#86 - "Lethal Weapon 2" (1989) with Nicholas Pepin from "Pop Culture Roulette" Podcast

In 1987, Lethal Weapon took everyone by surprise when it hit theaters. It was like a bomb went off and re-ignited the buddy cop genre with a bang! The perfect mix of an established director, two lead actors with undeniable chemistry, and an up-and-coming screenwriter’s knack for snappy odd-couple banter created a formula that was ripe for a follow-up. So when Warner Bros decided to make a sequel, they went all out. They pumped up the budget, added more comedic moments, and dialed down the dark and gloomy tones of the original. The result is an 80s flick sequel that was so insanely anticipated, they unleashed it right in the heart of the 1989 summer blockbuster movie season. So jump into the Murtaugh family station wagon, avoid going through the drive-thru, and be sure to bring the Krugerrands, if you have “diplomatic immunity”, as Tim Williams and guest co-host Nicholas Pepin, from "Pop Culture Roulette" Podcast, discuss “Lethal Weapon 2” from 1989 on this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast.

Here are some additional behind-the-scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:

• Lethal Weapon 2 was one of the first times that a Hollywood production displayed only the film’s title at the start, without going on to list any further cast and crew credits. Early exceptions to this rule, which has become the norm for most modern-day films, were the original Star Wars trilogy films and 1989’s Ghostbusters II.
• In the scene in the hotel pool after the failed assassination, Leo Getz says he's laundered half a billion dollars, "give or take a few". In the following scene where he explains how he laundered the money, he says "two percent, standard" is his fee. That comes to around $10 million in profit during his laundering career.
• The scene where Murtaugh does his "Free South Africa" tirade - his statement of "One man, one vote" did, in fact, become part of then-South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk's agenda to end apartheid, lift the ban on the African National Congress (in the film, protesters outside the South African Consulate had the ANC flag), and released Nelson Mandela from incarceration. Danny Glover portrayed Nelson Mandela in the made-for-cable HBO film "Mandela", filmed before the release of the first Lethal Weapon film.

Sources:

Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo

https://www.eightieskids.com/things-you-probably-didnt-know-about-lethal-weapon-2/

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