Film School

In heaven everything is fine. This week, we're watching David Lynch's first film. It took him the better part of a decade to make. It's surrealist and avante garde in the way only Lynch can pull off, and it's probably his most personal, most intimate film. He kinda lets his nightmares and fears literally play out for us to see, feverish and confusing. We try to untangle it all. What works? What do...

Happy New Year! Lots of fun stuff to come on the podcast this year, and for Josh and Ira personally. We talk about what the year-to-come has in store. What's on the horizon for you?

2022. The first full post-pandemic year. It was also a major year for us here on the podcast in many ways: adjusting to society's "new normal," successes and failures in filmmaking and publishing, and our first forays beyond the AFI's Top 100 list in terms of the project this podcast is trying to tackle. So, how did we do? What will we think of when we look back on the year that was 2022? In this...

You'll shoot your eye out! Of all the Christmas movies out there that play on "americana," this one might take the cake. Even the font on the movie poster evokes Norman Rockwell. It's set during the late 30s/early 40s, and centers around Ralphy, who--like ALL kids at that age--desperately wants the perfect Christmas gift. Does he get it? We watch and find out.

Creating anything takes work. Butt in chair. Words on page. Paint on canvas. It's  work, and usually in an unrecognized, anonymous silence for years at a time. So, how do we stay motivated to keep working? Especially when it's hard? We talk about the tips, tricks and tools that we use ourselves. Also, Josh (again) recommends Entergalactic which is currently on Netflix, and Ira recommends  1899 whi...

That does not look like a towel. The 80s were a wild WILD time. Especially 80s movies. Bill Murray stars in a frenetic, crazy, bonkers adaptation of Dickens' classic  A Christmas Carol . He's a miser, asshole of a TV executive who's given one last chance to turn his life around by the ghosts of Christmas. So...how does it hold up? We find out!

Next on Film School, we're doing a deep dive on David Lynch and watching his full feature filmography. BUT FIRST...because we've fallen behind on our recordings, we're going to use the next couple weeks to "bank" some episodes to get ourselves back on track releasing each week. Here's the plan: Our Christmas films will debut as planned on December 12th and December 19th. THEN David Lynch's Deep Di...

The second album. The follow-up book. The sequel film. After all the lessons we've learned from the first project, after all that growth, effort and excitement . . . WHY IS THE SECOND PROJECT SO HARD??? And followup question: what can we do about it? Josh and Ira have both been through the famed "sophomore slump." They discuss what they've learned. Also, Josh recommends  The Mist which is currentl...

You cannot run from this -- it will follow you. Happy Halloween everybody! We conclude Spooky Season 2022 with a bang. We're watching the film that made Blumhouse and (in addition to Blair Witch) inspired an entire generation of found-footage horror films:  Paranormal Activity . The movie is almost fifteen years old now. How does it hold up???

Are you responsible for finding your own audience? And how much of your storytelling is a collaboration between you and your audience? This week, we dive into the realm of who we're writing for and how it impacts our art. Also, Josh recommends  Summit of the Gods  which is on Netflix, and Ira recommends the Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes films, several of which are on Amazon Prime right now.

Why won't he die? Jamie Lee Curtis is back in danger! Michael Meyers just can't seem to be stopped, even when she's supposedly safe in the hospital. It's one of the only sequels we can think of that literally starts AT THE END of the first movie and picks up from there. John Carpenter, man . . . he's on another level. We watch and discuss!

We call it "finishing energy." It's the effort it takes to push something all the way to the end. Usually, it's far more than we ever imagined. So, how do we muster "finishing energy?" When resistance is at its peak because we're *so* *close* to finishing, how do we suck it up and move forward? Josh and Ira discuss what's worked for them! Also, Josh recommends  The Professional  and  Collateral ,...

If we stay here, we'll die. Six women enter an unmapped cave . . . and shit goes down. This week for Spooky Season, we're diving into Neil Marshall's  The Descent , which might have the coolest freaking movie poster ever made. So, how does it hold up? Does it bring the noise? We scream and discuss!

How important are ideas? Super important, right? Of course! BUT . . . are they the most important thing when it comes to telling a great story? What about execution? If an idea is just an idea until it's fully realized, how can we properly foster it and build it into something wonderful? Josh and Ira discuss their own experiences. Also, Josh (does not) recommend  Alone on Hulu, and Ira (kind of) r...

Was that the boogeyman? As a matter of fact, it is! For our first-ever "Spooky Season," we're watching a horror touchstone, and a seminal moment in "slasher" film history: John Carpenter's  Halloween . Does it still deliver the scares and the screams? We watch and find out.

How do you take care of your BODY? We talk so much on this podcast about taking care of the mind, but our brains live inside a body. It's also so, SO important to take care of our physical selves, something we often forget. Josh and Ira talk about their own successes and failures with physical self-care. Also, Josh recommends  Top Chef (again) which is on Hulu, and Ira recommends  Alone which is a...

No man can be friends with a woman that he finds attractive. This week, wrapping up our "You Gotta See This!" excursion, we're watching Nora Ephron and Rob Reiner's  When Harry Met Sally , also known as the movie that taught us to fall in love with our best friend. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan shine. So does the script. It's practically a perfect movie. Enjoy.

How do you create a great character? We're revisiting the topic this week from a previous episode with a new twist on how to answer the question: when was a time that you went above and beyond to create a character, and it paid off big time? Both Josh and Ira share instances from their experience. Also, Ira recommends  Seinfeld which is not quite the show you remember in its earliest episodes, and...

Sounds like you chaps have had an interesting night. This week, it's micro-budget indie to the EXTREME. These chaps from jolly old England made  Cosmos on a minuscule six hundred dollars. SIX. HUNDRED. A guys go out into the countryside for a night of looking at the stars . . . and find something else, instead. We discuss!

How much time or importance should we invest in planning/learning/theory, and how much time should we invest in hands-on execution? Planning can be an endless endeavor which leads to never finishing anything; but then again, you can dive into creating something without enough preparation and burn out. So . . . BOTH would seem to be absolutely necessary. So, where does the rubber meet the road? Wha...

There aren't many sci-fi films that can approach 2001: A Space Odyssey . Tarkovsky's  Solaris does . . . and it might even surpass it, at least for the two of us. This week, we're talking about the famed Russian director's expressionistic, emotional, hypnotizing dive into science fiction. His mechanism: an alien planet that seems to understand the people in our lives that we've lost and miss the m...

What is the difference between a professional and an amateur? We can all agree that the two aren't the same thing, so what differentiates them? And if we are an amateur and want to be a professional, *HOW* do we do that? Josh and Ira discuss what the difference is for them, and how they've worked on 'going pro' in their own lives. Also...Josh recommends the 2012 Teeange Mutant Ninja Turtles animat...

Are you stealing? This week, we watch the Berlin-made, one-shot sensation  Victoria . And yes, the did actually shoot the entire two-plus hour film in one take. It's a love story, a poem to a drunken night out, AND a heist/thriller. We discuss how well it weaves in all those things together. Enjoy!

Can you tell a story about a lesson that you, personally as the storyteller, haven't learned yet? Or, put another way: what are the dangers of NOT writing what you know? Can the process of storytelling teach you that lesson, or provide you with that insight? And what happens if it doesn't? How does that affect your audience? We discuss! Also, Josh recommends the book  Letter to a Stranger edited b...

I am your MOTHER! Man...this movie brings the noise. Toni Colette stars in the debut feature from newly minted scare-master Ari Aster. It's a film about family trauma, grief, and how those two forces can rob us of our own agency. Also: it's really freaking scary. We watch, discuss, and break it down!