Switchblade Sisters

This week we've got fellow Maximum Funster, podcast host of Reading Glasses, actor, writer, and director, Brea Grant. She has chosen, maybe, one of the most fun and fascinating movies we've discussed on the show, 1982's cult classic, Basket Case. The story follows a young man named Duayne, who keeps his formerly conjoined, mutant brother Belial in a picnic basket. Duayne and Belial move to New York in order to seek out and murder the doctors who surgically separated them. A truly lovely tale that April and Brea fully dissect. They go in depth on what makes this gritty, New York classic just so memorable; the commitment of the actors, the gore, and the execution of the ridiculous concept. Brea also details the life of a working actress. She explains the struggle of acting in a movie that never gets released, returning clothes for an audition to the store, and always carrying around a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This is a truly fun episode that touches upon the honorable practice of making art for the sake of making it.

Dead Night stars Brea Grant and former Switchblade Sisters guest Barbara Crampton. It is streaming now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch on Basket Case

With April Wolfe with Brea Grant

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

This week we're so lucky to have the director of the critically acclaimed new movie Night Comes On, Jordana Spiro. She is maybe best known for her acting roles in shows like 'My Boys,' 'The Mob Doctor,' and 'Ozark.' But after receiving her Masters degree in film from Columbia, she began directing shorts and her most recent debut feature. She's on the show to talk about another "Night" movie, Charles Laughton's The Night of the Hunter. She finds many parallels between this film and her own. And she even shares a similar career path to the director, actor Charles Laughton. April and her discuss the film's completely unique but assured visual style, along with the incredible performances of Robert Mitchum, Lillian Gish, and Shelley Winters. Plus, they cover the reason that this is the only film Charles Laughton ever directed.

Night Comes On is streaming now

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch The Night of the Hunter

With April Wolfe with Jordana Spiro

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

This week, we could not be more excited to have the director of the new film Like Father, Lauren Miller Rogen! Like Father stars Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer as an estranged daughter/father who accidentally end up taking a honeymoon cruise together after Bell's character is left jilted at the altar. The movie that Lauren chose to talk about this week is M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable. Lauren discusses the effect this film had on her when she was in film school and how it recently resurfaced in her life with the release of the trailer for its sequel, Glass. She elaborates on the process of shooting a movie on a cruise ship - from clothing choices to working with the parrot donning captain. Plus she discusses what it was like directing Kelsey Grammer and allowing him the opportunity to play a character that he does not normally get to play.

You can see Like Father on Netflix now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Unbreakable

With April Wolfe with Lauren Miller Rogen

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

This week we are elated to have the director of the new film The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Desiree Akhavan. The film stars Chloë Grace Moretz as a young gay teenager in the early '90's forced to attend a conversion therapy camp. Desiree's choice of film to discuss this week is Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Desiree shares her special connection to the film and how it reminds her of her father. She is also critical of the movie, in particular the scene where Frankenstein's monster "ravages" Madeline Kahn. April and her explore how certain jokes have not aged well. Desiree discusses directing her current film; working with Chloë Grace Moretz, not making Christianity the butt of a joke, and trying to make her version of a "John Hughes film." She also bemoans the fact that American studios are totally unwilling to take any creative risks and how she had to move to London to get her TV show made.

You can see The Miseducation of Cameron Post in theaters now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch on Young Frankenstein

With April Wolfe with Desiree Akhavan

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

This week we've got one of the director's of the new film Summer of 84, Anouk Whissell. Anouk is a member of the Montreal film collective known as RKSS, along with François Simard and Yoann Whissell. You may know them best for their previous effort, 2015's uber-violent Turbo Kid. Anouk is on the program to discuss Ti West's The Innkeepers. April and her praise the beauty of the "slow horror" genre and how it puts the audience ill at ease. Anouk describes her love for practical effects and the realness of the image on screen. She details the breakdown of directing duties between her and her RKSS fellows. And she goes through the freedom and challenges of making an independent horror film. Plus, she elaborates on her love for American horror and how that has influenced all of her work.

You can see Summer of 84 in theaters now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch The Innkeepers on Amazon.

With April Wolfe and Anouk Whissell.

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

This week we're very lucky to have the director of A24's new film Never Goin' Back, Augustine Frizzell. She's on the show to talk with April Wolfe about the Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski. April and her discuss the friendship on screen between Jeff Bridge's character 'The Dude' and John Goodman's 'Walter', and how that relationship is the emotional center of the film. Augustine relates this to the friendship she crafted in her film, and how writing for those characters was walking a fine line between pathetic and endearing. They also compare these two films in terms of capturing the essence of a city; Los Angeles for The Big Lebowski and Dallas for Never Goin' Back. Plus, Augustine has a pretty fascinating story of how she came to filmmaking after being a broke, single Mom at the age of eighteen. And she explains how those life experiences helped shape her debut film.

You can see Never Goin' Back in theaters now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch The Big Lebowski

With April Wolfe with Augustine Frizzell

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

This week we're joined by friend of the podcast, writer and director Sarah Adina Smith. You may know her from her feature film Buster's Mal Heart starring Rami Malek. But she's also directed episodes of 'Wrecked', 'Room 104', and 'Legion'. Sarah was actually the very first guest on our pilot episode of the podcast, so it's so good to have her back to discuss Damián Szifron's Wild Tales. The film is made up of six short films of comical revenge. Sarah and April dive in to what makes this movie "clean" and "perfect" - as they call it. Sarah reveals that she shares some similar obsessive qualities with director Szifron. She also talks about how a location is just another form of casting. This episode is a really fun discussion about following your instincts when creating art.

You can watch Buster's Mal Heart on Netflix now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Wild Tales

With April Wolfe with Sarah Adina Smith,

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

This week we're joined by writer and director Vera Miao. You may know her best from her acting roles on 'Eastsiders', 'NCIS', and 'State of Affairs'. But since then she's switched her focus to writing and directing. Her most recent work was as creator and showrunner of the 'Two Sentence Horror Stories' horror anthology series, of which she wrote every episode and directed the two installments 'Ma' and 'Singularity.' She's on Switchblade Sisters this week to talk about the Wachowskis' classic, The Matrix. Vera reveals what she finds most inspiring about the film; from the non-linear story to the diverse casting. She discusses why she loves genre films and how they are the perfect vehicle for promoting a message in a film. Plus, she talks about the things she would never say to an actor when directing. This is a truly fascinating conversation that goes in depth on philosophy, art, and the process of putting together a visual story.

You can watch Vera's episodes of 'Two Sentence Horror Stories' on go90 now.

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch The Matrix

With April Wolfe with Vera Miao,

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

We are joined by the wonderful comedian, writer, and actor Kate Berlant. She's on the show to talk about the underappreciated Jonathan Glazer film, Birth. April and Kate dive right into this truly unique movie about a woman who's dead husband may have come back as a 10 year old boy. They make the case for this being Nicole Kidman's best performance as the role is so perfectly catered to her. They discuss the inspired vision of Jonathan Glazer and how he was the only one who could make this film. The two talk about Kate's role in Sorry to Bother You and her short film series 555. Kate elaborates on what goes into writing comedy and the kinds of white people she makes fun of. Plus, she explains why she feels compelled to make silly faces as a form of protest.

You can watch 555 on Vimeo now.

Check out Kate in Sorry to Bother You

And if you haven't seen it yet, go watch Birth

With April Wolfe with Kate Berlant,

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.

We've got a full house this week as the writers for Netflix's 'Lost In Space' are in the studio. We've got Vivian Lee, Kari Drake and Katherine Collins on to discuss Steven Spielberg's classic, Jurassic Park. The three of them touch upon what it's like having to write a sci-fi/action show for the whole family, and how they use Jurassic Park as inspiration. They elaborate on what it's like writing for a big budget action-adventure with a ton of special effects. They give us an inside look into the writers room for 'Lost in Space' and how the group comes up with solutions and ideas. Plus, they discuss what makes Jurassic Park a more intimate film than people realize. And don't worry - the sexy Robot is thoroughly discussed.

You can watch Season 1 of Lost in Space on Netflix now.

If you haven't seen it yet, go watch Jurassic Park

With April Wolfe with Vivian Lee, Kari Drake, and Katherine Collins

You can let us know what you think of Switchblade Sisters at @SwitchbladePod on Twitter. Or email us at [email protected] Produced by Casey O'Brien and Laura Swisher for MaximumFun.org.