The Podwits were saddened to learn that Oscar-winning make-up icon Dick Smith, who defined generations with his pioneering makeup effects, passed away July 30th at age 92. Before CGI was common place, Smith practically invented techniques that are still used to this day, and is credited by Special Effects legends like Rick Baker and Tom Savini in spearheading where Universal Studios […]
Posts Tagged ‘William Friedkin’
RIP Hollywood Make-up Legend Dick Smith
Posted: 1st August 2014 by Podwits Administrator in Art, Celebrities, Film, History, News, Obituaries, Technology, Television, UncategorizedTags: Altered States, Amadeus, David Bowie, Dick Smith, Dustin Hoffman, Ghost Story, Jack Pierce, James Caan, John Carpenter, Linda Blair, Little Big Man, Marathon Man, Martin Scorsese, Max Von Sydow, Nighthawks, Quentin Tarantino, Rick Baker, Stan Winston, Starman, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, The Exorcist, The Godfather, The Hunger, The Stepford Wifes, Tom Savini, William Friedkin, William Hurt
Georges Arnaud’s Wages of Fear
Posted: 29th May 2014 by Dion in Art, Books, Film, Film Review, History, Podwit ProfileTags: Alfred Hithcock, American Werewolf in London, Chester Himes, Dashiell Hammett, Diabolique, Flesh and Fire, Georges Arnaud, Henri-Georges Clouzot, James M. Cain, Jeff Ryan, Le Salaire de la Peur, Les Diabolique, Mickey Spillane, Nintendo, Norman Dale, Rage, Raymond Chandler, Scarface, Sorcerer, Super Mario Bros, Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America, The Boys From Brazil, The Harlem Cycle, The Last Man on Earth, Wages of Fear, William Friedkin
I have very fond memories of playing with my G.I. Joe’s and Construx on the carpet in the living room of my parent’s old New Haven home -their rug I now recall as an imagery world, that would encompass the area from under the bay window where lived in front a massive 16″ Quasar cabinet television, to the large wooden coffee table […]
NYPD & FILM Legend RANDY JURGENSEN Screens his Rarely Screen Film Heart, Starring Brad Davis & Steve Buscemi- Followed By Q&A
Posted: 30th May 2013 by Dion in Film, Film Review, News, Podwits ExclusiveTags: Brad Davis, Catherine Munro, Chad McQueen, Circle of Six, Frances Fisher, Heart, James Bond, Michael Baden, Randy Jurgensen, Steve Buscemi, Steve McQueen, Treat Williams, William Friedkin
Two weeks ago friend of the Podwits, Randy Jurgensen screened a ultra-rare 35mm print of his even rarier 1987 film Heart, which starred Brad Davis, Frances Fisher and Steve Buscemi. In a nutshell the film is basically about the reality for many aspiring prizefighters hoping for the Rocky title shot happy-ending. It was screened at 92YTribeca, which […]
Facing Childhood Fears: Revisiting John Carpenter’s Assault on Precinct 13
Posted: 21st September 2012 by Dion in Film, Film ReviewTags: Assault on Precinct 13, George C Scott, George Romero, Gregory Peck, Halloween, Howard Hawks, John Carpenter, Kim Richards, Night of the Living Dead, Quentin Tarantino, Rage, Rio Bravo, Sorcerer, The Boys From Brazil, The Fog, The Last Man on Earth, The Thing, Vincent Price, William Friedkin
It’s interesting what images stay with you from childhood, still crisp as the day they were viewed. I know like most kids growing up, in what sadly seems already like another time, I was exposed to a lot of television and film at a very early age, which made me into what I am today […]
“An Evening With Jurgensen” – Part 2
Posted: 29th February 2012 by Podwits Administrator in Podcast, Podwits ExclusiveTags: 100 Centre Street, Andy Kaufman, Badge 373, Billy Dee Williams, Blood Brothers, C.H.U.D., Circle of Six, Contract on Cherry Street, Cruising, Danny Aiello, Donnie Brasco, Ed O'Neill, Eddie Egan, Fort Apache The Bronx, God Told Me To, Heart, Hector Alonzo., Homicide: Life on the Street, Joe Pistone, Joe Spinell, Kojak, Maniac, New York Cop, Nighthawks, One Down Two to Go, Paul Newman, Precinct Hollywood, Randy Jurgensen, Report to the Commissioner, Richard Gere, Robert Duvall, Sonny Grosso, Sorcerer, Steve Buscemi, Strikeforce, Superman, Sylvester Stallone, Thinner, Tom Savini, Vigilante, William Friedkin, William Lustig
In Part 2 of this Podwits EXCLUSIVE, NYPD veteran and Film icon Randy Jurgensen give his opinion of the mindset of the police brass that made it so hard to be a policeman in New York City in the 60’s and 70’s. The author then talks about why it was so easy for him to […]
“An Evening With Jurgensen” – Part 1
Posted: 22nd February 2012 by Podwits Administrator in Celebrities, Podcast, Podwits ExclusiveTags: 1960's, 1970's, Circle of Six, Film, George Carlin, Harlem, Korean War, Lenny Bruce, NYPD, Officer Phil Cardillo, Randy Jurgensen, The Brink's Job, The French Connection, The Godfather, William Friedkin
So the name Randy Jurgensen doesn’t sound familiar to you? Well, believe it or not you know him. The retired NYPD Detective 1st Grade and film icon has acted in and produced dozens of films, and has worked on some of New York City’s most famous cases. His book, Circle of Six, is his real-life […]
William Friedkin’s “Cruising” Revisited
Posted: 4th February 2012 by Dion in Film, Film ReviewTags: Al Pacino, Cruising, Randy Jurgensen, William Friedkin
On the eve of interviewing retired NYPD and film legend Randy Jurgensen (PLUG for an upcoming Podwits EXCLUSIVE), my fiancée and I sat down and revisited a cult classic, William Friedkin’s Cruising. I have to say, the film gets better with every viewing.