The Rolling Tape

Aaron Bartuska is a Drexel graduate, filmmaker, and current high school film teacher. His latest feature, These Are My Friends!, recently played at Philadelphia Film Society's SpringFest, which is especially meaningful for Aaron and the film, as it was shot and produced locally in Philly. The film is a single-night comedy that follows various mid-twenties drifters over the course of one party.

Co-Writer and Director Aaron Bartuska joins us to discuss the production process, which mostly took place four years ago across multiple weekends during the COVID pandemic. He is also in the midst of releasing a loose trilogy of films all created in the Philadelphia area, with The Yardley Boys available now and Everyone's Here coming later this year.

Follow our interviewees online:
Aaron Bartuska IMDb, Instagram

Follow our interview host online:
Danny Jarabek

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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

RETRO//RECAP is a spin-off series from RETRO//RANKED where we hit pause on the rankings and rewind the tape to catch you up on everything that’s happened in a franchise or filmography before the next entry hits theaters. Last time, we dove into the Scream franchise, but today we’re trading in the knives for Dolce & Gabbana in the 2006 workplace comedy classic The Devil Wears Prada ahead of the sequel set to release in theaters on May 1. 

Released two decades ago, The Devil Wears Prada is directed by David Frankel, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, and based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger, who had previously worked as an assistant to Anna Wintour. The film has a rich legacy in the cultural lexicon for its depictions of workplace culture, the fashion industry, and noted performances from Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci. 

Throw on your Met Gala fits because the devil is wearing prada once again, and let’s recap.

On this episode:
Danny Jarabek
Mariana Fabian
Timmy Lee

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Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
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Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
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Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Apologies everyone, there’s been a slight shift in programming. Hayden Christensen backed out of his guest spot for this episode. He told us he was down to make a guest appearance, but sent a text backing out at the last second saying, "I don’t like podcasts. They’re long and rough and irritating, and they get everywhere." Oh well, maybe next time.

Welcome to another episode of RETRO//RANKED, the Rolling Tape podcast series in which we discuss various franchises and filmographies that we love and rank their individual entries leading up to some of the biggest new releases. We’re continuing our journey across the Star Wars galaxy. We’ve already covered A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and The Phantom Menace. Today we wrap up the prequel trilogy as we keep forging the path toward the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu.

Our current collaborative ranking so far:

1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
3. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
4. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

On this episode:
Evan Miller
Sara Ciplickas
Paul Rai

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

It's another year and you know what that means, another music biopic. This weekend saw the release of Michael, the latest of the popular trend of famous musician biographies hitting the big screen, this time focused on the early life and 80s peak of pop star Michael Jackson. The first thought for many Oscar pundits' brains was, is Michael an awards contender? Does it matter if critics dislike the film if it's so popular with the general public? And what is the history for music biopics at the Academy Awards? 

We answer all these questions and more examining the awards prospects for Antoine Fuqua's film starring Jaafar Jackson (Michael Jackson's nephew) and Juliano Valdi portraying the King of Pop. The film has been welcomed with low critics scores including 38% on Rotten Tomatoes and 39% on Metacritic, but a $97 million domestic opening weekend and an A- Cinema Score have made it a hit with general audiences.

In addition to our Oscars analysis, we think through which musician biopics we'd still like to see in the future.

On this episode:
Paul Rai
Danny Jarabek
Jacob Diedenhofer

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

We are finally stepping outside of our usual HBO bubble at The Rolling Remote because today we're heading to Netflix to talk about Beef Season 2. If you're not familiar with Beef, it's a Netflix anthology series created by Lee Sung Jin. At its core, it's about conflict, something usually small, impulsive, almost meaningless, that spirals into something way bigger than it should. It's super messy, uncomfortable, funny, and usually ends up revealing a lot about the people who are involved. 

Season 1 starred Steven Yeun and Ali Wong as Danny Cho and Amy Lau, two strangers involved in a road rage incident. The anthology series went on to an awards run at the Emmys where it won in all three of its nominated categories, including Best Limited or Anthology Series or Television Film. 

We discuss Season 2 which stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan as Joshua Martin and Lindsay Crane-Martin and Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton as Ashley and Austin, two couples, with the poor latter two blackmailing the rich former two into not releasing footage of a heated argument the two had, which similarly escalates into a prolonged feud.

On this episode:
Jake Fittipaldi
Kasey Dunifer
Bobbi Miller
Danny Jarabek
Ethan Dayton

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

Consider it a music festival weekend here on The Rolling Tape podcast because we’re discussing both real and fake pop stars alike with Michael, Lionsgate’s long-awaited Michael Jackson biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua and Mother Mary, A24’s deconstruction of its titular fictional music icon directed by David Lowery.

Michael follows the life of the American singer Michael Jackson, covering his involvement in the Jackson 5 in the 1960s to the 1980s Bad tour. Jackson is portrayed by his nephew Jaafar Jackson and as a child by Juliano Krue Valdi, both in their film debuts. The supporting cast includes Nia Long, KeiLyn Durrel Jones, Laura Harrier, Jessica Sula, Mike Myers, Miles Teller and Colman Domingo. Mother Mary on the other hand is a psychological fictional drama that follows how long-buried wounds rise to the surface when iconic pop star Mother Mary reunites with her estranged best friend and former costume designer, Sam Anselm, on the eve of her comeback performance. It stars Anne Hathaway, Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer, FKA Twigs, and Kaia Gerber.

After reviewing each, we do a collaborative blind ranking of the best fictional bands and artists in movies. 

To watch this episode on video with our pre-episode exclusive conversation on the following, subscribe on Patreon:

• Euphoria and Beef on TV
• Erupcja Q&A
• Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette

Resources:
Review of "Mother Mary" by Adam Patla
Review of "Michael" by Joshua Mbonu
Blind Ranking Fictional Bands and Artists Letterboxd List

On this episode:
Danny Jarabek
Adam Patla
Risa Bolash
Paul Rai
Mariana Fabian

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

We are off to the pod races!!! For Season 6, Episode 2 of RETRO//RANKED, we are jumping into hyperspace across the outer rim of the galaxy, and weesa dive into the Sarlac Pitt today...

Welcome to another episode of RETRO//RANKED, the Rolling Tape podcast series in which we discuss various franchises and filmographies that we love and rank their individual entries leading up to some of the biggest new releases. Today, we continue with Star Wars, finishing off the original trilogy and turning the page to a much more divisive chapter with the prequel trilogy as we continue toward the release of The Mandalorian and Grogu. 

Our current collaborative ranking so far:

1. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

On this episode:
Evan Miller
Sara Ciplickas
Danny Jarabek
Paul Rai

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
Spotify
Apple Podcasts
All Listening Platforms

Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

The Cannes Film Festival lineup is officially here as we announced last week, so while it’s a quieter stretch for awards news, we’re leaning into the chaos in the best way possible with ACTING PREDICTIONS.

After our recent Vulture-style 2027 Oscar Contenders draft, our Awards Editor, Paul Rai, takes things a step further by predicting all four acting categories for the 2027 Oscars completely blind. With limited information on categories and plenty of guesswork (and likely wrong predictions), it’s an early, off-the-cuff snapshot of where the acting awards races could go.

Plus, with Cannes right around the corner, Danny Jarabek and Nandita Joshi will be on the ground at the festival, bringing back insights on many of the films discussed in this episode.

On this episode:
Paul Rai
Adam Patla
Owen Wilczek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

We are wrapping up Season 2 of The Pitt!! Spoilers ahead for Episodes 11-15 (including the season finale...).

Noah Wyle's hit HBO medical drama has quietly become everybody’s favorite show, and every time we come back to it, it’s somehow more chaotic, more stressful, and honestly just more fun to talk about.

We covered the first half of the season earlier, so today we’re diving into Episodes 11 through 15 and then zooming out to talk about Season 2 as a whole discussing what worked, what didn’t, and where this show is heading next.

A quick shoutout to another show on The Rolling Tape network:

If you’re not already listening to Read Receipts: A Big Screen Book Club, they’re switching things up next month and covering TV, specifically Margo's Got Money Troubles on Apple TV+.

We are excited about the crossover, it’s always fun when the team starts blending film and TV conversations a bit more. Definitely go check that out if you need more TV podcasts in your life! 

On this episode:
Jake Fittipaldi
Adam Patla
Patrick J. Regal

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller

The Rolling Tape attended CinemaCon this year! Our very own Kam Ryan was at the expo in Las Vegas participating in events, activations, and panels in the annual trade show for theater owners.

CinemaCon took place in Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas this past week. More than just an episode of The Studio, it’s one of the core events of the film industry’s annual news cycle and the world’s largest gathering for the motion picture theater industry featuring major studios sharing their slate with theater owners for the rest of the year and beyond. We’ll discuss the panels and various announcements from the studios who presented including Sony, NEON, Warner Bros., Amazon, Universal, Disney, and Paramount.

Read Kam's Best and Worst of the Event here

On this episode:
Kam Ryan
Danny Jarabek

Support the show

Subscribe for Early Access and Video:
The Rolling Tape Patreon

Listen Here:
Spotify
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Have questions? Email [email protected]

Podcast Website Link
Website & Publications: www.therollingtape.com
Social Platforms on Linktree

Credits:

• Theme music: Eugene Rocco Utley & Karl Vincent
• Artwork: Danny Jarabek
• Editor: Danny Jarabek
• Assistant Producer: Evan Miller