POPULARITY
2 episodes with Tuff Turf
3 episodes with Tuff Turf
3 episodes with Tuff Turf
3 episodes with Tuff Turf
2 episodes with Tuff Turf
2 episodes with Tuff Turf
2 episodes with Tuff Turf
2 episodes with Tuff Turf
2 episodes with Tuff Turf
The off-kilter, libidinous, captivating actor James Spader doesn't get the attention he deserves and this episode is here to rectify that. I spoke with (new) Spader fan and horror journalist Amber T about the talented and unforgettable actor. Welcome to the fold, Amber. We spoke about Spader's appeal, the sexuality he brings to his roles, why we think he hasn't received a lot of critical attention, our favorite James Spader films, and more!Show Notes:Amber's instagramAmber's blueskyAmber T's James Spader Letterboxd ListMy James Spader Letterboxd ListCrash (1996)Secretary (2002)Pretty in Pink (1986)Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)Team-Mates (1978)Spader in Team MatesEndless Love (1981)Tuff Turf (1985)The New Kids (1985)Supernova (2000)A Killer in the Family (1983)Starcrossed (1985)Brat PackBad Influence (1990)John HughesPatrick BatemanLess Than Zero (1987)Wolf (1994)The Whale (2022)Dream Lover (1994)Brendan FraserDavid DuchovnyCrash novelMaggie GyllenhaalBabygirl (2024)Bret Easton Ellis Midnight Cowboy (1969)Jack's Back (1988)Curtain Call (1998)The Music of Chance (1993)Sex, Lies, and Videotape criterion articleFollow Somebody's Watching here:Twitter: @somebodyspodInstagram: @somebodyswatchingpodEmail: somebodywatchingpod@gmail.com
ITS THE 4TH ANNUAL HIGH SCHOOL ROYALE!! Every year my guest Justin Henson - Host of THE MOVIE WIRE and co-host of my other podcast, BACK 2 THE BALCONY - returns to THE CULTWORTHY to face off in the High School Royale! We each pick two high school films and pit them against each other to see which on reigns supreme!! This week - we see THE PRINCIPAL (1987) go up against TUFF TURF (1985). CHOOSE YOUR WARRIOR! Sign up for Zencaster TODAY! https://zen.ai/Ax2lLiOypAMyn_rp4eoKemgLq-YYFcUzPdCT19xZh1EOFFER CODES: cultworthyVisit thecultworthy.comCultworthy LETTERBOXD: https://boxd.it/31EObTHE MOVIE WIRE: https://www.themoviewire.com/
We end #HAHAugust 2: Double Take with a bucket list guest: director Fritz Kiersch, one of the important directors of the second New World Pictures era, helming CHILDREN OF THE CORN to TUFF TURF, and lastly, UNDER THE BOARDWALK. This is really a 2-part interview, with this being the second half, but, since we're releasing it first, so it's actually Part 1. Trust us, it will all make sense. In this part of the interview (Part 1), we discuss UNDER THE BOARDWALK and a non-New World film Kiersch directed prior, 1987's WINNERS TAKE ALL, including why Kiersch chose UNDER THE BOARDWALK for the third film in his 3-picture deal with the studio and why WINNERS TAKE ALL isn't a New World movie (when it really feels like one). In a two film span, there was plenty of drama, with hirings, firings, and the final days of New World Pictures, for which UNDER THE BOARDWALK was a victim. One of the final theatrical offerings New World would release, the film got buried by a lack of publicity, along with HEATHERS. With the help of Fritz, we're trying to change all that. Don't miss this terrific conversation, with Fritz explaining the casting, working with Robert King, and the production of UNDER THE BOARDWALK, and what Fritz originally intended with WINNERS TAKE ALL. We also touch briefly on TUFF TUF, but for more on that film, you'll have to wait until the second part of this conversation (really, Part 1). Again, it makes sense! For all the shows in Someone's Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/.
We continue HAHAugust 2: Double Take with an extremely underseen gem from the New World catalog, the Los Angeles set surf dramedy UNDER THE BOARDWALK, directed by Fritz Kiersch (CHILDREN OF THE CORN, TUFF TURF). Originally set to be released in 1988, New World eventually put this out at the same time as HEATHERS, the final two theatrical releases for the company. Featuring the endless struggle between the coastal "locs" (or "lawks" as Letterboxd might have you believe) and the San Fernando Valley "Vals," the film concerns two star-crossed lovers caught between the two worlds just as the two sides meet in a local surf competition (or "compo" if you're cool). How does Allie (Danielle van Zerneck, LA BAMBA) deal with her feelings for Nick (Richard Joseph Paul, OBLIVION)? Well, not by looking after her cousin Andy (Keith Coogan, ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING), that's for sure! Helping us discuss this Shakespearean tale is our good friend and New World superfan Justin Grams, who has been with this film from the very beginning! Listen as we go through the film's history, share our thoughts on a potential sequel, have a discussion of the slang term "whease," and a whole lot more as we give this film the attention it deserves! Special thanks to Fritz Kiersch, writer/producer Matthew Irmas, and producer Greg Blackwell for their assistance with this episode! For all the shows in Someone's Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/
Kalender siger 1985 og vi er havnet i den anden film i "Årgang"-serien! James Spader spiller en ballademager, der ankommer til en ny skole og øjeblikkeligt rager uklar med en lokal bandeleder. Han bliver også forelsket i bandelederens kæreste, og så er spørgsmålet, hvor meget vil Spader ofre for denne kærlighed? https://www.ikassenshow.dk/2025/08/i-kassen-1186-tuff-turf-aka-argang-85.html
Kicking off July with seven films!The Monkey (2025), Tuff Turf, The Beyond (1981), Ballerina (2025), The Hot Spot, Being Maria, and Elio.Podcast Details: Season 2, Episode 104Cinema5000.comBluesky: Cinema 5000YouTube: @cinema5000podcast
Tonight the ladies explore rebellion, drummer-banging, and their love for the Jim Carroll Band.If you would like to get into Hillary's pants...dresses...shoes etchttps://www.whatnot.com/s/HNGYJRKBIf you would like to support Fan and Friend of the show Christy.naturewithchristy.esty.com
One of the biggest inflection points for New World Pictures was when Roger Corman bought a former lumberyard and turned it into a studio to shoot BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS, which jumpstarted many careers from James Cameron to this week's guest, editor Daniel Gross! Daniel may have started with New World on BATTLE, but he went on to work on New World films like TUFF TURF, SORCERESS and HIGHPOINT while also editing trailers and promotional materials for the company after Corman sold it. He also edited the New World films THE ANNIHILATORS, PRETTY SMART, and UNDER THE BOARDWALK! We discuss Daniel's long career, which also dipped into Cannon Films, worked with legendary genre directors Greydon Clark and Larry Cohen, and edited SPACED INVADERS! This interview discusses a wide range of New World films from two different eras, and Daniel is a hilarious guest with great stories so you don't want to miss this! To watch Daniel's "music video" for Tuff Turf, head here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8aZNZSV41U. For more about the New World Pictures Podcast, including previous episodes, t-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts, other merch and more, head here: https://newworldpicturespodcast.com/ For all the shows in Someone's Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here: https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/
Jason, June and Paul break down the 1985 classic Tuff Turf starring James Spader and Robert Downey Jr. They discuss the many tonal shifts throughout the movie, Paul's 80's Tuff Turf looks, the shocking violence, and more! Plus, Jason reveals why he never unpacks his clothes in a hotel and the gang can't believe The Blacklist is still on the air. (Originally Released 07/07/2022) Get tix for our May 9th Toronto show at hdtgm.comHave a correction or omission for Last Looks? Call 619-PAULASK to leave us a voicemail!Buy HDTGM merch at howdidthisgetmade.dashery.com/Order Paul's book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of TraumaJoin the HDTGM conversation on Discord: discord.gg/hdtgmShop our new hat collection at podswag.comPaul's Discord: discord.gg/paulscheerPaul's YouTube page: youtube.com/paulscheerFollow Paul on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/paulscheerSubscribe to Enter The Dark Web w/ Paul and Rob Huebel: youtube.com/@enterthedarkwebListen to Unspooled with Paul and Amy Nicholson: unspooledpodcast.comListen to The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael: thedeepdiveacademy.com/podcastInstagram: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & @junedianeTwitter: @hdtgm, @paulscheer, & msjunediane Jason is not on social mediaEpisode transcripts available at how-did-this-get-made.simplecast.com/episodesGet access to all the podcasts you love, music channels and radio shows with the SiriusXM App! Get 3 months free using the link: siriusxm.com/hdtgm
"Son, Life is not a problem to be solved. It's a mystery to be lived."We're wrapping up our February lineup with a true cult classic that's as wild as the streets of Los Angeles—and this one's a listener request!This week, join Henrique and David as they dive headfirst into the chaotic, underseen gem that is 1985's Tuff Turf.
This week we're taking a look at what it's like to be the new kid in town. First up, James Spader runs afoul of a gang at his new school all because he likes the leader's girlfriend in TUFF TURF. Then, a new bully arrives as Jerry Mitchell is having the worst day of his life. Now he has to fight him in THREE O'CLOCK HIGH.
This week we're taking a look at what it's like to be the new kid in town. First up, James Spader runs afoul of a gang at his new school all because he likes the leader's girlfriend in TUFF TURF. Then, a new bully arrives as Jerry Mitchell is having the worst day of his … Continue reading Tuff Turf & Three O'Clock Hight →
POWW New Songs Episode 67 part 2. This episode features the second third of new tracks from October 2024. Including a lot of great punk, street punk, ska, synth punk, garage punk, and hardcore punk tracks. Featuring tracks from Tuff Turf, Essex, Eastfield, Doctor Velvet, Tube Alloys, Chubby and the Gang, Träume, Seeing Snakes, Less Than Jake, Riksrevisionen, Turn Off, Gas Station Boner Pills, Trouble Bound, S.H.I.T., Kings Never Die, 2Minute Minor, Amyl and the Sniffers, Alvilda, Snõõper, and B.O.L. - Baserriko Ollaxkue Labien.
Loopz podcast episode 132 // Ga-l // Iyakuh,Lou Teti,Alpine,Goldroom,Satin Jackets,KLP,Isaac Tichauer,Sally Shapiro,Junior Boys,Sébastien Léger,Julian Sanza,Future Feelings,MØND,Stefan Obermaier,Mowgli,Amber Jolene,Tuff Turf,Daniel Zuur,Perseus,Miss Bee,Bronx,Metric,Flight Facilities // https://www.loopz.fr //
Nick and Justin mourn the loss of their bike at the expense of everything else in their lives. Post show song: The new song from THE LUCKY NIGHTSTICK'S upcoming album "ANNIHILATOR", ZERO SUM GAME (Nunziata, Murphy, Makarewicz). By the way, you can donate to this show in the link if you have more money than sense. You can follow on Instagram and on Twitter and can comment on these on the Trouble City message boards. You can also write a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts. Theme music by Nick Nunziata and Steve Murphy. Find their music on Soundcloud. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moviemicroscope/support
Tuff Turf (1985) 5 STAR BANGER Bones brings a very underrated 80's movie to the 5 Star Banger library. Early Spader and young Iron Man join forces to take on the mean streets punks of Burbank. The guys chat teen movies, hangover cures and fingers. The guys ask if everything is just the joker and Kron does not enjoy the sounds of U2. -Crash & Burn JOIN THE DISCORD https://discord.com/invite/3zP2SXKtfq QUESTIONS? EMAIL US AT 5dayrentalspodcast@gmail.com Theme by Dkrefft https://open.spotify.com/artist/1yxWXpxlqLE4tjoivvU6XL
It's been awhile since the Film School Janitors were MIXING BLEACH AND AMMONIA, but they've gone and done it again! This time, they make toxic fumes by mixing two ROBERT DOWNEY JR (not?) classics: TUFF TURF and HUGO POOL. One is from very near the beginning of his film career and one is from near where it almost could have ended. Take a listen to find out more!
Vi byter håriga män och varulvar till barbröstade män mitt i varulvstemat! Om ni undrar varför vi helt plötsligt pratar om en av James Spader och Robert Downey Jr:s första filmer i Tuff Turf får ni lyssna på avsnittet! En ledtråd är att det har med en viss Holma att göra... Vilken Holma låter vi vara osagt men vi säger stort grattis gånger två! Det blir snack om två unga hunkar, stiletter, den oväntade vändningen när filmen förvandlas till John Wick under den sista tredjedel, smisk i omklädningsrum, sprayburkar och cyklister! Vi reder även ut hur många Holma det finns och ställer oss frågan om vi blivit catfishade av en superlyssnare... Detta och mycket mer i veckans avsnitt. Mycket nöje! Superlänk till alla plattformar: https://linktr.ee/Filmsmakarna #filmsmakarna #tuffturf #gatansterror #gatanskrigare #jamesspader #robertdowneyjr Gatans krigare, även känd som Tuff Turf - gatans terror är en amerikansk film från 1985 i regi av Fritz Kiersch, med James Spader, Kim Richards och Paul Mones samt Robert Downey Jr i rollerna. Handlingen: High school-eleven Morgan Hiller har nyss flyttat från Connecticut till Los Angeles. Där blir han god vän med klasskamraten Jimmy Parker. Morgan inleder en romans med Frankie Croyden, något som leder till en våldsam konflikt med Frankies pojkvän, ungdomsbrottslingen Nick Hauser. Rollista James Spader – Morgan Hiller Kim Richards – Frankie Croyden Paul Mones – Nick Hauser Matt Clark – Stuart Hiller Claudette Nevins – Page Hiller Robert Downey Jr. – Jimmy Parker Olivia Barash – Ronnie Panchito Gómez – Mickey Michael Wyle – Eddie Catya Sassoon – Feather Bill Beyers – Brian Hille
Around here at the LIFERS Podcast — we kinda HATE April Fool's Day. And now you people are gonna hear about it! PLUS: Taco Bell, “Rampage”, a mini-round of WHAT'S THE BEST: Lemonheads, Japanese “Alias” bootlegs, Un-punk Gabe, River vs. Rivers, Joe Flaherty, The Wisconsin Film Festival, “Tuff Turf” vs. Tuff TERFs, dumbbells, and we may or may not be waiting around for Kevin Tihista again.
Welcome to the first episode of The Video Store Podcast, where we dive deep into the shelves of cinematic history to bring you some must-watch recommendations. Today, we're taking a trip back to the 1980s, a golden era of cult classics and hidden gems. So, grab your popcorn and let's get started.First up, we have "The Blood of Heroes" (1989), a gritty post-apocalyptic adventure that takes the term "underdog story" to new heights. Starring Rutger Hauer in a very memorable role, this film mixes the gritty atmosphere of a devastated world with the spirit of sportsmanship in a way that's both thrilling and thought-provoking. If you're a fan of dystopian narratives with a twist, this one's for you.Next on our list is "The New Kids" (1985). This thriller dives into the life of a brother and sister duo who, after the death of their parents, move to a new town only to face a gang of merciless bullies ruled by James Spader. It's a gripping tale of resilience and revenge, with performances that capture the raw emotion of the characters' plight. For those who love a good underdog story with a dash of 80s flair, "The New Kids" is a must-see.Moving on, we have "Ruthless People" (1986), a dark comedy that stands out for its wicked sense of humor and brilliant plot twists. Starring Danny DeVito and Bette Midler, this film tells the story of a man who plans to kill his wealthy wife, only to find out she's been kidnapped. What ensues is a hilarious mix-up of plans, double-crosses, and unexpected alliances. It's a riot from start to finish, showcasing the comedic genius of its cast."Tuff Turf" (1985) brings us a tale of teenage rebellion and romance. James Spader stars as the rebellious new kid in town, navigating the tough streets of Los Angeles while trying to win the heart of a gang leader's girlfriend. This film perfectly captures the essence of 80s teen dramas, complete with a rocking soundtrack and plenty of style.Thanks for reading Video Store Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Lastly, we have "Runaway Train" (1985), a high-octane thriller that's as much about action as it is about the human spirit. Jon Voight and Eric Roberts deliver powerhouse performances as two escaped convicts on a runaway train, with no control and no place to go. It's a gripping tale of survival and freedom, with stunning cinematography that makes you feel like you're right there with them.There you have it, five films from the 1980s that are sure to entertain, thrill, and maybe even move you. Whether you're in the mood for action, comedy, drama, or a bit of everything, these recommendations are guaranteed to deliver. So, dust off those VCRs, or find these classics online, and let the movie marathon begin. Until next time, happy watching.Subscribe to the Video Store Podcast* The Video Store Podcast* Apple Podcast* RSSThanks for reading Video Store Podcast! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.videostorepodcast.com
Olivia Barash (Tuff Turf, Repo Man, Little House on the Prairie) answers our patrons' questions! She talks about her favorite thing about the 80's, AI, the trickiness of song covers, meeting Quentin Tarantino and discovering she was in one of HIS favorite movies, a risk she took auditioning for Oliver Stone that paid off, and of course, the time she broke our pal Dean Cameron's heart! Enjoy! If you'd like to have your questions asked and answered, sign up for our Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/twodollarlatefee Dig our show? Please consider supporting us on Patreon for tons of bonus content and appreciation: www.patreon.com/twodollarlatefee Please follow/subscribe and rate us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-dollar-late-fee Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/ Instagram: @twodollarlatefee Subscribe to our YouTube Check out Jim Walker's intro/outro music on Bandcamp: jvamusic1.bandcamp.com Facebook: facebook.com/Two-Dollar-Late-Fee-Podcast Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/two-dollar-late-fee IMDB: https://www.imdb.com Two Dollar Late Fee is a part of the nutritious Geekscape Network Every episode is produced, edited, and coddled by Zak Shaffer (@zakshaffer) & Dustin Rubin (@dustinrubinvo) Dig our show? Please consider supporting us on Patreon for tons of bonus content and appreciation: www.patreon.com/twodollarlatefee Please follow/subscribe and rate us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-dollar-late-fee Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/ Instagram: @twodollarlatefee Subscribe to our YouTube Check out Jim Walker's intro/outro music on Bandcamp: jvamusic1.bandcamp.com Facebook: facebook.com/Two-Dollar-Late-Fee-Podcast Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/two-dollar-late-fee IMDB: https://www.imdb.com Two Dollar Late Fee is a part of the nutritious Geekscape Network Every episode is produced, edited, and coddled by Zak Shaffer (@zakshaffer) & Dustin Rubin (@dustinrubinvo) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Actress Olivia Barash (Tuff Turf, Little House On The Prairie, Repo Man) reminisces on the many stand out moments of her incredible career in the 80s! She talks about making movies with Robert Downey Jr & James Spader, surfing in Dogtown, and making a transition from acting to music. She shares how her small (and arguably the most heartbreaking), pivotal role in Little House on The Prairie as Sylvia, left such an impression on the world, and ultimately led to more attention (both from the industry and from stalkers). She also talks about auditioning for director Alex Cox to land her role in the cult classic, Repo Man alongside Emilio Estevez. Nostalgia runs wild in this interview! Dig our show? Please consider supporting us on Patreon for tons of bonus content and appreciation: www.patreon.com/twodollarlatefee Please follow/subscribe and rate us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-dollar-late-fee Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/ Instagram: @twodollarlatefee Subscribe to our YouTube Check out Jim Walker's intro/outro music on Bandcamp: jvamusic1.bandcamp.com Facebook: facebook.com/Two-Dollar-Late-Fee-Podcast Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/two-dollar-late-fee IMDB: https://www.imdb.com Two Dollar Late Fee is a part of the nutritious Geekscape Network Every episode is produced, edited, and coddled by Zak Shaffer (@zakshaffer) & Dustin Rubin (@dustinrubinvo) Dig our show? Please consider supporting us on Patreon for tons of bonus content and appreciation: www.patreon.com/twodollarlatefee Please follow/subscribe and rate us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-dollar-late-fee Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/ Instagram: @twodollarlatefee Subscribe to our YouTube Check out Jim Walker's intro/outro music on Bandcamp: jvamusic1.bandcamp.com Facebook: facebook.com/Two-Dollar-Late-Fee-Podcast Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/two-dollar-late-fee IMDB: https://www.imdb.com Two Dollar Late Fee is a part of the nutritious Geekscape Network Every episode is produced, edited, and coddled by Zak Shaffer (@zakshaffer) & Dustin Rubin (@dustinrubinvo) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this episode, we are joined by Michael Ferrari of Cinema Du Meep to discuss the 1985 teensploitation classic, Tuff Turf! The film, which stars James Spader (Pretty In Pink), Kim Richards (Assault On Precinct 13), Robert Downey Jr (Marvel's Avengers), & next week's guest Olivia Barash (Repo Man) is quintessential 80s nostalgia! It's soundtrack is filled with bangers from Jack Mack & The Heart Attack, Southside Johnny, Jim Carroll, & Marianne Faithful. If you know Tuff Turf, you love it. If you've never seen it, listen to this episode and enjoy the nostalgic ride! You can find Michael Ferrari here: Instagram: Cinema Du Meep Youtube: Retro Movie Love Podcast Website: Retro Movie Love Dig our show? Please consider supporting us on Patreon for tons of bonus content and appreciation: www.patreon.com/twodollarlatefee Please follow/subscribe and rate us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-dollar-late-fee Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/ Instagram: @twodollarlatefee Subscribe to our YouTube Check out Jim Walker's intro/outro music on Bandcamp: jvamusic1.bandcamp.com Facebook: facebook.com/Two-Dollar-Late-Fee-Podcast Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/two-dollar-late-fee IMDB: https://www.imdb.com Two Dollar Late Fee is a part of the nutritious Geekscape Network Every episode is produced, edited, and coddled by Zak Shaffer (@zakshaffer) & Dustin Rubin (@dustinrubinvo) Dig our show? Please consider supporting us on Patreon for tons of bonus content and appreciation: www.patreon.com/twodollarlatefee Please follow/subscribe and rate us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts! Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/two-dollar-late-fee Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/ Instagram: @twodollarlatefee Subscribe to our YouTube Check out Jim Walker's intro/outro music on Bandcamp: jvamusic1.bandcamp.com Facebook: facebook.com/Two-Dollar-Late-Fee-Podcast Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/user/two-dollar-late-fee IMDB: https://www.imdb.com Two Dollar Late Fee is a part of the nutritious Geekscape Network Every episode is produced, edited, and coddled by Zak Shaffer (@zakshaffer) & Dustin Rubin (@dustinrubinvo) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The final week of #VAMPril closes out with the third part of our interview with VAMP producer Donald P. Borchers! We discuss the how he got Grace Jones involved with the aid of an Anne Rice book, his stormy relationship with New World CEO Robert Rehme, his unmade projects 357 VIGILANTE and David Lee Roth's CRAZY FROM THE HEAT, his theory on why New World closed its doors, plus more stories about CHILDREN OF THE CORN, TUFF TURF, CRIMES OF PASSION, and ANGEL! This is a conversation not to be missed! For more information on Donald and to watch the films mentioned, go to his YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/c/DonaldPBorchersOG. Don't forget to like and subscribe!
This week's episode takes a look back at the career of trailblazing independent filmmaker Robert Downey, father of Robert Downey, Jr., and his single foray into the world of Hollywood filmmaking, Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. On this episode, we follow up on a movie based on a series of articles from a humor magazine that was trying to build their brand name by slapping their name on movies with a movie that was sponsored by a humor magazine trying to build their brand name by slapping their name on movies not unlike the other humor magazine had been doing but ended up removing their name from the movie, and boy is brain already fried and we're not even a minute into the episode. We're talking about Robert Downey's 1980 comedy Up the Academy. But, as always, before we get to Up the Academy, let's hit the backstory. If you know the name Robert Downey, it's likely because you know his son. Robert Downey, Jr. You know, Iron Man. Yes, Robert Downey, Jr. is a repo baby. Maybe you've seen the documentary he made about his dad, Sr., that was released by Netflix last year. But it's more than likely you've never heard of Robert Downey, Sr., who, ironically, was a junior himself like his son. Robert Downey was born Robert John Elias, Jr. in New York City in 1936, the son of a model and a manager of hotels and restaurants. His parents would divorce when he was young, and his mom would remarry while Robert was still in school. Robert Elias, Jr. would take the last name of his stepfather when he enlisted in the Army, in part because was wanted to get away from home but he was technically too young to actually join the Army. He would invent a whole new persona for himself, and he would, by his own estimate, spend the vast majority of his military career in the stockade, where he wrote his first novel, which still has never been published. After leaving the Army, Downey would spend some time playing semi-pro baseball, not quite good enough to go pro, spending his time away from the game writing plays he hoped to take, if not to Broadway, at least off-Broadway. But he would not make his mark in the arts until 1961, when Downey started to write and direct low-budget counterculture short films, starting with Ball's Bluff, about a Civil War soldier who wakes up in New York City's Central Park a century later. In 1969, he would write and direct a satirical film about the only black executive at a Madison Avenue advertising firm who is, through a strange circumstance, becomes the head of the firm when its chairman unexpectedly passes away. Featuring a cameo by Mel Brooks Putney Swope was the perfect anti-establishment film for the end of that decade, and the $120k film would gross more than $2.75m during its successful year and a half run in theatres. 1970's Pound, based on one of Downey's early plays, would be his first movie to be distributed by a major distributor, although it was independently produced outside the Hollywood system. Several dogs, played by humans, are at a pound, waiting to be euthanized. Oh, did I forget to mention it was a comedy? The film would be somewhat of a success at the time, but today, it's best known as being the acting debut of the director's five year old son, Robert Downey, Jr., although the young boy would be credited as Bob Downey. 1972's Greaser Palace was part of an early 1970s trend of trippy “acid Westerns,” like Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo and Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie. Character actor Allan Arbus plays Jesse, a man with amnesia who heals the sick, resurrects the dead and tap dances on water on the American frontier. It would be the first movie Downey would make with a million dollar budget. The critical consensus of the film at the time was not positive, although Jay Cocks, a critic for Time Magazine who would go on to be a regular screenwriter for Martin Scorsese in the 1980s, would proclaim the film to be “the most adventurous movie of the year.” The film was not a hit, and it would be decades before it would be discovered and appreciated by the next generation of cineastes. After another disappointing film, 1975's Moment to Moment, which would later be retitled Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight in order to not be confused with the 1978 movie of the same name starring John Travolta and Lily Tomlin that really, truly stunk, Downey would take some time off from filmmaking to deal with his divorce from his first wife and to spend more time with his son Robert and daughter Allyson. By 1978, Robert Downey was ready to get back to work. He would get a job quickly helping Chuck Barris write a movie version of Barris' cult television show, The Gong Show, but that wasn't going to pay the bills with two teenagers at home. What would, though, is the one thing he hadn't done yet in movies… Direct a Hollywood film. Enter Mad Magazine. In 1978, Mad Magazine was one of the biggest humor magazines in America. I had personally discovered Mad in late 1977, when my dad, stepmom and I were on a cross country trip, staying with friends outside Detroit, the day before my tenth birthday, when I saw an issue of Mad at a local grocery store, with something Star Wars-y on its cover. I begged my dad to give me the sixty cents to buy it, and I don't think I missed another issue for the next decade. Mad's biggest competition in the humor magazine game was National Lampoon, which appealed to a more adult funny bone than Mad. In 1978, National Lampoon saw a huge boost in sales when the John Landis-directed comedy Animal House, which had the name of the magazine in the title, became an unexpected smash hit at the box office. Warner Brothers, the media conglomerate who happened to own Mad Magazine, was eager to do something similar, and worked with Mad's publisher, Bill Gaines, to find the right script that could be molded into a Mad Magazine movie, even if, like Animal House, it wouldn't have any real connection to the magazine itself. They would find that script in The Brave Young Men of Weinberg, a comedy script by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses, a pair of television comedy writers on shows like The Carol Burnett Show, The Sandy Duncan Show, The Bob Newhart Show and The Tony Randall Show, who had never sold a movie script before. The story would follow the misadventures of four teenage boys who, for different reasons, depend on each other for their very survival when they end up at the same military academy. Now, of all the research I've done for this episode, the one very important aspect of the production I was never able to find out was exactly how Robert Downey became involved in the film. Again, he had never made a Hollywood movie before. He had only made one movie with a budget of a million dollars. His movies were satirical and critical of society in general. This was not a match made in heaven. But somehow, someone at Warner Brothers thought he'd be the right director for the film, and somehow, Downey didn't disagree. Unlike Animal House, Downey and Warners didn't try to land a known commodity like John Belushi to play one of the four leads. In fact, all four of the leads, Wendell Brown, Tommy Citera, Joseph Hutchinson, and Ralph Macchio, would all be making their feature debuts. But there would be some familiar faces in the film. Ron Liebman, who was a familiar face from such films has Slaughterhouse-Five, Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood and Norma Rae, would play the head of the Academy. Tom Poston, who played Mindy's downstairs neighbor on Mork and Mindy, plays what would now be considered to be a rather offensive gay caricature as the guy who handles the uniforms of the cadets, Antonio Fargas, best known as Huggy Bear on Starsky and Hutch but who had previously worked with Downey on Putney Swope and Pound, as the Coach, and Barbara Bach, who had starred as Anya Amasova in the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. The $5m film would begin production in Salina, Kansas, on September 17th, 1979, still using the title The Brave Young Men of Weinberg. The primary shooting location would be the St. John's Military School, which was still functioning while the film was in production, and would use most of the 144 students as extras during the shoot. The film would shoot for nine weeks without much incident, and the cast and crew would be home in time to enjoy Thanksgiving with their friends and family. Unlike Animal House, the makers of The Brave Young Men of Weinberg did attempt to tie the movie into the magazine that would be presenting the film. At the very end of the movie, the magazine's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, shows up on the side of the road, to wave goodbye to people and deliver his signature line, “What, Me Worry?” in a thought bubble that leads into the end credits. The person wearing the not quite realistic looking Neuman head gear, fourteen year old Scott Shapiro, was the son of the executive vice president of worldwide production at Warner Brothers. After the first of the year, as Downey worked on his edit of the film, the studio decided to change the title from The Brave Young Men of Weinberg to Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy. Bill Gaines, the publisher of Mad Magazine, suggested a slightly different title, Mad Magazine Completely Disassociates Itself from Up the Academy, but the studio decided that was too long for theater marquees. But we'll come back to that in a moment. Warner Brothers set a June 6, 1980 release for the film, and Downey would finish his cut of the film by the end of March. A screening on the Warners lot in early April did not go well. Ron Liebman hated the film so much, he demanded that Warners completely remove his name from everything associated with the film. His name would not appear on the poster, the newspaper ads, the television commercials, the lobby cards, the press kit, or even in the movie itself. Bill Gaines would hate it to, such much in fact that he really did try to disassociate the magazine from the film. In a 1983 interview with The Comics Journal, Gaines would explain without much detail that there were a number of things he had objected to in the script that he was told would not be shot and not end up in the final film that were shot and did end up in the final film. But he wouldn't be able to get the magazine's name off the movie before it opened in theatres. Now, one of the problems with trying to research how well films did in 1980 is that you really have only two sources for grosses, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and they didn't always report national grosses every week, depending on outside factors. It just hadn't the national sport it's been since, say, 1983. So when Up the Academy opened in theatres on June 6th, we don't have a full idea of how many theatres it played in nationwide, or how much it grossed. The closest thing we do have for this Variety's listing of the top movies of the week based on a limited selection of showcase theatres in the top 20 markets. So we know that the film played at 7 showcase screens in New York City that weekend, grossing $175k, and in Los Angeles on 15 showcase screens, grossing $149k. But we also know, thanks to newspaper ads in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times that the film was playing in 11 theatres in the New York Metro area, and in 30 theatres in the Los Angeles Metro area, so those listed grosses are merely a snapshot and not the whole picture. According to Variety's limited tracking of major market showcase theatres for the week, Up the Academy was the second highest grossing film of the week, bringing in $729k from 82 theatres. And according to their chart's side notes, this usually accounts for about 25% of a movie's national gross, if a film is playing in wide release around the entire country. In its second week, Up the Academy would place ninth on that showcase theatre listing, with $377k from 87 theatres. But by the time Variety did bring back proper national grosses in the film's third week of release, there would be no mention of Up the Academy in those listings, as Warners by this time had bigger fish to handle, namely Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Shining, and Bronco Billy, their Clint Eastwood movie for the year. In that showcase theatre listing, though, Up the Academy had fallen to 16th place, with $103k from 34 theatres. In fact, there is no publicly available record of how many theatres Up the Academy played in during its theatrical run, and it wouldn't be until the 1981 Warner Brothers 10-K annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Up the Academy had earned $10m from American movie theatres. If studios get about 55% of the box office grosses in rental fees, that would put the $5m film in a very good position to be profitable, depending on how much was spent on P&A, prints and advertising. The film wasn't an Animal House-level hit, but it wasn't exactly the bomb many have painted it to be. After Up the Academy, two of the actors, Wendell Brown and Joseph Hutchinson, would never act in another movie, although, billed as Hutch Parker, the latter would produce six X-Men related movies between 2013 and 2019, including Logan. Tommy Citera would make two more movies until he left acting in 1988. And Ralph Macchio would, of course, go on to play Daniel LaRusso, the Karate Kid, in a career-defining role that he's still playing nearly forty years later. Robert Downey would make another wacky comedy, called Moonbeam, in 1982. Co-written with Richard Belzer, Moonbeam would feature a fairly interesting cast including Zack Norman, Tammy Grimes, Michael J. Pollard, Liz Torres and Mr. Belzer, and tells the story of a New York cable television station that becomes world famous when they accidentally bounce their signal off the moon. But the film would not get released until October 1986, in one theatre in New York City for one week. It couldn't even benefit from being able to promote Robert Downey, Jr., who in the ensuing years had started to build an acting career by being featured in John Sayles' Baby It's You, Fritz Kiersch's Tuff Turf, John Hughes' Weird Science, and the Rodney Dangerfield movie Back to School, as well as being a member of the cast of Saturday Night Live for a year. There's be sporadic work in television, working on shows like Matlock and The Twilight Zone, but what few movies he could get made would be pale shadows of her earlier, edgier work. Even with his son regularly taking supporting roles in his dad's movies to help the old man out, movies like Rented Lips and Too Much Sun would be critically panned and ignored by audiences. His final movie as a writer and director, Hugo Pool, would gross just $13k when it was released in December 1997, despite having a cast that included Patrick Dempsey, Richard Lewis, Malcolm McDowell, Alyssa Milano, Cathy Moriarty and Sean Penn, along with Junior. Downey would also continue to act in other director's movies, including two written and directed by one of his biggest fans, Paul Thomas Anderson. Downey would play Burt, the studio manager, in Boogie Nights, and the WDKK Show director in Magnolia. Anderson adored Downey so much, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker would sit down with Downey for a four-part conversation filmed for the Criterion Company in 2013. Robert Downey would pass away in July 2021, a curious footnote in the history of cinema, mostly because of the superstar he sired. Most of his movies are hard to find on video, and nearly impossible to find on streaming services, outside of a wonderful two disc DVD set issued by Criterion's Eclipse specialty label and several titles streaming on The Criterion Channel. Outside of Up the Academy, which is available to rent or purchase from Amazon, Apple TV and several other streaming services, you can find Putney Swope, Greaser's Palace and Too Much Sun on several of the more popular streaming services, but the majority of them are completely missing in action. You can also learn more about Robert Downey in Sr., a documentary streaming on Netflix produced by Robert Downey, Jr. where the son recounts the life and career of his recently passed father, alongside Paul Thomas Anderson, Alan Arkin, and mega-producer Norman Lear. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again soon, when Episode 107, on John Landis's underrated 1985 comedy Into the Night, is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.
This week's episode takes a look back at the career of trailblazing independent filmmaker Robert Downey, father of Robert Downey, Jr., and his single foray into the world of Hollywood filmmaking, Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy. ----more---- TRANSCRIPT From Los Angeles, California, the Entertainment Capital of the World, it's The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. On this episode, we follow up on a movie based on a series of articles from a humor magazine that was trying to build their brand name by slapping their name on movies with a movie that was sponsored by a humor magazine trying to build their brand name by slapping their name on movies not unlike the other humor magazine had been doing but ended up removing their name from the movie, and boy is brain already fried and we're not even a minute into the episode. We're talking about Robert Downey's 1980 comedy Up the Academy. But, as always, before we get to Up the Academy, let's hit the backstory. If you know the name Robert Downey, it's likely because you know his son. Robert Downey, Jr. You know, Iron Man. Yes, Robert Downey, Jr. is a repo baby. Maybe you've seen the documentary he made about his dad, Sr., that was released by Netflix last year. But it's more than likely you've never heard of Robert Downey, Sr., who, ironically, was a junior himself like his son. Robert Downey was born Robert John Elias, Jr. in New York City in 1936, the son of a model and a manager of hotels and restaurants. His parents would divorce when he was young, and his mom would remarry while Robert was still in school. Robert Elias, Jr. would take the last name of his stepfather when he enlisted in the Army, in part because was wanted to get away from home but he was technically too young to actually join the Army. He would invent a whole new persona for himself, and he would, by his own estimate, spend the vast majority of his military career in the stockade, where he wrote his first novel, which still has never been published. After leaving the Army, Downey would spend some time playing semi-pro baseball, not quite good enough to go pro, spending his time away from the game writing plays he hoped to take, if not to Broadway, at least off-Broadway. But he would not make his mark in the arts until 1961, when Downey started to write and direct low-budget counterculture short films, starting with Ball's Bluff, about a Civil War soldier who wakes up in New York City's Central Park a century later. In 1969, he would write and direct a satirical film about the only black executive at a Madison Avenue advertising firm who is, through a strange circumstance, becomes the head of the firm when its chairman unexpectedly passes away. Featuring a cameo by Mel Brooks Putney Swope was the perfect anti-establishment film for the end of that decade, and the $120k film would gross more than $2.75m during its successful year and a half run in theatres. 1970's Pound, based on one of Downey's early plays, would be his first movie to be distributed by a major distributor, although it was independently produced outside the Hollywood system. Several dogs, played by humans, are at a pound, waiting to be euthanized. Oh, did I forget to mention it was a comedy? The film would be somewhat of a success at the time, but today, it's best known as being the acting debut of the director's five year old son, Robert Downey, Jr., although the young boy would be credited as Bob Downey. 1972's Greaser Palace was part of an early 1970s trend of trippy “acid Westerns,” like Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo and Dennis Hopper's The Last Movie. Character actor Allan Arbus plays Jesse, a man with amnesia who heals the sick, resurrects the dead and tap dances on water on the American frontier. It would be the first movie Downey would make with a million dollar budget. The critical consensus of the film at the time was not positive, although Jay Cocks, a critic for Time Magazine who would go on to be a regular screenwriter for Martin Scorsese in the 1980s, would proclaim the film to be “the most adventurous movie of the year.” The film was not a hit, and it would be decades before it would be discovered and appreciated by the next generation of cineastes. After another disappointing film, 1975's Moment to Moment, which would later be retitled Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight in order to not be confused with the 1978 movie of the same name starring John Travolta and Lily Tomlin that really, truly stunk, Downey would take some time off from filmmaking to deal with his divorce from his first wife and to spend more time with his son Robert and daughter Allyson. By 1978, Robert Downey was ready to get back to work. He would get a job quickly helping Chuck Barris write a movie version of Barris' cult television show, The Gong Show, but that wasn't going to pay the bills with two teenagers at home. What would, though, is the one thing he hadn't done yet in movies… Direct a Hollywood film. Enter Mad Magazine. In 1978, Mad Magazine was one of the biggest humor magazines in America. I had personally discovered Mad in late 1977, when my dad, stepmom and I were on a cross country trip, staying with friends outside Detroit, the day before my tenth birthday, when I saw an issue of Mad at a local grocery store, with something Star Wars-y on its cover. I begged my dad to give me the sixty cents to buy it, and I don't think I missed another issue for the next decade. Mad's biggest competition in the humor magazine game was National Lampoon, which appealed to a more adult funny bone than Mad. In 1978, National Lampoon saw a huge boost in sales when the John Landis-directed comedy Animal House, which had the name of the magazine in the title, became an unexpected smash hit at the box office. Warner Brothers, the media conglomerate who happened to own Mad Magazine, was eager to do something similar, and worked with Mad's publisher, Bill Gaines, to find the right script that could be molded into a Mad Magazine movie, even if, like Animal House, it wouldn't have any real connection to the magazine itself. They would find that script in The Brave Young Men of Weinberg, a comedy script by Tom Patchett and Jay Tarses, a pair of television comedy writers on shows like The Carol Burnett Show, The Sandy Duncan Show, The Bob Newhart Show and The Tony Randall Show, who had never sold a movie script before. The story would follow the misadventures of four teenage boys who, for different reasons, depend on each other for their very survival when they end up at the same military academy. Now, of all the research I've done for this episode, the one very important aspect of the production I was never able to find out was exactly how Robert Downey became involved in the film. Again, he had never made a Hollywood movie before. He had only made one movie with a budget of a million dollars. His movies were satirical and critical of society in general. This was not a match made in heaven. But somehow, someone at Warner Brothers thought he'd be the right director for the film, and somehow, Downey didn't disagree. Unlike Animal House, Downey and Warners didn't try to land a known commodity like John Belushi to play one of the four leads. In fact, all four of the leads, Wendell Brown, Tommy Citera, Joseph Hutchinson, and Ralph Macchio, would all be making their feature debuts. But there would be some familiar faces in the film. Ron Liebman, who was a familiar face from such films has Slaughterhouse-Five, Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood and Norma Rae, would play the head of the Academy. Tom Poston, who played Mindy's downstairs neighbor on Mork and Mindy, plays what would now be considered to be a rather offensive gay caricature as the guy who handles the uniforms of the cadets, Antonio Fargas, best known as Huggy Bear on Starsky and Hutch but who had previously worked with Downey on Putney Swope and Pound, as the Coach, and Barbara Bach, who had starred as Anya Amasova in the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. The $5m film would begin production in Salina, Kansas, on September 17th, 1979, still using the title The Brave Young Men of Weinberg. The primary shooting location would be the St. John's Military School, which was still functioning while the film was in production, and would use most of the 144 students as extras during the shoot. The film would shoot for nine weeks without much incident, and the cast and crew would be home in time to enjoy Thanksgiving with their friends and family. Unlike Animal House, the makers of The Brave Young Men of Weinberg did attempt to tie the movie into the magazine that would be presenting the film. At the very end of the movie, the magazine's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, shows up on the side of the road, to wave goodbye to people and deliver his signature line, “What, Me Worry?” in a thought bubble that leads into the end credits. The person wearing the not quite realistic looking Neuman head gear, fourteen year old Scott Shapiro, was the son of the executive vice president of worldwide production at Warner Brothers. After the first of the year, as Downey worked on his edit of the film, the studio decided to change the title from The Brave Young Men of Weinberg to Mad Magazine Presents Up the Academy. Bill Gaines, the publisher of Mad Magazine, suggested a slightly different title, Mad Magazine Completely Disassociates Itself from Up the Academy, but the studio decided that was too long for theater marquees. But we'll come back to that in a moment. Warner Brothers set a June 6, 1980 release for the film, and Downey would finish his cut of the film by the end of March. A screening on the Warners lot in early April did not go well. Ron Liebman hated the film so much, he demanded that Warners completely remove his name from everything associated with the film. His name would not appear on the poster, the newspaper ads, the television commercials, the lobby cards, the press kit, or even in the movie itself. Bill Gaines would hate it to, such much in fact that he really did try to disassociate the magazine from the film. In a 1983 interview with The Comics Journal, Gaines would explain without much detail that there were a number of things he had objected to in the script that he was told would not be shot and not end up in the final film that were shot and did end up in the final film. But he wouldn't be able to get the magazine's name off the movie before it opened in theatres. Now, one of the problems with trying to research how well films did in 1980 is that you really have only two sources for grosses, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, and they didn't always report national grosses every week, depending on outside factors. It just hadn't the national sport it's been since, say, 1983. So when Up the Academy opened in theatres on June 6th, we don't have a full idea of how many theatres it played in nationwide, or how much it grossed. The closest thing we do have for this Variety's listing of the top movies of the week based on a limited selection of showcase theatres in the top 20 markets. So we know that the film played at 7 showcase screens in New York City that weekend, grossing $175k, and in Los Angeles on 15 showcase screens, grossing $149k. But we also know, thanks to newspaper ads in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times that the film was playing in 11 theatres in the New York Metro area, and in 30 theatres in the Los Angeles Metro area, so those listed grosses are merely a snapshot and not the whole picture. According to Variety's limited tracking of major market showcase theatres for the week, Up the Academy was the second highest grossing film of the week, bringing in $729k from 82 theatres. And according to their chart's side notes, this usually accounts for about 25% of a movie's national gross, if a film is playing in wide release around the entire country. In its second week, Up the Academy would place ninth on that showcase theatre listing, with $377k from 87 theatres. But by the time Variety did bring back proper national grosses in the film's third week of release, there would be no mention of Up the Academy in those listings, as Warners by this time had bigger fish to handle, namely Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of the Stephen King novel The Shining, and Bronco Billy, their Clint Eastwood movie for the year. In that showcase theatre listing, though, Up the Academy had fallen to 16th place, with $103k from 34 theatres. In fact, there is no publicly available record of how many theatres Up the Academy played in during its theatrical run, and it wouldn't be until the 1981 Warner Brothers 10-K annual filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that Up the Academy had earned $10m from American movie theatres. If studios get about 55% of the box office grosses in rental fees, that would put the $5m film in a very good position to be profitable, depending on how much was spent on P&A, prints and advertising. The film wasn't an Animal House-level hit, but it wasn't exactly the bomb many have painted it to be. After Up the Academy, two of the actors, Wendell Brown and Joseph Hutchinson, would never act in another movie, although, billed as Hutch Parker, the latter would produce six X-Men related movies between 2013 and 2019, including Logan. Tommy Citera would make two more movies until he left acting in 1988. And Ralph Macchio would, of course, go on to play Daniel LaRusso, the Karate Kid, in a career-defining role that he's still playing nearly forty years later. Robert Downey would make another wacky comedy, called Moonbeam, in 1982. Co-written with Richard Belzer, Moonbeam would feature a fairly interesting cast including Zack Norman, Tammy Grimes, Michael J. Pollard, Liz Torres and Mr. Belzer, and tells the story of a New York cable television station that becomes world famous when they accidentally bounce their signal off the moon. But the film would not get released until October 1986, in one theatre in New York City for one week. It couldn't even benefit from being able to promote Robert Downey, Jr., who in the ensuing years had started to build an acting career by being featured in John Sayles' Baby It's You, Fritz Kiersch's Tuff Turf, John Hughes' Weird Science, and the Rodney Dangerfield movie Back to School, as well as being a member of the cast of Saturday Night Live for a year. There's be sporadic work in television, working on shows like Matlock and The Twilight Zone, but what few movies he could get made would be pale shadows of her earlier, edgier work. Even with his son regularly taking supporting roles in his dad's movies to help the old man out, movies like Rented Lips and Too Much Sun would be critically panned and ignored by audiences. His final movie as a writer and director, Hugo Pool, would gross just $13k when it was released in December 1997, despite having a cast that included Patrick Dempsey, Richard Lewis, Malcolm McDowell, Alyssa Milano, Cathy Moriarty and Sean Penn, along with Junior. Downey would also continue to act in other director's movies, including two written and directed by one of his biggest fans, Paul Thomas Anderson. Downey would play Burt, the studio manager, in Boogie Nights, and the WDKK Show director in Magnolia. Anderson adored Downey so much, the Oscar-nominated filmmaker would sit down with Downey for a four-part conversation filmed for the Criterion Company in 2013. Robert Downey would pass away in July 2021, a curious footnote in the history of cinema, mostly because of the superstar he sired. Most of his movies are hard to find on video, and nearly impossible to find on streaming services, outside of a wonderful two disc DVD set issued by Criterion's Eclipse specialty label and several titles streaming on The Criterion Channel. Outside of Up the Academy, which is available to rent or purchase from Amazon, Apple TV and several other streaming services, you can find Putney Swope, Greaser's Palace and Too Much Sun on several of the more popular streaming services, but the majority of them are completely missing in action. You can also learn more about Robert Downey in Sr., a documentary streaming on Netflix produced by Robert Downey, Jr. where the son recounts the life and career of his recently passed father, alongside Paul Thomas Anderson, Alan Arkin, and mega-producer Norman Lear. Thank you for joining us. We'll talk again soon, when Episode 107, on John Landis's underrated 1985 comedy Into the Night, is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about the movies we covered this episode. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.
Calling all Spader-heads! This week on the show, we're joined by Quatoyiah Murry, Co-author of TCM Underground: 50 Must-See Films from the World of Classic Cult and Late-Night Cinema (out now!) to take a deep dive into the film career of James Spader! From Pretty in Pink to Secretary, Tuff Turf to Stargate, Crash to The Avengers: Age of Ultron, we cover it all! So join us as we take a deeper look at this Dream Lover! If you have any questions/comments/suggestions for the show, follow us on twitter @TheMixedReviews, like us on Facebook, e-mail us at reviewsmixed@gmail.com, visit our Instagram or TikTok for extra content, become a patron on our Patreon, or stop by our shop and pick up some podcast merchandise! Don't forget to subscribe to us on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, Podchaser, Audible, or Google.
its 80s Bullies Week and we kick it off with Tuff Turf.. so join Doctor Movie for a look at this fun flick. The post Doctor Movie: Episode 80 : Tuff Turf first appeared on Legion.
its 80s Bullies Week and we kick it off with Tuff Turf.. so join Doctor Movie for a look at this fun flick. The post Doctor Movie: Episode 80 : Tuff Turf first appeared on Legion.
Anders Carlborg öser ur sig trivia, Magnus Söderstedt blir mjuk i tonen och Anders Gillegård vurmar för krusat hår.
This episode looks at the 1984 debut novel by Bret Easton Ellis, and its 1987 film adaptation. ----more---- Hello, and welcome to The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. On this episode, we're going to talk about 80s author Bret Easton Ellis and his 1985 novel Less Than Zero, the literal polar opposite of last week's subjects, Jay McInerney and his 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City. As I mentioned last week, McInerney was twenty-nine when he published Bright Lights, Big City. What I forgot to mention was that he was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, halfway between Boston and New York City, and he would a part of that elite East Coast community that befits the upper class child of a corporate executive. Bret Easton Ellis was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father was a property developer, and his parents would divorce when he was 18. He would attend high school at The Buckley School, a college prep school in nearby Sherman Oaks, whose other famous alumni include a who's who of modern pop culture history, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Tucker Carlson, Laura Dern, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Alyssa Milano, Matthew Perry, and Nicole Richie. So they both grew up fairly well off. And they both would attend tony colleges in New England. Ellis would attend Bennington College in Vermont, a private liberal arts college whose alumni include fellow writers Jonathan Lethem and Donna Tartt, who would both graduate from Bennington the same year as Ellis, 1986. While still attending The Buckley School, the then sixteen year old Ellis would start writing the book he would call Less Than Zero, after the Elvis Costello song. The story would follow a protagonist not unlike Bret Easton Ellis and his adventures through a high school not unlike Buckley. Unlike the final product, Ellis's first draft of Less Than Zero wore its heart on its sleeve, and was written in the third person. Ellis would do a couple of rewrites of the novel during his final years at Buckley and his first years at Bennington, until his creative writing professor, true crime novelist Joe McGinness, suggested to the young writer that he revert his story back to the first person, which Ellis was at first hesitant to do. But once he did start to rewrite the story as a traditional novel, everything seemed to click. Ellis would have his book finished by the end of the year, and McGinniss was so impressed with the final product that he would submit it to his own agent to send out to publishers. Bret Easton Ellis was only a second year student at the time. And because timing is everything in life, Less Than Zero was being submitted to publishers just as Bright Lights, Big City was tearing up the best seller charts, and the publisher Simon and Schuster would purchase the rights to the book for $5,000. When the book was published in June 1985, Ellis just finished his third year at Bennington. He was only twenty-one years and three months old. Oh… also… before the book was published, the film producer Marvin Worth, whose credits included Bob Fosse's 1974 doc-drama about Lenny Bruce starring Dustin Hoffman, 1979's musical drama The Rose, Bette Midler's breakthrough film as an actress, and the 1983 Dudley Moore comedy Unfaithfully Yours, would purchase the rights to make the novel into a movie, for $7,500. The film would be produced at Twentieth Century-Fox, under the supervision of the studio's then vice president of production, Scott Rudin. The book would become a success upon its release, with young readers gravitating towards Clay and his aimless, meandering tour of the rich and decadent young adults in Los Angeles circa Christmas 1984, bouncing through parties and conversations and sex and drugs and shopping malls. One of those readers who became obsessed with the book was a then-seventeen year old Los Angeles native who had just returned to the city after three years of high school in Northern California. Me. I read Less Than Zero easily three times that summer, enraptured not only with Ellis's minimalist prose but with Clay specifically. Although I was neither bisexual nor a user of drugs, Clay was the closest thing I had ever seen to myself in a book before. I had kept in touch with my school friends from junior high while I lived in Santa Cruz, and I found myself to have drifted far away from them during my time away from them. And then when I went back to Santa Cruz shortly after Christmas in 1985, I had a similar feeling of isolation from a number of my friends there, not six months after leaving high school. I also loved how Ellis threw in a number of then-current Los Angeles-specific references, including two mentions of KROQ DJ Richard Blade, who was the coolest guy in radio on the planet. And thanks to Sirius XM and its First Wave channel, I can still listen to Richard Blade almost daily, but now from wherever I might be in the world. But I digress. My bond with Less Than Zero only deepened the next time I read it in early 1986. One of the things I used to do as a young would-be screenwriter living in Los Angeles was to try and write adaptation of novels when I wasn't going to school, going to movies, or working as a file clerk at a law firm. But one book I couldn't adapt for the life of me was Less Than Zero. Sure, there was a story there, but its episodic nature made it difficult to create a coherent storyline. Fox felt the same way, so they would hire Michael Cristofer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, to do the first draft of the script. Cristofer had just finished writing the adaptation of John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick that Mad Max director George Miller was about to direct, and he would do a literal adaptation of Ellis's book, with all the drugs and sex and violence, except for a slight rehabilitation of the lead character's sexuality. Although it was still the 1980s, with one part of the nation dramatically shifting its perspective on many types of sexuality, it was still Ronald Reagan's 1980s America, and maybe it wasn't a good idea to have the lead character be openly bisexual in a major studio motion picture. Cristofer would complete his first draft of the script in just one month, and producer Marvin Worth really loved it. Problem was, the Fox executives hated it. In a November 18th, 1987, New York Times article about the adaptation, Worth would tell writer Allen Harmetz that he thought Cristofer's script was highly commercial, because “it had something gripping to say about the dilemma of a generation to whom nothing matters.” Which, as someone who had just turned twenty years old eight days after the movie's release and four days before this article came out, I absolutely disagree with. My generation cared about a great many things. We cared about human rights. We cared about ending apartheid. We cared about ending AIDS and what was happening politically and economically. Yeah, we also cared about puffy jean jackets and neon colored clothes and other non-sensical things to take our minds off all the other junk we were dealing with, but it would be typical of a forty something screenwriter and a fiftysomething producer to thing we didn't give a damn about anything. But again, I digress. Worth and the studio would agree on one thing. It wasn't really a drug film, but about young people being destroyed by the privilege of having everything you ever wanted available to you. But the studio would want the movie version of the book to be a bit more sanitized for mainstream consumption. Goodbye, Marvin Worth. Hello, Jon Avnet. In 1986, Jon Avnet was mostly a producer of low-budget films for television, with titles like Between Two Women and Calendar Girl Murders, but he had struck gold in 1983 with a lower-budgeted studio movie with a first-time director and a little known lead actor. That movie was Risky Business, and it made that little known lead actor, Tom Cruise, a bona-fide star. Avnet, wanting to make the move out of television and onto the big screen, would hire Harley Peyton, a former script reader for former Columbia Pictures and MGM/UA head David Begelman, who you might remember from several of our previous episodes, and six-time Oscar nominated producer/screenwriter Ernest Lehman. Peyton would spend weeks in Avnet's office, pouring over every page of the book, deciding what to keep, what to toss, and what to change. Two of the first things to go were the screening of a “snuff” film on the beach, and a scene where a twelve year old girl is tied to a bedpost and raped by one of the main characters. Julian would still hustle himself out to men for money to buy drugs, but Clay would a committed heterosexual. Casting on the film would see many of Hollywood's leading younger male actors looked at for Clay, including a twenty-three year old recent transplant from Oklahoma looking not only for his first leading role, but his first speaking role on screen. Brad Pitt. The producers would instead go with twenty-four year old Andrew McCarthy, an amiable-enough actor who had already made a name for himself with such films as St. Elmo's Fire and Pretty in Pink, and who would have another hit film in Mannequin between being cast as Clay and the start of production. For Blair, they would cast Jami Gertz, who had spent years on the cusp of stardom, between her co-starring role as Muffy Tepperman on the iconic 1982 CBS series Square Pegs, to movies such as Quicksilver and Crossroads that were expected to be bigger than they ended up being. The ace up her sleeve was the upcoming vampire horror/comedy film The Lost Boys, which Warner Brothers was so certain was going to be a huge hit, they would actually move it away from its original Spring 1987 release date to a prime mid-July release. The third point in the triangle, Julian, would see Robert Downey Jr. get cast. Today, it's hard to understand just how not famous Downey was at the time. He had been featured in movies like Weird Science and Tuff Turf, and spent a year as a Not Ready For Prime Time Player on what most people agree was the single worst season of Saturday Night Live, but his star was starting to rise. What the producers did not know, and Downey did not elaborate on, was that, like Julian, Downey was falling down a spiral of drug use, which would make his performance more method-like than anyone could have guessed. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were hot in the Los Angeles music scene but were still a couple years from the release of their breakout album, 1989's Mothers Milk, were cast to play a band in one of the party scenes, and additional cast members would include James Spader and Lisanne Falk, who would become semi-famous two years later as one of the Heathers. Impressed with a 1984 British historical drama called Another Country featuring Colin Firth, Cary Elwes and Rupert Everett, Avnet would hire that film's 35 year old director, Marek Kanievska, to make his American directing debut. But Kanievska would be in for a major culture shock when he learned just how different the American studio system was to the British production system. Shooting on the film was set to begin in Los Angeles on May 6th, 1987, and the film was already scheduled to open in theatres barely six months later. One major element that would help keep the movie moving along was cinematographer Ed Lachman. Lachman had been working as a cinematographer for nearly 15 years, and had shot movies like Jonathan Demme's Last Embrace, Susan Sideman's Desperately Seeking Susan, and David Byrne's True Stories. Lachman knew how to keep things on track for lower budgeted movies, and at only $8m, Less Than Zero was the second lowest budgeted film for Twentieth Century-Fox for the entire year. Not that having a lower budget was going to stop Kanievska and Lachman from trying make the best film they could. They would stage the film in the garish neon lighting the 80s would be best known for, with cool flairs like lighting a poolside discussion between Clay and Julian where the ripples of the water and the underwater lights create an effect on the characters' faces that highlight Julian's literal drowning in his problems. There's also one very awesome shot where Clay's convertible, parked in the middle of a street with its top down, as we see Clay and Blair making out while scores of motorcycles loudly pass by them on either side. And there's a Steadicam shot during the party scene featuring the Chili Peppers which is supposed to be out of this world, but it's likely we'll never see it. Once the film was finished shooting and Kanievska turned in his assembly cut, the studio was not happy with the film. It was edgier than they wanted, and they had a problem with the party scene with the Peppers. Specifically, that the band was jumping around on screen, extremely sweaty, without their shirts on. It also didn't help that Larry Gordon, the President of Fox who had approved the purchase of the book, had been let go before production on the film began, and his replacement, Alan Horn, who did give the final go-ahead on the film, had also been summarily dismissed. His replacement, Leonard Goldberg, really hated the material, thought it was distasteful, but Barry Diller, the chairman of the studio, was still a supporter of the project. During all this infighting, the director, Kanievska, had been released from the film. Before any test screenings. Test screenings had really become a part of the studio modus operandi in the 1980s, and Fox would often hold their test screenings on the Fox Studio Lot in Century City. There are several screenings rooms on the Fox lot, from the 53 seat William Fox Theatre, to the 476 seat Darryl Zanuck Theatre. Most of the Less Than Zero test screenings would be held in the 120 seat Little Theatre, so that audience reactions would be easier to gauge, and should they want to keep some of the audience over for a post-screening Q&A, it would be easier to recruit eight or ten audience members. That first test screening did not go over well. Even though the screening room was filled with young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and many of them were recruited from nearby malls like the Century City Mall and the Beverly Center based off a stated liking of Andrew McCarthy, they really didn't like Jami Hertz's character, and they really hated Robert Downey Jr's. Several of the harder scenes of drug use with their characters would be toned down, either through judicious editing, or new scenes were shot, such as when Blair is seen dumping her cocaine into a bathroom sink, which was filmed without a director by the cinematographer, Ed Lachman. They'd also shoot a flashback scene to the trio's high school graduation, meant to show them in happier times. The film would be completed three weeks before its November 6th release date, and Fox would book the film into 871 theatres., going up against no less than seven other new movies, including a Shelley Long comedy, Hello Again, the fourth entry in the Death Wish series, yet another Jon Cryer high school movie, Hiding Out, a weird Patrick Swayze sci-fi movie called Steel Dawn, a relatively tame fantasy romance film from Alan Rudolph called Made in Heaven, and a movie called Ruskies which starred a very young Joaquin Phoenix when he was still known as Leaf Phoenix, while also contending with movies like Fatal Attraction, Baby Boom and Dirty Dancing, which were all still doing very well two to four months in theatres. The reviews for the film were mostly bad. If there was any saving grace critically, it would be the praise heaped upon Downey for his raw performance as a drug addict, but of course, no one knew he actually was a drug addict at that time. The film would open in fourth place with $3.01m in ticket sales, less than half of what Fatal Attraction grossed that weekend, in its eighth week of release. And the following weeks' drops would be swift and merciless. Down 36% in its second week, another 41% in its third, and had one of the worst drops in its fourth week, the four day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, when many movies were up in ticket sales. By early December, the film was mostly playing in dollar houses, and by the first of the year, Fox had already stopped tracking it, with slightly less than $12.4m in tickets sold. As of the writing of this episode, at the end of November 2022, you cannot find Less Than Zero streaming anywhere, although if you do want to see it online, it's not that hard to find. But it has been available for streaming in the past on sites like Amazon Prime and The Roku Channel, so hopefully it will find its way back to streaming in the future. Or you can find a copy of the 21 year old DVD on Amazon. Thank you for listening. We'll talk again real soon, when our final episode of 2022, Episode 96, on Michael Jackson's Thriller, is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Less Than Zero the movie and the novel, and its author, Bret Easton Ellis. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.
This episode looks at the 1984 debut novel by Bret Easton Ellis, and its 1987 film adaptation. ----more---- Hello, and welcome to The 80s Movies Podcast. I am your host, Edward Havens. Thank you for listening today. On this episode, we're going to talk about 80s author Bret Easton Ellis and his 1985 novel Less Than Zero, the literal polar opposite of last week's subjects, Jay McInerney and his 1984 novel Bright Lights, Big City. As I mentioned last week, McInerney was twenty-nine when he published Bright Lights, Big City. What I forgot to mention was that he was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, halfway between Boston and New York City, and he would a part of that elite East Coast community that befits the upper class child of a corporate executive. Bret Easton Ellis was born and raised in Los Angeles. His father was a property developer, and his parents would divorce when he was 18. He would attend high school at The Buckley School, a college prep school in nearby Sherman Oaks, whose other famous alumni include a who's who of modern pop culture history, including Paul Thomas Anderson, Tucker Carlson, Laura Dern, Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian, Alyssa Milano, Matthew Perry, and Nicole Richie. So they both grew up fairly well off. And they both would attend tony colleges in New England. Ellis would attend Bennington College in Vermont, a private liberal arts college whose alumni include fellow writers Jonathan Lethem and Donna Tartt, who would both graduate from Bennington the same year as Ellis, 1986. While still attending The Buckley School, the then sixteen year old Ellis would start writing the book he would call Less Than Zero, after the Elvis Costello song. The story would follow a protagonist not unlike Bret Easton Ellis and his adventures through a high school not unlike Buckley. Unlike the final product, Ellis's first draft of Less Than Zero wore its heart on its sleeve, and was written in the third person. Ellis would do a couple of rewrites of the novel during his final years at Buckley and his first years at Bennington, until his creative writing professor, true crime novelist Joe McGinness, suggested to the young writer that he revert his story back to the first person, which Ellis was at first hesitant to do. But once he did start to rewrite the story as a traditional novel, everything seemed to click. Ellis would have his book finished by the end of the year, and McGinniss was so impressed with the final product that he would submit it to his own agent to send out to publishers. Bret Easton Ellis was only a second year student at the time. And because timing is everything in life, Less Than Zero was being submitted to publishers just as Bright Lights, Big City was tearing up the best seller charts, and the publisher Simon and Schuster would purchase the rights to the book for $5,000. When the book was published in June 1985, Ellis just finished his third year at Bennington. He was only twenty-one years and three months old. Oh… also… before the book was published, the film producer Marvin Worth, whose credits included Bob Fosse's 1974 doc-drama about Lenny Bruce starring Dustin Hoffman, 1979's musical drama The Rose, Bette Midler's breakthrough film as an actress, and the 1983 Dudley Moore comedy Unfaithfully Yours, would purchase the rights to make the novel into a movie, for $7,500. The film would be produced at Twentieth Century-Fox, under the supervision of the studio's then vice president of production, Scott Rudin. The book would become a success upon its release, with young readers gravitating towards Clay and his aimless, meandering tour of the rich and decadent young adults in Los Angeles circa Christmas 1984, bouncing through parties and conversations and sex and drugs and shopping malls. One of those readers who became obsessed with the book was a then-seventeen year old Los Angeles native who had just returned to the city after three years of high school in Northern California. Me. I read Less Than Zero easily three times that summer, enraptured not only with Ellis's minimalist prose but with Clay specifically. Although I was neither bisexual nor a user of drugs, Clay was the closest thing I had ever seen to myself in a book before. I had kept in touch with my school friends from junior high while I lived in Santa Cruz, and I found myself to have drifted far away from them during my time away from them. And then when I went back to Santa Cruz shortly after Christmas in 1985, I had a similar feeling of isolation from a number of my friends there, not six months after leaving high school. I also loved how Ellis threw in a number of then-current Los Angeles-specific references, including two mentions of KROQ DJ Richard Blade, who was the coolest guy in radio on the planet. And thanks to Sirius XM and its First Wave channel, I can still listen to Richard Blade almost daily, but now from wherever I might be in the world. But I digress. My bond with Less Than Zero only deepened the next time I read it in early 1986. One of the things I used to do as a young would-be screenwriter living in Los Angeles was to try and write adaptation of novels when I wasn't going to school, going to movies, or working as a file clerk at a law firm. But one book I couldn't adapt for the life of me was Less Than Zero. Sure, there was a story there, but its episodic nature made it difficult to create a coherent storyline. Fox felt the same way, so they would hire Michael Cristofer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, to do the first draft of the script. Cristofer had just finished writing the adaptation of John Updike's The Witches of Eastwick that Mad Max director George Miller was about to direct, and he would do a literal adaptation of Ellis's book, with all the drugs and sex and violence, except for a slight rehabilitation of the lead character's sexuality. Although it was still the 1980s, with one part of the nation dramatically shifting its perspective on many types of sexuality, it was still Ronald Reagan's 1980s America, and maybe it wasn't a good idea to have the lead character be openly bisexual in a major studio motion picture. Cristofer would complete his first draft of the script in just one month, and producer Marvin Worth really loved it. Problem was, the Fox executives hated it. In a November 18th, 1987, New York Times article about the adaptation, Worth would tell writer Allen Harmetz that he thought Cristofer's script was highly commercial, because “it had something gripping to say about the dilemma of a generation to whom nothing matters.” Which, as someone who had just turned twenty years old eight days after the movie's release and four days before this article came out, I absolutely disagree with. My generation cared about a great many things. We cared about human rights. We cared about ending apartheid. We cared about ending AIDS and what was happening politically and economically. Yeah, we also cared about puffy jean jackets and neon colored clothes and other non-sensical things to take our minds off all the other junk we were dealing with, but it would be typical of a forty something screenwriter and a fiftysomething producer to thing we didn't give a damn about anything. But again, I digress. Worth and the studio would agree on one thing. It wasn't really a drug film, but about young people being destroyed by the privilege of having everything you ever wanted available to you. But the studio would want the movie version of the book to be a bit more sanitized for mainstream consumption. Goodbye, Marvin Worth. Hello, Jon Avnet. In 1986, Jon Avnet was mostly a producer of low-budget films for television, with titles like Between Two Women and Calendar Girl Murders, but he had struck gold in 1983 with a lower-budgeted studio movie with a first-time director and a little known lead actor. That movie was Risky Business, and it made that little known lead actor, Tom Cruise, a bona-fide star. Avnet, wanting to make the move out of television and onto the big screen, would hire Harley Peyton, a former script reader for former Columbia Pictures and MGM/UA head David Begelman, who you might remember from several of our previous episodes, and six-time Oscar nominated producer/screenwriter Ernest Lehman. Peyton would spend weeks in Avnet's office, pouring over every page of the book, deciding what to keep, what to toss, and what to change. Two of the first things to go were the screening of a “snuff” film on the beach, and a scene where a twelve year old girl is tied to a bedpost and raped by one of the main characters. Julian would still hustle himself out to men for money to buy drugs, but Clay would a committed heterosexual. Casting on the film would see many of Hollywood's leading younger male actors looked at for Clay, including a twenty-three year old recent transplant from Oklahoma looking not only for his first leading role, but his first speaking role on screen. Brad Pitt. The producers would instead go with twenty-four year old Andrew McCarthy, an amiable-enough actor who had already made a name for himself with such films as St. Elmo's Fire and Pretty in Pink, and who would have another hit film in Mannequin between being cast as Clay and the start of production. For Blair, they would cast Jami Gertz, who had spent years on the cusp of stardom, between her co-starring role as Muffy Tepperman on the iconic 1982 CBS series Square Pegs, to movies such as Quicksilver and Crossroads that were expected to be bigger than they ended up being. The ace up her sleeve was the upcoming vampire horror/comedy film The Lost Boys, which Warner Brothers was so certain was going to be a huge hit, they would actually move it away from its original Spring 1987 release date to a prime mid-July release. The third point in the triangle, Julian, would see Robert Downey Jr. get cast. Today, it's hard to understand just how not famous Downey was at the time. He had been featured in movies like Weird Science and Tuff Turf, and spent a year as a Not Ready For Prime Time Player on what most people agree was the single worst season of Saturday Night Live, but his star was starting to rise. What the producers did not know, and Downey did not elaborate on, was that, like Julian, Downey was falling down a spiral of drug use, which would make his performance more method-like than anyone could have guessed. The Red Hot Chili Peppers, who were hot in the Los Angeles music scene but were still a couple years from the release of their breakout album, 1989's Mothers Milk, were cast to play a band in one of the party scenes, and additional cast members would include James Spader and Lisanne Falk, who would become semi-famous two years later as one of the Heathers. Impressed with a 1984 British historical drama called Another Country featuring Colin Firth, Cary Elwes and Rupert Everett, Avnet would hire that film's 35 year old director, Marek Kanievska, to make his American directing debut. But Kanievska would be in for a major culture shock when he learned just how different the American studio system was to the British production system. Shooting on the film was set to begin in Los Angeles on May 6th, 1987, and the film was already scheduled to open in theatres barely six months later. One major element that would help keep the movie moving along was cinematographer Ed Lachman. Lachman had been working as a cinematographer for nearly 15 years, and had shot movies like Jonathan Demme's Last Embrace, Susan Sideman's Desperately Seeking Susan, and David Byrne's True Stories. Lachman knew how to keep things on track for lower budgeted movies, and at only $8m, Less Than Zero was the second lowest budgeted film for Twentieth Century-Fox for the entire year. Not that having a lower budget was going to stop Kanievska and Lachman from trying make the best film they could. They would stage the film in the garish neon lighting the 80s would be best known for, with cool flairs like lighting a poolside discussion between Clay and Julian where the ripples of the water and the underwater lights create an effect on the characters' faces that highlight Julian's literal drowning in his problems. There's also one very awesome shot where Clay's convertible, parked in the middle of a street with its top down, as we see Clay and Blair making out while scores of motorcycles loudly pass by them on either side. And there's a Steadicam shot during the party scene featuring the Chili Peppers which is supposed to be out of this world, but it's likely we'll never see it. Once the film was finished shooting and Kanievska turned in his assembly cut, the studio was not happy with the film. It was edgier than they wanted, and they had a problem with the party scene with the Peppers. Specifically, that the band was jumping around on screen, extremely sweaty, without their shirts on. It also didn't help that Larry Gordon, the President of Fox who had approved the purchase of the book, had been let go before production on the film began, and his replacement, Alan Horn, who did give the final go-ahead on the film, had also been summarily dismissed. His replacement, Leonard Goldberg, really hated the material, thought it was distasteful, but Barry Diller, the chairman of the studio, was still a supporter of the project. During all this infighting, the director, Kanievska, had been released from the film. Before any test screenings. Test screenings had really become a part of the studio modus operandi in the 1980s, and Fox would often hold their test screenings on the Fox Studio Lot in Century City. There are several screenings rooms on the Fox lot, from the 53 seat William Fox Theatre, to the 476 seat Darryl Zanuck Theatre. Most of the Less Than Zero test screenings would be held in the 120 seat Little Theatre, so that audience reactions would be easier to gauge, and should they want to keep some of the audience over for a post-screening Q&A, it would be easier to recruit eight or ten audience members. That first test screening did not go over well. Even though the screening room was filled with young people between the ages of 15 and 24, and many of them were recruited from nearby malls like the Century City Mall and the Beverly Center based off a stated liking of Andrew McCarthy, they really didn't like Jami Hertz's character, and they really hated Robert Downey Jr's. Several of the harder scenes of drug use with their characters would be toned down, either through judicious editing, or new scenes were shot, such as when Blair is seen dumping her cocaine into a bathroom sink, which was filmed without a director by the cinematographer, Ed Lachman. They'd also shoot a flashback scene to the trio's high school graduation, meant to show them in happier times. The film would be completed three weeks before its November 6th release date, and Fox would book the film into 871 theatres., going up against no less than seven other new movies, including a Shelley Long comedy, Hello Again, the fourth entry in the Death Wish series, yet another Jon Cryer high school movie, Hiding Out, a weird Patrick Swayze sci-fi movie called Steel Dawn, a relatively tame fantasy romance film from Alan Rudolph called Made in Heaven, and a movie called Ruskies which starred a very young Joaquin Phoenix when he was still known as Leaf Phoenix, while also contending with movies like Fatal Attraction, Baby Boom and Dirty Dancing, which were all still doing very well two to four months in theatres. The reviews for the film were mostly bad. If there was any saving grace critically, it would be the praise heaped upon Downey for his raw performance as a drug addict, but of course, no one knew he actually was a drug addict at that time. The film would open in fourth place with $3.01m in ticket sales, less than half of what Fatal Attraction grossed that weekend, in its eighth week of release. And the following weeks' drops would be swift and merciless. Down 36% in its second week, another 41% in its third, and had one of the worst drops in its fourth week, the four day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, when many movies were up in ticket sales. By early December, the film was mostly playing in dollar houses, and by the first of the year, Fox had already stopped tracking it, with slightly less than $12.4m in tickets sold. As of the writing of this episode, at the end of November 2022, you cannot find Less Than Zero streaming anywhere, although if you do want to see it online, it's not that hard to find. But it has been available for streaming in the past on sites like Amazon Prime and The Roku Channel, so hopefully it will find its way back to streaming in the future. Or you can find a copy of the 21 year old DVD on Amazon. Thank you for listening. We'll talk again real soon, when our final episode of 2022, Episode 96, on Michael Jackson's Thriller, is released. Remember to visit this episode's page on our website, The80sMoviePodcast.com, for extra materials about Less Than Zero the movie and the novel, and its author, Bret Easton Ellis. The 80s Movies Podcast has been researched, written, narrated and edited by Edward Havens for Idiosyncratic Entertainment. Thank you again. Good night.
#Newoirvember continues with Part 2 of our 3-part conversation with producer and director Donald P. Borchers, who produced both ANGEL and CHILDREN OF THE CORN for New World Pictures and helped get the post-Corman era off to a good start. In this episode, we discuss Ken Russell's CRIMES OF PASSION, which Borchers produced and discuss how the film almost had a monkey wearing a diaper in it, the bargaining with the MPAA, and how Donald slipped the change of Anthony Perkins's character to a priest past the New World brass. We also discuss ANGEL, including the casting, the original ending, Andrew Davis's (THE FUGITIVE) contributions and more. We end with 1985's TUFF TURF, what inspired the film, Robert Downey Jr., the dance sequence, Madonna, and the secret, uncut version only Donald owns! This is an interview you don't want to miss! For more information on Donald and to watch the films mentioned, go to his YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/c/DonaldPBorchersOG) and don't forget to subscribe!
This week, Kirk and Paul talk about "Tuff Turf" and Smash Mouth,
This episode we get lit and discuss the 1985 classic bad film "Tuff Turf" and it gets funny.Please support and join our Patreon for bonus content.https://www.patreon.com/LE2B
“Tuff Turf” more like tough to watch. Who thought that casting James Spader in this role was a good idea? We can't unsee his bad spade tattoo. John has trouble remembering all the cars that were in “Braveheart” for some reason. Why does everyone in this school have a knife? There are literally no consequences in this town for any action, even murder. Corrections Corner, Blink 182 was on the “Tomcats” soundtrack. This dance sequence is problematic. Matt's third grade self really knew how to get the ladies. This is the most we have sung during an episode. Sorry about that. Finally, We can smell your eye. It's stinky.Follow us on Twitter @CinemaPoisonContact us at cinemapoisonpodcast@gmail.com
In this third entry, Jason and Ryan reveal more of their top cinematic hits, the movies behind the passion of Cinema Drive.The Deep Question: What is Bastian's mother's name in The NeverEnding Story (1984)?This Week's Features:Heat (1995)Life Is Beautiful (1997)Tuff Turf (1985)
This week on the Everything Actioncast, Zach and Chris talk about the first trailers for Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Halloween Ends, House of the Dragon, a Matchbox car movie, the Russell boys heading to the Apple TV+ Godzilla series, the latest seasons of The Boys and The Umbrella Academy, the return of Bayhem in Ambulance, 80s high school movies Tuff Turf and Dangerously Close and more. The post Everything Actioncast Ep 588 “Dungeons & Dragons, Matchbox, Ambulance, The Umbrella Academy and More” first appeared on Everything Action.
Jason's in charge? What do HDTGM fans call themselves and should there be a HDTGM movie convention? Places everyone! It's time for Last Looks for Tuff Turf. Jason has big HDTGM tour announcements and digs into your Corrections and Omissions from Tuff Turf. Then, Jason takes over ‘Paul's Picks' with Codi and Devon and announces next week's movie! HDTGM Virtual Show Just Announced https://www.momenthouse.com/hdtgmHDTGM IS GOING ON TOUR! For more info visit https://www.hdtgminfo.com/HDTGM Discord: discord.gg/hdtgmPaul's Discord: https://discord.gg/paulscheerCheck out Paul and Rob Huebel live on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/friendzone) every Thursday 8-10pm ESTSubscribe to The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael here: listen.earwolf.com/deepdiveSubscribe to Unspooled with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson here: listen.earwolf.com/unspooledCheck out The Jane Club over at www.janeclub.comCheck out new HDTGM merch over at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hdtgmWhere to Find Jason, June & Paul:@PaulScheer on Instagram & Twitter@Junediane on IG and @MsJuneDiane on TwitterJason is Not on Twitter
This week Jason, June and Paul breakdown the 1985 classic, Tuff Turf, starring James Spader and Robert Downey Jr. They discuss the many tonal shifts throughout the movie, Paul's 80's Tuff Turf looks, the shocking violence, and more!HDTGM Virtual Show Just Announced https://www.momenthouse.com/hdtgmHDTGM IS GOING ON TOUR! For more info visit https://www.hdtgminfo.com/HDTGM Discord: discord.gg/hdtgmPaul's Discord: https://discord.gg/paulscheerCheck out Paul and Rob Huebel live on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/friendzone) every Thursday 8-10pm ESTSubscribe to The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael here: listen.earwolf.com/deepdiveSubscribe to Unspooled with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson here: listen.earwolf.com/unspooledCheck out The Jane Club over at www.janeclub.comCheck out new HDTGM merch over at https://www.teepublic.com/stores/hdtgm Where to Find Jason, June & Paul:@PaulScheer on Instagram & Twitter@Junediane on IG and @MsJuneDiane on TwitterJason is Not on Twitter
Couch Potato Theater: TUFF TURF (1985), Starring James Spader, Kim Richards & Robert Downey JR. Welcome to Couch Potato Theater here on the Fandom Podcast Network YouTube Channel. On Couch Potato Theater we celebrate our favorite movies! On this episode of Couch Potato Theater, your hosts Kevin Reitzel & Erin Reitzel-Gill return to the 1980's, with TUFF TURF (1985)! Tuff Turf is directed by Fritz Kiersch and starring James Spader and Kim Richards & Robert Downey JR. Tuff Turf is one of Kevin and Erin's favorite movies from the 80's. It is soooooooo 80's! Fandom Podcast Network Contact Information - The FANDOM PODCAST NETWORK YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FandomPodcastNetwork - Master feed for all FPNet Audio Podcasts: http://fpnet.podbean.com/ - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fandompodcastnetwork - Email: fandompodcastnetwork@gmail.com - Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fandompodcastnetwork/ - Twitter: @fanpodnetwork / https://twitter.com/fanpodnetwork FPN Couch Potato Theater Host & Guest Contact Info: - Kevin Reitzel on Twitter & Instagram: @spartan_phoenix - Erin Reitzel-Gill on Instagram: @eringill666 - Tee Public Fandom Podcast Network Store: https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fandom-podcast-network
They've danced, they've dallied, they've deferred - and now the moment is here. Jason and Ryan have an honest conversation about the impact and quality of the MCU and how it's cemented its place in the history of cinema - for better or worse! Part one of two starts right here, right now.The Deep Question: What is your favorite piece of movie memorabilia?This Week's Features:Ant-Man (2015)Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)The Avengers (2012)Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)Avengers: Endgame (2019)Avengers: Infinity War (2018)Black Panther (2018)Black Widow (2021)Captain America: Civil War (2016)Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)Captain Marvel (2019)Doctor Strange (2016)Eternals (2021)Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)The Incredible Hulk (2008)Iron Man (2008)Iron Man 2 (2010)Iron Man 3 (2013)Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)Thor (2011)Thor: The Dark World (2013)Thor: Ragnarok (2017)Tuff Turf (1985)
On this week's episode of Killer Bs we talk about the career of 80s bad-boy James Spader. We talk about his roles in PRETTY IN PINK, JACK'S BACK, SECRETARY, and TUFF TURF.
This episode Brain and Nez head to SoCal to help out the new kid in a rough and tough new school against the local street toughs in the 1985 classic TUFF TURF. Join the THR Presents: Stream Fiends Facebook Group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/3860579827402429 Follow THR Stream Fiends on IG: @thrstreamfiends Join The Horror Returns Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1056143707851246 THR Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thehorrorreturns Join The Action Returns Facebook group. https://www.facebook.com/groups/841619946357776 Follow The Action Returns on IG and Twitter: Instagram: @theactionreturns Twitter: @action_returns Intro Music by Mixla Beats Productions https://www.mixlaproduction.com
Morgan is the new kid in town. He and his family have just moved from upper crust Connecticut to the LA valley. Shortly after his arrival, he tangles with the wrong gang and falls for the gang leader's girlfriend, Frankie. Have Morgan's bad prep school boy ways followed him to the west coast? He'll have to make his way through by fighting, and dancing, and singing (he walks the night), and maybe - just maybe - learning a little something about turf justice along the way. Join us as we discuss the majesty that is Tuff Turf in this week's episode of So 5 Minutes Ago!
Tony guides us through the dark and twisted (not nearly as bleak as the novel) tale that is Less Than Zero. Getting to witness the first sparks of acting prowess from Robert Downey Jr and James Spader is glorious. They came a long way from Tuff Turf. We certainly had three different experiences of this movie before ending up at our final destination with it.
Morgan Hiller finds himself in hot water when he falls for the girlfriend of a local gang leader. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bsbargainbin Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/bsbargainbin/shop
Game on Dustin...game on. Aaron expresses his own views and reveals the FACTS about Less than Zero, Dustin's lack of checking Wikipedia, and that Witness is the best film Harrison Ford has ever done. What will he rate it? Listen and find out!! Apologizes for some of my mouth breathing and raspy Kim Richards like voice I'm recovering from a cold. Rest assured the melodious tones will be back soon enough!
Bringing you an awful off the cuff examination of the James Spader vomit vehicle of 1985, my birth year. What started out as an okay foray of entertainment on a Monday evening, turned into a roller coaster of utter nonsense accented through over the top character reactions and cliched plot devices. Stay for the soundtrack but skip the rest of the nonsense if you dare to watch. An afterword and open challenge is issued to Aaron to bring a retort episode on this trash. Will his love of Less Than Zero cloud his judgement? Will Dustin forgive anything less than a 4 on the vomitous scale for this? Tune in and find out! Please subscribe, review and let us know what you think!
In this episode of Forgotten Flix Remembers, Joel and his co-hosts Peter and Vince discuss 1985’s Tuff Turf. Synopsis: When a privileged teen’s (James Spader) family loses everything and transplants him to California, he finds himself an outcast at his new public high school. But when he meets the beautiful Frankie (Kim Richards), he has to stand up to her gang leader…Read more →
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