Shots From The Studio #19

  Welcome to this weeks Shots from the Studio. Today I’d like to talk about 1982. Specifically the films of 1982. It was an amazing year for movies and I’d like to pose a question to you. Was it the best year in movie history? SPOILERS…yes it was.
   This particular story starts in 2012 when a couple of friends and I made a pilgrimage to the New Beverly Theater in Los Angeles to see a double feature of Conan the Barbarian and the Road Warrior as they were both celebrating their 30th anniversary. As the films were being introduced it was revealed to us what an incredible year for movies 1982 was.

   Now in the summer of 82 I turned 11 so I didn’t see a lot of movies in the theater. I did see ET and Tron for sure and I had bought the comic book adaptations of Conan the Barbarian and Blade Runner. But in addition to those four movies, as I learned at the New Beverly, 1982 also brought us; The Thing, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan, Creepshow, Poltergeist, 48 Hours, Rocky 3, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and First Blood among others.

   A few years ago I organized an art show entitled Cinephile 82. It was an artistic celebration of the films of ’82. I painted a Creepshow and Blade Runner piece for the show. It was a fun show and we had a great turn out.

   Now what has prompted this trip down the celluloid memory lane is a book I read last month that came out earlier this year, The Future Was Now: Mavericks, Madmen and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982 by Chris Nashawaty. This book explores 8 films, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, Poltergeist, The Road Warrior,  Tron, Conan the Barbarian,  Blade Runner,  Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan and The Thing, from their (and their director’s) origins in the 70’s to their eventual release during those three months of ’82. It is a very interesting book full of some amazing stories that make you realize while it takes a lot of very talented people the make a great film it also takes an incredible amount of luck. Two of my favorite movies  of all time, The Thing and Blade Runner, were huge box office bombs. The Thing was so hated and crucified by critics of the day that John Carpenter considered getting out of the movie business altogether. Now, of course, they are considered masterpieces in the Sci/Fi and horror genres.

   It was a great year for movies and the book really dives into how eight of them came to be. If you’re a fan of any of these films or even Hollywood history I highly recommend checking it out.