Film School
409 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 24 ratingsA filmmaker and a writer tackle the AFI's Top 100 Films and beyond to educate themselves about movies and storytelling. Welcome to Film School!
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Episodes
Getting Super Personal (Without Being A D*ck) (Cutting Room Floor #180)
August 21, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBHow do you write something deeply personal without coming off like an asshole? How do you share your fears, insecurities, anger, and desperation without taking a shit on your life and everyone else in it? It happens a lot. When it's not done well, a personal story can be really self-serving, icky and frustrating to watch/read/listen to/etc. So...how do you avoid that? How do you, instead, make something that feels profound, revealing, and intimate? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends James C...
The Farmer's Wife (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #5)
August 14, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBThey say that the next best thing to no wife be a good one. Hitchcock the comedian! It's a pastoral romp this time, as the local farmer is in search of a new wife...but when he pops the question, nobody wants to say yes. Meanwhile, his true love might already be under his own roof. It's definitely a different speed from the Hitch we know and love. CAN Alfred do "funny?" We watch and discuss.
Bad Habits And How To Break Them (Cutting Room Floor #179)
August 07, 2023 10:00 - 37 minutes - 26.1 MBHow do you break a bad habit? When you find yourself in a cycle of repeating behavior that doesn't help you, how do you bust out and turn that around? We discuss what's worked for us. Also, Josh recommends Terminator 2, and Ira recommends The Book of Boba Fett on Disney+
Downhill (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #4)
July 31, 2023 10:00 - 57 minutes - 53.3 MBRoddy...can you ever forgive me? Alfred takes on adapting a play for his fourth film release (fifth if you count the silent film we've since lost to the vagaries of time...but who's counting?). Ivor Norvello plays Roddy, the young man who covers for his friend, and then spends a lifetime paying for it. Sounds like a great premise! Let's see how this one plays out...
How To Do Research (And Love It) (Cutting Room Floor #178)
July 24, 2023 10:00 - 42 minutes - 29.5 MBWhen you don't know enough about a topic, how do you find out more about it? And we mean really dive DEEP into something? What are the tools that you use? How do you organize your questions? And how do you keep it from feeling like Also, Josh recommends Learn to Swim on Netflix, and Ira recommends Strange New Worlds on Paramount+
The Ring (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #3)
July 17, 2023 10:00 - 57 minutes - 52.6 MBI'm with you...in your corner... One Round Jack faces off against Australian Heavyweight Champ Bob Corby...for the love of a woman. Alfred Hitchcock's third film--at least in terms of the order they were released to the public--finds its drama in the boxing ring, a place he went to frequently in real life. And clearly, we've been making boxing movies since the beginning of film. So, how does this one stack up?
When Things Go Well...And Poorly (Cutting Room Floor #177)
July 10, 2023 10:00 - 58 minutes - 40.3 MBWhen has something you're working on turned out much better than you expected? The opposite, too: when have things turned out short of your expectations? Why? Is there a common thread in either case? We discuss our own answers to that question this week. Also, Josh recommends Gordon Ramsey's classic Kitchen Nightmares on Hulu, and Ira recommends the Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me and Casino Royale.
The Lodger: A Story of The London Fog (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #2)
July 03, 2023 10:00 - 48 minutes - 44.7 MBThe Avenger strikes again! Alfred considers this film to be his TRUE first film. The first film, at least, where he really felt like he got to be himself, stretch his wings, and have an artistic point of view. Unsurprisingly, he's mixing sex and violence, at least in concept. There's a serial killer out there. A mysterious lodger comes to call. Is HE the notorious 'Avenger?' Or . . . is he someone worthy of falling for? We watch and find out!
Pluto TV (Cutting Room Floor #176)
June 26, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 32.7 MBRemember going over to Grandpa's house and watching cable television? Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported streaming service from Paramount/Viacom that (in addition to some on-demand stuff as well) streams LIVE 24/7 CHANNELS of all your old favorite shows. There's 24/7 I Love Lucy, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Twilight Zone, MST3K, Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show, documentary channels, movies, news, home improvement...it's cable television for the new age. No signup even required. Just dow...
The Pleasure Garden (Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive #1)
June 19, 2023 19:10 - 41 minutes - 38.4 MBMeet Patsy Brand... It's Alfred Hitchcock's very first feature! At least that we know of and/or have the ability to watch. We're in the silent era; it's 1926 Britain. A pair of chrous girls at the famous "Pleasure Garden" theatre navigate love, sex, and ghosts--yes, ghosts! There's murder and a plantation thrown in there, too. So...how does Hitch's first effort stack up? CAN we see the master yet? We watch and discuss.
Up Next On Film School: Alfred Hitchcock Deep Dive!
June 12, 2023 16:51 - 39 minutes - 27.4 MBIs Alfred Hitchcock the best of them all? That's the question that watching the AFI's Top 100 films raised for us as we saw the British director at his peak. We feel like in order to answer that question, we need to go allll the way back to the beginning--his beginning--and watch as many of his films as we can get our hands on. Several of Hitch's films, both feature-length and shorts, have been lost in the past hundred years, so it won't quite be ALL of his work, but we will be watching ev...
David Lynch Deep Dive: A Look Back (Cutting Room Floor #175)
June 05, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 32.8 MBA surrealist for the masses. The king of dreams. Sultan of non sequiturs. David Lynch's 10-film career spans 30 years, from Eraserhead in 1977 to Inland Empire in 2007. It also covers a surprising span of genres and styles, glimpses beyond his trademark ethereal and often disturbing style. Now that we've watched all his features, what did we learn? Both about him as an artist, filmmaker and storyteller, AND just about film, story, and artistry in general? We sit down and take a look back on ...
Inland Empire (David Lynch Deep Dive #10)
May 29, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBThis is the way to the palace... David Lynch makes his last film, at least as of 2023. Who knows, he might return to the silver screen again but FOR NOW...this is it. His finale. It completes an informal trilogy, Lost Highway and Mulholland Dr. being the other two. All three films are based largely in Los Angeles, all three films deal with dreams and nightmares, and all three films deal with an amorphous, hard to see, touch and understand, ever-present darkness. So, how does this one stack...
Can You Outgrow A Project? (Cutting Room Floor #174)
May 22, 2023 10:00 - 42 minutes - 29.3 MBIs it possible to start a project and then realize that in the time you've spent working on it that you've grown beyond it? OR...is that thought just another version of 'shiny object syndrome' that's designed to keep you from actually finishing anything? This week, we wrestle with that question. Also, Josh recommends Gordon Ramsey's classic Kitchen Nightmares on Hulu, and Ira recommends Star Trek: Picard Season 3, which is on Paramount+
Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch Deep Dive #9)
May 15, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 64.1 MBNo hay banda! There is no band... Lynch returns to Los Angeles for his ninth feature film, and he revisits the world of dreams, old Hollywood, murder and love. All very much the themes he was wrestling with in Lost Highway, but is he simply repeating himself, or is he actually stating something more clearly that he's tried to say before? Can David get it right this time and blow our collective minds? We'll see...
The Hardest Criticism to Handle (Cutting Room Floor #173)
May 08, 2023 10:00 - 47 minutes - 32.9 MBWhat is the hardest feedback to hear? How does it make you feel? Why? And how do you handle it, both at your worst and at your best? Criticism is part of the gig, and it's tough even with it's constructive. Josh and Ira discuss their own painful moments. Hopefully it helps you in your own creative journey. Also, Josh recommends Star Trek: The Next Generation on Paramount+, and Ira recommends a book this week: The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.
The Straight Story (David Lynch Deep Dive #8)
May 01, 2023 10:00 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBThere's no one knows your life better than a brother that's near your age. For David's eighth feature, he's leaving behind the world of nightmares, sex and violence, and instead embracing the heart of Americana: the Greatest Generation. Inspired by the true story of a man who's too old to drive, so he rides his lawnmower across the country to visit his dying brother, David Lynch has found the perfect vessel through which to display his love for the heartland and times gone by. Richard Farn...
How To Schedule Creativity (Cutting Room Floor #172)
April 24, 2023 10:00 - 53 minutes - 36.7 MBHow important is a schedule to putting out creative work? Isn't creativity at the mercy of the muse? And isn't every day different? All true. True, too, is that there will always be distractions trying to keep us from our work. Turns out having a schedule is a valuable tool in protecting our creative time from the forces that would keep us away from it. We discuss how we build and use our own schedules. Also, Josh recommends Star Trek: The Next Generation on Paramount+ and Arrested Develop...
Lost Highway (David Lynch Deep Dive #7)
April 17, 2023 10:00 - 1 hour - 87.6 MBDick Laurent is dead... David Lynch returns to form with Lost Highway to a large degree: we're back in the realm of dreams and nightmares. He's playing around in his own subconscious, and that's Lynch at his best, at least in theory. So, how does this film stack up in execution? We discuss!
What Makes A Good Short? (Cutting Room Floor #171)
April 10, 2023 10:00 - 36 minutes - 25.6 MBShort stories. Short films. Short shorts. What makes them good? When attempting to craft something short, what are the things to aim for, and what are the pitfalls? Josh has a ton of experience making shorts, and he shares his pointers. Also, Josh recommends The Inbetweeners on FreeVee and Tubi, and Ira recommends Last Chance U on Netflix.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (David Lynch Deep Dive #6)
April 03, 2023 10:00 - 52 minutes - 48 MBWe live inside a dream... It was kind of a shock to Lynch, and everyone, when Twin Peaks was cancelled by ABC. David, in particular, wasn't done with that story...so bringing it over to the silver screen was the logical choice. What we got was a prequel. We know how Laura Palmer's story ENDED, but how did she get there? That's the subject of this exploration of backstory. Does that work? Just how interesting is it to go back and fill in all the blanks? Lynch gives it a go. We watch and dis...
How Long Should It Take To Write A Story? (Cutting Room Floor #170)
March 27, 2023 10:00 - 41 minutes - 28.9 MBIs this taking me too long? This taking me too, long, isn't it? How long SHOULD it take me write this damn thing? How long did it take you? THEY did it in half the time I've spent already, and I'm not even finished. ...who among us has asked ourselves these questions, or ones like them, when working on a project? We have. Constantly. So...how do you handle the constant pressure of time? Josh and Ira talk about what's worked and not-worked for them. Also, Josh recommends Star Trek: The Next...
Wild At Heart (David Lynch Deep Dive #5)
March 20, 2023 10:00 - 56 minutes - 51.9 MBDon't turn away from love, Sailor... Lynch enters the 90s with a roar. Filmmakers like Tarantino, Stone and others were pushing the boundaries of sex, violence and excess, and Lynch was no exception. He was fresh off the heels of a hit in Blue Velvet. What was David going to do next. Turns out: an adaptation. Wild At Heart is a raucous, chaotic, messy circus of a film based on a novel of the same name. But is it any good? Does it have anything to say? We discuss!
Bonafides: What Is An Expert? (Cutting Room Floor #169)
March 13, 2023 19:54 - 56 minutes - 39 MBThe creative world is REPLETE with those who would tell you they're an expert on something, but in fact have no idea what they're really talking about. So, when it comes to advice on succeeding in things that we've never done before, how do we know whose advice to listen to??? What actually makes someone an "EXPERT?" We talk about how you can figure out who to trust. Plus, Josh recommends Shrek which is currently on Peacock, and Ira recommends Grand Designs which is streaming on the UK's C...
Blue Velvet (David Lynch Deep Dive #4)
March 06, 2023 11:00 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBThere is trouble 'til the robins come... David Lynch rebounds from the disaster that was Dune with something much more akin to his debut film Eraserhead. It's weird, it's moody, and it's intensely personal. Kyle Maclachlan and Laura Dern star in a film that's part Hitchcock, part Normal Rockwell, and part nightmare. It's a return to form for Lynch. THIS is the filmmaker we know and love. It's beautiful to see, and we break it down this week!
Villains & Antiheroes: Redeemable vs. Irredeemable (Cutting Room Floor #168)
February 27, 2023 11:00 - 46 minutes - 32.4 MBWhat makes a character irredeemable? What are actions that cross the line, can't be undone, and take them a step too far for the audience to ever forgive them? It's a super important question! If we as a storyteller cross a line we didn't know was there, we can lose our reader or viewer. We discuss what one can and cannot come back from; there's a super effective, super simple formula, actually. Plus, Josh recommends I'm Thinking of Ending Things which is streaming on Netflix, and Ira reco...
Dune (David Lynch Deep Dive #3)
February 20, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 61.5 MBThe spice must flow. David Lynch bites off his first big-budget studio film, and boy howdy is it a BITE. He's tackling one of the biggest, densest Sci-Fi tentpoles out there: Frank Herbert's Dune. Quite the departure from his smaller, arthouse-y fare. So, how does he do? We watch and discuss!
Going Indie Pros and Cons (Cutting Room Floor #167)
February 15, 2023 02:26 - 27 minutes - 19.3 MBThinking about going indie? This is the podcast for you. What are the pros and the cons to eschewing the "system?" There are some GENUINE advantages to being your own studio, publisher or distribution network. There are also some disadvantages. How much you enjoy going indie very much depends on how you navigate those pros and cons, and how much you know yourself and what you like. We discuss our own experiences and lessons learned being independent AND traditional creatives. Also, Josh re...
The Elephant Man (David Lynch Deep Dive #2)
February 06, 2023 11:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBI am not an animal!!! The David Lynch Deep Dive continues with his second feature film, an historical biopic centered around John Merrick, a young man in 19th Century England with striking birth and genetic defects that made him treated as a freakshow, whether in the circus or in a hospital. It's a surprisingly conventional, normal, straightforward film. Very much not what we associate with David Lynch. So . . . how effective IS it? We discuss.
Where Do Your Ideas Come From? (Cutting Room Floor #166)
January 30, 2023 11:00 - 28 minutes - 20 MBIt's probably the first thing people ask of an artist: where do your ideas come from? What kinds of things strike the inspiration chord and makes you want to create? And when inspiration does come, how do you foster it into an actual piece of art? We discuss our own personal answers to this common question this week on the Cutting Room Floor! Also, Josh recommends Entergalactic on Netflix, and Ira recommends Everything Everywhere All At Once which is currently available to rent.
Eraserhead (David Lynch Deep Dive #1)
January 23, 2023 11:00 - 45 minutes - 42 MBIn heaven everything is fine. This week, we're watching David Lynch's first film. It took him the better part of a decade to make. It's surrealist and avante garde in the way only Lynch can pull off, and it's probably his most personal, most intimate film. He kinda lets his nightmares and fears literally play out for us to see, feverish and confusing. We try to untangle it all. What works? What doesn't? We discuss!
2023 Resolutions, Goals, and Intentions (Cutting Room Floor #165)
January 16, 2023 11:00 - 1 hour - 44.2 MBHappy New Year! Lots of fun stuff to come on the podcast this year, and for Josh and Ira personally. We talk about what the year-to-come has in store. What's on the horizon for you?
2022 Retrospective (Cutting Room Floor #164)
December 29, 2022 11:00 - 57 minutes - 39.7 MB2022. The first full post-pandemic year. It was also a major year for us here on the podcast in many ways: adjusting to society's "new normal," successes and failures in filmmaking and publishing, and our first forays beyond the AFI's Top 100 list in terms of the project this podcast is trying to tackle. So, how did we do? What will we think of when we look back on the year that was 2022? In this week's episode, we discuss.
A Christmas Story
December 25, 2022 03:04 - 58 minutes - 53.9 MBYou'll shoot your eye out! Of all the Christmas movies out there that play on "americana," this one might take the cake. Even the font on the movie poster evokes Norman Rockwell. It's set during the late 30s/early 40s, and centers around Ralphy, who--like ALL kids at that age--desperately wants the perfect Christmas gift. Does he get it? We watch and find out.
How To Stay Motivated Revisited (Cutting Room Floor #163)
December 23, 2022 20:57 - 52 minutes - 36.2 MBCreating anything takes work. Butt in chair. Words on page. Paint on canvas. It's work, and usually in an unrecognized, anonymous silence for years at a time. So, how do we stay motivated to keep working? Especially when it's hard? We talk about the tips, tricks and tools that we use ourselves. Also, Josh (again) recommends Entergalactic which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends 1899 which is also on Netflix.
Scrooged
December 23, 2022 20:27 - 40 minutes - 37.7 MBThat does not look like a towel. The 80s were a wild WILD time. Especially 80s movies. Bill Murray stars in a frenetic, crazy, bonkers adaptation of Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol. He's a miser, asshole of a TV executive who's given one last chance to turn his life around by the ghosts of Christmas. So...how does it hold up? We find out!
Up Next On Film School!
November 21, 2022 18:36 - 4 minutes - 3.08 MBNext on Film School, we're doing a deep dive on David Lynch and watching his full feature filmography. BUT FIRST...because we've fallen behind on our recordings, we're going to use the next couple weeks to "bank" some episodes to get ourselves back on track releasing each week. Here's the plan: Our Christmas films will debut as planned on December 12th and December 19th. THEN David Lynch's Deep Dive will launch after the new year with Eraserhead. So...we'll see you in a couple weeks fo...
The Sophomore Slump (Cutting Room Floor #162)
November 03, 2022 10:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MBThe second album. The follow-up book. The sequel film. After all the lessons we've learned from the first project, after all that growth, effort and excitement . . . WHY IS THE SECOND PROJECT SO HARD??? And followup question: what can we do about it? Josh and Ira have both been through the famed "sophomore slump." They discuss what they've learned. Also, Josh recommends The Mist which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends The Omen which is playing on Prime.
Paranormal Activity
October 31, 2022 16:12 - 54 minutes - 50.6 MBYou cannot run from this -- it will follow you. Happy Halloween everybody! We conclude Spooky Season 2022 with a bang. We're watching the film that made Blumhouse and (in addition to Blair Witch) inspired an entire generation of found-footage horror films: Paranormal Activity. The movie is almost fifteen years old now. How does it hold up???
You And Your Audience (Cutting Room Floor #161)
October 30, 2022 22:14 - 39 minutes - 27.6 MBAre you responsible for finding your own audience? And how much of your storytelling is a collaboration between you and your audience? This week, we dive into the realm of who we’re writing for and how it impacts our art. Also, Josh recommends Summit of the Gods which is on Netflix, and Ira recommends the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, several of which are on Amazon Prime right now.
Halloween II
October 29, 2022 23:26 - 51 minutes - 47.3 MBWhy won't he die? Jamie Lee Curtis is back in danger! Michael Meyers just can't seem to be stopped, even when she's supposedly safe in the hospital. It's one of the only sequels we can think of that literally starts AT THE END of the first movie and picks up from there. John Carpenter, man . . . he's on another level. We watch and discuss!
How To Finish (Revisited) (Cutting Room Floor #160)
October 27, 2022 10:00 - 42 minutes - 29.7 MBWe call it "finishing energy." It's the effort it takes to push something all the way to the end. Usually, it's far more than we ever imagined. So, how do we muster "finishing energy?" When resistance is at its peak because we're *so* *close* to finishing, how do we suck it up and move forward? Josh and Ira discuss what's worked for them! Also, Josh recommends The Professional and Collateral, and Ira recommends 1984 and Valkyrie.
The Descent
October 26, 2022 20:05 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBIf we stay here, we'll die. Six women enter an unmapped cave . . . and shit goes down. This week for Spooky Season, we're diving into Neil Marshall's The Descent, which might have the coolest freaking movie poster ever made. So, how does it hold up? Does it bring the noise? We scream and discuss!
How Important Are Ideas? (Cutting Room Floor #159)
October 26, 2022 03:09 - 51 minutes - 35.9 MBHow important are ideas? Super important, right? Of course! BUT . . . are they the most important thing when it comes to telling a great story? What about execution? If an idea is just an idea until it's fully realized, how can we properly foster it and build it into something wonderful? Josh and Ira discuss their own experiences. Also, Josh (does not) recommend Alone on Hulu, and Ira (kind of) recommends Treasure Planet on Disney+
Halloween
October 24, 2022 10:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBWas that the boogeyman? As a matter of fact, it is! For our first-ever "Spooky Season," we're watching a horror touchstone, and a seminal moment in "slasher" film history: John Carpenter's Halloween. Does it still deliver the scares and the screams? We watch and find out.
Physical Self Care (Cutting Room Floor #158)
October 20, 2022 17:55 - 39 minutes - 27.6 MBHow do you take care of your BODY? We talk so much on this podcast about taking care of the mind, but our brains live inside a body. It's also so, SO important to take care of our physical selves, something we often forget. Josh and Ira talk about their own successes and failures with physical self-care. Also, Josh recommends Top Chef (again) which is on Hulu, and Ira recommends Alone which is also on Hulu.
When Harry Met Sally
October 17, 2022 10:00 - 1 hour - 59.8 MBNo man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. This week, wrapping up our "You Gotta See This!" excursion, we're watching Nora Ephron and Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally, also known as the movie that taught us to fall in love with our best friend. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan shine. So does the script. It's practically a perfect movie. Enjoy.
When A Character Turns Out Amazingly (Cutting Room Floor #157)
October 05, 2022 20:01 - 38 minutes - 26.4 MBHow do you create a great character? We're revisiting the topic this week from a previous episode with a new twist on how to answer the question: when was a time that you went above and beyond to create a character, and it paid off big time? Both Josh and Ira share instances from their experience. Also, Ira recommends Seinfeld which is not quite the show you remember in its earliest episodes, and Josh recommends the film Nocturnal Animals with Jake Gyllenhaal, both of which are currently ...
Cosmos
October 03, 2022 10:00 - 51 minutes - 47.9 MBSounds like you chaps have had an interesting night. This week, it's micro-budget indie to the EXTREME. These chaps from jolly old England made Cosmos on a minuscule six hundred dollars. SIX. HUNDRED. A guys go out into the countryside for a night of looking at the stars . . . and find something else, instead. We discuss!
Planning vs. Execution (Cutting Room Floor #156)
September 15, 2022 22:53 - 43 minutes - 29.8 MBHow much time or importance should we invest in planning/learning/theory, and how much time should we invest in hands-on execution? Planning can be an endless endeavor which leads to never finishing anything; but then again, you can dive into creating something without enough preparation and burn out. So . . . BOTH would seem to be absolutely necessary. So, where does the rubber meet the road? What is the proper intersection of planning and execution? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends Scor...