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#41
Bad Movies / Re: Scary movie backstories
Last post by M.10rda - March 19, 2026, 10:47:54 AMOkay, on the TWILIGHT ZONE/CONQUEROR riff, if perhaps somehow less [sic] prolific in its horrible impact:
CLOWNHOUSE (1989)
........One of those Hollywood-adjacent productions that, sadly, lends the tiniest bit of credence to wild/mostly illusory claims that the industry is merely some kind of front for child predation. The perpetrator - writer/director Victor Salva - was charged, convicted, and imprisoned, then released, paroled, and went on to make several more films (many of which have creepy themes of pederasty or pedovorism) and to apparently creep out future collaborators to the extent that he hasn't made a new film in nearly a decade.
But the big (and queasy) picture of how crimes during CLOWNHOUSE were allowed to happen - and initially seemed to have been obscured - has remained opaque, in spite of the ongoing efforts of the victim (CLOWNHOUSE's lead actor, who was 7 or 8 at the time) to keep the story alive.
College age Sam Rockwell co-starred (his debut) and has claimed in retrospect that he had no idea what was happening on set. (I've met Rockwell briefly and know folks who've worked w/ him, and he seems like a nice and genuine guy, but Rockwell's own character in the film is subject to some creepy/sexualized treatment.)
I'm more uncomfortable (vis-a-vis Landis on TZ) by the role that CLOWNHOUSE's producer Francis Ford Coppola played or failed to play during and/or after the lead actor's abuse. It seems like FFC was dismissive of the allegations and more concerned about the impact of the victim's allegations on the film's completion and success. That kind of behavior is to be (sadly) expected of the investor class
in my experience....... but this isn't an anonymous money man, it's one of the most esteemed filmmakers of the 20th century. Coppola should've done better in this case, to the say the least. (Of course, his misadventures making APOCALYPSE NOW would imply that his judgment, historically, has been at times impaired.......)
CLOWNHOUSE (1989)
........One of those Hollywood-adjacent productions that, sadly, lends the tiniest bit of credence to wild/mostly illusory claims that the industry is merely some kind of front for child predation. The perpetrator - writer/director Victor Salva - was charged, convicted, and imprisoned, then released, paroled, and went on to make several more films (many of which have creepy themes of pederasty or pedovorism) and to apparently creep out future collaborators to the extent that he hasn't made a new film in nearly a decade.
But the big (and queasy) picture of how crimes during CLOWNHOUSE were allowed to happen - and initially seemed to have been obscured - has remained opaque, in spite of the ongoing efforts of the victim (CLOWNHOUSE's lead actor, who was 7 or 8 at the time) to keep the story alive.
College age Sam Rockwell co-starred (his debut) and has claimed in retrospect that he had no idea what was happening on set. (I've met Rockwell briefly and know folks who've worked w/ him, and he seems like a nice and genuine guy, but Rockwell's own character in the film is subject to some creepy/sexualized treatment.)
I'm more uncomfortable (vis-a-vis Landis on TZ) by the role that CLOWNHOUSE's producer Francis Ford Coppola played or failed to play during and/or after the lead actor's abuse. It seems like FFC was dismissive of the allegations and more concerned about the impact of the victim's allegations on the film's completion and success. That kind of behavior is to be (sadly) expected of the investor class
in my experience....... but this isn't an anonymous money man, it's one of the most esteemed filmmakers of the 20th century. Coppola should've done better in this case, to the say the least. (Of course, his misadventures making APOCALYPSE NOW would imply that his judgment, historically, has been at times impaired.......) #42
Bad Movies / Re: Scary movie backstories
Last post by Trevor - March 19, 2026, 10:14:46 AMI mentioned the South African film THE LAST LION (1972)
It is known as South Africa's cursed film and with good reason.
Its star Jack Hawkins died before the film was released.
The film's composer Con Lamprecht died during post production.
The film's female lead Karen Spies quit acting not long after.
The film's sound man James Chapman was mauled to death by a lion.
The lions trainer Ossie Bristow was arrested for murder.
A nice film to watch - screenplay by Wilbur Smith, no less - if you don't know the backstory. 😳😳
It is on YouTube if you want to see it.
It is known as South Africa's cursed film and with good reason.
Its star Jack Hawkins died before the film was released.
The film's composer Con Lamprecht died during post production.
The film's female lead Karen Spies quit acting not long after.
The film's sound man James Chapman was mauled to death by a lion.
The lions trainer Ossie Bristow was arrested for murder.
A nice film to watch - screenplay by Wilbur Smith, no less - if you don't know the backstory. 😳😳
It is on YouTube if you want to see it.
#43
Bad Movies / Re: Generate Movie Poster with...
Last post by Trevor - March 19, 2026, 10:03:08 AMQuote from: bob on March 18, 2026, 07:42:40 AM
Directed by Itchy McFlake 😅😀🤣😂
#44
Bad Movies / Re: Generate Movie Poster with...
Last post by Rev. Powell - March 19, 2026, 09:57:05 AM
I notice it used almost exactly the same image as my last request. Also, CoPilot now slaps a "Coming Soon!" on almost every poster. It's gotten much better at generating these in the last few months, however.
#45
Bad Movies / Re: Scary movie backstories
Last post by M.10rda - March 19, 2026, 08:44:01 AMOh sure. Something like THE CONQUEROR goes way beyond Landis' negligence on his TWILIGHT ZONE installment, in my book. But Landis is still alive whereas everyone involved in THE CONQUEROR is dead, so I guess it would make little sense to be screaming for accountability on that one.
#46
Entertainment / Re: What have you been listeni...
Last post by Rev. Powell - March 19, 2026, 08:05:45 AM
#48
Bad Movies / Re: Scary movie backstories
Last post by Trevor - March 19, 2026, 07:32:25 AMWhat happened on the set of THE CONQUEROR and later is even more scarier. 😳
#49
Good Movies / Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2
Last post by M.10rda - March 19, 2026, 06:45:22 AMYou and me, Lester. I took the SATs three times and always got a perfect Written. My highest Math was somehow 510, my lowest was 370! I'm still able to do practical math in my head for everything short of my taxes, so I dunno what that whole Math SAT thing was about anyway.
THE CHASE (1946):
A starving/penniless war vet falls for what might (or might not!) be a "Spanish Prisoner" long-game and returns a recovered wallet to an outlandish Greco-Roman mansion, where he is promptly recruited as a chauffeur by a sadistic millionaire and his leering aide de camp (Peter Lorre!). The rich weirdo likes to strongarm other rich guys for fun, keeps a(n unseen) lion or tiger in his wine cellar to take care of victims, and can assume manual acceleration of his limo from the backseat, just to f**k w/ his drivers. He also has a blonde French wife who naturally seduces the veteran and convinces him to run away with her. The plot screeches to a halt for about 5-10 minutes of dull romance, but then midway through there is a surprising twist, and then multiple more twists after that, some of which made pretty much no sense to me. But after a string of purely bad and/or boring movies, this uneven but very oddball noir was at least refreshing!
The male lead/chauffeur is a little stiff at times and the female lead was pretty bland (though Lester might dig her). However Steve Cochran plays the psycho rich guy with a compelling, chilly minimalism... whispering and hissing most of his lines like he's auditioning for the role of Don Corleone in a community theatre production of THE GODFATHER. And of course, Lorre is of immeasurable value in one of the countless henchman roles that, somehow, he always managed to imbue with some fresh nuance. He comes off as mostly bemused and sometimes mildly non-plussed by his employer's behavior here - and at least (unlike some of his credits) Lorre is in the whole movie!
THE CHASE was written by Philip Yordan, screenwriter of some huge and famous movies, some very weird movies (including the bizarre "Good" Movie JOHNNY GUITAR), and some terrible movies. I'm unapologetically a stan for NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR, the late-career magnum opus that was masterminded by Yordan with the help of five (!) directors. THE CHASE isn't a patch on NTTT, but it is quite weird by 40s noir standards. Although its plot bears some similarities to OUT OF THE PAST, that film actually somehow was released the following year...
...and the second half of THE CHASE is a lot closer to Lynch's LOST HIGHWAY, with its roadrage-suffering antagonist and a dead lead character who counter-intuitively won't remain dead. Yordan was an interesting dude.
3/5 A train does figure prominently in this one...
I'm still able to do practical math in my head for everything short of my taxes, so I dunno what that whole Math SAT thing was about anyway. THE CHASE (1946):
A starving/penniless war vet falls for what might (or might not!) be a "Spanish Prisoner" long-game and returns a recovered wallet to an outlandish Greco-Roman mansion, where he is promptly recruited as a chauffeur by a sadistic millionaire and his leering aide de camp (Peter Lorre!). The rich weirdo likes to strongarm other rich guys for fun, keeps a(n unseen) lion or tiger in his wine cellar to take care of victims, and can assume manual acceleration of his limo from the backseat, just to f**k w/ his drivers. He also has a blonde French wife who naturally seduces the veteran and convinces him to run away with her. The plot screeches to a halt for about 5-10 minutes of dull romance, but then midway through there is a surprising twist, and then multiple more twists after that, some of which made pretty much no sense to me. But after a string of purely bad and/or boring movies, this uneven but very oddball noir was at least refreshing!
The male lead/chauffeur is a little stiff at times and the female lead was pretty bland (though Lester might dig her). However Steve Cochran plays the psycho rich guy with a compelling, chilly minimalism... whispering and hissing most of his lines like he's auditioning for the role of Don Corleone in a community theatre production of THE GODFATHER. And of course, Lorre is of immeasurable value in one of the countless henchman roles that, somehow, he always managed to imbue with some fresh nuance. He comes off as mostly bemused and sometimes mildly non-plussed by his employer's behavior here - and at least (unlike some of his credits) Lorre is in the whole movie!
THE CHASE was written by Philip Yordan, screenwriter of some huge and famous movies, some very weird movies (including the bizarre "Good" Movie JOHNNY GUITAR), and some terrible movies. I'm unapologetically a stan for NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR, the late-career magnum opus that was masterminded by Yordan with the help of five (!) directors. THE CHASE isn't a patch on NTTT, but it is quite weird by 40s noir standards. Although its plot bears some similarities to OUT OF THE PAST, that film actually somehow was released the following year...
...and the second half of THE CHASE is a lot closer to Lynch's LOST HIGHWAY, with its roadrage-suffering antagonist and a dead lead character who counter-intuitively won't remain dead. Yordan was an interesting dude.3/5 A train does figure prominently in this one...
#50
Bad Movies / Re: Scary movie backstories
Last post by LucanReeve - March 19, 2026, 04:44:54 AMQuote from: LilCerberus on March 18, 2026, 02:27:03 PMQuote from: M.10rda on March 18, 2026, 02:23:26 PMWho was the serial killer in THE EXORCIST?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Bateson
Wow, I didn't know that before. I am surprised to read that all.