12/31/2025

Paper Mask (1990) with Paul McGann and John Collee

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes. For this episode, I’m thrilled to have reunited the brilliant British actor Paul McGann with author and screenwriter John Collee, 35 years after Paul starred in Christopher Morahan’s perfect/no notes adaptation of John’s novel A Paper Mask. I’ll bet there is no bigger fan of 1990’s Paper Mask than me. Paul is sensational as the hospital porter who steals the identity of a doctor and begins practicing medicine at a big hospital, with inevitable, tragic and yet still shocking consequences. The source novel is terrific, the film is note perfect with a superb supporting cast, including Amanda Donohoe and the late great Tom Wilkinson, and although it’s hard to find these days – it’s been a dream of mine to nab the physical media rights for my Blu-ray label Plumeria – Paul and John’s walk down memory lane is a great way to kick off our new season, even if you haven’t seen the film – especially as we recorded the commentary ‘wild’, rather than to picture. Huge thanks to Paul and John for agreeing to do this. Hopefully Paul will finally pluck up the courage to watch the film for the first time in 35 years, and come back to tell us what he thought of it. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A Plumeria ⁠⁠⁠production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2025 Plumeria Pictures Ltd. All rights reserved.

1h 38m

12/07/2024 · BONUS

Hoard (2023) with Writer/Director Luna Carmoon – SPECIAL PREVIEW

20 min

11/16/2024

Badlands (1973) with Author and Critic John Bleasdale

1h 35m

11/01/2024

Civil War (2024) with Podcasting is Praxis

1h 24m

09/29/2024

Stigmata (1999) with Director Rupert Wainwright

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes. This episode is really personal for me, not only because Rupert Wainwright has been a good friend of mine for 25 years, but because Stigmata is the reason we met. While working on Divine Rites: The Story of Stigmata, a documentary about the film and the phenomenon, I wrote and pitched to Rupert a pilot script designed to be a spin-off of the film, using the Congregation of the Causes of Saints as a kind of X-Files show in which our hero would travel the world investigating mysteries and miracles. Although we didn’t end up making the show, Rupert liked the script enough to give me a shot at writing a film for him, based on his own idea, which we almost got to make with Matthew McConaughey about 20 years ago, and we’ve been working on projects together ever since – and more importantly, we’ve enjoyed an enduring friendship which has outlasted our Dante-esque trudges through Development Hell. Revisiting Stigmata for its 25th anniversary, I was delighted to discover that the film really holds up, which is a testament both to Rupert’s skill as a director and the casting of some very talented and committed actors, including Patricia Arquette, Gabriel Byrne, Jonathan Pryce and our mutual friend Rade Serbedzija. Massive thanks to Rupert for lending his time and his memories to our 40th episode. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

2h 12m

07/20/2024

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) with Author Damien Lewis

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by David Hughes. For this episode, I’m joined by Damien Lewis, author of the non-fiction book The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, the first third of which is now a major motion picture directed by Guy Ritchie. I read – no, devoured the book before I saw the film, but if I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have mattered how many ‘based on a true story’ captions came up before the film started, I wouldn’t have believed a word of it – the story was just too deliciously outrageous to be true. But it is. Surely no human could possibly be as larger-than-life as Anders Lassen? Surely Operation Pitchfork, the truth about which was only declassified in 2016, couldn’t possibly have happened? It was like something out of James Bond, except Churchill was behind it, with both M and Ian Fleming in the room. It took me a minute to vibe with the Commando comic/boys’ own adventure tone of the film, but once I’d tuned in to its wavelength, I had what can only be described as an outrageously good time with the film, and I’m sure, if you’re listening, you did too. Thanks to Damien’s page-burner – a page-turner where you turn the pages so fast they risk igniting – I already knew the background of the story, but I still wanted to dig deeper, and although time constraints meant Damien couldn’t go the full two-hour film commentary, much less what would have been a reductive and redundant scene-by-scene breakdown, he did give us 90 minutes of gold, smuggled out not of Fernando Po or even Lisbon – that’ll make sense when you listen to the commentary – but from his study in Dorset, where he’s working on a new book, based – if you can believe this – on an even more unbelievable yet true story from the Second World War. Enormous thanks to Damien, of course, but also Sophie Ransom and Poppy Delingpole for helping to set it up. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

1h 34m

07/05/2024

The Last Screenwriter (2024) with Director Peter Luisi

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by me, David Hughes. For this episode, we’re joined by Swiss director Peter Luisi for a fascinating discussion about his new film The Last Screenwriter, the first film scripted entirely by A.I. – specifically ChatGPT4.0 Now, before you grab your pitchforks and burning torches and lay siege to Rogue Commentary HQ, hear me out: I’m staunchly, even militantly anti-A.I. in the arts. But when I heard that London’s beloved Prince Charles Cinema had called off what was to be the world premiere of The Last Screenwriter because of blowback it receive online, I was disheartened, because it seemed that Peter’s film was a genuine attempt to engage with the question of A.I. in film specifically, and that we desperately needed to have the kind of conversation the film should have, and would have, provoked. Instead, by shelving the screening, conversation as shut down. As I said in my subsequent piece for Time Out, I don’t think the screening would have been cancelled if the film was being presented as an experimental film by a known quantity such as a Michael Winterbottom, a Steven Soderbergh or Mike Figgis. While not exactly a household name in his native Switzerland, Peter co-wrote his country’s excellent Oscar entry for 2007, Vitus, and is the writer, director and producer of last year’s Bonjour Switzerland, the 8th most successful Swiss film of all time, and the biggest-grossing film in Switzerland since the advent of streaming. The Last Screenwriter is now available online, for free, at lastscreenwriter.com and there’s no need to have seen it before listening to Peter’s commentary, but whether or not you’ve seen the film – and I would urge you to give it a watch – I think you’ll find Peter’s commentary as fascinating as I did. Thanks Peter! Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

1h 14m

04/08/2024

Baghead (2023) with Director Alberto Corredor

Hello! Welcome to another edition of the exclusive audio commentary podcast hosted by David Hughes. For this episode, I’m delighted to be joined by director Alberto Corredor for a peek under the hood of his terrific 2023 horror movie BAGHEAD. When I first saw the film, reviewing it for Time Out, it had a very late embargo, which normally means you can expect the worst. But even though I didn’t go in with low expectations – because I like to give every film a fair shot – I was still mightily impressed, not only by Freya Allen’s terrifically spiky performance, but also by the way Corredor understood what audiences wanted, and was determined to give it to them, without ever condescending to them with a knowing wink. Now that I’ve seen the 2017 short on which Baghead was based, I’m also impressed by how far the screenwriters went to build on not only the idea at the heart of the short, but also deeper themes of grief, inherited trauma and determinism. Massive thanks are due to Alberto for jumping on board, but also to Studio Canal, especially Mubanga Mweemba, for connecting us. Comments? Feedback? Suggestions? Email David *at * Rogue-Commentary *dot* com or send us a ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tweet⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We have lots of exciting episodes in the works, so if you like what you hear – or just the idea – please subscribe, and remember to rate us wherever you hear this podcast – it'll really help us to keep going. Oh, and follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and/or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to stay up-to-date on our forthcoming releases. Thanks for listening! A ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Synchronicity⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ production, conceived and presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠David Hughes⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Produced by Sam Ibrahim. Music by Olli Oja. All content © 2024 Synchronicity II Ltd. All rights reserved.

1h 30m

ROGUE COMMENTARY

Paper Mask (1990) with Paul McGann and John Collee

Hoard (2023) with Writer/Director Luna Carmoon – SPECIAL PREVIEW

Badlands (1973) with Author and Critic John Bleasdale

Civil War (2024) with Podcasting is Praxis

Stigmata (1999) with Director Rupert Wainwright

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) with Author Damien Lewis

The Last Screenwriter (2024) with Director Peter Luisi

Baghead (2023) with Director Alberto Corredor

Ratings & Reviews

About

Information

ROGUE COMMENTARY

Episodes

Paper Mask (1990) with Paul McGann and John Collee

Hoard (2023) with Writer/Director Luna Carmoon – SPECIAL PREVIEW

Badlands (1973) with Author and Critic John Bleasdale

Civil War (2024) with Podcasting is Praxis

Stigmata (1999) with Director Rupert Wainwright

The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024) with Author Damien Lewis

The Last Screenwriter (2024) with Director Peter Luisi

Baghead (2023) with Director Alberto Corredor

Ratings & Reviews

About

Information