Fearless Pretender: The Jennifer Jason Leigh Podcast

Fearless Pretender
  • 4.0 (1)
  • FILM HISTORY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

A podcast examining, in chronological order, the filmography of the great character actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. Each month, Sam Inglis and Jason Shawhan discuss, analyse and, let's face it, probably argue about a JJL film or TV project. They'll try to place it in the context of her career, and of its genre and wider place in cinema.

  1. 06/06/2025

    FP bonus experience: Proof (2001)

    Join Jason and special guest Sean Burns (splicedpersonality@bsky.social) as they discuss Jennifer’s October 14th, 2001, performance on Broadway in the play Proof in a very special bonus experience (not an official official episode). The language is explicit, the mood is weird, and CONTENT WARNING: two Americans talking about 9/11 and not in the way that usually happens in the discourse and things get very heavy. These are two people who’ve been friends since 1993 thanks to Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me - they are getting old and it is inescapable. This is about as discursive as things can get, and Jason’s disfluencies are not minimized as is usually the case in the edit process. Side topics include stagedooring, Mulholland Drive, Joe Coleman, Atlanta Backdrop Foolishness, the state of Broadway, the West Newton Cinema, what it means when your alma mater is f*****g it up on a global scale, the Harvey Weinstein Of It All, the good Kicking and Screaming, Oh Mary, nightsoaps, Neil Diamond, what it means to give The Full Jennifer, vomiting fire, JJL as Alia Atreides in the unmade Dune: Messiah, an origin for Adopting The Monster, the cruelty of the passage of time, Josh Hamilton, Daniel Craig, doing a Twin Peaks rewatch, InDigEnt films, Scarlet Diva, the Lincoln Center Theatre Library, what it means when a personality big enough for the movies takes the stage, Madison Square Garden, Dino DeLaurentiis, Jason’s philosophy of camp, Kathryn Hunter, and BritBox.

    33 min

  2. 02/07/2025

    FEARLESS PRETENDER Episode 23: “I Practically Run That Office Now” (Backdraft)

    Join Jason and Sam this month as returning guest Liam McCloud saddles up a seat on the fire engine for a discussion of Ron Howard’s 1991 film Backdraft. They also get into Pulsating Door Cinema, The looming Baldwin/Skarsgård Points of Divergence, Casualty!, Celebrity IOU, Fabulous Baker Boys hair, The Pillow Pyro, professionalism as a foundation, Stephen Baldwin’s career that could have been, toxic dynamics in closed structures, Jason making completely unfounded comparisons between US/UK civic structure, Frequency, ‘80s/’90s/Aughts revivals, historic moments in terrible CGI fire, European language questions, Hannibal Lecter and Clint Howard rankings, what it means to Edwige Fenech a film, boxcuts, inciting incidents/object lessons, Sliver, boat parties, OSHA laws, controversial Pacino thoughts, mysteries and subterfuge, a (shocking) secret of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, and the Pete Burns/Glenn Danzig Continuum. If you’ve been looking to find ways to help the victims of the Los Angeles fires, a good starting place is https://www.mutualaid.la/resources There’s also a spreadsheet that aggregates GoFundMes, as well as linking out to the Displaced Disabled and Displaced Latine spreadsheets, all of which are collated here: https://tinyurl.com/444f75yv Our theme music comes courtesy of composer Tim Kutz. Follow him on Twitter ⁠@Rockub420⁠ and check out his brand new album at theeuphoricrecall.bandcamp.com/album/side-b.

    1h 8m

  3. 02/05/2025

    Episode 22: Unviewable JJL

    Join the gentlemen for the latest special episode of Fearless Pretender, where we explore two legendary pieces of Lost JJL work: we explore the remnants left behind of the TV pilot Partners in Life (and the show it eventually became) as well as Stanley Kubrick’s final film, Eyes Wide Shut, examining the ripples left from works which are simply – gone. In addition, you’ll hear Sam and Jason get silly and sorrowful and talk about cartoons, The Wall Of Temptation, more multiverse theory, cult followings, Margaret Dumont, boxsets, Laura Branigan, Single Female Lawyer, Stanley Kubrick as Master of sexual signifiers, QAnon, the Johan Falk films, the legacy of devoted fans and their video instincts, Jack Parsons, a future mystery, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, eidetic memory, Temptation vs Possibility, The JPL, lost media, William Friedkin, Luke Skyywalker & The 2 Live Crew, Strange Angel, Liv Ulmann’s Faithless, Star Trek pilots and their evolutions, the cinema of grind, Thelema, realtime social media intervention, and Jason getting ridiculously in-depth about photochemical processing and camera philosophy and the various and sundry transfers of the film. Also, Jason misidentifies Sydney Pollack’s character as “Zidler,” rather than “Ziegler.” Zidler is Jim Broadbent’s character in Moulin Rouge! Laura Branigan’s “Self Control” video, directed by William Friedkin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RP0_8J7uxhs The 1969 Traumnovelle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u50DsIKCa1w

    1h 3m

  4. 12/06/2024

    Episode 21: "One Big Maze; And I'm The Rat" (Buried Alive)

    A TECHNICAL NOTE: Some of y'all may notice it's been longer than usual since our last show, and it's been very heartwarming to hear from listeners checking in to make sure that we're okay, what with general and specific chaos that is currently reshaping the world. The episode on Buried Alive was marked by a catastrophic technical situation that affected the entire second half of Jason's audio track, and while we reconstructed what we could, if things seem a tad 'off' or imbalanced, this is why. We thank you for your patience with this and hope that you are as well as possible. Join Sam and Jason and special guest film critic Liam McCloud as they talk about Frank Darabont’s 1990 directorial debut Buried Alive. You’ll also hear about ‘90s neonoir, the wrong time to decide to be fully honest, the comedy of tension and the tension of comedy, the many varieties of bastardry, a return of Blue Fang, William Atherton and unctuousness, tropical fishcraft, some Shawshank heresy, abortion judgments, the moral foundations of Gremlins, power imbalances in male friendships, buried alive cinema, inescapable Nashville movies, “Tasty Fish,” what unfinished homes and communities signify, Scooby-Doo villainy, malign smarm, Chekhov’s Rottweiler, getting real about Fantasia, buried accents, the art of the dawdle, the shameful legacy of Walter Peck and the enduring sins of Ghostbusters, the difference between compromise and acquiescence, heart attacks, how resurrection makes you inherently interesting, noble fat guys, an unexpected Emperor’s New Groove reference, trap cinema, and intense color coordination.

    1h 23m

  5. 10/04/2024

    Episode 20: "I thought you'd like the 'Party Naked'" [Miami Blues]

    In addition to discussing George Armitage's Miami Blues, join Sam and Jason this month for an ongoing debate about the intelligence of the character Susie, Desperation Pies, confrontational chest hair, the most unexpected Star Trek comparison you’ll ever encounter, the concept of The Generic becoming oddly Specific by being Generic in multiple spaces, The legacy of the Mayflowers, “Hour Back… Get It,” the Michael Hanekeness of Cockfighter (read Keir-La Janisse’s book!), Tom Tykwer’s Heaven, Koos Van Den Akker, “Somewhere That’s Green”- the person, the novels of Paul Beatty, Kṛṣṇa Consciousness as reflected in popular culture, the Bernard Goetz case, a Blair Witch-related schism, the Suzanne Vega multiverse, gardening skills, and Voight-Kampff Empathy Tests. At Sam’s insistence, certain material was excised from this episode. Vinegar Pie recipe: https://www.allrecipes.com/what-is-vinegar-pie-8401486 Context on what was cut: Boy George: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_George#Assault_and_false_imprisonment_conviction James Franco: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Franco#Sexual_misconduct_accusations_and_lawsuit

    1h 39m

  6. 09/06/2024

    Episode 19: Best T**s in the Western World [Last Exit to Brooklyn]

    This month, Sam and Jason are joined by Dr Linda Marric to talk about 1989’s Last Exit To Brooklyn, following a perhaps more involved pre-episode content advisory than any episode since Flesh + Blood. In addition, we get into Baldwinalia, fat politics, Cabaret, the legacy of Alexis Arquette, Fassbinder blondes, Courtney Love, intersectional dehumanization, Constantin Films, union politics, Metropolis, Dolores as a plural noun, Threesome, Brooklyn grit, pansexual jazz brunch at Stewart’s, Dogville, NYU TV, Advanced Wig theory, Anybodys from West Side Story, the third F Word, “Dental Plan; Lisa Needs Braces,” Jenette Goldstein and Renée Soutendijk, and a cameo from Baby Zelda! Our theme musics are by Tim Kutz, and you can, and should, hear more of his work at theeuphoricrecall.bandcamp.com

    1h 40m

  7. 08/02/2024

    Episode 18: “Yes, It’s a Terrible Risk, and I’m Taking It” (Heart of Midnight)

    To start with: Yanni/Overture (from Heart of Midnight) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_epW6yR8e0s Whitney Houston/I’m Your Baby Tonight* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0oRnyXxIrY X-Men: The Animated Series https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAkL2-vh2Sk Join Sam and Jason this month as they discuss 1988’s Heart of Midnight, as well as Steve Buscemi, The Three Mothers, the spectre of AIDS, Tamara de Lempicka, Aphex Twin/”Come To Daddy,” 3D conflict, makeup theory in Lady Vengeance and The Substance, expansive cosmic horror, The Allnighter, Hooper X, NTSC/PAL framerates, Brenda Vaccaro, garbage disposals, Everett DeRoche, “Far From Over,” liminal spaces, cigarette smoking, pink/grey dialectics, what Inferno & Total Recall have in common, the psychic toll of water damage, Sam inventing a new fighting move, Eric Prydz/”Call On Me,” road trips, the return of waterbed discourse, The Ozploit Podcast, Hawai’ian shirts as signifier, Suspiria red, a flashback to our origin episode, extensive color theory, A germ of a podcast idea for the grabbing, Odalisques with UmbyPods and disco balls, and Hider in the House. Our theme musics are by Tim Kutz, and you can hear more of his work at theeuphoricrecall.bandcamp.com * this was not the version released to radio and MTV in Europe, so it may sound unexpectedly different.

    1h 30m

  8. 07/05/2024

    Episode 17: “Why Do They Leave Them There?” (The Big Picture)

    Join Sam and Jason this month as they’re joined by host of The Directors Club podcast and Chicago-based Film Critic Jim Laczkowski to talk about Christopher Guest’s 1989 debut feature The Big Picture, wherein the following topics may occur: Pay-Per-View, The persistence of vision of Corky St. Clair, The Goodbye Girl: The Musical, fleeting Bechdel moments, Al Cliver/Pierluigi Conti, misunderstanding genre, L.A.’s Vista Theatre, Fran Leibowitz, This Is Spinal Rap (Fear of a Black Hat vs CB4), Logan Stevens, how we’re finally going to get Sam to watch Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, bêtisier, charity shop serendipity, Jiminy Glick vs Ed Grimley vs Jackie Rogers Jr, pernicious and omnipresent sexism, The many lives of Richard Belzer, Quiet On The Set, and the Dan Schneider of it all. Sam: Bluesky / Letterboxd Jason: Bluesky / Twitter / Rotten Tomatoes Jim: Twitter / Bluesky / Substack / Director's Club

    1h 35m
See All (26)

Ratings & Reviews

About

A podcast examining, in chronological order, the filmography of the great character actress Jennifer Jason Leigh. Each month, Sam Inglis and Jason Shawhan discuss, analyse and, let's face it, probably argue about a JJL film or TV project. They'll try to place it in the context of her career, and of its genre and wider place in cinema.

Information