Ep. 132 Vice Squad + Dead & Buried

The Pink Smoke podcast

All episodes are made available to Patreon subscribers one week before their general release. We’re joined by screenwriter Tom Vaughan to discuss a pair of cult classics by director Gary Sherman. We dig into the small-town murder-conspiracy thriller Dead and Buried as well as the ne plus ultra sleaze-thriller Vice Squad. The strengths and weaknesses of the films make for an interesting contrast that leads into a larger discussion about the practical intersections of screenwriting and on set filmmaking (with some talk about meddling producers thrown in for good measure.) The trio compares Dead and Buried’s wonky & lumpy script (by Alien and Total Recall scribes Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett) to Vice Squad’s drum-tight story to consider how screenwriting plays into (or interferes with) making two such memorable films. It’s the Wings Hauser appreciation hour, folks, come get baptized in the neon slime. Support our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepinksmoke The Pink Smoke site: www.thepinksmoke.com Tom Vaughan on X: https://twitter.com/storyandplot The Pink Smoke on X: twitter.com/thepinksmoke Christopher Funderburg on X: twitter.com/cfunderburg Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / “Tea for Two” Outro music: Marcus Pinn / “Vegas"