5 Fun Pop Culture Facts Strike Back

Miami Vice's Fancy Duds

Miami Vice was a new benchmark for style over substance in television drama. Not saying it wasn't fun to watch, but that had more to do with the soundtrack and the way the show looked than the writing. The show runners knew this too. That's why the wardrobe budget for the pilot alone was $70,000.00. That's in 1984 money too.

Zeppelin's Fourth

Led Zeppelin's fourth album technically doesn't have a title, the band wanted the music to stand on it's own. It has been referred to as IV (due to it's being the 4th album obviously) and Zoso (due to the rune Jimmy Page chose to represent him which looks like those letters). The most whimsical title I've seen for it was in the book Rock Revolution published by Creem magazine, who called it @#%&.

Paid Laughter

If you are smart enough, you can turn any skill into a career, no matter how silly it may seem. Take Ann Shalla, who would laugh at almost anything, and had a very infectious laugh. Comedians would pay her $100 to sit in the audience when they did talk shows.

The Jazz Singer Not Silent Enough

It seems like there is always controversy about which movies get nominated for The Academy Awards and which don't. This isn't new. In 1927 The Jazz Singer was ruled ineligible for best picture at the academy awards because it was deemed unfair for a sound movie to compete against silent.

Lon Chaney Gets Inducted

Lon Chaney didn't usually make personal appearances. He was convinced to make one for the premiere of is movie Tell It To The Marines. The reason he agreed to this appearance was because during filming he had become close friends with General Smedley Butler. During the appearance at the premiere General Butler gave Chaney an honorary membership in the Marines.

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Movies That Really Changed My Life

I have talked about a couple of early movies that changed my life, like Star Wars and The Rocky Horror Picture Show , but I didn't go into detail about how they did so. Star Wars, of course, changed everyone's lives. It was one of those things that made us rethink how we could tell stories and how movies could be made. It nerdified an entire generation and can be said to have led to the culture we have now, dominated by comic book movies and video games. The Rocky Horror Picture Show opened my mind up to different ways of life and expressing sexuality while also promoting messages of positivity and courage in life. (This may not be what people think of when they see that movie, but it's in there. Don't dream it, be it.) Another movie that really hit me was Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe's not-quite-biographical movie about a kid working as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine in the early 70's. The Tiny Dancer scene made me think of times when music had helpe...

The Lair Of The White Worm

While Dracula might be his best known work, it is not the only thing Bram Stoker wrote. And it's not even the only thing to get a movie adaptation. Ken Russell is known for making horny,deviant movies, so of course his 1988 loose adaptation of The Lair of the White Worm is both. Featuring a rape scene of a convent full of nuns against a psychedelic backdrop, a snake woman who dresses in vinyl dominatrix boots and slinky lingerie, a human sacrifice where the ritual involves a giant strap on dildo (even Russell apparently got cold feet occasionally, as no attempt was made to employ said dildo), and a weird throwaway pedophilia joke. A couple of future stars are in there (both Peter Capaldi and Hugh Grant have ties to Dr. Who, as well as having worked together again in Paddington 2). And there are some on the cheap 80's special effects that look pretty good all things considered. The movie begins with archeology student Angus doing an impromptu dig at a bed and breakfast run by ...

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