Verbal Diorama

It was a fever dream while making Piranha II: The Spawning that gave James Cameron his idea for a terrifying metal endoskeleton crawling through flames. From that initial idea, he would write a draft, and with the help of Gale Anne Hurd, he would have a script that would sell to Orion, and funding from Hemdale Film Corporation.

That script was called The Terminator. Made for a comparatively tiny $6.5 million, The Terminator would surpass all expectations, including that of Orion, and of its star Arnold Schwarzenegger, in a role that he'd admit in later life was his personal favourite character.

With practical effects by Stan Winston Studio and Fantasy II, a tightly paced story and taking inspiration from slasher horror, The Terminator terminated the competition on its release in October 1984. It created a franchise, created a star and created a director.

Come with me if you want to listen...

I would love to hear your thoughts on The Terminator !

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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

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Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian M, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Jason, Ian D, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, and brand-new patrons Kev and Pete!

BRAND-NEW Merch STORE!!

T-shirts inspired by The Mummy (1999) with more collections to come!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy for his patron thoughts. You can find him @geeksaladradio on Twitter and his podcast Geek Salad on all your podcast apps.

Derek for his patron thoughts. You can find him @derekjones198 on Twitter and his podcast The Midnight Myth on all your podcast apps.

Zo for his patron thoughts. You can find him @backlookcinema on Twitter and his podcast Back Look Cinema on all your podcast apps.

and to Nicholas and Ian for your Patron thoughts too!

Twitter peeps

• @HarrymetMovies
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Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio

This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.

I'll be back!

Animation Season returns... with one of Pixar's most important movies, and one with a prescient message.

Andrew Stanton had pitched an idea about the last robot on earth back in 1994. It would take eight years for the project to materialise properly, and was originally conceived as Robinson Crusoe and The Last Man on Earth, becoming a Planet of the Apes-style humans-as-aliens reveal, before its robotic love story blossomed, and along with it, a stark warning for the future of humanity, our reliance on AI, and a suggestion that following your "directive" might not be the ideal choice to make.

He never intended to make any political statements about environmental issues or climate change. And he never intended for WALL-E's design to look like Johnny 5.

He did, however, fully intend to use the songs of Hello, Dolly!

I would love to hear your thoughts on WALL-E !

CONTACT....

• Twitter @verbaldiorama
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• Facebook @verbaldiorama
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• Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com
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SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review

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ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA

Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio

Patrons: Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Stu, Brett, Philip, Michele and brand-new patron Xenos!

Mentioned in this episode:

Paid promotions in this episode

This episode contains a paid Patron promotion for Middle Class Film Class, hosted by patron Pete.

Auguest continues!

Snootch to the motherf**king nootch! Verbal Diorama returns for another guest hosted episode for probably the best movie writer/director Kevin Smith has ever made - DOGMA.

There's no pleasure, no rapture, no exquisite sin greater than being joined for Dogma by the human embodiment of the Buddy Christ, Andy from Geek Salad, for his Holy Trinity of guest appearances. He has a penchant for the dramatic, but unlike other fallen angels, he won't kill you for your sins.

Kevin Smith tapped into his lapsed Catholicism and wrote an ambitious, controversial and theologically actually-rather-respectful; reverent, yet irreverent story.

You people! If there isn't a movie about it, it's not worth knowing, is it?

Andy (aka Perennial Commenter Andy!) hosts Geek Salad along with regular contributors Mike, Katherine and Joe. You can find their back catalogue of brilliant episodes in your podcast app of choice, and they're on Twitter as @geeksaladradio

I would love to hear your thoughts on Dogma!

GET IN TOUCH....

• Twitter @verbaldiorama
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• Facebook @verbaldiorama
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• Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com
• Website verbaldiorama.com

SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review

Join the Patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian M, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Jason, Ian D, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete and Heather

BRAND-NEW Merch STORE!!

T-shirts inspired by The Mummy (1999) with more collections to come!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

• Andy, for being awesome and coming on!

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio

This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.

Heroes Through the Decades ass kicks into the '90s, with Wesley Snipes' cool, charismatic badass vampire hunter - Blade!

In 1971 the Comics Code Authority updated its code criteria, which had been in place since 1954, relaxing the rules on the depiction of horror in comics. For the first time, vampires were allowed in comic books. Marvel's first pseudo-vampire character, Morbius the Living Vampire sowed the seeds for the second; Blade the Vampire Hunter.

Wesley Snipes was originally interested in making an adaptation of Black Panther before his attention was piqued with a movie adaptation of Blade. In many ways, it feels like the character of Blade was made for Wesley Snipes, and he not only decided to star in Blade, but also produce it through his production company Amen Ra Films. Snipes was literally and figuratively invested in this production.

Snipes, along with writer David S. Goyer (who fought against studios trying to whitewash the character) and director Stephen Norrington, formed a trifecta of creative passion for Blade; for his story, the homage paid to Hong Kong action films and to make this story as bloody, gory and fun as it could be.

Insert very '90s techno rave music here. IT'S BLOOD RAVE TIME!

I would love to hear your thoughts on Blade (1998) !

GET IN TOUCH....

• Twitter @verbaldiorama
• Instagram @verbaldiorama
• Facebook @verbaldiorama
• Letterboxd @verbaldiorama
• Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com
• Website verbaldiorama.com

SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review

Join the Patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian M, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Ian D, Sunni and Drew

BRAND-NEW Merch STORE!!

T-shirts inspired by The Mummy (1999) with more collections to come!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Andy for his patron thoughts. You can find him @geeksaladradio on Twitter and his podcast Geek Salad on all your podcast apps.

Scott for his patron thoughts. You can find him @MSMRpod on Twitter and his podcast Monkey See Monkey Review on all your podcast apps.

Ian and Brendan for your patron comments too!

Twitter peeps

• @HarrymetMovies
• @Kevhaney
• @chancewhitmore5
• @UKFilmNerd
• @anightmarepod
• @AlonzoTheArtist
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• @Stuntgoat75
• @FantayziaR
• @Johnathanblade

Instagram folk

• @sassylassy76

Facebook chums

• Andy T
• Tony M

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio

This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.

There's (a little more than) One More Sleep 'Til Christmas, and with a Thankful Heart, it's time for Verbal Diorama to give some festive love to The Muppet Christmas Carol, so It Feels Like Christmas, finally!

Starring Kermit, Miss Piggy, Statler and Waldorf, The Great Gonzo as Charles Dickens, Rizzo the Rat as himself, and the inimitable Michael Caine in his career-defining role as Ebenezer Scrooge, The Muppet Christmas Carol is not only one of the greatest adaptations of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, but also one of the greatest Christmas movies ever made, and this year it celebrates its 30th anniversary with a remastered version on Disney+, complete with the "lost" song "When Love is Gone".

But out of over 150 adaptations of A Christmas Carol over the decades, how is the Muppet version so faithful to the source material, and why does it continue to endure? It's a story of loss, grief and redemption, and that's just the behind-the-scenes of this movie.

The YouTube video by dress historian Abby Cox I refer to in this episode is here

I would love to hear your thoughts on The Muppet Christmas Carol !

GET IN TOUCH....

• Twitter @verbaldiorama
• Instagram @verbaldiorama
• Facebook @verbaldiorama
• Letterboxd @verbaldiorama
• Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com
• Website verbaldiorama.com

SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....

Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review

Join the Patreon

Thank you to all the patrons Simon E, Sade, Claudia, Simon B, Laurel, Derek, Vern, Kristin, Cat, Andy, Mike, Griff, Luke, Emily, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Ian, Lisa, Sam, Will, Jack, Dave, Chris, Stuart, Sunni, Drew, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Tyler and BRAND-NEW PATRON Jonathan.

BRAND-NEW Merch STORE!!

T-shirts inspired by The Mummy (1999) with more collections to come!

EPISODE THANKS TO....

Most excellent patrons:

Laurel for her patron thoughts. You can find her @TheMidnightMyth on Twitter and her podcast The Midnight Myth on all your podcast apps.

Mike and Andy for their patron thoughts. You can find them @geeksaladradio/@gundam_guyver on Twitter and their podcast Geek Salad on all your podcast apps.

Pete for his patron thoughts. You can find him @TheRealPEEEETE on Twitter and his podcast Middle Class Film Class on all your podcast apps.

and Nicholas, Ian and Brendan for their Patron comments, too!

Twitter peeps

• @nobodyasked4pod
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• @weneededroads
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Facebook chums

• Vikki
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E-mail pals

• Shed

Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song

Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe

Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!)

Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio

This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.