Episode 153 - Escape from L.A.: LIVE!

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Hey that's a thing. I was thinking about the hologram projector that they go out of their way to say can only be used once (sure, okay) because of its battery life and whatnot. But it's projecting an image over a long distance, into the exact middle of this clearing where Snake is pretending to recover from the helicopter crash. But he's then ringed with guys with guns, so where is the beam of light projecting? Not even a flicker (I guess I'm thinking 'Star Wars' holograms). What if someone walks between the beam and the target? Surely that would give the game away? Maybe it's no beam at all, but some kind of astral projection, okay, sure.

 

But - and this happens at the beginning when the military bozos are talking to Snake too - the holograms are interacting with the real humans as though they're right in front of them. And can hear every word that's said to them. If Snake's a half mile away at the end, he shouldn't be able to quietly converse with the people in the clearing. And he looks from person to person, even though he has no visual point of reference.

 

What I want is a reverse angle version of that stand-off scene that features Snake by himself in a wooded area performing this scene all by himself as though he's really over in the other place. That's a scene we're entitled to, damn it.

[Smigg 1488]

Possible alternative to the paywall which could both bring in money for old episodes without having to pay for content you're not gonna use.

 

Charge per episode, something reasonable like 50c for an episode, that way, you're paying for only what you want.

[Chainsaw Starring Nic Cage 95]

I think Blake Plisskin's biggest crime, and this is only speculation on my part, is that he didn't know who Jason was. I think he's just a giant Snake Plisskin fan, and came not knowing what HDTGM was. Then trying to throw out the joke didn't help his case. *cue sad finger guns gesture*

[Cameron H. 23786]

Hey that's a thing. the hologram projector that they go out of their way to say can only be used once (sure, okay) because of its battery life and whatnot. But it's projecting an image over a long distance, into the exact middle of this clearing where Snake is pretending to recover from the helicopter crash. But he's then ringed with guys with guns, so where is the beam of light projecting? Not even a flicker (I guess I'm thinking 'Star Wars' holograms). But - and this happens at the beginning when the military bozos are talking to Snake too - the holograms are interacting with the real humans as though they're right in front of them. And can hear every word that's said to them. If Snake's a half mile away at the end, he shouldn't be able to quietly converse with the people in the clearing. And he looks from person to person, even though he has no visual point of reference.

 

What I want is a reverse angle version of that stand-off scene that features Snake by himself in a wooded area performing this scene all by himself as though he's really over in the other place. That's a scene we're entitled to, damn it.

 

[Chainsaw Starring Nic Cage 95]

I can offer some unique insight here as I owned the DVD and I listened to the commentary for the ENTIRE FILM WITH JOHN CARPENTER AND HIS CO-WRITER KURT RUSSELL. They basically said that they conceptualized and wrote this film as a parody of the first film, and 80's films that were similar. The film was supposed to be a series of gags that sent up the original in a fun way for the fans. It was, according to Carpenter, a comment on how the genre was dead. The studio apparently (and according to Carpenter and Russell) did not understand and re-cut the film to remove key dialog and other elements to make the film come across as more serious and an actual effort in the genre. Still though...was that just an excuse cause they saw how bad it was? They also mentioned they wanted a running gag referring to a second unseen film, escape from cleveland, so that this film would be the third in the series--referencing the many trilogy's from the 80's.

 

Commentaries with Carpenter and Russell are the best. They're always just shooting the shit like two great friends and almost never directly talk about the movie itself. Usually it comes in passing. This is usually how it goes:

 

JC: So, I really like this shot. Our cinematographer was great. *takes drag of his cigarette*

KR: Hey, How's your son's hockey team doing this.

JC: Pretty good! Cody scored two goals last week. *takes drag of his cigarette*

KR: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

JC: *takes drag of his cigarette*

 

If I could, I'd do a whole DVD of just their commentaries.

[Chainsaw Starring Nic Cage 95]

I don't know what the context of this comment is, but I fucking love Zombi (as well as Goblin). My favorite album from Zombi remains 'Spirit Animal.' Check it out, kids! Get that spacey prog weirdness!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txj7UBJi0Is

 

To turn you onto other awesome synthwave bands that rose up inspired by Goblin and Carpenter's work, you can't go wrong with Carpenter Brut. He's really dark and does amazing work. (Would post a video, but I'm not allowed to, apparently.)

[Chainsaw Starring Nic Cage 95]

90% of the time, during the live QnA, people get up there, say they have a question, and then make a statement.

 

Tim Curry Guy isn't having that, though.

 

"This isn't a question so much as it's a statement: would Kurt Russell be as famous without that hair?"

 

Proving that nobody at the live shows knows what a question is, and I love it.

 

I immediately thought "THAT'S NOT A QUESTION, ASSHOLE!!!" and was waiting for one of the hosts to say it (Jason, cough cough).

[Chainsaw Starring Nic Cage 95]

Thought: How many socket lockets do we need to sell to remove the paywall? We can all go door-to-door like weirdo Girl Scouts.

 

Ding Dong, Howdy Scouts calling.

 

[Cameron H. 23786]

So, like, I get that every toothless degenerate in LA and their mother recognizes Snake from the Police Channel--he's an extremely charismatic dude with a handsome profile, a killer mane, and a penchant for killing people in spectacular ways. However, what I have a hard time believing is that when Snake Plissken is being debriefed on his mission at the beginning of the movie, he doesn't recognize the fucking President. Y'know, Snake--he's just the man that--as a result of correctly prophesying that a major catastrophe would befall LA--was just elected lifetime ruler of America! The man whose oppressive theocratic regime has directly led to your arrest and exile to the Island of the Crazies. Yeah. That guy. Seriously, Snake? Is your fucking other eye glass or something, because that's just goddamn unacceptable.

[Cameron H. 23786]

Just a couple of other quick thoughts regarding the beginning of the movie.

 

As he's walking through the hallways, a person over the P.A. states that "You now have the option to repent of your sins and be electrocuted on the premises." I'm sorry, but are my tax dollars really going toward extravagant electrocutions for the dregs of society. Maybe they wouldn't be in such Hellish dystopia if they learned how to manage their economy a little bit better. I'd be calling for impeachment.

 

In order to get Snake to do their evil bidding, they tell him that he is been infected with a deadly virus. When he responds with incredulity, to prove that he is already infected, they tell him, "It's already moving through your bloodstream. Go on-touch that pad..." Snake walks over to the pad, places his hand on it, and on the screen in front of him (with zero magnification or explanation of what he's looking at) there's an x-ray of his hand. I mean, there's certainly something flowing through his veins (probably blood) but what does a goddamn microscopic virus look like? I mean, I guess Snake sees something there as he basically glances at the screen, nods his head, and is like, "Yup, this all checks out..." And off to the races we go!

[Chainsaw Starring Nic Cage 95]

So, like, I get that every toothless degenerate in LA and their mother recognizes Snake from the Police Channel--he's an extremely charismatic dude with a handsome profile, a killer mane, and a penchant for killing people in spectacular ways. However, what I have a hard time believing is that when Snake Plissken is being debriefed on his mission at the beginning of the movie, he doesn't recognize the fucking President. Y'know, Snake--he's just the man that--as a result of correctly prophesying that a major catastrophe would befall LA--was just elected lifetime ruler of America! The man whose oppressive theocratic regime has directly led to your arrest and exile to the Island of the Crazies. Yeah. That guy. Seriously, Snake? Is your fucking other eye glass or something, because that's just goddamn unacceptable.

 

I don't remember the scene that well, but knowing Snake, saying he didn't know who the President was was probably more him being super sarcastic. He seems to like getting under peoples' skins.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

I don't remember the scene that well, but knowing Snake, saying he didn't know who the President was was probably more him being super sarcastic. He seems to like getting under peoples' skins.

 

I thought the same thing, but if that's the case, that sarcasm needed to be acted about 90% more.

[RyanSz 3140]

In the same vein, why the fuck doesn't he just reload? Or pull either of his other guns out to shoot them? Like, he just goes, "Okay! Into this hole now!" If he had been on a platform carrying him downward or something so that he just didn't have time to do anything else, it would have made sense. But he literally just gives up when nothing happens to them.

He in fact does reload his gun literally the next moment later when he gets down the ladder, though he is surrounded by armed guards. Also Snake has blades on his person so what is to stop him from chucking one of those at their smug throats?

 

In order to get Snake to do their evil bidding, they tell him that he is been infected with a deadly virus. When he responds with incredulity, to prove that he is already infected, they tell him, "It's already moving through your bloodstream. Go on-touch that pad..." Snake walks over to the pad, places his hand on it, and on the screen in front of him (with zero magnification or explanation of what he's looking at) there's an x-ray of his hand. I mean, there's certainly something flowing through his veins (probably blood) but what does a goddamn microscopic virus look like? I mean, Snake obviously sees something there as he basically glances at the screen, nods his head, and is like, "Yup, this all checks out..." And off to the races we go!

One thought that popped into my head was what if Snake is a disposable mercenary, to where he is sent in for a seemingly suicide mission, and upon completion he is neutralized and put into a suspended state of animation until he's needed again. While there is usually an immediate fallout from Snake screwing over his handler's, him being put on ice saves them from the extended damage of what he could do while free. In the time between missions, his status as an all around badass and uber-soldier grows similar to the mystique behind Keyser Soze.

 

Snake even believes it himself so as to give him enough confidence to complete his task while also giving him the impetus to complete the task if he thinks that he will be free after finishing his job. The idea sort of popped in my head after watching Officer Downe which features a cop who is repeatedly killed on the job only to be resurrected by the department, and he has no idea that it's happening so as to keep him dedicated to the job and focused on his tasks.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

One thought that popped into my head was what if Snake is a disposable mercenary, to where he is sent in for a seemingly suicide mission, and upon completion he is neutralized and put into a suspended state of animation until he's needed again.

 

 

So they "Winter Soldier" his ass? I like it!

[Grand Moff Talkin' 20]

Correction & Omission

 

At the end of the podcast D'Arcy mentioned that if this film got made today it would probably work. Well, in 2012 there was a film produced by Luc Besson called Lockout starring Guy Pearce as Snow, a Plisskin-like ex soldier locked up for a crime he didn't commit who was promised a pardon in exchange for rescuing the president's daughter from an orbiting space station prison. It's really awesome.

 

 

 

 

I call this a remake because John Carpenter sued Besson citing Lockout was a rip off of Escape from New York and a French judge ruled in Carpenter's favor and awarded him, the co-writer and studio $95,000. Well, Besson thought it was horseshit so he appealed. The appellate court not only upheld the previous judge, but upped the damages to $500,000!

 

I saw Lockout in the theater and enjoyed it but it did seem like a lost Snake Plissken tale.

 

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Correction & Omission

 

At the end of the podcast D'Arcy mentioned that if this film got made today it would probably work. Well, in 2012 there was a film produced by Luc Besson called Lockout starring Guy Pearce as Snow, a Plisskin-like ex soldier locked up for a crime he didn't commit who was promised a pardon in exchange for rescuing the president's daughter from an orbiting space station prison. It's really awesome.

 

I call this a remake because John Carpenter sued Besson citing Lockout was a rip off of Escape from New York and a French judge ruled in Carpenter's favor and awarded him, the co-writer and studio $95,000. Well, Besson thought it was horseshit so he appealed. The appellate court not only upheld the previous judge, but upped the damages to $500,000!

 

I saw Lockout in the theater and enjoyed it but it did seem like a lost Snake Plissken tale.

 

Well....it's like Escape if Snake Plisskin was a thoroughly unlikable, misogynistic dildo. I usually like Guy Pearce, but god did I hate that movie.

[NundercoverBrother 174]

Y'all

 

Nicole Byer just posted on Instagram that she is going to be a guest at next weekend's 10PM show

 

Put her on the HDTGM All Star Mount Rushmore next to Nick Kroll, Paul F Tompkins and Thomas Lennon

[ZARATHUSTRA 245]

Y'all

 

Nicole Byer just posted on Instagram that she is going to be a guest at next weekend's 10PM show

 

 

God she was funny in the Bloodsport episode. We need more!

[ZARATHUSTRA 245]

Just a couple of other quick thoughts regarding the beginning of the movie.

 

As he's walking through the hallways, a person over the P.A. states that "You now have the option to repent of your sins and be electrocuted on the premises." I'm sorry, but are my tax dollars really going toward extravagant electrocutions for the dregs of society. Maybe they wouldn't be in such Hellish dystopia of they learned how to manage their economy a little bit better. I'd be calling for impeachment.

 

Very true.

 

That line is just there because they didnt want the same line from the first movie verbatim. in the first film it's "You now have the option to terminate and be cremated on the premises." I feel like they wrote this movie by annotating the original script with post it notes that said "BUT THIS TIME...."

 

Snake inflitrates New York in a glider BUT THIS TIME HE'S UNDERWATER IN A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE AND WE CAN EVEN USE EXACTLY THE SAME SHOT BUT MAKE IT LOOK WAY LESS COOL.

 

Fun Fact: In the first movie they didn't have enough money for the wireframe effects of NY in the glider, so they made scale models, put reflective tape on the edges of buildings and shot it with black light. Somehow the computer generated ones in 1996 look worse and they probably spent the entire budget of the first film on it.

 

[ZARATHUSTRA 245]

Possible alternative to the paywall which could both bring in money for old episodes without having to pay for content you're not gonna use.

 

Charge per episode, something reasonable like 50c for an episode, that way, you're paying for only what you want.

 

The podcast has done well without the paywall so far. If they are stretched for money they could ask. Hell the epsiodes are hosted on soundcloud, it doesnt cost that much for the actual earwolf server. i think any restriction on spreading the podcast is a bad idea. Really an ideal solution would be Patreon. The Best Show did it and they make $20,000 a month from patrons. HDTGM has way more dedicated fans than the Best Show, so they could easily make alot of money with no ads, no paywall, no pricing and no network. I would give money on Patreon happily. I wouldnt pay for Howl, nor would i pay per episode. I agree with what someone said earlier. This is a network decision and HDTGM has a big voice within earwolf. It has one of the largest communities and listenerships. If there's no blowback for this then its just gonna happen and thats a fucking terrible idea for listeners and for the podcast. I'd pay to keep the podcast free. I wouldnt pay to keep it for myself.

[Cam Bert 8145]

In order to get Snake to do their evil bidding, they tell him that he is been infected with a deadly virus. When he responds with incredulity, to prove that he is already infected, they tell him, "It's already moving through your bloodstream. Go on-touch that pad..." Snake walks over to the pad, places his hand on it, and on the screen in front of him (with zero magnification or explanation of what he's looking at) there's an x-ray of his hand. I mean, there's certainly something flowing through his veins (probably blood) but what does a goddamn microscopic virus look like? I mean, I guess Snake sees something there as he basically glances at the screen, nods his head, and is like, "Yup, this all checks out..." And off to the races we go!

 

There are two things I find odd about the whole thing too. First, the woman who infects him scratches the back of his hand. This would leave one to assume the first place to be infected would be the back of his hand. Rather it seemingly starts in his finger. How does that work? I'm no expert in how the blood flows through the body but is there a single vein that goes from the back of your hand to your index finger? Also, if this toxin is introduced to his body by entering his blood stream via the scratch why does it start at a finger and spread out? Your blood flows through your body. It's not like the blood in your hand is confined there. Should we also assume his other extremities are infected as well?

 

Then again, what if touching that device is what activates the virus and that's why it all starts in his finger and spreads out from there.

[Cameron H. 23786]

 

Then again, what if touching that device is what activates the virus and that's why it all starts in his finger and spread out from there.

 

[Jack Frost 252]

 

God she was funny in the Bloodsport episode. We need more!

 

100% agree. All that stuff about not giving up that dick game was SO funny!

[tomspanks 9039]

 

There are two things I find odd about the whole thing too. First, the woman who infects him scratches the back of his hand. This would leave one to assume the first place to be infected would be the back of his hand. Rather it seemingly starts in his finger. How does that work? I'm no expert in how the blood flows through the body but is there a single vein that goes from the back of your hand to your index finger? Also, if this toxin is introduced to his body by entering his blood stream via the scratch why does it start at a finger and spread out? Your blood flows through your body. It's not like the blood in your hand is confined there. Should we also assume his other extremities are infected as well?

 

Capillaries.

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

i just finished it .. wow .. i have so many questions .. its 0030hrs here now so the episode will have to wait till tomorrow ... hopefully most of them get addressed cause it was a mess. or as we say around here ... its a LANGER of a movie ... that's a really juvenile joke that i might explain tomorrow and ill probably apologise for it then too but right now i'm giggling cause i'm really tired

 

i just remembered this post and that i'd explain it .. i called it a LANGER of a movie because of A.J. Langer's (or should i say the countess of devon's?) surname. I never really knew her name but she was listed second in the credits and when i saw that it was Langer i gave out a little giggle .. you know the type of stupid giggle when you see something and you're really tired and you know it's really juvenile but you just cant help yourself ... i'll get to the point

 

the area i'm from is known for it's slang and one of the more famous words is Langer (pronounced Lang - er .. as in Bang - er). it has 3 meanings ..

 

1. Langers - drunk e.g. "Yer man was falling around langers last night" meaning he was so drunk he was finding it hard to even stand

2. Langer - Annoying/foolish person or anyone you don't like e.g if someone says/does something that annoys you "You're some langer bouy!" ... so that's why this movie was some langer

3. Langer - Penis e.g. the ball hit me square in me langer .. got hit by a ball in the groin area

 

well i did say this was juvenile ... but it got me laughing afterwards because it reminded me of a joke we used to tell as kids.

 

the golfer Bernard Langer was at the top of his game when i was a kid and when the British/American commentators said his name they pronounced it "Long - er" ... that's probably the correct pronunciation but not here .. to us he was Bernard Lang-er

 

so the joke went and i'm sorry about this:

 

"What happened Bernard Langer when he played in America?"

"His Lang-er became Long-er"

 

now i know that's not funny but when we were kids and with our cork accents and pronunciation ... we were on the floor laughing

 

i hate this song but it is the only video i could find with a pronunciation close to a real cork accent. even though it's more of a piss take i'll just use it for illustrative purposes ... i tried to share it at the word Langer so you don't need to listen to the rest of it's awfulness . around the 28 second mark

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1m9SsNxbZxM&feature=youtu.be&t=28s