Cinema Sounds & Secrets

Welcome to another Cinema Sounds and Secrets tribute episode! Today's tribute is for iconic singer and entertainer Tony Bennett. Born Anthony Dominick Benedetto in 1926, he was surrounded by music from an early age. His talent was clear early on, performing for his family and making art in his neighborhood. He would later take singing lessons to develop his sound and technique before serving in th...

This week's tribute episode is dedicated to director and producer Ivan Reitman. Reitman was born in Czechoslovakia and arrived in Canada with his family as refugees, where he would get a job at a local television station, earn a Bachelor of Music, and begin directing short films. Some of his legendary directing and producing work includes National Lampoon's Animal House (1978), Meatballs (1979), S...

This week's tribute is for Ryan O'Neal. Son of a screenwriter and actress, O'Neal first trained to be an amateur boxer before discovering his passion for acting. Starting out as an extra and stuntman, he moved from Germany to the United States and made his first television appearance as a guest star on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis . After his role in the soap opera Peyton Place , he began findin...

This week's episode focuses on Ned Beatty, known for his reputation as "the busiest actor in Hollywood." With a career that spanned five decades and 160 films, Janet and John discuss his amazing work as an actor. Known for roles in Deliverance (1972), White Lighting (1973), All the President's Men (1976), Superman (1978), and many more, Beatty had an incredible career, despite never studying actin...

Working Girl (1988), Something's Gotta Give (2003), and Moonstruck (1987). This week Janet and John hang with sisters taking care of business in three truly fabulous beloved romantic comedy-dramas starring 3 great comic actresses whose careers now span over 40 years, all set in New York! To learn more about this episode and others, visit the official Cinema Sounds & Secrets website.

"Life is made up of small pleasures. Happiness is made up of those tiny successes. The big ones come too infrequently. And if you don't collect all these tiny successes, the big ones don't really mean anything."  Today's tribute episode is for Norman Lear– a truly incredible screenwriter and producer who created or developed over 100 shows including All in the Family, Maude, Sanford and Son, One D...

Wry, funny, low-key, slow burn, a thinking man's comedian who could write, direct, produce and crack up the stoic TV Host Johnny Carson with the flick and an eye. He worked with nearly every great director, writer, playwright, and actor in the 60's..70's..80's.. 90's.. and 2000's...of course you know I'm talkin' about here. The guy who was almost Benjamin in the Graduate... Charles Grodin. To lear...

 "There's no point being a good actor in bad stuff. The crucial moment for an actor is to be good in a hit. Then it works." Today's Tribute Episode is for Tom Wilkinson - a stellar actor who had more than 100 film and television appearances and garnered a BAFTA Award , a Golden Globe Award , a Primetime Emmy Award as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards . To l...

A transatlantic career that lasted more than 60 years, this week the team at Cinema Sounds & Secrets memorialize one Glynis Johns. Renowned for the breathy quality of her husky voice, Johns won herself Tony Awards and film roles throughout the decades of her career. Possibly most known for her rendition of "Send in the Clowns" or her portryal of a Edwardian sufferagte in Mary Poppins, Glynis Johns...

Citizen Kane (1941) & It Happened One Night (1934) For our 25th show, we're spending time with two of the greatest films ever made. This is going to be great fun to dive back into two of our personal favorites; films Janet saw the first time as a little kid on the weekend movie shows on the local LA TV stations. The first is a masterpiece: the director-writer-producer-actor of the movie studied Jo...

This week's Tribute episode focuses on one Bill Kenwright! With a little light footwork, a bit of song and dance, quite a bit of "quiet on set", decades worth of films, and Premiere league football from a local boy who lived his dream and made life entertaining, Janet and John sit down to discuss the one and only Kenwright.  To learn more about this episode and others, visit the official  Cinema S...

In this week's tribute episode, Janet and John discuss the wonderful Louise Fletcher. Probably most well known for her role in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest , Fletcher has made her mark in the world of cinema as Nurse Ratched and through other films and television. Born in 1934, Fletcher first acted in projects at the end of 50's like Lawman and Maverick . After winning the Oscar for Cu...

Welcome to another Tribute episode for CSS! Today we discuss a true legend; Harry Belafonte was an American singer, actor and activist, who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s. Belafonte is one of the few performers to have received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT), although he won the Oscar in a non-competitive category. Join Janet and John in another moving...

This week's tribute focues on one Treat Williams! Probably best known from his 1979 films, the musical Hair  and Steven Spielberg's 1941 , the actor extrodinare also had a lengthy and long career with films like Once Upon a Time in America, the Late Shift, and 127 Hours . With over 60 acting credits to his name over his career and a lengthy list of nomations (three Golden Globe Awards, two Satelli...

Encore! Encore! - This week we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes from the last year: our  tribute to Angela Lansbury. At the age of 86, she's an inadvertent role model for how to live one's later years with absolute imagination and style. To learn more about this episode and others, visit the  Official Cinema Sounds & Secrets website ! 

There's noir and then there Noir .  Today we discuss two films that are at the top of the list of "The Greats" – both featuring scorned women. One is an unflinching look at stardom, the cruelty of celebrity, the hell of being an aging actress and the clamor for fame. The other? Lust, money and an inconvenient husband has our lead actress portraying one of the baddest female baddies ever in a movie...

Welcome to Cinema Sounds & Secrets, a podcast that is over two years in the making. We bring you the secrets, sounds, and fab facts about some of the greatest movies ever made over the past 120 years. Tune in every week for a new episode, and visit the Cinema Sounds & Secrets website for more information. 

Welcome to another Tribute episode of Cinema Sounds & Secrets! This week we focus on the work and the life of Walter Mirisch, the acclaimed American film producer. Probably most known for being the Producer of Best Picture Winner, In the Heat of the Night ( 1960), Mirisch was a force on the American film making stage. After starting his own production company at age 29, he went on to produce other...

Welcome to another Tribute episode of Cinema Sounds & Secrets! This week we pay homage to Peter Bogdanavich, acclaimed actor, writer, and among other things -- film historian! His love of film started young, reviewing every movie he saw on a small note card. Bogdonavich is remembered for his projects like Paper Moon (1973) and The Last Picture Show (1971), as well as a reoccouring role on The Sopr...

Welcome to another CSS Tribute episode.  If Michael Gambon is known for one role, then it's most likely for the role of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter Franchise of films. Playing the character for a total of 6 films, he was able to fill the minds and hearts of many who watched the films over the years. An Irish-born actor, he drew admiration from his other stage and screen work to both audie...

Airplane (1980) & Groundhog Day (1993)   Our films this week are here to make you laugh out loud. One turns the phrase " the friendly skies " on it's head, it's back, and it's side -- then tosses everything into a blender for a puree of absolute mayhem. Our other comedy takes us through a ten year, never-ending nightmare in the course of two hours. The film does it so perfectly that you'll watch t...

Welcome to another CSS Tributes Episode, focusing on the one and only Alan Arkin. The New York Times described Arkin as a " comic actor with a serious side ", which can be seen in his depth of movies and television. From Little Miss Sunshine, to Argo, to The Kominsky Method, Arkin wracked up nominations and praise throughout the course of his career. In addition to acting, he found a love of writi...

Welcome to another CSS Tribute episode! Matthew Perry is probably most well known for his leading role as Chandler Bing on the show Friends, which ran for a decade (1994-2004) to millions of viewers. Universally adorded, Perry started in stand up comedy, quickly transitioning to film and television by the late eighties. After gaining a massive audience with Friends, he went onto star in shows and...

Way Out West (1937) & The Magnificent Seven (1960) Like a hand in a glove, a dog with a bone, and a spoke in a wheel... our first film features a comedy duo unlike any other. They were the perfect fit - spanning vaudeville, silent movies, the talkies, and even television. Their pairing in a classic Western comedy has one of our favorite musical dance scenes ever. Our other "way out west" western t...

Welcome to another CSS Tribute episode! This tribute is for Tina Turner: This St. Louis nightclub singer-turned "Queen of Rock" toured the world, playing alongside top-billed performers such as Mick Jagger and Bryan Adams. Turner won 8 Grammy's, was nominated for 25, and was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.  To learn more about this episode and others, visit the official Cinema...