Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to the 528th episode of Sneaky Dragon – the podcast that just won’t go away!
This week: germ-free adults; we will fall; creepy feelings; in the midst of horror; excellent signs; vertiginous feelings, electroshock blues; they didn’t think of Sam; meat juice; bow tie daddy; lying liars’ lies; irrational agreement; smart idiots; short-term long-range plans; inherit the unwinding; make ’em up; leading the mudslide; Yosemite Sam for President; stop your clawing; moon innovations; Russian rockets; poisonous rock; suicide appeal; movie game; blame it on the brain; Dork Shadows – I Am Woman; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; looming problems; live or Memorex; no symphony; quackery; gourmet Columbo; magical knitting; why you cometh-ing; and, finally, a walking tea kettle.
Question of the Week: Can you connect the actors Paul Newman and John C. Reilly through their films?
Sub-question of the Week: Who is an actor that you will go to the movie theatres to see?
Thanks for listening.
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Good idea to play Cinemaphile on the podcast! I saw it being played in an online stream and it seemed fun. I gave that to Pia for her birthday because I figured she can play it with Ian and Vicky (or more if there’s a gathering), plus I thought she’d enjoy the illustrations. It’s also Wes Anderson-heavy, and it was a Wes Anderson-themed birthday party, so it was fitting. One of their other suggested games “Movie, Actor” seems playable on the podcast. (https://www.cinephilegame.com/how-to-play) You can also come up with your own rules! There are some user-submitted game ideas on their website — “Inglorious Basterds” might work on the pod too. (https://www.cinephilegame.com/remixes)
As for connecting Paul Newman to Tom Hanks:
Paul Newman was in “Road to Perdition” with Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks was in “The Terminal” with Catherine Zeta-Jones
Catherine Zeta-Jones was in “Chicago” with John C. Reilly
AAAARGH!! Nina beat me to it! I had this figured out as I washed dishes tonight, no Googling required. However, there’s a double actor connection in this Newman to Reilly puzzle!
Stanley Tucci and Tom Hanks were both in “Road to Perdition” as well as “The Terminal”, so I feel happy to have added that onto Nina’s solution. He just needs to cut those onions a little smaller.
I swear by Almighty Sneaky Dragon, I did this without looking anything up (except to correct my spelling of “Zelwiger” and “McGuire”) or borrowing Nina’s Chicago reference.
Paul Newman was in “The Color of Money” with Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise was in “Jerry Maguire” with Renee Zellweger
Renee Zellweger was in “Chicago” with John C. Reilly.
Another one, this time I thought of this while in the shower.
Paul Newman was in “The Hudsucker Proxy” with Tim Robbins
Tim Robbins was in “War of the Worlds” with Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise was in “Magnolia” with John C. Reilly
Aside from that, I saw Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Licorice Pizza” last weekend, right after you guys discussed it on the podcast…I love Anderson’s films. I’m calling it now, Bradley Cooper is winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Jon Peters in that film. Brilliant film overall, I was really sucked in back to 1973, just as I remembered it.
Hello, gentlemen. Apologies for not writing last week. It was the first week of my semester with all of the usual hustle and bustle. Since I’m more a books-and-music guy than a movie guy, I’m not even going to try the actor connection challenge. (To be honest, I have only the vaguest notion of who John C. Reilly is. I do know who Paul Newman is: he has the good salad dressings and dog biscuits.) And as for actors who draw me to the cinema— none, really, if it looks like a bad movie. I suppose that I would give Julianne Moore and Helen Mirren more of the benefit of the doubt than most. Also, in the old days, Robin Williams and Harrison Ford.
So, since I’m useless at this week’s questions, I thought I might answer a question or two from the past, gleaned from my ongoing “Backwards Dragon” project.
In episode 512, you asked if we floss regularly. Yes. I have clean teeth. (I’m reminded of that moment early in Gulliver’s Travels, in which Gulliver, in order to illustrate how clean he is in response to his enemies’ accusations on the subject, describes in detail how carefully he defecated in Lilliput.)
In episode 509, you asked about a favorite biography. Well, I just finished Jonathan Bate’s book on Wordsworth, and it’s probably the best literary biography I’ve read. It’s especially good on the relationships with Coleridge and Dorothy. (By the way, an insight from watching Get Back and reading this book simultaneously: Coleridge is John and Wordsworth is Paul. Coleridge: the visionary who takes too many drugs; Wordsworth: the great natural talent with the musical ear who lives a long time but never really recaptures the genius of his youth.) Another good biography: Jan Swafford’s book on Beethoven, which describes in detail how Beethoven was incompetent at every aspect of his life, except at the one in which he was better than anyone else.
Another backwards update: it’s actually not so odd to experience Dark Shadows in reverse, because it makes just about as much sense backwards as it does forwards.
Finally: my favorite moment from this past week was Dave’s slip of the tongue, apparently unnoticed by either of you, in which he referred to “Old Country for No Men.” I also enjoyed the political commentary.
Sorry for running on so long. I’m happy that Ian is on the mend after his fall. Thanks for all of the laughs, and for your honesty, compassion, and unapologetic obsessions. I feel like I’ve found a couple of kindred spirits, even though we don’t know each other.
Yours,
John
“Old Country for No Men” sounds like a translated name for Y The Last Man.
Has it been on the air in Japan? If so, we should ask the 3rd Dragon about the name. If it hasn’t *yet* been shown, then we have a suggestion for them.
A genre heavy connection in 3:
Paul Newman was in “The Sting” and more with Robert Redford
Robert Redford was in “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” with Samuel L Jackson
Samuel L Jackson was in “Kong: Skull Island” with John C Reilly
A couple of apologies:
To David – sorry If I sounded contemptuous of all therapists in my note last week: I have had wonderful corrective and preventative treatment from physiotherapists and osteopaths and would heartily recommend their services. I’ve also enjoyed some complimentary therapy in the form of ‘Sound Baths’ – in which you lie on the floor as someone plays a gong. The complex frequencies and musical noise somehow provides a shortcut to reaching a deeply relaxing meditative state without all the hard work climbing mountains, getting into yoga positions and so on. The feeling of being wide awake whilst your body falls asleep is peculiar, but excellent pain respite. Doesn’t work for everybody, but was a lifeline for me.
Also sorry to hear your trip to the UK may be cancelled – when you do come back be sure to drop in on London’s Cartoon Museum, which is just about to open a show on Judge Dredd. Also you may want to bring a few pairs of jeans to trade as we’ll probably have devolved to a barter economy at the rate we’re going…
To Ian – sorry to be treat your injury with such flippancy last week with the ‘injury playlist’. You sounded so chirpy on your first return I assumed things were going well – then on last week’s show I listened with horror as you recounted the awful time you’ve been having of it and I realised how insensitive I’d been. Sending you healing good vibes and hopes for a full recovery.
P.S:
Ouch! – The Rutles
Dizzy – Tommy Roe
Where Is My Mind – Pixies
Help me Scrape the Mucus off my Brain – Ween
I Can’t Help Myself – Four Tops
(clenched teeth emoji)
Funny! I’ve been listening to The Rutles on Apple Music all week!! Ouch!
Winona Ryder and Nicolas Cage are connected by Cher.
Mermaids + Moonstruck.
That is all.
Damn, impressive. Send Mick a case of Turkish Delight.
One actor comes to mind immediately when I bypass any price of admission on the way to the theater, it’s Jeff Bridges. As most actors, Bridges has had a few misfires like R.I.P.D., which I’ll admit I saw in the theater, but most of his roles haven’t disappointed me. “Tucker”, “Starman”, “Hell or High Water”, “The Fisher King”, “Seabiscuit”, “The Big Lebowski” and “The Fabulous Baker Boys” are all favorites that I can watch at any time but the film that rises to the top of his has to be “Crazy Heart”. I really enjoy films about musicians, maybe because I’m not one but Bridges really pulled this role off. Recently I watched “True Grit” all the way through for the first time, somehow that one got away from me years ago but again Bridges excelled at the disheveled, scraggly misfit he’s so good at performing. I have a photographer who works with me when I art direct our photoshoots and he shot Bridges a few years ago for something and had nothing but great things to say about him. He’s Hollywood Royalty and one of our best.
You guys are so good. My route for John C Reilly/ Paul Newman required four movie connections.
Paul Newman was in “Cool Hand Luke” with Clifton James.
Clifton James was in “The Last Detail” with Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson was in “The Departed” with Mark Wahlberg.
Mark Wahlberg was in “Boogie Nights” with John C Reilly.
I think I was hamstrung by knowing F All Paul Newman films but, as it turns out, the right amount of Sherriff J.W. Pepper movies!
I think I’ve seen nearly all Ralph Fiennes films at the cinema since THE ENGLISH PATIENT, save for any of the Potter Films and a lot of his voice acting gigs. We had to study the ENGLISH PATIENT film and book in English literature and I was hooked.
He’s a really fine actor. My friends all think he’s a bit one note, but I’m a sucker most of the time. My friends used to rib me about the inordinate number of times he bares his bum on screen. But they’re just jealous of my man crush 🙂 Good to see he’s back with Wes Anderson in an upcoming flick.
I’m listening backwards to try to catch up on the few episodes I have missed. I made it about halfway through the episode with Dave and his brother and then I got waylaid. This morning I thought it best to answer the questions of 528 before listening to 527 so I won’t confuse myself.
John C. Reilly was in Stan and Ollie with Steve Coogan. —> Steve Coogan was in Night at the Museum series which also had Dick Van Dyke as a security guard. —> Dick Van Dyke was in the Shirley MacLaine movie What a Way to Go which also had Paul Newman as one of MacLaine’s husbands.
I don’t watch nearly as many movies in the theaters as I do at home–mainly because of my distance to a theater. The last few years, when I go to the movies, it is because my coworkers and I want to go as a group to see a movie which tends to be, but not always, based on a book. Sometimes we’re celebrating a staff birthday with a trip to the theater, and in that case, the birthday gal picks the film.