Show Notes
Sink your teeth into 1985’s Fright Night — a perfect blend of suburban satire, 80s flair, and bloodsucking fun. We’re talking practical effects, prosthetic nightmares, and one of the most charming vampires ever to hit the big screen. From Tom Holland’s sharp direction to Chris Sarandon’s suave menace, this is horror with heart, humour, and a lot of fake blood. Joining us this week are director Geoff Harmer and writer-producer Peter Hearn, the punk-powered duo behind Dead Air and Blink. We dive into their creative chaos: From punk rock to puppets to pure psychological panic and explore how Fright Night’s mix of comedy and terror still inspires their own brand of indie horror magic today.
You can find Geoff and Pete's work at: https://www.youtube.com/@fraughtUK Frightseers: Future Proof Trailer can be fund here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfV5HHrUPAA&feature=youtu.be and don't miss Blink The scariest Short Film John and Planty have seen all year: https://youtu.be/AVHV7mJTHFw?si=6swN81Hy5N8SNjJN
--- If you love what we do and want to sink your teeth a little deeper into the show, you can support us over on Patreon. You’ll get early access to episodes, exclusive bonus content, behind-the-scenes chats, and the odd bit of delightful nonsense we can’t put anywhere else. Every pledge helps us keep digging into the weird, wonderful world of film — one movie at a time. patreon.com/100thingsfilm --- Fright Night is a 1985 American supernatural horror film written and directed by Tom Holland, in his directorial debut. The film follows teenager Charley Brewster (played by William Ragsdale), who discovers that his next-door neighbor Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire. When no one believes him, Charley decides to get Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall), a TV show host who acted in films as a vampire hunter, to stop Jerry's killing spree. The film was released on August 2, 1985, and grossed $24.9 million at the box office. Since its release, it has received positive reviews from critics and become a cult classic, and spawned the media franchise of the same name. Fright Night was followed by a sequel, Fright Night Part 2, in 1988, and a remake of the same name in 2011.
More from 100 Things we learned from film
John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982): Kurt Russell wasn’t first choice, the sombrero was locked in before he could object, and the best performance might have come from a wolfdog named Jed. 🐺 This week on 100 Things We Learned from Film, we dig into the making of The Thing with Biggie from the To Be Continued Podcast. We cover the casting story, how Rob Bottin’s 57-week effects marathon nearly broke him, and why a film critics trashed and audiences ignored became a horror masterpiece. In this episode: The casting story: who else was considered before Kurt Russell Why Russell hated the sombrero, and why it stayed Jed the wolfdog, his stand-in, and the animal actor who stole the opening Rob Bottin, the 22-year-old effects wizard who worked seven days a week for 57 weeks Stan Winston’s last-minute dog-puppet rescue Jell-O arms, a ten-hour chest-burst setup, and other practical effects madness The ending Russell and Carpenter shaped together Opening the same summer as E.T. and Blade Runner Morricone’s score and what happened to his unused music
A 1992 action thriller directed by Andrew Davis, starring Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, and Gary Busey. The U.S. Navy's finest battleship gets hijacked by a rock band that isn't actually a rock band, a Tommy Lee Jones who's clearly having the time of his life, and a Gary Busey performance that should legally require a warning label. Standing between them and a stolen arsenal of nuclear missiles: one cook, played by Steven Seagal. Sure, he's a former Navy SEAL who happens to be a stone-cold killing machine, but on paper a cook. Erika Eleniak rounds out the cast as the Playboy Playmate hired to jump out of a birthday cake. We dig into Seagal's one truly fine movie, the drag scene nobody asked for, and how this thing somehow got Harrison Ford into The Fugitive. Starring Steven Seagal, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, Erika Eleniak, Patrick O'Neal, Nick Mancuso, Colm Meaney, Andy Romano, Damian Chapa, Troy Evans 🎙️ Support the show and pick a future episode: patreon.com/100thingsfilm 🔗 All our links: 100thingswelearnedfromfilm.co.uk
The men who made American Pie decided their next film should be a sensitive Nick Hornby adaptation starring Hugh Grant. Somehow, it worked. This week we’re looking at About a Boy, the 2002 comedy-drama starring Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette and Rachel Weisz. We dig into the making of the film, the long road to getting it on screen, Hugh Grant's involvement in casting Nicholas Hoult, the thousands of boys who auditioned for Marcus, the original director who left the project, the film's journey from American Pie to Nick Hornby, and the fascinating story behind Badly Drawn Boy's soundtrack. Plus plenty more behind-the-scenes stories from one of Hugh Grant's most memorable roles. Listen to 100 Things We Learned From Film wherever you get your podcasts. Find us at 100thingswelearnedfromfilm.co.uk Support the show and get bonus episodes at patreon.com/100thingsfilm
Bond. Submarines. A giant tanker. A man with metal teeth. And somehow, that’s not even the strange part. This week on 100 Things We Learned From Film, we’re diving into Roger Moore’s The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) one of the biggest, daftest and most spectacular Bond films ever made. Joining Planty and John is Ian Graham from Cult Connections Podcast, as we uncover the stories behind the making of the film, including the enormous 007 Stage, the casting of Barbara Bach and Richard Kiel, the incredible ski jump, the Lotus Esprit submarine, Ken Adam’s spectacular production design, Marvin Hamlisch’s disco-infused score and the many, many things that had to go spectacularly right to make this particular Bond adventure work. We’ll also find out how close Catherine Deneuve came to playing Anya Amasova, why Stanley Kubrick secretly turned up at Pinewood, and how they managed to make a bloody Lotus Esprit go underwater. So grab your tux, check your parachute and try not to annoy Jaws. This is 100 Things We Learned From The Spy Who Loved Me. Our Guest – Ian Graham This week we're joined by Ian Graham, host of Cult Connections Podcast. Cult Connections explores the links between films, television and books, jumping from cult classics to major blockbusters and finding the connections, influences and weird little bits of film and TV history hiding between them. Ian is joined by a different guest for each episode, covering everything from horror and science fiction to classic television and the films that probably don't get talked about enough. If you like your film chat with plenty of enthusiasm, obscure connections and the occasional trip down a very unexpected rabbit hole, give Cult Connections a listen. Support 100 Things We Learned From Film If you enjoy what we do and want to help keep the podcast going, you can support us on Patreon for just £1 a month. You'll get a shout-out on the show, early access to episodes, bloopers, the chance to pick a future episode and access to our Patreon-exclusive Cartoon Craic. Join us on Patreon Every contribution helps us research more films, uncover more bizarre trivia and continue making the show. Visit Our Website Find the full episode archive, links and more at: 100 Things We Learned From Film Follow the podcast, subscribe on your favourite podcast app, and tell a mate who enjoys films, trivia and two blokes learning considerably more than they probably needed to know about them. And if you've enjoyed the episode, please leave us a review and share it. It genuinely helps. Find Ian & Cult Connections You can find Cult Connections on your favourite podcast apps and follow Ian's latest episodes, where he explores the strange and wonderful connections between film and television. Cult Connections on Apple Podcasts
Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton spent months transforming themselves into believable MMA fighters. Bones were broken. Real fighters were brought into the cage. And behind it all was a story about two brothers with years of anger, resentment and family trauma waiting to explode. In this episode of 100 Things We Learned From Film, we step into the cage with Gavin O’Connor’s Warrior (2011). From Tom Hardy’s brutal physical transformation and Joel Edgerton’s intensive MMA training to Nick Nolte’s Oscar-nominated performance, Kurt Angle’s real Olympic wrestling credentials and the injuries suffered during filming, we uncover 100 behind-the-scenes facts about the making of one of the most powerful sports films of the 21st century. We also look at how the filmmakers worked with real MMA fighters and coaches, how the Sparta tournament was filmed, and the emotional final fight between Tommy and Brendan. If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe, leave us a review and share it with someone who loves films. Want to help choose what we cover next? Join our Patreon, where our supporters can get involved and pick films for future episodes. Find us, previous episodes and more at: 100thingswelearnedfromfilm.co.uk Support the show on Patreon for an episode of your very own, shout out each week and early access as well as full episodes of our Patreon Exclusive show CARTOON CRAIC patreon.com/100thingsfilm