Firepit Podcast

06/15/2025

Happy Father's Day from Dan, Tom, and Josh at the Firepit!

05/04/2025

Most fans of STII are probably not aware how small a budget the film was made on. Wrath of Khan was produced on a meager $11M budget which was considered way too low for a film requiring intensive digital graphics and special FX. The first Trek film, by comparison, was produced in 1979 on a $35M budget. I share the general consensus that ST The Motion Picture was a vastly inferior movie.

Movie studios generally do not disclose actor salaries but it is known that Ricardo Montalban agreed to reprise Khan for only $100K. His intended offer is not known but it’s believed to have been at least $1M of the film’s budget. Shatner was likely handed at least a seven figure paycheck for Kirk. So why did Ricardo agree to play Khan for such a paltry sum? Well, a few reasons.

First, he loved the Khan role and was more than glad to have the opportunity to play a villain again after several years of playing the benevolent Mr. Roarke on Fantasy Island. Second, he didn’t really need the money. Third, by this stage in his career Ricardo Montalban was more of a TV and voice actor rather than a big screen star. But he held deep enthusiasm for the film and wanted it to succeed; he essentially donated the bulk of his pay back into the budget to help offset production costs. It was an act of selflessness and charity you would not normally expect from a high profile actor of his stature. Ricardo Montalban was genuinely a class act.

04/02/2025

RIP Val Kilmer. One of the Firepit Podcasts first big stars!. We had the pleasure of seeing Val in Top Gun, in one of his most famous roles as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky in Top Gun. Top Gun as you all know was the film we used as our jump off to our first journey, the Road to Independence Day.

Val had a storied career, starting off in comedies like Top Secret and Real Genius, he later burst onto the mainstream scene as the aforementioned “Iceman” in Top Gun and Willow. It was movies like The Doors where he played the famed singer Jim Morrison and Tombstone where he played the famed gunfighter Doc Holliday, where Val really got to display his Bonafide acting chops. (He really should have gotten an Oscar nod for Doc Holliday in Tombstone.)

He is also well known for being in a small class of actors who have played Batman on screen. Val was cast as Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman: Forever, which was a huge box office success despite the mixed reviews. Val had the unenviable task of following Michael Keaton in the role so some of the reviews either praised or criticized his performance. I (Dan) though he did very well. He decline to do another Batman film as he felt Batman was being marginalized in his own films for the villains. (He wasn’t wrong)
Val’s career would continue on into the 2000s and 2010s with both ups and downs but rarely a bad performance from him in the film. Such highlights and lowlights include The Saint, The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Ghost and the Darkness, The Prince of Egypt, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and even reprised his role as “Iceman” in Top Gun Maverick.

I’ll end, as I always do with quote from a Val Kilmer movie. The obvious choice is Tombstone but not the one everyone quotes. "There's No Normal Life There's Just Life. Now Get On With It."
True words have never been said.

03/02/2025

02/27/2025

RIP Gene Hackman. One of the FirePit Podcast's favorite actors . His career spanned six decades and he never shied away from any kind of character from heroes, to villains, and all in-between. His most famous roles included Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the French Connection films, Lex Luthor in the Superman films, Norman Dale in Hoosiers, and Sherrif "Little Bill" Dagget in Unforgiven.

He was nominated five times for various Academy Awards and won two. Winning Best Actor for The French Connection and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven.

I could list more of the great movies Hackman was in but that would make this post really long. I will say he was featured on the Podcast in Superman, (1978) Hoosiers, and the Quick and The Dead. Hackman was the quintessential movie actor and his legacy will be felt forever.

I'll end on one of my favorite quotes from Hackman in Superman as Lex Luthor, the Greatest Criminal Mind of our time.

"Some people can read "War and Peace" and come away thinking it's a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe."

02/17/2025

Dan's One Sentence Movie Review:

"The last thing Marvel needed was another Marvel Movie."

What's YOUR one-sentence movie review? Let us know down below.

02/02/2025

Put on your booties, Woodchuck-Chuckers -- it's GROUNDHOG DAY...again. Cuddle-up with your favorite psychic rodent and re-live THE PARADE TO PUNXSUTAWNEY with . Check your shadows for Spring, and spread the love.

Connection from Previous Film: Ken Hudson Campbell This is it! The grande flourish for the GROUNDHOG DAY PARADE TO PUNXSUTAWNEY, and the SEASON FINALE for the FIREPIT! After getting launched off a killer asteroid, our favorite oil-driller-turned-astronaut Max lands himself in an infinite time-loop w...

01/02/2025

Tom's One-Sentence Movie Review:

"Few things are as uncomfortably h***y for blood as !"

What's YOUR one-sentence movie review? Let us know down below.







https://www.firepitpodcast.com/

12/25/2024

Get those chestnuts ready to roast, because THE FIREPIT is coming down your chimney with a CHRISTMAS SURPRISE SPECIAL! Did they bring a Holiday Classic for the whole family to enjoy...or is it non-matching socks again? Guess you're going to have to tear it open to find out! Tom tries something new; Dan turns his luck around; Josh picks up drinking!

Get those chestnuts ready to roast, because THE FIREPIT is coming down your chimney with a CHRISTMAS SURPRISE SPECIAL! Did they bring a Holiday Classic for the whole family to enjoy...or is it non-matching socks again? Guess you're going to have to tear it open to find out! Tom tries something new;....

12/24/2024

Better watch out...

12/05/2024

Now that we're officially in the Christmas Season, come look back at our GROUNDHOG DAY PARADE with , as we warm up with that Christmas classic... ! Yippee-ki some yay, and help spread the love!







https://www.firepitpodcast.com/e/firepit-e44-gdpp-pt4-die-hard-2-1990/

11/13/2024

This bird is *X*-scaping from this cage and flying towards some ! Come join us! It's a lot less Musky over there!

https://bsky.app/profile/thefirepitpodcast.bsky.social