On the 276th episode of Piecing It Together, Kris Krainock joins me to talk about Empire Of Light. Sam Mendes' latest is all about his love of cinema. And about racism. And mental illness. And workplace power dynamics. And the list goes on. Puzzle pieces include Cinema Paradiso, American Beauty, Adventureland and the AMC Nicole Kidman Ad.

As always, SPOILER ALERT for Empire Of Light and the movies we discuss!

Written by Sam Mendes

Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Michael Ward, Toby Jones

Searchlight Pictures

https://www.searchlightpictures.com/empire-of-light/

Kris Krainock is a filmmaker and film fan.

You should check out Kris’ new website for info about him and his film projects https://www.kriskrainock.com

My 8th album, MORE CONTENT is available for pre-order NOW on iTunes, Bandcamp and all other digital music stores! Make sure to check it out!

My latest music video “Antiviral” is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdGctz_xF5c

The song at the end of the episode is "Distance" from the new album MORE CONTENT.

Make sure to “Like” Piecing It Together on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PiecingPod

And “Follow” us on Twitter @PiecingPod

And Join the Conversation in our Facebook Group, Piecing It Together – A Movie Discussion Group.

And check out https://www.piecingpod.com for more about our show!

And if you want to SUPPORT THE SHOW, you can now sign up for our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/bydavidrosen

Share the episode, comment and give us feedback! And of course, SUBSCRIBE!

And of course, don’t forget to leave us a 5 star review on Goodpods, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Podchaser!

Don't forget to check out Awesome Movie Year at https://www.awesomemovieyear.com

And most important of all… Keep going to the theater to see new movies!

Mentioned in this episode:

August 2025 Live Shows!

We will be doing three live shows in August 2025! The Naked Gun at Downtown Cinemas on Friday August 1st, Weapons at Maya Cinemas on Thursday August 7th and The Toxic Avenger on Friday August 29th at Downtown Cinemas.