POP ART: Episode 71, The Bridge on the River Kwai

POP ART, WHERE I FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE: CARRY ON CAMPING-The Bride on the River Kwai/King Rat

“What have I done?” People do it different ways. Some use sleeping bags under the stars. Some use tents. Some use air mattresses and bring along TVs. Some dress up in drag. Others do it spending time as POWs. Sounds like it’s time for Episode 71 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. For this episode, I am happy to welcome back as my guest, blogger and podcaster movierob, who has chosen as his selection the David Lean/Alec Guinness epic The Bridge on the River Kwai, while I have chosen the more cynical Bryan Forbes angry young man film, King Rat, both about prisoners in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.

And in this episode we answer such questions as: Who was the first actor considered for the Alec Guiness role in The Bridge on the River Kwai? What happened to George Segal’s career? What mistake did Pierre Boulle make about the location of the river and what did the government of Burma do in response? Where was King Rat filmed? Where did the Corporal Bogey march come from and how did it end up in the movie? Are both films about being at war, or are they really about the British class system? What did William Holden have to do to his body to take the role in …Kwai? What game show host appeared at the end of King Rat? What horror film did author James Clavell write that launched his screenwriting career?

Check out Movierob’s The Great Escape Minute Podcast aka MovieRob Minute Season 1 https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/podomatic71335

And his blog at https://movierob.wordpress.com/

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

Check out my Script Consultation Services at http://ow.ly/HPxKE. I offer several types of service. Testimonials can be found at the blog entry.

Finally, I have published a collection of three of my plays, 3 Plays, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08478DBXF as well as two collections of short stories, The Starving Artists and other stories, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FS91CKJ and The Five Corporations and the One True Church and other stories, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KY5Z3CF.

Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay?  Check out the second edition of my screenwriting book, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader published on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GD1XP9Y

POP ART: Episode 70, Home Alone/3615 Code Pere Noel

“Keep the change, ya filthy animal”. It’s Christmas time. Trees decorated with fairy lights and tinsel. Stockings hung up on the mantelpiece with care. Mistletoe. Presents. Snow. Thieves breaking into the house to steal everything. A psychotic Santa breaking in to kill everyone. Ah, the holidays. Sounds like it’s time for Episode 70 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. This time round, I am happy to welcome back as my guest, blogger, podcaster and Xmas film enthusiast, Jay Cluitt, who has chosen as his selection the yuletide classic Home Alone, while I have chosen the French cult thriller 3615 Code Pere Noel, both about kids threated by bad guys breaking into their home during the holidays, because nothing says Christmas like home invasion. And I should also add that we are doing something a little different in that the film I chose, neither Jay nor I have seen before this podcast. So we shall see how that goes.

And in this episode, we answer such questions as: What is it about Christmas movies anyway? What happened to that kid in 3615 Code Pere Noel and what does Batman have to do with it? What happened to that kid in Home Alone? Who plagiarized who? Bare feet anyone? How much did John Candy get paid for being in Home Alone? What were all the aka’s for 3615 Code Pere Noel? Why was Pesci so difficult to work with in Home Alone? What is “responsible stock”? What was the most difficult scene to film in Home Alone?

Meanwhile, check out Jay’s podcast Deep Blue Sea (about Renny Harlin’s film) on Apple, Spotify, Podomatic and many other streaming services.

And his blog Life v. Film at https://lifevsfilm.com/

Check out my blog at https://howardcasner.wordpress.com/

My books, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader, The Starving Artists and Other Stories and The Five Corporations and One True Religion can be found at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=howard+casner&ref=nb_sb_noss

Meanwhile, like, follow or comment on my podcast. I’d love to know what you think. And check out the other episodes. On ITUNES and PODOMATIC. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pop-art/id1511098925 & https://hcasner65579.podomatic.com/, Anchor: https://anchor.fm/howard-casner, and Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/5jX4noVGArDJdmcFtmrQcG , Sticher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/pop-art, Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/…, Breaker: https://www.breaker.audio/pop-art, Pocketcasts: https://pca.st/vfjqj6j6, Radiopublic: https://radiopublic.com/pop-art-GExxNb and other streaming sites

Check out my Script Consultation Services at http://ow.ly/HPxKE. I offer several types of service. Testimonials can be found at the blog entry.

Finally, I have published a collection of three of my plays, 3 Plays, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08478DBXF as well as two collections of short stories, The Starving Artists and other stories, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FS91CKJ and The Five Corporations and the One True Church and other stories, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KY5Z3CF.

Ever wonder what a reader for a contest or agency thinks when he reads your screenplay?  Check out the second edition of my screenwriting book, More Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader published on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GD1XP9Y