S2E5: Steve de Souza Has Even MORE Of A Story

10/19/22 • 114 min

Steve de Souza has even more stories to tell and they’re epic.

This episode picks up where E4 left off. And then it gets even more epic. Listening to episode 3 is not mandatory. It wouldn’t hurt, but this one stands on its own. It’s a big episode in more ways than one. It covers a lot of incredible territory from the making of classic feature films “48 Hrs” and “Die Hard” to “Commando” to “Streetfighter”. Steve de Souza has a story (or two or three).

If you’re a fan of the movie “Die Hard”, this episode is going to make you smile. For starters, Steve takes us way behind the scenes on the making of this classic movie. “Die Hard” is a bona fide classic. The National Film Registry selected “Die Hard” (along with 824 other films) “for preservation because of their cultural, historical or aesthetic significance”. If you had told Steve – or anyone involved in making “Die Hard” – that people would even remember it 30 years later, they’d have been thrilled. More to the point, if you had told them that “Die Hard” would be some peoples’ go-to Christmas movie? They’d have wondered what you were smoking. It wouldn’t even be legal now.

Is “Die Hard” A Christmas Movie?

Steve’s erudite, fully researched (he’s got bells and whistles!), mini-presentation compares “Die Hard” to “White Christmas” and asks the question “which one is the real Christmas movie?”

The “Die Hard” vs “White Christmas” comparison chart. Which movie’s the real Christmas movie?

That part of the podcast would be worth the price of admission (if we charged any).

Dads From The Crypt

In keeping with its epic status, the interview also features our friend JASON STEIN (of Dads From The Crypt) joining the interview firing squad. With Jason aboard, we talk about Steve writing and directing “Streetfighter” and working with actor Raul Julia on his last feature film (before succumbing to stomach cancer in 1994). We’ll also talk about Steve’s work on “Tales From The Crypt”.

Crypt fans and aficionados consider Steve’s episode – “Carrion Death” – among the very best episodes ever. Jason has questions.

Finally, Steve will fill us in on what he’s working on now. Since he got here, Steve’s been one of the busiest people in all of Show Biz. He never stopped.

It’s EPIC!

Among the cast of characters in this episode: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Kyle McLachlan, Sheena-Queen-of-the-Jungle and even ELON MUSK! Working at the peak of the entertainment industry can put a person in contact with almost anyone.

As we said – an epic episode with an epic guest. If you love movies and moviemaking, this is both a treat and a master class. We repeat what we said: Steve de Souza has a story.

Steve de Souza has even more stories to tell and they’re epic.

Is “Die Hard” A Christmas Movie?

The “Die Hard” vs “White Christmas” comparison chart. Which movie’s the real Christmas movie?

That part of the podcast would be worth the price of admission (if we charged any).

Dads From The Crypt

Crypt fans and aficionados consider Steve’s episode – “Carrion Death” – among the very best episodes ever. Jason has questions.

Finally, Steve will fill us in on what he’s working on now. Since he got here, Steve’s been one of the busiest people in all of Show Biz. He never stopped.

It’s EPIC!

As we said – an epic episode with an epic guest. If you love movies and moviemaking, this is both a treat and a master class. We repeat what we said: Steve de Souza has a story.

Previous Episode

S2E4: “Steve de Souza Has A Story”

Steve da Souza Has A Story

In this episode of “The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast”, we sit down with a master storyteller: writer/director/producer Steve de Souza. You may not know Steve’s name, but you definitely know his work: 48 Hrs, Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Commando, Streetfighter, Judge Dredd, Beverly Hills Cop 2. Steve practically invented the modern action picture. He’s one of a handful of writers in the “Two Billion Dollars Club”. Those are writers whose collective work has brought in over two billion bucks. Steve’s made a lot of people a lot of money telling a lot of stories. Funny thing is? You’ll never hear another story like Steve’s. Steve de Souza has a story all right!

The Crypt Angle

Gil and I first met Steve when he wrote and directed an episode of “Tales From The Crypt” during our first season on the show. In “Carrion Death”, Kyle Maclachlan plays a murderous bank robber who’s on the run after a heist goes bad. He tries to escape a relentless motorcycle cop who chases him across the desert. It’s pretty much a one-man show; Kyle’s very good. For Steve, it was one more highlight in a career filled with them.

The Genesis Of A Jewmaican

In this, part one of our interview with Steve, he’ll tell his own genesis story including why he refers to himself as a proud “Jewmaican”. You and I may have family histories, Steve has a family saga that includes a pirate. Did we mention that Steve de Souza has a story?

We’ll follow Steve from the moment he realized he wanted to be a movie maker to the moment he began to achieve it. He epitomizes the “anything can happen” nature of show business like few others. There’s no better illustration than Steve’s first week in LA. He went from zero to sixty in record time. It’s a hell of a story!

Before he became one of the screenwriting gods, Steve conquered television. He wrote for The Gemini Man, The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman, V, Super Carrier and Knight Rider. TV taught Steve to be quick and good. And how to tell all kinds of stories.

So, settle in for Part One of a real treat as Steve de Souza tells his story.

Check em out!

Next Episode

S2E6: “How NOT To Make A (Monster) Movie”

Gil Adler, Alan Katz & Todd Masters talk movie monsters.

Welcome to our Halloween podcast – How NOT To Make A (Monster) Movie. One of the masters of movie make up special effects is our very good friend Todd Masters. We’re sure you remember Todd vividly from Season One of The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast. Todd became Tales From The Crypt’s permanent in-house effects guy starting season four. He created the monsters in Demon Knight – now considered a classic horror movie. And, when our talented but inexperienced special effects team in Vancouver began to crash and burn, Todd was the reinforcement we sent to save the day. Todd Masters really is a movie monster master.

If you like monster movies – if you like special effects period – you’ll enjoy the hell out of this conversation. For starters, we talk a fair amount of “Tales From The Crypt”. How could we not? Todd talks about some of his very favorite make up effects from Crypt. One he’s especially proud of? Steve Buscemi’s squished eyeball in the “Forever Ambergris” episode.

Of High Stakes & Butt Steaks

Sometimes it can be “murder” getting a make up special effect to work right. Great effects take time and money – which, unfortunately, one doesn’t always have in the heat of production battle. There’s a very real “seat of the pants” element to makeup special effects – even great ones. The stakes are always high.

We’ll also talk about working with directors like William Friedkin, Bob Hoskins, Walter Hill, Bob Zemeckis, Larry Wilson, Gary Fleder and the under-appreciated but incredibly talented Bill Malone.

Roger Daltrey asks “Where’s my nose?”

Where do these ideas come from? What makes otherwise normal people obsess on depicting gore so it looks utterly real? To that end, we’ll talk how Todd crafted some of Crypt’s most exquisitely gory effects – like the squished eyeball, the tattoo that comes to life in “On A Dead Man’s Chest” and the “butt steak” from “What’s Cookin”.

Todd will also talk a little about his work on “Yellowjackets”.

Ultimately, this is a conversation between old friends, talking shop. And monsters. Enjoy!