Nick Stahl has been working in front of the camera since he was 13 years old and winning young admirers like Jessie because he’s so believable in every part he tackles. Mel Gibson chose him to costar in The Man Without a Face, which put him on a fast track to success. His widely varied credits include The Terminator 3, In the Bedroom, The Thin Red Line, andSin City. After a break he returned to acting and quicky landed guest shots on such series as Fear the Walking Dead and Let the Right One In. He can be seen in the recent VOD release What You Wish For.

This week we introduce you to two more Emmy contenders for their exceptional work. Cian O’Clery directed, executive produced and photographed) the heartfelt documentary seriesLove on the Spectrum, which shows how people with autism search for love just like all of us. Mac Quayle is a busy composer of music for film and television who has become a favorite of the prolific producer Ryan Murphy (Scream Queens, American Crime Story, Feud, et al) who already has an Emmy to his credit for Mr. Robot, for which he scored 45 episodes. His latest effort is The Great Lillian Hall, now playing on HBO.

This week, we’re meeting more fascinating people who are Emmy contenders for their work on high-end television, which nowadays has the production quality of feature films. An Emmy contender in the realm of limited series, All the Light We Cannot See has been adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by the brilliant writer Steven Knight. It draws on the talents of many people, among them our guests, sound man Craig Henighan, cinematographer Tobias Schliessler, and casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockman.

The brilliant writer-director Steven Zaillian (Searching for Bobby Fischer) is a strong Emmy contender for his eight-part adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley novels, along with the collaborators we spoke to: composer Jeff Russo (an Emmy winner for Fargo), Oscar-nominated production designer David Gropman, and editors David Rogers and Joshua Lee. Even if you haven’t yet watched the series on Netflix it’s fascinating to listen to these creative people talk about what they bring to every film or show they take on. 

Avy Kaufman’s name should be familiar to anyone who reads credits, as we do. She has cast scores of films and television series, from The Ice Storm to Succession, and launched many a career along the way. You can hear the pride in her voice when she recounts how she brought young Haley Joel Osment to meet the star and director of The Sixth Sense. Recent credits include some of the most talked-about television shows of our time: Mare of Easttown, Under the Banner of Heaven, Billions, and Fellow Travelers, which could earn her a fourth Emmy Award. (She has three: one for Damages and two for Succession). Avy wears her passion on her sleeve and that makes for great conversation.

There’s only one Mira Sorvino—Oscar winner for her unforgettable performance in Woody Allen’s Mighty Aphrodite, costar of the enduringly popular Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion, Harvard grad (cum laude), mother of four, and daughter of the celebrated actor and singer Paul Sorvino.credentials are pretty amazing; then you talk to her and discover what a quicksilver mind she possesses. To limit our conversation to film, we discussed directors she has worked with, from Spike Lee to Robert Redford, and she had something interesting to say at every juncture. Leonard and Jessie were impressed, to put it mildly.

THE IMAGE OF YOU released In Select Theaters and is available to buy on Digital on May 10th, 2024. 

Marc Wanamaker is a walking encyclopedia of Hollywood legends and lore. He grew up in the community and soon realized there was history all around him. He began to amass a collection of rare photographs which eventually numbered in the thousands. Marc has been an invaluable resource for authors, scholars, documentarians, and even the movie studios themselves. His newest book, written with Steven Bingen, is called Hollywood Behind the Lens: Treasures from the Bison Archives. Leonard conducted this interview without Jesse but luckily Marc never runs out of things to say about his favorite subject.

If you only think of Clint Howard as Ron Howard’s kid brother, it’s time to reassess. He and his older sibling recently wrote a joint autobiography called The Boys which explains their loving relationship and points to their actor-parents as lifelong role models. Early on, Clint embraced his destiny as a young-ish character actor. There’s almost nothing he hasn’t done in his sixty--some years in show business, from the original Star Trek to The Cat in the Hat (one of many Ron Howard movies in which he appears.) He still lives in the San Fernando Valley not far from Leonard and Jessie, because he’s just folks—like his parents.

Frank Marshall’s chance meeting with Peter Bogdanovich launched a career that led to him producing Indiana Jones, Star Wars and Jurassic Park movies, among many others, often in partnership with his wife Kathleen Kennedy. Now he’s released a record album that returns him to the world his father Jack Marshall inhabited: a long-forgotten session featuring two gifted jazz trumpeters. Chet Baker and Jack Sheldon In Perfect Harmony: The Lost Album. It’s a treat to hear, on CD or limited-edition vinyl from Jazz Detective. Leonard and Jessie loved mining Frank’s memories of learning the film business from the ground up. Like many people of vast experience, he’s excited about the next project—and the one after that. Yet he can still spin an Orson Welles anecdote with aplomb.

Our guest is a five-time Oscar nominee for Best Costumes—most recently for Killers of the Flower Moon, although she is equally lauded for her work on Dune, parts 1 and 2. Her background in the fashion world, and as an art history major, gives her unique credentials for someone who provides costumes for movies. She also has world-class stories to share about her collaborations with such major directors as Philip Kaufman, Terence Malick, and David Fincher. Leonard and Jessie had a blast mining that treasure chest of memories and observations. The making of The Revenant could fill a one-hour podcast all by itself!