A Piece of Pie: The Queer Film Podcast

This week we're joined by Chicago's Joan Waters, local drag queen and John Waters super fan, and we're taking a look at Polyester , John Waters' first studio film. With his biggest budget to date, Waters paid tribute to William Castle, and Douglas Sirk, two of his favorite filmmakers. Sirk directed the Rock Hudson classic All That Heaven Allows , a clear influence on queer film...

Brian interviews filmmaker, writer and actor Vera Drew about her debut film, The People's Joker. Produced on a shoestring budget and released in secret while Warner Bros waged a legal battle, The People's Joker uses popular DC Comics characters to tell a truly unforgettable coming age of story.  Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to let us know!

We're saying goodbye to a tumultuous 2024 by discussing one of the year's biggest, and arguably gayest, box office hits. From bookshelves, to Broadway and now to movie theaters, Wicked is a superhero tentpole movie for theatre kids, but is it any good? And how does it hold up taken next to the beloved stage play? Rob and Max join Brian to discuss all that and more!  Questions or comments...

We’re closing out spooky season with a couple of tear-jerkers. In one of our most poignant episodes, Brian opens up about the loss of his mother and how it affected watching these two films, one an Oscar powerhouse the other something of an Oscar also-ran, each of them with passionate queer followings given their stacked casts. Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to let us...

Brian and Max went to the Alamo Drafthouse to catch one of the year's most talked about films of the year, Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis. Developed by Coppola over a course of 3 decades, Megalopolis finally hit screens in 2024. After standing ovations at film festivals, the film released to the public with mostly a shrug, but Brian and Max wanted to see it for themselves, and then r...

By now, Keanu Reeves is an accomplished action star with two multi-billion dollar franchises to his name. But this week we're taking a look at the two movies that helped get him there, Point Break and Speed. He hit it big with these two films, and represented a shift away from the buff action heroes which drove the critics of the time to only one conclusion - he must be gay. Join us as we unp...

This week we're joined by "The Horror Dyke," Heather O. Petrocelli as we take a look at David Cronenberg and recent Palme D'Or Winner! In 1996, Cronenberg released the controversial Crash , about a man who seeks to reinvigorate his sex-life after a near-fatal automobile accident. We pair it with 2021's Titane , Julia Ducournau feminist body horror film that owes a huge deb...

Our newest contributor Paul rejoins the podcast as Max and Brian revisit their series pairing off the films of Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. We've skipped ahead a bit to land on their 70mm roadshow pictures, each auteur using their clout to shoot on film, on location. In doing so they crafted two of their most personal movies, with wildly varied results. Give us a listen as we c...

This week we’re taking a look at two films from Gregg Araki. One of the architects of the New Queer Cinema movement of the 1990’s, Araki pivoted in the new century after finding critical success with Mysterious Skin . He followed up that award winner by pivoting to a stoner comedy that Max argues is worth revisiting every April 20.  Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to l...

This week we're joined by film scholar Paul T. Klein, as he brings a queer appraisal to one of the biggest box office hits of all time, Titanic. What is it about this film that appeals to queer audiences? Is it Rose rejecting the life others want for her? Or did Cameron interject just enough Sirkian melodrama to appeal to our camp sensibilities? Maybe it was just Leonardo DiCaprio in his Twin...

As we head into the final stretch of #Pride2024 we’re taking a look at a couple of movies that attempt to dramatize the very concept. In 2014, action film director Roland Emmerich tried, and failed, to tell the legendary story of #Stonewall via a white-washed tale of privilege. A year later came a film called #Pride that tells the true story of a group of activists who find kindred souls in a grou...

We're celebrating Pride 2024 by introducing Pink Flamingos to a contributor who'd never seen a John Waters movie! This disgusting masterpiece has been grossing people out since 1972, long since becoming a beloved cult classic. With tongue firmly in cheek, Waters' film features violent SA, cannibalism and, yep, that famous ending with dog feces. How does it hold up fifty years after...

With the recent release of Ripley on Netflix, Brian welcomes Max and Nick to discuss all things Tom Ripley. Since the novel was released in 1955, audiences have been captivated by the murderous exploits of this charming sociopath. Every generation, filmmakers bring their own perspectives and a brand new actor to the role, as he gets gayer by the decade. Join us as we discuss the character, why doe...

With celebrated out filmmaker John Schlesinger at the helm, 1969's Midnight Cowboy has entered the queer canon, flaws and all. We pair it up with 2017's Beach Rats from director Eliza Hittman.  Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to let us know!

We're joined this week by writer Casey Snow, who brings her love of the lesbian spy comedy D.E.B.S. and we pair it with 2023's hit comedy, Bottoms, starring Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennot.  Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to let us know!

We don't have many yearly traditions here at The Queer Film Podcast, but we always make time for the Academy Awards! It's our seventh annual discussion--despite what Brian says in the recording, mistakenly saying it's the sixth--and he convened with regular contributors Rob and Chris, to discuss predictions before the show and reactions after the fact. Join us as we celebrate yet an...

Is the director of The Love Witch a cult visionary, or a TERF Tommy Wiseau? This week we're joined by Raphael Martinez, programmer at Facets and host of their monthly film trivia night, to discuss that exact question. And be sure to join us on February 29, 2024 as your host Brian co-hosts the trivia with Raphael as we give away prizes before a screening of the film in question!  Questions or...

With Oscar season in full swing, Brian and Chris are once again looking at the Best Actor race. This year, Bradley Cooper and Colman Domingo are nominated for playing real life queer figures , and so too are Jodie Foster and Annette Bening. In an Oscar season that's largely been defined by snubs, there's also a record number of queer characters and stories this year.  Questions or commen...

We're revisiting our Quentin Tarantino / Paul Thomas Anderson series with two films that many would say are their respective masterpieces. After they spent the 90's being the gods of film schools everywhere, they entered the 21st century artists with something to say, each filmmaker forging seeking to forge a new path for their career. Or did they? Brian welcomes Max and Nick back to the...

With a new Mean Girls in theaters, what better time to revisit the 2004 film that's become a classic. It's also one of our most requested movies to cover, so for those who've asked, your wait is over! We've paired it with the cult 1988 classic Heathers, starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. Is Heathers a precursor to the Lindsay Lohan film or does it have more in common w...

For our final episode of 2023, Brian and Max are celebrating a Shane Black Christmas! Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to let us know!

Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to let us know!

Two of Brian's favorite filmmakers have movies coming out in the last few months of 2023, so for this episode we put on our Film Nerd Caps to revisit their earlier works. Chris from When We Were Young joins us again as we discuss David Fincher's The Social Network and Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street.  Questions or comments about what we talked about? Click here to let us k...

Just in time for Halloween, Brian and Max return to discuss Stephen King adaptations! Back in 1983, when he was the hottest writer in the country, two auteurs tackled his bestselling novels! John Carpenter, fresh off a couple of commercial duds was looking to cash an easy check, while David Cronenberg was fresh off two of his biggest hits. Each filmmaker brings their unique style to King’s macabre...

When Rock Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, it shocked much of the world. In Hollywood, his homosexuality was an open secret, but to the rest of the world he was a charming, handsome leading man to the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Doris Day. This week, we're taking a look at one of the earliest face's of the AIDS epidemic and discussing the documentary, Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed a...