EPISODE 119 - Maximum Overdrive: LIVE!

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I didn't see if anybody else addressed this yet, but you guys made Breaking Bad references in this episode yet neglected to mention Gus Fring was in the film.

 

Giancarlo Esposito was the teenager that gets electrocuted in the arcade!

So you didn't even bother to look at the first page of the thread where there's a picture of him?

[SeanM.Corkery 16]

Nope. The first page is the last page when you look via safari on the mobile site. I read back a few but didn't see it.

[AdamTaylor 3]

Was this movie the prequel to "Cars"?

[EricFusco 0]

Two reasons for why the Russian "weather satellite" was able to fend off the UFO attack: the rogue machines we saw in the movie were all in AMERICA, so they spoke ENGLISH. And if science fiction TV shows and movies have taught us anything it's that all aliens speak English (and if they are really advanced, with British accents).

 

The "weather satellite" spoke Russian, so it was unable to understand the commands of the aliens and therefore could fend off their attack - unlike the American "weather satellites"!

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

Was this movie the prequel to "Cars"?

"Cars" is far more terrifying. Those fuckin' eyes, man...

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

 

According to Blake Harris's Oral History, Stephen King screened movies for the crew with his own running commentary. The original Godzilla and...wait for it...Night of the Living Dead.

I live in Evans City, PA, ground zero of the zombie universe, and I've heard alllllllllll the stories about that movie between every horror documentary, zombie documentary, and DVD commentary. Even if THIS guy was sitting right next to me telling me about the making of that film as I watched it, I just might scream in his face. On this particular evening though, he may have been talking about "Creepshow"...

[taylor anne photo 11311]

MATHS TIME!!!

 

Bit of talk on the podcast on the refueling scene and how everyone was flaking out. To put in in perspective,

• A Truck Stop of this size will hold on average 45,000 gallons of diesel onsite (not including back up tanks)
  
• Your average mid-sized 18 Wheeler will hold 290 gallons of diesel
  
• This means there is enough fuel to top up 155 trucks
  
• With a high flow pump, it would take on average 15 mins to top up each truck.
  
• Not counting for changeover of trucks, that makes 2325 mins (38.79 hours) of total fueling time
  

Given that it appears they are running 4 pumps at the same time during the epic fueling montage, that accounts for 9.7 hours at the pump.

 

 

In 90-100 degree weather, that puts them at extreme risk of heat related illness (heat stroke or heat exhaustion). This makes this the most accurate and well thought out scene in the whole movie. Probs ran out of coke that day.

 

TLDR. Fueling trucks in 95 degrees for nearly 10 hours. Emilio flaked out from heat stroke.

So if there was no mention of UFOs or comets ever in the movie we could have explained everything by simply saying Emilio was hallucinating from dehydration and heat exhaustion and none of that really ever happened.

 

Then the last scene could have just been him from everyone else's point of view and he is just ranting about living trucks and waving guns at everyone in the diner.

[Lando 2019]

Would Maximum Overdrive had been better if Nickolas Cage wrote it?

 

It would have to be the Bad Lieutenant Nick Cage.

[RyanSz 3140]

So, uh, sorry if this has been said already, but apparently Stephen King's first choice for the role that went to Emilio Estevez was - Bruce Springsteen?

That makes sense since King is a huge rock and roll fan, I think he still owns a rock station up in Maine. And in his drug addled mind he must have felt he was making the most American movie ever so who else would he cast but Springsteen?

 

Also, since today is King's birthday, has anyone from Earwolf emailed this to him as a birthday present?

[DanielaForcucciOsborne 2]

The sprinklers aren't machines, but maybe they are on timers.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Here are a few things that came to mind watching the movie, nothing Earth shattering, but things that bugged me nonetheless.

 

1) Brett: "You sure make love like a hero."

 

In general, is anyone else grossed out by the term “make love?” I think the only people who can pull this off are people with super sexy accents. For some reason, coming from an American mouth, that term has always given me the creeps. I honestly prefer the terms “fuck,” “sex,” or simply “do it.” “Make love” has always sounded so skeezy to me… like something a high school boy will say to his girlfriend when he’s trying to convince her “it will make our love stronger.”

 

2) I’m throwing up a gif on this one even though it’s not the greatest quality (shocker!), but Yeardley Smith’s reaction upon arriving to the truck stop and finding it surrounded by a school of semi-trucks bugged the shit out of me.

 

 

Sure, maybe going to the Dixie Boy might not have been the soundest of plans (and trying to get in to once you see it’s surrounded even less sound), but she seems to take particular delight in the fact that it is currently being swarmed by a school of killer, sentient trucks. Does she really need to “Ha Ha Ha” him? Maybe don’t give your husband shit because his plan of finding safety for you turned out to be a bust? He’s doing his best. What do you want him to say, “Congratulations, you were right--I guess we’re both going to die now?”

 

3) Lastly, when the Little League coach offers to buy the entire team sodas, I had a real problem that he only puts two coins in the vending machine. Look, I’m not sure how much sodas were in the mid-eighties, but I’m willing to bet it was more than the amount he put in the machine. What a cheap fuck. “Way to go with the win, fellas. Here--you guys can share A coke.” And yes, I get how pockets work and coins are small. I’m just saying that anytime I’ve gone to a vending machine with the intent of buying multiple items, I usually carry all of the money in my hands ready to go. In a film full of questionable acting, I’m just saying that, in my opinion, that the nameless Little League coach didn’t really seem to be owning his role as “Man Who Buys Soda for a Little League Team.”

[RossBoyask_33102 0]

If someone has already mentioned this then my bad, but the guys made a breaking bad joke and then didn't mention that the guy who gets killed by the pinball machines is played by Giancarlo Esposito aka GUS FROM BREAKING BAD!!! I thought for sure this would get mentioned.

[Cameron H. 23786]

If someone has already mentioned this then my bad, but the guys made a breaking bad joke and then didn't mention that the guy who gets killed by the pinball machines is played by Giancarlo Esposito aka GUS FROM BREAKING BAD!!! I thought for sure this would get mentioned.

 

[RyanSz 3140]

Here are a few things that came to mind watching the movie, nothing Earth shattering, but things that bugged me nonetheless.

 

1) Brett: "You sure make love like a hero."

 

In general, is anyone else grossed out by the term “make love?” I think the only people who can pull this off are people with super sexy accents. For some reason, coming from an American mouth, that term has always given me the creeps. I honestly prefer the terms “fuck,” “sex,” or simply “do it.” “Make love” has always sounded so skeezy to me… like something a high school boy will say to his girlfriend when he’s trying to convince her “it will make our love stronger.”

 

2) I’m throwing up a gif on this one even though it’s not the greatest quality (shocker!), but Yeardley Smith’s reaction upon arriving to the truck stop and finding it surrounded by a school of semi-trucks bugged the shit out of me.

 

 

Sure, maybe going to the Dixie Boy might not have been the soundest of plans, (and trying to get in to once you see it’s surrounded even less sound) but she seems to take particular delight in the fact that it is currently being swarmed by a school of killer, sentient trucks. Does she really need to “Ha Ha Ha” him? Maybe don’t give your husband shit because his plan of finding safety for you turned out to be a bust? He’s doing his best. What do you want him to say, “Congratulations, you were right--I guess we’re both going to die now?”

 

3) Lastly, when the Little League coach offers to buy the entire team sodas, I had a real problem that he only puts two coins in the vending machine. Look, I’m not sure how much sodas were in the mid-eighties, but I’m willing to bet it was more than the amount he put in the machine. What a cheap fuck. “Way to go with the win, fellas. Here--you guys can share A coke.” And yes, I get how pockets work and coins are small. I’m just saying that anytime I’ve gone to a vending machine with the intent of buying multiple items, I usually carry all of the money in my hands ready to go. In a film full of questionable acting, I’m just saying that, in my opinion, that the nameless Little League coach didn’t really seem to be owning his role as “Man Who Buys Soda for a Little League Team.”

Yeah Yeardley needed to desperately die in this movie but a coked up Stephen King wasn't making the most sound decisions at that point. Also, I almost think that Curtis was legit fed up with her shit at that moment and was trying to kill them both, if not just her. It was sort of "I'll show you bitch, we're getting in there or we're going to die trying so I don't have to hear your yammering anymore."

 

As for the baseball coach, I get why he only pulled out $.50 for the machine because as a kid playing little league, I remember those things were never the most reliable, at either giving you your soda or giving you your change. So the coach was being cautious by trying to get a can at a time and not lose all or most of his money if the machine was faulty.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

1) Brett: "You sure make love like a hero."

 

In general, is anyone else grossed out by the term “make love?” I think the only people who can pull this off are people with super sexy accents. For some reason, coming from an American mouth, that term has always given me the creeps. I honestly prefer the terms “fuck,” “sex,” or simply “do it.” “Make love” has always sounded so skeezy to me… like something a high school boy will say to his girlfriend when he’s trying to convince her “it will make our love stronger.”

I agree. I hate that phrase, but mostly because I think of it as an old person's euphemism (as in, like, my grandparents' age). So it weirds me out when younger people say it.

 

If someone has already mentioned this then my bad, but the guys made a breaking bad joke and then didn't mention that the guy who gets killed by the pinball machines is played by Giancarlo Esposito aka GUS FROM BREAKING BAD!!! I thought for sure this would get mentioned.

It's almost like it did ON THIS EXACT SAME PAGE. Jesus.

[RyanSz 3140]

Oh and if you're looking for Maximum Overdrive on the cheap, you can get it on Amazon in a double feature DVD with Raw Deal starring Schwarzenegger for 15 bucks.

[RyanSz 3140]

If someone has already mentioned this then my bad, but the guys made a breaking bad joke and then didn't mention that the guy who gets killed by the pinball machines is played by Giancarlo Esposito aka GUS FROM BREAKING BAD!!! I thought for sure this would get mentioned.

[DavidCooper 11]

I think that the machine gun mounted army car makes a lot less sense than even the sprinklers. I am about as knowledgeable in military vehicles as June is in sharks, but I would imagine that they would mount the gun on that pole by a simple swivel with something like ball bearings. There would be nothing mechanical or electrical connecting the gun to the car. Invisible aliens would really be the only thing that would explain away everything.

 

The military vehicle was kind of mind boggling ... I was looking at it wondering who the hell could drive this thing as there was no seat, and the the peddles were like just a foot or so below the flatbed. But it does appear to be a legit military vehicle (U.S. Military M274 Truck, Platform, Utility 1/2 Ton, 4X4) though I think they slapped on the machine gun and the seat appears to be missing.

 

 

There is no way this is a practical mobile machine gun. anyone standing and firing on this thing is only held on by their grip on the gun which looks like it's wobbly is F*CK. Not to mention firing it will be expelling lots of brass on the deck of the platform making turning and pivoting to attack a different target a real treat.

[DavidCooper 11]

So let's take it back a bit, the people at the Dixie Boy Truck Stop represent the many faces of God. They represent Love, Bravery, Loyalty, Justice, Injustice, Capriciousness, Innocence, and Anger.

You forgot ... Lunacy, idiocy and sloppy shits

[Joven 373]

 

The military vehicle was kind of mind boggling ... I was looking at it wondering who the hell could drive this thing as there was no seat, and the the peddles were like just a foot or so below the flatbed. But it does appear to be a legit military vehicle (U.S. Military M274 Truck, Platform, Utility 1/2 Ton, 4X4) though I think they slapped on the machine gun and the seat appears to be missing.

 

 

There is no way this is a practical mobile machine gun. anyone standing and firing on this thing is only held on by their grip on the gun which looks like it's wobbly is F*CK. Not to mention firing it will be expelling lots of brass on the deck of the platform making turning and pivoting to attack a different target a real treat.

 

So, I too was baffled by that stupid thing and looked it up the other day, and yes it is a legit military vehicle. As its name M274 Mule would imply its mostly for transporting things, but was also fitted with rocket launchers occasionally. Haven't really seen anything outside of Maximum Overdrive to suggest it would have had a machine gun mounted on it, as it wouldnt be a frontline thing, so its really an odd vehicle to try and use and have it make sense. Like a freakin Willy's Jeep would have probably been way easier to obtain, more common, cheaper and made more sense to have a machine gun on it, and people are really used to seeing military jeeps with machine guns on them in movies. Clearly they chose it simply because it was easier to hide all the remote control shit, and just going with "eh, its olive drab and it has a gun, close enough, people will get the idea."

 

Also, not sure if its been brought up, but since the gang were making Breaking Bad jokes, that guy in the arcade who said "yo mama"...was electrocuted because he put his hand on an arcade cabinet which would have been made of MDF and plastic which would be non-conductive. My immersion, ya'll.

[MattPunchman 3]

did anyone else notice Laura Harrington's hair goes from wavy to perm after having sex with Emilio Estevez?

[DanNicholson 83]

So if there was no mention of UFOs or comets ever in the movie we could have explained everything by simply saying Emilio was hallucinating from dehydration and heat exhaustion and none of that really ever happened.

 

Then the last scene could have just been him from everyone else's point of view and he is just ranting about living trucks and waving guns at everyone in the diner.

 

I would 100% see that ending. Let's crowdfund 10 grand, score a couple 8-balls and find Stephen King for some reshoots.

 

[zmbabwe 7]

Correction and Omission:

 

The shot of Earth at the beginning of the movie is backwards. The horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula are pointing West instead of East.

What they did was reverse the famous "Blue Marble" photograph of Earth taken by the astronoauts on Apollo 17.

[StoopidChris 16]

The sprinklers aren't machines, but maybe they are on timers.

Pretty sure they were the type of sprinklers you just attach to a garden hose. The water pressure is what makes them sprinkle. I take this to mean that any man-made thing with even one moving part is a "machine" and subject to murderous sentience.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Pretty sure they were the type of sprinklers you just attach to a garden hose. The water pressure is what makes them sprinkle. I take this to mean that any man-made thing with even one moving part is a "machine" and subject to murderous sentience.

 

 

Technically, anything on the graphic below was up for grabs. I would have loved it if Emilio had been killed by an inclined plane...