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 September 2020
For the first time in months, multiple major releases will be in movie theaters as the industry attempts to win back audiences following the pandemic shutdown.
Would-be blockbusters on the September calendar include Bill & Ted Face the Music, eternally-delayed The New Mutants, and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Of the three, only Bill & Ted is being released simultaneously on video-on-demand platforms. Tenet, insiders and analysts agree, will be the blockbuster by which all others are judged. The belief is that if Nolan’s time-bending sci-fi tale can bring audiences back to multiplexes, it will be safe to release Wonder Woman 1984 and the stable of tentpoles that were put on ice back in March.
Though Tenet and The New Mutants will be in theaters in September, Now Playing Podcast has decided to keep its pending reviews of both films on hold, at least for the moment. That’s because theaters are not open nationwide, and not all of the hosts will be able to see it during its opening week.
“We won’t review a movie until all of our hosts can watch it on-demand at home or as part of a safe, socially distanced theatrical experience,” Now Playing creator and co-host Arnie Carvalho says. “We’ve waited this long for New Mutants, we’ve got plenty more listener requests to fill our schedule at the moment.”
And what are those requests? Well, here’s everything coming to Now Playing Podcast in September 2020.
September 1 – Bill & Ted Face the Music
Fans that have waited impatiently for the last 29 years will finally get to see the reunion between Alex Winter’s Bill S. Preston Esquire and Keanu Reeves’ Ted “Theodore” Logan when the duo Face the Music. If it’s been a bit since you’ve seen the first two films, catch up with Now Playing’s Bill & Ted Retrospective Series.
September 4 – Clerks (Patron Exclusive)
At long last, after years of debate and listener demand, Now Playing Podcast will review the first entry in Kevin Smith’s View Askewniverse. Podbean patron Sean Ray has chosen Smith’s 1994 debut, Clerks, for review, thrusting Arnie, Stuart, and Jakob back into the past and forcing them to confront their younger selves and their opinions of Smith’s movies. It should make for a hell of a conversation. You can hear the show when you become a Now Playing Podcast Patron.
September 11 – The Last House on the Left (1972)
Director Wes Craven established himself as a master of shock with his 1972 debut, The Last House on the Left. The film tells the story of a couple and their daughter who come face-to-face with a pack of killers. Controversial at the time, Last House has become a cult classic. Still, Craven’s films haven’t always left an impression with the Now Playing hosts. Will things be different this time? The Last House on the Left kicks off Now Playing’s 2020 Fall/Winter Donation Drive. The first episode debuts Friday, September 11.
September 18 – The Last House on the Left (2009)
Craven’s film got a remake in 2009, with Tony Goldwyn, Monica Potter, Garrett Dillahunt, and a pre-Breaking Bad Aaron Paul in the starring roles. From a production standpoint, the remake is clearly more impressive than Craven’s low-budget original, but is it better? Our hosts will weigh in on Friday, September 18.
Warning: The trailer is super spoiler-heavy.
September 25 – The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Craven’s reputation for exploitation horror got another jolt in 1977 when The Hills Have Eyes hit theaters. The film focuses on a family terrorized by mutant cannibals while on a vacation in their RV. It’s relentless violence and gore didn’t scare away audiences, and its success led to a sequel, remake, and a remake sequel. All four The Hills Have Eyes films will be covered as part in the Silver Level of Now Playing’s 2020 Fall/Winter Donation Drive.
New Retrospective Series – Tremors
Another cult classic series is on the menu in September, and it’s a long one. Did you know there are seven films in the Tremors franchise? The first entry, starring Kevin Bacon, Fred Ward, and Michael Gross, was a video hit after its theatrical debut in 1990. The latest film, Tremors: Shrieker Island is coming this fall and sees the return of series star Gross. Now Playing will kick off its long-requested Tremors retrospective in September, but the release date hinges on the aforementioned reviews of The New Mutants and Tenet. Now Playing will make an announcement regarding the launch of the Tremors series in the coming weeks.
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