The Plaza Classic Podcast

If you've ever watched a building renovation show, you know there's a whole lot of work to rehabilitate an old structure to its original glory. That same labor intensive effort went into the restoration of the Plaza Theatre in Downtown El Paso. Gary Williams, the Vice President of Programs for the El Paso Community Foundation, and Neal Vogel, the Principal of Restoric, LLC in Chicago, join Lisa an...

She's the "Star Whisperer of El Paso!" For the last decade or so, Kathrin Berg has taken on the task of touring El Paso with the Plaza Classic Film Festival's special guests -- from Sam Elliott, to Kathleen Turner, to Al Pacino. Now, Kathrin is in the spotlight and getting the red carpet treatment she deserves! Hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott (no relation to Sam) chat with Kathrin, the El P...

Chance meetings, heartbreaking obstacles and big gestures of love are all crucial to the plots of our favorite romantic comedies. On the eve of this lover's holiday, podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle are joined by Erin Ritter, fellow Plaza Classic Film Festival advisory committee member and self-proclaimed Rom-Com guru, to discuss romantic comedies over the decades and their place in...

Evan George Vourazeris broke into Hollywood when he was cast as Tuck on the hit Netflix show Ozark. Tuck became a fan favorite, and Vourazeris appeared on the show in its final season in 2022. Vourazeris, a Houstonian, now calls El Paso home. He joined Plaza Classic Podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott in studio to talk about his experience on the Ozark set, his future work goals, and hi...

If you were old enough to see Jaws when it premiered in theaters in 1975, then you likely don't want to be reminded that happened 50 years ago. Sorry. But Jaws, which has been screened three times at the Plaza Classic Film Festival, is just one of many movies celebrating significant anniversaries of release in 2025. Festival advisory committee member Jaime Mendez joins podcast hosts Lisa Elliott a...

Sequels can get a bad rap for not living up to the expectations set by the original. With that perspective front of mind, the Plaza Classic Podcast aims to make season 3 better than before! Hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott are joined by fellow Plaza Classic Film Festival advisory committee member Craig Holden to talk about film sequels. Which sequels live up to expectations? And is Grease 2...

Will Wicked sweep the Oscars with a witch's broom? Could Demi Moore's substantive performance in The Substance earn her an Academy Award nomination for the first time? El Paso's favorite film critic, Felipa Solis, joins hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk all things Oscars. Solis is a member of the Critics Choice Association. Get your popcorn ready, as Solis lays out a list of potential...

Holiday Movies at Winterfest are taking over Downtown El Paso until Jan. 5, and they're all free! The mini film fest is presented by the El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival ,  El Paso Live , and the  City of El Paso . What's your favorite holiday movie? Chances are, it features a lovable scamp, like Buddy the Elf or Kevin McAllister. Rebecca Mendez - a member of the Plaza Clas...

The time between Spooky Season and the Holiday Season is the Serious Season - for movies, that is. November is when we typically see a roll-out of heavier films that go on to become contenders for Academy Awards (a.k.a., future classics to be screened at the Plaza Classic Film Festival). Nov. 27, 2024 marks the 48th anniversary of the release of Network; it's unremarkable, yes, but what better rea...

Patrick Swayze became a heartthrob in the 1980s, and broke hearts when he died at age 57 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. The star of Dirty Dancing and Ghost has been gone for 15 years, but Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott are doing everything they can to preserve his legacy by advocating for the screening of as much of his filmography as possible during the Plaza Classic Film Festival...

It will begin to look a lot like Christmas in El Paso come Nov. 23, when WinterFest blasts through downtown. Even though it pains Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to skip over Thanksgiving, in this episode, they're talking turkey about Free Holiday Movies at WinterFest. A dozen films are showing from Nov. 24 to Jan. 5, 2025 at both the Plaza Theatre and the El Paso Museum of Art. El Paso Community...

It was a dark and stormy night, and Lisa and Stephanie were working late at the office on the latest episode of the Plaza Classic Podcast, when suddenly the door creaked open. There stood-- Okay, clearly writing classic noir is not our forte.  But we do enjoy talking about our favorite film noir with Leanne von Mittenwald, a retired educator who teaches film classes for UTEP’s OLLI program. She is...

What's your favorite scary movie? That's not just an appropriately dropped quote from the slasher hit Scream, it's also the focus of this special Halloween episode of the Plaza Classic Podcast.  Hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle talk about their favorite horror films as well as the popularity of the genre across the country. Plus, they're joined by Liz Kern, the Sun City's "final girl"! Kern,...

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Plaza Classic Podcast wants to shine a light on how this vast societal problem is depicted in the movies. Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member and licensed therapist Kristin Trick joins hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about on-screen intimate partner violence. If you or someone you know needs help, call El Paso's...

From the eastside to the lower valley, and up to the westside, El Paso was dotted with drive-in theater screens. Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member and UTEP Assistant Dean of Students Jaime Mendez joins Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about a time when it was totally acceptable for families to hide friends and family in the trunk of their car for a trip to the outdoor m...

During the COVID pandemic in the summer of 2020, organizers scrambled to find a way to salvage the Plaza Classic Film Festival schedule without sacrificing safety. They resorted to screening movies the old-fashioned way: at the drive-in. Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member and film historian Jay Duncan revisits El Paso's rich history of drive-ins with hosts Stephanie Valle and Li...

The El Paso Community Foundation helped revitalize the Plaza Theatre in 2006, with help from the City of El Paso. Soon after, the films were back in the theatre, too, with the launch of the first incarnation of the Plaza Classic Film Festival: Movies Return to the Plaza. Eric Pearson, the president of the EPCF, joins hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about the massive undertaking to r...

Season 2 of the Plaza Classic Podcast launches with a conversation about a different film festival.  The  Oculto Film Fest was created by filmmakers from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez to promote horror and fantasy cinema in the Borderland. The festival offers a complete experience to its audiences and provides connection and visibility opportunities for participating filmmakers. Festival director Carl...

La segunda temporada del Plaza Classic Podcast comienza con una conversación sobre un festival de cine diferente. El Oculto Film Fest fue creado por cineastas de El Paso y Ciudad Juárez para promover el cine de terror y fantasía en la frontera. El festival ofrece una experiencia completa a sus audiencias y brinda oportunidades de conexión y visibilidad para los cineastas participantes. El director...

If you've listened to the credits of this podcast, you hear hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott thank several crucial people working behind the scenes. One of those people is Marcos Tellez-Rodriguez, podcast editor, recent graduate of El Paso Community College and current film student at New Mexico State University. Marcos is now sitting (somewhat uncomfortably) in the "hot seat" as Stephanie a...

Podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott go behind the scenes with someone who helps behind the scenes at the Plaza Classic Film Festival. (We're going way behind the scenes!) Rudy Vasquez is the El Paso Community Foundation's Marketing Director, and he helps promote the film fest to El Paso and across the nation. Stephanie and Lisa get Rudy to answer the tough questions, such as, "What are...

On July 20, actor Mira Sorvino graced the stage of the Plaza Theatre in Downtown El Paso. The Academy Award winner was in the Sun City for the first weekend of the Plaza Classic Film Festival! She sat down for a live, onstage interview with festival advisory committee member and Plaza Classic Podcast co-host Stephanie Valle ahead of the showing of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997). The...

Mira Sorvino, Academy Award winning actor ("Mighty Aphrodite," 1995), was in the Sun City for the 2024 Plaza Classic Film Festival! Terri Rutter, CPA and film festival advisory committee member, joins fellow committee members, Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott, to talk about Sorvino and her cult favorite, "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion." Just like Romy's diet in the movie, this podcast is...

Space has inspired filmmakers both past and present. But there is one classic sci-fi film that has actually served as inspiration for writers and directors over the years ever since it arrived in theaters. Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member Jay Duncan joins podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about This Island Earth. Individual tickets for this year’s Plaza Cl...

Despite its name, the Plaza Classic Film Festival doesn't just screen classic films. This year, a director who has been featured in Local Flavor will have their first feature-length film make its Texas premiere. Ryan Rox, the director of Hidden Flora, joins podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about their film, which they also wrote. Flora takes an unflinching look at sexuality,...