Tim and Jen try and fail to recall the name of Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps as they discuss Olympian gymnast Kurt Thomas’s sole feature film, Gymkata.
Jen’s half-assed inaccurate anecdote about Phelps being considered to play Tarzan is actually true, albeit not the way she told it. Producer Jerry Weintraub (no relation to Gymkata producer Fred Weintraub) believed that he’d found the new Johnny Weissmuller in Phelps. However, the swimmer’s appearance on SNL in 2008 immediately disabused him of that notion, as Phelps appeared to Weintraub as little more than a “goon.”
Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Mark Spitz has only five minor credits on IMDb, incidentally, none of which involve starring in a feature film. In case you were wondering.
You can hear our interview with martial arts superstar Cynthia Rothrock here!
The “Barge Arse” clip Tim referred to may be viewed here.
We talked about Money Movers director Bruce Beresford way back in our episode about flop anthology film Aria, and Jen would like to formally apologize for calling him a “genteel hack.”
‘The movie gradually makes its analogy with Nazi Germany even more overt. Pitt and Norton raid liposuction waste dumpsters at night, retrieving “the richest cream fat in the world”, that’s been siphoned out of the obese, and rendering it into red soap tablets they then flog to exclusive boutiques. It’s unbelievable any film would dare use, even as such a sick gag, a sequence reminiscent of that chapter of the Holocaust in which Nazi thoroughness rendered the Jews down into similar, no doubt less pricy soap bars. But Fight Club has no reticence, no memory, no shame.’
The Astrologer had a theatrical run from at least 1976 through part of 1977, but was considered lost for many years. It eventually resurfaced in 2021 on YouTube. Paramount appears to have a copyright claim on the picture (amazing that they’d even want it), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be seen if you know where to look.
The story of auteur Craig Denney is as mysterious as it is surprising. Jim Vorel has a good rundown at Paste Magazine. Long story short, Denney made a bold play for notoriety, only to disappear sometime in the 80s. No one knows when he died, if he’s actually dead, or even his real birthdate! And that’s just the start of the confusion! From the article:
Denney’s friend and associate Arthyr Chadbourne (who plays business manager Arthyr in the film) has disputed these figures, suggesting instead at L.A. screenings/Q&As that Denney was notorious for exaggeration and self-aggrandizing. As Chadbourne reportedly said then, “Craig was wonderful with hype. Everything was millions … you should read some of the things we used to send out to investors.”
Jim Vorel, Paste Magazine
Vorel’s article draws from this well-researched piece by Sean Welsh over at Matchbox Cine. Did Craig Denney fake his death? Where the hell did he get all his money? Which of his claims about his life were true? Was he even as successful as he claimed he was?
Tim and Jen revisit everyone’s favorite dad-joke heist movie: the unfairly reviled (to some) Hudson Hawk!
Doing an comedy
The entertainment media subjected Hudson Hawk to an unusual amount of negative attention during production. This poor publicity appears to have had a detrimental affect on the box office returns. However, enough time has passed that a nonzero number of people (who aren’t Tim!) will defend it. One of those pieces appeared at the Guardian:
The action scenes are fun, particularly one sequence where Willis is riding a hospital bed down the Brooklyn Bridge (“How am I driving? 1-800-I’m-gonna-fuckin’-die!”)
Tim saves Jen’s bacon by explaining a Frankenstein’s monster of a thriller: Crocodile Fury! And this one was brought to you by cut-and-paste filmmaker Godfrey Ho. Explains a lot, doesn’t it?
Jen and Tim welcome Mystery Science Theater 3000/Rifftrax alum Bill Corbett to the show! We talk about the Quaalude version of a Marvel superhero— a TV movie version of Marvel’s beloved Captain America. Reb Brown, most famously of Space Mutiny and Yor, the Hunter From the Future, stars, sort of.
