February 6, 2012 is the 50^th birthday of William Bruce Rose, Jr. He is much better known now as Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N' Roses. Normally, I have tried to some big special issues for artists celebrating the big 5-0, like Prince, Madonna, Bono, Simon LeBon and Bryan Adams to name some. Though there weren't too many bands bigger than Guns N' Roses for a short while in the late 80s into the early 90s, I just don't feel that Axl deserves the same treatment. I did not want to ignore it all together, either, so I decided to at least give him a Flashback Video issue for what I feel is one of the best songs of my lifetime.

In March 1985, Rose and his former band mate Tracii Guns formed Guns N' Roses by merging their respective bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns. By June of that year, after several line-up changes, the band consisted of Rose on lead vocals, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Steven Adler. The band signed with Geffen Records in March of 1986 and would release their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, in July of 1987. The album, which is included on many best of lists, has sold over 28 million copies worldwide with 18 million of those coming in the U.S. making it the best-selling debut album of all-time in the United States. This was driven in particular by three hit singles including "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City" and "Sweet Child o' Mine".

The story behind "Sweet Child o' Mine" is that it surprisingly came together quickly during a jam session. Rose heard Slash warming up (and only goofing around) with that recognizable riff and he began writing lyrics which he based on his then-girlfriend Erin Everly. With Adler's added drum part, Stradlin's chords and McKagan's bassline the harmony became the core of the song. They decided they needed a final dramatic breakdown, but weren't sure what to do. Axl started saying to himself, "Where do we go? Where do we go now?" Producer Mike Clink suggested that he just sing that and it put the final touches on what turned out to be an amazing song. It was released as a single in August of 1988 and hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 less than a month later on September 10^th. This week's Flashback Video is "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses...

Though they would have lots of other hits, "Sweet Child o' Mine" would be the band's first and only #1 single. Sadly, by the late 90s, tensions within the band grew to the point that all of the original members had left and Axl Rose basically became a recluse. In January 2001, he resurfaced with a new line-up of Guns N' Roses which was largely panned by critics and Rose would withdraw from public view for a second time. In November 2008, fifteen years after their last album, Guns N' Roses released Chinese Democracy and has been touring the world. Other than Rose and much of the set list, the band is Guns N' Roses in name only now.

But they did have it going on at the end of my favorite decade and created one of the best songs of my lifetime during that time. I am proud that this song came from the 80s, though I would certainly not classify it as an 80s sound. I want to take this opportunity to wish Axl Rose a very happy 50^th birthday and thank him for helping to bring us "Sweet Child o' Mine".

That'll wrap up this issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of most of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use that Google Search Box to find any past issues or topics you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow Old School on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". Even though the blog only updates a few times a month now, I try to send out daily 80s tweets. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

This time that awesomeness is Michelle Visage. Her 80s connection is that she was a member of the girl group Seduction which debuted towards the end of 1989, just making them still qualify as part of that decade. Seduction's biggest hit single, "Two to Make It Right", was released in late 1989. After Seduction, Visage went on to perform in other groups including The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. and has become a popular radio and television host and personality. You'll find out more about her time with Seduction and all the rest as we get on to some selections from my interview with Michelle Visage...

Q: I read that you wanted to be an actress coming out of high school. When did you decide you wanted to be a singer instead?

Michelle: Let me just say that I have always wanted to do both. I majored in musical theater in college (yes, I am a total theater geek and I wear it with pride!), so singing and acting were pretty much my life with dancing thrown in there as well. But I'm not that great of a dancer. I can pull it off and street dancing worked out better for me than technical though I spent 16 years of my life in ballet classes that proved useless.

Q: Please tell us about The American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Did your time there prepare you for your career?

Michelle: AMDA was literally a joke, a farce. The school has come SOOOOO far, now it's an actual school with credentials. When I went, all they could boast about was having Tyne Daly as a student. They didn't mold me in any way and I know I'm sounding harsh, but recently Tyler Ferguson was on Drag Race as a guest judge and he graduated from there as well. We spent hours discussing the ridiculousness of that school. I am SO glad they have improved it. At the time, everyone got in if they could pay their bills. The one positive it gave me was proper diction. I was a kid in central Jersey being raised by a Mom from Brooklyn. I made Snooki look like a poet laureate.

Q: Please discuss your personal musical influences and who molded and inspired the artist you were at that time.

Michelle: My vocal inspiration has pretty much always been Teena Marie, Madonna, (don't laugh), Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Pat Benatar, Chrissie Hynde, Cyndi Lauper and you get the point.

Q: Please tell us all about how you ended up auditioning for and getting a spot in Seduction. What do you remember about the audition process?

Michelle: Seduction came about simply because my best friend at the time, Idalis Leon, auditioned for a girl group, told me about it and I asked, "Do they need a white girl?" I then called Robert Clivilles and scheduled an audition (I was always ballsy) though they already had a white girl. I proceeded to blow them away by singing Teena Marie's "Deja vu" and Jennifer Holliday's "I Am Love"....BAM, I was hired then and there!

Q: What were the expectations when the group was first starting out? Do you know why you were chosen to be in the group?

Michelle: The expectations were simple and fast. They had already put a Seduction single out, "(You're My One and Only) True Love" and they needed to get a face out there for the single. C&C [Robert Clivilles and David Cole] had always wanted to do a multi-racial girl group, so that's when the auditions happened and they happened FAST. I am sure I was hired because a) I could sing and b) they were scared to turn me down. LOL

Seduction was originally intended as a studio project and after the surprising success of the single "(You're My One and Only) True Love", producers Clivilles and Cole decided they needed to assemble a group. Idalis de Leon, April Harris and Michelle Visage were chosen for the three coveted spots in the group and they immediately began working on the rest of the album. Nothing Matters Without Love was released in October of 1989 and would be certified platinum and reach #36 on the album charts.

Q: What can you tell us about Robert Clivilles and David Cole [who many remember most as creators of C&C Music Factory] and your experience working with them in Seduction and on later projects as well?

Michelle: David Cole was a musical genius. Being able to work with him in the studio was an honor and a privilege. I loved watching his brain work and seeing him play the piano/keyboard but most of all, I loved him. He gave me tough love. He didn't put up with my shit....EVER. Robert and I had a different kind of relationship. We were very close, almost brother/sister like. People don't give him the credit he deserves either. David was a musical genius, but so is Robert in his own street way. He gets beats and he gets how music mixes together. He also writes kick ass pop songs and I wish he would accept that and get back to doing it!

Q: Seduction is probably best recognized for your hit single "Two To Make It Right." Please take us back to when the song was written and recorded. Was it written specifically for Seduction to perform? What memories do you have from recording what would end up being such a big hit?

Michelle: The song was written for us by David Cole and when they gave it to me, David gave the specific instructions of "sing like Paula Abdul" (she was dominating the charts at the time). I looked at him like, "Really???" He said, "Trust me" and I did and the rest is history. I can tell you that I did not like that song from day one. Ahh, irony.

Seduction released the hit single "Two to Make It Right" in late 1989 and it would peak at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in February of 1990. The single also spent 12 weeks on the Dance chart and reached #1 on January 13, 1990. This song always reminds me more of the 80s, but helped make the transition to the 90s. Here is the video for "Two to Make It Right" by Seduction...

Q: When you first recorded "Two To Make It Right" did you have a feeling it was going to be something special? Could you have ever anticipated the reaction this single would have?

Michelle: I could have NEVER anticipated that song going to the top of the charts, not in a million years.

Q: What changed for you personally and for Seduction after this huge pop success? Were you prepared for all of the attention?

Michelle: I am ALWAYS prepared for attention! Have always been ready for it. I worked at it since I've been in the womb, are you KIDDING?! Quite honestly? NOTHING CHANGED because we didn't make a DIME off of that group. It was a great learning experience. We were able to tour the country, but nothing changed. I still struggled to pay my bills the same way everyone else did. It was a shame actually.

Q: When you have a big hit song like that, do you (or did you) ever get sick of playing it?

Michelle: Yes, the fact is you do. You are eternally grateful for it (probably more if you made money off of it), but it gets old...fast. That's just me telling the truth, but I get realllly happy when people love it!

Q: What are your feelings regarding "Two To Make It Right" today over 20 years later?

Michelle: I still don't like the song. LOL I much rather listen to "Heartbeat", "True Love" or "Breakdown".

Q: What do you remember about your live performances? I am sure you had to go on an exhausting tour to promote the album. Did you girls sing completely live at your shows? If so, how difficult is that to do with all of the high energy dancing at the same time?

Michelle: I LOVED/LOVE PERFORMING. It's everything to me. The rehearsals were long and grueling but we had to be fierce coming on to an already crowded girl group landscape and we made it happen!

Q: Please tell us about your tour with Milli Vanilli. Can you describe the feeling of playing to those large audiences in packed houses?

Michelle: There is NOTHING that can describe playing in an arena filled with 50,000 people singing YOUR songs. The energy fired you up and its and instant high. I totally get why Gaga wants to keep touring. It's literally a drug.

Q: Did you get to know Rob & Fab from Milli Vanilli at all during that time and what can you tell us about them? Did you have any idea that Rob & Fab were not the real singers of those hit songs previous to the news breaking?

Michelle: We knew since the first night of the tour when we went down to watch the first night's dress rehearsal and the track was playing but the boys were no where to be found. Fabrice and I had a beautiful love affair for the length of the tour and to this day we remain very good friends. I adore him. Rob (RIP) was a pain in the ass. Drugs ruined his life, it's quite the tragedy. He hated the fact that Fabrice was getting off drugs and happy in love with me because it took him away from Rob and the ladies that threw themselves at them on a nightly basis. There is a book in me, trust that.

Q: Did you get along well and become friends with the other girls in Seduction? Do you still keep in touch with them today?

Michelle: Like I said, Idalis and I were best friends and when they fired her, it was devastating for me. It of course ruined our friendship for a while as I stayed in the group, but our friendship was deeper than that so of course it remains in tact today. She is my sister and I love her. No comment on April. She never liked me, she never will. All I can say is I tried. Life goes on, you know? Not everyone likes everyone, I get it. Energies are off, vibes don't match. It was just never right. C'est la vie.

Idalis de Leon left the group in mid-1990 and she was replaced by Sinoa Loren. Seduction released a remix album and stayed together a little while longer before disbanding in 1991. Michelle Visage continued her singing career and would later begin another career as a radio and television host.

Q: You went on to sing on and help write the Bill Withers remake "It's Gonna Be A Lovely Day" by The S.O.U.L. S.Y.S.T.E.M. which was on the hugely successful 1992 soundtrack for The Bodyguard. How did this opportunity come your way? What do you remember about recording the song and how it ended up on that soundtrack? Did you have any exposure to Clive Davis during this process? If so, what can you tell us about Mr. Davis and that experience?

Michelle: Yes, Clive actually signed me which was great. The opportunity to be around him and his genius was amazing. C&C asked me to do this. It was supposed to be a project to finally highlight me. We recorded an entire album that was never released and no one seems to have the master of...sucks, right? I would LOVE to hear it.

Q: In addition to all of that, you have gone to have a thriving career as a radio host. How did you end up getting started in that industry? What do you love most about the job?

Michelle: Radio is something I was always interested in but I basically pushed my way into it. I've been a morning show DJ for the past 17 years and I truly love it. It is something I see myself doing in some capacity for the rest of my working life. It's just so rewarding for me to be able to talk to so many people on a daily basis, make them laugh on their way to work or drop the kids off at school. And the biggest compliment to me is when someone tells me they feel like they know me or like I'm one of their girlfriends.

Q: Do you have any concerns over the future of commercial radio with the growing satellite radio market and other ways to get news/music?

Michelle: The future of terrestrial radio right now is pretty grim. It's unfortunate that all of those great thinkers that used to be in radio are now stifled and it's all about a company's IPO or how much money they could make. It's a CREATIVE medium that's not so creative anymore BUT once they realize that all of this over-analyzed, homogenized, one-size-fits-all radio thing isn't working, it'll be back to the magic it once was... you can quote me on that.

Q: You started your radio career hosting a show with RuPaul and have gone on to also co-host the VH1 talk show The RuPaul Show as well as being a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. I imagine you two have become close friends over the years? What can you tell us about RuPaul and your experiences working with him?

Michelle: Ru and I actually knew each other before 1996 when we were paired to do mornings on WKTU in New York City. We knew each other from the New York club scene. I ran a vogueing troop and he performed at the same nightclubs so when the KTU thing happened, it was fate! He then brought me on to his TV show and the rest is herstory. Ru is one of my best friends and spiritually one of the more advanced people I know. I adore everything there is about that Scorpio.

Q: I saw that you co-hosted a radio show in L.A. with Sinbad for 6 months in 2001. What can you tell us about Sinbad and your short experience working with him? Why did the station decide to make a change and have you host the show by yourself?

Michelle: Sinbad is a great guy. Just as funny in person as he is during his stand-up. He is super nice and extremely generous. Sinbad, however, is NOT a morning guy! Like I said, radio is limiting and I think most comedians that think they want to host a radio show get in there and see what it really entails then they kind of go "this isn't what I thought it was gonna be".

Q: You had to have grown up loving some music from the 80s. What do you remember best about the decade of 80s music?

Michelle: 80s music has had the most impact on me because I was an 80s kid. To sum it up, it was FUN. Nothing was heavy, everything was just bubblegum and love affairy. LOVED IT.

Q: What is the current status of your singing career? Do you still sing at all? Any new music from you coming soon or down the line? Any chance of the original Seduction ever performing together again or releasing new music?

Michelle: There is a new Seduction that April formed, but I don't know anything about it. Singing for me is something I do whenever I want to; in the bath, in the car, when someone asks me... but I don't know about trying to re-launch a recording career at this point. Seriously? A 40-year-old new pop star? Really? Does anyone wanna see that?

Q: What else is Michelle Visage up to nowadays? Musically and otherwise? Any remaining ambitions or regrets?

Michelle: Are you kidding? Soooo many ambitions! That would be sad if I had none. I try not to live with regrets. I live life looking forward not in the rear view mirror. I just moved the whole family to Los Angeles to focus on my TV career, so that is getting all of my attention these days. Keep your eyes on your TV for more Visage in 2012!

I am so happy that Michelle took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. You can keep up with her on her official website www.michellevisage.com/. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Michelle Visage for her contributions to pop culture especially through Seduction and, even more, for going back to the 80s with us here for a little while as well.

That'll do it for another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. Be sure you haven't missed any of them. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: I was sent this picture and thought it was worth sharing. To all of us who had to tighten up a cassette tape by using a pencil will understand. To all of you who have no idea what I am talking about, you probably missed the cassette years.

Quote of the day: "If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But by all means, keep moving." -Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This time that awesomeness is Ron Shelton. He achieved fame as the writer and director for 1988's Bull Durham, certainly one of my favorite films of the decade. His screenplay (which was amazingly his first draft done without any notes or outline) deservedly earned him an Oscar nomination and firmly planted him on the Hollywood map. The former minor league baseball player would go on to write and direct many more films including White Men Can't Jump and Tin Cup among others and is still very active to this day. Though many of his films take place with a sports backdrop, I think they have proven to transcend sports and be relevant on many additional meaningful levels. You'll find out more about all of that as we get on to some selections from my interview with Ron Shelton...

Q: First, what is the story of how a minor league baseball player ends up becoming an esteemed screenwriter and director?

Ron: I was an English Lit major in college and liked to write a bit, but had no thoughts beyond that. In the minor leagues I used to go to movies everyday on the road because we didn't have to go to the ballpark until about 4 in the afternoon--and I really fell in love with movies. I also had a college professor who introduced me to the French New Wave, which intrigued me, and Ingmar Bergman was quite popular when I was in college (along with other foreign directors), but mostly I just found my own way. I remember seeing The Wild Bunch when it came out. I was in Little Rock, Arkansas playing against the Travelers, and the movie knocked me out. At that moment I wanted to know more about how to make movies, but I was still playing ball.

Shelton played minor league baseball in the Baltimore Orioles organization from 1967 through 1971. In 1972, Major League Baseball went on strike and Shelton, who was 26 years old at that time, was forced to make a tough decision about his future. He was married and had a kid, so he could not afford to wait it out. Shelton quit the game, but he did not just jump right into filmmaking. He went back to graduate school and for the next couple of years focused on his passion for the arts. This would lead him to move to Los Angeles which would later eventually lead him into screenwriting and filmmaking.

His first script produced into a motion picture was 1983's Under Fire which starred Nick Nolte and Gene Hackman. His second was 1986's The Best of Times which starred Kurt Russell and Robin Williams. But it would be a fantastic film set in the minor leagues of baseball which he wrote 15 years after leaving the sport himself that would really put Ron Shelton on the map. That film is, of course, 1988's Bull Durham which he both wrote and directed.

Q: How long did Bull Durham take to write? Were you attached to direct it from the start?

Ron: I was attached to direct Bull Durham before I wrote it. The pitch was "Lysistrata in the minor leagues" --in those days pitches were about the reductive essence of a narrative idea. [Lysistrata is a play, written by Aristophanes and originally performed in Greece in 411 BC, about one woman's mission to end a war by persuading the women of Greece to withhold sexual privileges from their husbands and lovers as a means of forcing the men to negotiate peace.] I wrote it quickly, without an outline, and we pretty much shot the first draft. There are lots of additional bits and scenes in the script that didn't survive the edit, which is a good thing. It probably took about ten weeks to write it, not that there's any significance in how long something like that takes. I've written scripts much quicker and taken years on others.

Bull Durham was released in June of 1988 and was considered a huge success eventually grossing over $50 million in the U.S. It deservedly received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay (but lost out to Rain Man). Sports Illustrated has ranked Bull Durham as the greatest sports movie of all time, but it is much more than just a sports movie. Bravo has ranked it #55 on its list of the "100 Funniest Movies" in 2003 and AFI included it in its top 100 funniest movies of the last 100 years in 2000. It transcends both sports and comedy even landing at #5 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "50 Sexiest Movies of All Time". There is a little something for everyone in the film, not to mention some outstanding lead characters portrayed by some outstanding actors. In fact, all three of the lead actors would later go on to win Oscars for other roles. Here is a long trailer for Bull Durham...

Q: How much of Bull Durham's baseball parts were taken from your actual experiences? Did you see a pitcher hit the mascot with a pitch? Did your manager ever scold the team while they were in the shower and call you "lollygaggers"? Did you ever turn the sprinklers on the night before a game and cause a "rain out"?

Ron: All of Bull Durham was from my experience, although jokes like the "lollygagger bit" are made up--I always liked the word. Our manager, Bill Werle at Stockton, once threw all the bats we had in the shower because we had a no-hitter thrown at us that night. And yes, we did occasionally flood the field in order to get a night off. There were almost no scheduled days off in the Texas League, and at times we were desperate for a break. Problem is, once we did it in Amarillo only to find we were stuck with a night in Amarillo.

Here is a clip of one of my favorite scenes when Skip throws the bats into the shower and tries to scare the team into playing better...

Q: I love a good sports movie, but its multiple layers are something that, to me, makes Bull Durham extra special. You have the baseball of course; you have the comedy, the drama, the sexy, the silly, the happy, the sad, the crude, the sensitive, the fantasy and the reality. And it all ends on a hopeful note! It's truly a movie that most men AND women can watch together and enjoy. Did you intentionally set out with all those layers in mind when you started? As well as to appeal to both men and women?

Ron: I don't think any writer or director is consciously trying to "layer" things rather than just make sure the characters are not one-dimensional and that their flaws are exposed along with their desires. I was certainly conscious of making a movie that might appeal to women, from the opening speech, and the fact that it is a woman who tells the tale of her journey in this male world is, I hope, what makes the movie different. There's a strong woman character at the heart of all my sports movies.

Q: Speaking of that strong woman character, let's look at "Annie Savoy" played by Susan Sarandon. She plays a great protagonist and her character complicates the whole story in a good way. Did she get her character name from the "Annies" being an old term for baseball groupies? Where did her last name come from? What process did you use to create this character and construct a woman's point of view? Did you always feel that Annie deserved to have a happy ending to her story?

Ron: I'm not sure where in my psyche Annie came from, but her name was a tip of the hat to "baseball Annies." Her last name was on a matchbook by my computer from the Savoy Bar--which is a question nobody's ever asked. Writing her character was a fairly unconscious process, but I did believe that she and Crash deserved each other at the end of our tale.

Q: Then we have "Crash Davis" played by Kevin Costner. Who or what inspired this character? What convinced you that Costner was right for the role?

Ron: Crash Davis is everyone who loves something more than it loves him back. He's also everyone who stays too long at the party, because he loves the party desperately. Kevin wasn't yet a star when I cast him but he's a terrific athlete and actor and he embraced the part perfectly.

Q: How many takes did you do on the "I believe..." monologue that Crash delivers at Annie's house?

Ron: I did two takes on the "I believe..." speech because I had no time for anymore, plus I don't like to do a lot of takes anyway-- though I do a lot more camera coverage now than I did then.

Q: Last, let's look at "Ebby Calvin LaLoosh" played brilliantly by Tim Robbins. Is "Nuke" based on anyone in particular? What makes the player with the "million dollar arm, but a five cent head" likable?

Ron: Nuke was based on a lot of guys I knew who had major league arms and nothing to back it up. A few figured it out, most didn't, and those who didn't blew their opportunity for success and perhaps greatness. Some of these guys who inspired Nuke, however, weren't tragic at all. There was something in their insouciance and inability to be embarrassed that I found winning. As Annie says regarding Nuke after he's left, "The world is made for those who aren't cursed with self-awareness."

The chemistry between these three lead characters is tremendous. It is interesting especially for 80s fans to note that Shelton really had to fight to get the studio's approval to cast Tim Robbins. The studio wanted Anthony Michael Hall in that role! Not that Hall would've necessarily been bad, but I have a hard time picturing anybody other than Robbins as "Nuke" though it took Shelton threatening to quit to assure he received the role.

Here is another of my favorite scenes when Crash and Nuke have a confrontation on the mound because Nuke wants to "announce my presence with authority" (such a classic line!)...

Q: Was this a "fun" film to make? Was the cast close during filming? Do you keep in touch with the cast?

Ron: The film wasn't much fun to make, though it's fun to watch. We shot in winter in Durham, it was very cold, and I was in and out of the Duke Hospital with bronchitis. The cast was great, however, and very supportive of each other and me (as a first time director) and, yes, we all stay in touch with each other.

Q: Have you ever even considered a sequel?

Ron: Regarding a sequel, I have a story line in mind, but everyone's getting a bit too old, I fear.

Q: I assume Bull Durham holds a very special place for you? What changed for you after the release of this successful film?

Ron: Of course it's special, but mainly because it meant I could work again and make another movie. At the same time I got labeled a "sports director" which is a mixed blessing. When you make a hit movie, people answer your calls and things get financed. When you don't, they don't.

Q: I was born and raised in Milwaukee. I had a blast attending several days of filming at old County Stadium for Major League and then years later at Miller Park for Mr. 3000. I was able to see first hand some of the challenges of working with that many extras. You have had that challenge on many of your films, so how do you deal with it?

Ron: You know, of course, that my hero was Eddie Mathews who is from Santa Barbara, CA, my home town [and who played most of his Hall-of-Fame career for the Milwaukee Braves in the 50s and early 60s]. When I won the batting title at my high school, the "Eddie Mathews bat" was the trophy. I wrote an obituary for him that the L.A. Times ran and it got picked up around the country. As for handling crowds-it's slow and tedious but if you have great A.D.'s (assistant directors) as I am blessed with, they get the wrangling done.

Q: Did you first meet your beautiful wife Lolita Davidovich when she was cast to play the outstanding role of "Blaze Starr" in your 1989 film Blaze? Was it "love at first sight" for either of you? How soon after that film were you married?

Ron: We met on that movie and fell in love later. We've been married ten years, together longer.

Blaze starring Paul Newman and Davidovich was released in December of 1989. The film was again both written and directed by Shelton based on a 1974 memoir. Davidovich plays a stripper that Newman's character, a governor, falls in love with. As mentioned above, Davidovich and Shelton would later be married and now have two children together.

Q: Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes shared their first film together in 1986's Wildcats. You brought them back together 6 years later for White Men Can't Jump which I absolutely loved. They had tremendous chemistry together in your film, is that why you cast them? Rosie Perez was also a strong female protagonist similar to "Annie." Any favorite memories of working with Woody, Wesley and Rosie?

Ron: This was a very fun movie to make. I cast these three actors because I felt their chemistry would be special--and it was. Screen chemistry is critical and we don't always get it, but it starts by having cast members who don't occupy the same emotional turf. That is, Woody can do a lot of things but he can't be a cool black dude. Wesley is a terrific, versatile actor--but he can't do what Woody does. And Rosie? Well, there's only one of her--but she's so strong and funny and pursuing her own narrative arc so that she's never defined in terms of male narrative or personal needs. Woody won a big bet from Wesley by actually dunking a basketball during a night shoot (the "white men can't jump" scene)--but Wes didn't realized that we kept lowering the basket and he actually stuffed it on a 9 foot hoop.

White Men Can't Jump was both written and directed by Shelton being released in late March of 1992. Yes, I know that this is not an 80s movie, but it is still a film I have always enjoyed and admired. Film critic, Roger Ebert gave it 3 1/2 stars and gave the following high praise: "It's interesting that this is not simply a basketball movie. Shelton knows all about sports that are played by adults for adult reasons; about how the appearance of boys at play can obscure the reality of men at work. And in White Men Can't Jump, he has given both Harrelson and Snipes women who want their men to be more responsible than they know how to be. Here is a comedy of great high spirits, with an undercurrent of sadness and sweetness that makes it a lot better than the plot itself could possibly suggest." Here is the original trailer for White Men Can't Jump...

Q: You were able to work with Kevin Costner again in 1996's Tin Cup. Did you create that character specifically for Costner to play?

Ron: The Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy character was not intended for Kevin but after John Norville and I wrote the first 20 pages we looked at each other and said, "This is perfect for Kevin." And it was. His serio-comic performance in this picture is really under-rated. He basically is playing Nuke at 40.

Tin Cup was directed and co-written by Shelton and released in August of 1996. Again, obviously not an 80s movie, but still a very entertaining romantic comedy. It is another Shelton film that uses sports (in this case golf) as its backdrop, but is much more than simply a sports movie. Tin Cup stars Kevin Costner as the title character, but features strong supporting roles played by Cheech Marin, Renee Russo and Don Johnson. Here is the trailer for Tin Cup...

Q: What screenwriters and/or directors inspired you early on in your career? Any today that you particularly admire?

Ron: I love Sam Peckinpah, Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers. I love westerns as well. I'm not particularly interested in special effects and computer generated movies as much as movies based on human behavior. Contemporarily, there are many writers and directors I admire but I won't mention them because I'll forget someone.

Q: I read last year about a new TV series you were working on called Hound Dogs. Sounded like it was in the same minor league baseball vein as Bull Durham and something that I personally would enjoy watching. What happened with that?

Ron: I wrote and directed a pilot called Hound Dogs for cable TV but it was not picked up for series.

I hope a network does give it a chance at some point. Other than the films mentioned already, Shelton's other work includes Cobb (1994, director & writer), Blue Chips (1994, writer & producer), The Great White Hype (1996, co-writer), Play It to the Bone (1999, director & writer), Dark Blue (2003, director), Hollywood Homicide (2003, director & co-writer) and Bad Boys II (2003, co-writer). Shelton also directed the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary which originally aired in August of 2010 titled "Jordan Rides the Bus" covering Michael Jordan's brief career as a minor league baseball player.

Q: I know you have been busy. What else is Ron Shelton up to more recently?

Ron: I have two mini-series, three features, some TV pilots and a musical in the works -- no names yet.

I am honored that Ron took some time to answer my questions so I could share them with you here. He has helped to create some pretty amazing films so far and I am looking forward to see what he will bring us in the future, whether that does or doesn't include a Bull Durham sequel. Annie quotes Walt Whitman at the end of the film, "I see great things in baseball. It's our game, the American game. It will repair our losses and be a blessing to us." I feel that many of Shelton's films are also a blessing to us which I am quite thankful for. I want to take this opportunity to again thank Ron Shelton for his wonderful contributions to 80s pop culture especially through Bull Durham and, even more, for taking a walk down memory lane with us here for a little while as well.

That'll do it for another special issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading and hope you are enjoying the interviews as much as I am. If you want a summary of all of my Back to the 80s Interviews posted thus far, please click on that link. Be sure you haven't missed any of them. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on the "Like" button. Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: I have already shared this on both Twitter and Facebook, but I just think it's good enough to deserve sharing here as well. This video splices together clips from movie dialogue to sing the 1984 Lionel Richie hit song "Hello". Enjoy!

Hello from ant1mat3rie on Vimeo.

Quote of the day: "A good friend of mine used to say, 'This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.' Think about that for a while." - Nuke LaLoosh as played by Tim Robbins in Bull Durham written by Ron Shelton

The last three years, I have featured Christmas movies that I truly adore. This year, I will cover a film that I have never been particularly fond of personally, but it surely qualifies as an 80s Christmas movie. 1985's Santa Claus: The Movie had the makings to become a holiday classic, but clearly missed the mark. The film was produced by Alexander and Ilya Salkind who had brought us the Superman franchise. It starred David Huddleston as the big man "Santa Claus" himself, Judy Cornwall as "Mrs. Claus", Dudley Moore as an elf named "Patch", Burgess Meredith as the eldest elf and John Lithgow as the evil "B.Z.". The first half of the film explores the whole Santa Claus origin story, but then the second half focuses on "Patch" the elf who almost ruins Christmas after getting taken advantage of by a greedy toy manufacturer who wants to corner the market and eliminate Santa. Here is the original trailer for Santa Claus: The Movie...

The film has its moments, but just never has resonated with me the way many other holiday classics have. It does have some highlights which include the special effects reindeer flying scenes. I read that these were created in a similar way to the flying scenes in the Superman movies. Another highlight is the presence of Dudley Moore and John Lithgow. Moore had always been the top choice to play the lead Elf in the movie, Ilya Salkind having remembered a scene in Arthur in which Liza Minnelli's character asks Moore if he is Santa's Little Helper. Several actors were considered for the part of the evil B.Z. (including Harrison Ford, Burt Reynolds, Dustin Hoffman and Johnny Carson), but Lithgow was settled on after Salkind watched Terms of Endearment and realized that he had a Grinch-type look to him. I would also consider there to be a couple musical highlights. The most obvious was Sheena Easton's version of "It's Christmas (All Over the World)", but also worth noting is the use of Kajagoogoo's "Shouldn't Do That". The film's soundtrack was composed and conducted by Henry Mancini which is solid in its own right as well. Here's the video for "It's Christmas (All Over the World)" by Sheena Easton which includes footage from the film...

Santa Claus: The Movie received mostly negative reviews and had a relatively lackluster performance at the U.S. box office. It was released on November 25, 1985 and only grossed $23.7 million (with an opening weekend of only $5.6 million) in the U.S. despite a production budget estimated in the $30-$50 million range. And you certainly don't see it played on U.S. television much even during this holiday season. Maybe a lesser-known cable channel needs to run a 24-hour marathon of Santa Claus: The Movie to get it a little more attention. (Hey, Biography Channel or Animal Planet, that idea is free for the taking!)

As I have done in each of my Christmas Movie issues, I wanted to highlight some of the film's dialogue. I would certainly not put any of this up against my other cherished 80s Christmas classics, but here still is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 FAVORITE LINES FROM SANTA CLAUS: THE MOVIE:

10. "Oh, yeah, well know this: time travels with you. The night of the world is a passage of endless night for you, until your mission is done."

9. "The world's a nice enough place, isn't it? They send such nice letters from there, it must be!"

8. "Oh, that's fantastic! How do you make your face so red so fast?"

7. "What are you doing here? I'm pitchin' a no-hitter for the Yankees, what's it look like? But it's Christmas Eve! Don't you know what that means? Yeah, it means you're out of a job until next year, you and the rest of the winos. Don't you know who I am? Sure, you're a nut. I'm Santa Claus. Right, and I'm the tooth fairy."

6. "If this catches on, we can come out with a liquid version: puce juice."

5. "The retailers are pulling our toys off the shelves so fast you'd think they're disease carriers."

4. "A sequel. That's it. We'll bring it out on March 25, and we'll call it... Christmas 2!"

3. "Stop giving me all these short sentences and making me go uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh like some kind of godamn moron!"

2. "You're a dummy stupid-headed stink-faced creep who made the kids hate the best guy ever."

1. "Well, you know the old saying: Heaven helps those who help their elf."

Certainly not a must-watch classic in my opinion, but it was made in the 80s so it certainly cannot be all bad! If I do not get another chance, I want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful 2012.

That'll put a wrap on this holiday issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "LIKE". You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: A friend just shared this picture and I loved it because it holds so true for me personally. I just finished off a roll of wrapping paper last night and right away started to have a duel of my own with an imaginary Darth Vader...

Quote of the day: "Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself..."
-Norman Wesley Brooks (from "Let Every Day Be Christmas" 1976)

Back in 1982, there were at least two things most kids my age loved... the film E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial and the Atari 2600 video game system. So an E.T. game for the Atari 2600 seems like it would be a natural and its coming was indeed highly anticipated after Atari had acquired the rights to create it. To say the result was disappointing would be a severe understatement. In fact, the commercials for the game might be the best thing to come out of this surprising debacle.

E.T. (the film) was released in theaters in early June of 1982 and became the biggest blockbuster to date remaining the top box office grossing movie for six straight weeks and holding either the #1 or #2 spot until January. A video game based on this epic film seems like a no-brainer. Warner Communications (Atari's parent company) completed negotiations with Steven Spielberg and Universal Pictures to acquire the license to produce a video game based on E.T. on July 27^th. Howard Scott Warshaw was then commissioned to develop the game, but was given a deadline of September 1^st (just five weeks!) in order to meet the production schedule necessary to get it on the market for Christmas. Due to time limitations, Atari decided to skip audience testing for the product which was a necessary but still unwise decision. As one would expect, anticipation for the game was extremely high and it was one of the most sought-after Christmas gifts that season. What resulted is considered to be one of the worst video games ever released as well as one of the biggest commercial failures in video game history.

More on that in a little bit. To help create demand for this video game release, television commercials were created capitalizing on the beloved character from the film. I remember seeing them quite often during that December of 1982 and, though the game did not make my personal list to Santa, it did leave an impression. In case you never saw them or need your memory refreshed, here are two of the commercials for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600...

With commercials like those, what kid wouldn't want that game? Kids were waiting to eat the game up like it were Reese's Pieces. Sales of the game were initially successful as one would expect, but not nearly to anticipated levels. The game eventually sold 1.5 million copies, but it is reported that between 2.5 and 3.5 million cartridges went unsold. Critics and players alike panned the poor quality game as a disappointment in nearly every aspect. Despite decent sales figures, the quantity of unsold merchandise coupled with the expensive movie license and the large amount of returns made E.T. a financial failure for Atari. It was reported that Atari earned $25 million in sales, but netted a loss of $100 million in the end.

Piling on to this epic failure, E.T. (the game) is blamed as one of the causes of the entire U.S. video game industry crash which began in 1983. Industry revenues that had peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983 fell to around $100 million by 1985. The game led Atari to report a $536 million loss in 1983 and led to the company being divided and sold in 1984. It certainly cannot all be blamed on this one game, but it surely was a catalyst. As we know, the video game industry was reborn a couple years later with the introduction of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

What happened to all of those unsold copies of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the Atari 2600??? The rumor (and possible urban legend) is that they were buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico. In September of 1983, it was reported that between 10 and 20 semi-trailer truckloads of Atari boxes were crushed, encased in cement and buried there. It is speculated that several million of the unsold copies of E.T. were part of this mass burial. This has never been completely verified, but seems reasonable since the game cartridges had to go somewhere. It's not the typical happy story you associate with the holidays, but an interesting side story nonetheless. And it is another chapter of wonderful 80s pop culture history.

That's all for this holiday issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to the Fan Page where I ask you to then click on "LIKE". Even if you are not a Facebook member yet, please consider joining and registering as a fan at that page. You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: It seems that everywhere you look nowadays people have their noses to their smart phones either texting, reading email, playing games or watching videos. This Christmas card seems fitting and not all that farfetched. It made me chuckle, so thought I would share it here...

Quote of the day: "And he puzzled and puzzled 'til his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?" -Dr. Seuss from How the Grinch Stole Christmas

For this issue I am going to highlight a song which is not a traditional Christmas song and is not necessarily even a specifically Christmas song at all for that matter. It does mention Christmas in the lyrics and seems to be even more poignant during the holidays, but it is a song that I can listen to any time of year. In fact, I would even consider it one of my favorite songs. The song I am celebrating is "2000 Miles" by The Pretenders.

The single was released in November of 1983 and would later be included on the band's 1984 album Learning to Crawl. It was the first single and album by the new Pretenders line-up reconstituted after the deaths of Pete Farndon and James Honeyman-Scott. New members Robbie McIntosh and Malcolm Foster joined Chrissie Hynde and Martin Chambers to fill out the quartet.

In June of 1982, The Pretenders held a band meeting which resulted in the dismissal of Farndon due to his drug use [he'd die in April of 1983 drowning in a bathtub due to passing out after a heroin overdose]. Ironically, just two days after Farndon was kicked out of the group, Honeyman-Scott was found dead of heart failure caused by cocaine intolerance at just the age of 25. Many interpret the lyrics of "2000 Miles" to refer to a long-distance longing by two forlorn lovers who are forced to be apart and especially miss each other over the holidays. That is somewhat accurate, but it is reported that the song which was written by Hynde is really about missing Honeyman-Scott, her deceased band mate and friend. This month's Flashback Video is "2000 Miles" by The Pretenders...

Anybody who has ever missed anybody can likely identify with this song (though the video is admittedly a little odd). This song always seems to get my emotions stirring. Maybe it is Chrissie Hynde's wonderfully haunting vocal. Maybe it is the simple melody or unassuming lyrics. Here are the lyrics to "2000 Miles" by The Pretenders...

He's gone two thousand miles
It's very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you

The children will sing
He'll be back at Christmastime

In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream you appear
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow sparkle
Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmastime

Two thousand miles
Is very far through the snow
I'll think of you
Wherever you go
He's gone two thousand miles
It's very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you

I can hear people singing
It must be Christmastime
I hear people singing
It must be Christmastime

Maybe it is a combination of all those ingredients and more. Whatever the reason, I just know that I love this song and especially so over the holidays. The single never officially charted in the U.S. back then, but it did reach #15 in the UK. The Pretenders would later record another of my beloved holiday hymns when their version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was included on the 1987 charity album A Very Special Christmas. I love that holiday classic no matter who sings it, but The Pretenders' version is one of my favorites probably for many of the same reasons I love "2000 Miles". And, knowing me, it certainly doesn't hurt that they are both from the great decade of the 80s.

That's all for this holiday issue of Kickin' it Old School. Thanks as always for reading. If you are interested in reading any of my other 80s related issues, please click there for a summary of those. If you want to see the past issues of Flashback Videos, just type that into the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column and it should give you a list of all of them. You can also always click on the Archives in the upper left hand column or use the Google Search Box at the top of the right hand column to find any other issues you may have missed. If you are a fan of Kickin' it, PLEASE CLICK ON THE FACEBOOK LOGO in the upper right hand column. This will take you to our page where I ask you to then click on "LIKE". You can also follow @OldSchool80s on Twitter by clicking on the FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER LOGO also in the upper right hand column. This will take you the page and you can just click on the box that says "Follow". I am sending daily 80s tweets, so sign up to get those. Let other 80s fans know about it as well! Peace and much love.

Check this out: This time of year, it is not uncommon to exhibit amazing displays of holiday spirit in the form of Christmas lights on the outside of your home. Do you have a neighbor that goes a little overboard? Do you lack the energy or resources to create your own car-stopping display? Well, here is an idea which does not appear to be altogether original, but would still make me chuckle if I drove by and saw it. I present to you: exterior illumination for the lazy and/or uninspired...

Quote of the day: "It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." -W. T. Ellis