The Projection Booth Podcast

Special Guest: Andy Robinson Guest Co-Hosts: Heather Drain, Maurice Bursztynski Loosely based on the novel The Looters by John Reese, Don Siegel's Charley Varrick (1973) stars Walter Matthau as the titular Varrick, who, when he robs a backwater bank, accidentally gets embroiled with the mob. Actor Andy Robinson discusses his career from playing Scorpio in Dirty Harry to Larry Cotton in Hellraiser to Garak in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Co-hosts Maurice Bursztynski and Heather Drain talk about the appeal of Walter Matthau and Joe Don Baker, the films of Don Siegel, and much more.   

Presenting the rest of the interview we did with art director / production designer David L. Snyder from our Demolition Man episode.  Mr. Snyder discusses his work on films such as Blade Runner, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, The Idolmaker and more.  For more about Mr. Snyder visit his website at http://www.davidlsnyderfilms.com 

Special Guests: Peter M. Lenkov, Fred Dekker, Daniel Waters, David L. Snyder Guest Co-Hosts: Laura Helen Marks, Chris Bricklemyer Directed by Marco Brambilla and produced by Joel Silver, the Demolition Man (1993) stars Sylvester Stallone as hot shot supercop John Spartan. When he's set up to look like a mass murderer by his nemesis Simon Phoenix (Wesley Snipes), the two are sent to cryo-prison where they’re put on ice until the distant future year of 2032 where Phoenix breaks out of jail and the namby pamby cops of the future have no idea how to handle him. Of course, it's up to John Spartan to bring Simon Phoenix to justice again. Stallone superfan Professor Laura Helen Marks and Outside the Cinema's Chris Bricklemyer join Mike to discuss this disarmingly charming sci-fi action film. Guests include three of the many writers of the film from original scribe Peter M. Lenkov to Fred Dekker to Daniel Waters. We also hear from the incredible production designer David L. Snyder.  

Special Guests: Kenneth E. Hall, Joseph McBride Guest Co-Hosts: Jon Cross, Ben Buckingham We travel back to the days of yesteryear with a look at the 1962 film from director John Ford, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. The film stars Jimmy Stewart as Ransom Stoddard, a lawyer who comes out west only to get robbed by the titular Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). The film also stars John Wayne as Tom Doniphan, a man of action and the living embodiment of "The Old West". Joseph McBride and Kenneth E. Hall discuss the works of John Ford while Jon Cross and Ben Buckingham join Mike to talk about Liberty Valance and revisionist Westerns.  

Special Guest: William Richert Guest Co-Hosts: Jeff Meyers, Matthew Socey Based on the 1974 novel by Richard Condon, William Richert's Winter Kills (1979) tells the tale of Nick Kegan (Jeff Bridges), half brother of President Tim Kegan who was assassinated in Philadelphia in February 1960. When he receives a deathbed confession from the man who allegedly shot President Kegan, Nick goes down the rabbit-hole, trying sort out the truth from the lies and obfuscations of everyone around him, including his father, Pa Kegan (John Huston). William Richert discusses the making of the film -- a story which rivals the on-screen antics. Matthew Socey and Jeff Meyers join Mike to talk about comic conspiracy films.  

Special Guests: Daniel Bird, James Steffen Guest Co-Host: Larry Revene We're looking at Sergei Parajanov’s The Color of Pomegranates. Released in 1969, the film is something of a look at the life of Armenian ashugh Sayat Nova told in a very oblique and beautiful way. Director and DP Larry Revene joins Mike to talk about this poetic film. Daniel Bird, director of The World is a Window: The Making of The Color of Pomegranates and James Steffen, the author of The Cinema of Sergei Parajanov, discuss the making of the film as well as the cuts imposed by Russian censors.

Mike talks to filmmakers Michael Galinsky and Suki Hawley  about their careers from their early narrative work (Half Cocked) to their documentary Horns & Halos to their most recent work, All The Rage (Saved by Sarno).  

Mike talks to Daniel Roebuck about his early days (Cavegirl, River's Edge), working with Don Coscarelli and Rob Zombie, as well as his latest venture -- co-writing, directing, producing, and starring in Getting Grace, a poingnant story of hope and redemption.   Find out more at https://www.gettinggracethemovie.com/ 

Special Guest: Justing Bozung Guest Co-Hosts: Dennis Tafoya, Scout Tafoya Directed by Frank Perry, the film was written by David Zelag Goodman and based on the book Girl on the Volkswagen Floor by William Arthur Clark, Man On A Swing (1974) stars Cliff Robertson as detective Lee Tucker who investigates the mysterious murder of a young woman. When things are at a stalemate with the case, he’s approached by Franklin Willis, played by Joel Grey, an alleged psychic with uncanny insights into the case. Justin Bozung returns to The Projection Booth to discuss Frank Perry and the production of Man On A Swing while writer Dennis Tafoya and film scholar Scout Tafoya talk with Mike about this unusual film.

Special Guest: Mei Fong Guest Co-Hosts: Keith Gordon, Christine Makepeace While we often talk about a few movies on every episode -- one main film and some supporting works, sequels, and so on -- we're spotlighting two movies on this episode: Michael Campus's Z.P.G. (1972) and Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men (2006). Z.P.G. (Zero Population Growth) stars Oliver Reed as Russ McNeil and and Geraldine Chaplan as his wife Carol. The film is set the near future where global resources have been strained and the environment has paid the price for the blight of human beings which have polluted the air so much that they live under a shroud of smog. The film was inspired by Paul Ehrlich's 1968 clarion call, The Population Bomb which warned of overpopulation. Alfonso Cuaron's Children of Men is a very loose adaptation of P.D. James's 1992 novel. The film stars Clive Owen as Theo Faron who's biding his time on planet earth as the population is dying -- or killing itself off. No babies have been born in over 18 years which has exacerbated social strife, leading to terrorism, mass suicide, and refugee crises.

Special Guests: Myrna Sokoloff Guest Co-Hosts: Mike Sullivan, Rob St. Mary We’re looking at the Conservative ccmedy, An American Carol 2008. The child of Charles Dickens and Bill O'Reilly, the film tells the tale of Michael Malone -- a stand-in for filmmaker Michael Moore (Kevin P. Farley). He's a liberal know-nothing who’s inflamed hate against the Land that We Love and is visited by four ghosts -- well, three ghosts and a contemporary country singer -- to try and convince him to love country music and stop complaining about gun control, global warming, unjust wars, and other bleeding-heart liberal causes. Directed by David Zucker (Airplane!, Top Secret), the film was co-written by Myrna Sokoloff, as a reaction to Hollywood intolerance. Rob St. Mary returns to the show along with Mike Sullivan to discuss the film, satire, and falafels.  

Guest Co-Hosts: Paul Talbot, Greg Klymkiw We're heading to Falconhurst and looking at the unlikely hit film Mandingo (1975), the book series that informed it and its sequel, and the knock-offs in its wake. Richard Fleischer's film stars Ken Norton as Mede, the titular Mandingo, while James Mason and Perry King are the father and son who run Falconhurst, a slave-breeding plantation. Greg Klymkiw (UFO Doggies, Careful) and writer Paul Talbot (Mondo Mandingo: The Falconhurst Books and Films) join Mike to discuss Mandingo, it's sequel Drum, and several other sordid slavery-themed films (including the remarkable Addio Zio Tom). 

Special Guests: Timothy Harris, Ebbe Rowe Smith, Joel Schumacher Guest Co-Hosts: Jamey Duvall, Aaron Peterson We're discussing the 1993 film from Joel Schumacher, Falling Down. Written by Ebbe Roe Smith, the film stars Michael Douglas as a white guy who's wound a little too tight and finally snaps. Aaron Peterson and Jamey Duvall join Mike on an episode that's not for libtards, snowflakes, or cucks. The episode features interviews with director Joel Schumacher, writter Ebbe Roe Smith, and producer Timothy Harris.

On this special episode, Mike talks briefly to Pam Grier about her career from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls to Bad Grandmas.

Special Guest: James Ellroy Guest Co-Hosts: Rich Edwards, Eric Cohen Eric Cohen and Rich Edwards return to take a ride in a convertible time machine, be-bopping back to the year 1997 to look at Curtis Hanson's L.A. Confidential. Starring more folks from down under than you can shake a boomerang at, this jazzy flick plays with many classic noir tropes while playing fast and loose with the third book of James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet. We examine how Hanson and co-writer Brian Helgeland masterfully condensed Ellroy's compelling and complicated story to craft a Neo-Noir that some rank among the best. The film features dazzling performances from "newcomers" Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce.