Film School

COVID is not over...but with vaccinations in our arms, this may be as close as we get to the chance to look back over the past year of quarantine. How have we changed? What have we learned? What lies ahead? We talk about it. Also, Josh recommends Kingdom which is on Netflix, and Ira recommends We Bare Bears , which is on HBO Max.

We'll go on forever, Pa, 'cuz we're the people! Steinbeck's novel, based on his very real experiences embedded as a reporter amongst the dust bowlers and other migrant workers in the California agricultural scene, was a sensation at the time. The poverty, exploitation, and desperation he observed shocked many people. It's still shocking today. He turned those observations into a novel, and this fi...

We all have to start somewhere. It's the time in our creative pursuits when we know the least and need the most guidance, and yet it seems to be the hardest advice to find, sometimes! We don't have all the answers on this podcast, but we do our best on this one. Also, Josh recommends Lars and the Real Girl , and Ira recommends For All Mankind  on AppleTV+.

E.T. phone home! When Ira first watched this movie, he meant its distinction laid out in the back of the VHS cover as the "highest grossing" movie of all time meant that it was super disgusting and scary. There's probably not a single adult right now in their 30s or 40s that didn't have a major part of their childhood shaped by this Steven Spielberg tale of a boy and his super incredible out of th...

Money. We literally need it. And art doesn't pay at first. That means we can't just work on the art, we have to actually go out and make money in the meantime. Day Job. In fact, we're likely to spend the majority of our time doing work that isn't what we really want to be doing--our art. So, how do we balance that reality? How do we work the day job AND work the passion project? We discuss! Also,...

Hold your head high and keep those fists down. This movie might as well be called "Best Dad Ever." The book was Harper Lee's love note to her father, and the film is the same for Gregory Peck. He shines as Atticus Finch. So do the kids. There's an authenticity to the lives being portrayed here, a testament to the source material. So, how does this film about childhood, parenting, and racism hold u...

What's your current work in progress? REALLY simple question this week; a chance to just kind of offer an update, we suppose, but we'd love to hear what you're working on right now as well. Let's all share! :) Also, Josh recommends Peaky Blinders which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends Batman: The Animated Series , which is currently on HBO Max.

No, I will not yield! Jimmy Stew is at his wide-eyed, loquacious, man-of-the-people best here in this film that has a heart as big as the U.S. entire. It's so earnestly idealistic about the potential of politics, politicians and American democracy that it's hard to believe it was derrided at the time for being too negative. Only Smith could go to Washington, and only Stewart could be Mr. Smith. He...

When do you feel most confident? Where does that confidence come from? Are there things you can think of that make you FEEL confident? What about when your confidence leaves you--what sent it away? So much of being an artist is finding confidence within ourselves, both to complete the act of creating, and to share that work with others. So...how do we find that kind of confidence? Josh and Ira dis...

Hi, Noon! Minutes after retirement into a happily married life, Sheriff Kane (Gary Cooper) has a crisis: his nemesis Frank Miller has been released from prison, and he's on his way back to town for the purpose of taking it back over, and exacting his revenge. Kane wants to stand his ground and once again send Miller packing . . . but will anyone in the town support him this time? John Wayne is on...

So, you have an idea for a story. How do you take that idea and actually write a book from it, or make a movie? One tried and true way is to write an outline! But, how do you make one? Where do we start? Luckily, both Josh and Ira have a decent amount of experience doing just this. In this episode, we talk about how to create an outline. Also, Josh recommends  Bronson  and  My Life Directed by Nic...

Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy night! Bette Davis fights for her heart's and career's life against the up-and-coming Anne Baxter, who's insinuated herself into Bette's life perhaps . . . too much? This film is mostly known for Davis rocking her sh*t, and rock it she does. The reparte is fast and cutting, the wit is refined, and the characters are out for blood. Age comes to us all, but then a...

What role does emotion play in your creative work? How does it help? How does it hurt? Often, the stories that we're telling have a strong emotional resonance with our personal lives that feels both absolutely necessary to find truth...and a little scary and overwhelming, something we can get lost in. How do we navigate those two poles, and the find the way through? Also, we recommend Sin City: A...

Not an accident. Not suicide. Murder. Billy Wilder is in peak form on this classic black & white noir starring Barbara Stanwyk as the femme fatale and the smooth-talking Fred MacMurray as her mark, a run-of-the-mill insurance salesman with dreams of love and money. The crime itself in this one stands out as an all-timer, plus the framing device and the dramatic ending are too fun to pass up. We ha...

Routine is a haven for productivity, but it can turn into a rut. Curiosity can drive experimentation and growth, but it can lead to shiny-object syndrome...where's the balance in between? How can they feed each other?

War is hell. Based on the novella "Heart of Darkness," Francis Ford Coppola is the real star of this ambitious, disturbing, madness-inducing look into the horrors of the Vietnam War. Starring Martin Sheen and a veritable cavalcade of other recognizable actors, this film might just be the best representation ever made of how war feels . Like Sheen's Willard, it nearly cost Coppola his own sanity to...

Creative energy: a finite resource. Our ability to get good creative work done is undeniably limited to how much energy we have in any given day. How much energy we have varies from day to day. Project to project, even! So . . . with all the up and the downs, how do we maintain our drive to finish, or our ability to meet deadlines? How do we make sure we don't burn out and stay as consistent as po...

The stuff dreams are made of! Our first dyed and true NOIR has finally arrived here on the AFI's list, and boy howdy is it a cracking good time. Femme fatales, druggings in drinks, secret shooters, an ancient treasure, stabs in the back, and fast-talking jive, baby, see? Bogart is peak Bogart, the script is snappy, the characters are all angry cynics . . . and someone killed Spade's partner. Bette...

A strong "voice." We all want to be told that we have one in our writing. Every great writer has a "strong voice." Okay . . . so, what even IS a "voice" in our writing? And, how do we develop one? It's a very fuzzy, frustrating, and seemingly formless–and therefore helpless–aspect of storytelling. It feels like something you either have, or you don't. But . . . is that true? Or, is it something we...

What do you think you are for christ's sake, crazy or something?! Jack Nicholson stars as the pedophile rapist McMurphy, and Louise Fletcher as his nemesis Nurse Ratched. He's been sent to the loony bin for, by all accounts, pretending to be crazy. But, then he finds himself ever more involved in the question of if anyone  should be there. It's a touchstone of the counter-culture, an award darling...

How do you know when your story is DONE? When is it ready to share with the world? Or, even when it's ready to share with someone else for feedback? And HOW DO WE GET TO THAT POINT? If sharing our work is an act of letting go, how can we tell when we're holding onto it for too long, and when it genuinely still needs work and we have to sick it out until it's further along? It's one of the biggest...

Magic mirror on the wall! The movie that launched a studio (and two theme parks), and almost 100 years ago! Snow White is a landmark film, and just one glance at the quality of the artwork and that date--1937--is enough to make your head spin. One of the very first ever full feature-length animated films ever made, it was a sensation at the time of its release. It instantly cemented Walt Disney as...

There are shortcuts to getting an audience to fall in love with a character, and best-selling author James Rollins has come up with a list of 7 of them. This week, we discuss them!

Woody Allen, by his own admission–and the definition of statutory rape–has sexually assaulted children. This very film contains a reference to such assault. His daughter has reported assault. In at least one other film, Allen plays a character having sex with a child. There's not really much more to talk about with Woody Allen, frankly, and it's what we discussed after watching this film for the v...

Sometimes, slogging through the mud is the wrong choice. Barreling ahead with complete tunnel vision and shutting out any and all other possibilities can be foolhardy and actually hinder progress. So, how do you know when to change course? And when a change is the right thing, how do you do it? Josh and Ira chat about when this has come up in their own lives, and what they've learned from it!