Film:
Caddyshack (1980)
Rated: R
Directed by:
Harold Ramis
Written by:
Bryan Doyle-Murray &
Harold Ramis Starring:
Chevy Chase as Ty Webb
Ted Knight as Judge Smails
Rodney Dangerfield as Al Czervik
Bill Murray as Carl Speckler
Michael O'Keefe as Danny Noonan
Cindy Morgan as Lacy Underall
Sarah Holcolmb as Maggie
Scott Colomby as Tony D'Annunzio
The Gopher as Himself

By Pete Hayes

Rodney and his Wang...no offense

Pre-screening memories: My dad was a huge Rodney Dangerfield fan. I remember listening to his records as a little youngster and also enjoying the humor, which balanced observational humor with just the right amount of silliness, which pretty much sums up my sense of humor today.

But while Dangerfield was perhaps the bait, I loved (and continue to love) Caddyshack for the fact that it was a veritable spectrum of comedic styles, each playing to their own strengths. Bill Murray plays the loveable slob he perfected in his days on Saturday Night Live. Chevy Chase was the quip-spouting motormouth he had later honed in the movies. And Ted Knight was the easily agitated time bomb that wrestled (to no avail) to keep a calm exterior.

Bill Murray, who's got that going for him

And, of course, there were the countless one-liners that emerged which were (and still are) repeated every time I strap on the spike and slide out my driver on the course. It is impossible to visit a golf course today without at least one or two scenes or sayings entering my head. I love sports movies, but rarely has one been so completely dominant in my head every time I play the game.

Cindy and Chevy, in a completely improvised scene

New memories: Through the years, I think I have tended to favor one comedian or another from time to time, depending on what stage of life I was in (earlier it was Rodney, later it was Chevy, and perhaps in another few decades it will be Ted), but I lost respect for the others. And I would be remiss if I did not mention our guest for this podcast, Ms. Lacey Underall herself.  Seldom has an entrance into a film been so memorable. Through the years, I may gravitate toward certain comedic stylings, my appreciation for her has remained steadfast. Her addition to the proceedings can not be underestimated, as she provided the perfect balance of sensuality to the silliness.

Caddyshack is rightfully deserved of its inclusion in lists of top comedies of all time, and I can watch dozens of comedies each year, but I am sure it will always remain one of mine.

Download Natsukashi’s ‘Caddyshack’ podcast

Or head to the on-site back nine below:

Our featured guest: Cindy Morgan

Photo courtesy Cindy Morgan

Lacy may not have had all the zingers in Caddyshack, but make no mistake, even though Caddyshack was filled with top-tier comedians, all eyes were on her the moment she sauntered across the green of ???? Country Club.

It was quite an entrance for the former radio girl from Chicago, but she managed to make her mark at this boys club, including standing her ground with one Chevy Chase. It was a daunting task, but one in which helped cement her into iconic status. On film, she went on to create another legendary character, that of Yori in the cult classic Tron.

Currently, Cindy is putting the finishing touches of a coffe table book of her time spent on the set of Caddyshack, which should be released in 2010. Here, she shares some of those memories, including her famous dive into the pool, her mad golfing skills and her tangle with producers which led to her being left off or downgraded on almost all the promotional material of the film.

Thanks, Cindy, for letting us shoulder your bags for a little while here at Natsukashi.

Title:
The Wraith
Rated: PG-13
Directed by:
Mike Marvin
Written by:
Mike Marvin
Starring:
Charlie Sheen as Jake /The Wraith
Sherilyn Fenn as Keri
Nick Cassavetes as Packard
Randy Quaid as Sheriff Loomis
Matthew Berry as Billy
Clint Howard as Rughead
Chris Nash as Minty
Griffin O'Neal as Oggie
David Sherrill as Skank
Jamie Bozian as Gutterboy

By Bo of Last Blog on the Left

Charlie Sheen strikes a pose as The Wraith.

Pre-screening memories: It’s the same old story… boy shows up on a motorcycle, runs afoul of the local toughs, gets involved with the main baddie’s girlfriend and cleans up the town.  But what made The Wraith so special was the fact that the boy in question is a ghost (sort of) and the manner in which he sweeps the streets is with a cutting-edge (at the time) pace car while wearing a jumper with tubes attached.  What these tubes are for, where they go… all part of the mystery and majesty of The Wraith.

The Dodge Interceptor

When I first saw the film, I was confused and bewildered by the oddity of its characters, the vague back story of a young boy cut down in his prime by the town’s marauders, and, mostly, by the appearance of Charlie Sheen as a ghost with the coolest car I’d ever seen to that point.  In all honesty, it’s still a pretty sweet ride…

Download Natsukashi’s ‘The Wraith’ podcast right here

or steer down below and listen on the site.

Our featured guest: Chris Nash

Though he originally came to Los Angeles in his teens to further his passion for music, Nash’s chiseled good looks soon landed him roles in television and, soon after, film.His big break was 1985’s underrated comedy Mischief, in which he played the new bad boy in town who struck up a friendship with his nerdy high school neighbor.He followed that film with a series of “almost was” features, including Modern Girls with Virginia Madsen and Daphne Zuniga, Satisfaction with Justine Bateman and Julia Roberts and our featured film, The Wraith, the debut film of a young Charlie Sheen.

Chris continued to work in front of the camera in various series, TV movies and films, but soon disengaged from the industry and returned to his true passion music.He has since worked behind the scenes, writing music, helping with film scores and supporting his 10-year-old son Dylan, who fronts the acclaimed band Automatic Youth.

We are very grateful to have Chris return to recall his time spent working on this film and wish him and his son much success in their future endeavors.

Film:
Nightbreed (1990)
Rated: R
Written and Directed by:
Clive Barker
Starring:
Craig Sheffer as Boone/Cabal
Anne Bobby as Lori
David Cronenberg as Dr. Decker
Charles Haid as Cpt. Eigerman
Hugh Ross as Narcisse
Doug Bradley as Dirk
Simon Bamford as Ohnaka
Kim Robertson as Babette

By Count Vardulon

Pre-screening memories:  Like many teens, I went through a ‘horror’ phase at around age 13 (that it hasn’t ended yet isn’t the point). It was a common enough occurrence, the kind of thing where you start looking for things to define your rapidly-approaching adulthoood, and set yourself apart from the childish things you imagine you no longer have a use for.

 Horror movies are an incredibly socially acceptible way of going about this. Choosing to be scared is something that seems a lot more dangerous than it actually is to a young teen, but has the benefit of being somehting that a child would never do.

I worked my way quickly through the standards of the genre, your Halloweens, Fridays, and Nightmares while remaining largely unimpressed. These are the things that caused me to cover my eyes when the trailers came on in movie theatres? It seemed so ridiculous – they weren’t all that bad. Once the first tier was done with my friends and I started getting a little more random with our choices, which is how I ended up seeing Nightbreed. And wow, was I not prepared for Nightbreed.

The ads has made it seem like just another monster movie, but it certainly wasn’t that – from the early scene of David Cronenberg’s Leather Scarecrow slaughtering a family (including a child!) to a man tearing most of the flesh off of his head with his finger knives, to a trip to a haunted graveyard full of monstrosities that ends abruptly with the main character’s death at around the 20-mintue mark, there wasn’t a moment in the first act of this movie that didn’t have me fascinated and terrified and on the edge of my seat. I’d discovered that horror really could freak you out, and I wanted more of it. This is the movie that led me to find out more about Clive Barker, and see Hellraiser in a local repetory theatres… but that’s a story for another time.

Most recent screening: You may have noticed that in the above recollections of my first viewing I didn’t mention anything after the first twenty minutes of the movie. In point of fact, I didn’t have any memories of the rest of the film, save for a slaughter in a hotel and Cronenberg getting crucified at the end. There’s a reason for that.

Nightbreed is an ungodly mess for most the running time. After the masterfully-paced opening the film bogs down with many, many scenes of lengthy exposition and random nonsense about the monster world and their Jesus-style fated savior. Cronenberg’s always a pleasure to watch, but when he hooks up with a bigoted survivalist sheriff and a group of like-minded rednecks the film goes from being a relatively effective horror film to a supremely muddled holocaust allegory that leads to an overextended war scene that teaches us a valuable lesson – that the Jews would have had a better time of it had there been a few unstoppable armoured killing machines on their side. Of course, that’s true of anything, really.

That’s not to say that the movie is a complete disaster – there’s a really interesting theme in the film about finding your true face – one character has to pull of his skin to discover what he really looks like, and Cronenberg has to put on a mask to reveal himself. And there’s so much random craziness that it’s hard not to recommend a viewing of the film – the parade of monsters that appear in Midian are impressive, featuring more unique creatures than anything this side of Labryinth. Also on the down side, though, is the film’s score, which is wildly inappropriate for the content of the movie, and borrows far too heavily from Danny Elfman’s other major film of that year, Batman.

If nothing else, seeing this film again succeeded in putting me in touch with the younger, more naïve version of myself that was actually capable of getting scared by movies. It’s also reminded me that I really should start reading Clive Barker’s books, since he seems to have quite an imagination on him, that one.

Download Natsukashi’s ‘Nightbreed’ podcast here

or enter the underworld to listen on our on-site player right here:

Our featured guest: Simon Bamford

Actor/writer/director Simon Bamford is quite the study in contrast. On-screen, he’s collaborated with pal Clive Barker on four occasions — the first two Hellraiser films, Nightbreed and, most recently Books of Blood.

You would hardly recognize Simon as the rather rotund Cenobite Butterball in Hellraiser, a role that he would reprise in the film’s sequel, Hellbound. And even though he would portray another otherworldly creature in Nightbreed, he did not have to endure as many hours in the makeup chair.

Most recently, Bamford was in Barker’s Books of Blood, a piece of fiction that is very personal to him, as he reveals on the podcast. He is currently working on the Nazi zombie film, The 4th Reich with makeup legend Tom Savini.

On stage, Bamford has portrayed everyone from lead Seymour Krelborn in the first UK tour of Little Shop of Horrors to Pip in the Stockholm production of Great Expectations (a role which one him an Actor of the Year award.

Simon also travels the horror festival circuit with his Cenobite buds, including Pinhead himself, Doug Bradley. We are grateful that Simon joined us from acrosss the pond to recollect his time spent on the set of Nightbreed.

For more on Simon, check out his site, SimonBamford.com.

Film:
Demolition Man (1993)
Rated: R
Directed by:
Marco Brambilla
Written by:
Peter M. Lenkov
Robert Reneau
Starring:
Sylvester Stallone as John Spartan
Wesley Snipes as Simon Phoenix
Sandra Bullock as Lenina Huxley
Nigel Hawthorne as Dr. Cocteau
Benjamin Bratt as Alfredo Garcia
Glenn Shadix as Associate Bob

Denis Leary as Edgar Friendly
 

By Scott Knopf from HeShotCyrus

Pre-screening memories: The passion for Demolition Man was born out of a sense of Dredd to a young Scott. Judge Dredd, actually. The futuristic film (that was actually released after Demolition Man), co-starred a certain object of Scott’s affection — Rob Schneider. Kidding, it was Diane Lane, who Scott well documents on his blog.

The interest in that film led him to check out this misunderstood slide of cinematic cheese when he was but a young lad and he was soon taken by its addictive qualities.

Though it is hardly considered a masterpiece, it is a film that never takes itself seriously, knows what it is and what it offers and proceeds to do just that.

But it started as quite a different film and we were fortunate enough to be joined by co-star Glenn Shadix, who not only informs us about the metamorphosis, but give us plenty of backstage stories to help us all fully appreciate the film.

Demolition Man is a bit of a cheat by Natsukashi standards, in that we typically like distance between viewings of our films, but Scott could not help jump at the chance to find out more about a favorite in his film library.

Dowload Natsukashi’s ‘Demolition Man’ podcast right here

or get those joy-joy feelings right here on our site by listening below

Our featured guest: Glenn Shadix

Glenn returned to Natsukashi fresh from his visit from the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theater Festival to recollect on the rather colorful filming of this Sylvester Stallone comedic sci-fi flick, in which he played Nigel Hawthorne’s somewhat faithful charge, Associate Bob. As always, Glenn adds much to our understanding and appreciate of the film in general and his role in specific.

He speaks with reverence of his co-star, the late Nigel Hawthorne, the last-minute switch we provided Sandra Bullock one of her earliest on-screen roles, and what it was like to work with Stallone, Snipes and producer Joel Silver, known for such blockbuster action flicks as Lethal Weapon, The Matrix, and Die Hard.

You can certainly keep up with Glenn on his personal site, GlennShadix.com.

Thanks again, Glenn. We send many joy-joy greetings your way. Be well.

We here at Natsukashi love sharing our memories, but sometimes it’s good to go out and create some new ones.

So, as we venture off the grid for seven days (we promise, we will be back with some great new guests, and boy do we have some good ones!), please check out our new Natsukashi Facebook page designed by our wonderful contributor Scott Knopf from HeShotCyrus.com. Sign up and become a fan, so we can get to know our base and hear what you want us to cover here at Natsukashi. Plus, we will fill it with all goodies that we could not pack into our tightly designed format and perhaps give away a T-shirt or two (not that we have any made, I was referring to the ones in our hampers).

Also, be sure to check out our contributors’ blogs, as they celebrate October, our favorite of those 12 months.

That’s right. We said it. Suck it, February!

The Last Blog on the Left celebrates 31 Days of Rocktober.

Say ‘hey’ to the Count at Castle Vardulon

Get a heap of horror with a Month of Horror at He Shot Cyrus.

See you in a week!

Film: Clue (1985)
Rated: PG
Directed by:
Jonathan Lynn
Written by:
John Landis and Jonathan Lynn
Starring:
Tim Curry as Wadsworth
Martin Mull as Col. Mustard
Madeline Kahn as Mrs. White
Christopher Lloyd as Professor Plum
Michael McKean as Mr. Green
Eileen Brennan as Mrs. Peacock
Lesley Ann Warren as Miss Scarlet
Colleen Camp as Yvette

By Count
Vardulon 

___________________________________________________

Pre-screeening memories: It’s not often we get to say that a movie is utterly and completely unique, is it? There was simply nothing out there at all similar to Cluewhen it was first released, and that fact (along with my love of the boardgame and Christopher ‘Reverend Jim’ Lloyd) made it something I absolutely had to track down and see. Today, in the age of special features an alternate ending isn’t shocking or unusual, in fact, coming from a Hollywood production, we now almost think of it as odd if a film’s climax doesn’t go through two or three different iterations. But in 1985, the whole concept of multiple endings was unheard-of, and impossibly enthralling – going to see a movie a second time and having the ending change? Impossible! Does science even allow for that?

Which makes it a little funny that it wasn’t until years after seeing the film that I ever actually got to see those multiple endings. Residing solidly in the lower of the middle classes, I didn’t get out to movies much, and the concept of going to see the same movie twice was on the hilarious side. Strangely I have no real memory of the lack of two extra endings ruining the film for me at all. In many ways it was a perfect film to see at a really young age, full of capering and slapstick, and wordplay just clever enough that while I didn’t understand the naughtier bits, I could tell that something risque was definitely going on, which engaged my curiosity. Even the one solution I saw, in which (SPOILER ALERT) Miss Scarlet was the killer and Wadsworth worked for the FBI was perfectly satisfying, leaving me happy enough with the result that I didn’t really question what the other endings might have been.

New memories: If there’s one thing I learned from my second viewing, however, it’s that I shouldn’t have been as complacent as a child. I should have demanded to be taken to another viewing and see the other endings, because it’s only once I’d seen all three that I could really appreciate what a masterpiece of comic construction this film is. The movie has to accomplish something almost miraculous – it has to not only work both as a comedy, keeping people laughing all the way through, and as a mystery, keeping them guessing, but it has to drop hints and leave enough clue that three separate endings all work perfectly without a plot hole in sight. The fact that it succeeds at all of these things is an amazing compliment to the writer/director Jonathan Lynn, who keeps the movie speeding along so that the audience never has a chance to do anything marvel at how entertained they are.

I could talk about one of the greatest comedic ensemble casts I’ve ever seen, or the Tim Curry performance that anchored the film and turned me into a lifelong fan of the actor, or how satisfying it was to finally see the film in its intended form, with all the endings intact – but I think my favorite thing about the film was that it entertained me exactly as much as an adult as it had on my first viewing all those years ago. And not just because I finally got all the jokes, but because it’s one of those rare movies with as much to offer adults as it does children, a comedy that anyone can enjoy, which doesn’t stop being funny on repeated viewings. I’m a little ashamed to have taken as long to get back to clue as I did, but it’s a mistake I won’t make again.

Download Natsukashi’s ‘Clue’ podcast here

or move your game piece to this little on-site player

Our featured guest: Writer/ Director Jonathan Lynn

Now in his fourth decade of film, Mr. Lynn has served in almost every facet of the entertainment industry — stage, television, film, books, and shows no signs of slowing, having recently wrapped Wild Target with Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Rupert Everett and Martin Freeman.

His cinematic contributions prior to this include The Fighting Temptations (with Cuba Gooding Jr and some chick named Beyonce?), The Whole Nine Yards (starring Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry), Nuns on the Run (with Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane), and directed a young Marisa Tomei to an Oscar win in My Cousin Vinny.

Early in his distinguished career, from 1977 to 1981 Lynn served as Artistic Director of The Cambridge Theatre Company, where he produced more than forty plays, twenty of which he directed. The company’s production of Macbeth featuring Brian Cox toured the United Kingdom and India and staged a special performance for then Prime Minister Mrs Ghandi. Lynn went on to direct one of the companies at the National Theatre of Great Britain, which performed his Society of West End Theatres award-winning production of Three Men on a Horse (1987).

It was during this time that Mr. Lynn created for the BBC Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, regarded as one of the top series of all times by the British Film Institute.

And the acclaim from that series brought him to our shores to write Clue, a 1985 comedic murder-mystery based on the beloved board game, and starring a sterling comedic cast. It was his first forray into feature films, and Mr. Lynn has many a story to share about the experience.

Cheers, Mr. Lynn, and thank you for allowing us choose our weapon with which to pick your brain and solve some of the behind-the-scenes mysteries of Clue.

Film: The Lonely Lady (1983)
Rated: R
Written by:
Harold Robbins (novel)
Ellen Shepard (screenplay)
Directed by:
Peter Sasdy
Starring:
Pia Zadora as Jerilee Randal
Lloyd Bochner as Walter Thorton
Bibi Besch as Veronica Randal
Jared Martin as Goerge Ballantine
Ray Liotta as Joe Heron

By Rob R. (and Bo from Last Blog on the Left)

Rob’s Pre-screening Memories: The scrambler. It was the bane of existence for every young boy growing up in the 80s. For us, it was a torture device similar to the medival  iron maiden or the cat’s paw.

For those who did not grow up in that tome frame or did not poses hormones that raged like a ‘roided-up UFC fighter, the scrambler was used to twist and distort images on premium cable channels that to which you did not subscribe. But do not underestimate the power and perseverance of pre-teen boys first learning about sex.

Like the Pavlovian pooch that never learns that it’s “treat” is hooked up to an electric charge, we continued to revisit it, hoping that for whatever reason we would somehow be rewarded.

Now, if it was merely treated to a blank screen, we would have moved on, but no…. This scrambler offered not one, but two tiny teases that kept us coming back for more…

Sadly, this was only one of many times Pia was offered a hot dog in the film.

1) For perhaps 1/100th of a second, we would be treated to a glimpse of the channel. That meant, if we tune in at just the right time, we could perhaps get flashbulb-fast view of perhaps a nipple, if the late night soft-core offerings were being screened.

2) The sound was still crystal clear. This meant that every groan or sloppy kiss would violate our ears like a siren’s song.

This all leads me to The Lonely Lady. It was a film that in its TV Guide ratings, had a bold “N” at the end of the blurb, which any youth knew promised “nudity.” It starred the era’s it girl, Pia Zadora, a celeb not afraid to show skin in an era in which not every young starlet posed for pics on her iPhone and broadcasts it over the Internet.

One fateful weekend, I got wind that our area was to recieve a “free preview” weekend, in which The Movie Channel was to unleash its contents of late-night lewd, lascivious pictures– heretofore banned from viewing – into our neighborhood, into our homes. Pia Zadora was going to be in my very living room.

The premeditation of my dance with the premium channel devil was in motion. The TV Guide was hidden so my parents would be unaware of the gift the cable gods were about to bestow on our household. The fateful evening came and I feigned sleep at an earlier-than-usual hour, and they were none the wiser.

Once I heard them retire for the evening, I slowly crept downstairs, sensitive to every creak and whistle echoing through my home. Bathed in the warm glow of filth that I was sure to watch, I sat with the old-style cable box in front of me, finger nervously resting on a “family friendly” alternative (as if my parents would come downstairs and buy my excuse of wanting to watch a late-night “Faulty Towers” episode on PBS).

Accepting one of six Razzies the film won.

There was little plot I recall, or even cared about at the time. For one, I was too busy trying to discern if that sound was a floorbaord above or the wind outside; and I really did not care to see Pia give her acceptance speech at the Osca…I mean, and “awards show.” I just wanted her to slip into something more naked.

I do recall that the sex was not as titillating as I would later come to appreciate in films like Fanny Hill. In fact, I remember being a little more scared than excited. A particular scene with a garden hose gave me pause every time my weekend chores involved watering the lawn. Though there was a certain shower scene that seemed to help keep me from all the water-based activities altogether.

Ray Liotta, not a good fella.

It was certainly not the casual, bare-breasted shennanigans promised in films like My Tutor, Screwballs, or Joysticks — late-night staples that would pique the interest of young, corrupt minds. In fact, even though it displayed ample amounts of skin, it was, I recall, far too disturbing to leave me with loving mental imprints that could be stored away for later use.

In an empty theater, no one can hear you scream.

New memories: Yeah,there is little wonder I turned out the way I did. Filled with countless freak-outs (dig that mental breakdown, man!), corrupt sexual encounters and general depravity,The Lonely Lady can certainly be appreciated as a morally bankrupt camp classic (a la Showgirls), but that glimpse of female nudity comes with a heavy price. Thankfully, one of its stars, Jared Martin, who played the lusty George Ballentine was along for the viewing this go-round to remind me it was only a movie. Now, if only I could have learned this decades ago, my folks would have a much cheaper therapy tab.

Download Natuskashi’s ‘The Lonely Lady’ podcast here

Or, wallow in our dirty, dirty on-site player below:

Our Featured Guest: Jared Martin

Jared returns to Natsukashi to discuss a film for which he has much to say. The Lonely Lady was nominated for 11 Razzies, of which it won six. 

 on viewers on television, starring in series such as Fantastic Journey, as “Lusty” Dusty Farlow in Dallas, and, Martin’s personal favorite, as the lead in the popular syndicated sci-fi series War of the Worlds as Dr. Harrison Blackwood.

Martin is the co-founder and creative director of the Big Picture Alliance in Philadelphia, a non-profit youth development media program which fosters an appreciation of film in underserved communities.

As a writer and photographer, his poetry has been anthologized and his photographs exhibited in both group and single shows. He has written the novel Sand Wasp, two photo-narratives “Dazhengzhou, a 1000 Year Old Chinese Village” and “Letter From Zibo” and is completing a third ‘Caprivi”. While acting he began recording events with a camera. He has been exhibited in group shows, and his image “Temple Workers” was awarded the National Association of Photoshop Professionals best Landscape Photograph of 2008. NAPP also selected ‘Man Admiring his House’, and “Approaching Storm” as featured Images of the Week.

A Renaissance man in the truest sense, we consider Jared an invaluable contributor to our little podcast, and we thank him for sharing all of his stories and insight from his massive resume of films and television. Below are some pictures of his photography, and you can click through them to get to his site.

Film: Popcorn (1991)
Rated: R
Written by:
Alan Ormsby (screenplay)
Mitchell Smith (story)
Directed by:
Mark Herrier
Starring:
Jill Schoelen as Maggie
Tom Villare as Toby
Derek Rydall as Mark
Dee Wallace as Suzanne
Tony Roberts as Mr. Davis
Ray Walston as Dr. Mnesyne

By the Divemistress from

Pre-screening memories: When I was a kid we had First Choice on our TV.  First Choice was awesome— 24 hours of movies, seven days a week. I was introduced to a lot of films via that movie channel, many of which I shouldn’t have seen. Not at that tender age. And so it came to pass that I sat down to watch Popcorn. I think the synopsis in the movie guide read something like “people killed at movie theatre.” 

Whatever, I was sold.

In point of fact, the only thing I actually remember about the story is that people are killed in a movie theatre. I vaguely recall something about the final girl being the killer’s daughter, or object of obsession. I don’t even know if I was scared, or if I actually liked the movie.

I do remember Popcorn’s setting, though. The film takes place in an old theatre which a group of film students have rigged to create an immersive B-movie watching experience; they shock the audience with electrified seats, they release stink bombs, they have a huge paper-maché ant that descends from the ceiling. I guess this part really stuck with me because it sounds like a lot of fun. Other things that stuck with me are the killer’s weird looking face and a dress that doubles as an iron maiden. That sounds less fun.

New memories: I was wrong about the ant. It was a mosquito.

As I said, I really can’t comment on my initial reaction to Popcorn—whether I found it campy or legitimately scary. The film, it is safe to say, is total camp. And though it stops short of being offensively recursive, the camp is reflected in the quality of the movie marathon being shown in the film. Equally ridiculous but also unbelievably pretentious is “The Possessor”, an old art-house film that lays the foundation for Popcorn’s plot.

I had completely forgotten about that.

The killer’s weird looking face was even more impressive than I remembered. And I wasn’t too far off on the villain’s motivations, which was surprising, given how little I actually remembered about the plot, but kind of vindicating as well.

Download Natsukashi’s ‘Popcorn’ with Derek Rydall podcast here

or, grab an audio box of hot-buttered nostalgia right here…

__________________________________________________________________________

Our featured guest: Derek Rydall

Derek played Mark, the accident-prone punching bag-of-a-boyfriend to Popcorn’s lead, Maggie.

Though he was fresh-faced in the film, Rydall was no stranger to the genre, having starred in both Phantom of the Mall: Eric’s Revenge (with a young Pauly Shore) and Night Visitor.

During the shooting of Popcorn, Derek had a life-altering experience that led him on a different path in Hollywood. Derek shared his tale with us on this very episode, so listen up, punks.

As a screenwriter, screenplay consultant, and script doctor, he has been on staff for Fox (Wildforce Rangers) and Disney, developed projects for RKO, United Artists, Miramax, Fine Line, Universal, Saturn (Nicolas Cage’s company), Deepak Chopra, Wildrice, Longbow, and the creators of Air Force One and Ghost. Additionally, Rydall script doctored on the feature films Diamonds and No Turning Back.

Rydall has worked one-on-one with numerous screenwriters, independent producers, and executives from around the world; and has sold, optioned, or been hired to write over 20 film and TV projects.

Rydall is the author of “I Could’ve Written a Better Movie than That!: How to Make Six Figures as a Screenplay Consultant – Even if You’re Not a Screenwriter,” and “There’s No Business Like Soul Business: a Spiritual Path to Enlightened Screenwriting, Filmmaking, and Performing Arts.”

Rydall’s website www.ScriptwriterCentral.com, is geared toward assisting screenwriters in taking their scripts to the next level, and training the next-generation of script consultants to analyze scripts deeper, broader, and clearer than every before.

Rydall’s website, www.EnlightenedEntertainer.com is geared toward empowering artists and entertainment professionals to walk a more purposeful and prosperous path in show business.

For those who want to keep up with all things Rydall, you can check out his personal site at DerekRydall.com.

Thanks, Derek for sharing your tales behind the scenes of Popcorn, as well as your path to your current endeavors and we wish you all the best.

Film: BeetleJuice (1988)
Rated: PG
Directed by:
Tim Burton
Written by:
Michael McDowell
Starring:
Michael Keaton as Beetlegeuse
Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland
Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland
Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz
Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deetz
Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz
Glenn Shadix as Otho Fenlock

By Scott Knopf of He Shot Cyrus

Pre-screening memories: No R-rated movies.  PG-13 movies only with parental consent.  That was my childhood.  Being raised in a strict religious family is just as fun as you’d imagine, and if you were one of those kids who got to watch whatever you wanted, consider yourself lucky.  I was the movie ratings expert.  I knew the rating for EVERY movie Blockbuster had to offer.  Before even reading what the movie was about, I’d flip over the box, scroll down to the bottom, and search out that powerful box that would determine my movie-watching fate.  PG-13  YES!  I can watch this one!  R Dang!  That one looked good.  The MPAA directly contributed to my unhappiness in the 90s.  Looking back on those years, it’s either a miracle that I enjoy film at all or it was those restrictions that made movies the forbidden fruit that I had to obtain by any means possible.

PG-13 Movies I Wasn’t Allowed to Watch: 

• Jurassic Park – Heartbreaking.  We couldn’t even watch the VHS tape my brother got for his birthday!  I don’t know how old I was before I finally got to watch Jurassic Park.  Luckily, the hype didn’t ruin the movie and when I did see the movie it was still incredible.  Forgiveness is difficult to find when it comes to Jurassic Park. 
• Beavis and Butt-Head Do America – I still can’t believe that this was PG-13, maybe it’s because they knew that no one over 17 would watch this garbage.  In retrospect, I have to thank my parents for not allowing me to waste my time with Beavis and Butt-Head.  
• Gremlins – When I asked my Grandma to take me to Gremlins, she said that my parents wouldn’t approve (she was probably right) and we watched White Fang.  Needless to say, White Fang was absolutely terrible and still holds a spot on my Top 5 Least Favorite Movies of All-Time list.

And then there’s Beetlejuice.  It didn’t make that list for one reason, because it’s rated PG!  I can’t describe the frustration of not being allowed to watch a PG movie.  Hell, I wasn’t allowed to watch the Beetlejuice cartoon on Nickelodeon.  Maybe it had something to do with subject matter but I have no clue why such a strict ban of Beetlejuice was held in my house.  It was like Beetlejuice drove his car through my mom’s flower bed or borrowed my dad’s lawnmower and never brought it back.  We’re talking about a vendetta situation, a Romeo and Juliet scenario. 

But rather than poisoning myself, I just set up a secret screening at my friend’s house to watch The Forbidden Film. 

And to quote the Lord: it was good.   

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Download ‘Natsukashi’s ‘Beetlejuice’ with Glenn Shadix’ podcast

or say it three times and listen to it on the site right here:

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Our featured guest: Glenn Shadix

Glenn went on to star in a host of other popular titles (many of which we hope to grab him back here at Natsukashi to recall). He then relocated to his hometown in Alabama, working on both sides of the camera as well as the stage. Of course, you can follow all of Glenn’s adventures on GlennShadix.com, as well as staying tuned to Natsukashi, as we are planning to share memories with him on several of his iconic roles.

Film: The Sender (1982)
Rated: R
Written by:
Thomas Baum
Directed by:
Roger Christian
Starring:
Zeljko Ivanek as John Doe
Kathryn Harrold as Dr. Gail Farmer
Paul Freeman as Dr. Joseph Denman
Shirley Knight as Jerolyn, The Sender's Mommy

By Rob R.

Pre-screening memories: The Sender was a film that was one of those under-the-skin creepouts that truly affected my young mind.

By the time I was able to catch it on my friend’s HBO, I had already been exposed to the blood and guts of Friday the 13th and that ilk, which I appreciated more for gore and special effects.

As an aforementioned devotee of Fangoria, I had my horror cherry popped at an age shared only by early American frontiersman and the Palin children. I was therefore able to distance my mind from the more splatter-centric brethren of the horror genre. They occupied my interest on a purely technical level.

The Sender, though, was one I recall being something that “could actually happen.” I remember there being long periods of silence, which allowed a young mind to ruminate over what was being shown to it. Of course, now two decades later I cannot remember but a few isolated scenes:

* The opening in which lead (played by a young Zeljko Ivanek, whose name I committed to memory even way back then), walks directly into a public swimming beach in an attempt to drown himself. The sheer terror of his near drowning had one of those lasting ‘Jaws‘- like impacts on my land-lubbing psyche.

* The other scene involved a rat exiting the mouth of one of the characters. I do not recall the circumstances that would precipitate a large rodent to dwell in one’s esophogus, but on a freak-out scale, it was off the charts.

* I recall a female psychologist trying to help poor Zeljko, and in my mind’s eye I can only remember Kelly McGillis, but that is most likely due to my decidedly un-Amish-like crush I held for her at that time, thanks to the double threat of Top Gun and Witness.

*There was also some climactic scene with electroshock that rivaled Jack Nicholson’s in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but with much more gore.

Memories of the film play  more like a dream, which I’m sure have more to do with the psychosis suffered by its lead, but I’m happy to revisit electroshock of nostalgia just the same.

New memories: Man, did I have good taste as a kid. Not only was this film still creepy, but the performances still held up, music was haunting, plot deeper than I remember. And all this from the guy who directed ‘Battlefield Earth?’

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Download Natsukashi’s ‘The Sender’ podcast

or you can return to Sender with Rob and Count Vardulon right on this page:

Our ‘guest’ Script Supervisor Sally Jones:

Sally is entering her fourth decade in film, overseeing scripts from a wildly diverse lot of films.  As the supervisor, Sally’s job was to help interpret the words of the script into physical action, and she was present throughout the filming of The Sender.

Included in her long list of supervisory credentials are a few you may have heard of, such as:

• Return to Oz
• Heaven’s Gate
• Withnail & I
• Willow
• Patriot Games
• Braveheart
• Black Hawk Down
• Vanity Fair
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
• Mamma Mia!

Jones is currently working again with The Sender director Roger Christian on the horror-mystery Prisoners of the Sun, starring David Carvet, John Rhys-Davies and Emily Holmes.

We thank Sally for sending us her Sender memories.