Ain't Dey Beauts

This week, we're joined by Andy Germuga of Cannes I Kick It to talk about the great Bob Fosse and his cinematic debut after a lengthy theatrical career, 1969's Sweet Charity. Andy wows us with his musical theatre knowledge as we talk about the original Broadway production, the weird structure of this show, Gwen Verdon, and much more. Plus: our first post-credits scene.

Sweet Charity is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray.

For Top Five this week, we discuss our Top Five Performances in a Superhero Movie.

We have two charities this week. The first is The Actor's Fund, which provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. The other is Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which unites theatre artists and audiences across the country to give back and help those in need.

You can catch Cannes I Kick It wherever you find podcasts, and on Twitter @ CannesIKickIt. You can buy the CIKI gang a coffee over at Ko-fi. Keep an ear out for ALL CIKI hosts on the episode soon!

Please note that this episode was recorded in late February 2021.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

After taking a few months off, Ain't Dey Beauts is back with the longest episode ever. The great Peter Bushman joins me to talk about legendary animator Richard Williams and his debut feature Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure. Over the course of this episode, Peter takes me on an adventure through his insights on Williams' career and unique, trailblazing style, and presents his Grand Raggedy Theory. I'm thrilled to finally release this episode; Peter brought his A-game to this episode, and it's exactly the sort of thing I wanted this show to be when it started. I'm biased, but this is worth the runtime.

Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure is not commercially available, but as I reference in the episode, I have cobbled together a Google doc with YouTube links to everything we watched and talked about for this episode, including the best version of Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure you can find anywhere. That Google doc is here.

For Top Five this week, Peter brought an amazing prompt: Top Five Movies You Haven't Seen Yet.

Our charity this week is UNICEF USA. You can directly support them here.

Peter's YouTube channel can be found here, and his incredible Letterboxd (including a moodboard for this show!) is here. Go listen to The Superhuman Samurai Cyber Pod!

Please note that this episode was recorded in late February 2021, as were our next two, and then we will gradually begin releasing new episodes, though not on a weekly schedule.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

This week, we're joined by Kenny Sage to chat about Tony Scott and The Hunger, his debut from 1983. We talk about how The Hunger influenced vampire movies going forward, Scott's commercial career, how to pronounce "Deneuve," and much more.

You can rent The Hunger right now at all the usual places.

For Top Five this week, Kenny brought Top Five Opening Credit Sequences.

Our charities this week:

• The Alex

Follow Kenny on Twitter and Letterboxd, both @ LikeAWolverine!

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

This week, Kat returns! We recorded a commentary track for Frank Darabont's 1994 debut, The Shawshank Redemption. We talk about Stephen King's Dollar Babies, Tim Robbins thirst, Roger Deakins, recast the movie with Muppets, and much more.

You can rent The Shawshank Redemption right now at all the usual places.

Watch along with us starting at 31:47! You'll hear Bob Gunton yell "NOW!"

For Top Five this week, Kat brought Top Five Quotes from Walk Hard.

On this episode, I face my own redemption for covering Clea DuVall's second feature, Happiest Season, on accident. How we do that, exactly, is up to you to find out.

For our charity this week, we're highlighting Hackney Foodbank. They provide three days of nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to local people who are referred to them in crisis. They're part of a nationwide network of foodbanks, supported by The Trussell Trust, working to combat poverty and hunger across the UK.

And, while the snow in Texas is over, many are still struggling to recover from the damage done. Please donate to a mutual aid fund or food bank in Texas today.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

This week, we're joined by KT Jean to chat about Brenda Chapman and her 1998 debut, The Prince of Egypt. We talk a bit about Chapman's co-directors Steve Hickner and Simon Wells, the death of traditional animation at DreamWorks, our secular perspectives on this story's theology, Chapman's career since The Prince of Egypt, and much more.

You can rent The Prince of Egypt right now at all the usual places.

As we note in the episode, we had originally recorded an episode in full on Alma Ha'rel and Honey Boy. For reasons we go into, we decided not to release that episode, but that episode will be released soon as a shorter, re-edited bonus on Ha'rel's work.

For Top Five this week, KT brought Top Five Disney Sidekicks.

You can listen to KT's excellent work as co-host on Vaulting the Walt!

For our charity this week, KT wanted to plug supporting our local indie cinemas so that we can return to them when it's safe to do so. KT's local is The Loft in Tucson, and mine is The Belcourt in Nashville.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

This week, we're joined by Jesse Webber, co-host of Cannes I Kick It, to chat about Kelly Reichardt and her 1994 debut, River of Grass. We talk about how it plants the seeds for the rest of her career, the inescapability of Reichardt's landscapes, discuss our mutually minimal connections to Florida, and go off-topic quite a bit.

You can stream River of Grass on Kanopy and Prime, and rent it in the usual places.

For Top Five this week, Jesse brought Top Five Performances You Have Crushes On.

You can catch Cannes I Kick It wherever you find podcasts, and on Twitter @ CannesIKickIt. You can buy the CIKI gang a coffee over at Ko-fi. Keep an ear out for CIKI co-host Andy Germuga on the show soon, and for our big crossover episode dropping in May.

If you're catching this the day this show drops, go watch Jesse's improv show later today on Twitch!

We have a few charities to promote this week:

• Beacon House provides children in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, DC with a safe, nurturing, and life-expanding community in which to increase their academic achievement, discover their talents, and to grow into healthy adults who achieve their greatest potential. You can support them directly here.

Check out I Am a Seagull!

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

This week, we're joined by Benjamin Cole to talk Hereditary, Ari Aster's 2018 feature debut. We talk about Aster's short films, Satanic Panic, Freud's The Uncanny, and how we find relief after surviving the unimaginable - among other things.

Content Warning: this episode was a blast for us to record, but we do speak frankly, comfortably and specifically about immense grief and trauma, both personal and as it relates to Hereditary.

Ben was previously attached to talk about another film, The Peanut Butter Falcon. For reasons we go into, we chose not to talk about that, but I do ask Ben to talk a bit about why that was his original choice.

For Top Five this week, Ben brought a topic that prompts us to go well over five minutes each: Top Five Bad(?) Films That Bring Us Joy.

Keywords makes its return this week, and we add a new segment: the hurried attempt at a plot summary.

You can find Ben at The Wildlife Center of Virginia, dedicated teaching the world to care about and to care for wildlife and the environment. Ben particularly enjoys working with raptors.

Our charity this week is National Harm Reduction Coalition, which creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies. You can support them here.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Next week, we'll be talking about Kelly Reichardt's River of Grass, which is currently available digitally wherever you find movies, and streaming on Kanopy and Amazon Prime.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

(Quick announcement: we release on Fridays now! I took a job at the beginning of 2021 that I am very passionate about, and it means I have a bit less time during the day to edit. Having the extra few days is a big help!)

Alexi Stewart returns to talk about Little Woods, the feature debut of Nia DaCosta. We talk about how poverty is portrayed onscreen, Jack's love for Lily James, independent filmmakers making the jump to big-budget franchise fare, and we book a future episode on air - among other things.

We're changing things up with Top Five! From now on, the guests will bring a prompt entirely unknown to me beforehand. This week, we break down our Top Five Training Montages.

You can find Justin under his stage name at Broderick Clavery and on Instagram @ afrodigena. His writing will soon be featured with The Superhuman Collective, and you can hear his podcast Pause N' Play at Soundcloud.

We have two highlighted charities this week. The first is the Equal Justice Center, based out of Austin, TX, is a non-profit law firm and employment justice organization which empowers low-income families, workers, and communities to achieve fair treatment in the workplace, in the justice system, and in our shared society - regardless of immigration status. You can directly support them here.

Our other charity is the North Dakota WIN (Women In Need) Abortion Access Fund. They provide financial assistance for abortion and related reproductive healthcare services in North Dakota. You can directly support them here.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Next week, we'll be talking about Ari Aster's Hereditary, which is currently available digitally wherever you find movies, and streaming on Kanopy. Also next week: a new segment and the return of Keywords.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

This week we're joined by Justin Crawford-Clavery to talk about One Night in Miami, the feature debut of Regina King which debuted on Amazon Prime earlier this month. We talk about previous portrayals of Malcolm X and Muhammed Ali, adapting plays for film, how we would change the audition process in America, and the art of taking your time - among other things.

On Top Five this week, we break down our Top Five Sidekicks.

You can find Justin under his stage name at Broderick Clavery and on Instagram @ afrodigena. His writing will soon be featured with The Superhuman Collective, and you can hear his podcast Pause N' Play at Soundcloud.

Our highlighted charity this week is Shirley Raines @ beauty2thestreetz. She provides makeup, showers and essential services for homeless women. You can support her work directly here!

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Have a Beaut-iful week!

This week we're joined by Chris Falcioni to talk about Aardman Animations' Chicken Run, the 2000 feature debut of Peter Lord and Nick Park. We talk about the early days of DreamWorks Animation, the expressiveness of characters in various forms of animation and puppetry, The Mel Gibson Of It All, and the forthcoming Chicken Run 2 - among many, many other things.

Heads up that there are some soft audio issues on my end this week!

On Top Five this week, we break down our Top Five Criers.

We have two highlighted charities this week!

1. The Cast Member Pantry supports furloughed Disney parks cast members by supplying groceries and essentials. You can support them on Venmo @castmemberpantry, and by using their Amazon wishlist here.

Thanks as always to Ross Kroeber for the show name, Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the show art, and to Podbean for hosting us. Follow the show on Twitter @beautspod, and check out what Jack is watching on Letterboxd @ jkradb. Enjoying the show? Buy Jack a coffee.

Call your friends, and have a Beaut-iful week! Justice for Julia Sawalha.