Behind The Lens

debbie lynn elias

Join noted film critic debbie lynn elias and a line-up of talented co-hosts and informed guests each week as she goes BEHIND THE LENS and below the line with in-depth looks at films and filmmaking with the movers and shakers and up and comers of the industry, along with movie reviews, interviews, box office round-ups, awards, festival coverage, specialty segments like Tech Talk, Legalese and Classic Corner, and more every Monday at 11am PT/2pm ET - only on Adrenaline Radio!

  1. 2D AGO

    BEHIND THE LENS #516: Featuring Ben Wheatley and Aneil Karia

    This week on BEHIND THE LENS it's all about "To See or Not To See", and after hearing today's exclusive interviews with BEN WHEATLEY discussing NORMAL and ANEIL KARIA talking all things HAMLET, I think you'll agree that the answer will easily be – Must See. Both of these films are fresh and fantastic, from story to performances to production values. First up today is director ANEIL KARIA talking about HAMLET starring Riz Ahmed. It takes guts to handle Shakespeare and adapt and reimagine, but director Aneil Karia did an amazing job with HAMLET. One of the most interesting aspects of the film comes courtesy of Michael Lesslie's screenplay. Michael did a wonderful job adapting "Macbeth" for director Justin Kurzel, and once again delivers a Shakespearean adaptation that is relatable and attainable for today's audience with HAMLET. Switching gears and genres, we head to the small town of NORMAL with director BEN WHEATLEY. I love Ben Wheatley's work, be it High Rise, Free Fire, Rebecca, Meg 2, or now, NORMAL. Ben can tackle any genre and always delivers first-rate films with high production values, excellent performances, and, in many cases, go-for-broke action and intensity. I have to put NORMAL in the latter category. Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by the brilliant Derek Kolstad, and starring Bob Odenkirk, NORMAL is the latest collaboration from this powerhouse team. Described as a kinetic neo-Western action film with Odenkirk as an unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past who, after moving to a quaint Midwestern town, responds to a bank robbery and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive. NORMAL is weird, wacky, and wonderful, brimming with originality, spurting blood, fantastic action, great deadpan humor, and first-rate performances. It is an absolute blast. When was the last time you watched folks covering up dead bodies and bright red blood with snow, and be thankful for having had a blizzard?? http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    48 min

  2. APR 6

    BEHIND THE LENS #515: Featuring Joshua Enck

    As promised, this week on BEHIND THE LENS we're talking about the religious-themed, historical drama A GREAT AWAKENING. Brought to us by director/co-writer Joshua Enck and those terrific folks at Sight & Sound, A GREAT AWAKENING tells the true story of an unlikely friendship between Reverend George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin that resulted in one of the most defining moments in American history – the American Revolution. The film is enlightening, eye-opening, engrossing, and entertaining. It is visually and emotionally immersive. With the colonies on the brink of collapse in 1739, the Reverend George Whitefield sparked the first Great Awakening, uniting an entire generation with his thundering proclamation of liberty in Christ. In a miraculous turn of events, one of Whitefield's closest friends and greatest promoters becomes none other than Benjamin Franklin. With the nation's freedom hanging in the balance, Franklin discovers true liberty cannot only be written into law – it must be awakened in the hearts of the people. Directed by Joshua Enck and co-written by Enck, Jeff Bender, and Jonathan Blair, A GREAT AWAKENING stars Jonathan Blair as George Whitefield and John Paul Sneed as Benjamin Franklin. http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    48 min

  3. MAR 30

    BEHIND THE LENS #514: Featuring Oscar Boyson

    Sorry that I missed all of you last week with BEHIND THE LENS, but I had no voice. And you all know how catastrophic that is when I cannot talk and sound worse than a Budweiser bullfrog. So my apologies. But it's a new week, and I've got a working voice and working internet, so let's take a look at a film and filmmaker that just blew me away – OUR HERO, BALTHAZAR and co-writer/director OSCAR BOYSON. OUR HERO BALTHAZAR marks Oscar's feature directorial debut, but it is certainly not his first time in the cinematic rodeo given his prior directing experience with some episodics and shorts, but also serving as a producer on films like UNCUT GEMS and FRANCES HA, as well as working his way through the various components of filmmaking, including sound recording, editing, production design, and more, giving him a nice grounding for a feature directorial experience. OUR HERO, BALTHAZAR is a brilliant directorial calling card for Oscar. Co-written by Oscar with Ricky Camilleri, OUR HERO, BALTHAZAR stars Jaeden Martell and Asa Butterworth, along with Chris Bauer, Jennifer Ehle, Pippa Knowles, Avan Jogia, and more. The film rises and falls on the performances of Jaeden and Asa, both of whom will knock your socks off. This is a fascinating and insightful interview with co-director/writer OSCAR BOYSON! Enjoy! http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    41 min

  4. MAR 16

    BEHIND THE LENS #513: Featuring David Koepp and Marc Klasfield

    It's post-Oscar Monday on BEHIND THE LENS and most of Hollywood is probably still recuperating from a night of celebration. Some big winners last evening, notably ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER, SINNERS, and KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, and you'll hear me talk about the evening with the good, the bad, and, to borrow from Sigourney Weaver, the adorable. But on #BTLRadioShow, we're looking ahead with films that could be in contention for the 99th Academy Awards next year, namely COLD STORAGE and screenwriter DAVID KOEPP, and DO NOT ENTER and director MARC KLASFELD. First up is screenwriter – and also author – David Koepp talking about his sci-fi thriller COLD STORAGE. You all know who David is. He's the screenwriter behind Jurassic Park, Stir of Echoes, The Mummy, several Indiana Jones movies, Zathura, Death Becomes Her, Carlito's Way, and so many more. Some are original scripts. Many are adaptations of books or novellas from authors like Michael Crichton and Stephen King. But now, with COLD STORAGE, David is adapting his own book! The film stars Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville, Joe Keery, Georgina Campbell, and Vanessa Redgrave. Then we go from sci-fi thriller with snark and humor to a straight-up terror-filled tale from director MARC KLASFELD – DO NOT ENTER. And I'll tell you all right now, if you're from Philly or Jersey and have fond memories of going down the shore or all those stories and rumors about haunted places, horrid creatures like the Jersey Devil, or mobsters galore, then this is definitely the film for you. http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    57 min

  5. MAR 9

    BEHIND THE LENS #512: Featuring Paul Boyd

    I love this week's BEHIND THE LENS, and my interview with writer/director PAUL BOYD talking about his new film SCARED TO DEATH. In this exclusive conversation, Paul dives deep into the making of his horror-comedy SCARED TO DEATH, a self-described "love letter to horror movies" that blends satire, absurdity, and genuine genre reverence. We explore the film's genesis and how the film uses a haunted-house movie-within-a-movie setup to examine belief, fear, masks people wear, and the absurdities of Hollywood itself. Paul details the personal inspirations behind the story (including buying a supposedly haunted house once owned by Charlie Chaplin), the joyful collaboration with his cast and crew, and the deliberate balance of scares, humor, and emotional undercurrents. As you'll hear, we break down the visual grammar and Paul's work with cinematographer Steven Poster, whose work all of you are well familiar with – DONNIE DARKO, SOUTHLAND TALES, LIFE STINKS, ROCKY V, NEXT OF KIN, REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE, and more, and how they developed a color palette, lenses used, dutching, angles, POV, etc. And how about Paul's work with editor Ed Shiers who just happens to also be a drummer with an incredible sense of rhythm, something that comes in handy with editing? Plus, Misha Segal's score AND Kurt Diemer's end credit song "Scared to Death", which is fantastic. And you'll hear Paul talk about the location house in Altadena where the film was shot. The first home ever built in Altadena, and one of the only homes to survive the Altadena fires last year, and you'll find out how it lucked out. http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    1h 12m

  6. MAR 2

    BEHIND THE LENS #511: Featuring Cinque Lee and Nastasya Popov

    It's a jam-packed show this week on BEHIND THE LENS with two fantastic films and two equally fantastic filmmakers, both of whom are enthusiastic, energetic, and excited about filmmaking. You'll be hearing from writer/director CINQUE LEE in the second half of the show, talking about his new film, the survival thriller LAST RIDE. But first up is my exclusive interview with writer/director NASTASYA POPOV, going in-depth about her narrative feature directorial film, the oh-so-funny fashion and family comedy IDIOTKA. In this sharp, irreverent comedy, a disgraced fashion designer with a dangerously low credit score, Margarita, enters a reality show (a la Project Runway) with a six-figure cash prize that would save her babushka's West Hollywood apartment. But as the competition intensifies, the show's slick producer Nicol pushes her to spin her family's struggle into spectacle, forcing Margarita to decide whether to play along or take control of her own narrative, one unhinged look at a time. Written and directed by Nastasya Popov, IDIOTKA stars Anna Baryshnikov, Camila Mendes, Julia Fox, Benito Skinner, Saweetie, Owen Thiele, Galina Jovovich, Mark Ivanir, Nerses Stamos, and Ilia Volok. Now we go from the fun of comedy to the fear, tension, and friendship that we find in the survival thriller LAST RIDE from writer/director CINQUE LEE. LAST RIDE is set in the winter of 1982, where three 12-year-old American boys find themselves stranded in a cable car with a dead body, suspended midair in the mountains of Norway during a rare celestial planetary alignment. Ironically, we just had a 6-planet planetary alignment on Saturday night. Written and directed by CINQUE LEE (and yes, he is Spike's brother), LAST RIDE stars Roman Griffin Davis (JO JO RABBIT, THE LONG WALK, GREENLAND 2), Felix Jamieson (GAME OF THRONES), Charlie Price (THE GREAT), and Kristofer Hivju. http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    1h 17m

  7. FEB 23

    BEHIND THE LENS #510: Featuring Brad Anderson

    Welcome back to another week of BEHIND THE LENS! This week, we're taking a look at WORLDBREAKER, an apocalyptic, action-oriented, sci-fi, creature feature with a dad and daughter dynamic that is told from the perspective of a young teenage girl, directed by BRAD ANDERSON. Described as a pulse-pounding sci-fi action thriller about survival, sacrifice, and a young woman's fight to step out of the shadows and into the war she was born to face, we encounter this apocalyptic world at a time of war following "The Stitch", a rift in the earth that released the Breakers, monsters that infect and twist their victims. There are also the Hybrids, the term for infected humans when attacked and injured by the Breakers. Men succumbed first to the Breakers, leaving women to lead the fight. Willa's mother is one of the war's fiercest warriors. Her father, a battle-scarred veteran not yet infected by the monsters, hides with Willa on a remote island, training her to survive. Their fragile peace is shattered when a mysterious girl drifts ashore. Willa, longing for connection, shelters her in secret—until the truth emerges and danger follows. With Breakers closing in, Willa must rely on her father's training and her own courage to survive. As I mentioned, WORLDBREAKER is directed by Brad Anderson and written by Joshua Rollins, and stars Luke Evans, Billie Boullet, and Milla Jovovich, with the bulk of the film carried by Evans and Boullet as Dad and daughter Willa. For Brad, WORLDBREAKER is another exploration of the space where genuine emotion and genre tension meet—what he calls the yin and yang of heart and horror….and with this film, he finally got to do a creature feature! http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    40 min

  8. FEB 9

    BEHIND THE LENS #509: Featuring Kevin Lewis

    I'm very excited about this week's BEHIND THE LENS and my special guest, director KEVIN LEWIS. This marks Kevin's third appearance on #BTLRadioShow, following the brilliantly bonkers WILLY'S WONDERLAND and PIG HILL. Still, this time we're talking about his new film MISDIRECTION, which, in many respects, is a big departure from the horror films you've come to know and love from Kevin. Set over one long night in a glass-walled modern house, MISDIRECTION follows a couple driven to carry out a series of high-end heists to pay off a dangerous mob debt. When their latest break-in — targeting a prominent defense attorney — spirals out of control, the pair find themselves caught in a web of secrets, deception, and deadly consequences. Directed by Kevin Lewis and written by Lacy McClory, MISDIRECTION stars Frank Grillo, Olga Kurylenko, and Oliver Trevana. MISDIRECTION is a completely new style for Kevin. It's a bold, different work in his filmography. So used to seeing horror films from him, he dazzles with this neo-noirish home-invasion crime thriller, which begs the question, how does directing a contained non-horror film like MISDIRECTION differ from multi-location films like "Pig Hill" and "Willy's Wonderland"? With some time to spare this week, I've also got some fun, female-centric Oscar trivia for you about the 98th Academy Awards. And while you can see MISDIRECTION on digital, make sure to hit the theatre to check out Luc Besson's DRACULA. http://eliasentertainmentnetwork.com

    42 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Join noted film critic debbie lynn elias and a line-up of talented co-hosts and informed guests each week as she goes BEHIND THE LENS and below the line with in-depth looks at films and filmmaking with the movers and shakers and up and comers of the industry, along with movie reviews, interviews, box office round-ups, awards, festival coverage, specialty segments like Tech Talk, Legalese and Classic Corner, and more every Monday at 11am PT/2pm ET - only on Adrenaline Radio!

Information

  • Creator
    debbie lynn elias
  • Years Active
    2015 - 2026
  • Episodes
    510
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Elias Entertainment Network
  • Show Website
    Behind The Lens