Cinema Junkie

Legendary Hong Kong producer Raymond Chow died earlier this month. This podcast pays tribute to his legacy with San Diego Asian Film Festival artistic director Brian Hu. Plus we get a preview of the 19th annual festival.

A discussion of witches through history and on film from ancient Rome to "Rosemary's Baby" and Monty Python.

Cinema Junkie asks people about the first film they remember scaring them. Listen to memories from horror fans and some famous horror celebrities.

The Doctor of the Dead, Arnold T. Blumberg, uses zombies to teach media literacy and critical thinking. He has also just written a geeky, well-researched history of the zombie, "Journey of the Living Dead."

William Shakespeare's plays are more than four centuries old yet they can still captivate an audience and deliver themes that resonate. On today's podcast, I speak with theater and film artists about how to bring the Bard to life for modern audiences. Plus a review at the top of "Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich."

Aug. 20 will mark the 128th anniversary of H.P. Lovecraft’s birth. But how did this man who was born in Providence Rhode Island come to create a body of horror fiction that continues to influence the public consciousness and other artists? Explore that question with the latest podcast.

Last month actor and golden boy Tab Hunter died of cardiac arrest at the age of 86. I got to interview him in 2015. Here's a podcast dedicated to him.

Comic-Con, my home away from home, is this week and I wanted to provide a little insight into why it gives me such joy.

Time to geek out about two very different things: James Bond and the directorial debut of rapper Boots Riley.

If you do not know the name William Castle then it's time for you to discover the master showman who invented Illusion-O, Fright Break, Coward's Corner, Percepto, Emergo and much more. And if you already know this cinematic genius then come share some love with his daughter.

Cinema Junkie Podcast goes Mad About Musicals as Turner Classic Movies launches new online film class.

Since San Diego’s LGBTQ film festival FilmOut celebrates its 20th anniversary this year I thought it would be a good time to reflect on the state of LGBTQ cinema and what a festival focusing on that community might need to look like moving forward.

Author Sloan De Forest talks about the challenges and agonies of compiling a list of films for her new book, "TCM Must-See Sci-Fi: 50 Movies That Are Out Of This World."

My apologies for getting this podcast out a week late, but I had the TCM Classic Film Festival and Reel Science 2.0 to cover!

Death. No one likes to talk about it and no one likes to think about how he or she might actually exit this world. But the Hemlock Society of San Diego has some film suggestions that might change your mind.

If you are a geek like I am, then the news that Comic-Con is going to open a museum was something to be excited about. Cinema Junkie sits down with executive director Adam Smith to discuss what the museum might be like and if the term is even appropriate to describe what's coming.

Armando Iannucci, creator of "Thick of It" and "Veep," makes his feature film writing and directing debut with "The Death of Stalin." I talk with the comic genius about the challenges of doing political satire at a time when the real world is crazier than anything he can imagine. WARNING: This podcast contains explicit, Malcolm Tucker language.

The 90th Academy Awards are Sunday and one of the most misunderstood and least appreciated of the craft categories is film editing. So here is a trio of brilliant film editors to talk about their work on this year's Oscar-nominated films and to provide insights into just what film editors do.

My idea of a good date movie is "Shaun of the Dead." So maybe I'm not the best person to be making Valentine's Day recommendations. But there's one contemporary filmmaker who consistently tackles love with such lush romanticism that even I swoon at his movies. That filmmaker is Wong Kar-Wai. So as much as I hate Cupid's silly holiday, here's a Valentine to Wong Kar-Wai.

Fifty-two years ago ABC launched the TV show "Batman" and forever changed the pop culture landscape.

Noirchaelogist, Czar of noir, host of TCM's Noir Alley, founder and president of the Film Noir Foundation... whatever title you want to refer to him by, Eddie Muller is simply the man to go to when you want to know anything about film noir.

The holidays are upon us so what better time to think about spirituality. For some, movie theaters are like churches and the movies they screen can teach about how to live life.

For this podcast, Arts & Culture Reporter Beth Accomando turns to her archives for an interview with David Cronenberg about his 1996 film "Crash," adapted from J.G. Ballard's controversial 1973 novel revolving around people with symphorophilia, in this case, car-crash sexual fetishism.

It's Thanksgiving and I have a pair of films that I am feeling very thankful for right now: "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" and "The Shape of Water." Filmmaker Martin McDonagh talks about writing a film for Frances McDormand and Doug Jones talks about "suit acting" for Guillermo Del Toro.

Maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen died on March 23, 2019 at the age of 77. His schlocky B-movies won him a devout cult following and Cinema Junkie had a chance to speak with him in 2017 about his long and wild career.