Now Playing Podcast Hosts May 1 ‘Jason Takes Manhattan’ Watch Party
For the first time since 2009, Now Playing Podcast is going back to Crystal Lake. It will be a brief return, because we’re then hopping a boat for the Big Apple!
On Friday, May 1 at 9 p.m. EST, Now Playing will host a LIVE Friday the 13th Part 8: Jason Takes Manhattan watch party on Hot Mic, marking our return to the Friday franchise. Now Playing launched its retrospective format 11 years ago, covering the entire Jason Voorhees saga in anticipation of the Platinum Dunes remake.
Over the years, listeners have been requesting a revisit, noting that the original Friday reviews lacked the polish of future Now Playing episodes. It’s true, the show didn’t find its footing until we established the retrospective format, and while we eschewed the idea of re-recording those old shows, we couldn’t resist the idea of a live watch party with listeners.
If you don’t have a copy of Jason Takes Manhattan lying around, we’ll be streaming the movie on Amazon Prime Video. Join us at 9 p.m. and “press play” with our hosts to stay in sync.
If you missed our Oscars party and don’t have the Hot Mic app on your phone, here’s what to do:
1. Download the Hot Mic app
2. Sign up with invite code NOWPLAYING
3. Join us at 9p EST!
It’s that easy. We’ll see you soon Class of ’89!
Everything Coming to Now Playing Podcast in May 2020
Moviegoing looked much different at the start of 2020, with Marvel’s Black Widow and the Chris Rock-led Spiral: From the Book of Saw among the films Now Playing Podcast was set to review in the month of May.
With at least one major movie theater chain vowing to keep its doors closed until there is new Hollywood product to roll out, Now Playing Podcast has reorganized its schedule for May; with Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, and a highly anticipated live watch party added alongside new entries in the Viral Outbreak and Tom Cruise: Movie Star of the 80s retrospectives.
Here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in May 2020:
May 1 LIVE Friday the 13th Watch Party on Hot Mic
Want to spend an evening at the movies with Now Playing Podcast? If that’s a yes, then grab your sleeping bags campers, because Now Playing is going back to Crystal Lake! On Friday, May 1 at 9 p.m. EST, Now Playing Podcast will host a live Friday the 13th watch party on Hot Mic. The entire Now Playing team is taking part in the show, giving listeners the chance to interact with hosts as they watch one of the Friday films streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Listeners who download the Hot Mic app and sign up with the invite code NOWPLAYING will be able to see and chat with the hosts in real time, as they revisit the iconic horror franchise for the first time since Now Playing Podcast’s inaugural 2009 retrospective.
May 5 Outbreak
After four episodes examining pandemic disaster films from the 1950s to 1980s, Now Playing Podcast ventures further into virus territory with its review of 1995’s Outbreak. The thriller, directed by Wolfgang Petersen and starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, and Cuba Gooding Jr., centers on a team of doctors trying to contain the spread of an Ebola-like virus in small town California.
May 8 Cocktail
Back in 1986, Tom Cruise and Top Gun inspired a generation of would-be Maverick’s to join the U.S. Navy. Two years later, the actor inspired everyone to go to bartending school with Cocktail. The romantic drama, which grossed more than $170 million back in its day, stars Cruise as a business student who becomes a bartender under the tutelage of F/X star Bryan Brown. While it was a box office hit, Cocktail’s enduring legacy may be its soundtrack, featuring The Beach Boys hit “Kokomo.”
May 12 The Andromeda Strain (2008)
Michael Crichton’s viral thriller was turned into an A&E miniseries in 2008, with Benjamin Bratt, Andre Braugher, and Viola Davis among the headlining cast. For the remake, Crichton’s novel was condensed into a four-hour saga airing over two nights. While the premise of an alien germ remains intact, the “reimagining” will have a much different tone than its 1971 predecessor.
May 15 Rain Man
Tom Cruise may have been the biggest movie star of the 1980s, but he wasn’t too good to share the screen with fellow film greats. In 1988, Cruise starred as the brother of Dustin Hoffman’s autistic Rain Man in a film that helped bulk up his dramatic chops, as well as his box office clout. Though it was Hoffman who took home Best Actor accolades for Rain Man, the film helped propel Cruise further up the ladder of stars who can do action, comedy, and drama.
May 18 Contagion
While it was a box office hit upon release in 2011, Steven Soderbergh’s has gained new life in the streaming sphere, climbing the charts and becoming one of the most-watched films during the coronavirus pandemic. The film, which is praised for its medical accuracy, follows the spread of an airborne respiratory virus that originated in China. The parallels are jarring, which is why audiences have returned to the film, and why it will serve as the finale to Now Playing Podcast’s Viral Outbreak retrospective.
May 22 Born on the Fourth of July
Tom Cruise earned a Golden Globe Award and his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his turn as Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July. The biography traces Kovic’s life from Long Island to Vietnam and back to the United States, where, as a paralyzed veteran, he becomes a prominent voice in the anti-war movement. Born serves as the penultimate review in Now Playing’s Tom Cruise: Movie Star of the 80s retrospective, which ends with the release of Top Gun: Maverick in December 2020.
The Tommyknockers
The success of It spawned a wave of Stephen King television miniseries adaptations in the 1990s, with The Tommyknockers arriving on ABC in May 1993. The John Power-directed miniseries starred Jimmy Smits and Marg Helgenberger as a poet and writer, respectively, who see their town transformed following the discovery of an alien spacecraft.
May Patron Review AI: Artificial Intelligence
Originally intended to be Stanley Kubrick’s follow-up to Eyes Wide Shut, this story of humanoid robot portrayed by The Sixth Sense’s Haley Joel Osment examines a future in which machines are capable of developing real emotions, as well as the consequences of global warming on the human population. After Kubrick’s sudden death, Steven Spielberg resurrected the picture, and it was released in summer 2001 to critical acclaim. AI: Artificial Intelligence is a Podbean patron exclusive review, chosen by a Now Playing Podcast listener.
Save the Date for Now Playing’s First LIVE Watch Party
Grab your flashlight and sleeping bag, because Now Playing Podcast is returning to Camp Crystal Lake.
For the first time in 11 years, the show will revisit its first retrospective series when it hosts a live Friday the 13th watch party via Amazon Prime Video on Friday, May 1 at 9 p.m. EST. Now Playing Podcast is again teaming with Hot Mic for the streaming event, which will allow listeners to watch in real time and chat live with the hosts throughout the film.
Why Friday the 13th?
The 2009 Friday the 13th reboot marked the most important turning point in the early history of Now Playing Podcast, serving as the impetus for the show’s acclaimed retrospective format. Though it launched in 2007, the decision to review every film in the Friday the 13th series, building up to the reboot’s release, helped Now Playing Podcast separate itself from a crowded pack of movie review podcasts.
Over the years, listeners have longed for a new Friday the 13th film, one that would give the Now Playing Podcast hosts a chance to reexamine their first retrospective and the iconic horror villain Jason Voorhees. A new Friday the 13th has been delayed for years due to a legal battle between the first film’s director, Sean S. Cunningham, and writer Victor Miller.
“That first retrospective, as unpolished as it is, remains very popular with our listeners,” explains Now Playing Podcast host and creator Arnie Carvalho. “When we started talking about getting the team and the listeners together for a live watch party, we thought, ‘Why not return to where it all started?’”
On May 1, Amazon Prime Video will be streaming the first eight Friday the 13th films for Prime subscribers. In order to maintain some of the suspense, Now Playing Podcast will announce which Friday film they’ll be watching in the coming days.
How Do I Watch?
The Hot Mic social app lets you sync up with the Now Playing Podcast hosts and watch live or streaming events in real time. Now Playing Podcast first teamed with Hot Mic for a live Oscars watch party in February 2020. To join them for the May 1 watch party:
Step 1: Download the Hot Mic social app via your app store
Step 2: Click “Sign Up” to create your account, and use the invite code NOWPLAYING
Step 3: To follow Now Playing Podcast, tap on the “Broadcasters” tab, scroll down to Now Playing Podcast, and tap “Follow”
Step 4: Tune in the night of the watch party and chat with the hosts!
You can even set a reminder ahead of time by tapping the “Upcoming” tab and searching Now Playing Podcast. You’ll find the show listing under Now Playing Podcast x Friday the 13th.
Note: Hot Mic streaming times are listed as PST
Watch the Oscars LIVE with Now Playing Podcast!
If you’ve ever wanted to watch the Academy Awards with the hosts of Now Playing Podcast, this is your chance!
On Sunday, February 9 at 8 p.m. EST, Arnie, Stuart, and Brock will be streaming LIVE on your phone, as Now Playing Podcast partners with Hot Mic to host our first Oscars viewing party. While you watch, you can send your questions and comments to our hosts, and they’ll chat with you and the rest of the audience as the winners are announced.
Want to join us? Here’s everything you need to know:
What is Hot Mic?
The Hot Mic app lets you sync up with your favorite hosts and watch live events together in real time. Hot Mic is launching its first Oscars streaming event on February 9 and we’re thrilled to be part of the show!
How do I watch?
To join the party, here’s what you need to do:
- Download the Hot Mic social app via Apple’s App Store or Google Play
- Tap “Sign Up” and use the invite code NOWPLAYING
- Create your user account and you’re done!
You can set a notification and get a reminder when our live stream begins! We’ll also post reminders on the Now Playing Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram feeds.
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