The Film Stage Presents

Like the old song goes: summer’s here and the time is right for dancing in the street. While the theater has its benefits as a restrictive space, and we do not encourage interrupting those to your immediate left and right with heavy movement, one appreciates, at times, the excuse to tap your feet. Or at least a reminder that theaters aren’t just about a big screen, but a sound system better than t...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we discuss America’s Sweetheart: Julia Roberts! Our B-Sides include: I Love Trouble, America’s Sweethearts, Full Frontal, and Larry Crowne. Our lovely guest is Joe Reid of Vulture and the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. We discuss Julia’s frequ...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we discuss one of the greatest film directors to ever live: Steven Spielberg! Our B-Sides are 1941, Hook, Amistad, and The Adventures of Tintin. Our guest is dear friend and incredible writer Bilge Ebiri! As of this writing, he just publ...

The thing about filmmaker John Sayles is that he has done everything. Do you love Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist? Sayles' unmade screenplay Night Skies is a piece of the source code for both classics. How about The Big Chill? Sayles' lovely Return of the Secaucus 7 (which he wrote and directed) investigated the curdling of the baby boomers' American drea...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.  Today we discuss perhaps the most likeable movie star alive: Goldie Hawn! Our B-Sides include: Butterflies Are Free, The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox, Seems Like Old Times, and Deceived. Our guest today is dear friend Jen Johans, host of the sup...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.  Today we talk about a truly underrated star: Laurence Fishburne! Our B-Sides include: Bad Company, Fled, Hoodlum, and Biker Boyz. Conor and guest host Mitchell Beaupre discuss Fishburne’s early work, his movie star run (the mid-90s, of which thre...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.  Today we talk about one of the most successful performers of all time: Eddie Murphy! Our B-Sides include: Metro, Holy Man, Life, and I Spy. Our guests today are filmmaker and returning guest Nicholas Gray and incredible actor Alvin Keith.  We dis...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.  Today we celebrate an actor with an incredible range: Chow Yun-fat. Our B-Sides include 100 Ways to Murder Your Wife, City War, Peace Hotel, and The Corruptor.  We discuss Chow Yun-fat’s emergence in Hong Kong, his early work with John Woo, the b...

Whatever the last great horror movie was, I doubt it was so strange or compelling as City Wide Fever. Shot on video, seemingly whenever the talent had free time from whatever else they were doing, this is a film rejects the eye-deadening digital that defines so many genre movies that go for prestige only to end up at TUBI. It’s also funny, with a sense of humor that is pranksterish, even juvenile...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we celebrate our greatest living comedian: Steve Martin! Our B-Sides include The Man with Two Brains, The Lonely Guy, The Spanish Prisoner, and Novocaine. Our guest is our dear friend Eric D. Snider, avowed Steve Martin fan and all-around sm...

How often do you think about dolphins? That’s a serious question. Because it’s a topic worth turning over, which makes especially valuable… deep breath as I say the title… John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office, a documentary about the man whose work with dolphins blurred boundaries between science and counterculture. The filmmakers are Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens. While t...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we discuss Spike Lee! One of our absolute favorite filmmakers! Our B-Sides today are: Girl 6, Get on the Bus, Summer of Sam, Passing Strange, and Chi-Raq. We discuss what makes Lee a singular artist, his early films and early success, hi...

Take one step into the world of festivals and you'll understand that making a movie isn't just "making a movie." Even if one has the fortune to get some money for the script they've slaved over, get some actors in front of a camera, and survive the labyrinthine editing process, a veritable mountain of tasks faces those hoping to actually get the thing up and running. I might not know anybody who's...

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today, however, we talk about Oscar movies (!), or better yet, movies that remind us of Oscar movies! Conor and I welcome back the great Chris Feil, co-host of This Had Oscar Buzz! Today, we dive into defunct Academy Awa...

Last month brought suitable mourning for Robert Duvall and Frederick Wiseman, whose legacies are so enshrined that the lengthy obituaries published by major outlets could have—likely were—written years ago. But immediately after came a quieter announcement that hit me hardest: Tom Noonan, the actor best-known for his collaborations with Michael Mann and Charlie Kaufman, and a filmmaker who made fo...

Welcome back. After a brief hiatus, I am so happy to bring you episode 19 of this podcast project. Few subjects make a better benchmark than Werner Herzog, who quite literally needs no introduction and to whom I will accordingly not grant such. He is presenting his new film, Ghost Elephants, a documentary concerning South African naturalist Steve Boyse and his quest for a near-mythical species of...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.  Today we celebrate one of our great Welshmen: Anthony Hopkins! Our B-Sides include When Eight Bells Toll, Juggernaut, Spotswood, and Instinct. Our guest is the great Brian Raftery, whose new book Hannibal Lecter: A Life “traces the many lives and...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. And sometimes we’re lucky enough to talk to the movie stars about their B-Sides. The great Sam Rockwell joins us today to chat about his new film, Gore Verbinski's Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, as well as B-Sides like Lawn Dogs, Safe Men, Snow A...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.  Today we celebrate Canadian greatness. We celebrate Rachel McAdams! Our B-Sides include The Lucky Ones, The Time Traveller's Wife, Passion, and Every Thing Will Be Fine. We also spend some time on The Hot Chick, and do a couple of Rachel McAdams-...

On a special 2025 wrap-up podcast, The Film Stage co-founder and editor-in-chief Jordan Raup is joined by managing editor and Emulsion host Nick Newman and The B-Side co-host Conor O'Donnell to discuss our favorite films of the year. We also discuss our favorite first-viewings of the year, favorite documentaries, the most overrated and most overlooked films of 2025. Before signing off, we provide...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we discuss America’s everyman and one of its most indelible movie stars: James Stewart! Our returning guest is our dear friend Mitchell Beaupre, Head of Editorial at Letterboxd and our B-Sides today include Vivacious Lady, You Gotta Stay Hap...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we celebrate filmmaker James L. Brooks! His new movie Ella McKay is in theaters now! Our returning guest is very good friend Adam Drosin, and together we are The Brooks Brothers. Our B-Sides today are I’ll Do Anything (musical cut includ...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we talk about someone who played Bond, James Bond, and Blanc, Benoit Blanc. It’s Daniel Craig! Our returning guest is the great Gavin Mevius, co-host of both The Mixed Reviews Podcast and The Q Division on Glitterjaw. Our B-Sides today inclu...

One of the many special things in Train Dreams, directed by Clint Bentley, is the production design. Nearly every element of each setting feels like it was just sitting there, waiting to be captured. Of course, this is not the case. It was meticulously, carefully planned and built. The Film Stage's Dan Mecca was lucky and honored to speak with Alexandra Schaller, the film’s production designer, ab...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we discuss Richard Linklater! He’s an American indie legend who we recently just spoke to! With two new films out here at the end of 2025 (Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague), we discuss his B-Sides: SubUrbia, The Newton Boys, Me and Orson Wel...