157 – Speed Racer

Emile Hirsch as Speed Racer emerges from the Mach 5 in a candy-colored still from the 2008 film

Jen and Tim welcome Speed Racer evangelist Paul Jay to talk about, uh, the 2008 flop Speed Racer.

Over at culture blog The Sundae, Dean Buckley makes a case against Speed Racer as “art film” and for the Wachowskis as purveryors of schlock (in a positive way). Agree or disagree, it’s a thoughtful piece.

The Daily Beast has details of Emile Hirsch’s attack on a Paramount executive at a Sundance party, although the headline’s assertion that he “starred” in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a slight exaggeration (he had a small part as man-about-town hairdresser and murder victim Jay Sebring).

The documentary Riding Balls of Fire: Group B, The Wildest Years of Rallying presents a nice overview of that brief era of rally car racing, plus it’s free on Tubi!

Paul guested on the show many moons ago to talk about The Paul Lynde Halloween Special. Listen to that episode here!

013 – The Paul Lynde Halloween Special

Paul Lynde hosting the Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976)
before stan culture was a thing, adult women stanned Paul Lynde

Jen and guest Paul Jay discuss a true relic of the 70s: the Paul Lynde Halloween Special! [Toccata and Fugue sting; ghoulish scream]

You can watch the whole goddamn thing at the Internet Archive, if you want to see Roz “Pinky Tuscadero” Kelly flirting with Paul Lynde’s chest wig.

Paul also joined us to pick over the weird auteur project, The Wizard of Speed and Time!

005 – The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989)

Jen welcomes special guest Paul Jay (Twitter: @pauljaycomic) for today’s episode, in which we discuss The Wizard of Speed and Time! We’re a little hard on filmmaker Mike Jittlov, perhaps unfairly— WoSaT producer Richard Kaye allegedly absconded with the film’s completion money, and Jittlov himself considers the project to be only 75% done.

Jittlov started as a math and language major at UCLA back in the 60s, but an animation elective awakened him to his true calling. His breathtaking, award-winning short films led to work at Disney, where he clashed with execs over his desire to be credited for his work. After The Wizard of Speed and Time’s drawn-out production period, Jittlov worked on some major film projects (including Ghost, in which he was responsible for animating the dark spirits that drag Tony Goldwyn to hell). Later, he spent the 90s making the rounds of conventions and screening his only feature for his devoted fans. He still lives in the LA area, and if anyone knows what he’s up to lately, please drop us a line!

The Night Flight website has an excellent write-up about Jittlov and The Wizard of Speed and Time here.

Mike Jittlov’s personal website