EPISODE · Jul 27, 2026 · 41 MIN
Michael Pressman The Director Behind Ninja Turtles II, Bad News Bears 2 and Some Kind of Hero Shares Behind the Scenes Stories
from Classic Conversations: Pop culture Interviews with Jeff Dwoskin · host Jeff Dwoskin
Some careers you can trace on a shelf of movie posters, and Michael Pressman has one of the great ones. Across forty years he moved from a scrappy Roger Corman debut to a beloved studio sequel he made at twenty-six, then into the Richard Pryor dramas, the Dan Aykroyd comedies, the turtle movie a generation grew up quoting, and a decade of prestige television. Underneath all of it runs a family story about the blacklist, resilience, and learning to make the film you actually want to make. This is a warm, funny, wonderfully candid walk back through the movies and shows that shaped how a lot of us spent our childhoods and late nights on HBO. Show Highlights: One phone call ended a promising television career, and the fifteen years it cost came down to a name printed in the wrong magazine. A god-awful first draft, an agent who refused to hear no, and a last-minute rewrite by a future legend quietly rescued one of the most-loved sequels of the era. A film that flopped, got yanked from theaters after real-life tragedy, then resurfaced decades later in a place almost nobody saw coming. Fifty strangers in one very unlikely American city watched a version of a famous drama that no one else on earth will ever get to see. It takes four different people to make a single one of these iconic characters move on screen, and the breakdown is stranger than you would ever guess. You're going to love my conversation with Michael Pressman Website IMDB Follow Jeff Dwoskin (host): Jeff Dwoskin on Twitter The Jeff Dwoskin Show podcast on Twitter Podcast website Podcast on Instagram Subscribe to my Youtube channel Yes, the show used to be called Live from Detroit: The Jeff Dwoskin Show Ways to support the show: Buy me a coffee (support the show) Dashery/TeePublic Store: Classic Conversations merch and more! Love the books I talk about on the show? Here is my Amazon store to shop. SPONSOR: STAMPEDE SOCIAL Drive engagement from your social channels and podcast with Stampede Social's Instagram and Facebook DM automation! Visit https://stampede.social Also check out: Why Instagram + Stampede Social Is the Growth Strategy Podcasters Need in 2025 (and Beyond) Thanks for checking out Classic Conversations! Dive into pop culture nostalgia with comedian Jeff Dwoskin as he hosts the best TV and film interviews. Hear inspiring stories from actors, comedians, musicians, and pop culture icons about the road to success. Part comedy, part drama—always entertaining. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Some careers you can trace on a shelf of movie posters, and Michael Pressman has one of the great ones. Across forty years he moved from a scrappy Roger Corman debut to a beloved studio sequel he made at twenty-six, then into the Richard Pryor dramas, the Dan Aykroyd comedies, the turtle movie a generation grew up quoting, and a decade of prestige television. Underneath all of it runs a family story about the blacklist, resilience, and learning to make the film you actually want to make. This is a warm, funny, wonderfully candid walk back through the movies and shows that shaped how a lot of us spent our childhoods and late nights on HBO.
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Michael Pressman The Director Behind Ninja Turtles II, Bad News Bears 2 and Some Kind of Hero Shares Behind the Scenes Stories
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