Director's Club

Every October, we try to go above and beyond the call of duty. For one of the most insane years in recent history, it only made sense to finally tackle another Italian horror master by the name of Lucio Fulci. I needed help with some very special returning guests by the names of Patrick Ripoll and Gabe Powers, both host their own shows on the Now Playing Network as well. It was difficult to narrow down our discussion to the main essentials but we do start out talking about his Giallo work with A LIZARD IN A WOMAN’S SKIN followed by what most consider to be his masterwork, THE BEYOND. Lots of other titles are of course mentioned along the way due to his extensive filmography. We also cover a few titles during the what we watched segment including THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW, DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE, and WITCHTRAP.

00:00 - 06:19 - Introduction
06:20 - 07:02 - What We Watched Song
07:03 - 01:02:45 - What We Watched This Week
01:02:46 - 01:04:01 - Director Song
01:04:02 - 02:02:51 - A Lizard In A Woman’s Skin
02:02:52 - 02:43:46 - The Beyond
02:43:47 - 03:09:09 - Other Titles
03:09:10 - 03:18:41 - Top 3 Fulci / Outro

Patrick Bromley Ranks 21 Fulci Horror Films:
https://bloody-disgusting.com/editorials/3550177/zombies-slashers-ghosts-extreme-gore-ranking-21-lucio-fulcis-horror-films/

Screen Drafts Picks The Top 7 Fulci Films:
https://screendrafts.libsyn.com/lucio-fulci-with-elric-kane-rebekah-mckendry

Supporting Characters Interviews Stephen Thrower:
http://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/supportingcharacters/episode44

Genre Grinder Hosted By Gabe:
https://www.genregrinder.com/

Tracks Of The Damned Hosted By Patrick:
https://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/tracksofthedamned/s1e12

Returning guest Bill Ackerman of Supporting Characters joins me to discuss the fascinating career of Bob Clark, best known for his work on two very different Christmas classics. However, we went a different route focusing mainly on his Vietnam horror gem, Deathdream as well as the film that kick-started an entire genre of sex comedies. No, not Loose Cannons, it’s the original Porky’s.

In addition for the what we watched segment, Bill reviews one of several of new films this year from Abel Ferrera with Tommaso. Jim catches up with the latest from Christopher Nolan (not sure if you’ve heard about it) as well I’m Thinking Of Ending Things from Charlie Kaufman now available on Netflix. Have no fear, later in the show we of course discuss Bob Clark’s beloved A Christmas Story, Black Christmas in addition to the hard-to-find Tribute w/Jack Lemmon.

00:00 - 15:10 - Introduction
15:11 - 16:27 - What We Watched Song
16:28 - 1:06:23 - What We Watched This Week
1:06:24 - 1:07:26 - Director Song
1:07:27 - 2:09:49 - Deathdream + Porky’s
2:09:50 - 2:48:27- Other Clark Films
2:48:28 - 2:52:25 - Top 3 Clark Films / Outro

For two longer dissections of Clark’s Christmas films, check out this excellent podcast here:
http://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/christmasmoviesactually/episode1
http://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/christmasmoviesactually/episode14

Welcome to a special bonus episode of Director’s Club, here to celebrate the work of filmmaker Amy Seimetz who I had the pleasure of talking with on two separate occasions. After the introduction, I present the most recent conversation I had with Amy about her new film She Dies Tomorrow which I had a very strong response to as you’ll hear. 

Then halfway through you can hear our discussion from last year about horror films, Pet Sematary and more! Please support this talented writer/director/actress by renting or purchasing She Dies Tomorrow on VOD and share your praise on social media. Thank you to Neon for putting out this terrific work of art and to Amy for her time both this year and last year.

00:00 - 07:36 - Introduction
07:37 - 23:14 - Interview with Amy (2020)
23:15 - 44:57 - Interview with Amy (2019)

Rent / Purchase She Dies Tomorrow:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11614912
https://neonrated.com/films/she-dies-tomorrow

Ever heard of a director named Steven Spielberg? Didn't think so. But maybe you did hear us talk about him about five years ago when we did a two-parter on the beloved blockbuster filmmaker. First we had Collin on to talk about films pre-Jurassic Park. Then we had Erik on to talk about films leading all the way to Munich.

This time I recruited both of my friends and former guests to talk about the third act of Spielberg's career, anything post-Munich. We wanted to mainly review two films that represent him at this time so we went with the prestige Oscar-winning Lincoln as well as the virtual adventure Ready Player One. We at least all three agree on one of these. Then from there we go through a few more titles worth mentioning before revealing our top five favorite Spielberg films. During the what we watched segment, Collin reviews Cousins, Erik reviews Hamilton and Jim reviews the latest film from Amy Seimetz, She Dies Tomorrow. Thank you for all listening and we'll see you in September!

00:00 -17:00 - Introduction


17:01 - 39:51 - What We Watched 


39:52 - 40:29 - Director Song


40:30 - 01:45:14 - General Thoughts + Lincoln + Ready Player 1

01:45:15 - 01:59:59 - Other Spielberg Titles We Recommend


02:00:00 - 02:15:35 - Top 5 Spielberg / Outro

It has been about nine years since this director was discussed on the podcast so when Keeping It Reel’s very own David J. Fowlie expressed interest in coming on the show and brought up the name Peter Weir, how could I resist being such a fan of this Australian director's work as you’ll probably recall from way back. Doing this recording certainly has sparked an interest in returning to other directors of the past for next year since a lot of new insights and observations come up this time. We also focus on two different titles this time, reviewing Weir’s back-to-back successes with Harrison Ford. First up we talk about the thriller/romance Witness then the follow-up written by Paul Schrader, The Mosquito Coast. Of course we bring up other titles later on. In addition, we talk about the passing of two directors as of late and touch upon Milos Forman’s Hair and Spike Lee’s latest Da Five Bloods!

Also, forgot to edit in the fact that Nicolas Roeg is English, not Australian, my bad. And if you want to hear more extensive thoughts on The Last Wave and Fearless, check the links below for the previous episode as well. Huge thanks to David for coming on the show and stay tuned for a new episode towards the end of July featuring returning guests Collin Souter & Erik Childress! Stay safe everyone!

00:00 - 29:32 - Introduction
29:33 - 30:10 - What We Watched Song
30:11 - 55:50 - What We Watched (Hair, Da Five Bloods)
55:51 - 56:29 - Director Song
56:30 - 01:50:34 - Witness + The Mosquito Coast
01:50:35 - 02:18:36 - Other Weir Titles
02:18:37 - 02:23:30 - Top 3 / Outro

142 Places To Donate For Black Lives Matter
Director's Club Patreon
Peter Weir Part One
David J. Fowlie On Twitter
Jim's Letterboxd

With all that's going on in the world right now, it's been hard to focus on new content. I've been actively trying to put Google Docs together of books, resources, organizations and various links to help educate myself further even if that's not enough nor will it bring back the lives of the victims I've named at the top of the show. My hope is that everyone listening is doing some kind of protest / research / action in some capacity. I didn't want to be completely silent in regards to my thoughts. Arguably, they do go on tangents and detours, but I hope the emotion is sincere when I say enough is enough. Took me over ten minutes to process my thoughts after reading a list of names that I've learned about over this past week.

After a 12-minute introduction stating similar thoughts in a hopefully coherent fashion, I decided to call up my friend and Chicago film critic Sergio Mims to talk about a vital film that I keep coming back to especially now. Paul Schrader's incredible 1978 crime drama, Blue Collar has become one of my top 20 favorites. I know Bill Ackerman and I once reviewed it at length about five years ago, but I wanted to revisit the film and more importantly talk with Sergio for about an hour about that film along with others that speak to him as well including Killer of Sheep and more.

00:00 - 11:46 - Introduction
11:47 - 01:04:50 - Sergio Mims + Blue Collar

115 Ways To Donate In Support Of Black Lives At This Time

Supporting Characters - Sergio Mims

Patrick's Review Of Blue Collar

Buy Blue Collar On Blu-Ray

Happy Memorial Day 2020. Wow what a year it's been so far. Before Patrick takes a leave of absence, I asked him to come on during my birthday month to discuss one of my favorite filmmakers, the legendary Billy Wilder. Perhaps you've heard of him? Our main reviews include Ace In The Hole & The Apartment but we certainly touch upon a lot of his work from beginning to end including Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard and more! During the What We Watched Segment, Patrick discusses Flight Of The Navigator, I mean, a lot of various Giallo films he's been catching up with lately and I inquire about the future of comedy while discovering that both Step Brothers and Burn After Reading are masterpieces.

00:00 - 06:25 - Introduction
06:26 - 11:29 - What We Watched Song
11:30 - 01:11:10 - What We Watched This Week
01:11:11 - 01:12:23 - Director Song
01:12:24 - 02:09:11 - Ace In The Hole + The Apartment
02:09:12 - 02:28:12 - Other Wilder Titles
02:28:13 - 02:33:11 - Top 3 Wilder Films / Outro

Follow Patrick On Letterboxd:
http://letterboxd.com/patrickripoll

Check Out Patrick's Commentary Track Podcast:
http://nowplayingnetwork.net/tracksofthedamned

WHY DID THEY MAKE HIM HAVE A WIFE?!! So I had a birthday this week and all I asked as a present from Patrick is to endure my weird sounds and movie talk for 75 minutes. Thankfully he obliged. Before we record our next official episode on Billy Wilder in a couple weeks, it was time to do a quarantine-cast free-form Popcorn Supper-style.

We discuss our new and exciting side projects that help raise funds for food banks + charities. Then we go into an in-depth discussion on the weird, wild ride that is Quantum Leap and briefly review a few things we've watched recently including 1BR, Images, Deathstalker II, Zombie High and more! There may be donuts. Fruit is the popcorn of the home - Jim

Become a Patreon Patron:
http://patreon.com/directorsclub

My new project to generate donations:
http://gardenonatrampoline.com

Patrick's Fundraising Project:
https://letterboxd.com/patrickripoll/list/food-bank-fundraising-all-night-request-line/

Our first remote cast in quite awhile but we had an incredible time talking over Skype about one of the all-time greatest British filmmakers, Mike Leigh. We are joined by returning guest Regina Linn who is also a very talented theater actor in their own right. The main reviews are Life is Sweet and Another Year but we also dive deep into his most acclaimed work, Naked. For What We Watched, there are discussions about Cameron Crowe, Six Feet Under, Tales From The Loop and Alex Garland’s DEVS. We all truly hope you are staying safe, strong and sheltered. Talk to you again in about a month!

00:00 - 13:43 - Patrick’s Announcement / Intro
13:44 - 14:43 - What We Watched Song
14:44 - 01:08:48 - What We Watched This Week
01:08:49 - 01:09:51 - Director Song
01:09:52 - 01:55:14 - Mike Leigh / Life Is Sweet
01:55:15 - 03:17:00 - Another Year / Naked / Others
03:17:01 - 03:25:40 - Top 3 List / Outro

Links:
Patrick’s Food Bank Fundraising Request Line

Regina’s Essay On Secrets & Lies

Jim’s New Podcast Obsession

This month, we are joined by the one and only Dave Canfield of ScreenAnarchy & Mindframes Podcast to discuss a truly fascinating filmmaker, Canada’s very own Guy Maddin. We try to get to the bottom of his visual aesthetics, discuss the nature of autobiographical filmmaking and praise several of his short films along the way. The focus this time is on the critically acclaimed The Saddest Music of the World as well as his award-winning docu-fantasia My Winnipeg, which Roger Ebert named one of the best films of the decade. In addition, we talk a lot for the what we watched segment including a psychologically complex body horror drama called Swallow, the recently acclaimed Portrait of a Lady on Fire as well a brief foray into disaster films of the late 90s! This episode has it all and we couldn’t be more grateful to Dave for coming on. See you in about a month! Stay safe and healthy!

00:00 - 07:10 - Intro
07:11 - 08:31 - What We Watched Song
08:32 - 56:23 - What We Watched This Week
56:24 - 57:49 - Guy Maddin Song
57:50 - 01:55:13 - Saddest Music In The World + My Winnipeg
01:55:13 - 02:08:47 - Other Guy Maddin Films
02:08:48 - 02:13:23 - Top 3 Favorites / Outro

http://www.directorsclubpodcast.com/

Jim's Recent Appearance on The MatineeCast:
https://www.thematinee.ca/episode243/