Last January, when I was working with my pal Lauren Cupp at CreepIE in the Inland Empire, I got stuck on the idea of starting a podcast. I’m sure what triggered the thought, which I had kicked around a lot in the past. It is not as though the idea of a movie podcast is a new or even good one; it’s not like I don’t already have an abandoned podcast about Twin Peaks that my cohosts and I keep saying we’ll revive but never do. Whatever. I wanted to start a new one, so I did. I called it FOR UNLAWFUL CINEMATIC KNOWLEDGE and a bunch of my pals came on to help out and so far it’s been a real blast.
It occurred to me, though, that I set up this blog, which is really just my old personal blog from years ago repurposed, named it the same exact thing as the podcast, and then never actually wrote anything about the podcast over here. So I’m going to do that now, twenty something episodes in. Here is the round up of the first fifteen episodes of FOR UNLAWFUL CINEMATIC KNOWLEDGE plus one bony episode; after the next fifteen I hope to update this weekly when the pods air (every Monday, wherever you get your pods—I’ll link them at the bottom).
Episode One: TEENAGE BONNIE AND KLEPTO CLYDE w/ Michael Felix
I joke around that I only started this podcast because I wanted to talk about this movie, but the thing is it’s not really a joke. I had always assumed that if I got the podcast up and running TBKC would be the very first episode I would do, and Michael would be the very first guest. He and I actually became friends because of TBKC, I think before we ever even met in person. Thanks Twitter! Michael fucking rules, and it’s nice to have a friend that loves a movie as much as he and I love this one.
As far as first episodes go, I think it’s pretty good. We discuss how we stumbled upon this movie, how it’s been largely forgotten by the world, and reached out to the director and producer, both who who wrote it, because we want to see a proper release and maybe even a screening. Little did we know that they would stumble upon this episode before they stumbled upon our messages. I love this movie so much, and I love talking about it, and I only hope that this is the beginning of something cool with it. More on that a few write ups below.
Episode Two: THE HUGGABUNCH MOVIE with Brodie Hubbard
Kids of the 80s may or may not remember the Huggabunch, a series of huggable dolls with giant heads. I remember this movie specifically because I watched it on TV at the hospital while my grandfather was dying. It’s one of my very first memories. My pal Hub, who loves a good rabbit hole, came on to discuss the merits of such a doll line, and the merits of movies that are essentially gigantic TV commercials.
Hub’s gonna be coming back later this month for a double feature episode that I’m really excited for, so stay tuned.
Episode Three: HORROR with Dan Davis
Have you ever seen this movie? Most people have not. When I mention it, nobody ever knows what I’m talking about, which is a shame because while it’s not particularly good, it’s definitely memorable. I maintain that nobody has seen this movie more than me. I was so glad to have Dan on for this particular episode, because we have spent many dinners at Fred 62 talking about it. Dan will also be back on the show next month to talk about Blood Rage, and it’s gonna be a fucking roaring time.
Episode Four: GHOULIES III: GHOULIES GO TO COLLEGE with Dustin Meadows
If you’ve ever been to the New Beverly Horror marathon, you’ll know that me and Dustin are keeping the Ghoulies flame going in hopes that they will eventually acquiesce and show us what we’ve all been waiting for.
There was simply no other option but to have Dustin on for this episode, where we discuss the incredible nature of the Ghoulies, as well as the fact that this movie, minus the Ghoulies, is a pretty solid college teen romp! They didn’t play Ghoulies III this year, but I’m pretty sure we can get Phil on board for next year.
Episode Five: THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE with Anastasia Washington
When I scheduled the first month of episodes, I realize that it was very…how do I put this?…a sausage party. So I pivoted wildly and had all women for the next month! Anastasia was kind enough to join me to talk about her history with the Garbage Pail Kids, something she loved while I was deathly afraid of them. We’re both big defenders of this movie, even though it is pretty disgusting. It’s fun! Stop taking everything so seriously!
Episode Six: FEAR DOT COM with Lauren Cupp
This episode, the aforementioned Lauren came on to discuss Fear Dot Com, a movie that was new to me. As luck would have it, we happened to meet Steven Dorff right around the time of recording, hence the picture in this poster. I bet nobody else in the whole convention mentioned Fear Dot Com to him even once!
Lauren will ALSO be back this month to talk about Ken Russell’s The Who’s Tommy. It’s gonna be a wild one, so get the beans ready!
Episode Seven: CHERRY FALLS with BJ Colangelo
Cherry Falls was new to me too, and boy howdy what a fucking romp it is. It’s a shame that it never really got its time in the sun (due to Columbine) because it really is a great movie! Though I tend to be staunchly against remaking things, I would be OK with seeing this get the remake treatment, and of course talking to BJ about anything is always delightful. If you haven’t, you should check out her podcast, This Ends at Prom, which she hosts with her equally amazing wife, Harmony. It’s one of my favorites!
Episode Eight: X- RAY with Sharai Bohannon
Sharai and I have sort of a cross-cultural exchange when it comes to our podcasts. I agreed to cover Freddy vs Jason for A Nightmare on Fierce Street, and she agreed to come on to talk about X-RAY, a movie in which the killer hides from himself at one point. I then returned the favor again by going back on ANOFS to cover Shocker. What crazy movie will I have Sharai cover on FUCKPOD next? It remains to be seen. Hopefully something better than Freddy vs Jason, anyway.
Episode Nine: CONQUEST with Chris Pruitt
Real Kolleenheads know that she hosts another podcast with Chris Pruitt called Drunk Monkeys Logcasting. It’s been on hiatus for well over a year now, but eventually we’ll get it going again.
Chris chose Conquest as he had stumbled upon it one night on Tubi and thought it would be a good fit. I’m so glad that this was the movie he picked, because it was like being right back in the saddle, chatting to him about the absolute madcappery that is this… thing. This is also how I also learned that someone I know from my hometown runs Cauldron; who knew!
Episode Ten: JAWS 3D with Jared Rivet
My favorite thing about Jared is that he’s multitalented and extremely smart; he’s an actor, he’s a writer, he’s a trivia host, he’s a good friend, he’s a fun guy. He also happens to love Jaws 3D so much that I knew this episode would be a long one, and it sure was. I bet he could have talked about it for four hours if I let him. This is what’s it’s like talking to Jared about anything, but that’s what I love the most about him. I have a lot of friends who are movie maniacs, walking encyclopedias of cinematic knowledge, and I’m so grateful for each one of them. Especially Jared.
I also like that I got to go over his house and watch Jaws 3D in 3D! I haven’t watched a movie for the podcast live with a guest host beyond that, but I’m not adverse to it!
Episode Eleven: D.E.B.S. with Michelle Weiser
D.E.B.S. was another movie that was new to me, a movie that completely passed me by when it first came out. My friend Michelle joined me to talk about how amazing this queer action comedy is, and it really is fucking amazing. It’s silly, it’s romantic, it’s got Jimmi Simpson in it. What’s not to love?
If you’re in the Los Angeles area and looking for a horror themed yoga teacher or maybe just a fitness coach in general, please hit Michelle up! She works at Killer Fitness and was voted best yoga instructor in town by the local My Burbank voters!
Episode Twelve: CAMP NOWHERE with Kate Hagen
Camp Nowhere is a movie that I think gets overlooked a lot. I find that a lot of people don’t know what I’m talking about when I mention it or they mistakenly think of that one TV movie with like, Urkel in it (Camp Cucamunga).
I remember going to see Camp Nowhere at the Salem Tri cinema with my brother the summer it came out. We spent a lot of time at that theater, which is no longer there, so it means a lot to me. Kate is (rightfully) usually talking about White Palace, but it was awesome to have her on to talk about this one. There’s something about 90s tween movies that we just don’t have anymore. They should bring them back. Everything nowadays is for audiences that are too young or too old, and there’s nothing for the tweens. Let me run Hollywood. dammit!
Episode Thirteen: TERRORVISION with Steve Guntli
Episodes 13 and 14 were kind of a one-two punch of me yanking the Puppet Masters/Castle Freaks hosts over to my side of the pod world. I couldn’t think of a better person to talk about Terrorvision than Steve Guntli (well, maybe Kevin), since it’s completely in his and Jarrod’s wheelhouse. Terrorvision is such a fun movie, and we recorded this right before Gerrit Graham died which is bittersweet.
If I recall correctly, it does not have a decent release. Maybe I should start some sort of boutique label so I can put out all the movies I want to see. FUCKMOVIES? That might cause confusion. I’ll workshop the name.
Episode Fourteen: OUT OF THE DARK with Jarrod Hornbeck
Jarrod had actually asked if he could come on and talk about this movie, which is one of his favorites, and I enthusiastically agreed. I first saw Out of the Dark at the… you guessed it… New Beverly horror marathon two years ago, and I was absolutely tickled by it. Even with it setbacks, it’s still a pretty decent slasher that’s funny and charming, and has Divine in it for 42 seconds.
Jarrod came on completely armed with a ton of the inside scoop. I guess I just know a lot of Jarrod/Jareds with encyclopedic information about specific movies. An embarrassment of riches!
Bonus! A conversation with TEENAGE BONNIE AND KLEPTO CLYDE‘s John Shepphird and Steve Jankowski w/ Michael Felix
OK, look. I’ve had two children, and this was still the coolest thing that ever happened to me.
In July, both John and Steve contacted me about the podcast and the possibility of coming on to talk about the making of TBKC. I was so excited when I read the messages that my whole body went tingles. Of course, I had to have Michael back on, and we basically let them talk as much as they wanted about everything from casting to writing to production to the MPAA to the lack of proper release. We were both in awe of the whole thing, and I’m so grateful to John and Steve for coming on and for listening and for putting up with our nonsense!
We’re working on a few more things with them, so hopefully I’ll have stuff to report sooner rather than later. Watch this space!
Episode Fifteen: I KNOW WHO KILLED ME with Lowell Greenblatt
I have long maintained that the IKWKM screening I went to a few years back via Cinematic Void (duh) was the best screening I ever went to in the history of my entire life. It was a joy to have my friend Lowell on this episode, because I feel as though he was able to match my enthusiasm for this strange and sordid film.
This is the little Giallo that could, something that doesn’t really make sense on paper, doesn’t really even work on film, but still has a lot of heart and I think is much more enjoyable than the early reviews and critics would let you believe it was. Give it a shot if you haven’t this January during January Giallo. It’s worth it even for the color palette alone.
It may not surprise you that it took me three weeks to write this post. I’m going to start the next fifteen write ups now so when it’s time to pub them I’m not spending my time in the tub trying to remember what talking about Conquest was like. Here’s the links to the pod’s spots, and you can email me at fuckpodcast@proton.me if you wanna chat. Also please follow subscribe like save review download and all that jazz so I feel cool and popular.
Ok I love you bye
Leave a Reply