The Cinematic Schematic

Guests: Ben Tefera, writer/director of Feel So Good Slyrex, co-producer, co-editor, sound designer and composer of Feel So Good Ben Stillwell White, co-producer, cinematographer, and co-editor of Feel So Good Grayson Dunn, star of Feel So Good deadCenter has long been a platform for homegrown Oklahoma films from storytellers who are dedicated to a high concept with a compelling vision. In this year’s festival, few filmmakers carry this auteur’s spirit more than Bad Faith, the collective of artists including Ben Tefera, Slyrex, Ben Stillwell White, Grayson Dunn, who are behind one of this year’s most noteworthy Oklahoma narrative features, Feel So Good. In today’s exclusive deadCenter 2021 Film Festival conversation, I speak with the members of Bad Faith about what inspired the film’s unique premise. Feel So Good is holding its world premiere tonight as part of deadCenter at the Oklahoma Museum of Art at 8 PM CST. It will also be available as part of the deadCenter 2021 virtual film festival starting on Saturday, June 12th at 3 PM CST.  According to the deadCenter 2021 schedule, Feel So Good is described as: A desperate hypnotist uses a young woman to unknowingly perform crimes, leaving her with strained relationships and […]

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Today kicks off the beginning of the 2021 deadCenter Film Festival week for filmgoers around the state of Oklahoma. To give listeners and pass holders a tease of what they can expect, The Cinematic Schematic is joined by the deadCenter film festival director of operations, Miranda Patton, and deadCenter features programmer, Kevin Ely, to help you make your plans ahead of the Thursday, June 10th opening night. How will the virtual festival work? What about the in-person events or special outdoor screenings? What are the most essential short film blocks to check out? In today’s 2021 deadCenter sneak peek, you’ll get all of the tips and information you need to start building out your schedule ahead of the festival’s June 10th opening night film, How It Ends, playing at The Winchester Drive-in at 7 PM CST. We’ll also talk about other of the must-see films of this year’s festival including Alien on Stage and Agnes, before closing out our exclusive conversation with Patton and Ely with a few insider tips and tricks to consider once you’ve purchased your pass or ticket. Passes and individual tickets are on sale now! Special Guests Miranda Patton deadCenter director of operations+festival Kevin Ely deadCenter […]

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Our exclusive coverage of the deadCenter 2021 film festival continues on The Cinematic Schematic with an interview featuring the president and CEO of the Inasmuch Foundation and producer of “A Long Road to Liberty,” Bob Ross, and the short film’s writer/director, Bryan Beasley. In this deadCenter 2021 Film Festival podcast conversation, Ross and Beasley join the show to discuss the story behind the making of “A Long Road to Liberty” and why this retrospective of Oklahoma’s African American history is more essential today than it has even been.  The short film will become available through deadCenter’s virtual film festival to Oklahoma pass holders only on Monday, June 14th until the festival’s conclusion. deadCenter 2021 film festival passes are on sale now! Special Guests Bob Ross, president and CEO of the Inasmuch Foundation Producer of “A Long Road to Liberty“ Follow Bob’s work at the Inasmuch Foundation at inasmuchfoundation.org Bryan Beasley, film director Writer/Director of “A Long Road to Liberty“ Follow Bryan at BryanBeasley.com The official deadCenter 2021 synopsis reads: “A Long Road To Liberty” is a retrospective history of the African American experience in the state of Oklahoma. Referencing such touchstones as; The 1st Kansas at the Civil War Battle of Honey Springs, Black Wall […]

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Special Guest Jacob Leighton Burns Writer/Director/Producer of “Snow Day” Co-Founder of The Cinematropolis We’re kicking off our coverage of the deadCenter 2021 film festival with an interview featuring The Cinematropolis co-founder, Jacob Leighton Burns, to discuss his short film,”Snow Day.” In this exclusive deadCenter 2021 podcast conversation on The Cinematic Schematic, Burns joins the show to discuss what inspired him to document 2020’s major Oklahoma snowfall before adapting it for an Instagram post and, eventually, a short film. “Snow Day” will have its world premiere during the deadCenter 2021 film festival’s SHORTS: OKIE 1 short film block scheduled to play at OKC’s Rodeo Cinema on Saturday, June 12th at 12 PM CT before being made available as part of the virtual film festival later that day. deadCenter 2021 film festival passes are on sale now! The official deadCenter 2021 synopsis reads: On a snowy day, a young man copes with the loss of an old friend. When and Where to Watch “Snow Day” Sat, Jun 12th, 12:00 PM @ Rodeo Cinema Sat, Jun 12th, 2:00 PM @ Rodeo Cinema Available in deadCenter’s Virtual Cinema from Sat, June 12th at 4 PM CT to Sun, June 20th at 11:45 PM CT Follow The […]

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The Cinematic Schematic’s Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series concludes in its final entry with the Oklahoma City Museum of Art head of film programming and theatrical operations, Lisa Broad, PH.D. I talk with Broad about how the pandemic impacted the museum’s ability to play films before discussing how her team pivoted to the virtual cinema. We close out the conversation with a look at her selections. Broad joined the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s Film Program in 2017 and has served as Head of Film Programming and Theatrical Operations since April 2020. She earned her Ph.D. in cinema studies from New York University, where she received the 2017 Jay Leyda Award for Academic Excellence. Her dissertation research focused on the relationship between film and the philosophical notion of possible worlds. In addition to teaching graduate and undergraduate courses on film style and contemporary international cinema, Broad has published and presented on French film, Hitchcock, and philosophy and theories of cinematic realism. Throughout this interview series, we’ve had the pleasure of speaking with a wide variety of people working in Oklahoma’s film and television industry including Reservation Dogs showrunner Sterlin Harjo, deadCenter Film Festival executive director Alyx […]

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In today’s episode of The Cinematic Schematic, first-time special guests Brock Lay and Josh Reid are welcomed to the show to share their fond memories and experiences with the Mortal Kombat franchise before joining me to review the 2021 HBO Max/theatrically released Mortal Kombat from producer James Wan and first-time director Simon McQuaid. Video game big-screen adaptations have a pretty poor track record for box office and critical success with very few films justifying full-blown franchises and even fewer managing to be received well by critics or remembered fondly by audiences. The flops date back to one of the earliest attempts by Buena Vista’s 1993 Super Mario Bros. One of the more notable exceptions to this trend is 1995’s Mortal Kombat, a film made on a relatively low budget of $18 million. It struck a chord with filmgoers who simply could not resist the synth-heavy theme, resulting in over $120 million at the box office. Though the film has remained appreciated by generations of moviegoers, its 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was a huge flop and ridiculed by fans and critics alike. More than twenty years and an entire Mortal Kombat web series (Mortal Kombat: Legacy) later, Warner Bros. has […]

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The Cinematic Schematic maintains our annual tradition of hosting an Oscar predictions episode with recurring guest host, Laron Chapman. It’s our aim to give listening cinephiles, award show junkies and casual watchers a slightly better idea of how to hedge their bets for Sunday’s 93rd Academy Awards. 2020 was full of unexpected twists. There were global pandemics, historic elections, and how can we forget it was just a year ago that Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite became the surprise Cinderella story that swept the Academy? With so many major studio films and highly anticipated indie films being pushed back until theaters reopen, the floor is open for the 2021 Oscars to be another show full of surprises. Who will take home sought after best lead Actress? Will it be the SAG winner, Viola Davis? Or what about the BAFTA winner, Frances McDormand, or the buzzed about Promising Young Woman performance from Carey Mulligan? This also marks the first year more than one woman was nominated for best director, with Chloé Zhao leading the pack. In a year where it seems like the normal rules don’t apply, it really does seem like anyone’s game across the ballot. The 2021 Oscars will undoubtably continue […]

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The Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series enters its final stretch on The Cinematic Schematic in part nine, our penultimate interview, with the Oklahoma Film+Music Office(OF+MO) outreach and production manager, Yousef Kazemi. I talk with Kazemi about how the pandemic impacted Oklahoma’s film industry before discussing how his team pivoted and turned last year’s unprecedented times into a period filled with silver linings. The conversation wraps up with a look at the three films that helped Kazemi get through it all. Within two years, Kazemi was promoted to locations coordinator for OF+MO where he served in this role for nearly a decade. Now, as outreach & production manager, Kazemi works actively to engage statewide community development in support of the state’s film and television industry through OF+MO’s Oklahoma Film Friendly Community Program while continuing to provide locations, permitting and logistical support for productions filming on-location in Oklahoma. Additionally, Kazemi has an active role in coordinating OF+MO participation at both national and local events such as the Sundance Film Festival, deadCenter and other related industry events. Outside of his work at OF+MO, Kazemi has written/directed/produced a number of award-winning short film projects including, “Yes, We’re Open” and “The Stand-In” which was […]

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The Three Films That Got You Through the 2020 Pandemic interview series continues on The Cinematic Schematic in part eight with the managing partner of Tower Theatre in OKC, founder of Mostly Harmless Media, and the director of technology of the deadCenter Film Festival, Stephen Tyler. I speak with Tyler about how the pandemic impacted the operations of Oklahoma’s historic theater before discussing how they pivoted in order to keep the film and concert venue afloat during the economic challenges they faced during the pandemic. To close out the conversation, we do what we’ve always done in this series by taking a look at the three films that helped him get through it all. Tyler is one of the Oklahoma City film community’s hardest working individuals. He’s a jack of all trades in all things technology for the deadCenter Film Festival and also co-operates Oklahoma City’s historic Tower Theatre. The Tower Theatre opened in 1937 and is one of Oklahoma City’s last original movie houses with an intact auditorium and neon marquee. After many years of movie premieres and historic runs of classic films, the grand dame of Uptown was reduced to showing adult movies before closing in 1989. The theatre has since been remodeled […]

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Since 2014’s American Godzilla reboot, Legendary Pictures, Warner Bros and Toho have been slowly building up their combined “Monsterverse,” set to end in a climatic rematch between Godzilla and King Kong. It would be the rematch of the century, coming 59 years after they first crossed paths in 1962’s King Kong vs Godzilla. In a world where mega-franchises and CGI spectacle is king, how could a crossover this big fail? Despite the warm critical and box office reception of Godzilla and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters was a huge flop with critics and audiences, leaving the future of the franchise in question. Does this epic crossover, Godzilla vs Kong, step up its game to deliver the type of crowd-pleasing spectacle audiences have been clamoring for throughout the pandemic, or have the goliaths fallen out of favor with fans due to uninteresting human characters? The Cinematropolis co-founders Jacob and Zachary Burns rejoin host Caleb Masters to get the answers by reviewing HBO Max’s latest day of theatrical release. This episode isn’t just about giant apes fighting nuclear charged lizards, it’s also a showdown between the Calebs, Caleb Haldane vs Caleb Masters. For the first time since […]

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