman was opening in town, I could not get a single friend to see it with me. So on a Tuesday night at 8:40pm, I was the only person in all of the region to watch what I would soon discover was the worst Robert Altman movie of all time. Now, I should note that even a bad Robert Altman movie is better than many filmmakers' best movies, but O.C. and Stiggs would have ignobility of feeling very much like a Robert Altman movie, with its wandering camera and overlapping dialogue that weaves in and out of conversations while in progress and not quite over yet, yet not feeling anything like a Robert Altman movie at the same time. It didn't have that magical whimsy-ness that was the hallmark of his movies. The satire didn't have its normal bite. It had a number of Altman's regular troop of actors, but in smaller roles than they'd usually occupy, and not giving the performances one would expect of them in an Altman movie.   I don't know how well the film did at the Nick, suffice it to say the film was gone after a week.   But to MGM's credit, they still didn't give up on the film.   On October 9th, the film would open at the AMC Century City 14, one of a handful of movies that would open the newest multiplex in Los Angeles.   MGM did not report grosses, and the film was gone from the new multiplex after a week.   But to MGM's credit, they still didn't give up on the film.   The studio would give the film one more chance, opening it at the Film Forum in New York City on March 18th, 1988.   MGM did not report grosses, and the film was gone after a week. But whether that was because MGM didn't support the film with any kind of newspaper advertising in the largest market in America, or because the movie had been released on home video back in November, remains to be seen.   O.C. and Stiggs would never become anything resembling a cult film. It's been released on DVD, and if one was programming a Robert Altman retrospect at a local arthouse movie theatre, one could actually book a 35mm print of the film from the repertory cinema company Park Circus.   But don't feel bad for Altman, as he would return to cinemas with a vengeance in the 1990s, first with the 1990 biographical drama Vincent and Theo, featuring Tim Roth as the tortured genius 19th century painter that would put the actor on the map for good. Then, in 1992, he became a sensation again with his Hollywood satire The Player, featuring Tim Robbins as a murderous studio executive trying to keep the police off his trail while he navigates the pitfalls of the industry. Altman would receive his first Oscar nomination for Best Director since 1975 with The Player, his third overall, a feat he would repeat the following year with Short Cuts, based on a series of short stories by Raymond Carver. In fact, Altman would be nominated for an Academy Award seven times during his career, five times as a director and twice as a producer, although he would never win a competitive Oscar.   In March 2006, while editing his 35th film, a screen adaptation of the then-popular NPR series A Prairie Home Companion, the Academy would bestow an Honorary Oscar upon Altman. During his acceptance speech, Altman would wonder if perhaps the Academy acted prematurely in honoring him in this fashion. He revealed he had received a heart transplant in the mid-1990s, and felt that, even though he had turned 81 the month before, he could continue for another forty years.   Robert Altman would pass away from leukemia on November 20th, 2006, only eight months after receiving the biggest prize of his career.   Robert Altman had a style so unique onto himself, there's an adjective that exists to describe it. Altmanesque. Displaying traits typical of a film made by Robert Altman, typically highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective and often a subversive twist.   He truly was a one of a kind filmmaker, and there will likely never be anyone like him, no matter how hard Paul Thomas Anderson tries.     Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again in two weeks, when Episode 106, Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy, 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.  

Merry Christmas from Gary Sinese Foundation and FLA Disney World as they treated 800 veterans families to free passes: New Disney CEO trying to reverse damage from former woke, leftist CEO who fought with Gov DeSantis:https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/12/800-families-fallen-heroes-get-game-changing-christmas-present-treat-veterans/MZ114: A right delayed is a right denied:Judge to decide on permit to purchase TRO to remain. https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2022/12/measure-114s-background-check-requirement-that-closes-charleston-loophole-should-take-effect-now-state-argues.htmlWoke Vale OR school admin wouldn't listen to parents who wanted "Christmas" used for concert:https://www.argusobserver.com/news/did-elementary-school-keep-christmas-under-wraps/article_c0456848-82e1-11ed-8fb3-6fcbc8c744e6.htmlExpect ranked choice voting to come to Oregon as Dem speaker of House intends to pass it: Permanent Dem majority bill: https://www.bendbulletin.com/opinion/editorial-looks-like-ranked-choice-voting-may-come-to-oregon/article_cfa1216c-82f3-11ed-9222-47bf334c3809.htmlWA power substations were attacked, not burglarized as Fox News says: https://www.foxnews.com/us/washington-burglars-take-out-three-power-substations-christmasOregon lost 16,000 residents for first time in decades: wonder why? https://www.lagrandeobserver.com/news/state/oregon-population-declined-in-2022-for-first-time-in-decades-census-bureau-says/article_8477c78e-9962-50fa-a9bc-6ccc8477747d.html

On today's episode we talk theatre, going “backstage” with the talented  Erica Daniels-Strater.   Erica has  spent many years in casting, producing and theatre management.  Among her many accomplishments, she was Associate Artistic Director at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, founded by actor Gary Sinese and has worked on several  Broadway productions, as well as serving as the Theatre Department Coordinator at the William Morris Agency in New York. On Air: My Fifty Year Love Affair with Radio,” now available at Amazon. Jordan Rich is Boston's busiest podcaster, appearing on over 500 podcast episodes and currently hosting 20 shows. To connect with him, visit www.chartproductions.com

Rewatching Oscar with Jack FerdmanIn this episode,  the first of Season 2, Jack shares with you his take on the mega-blockbuster hit of 1994, Forrest Gump.  He has seen it many many times ... so how will that affect his rewatchable rating.  The incredible cast, the tight script, the iconic lines, the brilliant soundtrack, and those amazing scenes ... Jack covers them all.  But will Forrest Gump take home Jack's coveted Rewatch Oscar? Listen and find out. SUBSCRIBE and FOLLOW Rewatching Oscar.Website: https://rewatchingoscar.buzzsprout.comApple Podcasts/iTunesSpotifyGoogle PodcastsiHeart RadioStitcherPodchaserPodcast AddictRSS Feed: https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1815964.rssWebsite: https://rewatchingoscar.buzzsprout.comSocial Media Links: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, InstagramShare your thoughts and suggestions with us through:Facebook Messanger or emailing us atjack@rewatchingoscar.comMusic by TurpacShow Producer: Jack FerdmanPodcast Logo Design: Jack FerdmanMovie (audio) trailer courtesy of MovieClips Classic TrailersSupport us by downloading, sharing, and giving us a 5 Star Rating.  It helps our podcast continue to reach many people and make it available to share more episodes with everyone.

Jarrod Micale and Chris William sat down with Wise Crackers' owner and booker, Nick Bruce, to talk movies, comedy and more movies. Bruce grew up in the comedy business and took over the club from his dad, Scott. The guys talked about the character mastery of Gary Oldman and Gary Sinese's timing. Chris teams up with Wikipedia to teach his students about the Vietnam War and Jarrod springs a lightening round on Nick, who talks about some memorable experiences at the club. Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=48989573)

The TV show's title and setting refers to My Khe beach in the city of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam. The actual beach was nicknamed "China Beach" in English by American and Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. The series looks at the Vietnam War from unique perspectives: those of the women, both military personnel and civilians, who were present during the conflict. The series' cast portrayed US Army doctors and nurses, officers, soldiers, Red Cross volunteers, and civilian personnel (American, French, and Vietnamese). In reality, some 10,000 women served in country. Three Red Cross women, eight Military women and an unknown number of American civilian women died in Vietnam. Many more were wounded. Also, during the Vietnam War, 402 American medics were killed in the service of their country. **** The show was partly inspired by the book, “Home Before Morning” (The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam) [1983] by Lynda Van Devanter (1947-2002). The TV show consisted of a 2-hour Pilot show followed by 61 episodes over four seasons (1988-1991). The focal point was the 510th Evacuation Hospital, referred to as “The Five and Dime” E.V.A.C. hospital. The club at the Five and Dime was called The Jet Set. Diane Keaton and Gary Sinese, each directed episodes. **** The show's main theme song was "Reflections" by Diana Ross & the Supremes. Two episodes [Season 3, Episode 19 and Season 3 Episode 22] used "We Gotta Get out of This Place" by Katrina & The Waves with Eric Burdon either as the theme or within the plot. **** The show's dedication reads:“To the Vietnam Veterans, especially the women who served, with thanks and respect. China Beach, the TV series, portrayed the cost of the Vietnam War. It helped us heal while remembering the sacrifices of the young women and men who fought there. You will never be forgotten.” **** Dana Delany (McMurphy) was involved with the Vietnam Woman's Memorial Project, which built the monument in Washington D.C. next to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was dedicated in 1993. Delany has become something of a heroine to the nurses who served in Vietnam. **** These are the songs we heard during Season 1.You'll hear:1) Reflections (China Beach version) – The Supremes2) (Love Is Like A) Heatwave – Martha & The Vandellas3) How Sweet It Is – Marvin Gaye4) Cloud Nine – The Temptations5) Dedicated To The One I Love – The Mamas & The Papas6) Standing In the Shadows of Love – The Four Tops7) Soldier Boy – The Shirelles (In the episode it was actually sung by Laurette for the 1940s Night)8) Going to A Go-Go – The Miracles9) (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin10) Big Girls Don't Cry – The Four Seasons11) Cool Jerk – The Capitals12) Don't Think Twice It's Alright – Joan Baez13) Yes, I'm Ready – Barbara Mason14) Stay – Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs15) Back in My Arms Again – The Supremes16) Reach Out I'll Be There – The Four Tops17) Sugar Town – Nancy Sinatra18) I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Gladys Night & The Pips19) It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston20) I Was Made To Love Her – Stevie Wonder21) I'm Sorry – Brenda Lee22) The Tracks of My Tears – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles23) Boom Boom – The Animals24) Mama Said – The Shirelles (the girls in the bunker)25) Pipeline – The Chantays26) I Can't Help Myself – The Four Tops27) Windy – The Association28) Sympathy For The Devil – The Rolling Stones29) You Can't Hurry Love – The Supremes30) The Letter – The Boxtops31) These Boots Are Made For Walkin' – Nancy Sinatra32) I Second That Emotion – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles33) Monday, Monday – The Mamas & The Papas34) Nowhere To Run – Martha & The Vandellas35) Stand By Me – Ben E. King36) Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing – Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell37) Surfer Joe – The Surfaris38) Bernadette – The Four Tops39) The Girl From North Country – Rosanne Cash40) What the World Needs Now is Love – Dionne Warwick41) With A Little Help From My Friends – The Beatles (Harmonica version and others) 42) I'll Be Seeing You – Jo Stafford (In Episode 2, this was Maj. Lila Garreau's nostalgia song for “Don” (the Spitfire pilot from the RAF)43) China Beach Theme (Guitar & Harmonica)******Join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 ******or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com

This short interview is a masterclass in drum technique and improvisation from a unique drummer. In 1998 I wrote and hosted a music series INSIDE IMPROVISATION for BBC Radio 2. I interviewed Grammy winning drummer Danny Gottlieb (the original Pat Metheny Group, Gary Burton, Mahavishnu/John McLaughlin, Blues Brothers, Randy Brecker, Stan Getz, Eliane Elias, Gary Sinese). This short interview is followed by a track from my 1988 album, Santa Rita. “The Seduction of Art” ©1998 Niles Smiles Music (BMI) features Danny on drums with the great  Mark Egan on Bass, (Danny's partner in their group Elements), Chris Hunter (alto sax), Steve Hamilton (keys) and Richard Niles (guitar).

Danny Gottlieb is best known as the drummer in the original Pat Metheny Group. Danny appears on over 300 CDs, including 4 Grammy winners. He has worked with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Randy Brecker, and Gary Sinese’s Lieutenant Dan Band, to name just a few. Danny’s teachers include Joe Morello, Mel Lewis, Ed Soph, and Jack DeJohnette. He currently teaches at the University of North Florida, and frequently works in the Nashville music scene. Website       Newsletter       Become a Patron  

Danny Gottlieb is best known as the drummer in the original Pat Metheny Group. Danny appears on over 300 CDs, including 4 Grammy winners. He has worked with Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Randy Brecker, and Gary Sinese’s Lieutenant Dan Band, to name just a few. Danny’s teachers include Joe Morello, Mel Lewis, Ed Soph, and Jack DeJohnette. He currently teaches at the University of North Florida, and frequently works in the Nashville music scene.

The TV show’s title and setting refers to My Khe beach in the city of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam. The actual beach was nicknamed "China Beach" in English by American and Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. The show is based on the book Home Before Morning (1983) written by the former U.S. Army Nurse Lynda Van Devanter. The series looks at the Vietnam War from unique perspectives: those of the women, both military personnel and civilians, who were present during the conflict. The focal point was the 510th Evacuation Hospital, referred to as “The Five and Dime” E.V.A.C. hospital. The club at the Five and Dime was called The Jet Set. During the Vietnam War 402 American medics were killed in the service of their country. ***** The show ran from April 1988 to July 1991. Season 4 was the last for the show. It dealt with the ending and the beginning via flash-backs and flash-forwards. In the final episode Boonie throws a “Five & Dime” reunion and the China Beach survivors visit the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. ***** China Beach, the cast and writers won many awards, including a Golden Globe (1990) and a People’s Choice Award (1989). ***** During Season 4 we saw: K.C. gave birth in Saigon (1967) to a baby girl. Years later, the story flashes forward to 1985 where Boonie has adopted the girl (Karen). **** Diane Keaton directed Episode 5 (11/3/90) titled “Fever”. **** In Episode 6, McMurphy was riding a Triumph Bonneville **** In Episode 10, Sarge & Lilah’s got married. **** Episode 11 was set in April of 1975 after the fall of Saigon and featured a deserted China Beach. *** Gary Sinese directed Episode 12. **** Season 4’s final episode [2 hrs.], “Hello Goodbye” aired 7/22/91. The episode contained this dedication: * To the Vietnam Veterans, especially the women who served, to whom this episode is dedicated, with thanks and respect. China Beach, the TV series, portrayed the cost of the Vietnam War. It helped us heal while remembering the sacrifices of the young women and men who fought there. You will never be forgotten. * ****** Join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 ****** or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com - - - - - - - - - Here’s some of the music we heard in Season 4 of China Beach: ***** 1) Reflections by Diana Ross & The Supremes 2) American Pie by Don McLean 3) I Heard It Through the Grapevine by Marvin Gaye 4) Dirty Water by The Standells 5) Remember (Walkin' In The Sand) by The Shangri-Las 6) Shake Me, Wake Me by The Four Tops 7) I Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher 8) Downtown by Petula Clark 9) Respect by Aretha Franklin 10) Summer In The City by The Lovin' Spoonful 11) Fever by Peggy Lee 12) Going To A Go-Go by The Miracles (w/ Smokey Robinson) 13) The Boy From New York City by The Ad Libs 14) Ask Me No Questions by B.B. King 15) Searching For My Love by Bobby Moore & The Rhythm Aces 16) Born To Be Wild by Steppenwolf 17) Happy Together by The Turtles 18) When A Man Loves A Woman by Percy Sledge 19) Pushin' Too Hard by The Seeds 20) Let's Work Together by Canned Heat 21) Stay by Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs 22) Walk On The Wild Side by Lou Reed 23) Lovin' Her Was Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) by Kris Kristofferson 24) Baby, I Need Your Loving by The Four Tops 25) Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd 26) Out Of Time by The Rolling Stones 27) You Can't Hurry Love by The Supremes 28) White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane 29) Do You Love Me? by The Contours 30) I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag by Country Joe & The Fish 31) The Tracks Of My Tears by Linda Ronstadt 32) Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson 33) Try And Love Again by The Eagles 34) I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face by Art Garfunkel 35) I Can Let Go Now by Michael McDonald 36) China Beach by Gregg Nestor & Tommy Morgan 37) The Star Spangled Banner by Branford Marsalis

Who would you want in charge of America's nuclear arsenal? This guy. Four Star Air Force General (Ret.) Robin Rand. Hundreds of combat hours in the sky, over forty years of active duty, former Chief of the Air Force Global Strike Command and, in retirement, he's the CEO of The Gary Sinise Foundation- an organization dedicated to improving the lives of our active duty military, veterans, first responders, and law enforcement. - - - - - Follow us on social! Instagram: @survivethispod - - - - - Proud partners with The Gary Sinise Foundation. Please donate today! www.garysinisefoundation.org

The TV show’s title and setting refers to My Khe beach in the city of Đà Nẵng, Vietnam. The actual beach was nicknamed "China Beach" in English by American and Australian soldiers during the Vietnam War. The series looks at the Vietnam War from unique perspectives: those of the women, both military personnel and civilians, who were present during the conflict. The series' cast portrayed US Army doctors and nurses, officers, soldiers, Red Cross volunteers, and civilian personnel (American, French, and Vietnamese). In reality, some 10,000 women served in country. Three Red Cross women, eight Military women and an unknown number of American civilian women died in Vietnam. Many more were wounded. Also, during the Vietnam War, 402 American medics were killed in the service of their country. The show was partly inspired by the book, “Home Before Morning” (The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam) [1983] by Lynda Van Devanter (1947-2002). The TV show consisted of a 2-hour Pilot show followed by 61 episodes over four seasons (1988-1991). The focal point was the 510th Evacuation Hospital, referred to as “The Five and Dime” E.V.A.C. hospital. The club at the Five and Dime was called The Jet Set. Diane Keaton and Gary Sinese, each directed episodes. The show’s main theme song was "Reflections" by Diana Ross & the Supremes. Two episodes [Season 3, Episode 19 and Season 3 Episode 22] used "We Gotta Get out of This Place" by Katrina & The Waves with Eric Burdon either as the theme or within the plot. The show’s dedication reads: “To the Vietnam Veterans, especially the women who served, with thanks and respect. China Beach, the TV series, portrayed the cost of the Vietnam War. It helped us heal while remembering the sacrifices of the young women and men who fought there. You will never be forgotten.” Dana Delany (McMurphy) was involved with the Vietnam Woman’s Memorial Project, which built the monument in Washington D.C. next to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It was dedicated in 1993. Delany has become something of a heroine to the nurses who served in Vietnam. These are the songs we heard during Season 1. You’ll hear: Reflections (China Beach version) – The Supremes 1) (Love Is Like A) Heatwave – Martha & The Vandellas 2) How Sweet It Is – Marvin Gaye 3) Cloud Nine – The Temptations 4) Dedicated To The One I Love – The Mamas & The Papas 5) Standing In the Shadows of Love – The Four Tops 6) Soldier Boy – The Shirelles (In the episode it was actually sung by Laurette for the 1940s Night) 7) Going to A Go-Go – The Miracles 8) (You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman – Aretha Franklin 9) Big Girls Don’t Cry – The Four Seasons 10) Cool Jerk – The Capitals 11) Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright – Joan Baez 12) Yes, I’m Ready – Barbara Mason 13) Stay – Maurice Williams & The Zodiacs 14) Back in My Arms Again – The Supremes 15) Reach Out I’ll Be There – The Four Tops 16) Sugar Town – Nancy Sinatra 17) I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Gladys Night & The Pips 18) It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye & Kim Weston 19) I Was Made To Love Her – Stevie Wonder 20) I’m Sorry – Brenda Lee 21) The Tracks of My Tears – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles 22) Boom Boom – The Animals 23) Mama Said – The Shirelles (the girls in the bunker) 24) Pipeline – The Chantays 25) I Can’t Help Myself – The Four Tops 26) Windy – The Association 27) Sympathy For The Devil – The Rolling Stones 28) You Can’t Hurry Love – The Supremes 29) The Letter – The Boxtops 30) These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ – Nancy Sinatra 31) I Second That Emotion – Smokey Robinson & The Miracles 32) Monday, Monday – The Mamas & The Papas 33) Nowhere To Run – Martha & The Vandellas 34) Stand By Me – Ben E. King 35) Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing – Marvin Gaye & Tammy Terrell 36) Surfer Joe – The Surfaris 37) Bernadette – The Four Tops 38) The Girl From North Country – Rosanne Cash 39) What the World Needs Now is Love – Dionne Warwick 40) With A Little Help From My Friends – The Beatles (Harmonica version and others) 41) I’ll Be Seeing You – Jo Stafford (In Episode 2, this was Maj. Lila Garreau’s nostalgia song for “Don” (the Spitfire pilot from the RAF) China Beach Theme (Guitar & Harmonica) ****** Join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008232395712 ****** or by email at dannymemorylane@gmail.com

E News: Are Brad and Jen getting back together?, Gary Sinese helps veterans, and a Christmas dating show is on the way.

This week, our heads are well beyond the clouds as we review the new film Ad Astra and the not-exactly-old-enough-to-be-a-classic Mission to Mars.  Both have a surprising amount in common.  That and news about Batman, Terminator and Studio Ghibli!  Besides, Rob says one of those words you're not allowed to say... and he says it about Star Wars! www.cinemasavants.com

Kevin answers questions about the movie Forrest Gump. He worked as a greensman, but he tells how he was also recruited as an actor to play the role of Jenny’s father. He describes in detail the scene where Lt. Dan is injured in Vietnam and how nice Gary Sinese was to him and other members of the crew.

It’s Ron Howard time. Talking three of our favorite Ron Howard epics: Backdraft, Apollo 13, and Willow.We also mention some of our personal Ron Howard flick picks like Gung Ho! and Parenthood.Happy days are here again unless you forgot to check that door for heat…Support the show (https://www.paypal.me/bingewatcherspodcast)

#217 - This week we discuss Robert Zemeckis's "Forrest Gump"  Starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, and Gary Sinese this 1994 classic is fun to watch.  We talk about our favorite moments and a couple moments that aren't so great.  We then crossover into our favorite "Running Moments" in movies.  Running Man, Ferris Bueller, Major League and more are discussed.  Enjoy!   Category: Movies HSF Rating Alex-6, Scott-6, Jeff-6   Please follow and contact us at the following locations: Facebook:Hans Shot First Twitter: http://twitter.com/hansshot1st Email: hansshotfirst@outlook.com iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/hans-shot-first/id778071182 Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/m/I5q2th5tzsucvpzgmy3kmzgtd44?t=Hans_Shot_First  

"I was three feet away from a known terrorist, and I had my eyes buried in some broad's tits." - Gary Sinese. Dir. Brian De Palma, 1998. Starring Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinese, and Carla Gugino. 5:43 What Have You Seen Lately? 20:14 Snake Eyes 23:28 8MM? 44:55 Let's Be Frank 50:55 FILMSPOTTING MADNESS PIGGYBACK FUNTIME 1:00:12 Daniel Loses His Shit About Schindler's List TopgallantRadio.com - Radio for sailors

I'm gunna cut ya! Big Time ya hear? Gary Sinese plays a character from Newsies that kidnaps the most resilient son of an airline executive this world has ever seen. Mel Gibson wants his son dead at all costs and inexplicably owns over 50 martini glasses. Ass whips, pissed pants, and voice changers galore, RR boys give you one to hide beneath the floorboards. Music by Eula Beal and Bach

It’s that time of year again when we review the notable “holiday” movies for their adherence to the real meaning of Christmas, production quality, and merits and demerits. Who better than the founder of Decent Films, Steven Greydanus? Steve is not only the father of seven and a permanent deacon with the Archdiocese of Newark, he is a prolific movie critic and newly minted member of the elite New York Film Critics’ Circle. Ever since the first A Christmas Carol silent film came out in 1901 (!), Christmas and movies have gone together like Bob Cracthit and Tiny Tim. Since then, there have been over 30 adaptations of the Dickens original to the big or small screen. In this episode, here is a sample of the Christmas themed movies Steven and I talk about in this episode:   Elf, starring Will Farrell, produced by my friend Todd Komarnicki, who appeared in Episode 25  of the show Die Hard  starring Bruce Willis. Is it really a Christmas movie? Discuss. And we do! A Midnight Clear C starring Gary Sinese. Biblical allusion galore in this tragically little known war movie set at Christmas. Joyeux Noel, a multi-country co-production about the true story of a Christmas Eve impromptu cease-fire between the Germans and the Allies. It’s a Wonderful Life,  starring James Stewart. For my money the greatest film ever made. If you disagree, we can’t be friends. Want the story behind the story? Read this. It’s what got the attention of my upcoming guest Mary Owen, daughter of actress Donna Reed, the incandescent Mary Bailey, wife of George. Meet John Doe  starring Gary Cooper. The other Frank Capra movie about a good man tempted to suicide on Christmas Eve. Bizarrely forgotten classic, as I point out here. We also talked about the bad ones, like Ron Howard’s super-lousy How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a few other rancid things disguised as movies. Since this is a respectable joint—I ain’t linking to ‘em.

In this special edition of "War Stories with Oliver North," come along for an insider's tour of the historic USO (United Service Organizations). Oliver North travels from Hollywood to Washington D.C. to the battle zones inside Iraq to bring you the USO in action. Up close and in person, you'll hear stories from entertainers of all eras who have traveled to these dangerous areas for more than 60 years to give service and smiles to our troops. North talks with Hollywood icons and musical legends such as Mickey Rooney, Johnny Grant, Connie Stevens, Ann-Margret, Wayne Newton, Bo Derek and Bob Hope's son, Tony. They share their recollections of performing from steamy islands in the South Pacific to the jungles of Vietnam, to bases all over the world. Plus, acclaimed actor Gary Sinese sits down with North to share his pride in working with the USO since being inspired by the events of September 11, 2001. Then, hear how rocker Joan Jett tells of her dedication to performing for the troops in places that "aren't cushy." The USO was formed in 1941 at the request of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to support the rapidly growing number of troops. A private, non-profit organization, the USO would provide many services, from organizing dances to building the USO centers that have become the soldier's "home away from home." Finally, you'll find out how the USO has survived some lean times, including being temporarily disbanded in the late 1940s. In the years that followed, the need for the USO never again waned. The services the USO provides have brought much needed support to our military men and women for over six decades.

http://www.attractionchecklist.com - John B. deHaas and I head to EPCOT to experience the, newly opened, green mission on RELAUNCHED! Mission: SPACE!  First, we learn a little about the ride, then we ride and review this revamped attraction.   Recorded on August 13, 2017. The attraction audio recorded for this episode is available exclusively to the Saturday Morning Media Patron Patron.  Support the show and get fun Bonus content over at http://www.patreon.com/saturdaymorningmedia INTRO TRANSCRIPT: Welcome to Attraction Checklist. This episode we head to EPCOT in Walt Disney World to ride the newly opened RELAUNCHED! Mission: SPACE!  Today we’ll be experiencing the Green, less intense, version of the attraction that’s been dubbed Mission:Earth.  The guide map describes this attraction by saying Experience NASA-style training with a simulated space launch.  The Green Mission of the relaunched Mission: SPACE has a height requirement of 40” and expectant mothers should not ride.  Fastness Plus is available for this attraction.  The thrill level describes the ride as being a Spinning, Thrill Ride in the Dark, though the Green Mission does not spin. Before we are go for launch, here are five fast facts about the green Mission of Epcot’s Relaunched! Mission: SPACE. 1. Mission: SPACE had it’s Grand Opening on October 9, 2003 though it went through a soft opening in the months before.  When it opened there was only one side experience.  It wasn’t until May of 2006 that the less intense, non-spinning Green Mission was open giving riders two ride options. 2.  At 2017’s D23 Expo, it was announced that Green Mission would be getting its own unique ride video, dubbed Mission: Earth that would debut on August 13, 2017, the date the audio for this episode was recorded. 3.  When the Relaunched! Mission: SPACE opened in August of 2017, actor Gary Sinese, who’d been the ride’s CapCom had been replaced by actress Gina Torres. 4.  The new Green Mission still gives rider assignments for the trip of Navigator, Pilot, Commander or Engineer and each rider has the opportunity to push buttons at various points on the trip.  If the riders do not push the button in time, a storyline ‘computer override’ will occur. 5.  While on the Green Mission, riders see simulated views of Earth from space including The Grand Canyon, The Hawaiian Islands, The Great Wall of China and more.  All these visuals are accompanied by a brand new musical score for the ride. Now let’s head to EPCOT to ride the Relaunched! Mission: SPACE Green Mission.  Along for the ride is John B. dehaas and after the ride audio we’ll discuss our thoughts on this update to Mission: Space.  Also, to cut down on the episode length, some of the waiting time between ride announcements has been edited out.  This is a binaural recording so if you have headphones put them on now as we ride the Green Mission of Relaunched! Mission: SPACE at EPCOT in Walt Disney World! FOLLOW US http://www.facebook.com/attractionchecklist  http://www.facebook.com/saturdaymorningmedia  http://www.twitter.com/SaturdayMMedia  https://plus.google.com/+Saturdaymorningmedia  https://www.linkedin.com/company/saturday-morning-media http://www.youtube.com/user/SaturdayMorningMedia?sub_confirmation=1 FOLLOW GRANT http://www.MrGrant.comhttp://www.twitter.com/toasterboy  https://instagram.com/throwingtoasters/ Sources: WIKIPEDIAhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission:_Space WALT DISNEY WORLD WEBSITEhttps://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_GB/attractions/epcot/mission-space/ Show ©2017 Saturday Morning Media/Grant Baciocco

Our last episodic session of Season 1 sees us with our first guest, Aaron's childhood friend Eric. He brings with him a doozy in Reindeer Games, a truly awful Ben Affleck vehicle that was the last film of John Franknheimer's directorial career - then he died. Also with repeat offender Charlize Theron (though she's actually not awful here) and Gary Sinese slumming with wampum safes and convicted felon Dana Stubblefield. This one is awful, but we're proud of it.   As always please review, please share, please subscribe! We've broken 500 downloads, here's to many many more! We appreciate your support. Please continue to show it.   Up next... the 1st ever Chuckies! And the end of Season 1!

Recorded December 6, 2016 Emoji Blitz Corner (not really) Somehow, the conversation quickly devolves into Moana... And what kind of VHS we had growing up... And Glenn recording the resort channels at WDW… And back to Moana (and Hawaii Five-O). Come back for Chris’ Review Corner... And Chris’ Reading Corner where he reads The Princess and the Frog [Little Golden Book](http://amzn.to/2gdGUHT) Livestream of Spaceship Earth transforming into Death Star Needed some practice for the livestream The best part was the laser Express bus transportation is being charged for Candlelight Processional Began in 1958 at Disneyland on Main Street The living Christmas Tree was added in 1960 and was formed by the Western High School A’Capella Choir. The choir director retired in 1981 and in 1982 the Disney Employee Choir filled their place, and hold it to the present time Celebrity narrators were added in 1961 and Dennis Morgan was the first narrator, and was the narrator through 1964. Dick Van Dyke was the narrator in 1965 (which would end up being the last that Walt attended), and it changed each year after that, with some repeats. WDW has always had a celebrity narrator. Rock Hudson was the first WDW narrator in 1971. It performed for two nights only in Disneyland and WDW. In 1993, because of guest demand, WDW’s was moved to Epcot and ran two shows each night for 15 nights. It was so successful that in 1994, it was expanded to 30 nights with two performances each night. The Disneyland Candlelight Procession and Ceremony moved to a new home at the Fantasyland Theater in 1998, returning to Main Street in 2003, and beginning in 2012 it was presented multiple nights. It’s a presentation of the Christmas story in readings by a celebrity narrator and music by a Mass choir and 50-piece orchestra It’s pure Christmas; the story of the birth of Christ Current music set list for Epcot’s presentation: Candlelight Carillon (Processional) O Little Town of Bethlehem Hark The Herald Angels Sing God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Shout for Joy O Come All Ye Faithful Away in a Manger O Holy Night Angels from the Realms of Glory Il Est Ne Rejoice with Exceeding Great Joy (Glenn’s favorite!) What Child is This Do You Hear What I Hear Silent Night Joy to the World Hallelujah The Wonderful World of Christmas (recessional) We listen to the music during the Christmas season since we can’t be there, and we watched a livestream of a production last week with Neil Patrick Harris Celebrity narrators Special Guest to talk about the Candlelight Processional - Tammy! @missdiz Had to practice at least 10 times to be in the choir First year was 2000 Celebrity guests couldn’t really meet them, but Gary Sinese shook everyone’s hand Get ready behind the American Adventure Procession - tree fills in first, then the school choirs What it’s like when you’re standing on stage We enjoying seeing it as a family when we go on vacation Live Action/Animated films Chris hates them with a white-hot passion Chris doesn’t like Roger Rabbit or Mary Poppins The Polar Express freaks Glenn out Chris thinks the Rankin-Bass specials should be made so they’re more interesting to younger audiences Charity Pick [Wikipedia](https://donate.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special:FundraiserLandingPage&country=US&uselang=en&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_source=donate&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org) Picks of the week Glenn: [Designated Survivor](http://abc.go.com/shows/designated-survivor) on ABC Chris: [Spacecraft Films](http://www.spacecraftfilms.com/blog/)

This week we tag along with Gary Sinese, Tim Robbins and Connie Neilson on a MISSION TO MARS, Brian DePalma's 2000 space adventure which also features and Don Cheadle and thin Jerry O'Connell. We've got Alexandra West from the Faculty of Horror podcast in the cockpit (which actually makes it less of a cockpit, if you think about it). Will this Mission succeed? Or will it suck like we vaguely recall? Listen below to find out. Also, Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. Follow us on Twitter and consider supporting our Patreon campaign. WARNING: this podcast contains strong language and immature subject matter, please be advised. Also, buy Alex's book Films of the New French Extremity: Visceral Horror and National Identity

Call the Listener Line! 1-615-763-3878 The Listener Interaction Satchel is teeming with great feedback this week. We talk Gary Sinese and Mission: Space, John and Elyssa's Top Six WDW Attractions, Star Tours 2.0, how Walt Disney World treats customers at the Grand Floridian versus how they do business at the Waldorf, Comcast acting like Comcast, whether we like surprises, scrapping FastPass Plus, how we'd change WDW ticket prices, revamping a resort restaurant, and team nicknames.  Josh also joins us to talk his day at Universal and share a song at the very end of the episode.  We've also got a great crop of listener voice mails.

Give me back my son!  The main topic is a discussion of what we would like to start up a Kickstarter for the Disney community.  News Wheel is back and turns on Gary Sinese's face, the Candlelight Processional, Joffrey's Coffee, the sad state of the monorail fleet, closures at Animal Kingdom, and improving Disney transportation.  

Sithlords Joe McAdam and Joe Fernandez join Hank on the podcast to discuss blackface, Hank's drive across the country, themed restaurants gone wrong, Gary Sinese's niece, Joe F's trip to Vegas for a comedy competition, Joe M got some wedding booty, trucker sex, delivery vs material and Hank reads YouTube comments sent to him from angry fans of Multi Talented Star. HAMMMBURGER! out of context quote: "I said bananers. I meant bananers." www.winnersandlosersshow.com