Emerald City Video Podcast

Russ Burlingame

Entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, photojournalist Zach D. Roberts, and friends talk about movies, TV, comics, pop culture...all that crap. We used to work at a video store. Now we do this. russburlingame.substack.com

  1. 12/19/2025

    ECV Podcast - Remembering Rob Reiner

    Rob Reiner one of the greats of Hollywood history was killed with his wife Michele Reiner in their Brentwood, CA home last Sunday. You can read more about it elsewhere, all the tabloids have decided the details of his and his wife’s death are the only thing they care about right now. Like most movie podcasts and news sites, we’re focusing on his incredible life. Rob Reiner was one of the few people left in the movie world that had no bad stories. Trump might disagree of course, but he’s a piece of s**t, so we’re not caring about his opinion. Russ and I both loved Rob, from All in the Family, to Spinal Tap to his incredible run of instant classics Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, Misery, and A Few Good Men. I even love North, no matter what Roger Ebert said (remember how wrong he was about Josie and the Pussycats?). Beyond his work as a producer, one of the greatest cameo stars ever, and just a guy that encourages other directors/actors to do their work - there was his activism. Not only was he an outspoken critic of Trump’s fascism but he was a consistent liberal/left voice for 50 years. One of his last films was on criticizing George W Bush. It’s an understatement to say that he will be missed. From Russ’ obituary: Reiner’s first feature film was 1984’s This is Spinal Tap, and earlier this year, he released Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. In between those installments, Reiner directed, produced, and/or starred in a number of the most beloved movies of the 1980s and ’90s, including Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, Misery, and A Few Good Men. He also continued to work as an actor (albeit often “as himself”), appearing in projects like The Jerk, Mixed Nuts, The Simpsons, and The Bear. During his lifetime, Reiner co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which helped drive the push to legalize gay marriage in California and the United States. He was an outspoken critic of the Trump administration and worked passionately on issues that impacted children, families, the environment, and more. Emerald City Video is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit russburlingame.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 16m
  2. 11/18/2025

    Now on HULU: SOVEREIGN: Interview with Director Christian Swegal

    [Originally posted at Bucks County Beacon - the film is now available on Hulu or buy the disc on Gruv.com] Few directors come out with such an important and stunning film with their debut as Christian Swegal has with Sovereign. It’s truly a risky movie – taking a beloved actor such as Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) and making him into a conspiracy-addled gun-toting cop-killer. But there’s so much more to Sovereign. The film follows Jerry Kane and his son Joe on an unfortunately now all too familiar descent from believing in right-wing conspiracies to a shoot out with police. The film portrays a real life incident from 2010 that ended in tragedy, but it also offers insights into today’s political realities. Swegal, who wrote and directed the film, truly went down the rabbit hole while researching for it – watching videos of the real life Sovereign Citizen salesman Jerry Kane, talking to the police that took him in, and reading academic papers that were written on the killings. Sovereign is one of the best films I’ve seen this year, serving award-worthy performances by Offerman, Jacob Tremblay and Martha Plimpton. Director and writer Swegal begs the audience for empathy for the people that go down the truly lonely road of being a sovereign citizen – but his film doesn’t for a moment forgive them. This isn’t a film that platforms or gives the sovereign citizen movement a pass – if anything it’s a damning portrayal of the conspiracy addled desperate lives of the people that fall into this grift (and that’s what it is). The film, now in theaters and streaming, while placed purposely outside of the Trump years in 2010 shows that the January 6th mindset didn’t start with the president and certainly won’t end with him either. WATCH the interview: Emerald City Video is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. INTERVIEW (edited for clarity and length) Zach: What drew you to make a film about sovereign citizens? Christian: Without getting into too much detail, I had a family member who, because of a mental health problem, became really heavily involved in anti-government, you know, anti-everything. Kind of QAnon-ish. And so in trying to understand that, I started researching these topics and researching a lot of the jargon I had heard led me to sovereign citizen stuff. And then in researching the sovereign citizen movement, I came across this case [of Jerry Kane]. Immediately the father/son story at the center of it between Jerry and Joe Kane and the idea of doing a coming of age film, really from the perspective of a teenager growing up in this environment, it felt really compelling to me. It felt almost like a documentary. Talk to me a little bit about what kind of research you did. So I think the personal experience was really the thing that let me kind of understand the human aspect of it and maybe some of the motivation and the drive behind reaching towards some of these things. Jerry Kane had been going around the country giving these lectures with his debt reduction seminars. I was able to get video of a lot of those, there’s a lot of his language that’s actually in those speeches that are in the film. There was also some great academic research, PhD thesis papers written on this case as a study in extremism. So there was quite a bit of research of police records I was able to get access to. And then on the police side of the story, the Dennis Quaid storyline, [all of] the names have been changed and has been fictionalized. We had contact with some of the police that were involved in this early on. Their sort of initial hesitation was they were nervous that Hollywood was coming to town to make a hit piece on police or something, and they didn’t want to be in it. And I think as soon as we explained that that’s not what we were doing [that] we were trying to be very objective and not editorialize with this film. We had full support of the police in Arkansas, and [with] the families were really just trying to respect their privacy, to the degree that we could while telling the story. The film doesn’t judge, but it also certainly doesn’t forgive. What do you think that people really hope to get from this film if they’re watching it beyond just a compelling story? Well, I think a lot my favorite films of the 70s really ask questions rather than try to try to deliver a main thesis or an answer. The movie is kind of the start of the conversation rather than the end of the conversation. I think it’s a lot more of an active viewing process. I think the question is what was the message of this? Broadly speaking, the message is empathy and trying to mirror as accurately as we can, something real that’s happening in the world. Let’s set this movie in a part of the country that really exists and try to reflect it as accurately as possible. And then let’s try to tell the story about the people at center of this and understand their motivations as clearly as possible. I don’t think it’s a political message as much as a human message to say, these are complex systems at work. You can sort of see these systems at work in our country and in the movie, hopefully accurately reflected. And, I think putting our dukes down to a degree or trying to be empathetic is a starting point for a conversation. So that’s sort of the main message. But in terms of obvious there’s themes of gun culture, masculinity, fathers and sons. This is a movie about how we teach men [to] have this sort of a drive towards authoritarianism in a way, on both sides of this spectrum, whether it’s the establishment or the anti-establishment. It’s about feeling that you have a lot of men, I think, in this country that feel very disempowered. That’s not just men. There’s a lot of people that feel disempowered. You could have placed this in modern day, obviously the story is based on a real incident, but was that just never a conversation? I think there were a number of reasons for us thinking that that was the best choice. I think one that was accuracy. The other is it felt near enough in time that it didn’t feel super period in a way. You know, there was still the internet, it’s not that the world wasn’t so different. 2016 was such a sort of a fork in the road. It’s interesting because it is right after the 2009 financial crisis. Yeah, exactly. That was another big reason. The desperation in all of those people and those American Legion wood-paneled rooms during Jerry’s talks – normally you might have a narrator if this was a documentary stating something on statistics … but you don’t need it. You can see right off the bat why these people are listening to this. The insanity about, “pounds, ounces and dollar bills.” When you step back from sovereign citizen talk, it’s lunacy. Yeah, absolutely. I think what I found in my personal experience and also in the research was that many of the people drawn to these types of movements, the answers they arrive at are like you said, pretty crazy. I don’t understand another way to say it, and in some cases, really crazy. It is actually some sort of psychosis. But you know, I think they’re arriving at the wrong answers. But if you trace back the grievance that, or the injury they felt is really valid. People who were denied insurance coverage that they were due, or filed their taxes wrong and then they were hit with a wave of penalties that put them underwater. I think without a responsible and compassionate official response to that, you leave a vacuum where a guy like Jerry Kane steps in and has a message of empowerment, [it] makes people feel that they can have courage and fight back. And that’s really seductive and dangerous. Casting Nick Offerman is almost a risk because he’s typecast in an opposite way at this point. He did Parks and Rec and Last of Us where he had an arc. He’s so beloved. He also has recently spoken out specifically saying that his character in Parks and Rec is not the MAGA right-wing some have come to think of it. Nick is nothing like that in real life. What was that like, working with him and convincing him to take this role? Christian: My experience with him is that he’s a person who cares deeply about people. He really is not a judgmental person. He really cares about putting art out into the world that he feels can make a difference. He’s incredibly empathetic. I have a suspicion for why he’s drawn to those types of roles. But in terms of my interest in art, our team’s interest in casting him, it’s funny, I’ve now gone in and discovered Parks and Rec and I love the show, but that actually wasn’t my introduction to him. It was sort of a benefit, weirdly. We cast him before he was in The Last of Us, and that was just a really happy surprise that happened for us. I’d seen him in Devs, that series of Alex Garlands, and I thought he was brilliant in that. I just felt like Nick has this incredible everyman quality to him. He has that traditional, masculine, rough way about him, but he also has a beautiful sensitivity. And those two things are opposite, really. We knew that this character had to play a loving father. We had to believe the love there and then. He also had to be dangerous. And, that’s a really unique quality, I think, to find in an actor. And I think Nick really, really embodies that and pulls this role off. Thanks for reading Emerald City Video! This post is public so feel free to share it. You can buy the DVD at Gruv. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit russburlingame.substack.com/subscribe

    22 min
  3. 10/10/2025

    ECV - The Riverbend Restoration

    Riverbend, a 1989 action-drama film starring the inimitable Steve James, has been more or less out of circulation for decades. The film, which got an official release on VHS but has never been officially released on a higher-resolution format, came out in 1989 via Paramount’s Prism label. Now, ReelBlack Renaissance’s Michael Dennis, working with producer Valerie Vance, has rediscovered and restored the film. Riverbend’s 6K restoration, overseen by Dennis and Vance, will finally get a Blu-ray release in 2026, and you can pre-order the first pressing of the new, feature-rich disc here. In this episode of the Emerald City Video Podcast, Russ and Zach discuss the film and its restoration, and after that brief conversation, spoke with Dennis and Vance about the movie and its legacy. If you’re interested in film history and restoration, please support ReelBlack. Anybody who buys a copy of the Riverbend Blu-ray, or donated $10 or more to ReelBlack, in the next 90 days can send me their receipt and I’ll happily send you a free PDF copy of Best Movie Ever: An Oral History of Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont’s Josie and the Pussycats (or, if you already have that, another ECV Analog book). Check out all that ReelBlack does at their website: https://www.reelblack.com/riverbend-restored If you’re in Santa Monica, California on October 14th, and would like to attend the premiere you can buy tickets here https://www.americancinematheque.com/now-showing/riverbend-10-14-25/ And on their YouTube You can support the podcast and ECV Analog at… Patreon Kofi You can find some of Russ’s writing at... Comic Book Club Comics Beat You can find me on social media at... Facebook Bluesky Mastodon Instagram TikTok YouTube Other great comics folks to support: * Comic Book Club * Comics Beat * Word Balloon * Comic Book Couples Counseling Other recent stories to check out from Russ Burlingame: * Josie and the Pussycats Directors Return to Feature Films With “Guys With No Friends” * The Etymology of the Post-Crisis Superman * Bruce Springsteen Just Announced A Box Set That Will Recontextualize His Whole Legacy * Cleveland Guardians Announce Superman Night In the Stadium Buy ECV Analog Books: * Best Movie Ever: An Oral History of Deborah Kaplan & Harry Elfont’s Josie and the Pussycats * Getting the Fin Right: The Collected Savage Dragon Interviews vol. 1 (with Gavin Higginbotham) * A Legend In His Own Time: A Fast-Forward Guide to the Greatest Hero You’ve Never Heard Of (with Kevin Allen) This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit russburlingame.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 28m
  4. 09/08/2025

    ECV Podcast - Eenie Meanie Miney Moe

    Russ and Zach chat about a wide range of subjects from TV shows, to reprised rock albums to new streaming movies. Show Notes: “John Candy: I LIKE ME” John Candy: I Like Me, a new documentary film directed by Colin Hanks and from producer Ryan Reynolds, is streaming on Prime Video October 10. Featuring a new recording by Cynthia Erivo. From director Colin Hanks and lifelong John Candy fan Ryan Reynolds comes John Candy: I Like Me, an exploration of the life of the Canadian comedic icon. This John Candy film documents his on- and off-camera existence, featuring never-before-seen home videos, intimate access to his family, and candid recollections from collaborators to paint a bigger picture of one of the brightest stars of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. It’s the story of a son, husband, father, friend, and professional driven to bring joy to audiences and loved ones while battling personal ghosts and Hollywood pressures. Eenie Meanie - Trailer: [Zach HIGHLY RECOMMENDS] A reformed teenage getaway driver is dragged back into her unsavory past when a former employer offers her a chance to save the life of her chronically unreliable ex-boyfriend. Brice Springsteen is releasing an album of music long thought lost, the electric version of NEBRASKA: Russ wrote about John Fogerty’s Swiftian retake of his career work. https://emeraldcityvideo.net/2025/08/22/john-fogerty-aims-to-rewrite-his-history-with-a-taylor-swift-twist/ Alien: Earth - Zach says it’s fantastic. Loads of camp, feels like the original Alien films. Emerald City Video is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit russburlingame.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 45m
  5. 07/02/2025

    ECV Podcast: 28 Years Later - Spoilers Edition

    Zach here - and this is a rare new release shelf discussion this episode on Danny Boyle’s latest entry into the 28 [INSERT DATE HERE] LATER franchise. Russ liked this film a lot more than I did, but we both thought it was kind of all over the place. That said, thanks to its controversial ending both of us have committed to seeing the next entry in theaters. This was a car trip episode so we don’t have video as usual, so if you’re a Youtube-watcher, we’re sorry. We’ll be back on camera in a couple days, unless you subscribe to our onlyfans then we’re on there every night. Kidding… for now. UNEDITED Premiere auto-transcript: 00:00:00:00 - 00:00:08:11 Speaker 1 But this is. 00:00:08:14 - 00:00:13:00 Speaker 2 Hello and welcome to the Emerald City Video podcast. I'm Russ and this is Zach. 00:00:13:01 - 00:00:14:06 Speaker 1 Hello. 00:00:14:08 - 00:00:33:14 Speaker 2 And, we're going old school. There's no video this time. We are doing a quick new release wall in the car as we drive back from a movie theater. Yeah. Tonight we saw, 28 years later, the, long gestating sequel to 28 days. And then 28 weeks later. 00:00:33:19 - 00:00:34:19 Speaker 1 Yes, 00:00:34:20 - 00:00:55:12 Speaker 2 For which you needed to see absolutely nothing. Yeah, I don't really. I mean, I guess if you saw 28 Days Later it would explain the rage virus, but honestly, other than the zombies being kind of fast for the most part. Yeah. So what's your what's your first thoughts? 00:00:55:14 - 00:01:04:22 Speaker 1 I figure what we'll do is we'll do, like, a little bit, and then go into spoiler territory because there's some weird, weird stuff. 00:01:05:01 - 00:01:05:19 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00:01:05:21 - 00:01:08:16 Speaker 1 Which not surprising, like it's a zombie film. 00:01:08:18 - 00:01:25:22 Speaker 2 And it's Danny Boyle. I do feel like part of me is like, you know, everything he's done has been increasingly weirder and more experimental since 28 days later. So there's bits in here that I wasn't in love with, but I'm like, I guess it makes sense because, like, he's going to be more interested in that than doing what he. 00:01:26:00 - 00:01:48:01 Speaker 1 Yeah, that's my kind of thing. I mean, like, obviously the premise, not the premise of the film itself, but the premise of like him doing this trilogy, it's a little like, you know, there's a handful of auteur directors, you know, like boyhood, like there's like that have like odd that have, you know, I don't know about an asterisk or like a concept in there, like we're going to go through with it. 00:01:48:02 - 00:01:56:17 Speaker 1 Yeah. Obviously this was shot, on, the, the iPhone, like the previous one, was kind of always shot on the, like whatever. There was the most consumer. 00:01:56:18 - 00:01:56:22 Speaker 2 Yeah. 00:01:56:23 - 00:02:00:18 Speaker 1 Kind of thing. It was shot on like what was it. It wasn't high. It was. 00:02:00:20 - 00:02:17:11 Speaker 2 No. The first, the first one was shot on like a mini DV. Yeah. Or a DV tape. It was, it was shot in like four ADP. Yeah. And shot digitally, which at the time was still not the norm. Yeah. 00:02:17:13 - 00:02:18:12 Speaker 1 Especially, like. 00:02:18:12 - 00:02:18:17 Speaker 2 Much. 00:02:18:17 - 00:02:29:16 Speaker 1 Cheaper. Yeah. Yeah. Especially shot with like, more at least on the, the end of consumer cameras. Obviously this was shot on I forget which iPhone but like like it. 00:02:29:16 - 00:02:35:02 Speaker 2 Was a 15 Pro max. But also if you saw the insane this is where they have this. 00:02:35:02 - 00:02:56:08 Speaker 1 Yeah. Ridiculous rig on it. So I yeah I was going to add like it's shot an iPhone with an asterisk. It's an and I know it's like kind of like all those iPhone ads would be like shot on an iPhone. Yeah. Shot an iPhone with special specialty lenses that are probably worth more than most people's cars. And also shot by a professional cinematographer who knows very specifically what they're doing. 00:02:56:08 - 00:03:23:20 Speaker 1 Except. Yeah, yeah. But, you know, obviously, you know, I would hope people always understand that those caveats when they see ads for cell phones and s**t like that. Yeah. But, but yeah. No, I mean, so I dug the premise of, of the film, you know, there I think no spoilers here. Like they're caught on it. They're, they're basically kind of sequestered on an island, safe from, the, the zombie hordes, which are still around. 00:03:23:22 - 00:03:36:16 Speaker 1 There's the different kind of levels of zombies. And now there's kind of a, there's an alpha zombie, as they call it. I had yeah. 00:03:36:18 - 00:03:56:17 Speaker 2 I'm so I'm put off by the, like, various zombie subspecies and stuff. It just it felt like it took, George George Romero, like, 25 years to get to that point. Yeah. And then once he did, it was all downhill from there. I. 00:03:56:19 - 00:04:18:18 Speaker 1 I'm a little bit more okay with it. Maybe not the alpha thing. And we can get into it probably. I don't know about the spoilers. I don't know if that's Euler's or not. We've already talked about a little bit, but I think it's. I think it's implied a little bit in the trailers. Yeah. But like since this is a virus, like very specifically a virus and a virus is going to have an effect, you know, we're going concepts here, guys. 00:04:18:20 - 00:04:21:08 Speaker 1 You know, like let's follow through on the zombie. 00:04:21:12 - 00:04:48:14 Speaker 2 Well, I will say, I was watching an interview. Brandon Davis talked to Danny Boyle, the other day. And so at the end of the first movie you saw, all of the runners were, like, emaciated and dying off in the winter and stuff like that. And so Boyle from, like First Principles wanted to introduce the slug zombies like those. 00:04:48:14 - 00:05:06:13 Speaker 2 Yeah, there's these big fat zombies crawl along the ground, and the premise is that they've evolved in such a way that they don't burn all those calories. Yeah, and they like, they eat, you know, worms and whatever animals they can get their hands on and like, they're they're still a threat to humans, especially because they're like 400 pounds. 00:05:06:13 - 00:05:06:20 Speaker 1 Yeah. 00:05:07:02 - 00:05:08:07 Speaker 2 But like. 00:05:08:09 - 00:05:10:10 Speaker 1 They are they're quiet to their. 00:05:10:10 - 00:05:28:05 Speaker 2 Yeah, they're kind of the opposite of what you think of as the 20 at 28 Days Later. Zombies. Yeah. And like I like that premise. I guess I just felt like the like the, the alpha zombies are a little bit too close to like what Romero did in land of the dead. Yeah. Where the zombies had their own, like, mini society. 00:05:28:11 - 00:05:32:08 Speaker 2 And it's like we're they're not zombies anymore. They're more like cavemen. 00:05:32:09 - 00:05:55:08 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah. I mean, the, like, the level, I tried about which zombie it wasn't let it out that I'm thinking of, but there's another zombie kind of thing that like, there are certain zombies that have, like a little bit more intelligence, right? More kind of thing going on. And like, that is okay, these guys are f*****g I mean, let's just go spy a little bit. 00:05:55:08 - 00:06:08:03 Speaker 2 Yeah. I'm going to say it's like spoilers all the way through. Nothing super plot sensitive, but that we will like before we spoil anything that's going to ruin the ending for you. I will say something. 00:06:08:05 - 00:06:27:20 Speaker 1 Like the the fact that these alpha that, basically are, I suppose, you know, basically can kill one, kill a zombie with like one arrow shot in this kind of world. And that's a little flexible, as long as it's kind of near, vaguely near the heart or the throat or the head. Yeah. It's not like the separate that, you know, the standard kind of zombie thing. 00:06:27:22 - 00:06:50:15 Speaker 1 Which is, I mean, it's, it's like, if it would kill you, then it kind of kills, you know, and, the fact that these guys are like, they're like, oh, it takes like six shots to take them out. They're enormous, including their g******s, which that the swinging, the big swinging dick. Yeah. That's right. Holy s**t. So a little distracting. 00:06:50:17 - 00:06:52:05 Speaker 1 Jesus. 00:06:52:07 - 00:06:57:03 Speaker 2 Way more, way more penis in this movie than any of the other zombie movies I've ever seen. 00:06:57:03 - 00:07:17:18 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, a little a little too, too much sound mean. But it's I've coined the term but, but anyway. But it is and it's, they're not necessarily, you know, like an alpha in the way that we think of alpha is that, you know, they're oh, they're controlling of like women or the controlling of things. 00:07:17:20 - 00:07:28:00 Speaker 1 I thought that there was going to be some sort of play with, like very serious spoilers here, with the baby that like, oh, this was his baby. 00:07:28:02 - 00:07:31:05 Speaker 2 And I still think that's on the table the way that he pursued it. 00:07:31:11 - 00:07:42:15 Speaker 1 And but, I also like that's what am I thinking of that that's a, that's a f*****g plot in the film and what it is, I mean, film or like a zombie as, like I. 00:07:42:17 - 00:08:09:02 Speaker 2 I, I assume that it's got to have been touched on before. All right. So we're just going to drop the veneer of not doing spoilers because snow at one point in the film, there's a zombie who has a baby like we'd seen like a nine months pregnant zombie. Yeah. And it's unclear whether this is a person who got infected post-pregnancy or whether this is maybe, an infected who got, knocked up by another infected. 00:08:09:04 - 00:08:10:15 Speaker 2 Yeah. And so we. 00:08:10:15 - 00:08:20:01 Speaker 1 Have I mean, this asks the question to have, like, nonconsensual can can I can a zombie can get away or whether it was maybe a human and whatever, I don't know. 00:08:20:03 - 00:08:37:17 Speaker 2 That's the big reason that I feel like it's probably not Samson's baby, Samso

    59 min
  6. 05/26/2025

    ECV Podcast - Sinners Kills, Robin Hood Disappears, HBO and Letterman Return

    Russ and Zach mock MAX/HBONOW/HBOMAX or whatever it’s calling itself nowadays for changes that likely cost the fledgling company millions of dollars in costs. Truly David Zaslav is a corporate genius. He also added that “no consumer today is saying they want more content, but better content." Yes, David, we’ve been telling you that ever since you spammed the HBO app with 40,000 home-remodeling and 4th tier reality shows. From THR: Added chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content Casey Bloys: “With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition. And it clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and, to steal a line we always said at HBO, worth paying for.” Thirty minutes into Wednesday’s Warner Bros. Discovery upfront, Bloys revealed the name change to media buyers. The news was met with laughter, light applause and exactly one whistle. Bloys did follow with a solid joke: “I know you’re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around.” James Gunn had a great bit in this video he made discussing Superman. SINNERS is a huge success becoming the largest grossing original film since Pixar’s COCO. While I don’t think that COCO counts as a wholly original piece of film in the way that SINNERS is as it’s a Pixar film first… but that’s just me. If you can see SINNERS at the biggest screen possible, if it’s on an IMAX screen in your area - THAT is the way to see it - Zach saw it that way and it was a life changing experience. From Slashfilm: In its fourth weekend in theaters, "Sinners" added another $22 million domestically, marking just a 34% drop. That was good enough for the number two spot, with "Thunderbolts*" winning its second weekend with $33 million. More importantly, Warner Bros. and Coogler's blockbuster collaboration has now made $215.3 million domestically to go with $68.9 million internationally for a running global total of $284.2 million. That domestic number is of grave importance, as this is the first original movie that has managed to cross the $200 million mark since 2017. One of the top “controversies” I’ve seen wandering around the internet in the last month was the “censorship” of ROBIN HOOD (2010) on Amazon Prime. People on reddit and some Amazon forums were claiming that Amazon was censoring the opening text screens of the Ridley Scott film that talk about tyranny. Amazon last time ECV checked hadn’t addressed it to our confusion. This has been an issue in the past with movies like EMPIRE OF THE STATE. Some people claim it’s due to Chinese censorship but frankly Zach and Russ are guessing it’s some Ai slopification getting rid of the on screentext to add to the captions. Who knows? Someone at Amazon does, but they ain’t talking. Guess it’s just one more reason to just get the movie on Blu-ray. 10 days ago when I filmed the video below, the text had already returned. Our final story is a heart-warming one that I happened in April but Zach only caught this month. It’s an great story of David Letterman traveling to Maine to be on the last show local Bangor, Maine late night show… just watch this local news report. There’s a affiliate link in this post to Amazon that if you click, we might get some support from. Otherwise - SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter? Emerald City Video is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit russburlingame.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 27m
  7. 05/18/2025

    ECV Podcast - The Superman Trailer

    Russ and Zach discuss the latest Superman trailer from director James Gunn. Both of us love the latest release from Gunn, and delve into the nuances of the latest trailer… meanwhile reddit digs into the specifics of why Snyder would of done it different and better. But, frankly, who gives a s**t about Snyders cult? Tune into the latest from the ECV Podcast. Zach’s favorite scene from the trailer, when Krypto beats the s**t out of Lex Luthors goons. We both were lusting after Lois’ audio recorder. Russ had many thoughts on the character sitting down in the Superman cube scenes/ From the trailer: DC Studios heads Peter Safran and Gunn are producing the film, which Gunn directs from his own screenplay, based on characters from DC, Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The film stars David Corenswet (“Twisters,” “Hollywood”) in the dual role of Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult (the “X-Men” movies, “Juror #2”) as Lex Luthor. The film also stars Edi Gathegi (“For All Mankind”), Anthony Carrigan (“Barry,” “Gotham”), Nathan Fillion (the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, “The Suicide Squad”), Isabela Merced (“Alien Romulus”), Skyler Gisondo (“Licorice Pizza,” “Booksmart”), Sara Sampaio (“At Midnight”), María Gabriela de Faría (“The Moodys”), Wendell Pierce (“Selma,” “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”), Alan Tudyk (“Andor”), Pruitt Taylor Vince (“Bird Box”) and Neva Howell (“Greedy People”). “Superman” is executive produced by Nikolas Korda, Chantal Nong Vo and Lars Winther. Behind the camera, Gunn is joined by frequent collaborators, including director of photography Henry Braham, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Judianna Makovsky and composer John Murphy, along with composer David Fleming (“The Last of Us”) and editors William Hoy (“The Batman”) and Craig Alpert (“Deadpool 2,” “Blue Beetle”). DC Studios Presents a Troll Court Entertainment/The Safran Company Production, A James Gunn Film, “Superman,” which will be in theaters and IMAX® nationwide on July 11, 2025, and internationally beginning 9 July 2025, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Thanks for reading Emerald City Video! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit russburlingame.substack.com/subscribe

    1h 20m

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, photojournalist Zach D. Roberts, and friends talk about movies, TV, comics, pop culture...all that crap. We used to work at a video store. Now we do this. russburlingame.substack.com

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