For the May edition of Miniography, Filmography’s spin-off series in the off months of the show, we take a look back at Ridley Scott's 1979 space horror masterpiece Alien on its 40th anniversary. Together, Film and TV Editor Dominick Suzanne-Mayer, Editor in Chief Michael Roffman, and Daily Grindhouse editor Mike Vanderbilt discuss the lasting impact of Scott's masterpiece, the ways in which it changed the horror genre, the very '70s nature of its working-class roughneck heroes, and much more. 

Our fourth season of Filmography, on the films of genre-blending filmmaker Tim Burton, concludes the season with its fifth and final episode, "Burton in Stop-Motion". This week, CoS Film/TV Editor and host Dominick Suzanne-Mayer is joined by CoS senior writer and editor of The Spool Clint Worthington and writer and The Film Stage Show co-host Michael Snydel. Together, they discuss the ways in which stop-motion animation is and was perfectly suited to Burton's sensibilities as a director, how his various experiments in the form offer windows into different phases of his career, the one famous stop-motion film that he didn't actually direct, and much more. Chapters: Introduction (0:11), Burton in Stop-Motion: A Discussion (2:14), Beetlejuice (10:15), Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (30:30), Frankenweenie (48:13), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1:03:37), Intermission (1:12:39), Sight [Cinematography/Editing/Visuals] (1:12:42), The Lasting Image (1:31:50), Sound [Music & Score] (1:36:27), Closing Remarks (1:49:24).

Our fourth season of Filmography, on the films of genre-blending dreamer Tim Burton, continues with our fourth episode, "Pop Burton". This week, CoS Film/TV Editor and host Dominick Suzanne-Mayer is joined by editor-in-chief Michael Roffman and The Fifth Dimension co-host Samantha Kuykendall. Together, they discuss the larger influence Burton's style has had on modern blockbuster films, the speed with which he became confident in his filmmaking, the genre-changing triumphs of his superhero work, and much more. Chapters: Introduction (0:11), Pop Burton: A Discussion (1:47), Batman (9:50), Batman Returns (31:59), Mars Attacks! (48:09), Planet of the Apes (1:03:03), Intermission (1:16:53), Sight [Cinematography/Editing/Visuals] (1:16:57), The Lasting Image (1:46:10), Sound [Music & Score] (1:50:36), Closing Remarks (2:04:24) 

Our fourth season of Filmography, on the films of genre-blending dreamer Tim Burton, continues with our third episode, "Burton's Whimsy". This week, CoS Film/TV Editor and host Dominick Suzanne-Mayer is joined by Editorial Director Matt Melis and Chicago literary performer Natalie Marsh. Together, they discuss Burton's shifting approaches to "whimsy" as a broad concept, the ways in which some of his most vivid imagined worlds have been met by diminishing returns, how Burton's conception of the fanciful has followed him through different eras of his career, and much more. Chapters: Introduction (0:11), Burton's Whimsy: A Discussion (1:40), Pee-wee's Big Adventure (9:05), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (26:33), Alice in Wonderland (44:14), Dumbo (1:00:11), Intermission (1:17:17), Sight [Cinematography/Editing/Visuals] (1:17:20), The Lasting Image (1:41:05), Sound [Music & Score] (1:46:05), Closing Remarks (1:56:36)

Our fourth season of Filmography, on the films of genre-blending dreamer Tim Burton, continues with our second episode, "Adult Burton". This week, CoS Film/TV Editor Dominick Suzanne-Mayer is joined by senior writer Allison Shoemaker and film critic Caroline Siede to discuss Burton's approaches to more emotionally and dramatically mature material, the ways in which "adaptation" has been an ever-shifting concept throughout decades of Burton's work, the complications that arose when he took on Stephen Sondheim, and much more. Chapters: Introduction (0:11), Burton Gothic: A Discussion (1:28), Ed Wood (10:04), Big Fish (25:01), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (41:37), Big Eyes (1:02:21), Intermission (1:12:54), Sight [Cinematography/Editing/Visuals] (1:12:57), The Lasting Image (1:33:52), Music & Score (1:38:04), Closing Remarks (1:48:41) 

Tim Burton defined a generation’s imagination with his alternately spooky, sweet, and sincerely scary features. This episode deconstructs his moth gothic works: Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Dark Shadows, and Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children. 

Our third season of Filmography on the Master of Horror John Carpenter concludes with our fifth and final episode, John Carpenter vs. Americana, as Film Editor Dominick Suzanne-Mayer is joined by CoS Editor-in-Chief Michael Roffman and Daily Grindhouse's Mike Vanderbilt. Together, they examine Carpenter's understanding of the American Dream as seen in some of his most offbeat features and classics alike, the ways in which Carpenter's politics wrestle with things we're still forced to consider today, how he preys on some particular domestic fear, and much more. This week's discussion is focused around the following features: Halloween (1978) Elvis (1979) Christine (1983) Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) Chapters: Introduction (0:09), Carpenter's America: A Discussion (1:30), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (6:01), Elvis (23:53), Christine (42:28), Halloween (58:44), Intermission (1:20:53), Sight [Cinematography/Editing] (1:20:56), The Lasting Image (1:53:09), Music & Score (1:56:22), Closing Remarks (2:09:57)