FILM 1975: PET SEMATARY

FILM 1975: PET SEMATARY (1989)

TRIVIA: Stephen King once mentioned that the only novel he wrote that really scared him was "Pet Sematary."

Bruce Campbell was the first choice for the role of Louis Creed.

Stephen King was present on location for most of the shooting of the film. The area it was shot in was only twenty minutes away from his home in Bangor, Maine. 

In Stephen King's novel, Judd mentions that a dog went wild in a nearby town and killed several people. This is a reference to the events of Cujo (1983), another novel by King. It is common for characters in King's novels to mention the events of his other novels.

Stephen King is a big fan of the Ramones and referenced some of their songs in the novel "Pet Sematary." In homage, The Ramones wrote and performed the theme song "Pet Sematary," which is featured in the film's closing credits. The truck driver was also listening to "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" by The Ramones.

The idea for this story came about when Stephen King's daughter's cat, Smuckey, was killed on the highway outside their home. Smuckey's name appears on gravestones in the pet cemetery, in both the film and the novel.

George A. Romero was originally set to direct, but when filming was delayed, he dropped out and Mary Lambert stepped in and Romero directed Monkey Shines (1988).

During the film, the character played by Fred Gwynne mentions that he had a pet named "Spot." "Spot" was also the name of the family pet on the TV show The Munsters (1964), also starring Gwynne.

Director Mary Lambert said that Fred Gwynne was her first and only choice for the role of Judd Crandall.

Initially, Paramount executives wanted a pair of twins to play the role of Gage, like those chosen to play Ellie, which was the more cost-effective option. However, Lambert was very impressed with three-year old Miko Hughes, whom she felt was a natural talent despite his young age, so she lobbied the studio to accept her choice.

Tom Savini turned down the chance to direct the film.

One of the hardest elements for the production design team was the path to the cemetery as it was described as, "shining in the moonlight."

CAMEO: Stephen King: (at around 41 mins) minister at the funeral.

PODCAST: HAPPY FACE

PODCAST: HAPPY FACE

For Melissa Moore, 1995 was a nightmare. That’s the year the teenager learned her father, Keith Hunter Jesperson, was a serial killer. It’s also the year Melissa Moore’s doubt spiral began: When you look like your father, and you share his intelligence and charisma, how do you know you’re not a psychopath, too? Happy Face is the story of Keith Hunter Jesperson, his brutal crimes, and the cat and mouse game he played with detectives and the media. But it’s also the story of the horrific legacy he gifted his children. Join Melissa Moore as she investigates her father’s crimes, reckons with the past, and wades through her darkest fears as she hunts for a better future.

MY VERDICT: When I first heard the trailer for this podcast, I honestly thought it was one of those fictional story-telling podcasts – a dramatization, because of the high production value and the articulate way Melissa expressed herself, I couldn’t believe it was real, but it was. This story is different from any other true crime story I’d listened to because it has such a unique perspective, the perfective of the daughter of a serial killer. 

I would highly recommend this podcast but, be warned, it’s heartbreaking.

FILM 1845: OVER THE TOP

FILM 1845: OVER THE TOP

TRIVIA: Years later, Sylvester Stallone explained why he agreed to appear in this movie, saying, "Menahem Golan kept offering me more and more money, until I finally thought, 'What the hell - no one will see it!'"

John Wetton, lead singer of the rock group Asia, sang "Winner Takes It All" for the movie, but after performing the song, it was felt that his voice wasn't "mean" enough, so the song was offered to Sammy Hagar, whose version ended up being the one on the soundtrack. Hagar did a music video to promote the song and the film which featured both Zumwalt and Stallone.

David Engelbach was appalled at the changes made to his script. He remarked that his original draft wasn't nearly as dumb as the final film and that it was more about truck driving and arm-wrestling than it should have been. He recalled having tears in his eyes upon seeing the film.

Rick Zumwalt was paid 10,000 USD to shave his head for the film. He liked it so much he never went back to having hair.

FILM 1806: MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE

FILM 1806: MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE

TRIVIA: The only Stephen King story turned into a movie to be directed by King himself.

When asked why he hasn't directed a movie since "Maximum Overdrive", Stephen Kingresponded "Just watch Maximum Overdrive."

Stephen King, being a former cocaine addict, later admitted that he was "coked out of my mind" the entire time he was making this picture and often didn't know what he was doing. He remarked that he'd like to try directing again someday, this time sober.

While shooting the scene where the steamroller rampages across the baseball diamond, Stephen King requested that the SFX department place a bag of fake blood near the dummy of a young player who would be run over by it. The desired effect would be that a smear of blood would appear on the steamroller and be re-smeared on the grass over and over, like a printing press. While filming the scene, however, the bag of blood exploded too soon and sprayed everywhere, making it appear as if the boy's head had also exploded. King was thrilled with the results, but censors demanded the shot be cut.

AC/DC was selected to make the music for the movie by Stephen King himself.

The "Dixie Boy" truck stop was a set constructed 10 miles outside of Wilmington, North Carolina. It was convincing enough that several truckers tried to stop in, and eventually the producers had to put announcements in local papers saying that the "Dixie Boy" was just a movie set.

An accident occurred on July 31, 1985 during shooting in a suburb of Wilmington, North Carolina where a radio-controlled lawnmower used in a scene went out of control and struck a block of wood used as a camera support, shooting out wood splinters which injured the director of photography Armando Nannuzzi; as a result, he lost his right eye. Nannuzzi sued Stephen King on February 18, 1987 for $18 million in damages. The suit was settled out of court.

Stephen King is a huge fan of AC/DC and when he got to meet them he asked them if they would provide music for this movie. He also offered the band a role in the film but AC/DC declined stating they are not actors and do not appear in this movie at all, despite claims of a scene of them on a boat which is not true at all. The band agreed to do the soundtrack after Stephen King sung "Ain't no fun waiting round to be a millionaire" from the bands 1976 Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap album. King sang the entire thing from start to finish and the band laughingly agreed that if he was such a fan they would do it for him. AC/DC preform all but two songs featured in the film, and the entire 1987 album "Who Made Who" is the soundtrack to this movie. AC/DC wrote a new track called Who Made Who, and various instrumentals aka: score music. Only two of the instrumentals appear on the album. The rest of the songs are from previous AC/DC albums and also contains a slightly edited version of Sink The Pink. The movie also features two unreleased mixes of previously released songs. One being a more rawer version of You Shook Me All Night Long and the vocals cut out of For Those About To Rock, heard only in the movie, not on the album. At the time of the release many music stores had no idea the album Who Made Who was a compilation soundtrack for this movie, and many mislabeled the album as an AC/DC greatest hits. limited pressings of the album did feature a small print and the movies logo stating it was the soundtrack to Stephen Kings Maximum Overdrive but was later removed from future pressings.

If you listen closely you can hear the ice cream truck's tune is "King of the Road".

The title of the film is referenced in The Simpsons: Maximum Homerdrive (1999), in which Homer Simpson takes over a truck driver's delivery and finds out that his truck is controlled by an on board computer. Yeardley Smith, who plays Connie in the film, is the voice of Lisa Simpson in the show.

FILM 1297: CHEF

TRIVIA: Jon Favreau did his own cooking by training with food truck chef Roy Choi. Choi sent Favreau to a week of intensive French culinary schooling, where Favreau sharpened his knife skills and learned how to make sauces. "I brought him into the kitchen, and he just kind of fit in," Choi recalls. "I threw him a couple tests, like a case of chives, or a case of onions, or peel two cases of avocados. Just to see where his mind and his situation and his abilities were and how interested he was in these things. He just attacked them. He really became a part of it."

The short scene with Carl and Percy in the cinema features the audio from Iron Man's repulsor rays, as a nod to Jon Favreau's previous work with the Iron Man films.

Promotional events centering on the fictional Cubano-serving El Jefe proved so popular that Favreau and L.A.-based chef Roy Choi who consulted on the film, have opened a series of pop-up restaurants and announced that they are thinking about making the track permanent.

Oliver Platt's brother is a prominent food critic in the New York metropolitan area and has invited Oliver on some of his restaurant visits.

Towards the end of the film, the El Jefe truck is seen at a nighttime food-truck event, along with many of L.A.'s most popular food trucks. This is an actual event in Venice called "First Fridays." For a brief moment, you can see Chef Roy Choi's Kogi truck, the food truck that started the whole gourmet-food-truck craze.