The Popcorn Auteur

In part 2 of our journey through the films of David Cronenberg, we get away from the horror. In this episode, we examine the controversial (Crash), the confusing (Naked Lunch), and the upsetting (Cosmopolis). Paul Kowalski is back for a fun draft of all 15 films written and directed by Cronenberg.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at [email protected].

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/crash-1997

https://www.criterion.com/shop/browse?director=cronenberg-david

For our Halloween episode, Paul Kowalski is back to delve into a 2-parter on body horror master David Cronenberg. In part 1, we go from the oddities of his early experimental films to cult classics Scanners and Videodrome. Listen as we explore these wild films and try to reach some consensus on his best body horror film.

Staff Notes/Sources:

https://nymag.com/nymetro/movies/features/14547/

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1678-videodrome-the-slithery-sense-of-unreality

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3739-the-brood-separation-trials

https://soundcloud.com/the-important-cinema-club/229-david-cronenbergs-vanilla-sex-life

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086541/criticreviews

Nora Ephron may have been the master of the romantic comedy (Sleepless in Seattle, You've Got Mail, & When Harry Met Sally), but her filmography is far more diverse and at times supernatural (angels and witches). Listen as we discuss the variety of films she wrote and directed during her career.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at [email protected].

Show notes/sources:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/22/the-nora-ephron-we-forget

https://www.rogerebert.com/features/her-own-story-a-nora-ephron-appreciation

https://youtu.be/3HhXgLux6iw

https://youtu.be/mCBdWwnGDhs

https://www.theringer.com/2019/8/7/20757318/nora-ephron-julie-and-julia-anniversary

We are back to finish up the filmography of Lawrence Kasdan. His second half may not include the hits and critical successes of the first half, but we came into this episode hopeful. Listen to hear whether that hope was paid off or if Kasdan lost his fastball in his later works.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at [email protected].

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/darling-companion-2012

https://screenrant.com/tombstone-vs-wyatt-earp-movies-best-biopic/

Lawrence Kasdan is best known for his screenwriting credits in the Star Wars and Indiana Jones universe, but he's an accomplished filmmaker in his own right. In this episode, we start our exploration of Kasdan's filmography from Body Heat to Grand Canyon.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at [email protected].

Chris's Scene from Silverado: https://youtu.be/QxXbtzn-6PE

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3250-the-big-chill-these-are-your-parents

https://medium.com/@saramurphyme/why-you-no-longer-have-to-hate-the-big-chill-bd1419d9033d

https://youtu.be/x9-0O8_obNc

https://youtu.be/rhtF8lK0IWg

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/grand-canyon-1992

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-accidental-tourist-1989

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-chill-1983

We don't claim to be action movie experts, but maybe McQuarrie never rerally saw himself becoming a blockbuster action director. Following an early Oscar and a near exit from the film industry, McQuarrie has paired with Tom Cruise for reliable box office success. DJ Valentine from Simplistic Reviews helps guide us through the four thinking-man action films written and directed by McQuarrie, from The Way of the Gun to Mission: Impossible - Fallout.

Movie Clips mentioned:

Mission: Impossible - Fallout Foot Chase

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Opening Chase

Where to Find more from DJ Valentine:

@TryingToBeDJV

https://simplistic.media/

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at [email protected].

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-way-of-the-gun-2000

http://www.theqandapodcast.com/2012/12/christopher-mcquarrie-jack-reacher-q.html http://www.theqandapodcast.com/2015/07/tom-cruise-christopher-mcquarrie.html http://www.theqandapodcast.com/2018/07/mission-impossible-fallout-q.html https://listen.stitcher.com/yvap/?af_dp=stitcher://episode/55769789&af_web_dp=https://www.stitcher.com/episode/55769789

Elaine May is a comedy legend with a directing career that came to an infamous end with Ishtar. Her film career has undergone a bit of a positive reappraisal lately, even with earning a Criterion entry for Mikey and Nickey. You don't have to look far either to find an Ishtar defender. Listen as we conduct our own appraisal of May's film output.

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at [email protected].

Show notes/sources:

https://soundcloud.com/griffin-and-david-present/sets/the-podbreak-cast-the-films-1

https://thedissolve.com/reviews/112-ishtar/

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/movies/elaine-may-mikey-and-nicky.html#:~:text=May's%20great%20theme%20is%20the,of%20view%20of%20its%20victims.

https://forward.com/culture/film-tv/410742/why-elaine-may-is-a-national-treasure/

https://www.rogerebert.com/features/the-damned-the-films-of-elaine-may

https://www.theringer.com/pop-culture/2019/3/14/18245240/elaine-may-life-career-mike-ishtar-nichols-mikey-and-nicky-heartbreak-kid-a-new-leaf

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6169-elaine-may-criminally-underappreciated-moviemaker

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33596295-improv-nation

Bong Joon-ho is an Oscar winner with a diverse filmography ranging from serial killing to a creature feature. Coming in pretty ignorant of Joon-ho and Korean filmmaking, listen to see what we thought of this hot filmmaker.

Scene Picks:

Parasite: Family comes home

Okja: Leaving the compound

As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at [email protected].

Show Notes and Sources:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-craft-of-the-director-with-bong-joon-ho-ep-274/id1067471691?i=1000507926385

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parasite-director-bong-joon-ho/id1142632832?i=1000465870820&l=it

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/quentin-tarantino-koreas-bong-joon-647767/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4seDVfgwOg

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2014/7/18/499-snowpiercer-top-5-magic-realism-moments

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2019/10/25/749-parasite-pain-and-glory-contemporary-chinese-2-the-midnight-after

Dee Rees has an Oscar nomination (for Mudbound) and a Criterion collection film (for Pariah) under her belt. She also can boast writing and directing Bessie, which won an Emmy for Best TV Movie. In this episode, we are joined by Mark Staron for a spoiler-filled discussion of these highs and the rest of Rees's filmography.

Radiolab - The Vanishing of Harry Pace (as mentioned by Chris)

Show Notes/Sources:

https://time.com/5016712/filmmakers-spike-lee-and-dee-rees-reunite/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/dee-rees-pariah-criteron-release-1234967676/

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/magazine/dee-rees-black-female-director.html

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pariah-2012

https://tisch.nyu.edu/grad-film/alumni/dee-rees

https://theundefeated.com/features/mudbound-director-dee-rees-tennessee-bred-famu-educated/

https://youtu.be/RyHW6H1rdbg

https://maltinonmovies.libsyn.com/dee-rees

https://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/mudbound-director-dee-rees-netflix-filmmaker-toolkit-podcast-1201900512/

https://youtu.be/JtfXVXfL8h8

https://www.tiff.net/the-review/tiff-long-take-ep-88-dee-rees-mudbound

Steve McQueen is an accomplished filmmaker, both Cannes-approved (Camera d'Or for Hunger) and the director of an Oscar winning film (12 Years a Slave). In this episode, we dive into the films written and directed by McQueen, included the ambitious Small Axe anthology.

Widows car ride scene

Hunger dialogue scene

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shame-2011

https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Jan2019/Widows_QnA_1118.aspx

https://www.theringer.com/2020/12/19/22191125/director-steve-mcqueen-on-creating-small-axe

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2018/11/9/705-widows-bohemian-rhapsody-wildlife

https://www.filmspotting.net/top-5-lists-archive/2020/12/24/807-top-10-films-of-2020