The New World Pictures Podcast

We are coming in hot (think wearing leather pants in the desert hot) for #SCI-FI-JULY Presents: Dystopian Summer 2: Dystopian HARDER.  This week, we talk about WHEELS OF FIRE, a nearly New World movie directed by the famous/infamous Cirio H Santiago and starring Gary Watkins (Hunter), Laura Banks (Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan) and Lynda Wiesmeier (Avenging Angel).   If you haven't seen WHEELS OF FIRE you should know it's very different from the grossly overlooked action/musical, STREETS OF FIRE, starring Michael Pare and Diane Lane.  WHEELS OF FIRE blends everything you loved about MAD MAX and THE ROAD WARRIOR with a pinch of Lucio Fulci’s CONQUEST and a heavy dollop of STRYKER.   WHEELS OF FIRE takes place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where shirts are optional, cars blow up at the slightest provocation and some people are trying to build a spaceship to reach a newly discovered planet.  Trace and his sister, Arlie, find themselves on a crash course of bad decisions that puts them in harm's way at every turn.  Sadly, Arlie gets the worst of it and Trace lacks any sense of urgency to save her.  Instead, he and his handy flamethrower blazes across the sandy abyss getting into fights with everyone he meets until he meets Stinger, a young, leather-strapped ingénue with a pet eagle that sounds like a hawk.  As you might imagine, one of us is not happy about this.  Each of us gives our own Letterboxd description for WHEELS OF FIRE and we spend an inordinate amount of time talking about the Baldwin brothers.  More specifically, the brothers that aren't named 'Alec'.  Can you name 12 movies off the top of your head starring Stephen Baldwin?  We couldn’t either.  For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

Producer and former New World Pictures Senior Vice President of Production Jeff Schechtman joins us to talk about his career at New World, starting with 1978's PIRANHA and into the post-Roger Corman era where he also producer 1984's BODY ROCK! From starting out as an Assistant to the Producers on projects like TRUCK TURNER, BLACK BELT JONES, and ENTER THE DRAGON for Fred Weintraub's company to getting his own projects (literally) off the ground, Jeff has a variety of stories from his time in the industry! Straddling between tow eras of New World's history, Jeff eventually went on to New Line and helped produce 1993's KILLING ZOE! We discuss it all here! We also discuss a wide variety of New World titles from his time as a New World executive, so get ready for a wide-ranging discussion about New World's history! Now a podcaster himself, Jeff has 3 podcasts you can check out: Talk Cocktail,  California Sun, and Who What Why. Check out his work by clicking on the name of each podcast! For more about the New World Pictures Podcast, including previous episodes, t-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts, other merch and more, head here: https://newworldpicturespodcast.com/ For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/

We close out #JuneBOOM with 1981's FIRECRACKER, advertised by New World to be "the first erotic martial arts thriller." How true is this statement? And is the film erotic enough in the way that middle aged folks would like? We examine with the help of Get Me Another Podcast co-host Chris Iannacone, who also watched New World's TNT JACKSON, a movie that has the exact same plot and was also directed by Cirio Santiago. How much does lead Jillian Kesner know about the martial arts? We get into it in our first research rumble! We also discuss the difficulties of running a small business, even if that business is the drug trade! And we had to discuss the incredible jackets worn by actor Darby Hinton, and we give it the respect it deserves! Hinton also appeared in another New World movie, BLACK OAK CONSPIRACY, but do any of us remember it?  More importantly, will Jillian Kesner ever remember to try and find her sister? After all, that is why she travels to the Philippines in the movie and ends up in a battle to the death! Isn't it? Plus, with over 40 years of reviews, what did AI think of it? And is it, gulp, right? Enjoy this trip back to New World's early action days, and find out if you're tough enough for all that erotic fighting! For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/ 

In our continuing series on exploitation filmmaker Jack Hill, director Elijah Drenner (THAT GUY DICK MILLER, AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE) joins us to discuss Jack's women-in-prison films he made for Roger Corman's New World Pictures: THE BIG DOLL HOUSE and THE BIG BIRD CAGE. With 20 years of experience making featurettes and extras for Blu-rays and DVDs (including the one included on THE BIG DOLL HOSE disc), Elijah has an unique perspective into these films and Jack's career, having been able to interview him several times for various releases of Hill's films. Elijah talks about his love for Jack's films, as well as what he thinks is the perfect women-in-prison film, and the difficulty of trying to get the story behind the story of the films we all love. This episode is not only a celebration of Jack Hill's career, but also of the importance of these behind-the-scenes extras and the context they bring to film history. As physical media lovers ourselves, it was a joy to talk to Elijah about his work and career, and the man we are trying to learn about through this chronological dive into his filmography, Jack Hill.  For more about Elijah's films and career, visit his website here. For all the shows in Someone’s Favorite Productions Podcast Network, head here:  https://www.someonesfavoriteproductions.com/