Director's Club

Cross-posted from Voices + Visions:

Another special bonus episode from the former host of this here show. So you might remember him as Arnie from Christine and that's where I first became aware of the terrific talent of one Keith Gordon. He's been on Voices + Visions / Director's Club a few times now, thus beginning a yearly tradition where we check in, talk about what he's been up to, but also take the opportunity to nerd out about cinema.

On the last episode, we went over what it was like working on the TV show Legion which transitioned into a talk about underrated films of the 90s. This time we go back yet another decade to discuss the 80s and how weird of a time it was. Some titles might be familiar but several were new to me. We have a wonderful discussion as always so if you've been a fan of our last three episodes, I have no doubt you'll enjoy the latest one as well.

Keith Gordon Episode Archives:
https://www.directorsclubpodcast.com/archives/keithgordonarchives

Underrated Films Of The 1990s:
https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski/list/underrated-films-from-the-1990s/

Underrated Films Of The 1980s:
https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski/list/underrated-films-from-the-1980s/

Underrated Films Of The 1970s:
https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski/list/underrated-films-from-the-1970s

Underrated Films Of The 1960s:
https://letterboxd.com/jimlaczkowski/list/underrated-films-from-the-1960s

What happens when old-school Director’s Club meets the new? Join Brad, Al, alongside former hosts Jim + Patrick as they dive head first into the world of Tarantino, focusing on his latest creation, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. A film that no one else seems to talking about so we figured we should. Does everyone agree it’s one of his best? Only way to find out. Put down the needle on your vinyl, turn up the radio dial, throw on an old TV Western, and tune in. We talk about the film at length, including spoilers, so it’s best to listen after you’ve already seen this rather fascinating film from a fascinating filmmaker.

00:00 - 41:59 - General Discussion Of The Film
42:00 - 1:29:48 - The Ending (SPOILERS) + Concluding Thoughts

http://directorsclubpodcast.com
http://nowplayingnetwork.net
http://voicesvisions.net

The Director's Club returns to the films of Robert Altman, looking at the ups and downs of his career after he nearly became exiled to Sweethaven due to the "Popeye" debacle. We explore how he worked his way back with innovative takes on theatrical material like "Secret Honor" and "Fool For Love", returned back to critical and popular attention with "The Player" and "Short Cuts", created memorable characters like Griffin Mill, Maggie Smith's Countess from "Gosford Park" / "Downtown Abbey", and Stiggs, and used his directorial talent to expand, dismantle, and illuminate everything from the movie industry to rogue presidents to a ballet company (to even the world of Mayberry in "Cookie's Fortune"!)

[6:08] "Come to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean" ("Ridin' With James Dean", Joan Jett)
[21:36] "Streamers" ("Eve of Destruction", Barry McGuire)
[27:58] "Secret Honor" ("The Love of Richard Nixon", Manic Street Preachers)
[42:32] LIGHTNING ROUND: "Fool for Love", "OC & Stiggs", "Beyond Therapy",
"Tanner 88", "Vincent and Theo"
[1:12:00] "The Player" ("Everyone's Gone to the Movies", Steely Dan)
[1:34:38] "Short Cuts" ("Losing California", Sloan)
[2:15:06] "Ready to Wear" ("The Glamorous Life", Sheila-E)
[2:27:27] LIGHTNINGER ROUND: "Kansas City", "The Gingerbread Man", "Cookie's Fortune", "Dr. T & the Women"
[3:01:28] "Gosford Park" ("Master and Servant", Depeche Mode)
[3:17:28] "The Company" ("Ballerina", van Morrison)
[3:32:35] "The Prairie Home Companion" ("The End of the Line", The Travelling Willburys)

After some unfortunate and inadvertent delays, the Director's Club is backto the podcasting trade with an episode on the amazing Iranian director Asghar Farhadi! With the help of the Chicago Film Discussion Group's Peter Richards, we have a deep exploration into his films, which at their best explore the conflicts between people in a way that combines Hitchcockian intensity, an astounding attention to detail, and tremendous performances delivered with a grace that feels effortless, and has led to some of the most remarkable films in the past 20 years.

(00:00) Brief intro to notable films and filmmakers of the Iranian New
Wave
(15:52) "Dancing in the Dust" ("White Wedding", Billy Idol)
(33:20) "The Beautiful City" ("The Mercy Seat", Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds)
(51:21) "Fireworks Wednesday" ("Fireworks", The Blue Oyster Cult)
(1:13:30) "About Elly" ("Disappear", INXS)
(1:48:52) "A Separation" ("We Just Disagree", Dave Mason)
(2:26:48) "The Past" ("Living in the Past", Jethro Tull)
(2:59:51) "Salesman" ("Death of a Salesman", Low)
(3:22:00) "Everybody Knows" ("Everybody Knows", Leonard Cohen)

Cross-posted with Voices + Visions

Just like last year, my dear friend and fellow podcaster Patrick Ripoll returns for a very special episode of this show. Around the month of May, I ask Patrick to return to a microphone to talk a variety of topics. We play catch up on our lives, talk about our latest projects, and review two movies that we've assigned to one another. The two movies for this year were the Hong Kong late 80s action flick IN THE LINE OF DUTY IV as well as the gorgeous Anime coming-of-age tale, 5 CENTIMETERS PER SECOND.

After the reviews, we launch into our other yearly tradition by playing a game show. If you want to hear last year's version of "Score Bits," it's included in the show notes below as a separate download. For this year, we took a cue from Film Junk's 700th episode and played a round of "Tonal Recall," which includes dialogue excerpts from favorite films of ours in addition to score / soundtrack samples. For our final segment, we program our own separate 12-hour film festivals in honor of the upcoming Chicago Critics Film Festival, which is also discussed here as well. All in all, it was a blast to talk with Patrick like we used to frequently back in the day, so I truly hope you enjoy this blast from the past as we look forward to the future!

00:00 - 29:19 - Introduction / Catching Up
29:20 - 01:20:11 - Movie Review Assignments
01:20:12 - 02:28:27 - Tonal Recall Movie Game
02:28:28 - 02:53:02 - CCFF + Our Film Festivals?
02:53:03 - 02:56:07 - Outro

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

Check out the Chicago Critics Film Festival:
https://musicboxtheatre.com/events/chicago-critics-film-festival

Last Year's Birthday Movie Game:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/v51b8n5xlze6bs4/S_Bits.mp3

Cross-posted from Voices & Visions

A few years back, I had the pleasure of talking with Alex Ross Perry for my then-titled Pop Culture Club podcast. We spoke about QUEEN OF EARTH and the greatness of Elisabeth Moss. For his 6th feature film, he recruits one of our very best actresses working today once again for HER SMELL. It’s the story of a rock star addict played by Elisabeth Moss, who is on the edge of self-destruction. This time a familiar story is beautifully filtered hrough the lens of a true original who continues to write emotionally powerful films. I’ve been of his work going all the way back to THE COLOR WHEEL, and his latest might be his most accomplished, assured work to date with a powerhouse of a performance at its center. We talked a lot about sound design, the power of certain moments throughout the film, and the experience of writing that can create a feeling of panic and ultimately, catharsis. Plus there’s a bit of an update on what’s going on with me along with a particular cover song at the end that you might enjoy especially after you see HER SMELL.

00:00 - 11:55 - Introduction / Update
11:56 - 36:38 - Interview With Alex Ross Perry
36:39 - 40:50 - ”Heaven (Bryan Adams)” Cover

Check out Patrick's new record:
https://patrickripoll.bandcamp.com/album/now-more-than-ever

Check out Genre Grinder:
http://www.nowplayingnetwork.net/genregrinder/episode1

The Director's Club returns to the shores of Disneyland to take a look at the creative efforts of Walt Disney as he expands his interests to live action films and even nature documentaries, as his techniques in animation were also changing due to artistic and financial needs. We talk about the many remarkable facets of his later films and how he was able to maintain creativity while building the empire of the entertainment world we know today.

(0:00) Intro to Walt Disney in transition ("Dizz Knee Land", dada)
(8:00) "True Life Adventures"
(17:47) "Alice in Wonderland" ("White Rabbit", Jefferson Airplane)
(29:14) "Peter Pan" ("Never Get Old", David Bowie)
(42:42) "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" ("Sing for The Submarine", R.E.M.)
(57:21) "Lady and the Tramp" ("Born to Run", Bruce Springsteen)
(1:10:56) "Sleeping Beauty" ("Enter Sandman", Metallica)
(1:20:03) "101 Dogs" ("Dogs", Pink Floyd)
(1:33:25) "The Absent-Minded Professor" ("She Blinded Me with Science", Thomas Dolby)
(1:42:06) "Mary Poppins" / His unfinished "Winnie the Pooh" project ("Mary Mary", The Monkees)
(2:09:55) "The Jungle Book" ("Welcome to the Jungle", Guns N' Roses)

The year 2018 provided a rare gift for film fans - a new film from Orson Welles!  A team of filmmakers and Netflix funders came together to take one of the his unfinished works and complete it for viewing on movie screens and streams.  The Director's Club was lucky enough to get a theatrical look, and in this episode we talk about the effectiveness of the result, the themes that emerge from the movie, how those themes fit with Welles' history and his other films, and how it's both of and way ahead of it's time!

Songs:  "The Wind", PJ Harvey; "Riding on the Wind", Judas Priest
Stinger:  Orson Welles in a 1974 interview with Michael Parkinson

https://tinyurl.com/1989retro

PART TWO: Cross-posted with Voices & Visions as well. You can follow the list from 1989 that we cover linked above. Ladies and gentlemen, let's go back thirty years to when three film critics were first falling in love with movies. The mid-80s informed a lot of our taste, and much like previous years' retrospectives, it's always a blast to go back and see what holds up and what we each consider to be favorites and least favorites from a particular year. Joined once again by Erik Childress and Collin Souter we return for what is officially a yearly tradition that started thanks to original podcast creator Jim Laczkowski. We started with 1985 and plan to do this yearly tradition all the way up until 1999 as a bonus excursion for reflection, nostalgia, and to celebrate those 80s and 90s kids that adored film as much as we did.

We go through the entire year chronologically covering titles that range from FIELD OF DREAMS to DO THE RIGHT THING and everything in between (HEATHERS, BATMAN, THE BURBS, ALWAYS, GLORY, etc). Yes, some big titles come up, but have no fear, we talk LISTEN TO ME and DREAM A LITTLE DREAM too. A show so big, six hours had to split into two parts. At the end of Part Two we list our favorite films of 1989. Thank you so much for supporting the show and listening to Part Two!

Erik’s 1989 List
Jim’s 1989 List
Collin’s 1989 List

https://tinyurl.com/1989retro

PART ONE (OF TWO):  Cross-posted with Voices & Visions as well. You can follow the list from 1989 that we cover linked above. Ladies and gentlemen, let's go back thirty years to when three film critics were first falling in love with movies. The mid-80s informed a lot of our taste, and much like previous years' retrospectives, it's always a blast to go back and see what holds up and what we each consider to be favorites and least favorites from a particular year. Joined once again by Erik Childress and Collin Souter we return for what is officially a yearly tradition that started thanks to original podcast creator Jim Laczkowski. We started with 1985 and plan to do this yearly tradition all the way up until 1999 as a bonus excursion for reflection, nostalgia, and to celebrate those 80s and 90s kids that adored film as much as we did.

We go through the entire year chronologically covering titles that range from FIELD OF DREAMS to DO THE RIGHT THING and everything in between (HEATHERS, BATMAN, THE BURBS, ALWAYS, GLORY, etc). Yes, some big titles come up, but have no fear, we talk LISTEN TO ME and DREAM A LITTLE DREAM too. A show so big, six hours had to split into two parts. At the end of Part Two which is coming soon, we list our favorite films of 1989. Thank you so much for supporting the show and listening to Part One!