POP ART

POP ART, WHERE I FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE: IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

“I’m not a Frenchie, I’m a Belgie” Don’t you hate when this happens? You’re invited to a remote mansion. You don’t know why, but, hey, it’s a free meal. It’s a dark and stormy night. The doors and windows lock. You can’t get out. And then someone starts killing off the guests. So annoying. Sounds like it’s time for Episode 73 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. This time, I am happy to welcome as my guest, filmmaker Jonathan Wysocki, who has chosen as his selection the cult favorite Clue, based on the popular board game, while I have chosen the Neil Simon spoof of locked room detective stories, Murder By Death, both about people invited to a remote location only to encounter homicide.

And in this episode we answer such questions as: Why is the original name of the game Clue? What is problematic about Murder by Death? Who are our favorite performers in each? Who was originally thought of to play the butler in Clue? Which is funnier and why? What is the difference between high brow and low brow? Which is more post and post post modern? What happened to Neil Simon? Who had his feature debut in Murder by Death and whose last feature film appearance was in MBD? Why is Hill House called Hill House? Clue had a fourth ending and Murder By Death had a different ending; what are they? What happened to the sets in Clue?

Check out Jonathan Wysocki’s IMDB profile at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1267438/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

And his feature film Dramarama can now be seen on Amazon Prime and Tubi

And his podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forgotten-filmcast/id620200136

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

POP ART SAYS HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY: LOVE AND DEATH

POP ART, WHERE I FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE: LOVE AND DEATH: “Don’t be creepy. Don’t be creepy. Don’t be creepy.” This time round, Pop Art has a very special episode for the holiday. The question? Is love dead? Is romance dead? Is being dead dead? Sounds like it’s time for Episode 74 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. Today, I am happy to welcome as my guest, film enthusiast and movie blogger Rishabh Vashishtha, who has chosen as his selection the teen romance living dead film Warm Bodies, while I have chosen the classic Val Lewton/Jaques Tournier classic I Walked with a Zombie, both about love stories revolving around dead people.

And in this episode we address such questions as: What are the source materials for both films? What is important about Val Lewton and Jacque Tournier to horror film history? How did they change the ending of Warm Bodies from the book? Is it Theresa Harris or Teresa Harris? What is the difference between a zombie and the living dead? Who are Frances Dee and Edith Barrett married to? What is a post and post post modern zombie movie? Why don’t the living dead rot away?

Check out Rishabh’s blog at https://rishabhvashishthareviews.wordpress.com/about/

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

POP ART, WHERE I FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE. Join me and podcaster, blogger and film enthusiast Richard Kirkham as we discuss Bull Durham and This Sporting Life, two films about athletes in existential crises.

I know what you’re thinking. What happened to Episode 77. Well, we recorded that episode on 2001 and Solaris twice, but Skype failed to download it. But everything seems fine now and we should be doing that episode in the near future. For some illogical reason, I decided to keep it Episode 77. Don’t ask me.

IT TAKES A LOT OF BALLS: I believe in the Church of Baseball. It’s spring when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of...sports; or sport for our English listeners. Yes, sounds like it’s time for Episode 78 of Pop Art, where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. It’s the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. This time round, I am happy to welcome back, for the fourth time, Richard Kirkham, who has chosen as his film the Ron Shelton low key classic Bull Durham, while I have chosen the Lindsay Anderson’s angry young man, kitchen sink drama This Sporting Life, both films about athletes going through an existential crisis.

And in this episode we answer such questions as: What is it about sports films? What does it mean to win by losing? What do the writers of both films have in common? What happened during the Broadway production of David Storey’s The Changing Room that didn’t shock little old ladies? Where did the names come from? If a baseball player hits the bull do they really get a free steak dinner? How does Ron Shelton resemble his Bull Durham hero? How does Lawrence Olivier fit in? Who did the producers of Bull Durham want for Tim Robbin’s role first and how did Ron Shelton react? Why were young men angry in Britain?

Check out the LAMBcast at http://www.largeassmovieblogs.com/

Check out Richard’s blog at https://kirkhamclass.blogspot.com/?fbclid=IwAR3YYgDVY-42zT8hsDDo5ECSNe1xyPP9x2bvUAmm_XsVDDjtUjp3Aj8smCQ

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

POP ART, WHERE I FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE: HOME INVASION FOR THE HOLIDAYS

“Keep the change, ya filthy animal”. It’s Christmas time. Trees decorated with fairy lights and tinsel. Stockings hung up on the mantelpiece with care. Mistletoe. Presents. Snow. Thieves breaking into the house to steal everything. A psychotic Santa breaking in to kill everyone. Ah, the holidays. Sounds like it’s time for Episode 70 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. This time round, I am happy to welcome back as my guest, blogger, podcaster and Xmas film enthusiast, Jay Cluitt, who has chosen as his selection the yuletide classic Home Alone, while I have chosen the French cult thriller 3615 Code Pere Noel, both about kids threated by bad guys breaking into their home during the holidays, because nothing says Christmas like home invasion. And I should also add that we are doing something a little different in that the film I chose, neither Jay nor I have seen before this podcast. So we shall see how that goes.

And in this episode, we answer such questions as: What is it about Christmas movies anyway? What happened to that kid in 3615 Code Pere Noel and what does Batman have to do with it? What happened to that kid in Home Alone? Who plagiarized who? Bare feet anyone? How much did John Candy get paid for being in Home Alone? What were all the aka’s for 3615 Code Pere Noel? Why was Pesci so difficult to work with in Home Alone? What is “responsible stock”? What was the most difficult scene to film in Home Alone?

Meanwhile, check out Jay’s podcast Deep Blue Sea (about Renny Harlin’s film) on Apple, Spotify, Podomatic and many other streaming services.

And his blog Life v. Film at https://lifevsfilm.com/

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

POP ART, WHERE I FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE, SAYS HAPPY ANNIVERSARY POP ART: Yes, it’s the 75th episode of Pop Art, which means diamonds.

DIAMONDS ARE A GIRLS’ BEST FRIEND. “Cops! What the hell do they want? I haven't done anything... lately!” Traditionally, the gift for 75th anniversaries is diamonds. So my gift to you are two films about the search for precious jewels. Yes, it’s time for Episode 75 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. This time round, I am happy to welcome back as my guest, Donald McKinney, who has chosen as his selection the 1980s tongue in cheeky, postmodern Romancing the Stone, while I have chosen 1950’s MGM epic King Solomon’s Mines, both about a dangerous search for lost treasure.

And in this episode, we answer such questions as: What is it about the hair? Why did Diane English only have one screenplay produced in her lifetime? What does the name Quatermain mean? What did the critics misunderstand about Romancing the Stone when it first came out? Where does Valley of the Dolls come in? What does the phrase “romancing the stone mean”? What beat out King Solomon’s Mines for best picture? What’s the in joke about American Express Travelers Checks?

Meanwhile, check out The Real Short Box on most streaming platforms like Apple, as well as on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+real+short+box

Donald’s website Rumblespoon Productions as http://www.rumblespoon.com/wp/index/

The web series The Blue Beetle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6a-L7kUfdE

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss