The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast

IN THIS EPISODE In honor of Halloween, we're pulling a gem from the vaults - the "Dead Easy" Table Read. Originally performed for charity - to raise money for the Motion Picture Home and Hospital - this replay will do exactly the same thing: every penny will go to the MPHH. Dead Easy is the movie we meant to make as the follow up to Demon Knight, the 1st Tales From The Crypt branded feature. But, something strange happened on the way to making Dead Easy. And, instead we made a movie that literally nobody making it wanted to make: Bordello Of Blood. An all star cast (Sean Astin, Jake busey, Tia Carrera, Chelsea Handler, Brett Cullin and John Kassir, voice of The Crypt Keeper) will take you into the swamps where life is "Dead Easy".

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IN THIS EPISODE It shouldn't be a revelation that we're huge Sherrie Rose fans here at the How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast. Sherrie appeared in two episodes of "Tales From The Crypt" and had a small role in "Demon Knight", the first Crypt-branded feature. Her first Crypt episode was the William Friedkin directed "On A Dead Man's Chest" - a classic episode! But, Sherrie's second Crypt appearance - as the mysterious, mask-wearing young woman in "Only Skin Deep" - is truly a world class performance. Acting is just the tip of the Sherrie Rose Creative Enterprise. She writes, produces, finds financing and pretty much does it all. She's fearless. Like a force of nature. In this episode, we get into all of it - especially the writing!

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IN THIS EPISODE We first met Emmy Award-winning and Oscar-nominated British composer, conductor, and multi-instrumentalist NICHOLAS PIKE back during the Freddy's Nightmares days. Celebrated for his vast stylistic versatility across Hollywood feature films, television series, documentaries, and high-profile music videos, Nick is known for his innovative fusion of orchestral arrangements, electronic syntax, and experimental and found-sound instrumentation. He's built a dynamic career bridging mainstream commercial projects with critically acclaimed independent and documentary films.

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IN THIS EPISODE Creative relationships are exactly like marriages. They require the same TLC and careful nurturing if they're going to endure and be successful. Cy Voris and Ethan Reiff return for another conversation, this time about the craft of writing and how that craft works when two people are doing the crafting. Cy and Ethan have been writing (and producing what they write) super successfully for almost 40 years! How did they do it? How do they continue to do it? That's just for starters!

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IN THIS EPISODE Depending on how you look at it, our friend Brandon Routh either got the best job of his life when he got cast as Superman or the worst job. That’s because Superman is an unusual character which dictates how movie and TV producers have to cast him. Playing a super hero is a lot harder than it looks especially whenn the super hero you're playing is such a genuinely super being. That doesn't make playing Superman easier, it makes playing him harder - and harder still to find and cast an actor who can actually be the character (as opposed to "acting like" him).

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IN THIS EPISODE Returning for another visit – the first of at least two conversations – are old friends Cy Voris and Ethan Reiff. Those knowledgeable about the Cryptosphere, recognize Cy and Ethan as the authors of the first Tales From The Crypt feature film “Demon Knight”. Having been part of several successful writing partnerships, I truly marvel at what Cy and Ethan have achieved. They’ve been working together for almost 40 years. Most marriages don’t last that long! In this chat, we'll talk about the craft of writing - both as individuals and as a team. Those are two somewhat different processes.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please check out the rest of our lineup at Costard & Touchstone Productions. Your next podcast obsession is just a click away!

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IN THIS EPISODE Though Phyllis Katz is not a blood relation – as far as I know – we do have history together. Phyllis was one of the earliest groundlings and was one of the founders of the Groundlings Improv School – the launching pad for many SNL alums and other comedy performers. I was Phyllis' student back in 1985, not too long after I moved to LA. But, as you’ll also hear, I had a strange history with Phyllis’ brother – a guy named Allan Katz. That Allan Katz was a highly successful and respected movie and TV writer when I first came to town and got confused for him. There’s a story to tell of course and we’ll get down to telling it. But, more than anything, we're here to talk comedy today - how to go about being funny - and to ask the question "why is comedy so hard" for some people?

This episode originally dropped in August of 2023.

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IN THIS EPISODE One of the thrills of writing and producing HBO's iconic "Tales From The Crypt" was getting to work with people whose work we admired. One of those people was Tim Curry who courageously agreed to perform as three members of the same twisted, murderous family in the "Death Of Some Salesmen" episode. In this episode, we tell the story of Gil "seducing" Tim away from going to Carnivale in Rio and into doing our TV show. We also talk about what made and still makes Tim's performance so very special.

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IN THIS EPISODE When we say this is a 'very special episode', we ain't kidding! Produced with our sister podcast from the Costard & Touchstone family - "John Kiriakou's Dead Drop" - together we explore the subject how NOT to make a SPY movie. For starters, John and Alan will tell the story of how they met and began writing and then making podcasts together. More importantly, they'll discuss all the movies and TV shows that inspired them when they were kids. In John's case, they made him want to be a spy. In Alan's, they made him want to tell stories about spies - like John. Finally, John and Alan will discuss what one must do to make the perfect spy movie.

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If you enjoy this episode, please check out the rest of our podcast family at Costard & Touchstone Productions! Your next podcast obsession is but a click away! To listen to more of Dead Drop, you can click here.

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IN THIS EPISODE I have a complicated relationship with comedian Rita Rudner. I'm a fan - have been from the first time I saw her. I was a fan when we cast Rita in the "Whirlpool" episode of "Tales From The Crypt" except, I wasn't a fan of the casting. Though, I guess, I became a fan of the casting. It's quite a story.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please check out our other podcasts at Costard & Touchstone Productions. Your next podcast obsession is just a click away!

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