POP ART, WHERE I FIND THE POP CULTURE IN ART AND THE ART IN POP CULTURE: IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

“I’m not a Frenchie, I’m a Belgie” Don’t you hate when this happens? You’re invited to a remote mansion. You don’t know why, but, hey, it’s a free meal. It’s a dark and stormy night. The doors and windows lock. You can’t get out. And then someone starts killing off the guests. So annoying. Sounds like it’s time for Episode 73 of Pop Art, the podcast where we find the pop culture in art and the art in pop culture. On Pop Art, my guest chooses a movie from popular culture, and I’ll select a film from the more art/classic/indie side of cinema with a connection to it. This time, I am happy to welcome as my guest, filmmaker Jonathan Wysocki, who has chosen as his selection the cult favorite Clue, based on the popular board game, while I have chosen the Neil Simon spoof of locked room detective stories, Murder By Death, both about people invited to a remote location only to encounter homicide.

And in this episode we answer such questions as: Why is the original name of the game Clue? What is problematic about Murder by Death? Who are our favorite performers in each? Who was originally thought of to play the butler in Clue? Which is funnier and why? What is the difference between high brow and low brow? Which is more post and post post modern? What happened to Neil Simon? Who had his feature debut in Murder by Death and whose last feature film appearance was in MBD? Why is Hill House called Hill House? Clue had a fourth ending and Murder By Death had a different ending; what are they? What happened to the sets in Clue?