I Dig Crazy Flicks with @CatBusRuss
Episode 246: John Carpenter Month: You Listen. 'They Live' with Gregory Carl - Part 1
CatBusRuss is dedicating this week to the film that truly opened him up to the works of "The Horror Master" John Carpenter. This was a frequent post WCW Nitro/Thunder movie back during the Monday Night Wars. Featuring Keith David and Rowdy Roddy Piper, our host does not consider it the best Carpenter flick, but it maybe his favorite. If David had a role in "Big Trouble in Little China", it may not be able to claim that title.
Russ is joined by Gregory Carl. He may not have been the ideal guest because there are a lot of wrestling tangents that come out. This should have been expected since Russ is an underemployed pro-wrestler and Gregory was an aspiring pro-wrestling podcaster. Of course they were going to honor the legend of the Kilted One. If it was not for that, this conversation would probably have been a one a one episode endeavor.
Gregory was Zooming in via a Motorola Stylus phone (This is a conversation from 2022.), so his audio is a little choppy. His points are still made, but our host may not have been able to remove all of his guest's R-rated language. But if its not audible, did it actually get said?
To add a little more Carpenter to the mix, CatBus has finally gotten around to the last film that he directed, "The Ward" from 2010, starring Amber Heard. Our host is sympathetic to this actress after Johnny Depp defamed and essentially blackballed her from Hollywood. Is she enough to carry a film that Carpenter directed, but did not score or pen?
On Thursday, November 20, "I Dig Crazy Flicks" will further investigate what a John Carpenter movie is along with concluding this conversation about "The Live".
Episode 247 - John Carpenter Month: We Podcast. 'They Live' with Gregory Carl - Part 2
![They Live (1988) [903 1336] by Nick Charge](https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/47/94/ac/4794acba4354975d1b0db1ca45bb40a0.jpg "https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/47/94/ac/4794acba4354975d1b0db1ca45bb40a0.jpg")
This is the conclusion of CatBusRuss and Gregory Carl's conversation about the most politically-minded movie from The Horror Master John Carpenter, 1988's "They Live". Being a film that stars Rowdy Roddy Piper, these two marks (an underemployed wrestler and a wrestling podcaster) will have their pro-wrestling tangents, but they have paid enough attention to the film to recognize the actor/stuntman legend Al Leong and the use of props from far more renowned films. Let's go bust some Reagan policies.
Russ also suggests how Kevin Smith maybe Generation X's incarnation of Carpenter, at least in terms of directorial style. Our host may have suggested this in the podcast about "Big Trouble in Little China", but its good to run this concept by another cinema aficionado. There may not be many action films in the Jersey guy's filmography, but "Tusk" and "Red State" show he has a grasp on horror. A completed the "Great White North" trilogy is something that CatBus and Greg are hoping for.
Smith is primarily comedic director, so it seems appropriate to attach a review of Carpenter's sci-fi comedy "Memoirs of an Invisible Man". Again we are made to ask, "Is this a Carpenter flick?" Regardless of how Carpenter it is, if he can handle James Woods, surely he can manage divas Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah.
