The Hot Rock (1972)

Stanger's delivery of "please, Mr Dante, this has gone far enough. Face the truth" had me pissing myself laughing.

This was a fun rewatch for me -- first since early 2000s. Jobs That Don't Exist Anymore Dept: I had been hired to co-write an anthology on caper/heist movies, and was assigned The Hot Rock (among others). The publishers were planning a series of books along the lines of "100 x movies you need to watch before you die" (x = westerns, film noirs, romcoms, etc). The caper/heist book was so much fun to work on, but the project unfortunately petered out (I still think it's a good idea). Anyway, in that same batch of movies I also watched and wrote about the 1973 comedy Cops and Robbers, which is mentioned in this ABZ episode. Recommended! Remember it as kind of low budget and rickety but very fun and a great NY movie. Very of its time in portraying cops as straight up criminals -- but sort of gets away with it by also playing up their working class bona fides and that they're stuck in a rut.

Where is this movie available to stream?

I had to wait a few days but it was on FXM retro. But goddamn what a fun fucking movie. Thanks boyz

This movie is packed with character actor hunks. 70s Liebman is such a piece.

If Rodgers hasn’t read the comic adaptation of the Parker books drawn by Darwyn Cooke he should really check them out

It's the best when they bring up other stuff I love - Ed Brubaker : Criminal & Reckless series are so great.

I saw Eliminators a TON on Showtime when I was a kid in 1987. I think I’d even made a LEGO Mandroid. I maybe remember some near nudity or side boob with Denise Crosby?

These last two episodes aged Stanger 20 years.

This episode reminds me that back in 2008 I was working at a sound stage shooting a cooking show on Hayden Place in Culver City and there was an Ed Hardy warehouse/office right next door and Sylvester Stallone stopped by one day and picked up a metric F-ton of swag and had like 3 people helping him cart out boxes to his big ass Escalade. I introduced myself and tried to convince him to come be a part of the show we were shooting but he didn’t want to even a little bit. Nice enough guy regardless.

Was Stanger cutting his toenails for most of this episode?

The Salter memoir is fun - I really dug Solo Faces - read it a long time ago but remember some of the climbing sections being pretty tense

I've been calling him Nate Bergnazi after his White House UFC photographs. But I do feel sort of bad every time I do it fuck that guy.

I have been chanting "Dortmunder" like when the kids in the Simpsons get excited about Barton Fink

It was fun listening to the Sloppy Boys this past Friday and hear Tim talk about texting Gabrus and then today hear about Gabrus getting Tim's text. Hoping we can also get a third perspective on the text conversation at some point (but from who??).

How fortuitous they bring up Austin Powers, I just watched the This Fool episode where they reference Austin Powers throughout. “Does it make you randy, Randy!?”

One of the latest Brubaker/Phillips books is about a cartoonist getting chewed up by Hollywood adapting his work to tv.. funny since the Amazon Criminal series has been delayed forever. SDCC’s coming up maybe there’ll be an announcement. I’m stoked they’re getting their work out there but with Hunnam in the lead, not getting my hopes up

Seen this twice, never clocked that it’s Dortmunder.. because Nerdlinger would be too on the nose

The Guitar Hero playing pitcher was the Detroit Tiger’s Joel Zumaya. I think it was his rookie season, and I think he originally said he was moving boxes. I don’t want to look it up though because I’m still bummed that the only thing that team did was get stomped in two World Series appearances.

If Beasley bites are the name brand ABZ dog treats for humans, IgOreos are the store brand.

L.A. graffiti is awful. In one part of the L.A. river, some joker wrote ‘Buckaroo Bonzai’ in big red letters, and a group of weird looking people keep walking by it.

On the salt in beer thing; I don’t think it’s just for the foam. Recently had a limon & salt modelo chelada and idk if it was the first time I drank one (I doubt it) but it was so goddamn delicious that I might start salting other beers

I think the Action Boyz should rob a bank. Everyone wears a go pro and release it as a special episode. Thoughts?

Anyone think the hypnotist part kinda ruined it all? Like suspension of disbelief wise just felt kinda lame

“Born To Win” has George Segal playing a junkie. Good watch, but he’s just too jolly a guy to play a habitual “Boy” user.

I missed it, are Jon and Tiff separated???

Where the hell is this movie streaming??

Stanger recording eps from the sauna. Great flick

“And they didn’t even find out until she went to the doctor.” Had me laughing so hard!

I love NYC 70’s films but this was only on my radar due to being name checked on a song / album title https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQvL6GLJiX90RwWoUpO7CF_V6RbMgLfXZ&si=j-D0yyWpyMKM0BHK

Rodgers’ generic “dumb person” voice never fails to make me chuckle.

Rodgers makes his own version

I hope someone let Stanger out of the cardboard box he was taped in during the recording of this episode.

The ActionBoyz at The Louvre: Stanger eating Cheetos, Ben eating bone broth bites, and Gabrus wearing flip-flops and an aloha shirt.

Photographer talking about Gabrus: “The guy’s got flip-flops on—he’s not cut out for this thing thing!” *Backdraft episode

I wanna know the writer’s memoir Rodgers talks about where soldiers die celebrating V Day.

Lore heavy episode

I am going to be that guy who asks: is there a link to the hot rock that works? It’s been 15 years since I’ve had to figure this shit out. This is not a complaint. When I click the OK link it plays three seconds only.

Point Blank is high up on my ABZ wish list so I’m really hoping that’s the other Westlake adaptation that’s coming up 🤞

I'm making my way through all the Parker novels and one of them, called Plunder Squad, contains a shout out to Travis Mcgee, which I wouldn't have even heard of if not for Rodgers mentioning them.

I feel like having access to a powerful, criminal hypnotist would be the center of all my heist strategies, instead of the thing I settle on after exhausting every other possible option.

I don’t know if Tami Sagher is still a janitor, but I expect she is…Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is so great! Watch it! (I know a LOT of other folks worked on the show too, but it was cool to a see a fellow Shadow Wolf in the credits of a new great show!)

Afghanistan bananastan. There, I said it. Let's turn this into the next six seven

Stanger’s lines seem like they were prerecorded on a Talkboy and played back in sync via a soundboard.