Longtime film writer, movie reviewer, entertainment journalist, and author Marya E. Gates is this week’s extra-special guest. Considering this relatively barren weekend for new releases, it would have been deeply ironic had this (among other things) expert in the realm of silent cinema arrived on a week with little to talk about. The good news is that while Hollywood mostly took the week off (again), the 105-minute episode is nonetheless packed with tangents, digressions and the usual chaos you’ve come to expect.

We’ve got anecdotes from the world of film marketing, discourse about whether Sony’s “send these movies to Netflix” gambit might still have boosted the Sony Animation brand, and debates as to why How to Make a Killing likely never had a chance, even if it had received a wider, higher-profile release. Included is also a conversation concerning Jacob Elordi’s budding stardom, during which our guest (quite accidentally and indirectly) drops the most vulgar line of the show.

The question of the day is everyone’s favorite Elvis Presley song, as Max Deering finally sees Return to Silent Hill and tries his best to explain why his current home country (The Netherlands) is apparently gripped by Roarball fever.

Recommended Reading…

* Scott Mendelson discusses whether GOAT is the start of a new era, or at least a return to the early 2010s era, for original animated films.

* Jeremy Fuster investigates the chilling possibility that films for/from/about women might actually have a future in the COVID-era box office recovery.

* Lisa Laman discusses, well, “Please, Keep Letting Directors Talk About Movie Theaters And Projection Formats.”

* Ryan Scott argues that the marketing for Lucasfilm and Disney’s The Mandalorian and Grogu implies that, well, “Begun, Star Wars sequel trilogy nostalgia has.”

* Max Deering kinda-sorta takes center stage in the latest Silent Hill-centric episode of Action for Everyone.

* Marya E. Gates has written almost everywhere about almost everything entertainment/movie-related, but for now, just buy her book Cinema Her Way: Visionary Female Directors in Their Own Words.

As always, if you like what you hear, please like, share, comment, and subscribe. If you’d like to reach out and offer good cheer, request in-show discussions, or suggest ideas for bonus episodes, please email us at [email protected].

* Scott Mendelson - The Outside Scoop and Puck News

* Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap

* Lisa Laman - Land of the Nerds, Dallas Observer, Looper, Comic Book and Autostraddle

* Ryan Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria

* Max Deering - Fangoria and Action For Everyone

* Marya E. Gates - Roger Ebert, Cool People Have Feelings Too and much more.

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