LCJ Q&A Podcast

Alvin and the Chipmunks, Hop and The War with Grandpa director Tim Hill's latest film is finally making waves in the U.S. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge On The Run is premiering this Thursday March 4th on Digital platforms and the new Paramount+ streaming service. Hill talks about his time with late SpongeBob creator Stephen Hillenburg, as well as the major influence of a classic holiday movie on Sponge On The Run.

14 years after the original run ended, Dylan Lane returns as the host of Game Show Network's "Chain Reaction" revival. It airs weeknights at 5pm. Lane, who also works as an engineer at GE in Schenectady, NY, talks about his incredible journey back to the game show that made him a household name. He also reveals some fun stories about hosting last time and some new changes to the gameplay.

Tim Story has directed big studio films starring A-listers Kevin Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, Jimmy Fallon and Jessica Alba. But Story's latest movie may have the two biggest stars of his career: Tom & Jerry. Warner Bros.' new live-action/animated family comedy debuts in theaters and on HBO Max this Friday February 26th. Story discusses the challenges and the freedom he had in bringing the iconic Hanna-Barbera characters to the screen.

Uno Helmersson is the composer of the excellent and fascinating animated documentary feature "Flee". It recently debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and won a Grand Jury Prize. NEON will distribute "Flee" later this year. Helmersson is also the composer of "The Painter and the Thief", which is one of the 15 finalists for this year's Best Documentary Feature Oscar. Helmersson discusses his work on both films in this LCJ Q&A Podcast episode.

Following the success of Snoopy in Space, AppleTV+ is debuting more great new Peanuts content. The Snoopy Show premieres this Friday February 5th. Executive Producer Mark Evestaff and Jean Schulz, President of the Charles M. Schulz Museum, discuss all the research and passion behind this series, which won't disappoint generations of fans.

Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon have made some of the most beloved animated short films and specials of the last 15 years, including The Gruffalo, Stick Man and Albert. Now they're co-directors of a new short that's vying for Oscar and Annie Awards consideration, The Snail and the Whale. They discuss the book to screen adaptation, their impact on the world of animation amd working with Sally Hawkins and the late Diana Rigg.

Madeline Sharafian is the director of the new Pixar animated short film 'Burrow', which debuts with 'Soul' on Disney+ Friday December 25th. Sharafian talks inspirations for her rabbit tale, as well as work on 'Onward' and upcoming feature 'Turning Red'.

It's been more than seven and a half years since DreamWorks Animation released The Croods, the caveman family adventure comedy that earned nearly $600 million worldwide and an Oscar nomination. A sequel has been in development, on and off, ever since. Now, finally, The Croods: A New Age is here and will be opening in theaters this Wednesday November 25th. Director Joel Crawford (of the 2017 special Trolls Holiday) talks story, casting, release strategy and more.

Director Stephen Chiodo and producer Edward Chiodo are behind the new stop-motion animated special Alien Xmas. It premieres this Friday November 20th on Netflix. The Chiodo Bros. hope families make this a holiday season viewing tradition, right alongside the classics. They also discuss working with Jon Favreau on this and 2003's "Elf".

Paul Rudish is the executive producer of The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse. The new series starring the classic gang premieres this Wednesday November 18th (Mickey’s Birthday) on Disney+. Rudish’s connections to the Mouse (and the House of Mouse) are pretty swell.