Watch With Jen™

After our brief midsummer break, we're back with an episode featuring two outstanding new guests, Natalie Jenner & Sarah Kozloff.

Natalie Jenner is the internationally bestselling author of THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY & BLOOMSBURY GIRLS which have been translated into more than 20 languages worldwide. A former lawyer, career coach, & independent bookstore owner who lives in Oakville, Ontario with her family & two rescue dogs, Natalie’s latest work of historical fiction is the wonderfully well-researched novel EVERY TIME WE SAY GOODBYE.

Sarah Kozloff is a professor emerita at Vassar College, where she taught film history for 33 years. Her publications include the BFI Classic volume on THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES & the chapter on romantic comedy in the NORTON: INTRODUCTION TO FILM GENRES. And since Sarah Kozloff is an expert on THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, she was the ideal person for Natalie Jenner to invite to join us for this episode dedicated to a legendary filmmaker we all love, William Wyler, who received more Oscar nominations than any other director (so far) yet is still vastly under-discussed by film fans today. While we give an overview of his life, career, filmography, & staggering contributions to motion picture history (as Bette Davis, Laurence Olivier, Barbra Streisand & more credit him for teaching them how to act for the camera), the two films we dive into most in this episode are his beloved works THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES & ROMAN HOLIDAY.

Originally Posted on Patreon (7/24/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/108744042

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It's always a pleasure to bring on another podcaster & even more so when they're from my home state of Minnesota! That's right, gang, this week, you'll hear Minnesotan accents at full power as I'm joined by Clay Keller, who's the engaging & knowledgeable co-creator & co-host of the sensational Screen Drafts podcast. In this joyous, in-depth, classic film-centric episode devoted to one of our favorite unsung character actors, we discuss the westerns, noir, B-movies, & gritty overlooked films & performances of the legendary Robert Ryan.

Finding it impossible to limit our conversation to just 5 films, we reference several movies but mainly focus on CROSSFIRE, THE SET-UP, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK, ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, THE NAKED SPUR, & THE DIRTY DOZEN. Clay & I adored getting lost in our Robert Ryan research & rewatches & our enthusiasm is sure to inspire you to queue up some of these amazing titles as well. Enjoy!

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Originally Posted on Patreon (6/26/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/106943967

The only thing better than talking to one Sean is when you add a second Shawn to the mix. Returning to the podcast this week, I'm thrilled to share this recent wonderfully rollicking, quick-witted, story, & insight-filled conversation I had with two of my dearest friends: the veteran Boston-based WBUR film critic Sean Burns & the award-winning internationally bestselling novelist S.A. Cosby. Zooming in to cover some of their (sometimes divisive) crime movie favorites not called THE GODFATHER, for this episode, we agreed to take a closer look at MENACE II SOCIETY, THE FUNERAL, BLOW, & WE OWN THE NIGHT, but then wound up celebrating, critiquing, & shouting out several other under-discussed crime movie faves as well. The perfect accompaniment to your summer travels or long commute to work, listen with a notebook handy to write down some of these great movies.

Sean Burns' Bio: A film critic for WBUR's Arts & Culture and a contributing writer at North Shore Movies and Crooked Marquee, he was Philadelphia Weekly's lead film critic from 1999-2013 and worked as contributing editor at the Improper Bostonian from 2006-2014. His reviews, interviews, and essays have also appeared in Metro, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone, The Boston Herald, Nashville Scene, Time Out New York, Philadelphia City Paper, and RogerEbert.com.

A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Burns was a recurring guest on the late David Brudnoy's WBZ 1030 AM radio show, and in 2002, received an award for Excellence in Criticism from the Greater Philadephia Society of Professional Journalists. His writing has been called "jocular but serious, more like a 1940s daily reporter pounding out columns on a manual typewriter than a typical twenty-first-century navel-gazing film critic." Meanwhile, his sisters still tell him that he "swears too much and drives like an old lady."

S.A. Cosby's Bio: S. A. Cosby is an Anthony Award-winning writer from Southeastern Virginia. He is the author of the New York Times bestseller Razorblade Tears and Blacktop Wasteland, which won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, was a New York Times Notable Book, and was named a best book of the year by NPR, The Guardian, and Library Journal, among others. His latest award-winning bestselling novel is All the Sinner's Bleed. When not writing, S.A. Cosby is an avid hiker, cinephile, and chess player.

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/19/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/106516775

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It's always a blast to chat about movies with a friend & the best thing about having a podcast is that I get to share these fun conversations with all of you. Returning to the podcast this week, we have the gifted crime writer Nikki Dolson who's covered everything from heist movies to westerns with me on Watch With Jen in the past. In this funny, feisty, & fast-paced hour, we celebrate the filmography & career of actress Thandiwe Newton & discuss men, women, sex, love, jealousy, actors, writing, gangsters, & more in the films M:I 2, THE LEADING MAN, ROCKNROLLA, & beyond.

Bio: Nikki Dolson is a prolific crime writer whose work has been published in such well-respected places as Shotgun Honey, Tough, ThugLit, and Bartleby Snopes. The author of what she affectionately calls "a novelish thing" - the book All Things Violent - Nikki has also released a short story collection entitled Love and Other Criminal Behavior. One of her outstanding pieces appeared in the prestigious Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories anthology of 2021, edited by Alafair Burke and Steph Cha.

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/11/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/106029042

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As a Phoenix-based cinephile & bibliophile, it was a joy & honor to bring on another local film & literature lover in the form of my brilliant friend Patrick Millikin of Scottsdale's world-famous Poisoned Pen Bookstore. Deciding to give listeners an in-depth exploration of a classic noir novel & its adaptations, in this rich, fascinating, & admittedly spoiler-filled conversation, we dive into author William Lindsay Gresham's dark masterpiece NIGHTMARE ALLEY & the 1947 & 2021 film adaptations from directors Edmund Goulding & Guillermo del Toro that followed. I'm incredibly proud of this episode, which gives listeners the experience of a great night of thoughtful discussion at Poisoned Pen from wherever they push play around the world. Enjoy!

Bio: Patrick Millikin is a bookseller at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale and a freelance writer and editor. He is the editor of the anthology Phoenix Noir and The Highway Kind: Tales of Fast Cars, Desperate Drivers and Dark Roads, and his work has appeared in Publishers Weekly, Los Angeles Review of Books, and other publications. A longtime devotee of noir fiction, Millikin leads a popular book group called The Hardboiled Discussion Group (now in its twenty-fourth year).

Originally Posted on Patreon (6/4/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/105577230

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This week, I'm very excited to bring back the great Nell Minow to the podcast. An accomplished lawyer & a highly readable film critic at her site MovieMom.com & RogerEbert.com, where she's also an editor, Nell Minow has written over 3,000 movie reviews since the 1990s. She's also authored several terrific film books, including 101 Must See Movie Moments & The Movie Mom's Guide to Family Movies.

Passionate about classic movies & character actors, this episode - devoted to the brilliant, 6-time Oscar-nominated actress Thelma Ritter - gave Nell the perfect opportunity to combine 2 of her favorite interests. Offering listeners an appreciative overview of Ritter's career, in this sunny conversation, we focus on her acclaimed, singular performances in the films THE MATING SEASON, PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET, REAR WINDOW, & PILLOW TALK.

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Originally Posted on Patreon (5/29/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/105182602

As promised, Watch With Jen is back with your second brand-new time-sensitive episode of the week! And my goodness, it's a stellar conversation that writers, book lovers, WWII history buffs, & fans of awesome heroines will love.

Returning to the podcast today, we have the terrific Susan Elia MacNeal. The NY Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope mystery series and the standalone MOTHER, DAUGHTER, TRAITOR, SPY, Susan Elia MacNeal has won the Barry Award & has also been nominated for the Edgar, Macavity, Agatha, Left Coast Crime, Dilys, ITW Thriller, & other awards. A Brooklyn resident, where she lives with her husband & son, Susan is back to talk about kickass women & especially her intrepid spy Maggie Hope, since the wonderful final installment of that series, THE LAST HOPE, releases on May 21 (today!).

Consider this the sequel to our lovely, wide-ranging Season 3 conversation about Spy Movies, since it ties in with our topic. Sharing some behind-the-scenes information about researching & writing her beloved WWII Maggie Hope series, Susan also drops some incredible news about an upcoming series that I can't wait to get to dig into, & celebrates three great films about Kickass Women working together - FEMALE AGENTS, WIDOWS, & OCEAN'S EIGHT.

Originally Posted on Patreon (5/21/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/104666818

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We're back from our short spring hiatus this week with a very special conversation featuring my friend & occasional co-host, the wonderful Senior Vice President of The Black List, Kate Hagen. Joining us today are two of our favorite women & returning guests, the fabulous writer-director, cinephile, & retired professor Allison Anders, & her incredibly in-demand music supervisor daughter Tiffany Anders. Allison, of course, is the great filmmaker behind such contemporary classics as GAS FOOD LODGING, MI VIDA LOCA, GRACE OF MY HEART, & THINGS BEHIND THE SUN, & Tiffany Anders is the tastemaker & music supervisor behind RESERVATION DOGS, PEN15, & BEEF.

Passionate about music - especially rock & its intersection with film - they're here today to tell us all about the upcoming triumphant return of their beloved early aught Los Angeles-based film festival Don't Knock the Rock (aka DKTR), which showcases hard-to-see & overlooked music documentaries & rock classics & boasts Master Classes, Special Guests, discussions with filmmakers, & more. This year's festival is particularly exciting because it has both an in-person component at the American Cinematheque Los Feliz 3, which runs from May 23-27, & a streaming festival hosted by Cineville from May 23-July 31 that everyone can access. Filled with stories about music, movies, records, LA, & more, this breezy, infectiously delightful discussion is a perfect summery weekend listen!

Originally Posted on Patreon (5/18/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/104487153

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Welcome to our first Physical Media episode of 2024. Joining me today, we have a terrific quartet of movie minds discussing a handful of titles newly released on disc, including novelist Alison Gaylin on TO DIE FOR, podcaster-critic Blake Howard on CONTAGION, filmmaker Chris McKay on THE SHOOTIST & THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, & podcaster-critic Rachel Wagner on FOOTLOOSE (1984). Additionally, you'll hear me cover the new Criterion box set of Eric Rohmer's TALES OF THE FOUR SEASONS & the new Blu-ray edition of the Anthony Mann western THE TIN STAR solo. A wonderful compilation episode that provides lively commentary, excellent film references, & double feature ideas, plus hilarity & tangents galore, I hope you have as much fun listening to this series of conversations as I did having them.

Note: This is the last new episode of Watch With Jen before a brief April hiatus but rest assured, we have so much more in store for you this season when we return in May. Also, Patreon subscribers will begin finding more writing & other surprises waiting for them shortly.

Originally Posted on Patreon (4/10/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102095895

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In this ambitious research-filled exploration of one of Italian cinema's most fascinating & influential figures, Canadian actor-writer-podcaster Robert Bellissimo returns to the podcast to discuss the singularly daring maestro Luchino Visconti. An aristocratic count turned Socialist who fought the Nazis as a member of the Italian Resistance & was sentenced to death before fate & history intervened & he was eventually able to testify & help sentence to death the man who tortured him during WWII, Luchino Visconti is a man who lived a thousand lifetimes before he became one of the most acclaimed & groundbreaking directors of the twentieth century.

The man behind arguably the first Neorealist feature, the film noir OSSESSIONE (which was made before Hollywood adapted the same James M. Cain novel as THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE), in this rich episode, we discuss three of his towering, staggeringly beautiful, & emotionally devastating works, including ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS (which inspired both THE GODFATHER & RAGING BULL), THE LEOPARD, & DEATH IN VENICE. Delving into the history, significance, analysis, text, & subtext of these remarkable movies, this is a conversation to listen to with a notebook as it might send you on the hunt for more incredible features.

Robert's Bio: Robert Bellissimo is an actor, acting teacher, and YouTube video podcaster. He is also an ongoing contributor to two Toronto film critics' websites, IN THE SEATS and SCREENFISH. Robert's YouTube channel - Robert Bellissimo at the Movies - is an exploration of all things cinema, which includes reviews and in-depth interviews with guests who work in film.

Originally Posted on Patreon (3/26/24) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/101108059

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