Episode 218 - Deadfall (w/ Chelsea Peretti)

[Cameron H. 23786]

HDTGM All-star Chelsea Peretti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) joins Paul, June, and Jason to discuss the 1993 Nicolas Cage film Deadfall. Recorded live in front of an unhinged audience at The Wiltern in Los Angeles, they talk about the other Deadfall film, deadfall definitions, Cage’s Tony Clifton inspired performance, cake, and so much more. Plus, they touch upon the sequel Arsenal, in which Nicolas Cage reprises his role as Eddie King.

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[Cameron H. 23786]

I made you all a thread you little couch monsters

[i'll hold the mike 165]

With its measly box office performance Deadfall debuts at number 2 on the least profitable HDTGM movies list. Only The Room has done worse, and only those two films earned less than one percent of their budget back at the box office.

Also, I'm very concerned that I too did not hear about this movie until this episode dropped. Are we perhaps in a Berenstain Bears Scenario, and living in an alternate universe of previously undiscovered 1990s Nicolas Cage movies?

[iamSGA 21]

Another great example of a “deadfall” is from Predator when Arnold is trapped in the woods. 

He kicks the trap and and all the large trees fall onto the predator—ultimately leading to its demise. 

[i'll hold the mike 165]

Apropos of nothing, I'd like to see a deepfake with Tall's face on Arnold Schwarzenegger's body

[grudlian. 4725]

43 minutes ago, i'll hold the mike said:

With its measly box office performance Deadfall debuts at number 2 on the least profitable HDTGM movies list. Only The Room has done worse, and only those two films earned less than one percent of their budget back at the box office

It's kind of a shame that boxofficemojo.com doesn't keep track of The Room still. There are midnight shows selling out around the country every week. If we're going to keep track of Avatar or End Game re-releases, it seems fair that the presumably millions The Room has technically made should be counted as well. 

[i'll hold the mike 165]

Also also, now that I've seen HDTGM live shows I enjoy mimicking Jason's movements when he's introduced on a live show: flipping the double bird to an invisible audience screaming "ZOOOOOOOOOOKS"; picking up an imaginary microphone and tapping it to make sure it's on; and then shouting "WHAT'S UP JERKS! How we doing, (name of city)?"

[iamSGA 21]

1 hour ago, i'll hold the mike said:

Apropos of nothing, I'd like to see a deepfake with Tall's face on Arnold Schwarzenegger's body

we're close to it now. maybe someone will old face him too while they're at it

[E.Lerner 111]

Now that we know what an actual deadfall is, have we gotten any closer to identifying what it means in the context of the movie?

It does sound like the name of a con pulled from Tim Robinson's box of gangster movie props, but I'm pretty sure both Jameses Coburn call the con they pull with Biehn something else.

I guess it could be a reference to the meta-con, since Biehn gets trapped in it after he thinks his father is dead, and is pulled in further by falling in love with the plant. The utter stupidity of that as an explanation actually makes me think I might be on the right track here.  

[JesseBaritz 4]

In the scene where Diane holds Eddie (Cage) at gunpoint in the hotel, you can see over the room’s set walls! (Runtime 54:13)

I was in the audience for the live show, raising my hand to bring this up, but Paul gave me a nod and walked right past me

[SeaSkunk 212]

Maybe it's called Deadfall because he fell for his dad being dead? (Which was a kind of a trap...)

[Joe C. 7]

 

There’s actually a song called Deadfall based on this movie.  It’s from the metal/hardcore punk band Snot on their album Get Some.  I actually heard this song back in high school, but never knew what it was about until I saw clips of Nicolas Cage’s crazy performance on youtube and eventually watched the movie.  

 

The song essentially tells the plot of the entire movie.  The vocals are kind of hard to understand, so I’ll post the lyrics below.

 

https://youtu.be/DC5r92nBR14

 

Well, I killed my dad
In a con gone bad
Nearly drank myself to death
But when he died he said Lou had the cake
So I caught a bus headin' West

I saw the numbers running through a small cafe
And I knew I'd find my uncle Lou
That's when Ed stepped up
He said pick a card
Shape the con before it shapes you

 

Who sent ya'?
Sam fuckin' Peckinpah
Yeah who sent ya'?

Who sent ya'?
Who sent ya'?
Sam fuckin' Peckinpah
Yeah who sent ya’?

 

Now I met my uncle for the very first time
And he sent me on a con with Ed
So we came callin' on his girl Diane
A blonde girl dressed in red
I guess pigeon dropping was the name of the game
And I had to pay my dues
Well fun time
Family fun was the plan
Shape the con before it shapes you

 

Who sent ya'?
Sam fuckin' Peckinpah
Yeah who sent ya'?

Who sent ya' baby girl?
Sam fuckin' Peckinpah
Yeah who sent ya’?

 

Sam Peckinpah tried to choke Eddie out
But he cut him from ear to ear
Then he grabbed old Lou said
"We fuck now"
On his face a twisted jeer
He took old Lou to the same cafe'
Eddie couldn't have been much higher
When he tied him up
It was his intent
To put his head in that deep fryer
Well, Diane told me
I tackled Ed
As we did a little wiggle and dance
When we were done Ed got a hot head
Well viva la fuckin' France man!

 

Someone tryin' to kill me man?
(Who would try to kill you Eddie)
The fucking hangers!

 

Someone tryin' to kill me man?
(Who would try to kill you Eddie)
The fucking hangers!
Guess they may be friends 
(All fuckin' summer long sugar)

 

Who sent you?

Sam fuckin' Peckinpah
Yeah who sent ya'?
Who sent ya' baby girl?
Sam fuckin' Peckinpah
Yeah who sent ya’?

 

You shape the con or It'll shape you
You shape the con
You shape the con or It'll shape you
You shape the con

 

Hi-fucking-ya!

[doxrus 54]

This film was shot by the great cinematographer Maryse Alberti, who has done masterful work in features (THE WRESTLER, VELVET GOLDMINE, HAPPINESS) but mostly in docs (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, WHEN WE WERE KINGS, etc.).

[theworstbuddhist 572]

4 minutes ago, doxrus said:

This film was shot by the great cinematographer Maryse Alberti, who has done masterful work in features (THE WRESTLER, VELVET GOLDMINE, HAPPINESS) but mostly in docs (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE, ENRON THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM, WHEN WE WERE KINGS, etc.).

This is so sad.

[doxrus 54]

This film has one of the greatest lines in film history. Late in the story, Uncle Lou talks to his nephew Joe. Their relationship, and Joe's "killing" of his father, have been central themes in the film. Lou says, "Well you know my brother.....[dramatic pause]....[deeper, more dramatic voice]....your father..."  Really? He says this as if it's some sort of huge revelation. Does Joe not realize that his uncle's twin brother is his father? Is he confused about how familial relationships work? Even if these lines are meant for the audience, doesn't everyone on the planet know uncles and fathers and nephews work?

[doxrus 54]

During the showdown with Lou, why does Joe turn on the carousel? He does it quite deftly, barely looking at the power switch, as if he'd been planning it all along, and knows exactly where the switch is located. Is it really that simple and easy to turn a carousel on and off? And if he had wanted to shoot Lou, it would have been much easier when he was standing still, right in front of him, not on a turning carousel surrounded by moving horses.

[doxrus 54]

Two possible references/ripoffs by director Coppola to his uncle's APOCALYPSE NOW. After killing his father, Joe has a breakdown, sitting in a motel room in his underwear next to an unmade bed - just like Wiilard. Later, he stares up at the ceiling fan, just as Willard does.

[grudlian. 4725]

10 minutes ago, doxrus said:

This film has one of the greatest lines in film history. Late in the story, Uncle Lou talks to his nephew Joe. Their relationship, and Joe's "killing" of his father, have been central themes in the film. Lou says, "Well you know my brother.....[dramatic pause]....[deeper, more dramatic voice]....your father..."  Really? He says this as if it's some sort of huge revelation. Does Joe not realize that his uncle's twin brother is his father? Is he confused about how familial relationships work? Even if these lines are meant for the audience, doesn't everyone on the planet know uncles and fathers and nephews work?

My favorite line in this was the guy at the funeral who says "Maybe I should have doubled checked the bullets".

Yes, you should definitely have double checked the bullets before a man was accidentally shot to death and maybe the funeral isn't the place to mention that.

[SeaSkunk 212]

Loved the underwear talk on this episode. I admit I did a double take when she got out of bed in the morning and was already wearing her comfortable undies. Given the amount of boobs we'd seen, I assumed bare ass or thong.

Maybe the panties were on the whole time and that explains the weird sex seen where he just lies there and she kind of shifts a little back and forth? Least enthusiastic dry humping ever.

[ChunkStyle 1160]

Which love triangle had the most explosive energy?  Joe, Diane, and Eddie?  Or Joe, Donut Shop Girl, and Pizza Guy (Nick Vallelonga).

The thing I want to focus on is how little money Diane was given at the end of the movie.  Her part in the con was the most insane in that Mike Donan thought a quick glimpse of a woman that looked Joe's mother would make Joe take specific predictable actions leading to the successful con.  But Diane had to move to another town for who knows how long before Joe got there and establish a relationship with the most insane character ever captured on film.  And then manipulate Eddie to the point that she could drive him to attack Lou at just the right moment.  In addition to having to seduce Joe as well.  Diane was basically doing all of the heavy lifting for a ridiculous plan and then at the end she got what looked like 2% of the take.  Peter Fonda walked off with the same amount for doing almost nothing.  Unequal pay is a serious societal problem and nowhere worse than in Deadfall.

 

[doxrus 54]

After Joe "kills" his father, Pete (Peter Fonda) says they're going to bury Mike in potter's field, which as everyone knows (except maybe the screenwriter), is a graveyard for unknown or indigent people, often with unmarked plots. The next scene is a normal funeral at a regular cemetery, with a standard headstone for Mike. This is not potter's field.

[RuncibleShaw 21]

I was also going to pop in here to mention that the first time I heard any lines from this film was when I listened to the album Get Some by Snot. Only much later did a friend of mine sit me down and make me watch Deadfall. Actually, I've seen Deadfall a bunch of times now, but only up until Nicolas Cage dies, because my friend would always turn it off at that point. 

[doxrus 54]

22 hours ago, iamSGA said:

we're close to it now. maybe someone will old face him too while they're at it

Do we call him John or Tall now?

 

[Cockney Mackem 514]

This may not be either a correction or an omission but I found a nice snippet in an interview with Michael Biehn about the film. He said he only got the part because Val Kilmer pulled out, and clearly Kilmer was wise to pull out. He summarised the film by saying "that's the Nicolas Cage you get when you don't ask him to pull it back a little bit." 

[gigi-tastic 2322]

While I agree with June that underwear should never be too baggy or too tight because it also makes me uncomfortable I guess science says baggier is better?

Apparently tight underwear is bad for sperm count

According to a study done by doctors at Harvard men who wore boxer shorts the most in a three month period had "25 per cent higher sperm concentration, 17 per cent higher total sperm count and 33 per cent more swimming sperm in a single ejaculate than men who wore other types of underwear."

Apparently the only people who need to worry though are those already struggling with fertility.

Also apparently it takes 3 months for sperm production to happen? 

I feel like once again the American public school system, and in particular it's Sex Ed courses, have let me down .