Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini-Ep #25: The Little Fugitive And Sideways

Episode Date: September 3, 2015

Each week, comedian Gilbert Gottfried and comedy writer Frank Santopadre share their appreciation of lesser-known films, underrated TV shows and hopelessly obscure character actors -- discussing, dissecting and (occasionally) defending their handpicked guilty pleasures and buried treasures. The understated brilliance of Paul Giamatti! An Amazing Colossal theme song! And the French New Wave starts in...Brooklyn? If you've got a car and a license, put 'em both to work for you and start earning serious, life-changing money today. Sign up to drive with Uber. Visit www.DriveWithUber.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That's the sound of unaged whiskey transforming into Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey in Lynchburg, Tennessee. Around 1860, Nearest Green taught Jack Daniel how to filter whiskey through charcoal for a smoother taste, one drop at a time. This is one of many sounds in Tennessee with a story to tell. To hear them in person, plan your trip at tnvacation.com. Tennessee sounds perfect. This episode is brought to you by FX's The Bear on Disney+. In Season 3, Carmi and his crew are aiming for the ultimate restaurant accolade, a Michelin star.

With Golden Globe and Emmy wins, the show starring Jeremy Allen White, Io Debrey, and Maddie Matheson is ready to heat up screens once again. All new episodes of FX's The Bear are streaming June 27, only on Disney+. Don't forget to follow us on our Facebook page, Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing, colossal podcast. On Twitter, at Real Gilbert ACP. And on Instagram, Gilbert Podfried. P-O-D-F-R-I-E-D. You see, it's kind of a pun on the last name. Ah, never mind. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried, and I'm here with my co-host Frank Santopadre,

and this is another episode of Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Obsessions. It is. You're getting better every week with that title. Yeah. And I think we're going to try out our theme song. Oh, boy. We're going to wrap the show with it. What do you think of that?

That could be something. And you haven't heard it yet. No. So you're going to be surprised, just like our listeners are going to be surprised. Oh, jeez. And I'm going to set it up. But that would mean that we have listeners. Yeah.

That would imply that we have actual listeners. Yeah. I don't know. Well, at least one. Because a gentleman named John Murray, who's an old dear friend of mine, sent in a theme song for this show, for Amazing Colossal. It doesn't count if you know him personally. Well, you know, we're going to start with people we know.

We put it out there, and people have been generous in sending them in, so at the end of this show, we'll set it up. Let's start with your movie. Okay. This is a movie I hadn't heard about before. I just saw it recently. I'm intrigued.

And I wasn't familiar with it. And I was just watching. And it's a movie you know. And I wasn't familiar with it. And it's a movie you know. And the movie is The Little Fugitive. Oh, yes. Or Little Fugitive. I don't know if it's got the... Yes, I saw it recently. The Little Fugitive.

Yeah. And it's a film where it's... I don't want to give too much away, but a boy who believes, a little boy, most of it's non-actors. I think all of it's non-actors. I think they're all amateurs. All non-actors. Right. And the plot basically is a little boy who believes he's killed his brother.

Correct. And he has to escape from the police. And he escapes as far as Coney Island. Isn't it because the brother is playing a prank on him? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And he, what, the funny thing about this, it's, oh, it's available on Amazon Prime.

Great. Good to know. Good information. The funny thing about it is that most of the movie takes place in Coney Island. Now, I was born in Coney Island. I never knew that. Yeah. I knew you were born in Brooklyn, but you never told me where.

Yeah, well, I don't like to talk to you. Okay, good. Yeah, yeah. I can't stand when you talk during the show. We can wrap this up now. Yeah. So, talking to you off the air, I really can't do that. So, you're like Albie Singer.

Yes. Born under the rollercoaster. And so I was born in Coney Island and I lived like above my father's hardware store. That I do. Yeah. From your book. Yeah.

Yeah, my book, Rubber Balls and Lick. How many copies did that book sell, by the way? Well, I think there's the second customer. The second printing. Yeah. What was the name of your dad's hardware store, by the way? Godfrey Todd Ware's store.

Amazing. Original. Yeah. But the film, the majority of the film, takes place in Coney Island. So to me, looking at the old beach and the old stores and rides and clothes, it was like a home movie for me, watching it. And most of it is the kid on the beach in Coney Island, like going on the rides, riding the horses, and going around on the beach.

And it sounds like, if you were to tell me that, that most of it's a kid on the beach, I would say, not in a billion years. In black and white. Yes. Yeah. And when I was watching the film I remember thinking

this film looks like a foreign film it's an American film but it looks like a foreign film and what's interesting is Francois Truffaut was a big fan as were other members of the French New Wave.

Very influenced by it. And they said they believe Little Fugitives started the French New Wave. Fascinating. A film made by a Jewish couple living on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Yes. And I think

the photographer in the movie is played by Will Lee. And he was, if I got it right, was Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street. Wow. Wow. And the reason Mr. Hooper is so important to me on Sesame Street. He touched you? Yes. Well, that goes, I can only wish.

There was one episode of Sesame Street that's a Christmas episode. And Mr. Hooper says to someone, oh, Merry Christmas. And they say, and Happy Hanukkah, Mr. Hooper. So meaning Mr. Hooper says to someone, oh, Merry Christmas, and they say, and Happy Hanukkah, Mr. Hooper. So meaning Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street was a Jew. This is a scoop. Yes. Now, I believe the little fugitive, well, I should say that I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know Boris Engel, who made The Little Fugitive.

He's the father of a friend of ours, Andy Engel. Do you know Andy Engel? He came from Caroline's Comedy Club. And his mother was Ruth Orkin, a very famous photographer, a very, very famous black and white photographer. Look up her work. You'll recognize that she's a very, very famous, a very famous photograph taken, I guess, in Rome of a woman walking down a street and some Italian men eyeballing her. I can't remember the name of the photograph. It has a name, but it's a very iconic photo, as many of her photos were. And they were friends with Stanley Kubrick, who was a photographer for Life magazine at the time. Yeah. Yeah, and he worked, I'm fudging this,

but Morris worked with Kubrick. I'm not sure if he shot for them, but they started in filmmaking together. Yeah, The Little Fugitive, which was made on a shoestring, I think, I hope I have this right, shot 16mm. Yeah, it was shot with a

whole movie cap. Yeah, maybe with a bolex. And it was like the sound and voices were dubbed in. Right, right. It was made on a shoestring by Morris, Engel, and Ruth Orkin, and it

influenced everybody from Truffaut to Mark Scorsese, who I saw talk about it. I saw Mark Scorsese introduce it a couple of years ago. I think it was at the New School or the Y, and then I saw it again recently, and it really holds up. But for you, it's home movies. Yes.

And we talk about it all the time on the show, about films that capture old New York. That one really does. Oh, absolutely. Doesn't he get on the show about films that capture old New York. That one really does. Oh, absolutely. Doesn't he get on the subway at one point? Yeah, he's on the subway, and he's on the horse rides. They go on the old parachute while it was still there. That's right. I mean, they still have the structure,

but I think too many people are getting stuck on there. Is that what happens? Yeah, I think too many people are getting stuck on there. Is that what happens? Yeah. I think someone in particular got stuck. You remember all that stuff? All the original rides at Coney Island? Oh, yeah. I remember there was steeplechase.

Yeah. My mom talks about it. And as I remember, there was a ride. You went on, the steeplechase ride was, you were on these wooden horses that ran along a track and they were like rushing along the track and over the track you could look down and see a view

of all of Coney Island. That's cool. And I think either getting on or off the ride they were one of those belts that would go the opposite direction of the way you were walking so you'd be trying to run away

and I think there was a clown with a whip and an air thing blowing girls skirts up that sounds right I've heard this before my family's from Brooklyn too my mom's from Flatbush, and my dad

is from East New York, and they had stories about Coney Island when I was a kid. But by the time I was, Coney Island was in disrepair. There was nothing left except the cyclone. The Little Fugitive is a great snapshot of New York and Brooklyn in particular.

And I hope I got my facts right. You guys can do a little Googling, but Morris Engel and Stanley Kubrick were definitely collaborators on something. I can't remember what. A really original offbeat film worth seeing. Very different. Yeah.

Yeah. And so when, so Martin Scorsese introduces? Yeah, well, he did a couple years ago, and I'm trying to remember where I was, and he was interviewed about it. It was with an audience. It might have been the New School,

maybe 10 years ago, in the city somewhere. This one is the New Fugitive, and it's been influenced on all the French cinema. That's disturbing. on all the French cinema for a friend. That's what true folks do. That's disturbing. Oh, The Little Fugitive.

Check it out. I can't believe you brought that up. See, we don't know what we're going to... We don't know each other's movies beforehand, so you're really surprised. That's because I don't talk to you. That's because you don't talk to me. Hey, Gil. Yes?

I know for a fact that there's only one thing you love better than hanging out at the 99-Cent Store. Yes. And that's actually making money. Ah! Is that true? Yes. Do I have the right guy?

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And then you watch the car on your phone drive to where you are. It's amazing. The truly amazing thing is that you knew how to work a phone. You knew how to work an iPhone. Yeah. I don't know how to make calls on a phone. There's a learning curve. You'll get to that eventually.

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I'm going to go 180 degrees to a recent movie. I think this is the most recent movie I've talked about from 2000. I'm sneaking out the DVD, which Gilbert is unaware of, but now he can see the front of it. 2004? Yeah, the movie is called Sideways. It's an Alexander Payne. That was a porn film.

That was right. I did it sideways. You saw it recently. I just, I had seen it before, and I saw it again. It popped up on TV again. And I worked with one of the actors in there, Thomas Hayden Church. Oh, on Wings. Yeah, he used to be on Wings.

That's right. Funny guy. It's a terrific movie. I have a sentimental attachment to it because I think it's the first movie I saw with my girlfriend, who was now my wife. I would think that's a reason never to see it again. Well, for her.

She was traumatized by the experience. And I caught some of it on cable today, caught the last 15 minutes. Paul Giamatti's acting in this movie. And I just wanted a couple of things about Paul Giamatti, who I love, who was also in Saving Private Ryan,

which I watched today because we were doing research. Oh, wow. We were doing a little research for our guest, Adam Goldberg, and Giamatti turns up in that. The range of this man that he played Pig Vomit on Howard Stern. Oh, yes. And Harvey P. Carr, he played the cartoonist in American Splendor. He's just quickly become my favorite actor. There's nothing he can't do.

See this movie. I don't want to even describe too much about it because it's so slight. Now, his father was a famous sports analyst. No, his father was a commissioner of baseball. Commissioner of baseball. See, I know nothing about sports. That's okay, you were in the ballpark.

I know that, yes, I was in the ballpark. I know baseball players have very odd names. Really? What kinds of names? Well, who's on first, what's on second? You know the players have very odd names. Really? What kinds of names? Yeah, well, who's on first, what's on second? I don't know. You know the players' names? His father was not only the commissioner of baseball, but he famously banned Pete Rose.

You know that Pete Rose was banned? You do know that. Yes. He was banned for life and excluded from Hall of Fame consideration for gambling. And Bart Giamatti, his father, was the man behind that. Real quick, it's Paul Giamatti at Thomas Hayden Church. Both would be great guests for us, by the way. Oh, yes.

They play Miles and Jack. They're two college buddies. Miles, Jack is getting married, the Thomas Hayden Church character, and they go on a tour of wine country. the Thomas Hayden Church character and they go on a tour of wine country. They go on sort of one last adventure together

before Thomas Hayden Church's character gets married. And Giamatti is like the more meek, stable one. Yeah. And he knows about wine. He's a wine expert and he's an English teacher or a drama teacher who's a struggling playwright.

And it's really a personal film that's hard to describe. There's not a lot of bells and whistles to it. It's just a character study, but it's hilarious. Yeah. And it's poignant, and the acting that Giamatti does is memorable. Also, shout out to Sandra Oh, the director's wife at the time, Alexander Payne. And Virginia Madsen. Yes.

An underrated actress. I think Virginia Madsen. You're going to tell me when she took her clothes off. Yes. Okay. Yeah. How do I know you? How well do I know you?

I love that movie. I believe I saw, she shows her tits in that Jacqueline Bissett movie, Class. Oh, my. The one with Andrew McCarthy? Yes. I thought you were going to say The Hotspot, the one that Don Johnson directed. Oh, is that with Jennifer? Excuse me, the one with Dennis Hopper. Oh.

Yeah, Jennifer Connelly. Jennifer Connelly. Yeah, that's the Jennifer Connelly. Oh, are they the two girls on the beach? Yes, I believe Oh. Yeah, Jennifer Connelly. Jennifer Connelly. Yeah, that's the Jennifer Connelly. Oh, are they the two girls on the beach? Yes, I believe so. Oh, that's a great scene. Yeah, Dennis, I misspoke. Dennis Hopper directed it.

Don Johnson is the lead. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, there's a scene of Virginia Madsen and Jennifer Connelly lying topless on the beach. This show's turning into Mr. Skin. Yeah. But, yes, Virginia Madsen is fetching. I had the pleasure of interviewing

Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne's co-writer on this movie. Nice guy. Good writer. I love Election, too. Another movie they made. Oh, yes, with Matthew... Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. Their first film, which was called

Citizen Ruth with Laura Dern. Check out their stuff. Alexander Payne, terrific filmmaker, made The Descendants with George Clooney. But this movie is my favorite of his. I really think it's a small masterpiece. And that's all I got. Okay.

Any top of scenes of The Little Fugitive you want to Yeah, at one point the little boy takes his polo shirt off. I got. Okay. Any topless scenes of Little Fugitive you want to be on? Yeah. At one point the little boy takes his polo shirt off. That is scandalous. And Jared from the subway is the one

who told me to see the movie. And the sound you heard is the colossal podcast jumping the shark and now to change to put a better taste in your mouth here's a theme swap we're going to cut to okay so the two films were yes the little fugitive Okay, so the two films were The Little Fugitive and Sideways. And you couldn't get a bigger gap between those two films. And now check out our sample theme song from our wonderfully talented friend John Murray.

Hope you like it. We'll be right back. Give me that right. Colossal Obsessions. Give me that right. Colossal Obsessions. If you like listening to comedy, try watching it on the internet. The folks behind the Sideshow Network have launched a new YouTube channel called Wait For It. On the internet. Our very own Owen Benjamin, that's me, takes you on a musical journey down internet rabbit holes and much more. You don't have to wait any longer. Just go to youtube.com slash wait for it comedy. There's no need to wait for it anymore. Because it's here.

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