Movie Meltdown

Movie Meltdown - Episode 432  This week we talk with master puppeteer David Barclay who not only helped to create Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back and Jabba in Return of the Jedi but also worked on Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Little Shop of Horrors and many other projects over the years. And while we all want to go hang out at a bar with David Bowie, we also bring up… Tiny Tim, Red Sparrow, Suburbicon, The Florida Project, Stuart Freeborn, Frank Oz, Scooby-Doo kind of sounds, coach and focus the performers, that whole side of the theater and arts was very fascinating to me as a kid, originally they were called Wild Things, Mike Ploog, picking up Academy slack, learning computer animation, it was a huge crew of just puppeteers, Robert Zemeckis, animatronics for theme parks, Cats and Dogs 2, a Darth Vader marionette, this was all practical in-camera effects, Where the Wild Things Are, That sculpture looks like real skin, mechanical plants, Lost in Space, The Muppets Take the Bowl, very deta

Movie Meltdown - Episode 431  This week we are coming to you "live" from the Lexington Comic & Toy Convention as we sit down with Doug Jones to discuss not just monsters and aliens, but also his Sofa Theater pick - Notting Hill. As well as hearing his stories about just being on-stage at the Oscars the week before with his Academy Award-winning film The Shape of Water! And while we realize that a guy with a giant moon head, is the coolest thing we’ve ever seen,  we also mention… Chuck Norris, Happy Death Day, both versions of It, Daniel Moder, Nosferatu, Lovecraftian, Tanzanite circled in diamonds, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Before I Fall, being on the Academy Awards, Rhys Ifans, slasher fun, Charles Aznavour, about to go up onto the ship and talk to Steven Spielberg, McDonald's, on the world’s stage, if you’re singing to me… I don’t care how long it is, life imitated art, horses and Henry James, wearing Armani, my funny Julia Roberts story that not many people know, Emily Mortimer, she was just getting

Movie Meltdown - Episode 430 We're back with the 10th annual Oscar Meltdown celebration - plus we hand out The Meltdown Awards for 2017 films! So join us for a big mouthful of pork, as we also discuss... hoodies are all the rage this year, Sebastian Stan’s mustache, confessing to library fines, the factual life of P.T. Barnum, I can fly… we already tried, can you be nominated for playing that horse, Zac Efron, the cat scene, drive-thru milkshakes, put a shirt on, well her teeth are so nice, giant monsters knocking over buildings, double Oscar/wedding, they soaked it in beer for a while, he makes me hate him in so many movies, monsters fighting with other monsters, that doorknob will be the death of me, Sufjan Stevens, tall as a giraffe with huge sunglasses, Drew Struzan, Mary and the Witch's Flower, manic pixie dream girl, giant monsters and alcoholism, they leave the damned door open, Taika Waititi and Jeff Goldblum, is this movie set in the 80’s or do they just dress really stupid, if they wanted someone wh

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack - Episode 50 This week we welcome our special guest - Austin-based singer/songwriter Bob Schneider. Bob has been making music since he was a kid and has spent the majority of his adult life writing songs and playing live all across the country. So join us as we discuss the changing Austin scene, working with director Robert Rodriguez, recording his live shows out on the road, what he likes to watch on Netflix and the special trick to getting your songs on a string of movie soundtracks. And as we’re clued in on the finer points of Leave Her to Heaven, we also bring up…Ypsilanti, South by Southwest, Alfred Newman, worked at a country club, I got some recognition from the ladies, El Paso, I feel like it’s pretty easy to make things complicated, and the music was insane, It was something my dad did, filming and editing video, I think of songs like solvable problems, a great way to capture this unique event, this is where I shine, the Sandra Bullock soundtrack collection, Germany, s

Movie Meltdown - Episode 429 (For our Patreon supporters.) This week the Super Series continues as we talk about Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. And as we come to terms with awkwardly sitting next to people, we also mention… animation style, Chadwick Boseman, a lot of Minnie Mouse-themed things, technologically superior, Michael B. Jordan, dominate the sack race, Utilized everyone, the wall of wood, Lupita Nyong'o, a two-year-old with a Tesla car, the get out of jail free card, Danai Gurira, sci-fi, no-stick pans, hot dude of the moment, Martin Freeman, the center of the chicken is the calmest part, Rod Serling, snow-capped mountains, Daniel Kaluuya, on the rocks, as British goes, being vegetarian, the city, Letitia Wright, the colors, soul stone, nanobots, those aren’t our people, Angela Bassett, Red Sparrow, Captain America: Civil War, costumes, motion capture, making fish oil, you’re just a jackass alone in a room, Andy Serkis, contractually obligated to not shave, each of the tribes, we’re living in Black M

Movie Meltdown - Episode 428 This episode we pay tribute to just some of the celebrities that we lost in 2017. And while we try to decide what our theme song and montage for our lives would be, we also discuss... a Blue Steel Selfie, he would write everything long-form, the convention bubble, I’m just going to tell another brief story where I’m the bad guy, digging ditches, the greatest story ever told, fiction about real people, Keith Moon, won ten Obie Awards, you’re supposed to read those dates, Cybill Shepherd, industrial films, Walk Hard, it’s quiet… it’s slow… it’s poetic, was an elevator operator and a truck driver, it’s nothing but a series of anecdotes… sectioned by theme, going to film school… in the trenches, deep black negativity, where so much of your performance is non-verbal, it’s funny… all these people they mean something to us… but we don’t really know them, she looks like she should be in an Errol Morris documentary, the sweet old man who showed me around Los Angeles, even Mr. T’s got a mom

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack - Episode 49 This week we welcome our special guest Jamie Laurie aka "Jonny 5" who you may know as the co-lead vocalist and founding member of the band Flobots.  And as we make Transformers out of paper, we also bring up… drawing comic books, the Wikipedians don’t like to change their mind, Black Panther, Time's Up, all the animals in the book of mammals, at the basketball game, what’s the first song on the second side, attention is the currency today… everyone is fighting for it… and that makes it that much more precious, supporting your local bands, observe my own thoughts and emotional reactions to things, we would just press record on a boombox, the changing music scene, it shows that art makes a difference, galvanizing rallying energy, hand cut by me and my scissors, the cumulative effect did something that was transformative, kids recording at home, it was fun to go to Kinko’s and try to make your CD cover, it began as a lie, I heard you when I was eleven, what’s the last

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack - Episode 48 This week we are joined by composer Erich Stem to play and discuss all the 2017 Oscar Nominees for Best Original Song and Best Original Score. And while we try to decide if what they are going for is Oscary or Oscarly, we also mention… Wagner, Gene Autry, shaved the edges off, Tarzan, synthesized sound, Carter Burwell, the same kind of instrumental choices are there, Mudbound, I think I’d like to use a didgeridoo, how far is too far and how close is too close, it’s not as laborious to do that, Phantom Thread, old school Hollywood productions, Jonny Greenwood, Mary J. Blige, Catch Me If You Can, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson, Dunkirk, the common practice period, Hans Zimmer, Call Me by Your Name, what is the job of the music, Sufjan Stevens, The Shape of Water, ostinato pattern, Alexandre Desplat, Coco, I’ve heard this piece before, Titanic, what do you do when you are competing against a giant in the industry, it could sound like yesterday, the marketing angle,

Movie Meltdown - Episode 427 (For our Patreon supporters.)  This week's exclusive episode we discuss David Ayer's Netflix original movie Bright, a modernized fantasy starring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace and Lucy Fry. And while we step up our world-building game, we also discuss... The Godfather Part III, American Made, Suicide Squad, Guillermo del Toro’s At the Mountains of Madness, make-up effects, a Nagel poster, they tried to make a movie of this and it was hot garbage, the disappearance of bookstores, bleeding Stormtroopers, more people to hate on, Alan Dean Foster, Dungeons & Dragons, making adjustments to the blade, Jesse Eisenberg, the cocaine cowboys, ghetto fairy tales, loitering around in Waldenbooks, Satanism, Thora Birch, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, bias and prejudice, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, El Diablo, oh my god there’s people under that, a big budget action movie, a magic missile, Max Landis, The Conjuring Universe, Shadowrun, Kristen Stewart, fighting with squirrels, the Ala

Movie Meltdown - Episode 426 This week we have a very special guest… comedian, writer, actor - Tom Arnold. Now, most of you out there are probably more or less familiar with Tom, and if so… you know that if nothing else – he has had one of the more interesting stories of anyone who’s made their way into the entertainment industry. His journey from a humble Midwest childhood to become one of the most notorious people in Hollywood - is that of legend. So we sit down with him to hear how it all began, just where it’s led him over the years… and some of his interesting film roles that happened along the way. And as we consider going streaking through the nursing home, we also bring up... open mic night, Andy Kaufman, he’s outside playing football with these homeless guys, it makes my dad laugh, Herbert Ross, I peaked then, Dustin Hoffman, I walked twenty miles in my underwear in December, Arnold Schwarzenegger, that’s who I was then, Arthur Hiller, funny horror, Lorenzo Lamas vs. Brian Wimmer, Icarus, On the kill

Movie Meltdown - Episode 425 This is an episode years in the making... we sit down for not only a group discussion of Lindsay Anderson's O Lucky Man!, but we also talk with the star of the movie – MALCOLM McDOWELL! We get his thoughts on this often over-looked film as well as his role in creating the project and his relationship with the director. Plus we feature a bonus segment with one of the co-stars of the film Jeremy Bulloch (aka Boba Fett). And as we finally come to terms with just how you lose the spirit of life, we also mention... Ladybird, The Florida Project, Easy, Mother!, Judex, The Boxtrolls, If…, Alan Price, Greta Gerwig, Whiplash, the aspect ratio set wrong, If…, movies should be more like American short stories, Patton Oswalt, Holy Mountain, it’s a wonder my wife hasn’t murdered me, Brooklyn, trash on the streets, majestic feel… picaresque quality, trying to interpret a dream, the word spiffy…, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, after we won the grand prize at the Cannes Film Festival, Robert McKee, i

Movie Meltdown - Episode 424 This week we gather at The Bastion to watch the Netflix original movie The Babysitter. And before we're through we realize we are the ones that need adult supervision. And while at least someone is trying to defend McG, we also discuss... Channel Zero: No-End House, Gravity Falls, The Twilight Zone, Tragedy Girls, Wonder Woman, Stranger Things, crazy Nicolas Cage, a trilogy of books, young Robert Redford, Beavis and Butt-Head, shirtless guy, flea market time, Lampires, she plays dumb like nobody’s business, dog memes and cat videos, Ariel better watch her ass, felt hollow, Fastlane, the douche car, all flash and very little substance, she’s fighting the jazz man, terrified of death, pocket knife, Jane Got a Gun, a time traveling locket, John Carroll Lynch, running away to be a Protestant, it’s the highlight of that movie… death, American Horror Story, Waddles, that’s not Ferris Bueller, I just want to punch him right in his hair, laid heavy with references, legit has problems, Kev

Movie Meltdown - Episode 423 This week we continue our massive discussion (started in episode 421) about many heavy topics that we face every day... and of course remakes. It's an odd combination that somehow comes together into a fun, yet poignant conversation. And while we nail down the worst part about having a sense of integrity, we also bring up... the loss of community, having your dreams continually crushed by the real world, being a kid that doesn’t fit in, the reluctance to care about other people, the triads in Tokyo, the morality police, a shirtless Amish dude, the echo chamber, Benson, do what you want to the McDonald’s worker… but leave me out of it, reptile brain, Leslie Mann, Swamp Thing, a snake oil salesman, driving wedges in other areas, fax machines, Leslie Jones, playing squash at noon, Peter Jackson, the Cleveland shower, well at least you’ve got that not going for you, My Friend Dahmer, one of the few good things that the horrors of Earth have spawned, a cop drama, a man and a woman of a

Movie Meltdown - Episode 422 (For our Patreon supporters.) This week we once again gather for our Life Day celebration, which of course also means an epic discussion about The Last Jedi and the Star Wars universe as a whole. Buckle up your porgs… this is going to be a bumpy ride. And while we partake in our annual batch of Wookie cookies, we also cover... fan theories, hard science in space, nothing but videos of dogs, destroying the past, the Dark Phoenix movie, Sith-ish, humorous bravado, Alan Dean Foster, new Force powers, an entertainment monopoly, salt, good call on the mouse’s part, I’ve exhausted all my Force juice, chum in the water, what a weird mash-up this is going to be, building a functional Government, Disney purchasing power, unconventional fighting methods, Mace Windu, a weirdo in every franchise, intellectual property, The Clone Wars, chaotic neutral, a new movie every year, Deadpool, the grey side, regurgitating, fantasy vs. sci fi, refusing to communicate, being a monolith, Emperor Palpatin

Movie Meltdown - Episode 421 This week we sit down for another session of “Remake Roundabout” but along the way we spiral off into many different areas… some of which lead to us addressing the true evils of humanity. Who would have known?   And as we all buckle up our Nissan pants, we also discuss…The Disaster Artist, they will have to keep making money off of that title, the James Dean death car, horror always goes to space… eventually, Die Hard, I’m the every-mom, skewered them both, Paula Patton, the alien-twist thing, Ray Romano, get a dead wife is my advice to you kid, James Franco, the young teenage couple were going at it, we’re here to steal the secret recipe, I’ll force-hand you a car, Ben Affleck, detracting from the integrity of the actor, I need robot assistance, the it boy of the moment, he’s good at being crazy, he has an accent, serious Rock, Tommy Wiseau, shoulder pads, Lethal Weapon, did I dream this, a female lead, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, another sexual revolution, Sudden Death, typi

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack - Episode 47 This week we talk with composer Erich Stem about the music he was influenced by, as well as the challenges you face when trying to break into the field as a working film composer. And as we discuss all the fun of alcoholism and early death, we also bring up... horrible MIDI, entering the NBA, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, an eleventh hour process, Alcatraz, musical sentences and sound worlds, Japanese internment camps, young composers, you've gotta MacGuyver this thing, I was always very interested in tearing apart the music that I learned, I would write her the hard parts, my dream as a composer is to do my own thing, a makeshift skateboard, the soprano saxophone part, Joel McNeely, write for orchestras in different cities, you are kind of combining a lot of different things - and putting a new stamp on it, the music being the guide to the film, and you could be crazy, I saw the movie and immediately thought… what a really interesting job, I just would spend hours

Attack of the Killer Soundtrack - Episode 46 This week we delve into some random picks based on cameos by musicians or bands in movies. It leads to quite an interesting playlist. And as we plan to time travel back just to hang out on Sunset Strip, we also discuss... the world's greatest guitarist, full-on Liberace, Del James, Edward Burns, I hate your face, take your megaphone and go home, occasionally he got offered weird things and showed up for 'em, preaching protesters, cumbersome and impractical, tacky ponytailed Liam Neeson, he's done so many movies... and so many songs, Wichita Lineman, playing for almost four hours, robots traveling into the future,  I watched that movie so many times, Stephanie Seymour's white dress, I know how she dies, it's not a good time to hang out with 90% of Hollywood, everything they are about is perfectly-suited for a sixteen-year old, four of the five skullheads were sitting in front of us, when Gilbert Gottfried joined the band, Roger Corman, out there on the highway savi

Movie Meltdown - Episode 420 This week we get our own legion together to discuss Justice League directed by Zack Snyder (and arguably Joss Whedon). It's an epic conversation about the things we liked along the way and just what didn't work in this linchpin project that may or may not be holding the whole DC cinematic universe together. Will the presentation and performance of this movie spell doom for our superheroes? Meanwhile at the Hall of Justice, we also go into... The Punisher, Pacific Rim Uprising, biblical movies, Deadpool, Joss Whedon, once the sun went away forever, plot holes, Ben Affleck, is that part of the rewrite, can we get that disk with Ares, Mandy Lane, the organization of this movie... just stopped... caring, Vigilante, you are setting yourself up... for yourself, glue-sniffing induced dreams, Henry Cavill, Ice Pirates, I feel like that character was wated in the context of this movie, Starship Troopers, Amy Adams, flaming dumpster fire vs. smoldering dumper fire, Noah, being a billionair

Movie Meltdown - Episode 419 (For our Patreon supporters.) This week we discuss Lost After Dark, Rest Stop and Stranger Things all before addressing this week's Sofa Theater feature - the 1988 film Lady in White directed by Frank LaLoggia. Once considered by some to be a "family-friendly" movie, we look at this sometimes surreal film that's filled with many, many inappropriate (and confusing) things. So we try to iron out all the details as we also make a list of items to add to potential childhood trauma. Plus we have the long-awaited "It" novel wrap-up. Was it worth all the time invested in reading it?! Listen and you'll hear for yourself.    Plus as we dial it up to 11 on most of our topics, we also bring up... warmongering art kid, having Pop Rocks for the first time, it seemed a lot darker... and a lot more dense, somebody's not obviously the monster sometimes, oh it's got kids in it, Katherine Helmond, I painted the figures, maybe she was still on fire, Dusty and Dart, The Bangles playing in the garage,

Movie Meltdown - Episode 418  This week the Super Series continues as we discuss Thor: Ragnarok. And as we continually undercut the drama with a joke, we also discuss... Planet Hulk, Sandman, Taika Waititi, a wall of meat, Episode 7, Karl Urban, Grey Hulk, I think I was so excited I couldn't hear, the wolf, What We Do in the Shadows, Benedict Cumberbatch, true neutral, Quicksilver, making wisecracks, Jeff Goldblum, the love of the Godess of Death, is it too silly, Korg, gender swapping, Roger Corman, that's a geek cut, The Gifted, Black Panther pride, Hasbro was so big, they didn't know where they were going, you are going to make me cut myself, Agent Coulson, Disney power, Valkyrie, his bone-structure is doing a lot of leg-work, new Doug, Good Omens, visually incredible, Cate Blanchett, the soul gem, explosions work around the world, Chris Hemsworth, The 4400, The Sentinels, Led Zeppelin, we need some... not bigger names, but bigger personalities, Idris Elba, Beta Ray Bill, organic, gluten-free, artisan pea