Going Hollywood - Movies and Television from the Golden Age to Today

Could we be more excited about this week's episode?  We know!!
This week, we are hanging out with six of our favorite Gen Xers whose relationship dramas, career travails, sexual exploits and over-caffeinated adventures kept us captivated for a decade. Yes, today we're taking on "Friends".
"Friends" is one of those shows everyone “knows” until you actually sit down and rewatch it and realize how much is going on under the laugh track. It's more than comfort TV; it's a sitcom that not only became a defining piece of television history but also a time capsule of pre-internet social life, coffee shop culture, and a very specific kind of aspirational Manhattan normalcy. 

We talk honestly about the complicated parts, too: the show’s lack of diversity, homophobic punchlines that were common at the time, and recurring body jokes that can make modern viewers wince. Then we zoom in on what still works brilliantly, including multi-camera sitcom timing, live studio audience energy, and how the writing and performances turn simple premises into unforgettable comedy. Along the way, we share development and casting stories, from early working titles to near misses that could’ve changed the entire series. 

Finally, we break down four standout episodes that show "Friends" at peak form. If you’ve rewatched a dozen times or you’re coming back with fresh eyes, this is a smart, funny, clear-eyed look at why "Friends" still sticks. Subscribe, share the episode with a friend, and leave a rating and review.
Text us or Leave a Voice Mail
 Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com
Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod
To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com
Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but we were wrong. It was a GREAT idea to ask the one and only Bruce Vilanch to help us kick off our new “Can’t Stop the Movie!” summer series with the granddaddies  of guilty pleasures, 1980’s disco fiasco “Can’t Stop the Music” and 1977’s “The Brady Bunch Variety Hour.”

Bruce discussed his hysterically funny  memoir “It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time” and why “disastrous” TV specials and misguided variety experiments have a longer afterlife now than they did when they first aired. We unpack how "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour" even happened, what the cast thought they were signing up for, and why the show’s awkwardness is inseparable from the real pressures of 1970s television and celebrity branding. Along the way, Bruce shares surprising context on Robert Reed and the uncomfortable reality of trying to stay employable and private in that era.

Then we dive into the ultimate guilty pleasure musical, "Can’t Stop the Music" (1980),  the Village People movie produced by Alan Carr. Bruce breaks down the rewrite chaos, the casting carousel that started with Olivia Newton-John, the wild logistics of putting “wholesome” and “macho” in the same frame, and the truly mind-boggling choice of Nancy Walker as director. We also talk disco backlash, box office damage, and why the soundtrack went on to become global party folklore even when the movie cratered.

If you love classic TV, Hollywood history, camp musicals, and behind-the-scenes storytelling, hit play, subscribe, and share this with a friend who loves a glorious flop. If you’re enjoying the show, please leave a rating and review.
To get a copy of Bruce’s memoir, "It Seemed Like a Bad Idea At the Time" go to: https://www.amazon.com/Seemed-Like-Bad-Idea-Time/dp/0914091921

To watch “Get Bruce!”(1999) got to https://youtu.be/6ZnU_ZVDmQM?is=bkHdaS6l1tIYcX7d
Text us or Leave a Voice Mail
 Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com
Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod
To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com
Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

A priceless object. A room full of liars. One detective trying to stay loyal to his own dubious moral code. We’re diving into "The Maltese Falcon" (1941), the Warner Bros classic that turns a hardboiled mystery into the blueprint for film noir, and we’re doing it the way we love best: with story, history, and a few sharp opinions.

We talk about why this is one of the rare movie adaptations that barely flinches from its source, and how John Huston’s “shoot the book” approach creates a fast, propulsive thriller that still feels modern. Along the way, we dig into why Humphrey Bogart becomes the definitive Sam Spade, how noir dialogue works like music, why the film’s moral ambiguity is the whole point, and how "the stuff that dreams are made of" is the stuff of nightmares, too.
If you love classic Hollywood, detective fiction, or film noir history, this one is a feast. Subscribe, share the show with a fellow movie nerd, and leave us a rating and review so more listeners can find Going Hollywood.
Text us or Leave a Voice Mail
 Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com
Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod
To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com
Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

We ain't too dadgum ignorant to recognize that Sissy Spacek's Oscar-winning performance as the "Coal Miner’s Daughter," Loretta Lynn, is one of the most startlingly real transformations any actor has made in film history.  Spacek doesn't "act" Loretta Lynn...she becomes the country superstar--from her humbler than humble beginnings as a backwoods mountain girl to the heights of wealth and fame as the big-hearted and big-haired "First Lady of Country Music". It is not only the performance of the year; its a performance for the ages. 
And lending her support is an equally stellar supporting cast, that sadly, went unrecognized by the Academy when the nominations were announced.  Tommy Lee Jones equally transformative turn as Doolittle Lynn, Beverly D’Angelo’s knockout portrayal of Patsy Cline that somehow feels unforgettable even with limited screen time, and a coterie of other players, both actors and non, who help lend the film its aching authenticity. Along the way, we talk about director Michael Apted’s outsider perspective, on-location authenticity, and the little details that make the early Kentucky chapters feel like you’ve stepped into another era. 

Then we get into the messy stuff that great biopics can’t avoid: myth versus fact, what gets softened or sharpened for Hollywood, and the big structural question of how you end a “still-going” life story without a neat tragedy. We also revisit the stacked 1980 Oscars context and why Spacek managed to dominate such a competitive year. 

If you love classic Hollywood, music movies, or performance deep-dives, hit play, subscribe, and share the show. After you listen, leave us a review and tell us what scene or song stays with you most.
Text us or Leave a Voice Mail
 Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com
Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod
To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com
Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.

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I'm flying solo without Brad this week, so I called in film historian Brandon Davis to help me unpack Martin Scorsese’s flawed but brilliant masterpiece from 1977, "New York, New York" starring the one and only Liza Minnelli and Robert DeNiro. 

We get into why the movie shocks people on first watch: lavish MGM-style sets, painted-backdrop “Technicolor” vibes, and then suddenly two people fighting like it’s a bruising 1970s relationship drama. We talk about Scorsese’s improvisation-heavy process, how that creates both magic and mess, and why Minnelli’s performance is so unexpected when she starts as a tightly controlled big-band singer instead of the full-throttle star persona most people expect. Along the way, we break down the numbers that matter, especially “But The World Goes Round,” the restored “Happy Endings” sequence, and the blockbuster “New York, New York” concert moment that turns the whole film into a showbiz fever dream.  Finally, we address the elephant in the room; the odd but undeniable inspiration director Damien Chazelle took from Scorsese's brilliant film failure to create his mega-hit from 2016, "La La Land".
If you love classic Hollywood, Scorsese deep cuts, movie musical history, or character-driven storytelling, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share the episode with a film friend, and leave a review, then tell us your verdict: is “New York, New York” a mess, a masterpiece, or both?
Text us or Leave a Voice Mail
 Links to Tony's website, and Brad's website at www.goinghollywoodpodcast.com
Follow us on Instagram @goinghollywoodpod
To watch "The True Story of the Barrymores," go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0CZTHYN6D/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r
To watch Tony's WIRED video "Tech Support: Old Hollywood" go to https://youtu.be/6hxXfxhQSz0?si=TO4Xv6q87XhBnqDT

Reach us at goinghollywoodpod@gmail.com
Listen to our Going Hollywood Playlist on Spotify.