Film School

Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her daddy in the Bathtub.

It was an indie darling that went all the way to a Best Picture Oscar nomination. Benh Zeitlin's debut feature, set loosely in the New Orleans south around the hurricane, really has its beating heart in 9-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, the sweet, moral, defiant Hushpuppy.

Breaks are so important. So, how do you work them into a busy schedule? How do you make sure that you get the rest you need, but don't lose your momentum? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends Alien and Aliens, and Ira recommends Top Chef on Hulu.

So, Milo wants to go clean...

NWR wraps up his deep dive into the seedy underbelly of the Copenhagen drug world. This time, we're following the bad guy from the first film! Milo has grown a conscience. He's trying to be the good family man. No drugs. Stay calm. Can he stick with that? (spoiler: no. ...omg, no)

Almost all you have in a script is dialogue. 99% of a play is dialogue. The majority of fiction prose is dialogue. It's probably the most effective way to tell a good story...so how do we do it WELL? Josh and Ira discuss what good advice they've received, and what tips and tricks that have worked for them thus far.

Plus: we recommend watching Inception and NBA playoff basketball.

Nicolas Winding Refn had a hard time following up the success of the first Pusher film, so much so that he decided to dip back into the seedy Copenhagen underworld. This time we follow Tonny, played by a rising star in Mads Mikkelsen. It's drugs and prostitutes and deals gone bad and motherf*ckers of a father . . . it's Pusher II.

What makes a good schedule? Obviously, it's one where we're as productive as we want to be . . . but what about sustainability? What about when life throws its inevitable curveballs? How do we build ourselves a schedule that fits US? Josh and Ira share what works for them? Plus some quick check-ins on the very busy personal lives, AND some great recommendations on what we've been watching:

Josh recs the action sci-fi classics Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and Ira recommends Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal.

Frank Frank Frank...

Kim Bodnia stars in Nicolas Winding Refn's breakout film. It's a stark, hopeless world and YET...there are some stunning moments of tenderness and authenticity. It was also a singularly important film for Josh in his formative filmmaker years. It also introduced us to a young Mads Mikkelsen. Let's watch and discuss!

You fell off the horse. Your work in progress is sitting idle. You want to get started again, but you're not sure how. Josh and Ira talk tips and strategies they use to get started again.

Also, Josh recommends Severance on AppleTV+.

You're in Ala-f---in'-bama!

Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei chew up the scenery as New Yorkers in the South, trying to solve a murder mystery. It won Tomei an Oscar. Criminally Underrated. It'll make you feel good inside.

Sometimes we want something so much we can crush it, freeze, run away, or otherwise shoot ourselves in the foot. So…how do we keep that from happening? What tools can we use to keep moving forward to get the thing we actually want so badly? We discuss.

Also, Josh recommends Lost in Translation, and Ira recommends Severance on AppleTV+.