The Playlist Podcast Network

In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles, Mike, and Brian speak with writer-director Tim Sutton about “Funny Face,” and how he aims to reclaim the superhero story for the common people, as well as the negative critical response to his previous feature, "Donnybrook," and what it's like making a Western with Machine Gun Kelly.

After years of building up these characters through multiple films in the new Monsterverse franchise, Legendary Pictures is finally ready to show you the payoff in “Godzilla vs. Kong.” But the real question is whether or not you should even bother watching the film? And in this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Charles, Mike, and Brian discuss that very topic. 

In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, we talk to Rachel Sennott, the breakout star of "Shiva Baby," from first-time writer-director Emma Seligman. Over the course of the interview, Sennott discusses “Shiva Baby,” how the film might be the scariest comedy of the year, why it’s great for bisexual representation, and how doing stand-up comedy via Zoom is terrible. 

In this episode of The Playlist Podcast, director Ilya Naishuller stops by to talk about his new action film, “Nobody,” which stars Bob Odenkirk as a suburban dad that has been keeping a secret from his family about who he really is. And when a home burglary happens to his family, this timid dad unleashes the kickass beast within, leading to lots and lots of dead bodies. All of this brought to you from the director of “Hardcore Henry,” and the writer and producers behind the “John Wick” franchise. 

Being able to make shameless creature thrills explode off of the screen takes a distinct eye and an unabashed imagination. Ever since Gareth Edwards roared into the monster genre with “Godzilla” back in 2014, every subsequent entry in Legendary’s MonsterVerse has felt like an effort to recapture that same magic. Luckily, by bringing in Adam Wingard to helm “Godzilla vs. Kong,” Legendary seems to have found the type of voice they needed in order to give us just as memorable a cinematic monster experience as we had seven years ago.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” is the fourth installment in the MonsterVerse following Michael Dougherty’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” and tasks Wingard with bringing these two iconic titans of cinema together on film for only the second time; a responsibility as mammoth as the characters themselves. “We’re kind of taking two of the biggest icons of all time,” said Wingard, “and putting them in a movie together. This has only happened once, and so there’s a lot of expectation and legacy that you’re really hanging on to.”

In the film, as Kong escorts an expedition of scientists to the Earth’s core, they find themselves in Godzilla’s warpath as he wreaks havoc on the Earth, instigating an epic clash between the two monsters. On paper, that already sounds like a dose of cinematic adrenaline, but Wingard’s vision is what really solidifies “Godzilla vs. Kong” as an unforgettable movie-going experience. Wingard made his name - and proved his ability to create visually innovative and impactful thrills in the horror genre from his debut “Home Sick” all the way to “You’re Next” and “The Guest”, two subversive and broadly acclaimed additions to the modern horror canon. Next up for Wingard after “Godzilla vs. Kong” is a sequel to John Woo’s bombastic triumph “Face/Off”, showing Wingard to be a director unafraid of stretching his wings into different types of genre thrills.

“‘Face/Off’ is one of my favorite films of all time,” said Wingard. “It’s like one of those reference movies that I’ve always used when I’m working on a film.” Despite being able to work on the “Face/Off” sequel, as well as having been a fan of Godzilla from childhood - right down to having a strong opinion of who would truly win in a Godzilla vs. Kong fight - Wingard has adopted a philosophy of being a fan vs. being a filmmaker. “You have to sometimes separate yourself from the fan and from the creator,” said Wingard, “and not just saying what would be cool, if [the characters] did this or that, but actually working through it.”

During our conversation with Adam Wingard we get into “Godzilla vs. Kong”, the impact the big screen spectacle of the film had on him, the importance of bringing levity and pulp to Godzilla in the wake of COVID, why it was essential that the power duo of Nicolas Cage and John Travolta make a possible return for the “Face/Off” sequel, and clarifies the rumors surrounding the post credit scene for "Godzilla vs. Kong."

"Godzilla vs. Kong" hits theaters and HBO Max on March 31st

Eddie Huang joins The Playlist Podcast to talk about his new film “Boogie,” which is currently in theaters and heading to VOD later this week. The writer-director clearly poured his heart and soul into the making of “Boogie,” and talked about the hard-hitting family relationships at the center of the film, as well as how his entire career has built to this point. 

On this episode of The Playlist Podcast, Robert Kirkman stops by to discuss “Invincible,” how animation is easier than live-action for some comic book stories, an update on “The Walking Dead” films, his upcoming film with Lee Daniels, that "Dracula" re-imagining, and his thoughts on superhero storytelling in general. 

After four years of social media campaigning, Zack Snyder and his legion of fans are celebrating the release of the “Justice League” Director’s Cut, aka the Snyder Cut. Clocking in at four hours long, this is a superhero epic unlike anything else before it. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any good...

In the amnesia puzzler's pre-9/11 heyday, blank-slate protagonists from Christopher Nolan, David Lynch and Shane Black rewrote their own stories. In every case, their histories ended up rosier and nobler than the depraved violence just beneath the surfaces of "Memento" (2001), "Mulholland Drive" (2001) and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996). So let's retrace our steps through this forgetful subgenre, shall we? Surely, we'll find out we're good people.

For years, the word “threequel” has sent shivers down the spines of film fans. A sequel is tough enough, but a sequel to a sequel? Hardly ever turns out great, right? Well, Michael B. Jordan is hoping to break that curse as the star and director(!) of “Creed III.” And to help, The Playlist Podcast is discusing three films that are some of the best threequels to ever grace the big screen--- “Back to the Future Part 3,” “Die Hard with a Vengeance,” and “War for the Planet of the Apes.”