DeRazzled - Xanadu, Part 1 - Electric Zeus and Bluthland

Explicit content warning

09/27/22 • 59 min

25 Listeners

We were gonna cover this one later this season, but with Olivia Newton John's recent passing (R.I.P.) we decided to tackle this OG Razzie Worst Picture nominee much sooner than expected. And y'know what, we're glad we did, because Jack actually really liked this one to the surprise of Joe and special guest Caleb Feigles of Making a Martini. We roll out our new format by giving a rapid-fire synopsis of the film (lest Jack be punished with horse noises) and covering what worked and didn't work with this 1980 day-glo laser roller disco fever dream. We lament the camera work and fashion choices made for Gene Kelly's last feature film role, declare our love for the work of Don Bluth, and wonder at what happens when you get a bunch of Tron in your Greek mythology. Kick back and relax after a long day of roller skating to Electric Light Orchestra and enjoy part 1 of our journey into Xanadu!

Check back next week for part 2, in which we take a closer look behind the scenes of this film and attempt to fix it.

CW: alcohol, discussion of drug use, discussion of sex clubs and bathhouses, mention of All Dogs Go To Heaven

Podcasts plugged in this episode: Making a Martini (@MartiniMaking on Twitter); Doom Generation (@DoomGenPod on Twitter)

Check back next week for part 2, in which we take a closer look behind the scenes of this film and attempt to fix it.

CW: alcohol, discussion of drug use, discussion of sex clubs and bathhouses, mention of All Dogs Go To Heaven

Podcasts plugged in this episode: Making a Martini (@MartiniMaking on Twitter); Doom Generation (@DoomGenPod on Twitter)

Previous Episode

DeRazzled 2nd Unit - Superman Lives, Part 2 - Shaloubin' Around

27 Recommendations

We continue our odyssey into Development Hell to wrap up our dissection of Tim Burton's unmade Superman Lives! Having covered the origins of Jon Peters and the beginnings of this project through Kevin Smith's role in this story, we now focus in on Burton's vision for Nick Cage as the Man of Steel in a story of the ultimate outsider. We cover the cavalcade of wildly talented artists involved, the utter pain in the ass that Jon Peters was for basically everyone involved, the panic spiral Warner Bros found themselves in, and just how the death of Superman Lives led to Superman Returns -- including as much as we could stomach of the absolutely buckwild idea J. J. Abrams had that cost us a Batman vs. Superman film written by the guy who wrote Se7en. We also touch on Warner Bros current woes following their merger with Discovery, as it seems like they've learned nothing from their mistakes. We hope that you enjoy the conclusion to this absurd story in which people are wildly in-character throughout, because sadly no one paid us $85 million not to do it. Settle in and wonder for yourselves whether Saved By The Bell's Zack Morris or Tony Shaloub would be your dream Superman.

CW: Racism relating to Tim Burton, more Jon Peters, mention of Bryan Singer and Kevin Spacey, mention of Brett Ratner and X-Men: The Last Stand

Podcast plugged in this episode: The Geeky Dad (@geekydadpodcast on Twitter)

Next Episode

DeRazzled - Xanadu, Part 2 - A Real Double Threat

22 Recommendations

Caleb Feigles of Making a Martini (now the official 2nd Best Podcast in Pittsburgh according to the City Paper!) joins us once again to explore what happened behind the scenes of 1980's Xanadu and attempt to fix it! Much like Jack's idea for Olivia Newton-John's character, we stretch our legs as a Double Threat by delving into both film history and true crime history. That's right, this one didn't just have divas backstage -- it also had a slew of horrible murders in its wake that could have ended up with Newton-John and Sandra Day O'Connor as victims. Get all the details as we polish off a bottle of 19 Crimes' Snoop Dogg Cali Red, dig into the production and the stage musical, imagine needlessly dangerous porn shoots on skates, take a fun detour into American Zoetrope, and wonder how Joe didn't have a worse night's sleep watching this movie after the Saturday that he had.

CW: Violence against women and children, murder, misogyny

Podcasts plugged in this episode: Making a Martini (@MartiniMaking on Twitter); F*** My Work Life! (@fmwlpod on Twitter)