69 episodes
The Popcorn Auteur Chris Staron & Jon Dickey
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- TV & Film
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4.1 • 20 Ratings
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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?
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Elaine May
Elaine May is a comedy legend with a directing career that came to an infamous end with Ishtar. Her film career has undergone a bit of a positive reappraisal lately, even with earning a Criterion entry for Mikey and Nickey. You don't have to look far either to find an Ishtar defender. Listen as we conduct our own appraisal of May's film output.
As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.
Staff notes:
https://soundcloud.com/griffin-and-david-present/sets/the-podbreak-cast-the-films-1
https://thedissolve.com/reviews/112-ishtar/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/movies/elaine-may-mikey-and-nicky.html#:~:text=May's%20great%20theme%20is%20the,of%20view%20of%20its%20victims.
https://forward.com/culture/film-tv/410742/why-elaine-may-is-a-national-treasure/
https://www.rogerebert.com/features/the-damned-the-films-of-elaine-may
https://www.theringer.com/pop-culture/2019/3/14/18245240/elaine-may-life-career-mike-ishtar-nichols-mikey-and-nicky-heartbreak-kid-a-new-leaf
https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6169-elaine-may-criminally-underappreciated-moviemaker
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33596295-improv-nation -
Bong Joon-ho
Bong Joon-ho is an Oscar winner with a diverse filmography ranging from serial killing to a creature feature. Coming in pretty ignorant of Joon-ho and Korean filmmaking, listen to see what we thought of this hot filmmaker.
Scene Picks:
Parasite: Family comes home
Okja: Leaving the compound
As always let us know what we got wrong on Facebook, on Twitter, @PopcornAuteur, or email us at popcornauteur@gmail.com.
Show Notes and Sources:
https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-craft-of-the-director-with-bong-joon-ho-ep-274/id1067471691?i=1000507926385
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/parasite-director-bong-joon-ho/id1142632832?i=1000465870820&l=it
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/quentin-tarantino-koreas-bong-joon-647767/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4seDVfgwOg
https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2014/7/18/499-snowpiercer-top-5-magic-realism-moments
https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2019/10/25/749-parasite-pain-and-glory-contemporary-chinese-2-the-midnight-after -
Dee Rees
Dee Rees has an Oscar nomination (for Mudbound) and a Criterion collection film (for Pariah) under her belt. She also can boast writing and directing Bessie, which won an Emmy for Best TV Movie. In this episode, we are joined by Mark Staron for a spoiler-filled discussion of these highs and the rest of Rees's filmography.
Radiolab - The Vanishing of Harry Pace (as mentioned by Chris)
Show Notes/Sources:
https://time.com/5016712/filmmakers-spike-lee-and-dee-rees-reunite/
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/dee-rees-pariah-criteron-release-1234967676/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/magazine/dee-rees-black-female-director.html
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/pariah-2012
https://tisch.nyu.edu/grad-film/alumni/dee-rees
https://theundefeated.com/features/mudbound-director-dee-rees-tennessee-bred-famu-educated/
https://youtu.be/RyHW6H1rdbg
https://maltinonmovies.libsyn.com/dee-rees
https://www.indiewire.com/2017/11/mudbound-director-dee-rees-netflix-filmmaker-toolkit-podcast-1201900512/
https://youtu.be/JtfXVXfL8h8
https://www.tiff.net/the-review/tiff-long-take-ep-88-dee-rees-mudbound -
Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen is an accomplished filmmaker, both Cannes-approved (Camera d'Or for Hunger) and the director of an Oscar winning film (12 Years a Slave). In this episode, we dive into the films written and directed by McQueen, included the ambitious Small Axe anthology.
Widows car ride scene
Hunger dialogue scene
Show Notes/Sources:
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/shame-2011
https://www.dga.org/Events/2019/Jan2019/Widows_QnA_1118.aspx
https://www.theringer.com/2020/12/19/22191125/director-steve-mcqueen-on-creating-small-axe
https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2018/11/9/705-widows-bohemian-rhapsody-wildlife
https://www.filmspotting.net/top-5-lists-archive/2020/12/24/807-top-10-films-of-2020
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Sam Raimi
It's Halloween and Paul Kowalski is back to discuss the films of Sam Raimi. Raimi's a horror legend, but his films are like a haunted house with the lights on - things might be a little scary, but it's also pretty funny and almost comforting. Join us as we draft Raimi films and debate the worst protagonist decisions in the 7 films written and directed by Raimi.
Show Notes/Sources:
Army of Darkness zoom scene mentioned by Paul
Horror Comedy and Raimi video
Making of The Evil Dead
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Paul Thomas Anderson
Paul Thomas Anderson has amassed an impressive filmography with his ninth feature film, Licorice Pizza, scheduled for release at the end of the year. Perhaps intimidated by the run-times and heavy themes or put off by a strange belief that there was only a place for one Anderson filmmaker in our lives, the sad reality is that we had missed most of Anderson's filmography. Luckily, Nick Rehak agreed to guide us through the films of Paul Thomas Anderson.
Nick's pick for best Anderson scene: Phantom Thread New Year's Eve Party
Where you can find more from Nick:
French Toast Sunday
Rehak Radio
Show Notes/Sources:
https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/7quthe/im_paul_thomas_anderson_writer_and_director_of/
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/113-pt-2-phantom-thread-rebecca-1940/id1057714949?i=1000400649405
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/inherent-vice-2014
https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2018/1/19/664-2018-movie-preview-phantom-thread
https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2014/12/12/517-inherent-vice-top-5-2014-best-of-the-rest
https://www.filmspotting.net/episodes-archive/2019/11/15/752-magnolia-at-20-jojo-rabbit-the-report-the-king
https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/phantom-thread-paul-thomas-anderson-rian-johnson-ep/id1067471691?i=1000397257880
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/10/johnny-greenwood-picks-best-paul-thomas-anderson-score-1234593698/
https://filmschoolrejects.com/paul-thomas-anderson-jonny-greenwood-decade/
https://grantland.com/tags/paul-thomas-anderson-week/
http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_565_-_paul_thomas_anderson
Customer Reviews
Great pod, but needs more POC
Gives a great perspective on a large range of films across so many different times. I love that you watch the films before you record in order to keep the experience fresh. I’ve learned about so many directors listening to this and have added multiple films to my library. While I feel you do a great job with calling out some of the social complexities in films, whether it’s Sam Peckinpah and his treatment of women or how Wes Anderson can be a bit of a cultural tourist, I would love to see more episodes about POC writer/ directors, especially as a black film student and writer director myself. Great show, already recommended it to hella classmates.
And here’s a list of a few that I would love to hear analysis on: Barry Jenkins, Ava Duvernay, Taika Waititi, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Guillermo del Toro, Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, John Singletary.
I look forward to the new episode each month!
Two articulate but down to earth guys talking about a different movie writer/director each month. Not only is the podcast entertaining and insightful but the films and directors I've been guided to as a result of it have also provided many hours of awesome entertainment.
women are 51% of the population...
i guess that would be news to you guys...