Discussion about the novel, 'Heat 2,' written by Michael Mann and Meg Gardiner, which is a sequel to the 1995 film

interview with Nicholas Meyer about the "Lubitsch touch"

Robert Bresson's book on filmmaking, with guest Keith Fraase, editor of 'Past Lives'

"Convergence Culture" by Henry Jenkins

The only features Peyton Reed has directed for the past decade have been Ant-Man films for Marvel. Before that, for a brief period in the late aughts, he was the studios go-to for adult romantic comedies. Before that, his finest (two) hour(s) — all due respect to Bring It On — was the Rock Hudson/Doris Day riff, Down With Love, a period parody filled with a digitally ’60s Manhattan and pre-sexual revolution, pre-Mad Men glee. On this episode, guest Lani Gonzalez and I discuss:- Pillow Talk, the most specific parody subject for Down With Love;- the Oscar-winning lineage of Hudson/Day series;- why Lani, lover of Bring It On, disagrees about it being Reed’s finest (two) hour(s).Also:- Peyton Reed’s pre-MCU work, from Mr. Show to the Back to the Future Saturday morning cartoon;- how Reed turned a pitch for a pre-MCU ’60s-period Fantastic Four into most of Down With Love’s New York “locations”;- and his post-Love period of adult romantic comedies.Lani Gonzalez writes about film for both Book and Film Globe and, alongside her husband (and former guest-host) AJ, their blog Cinema Then and Now.Both Down With Love and Pillow Talk is available to buy and rent digitally and, also, on physical media.

Why have there been so few episodes this year? Because I’ve been directing a low-budget feature film since February! And Monday, we launched a crowdfunding campaign alongside a promo for the film!This episode contains a brief description of the film of influence for the feature. But also, check out the promo on YouTube

It’s been a year-end tradition that me, Aaron Smith, and Ted Haycraft usually meet sometime after Christmas but before New Years at an IHOP or Denny’s, recap the year among friends, and eventually get into an argument as to whether Richard Lester is the father of the music video. It happens. Every year. For the third podcasting year, we’ve continued away from in-person dining to the podcast episode, where the three of us talk:- why Ted after three years of doing this, forgot to make a list this year;- if Jordan Peele’s Nope overrated of this generation’s Jaws;- and the difference between a normal top ten list and spectacle experiences in-person at the theater.Also:- the mutual love of The Northmen from different directions;- our mutual best surprise of the year coming from late summer;- and my surprise and enthusiastic pick for #2, which barely appeared on other critics’ top ten lists.Aaron Smith is the lead manager at Showplace Cinemas Newburgh in Evansville, IN.Ted Haycraft is film critic for WFIE-14 and co-hosts Cinema Chat on its Midday show. He can also be found on Cinema Chat’s Facebook page.

Roughly since 2007, the assertion that Die Hard -- a movie that takes place at Christmas -- is a Christmas movie has been met with either strong support or opposition. On this episode, along with Ted Haycraft and writer/director Tyler Savage, we discuss the history of the heated debate, while also debating ourselves:- has this debate ever happened IRL, off of Twitter?;- if so, were the debaters online journalists or bots?;- have any of these IRL debates lasted any longer than three minutes?- and did the debate’s resolution involve anything other than the participants realizing it all comes down to one’s own definition of a “Christmas movie”?Also:- the careers of Steven E. de Souza and John McTiernan;- their assertions in the debate, along with Bruce Willis’s and his mom’s;- Die Hard’s origin as a sequel to a novel that was adapted into The Detective, starring Frank Sinatra;- and the film as a progression in action filmmmaking.Tyler Savage’s latest film, Stalker, is currently streaming on Hulu, while his first feature, Inheritance, is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. His latest short, “Oddities,” starring Adrienne Barbeau, Logan Miller, and Ariela Barer, is currently making its festival run for 2023.

Sight & Sound magazine and the British Film Institute put out their once-every-decade poll of greatest films. The top ten:1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles2. Vertigo3. Citizen Kane4. Tokyo Story5. In the Mood for Love6. 2001: A Space Odyssey7. Beau Travail8. Mulholland Dr.9. Man with a Movie Camera10. Singin’ in the RainThe poll, which first started in 1952 and had come to be the definitive film list, now has a controversial and brand new #1 film for this decade: Chantal Ackerman’s 1975 piece of slow cinema. And this episode, we discuss:- the expansion of the voter-base leading to the controversy- Paul Schrader’s reaction on Facebook decrying the poll being “woke”;- which titles were dropped between 2012 and 2022;- and the distinction between polls of “favorites” and “GREATEST.”Also:- how the poll ensconced Citizen Kane into the top spot for so long;- the poll’s history of top tens;- the age of those top ten titles at the time each decade’s poll;- and the lists’ preference for titles over filmographies.The Sight & Sound/BFI list can be found here.

Though it had been widely predicted to happen sometime later this decade, China managed to surpass North America during the pandemic 2020 — during the first year of decade — in domestic box-office. A big part of that was the fact that China had built more movie theaters than North America. On this episode, we discuss:whether I say something in this interview that disqualifies me from ever working for a studio movie that needs China’s box office;the definition of “dumb money” investors, and how this applies to the China’s access to the American moviemaking processwhy did a movie like Wolf Warrior 2, the first movie in the worldwide top-ten, get completely ignored domestically in America?what contribution the Russo Bros., famously of the Marvel Avenger movies, added to Wolf Warrior 2?Also:the Eastern ethos and religious philosophies that are being applied to Chinese big-budget productions like The Wandering Earth,alongside what the Asian crossover effect of K-Pop, Parasite, and Squid Game;the difference between Russia’s successful mid-50s film production/censorship from China’s current state-based film distribution.Erich Schwartzel covers the film industry in the Wall Street Journal's Los Angeles bureau. He joined the Journal in 2013 and has written dozens of front-page stories on life and business in Hollywood, specializing in features where commerce meets culture. His work can be found here. Permalink