Olen Vanderleeden
A Gen X creative whose career spans cannabis, clean tech, and media, but his real passion is stuck in a time warp somewhere between a VHS rental and a training montage. As the creator, producer, and co-host of Too Old or Pure Gold, Olen channels his lifelong love of 80s cinema, especially the high-kicking, synth-scored, gloriously weird corners of it, into a podcast that celebrates, critiques, and reexamines the movies that shaped a generation.
Appears in 68 Episodes
TOPG Ep 71: Monster Squad
This week on Too Old or Pure Gold, we gather the squad to revisit 1987’s The Monster Squad! Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein’s Monster, and a bunch of foul-mouthed k...
TOPG Ep 70: Creepshow
This week on Too Old or Pure Gold, we dig up a true horror anthology 1982’s Creepshow! Written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero, it’s a comic book come...
TOPG Ep 69: Falling Down
This week on Too Old or Pure Gold, we follow Michael Douglas on the worst commute of all time in Joel Schumacher’s 1993 cult classic Falling Down. Equal parts social c...
TOPG Ep 68: Pretty Women
This week on Too Old or Pure Gold, we roll back to 1990 and step onto Rodeo Drive with Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman. It’s the fairy tale of a wealthy...
TOPG Ep 67: Turner and Hooch
On this episode of Too Old or Pure Gold, we leash up with Tom Hanks and his slobbering co-star in Turner & Hooch (1989). It’s a buddy cop movie… except one buddy is a ...
TOPG Ep 66: See No Evil Hear No Evil
This week we revisit Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989). One’s deaf, the other’s blind, and together they’re caught in a murder mystery ...
TOPG Ep 65: Blues Brothers
Bob Mersereau joins us as we put on our sunglasses at night and hit the gas with The Blues Brothers (1980). It’s part musical, part demolition derby, and all chaos as ...
TOPG Ep 64: Beastmaster
This week on Too Old or Pure Gold, we wrestle with the loincloth-laden cult classic The Beastmaster (1982). Ferrets, tigers, and more oily pecs than a barbarian expo; ...
TOPG Ep 63: Heavy Metal
On this episode of Too Old or Pure Gold, we crank up the volume and dive into Heavy Metal (1981), the animated fever dream of sci-fi, fantasy, and rock ‘n’ roll. From ...
TOPG Ep 62: Jumanji
Joined by special guest Dan Sissons, we explore Jumanji's (1995) mix of 90s nostalgia, thrilling chaos, and heartfelt moments. Robin Williams stars in this adventurous...
TOPG Ep 61: Three Amigos
We’re riding south of the border with Three Amigos (1986); the comedy western where Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, and Martin Short play silent film stars mistaken for rea...
TOPG Ep 60: Over the Top
This week Vinnie Tortorich joins us as we're turning the cap around and going full throttle into Over the Top (1987). It's Stallone, it's arm wrestling, it's fatherhoo...
TOPG Ep 59: A Fish Called Wanda
This week on Too Old or Pure Gold, we're pulling off a heist with A Fish Called Wanda (1988). With a cast stacked with John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and ...
TOPG Ep 58: Rumble in the Bronx
This week, we leap off rooftops and into shopping carts with Rumble in the Bronx (1995), the Jackie Chan breakout hit that brought his signature blend of action and co...
TOPG Ep 57: Bloodsport
This week, we enter the underground world of full-contact, no-rules martial arts with Bloodsport (1988). Jean-Claude Van Damme high-kicks his way through the legendary...
TOPG Ep 56: Independence Day
Aliens. Explosions. Jeff Goldblum uploading a virus with a 90s laptop. This week, we revisit Independence Day (1996), the blockbuster that blew up the White House and ...
TOPG Ep 55: Dirty Dancing
This week, we revisit Dirty Dancing (1987), the coming-of-age dance romance that made hearts race and boosted watermelon sales. With Patrick Swayze’s smooth moves, Je...
TOPG Ep 54: Blue Thunder
This week we take flight with Blue Thunder (1983). With cutting-edge (for the time) surveillance tech and some heavy 80s paranoia, does this action-thriller soar, or s...
TOPG Ep 53: Roxanne
This week we revisit Roxanne (1987), Steve Martin’s modern-day take on Cyrano de Bergerac, complete with small-town charm, poetic insults, and questionable telescope e...
TOPG Ep 52: Crocodile Dundee
That’s not a podcast… this is a podcast. This week we head Down Under (and then to New York) with Crocodile Dundee (1986), the fish-out-of-water comedy that made Paul ...
