Film School

I coulda been a contender!

Marlon Brando stars in, perhaps, his most iconic role as the washed-out boxer-turned-mob-tool Terry Malloy. He unwittingly plays a part in a murder, an old crush comes back to town, and things unravel for him. Will he stand up for what he knows is right, or will he take the dive, like the night that ended his career as a boxer?

It can be so easy to get lost in creating backstory/worldbuilding/brainstorming/etc. for our plot and characters...but where does the rubber actually meet the road where that kind of work shows up in our finished product?

Also, Josh recommends Richard Linklater's Before series, and Ira recommends For All Mankind on AppleTV+.

Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!

It's become a Christmas classic, but it didn't start out that way! This film is yet another example of a movie that found second life on television and became a cultural touchstone. Jimmy Stewart is wonder, as always, the story is cozy through and through, and it pioneered a whole new method of filming fake snow. Merry Christmas, everyone!

It takes energy–a lot of it–to create. So, how in the heck do you maintain the kind of energy it takes to get stuff done? What keeps you motivated to put in the time and do the work? And once you've got some momentum going, how do you maintain it? We discuss!

Also, Josh recommends Army of the Dead on Netflix.

Trigger warning: this podcast discusses sexual assault.

In 1977, Polanski was arrested and charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. As a result of a plea bargain, he pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of unlawful sex with a minor. In 1978, after learning that the judge planned to reject his plea deal and impose a prison term instead of probation, he fled to Paris. A number of other women have later accused Polanski of raping them when they were teenagers. An Interpol red notice was issued for his arrest, and he rarely leaves France.

[courtesy of Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Polanski_sexual_abuse_case]

"Just write the bad version! Get it out of your head, then it's real and you can actually start to fix it. A 'vomit draft.' It doesn't matter if it's good or bad, just WRITE IT." It's good advice.

…Usually. But not always.

Sometimes, the advice to just write and turn off the "is this good or bad" filter can actually be a TRAP. Josh and Ira talk about their own personal experience with it!

Also, Josh recommends Midsommar, and Ira recommends Tales From The Loop, which is on Prime.

Well, nobody's perfect!

Billy Wilder and Jack Lemmon are a special kind of magic, and in '59 those two were firing on all cylinders. Lemmon and Tony Curtis are hard-luck musicians on the run from the mob, posing in drag as part of an all-female jazz band, and falling in love with Marilyn Monroe . . . what's not to love?!

COVID is not over...but with vaccinations in our arms, this may be as close as we get to the chance to look back over the past year of quarantine. How have we changed? What have we learned? What lies ahead? We talk about it.

Also, Josh recommends Kingdom which is on Netflix, and Ira recommends We Bare Bears, which is on HBO Max.

We'll go on forever, Pa, 'cuz we're the people!

Steinbeck's novel, based on his very real experiences embedded as a reporter amongst the dust bowlers and other migrant workers in the California agricultural scene, was a sensation at the time. The poverty, exploitation, and desperation he observed shocked many people. It's still shocking today. He turned those observations into a novel, and this film takes the novel to the silver screen with Henry Fonda as the lead. Does it do a good job? We watch and discuss!

We all have to start somewhere. It's the time in our creative pursuits when we know the least and need the most guidance, and yet it seems to be the hardest advice to find, sometimes! We don't have all the answers on this podcast, but we do our best on this one.

Also, Josh recommends Lars and the Real Girl, and Ira recommends For All Mankind on AppleTV+.