The Alan Smithee Double Feature

Ep. 38 - Fade In & Catchfire This week, we're facing our past regrets and disowned creations with Jud Taylor’s Fade In (1973) and Dennis Hopper’s Catchfire (1990). These films represent the absolute limit of corporate interference, operating as flawed, compromised monuments to the nightmare of the studio system. We look at how Jud Taylor's western romance gets completely lost in translation, and how Dennis Hopper legally scrubs his identity from a star-studded thriller. It is a double feature about the high cost of creative compromise, the fragility of structural conventions, and the remnants of pure authorship that persist under duress. Whether it is a studio executive altering a film beyond recognition or a director completely abandoning their own project, both films suggest that when commerce wins, the true story gets buried. 🎬 Movies Discussed Fade In (1973, Dir. Alan Smithee / Jud Taylor) Catchfire (1990, Dir. Alan Smithee / Dennis Hopper) 🕰️ Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:03 Who is "Alan Smithee"? 3:11 Fade In 24:45 Backtrack 57:33 Are these movies worth watching??? 📀 Physical Media Shoutouts @kinolorber 🔗 Find & Follow PhantasmaCast YouTube: https://youtube.com/@2certifiedbangers Instagram: https://instagram.com/2certifiedbangers TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@2certifiedbangers Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/phantasmacast/id1745055694 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0eifTBsW1y8CkGQppn81Hp 💬 Join the ConversationDo you think a studio-compromised film is still worth watching for the director's surviving ideas, or should Alan Smithee movies be left entirely in the vault? Let us know in the comments. #AlanSmithee #FilmHistory #CinephileCulture #DennisHopper #PhysicalMedia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.