The Industry

Preston Sturges was so desperate to direct that he sold one of his scripts for $10 — then persuaded silent film and talkie star Harold Lloyd to star. This is a story that includes Howard Hughes, a secret tunnel to the Chateau Marmont, and some very funny insights by Sturges' son, Tom Sturges. It also notes the amusing similarities between 1947's The Sin of Harold Diddlebock , which has some intere...

Dan Delgado is the host of The Industry , where he focuses each episode on lesser-known or forgotten movie history. He tells stories of Hollywood's weirdest decisions — and has a special place in his heart for the industry heroes who tried, and usually failed, to make something great. On this special crossover episode of MovieMaker and The Industry, Dan talks about his VHS-shaped 1980s childhood,...

At the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, the impresarios of Cannon Films — best known for movies like Superman IV and Over the Top — showed up on the scene in matching tracksuits, with a grand vision. They announced their slate of movies for the next year or so. And while the majors were being lazy with their 15 or so movies a year, Cannon's announcement was for a jaw-dropping 60 film...

In the 1970s, in an attempt to thaw the Cold War, the U.S. and USSR decided to co-produce a film: Cinematic detente!  The United States would provide big Hollywood stars like Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Cicely Tyson. They would be directed by the legendary George Cukor. The Soviet Union agreed to provide the crew, equipment, locations, and of course some ballet dancers.  Then it all...

When Bruce Lee died on June 20, 1973, Hollywood and Hong Kong scrambled to replace him, creating a misbegotten genre called "Bruceploitation." But Bruce Lee was, of course, irreplaceable. On the latest episode of  The Industry , Dan Delgado details the rise of Bruce Lee — and the foolish, quixotic attempts to find any actor who could match him in terms of fighting prowess, charm and charisma....

Roar  is the story of a family — including Tippi Hedren and real-life daughter Melanie Griffith — stalked by lions and tigers on an African nature preserve. When it was finally released in the United States in 2015 — nearly 40 years after it began its five-year, accident-filled shoot — savvy distribution company Drafhouse Films used the tagline, "No Animals Were Harmed in the Making of This F...

Nicholas Ray is a legendary director known for his emotional, incredibly influential output in the 1950s. From Humphrey Bogart's best performance with In A Lonely Place to James Dean's iconic turn in Rebel Without A Cause , Nicholas Ray was responsible for some of film's greatest moments. As Jean-Luc Godard explained, "Cinema is Nicholas Ray." But Ray's demons of drinking, gambling, and drug...

In 1970 Warner Brothers had a surprise hit on its hands when they released the documentary/concert film Woodstock. Though the studio spent less than a million dollars on it, the film would eventually gross $50 million at the box office. Warner Bros. had caught lightning in a bottle. The question for the suits was: How do we make lightning strike twice?  The answer was the  Medicine Ball...

When I first met Aigul Kaparova, the woman whom I would eventually marry, she told me she was from Kazakhstan. And of course there was basically one thing I knew about Kazakhstan: Borat.   I remember asking her how she felt about  Borat , because I remembered the reaction to that film in Kazakhstan. She told me the whole controversy didn't really bother her much and that the country had...

Christopher Reeve came out of Superman retirement to make Superman IV: The Quest for Peace , a film widely considered a disaster. He had said in 1983, after the release of Superman III , that he was done with the role that made him a star. So why did he return for a relatively low-budget superman movie, in which he battled a villain named Nuclear Man? To help green light another film, Street Smart...

In 1985, Baltimore infomercial star Santo Victor Rigatuso, aka Santo Gold, produced an extravaganza with something for everyone: It promised horror, wrestling, rock, and even a "three-headed Munga Magoon." It was all supposed to be filmed and turned into a feature film more exciting than the recent Rocky III . The spectacle, called Blood Circus , was also supposed to introduce some exciting new te...

John Barry is a deeply respected set designer, responsible for the Korova Milk Bar in A  Clockwork Orange , the cantina in  Star Wars , and the Fortress of Solitude in  Superman , among other starkly original film locales. But when it came time to make his own film,  Saturn 3 , things fell apart. The setup for Saturn 3 is fine: Farrah Fawcett and Kirk Douglas are a May-December...

In 1971 actor Elliott Gould was on top of world. Then he started A Glimpse of Tiger, a new movie that he was starring and producing. What followed was a tumultuous five day production that would see Gould fire his director, terrify his co-star, and have armed guards be called to the set.    Show notes with sources listed can be found here . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...

When Israeli filmmaker Menahem Golan wanted to break into Hollywood he went all in on an over the top disco musical. Unfortunately by 1980, when his movie was released, disco was dead and the reaction to his flashy new film didn’t go according to plan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slow, melancholy, and the true meaning of Christmas. It might sound more like a December mass at a local church but it's actually commonly used description of a beloved holiday classic: A Charlie Brown Christmas.  In this bonus episode we go over how this timeless tale, that was originally as wanted as a withered Charlie Brown tree, became to be the enduring classic it's considered today. Hosted o...

Patrick Read Johnson first wrapped on his autobiographical film 5-25-77 back in 2004. The title refers to the day Star Wars was released and how it changed his life. In the years since then he's be working to get the picture finished his own way. In 2019 he's almost there.  Show notes and sources listed at http://industrypodcast.org/articles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informat...

Director Michael Cimino has a complicated history. As Oscar and Razzie winner who only made seven films, Cimino frequently found himself struggling with producers to get his vision out.  When the producers of The Sicilian felt his version was too long he used his final cut clause to give them something else. It wasn't a good idea.    Show notes and links to sources can be found at  https://industr...

Jamaa Fanaka was the most prolific college filmmaker of all time. Once he left college he found Hollywood to not be so inclusive. He decided to fight the industry with a series of lawsuits that would ultimately cost him his career.  Filmmakers Zeinabu Davis, Lexi Alexander, and Maria Giese help tell this story along with Jamaa's attorney Irving Meyer.  Show notes and sources listed here:  https://...

On paper it was a great idea. Bringing the iconic character of The Lone Ranger to the silver screen should have brought with it good feelings of classic television, Americana, and just plain ole nostalgia. However, when producers decided to ice out Clayton Moore, the man who was behind the mask for years on television, they found themselves in fight with the Lone Ranger fan base itself. On the set...

The James Bond series has been going for over 50 years. In that time the MI:6 agent has fought many villains. However, for many fans of the series, 007's greatest villain might have been off screen. Producer Kevin McClory helped create the "cinematic Bond" and then spent most of the rest of his life trying to claim him for himself.  Show notes and sources listed at http://industrypodcast.org/artic...

In the 1970's actor Tom Laughlin helped change the industry with his advertising and distribution ideas for his Billy Jack series. In the 1980's he planned a comeback movie and another potential industry game changer, this time for home video. It did not go according to plan.  Robin Hutton, Laughlin's former assistant and an author, helps the story of Laughlin's attempted return.    Show notes and...

Robertino Yanzanny was just a teenager in Puerto Rico when he fell in love with the movies and developed an admiration for super producer Dino De Laurentiis. De Laurentiis left a huge impression in The Industry. Big successes and big flops and big risks were his standard. When Dino opened his own studio in the 1980s things did not go exactly according to plan. Then he had an idea. It involved garb...

Jackie Gleason is an entertainment legend. He's one guy who truly did it all. Movies, Broadway, conducted his own orchestra (!), and most of all television. He was The Great One, after all. That doesn't mean the guy didn't make mistakes. In 1961 Gleason made a huge mistake when, after a couple of years away from television, he made a highly anticipated return with what turned out to be a ridiculou...

A new season of The Industry is coming this summer, with more lesser known stories of Hollywood history.  Check out season one at http://theindustrypodcast.com .  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Dukes of Hazzard was a top ten show heading into its fifth season. That's when a report came out revealing just how much the show had earned in merchandising. And that's when the stars of that show realized how much they weren't getting. In this episode of The Industry we take a look at the contract dispute that led to two replacements taking over a top ten show and how that show would never b...