Cathy Moriarty achieved immortality when, as a teenager, she was cast in Raging Bull, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci. She earned an Oscar nomination for this memorable debut and has never looked back. The mother of three grown children and founder of Los Angeles’ Mulberry Street Pizza restaurants, she’s had a colorful life and enjoys talking about it—as well as promoting But I’m a Cheerleader, a 1999 cult favorite which arrives on Apple TV and other digital platforms this month. Leonard and Jessie had a good time with quintessential New Yorker. 

Margo Martindale is worth her weight in gold—to filmmakers and fans like us. Her presence is reason enough to watch any film or TV show. She’s part of the ensemble of the new indie drama Uncle Frank, and shows once more why she is any director’s best friend. Last year she tackled a real-life character, Bella Abzug, in the miniseries Mrs. America and pulled it off as easily as she has the fictional characters she’s played in Justified, The Americans, The Good Wife and many other projects. Leonard and Jessie are two of her biggest admirers and delighted in getting to interview her. She exceeded our expectations.

The new book Cary Grant: A Brilliant Disguise is the latest in a long line of superior biographies written by Scott Eyman, a lifelong movie buff and friend of the family. Scott shares his experiences getting to “know” people he never met and capturing their essence, from the contentious director John Ford to the epic-making Cecil B. DeMille…along with Mary Pickford, Henry Fonda, James Stewart and John Wayne. He’s also collaborated with Robert Wagner on three popular books. Leonard and Jessie ask how he manages to get inside these famous figures and make them come to life on the printed page.

April Wright has found her calling as a filmmaker. Her first feature-length documentary, Going Attractions: The Definitive History of the American Drive-In was followed by Going Attractions: The Definitive History of the Movie Palace. Now she’s taken a contemporary turn with a terrific new film called Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story, which is now streaming online via Shout! Factory. Leonard and Jessie wondered what inspired her and how she has managed to stay afloat through good times and bad, taking her movies on the road. Check out her website www.goingattractions.com.

Sydney native Ryan Kwanten learned his craft while working on the popular Australian TV series Home and Away, racking up 223 episodes. He gained further notice on Summerland    but broke through to stardom on the red-hot HBO series True Blood. He’s seldom idle for long, having costarred in such recent series as The Oath and Sacred Lies, and while he’s now a California resident he still commutes for work. He can currently be seen with fellow Aussie Kodi Smit-McPhee in the futuristic 2067 on Amazon Prime and other streaming services. Leonard and Jessie found Ryan to be a thoughtful actor with an admirable work ethic and an interesting career to look back on.

Leonard and Jessie met the very likable Josh Ruben at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where he was screening his spooky comedy Scare Me, his debut feature which is now playing on Shudder and has been certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. He was hired as a cast member and director by College Humor in 2008 and hasn’t looked back. You’ve seen his work in scores of TV commercials, and you can check out his gift for parody at http://joshsmindhouse.com/

Leonard and Jessie welcome Jeanine Basinger, perhaps the most influential film teacher of our time. She has shaped the thinking of many of today’s best writers, directors and producers at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Along the way she has written invaluable books like A Woman’s View: How Hollywood Spoke to Women 1930-1960, The Star Machine, and most recently The Movie Musical!, to name just a few. Most important, she has been a devoted friend to the Maltin family. It’s a pleasure to welcome her to our podcast.

Howard: The Howard Ashman Story is a moving documentary by Don Hahn about the incredible man who set the Disney studio on a new course with The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. Now available on Disney+, this documentary inspired us to craft an unusual episode of our podcast. We spoke to producer-director Don Hahn, Howard’s longtime life partner Bill Lauch, his sister Sarah Gillespie, the voice of Belle (Paige O’Hara), director John Musker, and Howard’s musical collaborator Alan Menken to offer you an intimate portrait of the gifted man whose life was cut short by AIDS

Millions of people around the globe have experienced the creativity of Julie Taymor in her groundbreaking stage production of Disney’s The Lion King. Her films include the Beatles homage Across the Universe, Frida, and Titus. Now she’s tackled the life and times of Gloria Steinem in The Glorias. She fell in love with theater as a girl growing up in the suburbs of Boston and traveled the world, soaking up different cultures and theatrical techniques using masks and puppetry, which she’s drawn on ever since. Leonard and Jessie avoid current events on this podcast, but listeners should know that Julie Taymor’s conversation is politically charged.

Whether you know him best from Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket (just reissued in Ultra-High-Definition) or such memorable films as Birdy, Orphans, Short Cuts, or The Dark Knight Rises or if you just discovered him on Stranger Things, Matthew Modine is a talented and versatile actor who’s been working steadily since the 1980s. What’s more, he grew up in the rarefied setting of drive-in movie theaters, which his father managed. Charming, articulate and easy to talk to, Matthew proved to be a wonderful conversationalist for Leonard and Jessie to engage with.

Be sure to check out the Full Metal Jacket Diary in the Apple iPad App Store!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/full-metal-jacket-diary/id527085659