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Considering most of the episodes now from the previous three seasons are under paywall, the first episode of the New Year simply has to be excellent. It's what listeners throughout the year probably will listen to first, and thankfully, I found a guest that absolutely exceeds any expectation a listener might have when they click play: director Robert Kolodny of THE FEATHERWEIGHT (2023).

If you google Criterion Collection, Robert's name, and Reddit, you'll get the comment I reference here about how he's going to be a "GOAT filmmaker in a couple of years, up there with Scorsese, Anderson, Fincher. Just watch."

I didn't write it, but I wish I had.

In this episode, Robert and I discuss:

• the obsession of what's next, from filmmaking to college football, and what that means for directors;
• how he got his start and his incredible preparation work of watching films for his craft;
• how he watches other films and his thoughts on film criticism;
• what he learned on his 14 year path from cinematography to directing his first feature;
• what he's looking for in terms of working on a project;
• the genesis of THE FEATHERWEIGHT and what people should expect to watch;
• how he came up with the style of the faux documentary for the film;
• the invented crew members for the film to help the actors;
• why there are so many siblings in independent films;
• whether indie filmmakers can go too far in pretentiousness;
• if THE FEATHERWEIGHT felt like a documentary while filming and his thoughts on the genre;
• AI in indie films;
• the incredible score in THE FEATHERWEIGHT and why the music was so important for the film;
• the casting process and the BAND OF BROTHERS (2001) connection;
• the underrated nature of this film;
• what he'd do differently for the release strategy of the film;
• what's next for him.

Robert's Indie Film Highlights: PREDATORS (2025) dir. by David Osit; ZODIAC KILLER PROJECT (2025) dir. by Charlie Shackleton; EEPHUS (2024) dir. by Carson Lund; PETER HUJAR'S DAY (2025) dir. by Ira Sachs

Memorable Quotes:

"My philosophy has always been, in order to be a filmmaker, you have to be a working filmmaker. Now that doesn't just mean being a technician, but it does mean putting the hours in and looking at what contemporary cinema is and trying to be attached to it in as many meaningful ways as possible."

"I've been incredibly privileged that there's never really been a time in my life where I did not know this is what I wanted to do."

"I keep...a very extensive spreadsheet...it's December 11th that we're recording this. I have watched 362 movies in the year 2025 so far. And I'll probably get up to 380."

"Will it be able to...hold the amount of prestige that I am attributing to it? That I believe that it deserves. You're like a parent waiting for your kid to get into college."

"Do I think that some kind of digital actor is gonna give a better performance than a real actor? I would rather boil myself in a pot of soup than even consider such a ridiculous question."

"There's a ton of music in the film but most of it is hidden. I could see people watching the film and being like there's just that one song at the end, which is not true." 

Why the music was so important to him: "It's partially because I'm an insane person. And partially because, you're working in a period piece, right? The film takes place in 1964 and then intermittently in 1941. And if we're going to sell the idea of this is a documentary that was made half a century ago, how are we gonna stand up and believe in that?"

"The originator of the idea of making this movie about Willie Pep was James Madio."

"Despite people being like, oh, there's no good movies out. That's a fucking lie."

Links:

Follow Robert On Instagram

Watch THE FEATHERWEIGHT On Mubi

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