Director's Club

One of my favorite cinephiles on the planet joins me today to talk about a director they were thrilled to discuss. Film writer and podcaster extraordinare Mitchell Beaupre is a regular at Filmspotting Trivia which is where our paths first crossed and I have been following their work ever since. We get to know a little more about Mitchell during the intro but mainly sing the praises of most (if not...

Michael Glover Smith loves movies so much, it was inevitable that he would go on to make some of his own. Not only that, he writes about movies, teaches film classes, and has even written a book on Chicago film history. I had the immense pleasure of finally catching up with MERCURY IN RETROGRADE and shared my reaction to a casting choice during our interview here, but the bulk of the conversation...

So you might remember him as Arnie from CHRISTINE and that's where I first became aware of the terrific talent of one writer/director/actor extraordinaire Keith Gordon . He's been on Director's Club a half dozen times which is truly an honor and a pleasure. We continue a yearly tradition where we check in and take the opportunity to nerd out about the cinema of years past. We go back to talk about...

Bonus episodes will be ending soon! We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program in a matter of days for sure. Instead of making this a Patreon exclusive, I decided to share this with everyone since it is a special one. Once again, I’m joined by Chicago film critic Erik Childress of the Movie Madness podcast as well as co-host of The Friendship Dilemma to record a full-length feature commentar...

Tis the season for more bonus content but soon enough Bill Ackerman will be bringing us an official director-centric episode soon. For this excursion into something besides movies, I once hosted called Voices & Visions and I would recruit friend and Austin-based journalist Dan Solomon to go back 20 years to talk about a year in music - an art form that I love every bit much as film. For this r...

For those who don't know, my favorite way to exercise has always been swimming. I'm slowly getting back into it as a regular part of my daily routine. Not only that, Frank Perry's THE SWIMMER is becoming an all-time favorite of mine with every viewing and I wanted to talk to a true film historian about it. Sergio Mims returns to the show for another bonus discussion on this fascinating Burt Lancas...

Jay Cheel is a writer/director/editor as well as a co-host of the podcast responsible for turning me into a podcaster, Film Junk. I thought why not talk with him right after dropping Episode 200 about his excellent Shudder series, Cursed Films which recently put out its second season that I highly encourage you to see. Always great to talk with such a talented, articulate filmmaker like Jay. His s...

Episode 200 is here (technically this is the 300th episode if you include bonus episodes). Of course, I had to invite my original co-host and dear friend Patrick Ripoll back to the show since it all began with him and I talking about Cameron Crowe in front of microphones back in January 2011. This serves as not only a celebration of the podcast but as an early birthday treat. So why not talk about...

One of my very favorite people on the planet joins me to talk about a director that was covered a decade ago but deserves revisiting especially in light of his more recent work. The wonderful Sharon Gissy, creator of the Mental Filmness Film Festival returns to the show to talk all about groundbreaking director Todd Haynes . I know many years ago on the show I brought attention to his masterpiece...

As we get closer to Episode 200 (technically Episode 300 if you count bonus episodes), one of the more exciting traditions that started seven years ago in 2015 continues onward with the help of Chicago film critics and pals Collin Souter & Erik Childress as we look back at an entire year in cinema and this one could very well be the longest episode of the show ever. There's so much to cover, s...

Most of my new episodes this year are all about revising, rethinking and revisiting directors covered here in the past. Yes, I guess you can call these sequels but "reboots are in." Joining me to talk about one of my favorite filmmakers this time are two wonderful podcasters and writers of the highest caliber. Returning guest Ryan McNeil of The Matinee. Ca is back alongside the one and only Marya...

For this bonus episode, I announce the winners of the Blu-Ray giveaway during the introduction and talk about future plans and possible revisions. Those changes will be confirmed in the months to come but this episode is mainly just a quick showcase regarding the movie that changed my life forever. I’ve talked about it a lot in the past and have done some interviews about it. Here, I just put thre...

Another year in cinema has come and gone. 2021 was certainly one of the more difficult and challenging years for me personally (we all needed lots of hugs) but it's ended on a high note particularly with the films discussed here. As always, I needed to invite special guests to celebrate the year in cinema, two familiar voices you know and love join me to discuss our favorite films of 2021. Returni...

Joining me today for a shorter but another in-depth discussion is the wonderful co-host of Christmas Movies Actually , Kerry Finegan. Over a year ago, she asked if I had done an episode on this director yet and of course, this is one I have wanted to cover for quite some time having only seen a couple of his films two decades ago. As stated in the episode, there simply has to be a sequel in the fu...

You may not know the name of today's guest but hopefully you are aware of the subject of his new documentary, ADRIENNE . This is one of the best films of 2021. Personally, the radiant Adrienne Shelly was one of my favorite actresses ever since discovering her in the early 90s through the work of Hal Hartley. Then she went on to write and direct one of my favorite romantic comedies, Waitress , whic...

Having made three films as a director, Sarah Polley has become one of my favorite storytellers. All of her work has reflected an experience I’ve had to one degree or another and I’ve been a fan of hers going all the way back to her roles in films like GO and THE SWEET HEREAFTER. Joining me for an insightful discussion on her extraordinary three movies is returning guest and friend Kate Blair , who...

Director's Club is proud to present a special episode hosted by regular contributor Bill Ackerman of the Supporting Characters podcast. He is joined by filmmaker and film programmer Chris O'Neill to talk about the latest film, Zeros and Ones from the last director we covered on the show, Abel Ferrara. In addition, there is an interview with the director himself which is a true honor. I can't thank...

The Chicago Critics Film Association throws an annual film fest , giving the public a chance to see buzzed-about unreleased films that deserve to be seen on the big screen. This year's lineup includes a 40th anniversary 35mm midnight screening of Michael Mann's THIEF in addition to several titles that critics are raving about including Maggie Gyllenhall's THE LOST DAUGHTER and Jane Campion's THE P...

One of the best guests you can have on any movie podcast would be Supporting Characters host Bill Ackerman, who returns for a yearly visit, this time to talk about the down & dirty gritty auteur Abel Ferrara . Usually for October, we try our best to talk about a horror director and though Ferrara isn't classified as one, you can certainly look at his films as being disturbing with some horrific sc...

Inspired by one of my favorite podcasts, Screen Drafts , I decided to revise their general format for just this episode in which Movie Madness host Erik Childress and I collaborated on what we feel are the top ten Richard Donner movies. Yes, this is subjective and we consider these to be personal favorites overall but there were a couple of twists along the way mainly due to different placement an...

I wasn't sure what to say or write about today or even what happened 20 years ago. So I just got out a microphone and put out my thoughts through this quick bonus episode in addition to including a previously recorded review of 25TH HOUR that Patrick and I once shared for the Spike Lee podcast. Hopefully you are reflecting, remembering and holding on as best you can. Share your thoughts on this fi...

Jim here! I'm back as your monthly host! And since this era of filmmaking isn't necessarily my area of expertise, of course I had to recruit a "magnificent" returning guest by the name of Sergio Mims who of course adores the Western genre and even came up with the roster of underseen titles by the great John Sturges. You may know him as the director of such beloved classics like THE GREAT ESCAPE,...

Nearly ten years ago, Jim and Patrick tried doing an episode on this beloved Hong Kong filmmaker but technology wasn't entirely cooperative back then. It was still released, but incomplete. Now many episodes later, Patrick returns sans Jim to try again with some great help as always from reliable, returning guest and podcaster extraordinare Bill Ackerman ( Supporting Characters ). This time, they...

No, the old format didn't go away. This is just something special. If you want more bonus content like this, please join the Director's Club Patreon for only $5/month. You'll help support this show, Voices + Visions and the Now Playing Network. In the introduction, I establish a new monthly offering for those wanting more shorter content in the future in addition to the regular show. Hopefully the...

Great Scott! Patrick returns to host a different approach to an episode in which he and returning guest Andrew James run down an entire filmography. So no more what we watched segment or parody songs just three and a half hours focused on action director Tony Scott starting at the beginning of his career all the way to the end. Follow along with the filmography below as well as follow both Patrick...