Episode 711: Turkey Shoot (1982)

Special Guests: Roger Ward, Brian Trenchard Smith
Guest Co-Hosts: Heather Drain, Andrew Nette

Our #Shocktober2024 coverage heats up with a Patreon pick from Ellis Kish: Turkey Shoot. This 1982 cult classic from writer-director Brian Trenchard-Smith throws us into a dystopian nightmare set in the “futuristic” year of 1995. Steve Railsback and Olivia Hussey star as prisoners caught in a ruthless government’s clutches, where torture is just the beginning—the real terror lies in the deadly “Turkey Shoot.”

Heather Drain, Andrew Nette, and Mike dive into this savage satire with insights from Trenchard-Smith and actor Roger Ward, who share the gritty details behind this shocking tale of authoritarianism.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 711: Turkey Shoot (1982)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Turkey Shoot on Blu-Ray
Buy Alice Through The Multiverse by Brian Trenchard-Smith
Buy Adventures in the B-Movie Trade by Brian Trenchard-Smith

Music:
Original Score - Brian May

Watch:

Episode 690: Cool Hand Luke (1967)

Guest Co-Hosts: El Goro, Andrew Nette

Andrew Nette, El Goro, and Mike have no failure in communicating about Stuart Rosenberg's 1967 film, Cool Hand Luke.  Based on the novel by Donn Pearce, the film stars Paul Newman as the titular Luke.  He’s a former war hero who cuts the heads off of some parking meters and gets tossed onto a chain gang for his crimes.  There he joins a host of colorful convicts and sinister bosses mostly played by character actors.

We discuss the film and the book as well as highlighting some of Rosenberg's other directorial efforts. 

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 690: Cool Hand Luke (1967)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Cool Hand Luke by Donn Pearce
Buy Cool Hand Luke on Blu-Ray

Music:
"Plastic Jesus" - Flametrick Subs
"Tar Sequence" - Lalo Schifrin

Watch:

Episode 657: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)

Special Guest: Dianne Steinberg
Guest Co-Hosts: Agatha Luz, Andrew Nette

Agatha Luz and Andrew Nette join Mike on a special episode to discuss Michael Schultz's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a story of the dangers of fame set to the music of the music of The Beatles. The film stars the Brothers Gibb and Peter Frampton as innocents from Heartland, USA who get wooed by record producer B.D. (Donald Pleasence) and set against villains Mean Mr. Mustard and the FVB (Future Villain Band).

Singer Diane Steinberg who played femme fatale Lucy (of the Sky with Diamonds) discusses the making of the film and her illustrious career.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 657: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band on Blu-Ray
Buy the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Soundtrack
Listen to the Palette Swap Ninja's Pricess Leia's Stolen Death Star Plans
Buy Golden Throats 4: Celebrities Butcher the Beatles

Music:
Selections from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band soundtrack
"10 Got To Get You Into My Life" - Little Joe (Pesci)
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" - William Shatner

Watch:

Episode 656: The Big Fix (1978)

Special Guests: Jeremy Kagan, Roger L. Simon
Guest Co-Hosts: Jedidiah Ayres, Andrew Nette

Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to look at Jeremy Kagan's The Big Fix. Released in 1978, the film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Moses Wine, a radical in the '60s who’s now a down-on-his-luck detective who gets put on a case that takes him back to his old stomping grounds.

Author of the Moses Wine books (and so much more), Roger L. Simon joins us to discuss writing the film while Kagan talks about his career.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 656: The Big Fix (1978)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Read more about Moses Wine
Learn more about the The near Death and Life of Jeremy Kagan
Learn about Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8

Music:
Original Soundtrack - Bill Conti

Watch:

CONSPIRACY The Trial of the Chicago 8 from Jeremy Kagan on Vimeo.

2023 Holiday Gift Guide!

The Holiday season can be challenging to find the perfect gift for the movie-lover in your life. The Projection Booth is here to help with a gift guide that supports some of the folks that have been on the show.

Movies

• Arnold (1973)
• Benny's Bathtub
• Sex, Power, and Money: Films by Beth B
• Cinematic Journeys: Two Films by Juleen Compton
• RoboDoc: The Creation of RoboCop
• We Kill For Love
• The Cassandra Cat
• All My Good Countrymen
• Larks on a String
• The Party and the Guests
• Coach to Vienna
• Beauty and the Beast
• The Fifth Horseman is Fear
• Tomorrow I'll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea
• Distant Journey
• After Hours
• Rules of the Game

---

Books: Fiction

• California Bear by Duane Swierczynski
• Orphan Road: A Chance Novel by Andrew Nette
• Tech by Vincenzo Natali

---

Books: Nonfiction

• Return of the Jedi Unauthorized Timeline 1976-2023 by Justin Berger & Jamie Benning
• Conan the Barbarian: The Official Story of the Film by John Walsh
• I Want You Around: The Ramones and the Making of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School by Stephen Armstrong
• Melvin Van Peebles's Watermelon Man by Andrew Rausch
• Eyes Wide Shut: Stanley Kubrick and the Making of His Final Film by Robert P. Kolker and Nathan Abrams
  
  Listen to "Episode 605: Eyes Wide Shut Redux" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Junk Film: Why Bad Movies Matter by Katharine Coldiron
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Junk Film - Why Bad Movies Matter" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Harvard, Hollywood, Hitmen, and Holy Men: A Memoir by Paul W. Williams
  
  Listen to "Episode 634: November Men (1993)" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Killin' Generals: The Making of The Dirty Dozen, the Most Iconic WW II Movie of All Time by Dwayne Epstein
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Dwayne Epstein on "Killin' Generals"" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Sheldon Lettich: From Vietnam to Van Damme by Corey Danna
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Interview with Sheldon Lettich, Brian Thompson, & Corey Danna" on Spreaker.
  
  
• The Exorcist Legacy: 50 Years of Fear by Nat Segaloff
  Listen to "Special Report: Nat Segaloff on The Exorcist Legacy" on Spreaker.
  
  
• The Exotic Ones: That Fabulous Film-Making Family from Music City, USA - The Ormonds by Jimmy McDonough
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Jimmy McDonough on The Exotic Ones" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Act Naturally: The Beatles On Film by Steve Matteo
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Act Naturally: The Beatles On Film" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Lost Federations: The Unofficial Unmade History of Star Trek by AJ Black
  
  Listen to "Special Report: AJ Black on Lost Federations" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever by Matt Singer
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Matt Singer on Opposable Thumbs" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Hitchcock's Blondes: The Unforgettable Women Behind the Legendary Director's Dark Obsession by Lawrence Leamer
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Hitchcock's Blondes" on Spreaker.
  
  
• Cinema Ann Arbor: How Campus Rebels Forged a Singular Film Culture by Frank Uhle
  
  Listen to "Special Report: Frank Uhle on Cinema Ann Arbor" on Spreaker.

Episode 595: Nightmare Alley (1947)

Guest Co-Hosts: Samm Deighan, Andrew Nette

We continue #Noirvember 2022 with a look at Edmund Goulding’s Nightmare Alley (1947). Based on the novel by William Lindsay Gresham, the film stars Tyrone Power as Stanton Carlisle, a smooth operator at the carnival. He works his way through a trio of women and a string of jobs always looking for that next big score but always haunted by the howl of the geek.

Samm Deighan and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss the original and 2021 Guillermo del Toro adaptation.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 595: NIghtmare Alley (1947)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Nightmare Alley on Blu-Ray
Buy Nightmare Alley by William Lindsay Gresham
Buy Nightmare Alley (2021) on Blu-Ray
Buy Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley: The Rise and Fall of Stanton Carlisle by Gina McIntyre
Buy The Amazing Mr. X on Blu-Ray

Music:
"Nightmare Alley" - Maynard Ferguson

Watch:

Episode 546: Point Blank (1967)

Guest Co-Hosts: Jedidiah Ayres, Andrew Nette

Noirvember 2021 continues with a look at John Boorman's Point Blank. Released in 1967, the film was based on the 1962 novel by Donald Westlake writing as Richard Stark. The film stars Lee Marvin as Walker, a man who was betrayed by his wife and his best friend. Now he’s back, seemingly from the dead, and goes on a quest to kill his friend and get back the money he feels he’s owed.

Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss The Hunter, Point Blank, and the many cuts of Brian Helgeland's Payback.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 546: Point Blank (1967)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy Point Blank on Blu-Ray
Buy Payback: Straight Up on Blu-Ray
Buy The Hunter by Richard Stark
Buy The Hunter by Richard Stark and Darwyn Cooke
Buy Hard Sentences: Crime Fiction Inspired by Alcatraz
Visit The Violent World of Parker website
Read The Four and a Half Worlds of Parker by Mike White

Music:
"End Title" - Johnny Mandel

Watch:

Episode 543: The Mephisto Waltz (1971)

Special Guest: Jacqueline Bisset
Guest Co-Hosts: Rahne Alexander, Andrew Nette

#Shocktober2021 continues with a look at Paul Wendkos’s The Mephisto Waltz (1971). Based on the novel by Fred Mustard Stewart, the film stars Alan Alda as Myles Clarkson, a pianist turned author along with Jacqueline Bisset as Myles’s wife Paula who isn’t a big fan of Myles’s new friend, the crotchety professional pianist Duncan Ely (Curd Jürgens), who harbors a dark secret.

Rahne Alexander and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss the film, its similarities to Rosemary's Baby, and how this and other supernatural flicks paved the way to the '80s "satanic panic".

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 543: The Mephisto Waltz (1971)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Become a supporter of The Projection Booth
Buy The Mephisto Waltz on Blu-Ray
Buy The Mephisto Waltz by Fred Mustard Stewart
Buy The Mephisto Waltz soundtrack by Jerry Goldsmith

Music:
"A New Miles" - Jerry Goldsmith
"The Mephisto Waltz" - Franz Lizst

Sponsor:
This episode was brought you by Storyblocks

Watch:

Episode 505: White Sands (1992)

Special Guest: Daniel Pyne
Guest Co-Hosts: Andrew Nette, Jedidiah Ayres

Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to look at the 1992 neo-noir film from director Roger Donaldson, White Sands. The film stars Willem Dafoe as Ray Dolezal, a small town Sheriff who tries to solve the murder of a man in his jurisdiction by assuming the dead man’s identity and getting embroiled in a world of arms dealing,

We speak to the film's screenwriter, Daniel Pyne (The Hard Way, The Sum of All Fears, Where's Marlowe?) about the film's journey from page to screen.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 505: White Sands (1992)" on Spreaker.

Bonus Interview: Roger Donaldson

Listen to "Bonus Interview; Roger Donaldson" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy White Sands on Blu-Ray
Buy The Passenger on Blu-Ray

Music:
"The Passenger" - Siouxsie & The Banshees

Watch:

Episode 495: To Live & Die in L.A. (1985)

Special Guests: Willem Dafoe, M. Scott Smith
Guest Co-Hosts: Jedidiah Ayres, Andrew Nette

#Noirvember2020 concludes with a look at William Friedkin's To Live & Die in L.A. (1984). The film pits Treasury agent William Petersen as Richard Chance against Willem Dafoe as artist and forger Rick Masters. Based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Petievich, it’s an unexpected cat and mouse story bathed in the harsh light of Los Angeles.

Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss the film, Boiling Point, Wang Chung, and more.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 495: To Live & Die in L.A. (1985)" on Spreaker.

Bonus: More from M. Scott Smith

Listen to "Episode 495: To Live & Die in L.A. Bonus Interview" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy To Live & Die in L.A. on Blu-Ray
Buy To Live & Die in L.A. by Gerald Petievich
Read Wallace Stroby's interview with Gerald Petievich
Read ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’: The Intelligent, Authentic Thriller as One of the Highlights of Friedkin’s Career from Cinephilia and Beyond
Visit the Billy Petersen fansite

Music:
"The Red Stare" - Wang Chung
"City of Angels" - Wang Chung
"To Live & Die in L.A." - Wang Chung

Watch:

Episode 463: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

Special Guest: Shane Black
Guest Co-Hosts: Jedidiah Ayres, Andrew Nette

Released in 2005, Shane Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang stars Robert Downey Jr. as Harry Lockhart, a two-bit thief who lucks his way into a Hollywood audition which puts him on a very crooked path of playing a detective along with Val Kilmer as Gay Perry. The film pays homage to pulp detectives of old by way of the slick writing style of Black in his directing debut.

Andrew Nette and Jedidiah Ayres join Mike to talk about Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys, and more.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 463: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang on Blu-Ray
Buy The Nice Guys on Blu-Ray
Buy The Nice Guys novelization by Charles Ardai
Read more about Ike, Mike, & Mustard

Music:
"Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" - Akira Tana with Annie Sellick

Watch:

Episode 422: The Omega Man (1971)

Special Guests: Joyce Hooper Corrington, Mark Protosevich
Guest Co-Hosts: Andrew Nette, Maurice Bursztynski

Boris Sagal's The Omega Man (1971) stars Charlton Heston as Robert Neville — possibly the last man on earth after a plague which has killed the majority of the population, leaving pockets of albino mutants who can’t stand the sun. They're known as The Family and lead by the one and only Anthony Zerbe as Matthias. They've vowed to kill Neville if it’s the last thing they do...

Maurice Bursztynski and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss The Omega Man as well as the two other filmed adaptations of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend.

Joyce Hooper Corrington (The Omega Man) and Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend) discuss adapting Matheson's work for the screen.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 422: The Omega Man (1971)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy The Omega Man on Blu-Ray
Buy The Last Man on Earth on DVD
Buy I Am Legend on Blu-Ray
Buy Richard Matheson's I Am Legend Screenplay (Censored and Unproduced) by Richard Matheson (and Mark Dawidziak)
Read Looking back at The Last Man On Earth by Ryan Lambie
Read The Last Man on Earth: Drama of a Lifeless Ordinary by Steve Johnson
Read An Apple Store Employee Has Written the Follow-up to I Am Legend by Don Kaye
Read I Am Legend by John Logan
Read The Legend of I Am Legend by David Konow
Read The Best Films Never Made: Ridley Scott's I Am Legend by David Brake

Music:
"I Am Legend" - White Zombie
"The Omega Man" - Cash McCall

Watch:

Episode 353: Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

Special Guests: Max Allan Collins
Guest Co-Hosts: Kevin Heffernan, Andrew Nette

Based on the 1952 Mickey Spillane novel, Robert Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly (1955) stars Ralph Meeker as Mike Hammer, a hard-boiled gumshoe who gets dragged into a mystery involving a glowing case, duplicitous dames, and two-fisted violence.

Max Allan Collins, director of Mike Hammer's Mickey Spillane, talks about his career and working on Mickey Spillane's posthumous work.

Writer Andrew Nette and Professor Kevin Heffernan join Mike to discuss paranoia, the cold war, and much more.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Episode 353: Kiss Me Deadly (1955)" on Spreaker.

Links:
Buy Kiss Me Deadly on Blu-Ray
Buy Kiss Me, Deadly by Mickey Spillane

Music:
"Kiss Me Deadly" - Generation X
"Kiss Me Deadly" - Thee Jenerators

Watch:

Special Report: The Running Man (1987)

Special Guests: Steven E. de Souza, Kurt Fuller, George Linder, Rob Cohen
Guest Co-Hosts: Andrew Nette, Aaron Peterson

"WHO DO YOU LOVE!?"

Set in the distant year of 2017, The Running Man (1987) is set in a dystopian world where reality television rules the airwaves and the most popular show pits criminals against muscle-bound, spandex-clad "stalkers". Based loosely on a novella by "Richard Bachman" (AKA Stephen King), the film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards, a man framed as "The Butcher of Bakersfield" and thrown Running Man game, hosted by Killian (Richard Dawson), and featuring a cadre of killers including Jesse Ventura, Jim Brown, Professor Toru Tanaka, and more.

Andrew Nette and Aaron Peterson join Mike to discuss the film, its odd production history, and the resonance to today's world. We also discuss the work of Robert Sheckley and his influence on "people hunting people" films including The Million Game, The Price of Peril, The Tenth Victim and Freejack.

Listen/Download Now:

Listen to "Special Report: The Running Man (1987)" on Spreaker.

Interviews:
Music: "Planing the Escape" - Harold Faltermeyer
Steven E. de Souza, screenwriter: 54:00

Music: "Running Man" - Casio Social Club
Kurt Fuller, actor: 1:43:00

Music: "Buzz Saw" - The Gee Cee's
George Linder, producer: 2:21:00

Music: "Running Man (Rework)" - Brain Inc
Rob Cohen, executive producer: 2:29:00

Music: "Running Man" - The Greatest Band of All Time
Discussion 2: 3:07:00

Outro Music:
"Running Man / Hunger Games Musical Spectacular" - Jon and Al Kaplan
"ICS Sponsors Credits" - Harold Faltermeyer

Links:
Buy The Running Man on DVD
Buy The Running Man by Stephen King / Richard Bachman
Buy The Running Man soundtrack by Harold Faltermeyer
Read more about Rob Cohen's The Hurricane Heist
Listen to the Remake this Movie Right! podcast
Buy books from Andrew Nette
Listen to the interview with Harold Faltermeyer on the Beverly Hills Cop episode
Listen to our episodes on Battle Royale, Death Race 2000, Series 7: The Contenders, Rollerball, Freejack, and Punishment Park

Watch: