The NO NOTES Podcast

John Early joins NO NOTES to talk about MADDIE'S SECRET, his directorial debut, in which he plays food-media dishwasher Maddie Ralph—a woman who goes viral and slowly comes apart. He gets into screening Showgirls for the cast to give everyone permission to reach; why Conner O'Malley is his favorite comedian alive; the sincere-in-a-silly-movie lesson he took from Wet Hot American Summer; an...

Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol join NO NOTES to talk about NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE—the comedy they made with barely a script, writing backwards from whatever actually happened when they took a camera into the streets of Toronto (yes, they really got up the CN Tower). They get into why they'd never leave Canada, a tribute to the late Catherine O'Hara, and some details about 'Tony,' Matt...

Adrian Chiarella joins Schmear to talk Leviticus , his debut queer horror feature out of Australia. We get into the origin of that biblical title and the sermon scene he cut, why he refused to cast 25-year-olds as teenagers, and how he found his two leads, Joe Bird and Stacey Clausen , including the dual role that meant building a horror entity from scratch. Adrian breaks down the films in the DNA...

Michael Sarnoski —director of Pig and A Quiet Place: Day One —sits down with No Notes to talk about The Death of Robin Hood , in theaters now. We get into the centuries-old ballad he first read as a ten-year-old, handed to him by a family friend after his father passed, and how that quiet, mortal ending of an "immortal" folk hero never let him go. Plus: casting Hugh Jackman as a Robin wh...

Hiro Murai sat down with us, and we still can't believe it. The director behind Atlanta, This Is America, Station Eleven, Mr. & Mrs. Smith , and now Apple TV+'s Widow's Bay joins Schmear and Sena to get into all of it. We talk about the cozy-and-terrifying tone of Widow's Bay , working with Matthew Rhys and creator Katie Dippold , and why Hiro chases the feeling of "Is thi...

Curry Barker is the director of OBSESSION — the wickedly funny, deeply unsettling horror film that had us screaming with joy at South by Southwest. Sena and Gabriel sit down with him to talk wishes gone wrong, the comedy-to-horror pipeline, and the breakout performance from Inde Navarrette . Curry walks us through how a story about a couple obsessed with each other curdled into a meditation on mas...

Mile End Kicks star Devon Bostick joins Schmear and Sena for a conversation about one of the most charming Canadian films of the year. Devon shares his NO NOTES perfect movie pick, gets into what it was like to return to the exact era he was filming Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and channel all of that into Archie and raves about co-star Barbie Ferreira and what made her such a special presence on set. Th...

BLUE HERON director Sophy Romvari joins Schmear to discuss her moving new film. They get into why a zoom lens beats a dolly on every setup, the story behind her late brother's real hand-drawn maps and what they mean to the film, and the time jump you won't see coming. Romvari also shares her NO NOTES perfect movie pick, reflects on Spielberg's A.I. as the first film she ever saw in a theater, weig...

Director Marc Munden on his hallucinatory new Netflix adaptation of Lord of the Flies—pulling the infrared filter off the camera and letting the jungle bleed pink. We get into casting with Nina Gold , five weeks of rehearsals, and why Lox Pratt (next up as Draco in HBO's Harry Potter) plays Jack like a spoiled rock star prince. Plus: directing the final episodes of The Sympathizer with Robert...

BEEF Season 2 has arrived, and joining us is Star Charles Melton and Creator Lee Sung Jin . The two share their NO NOTES movies, discuss the ways in which S2 is different from S1, talk about Melton's starring role in MAY DECEMBER, and share NO NOTES movies for the season's new characters. All eight episodes of #beef Season 2 are on Netflix now

Seoyeon Jang stole Season 2 of Beef , and we had to get her on. She joins Schmear and Sena to break down Eunice, the breakout character everyone's been screaming "justice for" online. We get into the now-legendary stretch scene (yes, that's really her, three months of stretching, only two takes), what director Lee Sung Jin told her about who Eunice really is, and whether anything between Eunice an...

(DISCLAIMER—This was recorded prior to S5 renewal announcement!!) Well, we've made it to the Industry S4 finale, and it feels so...bad? The Titans of Industry— Schmear , Sena Adjei , and Jesse Aaronson —parse a uniquely elegiac finale, which brought big wins and huge spiritual and moral losses for nearly all of Industry 's characters. They break down a vitriolic exchange between Kit Haring...

'Industry' composer Nathan Micay joins The Official Unofficial Industry Podcast! Nathan talks about scoring the series, what his workflow is like, how creators Konrad Kay and Mickey Down acquit themselves at nightclubs, and his thoughts on some famous past and present movie scores. WATCH ON YOUTUBE ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠...

' Industry ' composer Nathan Micay joins The Official Unofficial Industry Podcast! Schmear, Sena Adjei , and Jesse Aaronson —The Titans of Industry—reunite to discuss the penultimate episode of the 4th season, "Points of Emphasis." Amongst many topics, the trio discuss Yasmin's manipulation of the media, the fallout of "Dear Henry," Whitney's puppeteering of Hen...

Max Minghella —aka "Whitney Halbertstram"—joins the Official Unofficial 'Industry' Podcast! The trio chats with Minghella about when he first watched 'Industry,' if Whitney cares for Kit Harington 's Henry, what his thoughts on the Ripley comparisons are, and more. They pitch Minghella their Whitney origin story ideas and give Whitney truth serum on some compelling to...

Max Minghella —aka "Whitney Halbertstram"—joins the Official Unofficial 'Industry' Podcast! 'Industry' S4 E6 "Dear Henry" is our favorite episode of the season so far, so it's a HUGE privilege to sit with Minghella for a chat. Prior to that, the Titans of Industry— Schmear , Jesse Aaronson, and Sena Adjei —break down this thrilling, dizzying new episode, fil...

Industry S4 E5 "Eyes Without a Face" travels to Accra, Ghana for a thrilling episode of twists and turns. The Titans— Schmear , Sena Adjei , and Jesse Aaronson —reconvene to break down one of the series's most unique hours, discussing the spotlighting of Miriam Petche 's "Sweetpea" and Toheeb Jimoh 's "Kwabena" as the two characters chase a lead in Africa....

YEESH! Is this the darkest episode of 'Industry' yet? The Titans— Schmear , Sena , and Jesse— parse Industry S4 E4, "1000 Yoots, One Marilyn." The trio dive into such topics as Muck's big moment, Rishi's plight, Hayley's heel turn, Dyker's quagmire, and Whitney's soul (or lack thereof). They wrap up by analyzing the worst drug sesh ever (44:20) —though the mus...

Guten Tag aus Österreich! Schmear, Sena , and Jesse— the Titans of Industry—take a trip to Austria to break down Industry S4 E3, "Habseligkeiten." Things get weird and steamy there for Yas and Henry Muck with some new friends. The trio breaks down the awkward visit, that key scene with Kiernan Shipka 's Hayley, and what it all amounts to. Care to discuss some Weimar-era landscape painting? They al...

"Shine your shoes, boys." Schmear , Sena , and Jesse —The Titans of Industry—return to break down Industry S4 E2 "The Commander and the Grey Lady." They dive into Henry Muck's ( Kit Harington ) dark night of the soul, discussing ghostly Christmas themes and bold formal choices, and break down why this daring hour-long episode feels like a movie. Take a shot for each time th...

For the run of our favorite series, Industry , the NO NOTES podcast is now "The Official Unofficial Industry Podcast." Schmear , Sena Adjei , and Jesse Aaronson, aka "The Titans of Industry," are back covering the brilliant HBO financial drama from Creators Konrad Kay and Mickey Down . For Episode 1, "The PayPal of Bukkake," they unpack new characters played by the li...

The 100th episode, and a GREAT one too. Schmear and Sena count down their Top 10 favorite movies of 2025 before being joined by the director of 'No Other Choice,' Park Chan Wook and the film's star, Lee Byung Hun . Intro (00:00) Top 10 Countdown (8:07) Honorable Mentions (39:39) 'No Other Choice' Director Park Chan Wook (44:50) 'No Other Choice' Star Lee Byung Hun (49:4...

Charlie Polinger , director of the brilliant new adolescent psychological thriller 'The Plague,' joins the show. This debut is a blistering, anxiety-inducing look at hazing rituals between tweenage boys at a water polo camp in 2003. Polinger discusses his NO NOTES perfect movie, how both The Shining and Full Metal Jacket served as influences, talks his castmembers including Joel Edgerton a...

Abel Ferrara , director of such jaw-dropping classics as 'King of New York' and 'Bad Lieutenant,' sits down to discuss his brilliant, stormy career and his thoughts on filmmaking. We dive into his reaction to watching 'The Shining' for the first time, his friendship and collaborations with Willem Dafoe , how he wrangles such talented performers, and even his new role opposi...

Kleber Mendonça Filho , director of the new Neon film The Secret Agent, sits down and shares his NO NOTES perfect movie, working with star Wagner Moura, and the films that influenced The Secret Agent , before revisiting some of his most iconic Letterboxd reviews. Hosts: Gabriel Frieberg, Sena Adjei Guests: Kleber Mendonça Filho Producers: Pavlo Melnyk, Gabriel Frieberg Music: Justin Friedman WATCH...