Episode 97: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - Grease 2: June 11, 1982

3 men. 100 episodes. 247 movies.  Innumerable hand-farts.  IN A WORLD…where movie theaters closed their doors during a worldwide pandemic, three best friends decided to hop into their mental DeLoreans, go back in time to talk about movies & opening weekends from the last 40 years, and bask in the buttery glow of nostalgia.  Three and half years later they arrive at their 100th and final trip back in time…twice! First, the boys head AAALLL the way back to where it all started: early summer of 1977, and William Friedkin’s Star Wars squashed thriller, SORCERER.  And then, in a space/time continuum-shaking rift, they jump forward to 2015 and the last time all three of them were in a movie theatre together, screaming their heads off like John Boyega, watching STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. And finally, the boys raise a glass to some MORE nostalgia with the Fourth Annual Golden Sheila Awards ©.  PLUS a final visit from The Arthropod Squad and Gene Gene the Punning Machine: Mr. Shalit, himself.  ALL the feels and ALL the farts on EPISODE 100 of OPENING WEEKEND!

If adventure has a name, it must be…Opening Weekend!For their penultimate outing, the boys head back to one of their favorite movie eras ever, Summer ‘84, for a supersized episode wherein they wax on, wax off with THE KARATE KID, hit the jungles of India seeking fortune and glory with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, beam down to the Genesis planet in STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK, and purify themselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka with PURPLE RAIN.  AND the amazing Robin Curtis (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock) joins the boys to discuss all things Saavik and the intricacies of Vulcan Pon Farr!Throw in some intense games of ‘80s Trivial Pursuit, some even more intense private lip sync concerts, and some VERY intense feelings towards Morris Day on Jason’s part, and you’ve got an episode worthy of Kali Ma. No time for love, Dr. Jones! It’s time for Episode 99 of Opening Weekend!

“If it bleeds we can kill it.” Listen, Arnie, you may be able to take down the Predator, but you CAN’T take down Gene Shalit! That ‘stache don’t bleed!Yes, it’s been a loooong wait, but the boys are back to warm up your fall pumpkin lattes with…hot summer movies! This week the guys hop back to Summer 1987 to revisit Jack Nicholson and THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, Paul Verhoeven’s satirical sci-fi gore-fest, ROBOCOP, Costner and crew as THE UNTOUCHABLES, and the man-meat testosterone-filled jungle that is PREDATOR. You pull a knife, Sean Connery, we pull Episode 98. THAT’S the Opening Weekend way!

“E.T. phone Zmed!”It’s the summer of ‘82 and Jason, Dan, & Fred are lining up outside the movie theater to see the most anticipated movie of the year…GREASE 2! Also, there was apparently a movie about an alien called E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL that people liked, too. Jason is getting sued for Smurf copyright-infringement; Olivia Newton John is helping Dan get Physical…with himself; and Fred is stealing magic balls and slicing up fetal pigs…ya know, your typical early tween summer in the 80s. Let’s bowl, let’s bowl, let’s rock and roll with EPISODE 97 of OPENING WEEKEND! 

Up from the depths, 30 stories high,  breathing fire, his head in the sky…GENE SHALIT?!? No, it’s just the three big openers from May 22, 1998: Terry Gilliam’s fever dream adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, the Warren Beatty political satire BULWORTH, and the Roland Emmerich disaster….movie…?….GODZILLA!It’s the spring of ‘98, and while Fred is playing on subway platforms to strangers, Dan is playing on stages to no one, and Jason is playing in bathrooms with EVERYONE. Beatty is rapping, Depp is ranting, and the audience for Godzilla ‘98 is retching. Roland Emmerich, you Swine! Get ready to go Gonzo for EPISODE 96 of OPENING WEEKEND!

“There was an idea, to bring together a group of three mildly remarkable nerds to see if they could become something more. So when we needed another movie podcast, they could hand-fart the Superhero songs that we never could.” Opening Weekend fans…ASSEMBLE! It’s a Summer Superhero Smorgasbord as the boys head back to 2012 to revisit Andrew Garfield’s take on THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, Christopher Nolan’s trilogy topper, THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, and the MCU Mothership,THE AVENGERS! And if you thought Gotham had a reckoning, wait until you FINALLY hear all about Fred’s failed colonoscopy in the greatest post-credits scene ever. HULK SMASH EPISODE 95 of OPENING WEEKEND!

If you’re looking for something soft, round, succulent, and covered with just the right amount of fuzz, you’ve come to the right place! No, this isn’t the new Grindr podcast, it’s EPISODE 94 of OPENING WEEKEND! This week the boys head back to April 12, 1996 to revisit the David O. Russell/Ben Stiller black comedy FLIRTING WITH DISASTER and the animated film version of the Roald Dahl classic, JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. And don’t worry, there’s not one single mention of Fred’s failed colonoscopy!

“You’re killing me, Smalls!” Spring has sprung, the bases are loaded, and Robert Redford is paying Demi Moore a million dollars to take him out to the Ball game…HEY OH!!! It’s April 7th, 1993 and the boys are slidin’ into home at THE SANDLOT and heading out to Vegas to make an INDECENT PROPOSAL.  As Shakespeare once wrote, “Exit pursued by Rip Taylor and a Hippo.”  We’ll pay you a million dollars to listen to EPISODE 93 of OPENING WEEKEND!

“Children of the Corn? I don’t remember eating Children of the Corn?” It’s March 9, 1984 and while Ms. Channing picks through her poop searching for bits of Malachai, the boys will be checking in to THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE, getting fishy with SPLASH, and walkin’ behind the rows with, yes, Stephen King’s CHILDREN OF THE CORN. Don’t hold it in anymore, Fred, ‘cus Jason and Dan are rollin’ like Fonda (it’ll all make sense) on Episode 92 of OPENING WEEKEND! 

And we can build this dream together, standing strong together, nothing’s gonna stop Opening Weekend now! It’s been a while, but the boys are back and revisiting February 13, 1987 to go OVER THE TOP with Sly Stallone and come alive like a MANNEQUIN making love to Andrew McCarthy. And they’ll talk about some movies, too! As Kenny Loggins once said, “Meet me halfway, across this guy….” with a Gabe Kaplan-adjacent new episode of OPENING WEEKEND!