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30 episodes with Jennifer Warnes
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4 episodes with Jennifer Warnes
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2 episodes with Jennifer Warnes
3 episodes with Jennifer Warnes
2 episodes with Jennifer Warnes
2 episodes with Jennifer Warnes
Paulo feels XXXtra Strong, while Dori can't believe the price of Chappies.We uncover some of the weirdest sitcoms from the '80s — and surprisingly, none of them carried the bizarre 2-21 age restriction enjoyed by Emmanuelle 1–12.Dori reviews a Shifty podcast, while Paulo finds out what happens when Monty Python, Cheech & Chong, Mel Brooks' troupe, and David Bowie play pirate dress-up.Finally, Rod Stewart really shouldn't be allowed near ChatGPT — and The Pogues are definitely going to ruin our Christmas.Jump To: Strangest 80s TV Shows (00:05:11)Nearly Departed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2roa-VT-9URubik the amazing cube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYs_GCy9PRkWhere's Rodney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDREFBAAcBYHeil Honey I'm home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_T3z5OuiNgTV in Apartheid South Africa (00:15:19): https://youtu.be/xUXXgPKADuk?si=PadjTnXeyZAutXRZPodcast Recommendation: The Rest is Shifty (00:24:42): https://iono.fm/c/9439Mobile Recording Studio & Lloyd Ross (00:30:37): https://www.saha.org.za/shiftyrecords/lloyd_ross_at_work_in_the_shifty_caravan.htmYellowbeard (00:35:43)Trailer: https://youtu.be/3RC69keaDGo?si=wPPKnkoSVhbpji1LBehind the scenes documentary: https://youtu.be/0CNzeAzh288?si=1BNGsFfbWrUX2081Rod Stewart, AI, and Technology Misuse (00:45:26): https://youtube.com/shorts/EgTAewBGzRY?si=ZhJygYM_Rn6VIX_yBBC Radio 2's Ultimate 80s Duet List (00:48:38): https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2025/bbc-radio-2-ultimate-80s-duet-results#80s pop culture, #That 80s Show, #sitcom theme songs, #SportBilly #1980s television, #1980s movies, #nostalgia, #strange TV shows, #short-lived sitcoms, #movie ratings, #censorship, #apartheid South Africa, #Full House, #Cheers, #Growing Pains, #Perfect Strangers, #Three's Company, #Nearly Departed, #Rubik the Amazing Cube, #Where's Rodney?, #Hail Honey I'm Home, #Everything 80s podcast, #PG-13 rating, #National Lampoon's Vacation, #censorship in films, #South African media, #audio work, #nostalgic candies, #tariffs, #inflation, #comedy, #boy bands, #Menudo, #Rodney Dangerfield, #social commentary, #political themes, #racial issues, #South African music history, #Shifty Records, #80s duets, #Philip Bailey, #Phil Collins, #Joe Cocker, #Jennifer Warnes, #David Bowie, #Mick Jagger, #Meatloaf, #Kylie Minogue, #Jason Donovan, #The Communards, #Pet Shop Boys, #Dusty Springfield, #Freddie Mercury, #Montserrat Caballé, #Queen, #David Bowie, #The Pogues, #Kirsty MacColl, #Fairytale of New York, #conspiracy theories, #podcasting, #humor, #cultural reflections.
País Estados Unidos Dirección Taylor Hackford Guion Douglas Day Stewart Reparto Richard Gere Debra Winger Louis Gossett, Jr. David Keith Lisa Blount Tony Plana Música Jack Nitzsche. Canción principal: Joe Cocker, Jennifer Warnes, Jack Nitzsche, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Will Jennings Fotografía Donald E. Thorin Sinopsis Zack Mayo (Richard Gere), un joven que ingresa en la Escuela Naval Militar de los Estados Unidos, tropezará con muchas dificultades para adaptarse a la estricta disciplina militar, situación que intentará corregir el implacable sargento Foley (Louis Gossett Jr.). Mientras tanto, conoce a Paula (Debra Winger), una joven de la que se acaba enamorando.
My co-host today Jim Search is a very funny comedian. Check him out https://www.jimsearchcomedy.com/artist-pagehttps://jimsearch.bandcamp.com/album/upstate-understandingsNational cold cuts day. Entertainment from 1955. Florida became 27th state, Star Spangle Banner bedcame national anthem, Rodney King beating took place. Todays birthdays - Alexander Graham Bell, Jean Harlow, James Doohan, Jennifer Warnes, Tone Loc, Julie Bowen, David Faustino, Jessica Biel, Camila Cabello. Roger Bannister died.Intro - God did good - Dianna Cocoran https://www.diannacorcoran.com/Icky Woods TV coldcuts commercialMy heart will go on - Celine DionRound about way - George StraitStartrek TV themeTime of my life - Jennifer Warnes & Bill MedleyWild thing - Tone LocModern Family TV themeLove & Marriage - Frank SinatraHavana - Camila CabelloExit - Cigerttres and bad decisions - Timothy Craig https://www.timothycraig.com/ contryundergroundradio.comHistory and Factoids about today website
Dans cet épisode, Ombline Roche nous fait découvrir l'incroyable parcours de Jennifer Warnes, une chanteuse américaine dotée d'une voix d'ange. Connue pour ses collaborations avec des légendes comme Leonard Cohen, Joe Cocker et Bob Dylan, Jennifer Warnes a également marqué l'histoire du cinéma en interprétant des chansons inoubliables pour des films cultes comme Dirty Dancing et Officier et Gentleman. Retour sur la carrière d'une artiste aux multiples facettes, qui a su s'imposer dans des univers musicaux très différents.Notre équipe a utilisé un outil d'Intelligence artificielle via les technologies d'Audiomeans© pour accompagner la création de ce contenu écrit.
Welcome to PTBN Pop's Video Jukebox Song of The Day! Every weekday will be featuring a live watch of a great and memorable music video. This week, with the Academy Awards coming up, all of the songs featured have won the Oscar for Best Original Song. On today's episode, Andy Atherton is watching, “(I've Had) The Time Of My Life” by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes from 1986. The YouTube link for the video is below so you can watch along! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BQLE_RrTSU
Welcome to PTBN Pop's Video Jukebox Song of The Day! Every weekday will be featuring a live watch of a great and memorable music video. This week, with the Academy Awards coming up, all of the songs featured have won the Oscar for Best Original Song. On today's episode, Andy Atherton is watching, “Up Where We Belong'” by Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes from 1981. The YouTube link for the video is below so you can watch along! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjrOcrisGyI
Artist. Poet. Friend. This week, we celebrate the music, life, and legacy of Leonard Cohen with someone who knew him well - Perla Batalla. Grammy-nominated Singer/songwriter Perla Batalla first came to prominence as a backing singer for Leonard Cohen during his 1988 I'm Your Man tour and on the 1992 album The Future, in the process forging a deep friendship. With Cohen's encouragement, Perla stepped out as an artist in her own right, releasing a beautifully diverse range of magnificent albums such as Mestiza and Discoteca Batalla, performing at the world's best venues, co-writing and appearing in two one-woman shows, honored by UN and Focus on the Masters. But she has always kept the words and works of Leonard Cohen close to her heart. Her latest album, A Letter to Leonard Cohen: Tribute to a Friend, is her second album of her unique interpretations of Cohen's music, following 2005's Bird on the Wire. It was released the day before what would have been his 90th birthday. Leonard Norman Cohen was born in Quebec on September 21, 1934. Spending the latter part of the ‘50s and first half of the ‘60s as a published poet and author, he shifted his focus to songwriting. From 1967 to 1971, he established himself as a major musical talent with the trilogy of classic albums Songs of Leonard Cohen, Songs from a Room, and Songs of Love and Hate, as well as interpretations by the likes of Judy Collins, Nina Simone, Joe Cocker, and Roberta Flack. He would continue to record and tour sporadically throughout the ‘70s and early ‘80s to widespread acclaim and with some commercial success in Europe. In the late ‘80s & early ‘90s, Cohen gained a new underground audience through his two synth-driven productions, I'm Your Man and The Future, prominent soundtrack placements, a beloved album of interpretations by Jennifer Warnes, Famous Blue Raincoat, and the 1991 high profile tribute album, I'm Your Fan, where a who's who of alternative music disciples like REM, Ian McCulloch, Pixies, James, The House of Love, Robert Forster, Nick Cave, and John Cale paid their respects to the man. The latter artist, John Cale, performed a breathtaking piano version of a song from 1984's Various Positions called “Hallelujah,” in an arrangement that would be borrowed and transcribed to guitar by Jeff Buckley a few years later, which further elevated Leonard Cohen's already mythical status. After spending the latter half of the ‘90s in a monastery as an ordained Buddhist monk, Leonard Cohen returned in the twenty first century to finish what he started, adding six additional studio albums to his catalogue, including the album released weeks before his November 7, 2016 death, You Want It Darker, and the posthumous followup completed by his son Adam, 2019's Thanks For The Dance, as well as multiple live albums, both archival and contemporary. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
A Navy Aviation Officer Candidate with a bad attitude (Richard Gere) must learn to be a team player or risk his chance to make a better life for himself. Co-starring Debra Winger, Louis Gossett Jr., David Keith, Robert Loggia, Lisa Eilbacher, Harold Sylvester and David Caruso. Directed by Taylor Hackford and features the hit song "Up Where We Belong" performed by Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes.
This week on The Metro, Rev Jeff Ivins brings songs from TV shows and movies to your ears. Featuring the following people/bands: Jan Hammer, Glenn Frey, Bill Medley /w Jennifer Warnes, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Joe Cocker /w Jennifer Warnes, El DeBarge, Steve Miller Band, Joey Scarbury, Lionel Richie /w Diana Ross, Mike + The Mechanics, Peter Cetera /w Amy Grant, Phil Collins, Will To Power, and finishing off with Bette Midler.
Ira Ingber is a celebrated guitarist and singer-songwriter. He's played with Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, J.D. Souther, Karla Bonoff, Jennifer Warnes and Andrew Gold. He's had a long association with Van Dyke Parks. He played on the “Midnight Run” movie soundtrack. On TV he's played on “Battlestar Gallactica”, “The Walking Dead” and “Outlander”. His latest album is There Goes My Compass by Baring All, his band with Steve Bartek.My featured song is “Chasing The Light” from the album Bobby M and the Paisley Parade. 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.—----------------------------------------ROBERT'S SINGLES:“SOSTICE” is Robert's newest single, with a rockin' Old School vibe. Called “Stunning!”, “A Gem!”, “Magnificent!” and “5 Stars!”.Click HERE for all links.—---------------------------------“THE GIFT” is Robert's ballad arranged by Grammy winning arranger Michael Abene and turned into a horn-driven Samba. Praised by David Amram, John Helliwell, Joe La Barbera, Tony Carey, Fay Claassen, Antonio Farao, Danny Gottlieb and Leslie Mandoki.Click HERE for all links.—-------------------------------------“LOU'S BLUES”. Robert's Jazz Fusion “Tone Poem”. 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 sublime, atmospheric Jazz Fusion tune. Featuring guest artist Randy Brecker (Blood Sweat & Tears) on flugelhorn. Click HERE for all links.—---------------------------------------Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with Ira at:www.iraingber.com 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
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
It's football season, so we're talking football movies. Four of them, to be exact: The Best of Times, All the Right Moves, Wildcats, and The Program. Hard hitting cinematic gridiron... We also yell about the remake of Speak No Evil. Also, Jennifer Warnes did, in fact, sing a rendition of Leonard Cohen's Famous Blue Raincoat. Keep in touch and read more at whydoesthewilhelmscream.com on instagram and threads @whydoesthewilhelmpod Find out more about upcoming Fort Worth Film Club screenings and events at fortworthfilmclub.com and @fortworthfilm Support the next generation of film lovers at reelhousefoundation.org and on facebook reelhousefoundation Artwork by @_mosla_
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
CONTENT WARNING: There is discussion of suicide as it relates to the lyrics of the song “Dress Rehearsal Rag.” (Discussion begins at 46:44 and ends at 51:58.)Sean Nelson, formerly the frontman for the Seattle-based band Harvey Danger, joins Al to talk about Leonard Cohen's 1971 album Songs of Love and Hate. Sean talks about how he first heard the album and why he was instantly enamored of it, and why Cohen is one of his favorite vocalists. He also talks about the personal nature of the lyrics for many of the songs on the album. In addition to discussing this album, Sean and Al discuss their experiences with listening to Jennifer Warnes' covers of Cohen's songs.Be sure to check out Sean's new podcast, The Wonder of It All (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31843073/), wherever you get your podcasts. You can keep up with Sean on Instagram at @actualseannelson.Al is on Bluesky at @almelchior.bsky.social. This show has accounts on Instagram and Threads at @youmealbum. Subscribe for free to You, Me and An Album: The Newsletter! https://youmealbum.substack.com/1:25 Sean joins the show2:11 Sean explains why he wanted to discuss this particular Cohen album5:03 Sean talks about Cohen as a seeker of truth6:43 Sean identifies the moment when Cohen really grabbed his attention12:52 The album made Al confront something about his musical preferences15:25 Sean explains why he is drawn to dark albums like Songs of Love and Hate16:53 Sean contrast's Cohen's approach to Trent Reznor's21:21Sean describes the setting in which he prefers to listen to Songs of Love and Hate24:07 Sean and Al make note of Cohen's dialogues with himself on the album27:22 Sean talks about the successes Cohen had early in his music career, and how it inspired “Avalanche”34:52 Were “Famous Blue Raincoat” and “Joan of Arc” about actual people in Cohen's life?39:43 Sean and Al discuss their reactions to Jennifer Warnes' covers of Cohen's songs46:44 (TW) Sean delves into “Dress Rehearsal Rag”51:58 Sean talks about his new podcast and the vinyl release of Harvey Danger's King James Version Outro music is from “(This Is) The Thrilling Conversation You've Been Waiting For” by Harvey Danger.Support the Show.
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Let 'em say we're crazy, but we're gonna do another movie theme poll. Yes, I swear, it's the truth. This time we're heading off to the magical year of 1987, when mannequins came to life and no one put baby in a corner. But only one can see off our end credits, so which one will it be, Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes' "(I've Had) the Time of My Life" or Starship's "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now"?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
The Not Ready for Prime Time Podcast: The Early Years of SNL
It's the end of the season, but the beginning of the tradition of having Buck Henry host the season finale of SNL! It is a monumental episode in the history of the show and we see many of our favorites return such as The Coneheads, Emily Litella, and (of course with Buck hosting) The Samurai!There's a lot to talk about, including a breakthrough sketch for Bill Murray! So, to make sure we cover it all, we are once again joined by the Buck Henry of The Not Ready for Prime Time Podcast - Jon Schneider from the Saturday Night Network. Subscribe today! And follow us on social media on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
Hocus Focus Mix met Ray Parker Jr, Dua Lipa, Destiny's Child, Jennifer Warnes & Sophie Ellis-Bextor (Soundtrack Top 96 Editie)
National cold cuts day. Entertainment from 1955. Florida became 27th state, Star Spangle Banner bedcame national anthem, Rodney King beating took place. Todays birthdays - Alexander Graham Bell, Jean Harlow, James Doohan, Jennifer Warnes, Tone Loc, Julie Bowen, David Faustino, Jessica Biel, Camila Cabello. Roger Bannister died.Intro - Pour some sugar on me - Def Leppard http://defleppard.com/Icky Woods TV coldcuts commercialSincereley - The McGuire SistersIn the jailhouse now - Webb PierceBirthdays - In da club - 50 Cent http://50cent.com/Startrek TV themeTime of my life - Jennifer Warnes & Bill MedleyWild thing - Tone LocModern Family TV themeLove & Marriage - Frank SinatraHavana - Camila CabelloExit - Its not love - Dokken http://dokken.net/ https://coolcasts.cooolmedia.com/
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Episode 238: It's time to go "Just a Bit Outside" to check out some singles that hit the Hot 100 but DIDN'T make the Top 40. This week, we'll hear singles from Neil Diamond and Jennifer Warnes, and a couple from the Great White North from Red Rider and Anne Murray. It's not all Adult Contemporary, though! The singles from 1989 are from acts like Love and Rockets and Debbie Gibson. Buckle up, there's a new Quiz in town! Find out if Joe can pull off another upset in this new series of quizzes.
Joe Cocker is one of the most dynamic singing stars to emerge from the Twentieth Century, and was one of the most unique, creative, and mem-orable rockers around. With distinctively huge hits like, "With a Little Help from My Friends," "You Are So Beautiful," and his Number One duet with Jennifer Warnes, "Up Where We Belong," Cocker is a one-of-a-kind legend. Although he was relatively unknown in 1969 when he took the stage of the Woodstock Music Festival, he quickly rose to fame for his trademark on- stage choreography and anguished blues singing. His album, "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" cemented his international stardom. Though he was a Grammy Award winner, Cocker's life was not always on an uphill track. He suffered from low self-esteem and bouts of depression. It wasn't until later in his life that he met the love of his life, Pam, who helped him put his personal life back on track before his death in 2014. Cocker's life was one of attaining goals, making disastrous mistakes, and ultimately finding happiness and redemption in the eleventh hour. In Joe Cocker: With a LOT of Help from His Friends, every aspect of Joe's amazing life and career is examined and explained.
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Joe Cocker is one of the most dynamic singing stars to emerge from the Twentieth Century, and was one of the most unique, creative, and mem-orable rockers around. With distinctively huge hits like, "With a Little Help from My Friends," "You Are So Beautiful," and his Number One duet with Jennifer Warnes, "Up Where We Belong," Cocker is a one-of-a-kind legend. Although he was relatively unknown in 1969 when he took the stage of the Woodstock Music Festival, he quickly rose to fame for his trademark on- stage choreography and anguished blues singing. His album, "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" cemented his international stardom. Though he was a Grammy Award winner, Cocker's life was not always on an uphill track. He suffered from low self-esteem and bouts of depression. It wasn't until later in his life that he met the love of his life, Pam, who helped him put his personal life back on track before his death in 2014. Cocker's life was one of attaining goals, making disastrous mistakes, and ultimately finding happiness and redemption in the eleventh hour. In Joe Cocker: With a LOT of Help from His Friends, every aspect of Joe's amazing life and career is examined and explained.
Now that we're all stuff with turkey and fattened up for the holiday season, it's time to gyrate and twist to some truly filthy dancing. With our friends P Swayze and J Grey! And also the people who sang this song, an old man and famous duet lady! Please enjoy this episode where Dan teaches Andrew about some Havana Nights.
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
We have been looking forward to this episode for over a year. Mike Balsom is a Niagara legend who was a wedding DJ in the 80s and 90s. If you were at a reception during those decades, there's a good chance you will have been blessed with his mastery of the two turntables (but no microphone!). He brings to our episode the ultimate wedding dance floor filler song: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes. This is a landmark episode for us. Sit back and enjoy! Helpful links: Mixtape Official Music Video
While the album Whitesnake may not be the debut album from the band Whitesnake, this self-titled seventh studio album might as well be a debut, as only two members were present from the previous album. Known in the UK as 1987, and in Japan as Serpens Albus, this album featured returning members John Sykes on guitars and backing vocals, and David Coverdale on lead vocals. Additionally Neil Murray was on bass, Aynsley Dunbar was on percussion, and Don Airey was on keyboards.David Coverdale was the lead singer for Deep Purple, and left the group in 1976. He did a couple of solo albums, the first of which was named “White Snake.” He formed the band Whitesnake as his backing band in 1978. They had a lot of success in the UK, Europe, and Japan with their early albums, but Coverdale wanted to break through in North America by the mid-80's. He started moving from a blues/hard rock sound to a more glam metal sound, starting with the album "Slide It In" in 1984, and fully embraced the heavy metal sound and hair band image with this album.Whitesnake would get significant airplay, with two singles going to number 1 (Here I Go Again) and number 2 (Is This Love?) on the Billboard US charts. Their videos would be staples of MTV, with prominent exposure of Tawny Kitaen, Coverdale's girlfriend and soon-to-be wife. The band would be broken up shortly after the album was complete, leaving David Coverdale as the sole member by the time they went on tour. This was despite the fact that John Sykes co-wrote all but two of the songs on the album. Get your hair metal on as Bruce puts his metal hair on, presenting this week's album. Bad BoysA deeper cut, this song is heavy on the rock and light on the significance of the lyrics. “Bad bad boys, getting wild in the street, wild in the city, I see you - you see me.” Much of the album has this heavy rock sound.Crying In the Rain '87This track that starts the album is a reworked song originally released by the group in 1982. The original is more bluesy and has a slower tempo than this version. The song was inspired by David Coverdale's divorce.Give Me All Your LoveThis was the fourth single from the album, and it reached number 58 on the US Top 100 charts. By the time the single was released in January 1988 a new guitar solo had been recorded by Vivian Campbell, replacing guitarist and co-writer John Sykes. Campbell would tour with the band but would leave before the next album.Still of the NightThe first single from the album may have only hit number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it received significant airplay on rock stations and MTV. The comparisons to Led Zeppelin were frequent, not just for the guitar riffs, but also for the heavy drumming and similarity between the vocalizations of Coverdale and Robert Plant. The song is about obsession, maybe a vampire, maybe a stalker. ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:Love and Marriage by Frank Sinatra (from the television series “Married...With Children”)This anti-Cosby Show family dystopia followed the antics of shoe salesman Al Bundy and his family. STAFF PICKS:Tonight, Tonight, Tonight by GenesisLynch gets the staff picks going with a single from Genesis's album Invisible Touch. It went to number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 despite being written less as a pop song and more like the prog rock style that Genesis used earlier in the decade. The lyrics are about a conversation with a drug dealer, a fact that must have been missed when Michelob used the song to promote their beer.Love Removal Machine by The CultWayne's staff pick is the first single from The Cult's third album, Electric. It went to number 15 on the Mainstream Rock charts in the United States. Lead singer Ian Astbury compares this song to getting on your favorite motorcycle. The opening riff is often compared to “Start Me Up” by the Rolling Stones.Ahead by Wire Rob features the closest post punk band Wire would get to a pop single. It has a spacey, ethereal sound. Wire had extensive influence over many groups, including Sonic Youth, The Cure, and R.E.M. First We Take Manhattan by Jennifer WarnesBruce closes out the staff picks with a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. Jennifer Warnes originally did this song for a Cohen tribute album, and it features guitarist extraordinaire Stevie Ray Vaughan. The song itself is dark and apocalyptic, with lyrics told from the perspective of a terrorist. COMEDY TRACK:Put Down the Duckie by Hoots the Owl and ErnieWe first learned that we have to put down the duckie if we want to play the saxophone from this skit, which aired on Sesame Street for the first time in April 1987.
On the new ThROH The Years we cover a very dramatic moment in Bryan Danielson's history as we review Gut Check, a show with one of the craziest instances of a wrestler working through an injury. But there's so much more. Trevor is discombobulated. Matt educates us about Jennifer Warnes and even sings. Check your stomach biome and get downloading!
“First Voices Radio” is digging into our archive to share two conversations from last year. In the first half-hour, Tiokasin talks with Eda Zavala Lopez, a direct descendant of the Wari people of Peru. She inherited ancient traditions and profound knowledge related to plants, spirits and magical storytelling from her ancestors. Eda is dedicated to Amazonian Indigenous healing practices by leading ceremonies with medicinal plants, practicing ancient ways of healing knowledge and empowering her people in preserving their sacred territories. As a Curandera, Eda directly uses the power of medicinal plants to help heal people emotionally and spirituality, especially women. As a spiritual leader in her village, she is deeply committed to Indigenous Peruvian people in defending their sacred territories and protecting their lands. Find out about Eda at http://www.edazavalalopez.com/. In the second half-hour, Tiokasin's guest is Oqwilowgwa Kim Recalma-Clutesi of the Qualicum First Nation, British Columbia, Canada. Oqwilowgwa is a cross-cultural interpreter, teacher, researcher and writer on topics of ethnobiology and tribal history. She is also a nonprofit director, political organizer, and award-winning videographer and film producer. Production Credits: Tiokasin Ghosthorse (Lakota), Host and Executive Producer Liz Hill (Red Lake Ojibwe), Producer Karen Ramirez (Mayan), Studio Engineer, Radio Kingston Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Audio Editor Kevin Richardson, Podcast Editor Music Selections: 1. Song Title: Tahi Roots Mix (First Voices Radio Theme Song) Artist: Moana and the Moa Hunters Album: Tahi (1993) Label: Southside Records (Australia and New Zealand) (00:00:22) 2. Song Title: Renegade Artist: Dylan LeBlanc Album: Renegade (2019) Label: ATO Records (00:24:45) 3. Song Title: *First We Take Manhattan Artist: Jennifer Warnes (featuring Stevie Ray Vaughan) Album: Famous Blue Raincoat 20th Anniversary Edition (Digitally Remastered) (1986) Label: Porch Light LLC (*Note: "First We Take Manhattan" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was originally recorded by American singer Jennifer Warnes on her 1986 Cohen tribute album Famous Blue Raincoat, which consisted entirely of songs written or co-written by Cohen. Backed up by Stevie Ray Vaughan who was Chickasaw for those of you who didn't know that.) (00:53:15) AKANTU INTELLIGENCE Visit Akantu Intelligence, an institute that Tiokasin founded with a mission of contextualizing original wisdom for troubled times. Go to https://akantuintelligence.org to find out more and consider joining his Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/Ghosthorse
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Intro song: "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper (from Girls Just Want to Have Fun)5. "Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen (from Dirty Dancing)4. "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow" by The Soggy Bottom Boys (from Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?)3. "Maniac" by Michael Sembello (from Flashdance)2. "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News (from Back to the Future)1. "Footloose" by Kenny Loggins (from Footloose)Countdown Wrap-Up:Decade CountGenre UpdateOutro song: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes (from Dirty Dancing)Vote for your favorite song from today's episodeAnd if you haven't:Vote on Episode 1Vote on Episode 2Vote on Episode 3Vote on Episode 4
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
Dirty Dancing is the Born to Watch attempt at getting out of our comfort zone, well for two of us. We will let you decide which team member isn't going to put Baby in a corner.It's rare for a film to capture the essence of a generation, to become a cultural touchstone that transcends time and speaks to audiences across generations. "Dirty Dancing," directed by Emile Ardolino and released in 1987, is one such cinematic gem that has managed to do just that. With its infectious energy, heartwarming romance, and a soundtrack that's become synonymous with the era, "Dirty Dancing" continues to sway hearts and ignite conversations even decades after its release.Set in the summer of 1963, the film whisks us away to Kellerman's, a family resort nestled in the Catskill Mountains. This seemingly idyllic retreat becomes the backdrop for the transformational journey of Frances "Baby" Houseman, portrayed brilliantly by Jennifer Grey. Baby is an idealistic young woman on the brink of adulthood, her world view shaped by her upper-middle-class upbringing and the impending societal changes of the 1960s. Her life takes a thrilling turn when she stumbles upon the staff quarters and encounters the vivacious dance instructor Johnny Castle, played by the charismatic Patrick Swayze.The film's title itself carries a provocative undertone, and indeed, dance serves as a metaphor for the hidden desires, social boundaries, and self-discovery that drive the narrative. As Baby watches the forbidden and electrifying world of "dirty dancing" unfold before her eyes, her journey from innocence to self-assuredness mirrors the societal shifts happening beyond the dance floor. The dance sequences are nothing short of mesmerising, as Swayze and Grey's chemistry ignites the screen, and their moves convey emotions that words often fail to express.What truly elevates "Dirty Dancing" beyond its dazzling dance numbers is its unapologetic exploration of class, gender, and identity. The backdrop of the early 1960s allows the film to address these issues with a subtle yet poignant touch. Baby's encounter with the working-class staff challenges her preconceived notions, and her blossoming relationship with Johnny defies societal expectations. The dance routines themselves, at times sensual and raw, are symbolic of breaking free from the constraints of traditional roles.Jennifer Grey's portrayal of Baby is a masterclass in character development. Her transition from a sheltered girl to a confident woman is believable and relatable. Grey's ability to convey vulnerability, determination, and passion draws the audience into Baby's world, making us cheer for her every step of the way. Patrick Swayze's Johnny is a complex character, harbouring dreams and burdens that go beyond his tough exterior. Swayze's magnetic presence brings depth to the character, making Johnny more than just a dance instructor – he becomes a symbol of aspiration and rebellion.The supporting cast adds layers of charm and intrigue to the film. Jerry Orbach as Dr. Jake Houseman, Baby's father, delivers a touching performance as a well-intentioned parent struggling to come to terms with the changes his daughter is experiencing. The late, great actress Kelly Bishop shines as Marjorie Houseman, portraying the matriarch with a mix of grace and quiet understanding. And who could forget the scene-stealing turn by Cynthia Rhodes as Penny, Johnny's dance partner, whose predicament becomes a catalyst for Baby's transformation?The film's soundtrack deserves special mention, as it's impossible to discuss "Dirty Dancing" without acknowledging its impact. The music not only accompanies the dance sequences but becomes an integral part of the storytelling. Tracks like "Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes and "Hungry Eyes" by Eric Carmen infuse the film with a sense of nostalgia and romance, capturing the essence of the era and remaining etched in the memories of viewers."Dirty Dancing" is a quintessential coming-of-age story, a tale of love transcending social barriers, and a celebration of the power of dance to liberate the spirit. It's a film that reminds us that change is inevitable, that stepping out of our comfort zones can lead to remarkable transformations, and that true empowerment comes from embracing our passions and defying expectations. It's no wonder that the film's iconic line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner," has become a rallying cry for individuality and self-expression.In conclusion, "Dirty Dancing" is a cinematic treasure that continues to captivate audiences with its timeless themes, unforgettable performances, and mesmerising dance sequences. The film's ability to bridge generations and evoke emotions speaks to its enduring relevance. Whether you're watching it for the first time or revisiting it for the umpteenth time, "Dirty Dancing" will always have the power to make you laugh, cry, and dance like nobody's watching.Please follow the Podcast and join our community at https://linktr.ee/borntowatchpodcast If you are looking to start a podcast and want a host or get guests to pipe in remotely, look no further than Riverside.fmClick the link below https://riverside.fm/?utm_campaign=campaign_1&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=rewardful&via=matthew
Matt gets calls on Biblical Theology. Matt has answers on Biblical Theology. The sound bites are from Roy Rogers "Happy Trails To You," "I've Had The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, "Had The Time Of Your Life," by Green Day, "Goodbye," by Nylons, and "Goodbye My Friend," by Linda Rondstadt. The questions come from people all over the world. We've compiled the six most memorable of the week. Number 6 to #1!
LOVE LIFT US UP Are you willing to put your life on the line and be the best of the best for your country? Or do you just want to put on a nice white naval suit? Either is fine, as we are talking all things An Officer and a Gentleman starring Richard Gere, Debra Winger and Louis Gossett Jr. Music wise, Jennifer Warnes and Joe Cocker combine for the anthemic love song "Up Where We Belong". Alex is keeping the magic alive, Ben wants a new addition to his Arrow video collection and Dietrich is going to get Barbie brunch. Find us on Twitter, Instagram and Threads: @TSFTMpod Like, share and submarine. Did you enjoy the episode? Then please consider leaving a 5 star review wherever you get your podcasts. It means a great deal to us and makes it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Want to support us further? You can do this on Patreon from £1 ($1.50) a month: https://Patreon.com/TSFTM or via our merch store: https://TeePublic.com/user/TSFTM Thank you! Timestamps:01:45 - What Have We Been Watching06:17 - History09:46 - Movie Discussion18:15 - Critical Reception & Performances24:30 - The Famous Final Scene28:49 - "Up Where We Belong" Discussion44:23 - Top 550:11 - Movie or Song?
Diane and Sean discuss the sweaty, sexy, 80's era film...Dirty Dancing. Episode music is "The Time of My Life", written by Franke Previte, Donald Markowitz, John DeNicola; performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from the OST.Check the Merch link for NEW MERCH!- Our theme song is by Brushy One String- Artwork by Marlaine LePage- Why Do We Own This DVD? Merch available at Teepublic- Follow the show on social media:- Tumblr: WhyDoWeOwnThisDVD- Follow Sean's Plants on IG: @lookitmahplantsSupport the show
THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE Nobody puts baby in the corner. And nobody ignores our review of 1980s classic Dirty Dancing. With so many songs, we narrow it down to Patrick Swayze's "She's Like the Wind", Eric Carmen's "Hungry Eyes" and Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes' "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". Alex gets to call his close friend "TH", Ben is a gold medal dancer and Dietrich auditions for Smooth Radio. Follow us on Twitter: @TSFTMpod To Infinity, like, share and subscribe. Did you enjoy the episode? Then please consider leaving a 5 star review wherever you get your podcasts. It means a great deal to us and makes it easier for other potential listeners to find us. Want to support us further? You can do this on Patreon from £1 ($1.50) a month: https://Patreon.com/TSFTM or via our merch store: https://TeePublic.com/user/TSFTM Thank you! Timestamps: 02:04 - What Have We Been Watching 07:43 - History10:53 - Movie Discussion24:08 - Overall Soundtrack27:00 - "She's Like the Wind" Discussion33:27 - "Hungry Eyes" Discussion40:46 - "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" Discussion52:42 - Top 5 54:51 - Movie or Song? AND Best Song?
Nobody puts Baby in a corner, and nobody can deny this is one of the most iconic movie songs of the 80's! Guest JP Leigh helps us tackle one of the most famous movie songs, (I've Had) The Time of My Life by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes from the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. Support us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/thesongwillgoonNeed more The Song Will Go On in your life? Follow us @thesongwillgoon on Twitter and Instagram, and check out www.thesongwillgoon.com.
Episode 209: Happy National Jennifer Day! Joe and Kari are here to make sure you celebrate responsibly. The plan was to discuss multiple Jennifer's of the 80's, but the research on singer Jennifer Warnes proved much more fruitful than expected. She is most well known for songs from the soundtracks to An Officer and a Gentleman and Dirty Dancing, but there is so much more! This deep dive includes a few detours to discuss songs from non-Jennifers as well.
The first of a two-part series on the short-lived 80s American distribution company responsible for Dirty Dancing. ----more---- The movies covered on this episode: Alpine (1987, Fredi M. Murer) Anna (1987, Yurek Bogayevicz) Billy Galvin (1986, John Grey) Blood Diner (1987, Jackie Kong) China Girl (1987, Abel Ferrera) The Dead (1987, John Huston) Dirty Dancing (1987, Emile Ardolino) Malcolm (1986, Nadia Tess) Personal Services (1987, Terry Jones) Slaughter High (1986, Mark Ezra and Peter Litten and George Dugdale) Steel Dawn (1987, Lance Hook) Street Trash (1987, Jim Muro) 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. Have you ever thought “I should do this thing” but then you never get around to it, until something completely random happens that reminds you that you were going to do this thing a long time ago? For this week's episode, that kick in the keister was a post on Twitter from someone I don't follow being retweeted by the great film critic and essayist Walter Chaw, someone I do follow, that showed a Blu-ray cover of the 1987 Walter Hill film Extreme Prejudice. You see, Walter Chaw has recently released a book about the life and career of Walter Hill, and this other person was showing off their new purchase. That in and of itself wasn't the kick in the butt. That was the logo of the disc's distributor. Vestron Video. A company that went out of business more than thirty years before, that unbeknownst to me had been resurrected by the current owner of the trademark, Lionsgate Films, as a specialty label for a certain kind of film like Ken Russell's Gothic, Beyond Re-Animator, CHUD 2, and, for some reason, Walter Hill's Neo-Western featuring Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe and Rip Torn. For those of you from the 80s, you remember at least one of Vestron Pictures' movies. I guarantee it. But before we get there, we, as always, must go back a little further back in time. The year is 1981. Time Magazine is amongst the most popular magazines in the world, while their sister publication, Life, was renowned for their stunning photographs printed on glossy color paper of a larger size than most magazines. In the late 1970s, Time-Life added a video production and distribution company to ever-growing media empire that also included television stations, cable channels, book clubs, and compilation record box sets. But Time Life Home Video didn't quite take off the way the company had expected, and they decided to concentrate its lucrative cable businesses like HBO. The company would move Austin Furst, an executive from HBO, over to dismantle the assets of Time-Life Films. And while Furst would sell off the production and distribution parts of the company to Fox, and the television department to Columbia Pictures, he couldn't find a party interested in the home video department. Recognizing that home video was an emerging market that would need a visionary like himself willing to take big risks for the chance to have big rewards, Furst purchased the home video rights to the film and video library for himself, starting up his home entertainment company. But what to call the company? It would be his daughter that would come up with Vestron, a portmanteau of combining the name of the Roman goddess of the heart, Vesta, with Tron, the Greek word for instrument. Remember, the movie Tron would not be released for another year at this point. At first, there were only two employees at Vestron: Furst himself, and Jon Pesinger, a fellow executive at Time-Life who, not unlike Dorothy Boyd in Jerry Maguire, was the only person who saw Furst's long-term vision for the future. Outside of the titles they brought with them from Time-Life, Vestron's initial release of home video titles comprised of two mid-range movie hits where they were able to snag the home video rights instead of the companies that released the movies in theatres, either because those companies did not have a home video operation yet, or did not negotiate for home video rights when making the movie deal with the producers. Fort Apache, The Bronx, a crime drama with Paul Newman and Ed Asner, and Loving Couples, a Shirley MacLaine/James Coburn romantic comedy that was neither romantic nor comedic, were Time-Life productions, while the Burt Reynolds/Dom DeLuise comedy The Cannonball Run, was a pickup from the Hong Kong production company Golden Harvest, which financed the comedy to help break their local star, Jackie Chan, into the American market. They'd also make a deal with several Canadian production companies to get the American home video rights to titles like the Jack Lemmon drama Tribute and the George C. Scott horror film The Changeling. The advantage that Vestron had over the major studios was their outlook on the mom and pop rental stores that were popping up in every city and town in the United States. The major studios hated the idea that they could sell a videotape for, say, $99.99, and then see someone else make a major profit by renting that tape out fifty or a hundred times at $4 or $5 per night. Of course, they would eventually see the light, but in 1982, they weren't there yet. Now, let me sidetrack for a moment, as I am wont to do, to talk about mom and pop video stores in the early 1980s. If you're younger than, say, forty, you probably only know Blockbuster and/or Hollywood Video as your local video rental store, but in the early 80s, there were no national video store chains yet. The first Blockbuster wouldn't open until October 1985, in Dallas, and your neighborhood likely didn't get one until the late 1980s or early 1990s. The first video store I ever encountered, Telford Home Video in Belmont Shores, Long Beach in 1981, was operated by Bob Telford, an actor best known for playing the Station Master in both the original 1974 version of Where the Red Fern Grows and its 2003 remake. Bob was really cool, and I don't think it was just because the space for the video store was just below my dad's office in the real estate company that had built and operated the building. He genuinely took interest in this weird thirteen year old kid who had an encyclopedic knowledge of films and wanted to learn more. I wanted to watch every movie he had in the store that I hadn't seen yet, but there was one problem: we had a VHS machine, and most of Bob's inventory was RCA SelectaVision, a disc-based playback system using a special stylus and a groove-covered disc much like an LP record. After school each day, I'd hightail it over to Telford Home Video, and Bob and I would watch a movie while we waited for customers to come rent something. It was with Bob that I would watch Ordinary People and The Magnificent Seven, The Elephant Man and The Last Waltz, Bus Stop and Rebel Without a Cause and The French Connection and The Man Who Fell to Earth and a bunch of other movies that weren't yet available on VHS, and it was great. Like many teenagers in the early 1980s, I spent some time working at a mom and pop video store, Seacliff Home Video in Aptos, CA. I worked on the weekends, it was a third of a mile walk from home, and even though I was only 16 years old at the time, my bosses would, every week, solicit my opinion about which upcoming videos we should acquire. Because, like Telford Home Video and Village Home Video, where my friends Dick and Michelle worked about two miles away, and most every video store at the time, space was extremely limited and there was only space for so many titles. Telford Home Video was about 500 square feet and had maybe 500 titles. Seacliff was about 750 square feet and around 800 titles, including about 50 in the tiny, curtained off room created to hold the porn. And the first location for Village Home Video had only 300 square feet of space and only 250 titles. The owner, Leone Keller, confirmed to me that until they moved into a larger location across from the original store, they were able to rent out every movie in the store every night. For many, a store owner had to be very careful about what they ordered and what they replaced. But Vestron Home Video always seemed to have some of the better movies. Because of a spat between Warner Brothers and Orion Pictures, Vestron would end up with most of Orion's 1983 through 1985 theatrical releases, including Rodney Dangerfield's Easy Money, the Nick Nolte political thriller Under Fire, the William Hurt mystery Gorky Park, and Gene Wilder's The Woman in Red. They'd also make a deal with Roger Corman's old American Independent Pictures outfit, which would reap an unexpected bounty when George Miller's second Mad Max movie, The Road Warrior, became a surprise hit in 1982, and Vestron was holding the video rights to the first Mad Max movie. And they'd also find themselves with the laserdisc rights to several Brian DePalma movies including Dressed to Kill and Blow Out. And after Polygram Films decided to leave the movie business in 1984, they would sell the home video rights to An American Werewolf in London and Endless Love to Vestron. They were doing pretty good. And in 1984, Vestron ended up changing the home video industry forever. When Michael Jackson and John Landis had trouble with Jackson's record company, Epic, getting their idea for a 14 minute short film built around the title song to Jackson's monster album Thriller financed, Vestron would put up a good portion of the nearly million dollar budget in order to release the movie on home video, after it played for a few weeks on MTV. In February 1984, Vestron would release a one-hour tape, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, that included the mini-movie and a 45 minute Making of featurette. At $29.99, it would be one of the first sell-through titles released on home video. It would become the second home videotape to sell a million copies, after Star Wars. Suddenly, Vestron was flush with more cash than it knew what to do with. In 1985, they would decide to expand their entertainment footprint by opening Vestron Pictures, which would finance a number of movies that could be exploited across a number of platforms, including theatrical, home video, cable and syndicated TV. In early January 1986, Vestron would announce they were pursuing projects with three producers, Steve Tisch, Larry Turman, and Gene Kirkwood, but no details on any specific titles or even a timeframe when any of those movies would be made. Tisch, the son of Loews Entertainment co-owner Bob Tisch, had started producing films in 1977 with the Peter Fonda music drama Outlaw Blues, and had a big hit in 1983 with Risky Business. Turman, the Oscar-nominated producer of Mike Nichols' The Graduate, and Kirkwood, the producer of The Keep and The Pope of Greenwich Village, had seen better days as producers by 1986 but their names still carried a certain cache in Hollywood, and the announcement would certainly let the industry know Vestron was serious about making quality movies. Well, maybe not all quality movies. They would also launch a sub-label for Vestron Pictures called Lightning Pictures, which would be utilized on B-movies and schlock that maybe wouldn't fit in the Vestron Pictures brand name they were trying to build. But it costs money to build a movie production and theatrical distribution company. Lots of money. Thanks to the ever-growing roster of video titles and the success of releases like Thriller, Vestron would go public in the spring of 1985, selling enough shares on the first day of trading to bring in $440m to the company, $140m than they thought they would sell that day. It would take them a while, but in 1986, they would start production on their first slate of films, as well as acquire several foreign titles for American distribution. Vestron Pictures officially entered the theatrical distribution game on July 18th, 1986, when they released the Australian comedy Malcolm at the Cinema 2 on the Upper East Side of New York City. A modern attempt to create the Aussie version of a Jacques Tati-like absurdist comedy about modern life and our dependance on gadgetry, Malcolm follows, as one character describes him a 100 percent not there individual who is tricked into using some of his remote control inventions to pull of a bank robbery. While the film would be a minor hit in Australia, winning all eight of the Australian Film Institute Awards it was nominated for including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay and three acting awards, the film would only play for five weeks in New York, grossing less than $35,000, and would not open in Los Angeles until November 5th, where in its first week at the Cineplex Beverly Center and Samuel Goldwyn Pavilion Cinemas, it would gross a combined $37,000. Go figure. Malcolm would open in a few more major markets, but Vestron would close the film at the end of the year with a gross under $200,000. Their next film, Slaughter High, was a rather odd bird. A co-production between American and British-based production companies, the film followed a group of adults responsible for a prank gone wrong on April Fool's Day who are invited to a reunion at their defunct high school where a masked killer awaits inside. And although the movie takes place in America, the film was shot in London and nearby Virginia Water, Surrey, in late 1984, under the title April Fool's Day. But even with Caroline Munro, the British sex symbol who had become a cult favorite with her appearances in a series of sci-fi and Hammer horror films with Peter Cushing and/or Christopher Lee, as well as her work in the Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me, April Fool's Day would sit on the proverbial shelf for nearly two years, until Vestron picked it up and changed its title, since Paramount Pictures had released their own horror film called April Fools Day earlier in the year. Vestron would open Slaughter High on nine screens in Detroit on November 14th, 1986, but Vestron would not report grosses. Then they would open it on six screen in St. Louis on February 13th, 1987. At least this time they reported a gross. $12,400. Variety would simply call that number “grim.” They'd give the film one final rush on April 24th, sending it out to 38 screens in in New York City, where it would gross $90,000. There'd be no second week, as practically every theatre would replace it with Creepshow 2. The third and final Vestron Pictures release for 1986 was Billy Galvin, a little remembered family drama featuring Karl Malden and Lenny von Dohlen, originally produced for the PBS anthology series American Playhouse but bumped up to a feature film as part of coordinated effort to promote the show by occasionally releasing feature films bearing the American Playhouse banner. The film would open at the Cineplex Beverly Center on December 31st, not only the last day of the calendar year but the last day a film can be released into theatres in Los Angeles to have been considered for Academy Awards. The film would not get any major awards, from the Academy or anyone else, nor much attention from audiences, grossing just $4,000 in its first five days. They'd give the film a chance in New York on February 20th, at the 23rd Street West Triplex, but a $2,000 opening weekend gross would doom the film from ever opening in another theatre again. In early 1987, Vestron announced eighteen films they would release during the year, and a partnership with AMC Theatres and General Cinema to have their films featured in those two companies' pilot specialized film programs in major markets like Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston and San Francisco. Alpine Fire would be the first of those films, arriving at the Cinema Studio 1 in New York City on February 20th. A Swiss drama about a young deaf and mentally challenged teenager who gets his older sister pregnant, was that country's entry into the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race. While the film would win the Golden Leopard Award at the 1985 Locarno Film Festival, the Academy would not select the film for a nomination, and the film would quickly disappear from theatres after a $2,000 opening weekend gross. Personal Services, the first film to be directed by Terry Jones outside of his services with Monty Python, would arrive in American theatres on May 15th. The only Jones-directed film to not feature any other Python in the cast, Personal Services was a thinly-disguised telling of a 1970s—era London waitress who was running a brothel in her flat in order to make ends meet, and featured a standout performance by Julie Walters as the waitress turned madame. In England, Personal Services would be the second highest-grossing film of the year, behind The Living Daylights, the first Bond film featuring new 007 Timothy Dalton. In America, the film wouldn't be quite as successful, grossing $1.75m after 33 weeks in theatres, despite never playing on more than 31 screens in any given week. It would be another three months before Vestron would release their second movie of the year, but it would be the one they'd become famous for. Dirty Dancing. Based in large part on screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein's own childhood, the screenplay would be written after the producers of the 1980 Michael Douglas/Jill Clayburgh dramedy It's My Turn asked the writer to remove a scene from the screenplay that involved an erotic dance sequence. She would take that scene and use it as a jumping off point for a new story about a Jewish teenager in the early 1960s who participated in secret “Dirty Dancing” competitions while she vacationed with her doctor father and stay-at-home mother while they vacationed in the Catskill Mountains. Baby, the young woman at the center of the story, would not only resemble the screenwriter as a character but share her childhood nickname. Bergstein would pitch the story to every studio in Hollywood in 1984, and only get a nibble from MGM Pictures, whose name was synonymous with big-budget musicals decades before. They would option the screenplay and assign producer Linda Gottlieb, a veteran television producer making her first major foray into feature films, to the project. With Gottlieb, Bergstein would head back to the Catskills for the first time in two decades, as research for the script. It was while on this trip that the pair would meet Michael Terrace, a former Broadway dancer who had spent summers in the early 1960s teaching tourists how to mambo in the Catskills. Terrace and Bergstein didn't remember each other if they had met way back when, but his stories would help inform the lead male character of Johnny Castle. But, as regularly happens in Hollywood, there was a regime change at MGM in late 1985, and one of the projects the new bosses cut loose was Dirty Dancing. Once again, the script would make the rounds in Hollywood, but nobody was biting… until Vestron Pictures got their chance to read it. They loved it, and were ready to make it their first in-house production… but they would make the movie if the budget could be cut from $10m to $4.5m. That would mean some sacrifices. They wouldn't be able to hire a major director, nor bigger name actors, but that would end up being a blessing in disguise. To direct, Gottlieb and Bergstein looked at a lot of up and coming feature directors, but the one person they had the best feeling about was Emile Ardolino, a former actor off-Broadway in the 1960s who began his filmmaking career as a documentarian for PBS in the 1970s. In 1983, Ardolino's documentary about National Dance Institute founder Jacques d'Amboise, He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin', would win both the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Entertainment Special. Although Ardolino had never directed a movie, he would read the script twice in a week while serving on jury duty, and came back to Gottlieb and Bergstein with a number of ideas to help make the movie shine, even at half the budget. For a movie about dancing, with a lot of dancing in it, they would need a creative choreographer to help train the actors and design the sequences. The filmmakers would chose Kenny Ortega, who in addition to choreographing the dance scenes in Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, had worked with Gene Kelly on the 1980 musical Xanadu. Well, more specifically, was molded by Gene Kelly to become the lead choreographer for the film. That's some good credentials. Unlike movies like Flashdance, where the filmmakers would hire Jennifer Beals to play Alex and Marine Jahan to perform Alex's dance scenes, Emile Ardolino was insistent that the actors playing the dancers were actors who also dance. Having stand-ins would take extra time to set-up, and would suck up a portion of an already tight budget. Yet the first people he would meet for the lead role of Johnny were non-dancers Benecio del Toro, Val Kilmer, and Billy Zane. Zane would go so far as to do a screen test with one of the actresses being considered for the role of Baby, Jennifer Grey, but after screening the test, they realized Grey was right for Baby but Zane was not right for Johnny. Someone suggested Patrick Swayze, a former dancer for the prestigious Joffrey Ballet who was making his way up the ranks of stardom thanks to his roles in The Outsiders and Grandview U.S.A. But Swayze had suffered a knee injury years before that put his dance career on hold, and there were concerns he would re-aggravate his injury, and there were concerns from Jennifer Grey because she and Swayze had not gotten along very well while working on Red Dawn. But that had been three years earlier, and when they screen tested together here, everyone was convinced this was the pairing that would bring magic to the role. Baby's parents would be played by two Broadway veterans: Jerry Orbach, who is best known today as Detective Lenny Briscoe on Law and Order, and Kelly Bishop, who is best known today as Emily Gilmore from Gilmore Girls but had actually started out as a dancer, singer and actor, winning a Tony Award for her role in the original Broadway production of A Chorus Line. Although Bishop had originally been cast in a different role for the movie, another guest at the Catskills resort with the Housemans, but she would be bumped up when the original Mrs. Houseman, Lynne Lipton, would fall ill during the first week of filming. Filming on Dirty Dancing would begin in North Carolina on September 5th, 1986, at a former Boy Scout camp that had been converted to a private residential community. This is where many of the iconic scenes from the film would be shot, including Baby carrying the watermelon and practicing her dance steps on the stairs, all the interior dance scenes, the log scene, and the golf course scene where Baby would ask her father for $250. It's also where Patrick Swayze almost ended his role in the film, when he would indeed re-injure his knee during the balancing scene on the log. He would be rushed to the hospital to have fluid drained from the swelling. Thankfully, there would be no lingering effects once he was released. After filming in North Carolina was completed, the team would move to Virginia for two more weeks of filming, including the water lift scene, exteriors at Kellerman's Hotel and the Houseman family's cabin, before the film wrapped on October 27th. Ardolino's first cut of the film would be completed in February 1987, and Vestron would begin the process of running a series of test screenings. At the first test screening, nearly 40% of the audience didn't realize there was an abortion subplot in the movie, even after completing the movie. A few weeks later, Vestron executives would screen the film for producer Aaron Russo, who had produced such movies as The Rose and Trading Places. His reaction to the film was to tell the executives to burn the negative and collect the insurance. But, to be fair, one important element of the film was still not set. The music. Eleanor Bergstein had written into her script a number of songs that were popular in the early 1960s, when the movie was set, that she felt the final film needed. Except a number of the songs were a bit more expensive to license than Vestron would have preferred. The company was testing the film with different versions of those songs, other artists' renditions. The writer, with the support of her producer and director, fought back. She made a deal with the Vestron executives. They would play her the master tracks to ten of the songs she wanted, as well as the copycat versions. If she could identify six of the masters, she could have all ten songs in the film. Vestron would spend another half a million dollars licensing the original recording. The writer nailed all ten. But even then, there was still one missing piece of the puzzle. The closing song. While Bergstein wanted another song to close the film, the team at Vestron were insistent on a new song that could be used to anchor a soundtrack album. The writer, producer, director and various members of the production team listened to dozens of submissions from songwriters, but none of them were right, until they got to literally the last submission left, written by Franke Previte, who had written another song that would appear on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, “Hungry Eyes.” Everybody loved the song, called “I've Had the Time of My Life,” and it would take some time to convince Previte that Dirty Dancing was not a porno. They showed him the film and he agreed to give them the song, but the production team and Vestron wanted to get a pair of more famous singers to record the final version. The filmmakers originally approached disco queen Donna Summer and Joe Esposito, whose song “You're the Best” appeared on the Karate Kid soundtrack, but Summer would decline, not liking the title of the movie. They would then approach Daryl Hall from Hall and Oates and Kim Carnes, but they'd both decline, citing concerns about the title of the movie. Then they approached Bill Medley, one-half of The Righteous Brothers, who had enjoyed yet another career resurgence when You Lost That Lovin' Feeling became a hit in 1986 thanks to Top Gun, but at first, he would also decline. Not that he had any concerns about the title of the film, although he did have concerns about the title, but that his wife was about to give birth to their daughter, and he had promised he would be there. While trying to figure who to get to sing the male part of the song, the music supervisor for the film approached Jennifer Warnes, who had sung the duet “Up Where We Belong” from the An Officer and a Gentleman soundtrack, which had won the 1983 Academy Award for Best Original Song, and sang the song “It Goes Like It Goes” from the Norma Rae soundtrack, which had won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Warnes wasn't thrilled with the song, but she would be persuaded to record the song for the right price… and if Bill Medley would sing the other part. Medley, flattered that Warnes asked specifically to record with him, said he would do so, after his daughter was born, and if the song was recorded in his studio in Los Angeles. A few weeks later, Medley and Warnes would have their portion of the song completed in only one hour, including additional harmonies and flourishes decided on after finishing with the main vocals. With all the songs added to the movie, audience test scores improved considerably. RCA Records, who had been contracted to handle the release of the soundtrack, would set a July 17th release date for the album, to coincide with the release of the movie on the same day, with the lead single, I've Had the Time of My Life, released one week earlier. But then, Vestron moved the movie back from July 17th to August 21st… and forgot to tell RCA Records about the move. No big deal. The song would quickly rise up the charts, eventually hitting #1 on the Billboard charts. When the movie finally did open in 975 theatres in August 21st, the film would open to fourth place with $3.9m in ticket sales, behind Can't Buy Me Love in third place and in its second week of release, the Cheech Marin comedy Born in East L.A., which opened in second place, and Stakeout, which was enjoying its third week atop the charts. The reviews were okay, but not special. Gene Siskel would give the film a begrudging Thumbs Up, citing Jennifer Grey's performance and her character's arc as the thing that tipped the scale into the positive, while Roger Ebert would give the film a Thumbs Down, due to its idiot plot and tired and relentlessly predictable story of love between kids from different backgrounds. But then a funny thing happened… Instead of appealing to the teenagers they thought would see the film, the majority of the audience ended up becoming adults. Not just twenty and thirty somethings, but people who were teenagers themselves during the movie's timeframe. They would be drawn in to the film through the newfound sense of boomer nostalgia that helped make Stand By Me an unexpected hit the year before, both as a movie and as a soundtrack. Its second week in theatre would only see the gross drop 6%, and the film would finish in third place. In week three, the four day Labor Day weekend, it would gross nearly $5m, and move up to second place. And it would continue to play and continue to bring audiences in, only dropping out of the top ten once in early November for one weekend, from August to December. Even with all the new movies entering the marketplace for Christmas, Dirty Dancing would be retained by most of the theatres that were playing it. In the first weekend of 1988, Dirty Dancing was still playing in 855 theaters, only 120 fewer than who opened it five months earlier. Once it did started leaving first run theatres, dollar houses were eager to pick it up, and Dirty Dancing would make another $6m in ticket sales as it continued to play until Christmas 1988 at some theatres, finishing its incredible run with $63.5m in ticket sales. Yet, despite its ubiquitousness in American pop culture, despite the soundtrack selling more than ten million copies in its first year, despite the uptick in attendance at dance schools from coast to coast, Dirty Dancing never once was the #1 film in America on any weekend it was in theatres. There would always be at least one other movie that would do just a bit better. When awards season came around, the movie was practically ignored by critics groups. It would pick up an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature, and both the movie and Jennifer Grey would be nominated for Golden Globes, but it would be that song, I've Had the Time of My Life, that would be the driver for awards love. It would win the Academy Award and the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, and a Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. The song would anchor a soundtrack that would also include two other hit songs, Eric Carmen's “Hungry Eyes,” and “She's Like the Wind,” recorded for the movie by Patrick Swayze, making him the proto-Hugh Jackman of the 80s. I've seen Hugh Jackman do his one-man show at the Hollywood Bowl, and now I'm wishing Patrick Swayze could have had something like that thirty years ago. On September 25th, they would release Abel Ferrera's Neo-noir romantic thriller China Girl. A modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet written by regular Ferrera writer Nicholas St. John, the setting would be New York City's Lower East Side, when Tony, a teenager from Little Italy, falls for Tye, a teenager from Chinatown, as their older brothers vie for turf in a vicious gang war. While the stars of the film, Richard Panebianco and Sari Chang, would never become known actors, the supporting cast is as good as you'd expect from a post-Ms. .45 Ferrera film, including James Russo, Russell Wong, David Caruso and James Hong. The $3.5m movie would open on 110 screens, including 70 in New York ti-state region and 18 in Los Angeles, grossing $531k. After a second weekend, where the gross dropped to $225k, Vestron would stop tracking the film, with a final reported gross of just $1.26m coming from a stockholder's report in early 1988. Ironically, China Girl would open against another movie that Vestron had a hand in financing, but would not release in America: Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride. While the film would do okay in America, grossing $30m against its $15m, it wouldn't translate so easily to foreign markets. Anna, from first time Polish filmmaker Yurek Bogayevicz, was an oddball little film from the start. The story, co-written with the legendary Polish writer/director Agnieszka Holland, was based on the real-life friendship of Polish actresses Joanna (Yo-ahn-nuh) Pacuła (Pa-tsu-wa) and Elżbieta (Elz-be-et-ah) Czyżewska (Chuh-zef-ska), and would find Czech supermodel Paulina Porizkova making her feature acting debut as Krystyna, an aspiring actress from Czechoslovakia who goes to New York City to find her idol, Anna, who had been imprisoned and then deported for speaking out against the new regime after the 1968 Communist invasion. Nearly twenty years later, the middle-aged Anna struggles to land any acting parts, in films, on television, or on the stage, who relishes the attention of this beautiful young waif who reminds her of herself back then. Sally Kirkland, an American actress who got her start as part of Andy Warhol's Factory in the early 60s but could never break out of playing supporting roles in movies like The Way We Were, The Sting, A Star is Born, and Private Benjamin, would be cast as the faded Czech star whose life seemed to unintentionally mirror the actress's. Future Snakes on a Plane director David R. Ellis would be featured in a small supporting role, as would the then sixteen year old Sofia Coppola. The $1m movie would shoot on location in New York City during the winter of late 1986 and early 1987, and would make its world premiere at the 1987 New York Film Festival in September, before opening at the 68th Street Playhouse on the Upper East Side on October 30th. Critics such as Bruce Williamson of Playboy, Molly Haskell of Vogue and Jami Bernard of the New York Post would sing the praises of the movie, and of Paulina Porizkova, but it would be Sally Kirkland whom practically every critic would gush over. “A performance of depth and clarity and power, easily one of the strongest female roles of the year,” wrote Mike McGrady of Newsday. Janet Maslim wasn't as impressed with the film as most critics, but she would note Ms. Kirkland's immensely dignified presence in the title role. New York audiences responded well to the critical acclaim, buying more than $22,000 worth of tickets, often playing to sell out crowds for the afternoon and evening shows. In its second week, the film would see its gross increase 12%, and another 3% increase in its third week. Meanwhile, on November 13th, the film would open in Los Angeles at the AMC Century City 14, where it would bring in an additional $10,000, thanks in part to Sheila Benson's rave in the Los Angeles Times, calling the film “the best kind of surprise — a small, frequently funny, fine-boned film set in the worlds of the theater and movies which unexpectedly becomes a consummate study of love, alienation and loss,” while praising Kirkland's performance as a “blazing comet.” Kirkland would make the rounds on the awards circuit, winning Best Actress awards from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the Golden Globes, and the Independent Spirit Awards, culminating in an Academy Award nomination, although she would lose to Cher in Moonstruck. But despite all these rave reviews and the early support for the film in New York and Los Angeles, the film got little traction outside these two major cities. Despite playing in theatres for nearly six months, Anna could only round up about $1.2m in ticket sales. Vestron's penultimate new film of 1987 would be a movie that when it was shot in Namibia in late 1986 was titled Peacekeeper, then was changed to Desert Warrior when it was acquired by Jerry Weintraub's eponymously named distribution company, then saw it renamed again to Steel Dawn when Vestron overpaid to acquire the film from Weintraub, because they wanted the next film starring Patrick Swayze for themselves. Swayze plays, and stop me if you've heard this one before, a warrior wandering through a post-apocalyptic desert who comes upon a group of settlers who are being menaced by the leader of a murderous gang who's after the water they control. Lisa Niemi, also known as Mrs. Patrick Swayze, would be his romantic interest in the film, which would also star AnthonY Zerbe, Brian James, and, in one of his very first acting roles, future Mummy co-star Arnold Vosloo. The film would open to horrible reviews, and gross just $312k in 290 theatres. For comparison's sake, Dirty Dancing was in its eleventh week of release, was still playing 878 theatres, and would gross $1.7m. In its second week, Steel Dawn had lost nearly two thirds of its theatres, grossing only $60k from 107 theatres. After its third weekend, Vestron stopped reporting grosses. The film had only earned $562k in ticket sales. And their final release for 1987 would be one of the most prestigious titles they'd ever be involved with. The Dead, based on a short story by James Joyce, would be the 37th and final film to be directed by John Huston. His son Tony would adapt the screenplay, while his daughter Anjelica, whom he had directed to a Best Supporting Actress Oscar two years earlier for Prizzi's Honor, would star as the matriarch of an Irish family circa 1904 whose husband discovers memoirs of a deceased lover of his wife's, an affair that preceded their meeting. Originally scheduled to shoot in Dublin, Ireland, The Dead would end up being shot on soundstages in Valencia, CA, just north of Los Angeles, as the eighty year old filmmaker was in ill health. Huston, who was suffering from severe emphysema due to decades of smoking, would use video playback for the first and only time in his career in order to call the action, whirling around from set to set in a motorized wheelchair with an oxygen tank attached to it. In fact, the company insuring the film required the producers to have a backup director on set, just in case Huston was unable to continue to make the film. That stand-in was Czech-born British filmmaker Karel Reisz, who never once had to stand-in during the entire shoot. One Huston who didn't work on the film was Danny Huston, who was supposed to shoot some second unit footage for the film in Dublin for his father, who could not make any trips overseas, as well as a documentary about the making of the film, but for whatever reason, Danny Huston would end up not doing either. John Huston would turn in his final cut of the film to Vestron in July 1987, and would pass away in late August, a good four months before the film's scheduled release. He would live to see some of the best reviews of his entire career when the film was released on December 18th. At six theatres in Los Angeles and New York City, The Dead would earn $69k in its first three days during what was an amazing opening weekend for a number of movies. The Dead would open against exclusive runs of Broadcast News, Ironweed, Moonstruck and the newest Woody Allen film, September, as well as wide releases of Eddie Murphy: Raw, Batteries Not Included, Overboard, and the infamous Bill Cosby stinker Leonard Part 6. The film would win the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Picture of the year, John Huston would win the Spirit Award and the London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, Anjelica Huston would win a Spirit Award as well, for Best Supporting Actress, and Tony Huston would be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. But the little $3.5m film would only see modest returns at the box office, grossing just $4.4m after a four month run in theatres. Vestron would also release two movies in 1987 through their genre Lightning Pictures label. The first, Blood Diner, from writer/director Jackie Kong, was meant to be both a tribute and an indirect sequel to the infamous 1965 Herschell Gordon Lewis movie Blood Feast, often considered to be the first splatter slasher film. Released on four screens in Baltimore on July 10th, the film would gross just $6,400 in its one tracked week. The film would get a second chance at life when it opened at the 8th Street Playhouse in New York City on September 4th, but after a $5,000 opening week gross there, the film would have to wait until it was released on home video to become a cult film. The other Lightning Pictures release for 1987, Street Trash, would become one of the most infamous horror comedy films of the year. An expansion of a short student film by then nineteen year old Jim Muro, Street Trash told the twin stories of a Greenpoint, Brooklyn shop owner who sell a case of cheap, long-expired hooch to local hobos, who hideously melt away shortly after drinking it, while two homeless brothers try to deal with their situation as best they can while all this weirdness is going on about them. After playing several weeks of midnight shows at the Waverly Theatre near Washington Square, Street Trash would open for a regular run at the 8th Street Playhouse on September 18th, one week after Blood Diner left the same theatre. However, Street Trash would not replace Blood Diner, which was kicked to the curb after one week, but another long forgotten movie, the Christopher Walken-starrer Deadline. Street Trash would do a bit better than Blood Diner, $9,000 in its first three days, enough to get the film a full two week run at the Playhouse. But its second week gross of $5,000 would not be enough to give it a longer playdate, or get another New York theatre to pick it up. The film would get other playdates, including one in my secondary hometown of Santa Cruz starting, ironically, on Thanksgiving Day, but the film would barely make $100k in its theatrical run. While this would be the only film Jim Muro would direct, he would become an in demand cinematographer and Steadicam operator, working on such films as Field of Dreams, Dances with Wolves, Sneakers, L.A. Confidential, the first Fast and Furious movie, and on The Abyss, Terminator 2, True Lies and Titanic for James Cameron. And should you ever watch the film and sit through the credits, yes, it's that Bryan Singer who worked as a grip and production assistant on the film. It would be his very first film credit, which he worked on during a break from going to USC film school. People who know me know I am not the biggest fan of horror films. I may have mentioned it once or twice on this podcast. But I have a soft spot for Troma Films and Troma-like films, and Street Trash is probably the best Troma movie not made or released by Troma. There's a reason why Lloyd Kaufman is not a fan of the movie. A number of people who have seen the movie think it is a Troma movie, not helped by the fact that a number of people who did work on The Toxic Avenger went to work on Street Trash afterwards, and some even tell Lloyd at conventions that Street Trash is their favorite Troma movie. It's looks like a Troma movie. It feels like a Troma movie. And to be honest, at least to me, that's one hell of a compliment. It's one of the reasons I even went to see Street Trash, the favorable comparison to Troma. And while I, for lack of a better word, enjoyed Street Trash when I saw it, as much as one can say they enjoyed a movie where a bunch of bums playing hot potato with a man's severed Johnson is a major set piece, but I've never really felt the need to watch it again over the past thirty-five years. Like several of the movies on this episode, Street Trash is not available for streaming on any service in the United States. And outside of Dirty Dancing, the ones you can stream, China Girl, Personal Services, Slaughter High and Steel Dawn, are mostly available for free with ads on Tubi, which made a huge splash last week with a confounding Super Bowl commercial that sent millions of people to figure what a Tubi was. Now, if you were counting, that was only nine films released in 1987, and not the eighteen they had promised at the start of the year. Despite the fact they had a smash hit in Dirty Dancing, they decided to push most of their planned 1987 movies to 1988. Not necessarily by choice, though. Many of the films just weren't ready in time for a 1987 release, and then the unexpected long term success of Dirty Dancing kept them occupied for most of the rest of the year. But that only meant that 1988 would be a stellar year for them, right? We'll find out next episode, when we continue the Vestron Pictures story. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week. 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.
Erin Fairchild (she/her) is the founder of Journal As Altar and Collective Action Consulting. She has been making meaning through journaling and paper craft practices since she was tiny - nourishing her spirit and uncovering her creative voice. Erin is white, and chooses to betray whiteness. She will be in a life-long relationship with what that looks like. Lately, that looks like untangling herself from binary and supremacy thinking and elevating what's possible when we center collective well-being and our potential outside of oppressive norms. A few years back, Erin realized that her journals acted as altars in her life, and that felt powerful; Journal As Altar was born. Teaching creative journaling workshops, designing and selling stationery products, and running the Journal As Altar Substack community are endlessly affirming. Erin is also a social worker and (not currently practicing) therapist with expertise related to childhood trauma, attachment, and preventing violence in systems, communities, and families. Erin continues to work in the fields of equity centered trauma informed care and violence prevention over at Collective Action Consulting. Erin knows that your journals can hold you, but they hold nothing against you. Erin's favorite duet: Aretha Franklin and George Michael, "I Knew You Were Waiting For Me" Fanny Priest is a trauma repair & grief coach; a queer, polyamorous & liberated fat femme; a rainbow forest witch; a Sagittarius sun, Cancer moon, Taurus rising; and an aspiring Guns N' Roses cover band drummer. She helps healers, feelers, queers, and creatives repair the rupture in the relationship with their wild, true nature so they feel safe with their bodies, feelings, and needs, and can transform their old survival patterns of protection into liberatory patterns of connection. Fanny's favorite duets are Leather & Lace by Stevie Nicks & Don Henley, and (I've Had) The Time Of My Life by Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes. All things Asher Mending with Gold: Weekend Intensive Embodied Private Practice Cohort Embodied Testimony: Sick and Tired All things Erin Journal as Altar This Page is a Portal (substack) consulting business Where you can find Fanny: Resourced (substack) https://resourced.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile @the.trauma.witch --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/asher-pandjiris/message
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