Christi Dodge  0:00  

Dodge Media Productions is a proud sponsor of Xpose Hope, a 501C(3) organization dedicated to showing the members of the adult entertainment industry that regardless of where they’re at, they are cared for. Xpose Hope provides gifts, resources and time to individuals without judgment. Dodge Media Productions is committed to helping expose hope to reach their goals of ending trafficking, you can support their efforts by donating today, follow the link in the show notes.

Brennan  0:29  

You’re listening to Dodge Movie Podcast. Your hosts are Christi and Mike Dodge the founders of Dodge Media Productions. We produce films and podcasts. So this is a podcast about films join them as they share their passion for filmmaking.

Christi Dodge  0:46  

Welcome back, everybody to the Dodge Movie Podcast. This is our final episode for the month of October. This is episode 141. And we are talking about the 1995 film Leaving Las Vegas. We watch this film on MAX, so if you have a subscription for that you too can enjoy it with no extra charge. This was directed by Mike Figgus, who also did 1988 Stormy Monday to the 2000 Timecode and the 2012 Suspension of Disbelief. It stars Nicolas Cage Elizabeth Shue Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, French Stuart Arlie Earmy, Mariska Hargitay and Laurie Metcalf. 

No, those are almost like Easter eggs for you to hunt for they’re not necessarily main cast, and we just are watching it and kind of with a almost 30 year look back are like, Oh my God, look, there’s so and so. The DP for this film was Declan Quinn. He did a lot of concert videos he did 1998’s One True Thing 2000s 28 days, 2008s, Rachel Getting Married. And we did talk about Admission with Tina Fey in 2013. He also was the DP on that. And most recently, was the DP on the Hamilton film that they did that they released on Disney plus, do you remember that? Yes. 2000 The writer was John O’Brien, who in 1991. Coincidentally, considering this movie wrote for the Rugrats. They amazing. Chucky? Yeah, he did like, especially early on, he did like 30 episodes or something. 

And sadly, John died in 94, two weeks after this film had been signed, and was going to be a movie at that he was 33 at the time, and he died from suicide. So it’s just as I was watching this, and doing some research and trivia and understanding that writer, it just it got more. I mean, the movie already has this very sad note, and then you hear more of this, and it just gets more sad and more. It’s pretty tough. This film is about Ben Sanderson, a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because his because of his alcoholism, he arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non interference packed with prostitute, Sara. 

I think what that part is, is there’s a scene where she asked him to move in, because she’s feeling like she wants to, I believe take care of somebody and wants to have purpose in her life of helping somebody and that, and so he kind of says, Yes, but then he says, but you can never ever, ever asked me to quit drinking. And she agrees which…

Mike Dodge  3:48  

Yeah. Now, after after the movie is completed, I asked the question about why she would do this, the motivation was unclear to me, you advance the theory that she wanted to save him or to take care of person. And that certainly fits with her behavior. However, unfortunately, I don’t feel like the film made that argument. You made that argument and hold water. I just don’t feel like it took that away from the film. The character confusing to me. And I also kind of found his character a little confusing as well.

Christi Dodge  4:25  

I think to be fair, I watched an interview and Elizabeth said, that’s why. So I was taking her from the actors point of view, which we know when they get in character, they kind of, but also I think this scene where he’s moved in, is it his birthday? She buys him presents. And he she buys him a shirt, and then she buys him a flask.

Mike Dodge  4:48  

Right and that she’s she’s admitting that she’s going along with his plan.

Christi Dodge  4:53  

And he says, I think I found the right girl, and it’s just this really sad like it’s not a joyou`s, I mean, you almost see sadness in her eyes to me that she knows he she’s enabling him. And she’s, I think, happy to be somebody who somebody else is fond of, you know, like he says, I found the right girl like that. You would think that would be something you would want to hear from your partner, but the fact that it’s because you’re enabling my disease and kind of helping me along that, that won’t make you feel great. 

So there’s no taglines for this film. Nicolas Cage researched his character by binge drinking and visiting many hospitalized career alcoholics, and Elisabeth Shue associated with prostitutes and interviewed them on the strip in Las Vegas, although all of the solo scenes of Sara when she’s by herself, and she’s speaking and it’s kind of unclear who she’s speaking to, you don’t know at first, is it like a friend? Then it pops in and out at different times in the film? One could say, you know, could guess is she talking to a therapist, the film never specifies. Those are actually shoes, wardrobe, hair and makeup tests that were shot prior to production. 

And figgus Use them in the final edit because he felt that they strengthen the narrative of the film against the initial wishes of the producers. And this means that she was potentially the only actress ever to be Oscar nominated for her wardrobe.

Mike Dodge  6:33  

Well, I you know, at least here in the US when you have a person speaking introspectively while laying on a leather couch, it says therapists right? 

Christi Dodge  6:41  

Yeah, it was unclear. But that’s, I believe, and what I took away from it. Yeah, me too. All right, kick us off with the your pickup line for Leaving Las Vegas. 

Mike Dodge  6:55  

“To a wonderful film”. Interesting. 

Christi Dodge  6:55  

Who says it? 

Mike Dodge  6:56  

A character named Peter. I think it’s either Steven Weber or Richard Lewis. It’s at a dinner. And they’re celebrating a screenplay. Presumably that Nick Cage’s character Ben wrote this never specified, but I got the implication. 

Christi Dodge  7:14  

Yeah, no, that’s, that’s good. And  this scene is it just kicks it drops you into the what’s going on the conflict and what’s going on? Because he is almost begging Richard Lewis for money to go get alcohol.

Mike Dodge  7:29  

Yeah, and that’s probably realistic for an alcoholic, right? They have no shame when it comes to their disease. That’s part of the disease, right?

Christi Dodge  7:38  

Yeah. You notice we then cut to him, like just rolling down the aisles of a liquor store, putting an unreal amount of alcohol into a shopping. Google uses a shopping cart in a liquor store, usually walking around, you buy a bottle or two, you pay for it. You walk out.

Mike Dodge  7:58  

I was thinking you that like the person in the store? Are they thinking woohoo? What a great night. Look at the profit margin. Are they thinking dude, what size party do you really want? Because generally, I think if we’re having a big party, like your film premiere, you order it separately and you know, they deliver a case of vodka instead of 12 individual bottle. So, um, that was assigned to the viewer that he really has quite the problem.

Christi Dodge  8:26  

Yeah. So anyway, you noticed during that scene that it was a sting song. And there’s three stings songs, right from the film and Mike Figgis and Sting were friends. And so he said, hey, would you right me a song?

Mike Dodge  8:39  

I believe that Mr. Figgis did some videos for the police and he definitely directed The Rhythmatist which was the documentary that Stewart Copeland the drummer from The Police made.

Christi Dodge  8:55  

So it pays to have some friends with you know, the local talents right?

Mike Dodge  9:01  

No word whether Sting wrote those songs from his penthouse at The Arconia.

Christi Dodge  9:09  

The limited budget dictated that the production and Figgis ended up filming in Super 16 millimeter and composed his own score. He also wrote some of the music. He said we didn’t have any money and we weren’t pretending to be something we weren’t we couldn’t shut down the strip to shoot. Yeah, so cage actually recounted that he found the use of the 16 millimeter liberating as an actor, because and I saw an interview where he kind of talked about it further, he said when it’s a smaller camera, and he kind of mimicked as if it was being handheld. 

He said it’s easier to kind of, like portray your character as opposed to the camera person and the director being behind this big behemoth of, you know, kind of like a camera with the reels. Then everything. So enjoyed that it was on 16 millimeter.

Mike Dodge  10:04  

That’s an interesting perspective. And I want to approach that fruit from both directions. I mean, one perhaps and supportive Mr. Cage’s position, which, by the way, he’s a far better actor than I am. So as watching another film for the podcast, stay tuned, and you’ll hear about it viewers, and two of the characters were having conversation, and they moved past the bar. And from the way it was shot, I could tell that they were inches from the camera that was on a dolly track. And this comes to show you on the one hand, you would say, Okay, well, you could see, because they’re acting in this very constrained physical space, which is also drastically different than the space in the film, right? 

However, I returned to, yes, my dear is called acting, that that unfortunately, is kind of part of the job. And we actually, just recently were talking to another filmmaker about Christian Bale’s famous tirade, and he was a bit more sympathetic to bail. And yes, I could see, depending on the scene, you know, you maybe as an actor, you would really need to get to a certain spot, I’m thinking, you know, you go to a ridiculous extreme, maybe it’s a scene where your child has died, and somebody is making fart noises behind the camera, obviously. 

But there is a certain part that that is the weirdness of a set that there are anywhere from two, maybe dozens of people standing around looking at you pretending to be somebody and you know, it, like I said, a very artificially constructed set, whereas the actor, they have to, you know, have kind of a different world than really exists in, you know, in their mind. So, it is difficult. So, again, maybe Katie is correct. I don’t know how not having been an actor. But my follow up question is, does that mean that the nuns in that shot were really on the strip and they just, like, included them as extras?

Christi Dodge  12:07  

I think so. 

Mike Dodge  12:08  

That’s awesome. 

Christi Dodge  12:08  

I know.

Mike Dodge  12:09  

There’s Sister Mary something or other is out there with a great story.

Christi Dodge  12:12  

Was there anything as far as the other cinematography and writing that you took a note of?

Mike Dodge  12:18  

For movie that’s called Leaving Las Vegas, the first mention of Las Vegas was 16 minutes into the film, the opening scene, right? Are these two Hollywood weasels played by Steven Weber and Richard Lewis of all people? Who’s more I know him as a comedian. Right? That was a little interesting casting there. And there’s a point where, when Ben first gets to Las Vegas, he, there’s a pause before he goes into the hotel room. And I interpreted as he was kind of summoning his strength because he knew, according to His plan, this is where he would die. But there’s like this moment there, which I thought was interesting. 

So, you know, we earlier talked about pretty woman. And there are some rules that she gives Edward, such as No kissing. This film, Sara also has some rules, but slightly different and perhaps a little bit more realistic. And speaking of realism, I I know very little about that line of work. But I suspect that the incident with the college bros that is ever present danger. Yeah. For the those individuals who work that and so that was kind of tough. I averted my gaze, but luckily, I think as far as that goes, it was relatively short.

Christi Dodge  13:46  

They did. Yeah, they did more in alluding to a crime. I will say for those because I don’t want to harm anybody else. At 36 minutes a pimp slaps her and pulls a knife and she pulls a knife on him. And that 134 There is a rape scene that Mike has been trying to be polite. It’s alluded to we know what happened, but it’s not graphic. Yeah, and fully for all involved.

Mike Dodge  14:13  

We were talking in an earlier podcast about gratuitous nudity. There is a point where I think we get a couple frames of sideboob of Elizabeth Shue, but it really I don’t, it didn’t strike me as tawdry or exploitive, and I think the rape team as hard as it is, also was I think it serves the story. And I think it was done in a tasteful way and probably hopefully wasn’t traumatic for the cast and crew. Yep. So but you know, that is unfortunately, I think part of that life. Yeah, just like Ben Nic Cage’s character shows the realities of alcoholism. So not really an uplifting film.

Christi Dodge  14:56  

Yeah, it was fascinating. I wrote here to this Film was I’ll just say it was shot in four weeks, I saw an interview with Nick. He said that he watched the famous drunks of filmmaking. I thought it was interesting because he mentioned Arthur as Oh, one of them. He said he took little bits from all of them. What he took from Arthur was his inability to maintain a level of volume. Oh, right. I thought, it just I’m so fascinated and inspired by the level of, you know, kind of research and write, methodical the thought process. Yeah, how much they put into their performances. It’s just it’s very admirable that they would, you know, watch many films to get nuances. 

He said he had, he hired somebody to basically be drunk on set so that he could watch how this person behaved. Right? And he walks up to the bar, and he says, and one of the things that this guy, he would just he says, he would just ramble. And he would just say things just kind of in consequentially, and he said, You don’t kick the bar, you lean into the bar. That’s one that he took a direct quote from the guy that was lying in his trailer under the table, right? And then he says, it’s not in vino veritas. Yeah, well, Vino Veritas, it’s en vino veritas. Like, that’s another thing that this guy said. Right. 

So it just thought it was interesting, especially since we just talked about Arthur that that was what Nick considered a famous, you know, one of the famous drunk yeah, yeah. But I thought this captured like, the shakes really, really well. Right. And the desperation of I just got to get even again, I got a drink too.

Mike Dodge  16:51  

Right. They showed the transformation of the alcoholic of when he woke up and he was basically non functional to once he had you know, like you said, get right. He was able to kind of function again, I did make a note for hair and makeup in particular the makeup artist that they made him look dissipated in and pale and sweaty and just ill right when she latches his his right. The character state.

Christi Dodge  17:22  

Right. Yeah. Like it shows him drinking in the shower, which I’m sure that like, like you said, just when you wake up in the morning, you’re just trying to get even again, that that, you know, some of us grab a cup of coffee to wake up and, and many alcoholics maybe grab a bottle to kind of wake up.

Mike Dodge  17:40  

And I think to balance out that realism. I think the depiction of what a sex worker would look like was maybe a little unrealistic. Elizabeth Shue is very photogenic and, and she definitely had the wardrobe and the hair and makeup. She mean, she looked like she was a very high end, you would think I mean, I don’t again, know this world. But she looks I’m okay with that. All right, fair enough. She looked like Pretty Woman level good looking. Right. And I’m not sure, again, that streetwalkers aren’t necessarily able to devote that amount of care to their hair and makeup. And also it’s a tough life and you do get beat up apparently. So. But it sells movies. 

Christi Dodge  18:25  

So the Rolex that Ben wears in the film was actually John O’Brien’s watch. 

Mike Dodge  18:31  

The actual writer. Yeah. And I looked it up at the time when he goes to pawn it, I don’t know watches. So I think it would have been like 40 or 50 grand at that time. And he gets 500 for it. So I mean, I think that means something. If you know watches, you know how desperate he is. But I think I didn’t I had to look that up. Although it is odd that a watch will be worth that much now that everyone’s phone has the time on it. But I guess it’s just purely jewelry. It used to actually be a functional time. 

Christi Dodge  19:02  

There are some people that are still very you know, there’s a couple of comedians I know of are huge watch people and cages or watch person but he says he likes all mechanical things, things that move. Okay, that’s so like such a cage. 

Mike Dodge  19:17  

It really is. But then why isn’t he with Kanu racing motorbikes and rally cars. He’s a car guy.

Christi Dodge  19:24  

So he likes things mentioned what I think it was a car for Moonstruck he was she had, right, but apparently not. Doesn’t he have a motorcycle or two?

Mike Dodge  19:33  

Perhaps I don’t know. If you’re listening to the podcast, Mr. Cage, we can talk about getting you involved in motorsport. Oh, he’s too busy working to go racing.

Christi Dodge  19:42  

Under sound I have I didn’t like the opening music. It competed with the dialogue too much. A little bit better. But I wonder if that’s just a nod to the budget but I can’t believe that.

Mike Dodge  19:55  

The director is a music guy. He wrote the music himself. So maybe he’s like no brainer. And up in the mix, right? I wrote a great song.

Christi Dodge  20:03  

And speaking of that, he he was a friend of seeing like I said before, and he did ask him to sing a few songs. I’ll though he also Mike figgus wrote some music and the producer Lila because they told him that she didn’t like Sting and didn’t want the recordings in the film. And figures said, Okay, I’ve written an alternative. It’s a German opera about death, and he would want to sing it himself. And she goes, Okay, we’ll go with staying on. 

Mike Dodge  20:32  

It’s a great a great trick to use on a produce, right?

Christi Dodge  20:35  

I thought so too. How about any head trauma in this film? Is there any head trauma when we’re dealing with somebody who maybe is a little altered so they don’t have their faculties or balances maybe a little off?

Mike Dodge  20:48  

So he definitely gets headbutted by the biker boyfriend in the biker bar. He falls at the pool late in the film of the desert song motel, and I think we can assume although maybe it happened off screen, but there’s some head trauma when he gets thrown out of the casino when he’s wearing his new birthday orange shirt and he gets a little drunk of his nose definitely take some damage. Yeah, that was the head but at the biker bar. Yeah. You all Glasgow kiss.

Christi Dodge  21:15  

Yeah, this is somewhat of a love story. I’ll be it.

Mike Dodge  21:20  

It is a love story. disposiciones with him dying? Yes. So do we get a smooch smoochy smoochy smoochy we actually get to I made note of first is she kisses him the morning after they spend the first night together in her apartment, which is chased as we find out throughout the plot. And then she also moved when he comes back after giving his nose busted at the biker bar. So not my first choice of smoochy. 

Christi Dodge  21:47  

But yeah, that was okay. And the aforementioned cars that Mr. Cage might enjoy Do we have a driving review for me? 

Mike Dodge  21:57  

We do and first and foremost as I have warned the kids on the podcast before do not drink and drive however even more so do not drink while driving. So he picked that up I think from Arthur because deadly mores Arthur drinks from a bottle while driving a motor vehicle and so does Nick Cage’s Ben do not do that is 93 BMW 525 I says that he had a fair living at some point that’s not a car you would purchase so being a screenwriter maybe he sold a script and he’s able to get get that car and please stop at red lights but also don’t roll into pedestrians now at advanced the plot here because a lot of to meet Sarah, but as a general rule, he’s a pretty crappy driver.

Christi Dodge  22:45  

All right, shall we get into the numbers? 

Mike Dodge  22:46  

Let’s go the numbers. 

Christi Dodge  22:48  

So before I head into the numbers, I will say that Nicolas Cage and the director Mike Figgis never got paid for making this film. Each was supposed to get $100,000 but the production company in Lumiere pictures claimed that the film never went into profit despite grossing 32 million from a $3.5 million film.

Mike Dodge  23:08  

It’s odd that actors and writers don’t like the producer.

Christi Dodge  23:14  

Exactly. We’ve heard this story before that they just say like, oh, well, we made no money we had to pay for marketing and advertising. $30 million a copy. Yeah, that’s rough. It is included in the American Film Institute’s 2002 List of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 of greatest loves Story movies naturally in Colorado, great luxury, but it is a good film. They loved each other in their own dysfunction. They did. Right. So like I mentioned, this movie had a budget of three and a half million wiki says it only had $730,000 budget, but I did find that other reference, and it did make worldwide $32 million. So I would say there’s money around to pay your director and cast. It got a 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb. 

Critics love this movie with a 91% and audiences do 280 5% It’s just shy of two hours at 151 and is rated R obviously for the aforementioned abuse and heavy drinking I’m sure there we’ve got some F bombs so it got a hard R. It’s labeled as a Drama Romance, and it was filmed in Las Vegas Santa Monica Burbank. It received 32 wins and 31 nominations of them. Nick won the Oscar for leading actor Elizabeth she was nominated as was famous for Best Director and Best Screenplay. Nick won the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, Nick and Elizabeth Warren. On the Chicago Film Critics Association Award, let’s see the film Elizabeth Mike figgus. They they all won at the Dallas Fort Worth film critic, so many, many nominations and awards to this film, it is an award winning film.

Mike Dodge  25:18  

You know, the the downside to this is, I bet at least one producer somewhere now tells the actors Well, you know, Nick wasn’t paid when he won the Oscar. So, you know, you just, we’ll pay you after you win the Oscar. Right? That would be horrible to like, I mean, there’s probably not the worst trade off ever, but just, Yeah.

Christi Dodge  25:41  

Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Mike Dodge  25:44  

Let’s hope but people are. People are people. Yeah.

Christi Dodge  25:48  

So that concludes this episode. This will be our last episode of the month for this theme. So you have two days to put in your guests for what you think all of our films were you could check out our social media for a list of the films we talked about or right there in your podcast app. You can email me at Christi@Dodgemediaproductions.com. To submit your guests and never forget,

Mike Dodge  26:13  

Dodges never stop and neither did the movie.

Brennan  26:15  

Thanks for listening to Dodge Movie Podcast with Christi and Mike Dodge of Dodge Media Productions. To find out more about this podcast and what we do. Go to dodgemediaproductions.com. Subscribe, share, leave a comment and tell us what we should watch next. Dodges never stop and neither do the movies.