Damn Dirty Geeks

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The Damn Dirty Geeks recently spent another fantastic evening discussing independent horror and genre film movies with another prominent woman filmmaker, Staci Layne Wilson, also joined by one of her frequently cast actors, Curt Lambert. Growing up in LA and the entertainment industry, and forging a career as a journalist for several entertainment-related publications, Staci now imbues her short and feature films that blend diverse elements from burlesque entertainment to pulp horror elements into Staci's unique narrative style.

In this episode, we delve into Staci's biographical background, her early influences and her growing resume of films as a producer, writer and director including VALENTINE DAYZ, PSYCHO THERAPY, FETISH FACTORY, THE FIANCÉ, NOT WITH MY DAUGHTER, KEEPSAKES, and SELF-PORTRAITS.

If you're a new viewer of Staci's films, her writing and directorial styles explore elements you enjoy from directors including Dario Argento (SUSPIRIA, TENEBRE, INFERNO) and Brian De Palma (SCARFACE, DRESSED TO KILL), artistically melding dark moody atmospheres of suspense and terror with brightly colored cinematic palettes that lend an eerie surrealism to her work.

Staci and the DDG are also joined by actor Curt Lambert, who appears in Wilson's films VALENTINE DAYZ, FETISH FACTORY, THE FIANCÉ, THE LINCOLN along with the web series THE HOTEL BARCLAY. Lambert provides entertaining anecdotes and experiences working on the set with Wilson across these projects, lending insight into her quickly paced production schedules.

Enjoy this latest episode in our DDG series discussing horror and genre entertainment with female filmmakers like Staci Layne Wilson making big names for themselves in the industry, then share it with your genre-loving friends and fiends!

The Damn Dirty Geeks are back for Year Two of our podcast as we celebrate our second anniversary of the show, and we're starting off on the wild side!

A quick change of recent recording plans resulted in our second Damn Dirty Geeks Wild Card episode that dives straight into THE TWILIGHT ZONE with a dizzying collage of discussion topics.

We launch into a study of GALAXY QUEST -- is it the best STAR TREK movie to date? -- then question the streaming service delivery of the new series STAR TREK: DISCOVERY starring our friend Doug Jones. We're psyched to see Doug in the TREK universe, but question if PPV is the right move by CBS to start a new mission.

Then we take a very goofy detour across the galaxy to revisit Maz Kanata's house band as seen in THE FORCE AWAKENS. An equally abrupt transition sparks up a lively debate about the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY makeover for the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction at Disney's California Adventure park in Anaheim. This theme park ride discussion transports us into a larger study about the lifespans of our favorite Monster Kid franchises like Rod Serling's classic TWILIGHT ZONE in today's streaming-media generation.

Our discussion of the TZ franchise's longevity also makes a great topical preview of our upcoming episode with veteran actor H.M. Wynant, who discusses his leading role in one of the best classic TZ episodes of the series amid his prolific career. Watch for H.M.'s appearance with the DDG coming soon!

Buckle up for this wild, wacky ride through pop culture and genre films with the Damn Dirty Geeks as we throw caution – and good taste -- to the wind and simply let this podcast episode fly where it takes us!

And we dedicate this episode to the memories of Alan Rickman and Carrie Fisher, who both left us far too soon. Rest in Peace.

As October and Halloween approach, the Damn Dirty Geeks revisit the horror genre with an energized episode featuring indie filmmaker Izzy Lee, discussing her body of work and the long overdue growth of female directors and talent in the genre.

Lee's dark, evocative films including INNSMOUTH, POSTPARTUM and A FAVOR deliver the director's signature touch of short, sharp shocks that challenge viewers in the best tradition of taboo, provocative horror tales of Clive Barker.

Lee's INNSMOUTH also ventures into the nightmarish landscape of H.P. Lovecraft's horror realm but with a distinctive feminine perspective that adds new layers of interpretation of and impact from the author's original view of physical horror.

The DDG gladly explore Lee's work as another welcome female voice in the horror genre which -- despite other strong women directors including Ana Lily Amirpour, Jennifer Kent, Maude Michaud, the Soska Sisters and others -- remains woefully short on representing a fair and realistic ratio of women writers and directors. But we hope that Lee and her like will alter that reality in the near future as their work gains more prominence in festivals, signings and picture deals.

Horror would benefit from more and stronger female presence in the genre and industry, and the Damn Dirty Geeks will continue our efforts to give these talented women the recognition and exposure their excellent work merits. Enjoy our latest episode and get into the Halloween horror mood with Izzy Lee!

The Damn Dirty Geeks continue our roll discussing great entertainment moments with experts in their craft, thanks to popular character actor Jim Beaver. Jim prolific career is filled with memorable characters that made lasting impacts on the films and series in which he appeared. Our visit with Jim Beaver has yielded one of our best, breeziest, most engaging episodes yet.

It's likely that most listeners will know Jim Beaver's work from three projects: as the gruff but lovable Ellsworth in HBO's hit western drama DEADWOOD; his one-shot guest appearance turned recurring character Bobby Singer in SUPERNATURAL; and his co-starring role in Guillermo del Toro's gothic romance CRIMSON PEAK. Fans also enjoy Jim's work in the series JUSTIFIED and his role as Lawson in BETTER CALL SAUL, a crossover character Jim first played in BREAKING BAD.

A terrific storyteller, Jim regaled the DDG with stories of his experience filming DEADWOOD and the mysteries of character development he explored playing Ellsworth as his character arc expanded most unexpectedly. Jim also shares how John Wayne most strongly influenced his acting style and career, as part of his own character building in a broad range of characters including highly un-Ellsworth role of Carter Cushing in CRIMSON PEAK.

This sets up a fascinating discussion of actors deliberate seeking range in their careers across films and television, a mission that Jim Beaver continues to accomplish with every new credit he gains. Enjoy this hour-plus visit with the very funny, friendly and talented Jim Beaver. If you enjoy it as much as we did recording it, please share your comments in a rating and review of our podcast on iTunes.

This episode combines two of the DDG's favorite things: the genre character sculptures of artist Mike Hill and our combined love for werewolves in the movies!

Mike Hill is an English artist and sculptor who is literally a monster maker. His life-size figures of movie characters including Lon Chaney as The Wolf Man, Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein creature and many more have been featured displays on horror conventions and are prized collectibles by genre devotees including Guillermo del Toro.

The painstaking attention to detail and character Mike puts into his life-size figures brilliantly capture the likeness of his famous film subjects as well as those iconic movie moments that reside indelibly in the minds of monster kids like us. We discuss with Mike how he accomplishes sculpting and recreating these characters from classic films like FRANKENSTEIN, THE CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF, recently I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF at Monsterpalooza, plus Mike's stunning adaptation of the classic Aurora Wolf Man model kit in life-size form! Hill is also famous for his realistic figures of real world monster makers including Ray Harryhausen and Jack Pierce.

The DDG and Mike also delve once again into a favorite topic of film werewolves, a subject that launched Hill's fascination with genre films, model making and art. A lively discussion ensues about how the underlying concept of dual personalities and repressed human impulses has remained a relevant theme in genre movies and literature for over a century.

Enjoy our howling good Damn Dirty Geeks podcast with artist Mike Hill and be sure to visit our website for a photo gallery of Mike's sculptures to fully appreciate his amazing talents and love for monsters! If you're a fan of werewolves too, be sure to check out the DDG's episode devoted to lycanthropes in film, literature and pop culture as well.

Though a couple of our Geeks weren't available for this episode, Jack, Scott and Frank Woodward recently gathered to share our appreciation for director John Carpenter, who has created at least two classics in his varied career yet remains an unsung director by the Hollywood studio system.

Thankfully, being overlooked and undervalued didn't stop Carpenter from creating some of our favorite films including HALLOWEEN, ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK, THE THING, CHRISTINE, STARMAN, BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA and THEY LIVE, among others we discuss and evaluate in this episode.

We also discuss the creative crossover between Carpenter as a director and as a musician beyond the fact that he often composed original scores for his own films, in light of Woodward's recent viewing of Carpenter's live concert.

While the film industry fails to appreciate John Carpenter's work, there is no doubt that the director's legacy from the 1970s to today and beyond continues to inspire artists and audiences alike.

The Damn Dirty Geeks hope this episode inspires our listeners to watch more Carpenter films or re-evaluate them if you're already familiar with his work, and share them with others to recruit new fans to express their appreciation for John Carpenter.

The Damn Dirty Geeks take another stab and celebrating and studying the horror film genre with our special guest, producer/director Mike Mendez.

Like two of our previous podcast guests, Andrew Kasch and John Skipp, Mendez also directed a segment of the horror anthology film TALES OF HALLOWEEN released last October. Mike's segment "Friday the 31st" pits a deranged serial killer against his feminine quarry who turns the tables in a shocking twist of the typical slasher formula. Mendez also discusses BIG ASS SPIDER!, his affectionate horror/humor tribute to the big bug movies of the 1950s.

We revisit films like CARRIE and THE HILLS HAVE EYES that were early influences on Mike's youth and inspired his eventual career, including a rousing discussion of James Cameron's genre-mashing sequel ALIENS.

We weave all these subject threads together in a larger examination on the state of current independent horror films and filmmakers, existing and thriving outside the formulaic entries of higher-budget studio franchises or even compete against them at the box office.

Be sure to share Damn Dirty Geeks episodes with your horror-loving friends on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and show your support of DDG by writing a review of our show on iTunes.

The Damn Dirty Geeks welcome back our special guest actor Sam Witwer, who returns for Part 2 to discuss his prolific voice work throughout the STAR WARS cinematic galaxy, from his likeness and voice at the center of The Force Unleashed video game series up through THE CLONE WARS, STAR WARS REBELS and even THE FORCE AWAKENS.

Sam launches us into the STAR WARS universe immediately with an awesome taste of his voice work as Palpatine (both in Chancellor and Emperor mode), which soon branches into a deeper discussion of how Sam approaches the character in his own original ways. Sam also delves into the creative side of voice acting, how he molds his sound-alike assignments to the script rather than simply imitate the actor who originated the role.

While Part 2 of our episode with Sam Witwer talks at length about STAR WARS, his insights into voice acting apply to screen acting as well as the work all boils down to character building. Sam tells a fascinating story about how he built up the character and voice of the Son, an original character created in the Mortis arc of episodes in STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS: ultimately blending aspects of multiple villain characters to give a unique but familiar voice to the Son. Sam and the DDG also have lots of laughs discussing the ridiculous deaths of video game characters and the silly sounds voice actors create to kill them off at the click of your controller.

Sam offers some fascinating insights into George Lucas as a storyteller, and how Lucas being tired of making STAR WARS movies prompted him to tell tales of Jedi and Sith in an entirely different format by creating THE CLONE WARS animated series. Our discussion also taps into the non-canon "demise" of Expanded Universe fiction as the Star Wars Legends line with the creation of the Lucasfilm Story Group -- which continues to borrow and rework EU story facts and situations in a way that unifies current STAR WARS fiction with the films more directly.

It's not all STAR WARS talk in Part 2 with Sam, though! This episode also takes a fun detour into discussion of MAD MAX: ROAD WARRIOR which speaks to a larger discussion with Sam about fandom in general, and fan expectations (including Sam's) of these mythic, larger-than-life story franchises.

Our listeners have long awaited Part 2 of our podcast with popular, prolific actor Sam Witwer, but we hope you'll agree that the wait was worth it! Between detailed discussions of STAR WARS, voice acting for animation and video games, and fandom in general, once again Sam Witwer knocks a Damn Dirty Geeks' podcast out of the park. Enjoy!

Enjoy this exclusive podcast preview clip from Part 2 of the Damn Dirty Geeks' episode with actor Sam Witwer, discussing his voice acting work in the STAR WARS universe including video games, animated TV series and THE FORCE AWAKENS.

The Damn Dirty Geeks are back after a busy hiatus (of exciting new projects) with the first of a string of new podcast episodes! First up is our salute to two Hammer horror greats, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, who were united by our episode guest Ted Newsom in his superb documentary FLESH AND BLOOD: THE HAMMER HERITAGE OF HORROR.

In this hour, Ted regails us and DDG listeners with tales of bringing Lee and Cushing together professionally for the final time as narrators of Newsom's Hammer documentary, as Cushing passed away only three months after the duo recorded their parts in early 1994. Longtime friends, Peter and Christopher were delighted to spend this time together — as you can see from Ted's photos of the pair during their narration recording sessions.

Ted describes his own amazement at reunited Lee and Cushing for his documentary, watching another chapter of Hammer horror history in the making — and just in time. Beyond this work, Newsom speaks of the affectionate bond between Peter and Christopher off-screen, including the silly trick Cushing would do to have Lee in stitches with laughter. FLESH AND BLOOD brought Dracula and Van Helsing together one last time, fortunately for us Hammer horror fans, and the DDG are proud to host Ted Newsom sharing his personal adventures in uniting them as performers and dear friends.

Our episode with Ted expands hilariously beyond Hammer horror to include: debates about the comedy quotient of IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD; tales from David Prowse about working with Stanley Kubrick: Christopher Lee's appearance hosting Saturday Night Live and his second career of "not playing Dracula" in many films about a tall, sinister vampire character; and a very touching story of how Lee's fear of seeing an ill, aging Cushing almost prevented their reunion from happening until Newsom gathered them together in his documentary.

This episode with Ted Newsom is a wild ride through horror history peppered with plenty of laughs, so grab your vampire hunting kit and enjoy! A link to purchase the updated edition Ted's documentary FLESH AND BLOOD: THE HAMMER HERITAGE OF HORROR is provided in Show Notes on our website at DamnDirtyGeeks.com.