Film School

I am not an animal!!!

The David Lynch Deep Dive continues with his second feature film, an historical biopic centered around John Merrick, a young man in 19th Century England with striking birth and genetic defects that made him treated as a freakshow, whether in the circus or in a hospital. It's a surprisingly conventional, normal, straightforward film. Very much not what we associate with David Lynch. So . . . how effective IS it? We discuss.

It's probably the first thing people ask of an artist: where do your ideas come from? What kinds of things strike the inspiration chord and makes you want to create? And when inspiration does come, how do you foster it into an actual piece of art? We discuss our own personal answers to this common question this week on the Cutting Room Floor!

Also, Josh recommends Entergalactic on Netflix, and Ira recommends Everything Everywhere All At Once which is currently available to rent.

In heaven everything is fine.

This week, we're watching David Lynch's first film. It took him the better part of a decade to make. It's surrealist and avante garde in the way only Lynch can pull off, and it's probably his most personal, most intimate film. He kinda lets his nightmares and fears literally play out for us to see, feverish and confusing. We try to untangle it all. What works? What doesn't? We discuss!

Happy New Year!

Lots of fun stuff to come on the podcast this year, and for Josh and Ira personally. We talk about what the year-to-come has in store. What's on the horizon for you?

2022. The first full post-pandemic year. It was also a major year for us here on the podcast in many ways: adjusting to society's "new normal," successes and failures in filmmaking and publishing, and our first forays beyond the AFI's Top 100 list in terms of the project this podcast is trying to tackle. So, how did we do? What will we think of when we look back on the year that was 2022? In this week's episode, we discuss.

You'll shoot your eye out!

Of all the Christmas movies out there that play on "americana," this one might take the cake. Even the font on the movie poster evokes Norman Rockwell. It's set during the late 30s/early 40s, and centers around Ralphy, who--like ALL kids at that age--desperately wants the perfect Christmas gift. Does he get it? We watch and find out.

Creating anything takes work. Butt in chair. Words on page. Paint on canvas. It's work, and usually in an unrecognized, anonymous silence for years at a time. So, how do we stay motivated to keep working? Especially when it's hard? We talk about the tips, tricks and tools that we use ourselves.

Also, Josh (again) recommends Entergalactic which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends 1899 which is also on Netflix.

That does not look like a towel.

The 80s were a wild WILD time. Especially 80s movies. Bill Murray stars in a frenetic, crazy, bonkers adaptation of Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. He's a miser, asshole of a TV executive who's given one last chance to turn his life around by the ghosts of Christmas. So...how does it hold up? We find out!

Next on Film School, we're doing a deep dive on David Lynch and watching his full feature filmography. BUT FIRST...because we've fallen behind on our recordings, we're going to use the next couple weeks to "bank" some episodes to get ourselves back on track releasing each week. Here's the plan:

Our Christmas films will debut as planned on December 12th and December 19th.

THEN David Lynch's Deep Dive will launch after the new year with Eraserhead.

So...we'll see you in a couple weeks for the first of our Christmas movies, and then after the holidays, we'll kick off the Deep Dive on David Lynch. See you then :)

The second album. The follow-up book. The sequel film. After all the lessons we've learned from the first project, after all that growth, effort and excitement . . . WHY IS THE SECOND PROJECT SO HARD??? And followup question: what can we do about it? Josh and Ira have both been through the famed "sophomore slump." They discuss what they've learned.

Also, Josh recommends The Mist which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends The Omen which is playing on Prime.