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In a team-up we never expected, this week we are covering “Never Say Goodbye,” a 1982 Yoko Ono song that Peter Bogdanovich directed a music video for… in 1995. Would it shock you to hear that Peter put his regulars of Eric Stoltz and L.B. Stratten in this? This music video also features (as far as we’ve gotten) Peter’s only canonical queer characters, which is certainly something. Plus, it’s a very catchy song!
We also discuss if Peter is an ally, if trains and buses can count as hotels, and our dislike for Sean Lennon’s whole vibe. Plus, an Illegally Yours friend has a special message for Journey’s 26th birthday and we learn some important Peter news!
 
Further “Reading” 
Behind the scenes of filming 
Intro trailer for the music video shown at the AMFAR Benefit Gala
Cast soundtrack for New York Rock
Review: Another Chrous in the Ballad of John & Yoko by Stephen Holden for the NYT (March 31, 1994)
“Never Say Goodbye” remastered music video
 
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This week we’re joined by special guest Isaac Owens as we follow Peter all the way down to the Deep South and meet our new pals Miranda, James, Kyle, and Linda Lue Linden in The Thing Called Love. A major box office disappointment of its year, we’re here to once again reappraise a misunderstood Bogdanovich picture (trust us)! We put on our dancin’ boots and quite enjoyed this musical dramedy about a young singer-songwriter named Miranda Presley (no relation to Elvis) as she follows her country music dreams in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s got River Phoenix’s last performance, Sandra Bullock right before she broke out in Speed, fantastic country outfits, really fun country music, and even a virtually invisible cameo of Peter riding a horse.
We discuss horrible bars in Nashville’s Broadway, the best fascist romcom of the year, people with rancid vibes at a Bob Dylan concert, our continuing addiction to buying physical media, and the geography of Nashville. Plus, we get hyped for the upcoming release of Jimmy, Isaac introduces batshit IMDB reviews to our Sort By: Lowest segment, and Jonah accidentally manifests the new 4K Criterion of Harold and Maude into existence. 
 
Further “Reading”
By Bogdanovich (2011)
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
This Is Orson Welles by Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles
They All Laughed AFI Catalog entry
The Thing Called Love Director’s Cut DVD 
“Movies - Sept. 2, 1992” by Aleene MacMinn for the LA Times
November 1994 Cosmo interview with Sandra Bullock
Dermot Mulroney playing the cello with Ellen
Siskel and Ebert The Thing Called Love episode
“Not Phony: Peter Bogdanovich’s The Thing Called Love” by James Kenney (July 18, 2022)
 
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Next Episode: “Never Say Goodbye” by Yoko Ono (1995)
 
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After the box office flop of Texasville, Peter returns to cinema with an adaptation of a British farce. Would you be shocked to hear that while also flopping at the box office, we think this movie is quite good! We are joined this week by podcaster, critic, and Film Twitter™ darling Jane Altoids to discuss Bogdanovich’s 1992 comedy Noises Off!, also stylized as Noises Off… and simply, Noises Off. After establishing Michael Caine’s anxiety over the show’s Broadway Premiere, the film follows a three act structure of chaos and different performances leading up to its big New York premiere. There’s sardines, there’s mile-a-minute-dialogue, there’s cheating (shocking for a Bogdanovich picture I know), and there’s John Ritter! All the makings of classic (so Disney please give this a 4K release! A Blu-Ray! Please!!).
We also discuss Minions & Monsters, the new Jon Bernthal-led Dog Day Afternoon stage play, Bane being the scariest guy we’ve ever seen in our lives, Freddy Got Fingered, awkward filmmaker Q&As, 
 
Further “Reading”
By Bogdanovich (2011)
Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich by Andrew Yule
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
This Is Orson Welles by Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles
Noises Off by Michael Frayn 
Noises Off (1992) Behind the Scenes
Noises Off (1992) AFI Catalog
“Playing ‘Noises Off’ the American Way” by Michael Frayn, LA Times, April 6, 1992
“We Could all Use a Little Sex and Slapstick Comedy Right Now,” Sarah Deshaies talking to Jacob Tierney about his 2015 production of Noises Off! For Cult MTL, February 2, 2017
Vincent Canby for The NYT, March 20, 1992
“Touchstone and Beyond: A History of Disney’s ‘Noises Off’” by Bill Gowsell
Michael Caine's "Batman Begin" tweet
 
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It’s a new decade for Peter Bogdanovich and for him that means returning to familiar territory. This week we are joined by Boston Hassle film critic and Hawke Cast cohost Kyle Amato to talk about 1990’s Texasville, the sequel to The Last Picture Show that nobody really asked for (but we quite enjoyed anyway). With nearly all the cast returning and some new faces (oh hey Annie Potts!!), Bog tries to make a comeback by following the life of Jeff Bridges’ Duane in Reagan-era Texas. It’s melancholic and funny all at once and we really wish that people would give it a chance! They even put both the theatrical and director’s cut versions on the Criterion disc of The Last Picture Show! No excuse not to watch!
We also talk about Bar Rescue, legacy sequels, Wahlburgers, Journey's continued dislike for The Napa Boys, and the multiple Robert Altman movies Texasville made us think of. Plus, we advocate for how everyone should watch Peter Weir’s Fearless, work out a premise for Call Me by Your Name 2: This Time It’s a Chick!, and Jonah commits the unforgivable sin of forgetting a critical hotel for hotel watch.
 
Further “Reading”
By Bogdanovich (2011)
Picture This: The Times of Peter Bogdanovich in Archer City, Texas (1991)
Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich by Andrew Yule
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
Cybil Disobedience by Cybill Shepherd with Aimee Lee Ball
“Annie Potts: Deep in the Heart of ‘Texasville’” by David Wallace for the LA Times (Sept. 28, 1990)
AFI Catalog for Texasville
Variety review of Texasville
Peter Travers’ review of Texasville for Rolling Stone
Vincent Canby’s review of Texasville for The NYT
Janet Maslin’s review of Texasville for The NYT
“Welcome to the Age of the Legacyquel” by Matt Singer for Screen Crush, November 23, 2015
The Last Picture Show Criterion ft. Texasville
Roger Ebert reviews Texasville
Siskel and Ebert review Texasville
Peter discussing Texasville with Bobbie Wygant, September 22, 1990
Peter discussing Texasville with Bob Costas, October 1, 1990
Cloris Leachman discussing Texasville with Bobbie Wygant, September 22, 1990
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After a string of unique releases (and an unexpected relief special we found) this week we’re wrapping up Peter’s 1980s! Much like the 1970s, Peter had a number of unrealized projects in this tumultuous decade (imagine Bog’s Popeye!) and also had his first executive producer credit with Moon Pictures: Martha Coolidge’s 1984 narrative feature debut, The City Girl! The City Girl follows a young Toronto photographer as she breaks up with her shitty boyfriend, has a charmingly awkward threesome, and investigates a local cult. It’s a very solid picture that’s sadly only available via some VHS rips.
We also talk about our continued dislike for Ryan O’Neal, Czechoslovakian New Wave classic Daisies, how offputting it is to actually project Targets on film, Peter kinda-sorta being the reason this movie has never had an actual release outside festivals, King Kong needing a heart transplant, and Colleen Camp singing for the city giiiiiiiiiiiirl. 
 
Further “Reading”
The City Girl (1984)
By Bogdanovich (2011)
Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich by Andrew Yule
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
Destroy All Movies!!! The Complete Guide To Punks On Film by Zack Carlson & Bryan Connolly
Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors In Their Own Words by Marya E. Gates
“Rusty Mason: The real woman behind 'Mask'” By Iris Krasnow for UPI (May 14, 1985)
“Well, Hello Molly Ringwald!” by Richard Corliss for Time (May 26, 1986)
“Our Entire Belief System Must Change” by Martha Coolidge for the NYT (August 14, 2012)
“The Chronicler of the Kingdom of New York: Peter Kaplan 1954-2013” by M.H. Miller for Observer (November 30, 2013)
“Present Tense: Martha Coolidge” by Sheila O’Malley for Film Comment (Mar/April 2020)
“‘I Loved John. I Miss Him a Lot.’ Peter Bogdanovich Reminisces on His Friend John Cassavetes” by John Gallagher for MovieMaker (January 31, 2023)
Private Lives screenplay
Whereabouts screenplay and draft notes
Wild About Harry screenplay
The Intimate Writings of Theodor Hammer screenplay
Orson Welles Moonlight Intro
 
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In a 🚨🚨Special Alert 🚨🚨 episode, we are talking about Peter Bogdanovich’s Armenian Earthquake Relief special, Friend to Friend! After months of relentless searching and investigating, Jonah discovered that TWO copies of this Bogdanovich oddity (Bogoddity, some might say) live at the Armenian Museum of America in Watertown, Massachusetts!
 
In this episode, Jonah tells of his odyssey to find Friend to Friend and we discuss our thoughts on the special itself. Made in an effort to fundraise for relief after the December 1988 earthquake, this special switches between two points. On one hand we are shown informative documentary footage about the earthquake, the Armenian genocide, and overall Armenian history. On the other, we also meet some of the biggest stars of the late 80’s that they could ring up rehearsing the English version of Charles Aznavour’s “Pour toi, Arménie.” We've got Liza, We've got Dionne Warwick, we've got Mannix from Mannix! We also talk about our continued hate for Fathom Events.
 
Further “Reading”
Friend to Friend: Armenian Earthquake Relief (1989), now on YouTube!
“Stars sing 'For You, Armenia'” from UPI (January 29, 1989)
“Raising Their Voices to Aid Armenian Orphans” by John Burman for the L.A. Times (January 31, 1989)
“Stars Band Together For Armenia” by Tom De Savia for Cash Box Magazine [Pg. 4] (February 11, 1989) 
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We knew there would be some low points in Bogdanovich’s filmography but.. Whew. Talk about a new low! Wait… maybe a Rob Lowe! That’s right, this week we are talking about absolutely nobody’s favorite Bogdanovich picture: Illegally Yours! A movie we watched and somehow found enough to talk about for 90ish minutes. It’s a film that makes no sense, that nobody had fun making, and flopped so bad in summer test screenings that it got pushed to a January release. Illegally Yours is an attempt at a screwball comedy; young juror Richard Dice (Rob Lowe) tries to save his childhood crush, Molly (Colleen Camp), from being sent to jail. There’s cassette tapes, castles, St. Augustine, and Harry Carey Jr.!
We also talk about Rob Lowe’s 1989 Academy Awards opening musical number with Snow White, the Nate Rate©, Pete’s weirdest new relationship, “horse protein”, and imagining Bogdanovich’s version of Dune.
Further “Reading”
By Bogdanovich (2011)
Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich by Andrew Yule
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
Illegally Yours (1988) on Tubi
Illegally Yours Trailer #1
llegally Yours Trailer #2
“The Rejected Flower: A Heartfelt Defense of Peter Bogdanovich’s Romantic Freefall Through Space, ILLEGALLY YOURS” by James Kenney
“Illegally Yours” by Variety Staff (December 31, 1987)
“Tough Test” from the L.A. Times Archive (July 19, 1987)
“PETER BOGDANOVICH: The Hollywood Flashback Interview” by Alex Simon (April 2002)
“Debt-Ridden De Laurentiis is Filmstuck” for the Chicago Tribune (February 24, 1988)
Trailer for Young Washington (if a single soul reading this decides to watch, please pirate it and do not give Angel Studios any money)
Rob Lowe Opens the 1989 Oscars with Snow White!
“Photo Archive: Illegally Yours | Star Rob Lowe and director Peter Bogdanovich make a really bad movie in St. Augustine in 1988” in the St. Augustine Record (September 25, 2012)
 
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This week, we discuss everyone’s favorite ‘80s classic about a boy and his mother, first loves, fighting back against bullies, a close-knit community, and life and death in sunny California. What’s that, Back to the Future? No, this one actually does end up starring Eric Stoltz, it’s Peter Bogdanovich’s 1985 film Mask! We are joined by film programmer and trivia host legend Billy Thegenus to discuss Bog’s last box office success with this Cher, Eric Stoltz, Sam Elliott, and Laura Dern drama. In Peter’s return to directing after a four-year break, he tackles the real-life story of Rocky Dennis, a teenager with a rare disease that causes cranial enlargements, and his mother, Rusty. Would you be shocked to hear that Cher and Bogdanovich clashed on set? We weren’t.
We also discuss Alex Proyas’ Knowing, more tree calendars, Ryan O’Neal (we simply cannot escape him), Eric Stoltz directing several episodes of Glee, and the plight of Rotta the Hut. Also, a loud noise we thought was a branch hitting Billy’s roof was actually a meteor creating a sonic boom over Massachusetts (timestamp - 1:02:33). Even 1,000 miles away, the power of podcasting keeps Journey in the loop on New England supremacy.
Further “Reading”
By Bogdanovich (2011)
The Elephant Man (1980)
A Different Man (2024)
Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich by Andrew Yule
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
Cher: Part 1: The Memoir by Cher
Mask AFI Catalog
“Mask, Bogdanovich Tale of a Rare Disease” by Vincent Canby for the NYT (March 8, 1985)
“The Drama Behind Mask” by Michelle Green for People (March 18, 1985)
“An Unusual Mother: Helping Her Children Face Down Death” by Linda Witt for the Chicago Tribune (May 11, 1986)
New Musical ‘Mask’ Premieres at Pasadena Playhouse
“Mask, Musical Tale of Mother, Son and Belonging, Begins World Premiere in CA” by Kenneth Jones for Playbill (March 12, 2008) 
“In Conversation: Peter Bogdanovich” by Andrew Goldman for Vulture (2019)
“Sam Elliott was a fan of Cher long before they starred together in Mask” by Clark Collis for Entertainment Weekly (February 12, 2019)
“Florence Tullis, portrayed by Cher in ‘Mask,’ dies at age 70” by Dennis McLellan for the LA Times (November 19, 2006)
“'Mask' Director Peter Bogdanovich on Cher's Bad Attitude — and Why She Still Deserved the Oscar” by Peter Bogdanovich as told to Tatiana Siegel, originally published in The Hollywood Reporter (August 28, 2015)
“Cher Lambasts ‘Mask’ Director Peter Bogdanovich As Misogynistic, A ‘Pig’: ‘So F—ing Arrogant’” by Natalie Oganesyan for Deadline (November 23, 2024)
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This week, we take a turn from Bogdanovich and check in on his cinematic analogs with Bob Fosse’s final film, Star 80. Fosse takes on Dorothy Stratten’s rise to stardom, meeting and falling in love with Bogdanovich (or, according to the film, “Aram Nicholas”), and the tragic murder at the hands of her husband. 
 
We also discuss the atrocious television movie version starring Jamie Lee Curtis, how to spot a Bogdanovich analog if he isn’t wearing a bandana, Robert Redford’s final film choices, the legacy of the Jackass franchise, and why Peter got really into making calendars based on trees. 
 
Further “Reading”
Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981)
By Bogdanovich (2011)
One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & the Lost American Film (2014)
20/20: Death of Playmate Pt. 1 (Full episode available on Hulu)
Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich by Andrew Yule
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
The Killing of the Unicorn by Peter Bogdanovich
Star 80 DVD listing
Star 80 AFI Catalog
“Death of a Playmate” by Teresa Carpenter for the Village Voice, November 1980
“Star 80, A Sex-Symbol's Life and Death” by Vincent Canby for the New York Times (November 10, 1983)
Star 80 by Roger Ebert (November 10, 1983)
“Mariel Hemingway: Bob Fosse ‘Literally Chased Me Around a Couch’” by Emily Tess Katz for Huffpost (April 9, 2015)
“Eric Roberts Says Bob Fosse Made Him Spend the Night in the Real ‘Star 80’ Murder Apartment” by Seth Abramovitch (April 20, 2026)
 
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They all laughed… and so did we! We also cried, just a bit. This week, we finally hit a new decade for Bogdanovich as we explore his 1981 misunderstood masterpiece, They All Laughed. And to do this we’re joined by graphic designer, poster artist, and co-host of the arthouse horror podcast Bloodhaus, Drusilla Adeline! The film stars a stacked cast of both Old and New Hollywood: John Ritter, Colleen Camp, Dorothy Stratten, Audrey Hepburn, and the Saint of Singapore himself Ben Gazarra. Affairs, private detectives, roller skating, and even more Peter self-inserts abound. What can we say? We all really adored this movie. 
 
We also discuss Peter playing pinball and eating at the buffet at the Playboy Mansion, Dan Akroyd’s cannibal directorial debut Nothing But Trouble, introducing a loved one to Twin Peaks, how so many people failed Dorothy Stratten, our continued reverence for Robby Müller’s cinematography, and envisioning Peter Bogdanovich discussing ethical non-monogamy. 
 
Further “Reading”
By Bogdanovich (2011)
One Day Since Yesterday: Peter Bogdanovich & the Lost American Film (2014)
Picture Shows: The Life and Films of Peter Bogdanovich by Andrew Yule
Picturing Peter Bogdanovich by Peter Tonguette
The Killing of the Unicorn by Peter Bogdanovich
They All Laughed DVD Release
If you, for whatever reason, are wondering what Tarantino put on his 2002 Sight and Sound list
Bogdanovich talking about Dorothy Stratten
Vincent Canby’s review for the NYT; November 20, 1981
LA Times article about Bogdanovich having to declare bankruptcy due to self-distributing They All Laughed
Dorothy Stratten on Johnny Carson; April 16, 1980
WKRP in Cincinnati S04E10 Love, Exciting and New (Colleen Camp promoting They All Laughed appearance)
San Diego news report on the festival premiere of They All Laughed
Bobbie Wygant interviews Peter Bogdanovich for They All Laughed
Q&A with Peter Bogdanovich & Alex Ross Perry for They All Laughed (September 21, 2012)
“Slippery as the Dickens: Peter Bogdanovich on “They All Laughed’”by Peter Sobczynski for RogerEbert.com (October 13, 2016)
"Peter Bogdanovich’s Dying Wish Was for His Lost Classic ‘They All Laughed’ to Finally Be Seen" by Harrison Richlin for IndieWire (September 24, 2024)
You Must Remember This - “Dead Blondes, Episode 13: Dorothy Stratten" (April 25, 2017)
You Must Remember This - “Polly Platt, The Invisible Woman, Episode 6: Pretty Baby and a Playmate Murder” (June 29, 2020)
The Plot Thickens “I’m Still Peter Bogdanovich - Episode 6: Dorothy” (May 26, 2020)
Wes Anderson interviews Peter Bogdanovich about They All Laughed (Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3)
 
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