On a recent trip back to New York I had the good fortune of meeting up with the better half of the Family Pictures Podcast and doing two episodes of our gobsmackingly amazing film podcast in person. What’s cool about this meetup is we were able to kick-off a new series within the podcast we’ve titled “Hot Summer 70s Family Horror.” MBS, being the awesome guy that he is, wants to work through his horror movie aversion so he gave me the green-light to pick five movies that work well with our family-focused theme.
At first I was going to spread them across several decades, but after listing out the family-related horror films I wanted to talk about I realized there were way too many, so I decided to start with the 70s. The one movie missing from the logic of the following list is George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), but as I discuss when we open the Texas Chainsaw Massacre episode, Romero’s low-budget gem pretty much inspires all horror films that come in its wake.
Below are the five movies we’ll be covering as part of the Hot Summer 70s Family Horror series:
- Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1973)
- Steven Spielberg’s Jaws (1975)
- Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
- David Cronenberg’s The Brood (1978)
- Stuart Rosenberg’s The Amityville Horror (1979)
While together we were able to knock-out two of those episodes that have already been published for all the world to enjoy—namely Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Jaws.
Being in a studio recording these alongside MBS was an absolute blast. It made me want to move back to New York just to record podcasts in York College’s new studio on the regular. I think Andy Rush would have been proud of the the brilliant work York College’s Fawwaz Allie did to convert an old school studio into a state-of-the-art, light-weight space outfitted with Blackmagic equipment at a fraction of the cost you pay for a vendor solution. Good people = good things. I’ve played around the edges with recording studio stuff briefly, but experiencing this production studio at York College in all its glory made me want to dive deeper for sure.
Another highlight was that Tommaso took the trip into Jamaica, Queens with me, and having him as the studio audience for the live sessions was special. It’s powerful when your kid can hear you talk about things you love (I mean, this is the Family Pictures Podcast). Having just re-listened to the two episodes we recorded in New York City I do think there’s a there there. Besides the hard reality that I always need to be fact-checked, the joyful rapport, mutual respect, and shared passion MBS and I have cultivated as we work together just reinforces for me just how good the whole experience has been.
I dedicate a fair amount of time to watching and preparing for these discussions on a weekly basis, and that’s the easy part because I love to watch and talk about movies. Having someone to share that object of desire with who is also willing to put in the work on a regular basis is rare and special. Doing this podcast has been one of the greatest things to happen to me since I stopped teaching ten years ago. Having an open and public outlet to share the things I’ve read, watched, and learned with someone else in an informal manner is something I’ll never take for granted again.
While this blog is the space for my personal chronicling and recording of thoughts and ideas, the Family Pictures Podcast has become the space to push myself to learn and explore in dialogue with someone else; that is a gift. I can see why podcasts have become all the rage. It has little to do with views and followers, but everything to do with finding that person (or persons) you can take that exploratory learning journey with together, in discussion.
Loved the Jaws chat – looking forward to this 50th anniversary special launching next weekend https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrBN9zcQAGw
Perfect timing! It’s really the only film in the series that was not low-budget or independent.It was bonafide Hollywood. I am going to be in Portland for two weeks and will just miss seeing this at the Hollywood Theater in 35 MM, part of me is dying.
https://hollywoodtheatre.org/show/jaws-in-35mm-2/
But we have tickets to Raiders of the Lost Ark to make up for it.
https://hollywoodtheatre.org/show/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-in-35mm/
The Brood had a bigger budget (about $1 million at the time) but Cronenberg was still a relative unknown and it was a Canadian film so it was a real anomaly. Also, I love how the executive producer in a documentary I watched notes that due to that tax shelter law that was created to incentivize the Canadian film industry they had a bunch of rich people giving him money who expected no return. It was a rare moment.
We talk about The Brood on Wednesday and that epsiode comes out next week. I’m doing my home work for that one now, and god I love Cronenberg. I always think of you and my other Canadian friends when I watch or imagine anything around him now, and that just makes the experience that much better. Cheers!
Saw Raiders sitting on the back of a truck at a drive-in when I was 9 with my Walkman tuned into the audio FM simulcast – still stands as one of my all time fav cinema experiences
It could not be more Potter unless you listened to it through a payphone 🙂
Also .. that game was just reissued! https://store.necaonline.com/products/jaws-the-game-of-jaws-50th-anniversary-edition
Dammit, now I have to buy it. And I will need to send the link on to Martin Weller given he has been collecting a lot of the memorabilia around this masterpiece. While not my favorite film, it might be the one with the biggest impact. But that’s almost for everyone who saw it in our generation, right? Well, at least until Star Wars….crazy couple of years for film!
Y’all are having too much fun doing this, which makes it more fun to see.
I have to say, once you get into it for a bit with regular expectations and a streamlined workflow it is pretty awesome.