Fifteen Minute Film Fanatics

After Dan tells the story of his seeing Alien at the age of 11, he and Mike talk about all the things Ridley Scott's 1979 masterpiece does well: its treatment of the monster, the restraint of its effects, and its use of sci-fi and horror tropes. They also talk about the film's original title and why the sequels fall flat. Other films mentioned: Jaws, The Lighthouse, 2001, Star Wars: A New Hope (which Dan calls Star Wars: The First One), Rear Window, and The Wicker Man. So get rid of that facehugger, punch the android, and give it a listen! 

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

Brian DePalma's 1990 adaptation of Tom Wolfe's bestseller The Bonfire of the Vanities was supposed to be a Great American Film--but things didn't work out that way. Julie Salamon's 1991 book The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco details the struggles to make the film and how the war between art and commerce was waged in the offices of studio executives and on the set. It's one of the best books ever written about how a movie is made and who-does-what behind the scenes. Mike and Dan talk to Julie Salamon about how talented, creative people with the best intentions and deepest commitment to their work can somehow create a film as widely panned as Bonfire. This is a can't-miss episode!   

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

"Hitchcock's Hamlet" is how Mike describes Rear Window (1954), his all-time favorite film. He and Dan talk about Hitchcock and his stand-in, Jimmy Stewart, as keen observers of humanity. They also talk about what movies do to us, how the film speaks to our current screen-filled moment, and what would happen if a movie could talk back (although they don't mention The Purple Rose of Cairo). So grab that backscratcher, load up the flashbulbs, and listen to the guys talk about one of the true masterpieces they've examined in five seasons.  

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

In November, 1970, a dead whale washed ashore the Oregon coast.  After some deliberation, officials decided to blow up the carcass.  KATU news ran a now-famous story about the event which has been examined, parodied, and inspired a few songs.  Mike and Dan talk about the news coverage as "a perfect movie."  So be sure you're far away from the blast radius and give it a listen!

Audio courtesy of KATU News.  See the whole video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CLumsir34&t=39s

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm.   You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith.

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag

Are snakes necessary? Mike and Dan answer this question as they talk about Preston Struges's 1941 masterpiece The Lady Eve. Topics include the perfect stooge, the blend of literate and physical comedy, and how one of the most convoluted premises in film serves as a dead-on reflection of how millions of people enter their marriages. There's also a conversation about sex in movies, with allusions to Don't Look Now, Watchmen, North by Northwest, and The Godfather, which Mike reminds Dan has two sex scenes, not just the famous one with Michael and Apollonia. So grab the ale that won for Yale and give it a listen!

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

Yes, always.  Everybody loves the famous outtakes of Orson Welles hawking Paul Masson wine and Findlay frozen peas.  Mike and Dan talk about why these are still hilarious.   Aaaaaaaaah--the French!  

Orson Welles and the Frozen Peas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ol5RpDEzLzY

Paul Masson outtakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvxwf1jxdaM&t=12s

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm.   You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag

Mike and Dan talk with Dave Itzkoff, author of Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies.  What a movie! What a book! Dave talks about his research, what he learned about Paddy Chayefsky, and how Network predicts our contemporary media landscape. If you're a fan of Network, or of movies at all, this is a must-hear. Many thanks to Dave Itzkoff for coming on the show.

Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

What happened to The Simpsons?  This is a question that many have asked and that Mike and Dan, who revere the show, ask in this short episode.  Dan compares the later seasons to the ending of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Mike compares the early, great seasons to The Recognitions.  So grab a Duff and give it a listen!

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm.   You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!  

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag

"A noir with no guns" is how Mike describes Otto Preminger's 1955 study of addiction and confinement. He and Dan talk about Sinatra, Jerry Garcia, and how a key scene of the film reminds them of one in Shakespeare's Othello. So put down those drumsticks and give it a listen! 

 Please subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and follow us on YouTube, Twitter and Letterboxd. Please rate and review the show on Apple podcasts and contact us at [email protected]. Incredible bumper music by John Deley.

People are divided about all kinds of issues these days--and one divisive issue is Zack Snyder's adaptation of Watchmen (2009).  Is it as bad as the haters claim?  Or is it what Mike calls a "silly exercise?"  The guys talk about what makes a comic adaptation worth watching.  Give it a listen before the Doomsday Clock strikes 12!

Please follow or subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts and on Twitter @15MinFilm.   You can also contact us at [email protected], and support the show with a buck or two at Venmo @FifteenMinuteFiIm.  All proceeds go right back to the show!  

Terrific bumper music by Jackson Frederick Smith

URL: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Jackson_F_Smith/Jackson_Frederick_Smith/Cantina_Rag