Watch With Jen™

Welcome to the unofficial second half of a delightful extended conversation about actor James Gandolfini that started at the end of April with me interviewing film critic, historian, & author Jason Bailey about his new outstanding biography GANDOLFINI: JIM, TONY, & THE LIFE OF A LEGEND for Poisoned Pen Bookstore. While I highly recommend you check out that earlier discussion on the Poisoned Pen's YouTube or FB Live channels (&/or wherever you get your podcasts), this episode of Watch With Jen works just as well on its own. Celebrating the beloved performer's diverse filmography & decades-spanning career as a character actor, in this show, we take a look at five of his most underrated or under-discussed performances in the films NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN, A CIVIL ACTION, THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, IN THE LOOP, & NOT FADE AWAY. An engaging look at the tremendous range of one of the most iconic actors of our generation, this is a perfect listen ahead of Father's Day.

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/8/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130281682

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Since the kind souls at The Criterion Collection generously sent both myself & my dear friend (& kid brother from an Oz mother) Blake Howard the same brand new pristine 4K edition of director Norman Jewison's Academy Award winning 1967 masterpiece IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, we decided to team up to cover it together. Although you'll still hear several traditional Watch With Jen: Physical Media episodes in the future as Season 6 of my podcast continues, this time, we felt like kicking off the summer with a little HEAT c/o an episode of Blake's One Heat Minute Productions' Criterion Sessions pod. A fast-paced yet comprehensive, well-researched roughly twenty-minute episode on this landmark film starring Sidney Poitier & Rod Steiger, please stay cool for this fun chat between two friends, & then get ready for more Criterion coverage soon (including more Blake) on Watch With Jen as the summer continues.

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/4/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130724718

This week, I'm pleased to bring you a cheery conversation with my delightful friend, fellow podcaster, and animation expert Rachel Wagner. Incredibly hardworking and prolific as the woman behind both the website Rachel's Reviews and the popular Hallmarkies podcast, in this breezy, fast paced, nostalgic, well researched discussion, we celebrate the films of the always inventive Aardman Animation, including the Wallace & Gromit claymation stop-motion shorts that first brought them international fame, CHICKEN RUN, ARTHUR CHRISTMAS, the SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE, & more. Long live the creativity of stop-motion clay animation.

Originally Posted on Patreon (5/31/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/130199247

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Earlier in the year, I met the terrific & very prolific author Erica Ruth Neubauer at Poisoned Pen Bookstore when she was in town to promote her newest Jane Wunderly mystery series novel HOMICIDE IN THE INDIAN HILLS. From the moment that I discovered that she had a very cool, intricate tattoo of the game board & weapons from CLUE, I knew she'd be a great guest on Watch With Jen & I was delighted that she said yes. Delving not only into her background falling in love with old movies & books as a child, but also the path that led her to publishing & her creative process, in this lively, fast-paced conversation, we move back & forth from writing to discussing a trio of great ensemble mysteries that we both love including THE THIN MAN, DEATH ON THE NILE (1978), & CLUE. It's a whole lot of fun!

Guest Bio: Erica Ruth Neubauer is the Agatha Award winning author of the Jane Wunderly Mysteries. She spent eleven years in the military, nearly two as a Maryland police officer, & one as a high school English teacher, before finding her way as a writer. She has been a reviewer of mysteries & crime fiction for publications such as Publishers Weekly & Mystery Scene magazine for several years, & she's a member of Sisters in Crime & Mystery Writers of America.

Originally Posted on Patreon (5/17/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/129202166

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I always learn so much in my conversations with Canadian cinephile, critic, & author Adam Nayman & this episode - devoted to a quartet of big screen adaptations of Ira Levin's buzzy bestselling novels that captivated a generation of readers - is no exception. Listen in as we take you through his career as a master storyteller of what Stephen King deemed "Swiss watch" worthy plots while exploring the films A KISS BEFORE DYING (1956), ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968), THE STEPFORD WIVES (1975), & THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (1978).

Bio: Adam Nayman is a critic, lecturer, and author based in Toronto. He writes for the Ringer, Criterion, Reverse Shot, the New Yorker, & Sight and Sound, and teaches cinema studies at the University of Toronto. He has written several books on film, including titles on SHOWGIRLS & the movies of the Coen Brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, & David Fincher for Abrams.

Originally Posted on Patreon (5/1/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/127934077

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It was such a pleasure to reunite with WHAT LIES WEST writer-director Jessica Ellis for this thoughtful, breezy, good-hearted celebration of three films about women's sexuality onscreen. Diving into two very different, boldly inquisitive bright lights of '90s cinema in CHASING AMY & ANTONIA'S LINE, which bookend this conversation, we also explore 2024's lovely, compassionate, surprisingly bittersweet, highly recommended indie MY OLD ASS, which feels like a throwback to the coming-of-age indie films made in that same era.

Originally Posted on Patreon (4/21/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/127082687

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It was wonderful to welcome back poet, teacher, writer, & scholar Elizabeth Cantwell this week to explore haunted houses both in film & real life, plus the existential, psychosexual, guilt-filled, Freudian, & supernatural realms of THE HAUNTING (1963), THE CHANGELING (1980), POLTERGEIST (1982), STIR OF ECHOES (1999), & more. I always learn so much when I talk to Elizabeth & we laughed far more than one would think going in given the topic, so this episode instantly became one of my favorites. Grab a flashlight & meet us at the top of the staircase, gang, we've got this!

Originally Posted on Patreon (4/13/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/126578705

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And now for something completely different... featuring one of past guests & fellow authors Ace Atkins, Megan Abbott, & William Boyle's dearest friends. The first half of this week's episode with Oxford, Mississippi based ADVENTURE TIME & SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS screenwriter, voice actor, & author Jack Pendarvis is a freewheeling anything goes conversation about writing, shovels, William Faulkner cosplay, hitchhiking with butter knives, Saint Augustine, showers, & anything else that popped into our heads. Taking a look at two films about the creative process in the more classically Watch With Jen formatted second half of this discussion, we investigate two of Jack's favorite movies in director Anthony Mann's classic musical biopic THE GLENN MILLER STORY & one of Pedro Almodovar's greatest masterworks, PAIN AND GLORY. This season, I'm aiming to sprinkle in some more casual conversations with artists of all backgrounds into our traditional friendly analytic approach because right now, it feels like we're all so isolated, stressed, & wary that I'm hoping these occasional offbeat episodes might spark a little joy, discovery, & creativity for you along the way as well.

Originally Posted on Patreon (4/7/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/126066237

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Brilliant DARE ME, THE TURNOUT, & BEWARE THE WOMAN author & Criterion Collection cinephile Megan Abbott returns once again to Watch With Jen for a thoughtful, well-researched, & intriguing conversation about one of twentieth century cinema's most misunderstood and beloved screen icons, Doris Day. Investigating the subversive ways that Day's work raised questions about the evolving attitudes regarding sex, gender, desire, courtship, marriage, & male-female dynamics in particular, we walk you through 6 films in her diverse filmography, including CALAMITY JANE, LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, THE PAJAMA GAME, PILLOW TALK, MIDNIGHT LACE, & THAT TOUCH OF MINK. Along the way, we cite other favorite pictures in her prolific oeuvre, reference aspects of her offscreen life that may have impacted or enriched certain performances, & also give listeners a sneak preview of Abbott's upcoming new novel EL DORADO DRIVE, that's soon to be a TV series from A24 (written by the author as well!).

Originally Posted on Patreon (3/31/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/125457268

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Spring into romance with this lovely, jubilant celebration of a trio of knowledgeable RogerEbert.com critic & editor Nell Minow's favorite underrated classic romcoms: THEODORA GOES WILD, I LOVE YOU AGAIN, & BALL OF FIRE.

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Originally Posted on Patreon (3/24/25) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/124995380