Shows
1999: The PodcastWriter Peter Raleigh joins John and Julia to discuss (and defend) 1999's most high-profile failure, "The13th Warrior"August 1999's The 13th Warrior was (mostly) directed by legendary Predator and Die Hard director – and occasional felon – John McTiernan, and released just three weeks after his other (far more successful) 1999 film The Thomas Crown Affair.
Based on the 1976 novel "Eaters of the Dead" by Michael Crichton (who also took over to direct several scenes), The 13th Warrior stars Antonio Banderas, Vladimir Kulich, Dennis Storhoi, Diane Venora, Richard Bremmer, Tony Curran, and Omar Sharif
It took two decades to finally get Crichton’s reimagining of "Beowulf" to the screen, and the film is best remembered as a fascinat...2025-06-171h 39
1999: The PodcastJOE THE KING - with Zaki HasanJoe the King was the directorial debut of long-time career supporting actor and occasional indie leading man Frank Whaley, who also wrote the script based partly on his own life.
It stars Noah Fleiss in the title role, Karen Young, John Leguizamo, Whaley’s friend and frequent collaborator Ethan Hawke, Camryn Manheim, Max Ligosh, a very young Kate Mara, and Whaley’s The Doors co-star, the late Val Kilmer. as Joe’s abusive alcoholic father.
Critics were kind of all over the place about Joe the King, a film very much of its time, although the perfo...2025-05-211h 14
1999: The PodcastTHE LIMEY: "Bang" - with Devan ScottThe Limey was 170th highest grossing movie of 1999, finishing just one spot ahead of cult favorite Jawbreaker
Released October 8th in just 17 theaters and going on to make $3.2 million on a $10 million budget, The Limey was directed by Steven Soderbergh, just on the verge of his first major commercial successes (Erin Brokovich and Traffic, both released on opposite ends of 2000) and following another acclaimed crime caper, 1998’s Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight.
Featuring a tour-de-force performance from Terrence Stamp, The Limey crosses genre boundaries, it also straddles the line between Soderbergh's smaller, more risk-taking film...2025-05-061h 24
1999: The PodcastVAL KILMER: 1959-2025Actor Val Kilmer died on April 1st of this year, after a long battle with throat cancer. He was 65.Kilmer's film career began in the 1980s with iconic turns in the likes of Top Gun and Real Genius, but it was in the 1990s where be became an icon in a decade known primarily one dominated by iconoclasts, starting with his portrayal of Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone's The Doors, and including memorable bit roles in movies like True Romance, replacing Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman Forever, and what man consider his greatest role as Doc Holida...2025-04-221h 14
1999: The PodcastSWEET AND LOWDOWN: "All That Jazz" - with Liz WhitmereSweet and Lowdown opened on December 3rd in just 3 theaters and taking in an impressive 31,562 dollar per screen averageWritten and directed by Woody Allen, it stars Sean Penn as fictional jazz guitar legend Emmet Ray alongside Samantha Morton and Uma Thurman, Brad Garrett, John Waters, Anthony LaPaglia, and Brian Markinson, among others.Sweet and Lowdown was a welcome end to what many saw as a mid-90s slump for Allen, who had released a string of movies who that had been received with mixed or sometimes scathing reviews, like 1995’s Mighty Aphrodite, 1996’s Everyone Says...2025-04-081h 32
1999: The PodcastTWILIGHT (1998) - Gene Hackman SpecialThere were no movies starring the late Gene Hackman that were released in the US in 1999, but two of his films released in the US in 1998 – Tony Scott’s Enemy of the State and Robert Benton’s Twilight – were released in Europe in 1999.So because plenty has been said about the former, we are taking a look today at the latter.Directed by Kramer and Kramer writer and director Robert Benton and written by Benton and novelist Richard Russo, who also teamed up with star Paul Newman on 1994’s adaptation of Russo's Nobody's Fool, Twilight stars Newma...2025-03-111h 09
1999: The PodcastTHE END OF THE AFFAIR: "Lots of Rain" - with Kristin BattestellaThe End of the Affair was released on Dec 3, 1999 in just 7 theaters so that it could bait some Oscars and then going wide on January 21. It would ultimately bring in just shy of 11 million dollars on 23 million dollar budget, though it did open with an astonishing $28,000 per screen average, so maybe a wider initial release would have been wise.The End of the Affair was the second 1999 film in 11 months (after January’s psychological thriller In Dream) from auteur Neil Jordan, best known for 1992’s Oscar winning film The Crying Game as well as 1994’s Interview with the Vam...2025-02-251h 30
1999: The PodcastBEYOND THE MAT: "The Wrestlers" - with Ross BenesBeyond the Mat is a movie that appears NOWHERE in the 1999 box office charts, mainly because it only screened once in 1999 in Los Angeles on October 22, thanks in no small part to Vince McMahon fuckery (though it did get a limited release in March of 2000).Beyond the Mat was directed by Barry Blaustein, an accomplished comedy screenwriter, and it features the real-life stories of wrestling legends Terry Funk, Mick Foley, and Jake the Snake Roberts,Though it wasn't a commercial hit, it received a mostly favorable critical response, and has gone on to become a...2025-02-101h 17
1999: The PodcastBonus Features - WATERGATE MEDIAWe present to you our very first Bonus Features episode, where we do a little contextual research for an upcoming episode.To start - for absolutely no reason at all, what are you even talking about? - we take a look at some of the more interesting media concerning the former Worst President of the Last 100 Years and the famous thing he did that used to pass for a scandal until *waves hands around wildly*.Julia had to endure a lot of Nixon stuff for this one, so the...2025-01-181h 13
1999: The PodcastChristmas Special - ONE SPECIAL NIGHT: "Happy Hallmarky" with Audrey FoxIt's our third Christmas special, and once again we turn to the small screen for Christmas with Hallmark Hallo of Fame's One Special Night.Airing Sunday, November 28th, 1999 on CBS, One Special Night stars James Garner and Julie Andrews, alongside Patricia Charbonneau, Stewart Bick ,Stacy Grant, and Danniel Magder.Written by the highly prolific Christmas TV movie scribe Nancey Silvers and directed by accomplished TV director and Emmy winner Roger Young, One Special Night was generally praised by critics and probably beloved by our nation's grandparents at the time. It was then, however, entirely forgotten until...2024-12-161h 36
1999: The PodcastTITUS: "There Shalt Be Blood" - with Carmen PaddockReleased December 25th, Christmas Day, Julie Taymor's debut feature Titus was 187th-highest grossing movie of the year, going on to gross just about three million dollars worldwide on an 18 million dollar budget.Titus, adapted from the Shakespeare (or possibly not Shakespeare) play came on the heels of Taymor hitting the cultural spotlight with her enormous Broadway success The Lion King. Titus makes great use of her maxilamist sensibilities, given that it is Shakespeare's most violent, sensationalist play - which also explains why it is among his least-popular, and generally considered one of the worst not titled Henry V...2024-11-191h 28
1999: The PodcastGIRL, INTERRUPTED: "Interrupted" with Jane AltoidsGirl, Interrupted was the 70th-highest grossing movie of 1999, released in a very limited run just before Christmas to make it eligible for awards season. It would ultimately go on to earn $48 million worldwide on a $40 million budget.Directed and co-written by Copland director James Mangold from the memoir "Girl, Interrupted" by Susanna Kaysen, the film was a longtime dream project for star Winona Ryder, who fought hard for years to get it made. It was presented as obvious Oscar bait, but the film had a mixed response from audiences and critics, who found it uneven and lacking a...2024-11-041h 31
1999: The PodcastMAN ON THE MOON : "Andy" with Sean MalinIf there was a surprise critical and commercial failure for the year, it was Forman’s highly anticipated, Oscar-baiting Andy Kauffman biopic, Man on the Moon.Among other things, Man on the Moon was touted as a second chance for Carrey to nab a best actor Oscar, following what had roundly been seen as an epic snub for his denial of the award for The Truman Show. It had a lot going for it - an exploration of the tragic and mysterious life of an obscure but beloved cultural figure...2024-10-211h 32
1999: The PodcastPAYBACK: "Mel" - with Jim WoodsPayback was something of a surprise - and largely forgotten - minor hit, riding mostly on the coattails of Mel Gibson at the height of his popularity and box office appeal, having come off a string of hits, including 1994’s Maverick, 1995’s Oscar-winning Braveheart, 1996’s Ransom, and 1997’s Conspiracy Theory, as well as the prestige of Brian Helgeland, who had just won an avalanche awards, including the Oscar, for writing LA Confidential as well as the aforementioned Conspiracy Theory.But the production of Payback also opened a window to some of the personal and professional...2024-10-081h 33
1999: The Podcast99@25 #017/18 - September 1999It's a big September 1999 episode, featuring the one and only Dan Colón!In September, we head into the final quarter of the year and welcome some landmark moments in pop culture, with the arrivals of:
Freaks and Geeks!
The Sega Dreamcast!
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater!
The West Wing!
Chill Factor! (?)
the finale to the Costner Baseball Trilogy!
and music from Guster and The Magnetic Fields!
Plus Chris Cornell, Martin Lawrence, earthquakes, Y2K, and more!Find Dan on Twitter @DanColon2024-10-051h 10
1999: The PodcastSUMMER OF SAM: "S.O.S." - with Julia SirmonsSpike Lee's Summer of Sam should have been the perfect 1999 movie.After Lee’s breakthrough 1989 film Do the Right Thing, he was on a roll in the 90s, giving us 1990s’ Mo Better Blues, 1991’s Jungle Fever, 1992’s Malcolm X, 1994’s Crooklyn, 1995’s Clockers, 1996’s Get on the Bus, and 1998’s He Got Game.And so a gritty, Scorsese-esque New York crime like Summer of Sam headlined by the rising star Brody and Leguizamo at his most popular seemed like a no-brainer. And maybe because its nearly two and a half hour run t...2024-09-231h 29
1999: The Podcast99@25 #016 - August 16-31 1999Late August is often called the Dog Days of Summer and...boy, did the end of August 1999 every live up that reputation!August 16-31 was something of a drag. After a summer filled with huge moments in entertainment, culture, and news, suddenly, for a couple weeks, not much happened.But not nothing! We still got the requisite end of summer bad movie dump, featuring:
Dudley Do-Right!
In Too Deep!
The Astronaut's Wife!
and Teaching Mrs. Tingle!
Plus chart-topping albums from Christina Aguilera, The (Dixie) Chicks, and Lou Bega! Plus, pop singer Vitamin C drops...2024-09-091h 06
1999: The PodcastWOODSTOCK 99 - An End of Summer Special EpisodeFor an end-of-summer special, Dan Colón, of CageClub's very own The Monsters That Made Us podcast, joins John to talk about the greed, mayhem, and madness that defined Woodstock 99.The Woodstock that was just so great that it convinced everybody to never Woodstock again, 1999's 30th anniversary festival (inspired by the relative success of the 25th anniversary Woodstock 94) was...a lot of things. But mostly it was an epic disaster that somehow managed to take bad situations and terrible ideas and make them much worse.What went wrong?? Wel...2024-08-241h 05
1999: The Podcast99@25 #015 - August 1-15 1999We're nearing the end of summer, and this time we take a look back at a very entertaining first half of August, 1999.August 1-15 gave us:
KISS!
Prince's Yard Sale!
Two guys named Putin and Netanyahu who have since faded into total obscurity
Dick! The Sixth Sense! Mystery Men!
Wade Boggs!
Mark McGwire jacking dingdongs!
The Dilberito!
And your host turning 20!
This week, John is joined by friend of the show Tyler Birth (with a brief appearance from his new mouse friend!) as they take a look at a little bit of Monica, Jessica, Sandra...2024-08-171h 04
1999: The Podcast99@25 #013/14 - July 1-31 1999But, to make up for it, we have the delightful and hilarious Jacki Krestel (@zombie_jacki) to join John in a walk down 1999 memory lane!July 1999 included:
Macy Gray!
Destiny's Child!
Bree Sharp's summer novelty pop hit "David Duchovny"!
The Fenway Park All-Star Game!
Blair Witch, American Pie, Eyes Wide Shut, and Deep Blue Sea!
The death (????) of JFK Jr!
Cheatin' cheater Lance Armstrong!
Terrible ghoul JK Rowling!
Woodstock 99!
And more
Plus, join John and Jenn next week for a more in-depth look at what is universally agreed to be the best Woodstock in another s...2024-08-0251 min
1999: The PodcastTHE EMPTY CINEMA - A Special Summer EpisodeJohn and Jenn take a crack at explaining the baffling summer 2024 box office. Why did PLANER OF THE APES and FURIOSA fail where INSIDE OUT 2 succeeded? Is the summer movie season a thing of the past? And why do people seem less inclined to go to the movie theater for just ANYTHING?Covid? Prices? Capitalism? All of the above?Find out what we have to say in this special summer episode about America's increasingly, depressingly empty cinemas.2024-07-2951 min
1999: The PodcastARLINGTON ROAD: "Boom" - with Matt BelenkyArlington Road was 77th highest grossing movie of 1999, released 25 years ago last week on July 9th, unfortunately crowded out by some other big releases, namely American Pie, released the same day, as well as Wild Wild West, Tarzan, and The General's Daughter, all in their second weeks.Directed by acclaimed music video director Mark Pellington (Pearl Jam's "Jeremy"), with a script from future Oscar nominee Ehren Kruger. a score by David Lynch’s personal composer Angelo Badalamenti, and starring two of the finest actors of their generation, Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins, Arlington Road has a lot going f...2024-07-151h 53
1999: The PodcastSOUTH PARK - Summer Rerelease! - with George FreitagSouth Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is...very funny.It's also absurd, obscene, and one of the best movie musicals not called Moulin Rouge of the last few decades.The humor of the show and the movie, though, has always been too things - edgy (bordering on shocking) and timely. South Park the series has produced some of the smartest, most incisive satire anywhere in its 25 years of existence, but that kind of humor doesn't always age well?So how does this movie hold up in that regard? We asked someone who loved it a...2024-07-011h 24
1999: The Podcast99@25 #012 - June 16-30 1999This week, we're covering the second two weeks of June, 1999 (16-30), perhaps the most teenage-boy two weeks of the year.This week:
Cartoons rule as SOUTH PARK and TARZAN both arrive in cinemas (setting up an epic Best Original Song Oscar duel!)
Adam Sandler's massive hit BIG DADDY is also released.
SMOOTH is released as a single and refuses to go away ever!
Tony Hawk lands a 900 for the first time ever!
Weird Al spoiler-bitches the ENTIRE plot of THE PHANTOM MENACE
Stephen King gets hit by a car
And more!
This week, John is...2024-06-291h 00
1999: The PodcastTARZAN - Summer Rerelease! - with Heather AntosDisney’s Tarzan was, as the 6th-highest grossing movie of the year, a big hit. But it also had a giant budget. Made for $130 million, it grossed $171 million domestically and $448 million worldwide. Tarzan did well with critics, as well. It was nominated for more than 2 dozen different awards, and won the Oscar and Golden Globe for best original song, Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart”. It holds a an 89 percent Rotten Tomatoes score with more than 100 reviews, and 79 Metacritic score with 27 reviews, putting it right in the middle of the pack of the so-called Dis...2024-06-241h 20
1999: The Podcast99@25 #011 - June 1-15 1999Meteorological summer has arrived, and it brings the sounds of summer with it! We're covering the first two weeks of June, 1999 (1-15) and what a two weeks it was!This week:
Things get shaggadelic (baby) as AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME conquers the box office (and THE PHANTOM MENACE)!
People are just UNABLE to stop buying the new Backstreet Boys album!
People are just UNABLE to stop stealing the new Backstreet Boys album as Napster launches!
Dido! J-Lo! Blink-182!
The son of that one president announces his long-shot bid for the presidency!
And more!
2024-06-151h 08
1999: The PodcastTHREE TO TANGO: "No La Tango" - with R. Lee Fleming Jr.Three to Tango was the 126th-highest grossing movie of 1999, sandwiched between two movies we have covered already, Drop Dead Gorgeous at 125, and Bats at 127. It opened in 8th place (behind Bats, which it would ultimately outgross) on the very not rom-com season of October the 22nd, going on to gross 10 and a half million dollars worldwide on a 20 million dollar budget.Three to Tango - which, we can't stress enough, features no tango or dancing of any kind - was written by Aline Brosch McKenna, who would go on to write romcoms like 27 Dresses and La...2024-06-101h 48
1999: The Podcast99@25 #010 - May 16-31 1999It's the second half of May, 1999 - the 16th through the 31st - and the most anticipated event of the year finally arrives as Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace finally opens on May 19th, taking in $68 million on its opening weekend.This week:
We'll explain why $68 million is a lot more than it sounds like!
Moby! LEN! The Backstreet Boys!
The end of Home Improvement!
Slobodan Milosevic faces justice!
Susan Lucci!
And more!
This week, John is joined by special guest, the host of Pop Culture Reflections!Connect with Justin on Tw...2024-06-0150 min
1999: The PodcastNEVER BEEN KISSED: "Grosie" - with Trae Crowder and Corey Ryan ForresterNever Been Kissed was the 43-rd highest grossing movie of the year, just edging out last week's Forces of Nature (though proving far more profitable) at the box office.Never Been Kissed opened April 9th, pitting it against The Matrix in its second week, but still managed to post an impressive second place finish for the week, taking in 14 million dollars. This is largely thanks to the overwhelming popularity of star Drew Barrymore, coming off consecutive romantic hits in 1998 with Ever After and The Wedding Singer.It's a strange movie with an, um, uncomfortable premise. It's pa...2024-05-272h 06
1999: The PodcastFORCES OF NATURE: "Planes, Trains, and Geo Metros" - with Julia SirmonsForces of Nature was the 44th highest-grossing movie of 1999, opening at #1 at the box office on March 19th and taking in 17 million dollars in its first week, going on to make 94 million worldwide on a budget of (somehow) 75 million dollars.Starring Sandra Bullock and Ben Affleck at a time when both actors' stars were at a high point and one of just a few features directed by accomplished television director Bronwen Hughes, Forces of Nature was the follow-up to her 1996 adaptation of Harriet the Spy, and written by Family Ties writing alum Marc Lawrence, who also wrote 1999’s The...2024-05-201h 49
1999: The PodcastPHANTOM MENACE @ 25 - A Special Anniversary ReleaseFour special guests share their fond memories of the movie that (re)started it all: Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace.This is followed by a rerelease of our Phantom Menace episode, the second in the podcast's history, with Brian Silliman and Matt Romano from the podcast RETURN OF THE POD: A Star Wars Podcast.Enjoy. And may the Force be with you, always.2024-05-192h 05
1999: The Podcast99@25 #009 - May 1-15 1999We have hit May 1999! This is one of the biggest months of the year, and we haven't even gotten to its biggest event yet!But in the first two weeks of May 1999, we got:
Duel of the Fates!
Robbie Williams!
The Mummy!
The premiere of SpongeBob SquarePants on Nickelodeon!
Prestige Star Wars counter-programming!
And more!
This week, John is joined by a special guest - author Chris Morgan, who has written a book about the Nickelodeon 90s that is currently available, and whose next book, 99 Episodes that Defined the 90s will be available soon! (Sooner than...2024-05-151h 08
1999: The Podcast99@25 #008 - April 21-30 1999We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our eighth installment, April 21-30 1999!In the last ten days of April we got:
The premiere of WWF Smackdown on UPN!
Jay Leno goes HD!
The Dawson's Creek soundtrack!
Aerosmith!
Election! eXistenZ! Idle Hands!
And some other fun diversions, including the horror that was pan and scan movies!CageClub icon Mike Manzi joins John for a short look at the end of one of 1999's worst months, and the Star Wars content yet to come!2024-05-0243 min
1999: The PodcastBLAST FROM THE PAST: "Adam & Eve" - with Samm LevineBlast from the Past was 75th highest-grossing movie of 1999, opening at #4 at the box office on Valentine’s Day weekend and going on to take in $40 million worldwide on a $35 million budget.The first of two 1999 collaborations between director Hugh Wilson and star Brendan Fraser, Blast from the Past included a stellar supporting cast, including Alicia Silverstone, Christopher Walken, Sissy Spacek, Dave Foley, Nathan Fillion, Joey Slotnick, and the legendary Jennifer Lewis.Critics were pretty even split on it - partly because it was inevitably compared to 1998's Pleasantville - and none were especially effusive in t...2024-04-292h 15
1999: The Podcast99@25 #07 - April 1-20 1999, the Columbine EpisodeWe're taking a slightly different approach to this one, covering 20 days of April 1999 instead of 15, and, frankly, we're focusing mostly on the 20th, because that's when the Columbine massacre occurred.Columbine was not the first school shooting, but it was - at the time - the most unthinkable one in terms of scope and scale. 25 years later, it has become significantly less unthinkable, as so many instances of gun-based mass murders in schools have occurred in the meantime that it's difficult to name them all.But Columbine is also a hotbed of misconceptions and misinformation...2024-04-201h 27
1999: The PodcastPUSHING TIN: "Control" - with Joe KwaczalaPushing Tin was the 135th-highest grossing film of the year, grossing 8.4 million dollars on a 33 million dollar budget, opening April the 23rd, 1999 as the #4 movie at the Box Office behind The Matrix, Life, and Never Been Kissed.Directed by Four Weddings and a Funeral and Donnie Brasco director Mike Newell and written by Cheers co-creators Les and Glen Charles, Pushing Tin felt like a sure thing, especially given its very of-the-moment core cast of John Cusack, Cate Blanchett, Billy Bob Thornton, and Angelina Jolie.But it never left the runway (get it) with audiences or cri...2024-04-151h 42
1999: The Podcast99@25 #06 - March 16-31 1999We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our sixth installment, March 16-31 1999!In the second half of March, we got:
The Oscars! Roberto Benigni jumping on chairs! Harvey Weinstein buying the Best Picture Oscar for Shakespeare in Love!
The premiere of Futurama!
Jack Kevorkian!
Ricky Martin unleashes La Vida Loca upon an unsuspecting world!
Fabio gets hit by a goose!
The Melissa Virus
10 Thing I Hate About You! The Matrix!
and more!John and Jenn also accidentally create a true crime podcast and wonder if they've pinpointed the moment Gwyneth Palt...2024-04-041h 26
1999: The PodcastMICKEY BLUE EYES: "Gid Ouda He" - with Meghan Leigh PaulkMickey Blue Eyes was just the 61st-highest grossing movie of 1999. The only major US release of the weekend of August 20, 1999, Mickey Blue Eyes opened in third place while The Sixth Sense continued to dominate the box office. It would go on to make $54 million on a $75 million budget.Directed by Kids in the Hall alum Kelly Makin and written by Robert Kuhn and Adam Scheinmann, it was ostensibly a romcom vehicle for Hugh Grant and Jeanne Tripplehorn but works better as a romcom between Hugh Grant and James Caan.Critics were iffy, with most still p...2024-04-011h 28
1999: The PodcastQUIET ON SET - A Very Special EpisodeWe take a quick detour to discuss the 1999-adjacent Investigation Discovery series QUIET ON THE SET, which looks into the toxic, harmful atmosphere at Nickelodeon in the 90s and 2000s under showrunner Dan Schneider, as well as the subsequent instances of child sex abuse as detailed by DRAKE AND JOSH star Drake Bell.You can find Jenn's coverage of the documentary and some of its fallout on Distractify, including this breakdown of what's been going on with Dan Schneider of late: https://www.distractify.com/p/where-is-dan-schneider-now2024-03-251h 09
1999: The PodcastSHE'S ALL THAT: "Kiss Me" - with Chase MitchellThis week, we take a look at one of 1999’s biggest surprise hits, the 38th-highest grossing movie, which took in a very impressive $103 million on a budget of just $10 million, She's All That.She's All That opened at #1 on January 29, boosted by being nicely timed around Valentine’s Day and by coming out in one of the least-competitive box office periods of the year. Directed by Robert Iscove and written by friend of the show R. Lee Fleming Jr, She's All That boasts one of the most incredibly deep casts of 1990s icons, as well as launching the car...2024-03-181h 50
1999: The Podcast99@25 #05 - March 1-15We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our fifth installment, March 1-15 1999!In the first half of March, we got:-Cher Believe-ing her way to the top of the charts!-The untimely death of the legendary Dusty Springfield-Cruel Intentions! Analyze This! The Rage: Carrie 2!-Marilyn Manson taking a tumble (but, alas, not enough of one!)-And, of course, the deaths of both Stanley Kubrick and "Joltin'" Joe DiMaggio...and more!John and Jenn also discuss KateGate (WaterKate?), Love is Bl...2024-03-151h 17
1999: The PodcastRUNAWAY BRIDE: "Eggs & Lamps" - with Greg PilgrimRunaway Bride, the other 1999 Julia Roberts rom-com, was the 9th-highes grossing movie of the year, sandwiched between The Mummy at 8th and The Blair Witch Project at 10th.And while Runaway Bride did far worse with the critics to the vastly superior Notting Hill, its box office performance was likely boosted by two factors: unlike Notting Hill, it didn't open against Star Wars, and - more importantly - it was billed as a spiritual sequel to the movie that put Julia Roberts on the map, 1990's smash hit Pretty Woman, reuniting stars Roberts and Richard Gere and director...2024-03-041h 42
1999: The Podcast99@25 #04 - February 15-28We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with fourth installment, February 15-28 1999!In the second half of February, we got:-The death of Gene Siskel!-Jawbreaker! Office Space! October Sky!-OJ Simpson news!-Lauryn Hill breaking a record at the Grammys!-Eminem's "The Slim Shady LP"!and more!John and Jenn also discuss celebrity doppelgangers, The Crow, remakes/boots, Jenn's birthday, and more!2024-02-291h 02
1999: The PodcastNOTTING HILL: "Just A Girl" - with Courtney BrooksNotting Hill was the 16th-highest grossing movie of 1999, opening Memorial Day Weekend, May 28th, and in 2nd place earning $27.7 million (behind #1, The Phantom Menace, which, then in its second weekend, earned $67 million).It would go on to make $116 million domestically and $364 million worldwide on a $42 million budget.Notting Hill was the second of several successful ventures between Grant and writer (and Mr. Bean creator) Richard Curtis, following 1994’s Four Weddings and a Funeral and predating 2001’s Bridget Jones's Diary (which Curtis adapted from Helen Fielding's enormously popular novel) and 2003’s Love Actually.It has go...2024-02-202h 13
1999: The Podcast99@25 #03 - February 1-14We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our third installment, January 1-14 1999!In the first half of February, we got:-Blast from the Past!-The worst *NSYNC song!-GMO hysteria!-Stupid ideas to fix the Y2K bug!-Where in the World is Osama bin Laden??and more!John and Jenn also discuss REM, G Love and Special Sauce (again), Valentine's Day, the rerelease of The Phantom Menace, and our next episode: Notting Hill!2024-02-141h 17
1999: The PodcastAUDITION and WE SOLD OUR SOULS FOR ROCK 'N ROLL - "Ozzdition"Audition does not rank anywhere in the 1999 box office. This is largely because it had no theatrical release in 1999.Rather, Audition played a single screening at the Toronto International Film Festival that year, and would only go on to make a few hundred thousand dollars worldwide during its run.But it developed an enormous cult following since, and has become one of the most revered horror films of its time. And it's easy to see why - Audition is gruesome, inventive, and stunningly unique.And, also, due to circumstances beyond her control, Jenn coul...2024-02-051h 04
1999: The Podcast99@25 #02 - January 16-31We continue our celebration of the 25th anniversary of 1999 with our second installment, January 16-31 1999!In the second half of January 1999, we got:-She's All That-The release of Super Smash Bros.-The premiere of Family Guy!-The Blair Witch Project debuts at the Sundance Film Festivaland more!Plus, John's conversation with She's All That writer R. Lee Fleming, Jr!John and Jenn also discuss the 1999 Golden Globes, Gwyneth Paltrow, ODB, and G. Love and Special Sauce.2024-01-311h 13
1999: The PodcastIDLE HANDS: "American Idle" - with John-Michael BondA dismal critical and commercial failure that has gone on to be a genuine cult classic, Idle Hands came in at 162nd at the box office, earning less than $2 million on a $25 million budget.It probably didn't help that it was released 10 days after Columbine, and audiences maybe weren't in the mood for a high school-set slasher film.Or maybe it's that Idle Hands is a bafflingly, deliriously confused movies, with tones shifting wildly, sometimes within the same scene.But either way, it can't be accused of being lazy, and everything that makes its...2024-01-221h 39
1999: The Podcast99@25 #01 - January 1-15It's been 25 years since 1999, and to celebrate, your favorite the only 1999 podcast is going to take a look back on the time that was twice each month, starting with January 1-5, 1999!In the first episode of a series we are calling 99@25, we cover:-The Clinton Impeachment!-The (slow) release of movies (including Varsity Blues)-The debut of The Sopranos-Jon Stewart taking over The Daily Showand much more!John and Jenn share some personal anecdotes of their younger selves at the time, and reveal thei...2024-01-151h 08
1999: The PodcastHOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL: "The (Other) Haunting" - with Stephanie GagnonHouse on Haunted Hill was a huge failure with critics, but at 50th in the 1999 box office, and having made back its budget, it was a reasonable commercial success. It opened number one during Halloween weekend, likely finding an audience in moviegoers eager for anything spooky (and it is pretty spooky...)A remake of William Castle’s 1959 film starring Vincent Price, this House on Haunted Hill was directed by William Malone with a written by Dick Beebe, who also penned Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2) with effects by the legendary Greg Nicotero and Robert Kurtzmann.With...2024-01-081h 42
1999: The PodcastA CHRISTMAS CAROL: "You Will Be Visited By Three Hosts - A Very Special 1999: The Podcast Christmas" with Alex SteedCharles Dickens' 1846 A Christmas Carol is one of the most adapted works of all time. And his protagonist, Ebenezer Scrooge, has been portrayed by the likes of Jim Carrey to Bill Murray, George C. Scott to Mr. Magoo, Alastair Sim to Scrooge McDuck, and Michael Caine to Will Ferrell.And spins on A Christmas Carol have appeared in everything from Beavis and Butthead to Doctor Who.But rarely have they been as faithful as the version from 1999 starring Patrick Stewart as the miserly businessman whose life changes one fateful night after a visit from three ghos...2023-12-251h 23
1999: The PodcastSLEEPY HOLLOW: "Hollow" - with Dan Colón and guest go-host Becky EllisSleepy Hollow qualifies as one of the biggest movies of the year, and it was certainly one of the most anticipated - an expected return to form from a slumping Tim Burton.But it didn't quite work out that way.Released on November the 19th of 1999, Sleepy Hollow was one of the most expensive movies ever made at the time, with a budget of $100 million, and while it wasn't a flop, it only barely broke even.While Burton reteamed with some of his most reliable collaborators - star Johnny Depp, composer Danny Elfman, and...2023-12-111h 22
1999: The PodcastTHE RAGE: CARRIE 2: "All The Rage" - with Paul HaynesThe Rage: Carrie 2 was not a box office success, but it wasn't the disaster a lot of people remember either. Finishing at #91 for the year, just ahead of Go and (somehow) just behind the Melissa Joan Hart/Adrian Grenier vehicle Drive Me Crazy, The Rage: Carrie 2 opened in late March at an impressive #2 behind the 1999 comedy hit Analyze This.But it didn't quite make back its budget, and it as since largely been forgotten about.Which is a shame, because it has a lot to offer. While the film was initially called The Curse and had no...2023-11-271h 31
1999: The PodcastSTIGMATA: "St. Frankie" - with Kelly BakerStigmata was, impressively, the 49th-highest grossing movie of 1999, finishing just ahead of House on Haunted Hill at 50th (which is upcoming in this round!)It made $50 million domestically and just shy of $90 million worldwide on a $29 million budget.Opening at #1 on September the 10th at over $18 million on a spooky box office weekend that saw The Sixth Sense take second with $16 million and ALSO opening, Stir of Echoes, debuting at $5.8 million in 3rd, the music video of a movie was directed by, appropriately, a music video director named Rupert Wainwright and cowritten by Tom Lazarus...2023-11-131h 49
1999: The PodcastEXISTENZ: "Pod People" - with Julia Sirmons and Jess CollinsAt 174th place at the box office, eXistenZ was not one of the big hits of 1999, though the it has some proud company in the 170s, including The Limey, Cradle Will Rock, Princess Mononoke, and JawbreakerIt’s not clear that it ever had the makings of a runaway hit, but it can’t have helped that another heady sci-fi thriller about people who aren’t sure if the reality they exist in is real (and it isn’t) was released three weeks earlier in the form of The Matrix. Cronenberg was hardly a bankable commercial...2023-10-301h 33
1999: The PodcastSTIR OF ECHOES: "Paint it Black" - with Mary Beth McAndrewsStir of Echoes was David Koepp's second directorial venture following the success of his 1996 thriller The Trigger Effect. Adapted from a lesser-known work by genre legend Richard Matheson, the film hit at a weird and perhaps unfortunate time.Just 6 years off his massive breakthrough penning Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (a film he wrote when he was not yet 30 years old), Koepp was riding high in the industry.But Stir of Echoes was a low-key ghost story thriller involving a boy who can see and talk to dead people, and, suffice to say, a lot of tha...2023-10-161h 51
1999: The PodcastA VERY SPECIAL ROUND FOUR RECAP EPISODE - With A Very Special GuestIt's time for our Round Four recap and it's a very special one!After 40 episodes and 36 movies, and two specials...big changes are coming to 1999: The Podcast. Is it our very own Y2K?? Are we pivoting to video??? Will we both be replaced by cheaper AI alternatives?????No.But find out what IS coming following a look back a the nine movies from the round. We'll recap our favorites, our biggest surprises, our least favorites, and how Wild Wild West artificially inflates the round's total box office and lowers its overall Rotten To...2023-10-0237 min
1999: The PodcastTOPSY-TURVY: "Stan Leigh" - with ShredsTopsy-Turvy, writer-director Mike Leigh's ambitious period musical about the creation of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado", was not a commercial hit, losing about $14 million of its $20 million budget.But like almost all of Leigh's work, it was a critical smash, remaining one of his best-reviewed movies and the recipient of a number of awards, including two Oscars, and landing on a number of year-end best-of lists in 1999.Topsy-Turvy never really had "commercial hit" written all over it, though. It offers a uniformly spectacular cast including Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall, Kevin McKidd, Lesley Manville, and Andy...2023-09-181h 25
1999: The PodcastMYSTERY MEN: "The Spleen" - with Becky EllisMystery Men was 1999's 68th-highest grossing movie, and an overall money loser.It arrived at a strange but opportune time, as it both lampooned and heralded the rebirth of the superhero genre. The early stages of its production date to the mid 1990s, when movies like 1998’s Blade, often cited as the birthplace of the modern superhero film, began preproduction.Based on the comic book series by Bob Burden, Kinka Usher's Mystery Men was first offered to Danny DeVito and Stiller, who both turned it down for personal reasons. Usher landed the movie thanks to his...2023-09-041h 32
1999: The PodcastTHE STRAIGHT STORY: "Mt. Zion" - with Julia SirmonsThe Straight Story was that other 1999 movie about someone trying to get to a place called Zion.In all seriousness, the beloved film about a man at the end of his life driving his lawnmower across the Midwest to visit his estranged brother is notable for a number of reasons.It's a rare G-rated non-aminated movie (though the rating itself is a source of some controversy). It comes from legendary weirdo auteur David Lynch, most famous for films like Blue Velvet, Eraserhead, and the TV series Twin Peaks, and yet it is astoundingly, aggressively naturalistic and w...2023-08-211h 12
1999: The PodcastBOWFINGER: "K.I.T" - with Greg MacLennanBowfinger could not have come at a better time for any of its three biggest names.In 1999, Frank Oz, who had a string of successful collaborations with Steve Martin, was coming right off the critical and commercial hit In and Out in 1997, which happened to star 1999’s most cursed star yet, one we’ve talked a lot about lately, Kevin Kline.But Martin was in need of a return to form, having come off a string of duds like A Simple Twist of Fate, Mixed Nuts (now a cult Christmas favorite), Father of the Bride 2 and...2023-08-071h 15
1999: The PodcastSIMON SEZ: "The Worm" - with Matt StuertzAt the 1999 box office, the Dennis Rodman action vehicle Simon Sez came in at...Well, actually, we don't know, because Box Office Mojo's rankings end at #200, which was American Movie, which made $1,165,795.Simon Sez made $292,152 (somehow) on a budget of...well, quite a bit more than that, probably.You've probably never heard of Simon Sez, and we hadn't either, until Joey came upon it accidentally and it was just a movie we couldn't pass up.Simon Sez is a very strange relic of its time, a Eurotrash martial arts action movie, direc...2023-07-241h 21
1999: The PodcastA MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM: "Ye Woodes" - with Steven SabelMichael Hoffman's adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream came at the end of a big decade for Shakespeare adaptations in general.Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet starring Mel Gibson was released in 1990, and other hit adaptations would follow - notably Kenneth Branagh’s celebrated Much Ado About Nothing in 1993, Oliver Parker’s Othello, starring Branagh and Laurence Fishburne, in 1995, and Baz Luhrman’s huge hit Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in 1996, a movie that made ten times its 14 million dollar budget.So when A Midsummer Night's Dream, often cited as the most popular Shakespeare play ev...2023-07-101h 24
1999: The PodcastWILD WILD WEST: "Wicky Wicky" - with Mike Manzi and Dan CólonIt is late 1998, Wild Wild West is well into its production, and things are not going well. The film has gone through a stunning roster of would-be stars - Tom Cruise, George Clooney, and Mel Gibson among them - before landing on Will Smith, who turned down the lead role in an obscure sci-fi picture called The Matrix from a couple of fringe indy filmmakers named the Wachowski siblings in order to sign on to director Barry Sonnenfeld's sci-fi/Western mashup adventure.The stars have little chemistry. None of them are happy with the material. Wild Wild We...2023-06-261h 45
1999: The PodcastGO: "Mary Xmas" - with Alex Steed and Jess CollinsThe shortest-titled movie of 1999 (and among the shortest ever), Go was Doug Liman's follow-up to his 1996 debut, a collaboration with writer John Favreau, Swingers.There is some shared DNA between the two movies - both explore a very specific subculture in LA at a very specific time in the 90s, both drip with cool, and both borrow heavily from other films while creating something all their own.But they're also very different. And Go was often labeled by critics - who overwhelmingly praised the movie - as "Tarantinoesque".Of all the movies we've cove...2023-06-121h 31
1999: The PodcastAMERICAN MOVIE: "Coven" - with BJ and Harmony ColangeloChris Smith and Sarah Price's heartfelt, quirky, and utterly original documentary American Movie was not one of 1999's major blockbuster hits. And of the 200 movies listed in Box Office Mojo's list of film grosses from that year, American Movie comes in at number 200.But it has gone on to become of the most critically successful and beloved documentaries ever made. The story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt's attempt to make his dream movie on a microbudget in his quiet midwestern town. The film ends up as something of a meditation on artistry, the American Dream, family, and the tru...2023-05-291h 31
1999: The PodcastThe Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess Round 3 Review ShowIt's the Sarah Rose Cosmetics Mount Rose American Teen Princess Round 3 Review Show.One year and 27 movies later, we're wrapping up round 3 and previewing our fourth round - this time, it's hosts' choice, as John and Joey each pick 4 movies and one they decided on together. But before that, they are joined by their friend and #1 fan Tyler Birth to take a look back at the highs and lows of our request round.Thanks to all our guest from this round:Bridget Todd (The Talented Mr. Ripley)Jenn Tisdale (Jawbreaker)2023-05-1551 min
1999: The PodcastBATS: "Bats, Man" - with Austin Wolf-Sothern"Dusk! With a creepy, tingling sensation, you hear the fluttering of leathery wing! BATS!"Bats.So, not every 1999 movie was a paradigm-shifting landmark. Some of them were unabashedly absurd b-movie creature features about bats. Like Bats.1999’s 127th-highest grossing movie, Bats opened at #9 just in time for Halloween, on the weekend of October 29th.But it nearly earned back its budget in its opening week, taking in 4.7 million dollars, and going on to earn more than 10 million dollars on a US-only release.Bats is also the worst-reviewed film we’ve co...2023-05-011h 13
1999: The PodcastTHE MESSENGER - THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC: "The Voices" - with Sebastian MajorThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc was...big in France?Actually, The Messenger was indeed touted as "Oscar bait" prior to its release in November of 1999. Luc Besson was fresh off of his most commercially successful hit The Fifth Element, and so reteaming with Fifth Element star Milla Jovovich (who at the time was married to Besson) for a big, epic, gritty retelling of the Joan of Arc story seemed like a sure thing.Add in star power from John Malkovich, Dustin Hoffman, and how could you go wrong?Well, The Messeng...2023-04-171h 35
1999: The PodcastTHE HAUNTING: First Anniversary Episode - with Dahlia Balcazar (1999 FOREVER)It's our first anniversary, and so we invited fellow 1999-podcaster Dahlia Balcazar to talk about her podcast, 1999 FOREVER, and her hand-picked 1999 movie: The Haunting!Dahlia tells us why she decided to make an audio essay about the year of all years, and we touch on what was going on in other areas of culture outside of the movie theater, like Y2K and The Sopranos.Dahlia's requested movie was Jan Debont's follow-up to Speed and Twister, the 2nd major...um...adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel The Haunting of Hill House. Originally planned to be release with...2023-04-031h 34
1999: The PodcastTARZAN: "Apes!" - with Heather AntosDisney’s Tarzan was, as the 6th-highest grossing movie of the year, a big hit. But it also had a giant budget. Made for $130 million, it grossed $171 million domestically and $448 million worldwide. Tarzan did well with critics, as well. It was nominated for more than 2 dozen different awards, and won the Oscar and Golden Globe for best original song, Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart”. It holds a an 89 percent Rotten Tomatoes score with more than 100 reviews, and 79 Metacritic score with 27 reviews, putting it right in the middle of the pack of the so-called Dis...2023-03-201h 20
1999: The PodcastDEEP BLUE SEA: "Sharks!" - with Mark HofmeyerA modest success, Deep Blue Sea was the 29th-highest grossing movie of the year, putting it close the likes of Any Given Sunday, Galaxy Quest, and The Thomas Crown Affair, earning $74 million at the domestic box office on an $80ish million budget but going on to take in $165 million worldwide.Opening on July 30, Deep Blue Sea debuted in 3rd place behind the #1 opening of Runaway Bride and a still-strong Blair Witch Project coming in #2 in its third week.It would continue to stay in the top 10 for a respectable three further weeks.Writing in...2023-03-061h 37
1999: The Podcast"Drop Dead Gorgeous" Director Michael Patrick JannJohn and Joey talk to "Drop Dead Gorgeous" director and founding member of "The State" Michael Patrick Jann.Jann shares his thoughts on the film's journey from critical and commercial dud to beloved cult classic, and shares what he's been up to lately (spoiler, his second feature film is due out this year!)2023-03-0434 min
1999: The PodcastDROP DEAD GORGEOUS: "Amer-I-Can!" - with BJ Colangelo, Chelsey Weber-Smith, and Miranda ZicklerA critical and commercial failure upon its release, Drop Dead Gorgeous was the 125th-highest grossing movie of 1999.Filmed in the then still novel mockumentary style, the movie about a beauty pageant in Mount Rose, Minnesota was written by a former beauty pageant contestant from Rosemount, Minnesota, Lona Williams (also known as 1985’s Minnesota Junior Miss) and directed by former member of The State and accomplished TV director Michael Patrick Jann.And it boasts a jam-packed cast, including Kirsten Dunst, Allison Janney, Ellen Barkin, Denise Richards, and the film debut of Amy Adams.But in...2023-02-201h 48
1999: The PodcastRAVENOUS: "Wendigo" - with Least Haunted hosts Cody and Garth1999's 180th-highest grossing film, Antonia Bird's Ravenous never finished higher than 18th at the domestic box office, earning just over 2 millions dollars on a 12 million dollar budget. And it was never released theatrically outside North America.Ravenous was also the recipient of decidedly (often wildly) mixed critics' reviews, all of whom seem to agree that the movie shifts tones so often and dramatically that it’s hard to actually pin it to any one genre.But like our previous movie, Jawbreaker, it has since developed a loving cult following. So this week Joey and John inv...2023-02-061h 32
1999: The PodcastJAWBREAKER: "Teen Dream" - with Jenn TisdaleOur second Round 3 film, Jawbreaker, was requested by our friend and Office Space guest Jenn Tisdale.Jawbreaker was released in theatres on February 19th, making it one of the earliest 1999 films we’ve covered to date.The sophomore feature from writer Darren Stein, Jawbreaker is a John Waters-esque psychedelic high school satire. The 171st-highest grossing movie of the year, it earned 3.1 million on a 3.5 million dollar budget and was a complete failure with critics, holding just a 14% Rotten Tomatoes score and a 22 Metacritic score.The film was really intended for home video consumption, how...2023-01-231h 33
1999: The PodcastTHE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY: "Peepin'" - with Bridget ToddThe Talented Mr. Ripley is one of a few movies that just barely didn't make our first 18, so we were delighted to learn the talented Bridget Todd wanted to give it a shout-out.The second motion picture adaptation of the novel by Patricia Highsmith, Ripley was released just under the wire on December 25th, going on to earn $127 million on a $40 million budget. The film stars Matt Damon, a pre-Goop Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Cate Blanchett, Jack Davenport, and James Rebhorn, with music by Gabriel Yared and adapted and directed by Anthony Minghella, just...2023-01-091h 26
1999: The PodcastOLIVE THE OTHER REINDEER - A Very Special 1999 Christmas! - with Juhi KhemaniMerry Christmas! In the spirit of the season, John and Joey asked their friend (and friend of the network) Juhi Khemani to spend 45 minutes watching the 1999 animated Christmas TV special Olive the Other Reindeer.Olive the Other Reindeer is based on the children's book of the same name by artist J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh.With its unique style, an all-star voice cast, and Michael Stipe, Olive is something of a forgotten gem. And we're here to unforget it! (Except Joey and Juhi, who had never seen it at all...)Enjoy our laid...2022-12-251h 17
1999: The PodcastRoundup! - Round 2 RecapWe have reached the end of Round 2, completed our list of the 18 essential movies of 1999, and it's time for a (Woody's) Roundup last nine episodes. This round saw a lot more comedies, a lot more animation, and some pretty stellar guests.We take a moment to look back at it all, discuss some of what surprised us both, offer ideas on which movies might be ready for a sequel or two, and take preview what's to come (hint: it's a lot!)The show will be back with a new round with a new theme and...2022-12-1935 min
1999: The PodcastTOY STORY 2: "LZTYBRN" - with Aaron NeuwirthToy Story 2 is our final film of round 2 and our final pick for the 18 essential movies of 1999.Originally conceived as a direct-to-video sequel, much in line with Disney's strategy of releasing its other sequels to blockbuster animated films like The Return of Jafar and The Lion King 2, it soon became clear that Pixar's vision for Toy Story 2 was far too big and too bold not to grace the big screen.So instead of relegating it to video, Disney triples the budget of the original Toy Story and wound up with a mammoth holiday season hit.The...2022-12-121h 48
1999: The PodcastSOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER, AND UNCUT: "La Resistance" - with George FreitagSouth Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut is...very funny.It's also absurd, obscene, and one of the best movie musicals not called Moulin Rouge of the last few decades.The humor of the show and the movie, though, has always been too things - edgy (bordering on shocking) and timely. South Park the series has produced some of the smartest, most incisive satire anywhere in its 25 years of existence, but that kind of humor doesn't always age well?So how does this movie hold up in that regard? We asked someone who loved it a...2022-11-281h 24
1999: The PodcastRUN LOLA RUN: "die Tasche" - with Jacob MeirovichRun Lola Run only technically meets the criteria of our podcast, but no discussion of the revolutionary, groundbreaking films of 1999 could really be complete without it. Because while it was released in 1998 in its native Germany, its US theatrical release came in June 18, 1999.Starring Franke Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu, Run Lola Run was the breakout feature from writer-director-composer Tom Tykwer.The style and themes of the film share a lot in common with the first film we covered on the podcast and one of your favorites, The Matrix. Beyond just the superficial, like a telephone s...2022-11-141h 42
1999: The PodcastOFFICE SPACE: "Nothing" - with Jenn TisdaleOf the 18 movies that made our first two rounds, Office Space was far and away the most abject failure.Released in the frigid box office month of February and featuring an advertising and marketing campaign that was so bad classes should be taught about it, Office Space went on to become the year's 134th-highest grossing movie, falling short of the box office hauls for beloved, critically-acclaimed classics like Chill Factor and Wing Commander. The live-action feature debut of Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge deserved so much better, and it would soon get it. Office Space cau...2022-10-311h 57
1999: The PodcastTHE MUMMY: "Bugs!" - with Chris KluweWhat better time than this, the intersection of Spooky Season and our cultural Brenaissance, to talk about the beloved Brendan Fraser vehicle, The Mummy?!The 8th-highest grossing movie of 1999, The Mummy is - there's no other way to say it - weird on a lot of levels. It feels completely out of place among its peers, embracing both state-of-the-art digital effects and very old school practical effects, it pays homage to the adventure films of the golden age of Hollywood while also somehow functioning as modern blockbuster.It's not for everyone (including, at is turns out...2022-10-171h 24
1999: The PodcastELECTION: "Pick Flick" - with Brian RodriguezWhen Election premiered on April 23rd, audiences, it is safe to say, did not Pick Flick.Election was a pretty giant dud. With a reported $25 million price tag, the film earned just $15 million at the box office, making it the 98th-highest grossing movie of the year. And that's despite near universal critical acclaim and a number of major awards nominations.What went wrong? A lot, including a very limited release right after Columbine and sandwiched between The Matrix and The Mummy. But Election also defies genre, and having the MTV Productions label attached to it made t...2022-10-031h 29
1999: The PodcastBEING JOHN MALKOVICH: "Malkovich" - with Brian SillimanBeing John Malkovich may well be the 1999est movie we have yet covered on the show. And the only reason it didn’t make it into the first nine (and just barely) is that 1) it really took some time to fully sink in to the culture, sort of like Fight Club, and 2) unlike Fight Club, it has largely been marginalized in recent years, due in no small part to the successive work of both Jonze and Kaufman, who produced films that would go on to greater critical and commercial success than this one did.But it explores ma...2022-09-191h 42
1999: The PodcastAMERICAN PIE: "Band Camp" - with Tessa and Nicole of the Doom Generation podcastThe fact that American Pie was the twentieth-highest-grossing movie of 1999 wouldn't suggest that film was a mammoth hit, but it was.American Pie made back its tiny 11 million dollar budget and then some in its opening weekend. And it went on to gross more than 100 million domestically and 235 million worldwide, making it one of the most profitable movies of the year (an honor obviously belonging to the freakishly budget-to-gross ratio obliteration machine that was The Blair Witch Project).But like 10 Things, it had almost no star power whatsoever. While much of the cast would go...2022-09-051h 45
1999: The Podcast10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU: "Sonnet" - with Kelly J. Baker10 Things I Hate About You has become a generational favorite, joining the ranks of The Breakfast Club and Fast Times at Ridgemont High among the teen movie pantheon. Filmed on a $13 million budget, it made $38 million at the domestic box office, making it the 53rd top grossing movie of the year (one ahead of Fight Club). It would go on to break $60 million worldwide.But while it boasted a very impressive cast of very good actors, it had virtually no star power, and the central draw was a virtually unknown young actor named Heath Ledger. Neither Joseph G...2022-08-221h 25
1999: The PodcastSpybreak! - Round One RecapIn this end--of-round recap mini episode, Joey and John share their thoughts on the first nine movies, pick a "winner" from round one, and preview what's up ahead in the second round: The Back Nine.Thanks to Brian Raftery, Chris Kluwe, Brian Silliman, Matt Romano, Lila Shapiro, Chelsey Weber-Smith, Stephanie Gagnon, Aislinn and Tobin Addington, Amanda Moore, Logan Kisner, and Tyler Huckabee for sharing their time and thoughts with us!We'll be back to on Monday, 8/22 with a new episode!2022-08-1626 min
1999: The PodcastMAGNOLIA: "Save Me" - with Tyler HuckabeePaul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia was just his third feature film. It remains both his most beloved and most divisive.Released at the very end of 1999, Magnolia was largely lauded by critics, received a number of year-end awards and nominations, and mostly overlooked by audiences.But like Fight Club before it, it found second life on DVD and quickly found an adoring audience, in addition to the source of a number of ubiquitous pop culture references, largely due to Tom Cruise's outrageous motivational speaker character, Frank T. J. Mackey.Still, three hours of high dra...2022-08-081h 26
1999: The PodcastBOYS DON'T CRY: "Brandon" - with Logan Ashley KisnerBoys Don’t Cry holds a 90% Rotten Tomatoes critics score and a pretty astonishing 86% Metacritic. And with scores like that, one might get the impression that was and is a universally admired classic.Billed as a dramatization of the events leading up to the 1993 rape and murder of 21-year-old trans man Brandon Teena, it was nominated for 57 major awards and won 37 of them.14 of went to star Hilary Swank, 6 to costar Chloe Sevigny, and 8 to writer director Kimberley Peirce.And Swank of course won the Oscar for Best Actress, while Sevigny was nominated fo...2022-07-251h 09
1999: The PodcastFIGHT CLUB: "Soap" - with Amanda MooreFight Club may well have been 1999's most important box office bomb. With a budget of $65 million, the film barely made back half that at the domestic box office, and barely cleared $100 million worldwide.Yet it remains one of the cult classics of the 1990s, and people often remember it being a lot more successful than it was. A lot of that has to do with the format that would define film in the pre-streaming era of the late 90s and early 00s: DVD.Its themes of toxic masculinity, cultural decay, overbearing capitalism, fascism, and ho...2022-07-111h 17
1999: The PodcastAMERICAN BEAUTY: "Roses" - with Aislinn and Tobin AddingtonAmerican Beauty was 1999's Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards. And it was an unstoppable behemoth when it came to end of year accolades, cleaning up as well at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, SAG, and more. Critics practically tripped over themselves digging deep into their vocabularies to properly articulate the film's genius.And yet, 23 year later, the consensus seems to be that the film is...bad.So what happened (beyond the dark revelations of Kevin Spacey's long history of terrible, abusive behavior and sexual assault)? And is there anything left to make American B...2022-06-271h 28
1999: The PodcastTHE SIXTH SENSE: "Dead People" - with Books in the Freezer host Stephanie GagnonThe Sixth Sense was 1999's most unexpected phenomenon. And it really was a phenomenon.Filmed on a $40 million budget, the film made a respectable $26 million its opening weekend, but great reviews and word of mouth propelled it to a $293.5 million domestic box office gross and a worldwide gross of just shy of $673 million.It was the only movie to stay #1 for 5 weeks aside from The Phantom Menace, and, most impressively, it made at least $20 million all five weekends it was #1, making more than $29 million its final weekend.Not bad for a decidedly not-action m...2022-06-131h 15
1999: The PodcastEYES WIDE SHUT: "Fidelio" - with New York Magazine's Lila ShapiroStanley Kubrick’s final film (and perhaps the nail in the coffin for Hollywood's most famous couple), the psychosexual thriller Eyes Wide Shut, was released on July 16th, two days after the limited release of The Blair Witch Project, and on the day that birthed a thousand QAnon conspiracy theories as John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy died in a plane crash while everyone in America kept listening to Destiny’s Child’s Bills Bills Bills.The film was, at the time, well received if not overwhelmingly praised by critics and audiences.But it’s w...2022-05-301h 08
1999: The PodcastTHE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT: "The Woods" - with American Hysteria's Chelsey Weber-SmithStarring Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams, and Joshua Leonard as themselves – or people who happen to have their exact names – and written and directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, 1999's 10th-highest grossing film, The Blair Witch Project was produced on a budget of less than a half million dollars and grossed $248.6 million at the box office. One of the founding films in the "found footage" genre, the film was perhaps most famous for the unprecedented marketing campaign that led up to its release.The movie made innovative use of a relatively novel outlet called "the W...2022-05-161h 19
1999: The PodcastSTAR WARS EPISODE ONE - THE PHANTOM MENACE: "Wizard" with Brian Silliman and Matt Romano, hosts of Return of the PodThe Phantom Menace was, at the time, universally referred to as "the most anticipated movie of all time", and it's unlikely that any movie will ever again carry that distinction.But with anticipation like that, how could it not disappoint? The movie has gone on quite a journey in the last 23 years, from "the first Star Wars movie in 22 years", to "the biggest disappointment of the summer", to "the worst Star Wars movie", to now, where it finds itself beloved by a generation of fans who grew up on it and admired by older fans who have com...2022-05-021h 48
1999: The PodcastTHE MATRIX: "Whoa" with Chris KluweFormer Minnesota Vikings punter and current science fiction author ("Otaku") Chris Kluwe joins us to discuss our first movie from our Essentials series - The Matrix.Released on March 31, 1999, written and directed by the Wachowskis and starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano, The Matrix was something of an unexpected hit that would go on to become a cultural phenomenon.To this day, we use terms like "glitch in the Matrix" and "red pill" in memes and casual conversation because the things the reference are nearly universally recognizable.Kluw...2022-04-1856 min
1999: The PodcastBest. Movie. Year. Ever? - with Brian RafteryWas 1999 the best movie year ever? We think it might be, and in this podcast we’ll be exploring the movies that made that year so memorable. Before we start, we invited journalist and author Brian Raftery, who quite literally wrote the book on the movies of 1999 — Best. Movie. Year. Ever.: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen — to share his thoughts on why it was such an important year for movies and for our culture.Find John on Twitter @ProbablyRealJBFind Joey on Twitter @soulpoppedFind Brian on Twitter @BrianRafteryFor more o...2022-04-0453 min1999: The PodcastIntroducing 1999: The Podcast2022-03-1300 min