stevenjayrubin

Breaking Podcast News - Director Peter Hyams on "Capricorn One"

stevejayrubin@gmail.com (Steve Rubin) — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 16:58:22 GMT

Writer/Director Peter Hyams on "Capricorn One"

B REAKING PODCAST NEWS – I received such a positive reaction to my recent review of writer/director Peter Hyams’ 1978 hit “Capricorn One,” that I decided to look up the maestro himself, and, delightfully, he’s the featured guest on tonight’s podcast. It is rare that you get a chance to do a total deep dive into a classic with the man who created it from the ground up. And Peter doesn’t disappoint. “Capricorn One, ” with its glib dialogue and madcap action, has a lot of the zeal we associate with Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest.” It came at a time, post-Watergate, when conspiracy films were in vogue. Two years earlier “All the President’s Men” set a high bar in that category. Hyams talks about his fascination with the U.S. space program, how the project got off the ground, his inspired cast, the locations, and his relationship with the studio that released it. Here’s an Amazon link to Steven Jay Rubin’s Saturday Night at the Movies. As always, the latest episode should be up after 7pm Pacific. We’re also on the Spotify and Apple platforms.

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/bd2184d2-df42-4d3e-8d60-2bf5a856cfc0

Breaking Podcast News - Guy Manos and CineLogic

stevejayrubin@gmail.com (Steve Rubin) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 02:20:20 GMT

BREAKING PODCAST NEWS – I think it’s pretty axiomatic these days that film budgets on the large action and super-hero movies have run totally amok – and could probably feed small countries for a time. The studios and streamers, which can fund these mammoths are at a loss as to how to curtail runaway budgets. And then along comes Sam Manos and his take on Pre-Visualization Technology or Pre-Viz. This week’s guest on my podcast, Steven Jay Rubin’s Saturday Night at the Movies, Sam is a former champion skydiver and stuntman (“Last Action Hero,” “Clifffhanger”) who started a company called CineLogic to help companies pair down their skyrocketing production costs. Sam is a disrupter, and he feels strongly that movies that cost $200 million today could cost $20 million with proper preliminary work – involving extraordinary digital technology to re-configure production in a much more practical and organized way. How many directors come to the set without a specific plan to shoot action – using the filmmaking process as their laboratory – a practice that can lead to incredible waste and expense. Tune in for a quick education. Here’s a link – as always, this episode should be up by 7 P.M. PST. https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy83ZDAyYmViYy9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw?sa=X&ved=0CAMQ4aUDahcKEwjImoqP_532AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAQ&hl=en

A Raisin in the Sun

stevejayrubin@gmail.com (Steve Rubin) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 01:56:38 GMT

Sidney Poitier gives a killer performance in "A Raisin in the Sun" (1961)

SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – Sidney Poitier the Actor. Was there ever a false note on screen? I don’t think so. I’ve made a point lately of catching up on the filmography of certain actors. Poitier is one of them, and last week I happened upon “A Raisin in the Sun” for the first time. Based on Lorraine Hansberry’s Broadway play, and released in 1961, this riveting film stars Poitier as Walter Lee Younger, a young Chicagoan who makes his living as a white man’s chauffeur. He lives in a tiny South Side apartment with his mother, matriarch Lena Younger (an equally extraordinary Claudia McNeil), his wife, Ruth (a solid Ruby Dee), his college student sister, Beneatha (a feisty Diana Sands) and his young son, Travis (Steven Perry). As the story begins, the family is waiting for Walter’s late father’s insurance check - $10,000, that will change the lives of the Younger family. But there are conflicts. Walter – ready to leave the chauffeur life behind – wants to take a chunk of that money and join two friends in opening a liquor store. Mama Lena wants to buy a house so that the family can spread out. Beneatha needs tuition money to go to medical school, and wife, Ruth – well, she’s got a secret of her own. It’s no surprise that Sidney dove into this material – first starring in the play alongside most of the cast. He is a force and his conflicts with his Mother are strong scenes with layers of emotion. Joining the cast are two of Beneatha’s suitors – Ivan Dixon as her polished college friend from Africa, and Louis Gossett Jr., making his film debut as wealthy George Murchison. Watching this play to film adaptation was pure pleasure and I’m more of a Sidney Poitier fan than ever. Apparently, there was a feud on this set between Sidney and Claudia McNeil who felt that it was Mother Lena’s story, while Sidney thought it was Walter’s. Whatever the point of the view, both actors brought their A+ game, and the result is a film of stunning power. Sometimes, you don’t need a chariot race or a big musical number to keep an audience in their seats. Check this one out if you haven’t already.

Welcome!

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 00:15:38 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.