Everything Coming to Now Playing Podcast in December 2020
It’s been a long and exhausting year, but Now Playing Podcast is leaving 2020 on a positive note, with nineall-new episodes for listeners and supporters. It’s a good thing December has 31 days.
Here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in December 2020.
December 1 – 48 Hrs.
December was supposed to be the month of Eddie Murphy, with our hosts taking their first real deep dive into the actor/comedian/singer/GOAT’s filmography. But now that Amazon has moved the Coming to America sequel to March, it’s going to be the “half-month” of Murphy. Now Playing kicks things off December 4 with a review of 1982’s 48 Hrs. Directed by Walter Hill and co-starring Nick Nolte, this was the film that launched Murphy’s film career and gave audiences a glimpse at the star beyond Saturday Night Live. Let’s see how some of the movie’s rougher edges hold up with modern audiences.
December 4 – Rosemary’s Baby
Roman Polanski’s classic horror tale headlines the Gold Level of Now Playing’s 2020 Fall/Winter Donation Series. Rosemary’s Baby follows Mia Farrow’s expectant mother, who fears a satanic cult is after her baby. The film is recognized as a hallmark of the art-horror genre, spawning a television film sequel and a 2014 remake.
December 8 – Another 48 Hrs.
Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte got back together in 1990 for a sequel to their first team-up. Another 48 Hrs. arrived at a time when sequels were experimenting with titles that didn’t involve numbers. That’s how we got movies like Another Stakeout and Teen Wolf Too. There was even a made-for-TV sequel to Splash called Splash, Too.
December 11 – Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby
Speaking of made-for-TV sequels, a very loosely connected sequel dubbed Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby premiered on ABC in October 1976. This time, it’s Patty Duke in the lead role. While the first Rosemary’s Baby has been enshrined in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the sequel has been uploaded to YouTube. You can watch through the link below and ready yourself for the review on December 11.
December 15 – Stephen King’s Golden Years
Now Playing makes a quick pivot back to its long-running Stephen King retrospective on December 15, with a review of 1991’s CBS miniseries, Stephen King’s Golden Years. It’s about a man named Harlan Williams – not the comic actor Harland Williams – who realizes he’s aging in reverse. The miniseries ran for seven episodes in the summer, so you’re forgiven if you’ve never heard of it.
December 18 – Rosemary’s Baby (2014)
NBC tried to reinvent Rosemary’s Baby with a two-part, four-hour adaptation that aired during the 2014 May “sweeps” ratings period. This time, Zoe Saldana takes over the Rosemary role, with Patrick J. Adams and Jason Isaacs also on board. The miniseries wasn’t a ratings or critical hit, but our hosts will give it another look on December 18.
December 22 – Tenet
At last, Now Playing gets a chance to review one of the many would-be blockbusters that got pushed back by the pandemic. Tenet got a theatrical release in September, but with so many theaters closed it failed to meet expectations in the U.S. It’s hitting disc and digital on December 15, so all of our hosts will have a chance to watch and review it.
December 25 – Trading Places
It will truly be a happy and merry Christmas when the Now Playing review of Trading Places arrives on December 25. The 1983 comedy further solidified Eddie Murphy’s reputation as a box office draw and helped Jamie Lee Curtis break away from “scream queen” roles she’d been stuck playing since Halloween. The Trading Places review will be released exclusively for Now Playing’s Podbean patrons, and can be unlocked with a pledge of $10 or more.
December 29 – Wonder Woman 1984
First Tenet, now Wonder Woman 1984. It’s like Christmas here at Now Playing. Actually, it is Christmas. The long awaited sequel to the 2017 blockbuster will hit theaters and HBO Max on December 25, giving our hosts enough time to watch and prepare for the December 29 review. The road to Wonder Woman 1984’s release is one of the most talked-about stories of the year, as WarnerMedia took the unprecedented step of releasing the big budget film on streaming. By doing so, they’re risking as much as $1 billion in box office, but many analysts believe it will be worth it in the long run.
Everything Coming to Now Playing Podcast in August 2020
August had been heralded as the month in which tentpole theatrical films would return to movie theaters. We now know that’s not going to happen. With little-to-no success at “crushing the curve” of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, the biggest release on the calendar – Christopher Nolan’s Tenet – will debut overseas in August before getting a staggered rollout in America beginning September 3.
Despite the continued postponement of the summer movie season, Now Playing Podcast pushes forward in August, with new entries in its ongoing – nearly six years now – Stephen King retrospective series, the final two episodes of its bonus Sleepaway Camp retrospective, two patron-supported podcasts, and one excellent, all-new retrospective on the main feed.
Here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in August 2020.
August 4 – The Langoliers
By 1995, Hollywood was ready to unleash a wave of CGI-powered blockbusters on moviegoers. We were on the verge of films like Twister and Titanic when ABC thought it wise to adapt King’s The Langoliers for television viewers. The two-night miniseries follows the story of airline passengers stuck in a time warp, or something, no one really knows for sure. It’s got Balki from Perfect Strangers and some odious, truly awful, special effects. Try to contain your laughter if you watch the full two-parter on YouTube.
August 7 – Sleepaway Camp IV: The Survivor
The sequel to 1989’s Sleepaway Camp III started production in 1992 and was shelved until 2012. In between, another Sleepaway Camp movie was released, but the fifth one actually gets the No. 4 attached to it. Arnie, Stuart, and Brock will explain why when they break down this entry for Platinum-level supporters.
August 11 – Secret Window
This 2004 Johnny Depp thriller, like The Langoliers, was adapted from King’s Four Past Midnight collection of stories, and focuses on a writer (shocking) caught up in a murder mystery. Obviously, there are more layers that will be peeled back, it’s a King story after all.
August 14 – Return to Sleepaway Camp
The fifth film in Now Playing’s Sleepaway Camp retrospective is actually the fourth, and features the return of Felissa Rose, who portrayed the the original “Angela.” There is still a summer camp, and the murders that franchise fans turn out to see. But this one’s also got Isaac Hayes and Sopranos alum Vincent Pastore.
August 18 – Golden Years
The final King entry for August is a limited series that aired on CBS in 1991 and 1992. Golden Years was conceived by the author as a “novel for television” and stars Felicity Huffman, Ed Lauter, Frances Sternhagen, and Keith Szarabajka. The plot involves a man aging in reverse, kind of like Benjamin Button. That’s where the comparisons stop.
August 21 – Deep Blue Sea 3
When Now Playing Podcast reviewed Renny Harlin’s Deep Blue Sea as part of its Jaws retrospective, no one could predict the film would get one direct-to-video sequel, let alone two. Now, 21 years after the first DBSdebuted in theaters, the adventures of CGI smart sharks are chronicled in this sequel from the writer-director behind Quarantine 2 , The Skulls II, and The Skulls III.
August 25 – Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
United Artists did starving movie fans a big favor when they announced in July that Bill & Ted Face the Musicwould debut on premium VOD and select theaters on September 1. That gave Now Playing the greenlight to carry on with its planned Bill & Ted retrospective series, starting with the duo’s famed Excellent Adventure. The 1989 original stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter as high school buds that use a time machine to ace their history report. Just sit back and go with it, dudes.
Patron Review: Cast Away
Tom Hanks won a Golden Globe and received a Best Actor nomination for his portrayl of a FedEx employee stranded on a deserted island. The film is remembered fondly for Hanks’ performance and friendship with an inanimate volleyball named Wilson. The Now Playing Podcast hosts will venture to the island in August after the film was selected for review by one of its Podbean patrons.
Bonus Patron Review: The Dark Crystal
In 1982, Jim Henson and Frank Oz teamed for an animatronic-fueled fantasy taking place on a distant planet. It became a cult classic for a generation and spawned a Netflix prequel series in 2019. Now Playing Podcast will review The Dark Crystal as a bonus patron review in August.
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