The Hip Pocket #310 - Jeff Roland

I am a lifelong fan of physical media.

It helps that I was a kid when home video first arrived. I've grown up watching the development from VHS to laserdisc to DVD to Blu-ray, and I am a shameless 4K addict now. Little by little, I'm upgrading my library and I'm loving this generation of transfers. I feel like we're seeing some remarkable work from all kinds of companies, and that includes the extra features they include in these new editions.

I've worked with a number of different home video companies in the last few years, writing essays for booklets for movies, and I've had the great pleasure of recording a number of audio commentaries as well. This includes movies like Matinee, Joe Johnston's The Wolf Man, Abigail, Primary Colors, Fade to Black, and Catch-22, and I've got several more that have yet to be announced. I feel like I'm getting better at recording these tracks and making sure they're worthwhile additions to these releases of these films. The reason that I've done so many of these at this particular company is because I've built a relationship with one of the producers at Shout! Factory, which is also the company behind Scream! Factory. Both labels put out dozens of titles per year, covering an array of different studios, and it creates all kinds of opportunities for me to contribute.

When I invited this guest to join us on the show, I didn't realize this would be their first time doing any podcast ever. I guess that makes sense. Normally, this person works behind the scenes, but I have enjoyed my ongoing conversation with them about the movies they've worked on, and I figured they bring a perspective to the show that we don't always get.

JEFF ROLAND is a producer for Shout! Factory and Scream! Factory, and he produces as many as 30 releases a year for the company. His most recent accomplishment for the company was tracking down the original film elements for the upcoming 4K release of George A. Romero's classic Day of the Dead. He's had a ton of experience in the industry as a writer, as a creative executive, and working in live events as well.

His first two films he chose were also, coincidentally, released as special editions by his company. First up is Lifeforce, the Tobe Hooper film with nude space vampires and Patrick Stewart, and second up is Savage Steve Holland's rowdy debut effort, Better Off Dead. Both of those were released in 1985, a coincidence, but his final film is far more recent. It's 2024's criminally underrated Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and we spend a fair amount of time gushing about it.

Our response film is the delightfully weird Joe Vs The Volcano, which led to a great conversation, as it always does. I think this might be one of the most perfect examples of what a Hip Pocket movie is, after all, and it was inevitable we'd have this conversation at some point.

Finally, the Hip Pocket Hall of Fame choice for the week is another Shout! Factory release, and an essential addition to any good 4K collection. I'm delighted to talk about William Friedkin's To Live and Die in LA this time.

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The Hip Pocket is hosted by Drew McWeeny and Aundria Parker.
Craig Ceravolo is the show’s bandleader and producer.
It is a Formerly Dangerous Production.