Podcast appearances and mentions of Jerry Weintraub

We present our review of Karate Kid: Legends! Karate Kid: Legends is a 2025 American martial arts drama film directed by Jonathan Entwistle and written by Rob Lieber. It is the sixth film in The Karate Kid franchise, serving as a continuation of The Karate Kid (2010) and the television series Cobra Kai (2018–2025). It stars Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, both reprising their roles from the franchise, while introducing Ben Wang as the main lead alongside Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, and Ming-Na Wen. It is the first film in the series not to be produced by Jerry Weintraub, who died in 2015.The film was confirmed to be in development in September 2022, with Entwistle set to direct and Lieber set to write the screenplay in November 2023. Casting took place from November 2023 to April 2024. Principal photography took place from April to June 2024.Karate Kid: Legends premiered at the Cinépolis Mitikah in Mexico City, Mexico on May 7, 2025, and was released in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on May 30. It received mixed reviews from critics.Disclaimer: The following may contain offensive language, adult humor, and/or content that some viewers may find offensive – The views and opinions expressed by any one speaker does not explicitly or necessarily reflect or represent those of Mark Radulich or W2M Network.Mark Radulich and his wacky podcast on all the things:https://linktr.ee/markkind76alsohttps://www.teepublic.com/user/radulich-in-broadcasting-networkFB Messenger: Mark Radulich LCSWTiktok: @markradulichtwitter: @MarkRadulichInstagram: markkind76RIBN Album Playlist: https://suno.com/playlist/91d704c9-d1ea-45a0-9ffe-5069497bad59 

If you've ever been accused of being too sensitive, undoubtedly by someone who's too judgmental, this edition of Doing What Works is for you!Here are your show notes…Pamie Ribon hails from the world of roller derby.Crying is a release.NurtureShock offers new thinking about children.When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead author Jerry Weintraub suggested you not ask colleagues how they're doing.

Send Kevin a Text MessageIn this episode of Don't Kill the Messenger, host Kevin Goetz sits down with Elizabeth Gabler, known for transforming literary works into cinematic successes. From her early days as an agent's assistant to becoming president of Fox 2000 and now Sony 3000 Pictures, Gabler shares insights from her remarkable career developing hit films like Life of Pi, The Devil Wears Prada, Mrs. Doubtfire, Marley and Me, and Where the Crawdads Sing.Early Career and Love of Reading (01:43)Gabler discusses her background in English literature and unexpected entry into entertainment, influenced by her early love of reading and her mother's influence as a librarian.United Artists and Early Development (10:12)The conversation explores her time at United Artists, working with industry legends like Jerry Weintraub and Billy Wilder, and developing projects like Roadhouse and Presumed Innocent that would later become successful films.Mrs. Doubtfire Development (13:30)Gabler shares the fascinating story of bringing Mrs. Doubtfire to the screen, including working with Robin Williams and director Chris Columbus, and overcoming initial skepticism about the project.Cast Away and Production Innovation (23:22)Discussion of the unique production process of Cast Away, including Tom Hanks' physical transformation and Robert Zemeckis making an entire other film during the production break.Life of Pi Journey (29:43)Elizabeth offers a detailed look at the challenging journey to bring Life of Pi to the screen, including Ang Lee's involvement and the innovative technical approaches required.Devil Wears Prada Casting (36:48)The pair discuss the casting process for The Devil Wears Prada, including securing Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, and the discovery of Emily Blunt.Current Projects and Personal Life (46:20)Gabler discusses her current project Klara and the Sun with director Taika Waititi and stars Jenna Ortega and Amy Adams, while also touching on personal aspects including the recent loss of her husband Lee.This intimate conversation reveals not just the mechanics of bringing books to screen, but the passion, persistence, and vision required to create lasting cinema. Gabler's deep love for storytelling and family themes runs throughout her work and this discussion, offering insights into how personal values can shape professional success.If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a review or connect on social media. We look forward to bringing you more revelations from behind-the-scenes next time on Don't Kill the Messenger!Host: Kevin GoetzGuest: Elizabeth GablerProducer: Kari CampanoWriters: Kevin Goetz, Darlene Hayman, and Kari CampanoAudio Engineer: Gary Forbes (DG Entertainment) For more information about Elizabeth Gabler:Variety: https://variety.com/exec/elizabeth-gabler/IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1992894/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabeth-gabler-7b030a19 For more information about Kevin Goetz:Website: www.KevinGoetz360.comAudienceology Book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Audience-ology/Kevin-Goetz/9781982186678Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @KevinGoetz360Linked In @Kevin Goetz

Happy Holidays from The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we discuss the incomparable Al Pacino with the returning Mitchell Beaupre! Our B-Sides today include Bobby Deerfield, Revolution, Frankie & Johnny, and Danny Collins. We discuss Pacino's legacy (is he our greatest living actor?), his Oscar win for Scent of a Woman (what a silly plot that movie has!), and his deeply earnest autobiography Sonny Boy.  We dish on what doesn't work about Bobby Deerfield (for one, it's too quiet), what does work about Revolution (hint: it's the production design), how Michelle Pfeiffer was unfairly criticized for Frankie & Johnny, and why Danny Collins is much better than you think. Conor asks: Is Adam Sandler the new Pacino? Mitchell asks: Was Pacino's smallness in Bobby Deerfield and its failure a primary reason he stayed big for so long? Dan asks: Hey Baby Doll, what's going on? There's a reflection on Dan's problematic review of Jack & Jill from over thirteen years ago (yikes!), a tacit comparison between Pacino and Kenneth Branagh (whose recent King Lear production has been criticized, though we thoroughly enjoyed it), and a recollection of Jerry Weintraub helping Ellen Barkin with Ocean's Thirteen. Be sure to give us a follow on social at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

If you're anything like Katie and me you have a low-grade, background anxiety about death. In this edition of Doing What Works we share what helps us in case it helps you. Bonus feature? Never, ever do what Darrell did as a kid. You'll be sorry!Here are your show notes…Jerry Weintraub said death keeps the rope taut.In Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie suggested asking a little bird on your shoulder if today is the day you will die.Barbara Sher said the passage of time drives you crazy when you know you aren't using it right.  Elizabeth Gilbert says you can tell who's living for others by the anguished look on the faces of the others.It might be helpful when you're struggling to think, “This is the curriculum.”Betty White wasn't afraid to die.

Brent, Nate, and Kate steal an hour together and review the 2001 American heist comedy Ocean's Eleven directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Andy García, Bernie Mac, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Carl Reiner, Elliott Gould, Shaobo Qin, Eddie Jemison, Scott L. Schwartz, Joshua Jackson, Holly Marie Combs, Carol Florence, Tim Snay, Jorge R. Hernandez, Jerry Weintraub, Frank Patton, Topher Grace, and Wayne Pére. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simon T. Bailey, the world's leading expert on brilliance, Hall of Fame keynote speaker, success coach, author, television host, and philanthropist joins me on this episode. With more than 30 years of experience, Simon has worked with over 2,000 companies in 50 different countries. He has helped countless people find their spark. His list of clients includes AT&T, IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft, Toyota, and many others. We talk about Simon's origin story, what holds us back, the power of mentorship, the gift of reading, advice to speakers, the meaning behind Vuja de, CHILL before you exit, the SPARK, and more. Get connected with Simon: Website: https://www.simontbailey.com/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BrilliantSimonT  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simontbailey/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/simontbailey  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simontbailey/ Learn more about the U.S. Dream Academy: https://usdreamacademy.org/ Books referenced during the episode: When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead by Jerry Weintraub: https://a.co/d/ Your True DNA by Thomas J. Winninger: https://a.co/d/b0sGi6Y  Leave a 5-star review with a comment on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/business-minds-coffee-chat/id1539014324  Subscribe to my Business Builder Newsletter: https://bit.ly/32y0YxJ  Want to learn how you can work with me to gain more clarity, build a rock-solid foundation for your business, and achieve the results and success you deserve? Visit http://jayscherrbusinessconsulting.com/ and schedule a 1:1 discovery coaching call. Enjoy, thanks for listening, and please share with a friend!

If you're thinking I'm not in sales or I'm not a creative, I'm never going to pitch anything, think again! As my guest for this episode, Dave Noll, says, life's a pitch, life's a series of pitches...whether it's love or work or anything important. Selling anything, creating anything, anything important in life comes with a pitch. Dave knows what he's talking about. He and his partner, Cleve Keller, are the mega-successful creators and producers of Chopped (the most successful show in the history of the Food Network) and America Says (the most successful show in the history of the Game Show Network) plus 60 other shows that went from idea to successful pitch. Dave lives by these Four P's: Positive, polite, persistent, professional. More Dave nuggets: Research, research, research! It's the end all and be all of a great pitch Rehearse what you are pitching Rehearse your pitch in front of someone and ask them to flag anything negative that seeps in Reframe any negatives into positives Identify that one thing that is going to make you memorable and be clear on that one thing One extraordinary idea can change your life Always ask: What about this...? Dave's book, The Visionary in Charge, comes out fall 2023. Enjoy Dave explaining the power and impact of positivity in this episode of Camera Ready & Abel. Connect and follow Dave at www.linkedin.com/davenolltv Dave recommends two of his favorite books: Jerry Weintraub's When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead and The Last Great Ride by Brandon Tartikoff, former NBC programming chief.

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.

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.

On this episode, we travel back to 1984, and the days when a "young adult" novel included lots of drugs and partying and absolutely no sparkly vampires or dystopian warrior girls. We're talking about Jay McInerney's groundbreaking novel, Bright Lights, Big City, and its 1988 film version starring Michael J. Fox and Keifer Sutherland. ----more---- Hello, and welcome to The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. The original 1984 front cover for Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City If you were a young adult in the late 1980s, there's a very good chance that you started reading more adult-y books thanks to an imprint called Vintage Contemporaries. Quality books at an affordable paperback price point, with their uniform and intrinsically 80s designed covers, bold cover and spine fonts, and mix of first-time writers and cult authors who never quite broke through to the mainstream, the Vintage Contemporary series would be an immediate hit when it was first launched in September 1984. The first set of releases would include such novels as Raymond Carver's Cathedral and Thomas McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano, but the one that would set the bar for the entire series was the first novel by a twenty-nine year old former fact checker at the New Yorker magazine. The writer was Jay McInerney, and his novel was Bright Lights, Big City. The original 1984 front cover for Raymond Carver's Cathedral Bright Lights, Big City would set a template for twenty something writers in the 1980s. A protagonist not unlike the writer themselves, with a not-so-secret drug addiction, and often written in the second person, You, which was not a usual literary choice at the time. The nameless protagonist, You, is a divorced twenty-four year old wannabe writer who works as fact-checker at a major upscale magazine in New York City, for which he once dreamed of writing for. You is recently divorced from Amanda, an aspiring model he had met while going to school in Kansas City. You would move to New York City earlier in the year with her when her modeling career was starting to talk off. While in Paris for Fashion Week, Amanda called You to inform him their marriage was over, and that she was leaving him for another man. You continues to hope Amanda will return to him, and when it's clear she won't, he not only becomes obsessed with everything about her that left in their apartment, he begins to slide into reckless abandon at the clubs they used to frequent, and becoming heavily addicted to cocaine, which then affects his performance at work. A chance encounter with Amanda at an event in the city leads You to a public humiliation, which makes him starts to realize that his behavior is not because his wife left him, but a manifestation of the grief he still feels over his mother's passing the previous year. You had gotten married to a woman he hardly knew because he wanted to make his mother happy before she died, and he was still unconsciously grieving when his wife's leaving him triggered his downward spiral. Bright Lights, Big City was an immediate hit, one of the few paperback-only books to ever hit the New York Times best-seller chart. Within two years, the novel had sold more than 300,000 copies, and spawned a tidal wave of like-minded twentysomething writers becoming published. Bret Easton Ellis might have been able to get his first novel Less Than Zero published somewhere down the line, but it was McInerney's success that would cause Simon and Schuster to try and duplicate Vintage's success, which they would. Same with Tana Janowitz, whose 1986 novel Slaves of New York was picked up by Crown Publishers looking to replicate the success of McInerney and Ellis, despite her previous novel, 1981's American Dad, being completely ignored by the book buying public at that time. While the book took moments from his life, it wasn't necessarily autobiographical. For example, McInerney had been married to a fashion model in the early 1980s, but they would meet while he attended Syracuse University in the late 1970s. And yes, McInerney would do a lot of blow during his divorce from his wife, and yes, he would get fired from The New Yorker because of the effects of his drug addiction. Yes, he was partying pretty hard during the times that preceded the writing of his first novel. And yes, he would meet a young woman who would kinda rescue him and get him on the right path.  But there were a number of details about McInerney's life that were not used for the book. Like how the author studied writing with none other than Raymond Carver while studying creative writing at Syracuse, or how his family connections would allow him to submit blind stories to someone like George Plimpton at the Paris Review, and not only get the story read but published. And, naturally, any literary success was going to become a movie at some point. For Bright Lights, it would happen almost as soon as the novel was published. Robert Lawrence, a vice president at Columbia Pictures in his early thirties, had read the book nearly cover to cover in a single sitting, and envisioned a film that could be “The Graduate” of his generation, with maybe a bit of “Lost Weekend” thrown in. But the older executives at the studio balked at the idea, which they felt would be subversive and unconventional. They would, however, buy in when Lawrence was able to get mega-producer Jerry Weintraub to be a producer on the film, who in turn was able to get Joel Schumacher, who had just finished filming St. Elmo's Fire for the studio, to direct, and get Tom Cruise, who was still two years away from Top Gun and megastardom, to play the main character. McInerney was hired to write the script, and he and Schumacher and Cruise would even go on club crawls in New York City to help inform all of the atmosphere they were trying to capture with the film. In 1985, Weintraub would be hired by United Artists to become their new chief executive, and Bright Lights would be one of the properties he would be allowed to take with him to his new home. But since he was now an executive, Weintraub would need to hire a new producer to take the reigns on the picture. Enter Sydney Pollack. By 1985, Sydney Pollack was one of the biggest directors in Hollywood. With films like They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Jeremiah Johnson, Three Days of the Condor, The Electric Horseman and Tootsie under his belt, Pollock could get a film made, and get it seen by audiences. At least, as a director. At this point in his career, he had only ever produced one movie, Alan Rudolph's 1984 musical drama Songwriter, which despite being based on the life of Willie Nelson, and starring Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Rip Torn, barely grossed a tenth of its $8m budget. And Pollock at that moment was busy putting the finishing touches on his newest film, an African-based drama featuring Meryl Streep and longtime Pollock collaborator Robert Redford. That film, Out of Africa, would win seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, in March 1986, which would keep Pollock and his producing partner Mark Rosenberg's attention away from Bright Lights for several months. Once the hype on Out of Africa died down, Pollock and Rosenberg got to work getting Bright Lights, Big City made. Starting with hiring a new screenwriter, a new director, and a new leading actor. McInerney, Schumacher and Cruise had gotten tired of waiting. Ironically, Cruise would call on Pollock to direct another movie he was waiting to make, also based at United Artists, that he was going to star in alongside Dustin Hoffman. That movie, of course, is Rain Man, and we'll dive into that movie another time. Also ironically, Weintraub would not last long as the CEO of United Artists. Just five months after becoming the head of the studio, Weintraub would tire of the antics of Kirk Kerkorian, the owner of United Artists and its sister company, MGM, and step down. Kerkorian would not let Weintraub take any of the properties he brought from Columbia to his new home, the eponymously named mini-major he'd form with backing from Columbia. With a new studio head in place, Pollock started to look for a new director. He would discover that director in Joyce Chopra, who, after twenty years of making documentaries, made her first dramatic narrative in 1985. Smooth Talk was an incredible coming of age drama, based on a story by Joyce Carol Oates, that would make a star out of then seventeen-year-old Laura Dern. UA would not only hire her to direct the film but hire her husband, Tom Cole, who brilliantly adapted the Oates story that was the basis for Smooth Talk, to co-write the screenplay with his wife. While Cole was working on the script, Chopra would have her agent send a copy of McInerney's book to Michael J. Fox. This wasn't just some random decision. Chopra knew she needed a star for this movie, and Fox's agent just happened to be Chopra's agent. That'd be two commissions for the agent if it came together, and a copy of the book was delivered to Fox's dressing room on the Family Ties soundstage that very day. Fox loved the book, and agreed to do the film. After Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly and other characters he had played that highlighted his good looks and pleasant demeanor, he was ready to play a darker, more morally ambiguous character. Since the production was scheduled around Fox's summer hiatus from the hit TV show, he was in. For Pollock and United Artists, this was a major coup, landing one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. But the project was originally going to be Toronto standing in for New York City for less than $7m with a lesser known cast. Now, it was going to be a $15m with not only Michael J. Fox but also Keifer Sutherland, who was cast as Tad, the best friend of the formerly named You, who would now known as Jamie Conway, and would be shot on location in New York City. The film would also feature Phoebe Cates as Jamie's model ex-wife, William Hickey, Kelly Lynch. But there was a major catch. The production would only have ten weeks to shoot with Fox, as he was due back in Los Angeles to begin production on the sixth season of Family Ties.  He wasn't going to do that thing he did making a movie and a television show at the same time like he did with Back to the Future and Family Ties in 1984 and 1985. Ten weeks and not a day more. Production on the film would begin on April 13th, 1987, to get as much of the film shot while Fox was still finishing Family Ties in Los Angeles. He would be joining the production at the end of the month. But Fox never get the chance to shoot with Chopra. After three weeks of production, Chopra, her husband, and her cinematographer James Glennon, who had also shot Smooth Talk, were dismissed from the film. The suits at United Artists were not happy with the Fox-less footage that was coming out of New York, and were not happy with the direction of the film. Cole and Chopra had removed much of the nightlife and drug life storyline, and focused more on the development of Jamie as a writer. Apparently, no one at the studio had read the final draft of the script before shooting began. Cole, the screenwriter, says it was Pollock, the producer, who requested the changes, but in the end, it would be not the Oscar-winning filmmaker producing the movie that would be released but the trio of newer creatives. Second unit footage would continue to shoot around New York City while the studio looked for a new director. Ironically, days after Chopra was fired, the Directors Guild of America had announced that if they were not able to sign a new agreement with the Producers Guild before the end of the current contract on June 30th, the directors were going on strike. So now United Artists were really under the gun. After considering such filmmakers as Belgian director Ulu Grosbard, who had directed Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro in Falling in Love, and Australian director Bruce Beresford, whose films had included Breaker Morant and Tender Mercies, they would find their new director in James Bridges, whose filmography included such critical and financial success as The Paper Chase, The China Syndrome and Urban Cowboy, but had two bombs in a row in 1984's Mike's Murder and 1985's Perfect. He needed a hit, and this was the first solid directing offer in three years. He'd spend the weekend after his hiring doing some minor recasting, including bringing in John Houseman, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Paper Chase, as well as Swoosie Kurtz, Oscar-winning actors Jason Robards and Dianne Weist, and Tracy Pollan, Fox's co-star on Family Ties, who would shortly after the filming of Bright Lights become Mrs. Michael J. Fox, although in the film, she would be cast not as a love interest to her real-life boyfriend's character but as the wife of Keifer Sutherland's character. After a week of rewriting McInerney's original draft of the screenplay from the Schumacher days, principal photography re-commenced on the film. And since Bridges would be working with famed cinematographer Gordon Willis, who had shot three previous movies with Bridges as well as the first two Godfather movies and every Woody Allen movie from Annie Hall to The Purple Rose of Cairo, it was also decided that none of Chopra's footage would be used. Everything would start back on square one. And because of the impending Directors Guild strike, he'd have only thirty-six days, a tad over five weeks, to film everything. One of the lobby cards from the movie version of Bright Lights, Big City And they were able to get it all done, thanks to some ingenious measures. One location, the Palladium concert hall on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, would double as three different nightclubs, two discotheques and a dinner club. Instead of finding six different locations, which would loading cameras and lights from one location to another, moving hundreds of people as well, and then setting the lights and props again, over and over, all they would have to do is re-decorate the area to become the next thing they needed. Bridges would complete the film that day before the Directors Guild strike deadline, but the strike would never happen. But there would be some issue with the final writing credits. While Bridges had used McInerney's original screenplay as a jumping off point, the writer/director had really latched on to the mother's death as the emotional center of the movie. Bridges' own grandmother had passed away in 1986, and he found writing those scenes to be cathartic for his own unresolved issues. But despite the changes Bridges would make to the script, including adding such filmmaking tropes as flashbacks and voiceovers, and having the movie broken up into sections by the use of chapter titles being typed out on screen, the Writers Guild would give sole screenwriting credit to Jay McInerney. As post-production continued throughout the fall, the one topic no one involved in the production wanted to talk about or even acknowledge was the movie version of Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero that rival studio 20th Century Fox had been making in Los Angeles. It had a smaller budget, a lesser known filmmaker, a lesser known cast lead by Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz, and a budget half the size. If their film was a hit, that could be good for this one. And if their film wasn't a hit? Well, Bright Lights was the trendsetter. It was the one that sold more copies. The one that saw its author featured in more magazines and television news shows. How well did Less Than Zero do when it was released into theatres on November 6th, 1987? Well, you're just going to have to wait until next week's episode. Unless you're listening months or years after they were published, and are listening to episodes in reverse order. Then you already know how it did, but let's just say it wasn't a hit but it wasn't really a dud either. Bridges would spend nearly six months putting his film together, most of which he would find enjoyable, but he would have trouble deciding which of two endings he shot would be used. His preferred ending saw Jamie wandering through the streets of New York City early one morning, after a long night of partying that included a confrontation with his ex-wife, where he decides that was the day he was going to get his life back on track but not knowing what he was going to do, but the studio asked for an alternative ending, one that features Jamie one year in the future, putting the finishing touches on his first novel, which we see is titled… wait for it… Bright Lights, Big City, while his new girlfriend stands behind him giving her approval. After several audience test screenings, the studio would decide to let Bridges have his ending. United Artists would an April 1st, 1988 release date, and would spend months gearing up the publicity machine. Fox and Pollan were busy finishing the final episodes of that season's Family Ties, and weren't as widely available for the publicity circuit outside of those based in Los Angeles. The studio wasn't too worried, though. Michael J. Fox's last movie, The Secret of My Success, had been released in April 1987, and had grossed $67m without his doing a lot of publicity for that one, either. Opening on 1196 screens, the film would only manage to gross $5.13m, putting it in third place behind the previous week's #1 film, Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick, and the Tim Burton comedy Beetlejuice, which despite opening on nearly 200 fewer screens would gross nearly $3m more. But the reviews were not great. Decent. Respectful. But not great. The New York-based critics, like David Ansen of Newsweek and Janet Maslin of the Times, would be kinder than most other critics, maybe because they didn't want to be seen knocking a film shot in their backyard. But one person would actually would praise the film and Michael J. Fox as an actor was Roger Ebert. But it wouldn't save the film. In its second week, the film would fall to fifth place, with $3.09m worth of tickets sold, and it would drop all the way to tenth place in its third week with just under $1.9m in ticket sales. Week four would see it fall to 16th place with only $862k worth of ticket sales. After that, United Artists would stop reporting grosses. The $17m film had grossed just $16.1m. Bright Lights, Big City was a milestone book for me, in large part because it made me a reader. Before Bright Lights, I read occasionally, mainly John Irving, preferring to spend most of my free time voraciously consuming every movie I could. After Bright Lights, I picked up every Vintage Contemporary book I could get my hands on. One of the checklists of Vintage Contemporary books listed in the back of a Vintage Contemporary book. And one thing that really helped out was the literal checklist of other books available from that imprint in the back of each book. Without those distinct covers, I don't know if I would have discovered some of my favorite authors like Raymond Carver and Don DeLillo and Richard Ford and Richard Russo. Even after the Vintage Contemporary line shut down years later, I continued to read. I still read today, although not as much as I would prefer. I have a podcast to work on. I remember when the movie came out that I wasn't all that thrilled with it, and it would be nearly 35 years before I revisited it again, for this episode. I can't say it's the 80s as I remember it, because I had never been to New York City by that point in my life, I had never, and still never have, done anything like cocaine. And I had only ever had like two relationships that could be considered anything of substance, let alone marriage and a divorce. But I am certain it's an 80s that I'm glad I didn't know. Mainly because Jamie's 80s seemed rather boring and inconsequential. Fox does the best he can with the material, but he is not the right person for the role. As I watched it again, I couldn't help but wonder what if the roles were reversed. What if Keifer Sutherland played Jamie and Michael J. Fox played the friend? That might have been a more interesting movie, but Sutherland was not yet at that level of stardom. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when Episode 95, on the novel and movie version of Less Than Zero is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Bright Lights, Big City, both the book and the movie, as well as other titles in the Vintage Contemporary book series. The full cover, back and front, of Richard Ford's 1986 The Sportswriter, which would be the first of four novels about Frank Bascombe, a failed novelist who becomes a sportswriter. The second book in the series, 1995's Independence Day, would win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the first of only two times the same book would win both awards the same year. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.  

On this episode, we travel back to 1984, and the days when a "young adult" novel included lots of drugs and partying and absolutely no sparkly vampires or dystopian warrior girls. We're talking about Jay McInerney's groundbreaking novel, Bright Lights, Big City, and its 1988 film version starring Michael J. Fox and Keifer Sutherland. ----more---- Hello, and welcome to The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. The original 1984 front cover for Jay McInerney's Bright Lights, Big City If you were a young adult in the late 1980s, there's a very good chance that you started reading more adult-y books thanks to an imprint called Vintage Contemporaries. Quality books at an affordable paperback price point, with their uniform and intrinsically 80s designed covers, bold cover and spine fonts, and mix of first-time writers and cult authors who never quite broke through to the mainstream, the Vintage Contemporary series would be an immediate hit when it was first launched in September 1984. The first set of releases would include such novels as Raymond Carver's Cathedral and Thomas McGuane's The Bushwhacked Piano, but the one that would set the bar for the entire series was the first novel by a twenty-nine year old former fact checker at the New Yorker magazine. The writer was Jay McInerney, and his novel was Bright Lights, Big City. The original 1984 front cover for Raymond Carver's Cathedral Bright Lights, Big City would set a template for twenty something writers in the 1980s. A protagonist not unlike the writer themselves, with a not-so-secret drug addiction, and often written in the second person, You, which was not a usual literary choice at the time. The nameless protagonist, You, is a divorced twenty-four year old wannabe writer who works as fact-checker at a major upscale magazine in New York City, for which he once dreamed of writing for. You is recently divorced from Amanda, an aspiring model he had met while going to school in Kansas City. You would move to New York City earlier in the year with her when her modeling career was starting to talk off. While in Paris for Fashion Week, Amanda called You to inform him their marriage was over, and that she was leaving him for another man. You continues to hope Amanda will return to him, and when it's clear she won't, he not only becomes obsessed with everything about her that left in their apartment, he begins to slide into reckless abandon at the clubs they used to frequent, and becoming heavily addicted to cocaine, which then affects his performance at work. A chance encounter with Amanda at an event in the city leads You to a public humiliation, which makes him starts to realize that his behavior is not because his wife left him, but a manifestation of the grief he still feels over his mother's passing the previous year. You had gotten married to a woman he hardly knew because he wanted to make his mother happy before she died, and he was still unconsciously grieving when his wife's leaving him triggered his downward spiral. Bright Lights, Big City was an immediate hit, one of the few paperback-only books to ever hit the New York Times best-seller chart. Within two years, the novel had sold more than 300,000 copies, and spawned a tidal wave of like-minded twentysomething writers becoming published. Bret Easton Ellis might have been able to get his first novel Less Than Zero published somewhere down the line, but it was McInerney's success that would cause Simon and Schuster to try and duplicate Vintage's success, which they would. Same with Tana Janowitz, whose 1986 novel Slaves of New York was picked up by Crown Publishers looking to replicate the success of McInerney and Ellis, despite her previous novel, 1981's American Dad, being completely ignored by the book buying public at that time. While the book took moments from his life, it wasn't necessarily autobiographical. For example, McInerney had been married to a fashion model in the early 1980s, but they would meet while he attended Syracuse University in the late 1970s. And yes, McInerney would do a lot of blow during his divorce from his wife, and yes, he would get fired from The New Yorker because of the effects of his drug addiction. Yes, he was partying pretty hard during the times that preceded the writing of his first novel. And yes, he would meet a young woman who would kinda rescue him and get him on the right path.  But there were a number of details about McInerney's life that were not used for the book. Like how the author studied writing with none other than Raymond Carver while studying creative writing at Syracuse, or how his family connections would allow him to submit blind stories to someone like George Plimpton at the Paris Review, and not only get the story read but published. And, naturally, any literary success was going to become a movie at some point. For Bright Lights, it would happen almost as soon as the novel was published. Robert Lawrence, a vice president at Columbia Pictures in his early thirties, had read the book nearly cover to cover in a single sitting, and envisioned a film that could be “The Graduate” of his generation, with maybe a bit of “Lost Weekend” thrown in. But the older executives at the studio balked at the idea, which they felt would be subversive and unconventional. They would, however, buy in when Lawrence was able to get mega-producer Jerry Weintraub to be a producer on the film, who in turn was able to get Joel Schumacher, who had just finished filming St. Elmo's Fire for the studio, to direct, and get Tom Cruise, who was still two years away from Top Gun and megastardom, to play the main character. McInerney was hired to write the script, and he and Schumacher and Cruise would even go on club crawls in New York City to help inform all of the atmosphere they were trying to capture with the film. In 1985, Weintraub would be hired by United Artists to become their new chief executive, and Bright Lights would be one of the properties he would be allowed to take with him to his new home. But since he was now an executive, Weintraub would need to hire a new producer to take the reigns on the picture. Enter Sydney Pollack. By 1985, Sydney Pollack was one of the biggest directors in Hollywood. With films like They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Jeremiah Johnson, Three Days of the Condor, The Electric Horseman and Tootsie under his belt, Pollock could get a film made, and get it seen by audiences. At least, as a director. At this point in his career, he had only ever produced one movie, Alan Rudolph's 1984 musical drama Songwriter, which despite being based on the life of Willie Nelson, and starring Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Rip Torn, barely grossed a tenth of its $8m budget. And Pollock at that moment was busy putting the finishing touches on his newest film, an African-based drama featuring Meryl Streep and longtime Pollock collaborator Robert Redford. That film, Out of Africa, would win seven Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, in March 1986, which would keep Pollock and his producing partner Mark Rosenberg's attention away from Bright Lights for several months. Once the hype on Out of Africa died down, Pollock and Rosenberg got to work getting Bright Lights, Big City made. Starting with hiring a new screenwriter, a new director, and a new leading actor. McInerney, Schumacher and Cruise had gotten tired of waiting. Ironically, Cruise would call on Pollock to direct another movie he was waiting to make, also based at United Artists, that he was going to star in alongside Dustin Hoffman. That movie, of course, is Rain Man, and we'll dive into that movie another time. Also ironically, Weintraub would not last long as the CEO of United Artists. Just five months after becoming the head of the studio, Weintraub would tire of the antics of Kirk Kerkorian, the owner of United Artists and its sister company, MGM, and step down. Kerkorian would not let Weintraub take any of the properties he brought from Columbia to his new home, the eponymously named mini-major he'd form with backing from Columbia. With a new studio head in place, Pollock started to look for a new director. He would discover that director in Joyce Chopra, who, after twenty years of making documentaries, made her first dramatic narrative in 1985. Smooth Talk was an incredible coming of age drama, based on a story by Joyce Carol Oates, that would make a star out of then seventeen-year-old Laura Dern. UA would not only hire her to direct the film but hire her husband, Tom Cole, who brilliantly adapted the Oates story that was the basis for Smooth Talk, to co-write the screenplay with his wife. While Cole was working on the script, Chopra would have her agent send a copy of McInerney's book to Michael J. Fox. This wasn't just some random decision. Chopra knew she needed a star for this movie, and Fox's agent just happened to be Chopra's agent. That'd be two commissions for the agent if it came together, and a copy of the book was delivered to Fox's dressing room on the Family Ties soundstage that very day. Fox loved the book, and agreed to do the film. After Alex P. Keaton and Marty McFly and other characters he had played that highlighted his good looks and pleasant demeanor, he was ready to play a darker, more morally ambiguous character. Since the production was scheduled around Fox's summer hiatus from the hit TV show, he was in. For Pollock and United Artists, this was a major coup, landing one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. But the project was originally going to be Toronto standing in for New York City for less than $7m with a lesser known cast. Now, it was going to be a $15m with not only Michael J. Fox but also Keifer Sutherland, who was cast as Tad, the best friend of the formerly named You, who would now known as Jamie Conway, and would be shot on location in New York City. The film would also feature Phoebe Cates as Jamie's model ex-wife, William Hickey, Kelly Lynch. But there was a major catch. The production would only have ten weeks to shoot with Fox, as he was due back in Los Angeles to begin production on the sixth season of Family Ties.  He wasn't going to do that thing he did making a movie and a television show at the same time like he did with Back to the Future and Family Ties in 1984 and 1985. Ten weeks and not a day more. Production on the film would begin on April 13th, 1987, to get as much of the film shot while Fox was still finishing Family Ties in Los Angeles. He would be joining the production at the end of the month. But Fox never get the chance to shoot with Chopra. After three weeks of production, Chopra, her husband, and her cinematographer James Glennon, who had also shot Smooth Talk, were dismissed from the film. The suits at United Artists were not happy with the Fox-less footage that was coming out of New York, and were not happy with the direction of the film. Cole and Chopra had removed much of the nightlife and drug life storyline, and focused more on the development of Jamie as a writer. Apparently, no one at the studio had read the final draft of the script before shooting began. Cole, the screenwriter, says it was Pollock, the producer, who requested the changes, but in the end, it would be not the Oscar-winning filmmaker producing the movie that would be released but the trio of newer creatives. Second unit footage would continue to shoot around New York City while the studio looked for a new director. Ironically, days after Chopra was fired, the Directors Guild of America had announced that if they were not able to sign a new agreement with the Producers Guild before the end of the current contract on June 30th, the directors were going on strike. So now United Artists were really under the gun. After considering such filmmakers as Belgian director Ulu Grosbard, who had directed Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro in Falling in Love, and Australian director Bruce Beresford, whose films had included Breaker Morant and Tender Mercies, they would find their new director in James Bridges, whose filmography included such critical and financial success as The Paper Chase, The China Syndrome and Urban Cowboy, but had two bombs in a row in 1984's Mike's Murder and 1985's Perfect. He needed a hit, and this was the first solid directing offer in three years. He'd spend the weekend after his hiring doing some minor recasting, including bringing in John Houseman, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role in The Paper Chase, as well as Swoosie Kurtz, Oscar-winning actors Jason Robards and Dianne Weist, and Tracy Pollan, Fox's co-star on Family Ties, who would shortly after the filming of Bright Lights become Mrs. Michael J. Fox, although in the film, she would be cast not as a love interest to her real-life boyfriend's character but as the wife of Keifer Sutherland's character. After a week of rewriting McInerney's original draft of the screenplay from the Schumacher days, principal photography re-commenced on the film. And since Bridges would be working with famed cinematographer Gordon Willis, who had shot three previous movies with Bridges as well as the first two Godfather movies and every Woody Allen movie from Annie Hall to The Purple Rose of Cairo, it was also decided that none of Chopra's footage would be used. Everything would start back on square one. And because of the impending Directors Guild strike, he'd have only thirty-six days, a tad over five weeks, to film everything. One of the lobby cards from the movie version of Bright Lights, Big City And they were able to get it all done, thanks to some ingenious measures. One location, the Palladium concert hall on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, would double as three different nightclubs, two discotheques and a dinner club. Instead of finding six different locations, which would loading cameras and lights from one location to another, moving hundreds of people as well, and then setting the lights and props again, over and over, all they would have to do is re-decorate the area to become the next thing they needed. Bridges would complete the film that day before the Directors Guild strike deadline, but the strike would never happen. But there would be some issue with the final writing credits. While Bridges had used McInerney's original screenplay as a jumping off point, the writer/director had really latched on to the mother's death as the emotional center of the movie. Bridges' own grandmother had passed away in 1986, and he found writing those scenes to be cathartic for his own unresolved issues. But despite the changes Bridges would make to the script, including adding such filmmaking tropes as flashbacks and voiceovers, and having the movie broken up into sections by the use of chapter titles being typed out on screen, the Writers Guild would give sole screenwriting credit to Jay McInerney. As post-production continued throughout the fall, the one topic no one involved in the production wanted to talk about or even acknowledge was the movie version of Bret Easton Ellis's Less Than Zero that rival studio 20th Century Fox had been making in Los Angeles. It had a smaller budget, a lesser known filmmaker, a lesser known cast lead by Andrew McCarthy and Jami Gertz, and a budget half the size. If their film was a hit, that could be good for this one. And if their film wasn't a hit? Well, Bright Lights was the trendsetter. It was the one that sold more copies. The one that saw its author featured in more magazines and television news shows. How well did Less Than Zero do when it was released into theatres on November 6th, 1987? Well, you're just going to have to wait until next week's episode. Unless you're listening months or years after they were published, and are listening to episodes in reverse order. Then you already know how it did, but let's just say it wasn't a hit but it wasn't really a dud either. Bridges would spend nearly six months putting his film together, most of which he would find enjoyable, but he would have trouble deciding which of two endings he shot would be used. His preferred ending saw Jamie wandering through the streets of New York City early one morning, after a long night of partying that included a confrontation with his ex-wife, where he decides that was the day he was going to get his life back on track but not knowing what he was going to do, but the studio asked for an alternative ending, one that features Jamie one year in the future, putting the finishing touches on his first novel, which we see is titled… wait for it… Bright Lights, Big City, while his new girlfriend stands behind him giving her approval. After several audience test screenings, the studio would decide to let Bridges have his ending. United Artists would an April 1st, 1988 release date, and would spend months gearing up the publicity machine. Fox and Pollan were busy finishing the final episodes of that season's Family Ties, and weren't as widely available for the publicity circuit outside of those based in Los Angeles. The studio wasn't too worried, though. Michael J. Fox's last movie, The Secret of My Success, had been released in April 1987, and had grossed $67m without his doing a lot of publicity for that one, either. Opening on 1196 screens, the film would only manage to gross $5.13m, putting it in third place behind the previous week's #1 film, Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick, and the Tim Burton comedy Beetlejuice, which despite opening on nearly 200 fewer screens would gross nearly $3m more. But the reviews were not great. Decent. Respectful. But not great. The New York-based critics, like David Ansen of Newsweek and Janet Maslin of the Times, would be kinder than most other critics, maybe because they didn't want to be seen knocking a film shot in their backyard. But one person would actually would praise the film and Michael J. Fox as an actor was Roger Ebert. But it wouldn't save the film. In its second week, the film would fall to fifth place, with $3.09m worth of tickets sold, and it would drop all the way to tenth place in its third week with just under $1.9m in ticket sales. Week four would see it fall to 16th place with only $862k worth of ticket sales. After that, United Artists would stop reporting grosses. The $17m film had grossed just $16.1m. Bright Lights, Big City was a milestone book for me, in large part because it made me a reader. Before Bright Lights, I read occasionally, mainly John Irving, preferring to spend most of my free time voraciously consuming every movie I could. After Bright Lights, I picked up every Vintage Contemporary book I could get my hands on. One of the checklists of Vintage Contemporary books listed in the back of a Vintage Contemporary book. And one thing that really helped out was the literal checklist of other books available from that imprint in the back of each book. Without those distinct covers, I don't know if I would have discovered some of my favorite authors like Raymond Carver and Don DeLillo and Richard Ford and Richard Russo. Even after the Vintage Contemporary line shut down years later, I continued to read. I still read today, although not as much as I would prefer. I have a podcast to work on. I remember when the movie came out that I wasn't all that thrilled with it, and it would be nearly 35 years before I revisited it again, for this episode. I can't say it's the 80s as I remember it, because I had never been to New York City by that point in my life, I had never, and still never have, done anything like cocaine. And I had only ever had like two relationships that could be considered anything of substance, let alone marriage and a divorce. But I am certain it's an 80s that I'm glad I didn't know. Mainly because Jamie's 80s seemed rather boring and inconsequential. Fox does the best he can with the material, but he is not the right person for the role. As I watched it again, I couldn't help but wonder what if the roles were reversed. What if Keifer Sutherland played Jamie and Michael J. Fox played the friend? That might have been a more interesting movie, but Sutherland was not yet at that level of stardom. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again next week, when Episode 95, on the novel and movie version of Less Than Zero is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Bright Lights, Big City, both the book and the movie, as well as other titles in the Vintage Contemporary book series. The full cover, back and front, of Richard Ford's 1986 The Sportswriter, which would be the first of four novels about Frank Bascombe, a failed novelist who becomes a sportswriter. The second book in the series, 1995's Independence Day, would win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the first of only two times the same book would win both awards the same year. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.  

Elliott Bisnow is the Co-Founder of Summit, whose family of organizations includes Powder Mountain, Summit Series, and Summit Junto. He's also a startup investor in 50 companies like Uber, Coinbase, Warby Parker, and Albert. Elliott describes his passion for building companies and cultures, connecting deeply with people on his teams, and building events and communities. He believes that what is good for business should be what is good for the community and the world.     https://bit.ly/TLP-318   Key Takeaways [2:20] Elliott Bisnow is focused on building companies with a great culture, and teams he loves, connecting deeply with the people who work at the Summit businesses, designing and building events and experiences, and meeting the people that come. He loves building communities and getting to understand them. He loves creating teams he wants to be part of. Elliott is a people person. [4:31] The least important part of any business is caring about profits and making money. Those things come from a well-run business with a great product. Good entrepreneurs, good CEOs, and good leaders are obsessed and focused on the thing that their company is making or selling. Consider why you are an entrepreneur. What are you bringing to the world? Elliott loves designing products. [6:239] Elliott recalls growing up watching MTV's Cribs and seeing the Forbes 400 list, which he remembers with negative associations. He remembers the first group of entrepreneurs he met who cared about the product, the customers, and the communities they were serving. He contrasts the old business model of profit-seeking with a new business model focused on the good of the community. [11:09] Are new entrepreneurs better people or do they just talk more about what they do in the community than the CEOs of the '90s talked about? Growing up, Elliott never heard of CEOs doing good in the community. He realized he could build businesses that combine profits and purpose. He says, “Profit Enough. What's good for our business should be good for the community and the world.” [12:46] It's a lot more enjoyable to do business when your team is happy, when your community is happy, and when you feel good about what you're creating. [13:44] Elliott liked college as a place to start a business because you have your dorm, food, and classes even if the business fails. His first two businesses in college didn't work. His third idea did work so he quit college and moved back in with his parents. He made every possible mistake as he learned how to run a startup. The key is to take small risks and make small mistakes and learn from them. [16:56] Elliott builds community by creating things that allow people to self-select into them, being very defined about its mission. However, once people have self-selected into an event, you can find yourself with a lot of similar voices and little diversity. [19:21] Elliott has kept a notepad on his phone for over 10 years. Anytime he hears something or reads something interesting, he writes a note down. He might write one note in a week or three in a day. He has thousands of notes he re-reads. He receives wisdom from other people in two ways: the first way is by reading one book a week; the second is by meeting people in the flow of life and listening to them. [21:45] Elliott has an 80% rule about conversations. In 80% of his conversations, he tries to ask questions. He will ask a question rather than answer one. He finds wisdom from ordinary people. Between his conversations and reading books, he's getting a lot of good ideas. [24:59] When Elliott realized he wanted to be an entrepreneur, he read a lot of very simple books about people's journeys to becoming entrepreneurs. Then he was done reading about entrepreneurs and wanted to go be an entrepreneur. [25:36] Elliott sees that MBA courses would serve people better after the people had experienced some years in business. Elliott spends a lot of time thinking about the books he is going to read. He identifies the types of books he wants to read. He also reads some books for fun. When he meets people that don't read, he suggests books that are just for fun, to get them to fall in love with reading. [27:31] You have to be in a good mindset to sit and read a business book. Elliott will skip a few pages ahead if he gets bored. He doesn't get stuck on pages. Reading is a big part of Elliott's life. [28:30] Elliott discusses the virtues of knowing when to quit and cites Warren Buffet who only makes small mistakes because he knows when to get out of a deal. He's never been in a massive mistake. [29:27] Elliott's view on ideas is that it's quite difficult to come up with good ideas, so you need to create a culture where the most ideas possible can come forward, no matter what they are. That's a hard environment to maintain when people naturally shoot down ideas or want to take credit for them. Elliott says there's no limit to what you can achieve if you give other people credit. [32:03] Elliott describes what it means to be a “favor-economy millionaire.” Build up a network of people with whom you trade for services. Having relationships where you and your network can help each other grow is extremely important. [35:05] Being an entrepreneur or a leader is hard. Making money is hard. Saving money is hard. Bartering makes it easier to do business. Relationships are like muscles and the more that you work with them, the more you nurture the relationships. Give to people and it will come back many times over. [36:32] Elliott's takeaway from his book, Make No Small Plans: Between the life people are living and the life they want to live, there's a lot of white space. Make No Small Plans, is in the context of the life that you want to live. Step out of anything that's held you back. Make plans to get to where you want to be. [40:06] Closing quote: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald.   Quotable Quotes “When you're an entrepreneur, you get to create your own culture and your own team.” “The least important part of any business is caring about profits and making money. Those things come from a well-run business with a great product. … Good entrepreneurs, good CEOs, and good leaders are obsessed and focused on the thing that their company is making or selling.” “At the crux of entrepreneurship is, ‘What is the thing that you're bringing to the world? Why are you an entrepreneur?'” “Just from a personal, selfish standpoint, it's a lot more enjoyable way to do business when your team is happy, when your community is happy, and when you actually feel really good about what you're creating.” “My main takeaway is that, as long as your mistakes are small, there's not very far to fall. … In the early days, the key is taking lots of small risks.” “There's a lot of emphasis placed on gaining tips and wisdom from super-famous people but I find that there's just as much wisdom to be had from every person in the world.” “The most important thing about reading is falling in love with reading. And so most people who don't read, I give them a few books that are just fun.” “You have to be in a good mindset to be able to sit and read a business book. And then I've developed a couple of tricks when it comes to reading, like skipping forward and if things are boring, don't let it hold you back; don't get stuck on pages.” “There are certain things where quitting is a virtue and it's a good skill to have.” “Between the life people want to live, and the life that they're living, there's a lot of white space. When I think about Make No Small Plans, it's in the context of the life that you want to live.”   Resources Mentioned Theleadershippodcast.com Sponsored by: Darley.com Elliott Bisnow on LinkedIn Make No Small Plans: Lessons on Thinking Big, Chasing Dreams, and Building Community, by Elliott Bisnow,  Brett Leve,  Jeff Rosenthal, and Jeremy Schwartz Summit Powder Mountain Summit Junto Uber Coinbase Warby Parker Albert MTV Cribs Forbes 400 Allen-Bradley Shantaram: A Novel, by Gregory David Roberts  Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, by Barak Obama Decision Points, by George W. Bush James A. Garfield Bubble in the Sun: The Florida Boom of the 1920s and How It Brought on the Great Depression, by Christopher Knowlton The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey, by Candice Millard Losing My Virginity: How I Survived, Had Fun, and Made a Fortune Doing Business My Way, by Richard Branson When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man, by Jerry Weintraub with Rich Cohen Ready Player One: A Novel, by Earnest Cline The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War, by Ben Macintyre Daniel Pink Warren Buffet Google Facebook Gmail Corporate Competitor Podcast, with Don Yaeger  

Dean and Mike talk about the latest CPI print, macro conditions and breakdown some principles from legendary entrepreneur Jerry Weintraub's book "When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead." Follow Dean: https://twitter.com/deansweetman (https://twitter.com/deansweetman) Follow Michael: https://twitter.com/michaelwhittle (https://twitter.com/michaelwhittle) Follow us on https://my.captivate.fm/Instagram (Instagram), https://twitter.com/KingsPriestsPod (Twitter) & https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvZvmgB35iOFoX2bncPdqmw (YouTube) and feel free to shoot us an email at mw@vast.faith with any feedback, recommendations, questions or ideas for future topics of conversation. 

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast encore edition, we talk to Michael Weintraub, son of legendary producer/agent/manager/promoter Jerry Weintraub. We talk about the legendary career Jerry made as a film producer, talent agent, concert promoter and even as an actor. It's a truly amazing career working with everyone from Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, to Bob Dylan and John Denver, George Clooney to The Carpenters. Along the way, we hear about Michael's step-mother Jane Morgan, an entertainer who, like host Josh Mills' mother Edie Adams, recorded albums, performed on stage, screen and cabaret acts. We hear some great stories including hearing John Denver on the radio for the first time, dealing with Colonel Tom Parker in booking Elvis Presley, evenings with Ed Sullivan, Bob Dylan's fingernails, dinner with half of the Beatles and much more. It's a fist hand account of what it was like to work on projects like Oceans 11, managing The Moody Blues, booking Led Zeppelin and a whole lot more. It's all next on the Rarified Heir Podcast. Take a listen!

With Rich Cohen | New York Times Best Selling Author BIO: Rich Cohen is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Tough Jews; Monsters; Sweet and Low; When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead (with Jerry Weintraub); The Sun & the Moon & the Rolling Stones; and The Chicago Cubs: Story of a Curse. He is a co-creator of the HBO series Vinyl and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone. He has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and Harper's Magazine, among other publications. Cohen has won the Great Lakes Book Award, the Chicago Public Library's 21st Century Award, and the ASCAP Deems Taylor Award for outstanding coverage of music. His stories have been included in The Best American Essays and The Best American Travel Writing. Despite frequent predictions, he still lives in Connecticut. Highlights: How our society's fear of being left behind is negatively impacting our lives and our relationship with moneyWhy embracing Herbie Cohen's mantra of not "taking life too seriously" can benefit your life and relationship with money.How and why you can negotiate anythingHow power is only a perceptionTo be successful, you have to be willing to learn with ambiguityHerbie's great insight and guiding principle: The secret of life is to care, but not that muchWhy questioning authority (respectfully) is healthy and helps us live an enjoyable and meaningful life Quotes: "None of us own this life, we are all renters" Herbie Cohen"It's not the money, it's the money" Herbie Cohen"The key to life is to care, just not too much" Rich Cohen Links: Rich's website: CLICK HERERich's newest book: The Adventures of Herbie Cohen: World's Greatest Negotiator

When you look ahead to the end of your life, what do you see? I see a big box of treasures to hand over to Katie. One of them is a montage of the funniest parts of my favorite movies. To the extent anyone gets together to say goodbye, I want that to be the entertainment. Katie would have a bedazzling station. You wouldn't be required to partake, but you would make her life (so to speak) if you do. Want more ideas for putting the fun in funeral? You'll find them in this edition of Doing What Works. Here are your show notes…Funerals are sad, but boring [https://twitter.com/DoingWhatWorks/status/1274081981253529601].If you haven't watched the “Chuckles Bites the Dust” episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0o-xrio1ESA], there's no better time than now!There's another attack of silly at a funeral in the second season of Ted Lasso [https://screenrant.com/ted-lasso-funeral-episode-grief-humor-balance-how/]. “Death makes the rope taut.” That's from When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead author Jerry Weintraub [https://www.amazon.com/When-Stop-Talking-Youll-Know/dp/0446548162].“When I graduated from high school, I had already used up 93% of my in-person parent time. I'm now enjoying the last 5% of that time. We're in the tail end.” That's from Tim Urban [https://waitbutwhy.com/2015/12/the-tail-end.html].Improv Everywhere [https://twitter.com/ImprovEvery] is a great reminder we're making life up as we go.

Mike Black! John DiResta! Yugos, Pee-Wee Herman, NYPD, Subway Attack, Mob, Elvis, Sinatra, Jerry Weintraub and more! Comedians Darren Carter and John DiResta talk New York City Subway attack, Mob, Mafia, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Weintraub, comedy lessons, life lessons and much much more Now let's start that party in your earholes! Keep moving forward and do something positive for yourself everyday. Thanks for watching my comedy clips, Pocket Party Podcast and Vlogs. Have a great day! Every time you tell someone about me, share a video, or click the "Like" button It helps. So THANK YOU! Have a great day and keep shining!

DJ Dodd is a Philadelphia-based producer of over 20 feature films and has also produced and developed television content for many major cable networks including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Food Network, Travel Channel, Nat Geo, History Channel, and Bloomberg, among others. In this wide-ranging conversation, we get into DJ's backstory, his mentorship relationship with David Foster, his approach to casting major celebrities, and insights on how he's able to manage such an enormous amount of projects. Tons of insights here, DJ really is a guy who walks the walk as far as Producing and hustling, and I was super inspired speaking with him and think you will be as well. Without further ado, here is DJ Dodd.    Here are some key takeaways from this interview.  Overshoot with casting. When casting a movie, DJ always aims for the moon and attempts to cast actors way outside of the project's league. Though he doesn't always get them, sometimes he does. For this reason, DJ prefers to avoid casting directors, citing that many of them are too cautious and "realistic." DJ has no problem reaching out to megawatt celebrities himself and, as a result, has had many pleasant surprises leading him to have worked with a number of major actors, including Ethan Hawke, John Cusack, John Malkovich, David Spade, Emile Hirsch, Jessica Lange, Shirley MacLaine, Demi Moore, Bruce Dern, James Earl Jones, Sharon Stone, Jeremy Piven, Courteney Cox, Christina Ricci, Mira Sorvino, Selma Blair, Taye Diggs, and George Lopez to name a few. PS, if you are looking for a casting agent who's not afraid to shoot for the moon with you, reach out to David Guglielmo at Blood Oath - that's David Guglielmo.    Producers solve problems. A lot of people asks what a Producer does, and in addition to the myriad of responsibilities, they basically oversee the big picture of the project and bring the many pieces together while ensuring everything moves forward on time and on budget. All of that, AND they solve problems. DJ tells many stories about how Producers need to be the ones who solve problems as they arise on set. This ability to think on your feet is critical to producing as problems will inevitably arise on set, and you'll need a sense of cunning ingenuity to solve and push through them. For more on this, check out the life stories of both Jerry Weintraub and Shep Gordon. Both of these guys have wonderful documentaries about them and autobiographies - I recommend reading and watching both as they're masterclasses in producing. I actually had Shep Gordon on this show and highly recommend that episode.    Don't wait to be discovered - bang on doors. A lot of would-be producers and filmmakers wait to be discovered - this is waiting in vain. At the beginning of his career, DJ spent all of his free time hustling, from cold emailing producers, packaging hypothetical projects, building his network, and pitching his ass off, all the time. The game of numbers ultimately worked in his favor, and he got his foot in the door, and after fortifying his mettle on movie after movie, he has since Produced over 20 projects all because he never stopped seeking out and actively pushing opportunities forward. Had he waited to be discovered, he'd still be waiting.   Thank you for listening! Don't forget to subscribe.    ----- Produced by Simpler Media

The first feature from Wendell B. Harris Jr. (Chameleon Street) won the grand jury prize at Sundance in 1990. He has yet to be given the opportunity to make a follow-up. In this epic interview Harris shares the lessons gleaned from a life inside and outside of Hollywood, from his meetings with legends like Orson Welles and Chester Himes, to the project he has been working on since “Chameleon Street”, a documentary called “Yeshua vs. Frankenstein In 3D/G-Speak”. How is the world wrong about Wendell B. Harris, Jr.? From Andras Jones: I knew when I watched “Chameleon Street” that its writer, director and star was an important artist but after talking with him for over 7 hours (cut down to the three and half hours for this episode) it's clear to me that Wendell B. Harris Jr is as vital as ever, and sitting on several scripts and projects that remain ahead of their time today. Find all of our episodes at www.theworldiswrongpodcast.com Follow us on Instagram @theworldiswrongpodcast Follow us on Twitter @worldiswrongpod Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKE5tmbr-I_hLe_W9pUqXag The World Is Wrong theme written, produced and performed by Andras Jones Check out: The Director's Wall with Bryan Connolly & AJ Gonzalez & The Radio8Ball Show hosted by Andras Jones See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the new episode of Film Stories with Simon Brew, two glossy Hollywood movies, both boasting impressive casts. Remaking Ocean's Eleven had been in producer Jerry Weintraub's head for many years, but it was sending the script to director Steven Soderbergh and star George Clooney that started things in earnest. At the time Ocean's was released, work was also underway on a Gucci family movie. That one though would take a lot, lot longer to come together... Stories of both are told in this episode. Find Simon on Twitter at @simonbrew, and the podcast can be found at @filmstoriespod. Support our work at www.patreon.com/simonbrew.

Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary deal maker, and friend of politicians and stars. No matter where nature has placed him--the club rooms of Brooklyn, the Mafia dives of New York's Lower East Side, the wilds of Alaska, or the hills of Hollywood--he has found a way to put on a show and sell tickets at the door. "All life was a theater and I wanted to put it up on a stage," he writes. "I wanted to set the world under a marquee that read: 'Jerry Weintraub Presents.'" In When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead, we follow Weintraub from his first great success at age twenty-six with Elvis Presley, whom he took on the road with the help of Colonel Tom Parker; to the immortal days with Sinatra and Rat Pack glory; to his crowning hits as a movie producer, starting with Robert Altman and Nashville, continuing with Oh, God!, The Karate Kid movies, and Diner, among others, and summiting with Steven Soderbergh and Ocean's Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. Along the way, we'll watch as Jerry moves from the poker tables of Palm Springs (the games went on for days), to the power rooms of Hollywood, to the halls of the White House, to Red Square in Moscow and the Great Palace in Beijing-all the while counseling potentates, poets, and kings, with clients and confidants like George Clooney, Bruce Willis, George H. W. Bush, Armand Hammer, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, John Denver, Bobby Fischer . . .well, the list goes on forever. And of course, the story is not yet over . . .as the old-timers say, "The best is yet to come." As Weintraub says, "When I stop talking, you'll know I'm dead." With wit, wisdom, and the cool confidence that has colored his remarkable career, Jerry chronicles a quintessentially American journey, one marked by luck, love, and improvisation. The stories he tells and the lessons we learn are essential, not just for those who love movies and music, but for businessmen, entrepreneurs, artists . . . everyone.

EPISODE 83 It was Jerry Weintraub that said "Relationships are the only thing that matters in business and in life.” For Podcast Managers, those are words to live and prosper by. Today I'm interviewing one of my former students, Megan King, about client relationships and service offerings. She talks about her transition from freelance copywriter to Podcast Manager and how she has maintained her relationship with the first client she ever landed. Megan also shares some great tips on how to determine the direction of your business.  Megan King is a graduate of my course, The Podcast Manager Program, and has been running her own management business since 2019. While she offers the standard set of services, Megan is particularly focused on the launch and strategy aspects of podcasting. Today, Megan talks about the mental hurdles and self-confidence issues she had to overcome when she first started her business. She also speaks about her new group launch program called Podcasting for Business Growth. Megan explains what her new program entails and why she thinks potential podcasters will love it! In this episode, we cover: - Why you ARE "techy" enough to be a Podcast Manager - Balancing work time and mom time - What it really means to be an Expert - How getting to know your clients can help business growth and retention - Pitching new offerings to current clients - Experimenting with services to find the right fit for you - Launching new podcasts with group support If you want to chat more about this topic, I would love to continue this conversation with you, over on Instagram! SHOW NOTES: https://laurenwrighton.com/episode83  

“The paradigm of your thinking is the source of all of your results.”   Today's guest has amassed an incredible wealth of knowledge and wisdom through the relationships she formed during her very unique career. Now it's her mission to give away the wisdom that she's learned from so many masters. In her teens, Marcia Martin was mentored by her aunt, a clairvoyant healer. She later attended the first ever seminar given by Warner Erhard and she became the Senior Vice President of the Erhard Seminars Training program, now known as Landmark. Erhard had the ability to cause powerful transformation in people so that they could reach extraordinary performance and achievement. Throughout her career, she developed relationships with teachers and professionals like Buckminster Fuller, Peter Drucker, Jerry Weintraub, John Denver, Steven Soderbergh, Paul Attanasio, Laurel Birch, and Tony Robins among others. She works as a leadership consultant with corporations like Capitol One, Warner Brothers, and Hard Rock Hotels.   Expert action steps: Be present. Discipline your mind to stay in the moment. It is a key to success. Learn to listen generously. Pretend that the person you're listening to is brilliant. If you want something, you have to create the space in which it can exist   To learn more about Marcia or to hire her as a speaker, go to https://www.marciamartin.com/. To learn more about the Marcia Martin Membership Club, go to https://www.marciamartinclub.com/. Visit eCircleAcademy.com and book a success with call Nicky to take your practice to the next level.  

In a world where legs are swept and the crane technique reigns supreme Mr. Miyagi will teach Julie Pierce the ultimate Kata… The Karate Watz. The guys (Ben, Bracken, Brant (returns!), Nate and producer, Danny) visit the final outing of Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi with a breakout performance from Hilary Swank and Michael Ironside as the villainous Dugan. Is this film Exceptional or just Bad? The guys discuss and react to what they have seen. Listen to find out. Follow us on Instagram @ExceptionallyBad and Twitter @XceptionallyBad or email us at theguys@exceptionallybad.com or check out our website at exceptionallybad.com The Next Karate Kid (1994) was Directed by Christopher Cain, Produced by Susan Ekins, R. J. Louis, and Jerry Weintraub, Written By Robert Mark Kamen (characters) and Mark Lee.

Here is the story of Jerry Weintraub: the self-made, Brooklyn-born, Bronx-raised impresario, Hollywood producer, legendary dealmaker, and friend of politicians and stars. No matter where nature has placed him - the club rooms of Brooklyn, the Mafia dives of New York's Lower East Side, the wilds of Alaska, or the hills of Hollywood - he has found a way to put on a show and sell tickets at the door."All life was a theater and I wanted to put it up on a stage," he says. "I wanted to set the world under a marquee that read: 'Jerry Weintraub Presents.'"Buy the BOOK here: https://amzn.to/3fdmF9J+++++Subscribe to the Podcast!▶︎ PODCAST: https://bit.ly/3qpki6Y Follow us on Social Media:▶︎ WEBSITE | https://thebooklegion.com▶︎ YOUTUBE  |  http://bit.ly/2MZJ3Io▶︎ INSTAGRAM  |  https://instagram.com/thebooklegion▶︎ FACEBOOK  |  https://facebook.com/thebooklegion Check out Tyzer Evans' other Podcast, Grind Sell Elevate here: https://bit.ly/3bU6D3l

For Video Edition, Please Click and Subscribe here: https://youtu.be/PfmYBvYYYN8 Flipping the celebration! Murray Schwartz (CEO, Merv Griffin Enterprises) Celebrates Richard Skipper Murray Schwartz, former President and CEO of Merv Griffin Enterprises, is renowned in the entertainment business among industry insiders. Starting in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency in 1955, Murray rose to become a television agent, and eventually the behind-the-scenes partner with Merv Griffin to create many of the most successful game shows in TV history, several of which are still on the air today, including Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Murray launched and produced numerous successful shows and pioneered several television business strategies, including the whole concept of television syndication. Murray's father managed the famous Red Mill burlesque nightclub in the Bronx, New York. It was there, as a kid in the 1950s, that he became enamored with entertainment. He met Moe Gold, the quintessential talent agent; cigar, flashy suits, loud ties always with a wad of cash. Moe told him to try for a job at the William Morris Agency; at the time it was the "Rolls Royce" in the industry - known only as the Morris Office. So, at age 17, Murray got a job in their famed mailroom, where other notables also began their careers: David Geffen, Ron Meyer, Irwin Winkler, Jerry Weintraub, to name just a few of "the boys in the mailroom" who did just fine. Even Abe Lastfogel, who became the brains and head of the entire Morris Office, started in the mailroom, back when William Morris Sr. was the boss. 2021 marks Richard Skipper's 42nd year in New York. He is an entertainer, MC, HOST, Interviewer. His show Streams on Most platforms. Under the guise of Richard Skipper Celebrates, he has conducted over 1000 interviews celebrating people in the arts.  RichardSkipper.com 

Today on the Rarified Heir Podcast we are talking to Michael Weintraub, son of legendary manager, agent, producer and promoter Jerry Weintraub and his stepmother, singer/performer Jane Morgan. Michael has a million stories about being around show business and tells us some previously unheard stores from The King to the Chairman of the Board. Stories like Bob Dylan’s ridiculously long nails, watching Ringo Starr & George Harrison eat breakfast cereal for dinner, riding in a car with John Denver after the Newport Folk Festival and hearing “Country Road” on the radio for the first time and much more. Did we mention the time former President George Herbert Walker Bush threatened to burn down a country club if they didn’t reverse their “No Jews Allowed” policy in 1965? Or how Jane Morgan became the most booked female singer on The Ed Sullivan Show? Or how about the time Jerry got the final cut on Robert Altman’s classic film, Nashville? We talked about so much and still we didn’t even get to the time he traveled to Australia with Robby Benson, Susan St. James and Debby Boone. It’s stories galore on the next Rarified Heir Podcast. In THX Spatial Audio.

Sean Carey began his career as a trainee at CAA and later helped launched AOL Originals in 2010 where he lead development, production, marketing and distribution for numerous award-winning doc and scripted series including partnerships and co-productions with Killer Films, Mark Burnett Productions, Tribeca Films, the Jonas Group, and Mandalay Sports Media. As an independent producer, notable projects include the theatrically-released and critically acclaimed documentaries In Search of Greatness featuring Wayne Gretzky, Jerry Rice and Pelé, and Red Army about the Soviet hockey team, Executive Produced by Werner Herzog and Jerry Weintraub, and released by Sony Pictures Classics after premiering at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. In Search of Greatness and Red Army both received WGA nominations for Best Documentary Screenplay. Red Army is ranked in the top 10 sports films of all time according to critics by Business Insider and the #1 Hockey Film by Vice Media. Current projects in development and production include a scripted limited series based on UNLV Coach Jerry Tarkanian and the transformation of Las Vegas across the 1970’s and 1980’s in partnership with Jonah Hill, Drake, Ted Griffin, and Rick Yorn; a feature documentary about the life and candidacy for Sainthood of Freddie Steinmark, the legendary Longhorn who led Texas football to the 1969 National Championship before inspiring America’s War on Cancer, directed by Jared Christopher and a co-production with ESPN/The Longhorn Network; and a scripted television series about the Wayland Baptist College Flying Queens basketball team and the longest winning streak in sports that led to Title IX, in partnership with Jared Christopher, Laverne McKinnon and Kay Cannon, and based on the Texas Monthly HOOP QUEENS article by Skip Hollandsworth.

Jeffrey Glover is an accomplished International Attorney, Strategic Consultant and Corporate Executive. Jeffrey has the proven ability to develop, analyze and negotiate innovative business deals, develop and maintain corporate strategy, provide seasoned advice to clients and senior management, and effectively manage strategic partners, staff and outside counsel, on both a domestic and international basis. He is the founder of WaveCrestLaw & Consultancy which typically serves as a Strategic Consultant and/or General Counsel to its clients, directly handling complex business, licensing, Media, IP & technology matters in which the practice has substantial expertise. As a recognized expert in the global new technology & media industry, Jeffrey’s legal and business articles have been published in many influential publications, including: Journal of the Copyright Society of the USA, Journal of Media Law and Practice (UK), The Hollywood Reporter, Whittier Law Review, and the ASCAP Copyright Law Symposium.   Jeffrey has a rich history of innovation in developing cutting–edge projects at the crossroads of media and new communication technologies. He is a pioneer in integrating major Strategic Alliances, Branding, Programming and Launch Programs for such  paradigm-shifting companies as: Hyperloop TT (1st Hyperloop company), TiVo (1st DVR), Orbit Satellite Network (1st All Digital SatNetwork), AOL Plus (1st AOL Broadband Service) and Intertainer (1st VOD Service).   Jeffrey has performed in house services as: Vice President for The Samuel Goldwyn Company, EVP of the Surf Channel–BoardSports Network, EVP and General Counsel of Pittard Sullivan, Inc., a premiere Communications Company specializing in Internet Solutions, Brand Marketing and New Media. As Executive Vice President for Pittard Sullivan, Jeffrey played a key role working with the CEO in developing and integrating new revenue streams. He was instrumental in expanding this company from a single office in Hollywood, to successful branches established in New York, London, Paris, Munich and Hong Kong.  With Jeffrey playing a critical leadership role, during his tenure this company’s revenue more than doubled and its leading-edge Online, Cable, and Broadcast work earned hundreds of US and International Brand & Design awards, including five Emmy Awards.  Earlier in his career Jeffrey was an attorney with a leading Los Angeles Corporate, Entertainment & Litigation law firm (Wyman, Bautzer, Christensen, Kuchel & Silbert -now: Glaser, Weil et al.), Head of North American Operations for the major Pan-European media conglomerate: Pandora/CLT/RTL, and held the position of Senior Counsel at Columbia Pictures.  In the entertainment field Jeffrey has represented world-class talent, such as the legendary Marlon Brando, and concluded agreements for such major film stars as: Tom Cruise, Robert Duval, and Angelica Huston; and writers such as Elaine May and Ed Zwick; directors such as Jon Avelson and John Carpenter; and producers such as Brian Glazer and Jerry Weintraub, to name a few.   Jeffrey earned his post-graduate Master of Philosophy degree in International Law & International Relations from the University of Cambridge, where he completed his Master’s Thesis on Emerging International Copyright Laws and New Distribution Technologies; and his Juris Doctor degree from Whittier College School of Law, where he was a published member of the Law Review, and was awarded a First Prize, and a US National Prize, in the prestigious ASCAP Nathan Burkan Memorial Competition in Copyright Law.  Jeffrey is an active member of the California Bar Association, Cambridge University Alumni Association, and the Hughes Hall Graduate Law Society.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you willing to bet on your muse? With folks like Charles Bukowski, Jerry Weintraub and Lucinda Williams as inspiration, Mary Sparr is sure willing to. Founder and Owner of Young Mary Records, Mary spends much of her time managing the careers of some pretty amazing songwriters - Ian Noe, Morgan Wade and Elizabeth Cook to name a few. In this convo we chat about how she finds purpose by enabling her clients to find purpose through their art, as well as some insight into the benefits of building a team if you're an independent artist! Of course we also contemplate Bukowski and Weintraub quotes, as well as an excerpt of lyrics from Lucinda Williams Fruits of My Labor. Hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed the convo! Thanks again to Mary for obligin'. Y'all stay safe out there and enjoy your holiday seasons. Show Links: https://www.instagram.com/youngmaryrecords/ https://twitter.com/YoungMarySparr https://youngmaryrecords.com/ http://www.neverrefuseamuse.com/ Mary's non-profits of choice! Go give 'em a follow: Hood to the Holler - https://hoodtotheholler.org/ MusiCares - https://www.grammy.com/musicares Connect with the show: https://spoti.fi/34SyyMe www.instagram.com/dharmadigspodcast www.instagram.com/tdubyacreates Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Google Podcasts Watch on YouTube --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dharmadigs/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dharmadigs/support

Sales managers are not going to talk to you about your energy and how it is affecting you, it's because they don't realize that is it! In this video, I cover how and why your energy will and probably is impacting your sales, and a couple of quick tip... Sales managers are not going to talk to you about your energy and how it is affecting you, it's because they don't realize that is it! In this video, I cover how and why your energy will and probably is impacting your sales, and a couple of quick tips to correct the behavior. A really fun read that helped me look at how it is possible to do deals that are bigger than your experience came from reading "You'll know I'm dead when I stop talking" by Jerry Weintraub, check it out here: https://amzn.to/2Y1IwrZ Please Follow & Connect with me! Link's Below Blog: https://tyzerevans.com TikTok: https://tiktok.com/tyzerevans Instagram: https://instagram.com/tyzerevans Facebook: https://facebook.com/grindsellelevate Twitter: https://twitter.com/TyzerEvans LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/tyzerevans Tumblr: https://tumblr.com/tyzerevans YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/tyzerevans --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/grindsellelevate/support

Sales managers are not going to talk to you about your energy and how it is affecting you, it's because they don't realize that is it! In this video, I cover how and why your energy will and probably is impacting your sales, and a couple of quick tips to correct the behavior. A really fun read that helped me look at how it is possible to do deals that are bigger than your experience came from reading "You'll know I'm dead when I stop talking" by Jerry Weintraub, check it out here: https://amzn.to/2Y1IwrZ Please Follow & Connect with me! Link's Below Blog: https://tyzerevans.com TikTok: https://tiktok.com/tyzerevans Instagram: https://instagram.com/tyzerevans Facebook: https://facebook.com/grindsellelevate Twitter: https://twitter.com/TyzerEvans LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/tyzerevans Tumblr: https://tumblr.com/tyzerevans YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/tyzerevans --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/grindsellelevate/support

From taking Elvis Presley on tour, to raising 1 million dollars in a day, Jerry Weintraub was one of the most dynamic, persuasive men there has ever been. Today we go over how he became the man the world knew him to be and talk about his magnificent book "When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead." Tune in and learn how to be more persistent and get what you know you want out of life.

The Branding Secrets Behind Elvis & Sinatra. Terry and Eddie tell stories from Jerry Weintraub's book. He is a self made man that used persuasion to build an empire. Click here to join our Entrepreneur Community! Text or Call in with any questions!

If you had a client with multiple spouses, would you know how to handle their estate planning?  In this episode, WealthManagement.com’s senior editor, David Lenok, speaks with Kim Kamin, principal at Gresham Partners, about the success of Jerry Weintraub’s estate plan. Its success is notable given that this Emmy-Award winning producer, talent manager, and actor … Continue reading Dead Celebrity Ep 15—Jerry Weintraub: Modern Polyamory—With Kim Kamin →

From the book "When I stop talking you'll know Im dead". Support this Mind Loom Book Review by buying the book here: https://amzn.to/35PgVvJ Or by buying the audiobook here: https://amzn.to/35FUokJ

Steven Warshaw and Gabe Polsky and Face2Face host David Peck talk about their new film, Red Penguins, the politics of hockey, national pride, optimism and hope, cultural peculiarities, listening to others and capitalism run amok. Synopsis: Complete with gangsters, strippers, and live bears serving beer on a hockey rink, Red Penguins tells the wild forgotten true story of capitalism and opportunism run amok in Moscow. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the famed Red Army hockey team formed a joint venture that redefined what was possible in the new Russia. Eccentric marketing whiz, Steve Warshaw, is sent to Moscow and tasked to transform the team into the greatest show in Russia, attracting some of the biggest names in Hollywood and advertising along the way. He takes the viewer on a bizarre journey highlighting a pivotal moment in U.S.-Russian relations during a lawless era when oligarchs made their fortunes and multiple murders went unsolved. About our Guests: Steven Warshaw was the Pittsburgh Penguins man in charge on the ground in Moscow. With a “special talent for generating firestorms in arenas,” Warshaw was instrumental in the success of the Russian Penguins and was asked to stay after the venture fell apart. He did not. He is currently the Arena Guest Services Supervisor at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Gabe Polsky wrote, directed, and produced the feature documentary InSearch of Greatness - a cinematic journey into the secrets of genius as told through the greatest athletes of all time. It was released theatrically to critical acclaim in 2018 and was nominated several awards including a WGA Award. In 2017, Gabe Executive Produced Genius, the 10 time Emmy® nominated TV show on National Geographic about Albert Einstein. He and his brother Alan acquired the rights to the Albert Einstein Estate and the best-selling Walter Isaacson biography, which became the bedrock of the series. In 2015, Polsky directed, wrote, and produced the award-winning documentary Red Army which was released by Sony Pictures Classics to universal acclaim. Executive Produced by Jerry Weintraub and Werner Herzog, the film premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The story chronicled the epic rise and fall of the Soviet Union, through its famed Red Army hockey team. Polsky co-directed and produced The Motel Life, a feature film starring Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, and Steven Dorff. The film won numerous international awards and was described by Indiewire as “a perfectly formed indie with a heart of gold.” In 2016, The New Yorker commissioned Polsky to make a short documentary called “The Blimp-Maker”. Additional producing credits include: Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans which was named in over 40 top-ten lists of 2009 and His Way , an Emmy® nominated documentary released by HBO in 2011. Image Copyright: Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Studio Hamburg and Gabriel Polsky. Used with permission. F2F Music and Image Copyright: David Peck and Face2Face. Used with permission. For more information about David Peck’s podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit his site here. With thanks to Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

A Tribute To Jerry Weintraub, recorded live at the Grammy Museum Thursday, August 14th, featuring John Meglen of Concerts West, Bob Finkelstein of Sinatra Enterprises, Claire Rothman, emeritus GM/VP of the Forum, Peter Jackson, tour manager of the Moody Blues and Eric Clapton, Michael Weintraub and me, as the moderator. Listen for tales of the impresario who created national touring and promoted such artists at Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Bad Company, the Beach Boys and Led Zeppelin, as well as managing John Denver, Bob Dylan and many more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

Brothers Phil & Warren catch a red-eye to Vegas for a deep dive into the remake of the caper comedy classic "Ocean’s Eleven". Topics include: the reboot v. the original (1:00), the production & Jerry Weintraub’s connections (5:25), the many stars of the picture (11:25), stats & accolades (23:00), best scenes & lines (27:25), recasting the movie today (39:10), and the film’s legacy & lore (49:20), plus much more.

Brothers Phil & Warren catch a red-eye to Vegas for a deep dive into the remake of the caper comedy classic "Ocean’s Eleven". Topics include: the reboot v. the original (1:00), the production & Jerry Weintraub’s connections (5:25), the many stars of the picture (11:25), stats & accolades (23:00), best scenes & lines (27:25), recasting the movie today (39:10), and the film’s legacy & lore (49:20), plus much more.

Jerry Weintraub, “When I Stop Talking, You will Know I Am Dead”

Jerry Weintraub obudził się o 3-ciej w nocy po bardzo dziwnym acz przyjemnym śnie. Śniło mu się, że nad wejściem do Madison Square Garden widniał wielki napis: "JERRY WEINTRAUB PRZEDSTAWIA ELVISA". W tamtych latach, czyli połowie lat 60-tych, było tylko dwóch graczy kategorii super-ciężkiej: Elvis Presley i Frank Sinatra. Problem polegał jednak na tym, że o ile wszyscy wiedzieli kim jest Presley, nikt nie wiedział kim jest Weintraub. Z Presley'em włącznie. Co gorsza - o tym kim jest Weintraub nie wiedział również płk. Tom Parker - wszechmocny i trzymający Elvisa za jaja menadżer odpowiadający za całość jego kariery. Rano Weintraub zdobył telefon do pułkownika i dzwonił do niego - uwaga - przed 364 dni pod rząd, dzień w dzień o 8: 30 rano. Odpowiedź zawsze brzmiała "NIE" - nie tylko dlatego, że Parker o Weintraubie wcześniej nie słyszał, ale również dlatego, że Elvis w tym czasie w ogóle nie koncentrował. Dnia 365-go Parker się złamał: "Jeśli autentycznie chcesz zabrać mojego chłopaka w trasę, bądź za dwa dni w Vegas, z milionem dolarów w gotówce". Nieustępliwy Jerry Weintraub w jednym ze swoich domów Problem polegał na tym, że Jerry nie miał miliona. A dokładnej rzecz ujmując, miał 65 tysięcy długu. Spędził dobę na poszukiwaniu pieniędzy. Nieskutecznie. Mimo tego wsiadł do samolotu i już na miejscu, w Vegas, na parę godzin przed spotkaniem, ktoś wskazał mu prawnika, który miał bogatego klienta, który z kolej miał pierdolca na punkcie Elvisa. W zamian za ustną obietnicę 50% zysków, Jerry dostał milion dolarów i stał się promotorem Elvisa. Parę dni później był samodzielnym milionerem, parę lat później organizował również koncerty dla Franka Sinatry, Boba Dylana, Beach Boys czy Led Zeppelin. Zarabiał tyle pieniędzy, że kupił sobie dom w Hollywood a potem o nim zapomniał. Przypomniał mu o nim księgowy, zdziwiony po co Jerry mieszka po hotelach, skoro ma własną rezydencję. Dziś kojarzyć możesz go jako producenta takich filmów jak oryginalny Karate Kid oraz cała seria Ocean's Eleven, Twelve i Thirteen. Jerry w pracy... foto: news-entertainment.net Bob Macauley pracował z Matką Teresą dość regularnie a tego dnia lecieli razem do jednego z domów opieki w RPA. Wraz z nimi około 100 innych pasażerów. W pewnym momencie obsługa zaczęła wydawać posiłki. Kiedy stewardessa podeszła do Matki Teresy, ta zapytała ją ile taki posiłek kosztuje. "Około 5-ciu dolarów" - odpowiedziała. "A jeśli go nie zjem, czy dacie mi te 5$ na jedzenie dla głodujących?" Zapanowała pewna konsternacja i po kontakcie z zarządem firmy linie lotnicze wyraziły zgodę. Matka Teresa oddała z uśmiechem swój posiłek, a za nią podążyli siedzący obok Bob i - uwaga - cała reszta pasażerów samolotu. Samolot wylądował po czym niezwykle dumny ze swojego poświęcenia Bob usłyszał komendę: - Idź po nie - Po co? - Idź po te posiłki. - Przecież już nam zapłacili za to, że ich nie zjedliśmy. - I tak nie mogą ich więcej wykorzystać. Idź, żeby się nie zmarnowały. I znowu linie lotnicze wyraziły zgodę na to by posiłki wydano. Bob czuł się zbawcą świata. Przez chwilę... - Idź po vana Bob. - Jakiego znowu vana? - Przecież musimy przetransportować to jedzenie dla potrzebujących. Idź dowiedzieć się, czy linie lotnicze użyczą nam furgonetki. Matka Teresa na szczytach władzy foto: https://guardian.ng Co łączy historyjkę Matki Teresy i Jerry'ego Weintrauba? To że byli AGRESYWNI. Nie w znaczeniu kryminalnym - nie popełniali przestępstw i nie stanowili zagrożenia dla innych ludzi. Byli AGRESYWNI w sensie swojej mentalnej postawy. Wiedzieli czego chcą i nie obawiali się tego żądać. Nie reagowali na rzeczywistość tylko ją kształtowali. Jerry po prostu, w sposób czysto mechaniczny, codziennie rano podnosił słuchawkę i wykręcał numer. To było jego zadanie. Nie miało znaczenia to, że Elvis nie koncertuje. Nie miało znaczenia, że Parker ma kolejkę innych promotorów, których już zna i którym już ufa. Nie miało znaczenia, że nie ma ani środków ani doświadczenia.

Oh how I loved spending time with James Lee Stanley, a one of a kind, gazillion threat: amazing songwriter, stupendous voice, charming, handsome, smart, funny... fabulous! And, oh the life he's lived. A pro at 16 with a recording contract and friends like Cass Elliot and Peter Tork, before the Mamas and Papas and The Monkees... Henry Dilz, early advocates Les Paul, Bill Graham, a 10 album recording contract with Wooden Nickel (RCA), Jerry Weintraub... starting his own label, Beachwood Recordings, the first artist to record a Stephen Bishop tune, having hits of his own, running around with author Tom Robbins who put him in a book or two, the inside on how Peter became a Monkee, and Graham Nash joined Crosby & Stills, sharing Billboard raves with Queen, Loggins & Messina, and Alvin Lee; opening for Bonnie Raitt, Robin Williams (a mensch), Steven Wright (for 3 yrs), missing opportunities, Seinfeld, Jermaine Jackson, making opportunities, all over the place. An Emmy, Cable Ace Award-Winner, who's always earned his living doing what he loves... from arenas to intimate clubs, playing 300 gigs a year, for years, being reunited with Sheila E in my living room, having not seen her since he hired her to play percussion, long before Prince, his upcoming collaboration with Dan Navarro... there were shoutouts to Birthday Boys Liberty Devitto & Don Most, Wendy Liebman, gigging tomorrow night (8/9) with Arsenio Hall... and songs! James opened the show with his brand spanking new, rockin' Live It Up Now (my new theme song?), a mid-show surprise, updated for today's trying times, and closed with his, fantabulous, Let's Get Out of Here. Adored every moment. James Lee Stanley on Vicki Abelson's TheRoadTaken Wed, 8/8/, 7pm PT /10 pm ET With Samantha Rae Live on the Facebook Full show replay here: https://bit.ly/2nldOai All BROADcasts, as podcasts, also available on iTunes apple.co/2dj8ld3 Soundcloud http://bit.ly/2hktWoS Stitcher bit.ly/2h3R1fl tunein bit.ly/2gGeItj This week's BROADcast is brought to you by Rick Smolke of Quik Impressions, the best printers, printing, the best people people-ing. quikimpressions.com And, Nicole Venables of Ruby Begonia Hair Studio Beauty and Products for tresses like the stars she coifs, and regular peoples, like me. I love my hair, and I loves Nicole. http://www.rubybegoniahairstudio.com/ Her fabulous Ruby Begonia Products can be purchased and shipped from http://www.frendsbeauty.com/

Currently based in Brooklyn, Vanessa studied piano at the New England Conservatory, and art history, architecture and physics at Columbia University. Her first documentary film was the Peabody-award winning Between the Folds. Between the Folds has been translated into over ten languages and broadcast in dozens of countries as well as screening at international film festivals. Vanessa was a featured presenter at the EG 2010 conference, and serves on the jury for the News and Documentary Emmy Awards, as well as on several festival juries. Vanessa produced and shot for Showtime's Years of Living Dangerously, a documentary series about climate change executive produced by James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Vanessa's most recent documentary feature film is Obit, about The New York Times obituaries and their writer-reporters. Obit world-premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and has been in limited release around the United States.  

Most entrepreneurs want to help people with their business, but today's guest takes that to an extreme. Jared Angaza is a strategist, philanthropist, and founder who has built his success on helping others succeed. Especially people most entrepreneurs don't think they can help. That's why Jared has spent about a decade of his career building businesses in African nations like Kenya and Rwanda. His social entrepreneurship efforts have helped free 49 Rwandan women from the clutches of sex slavery by teaching them an entrepreneurial path forward. You can't donate dignity, but you can give a path so downtrodden people can experience it for themselves. As cool as Jared's stories are, one really stands out to me. In this episode, he tells me about how he walked with wild lions on the African savanna. And they didn't even eat him! In this episode, you'll also hear story after story about how Jared, through social entrepreneurship, affected the people of Africa and how they in turn affected him. Invest in your perspective because you know it's going to change the way you view the world. Too much social entrepreneurship, Jared says, is about putting out fires instead of changing perspectives. If you want to do more for people through your business, this episode is for you. Or if you like to hear about best practices for social entrepreneurship, get listening. And if you just want to hear some crazy stories about living in Africa for a decade, click play in the player above to get started. Listen to this episode to hear Jared Angaza tell me about social entrepreneurship and more: Drinking the blood of a bull Jared wrestled to the ground with Maasai tribesmen. Losing 36 pounds by integrating into African life. The story of Jared's ethical fashion label that got him his “MBA in philanthropy.” What the overview effect astronauts experience when they see the world from space can teach you about social entrepreneurship. Why failure is a refining process. The greatest challenge facing the human race. (It isn't what you think.) Why the only rule for Jared's four kids is “just be love.” Resources mentioned : “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” by Greg McKeown “The Advertising Solution: Influence Prospects, Multiply Sales, and Promote Your Brand,” by Craig Simpson and . Buy at http://www.thelegendsbook.com/ for exclusive extras. “When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man,” by Jerry Weintraub and Rich Cohen “The Robert Collier Letter Book,” by Robert Collier “Scientific Advertising,” by Claude Hopkins “Breakthrough Advertising,” by Eugene Schwartz and Martin Edelston “The Ultimate Sales Letter: Attract New Customers. Boost your Sales.” By Dan Kennedy How to connect with Jared Angaza: You can get in touch with Jared through his website. Or you can catch his podcast, Inipi Radio.   Do this next to improve your marketing: We may not push sex slaves into legitimate entrepreneurship, but we have our own brand of social entrepreneurship at Rusty Lion Academy. See, the men we serve have said “Yes” so many times that they're a slave to their work. We free them from that slavery through our proprietary processes. Curious? We offer free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Sessions that will help you figure out where you're going wrong and how to steal your life back from the things that have stolen it from you. Click here to change your life.

Without marketing, you'll reach dozens of people as opposed to millions. Why would you want to do that? My guest today, Brian Kurtz, is the CEO of Titans Marketing. Brian has literally reached millions, having sent out more than 1.3 billion pieces of direct mail. He learned how to market directly, which helped him grow one company from about $3 million in revenue to about $157 million at its peak. Brian now stands on the shoulders of giants in the marketing world to tell next-generation marketers how to market in the digital age using timeless techniques. It's the best time in the history of the world to be a marketer.  Brian Kurtz via @RustyLionAcad In this episode, Brian talks me through how to market without being evil. And you know what? The key is something we preach at Rusty Lion Academy: Not everything is a selling event; but everything is a relationship event. Brian Kurtz via @RustyLionAcad Brian tells me the mistakes otherwise great marketers sometimes make, how to bring in revenue through marketing, and how to grow your own lists. He tells how to do all that while building your client relationships instead of viewing clients as “victims of marketing.” If you want to improve your marketing and increase your revenues, this episode is for you. If you feel like marketing is outside your comfort zone, this episode is for you. And if you want to become a marketing samurai (because being a ninja isn't enough) then click play in the player above to get started. Listen to this episode to hear marketing legend Brian Kurtz tell me how to market while building relationships and more: Why you should be a marketing samurai, not a marketing ninja. The pull mentality great marketers use. How one man destroyed his list with one marketing misstep. Being congruent with your own marketing messages. The percentage of your time you should direct at marketing. (HINT: It's not low double digits.) Why you need to understand almost every avenue for marketing even if you don't use them all. What you should do if you find yourself envious of another company. The reason you should give sincere compliments, as evidenced by Tony Bennett. Books and resources mentioned in this episode that can help you learn how to market: “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less,” by Greg McKeown “The Advertising Solution: Influence Prospects, Multiply Sales, and Promote Your Brand,” by Craig Simpson and . Buy at http://www.thelegendsbook.com/ for exclusive extras. “When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man,” by Jerry Weintraub and Rich Cohen “The Robert Collier Letter Book,” by Robert Collier “Scientific Advertising,” by Claude Hopkins “Breakthrough Advertising,” by Eugene Schwartz and Martin Edelston “The Ultimate Sales Letter: Attract New Customers. Boost your Sales.” By Dan Kennedy How to contact Brian Kurtz, CEO of Titans Marketing: You can get in touch with Brian through his website. Do this next to improve your marketing: Admit it, you have a hard time with marketing. It's easy to lose your way in the weeds. We've been there. And you know what? Sometimes feeling overly tied to your marketing efforts cuts some freedom and time out of your life. We can reverse that. We offer free 30-minute Freedom Breakthrough Sessions that will help you figure out where you're going wrong and how to steal your life back from the things that have stolen it from you. Click here to change your life.

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich makes an eloquent and impassioned argument about how the devastating effects of America's widening income inequality not only threaten the middle class but also the very foundation of democracy itself.Jacob Kornbluth is an award winning writer and director of feature films, TV, and theater. He has had 3 feature films premiere at the Sundance Film Festival – HAIKU TUNNEL (Sony Pictures Classics) and THE BEST THEIF IN THE WORLD (Showtime Independent) were narrative films, and INEQUALITY FOR ALL (Radius / Weinstein) was a documentary. INEQUALITY, his most recent film, won the special jury prize for excellence in filmmaking at Sundance 2013, did the best box office for an issue doc since WAITING FOR SUPERMAN, and is out on DVD and streaming now. In 2014 he worked on the Showtime series about climate change, “Years of Living Dangerously”, that is executive produced by James Cameron, Arnold Swartzenegger, and Jerry Weintraub. His work on that show won an Emmy.Jacob started his career as a writer and director in the theater. He collaborated on and directed three successful solo shows in San Francisco. "THE MOISTURE SEEKERS", "PUMPING COPY" (both with Josh Kornbluth), and "THE FACE BY THE DOOR" (with Christina Robbins). All three were nominated for or won "Best Of The Bay" awards and successfully toured the country, and a later version of "THE MOISTURE SEEKERS" (called "Red Diaper Baby") has been included in anthologies of the best one man shows of the 90's.

Anthony starts the show off in a drive time fashion to welcome their guest, Chris Kleckner. In honor of this years' Ed Helms and Christina Applegate Vacation reboot, the guys watch the last of the original Griswold adventures, Vegas Vacation (Chevy Chase, Beverly D'Angelo, Randy Quaid, Ethan Embry, Marisol Nichols, Wallace Shawn, Sid Caesar, Wayne Newton, Jerry Weintraub, Christie Brinkley, Miriam Flynn, Julia Sweeney). Anthony shares a dark fantasy of his, Darren remembers the days he had to slum it at the Mirage, and Chris channels Sid Caesar. Tim Stanton shows up in various forms, plus Anthony and Chris share stories of being underage in Vegas. The guys talk about the delicate art of drinking via straw. A long forgotten Republica song is welcomed with open arms. 

Sam Waterneier fills in for Matthew Socey. He chats with Craig Mince about Indy Film Fest. Plus he discusses recent releases plus the deaths of Jerry Weintraub and Omar Shairff.

Judith Mancini and Allen Edwards are dishing about the movies Max and the Terminator franchise. More Hollywood talk…Bill Cosby admits giving quaaludes to girls. Is this drug now a cult, underground drug? We pay tribute to Jerry Weintraub, a fabulous man and a fabulous contributor to entertainment. Donald Trump is facing a huge backlash for his immigration remarks. Tune in for more! This show is broadcast live on W4CY Radio – (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (http://www.talk4radio.com/) on the Talk 4 Media Network http://www.talk4media.com/).

Ian Somerhalder talks about why he cares about climate change and why he's involved in this series.

Anna Jane joins a Sierra Club protest of the keystone XL pipeline at the White House. But in doing so she risks arrest.

Bob Inglis and a group of young Republicans go knocking on doors to get signatures in Paul Ryan's home district to get support for action on Climate Change.

James Cameron, Jerry Weintraub and Arnold Schwarzenegger weigh in on why they care about climate change and their motivation for making this series.

Don Cheadle talks about why he cares about climate change and what he's seen while working on this series.

Harrison Ford talks about why he cares about climate change and why he got involved in the series.

Thomas Friedman talks about why he cares about climate change and what he's seen while working on this series.

Harrison Ford learns the A B C's of climate change.

The Ford Foundation's Steve Rhee explains the contentious, sometimes violent interactions between native groups and agricultural companies, as the tropical forest is turned into plantations.

Don Cheadle talks to Catherine Heyhoe, an Evangelical climate scientist, about how she reconciles faith and science and how to speak about climate change with people of faith.

David Wallechinsky and Jerry Weintraub are our guests this week. Show produced by Katherine Caperton. Original Air Date: June 9, 2012 on SiriusXM Satellite Radio "POTUS" Channel 124. Polioptics airs regularly on POTUS on Saturdays at 6:00 am, 12 noon and 6:00 pm. Follow us on Twitter @Polioptics Listen to the show by clicking . . . → Read More: Episode 59, with guests David Wallechinsky and Jerry Weintraub (and guest co-host Kevin Sullivan)

We rebroadcast our 2010 interview with producer and Hollywood impresario Jerry Weintraub, currently the subject of the HBO documentary, His Way.