MovieMaker

Adam McKay's new podcast, Death at the Wing, investigates why so many young basketball stars he loved in the '80s and '90s died suddenly and tragically. He was surprised, again and again, by how drugs, tragedy, and the Reagan Revolution defined a decade of basketball.

We also talk about his upcoming series about the Showtime-era Lakers, the next season of Succession, and his upcoming comedy, Don't Look Up, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence as scientists trying desperately to be heard.

Death at the Wing is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Youngstown, Ohio was once a booming steel and mining town, but now epitomizes the kind of post-industrial US city dominated by unemployment and poverty. In her new documentary, The Place That Makes Us, director Karla Murthy shows us a new generation of people who have refused to give up on Youngstown and are staying put so they can build a brighter future there. They're rebuilding houses, bringing in business, and cultivating a community of local makers and creators and artists. We talk to Murthy (who is also a journalist and has worked as a correspondent for several PBS newsmagazines) and her husband/creative partner Jad Abumrad (creator and host of Radiolab), who executive produced the film.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yasmin Fedda's harrowing documentary Ayouni tells the stories of two men who were "disappeared" in Syria. When a person is disappeared, they have been forcibly taken by military, police, or militia forces who do not admit to having them. Bassel Khartibal was an open internet activist who was arrested, kept in a secret prison, and ultimately killed. Father Paolo Dall’Oglio is an Italian Jesuit priest who led an interfaith group out of a Syrian monastery and became an activist against oppression—his current whereabouts are unknown. The film follows Noura, Bassel's wife; and Machi, Father Paolo's sister, as they search for answers about their loved ones.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Moffie, the outstanding fourth film from South African Director Oliver Hermanus, portrays a teenager (Kai Luke Brummer) who is forced to serve in the South African Army in 1981, during the last days of apartheid.

Though he is white, he is still hated: He's secretly gay, in a time and place where homosexuality is a crime.

We talk with Hermanus about growing up under apartheid, the quietly haunting middle sequence in the film, and how he really wasn't trying to critique Stanley Kubrick or the volleyball scene in Top Gun.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hunger Ward, from director Skye Fitzgerald, introduces us to two of the youngest victims of a humanitarian disaster in Yemen, brought on by a Saudi-led coalition and backed by the United States.

The film takes us inside medical facilities where two heroic women struggle daily to rescue innocent children from desperate malnutrition.

You can learn how to get involved — and give directly to the medical facilities — at HungerWard.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Director David Fincher and production designer Don Burt have collaborated since Zodiac. For their latest film, Mank, they talk about the process of deciding what to include and subtract from every scene.

In Mank, that meant re-creating Hearst Castle, the realm of media baron William Randolph Hearst... and the guests Fincher describes as his "captives."

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Adam Wingard is the director of Godzilla vs. Kong, the best Godzilla or Kong movie in quite some time. Here are some highlights with timestamps:

1:40: Adam Wingard rejects the premise of our first question ("Why is Godzilla such a dick?"

3:30: He explains how those ridiculously fun action sequences were planned out.

4:32: "Credibility is not necessarily... in terms of believing this is real, the highest priority. But we didn't want to do things that were so absurd that it would take people out of the movie."

4:48: So, could Godzilla and King Kong fight on an aircraft carrier?

7:10: How tall are Godzilla and Kong?

9:00: "My main focus always was trying to make sure that this movie was as densely entertaining as possible and what that really amounts to is densely filled with monsters."

15:00: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

22:00: Shoutout to Adam Wingard's cat

22:39: The big reveal

24:00: The decision to hint at the big reveal in the trailer

27:49: Adam Wingard's initial reaction to the film streaming on HBO Max

37:15: Face/Off

If you enjoy this you might also enjoy MovieMaker.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most people know Mississippi has great food, music, and tax benefits. But it also offers a wealth of other opportunities to moviemakers, including authenticity, diversity, reasonably priced homes, and the chance to be noticed.

Mississippi Film Office Director Nina Parikh talks with us about the tremendous film community growth in places like Natchez, Mississippi's rich film history, and how she convinced Joel and Ethan Coen to shoot O Brother, Where Art Thou in her state, very early in her career. The story involves pie.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coming 2 America director Craig Brewer shot the last day of the joyful comedy on the John Singleton sound stage at Tyler Perry studios — 15 years after Singleton gave him his big break, and made him promise to always "hire some Black people."

Brewer's other films include Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan, the new Footloose, and Dolemite Is My Name. We talk with him about '80s movies that might not be green lit today, dodging the potential pitfalls of sequels, and being in the service of African-American culture.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Florian Zeller's stunning debut film stars Anthony Hopkins as a father with dementia and Olivia Colman as his worried daughter.

Zeller describes the film as a puzzle that can't be solved.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.