More Than a Movie

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More Than a Movie

S2: On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role in Godfather III to Natalie Morales’s 2021 double directorial debut with Plan B and Language Lessons, this podcast looks at the story behind the story of Latino movies over the last several decades. Every episode will reveal something about the movie you didn’t know, feature interviews with the biggest actors, directors, writers and producers behind them, and tap into the history of Latinos in film. S1: When Edward James Olmos set out on his directorial debut, American Me, he wanted to accomplish two things: to represent Chicano culture on the big screen and to save part of his community from gang violence. But when people were allegedly murdered because of their participation in the film and Olmos himself was allegedly extorted by the real life Mexican Mafia, it exposed the unintended risks of trying to represent someone with an agenda in mind, even a well-meaning one. On the 30th anniversary of the cult classic, host Alex Fumero and producer Nigel Duara delve into the true story of American Me and the legacy the controversial film left behind.

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  1. EPISODE 1

    The Godfather Part III with Andy Garcia

    “I remember saying to myself, ‘that’s my part.’” For the season two premiere of More Than a Movie, we sat down with Andy Garcia to discuss the path to his legendary acting career, navigating Hollywood as a Latino, and manifesting his role as the successor to the most notorious crime boss in film history. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    39 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    La Bamba (Pt. 1) with Lou Diamond Phillips

    “I didn’t think I had a shot at Richie.” Nearly 40 years after its release, La Bamba remains a cinematic landmark for representation and one of the highest-grossing Latino films of all time. We interviewed the star of the movie, Lou Diamond Phillips, about  landing his big break, inhabiting the role of Chicano music icon Richie Valens, and bonding with the late singer’s family on set. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    37 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    La Bamba (Pt. 2) with Taylor Hackford

    "There’s a whole audience you’re missing.” On this episode of More Than a Movie, we met with the producer of La Bamba, Academy Award winning filmmaker Taylor Hackford, and explored how a white kid from Santa Barbara ended up becoming the driving force behind a film about a Mexican-American rock star. We talked everything from obtaining life rights to casting Lou Diamond Phillips, and what it truly means to be an ally in Hollywood. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    47 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    Real Women Have Curves with Patricia Cardoso

    “I walked out of the play.” Fresh off winning a Student Academy Award, Colombian filmmaker Patricia Cardoso was looking for her next film project. After some initial hesitation, she decided to adapt the much-beloved (but somewhat problematic) stage play Real Women Have Curves into what would become a major Sundance sensation.  We sat down with Patricia to talk about the changes from stage to screen, discovering a young America Ferrera, bringing authenticity to the film, and why the doors of Hollywood stayed closed to her after this smash success. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    39 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    Blood In, Blood Out with Jesse Borrego and Enrique Castillo

    “You need to help me cast the Vatos Locos.” Season one of More Than a Movie offered a deep dive on American Me - Edward James Olmos’ notorious directorial debut about the formation of a real-life Mexican prison gang. In this episode, we take a look at the film that came just one year later - allegedly delayed in part because of the release of and reception to American Me - that has a startlingly similar premise, but a lot more heart. We talked to Jesse Borrego, the actor who played Cruz, about being tasked with finding the Vatos Locos and training them in the ways of chicanismo; and Enrique Castillo, who had to shape the character of big, bad Montana while filming in a fully-operating maximum security prison with real inmates. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    50 min

  6. EPISODE 6

    Spy Kids with Alexa PenaVega and Elizabeth Avellan

    “The idea of Spy Kids, just like boom, hit him.” Coming off a string of successful Hard-R genre movies, Robert Rodriguez decided to make a surprising pivot into the world of family films. Enter the Spy Kids: a wildly popular franchise that now spans five films and has grossed over $550 million at the box office.  We sat down with Robert’s wife and producing partner, Elizabeth Avellan, to discuss how they launched the first ever Latino superhero movie and Alexa PenaVega, the titular Spy Kid and star of this beloved series, who shared stories from the set. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    37 min

  7. EPISODE 7

    Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse with Phil Lord

    “What if it’s Miles Morales?” We’ve seen Spider-Man on screen before. In fact, we’ve seen him in three different live-action iterations over the last 22 years. And yet somehow, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse feels startlingly fresh, a major shock to the system.  We had never experienced anything like it in the world of superhero films, live-action or otherwise. Not only is the animation innovative, vibrant, and unique, but for the first time ever, we followed Miles Morales, the Afro-Latino Spider-Man that injected new life into a genre that was starting to feel rote. To understand how this miracle of a film came to be, we interviewed Academy Award winner Phil Lord, who co-wrote the Spider-Verse movies and introduced us to cinema’s newest, and best, Spider-Man. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    49 min

  8. EPISODE 8

    Language Lessons and Plan B with Natalie Morales

    “I was filming Plan B in the fall and editing Language Lessons on the weekend.” Everybody in Hollywood will tell you, it’s incredibly difficult to get a film made. Making a movie during a global pandemic? Even more difficult. Directing two movies during lockdown, in your first-ever attempt at feature filmmaking? Seemingly impossible. But not for Natalie Morales. We talked to the multi-hyphenate about her transition from acting in some of our favorite sitcoms to finally stepping behind the camera and how on earth she was able to get her two incredible debut films off the ground in the heart of Covid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

    48 min
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Trailers

About

S2: On this season of More Than a Movie, host Alex Fumero takes us through some of our favorite films that have impacted Latino Cinema. From Andy Garcia’s 1990 breakout role in Godfather III to Natalie Morales’s 2021 double directorial debut with Plan B and Language Lessons, this podcast looks at the story behind the story of Latino movies over the last several decades. Every episode will reveal something about the movie you didn’t know, feature interviews with the biggest actors, directors, writers and producers behind them, and tap into the history of Latinos in film. S1: When Edward James Olmos set out on his directorial debut, American Me, he wanted to accomplish two things: to represent Chicano culture on the big screen and to save part of his community from gang violence. But when people were allegedly murdered because of their participation in the film and Olmos himself was allegedly extorted by the real life Mexican Mafia, it exposed the unintended risks of trying to represent someone with an agenda in mind, even a well-meaning one. On the 30th anniversary of the cult classic, host Alex Fumero and producer Nigel Duara delve into the true story of American Me and the legacy the controversial film left behind.

Information

  • Channel
    My Cultura Network
  • Creator
    My Cultura and iHeartPodcasts
  • Episodes
    27
  • Seasons
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    2024 iHeartMedia, Inc. © Any use of this intellectual property for text and data mining or computational analysis including as training material for artificial intelligence systems is strictly prohibited without express written consent from iHeartMedia
  • Show Website
    More Than a Movie

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