vanessa williams

Be our victim...

Well, if you're listening, you already kind of are. This week, Cody and Matt celebrate the 100th episode (and 106th film, but don't get them going) with one of the most iconic horror movie characters of all time. The boys discuss seductive filmmaking techniques, captivating lead performances, and the delicate balance between narrative and theme. They also decide to put a hat on a hat (or a hook on a hook) by diving deep into the importance of slasher fashion, origin stories that seem a little much, and filling this episode with enough bee puns to shake a hook at.

There's a lot to (honey)comb through with this 90's icon!

Thanks for listening!

Contact/ Merch/ Follow:
https://linktr.ee/nighthowlspod

Welcome to another episode of Restoring the Soul.

Today, we welcome the extraordinarily gifted Rob Mathes, a true maestro who has woven his life around the threads of music, working with legends across genres from classical to hip-hop and transforming the sacred into song. Rob's annual Christmas concert, celebrating its 30th anniversary this weekend, has been a melting pot of musical styles, capturing the essence of his spiritual journey through soulful melodies and collaborations with icons like Vanessa Williams, Michael McDonald, and David Sanborn.

In Michael's conversation with Rob, you’ll discover the profound personal significance behind his song "Although It Is the Night," inspired by St. John of The Cross’s poem “Dark Night of the Soul”. Rob will also take us behind the scenes of his work with musical giants such as Bruce Springsteen and the incomparable Stevie Wonder. 

This is more than a conversation; it's a journey through the soulful symphony of life and faith with Rob Mathes as our guide. 

CONTACT RESTORING THE SOUL:
- Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter
- Follow Michael on Twitter
- Email us at info@restoringthesoul.com

Thanks for listening!

🎄It’s 2001, and a magical partridge is sending me on a coat drive for some kind of Karate Kid-style Santa training.  

Hop in our light blue ’54 convertible and buckle up as we take you on a joyride through the very last and most forgotten Rankin/Bass Christmas special, featuring a mostly black cast starring Patti LaBelle, Gregory Hines, and a criminally underused Eartha Kitt as a talking cat.  

****  

🎙 Guests:  

Andre Bennett (Cult Cinema Cloister, Philadelphia Championship Rock Paper Scissors).  

Tim Babb (Can’t Wait for Christmas Podcast).  

****  

💬 Topics & Tangents:  

1. This special was co-written by Suzanne Collins, who went on to write “The Hunger Games.”  

2. The other co-writer, Peter Bakalian, also has a book series. It’s called “The F.A.R.T. Diaries.”  

3. Patti LaBelle in Philadelphia’s “Get to Know Us” tourism campaign, 1985.  

4. Patti LaBelle on “Sesame Street” singing “How I Miss My X.”  

5. IMDb’s photo gallery for “Santa, Baby!” is full of high-quality promotional images.  

6. RankinBass.com’s first look at “Santa, Baby!” from December 2001.  

7. Gregory Hines in “The Muppets Take Manhattan” and “Running Scared.”  

8. Rankin/Bass finally includes “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” in a Christmas special.  

8. Natalie Toro (Samson) lists “Santa Baby!” on her bio page.  

10. Andre’s uncle co-wrote K-Ci & JoJo’s “All My Life.”  

****  

📼 Commercial Break:  

McDonald’s “Wake Up” Breakfast Commercial featuring Patti LaBelle, 1990.   

Can’t Wait for Christmas, the podcast dedicated to keeping the spirit of Christmas alive all year round.  

****  

“Santa, Baby” © 2001 Perisphere Pictures, Inc.  

Theme song by Bronwen’s Ghost.  
Full show notes and social links at adventcalendar.house.

In this episode, Angie and Steffi are going back to the movies in honor of the holiday season. To kick off our Diva Holiday Movies month, we are discussing the VH1 TV movie classic “A Diva’s Christmas Carol (2000) starring our diva of the week: Vanessa Williams. We review the movie and also talk about the “A Diva’s Christmas Carol” era in Vanessa Williams’ career.

For this episode, we combined what would normally be two parts of an episode into one episode because that’s what we used to do when covering movies. However, this will probably change in future episodes. But the first part of this episode is reviewing the movie via various scene discussions, while the second part of this episode is us talking about this project in relation to Vanessa Williams’ career. 

During our review, we discuss all the funny moments including Ebony’s lack of concert during a literal earthquake. We then stan faux fictional girl group Desire and their bops! Plus, a discussion on the meta-ness quality of this Vh1 classic and our fictional diva bracket.

Then, during our era breakdown, we talk about Vanessa Williams’ onscreen persona as the “diva bitch” and the projects that helped cultivate this persona. We also discuss the lack of music programming today and how that came to be. Also, we play a fun game called “IMDB’s Best Four Known For” that we will be doing in all of our movie episodes. ‘Tis the season!

LOGLINE: A Diva's Christmas Carol is a 2000 VH1-original Christmas television film starring Vanessa L. Williams, Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, Brian McNamara and Kathy Griffin. The film is based on Charles Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol (1843), and features an ego-driven popular singer who gets a reality check by three Christmas spirits. The film premiered on December 13, 2000.

DIVA DAILIES SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify

*Email us for show notes: divadailiespod@gmail.com

STEFFI’S SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter | Instagram | Tiktok | YouTube | Letterboxd

ANGIE’S SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Letterboxd

TIME STAMPS:

- Housekeeping (01:06)

- Listener Feedback (02:39)

- Opening Discussions: Movie Intro (05:31)

- Opening Discussions: Our First Viewing Experience & Initial Impressions (07:04)

Part 1: Movie Review

- Scene Breakdowns (15:29)

- Oscar Clip (59:44)

- Letterboxd Rating (61:34)

Part 2: Era Breakdown

- Pop Corn & Pop Stars (65:02)

- Spill the Technicolor Tea (80:34)

- Game! (92:24)

- But We Need the Audience to Buy the Album (97:02)

- Tinseltown Showdown (99:29)

- Show Me the Receipts (101:43)

- Impact/ Closing Thoughts (104:39)

- Previewing Next Week’s Episode (108:12) 

Journalist and writer Séamus Malekafzali joins us to discuss the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle 'Eraser'. It's an above average & satisfyingly self-aware film that represents the waning impact of a once-dependable action formula.

We discuss the film's gleeful subversions of action movie tropes and the ways it challenges Arnold's well-cultivated action hero status, the star's late-90s twilight years before his next era as a politiician, and the seemingly long-abandoned notion of vertically integrated tie-in materials for big studio releases.

Follow Séamus on Twitter.

Read Séamus's Substack on Middle East politics.

Read & Listen to Burnt Nitrate, Séamus's explorations of lesser-known and lesser-discussed films.

Get access to all of our premium episodes and bonus content by becoming a Hit Factory Patron for just $5/month.
.
.
.
.
Our theme song is "Mirror" by Chris Fish. 

Family road trips can be stressful, especially if you're taking your estranged wife and your your three kids on a multi-day trek to a family reunion. Bryce and Irving took a road trip back to 2004 to visit the critically panned comedy Johnson Family Vacation. Cedric the Entertainer stars alongside Vanessa Williams, Bow Wow, Solange, and Steve Harvey. Also a young Jason Momoa makes his first big screen appearance! 

Movies@2am is brought to you by Bryce Huffman and Irving Thomas. You can keep up with the show by following @Moviesat2am on Twitter and Instagram. You can also join the Movies@2am Facebook page where you can discuss your favorite movies and pitch movies to be talked about on the show. 

Special thanks to JG from the AudioWave Network for engineering the show and the Eastside Community Network for allowing Movies@2am to record the show there. The intro and outro music was done by Lex the Radical and the logo was designed by Boyang Yu. Subscribe now wherever you listen to your podcasts! 

Nerves are growing among Hamilton businesses as Fonterra looks for new premises.

The dairy giant is leaving its central Hamilton building and hasn't committed to staying in Kirikiriroa.

Hamilton Business Association General Manager Vanessa Williams says her understanding is the building is no longer fit for purpose.

She told Heather du Plessis-Allan that they spend a lot of time welcoming businesses into the CBD, particularly large ones with hundreds of employees.

Williams says to actually have one turn around and leave would be devastating.

She says a lot of businesses rely on Fonterra being close by.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sound the alarm and belt to the high heavens because, God?! Today on the podcast is Bonnie Milligan! The star of the incredible hit Broadway musical Kimberly Akimbo joins Matt & Bowen after some quick updates (we did not yet watch #ReFroWeHo, Matt went to Sundance and Disney World, Bowen battled through a cold to play George Santos) to talk working with legends like Victoria Clark, Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay Abaire on this new show, vocal health and making good choices while singing *and* speaking, the value of both being and being *around* a loud laugher, the great diva voices of the 90's, The Rocky Horror Picture Show as an influence on little performances at recess, and the journey that Bonnie (who currently holds the distinction of singing the highest belted note on Broadway) took to finally realize herself as a BELTRESS. Also, the girls witchily predict Andrea Riseborough's Best Actress Oscar nomination for To Leslie and love even more on two It Girls of the moment: M3GAN and Stephanie Hsu (CONGRATULATIONS, FLARGE!) They also get into "snub" culture, "sirens in pop songs" culture, and ask the question on everyone's lips: when the hell can we watch A Diva's Christmas Carol starring Vanessa Williams as Ebony Scrooge?! Listening to this ep? Will make your life... better! #IYKYK 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Personally Speaking, Msgr. Jim Lisante is joined by the Tony, Emmy and Grammy nominee Vanessa Williams. Vanessa’s best known television roles are Wilhelmina Slater on “Ugly Betty”, for which she was nominated three times for an Emmy Award, and Renee Perry on “Desperate Housewives”.  Her platinum single “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s “Pocahontas” won the Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy for “Best Original Song”. Vanessa will be making her Diamond Series debut at 54Below in New York City in December where she’ll perform music from her catalog of chart topping hit songs, Broadway classics and American Songbook standards. She talks about that, her career, family and the Catholic faith that sustains her.

that vanessa williams thing was right around the time of the mcdonald’s massacre you couldn’t turn on a television without hearing about those poor innocents just eating lunch and then a circumstance occurs like earlier when the teenage sears security guard shooed away the kids gathered around the in-store video game console and the youngest boy whose father would become the host of america’s most wanted ended up dead at the hands of a child predator or the time before that when someone was putting something in tylenol 

www.weresofamous.com

www.jaimeclarke.com

@TypicaloftheX

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Tony Puryear, Hollywood screenwriter and Comic book writer/artist, discussing key phases of his diverse career,  from his childhood encounters with Jack Kirby & Phil Seuling, his advertising career under the mentorship of James Patterson, directing music videos for 80s hip hop stars, becoming the first African-American screenwriter to pen a $100 million grossing film, Schwarzenegger’s “Eraser,” intertwining his art with political activism in the 2008 Hillary Clinton campaign, partnering with post-Marvel Stan Lee, and co-writing, drawing, coloring and lettering  the critically acclaimed Afro-futuristic comic series, Concrete Park.   Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. 

Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.

#afrofuturism #concretepark #eraser

SO MUCH news coming out of the sports world, between the multitude of retirements in women's athletics from Serena Williams and Sue Bird, to controversial decision making by the NFL regarding Deshaun Watson, as well as our thoughts on the drama we will now officially dub "The KD Saga" we are here to discuss it all!  Moves are being made in the world of sports, and we are here to break it all down and hopefully give some insight.

Big Fan of "After the Buzzer" and "The 5th Down"?? Well then look no further than our BRAND NEW-NEW segment that will be dropping every Tuesday: "Athletes Anonymous".  This new show from the Poi N Soy crew will focus on the entirety of the sports world.  From Basketball and Football, to Olympic news, Baseball, rumors and reports surrounding the Sports landscape, anything and everything is up for discussion, and will be encompassed in our new MEGA-SPORTS format.  

If you enjoyed this podcast, join us every Friday for a brand-new episode of "Post Credits" where we discuss everything in the entertainment landscape and hone-in on some of our favorite shows, movies, rumors, and news.  

Want to hear/see more of the guys from Poi N Soy? Check us out on Instagram at ThePoiNSoyPodcast for bonus content!

Big fan of our "After the Buzzer" and "The 5th Down" segments??? Well look no further than our BRAND NEW-NEW segment for everything in the sports landscape "Athletes Anonymous" which will post EVERY Tuesday and will encompass everything in the sports world!  If it's happening in the world of sports, we want to talk about it, and we will discuss all of it with the same vigor in which we have discussed those topics on our two segments, but now in one MEGA-SPORTS format!  

As always, thank you for the continued support!  Please leave us a rating and a review!

Good Vibes and love,

Poi N Soy

Alex Grand and co-host Jim Thompson interview Tony Puryear, Hollywood screenwriter and Comic book writer/artist, discussing key phases of his diverse career,  from his childhood encounters with Jack Kirby & Phil Seuling, his advertising career under the mentorship of James Patterson, directing music videos for 80s hip hop stars, becoming the first African-American screenwriter to pen a $100 million grossing film, Schwarzenegger’s “Eraser,” intertwining his art with political activism in the 2008 Hillary Clinton campaign, partnering with post-Marvel Stan Lee, and co-writing, drawing, coloring and lettering  the critically acclaimed Afro-futuristic comic series, Concrete Park.  Edited & Produced by Alex Grand. 

Images used in artwork ©Their Respective Copyright holders, CBH Podcast ©Comic Book Historians. Thumbnail Artwork ©Comic Book Historians.

#afrofuturism #concretepark #eraser

0:00 - Intro & Summary

2:00 - Movie Discussion

45:19- Cast & Crew/Awards

48:47 - True Crime/Pop Culture 

1:00:17 - Music

1:04:12 - Rankings & Ratings

To see a full list of movies we will be watching and shows notes, please follow our website: https://www.1991movierewind.com/

Follow us!

https://linktr.ee/1991movierewind

Theme: "sunrise-cardio," Jeremy Dinegan (via Storyblocks)

Don't forget to rate/review/subscribe/tell your friends to listen to us!

It's Hollywood Time again!  Join us as we review the 1997 TV miniseries, "The Odyssey."  Produced by Hallmark Entertainment and Francis Ford Coppola, the series was highly anticipated.  Was it worth the wait?  Tune in and find out...

0:00 - Intro & Summary

2:00 - Movie Discussion

50:16 - Cast & Crew

58:26 - Awards

1:02:11 - True Crime/Pop Culture

1:08:26 - Rankings & Ratings

To see a full list of movies we will be watching and shows notes, please follow our website: https://www.1991movierewind.com/

Follow us!

https://linktr.ee/1991movierewind

Theme: "sunrise-cardio," Jeremy Dinegan (via Storyblocks)

Don't forget to rate/review/subscribe/tell your friends to listen to us!

Happy Holidays, divas and divos!

For our final episode of 2021, Angie and Steffi share their favorite Diva holiday moments. Diva Holiday moments are basically anything that is diva related that puts us in the FESTIVE mode. Angie has picked 5 diva moments from some of her favorite holiday movies…while Steffi went for funny commercials and memes. Typical. 

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season. Whether you’re spending it with loved ones or by yourself, we’re sending you positivity and warmth as we finish off 2021 and head into 2022. 

Also, if you need a Spotify playlist to soundtrack your holiday party, check out the Diva Holiday 2021 playlist we made here:

DIVA DAILIES SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Spotify

*Email: divadailiespod@gmail.com

STEFFI’S SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter | Instagram | Tiktok | YouTube

ANGIE’S SOCIAL MEDIA:

Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

TIME STAMPS:

- Housekeeping: Admin. & Listener Feedback (01:23)

- Oscar & Razzie Moment of the Week (03:32) 

- Explaining What Diva Holiday Moments Are (16:03)

- Angie’s 1st Diva Moment (17:59)

- Steffi’s 1st Diva Moment (20:43)

- Angie’s 2nd Diva Moment (26:57)

- Steffi’s 2nd Diva Moment (31:11)

- Angie’s 3rd Diva Moment (35:55)

- Steffi’s 3rd Diva Moment (38:53)

- Angie’s 4th Diva Moment (44:04) 

- Steffi’s 4th Diva Moment (48:06)

- Angie’s 5th Diva Moment (53:48)

- Steffi’s 5th Diva Moment (57:04)

- What’s Next for Diva Dailies (69:24)

Will and Matt hypothesize on the mating rituals of the modern North American Sasquatch, the best use of alligators in any movie ever, and who would win in a fight: Arnold or a 747? 

DISCLAIMER: Language and Spoilers!

ERASER
dir. Chuck Russell
starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vanessa Williams, James Caan

On the fourth day of Halloween, my mirror gave to me... Candyman, said five times! Gus joins Matt & Ashley to talk about the original 1992 horror film, as 13 Days of Halloween continues.