THE HOLLYWOOD PODCAST

Academy Award nominated actor Damián Bichir (A Better Life) is set to star in the upcoming monster film "Godzilla vs Kong". The film's release follows a recent string of major film releases in the last several weeks including the George Clooney-directed space film "The Midnight Sky", the Robin Wright directorial debut of the intimate indie drama "Land", and the Tom Holland/Daisy Ridley dystopian flick "Chaos Walking". In his interview with Max, Demian shares what it was like working on Godzilla vs. Kong, playing the film's antagonist Walter Simmons, and what his experience was like working with Wright on the set of "Land".

Ilya Naishuller is the director of the upcoming action-thriller film "Nobody" starring Bob Odenkirk. Odenkirk plays Hutch Mansell, a suburban dad, overlooked husband and neighbor, who feels like he's "nobody." When two thieves break into his home one night, all the rage he's kept pent up inside emerges and propels him on a brutal path that will uncover dark secrets he fought to leave behind. Universal Pictures is releasing the film in theaters on Friday, March 26.

Ilya is best known for his debut feature HARDCORE HENRY, an action-packed, immersive experience told completely from the point-of-view of a cyborg named Henry. Ilya is also the front man and guitarist for the Moscow indie rock band Biting Elbows. The band’s groundbreaking, irreverent video “Bad Motherfucker,” which he directed, became a viral sensation, catching the attention of fans around the world, including Darren Aronofsky and Ridley Scott, and attracting over 100 million views.  Ilya has continued his love of filmmaking and music, directing, amongst others, the graphic and exhilarating music video for The Weeknd’s single “False Alarm,” that has been watched by over 200 million, and Leningrad’s music video for “Kolshik” that went on to win several awards, including two Cannes Lions.

Ilya's next project will be adapting the New York Times bestseller "Leaving Berlin" into a feature film.

Bryan Fogel is an Academy Award-winning documentarian, producer and human rights activist. In 2018, Fogel received the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for the Netflix film Icarus. In his follow-up to Icarus, Fogel decided to take on the 2018 assassination of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khasshogi and the effort on the part of Saudi Arabia to control dissenting speech with his new film The Dissident. Fogel spoke with Max on what drew him to look into Khashoggi’s murder and the international ramifications, the hesitancy Netflix and other streamers had in distributing it, and why it’s resonating with audiences now.

Bina Daigeler is a German costume designer for film and television. Recently, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Costume Design for her work in the film "Mulan". She has also received a Critics' Choice Award nomination and Costume Designers' Guild nomination for her work on the Disney film. Last year, Daigeler contributed her costuming talents to the FX series "Mrs. America" for which she received a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Period Costumes as well as a Costume Designers' Guild nomination for Excellence in Period Television. Her previous credits include "Volver", "Biutiful", "Hitman: Agent 47", "Snowden", "The Zookeeper's Wife", and "Dumplin'". 

In her interview with Max, Daigeler shared the creative journey she took in studying authentic Chinese costuming from the Tang Dynasty, working with director Niki Caro, and the inspirations behind some of the film's most memorable costumes.

Fernando Frias is a Mexican documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, and director. His latest film, I’m No Longer Here, became the official Mexican entry for Best Foreign Language Film for this year’s Oscars. Recently, I’m No Longer Here was announced as one of the 15 films Oscar-shortlisted for Foreign Language Film. Additionally, Frias received a Directors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director. In his interview with Max, Frias shares his inspiration behind the story, the research into the Mexican subculture of the cholombianos, and what the critical praise and global attention means to him for this film.

For nearly his entire career, Frank Stallone has nearly always been known as one thing: Rocky’s brother.

However, a brand new documentary seeks to uncover why one of the “least known famous faces in Hollywood” – with his multi talented range in music, acting, and boxing – never seemed to climb to the top of the mountain peak in reaching ultimate Hollywood stardom. From his breakout song Take You Back in Rocky, Golden Globe- and Grammy-nominated song Far From Over in Staying Alive, famous boxing match with Geraldo Rivera, and expansive acting portfolio including Tombstone and cult hit Barfly, “Stallone: Frank That Is” goes behind the scenes of Hollywood’s elite told by Frank and those who knew him best including brother Sylvester Stallone, mother Jackie Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Talia Shire, Joe Mantegna, Burt Young, Billy Zane, Danny Aiello, and many more.

In this interview, Frank chats with Max about how the idea for this documentary came to be, why he never reached ultimate Hollywood success, and rails against his Oscar snub for the song Far From Over while connecting it to his own brother’s surprise loss for best supporting actor in Creed in 2016.

Cheryl Guerriero is the writer and executive producer of the new AppleTV+ Original Film "Palmer", directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Fisher Stevens and starring Justin Timberlake. Cheryl chats with Max on the inspiration behind writing the story of Palmer, casting Justin Timberlake, and discovering breakout star Ryder Allen. She also discusses upcoming projects she's currently working on.

AwardsRadar's Joey Magidson chats with Max about creating his new awards predictions website "Awards Radar", what it's like covering Oscar season during the pandemic, and offers his take on the state of the Oscar race after the Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics' Choice nominations were announced.