DESIGNERS ON FILM

This episode is dedicated to Michele Singer Reiner and Rob Reiner, and was originally released for our 1st Season in February 2025. The Princess Bride, based on William Goldmans book with a screenplay by William Goldman, is directed by Rob Reiner. "Romance, comedy, suspense, pirates, mystery, and a quest all blended into a single, action-packed movie? Inconceivable!" No, Vizzini, it exists, and it...

Dr. George Ellis, who in addition to being a urologist, is a producer making films, getting them into festivals where he's won plenty of awards. We talk about filmmaking as equal parts design thinking and social experimentation, and why as a producer it's important to have a methodical approach. We discuss his new film Mortal Sin, why theaters matter, and we touch on the Warner Brothers and Netfli...

"It came for the thrill of the hunt. It picked the wrong man to hunt." Predator (1987) features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Sonny Landham, and was directed by John McTiernan (who also directed 1988's Die Hard). One by one, the predator hunts and massacres soldiers, and eventually kills a rescue team led by Schwarzenegger's Dutch. Today's guest was so fascinated by the movie th...

What am I thankful for this holiday season? Dan Trachtenberg's Prey from 2022. Diane Faye Zerr, who has never been a Predator fan, talks about how much she enjoyed 2022's Prey, savoring every minute of Naru in action, "She doesn't have assault rifles, she doesn't have grenades," says Diane. We also talk about the next movie in the saga, the recently released Predator: Badlands, starring Elle Fanni...

The 2025 Predator: Badlands movie takes the Predator and Yautja mythology into a new, unforeseen realm. Dek, who's ridiculed, persecuted, and then banished from his family, winds up on a strange planet where he befriends a synthetic organism played by Elle Fanning, known as Thia. She has a punk look with a new wave, futuristic charm. Thia and Dek team up to battle monsters and the greedy, evil Wey...

In the 2016 documentary The Happy Film, designer Stefan Sagmeister started the film's creative process with one set of expectations and ultimately became a co-director who took multiple risks, and suffered a tremendous loss. During the filmmaking, co-director Hillman Curtis passed away. Stefan's movie about happiness not only forces us to look at his life but also our own lives with a fresh perspe...

Movies and guests coming soon! Stefan Sagmeister who talks about his documentary The Happy Film (2006), plus plenty of other awesome guests COMING SOON! Get ready for upcoming episodes. WATCH NOW! The Happy Film (2016) with Stefan Sagmeister - https://sagmeister.com/ rent or purchase The Happy Film @ Amazon https://amzn.to/3WIdnb6 Amelie (2002) with Zipeng Zhu - https://www.instagram.com/zzdesign/...

In a previous episode, illustrator and graphic designer Daisy Koenig talked about what makes David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) so appealing, and explained why the movie is always on a constant rotation in the back of her mind. In this bonus episode, she talks about other Cronenberg movies that have left a mark. - Daisy Koenig, a graduate of Winthrop University's design program, is a freelance illu...

David Cronenberg's The Fly (1986) stars Jeff Goldblum as Seth Brundle, a brilliant scientist who creates a teleportation process using telepods. Geena Davis, who was Goldblum's real-life partner during the filming, plays the ambitious journalist Veronica who falls in love with Brundle. Coming in at approximately an hour and 36 minutes, Cronenberg's remake of the 1958 movie (which was based on a 19...

Jack, Wendy, and Danny Torrance stay at The Overlook Hotel, caring for the estate during its off-season period. Jack has been outlining a new writing project and believes that five months of peace is just what's needed, but all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Fortunately, Danny has been mentored by Dick Hallorann, who provides cautionary advice and special instructions such as, "Stay out o...

For Zac Lim Eubank, there's only one movie that delivers exceptional sound design, calculated editing, and non-stop tension, and it's Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Cure. Random acts of violence seem to follow a mysterious, wandering man who appears ghost-like but is very grounded in reality. - Zac Lim Eubank is Chief Creative Officer at Hyper Rabbit Media, an award-winning video production, interactive, and...

Catalina Z. Olvera recalls seeing Weapons in a jam-packed theater, and observing the movie's villain Aunt Gladys for the first time. We also talk about the difference between seeing a horror movie late at night on a small screen in the darkness of your den, or watching it on the big screen with friends and family, as well as strangers, surrounding you. Plus, we reflect on the way design factors in...

Director and writer Jasmine Osean Thomas and production designer Kyle Marchiafava talk about Kandie (2025), and how various influences come together to make this unsettling horror movie. Notably, Jasmine and her team use visuals to provide backstory, with a variety of graphic, photographic, typographic, and artistic elements revealing a character's interests and passions, as well as inner demons....

October is here, which means, yes, that's right: SCARY MOVIES. This month, guests will talk about Cure, The Shining, and Weapons, plus the brand new short film making the rounds at festivals, Kandie. See this episode's notes for further information, and as a reminder, leave a voicemail or send a text if you have a question or a guest to recommend, and while you're at it, why not recommend yourself...

Erin Sarofsky and Duarte Elvas talk about working with James Gunn for the past ten years, and how trust contributed to the title designs that Sarofsky did for Superman (2025). Erin and Duarte also share details about how research, concept development, and typography factored into the end result, and why tactile, hands-on work can stand out, rather than AI-generated "photo real" images that look an...

Before Sir Alec Guinness was Obi-Wan Kenobi, he adapted Joyce Cary's book The Horse's Mouth into the 1958 movie. In addition to writing the screenplay, Guinness starred as Gulley Jimson, an artist who is dedicated but snide, talented but demanding, endearing but dishonest. Jimson charms and delights, and nothing will get in the way of his vision. Even worse, he leaves havoc in his wake. Roymieco C...

Muralist and illustrator, UX and AR designer Mike Wirth talks about why Back to School is the perfect antidote to the End of the Summer Blues, and why teachers, instructors, and professors should give it a watch, or a re-watch. - Mike Wirth is a leader in Jewish Futurism art and philosophy, using speculative design methods to reimagine Jewish culture, traditions, and technology for the future in h...

Bill Childs, accomplished marketing leader, author, designer, and mentor, talks about his journey to becoming a teacher and why Dead Poets Society means so much to him. - Bill Childs is an accomplished marketing leader with a history of award-winning ideas brought to life through the skillful and creative translation of strategic business objectives, creating revenue-generating campaigns. A collab...

Upcoming episodes will feature movies all about school, with guests sharing their own memories, and talking about why they themselves became teachers. But while preparing those episodes, on Wednesday August 27th, yet another shooting stopped me in my tracks, and it's been hard to focus, hard to even articulate all the emotions coursing through my veins. It's overwhelming, scary, unsettling. Below...

Snoopy Presents: A Summer Musical is a brand new Peanuts story, released on Apple TV+ in 2025. Characters created by Charles M. Schulz that we know and love, Charlie, Snoopy, Woodstock, Sally, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Marcie, and so many more, sing and dance their way through summer camp with music by Ben Folds. Whether you're a fan of the Peanuts from way back when, or a first-time viewer, it's an...

Sam Beddoes of FreakZone Games talks about The Rocky Horror Show (1974), the original stage musical that became the movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). Going in depth, explaining the differences between each production, he also talks about how he made The Rocky Horror Show Video Game. We also discuss Brian De Palma, The Office, Dead Poets Society, Labyrinth, Sweeney Todd, Jennifer's Body,...

We're back! Season 2! More great guests, more great movies, more great discussions. Have a question or guest recommendation? You want to be a guest? Have a movie review? Call our hotline 704-681-6880 and leave a voicemail. Remember! Subscribe AND provide a review wherever you listen to podcasts! - contact us, share your thoughts: https://www.designersonfilm.com/hollaback - more about the podc...

Recapping some Season 1 highlights, summer movies, and looking ahead to Season 2. - Episodes Mentioned https://www.designersonfilm.com/podcast/seven-days-in-may-1964-with-steven-heller https://www.designersonfilm.com/podcast/all-the-presidents-men-1976-bierut https://www.designersonfilm.com/podcast/civil-war-2024-with-diane-faye-zerr https://www.designersonfilm.com/podcast/my-octopus-teacher-2020-...

About two weeks away from the release of Gunn's Superman, we hear from Tom Muller, Giovanna Chung, and Jen Hood who are all super excited for the new movie. - Superman Official Teaser Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhUht6vAsMY - Tom Muller https://www.hellomuller.com/ - Giovanna Chung https://kindredspiritsdesign.co/ - Jen Hood https://hoodzpahdesign.com/

In a prior episode, designer and illustrator Matt Stevens talked about why 2022's The Batman is such a great movie and how it has some elements from David Fincher's Se7en plus inspirations from various Batman sources, creating a unique vision. Matt does something similar in his own work. His latest project, Good Movies as Old Books from Chronicle Books reimagines films as vintage book covers. In t...