Author: A L Katz
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S2E28: “Crypt In London”
For it’s last season, HBO sent “Tales From The Crypt” to London. It was an amazing adventure. How could it not be? But (if we’re honest – and that is our stock in trade here) the Crypt team didn’t go to London strictly to refresh the franchise (which needed it, frankly). Crossing the pond helped…
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S2E22: “Let’s Get Lit!”
Ross Emery is both a director of photography and a cinematographer (we’ll discuss the differences). He and Gil worked together on two features – “Superman Returns” and “Valkyrie“. – both times as second unit director of photography. That’s another difference we’ll discuss during the podcast – the one between a “first unit” and a “second…
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S2 Bonus Episode – Our Visit To CreepIE-Con
Welcome to a special, bonus episode of the How Not To Make A Movie Podcast: Alan & Jason visit the CreepIE-Con horror convention! This past weekend was the Creepie-con horror convention in Ontario just outside Los Angeles. It’s not one of the big horror conventions, but being as it’s here in Southern California, it still…
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S2E20: “Charlie Fleischer Is In ‘Toon’ With The Universe”
If you don’t know Charlie Flesicher’s name, you know his voice. He’s the voice of Roger Rabbit. He’s appeared – in human form – on TV and in movies since the 70’s. We worked with Charlie on “Demon Knight” – the first “Tales From The Crypt” branded horror movie. He plays Wally Enfield. It’s been…
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S2E17: “Castle Of Horror”
The movie biz attracts all kinds. The horror biz attracts the most unusual among the movie biz. And those who succeed in the horror biz? They’re a truly special breed. The House On Haunted Hill… The Tingler… 13 Ghosts… These were all competently made horror movies. What made them noteworthy and keeps them noteworthy is…
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The LIVE DEAD EASY Table Read For Charity!
Coming Saturday, December 17 AT NOON PACIFIC TIME! The Charity – The Motion Picture Home (the MPTF). They’re a great organization that takes care of film and TV people in need. Our Stellar Cast: SEAN ASTIN JAKE BUSEY TIA CARRERE BRETT CULLEN JOHN KASSIR CHELSEA REBECCA LESLIE ZEMECKIS To Make Your Donation (it’s how you’ll…
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S2E11: “An Unexpected Journey”
Doing this podcast has been the ultimate unexpected journey. It all started when the Dads From The Crypt interviewed me for an episode of their podcast. The moment Jason Stein – one of the dads – told me the group’s franchise – reviewing Crypt episodes and giving parenting advice – they had me. And I…
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S2E8: Bill Sadler Is A Really Nice Guy
This conversation feels like a pair of comfortable slippers. It’s that warm and familiar.
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S2E4: “Steve de 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…
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S2E3: Casting About With Victoria Burrows
In this episode of “The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast: Horror Stories From The Movie Making Trenches”, we sit down with one of the biggest casting directors in the business, Victoria Burrows. Or, as we prefer to put it, we go “Casting About With Victoria Burrows”. In season one of “The How NOT…
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S2E2: “What’s Funny Is…”
With Guest David Brecher The creative process is entirely unpredictable. Even creatives who genuinely aspire to produce greatness every time out can’t predict that they will produce greatness. It’s always a crap shoot. So it is with podcasts as it is with movies and with TV shows. In this episode, Gil and I set out…
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S2E1: THE Crypt Keeper Interview
In this episode, the four people responsible for creating and producing one of the world’s most iconic characters discus how that happened. The cool part? We’ve never had this conversation together. Ever.
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The How NOT To Make A Movie Podcast: Promo #2
This is a story about movie-making told by movie makers. It’s about what happens when craftspeople find their craft suddenly turning into crap.
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Episode 10: Can We Talk Sequel?
I’ll close season one as a solo act with a few remaining “horror stories from the show business trenches”. I’ll tell more of those stories in Season 2! In this episode: a makeup special effects near disaster with actor Tim Curry playing three parts; how to tell an Oscar-nominated composer (Michael Kamen) you’re not happy…
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Episode 9: Joel Directs!
In this (bonus) episode we return to the cutting room floor for stories that didn’t make the cut but we don’t want you to miss. There are stories about Joel Silver directing an episode of “Tales From The Crypt”, George Burns, Joe Pesci, Academy Award winning director Eliot Silverstein and actor Joey Pantoliano.
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Episode 8: The Martini
The classic Martini is simple. Elegant. Ice cold gin or vodka with a whisper of vermouth. It’s the perfect end of the day cocktail. This episode will feature another kind of cocktail – a lively conversation wherein the Dads From The Crypt will interview Tales From The Crypt. Dads From The Crypt First, let me…
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Episode 7: Tales About “Tales”
Get a bunch of people together who worked on a project and they’ll have stories. That’s what this one is – backstage stories from “Tales From The Crypt”. How to describe the experience of making “Tales From The Crypt“… It was unique, for starters! Back in the 1990’s when we made Crypt, the feature world…
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Episode 6: “The Cutting Room Floor”
One of the cool things about podcasting is how granular you can get in the storytelling. Whatever the reasons I couldn’t or didn’t use this content in the story, I’m delighted that I can use it here. So many great stories, so little time in which to tell them all.
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Episode 5: “Endings Are Never Pretty”
How a movie starts is really important. How it ends though – how it sends its audience out into the night – is really, really important. The script for “Bordello Of Blood” had a perfectly acceptable ending. The Hollywood sausage-making process that put Bordello on the screen however had no ending. Put in horror movie…
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Episode 4: “Special Effects”
Nothing is more important to a horror movie than its makeup special effects. Ironically, we live and die by the quality, the craftsmanship, the authenticity and the sheer OMG-ness of how well we re-create the illusion of gore. That’s where this episode begins: we’ve realized that our local makeup special effects team – talented and…
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Episode 3: Welcome To Vancouver/Can We Go Home Yet?
There’s something inherently hopeful about starting a feature film or TV show. A team of strangers comes together to make something they all believe in. And then there’s “Bordello Of Blood”. Where a team of strangers got together – and simply got “stranger” with each other. In Episode 3, we settle in for the long…
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Episode 1: Sausage Making, Hollywood Style
Our story begins… How Universal pulled the plug on Dead Easy (a project we all loved and looked forward to making) and had us make “Bordello Of Blood” instead – a film not a single one of us wanted to do.
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Episode 2: “How Not To CAST A Movie”
Casting, it’s been said, is ninety percent of any director’s work. Get the casting right and life is easy. Get it wrong though and even “Citizen Kane” can turn into “Plan 9 From Outer Space”.
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Preview: “When Coming Attractions ‘Kill’!”
Now, why (you might ask), would anyone care about a mediocre little horror movie that came out a thousand years ago? Well, in addition to the fact that “Tales From The Crypt Presents Bordello Of Blood” still makes the cable TV rounds every Halloween – like a movie monster that won’t die – it stands…