The Popcorn Auteur

As a filmmaker, Robert Eggers is clicking on all cylinders. His two films (both of modest budget), The Witch and The Lighthouse, have been nearly universally praised by critics. He's filming a new much bigger film, The Northman, with a star-studded cast.

For our Halloween episode, Chris and Jon welcome back Paul Kowalski to help us consider the films of Robert Eggers.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/05/robert-pattinson-the-lighthouse-movie-review-cannes

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-lighthouse-review-a-beacon-of-hope-in-cinematic-darkness-11571346589

https://vanyaland.com/2019/10/21/interview-robert-eggers-on-the-weird-fiction-of-his-new-film-the-lighthouse/

https://anchor.fm/a24/episodes/Deep-Cuts-with-Ari-Aster--Robert-Eggers-e4l6ne/a-aj0as1

https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Dec2019/Lighthouse_QnA_1019.aspx

https://deadline.com/2019/12/the-lighthouse-sound-designer-damian-volpe-robert-eggers-a24-interview-1202808165/

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2019/11/1/750-the-lighthouse-contemporary-chinese-3-our-time-will-come

Gina Prince-Bythewood's name is trending this year. The classic Love & Basketball is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Additionally, Prince-Bythewood directed the recently released The Old Guard for Netflix. The attention even got her featured on the Blank Check podcast. Now it's time to listen to Chris and Jon take on GPB's filmography.

Show notes/sources:

https://film.avclub.com/love-basketball-was-a-romantic-slam-dunk-1841823537

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/love-and-basketball-2000

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/chris-rock-the-rolling-stone-interview-55649/

https://thedissolve.com/features/interview/821-how-two-women-and-a-video-made-beyond-the-lights-h/

http://thedissolve.com/reviews/1215-beyond-the-lights/

http://thedissolve.com/features/the-conversation/825-hollywoods-lovehate-relationship-with-big-screen-r/

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-secret-life-of-bees-2008

https://www.buzzfeed.com/kelleylcarter/how-love-basketball-changed-the-way-we-see-black-romance-on

https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/4/21/21228610/love-and-basketball-20-year-anniversary

The world is Taika Waititi's oyster. He just won an Oscar, he's a cog in the Marvel machine, and he's being given the keys to a part of the Star Wars universe while also developing a pirate show for HBO. He also acts. In this episode we take a look at Waititi's output to date and speculate on the future of this hot filmmaker.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2019/11/15/752-magnolia-at-20-jojo-rabbit-the-report-the-king

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2016/8/12/598-hunt-for-the-wilderpeople-top-5-directors-wed-bankroll

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-next-picture-show/e/65548765

https://www.npr.org/2019/10/18/771219868/director-taika-waititi-on-jojo-rabbit

https://theplaylist.net/taika-waititi-writing-moana-20171106/

Barry Jenkins has written and directed three critically acclaimed feature films. Will Chris and Jon take a contrarian opinion? Likely not, but listen as we discuss empathy, color, and social commentary.

Show Notes/Resources:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/medicine-for-melancholy-2009

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-moonlight-mov-rev-1024-20161024-column.html

https://www.rogerebert.com/empathy/video-roger-ebert-on-empathy

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/barry-jenkins-on-if-beale-street-could-talk/

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/if-beale-street-could-talk-movie-review-barry-jenkins-759035/

https://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/movies-news-reviews/article135195944.html

www.nytimes.com/2018/11/21/movies/medicine-for-melancholy-black-auteurs.amp.html

https://www.indiewire.com/2016/10/moonlight-cinematography-color-barry-jenkins-james-laxton-alex-bickel-1201740402/

http://www.thefader.com/2016/10/04/moonlight-movie-barry-jenkins-director-interview

https://www.gq.com/story/mad-influence-episode-7-barry-jenkins

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2018/12/14/709-if-beale-street-could-talk-shoplifters

Sadly, Lynn Shelton passed away earlier this year at the age of 54. On this episode, we dive into the seven feature films that Shelton left behind. From the wild set-ups of Humpday and Sword of Trust to the naturalistic and understated Outside In, Shelton gave us a varied and entertaining filmography.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://filmmakermagazine.com/105073-we-are-all-cracked-vessels-writer-director-lynn-shelton-on-her-first-feature-in-four-years-outside-in/#.XvIYomhKiUk

http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/in-memoriam-remembering-lynn-shelton

https://letterboxd.com/filmspotting/film/touchy-feely/

https://youtu.be/Id8EPhOH7wo

Rebecca Sharp from Almost Ginger helps Jon and Chris examine the dark and visually striking films of Lynne Ramsay. Ramsay tackles a variety of dark subjects (an accidental child drowning, a suicide, a school shooting, and an underage sex ring), which means you may not want to watch these films, but you'll likely be pleased that you did.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://youtu.be/KjY9kf7TuUU

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/lynne-ramsay-you-were-never-really-here

https://www.tiff.net/the-review/camera-work-the-cinema-of-lynne-ramsay

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-2012

https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/lynne-ramsay-from-ratcatcher-to-revenge-thriller-1.3417132

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/552070/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/feb/25/lynne-ramsay-director-you-were-never-really-here-observer-interview

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/5551-a-life-at-the-pictures-a-conversation-with-lynne-ramsay

https://lwlies.com/interviews/lynne-ramsay-you-were-never-really-here/

Wes Anderson has occupied a rare space in film - critical appreciation, award show recognition, and box office consistency. He's been able to do this while making nine feature films. Before his tenth film, The French Dispatch, comes out later in 2020, Jon and Chris are joined by John Axford to discuss the works of Anderson, from Bottle Rocket to Isle of Dogs.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://pitchfork.com/features/article/how-wes-anderson-perfected-the-music-nerd-soundtrack/

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/23/wes-anderson-grand-budapest-hotel-director

https://web.archive.org/web/20140927074125/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/11/02/wild-wild-wes

https://www.indiewire.com/2011/10/nyff-wes-anderson-cast-of-royal-tenenbaums-talk-the-challenges-of-working-with-gene-hackman-115775/

https://youtu.be/trWLY6NrS2Q

https://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/01/20/11-wes-anderson-movies/

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-next-picture-show/e/54158701

https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2018/3/29/674-isle-of-dogs-top-5-wes-anderson-scenes-fs-madness-final-four (Yes - we know we ended up poaching two scenes from Josh Larsen's list)

Sam Peckinpah is the oldest and surely the most violent filmmaker that we have covered to this point. Listen as we discuss this iconic and influential filmmaker while grappling with the implications of Peckinpah's world view. From the seminal The Wild Bunch to the polarizing Straw Dogs, join Chris, Jon, and guest Pete Gerharz on this journey.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-bring-me-the-head-of-alfredo-garcia-1974

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/straw-dogs-1971

https://film.avclub.com/straw-dogs-1798198413

https://film.avclub.com/bring-me-the-head-of-alfredo-garcia-1798200542

https://film.avclub.com/sam-peckinpah-1798222917

http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/peckinpah/

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/259-straw-dogs-home-like-no-place

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/4696-navigating-the-cruel-world-of-straw-dogs

https://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1203-Summer-2012/Peckinpah.aspx

https://www.indiewire.com/2016/03/retrospective-the-films-of-sam-peckinpah-83864/

https://genius.com/The-flaming-lips-fight-test-lyrics

https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/its-peckinpah-tastic-on-edgar-wrights-debut-a-fistful-of-fingers

https://film.avclub.com/before-the-wild-bunch-sam-peckinpah-took-a-shot-at-the-1798248727

Alex Garland may not buy into the auteur theory (we may not either), but he's been at the helm of two of the most interesting science fiction films in the last decade. Listen as we dive into Ex Machina and Annihilation.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ex-machina-2015

https://io9.gizmodo.com/director-alex-garland-explains-why-ex-machina-is-so-dis-1696309078

https://film.avclub.com/ex-machina-s-alex-garland-talks-robots-and-why-the-aute-1798278654

http://www.theqandapodcast.com/2015/04/alex-garland-ex-machina-q.html

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/channel-33/e/53501516?autoplay=true

https://geeksguideshow.com/2015/04/23/ggg147-alex-garland/

https://youtu.be/1Ko9mWdqW-M

https://youtu.be/LMmA2pu2gdY

https://youtu.be/tvH-5rBEsgs

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/21/17029500/annihilation-ex-machina-director-alex-garland-sci-fi

https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/exc-karl-urban-says-alex-garland-directed-dredd-updates-on-reprising-role-329

Jeff Nichols hasn't made a feature film since 2016. Despite being Cannes-approved and critically appreciated, Nichols' films have never broken through to mainstream audiences or the major award circuits. Listen as we delve into his films.

Show Notes/Sources:

https://www.ifc.com/2011/09/jeff-nichols-take-shelter-interview

https://www.buzzfeed.com/adambvary/midnight-special-ending

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/024-close-encounters-of-the-third-kind-midnight-special-pt-2/id1057714949?i=1000366806114

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jeff-nichols/id1137863855?i=1000415491119

http://www.theqandapodcast.com/2016/04/host-jeff-goldsmith-interviews-writer.html

https://www.dga.org/Events/2017/Jan2017/Loving_QnA_1116.aspx

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shotgun-stories-2008