52. The Bad Seed

In this episode of Adapt or Perish, we look at Rhoda Penmark, one of the OG creepy murder kids, in The Bad Seed!

For this episode, we read and watched:

• William March’s original 1954 novel. Read it on iBooks or Amazon.
• The 1956 theatrical movie, directed by Mervyn LeRoy, written by John Lee Mahin, and starring Nancy Kelly and Patty McCormack. Watch it on iTunes or Amazon.
• The 1985 TV movie, directed by Paul Wendkos, written by George Eckstein, and starring Blair Brown, Carrie Wells, Lynn Redgrave, David Ogden Stiers, and David Carradine.
• The 2018 Lifetime original movie, directed by Rob Lowe, written by Barbara Marshall, and starring Lowe, Mckenna Grace, Cara Buono, and Patty McCormack.

Footnotes:

• Maxwell Anderson’s 1954 stage adaptation of The Bad Seed
• Lionel Shriver’s novel We Need to Talk About Kevin and the 2011 movie version directed by Lynne Ramsay
• “Sincerely, Raymond Holt”

51. King Kong

Kong! The king himself! The Eighth Wonder of the World! And the subject of this episode of Adapt or Perish.

For this episode, we watched and discussed:

• King Kong, the original movie from 1933, directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, written by James Creelman and Ruth Rose, and starring Robert Armstrong, Fay Wray, and Bruce Cabot. Watch it on iTunes or Amazon.
• The Dino De Laurentiis-produced 1976 remake, directed by John Guillermin, written by Lorenzo Semple Jr., and starring Jeff Bridges, Charles Grodin, and Jessica Lange. Watch it on iTunes or Amazon.
• Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake, directed by Jackson, written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens, and starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, and Andy Serkis. Watch it on iTunes or Amazon.
• 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, and Derek Connolly, and starring Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John Goodman, and John C. Reilly. Watch it on iTunes or Amazon.

Footnotes:

• Visual effects pioneer Willis O’Brien
• Adapt or Perish episode 39: Godzilla
• King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
• Special makeup effects creator Rick Baker
• Godzilla (1998), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and Planet of the Apes (2001)
• Jurassic Park (1993)
• The Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore
• Godzilla (2014) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
• Honest Trailers - Kong: Skull Island w/ Jordan Vogt-Roberts on YouTube
• Sparks Nevada, Marshal on Mars from the Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast

50. Charlotte's Web

It’s episode 50! This is crazy! In this milestone episode of Adapt or Perish, we discuss the stone-cold children’s classic Charlotte’s Web!

For this episode, we read and watched:

• E.B. White’s original 1952 novel. Read it on iBooks or Amazon.
• The 1973 Hanna-Barbera animated musical, directed by Charles A. Nichols and Iwao Takamoto, written by Earl Hamner Jr., and starring Henry Gibson, Debbie Reynolds, and Paul Lynde. Watch it on iTunes or Amazon.
• The 2006 live action movie, directed by Gary Winick, written by Susannah Grant and Karey Kirkpatrick, and starring Dakota Fanning, Julia Roberts, Steve Buscemi, and Sam Shepard. Watch it on iTunes or Amazon.

Footnotes:

• E.B. White’s “A book is a sneeze” from Letters of Note
• John Hodgman, fellow podcaster and peer, of Judge John Hodgman
• “How to Succeed in Animation Chapter 28: A Tangled Web” by Gene Deitch
• “There Must Be Something More” from the 1973 Charlotte’s Web
• Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and fellow Boston podcast Every Lady Needs a Hobby
• Actor Kevin Anderson’s IMDb bio