The Popcorn Auteur

Chris Staron & Jon Dickey
  • 4.1 (20)
  • TV & FILM
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

Jon and Chris get a film education, one filmmaker at a time. Each month, we pick a famous filmmaker and watch every film that he or she wrote and directed. Then, we research the filmmaker's history and critical assessments of their work. Finally, we talk about the films, consistent themes throughout, and answer definitively: Are they an auteur and do we like them?

  1. JAN 13

    Wes Craven - Part 2

    Does the latter half of Wes Craven's filmography (outside of the Scream franchise) require a deep examination of family structure, faith, and Craven's upbringing? Listen and find out! As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.   Show Notes/Sources: https://www.avclub.com/wes-craven-1798215940 https://www.npr.org/2015/09/04/437320291/fresh-air-remembers-nightmare-director-wes-craven https://pca.st/podcast/facd7a60-7214-012e-3189-00163e1b201c https://slate.com/culture/2015/09/wes-craven-s-secret-feminism-as-seen-in-nightmare-on-elm-street-and-scream.html https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2022/great-directors/craven-wes/ https://www.npr.org/2015/09/04/437320291/fresh-air-remembers-nightmare-director-wes-craven https://www.slashfilm.com/1053182/how-wes-craven-accidentally-fell-into-a-career-of-making-horror-films/ https://collider.com/director-wes-craven-interview-scream-4/

    1h 57m

  2. 10/31/2025

    Wes Craven - Part 1

    It's Halloween! It's Wes Craven! It's Kowaltober!   First Featured Clip: Freddy's Tub Attack Second Featured Clip: This is God   As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.

    1h 45m

  3. 07/30/2025

    Kelly Reichardt

    Reichardt has had a busy and interesting career as a filmmaker. Beloved by the critics, her movies may be too understated for the award season. Her latest, The Mastermind, will be hitting theaters this fall, so we educate ourselves by watching the films written and directed by Reichardt.  As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.  Show Notes/Sources: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-states-of-kelly-reichardt https://letterboxd.com/film/the-mastermind-2025/ https://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episode-1424-kelly-reichardt https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6728-old-joy-northwest-passages

    1h 24m

  4. 05/22/2025

    Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan

    You may not know this writing team's credits, but if you are our age, you know Can't Hardly Wait. You may also consider Josie and the Pussycats a cult classic. Hop into a time machine with us to examine the films of Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan. As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.   Show Notes/Sources: https://www.theringer.com/2018/06/11/movies/cant-hardly-wait-20th-anniversary https://www.buzzfeed.com/jennaguillaume/i-rewatched-cant-hardly-wait-as-an-adult-and-it-was-quite-a https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jarettwieselman/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-josie-and-the-pussycats

    1h 2m

  5. 04/03/2025

    Megan Park

    Megan Park is an up and coming filmmaker. After a lengthy career as an actress, she has now directed two films: The Fallout and My Old Ass. We saw My Old Ass on some top ten lists last year and the level of praise from Chris Columbus had us intrigued: ""My Old Ass" is an instant classic, this generation's "It's A Wonderful Life." Over the past decade, I've witnessed a handful of young filmmakers with this kind of extraordinary promise. Megan, along with directors like Ryan Coogler and Robert Eggers, is a crucial component of our cinematic future. Yet she expertly acknowledges the inspiration of our celluloid past, proudly walking in the footsteps of Billy Wilder, Elaine May and John Hughes." In this episode we review Park's first two films, assess coming of age stories from our youth, and consider whether Park will be a future auteur (or maybe she already is).  As always let us know what we got wrong (or right) at popcornauteur@gmail.com.   Show Notes/Sources: https://variety.com/lists/christopher-nolan-gladiator-2-michael-mann-barry-jenkins/inside-out-2/ https://deadline.com/2025/01/megan-park-drama-sterling-point-series-order-prime-video-1236271633/ https://www.sundance.org/blogs/give-me-the-backstory-get-to-know-megan-park-the-filmmaker-behind-my-old-ass/ https://exclaim.ca/film/article/my-old-ass-megan-park-interview

    1h 3m

  6. 02/19/2025

    Richard Curtis

    Richard Curtis is one of the mosty successful screenwriters to come out of Great Britain, but he's also directed three films of his own. From the modern Christmas classic of Love Actually to the underseen About Time, we will discuss the films written and directed by Curtis. Our Holiday episode made it out while there is still snow on the ground, so that's something.   As always let us know what we got wrong at popcornauteur@gmail.com.   Show Notes/Sources: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gugpWvACiiw https://thedissolve.com/features/exposition/252-how-about-time-revolutionizes-the-time-travel-stor/ https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/hugh-grant-love-actually-about-pain-1235227095/ https://www.these3three.com/home/richard-curtis https://www.brightwalldarkroom.com/2020/10/23/the-richard-curtis-cinematic-universe/ https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63805817

    1h 10m

  7. 12/16/2024

    Alejandro G. Iñárritu

    Why did it take us this long to cover the last of the three amigos? Perhaps it was the memories of Babel or a fear of bear attacks. Or perhaps the fact that Alejandro G. Iñárritu wasn't always a screenwriter. No matter the reason, in this episdoe we have a spolier-filled discussion of the four films written and directed by Iñárritu. As an added bonus, you get to hear Chris mispronounce a number of Spanish words (in addition to the usual French words). As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.   Show Notes/Sources: https://thedissolve.com/reviews/1152-birdman/ https://youtu.be/t0stsBzS30E?feature=shared https://open.spotify.com/episode/1OCuKjqUKgbCzko76Qh6yD?si=kFwHmg6jSmWOcmOsTp2vFA https://youtu.be/qSiNDcOoay8?feature=shared https://youtu.be/JgP8HkhRwqQ?feature=shared

    1h 14m

  8. 10/31/2024

    Ari Aster

    Happy Halloween! This year, Paul Kowalski is back to help us examine the films of Ari Aster. Come for the dread and decapitations, stay for the unified Ari Aster theory. Plenty of spoilers in this discussion.  As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.   Show Notes/Sources: https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/film/midsommar/ https://www.gq.com/story/ari-aster-martin-scorsese-interview-beau-is-afraid-a24 https://a24films.com/notes/2019/07/deep-cuts-with-robert-eggers-and-ari-aster https://slate.com/culture/2023/04/beau-is-afraid-movie-ending-explained-maybe.html

    1h 40m
See All (95)

4.1
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

Jon and Chris get a film education, one filmmaker at a time. Each month, we pick a famous filmmaker and watch every film that he or she wrote and directed. Then, we research the filmmaker's history and critical assessments of their work. Finally, we talk about the films, consistent themes throughout, and answer definitively: Are they an auteur and do we like them?

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Staron & Jon Dickey
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    95
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    The Popcorn Auteur