Monday, August 1, 2022

NinetyForChill: The #Podcast - "The Producers" (1967) - A Guide to Punting Proud Boys

NinetyForChill.com: The #Podcast

Episode 77: "The Producers" (1967) - A Guide to Punting Proud Boys (And Michael Dubois's Dream of Holographic Gene Wilder).

The Producers 1967 - A Guide to Punting Proud Boys

July 19, 2022
Michael Dubois returns to NinetyForChill: The #Podcast to continue their tribute to the late great Gene Wilder with 1967's "The Producers". It only seems fitting to revisit Mel Brook's motion picture debut in honor of his recent 96th birthday. This feature is Cool Movie Darth's favorite from the auteur, but Michael would have preferred Nathan Lane's presence. What the two do agree on: We need more mocking of the Far Right via cinema.

Allow me to get out of third-person. Happy Prof. Shurtleff of Illinois Central College? I (CM Darth) will try not to make so much light of violent death in this summation. This is my declaration of changing perspective.

So...I am not waiting till the last minute to get this post completed. What is another lost day off? "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" is in my library. There will be a day when it will finally be played.

To my credit, I have at least figured out how to make these blog posts relatively concise. There is a chance that I will be ably to enjoy the rest of this Sunday. Too bad it has to be cut short since my early shifts always seem to come the day following my scheduled days off.

Sleeping in is something my cats graciously allow me. The result is I responsibly only get 10 hours to fuck around. Do employers consider that some people like to stay up late and do stupid things with their time? Sorry that I have chose not to procreate. Somethings you do not have to out grow.

It is having late nights that allow me to find and truly appreciate classic cinema. This is especially true when you lived with a girl for the better part of four years who did not like Mel Brooks. You would think that Ally from Ally's Accessories Shop on Etsy would appreciate all of the musical numbers. Thankfully Michael Dubois does.

If anything, Michael missed the lack of them from Mel Brook's feature debut. He first saw the 2005 adaptation of the Broadway musical adaptation of this 1967 movie which famously had Nathan Lane portray scheming producer Max Bialystock. @GentleThemE on Twitter preferred the friendlier take on this lead role over Zero Mostel's return to Hollywood after the Black Listing from McCarthyism. I think adding context to the importance of this casting may have softened Michael's take. From there, we talk about the feature and my inquiries about whether or not the 2005 remake was comparable in quality.

1967...2005...we are talking about a movie that tells the tale of producing a play guaranteed to fail with songs that glorify Adolph Hitler. Because we are in 2022, it ends up being very easy for us to go on plenty of antifascist tangents. This gives Michael the forum to preach about how mocking them is the key for the Western world to survive.

If you need more backing behind this revelation, check out the videos of Lindsey Ellis on YouTube.

As I was pulling the above video from her channel, it opens with a statement about how people try to use "Mel Brooks did this" as a blanket statement for poor satire. Not what I was hoping for, but it serves as a great transition into other elements of the podcast we discuss. From mocking Proud Boys to trying to understand them and how they misinterpret cinema like "Fight Club" and "American History X". I am surprised that I did not ask about how Edward Norton is somehow the Neo-Nazi ideal.

The two of us ended up talking for over two hours, so this recording will be divided into two parts. I imagine it will get more political. That is what I look forward to when I have Michael as a guest. By the 1:30 mark, I am sure the language will finally get explicit, so next week may not be appropriate for kids. Actually, I can guarantee that.

After FanExpo, I watched "Jay and Silent Bob Reboot". Since the theatrical run was based around a tour showing the feature off, there are no green band trailers. Thus, to do it justice, you have to deal with a lot of cursing.

I guess my final word for part one is that if you do not like the politics on the pod, my next guest wants to talk about "They Live". Gregory Carl Gathmann may focus on Roddy Piper and wrestling chatter, but you cannot avoid the Reagan bashing that comes with John Carpenter's greatest satire.

If you want to end the politicization of my movie podcast, follow the instructions below.

Follow me on Twitter @catbusruss. If you want to be on the show, contact me on Twitter or send an email to russthebus07@gmail.com. All we need is a theme, movie, director, or actor and a focus on sub 100-minute material. As long as the credits start before the 1:39:59 mark on the runtime bar, the movie qualifies.

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The Undrafted and Wrongfully Drafted

"Bull Durham" was not drafted on the Baseball Draft (A film that can only be drafted at #1)
"No Fear of a Black Hat" on the Fictional Band Mini-Mega Draft
The entire George Lucas Draft
"The Birdcage" instead of "La Cage Aux Folles" on the Drag Draft
"Road Trip" was not even mentioned during the Road Trip Draft
"Major League" instead of "Drop Zone" on the Wesley Snipes Draft
"Black Swan" instead of "Mermaids" on the Wynona Ryder Draft
"Akira" instead of "Ghost World" on the Comic Book Movie (Non-Super Hero) Draft. Tetsuo is a Supe.
"Now You See Me" instead of "Diggstown" on the Con Artist Movie Draft
"The Onion Movie" instead of "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask" on the Sketch Comedy Anthologies Draft
"The Big Lebowski" not being marked eight on the Coen Bros. Draft
"Labrynth" or "Dark Crystal" not receiving the number 1 or 2 spot in the Jim Henson Draft
"Stage Fright" on the Giallo Draft. It is a slasher despite the presentation.
"Assault of Precinct 13" and "Prince of Darkness" Instead of "Escape from New York" and "The Thing" on the John Carpenter Draft
"Con Air" instead of "US Marshalls" and "Universal Soldier" instead of "Time Cop " on the 90's Action Draft
"WarGames" instead of "Spies Like Us" on the Cold War Draft
"Traffic" instead of "Side Effects" on the Steven Soderbergh Draft
"Fight Club" instead of "The Virgin Suicides" on the 1999 Draft ("Suicides" made the Actor Directorial Debut Draft)
Any Kirk Douglass instead of "The Shining" being on the Kubrick Draft
"Return of the Jedi" instead of "Tokyo Drift" on the Threequels Draft (there's only one "Return," okay, and it ain't "of the King," it's "of the Jedi.")

Deserves a Second Chance

Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).

I find the DC movies, or at least Zack Snyder, was trying to bring comic books to the big screen as opposed to adapting comic books for the big screen. If you read, (or watch the excellent animated adaptation of) "The Dark Knight Returns", it is a very slow build to the battle between the Bat and Supe. This is regarded as one of the best threads in comics.

As a guy who fell in love with wrestling in the 1980's, the very methodical showdown is what I loved. It's a love letter to comic book fans who read and note every detail and want to try figuring out the plot before the character do. Come at the flick this way, and I think you will get something out of it.

Tropic Thunder (2008)

This is a feature that dares you to be offended. When director Ben Stiller is that forthcoming like Robert Downey Sr. was with 1969's "Putney Swope", an audience saying that something is in poor taste, hence not funny, means they are afraid to make a mockery of a concept.

My own experience with junkies bankrupting me allows me to thoroughly enjoy Jack Black's making addiction seem ridiculous. Robert Downey Jr. nails his taboo performance and I would say helps the call for actors from a demographic to be the first people called on for the roles representing them. As for the "Forest Gump" knock off jokes, they serve as a way to ridicule us for what we accepted (and encouraged) as fine a decade prior. The narrative that controls the pace in the second act can drag, but the content that is delivered cannot be cut.

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