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FMC Preshow Episode 104

September 7, 2021
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Get an update on Casey G. Smith’s recovery journey and dive into critical film discussions, including the upcoming “Dune” and a fascinating re-watch of “A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story.” This preshow episode sets the stage for a deep dive into “Total Recall” while sharing recent viewing experiences and industry news.

What We Cover

  • An important update on Casey G. Smith’s progress in rehab and gratitude for community support.
  • Discussion around the upcoming “Dune” film and its potential engagement with the “White Savior” trope.
  • A detailed review of the 1992 TV movie “A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story” and its lasting impact.
  • Revisiting the 80s classic “Teen Wolf,” analyzing its memorable (and not-so-athletic) basketball scenes.
  • Thoughts on “The Flash” series and the unique challenges of TV show special effects.
  • A look at the “Rick and Morty” season finale and reflections on long waits between seasons.

Key Moments

  • 0:19 – A heartfelt thank you to the listeners for their contributions and well wishes for Casey G. Smith as he continues his recovery.
  • 0:58 – Speculation begins about “Dune” and whether it falls into a common Hollywood narrative trope.
  • 2:12 – A surprising deep dive into the compelling true-crime drama “A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story.”
  • 4:20 – Re-evaluating the sports sequences in “Teen Wolf” from an athletic perspective.

Gear & Films Mentioned

  • Total Recall (1990 film)
  • Dune (2021 film)
  • A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story (1992 TV movie)
  • Teen Wolf (1985 film)
  • The Flash (TV series)
  • Rick and Morty (TV series)

Listener Questions

How is Filmmaker Commentary co-host Casey G. Smith doing after his stroke, and how can we continue to support him?
What are the current conversations around the narrative choices and potential tropes in upcoming blockbusters like “Dune”?
Are nostalgic 80s films like “Teen Wolf” still as good as we remember, especially when re-watched through a critical lens?
What are some good, family-friendly TV shows worth catching up on right now?

Join us on Filmmaker Commentary next week for the full episode where we break down “Total Recall,” a top 100 film for the host.

Full Transcript

Read the full transcript

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of Filmmaker Commentary features Reginald Titus Jr. providing updates on Casey G. Smith's recovery, discussing recent movie news including the "white savior" trope in Dune, and reviewing recent watches like "A Woman Scorned," "Teen Wolf," "The Flash," and the "Rick and Morty" season finale.

Welcome and Casey G. Smith Update
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, yes. Yes, you know how we get down. Welcome to the pre-show of Filmmaker Commentary. This is the pre-show for episode 104. In episode 104, we'll be reviewing Total Recall, the first one, with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I want to say thank you for all you who contributed to our dear friend Casey G. Smith to his campaign in helping him rehab and getting better after his mild stroke. And right now he, he's in rehab and and truly just working it out. So I wanted to thank you. We were able to reach that goal of 20,000 to help him with bills and things like that. So I want to say thank you, thank you so much, everybody that contributed and still keeps sending your well wishes to Casey G. Smith as he's on his road to recovery, and we can't wait to get him back onto the podcast.

Movie News: Dune and the "White Savior" Trope
Reginald Titus Jr.: In the news, you can check out Cinemablend.com, Cinemablend.com, that has like all the recent like news and rumors that's going on in the movie industry. But currently, everybody's been excited about the movie Dune. If I'm not mistaken, it's the same director that directed Blade Runner 2049. The visuals on that movie were very stimulating, so people are wanting more of that. I mean, that movie was so visually so stunning, I don't think you even needed dialogue. Did it even have dialogue? I don't know, but that that did look solid. But here they're saying, there's a a trope in Hollywood, uh, called the White Savior. Like, we've seen it over and over and over again. And they are saying, is this movie Dune kind of following the same tropes that we've seen over and over again when it comes to the white savior, the white guy coming into to save all the savages? You've seen these this movie before. Those with that kind of trope in it. But at any rate, I'm not going to dive too deep into it, that's just some of the things that are kind of brewing at the top.

Recent Movie Watches: A Woman Scorned and Teen Wolf
Reginald Titus Jr.: What have I been watching? That's the only thing for the news. But what have I been watching? There is a movie, I don't know how we got into the watches. I don't even know if I'd said this in the last pre-show, but it was a movie that me and my wife watched, and it's called A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story. It came out in 1992, and it was a TV movie. I believe it originally aired on Lifetime. And let me tell you, basically the the synopsis of this movie is Betty torments her husband while childish vandalism and verbal threats after he leaves her for another woman for another woman, but nobody anticipate what ends up happening as the game escalates. This movie is starring Meredith Baxter and Stephen Collins. We know Stephen Collins from Seventh Heaven, right? Yeah. I believe it's Seventh Heaven. And Meredith Baxter, what what do we see her? We've seen her from what's the Michael, is it Michael, Family Ties. I don't know how we got to watching this film. I don't know if it was like a like some free show, if it was like on Tubi or Pluto, just like some free movie, and it opened up, man, and it it just grabbed you right away. It it shows a trope of the the husband who may you look at him in like a negative way. The way they shot it was putting him in a negative light, so you kind of anticipate like, is he doing some something wrong? And then as you get further along in this film, you start realizing like, hey, something might be up with the wife, you know, she's she's a little off a little bit. But this is based on the true story about a woman who basically shot her ex-husband and his his new uh newly his new wife, you know, in bed in cold blood. It was rough, man, and it it was very tragic. They had kids involved, and some kids side with the mother, a couple of them do not. It's a big mess. But the movie was, it was . It was it was very 1992. Never would imagine, but uh the movie it it it grabbed you right away. One of those Lifetime movies, so you, you know, when I say that, you already know. You know what I'm talking about. How they're going to treat the man. But speaking of Family Ties, I just recently watched Teen Wolf, Michael J. Fox. Now, this movie when it came out was one of my favorite films to watch, especially seeing, you know, the guy turn into a werewolf, and, you know, just all his exploits riding on the van and just having a good time. But boy, when I go back and look at this movie, which was made, which came out 1985, wow. Still entertaining, let me tell you that. I watched this with my kids, they enjoyed it, uh, just had a good time. But man, uh, talking about from an athletic standpoint, these are probably the most out of shape athletes I've ever seen. These guys are out of You should watch Teen Wolf just to watch the basketball sequences. My God. Um, the authenticity is not there. It's so much so when you like, when you see Michael J. Fox when he's dribbling, he's the point guard because he's short. You know, he's dribbling the ball, he's like looking at the ball, he might throw the ball in the air and it's going in one trajectory, and when it cuts to the scene of the ball going into the net, it's like coming from a different location. You're like, what in the world is this? But still entertaining, but I just thought that was hilarious on how they handled the the sports. But the the action scenes. However, the theme of the film comes across, and there's a lot of learning, there's learning lessons and a coming-of-age story. And I actually that was a good I didn't actually anticipate watching the whole film, but I ended up watching the whole film with my wife and kids. And it, um, yes, didn't anticipate to watch it, and it and the pace was a little bit slower than I anticipated as well. Uh, but it it still kind of kept you going. And this is also one of those movies that the score, if you if you remember watching this, like the score is very much a character on its own from the sound design and the score. It is a character. It's one of those, uh, films when you play it, it just kind of brings you back into that zone. So yeah, Teen Wolf. If you've never seen it, check it out. 1985. That was that was cool.

TV Show Updates: The Flash and Rick and Morty
Reginald Titus Jr.: Outside of movies, um, I've been watching a little bit of television. Been watching The Flash series, which is on Netflix. It's one of those safe shows you can watch with your family. Um, we've kind of just been keeping up with that with the kids, and that one, you kind of kind of take the good and the bad. With that, with TV with TV shows that have a lot of special effects, they have to meet a certain schedule. And with that being said, special effects a lot of the times are not going to be the best. But they do the best that they can with what they got, and it is still an entertaining show. You know, I don't know how they get the actors to to stick with these programs for so long, but it's been a it's been around for a minute. Um, and I think I'm on, we're on season five. I like 20 something episodes or 17. I don't know. A lot of episodes. Yesterday, and I hope y'all guys are having a happy laborious day, Happy Labor Day. Uh, but yesterday, um, Rick and Morty, the season finale for that show. There was two episodes dropped, and it was actually this this season of Rick and Morty is like kind of hit or miss for me. Uh, but the last few episodes have kind of been redeemable. And, uh, specifically, the last episode was pretty good. You know, I don't know if they're going to end this uh this saga. I don't know what they're going to do because they take so long to to drop a season that uh I think, um, the intrigue isn't for me, isn't there anymore. I just want to watch, you know, I'm ready to watch the next season, but they take so long that I'm like, I don't, you know, just holler at me when it happens, kind of thing. Uh, but I I can't say that those last two episodes are pretty good.

Final Thoughts and Next Episode Tease
Reginald Titus Jr.: And I think that's all I've been watching. Guys, again, I hope y'all had a happy holiday. This is the pre-show for episode 104. Uh, episode 104 we're going into Total Recall, one of my top 100 films, period. Again, thank you for tuning in to Filmmaker Commentary. Uh, we will holler at you soon, and also this this is Monday, so Labor Day. Um, we will be what am I going to say? So we this episode 104 will be dropping this week. I'm trying to get better at dropping our episodes on Monday, but at the very least, I want to drop a pre-show and let you know we're still rocking, we're still hanging in there. And thanks for tuning in, and we'll be dropping Total Recall this week, episode 104. Until next time, peace.

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Reginald Titus Jr.

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