It's time for another New World interview, this time with editor/director James Melkonian, who started as an intern at New World Pictures before climbing the ladder all the way to VP of Post-Production! James spent five years at New World, toiling away on a wide range of projects - GODZILLA 1985 (Ep. 108), THE PUNISHER (Ep. 121), REFORM SCHOOL GIRLS (Ep. 81) - just about everything at New World, especially once he took over the Post-Production department from Tony Randel (HELLBOUND: HELLRAISER II, Ep. 106).  

From doing edit work on NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER (Ep. 29) and MAKING CONTACT (Ep. 40) to supervising the music for EAT AND RUN (from last year's #NOvember), James discusses a variety of New World films with us, including spilling some wild stories from THE GUNRUNNER (starring Kevin Costner), THE TELEPHONE (starring Whoopi Goldberg and directed by Rip Torn), and KNIGHTS OF THE CITY (starring Leon Isaac Kennedy)! Then, James dives into the end of the "New" New World and explains how he noticed when things started to change at New World and, finally, how he knew that the end was near! Don't miss an incredible discussion on how New World found themselves having to sell the business they purchased from film legend Roger Corman! 

Once New World closed its doors, James moved on to direct a couple movies post-New World, THE STONED AGE and THE JERKY BOYS.  You don't want to miss this episode, which gives an unique inside look to how New World Pictures ran during the second ownership group!

 

 Thanks so much to James for appearing on the show!

 

 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/  

  

We wrap up #FANuary - where listeners chose what we watched across all our social media accounts - with Larry Cohen's 1976 classic GOD TOLD ME TO!  Independently financed then released by new world Pictures, Cohen's strange odyssey of a New York police detective whose investigation yields way more than he ever bargained for is truly a genius piece of cinema that only Larry Cohen could have created!

Filled with an incredible cast (Academy Award winner Sandy Dennis, Andy Kaufman, Deborah Raffin, Tony Lo Bianco, and Richard Lynch from New World's DEATHSPORT, but, more importantly, BAD DREAMS) that rivals that of 1981's THE FOUR SEASONS, New World took two turns at releasing the film, which led to a fraught relationship between Cohen and New World head honcho Roger Corman. We discuss that, along with other pressing questions, such as: how did Marc and Ryan's family feel about the TV show Space: 1999, since Brad Dourif makes everything better, what role might he have played in this, and is this a St. Paddy's Day movie?  We also dive into the production, including the epic St. Patrick's Day Parade sequence, one of the most impressive of Cohen's storied career, how Cohen ended up making the key scene of the movie (the Lo Bianco objected to), as well as the music, eventually written by Frank Cordell, but was originally intended to be written by frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Hermann, who had previously scored Cohen's IT'S ALIVE.  Plus, we debate whether walking barefoot in an airport is the same as doing so in a city.

We cover it all, so don't miss out on our #FANuary finale! Just accept it, no questions!

For more about the podcast, go to our website: https://newworldpicturespodcast.com/. 

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

Welcome to #FANuary, where we talk about the movies you, the listener, asked us to discuss.  Our first entry in #FANuary is 1987's TAX ATTACK 87, a Learning Corporation of America production staring comedian Robert Klein (SNL).  Learning Corporation of America was owned by New World Pictures and focused on educational videos like In the FOR SAFETY'S SAKE: IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD starring Gary Coleman.  By the way, if you haven't listened to our episode on that video, do yourself a favor and check it out. 

TAX ATTACK 87 is meant to be an instructional video for how to complete your annual taxes using the new laws that were introduced in 1986.  It's equal parts educational video and live action children's board game.  Given that children don't file taxes and adults don't typically need board games to learn, it's anyone's guess who the target audience is for this little slice of New World Pictures americana.

We leave no stone unturned looking for deductions and credits in TAX ATTACK 87.  Why is Robert Klein arguing with a off-screen IRS agent?  Ryan has a solid theory.  Erica gets immediately bored when Marc explains how to play craps.  Ryan shares a story about going to comedy traffic school with his mom.  Erica sings a banger of an opening song.  Both Ryan and Marc share familial memories of watching the America's Cup when it was held in San Diego.  This, of course, bores Erica even more.  We even make a sneaky Twin Peaks reference even though we couldn't have anticipated the passing of David Lynch (RIP) only a couple days after the recording.  Seriously though, Dune is one of Marc's favorite movies and he thinks its way better than the Denis Villenueve version.  

It's that time again, the most wonderful time of the year: award season! And no award show is more prestigious than the Worldies, the only show that covers all the movies we covered last year! It's a celebration! 

And joining us to hand out these very real and important awards are a few of our former guests and NWPPVIPs like We invited former guests and NWPPVIPs to help us present these prestigious awards including:

We also rank our top 5 and bottom 5 from 2024, and discuss the year overall.

  

A huge thanks to the guests we’ve had the opportunity to interview on this podcast, our guest presenters, and to all of you, our audience, for listening to the New World Pictures Podcast.  On to 2025!

 

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

We are wrapping up the merry month of #DIEcember II: Slay Bells Ring with a well-known cult classic: 1986's CHOPPING MALL aka KILLBOTS.  This Nearly New World film was written and directed by Jim Wynorski in his first film for Roger and Julie Corman following working at New World in the publicity department. 

Join us as we fangirl on malls, robots, and snacks!  We discuss the Sherman Oaks Galleria, Erica's work history, and we introduce new sponsorship opportunities for Better Cheddars. You listening Betty Cheds?  Be our sponsor! While we know we aren't at final questions yet we must know "Have you seen CHOPPING MALL?" Don't miss this dive into a gory, sexy NWPP favorite!

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

We continue #DIEcember 2: Slay Bells Ring with another obscure slasher, 1984's THE INITIATION. This one is filled with family secrets, sharp hand rakes, and hot - temperature hot - sex. It's a movie about the power of dreams or at least the power of attraction that comes from participating in a sleep study. It's about a mother's sacrifice, and how, no matter what you do, it doesn't matter. It's about real dads and fake dads and dressing up like a penis to a party, only to get murdered in an empty mall.

Listen as we discuss this early entry into New World Pictures' second ownership group output, released the same year as ANGEL and CHILDREN OF THE CORN. You may ask yourself:  could a crowd of people with lit candles enter my room while I'm asleep without me noticing? Is it ethical for a teaching assistant to date a student? How comfortable would it be to have sex on a stack of rugs?

Enjoy this slice of 1980's slasher history, as only the NWPP crew can deliver!

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

We kick off #DIEcember 2: Slay Bells Ring with everyone's character rich slasher, 1983's MOUNTAINTOP MOTEL MASSACRE.  Or, if you'd prefer, MOUNTAINTOP MOTEL.  Or, as we would call it, "MOTEL MASSACRE NOT ON A MOUNTAIN". Staring Bill Thurman (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW), Anna Chappell (THE MAN IN THE MOON), and Major Brock, a guy who was working as a baggage handler for Delta before director Jim McCullough found him and put him in this movie.  We spend quite a bit of time on this subject alone.

MOUNTAINTOP MOTEL MASSACRE is one of those age-old stories about a woman who is released from a psychiatric institution, finds her daughter Lorie practicing witchcraft (not really) in their basement, kills her, acquires a bloodlust and attempts to kill every guest at her rundown roadside motel.  You know, "the ushe". 

We are joined for this episode by Ryan Verrill, host of The Disc Connected podcast and the Executive Director of Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network.  Ryan helps us navigate a myriad of new discoveries not yet revealed in any previous episode including Marc's inability to differentiate a rabbit from a guinea pig and Marc's new live podcast, "The Semanticast" where he criticizes the way people say things.  Thus far, it's not getting the kind of listenership that you'd expect.   

We also talk about the wrong way to leave your job, when to reveal a lie or keep it to yourself, and the challenges that come with a snakebite to the face.  And when we say, "snakebite" we mean, "snakebit".  Why?  Listen and find out. 

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

We end #NOvember, where we watch movies with originally said "no" to, with QUENNIE, a 1987 TV Miniseries made by New World Television and, later, released by New World Video. An adaptation of a novel by Michael Korda which told the story of his real-life aunt, the actress Merle Oberon. Now, Korda's aunt may be real, but the story is, well, let's just say Michael had fun filling in the details. What true and what's not, we may never know, but we do our best to sort it out.

The series starred Mia Sara, fresh from New World's APPRENTICE TO MURDER, as Queenie, and Kirk Douglas as a movie producer based on Korda's uncle Alexander.  In a story that starts in India, travels to England and back again, Queenie  goes from a young student to a exotic dancer to actress. She could have had more jobs, but, as it turns out, it's hard for pretty people to get jobs. It's also difficult for some people to smoke cigars or play a woodwind instrument, but easy for some to know the timing of their demise. There's a lot going on, but we dig deep into it anyway, because, well, it's #NOvember!

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For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

John Penney returns to the podcast! Following our TORMENT reunion episode alongside his cohorts Earl Ghaffari (WAYNE'S WORLD) and Scott Alexander (ED WOOD), John is back to discuss his time working as an assistant editor for New World movies BODY ROCK, GIRLS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN, and THE STUFF (as well as RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) before writing RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD III and becoming a director with 2006's ZYZZYX RD! John talks about working for Academy Award-winning editor Richard Halsey (ROCKY), learning life lessons from Sarah Jessica Palmer, and listening to movie pitches from Larry Cohen! This is a wide-ranging interview you don't want to miss!

For more about John and Brian Yuzna's company Dark Arts Entertainment, head here: https://www.darkartsentertainment.com/

 

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

It's #NOvember, where we talk about all the movies we previously said "no" to, and we're kickstarting it with 1986's EAT AND RUN, written by the father/son team of Stand and Christopher Hart and directed by Christopher. it stars Ron Silver as a Detective on the trail of an alien who is eating Italian people in New York City!  The poster proclaims it's a "comedy with taste," but where did Marc, Erica, and Ryan fall in their opinions about it? You'll have to listen to find out!

Enjoy this trip through one of New World's forgotten films,  in which the following topics are also discussed: pseudonyms, anti-ASMR, and FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 4! 

For more about the podcast, head here: https://newworldpicturespodcast.com/  

For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/