Supporting Characters
70 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 79 ratingsHost Bill Ackerman talks to writers, bloggers, podcasters, fanzine publishers, programmers, preservationists and more about their creative endeavors and today’s film culture.
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Episodes
Episode 20: Amanda Reyes
April 10, 2017 12:55 - 2 hours - 190 MBBill speaks with writer/podcaster Amanda Reyes about her many experiences that shape her work, from discovering Scandinavian films on Bravo as a teenager to the professional satisfactions of becoming as an archivist. They discuss the origins of her many film cultural endeavors, including the Made For TV Mayhem blog and its companion podcast, as well as the new book Are You in the House Alone? A TV Movie Compendium 1964-1999. Other topics include frustrating screenwriting experiences, BAD RO...
Episode 19: Brian Saur
March 27, 2017 06:00 - 2 hours - 152 MBBill speaks with film blogger and podcaster Brian Saur about the origins of his many endeavors, from his long-running Rupert Pupkin Speaks site to the recent Pure Cinema and Just The Discs podcasts. Other topics discussed include Saur’s in-progress documentary on author Danny Peary, the influence of social media on initial viewing experiences, the merits of film lists and the circumstances that can lead a person to record podcasts from within a car alongside their dog. Read Rupert P...
Episode 18: Nick Pinkerton
March 13, 2017 08:33 - 1 hour - 117 MBBill speaks with film critic Nick Pinkerton about his experiences and practices as a writer, from his initial reviews for Reverse Shot to becoming a regular contributor at publications like The Village Voice, Sight & Sound, Artforum and Film Comment. Other topics discussed include the late Kim’s Video chain, the importance of great editors, moderating Q&As, New York City film culture, criticism in the age of social media, work/life balance and the professional hazards that can come from havi...
Episode 17: Marc Walkow
October 24, 2016 05:00 - 2 hours - 160 MBBill speaks with DVD/Blu-Ray producer, writer and film festival programmer Marc Walkow about his many projects and pursuits in the world of film culture, from his early days at TLA Video to programming for the New York Asian Film Festival to his essential role in turning Nobuhiko Obayashi’s HOUSE into a popular cult film. They discuss his extensive history in home video: developing the Euroshock and Mario Bava Collections at Image, producing the Merchant-Ivory Collection at Home Vision,...
Episode 16: Patrick Ripoll
October 03, 2016 11:00 - 2 hours - 171 MBBill speaks with Tracks Of The Damned podcast host Patrick Ripoll. In addition to talking about both his current show and his years co-hosting the Director’s Club podcast, they discuss Woody Allen, the C.H.U.D.com forums, standup comedy, the “Loveline” radio call-in program, what makes Letterboxd less evil than other social media sites, Buster Keaton, midnight movies, building cinephile monasteries within oneself, preserving pan and scan VHS transfers for historical purposes, TERMS OF ENDE...
Episode 15: Violet Lucca
September 19, 2016 14:39 - 1 hour - 92.8 MBThis week Bill speaks with the film critic Violet Lucca, Digital Editor of Film Comment Magazine and host of The Film Comment Podcast, about her experiences in film culture. Some of the topics discussed include: hybrid documentaries, Vine filmmakers, Nate Parker, DCPs and New York repertory cinemas, identity politics in film criticism, Rotten Tomatoes, prestige television, Film Comment’s relationship to The Film Society Of Lincoln Center, torrents and the myth of availability, the difference...
Episode 14: Danny Peary
September 05, 2016 13:11 - 2 hours - 170 MBBill speaks with Danny Peary, the author of Cult Movies, Cult Movies 2, Cult Movies 3, Guide For The Film Fanatic, and Cult Movie Stars, among others. They talk about Peary’s long history with movies: childhood viewing that ranged from Abbott & Costello to Ingmar Bergman, discovering Andrew Sarris in high school and spending afternoons at theatres like The Thalia, starting a campus film society while immersed in the student protest culture of the late 1960s, making silent short-subject comed...
Episode 13: Jeremy Richey
August 22, 2016 12:16 - 1 hour - 115 MBBill speaks with Jeremy Richey, editor and co-creator of the quarterly print journal Art Decades. They talk about the origins of this publication and his litany of film-related blogs, among them Moon In The Gutter, Fascination: The Jean Rollin Experience, Nostalgia Kinky and Harry Moseby Confidential. They also discuss plagiarism, influential books, Jean Rollin, feminism, Tim Lucas, Jeremy’s documentary appearances, Kimberly Kane, discouraging freelance writing experiences and details about...
Episode 12: Jay Jacksonrao
August 07, 2016 16:27 - 1 hour - 96.5 MBBill speaks with Black On Black Cinema host and TNP Studios founder Jay Jacksonrao. In addition to talking about the origins of his Nerdpocalypse and Black On Black Cinema shows, they discuss blockbuster spectacle cinema and the post-9/11 appeal of superhero movies, Baltimore film culture, FRUITVALE STATION and how the economy can inform the kinds of stories told in black films. Visit the official site for Black On Black Cinema: http://www.blackonblackcinema.com/ Visit the official site...
Episode 11: Jim Laczkowski
July 25, 2016 03:00 - 2 hours - 151 MBBill speaks with Director’s Club host and Now Playing Network founder Jim Laczkowski. In addition to talking about podcasts, both his own and those of others, they discuss his early years directing short comedies to make his classmates laugh, his long history with WGN Radio film critic Nick Digilio, EVIL DEAD 2, near-death experiences, PUMP UP THE VOLUME, bandwagon mentality, the Chicago film critic community, drive-in theatres, MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, experiences touring as a solo musician, criti...
Episode 10: Joseph A. Gervasi
July 11, 2016 12:47 - 2 hours - 196 MBBill speaks with Exhumed Films co-founder and Diabolik DVD co-owner Joseph A. Gervasi about how the DIY ethos of hardcore punk informed his endeavors in film culture. They discuss the origins of his various projects, from early ventures like The Cabbage Collective and Bizarre Videos to later efforts like The Valerie Project and the ongoing Loud! Fast! Philly! series. Other topics addressed include Phil Hardy’s Overlook Film Encyclopedia, entitled genre film collectors, CAFÉ FLESH, the subtle...
Episode 9: Kier-La Janisse
June 27, 2016 12:02 - 2 hours - 204 MBBill speaks to writer/film programmer Kier-La Janisse about her many contributions to film culture, from her Cannibal Culture fanzine and Cinemuerte film festival to co-founding venues like the Blue Sunshine Psychotronic Film Centre, schools like The Miskatonic Institute Of Horror Studies and her small-press publishing company with fellow writer Paul Corupe, Spectacular Optical Publications. We talk about the origins of her books A VIOLENT PROFESSIONAL - THE FILMS OF LUCIANO ROSSI and the ac...
Episode 8: Mike White
June 13, 2016 01:00 - 2 hours - 149 MBBill speaks to writer/podcaster Mike White about his various projects and pursuits in the world of film culture, from WHO DO YOU THINK YOU’RE FOOLING? and Super Happy Fun to Cashiers du Cinemart and The Projection Booth. They also discuss film festivals, bootleg culture of the early 2000s, adult films, Bruce Campbell, underappreciated filmmakers, Mike’s documentary appearances, unhelpful publicists, Greydon Clark, film theory, pranking the IMDB and much more. See the official site for ...
Episode 7: Daniel Griffith
May 30, 2016 23:56 - 1 hour - 88.5 MBBill talks to documentary filmmaker Daniel Griffith of Ballyhoo Motion Pictures. Griffith explains how his independently-made documentary on film producer K. Gordon Murray opened the door to an ongoing career producing DVD/Blu-Ray supplements (for companies like Synapse Films, VCI Entertainment and Shout Factory) and documentary features on subjects like John Carpenter’s DARK STAR, Florida filmmaker William Grefe, Charles Band’s Empire International Pictures, and teenagers making Super 8 gen...
Episode 6: Eric Bresler
May 17, 2016 16:30 - 1 hour - 130 MBBill talks to film programmer and PhilaMOCA curator Eric Bresler. They have a conversation about his wide variety of projects, including his Video Pirates found-footage comedy shorts, the documentary OTAKU UNITE!, the Cinedelphia Film Festival and his work at PhilaMOCA. Other topics discussed include Philadelphia film culture and exhibition, tape trading, Eric’s admiration for the band Sparks, TLA Video, Pia Zadora, Eraserhood Forever (including this year’s headliner), visits from both South...
Episode 5: J.A. Kerswell
May 02, 2016 14:09 - 1 hour - 126 MBBill welcomes author J.A. Kerswell onto the show. Kerswell’s love for slasher movies inspired him to create the first website devoted to them (Hysteria Lives!), write a book (Teenage Wasteland, aka The Slasher Movie Book), co-host a podcast (The Hysteria Continues), and appear on the bonus features of numerous DVD/Blu-Ray releases for labels like Vinegar Syndrome, Arrow Films and 88 Films. In addition to discussing these endeavors in detail, other topics include growing up in the era of Vid...
Episode 4 : Travis Crawford
April 21, 2016 16:00 - 1 hour - 135 MBBill speaks to writer/film programmer Travis Crawford about his writing career, underground genre film and music publications, glossier magazines like Fangoria and Film Comment, books like 1001 Films To See Before You Die, and websites like The Calvert Journal. They also discuss Crawford’s popular Danger After Dark festival series, his work with Artsploitation Films, Danny Peary’s Cult Movies, Dario Argento, the depressing state of foreign film distribution, his ill-advised visit to Philadel...
Episode 3: Heather Drain
April 04, 2016 17:30 - 1 hour - 101 MBBill speaks with Heather Drain about her path as a writer from childhood capsule reviews of B-movies in crayon to writing professionally for people like Video Watchdog and Dangerous Minds, the influence of Baxter Phillips' book Cut: The Unseen Cinema, the work of filmmaker Stephen Sayadian, her involvement with The Projection Booth podcast, David Schmoeller's CRAWLSPACE, peers she admires, early music videos, adult cinema, Lester Bangs, and details about a few of the upcoming projects she ha...
Episode 2: Samm Deighan
March 22, 2016 13:45 - 1 hour - 81 MBBill speaks with writer Samm Deighan about an adolescence informed by Eurocult bootleg tapes, Exhumed Films marathons, James O'Neill's Terror On Tape and THE LAST UNICORN. They discuss the extensive filmmaker/genre overviews of her Satanic Pandemonium site, the origins of her new Daughters Of Darkness podcast and upcoming book on World War II cult cinema, her René Cardona Jr.-inspired death wish, Arrow Films, fellow genre film writers that she admires, the state of horror film culture today ...
Episode 1: Daniel Bird
March 11, 2016 19:30 - 1 hour - 97 MBBill speaks with writer and film scholar Daniel Bird about Andrzej Zulawski, ‘Eyeball’ magazine, the influence of Pete Tombs, THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY, HARD TO BE A GOD, and the future of film.