POP ART: Episode 25, The Running Man/The Most Dangerous Game

10/05/20 • 46 min

“I don’t do requests.” Is there someone in your life you wish wasn’t? Maybe a group of people? Or maybe you’re just plain bored? I have a solution—how about taking up...hunting? Sounds like the perfect time for Episode 25 of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic side of cinema with a connection to it. This time my guest, writer and film critic, influencer and book reviewer, Hermione Flavia chose the perhaps bit too relevant Arnold Schwarzenegger dystopian action film The Running Man and I chose the pre-code adventure classic, The Most Dangerous Game, both films about men hunting men for sport. And in this episode we answer such questions as: What are the major differences between the films and their source material? Who is the first recorded black person to play a white character in film? Who are the saving graces of each film? What was Richard Dawson’s condition for doing The Running Man? How relevant is The Running Man to the world today? And where does The Family Feud and Scooby Do come in? What is pre-code? And what is it about those fashions? And have a look at Hermione’s blog at wildfiremotionpictures.com.

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POP ART: Episode 24, Hell or High Water/Bonnie and Clyde

“They’re young, they’re in love and they kill people.” Running low on cash? Need some extra pocket money? Or have you realized that banks are just an evil institution that deserve no quarter? The perfect time for Episode 24 of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic side of cinema with a connection to it. This time, my guest, film enthusiast, writer and blogger Kira Comerford, chose the modern day western Hell or High Water and I chose the game changing Warren Beatty/Faye Dunaway classic, Bonnie and Clyde, both films about bank robbers. And in this episode we discuss such issues as: How do you make characters who do bad things interesting or likeable to the audience; what is a Dale Dickey and would you want to be one; what is the double meaning in the title Hell or High Water; what major change did they make to Clyde Barrow’s character and why then did C.W. Moss’s character make no sense; why is Bonnie and Clyde one of the most important movies ever made; what do the three crosses signify; and many more.

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POP ART: Episode 26-Back to the Future/La Jetee

“Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads.” Is there something about this time period that just isn’t working for you? Wouldn’t you love to travel in time and do something to fix things? Like the apocalypse? Or maybe to stop your parents from making an absolute mess of everything? Sounds like the perfect time for Episode 26 of Pop Art, the podcast where my guest chooses a movie from popular culture and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic side of cinema with a connection to it. This time, my guest, writing coach, trainer and narratologist Dimitri Vorontsov chose the immensely popular time travel movie from filmmaker Robert Zemeckis, Back to the Future, and I chose the experimental, art film La Jetee from avant garde French filmmaker Chris Marker, both about going back in time to events earlier in their or their parent’s youth. And in this episode we answer such questions as: Which scene from BTTF is the funniest when seen in a Russian movie theater? Which one made Dimitri cry? What is the main difference between La Jetee and Twelve Monkeys? What is the inciting incident in BTTF and does it break all the rules of modern day film structure? What does Greek tragedy, Christianity and film noir have to do with these films? What is it with French intellectual cinema? Is BTTF racially insensitive? How does Donald Trump fit in and are we living through Back to the Future II? And check out Dimitri’s new screenwriting contest and websites: https://superstarscreenwriters.com/?fbclid=IwAR32Uul-DVYSsjy6l94Nl5B6dd6d1kP7nRAim7jtCy6JtBhOhkGLueh6IE0, https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuperstarScreenwriters/