An Invitation Productions

Lanterns is a miniseries celebrating 10 years of Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION (2015) with some of the brightest lights in contemporary film criticism and podcasting. Through a hybrid of personal essay and long form interview, host/creator Jim Penola weaves a narrative conversation around the persistent merits and prescient lessons of Kusama's cult masterpiece. Episode #06, the finale, w...

Lanterns is a miniseries celebrating 10 years of Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION (2015) with some of the brightest lights in contemporary film criticism and podcasting. Through a hybrid of personal essay and long form interview, host/creator Jim Penola weaves a narrative conversation around the persistent merits and prescient lessons of Kusama's cult masterpiece. Episode #05 welcomes the i...

Lanterns is a miniseries celebrating 10 years of Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION (2015) with some of the brightest lights in contemporary film criticism and podcasting. Through a hybrid of personal essay and long form interview, host/creator Jim Penola weaves a narrative conversation around the persistent merits and prescient lessons of Kusama's cult masterpiece. Episode #04 features dear...

Lanterns is a miniseries celebrating 10 years of Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION (2015) with some of the brightest lights in contemporary film criticism and podcasting. Through a hybrid of personal essay and long form interview, host/creator Jim Penola weaves a narrative conversation around the persistent merits and prescient lessons of Kusama's cult masterpiece. Episode #03 features guest...

Lanterns is a miniseries celebrating 10 years of Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION (2015) with some of the brightest lights in contemporary film criticism and podcasting. Through a hybrid of personal essay and long form interview, host/creator Jim Penola weaves a narrative conversation around the persistent merits and prescient lessons of Kusama's cult masterpiece.  Episode #02 features gues...

Lanterns is a miniseries celebrating 10 years of Karyn Kusama's THE INVITATION (2015) with some of the brightest lights in contemporary film criticism and podcasting. Through a hybrid of personal essay and long form interview, host/creator Jim Penola weaves a narrative conversation around the persistent merits and prescient lessons of Kusama's cult masterpiece.  Episode #01 features auth...

A.I.P. Tapes invites new release recommendations and concise film analysis into your feed. Today, you're invited to watch GOOD ONE (2024) — the feature film directorial debut of India Donaldson. A deeply understated yet highly authentic portrait of the ways maturity is both earned and inflicted upon us.  RSVP now. Written, produced, and hosted by Jim Penola. Original music by John Penola. Sup...

Thematic Content is an audio essay series about the themes that define film history—across eras, genres, and filmmakers—even mediums. Episode #04 sees the return of screenwriter, playwright, and podcaster Philip Gawthorne ( Die Hard on a Blank ) who brings yet another Jeff Bridges vehicle to the table: the Taylor Hackford directed neo-noir AGAINST ALL ODDS (1984). A remake of classic noir OUT OF T...

A.I.P. Tapes invites new release recommendations and concise film analysis into your feed. Today, you're invited to watch host Jim Penola's Top Five Horror Films of 2024. RSVP now. Written, produced, and hosted by Jim Penola. Original music by John Penola. An Invitation Productions is now on TikTok ! Support the show •••Shout-out to some of my lovely & amazing patrons: Rupa dasGupta,...

A.I.P. Tapes invites new release recommendations and concise film analysis into your feed. Today, you're invited to watch WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2024) — the feature film directorial debut of Anna Kendrick. The based-on-a-true-story thriller is effective, affecting, and at its best when conveying how seemingly “benign” men winge (Pete Holmes), flatter (Tony Hale), and venerate (Daniel Zovatto) as...

A.I.P. Tapes invites new release recommendations and concise film analysis into your feed. Today, you're invited to watch THE SHADOW STRAYS (2024) — the latest blood-spattered-action-symphony from writer/director Timo Tjahjanto, now streaming on Netflix. THE SHADOW STRAYS, through its many ecstatic set pieces, provokes not-insignificant questions of mortality (not to mention the reason we eve...

A.I.P. Tapes invites new release recommendations and concise film analysis into your feed. Today, you're invited to watch SMILE 2 – the glossy, inventive sequel to 2022's biggest Horror movie. Though the film doesn't fully explore its new setting, writer/director Parker Finn still manages to inject his sharp direction with noteworthy symbols and imagery. RSVP now. Written, produced,...

Thematic Content is a series about the themes that define film history—across eras, genres, and filmmakers—even mediums. Episode #03 takes an unexpected (but welcome) detour towards the world of contemporary electronic music with special guest Big Black Delta , a.k.a. Jonathan Bates, the prolific recording artist with credits on BILL AND TED FACE THE MUSIC, THE SINNER, HALT & CATCH FIRE, and m...

Thematic Content is a series about the themes that define film history—across eras, genres, and filmmakers—even mediums. Episode #02 continues this inaugural season's exploration of a "Los Angeles Horror of Manners" with a vivid look at polarizing 80s neo-noir, 8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE , starring Jeff Bridges and Andy Garcia. Arguing in favor of the film’s many virtues, along with host...

Thematic Content is a series about the themes that define film history—across eras, genres, and filmmakers—even mediums. This inaugural episode takes a look at Ridley Scott's 1982 film, BLADE RUNNER, and features special guest Dom Nero —a writer, a video editor, and the co-host of the excellent film podcast Eye of the Duck . Throughout their discussion, Dom and host Jim Penola examine the col...

Karyn Kusama is the writer/director of GIRLFIGHT (2000), the director of JENNIFER'S BODY (2009), THE INVITATION (2015), and of course, DESTROYER (2018). She is also an Emmy nominated director of television that includes work on YELLOWJACKETS, DEAD RINGERS, THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, and much more. During this very special episode of ELLIPSIS, Karyn and I discuss the slippery yet operati...

In episode #08 of "An Invitation to DESTROYER," host Jim Penola examines the nocturnal foot chase between Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) and Arturo Guerrero (Zach Villa), an ex-criminal and former friend of Bell's. The ensuing discussion breaks down the significant narrative/stylistic choices of their relationship—including a fourth-wall-breaking close-up, the difference between doing go...

Please enjoy this unlocked episode of my Patreon-exclusive series "Ellipsis" – the official companion podcast to "An Invitation to DESTROYER" – where I discuss the movie with fellow superfans, critics, and the creators themselves.  * Matt Manfredi is an Emmy nominated screenwriter with decades of experience inside both the independent and studio systems. His credits include CRA...

In the 7th proper episode of "An Invitation to DESTROYER," host Jim Penola continues to assess the fragile heart of the film: the contentious relationship between Erin Bell (Nicole Kidman) and her teenage daughter, Shelby (Jade Pettyjohn). Through a dramatic reading of pages 38–41 of the DESTROYER screenplay, Penola spotlights the ordinary ways that long term resentment festers, the sati...

Please enjoy this unlocked episode of my Patreon-exclusive series "Ellipsis" – the official companion podcast to "An Invitation to DESTROYER" – where I discuss the movie with fellow superfans, critics, and the creators themselves.  Today, my guest is Philip Gawthorne. Phil is the creator and co-host of podcast, DIE HARD ON A BLANK – the podcast that explores the influence of DI...

"Indelible in the hippocampus, it was the laughter. The uproarious laughter between the two." | "That scene – Megan and I agreed, before we started shooting it – that she was not going to * ever* wink at the audience.  That no matter what was happening to her in terms of how other people were behaving – whether they were cracking jokes – the horror of it * is* that they are cracking...

Please enjoy this unlocked episode of my Patreon-exclusive series "Ellipsis" – the official companion podcast to "An Invitation to DESTROYER" – where I discuss the movie with fellow superfans, critics, and the creators themselves.  Today, my guest is the esteemed Phil Hay: co-writer, co-producer, and co-creator of DESTROYER. During our full conversation, Phil describes the unus...

"I was always quite fascinated by people who could suppress really dark, deep, painful experiences. And I wanted to explore the idea that perhaps pushing down on those terrible experiences is harder than facing them." –Jennifer Kent Support the show •••Shout-out to some of my lovely & amazing patrons: Rupa dasGupta, John Penola, Jane Penola, and Joseph Penola. ⚫ Get early access, ex...

How do you make a cop movie in an ACAB world? In episode 4 of "An Invitation to DESTROYER," writer/producer/host Jim Penola continues to wrestle with DESTROYER's depiction and dramatic centering of a police officer – a choice that continues to reverberate dynamically in our fraught, present-day relationship with law enforcement. Through comparisons to contemporaries such as BAD BOYS...

In the 3rd episode of "An Invitation to DESTROYER," host Jim Penola discusses Karyn Kusama's fascination with coyotes as a symbol of untamed rage, the importance of DESTROYER's mother/daughter dynamic, and the ways that Dire Straits may be the code to understanding Erin Bell.  Support the show •••Shout-out to some of my lovely & amazing patrons: Rupa dasGupta, John Penola,...