The Projection Booth

On this episode writer and media personality Bruce Villanch stops by to have a conversation about the holiday special from Scott Rockett, Making the Yuletide Gay: A Very Special Paul Lynde Christmas in which Michael Airington plays Paul Lynde who plays host to a bevy of special guests who stop by his “house” for a cocktail, a song, and a few corny jokes. It’s now available via DVD and VOD. Become...

Mike looks back at the crazy number of episodes released this year and what to look forward to in 2024 including the Chasing Chevy Chase podcast, What, No F*cking Ziti - a look at the Sopranos, and content exclusive to our Patreon donors: a look at the James Bond series called Rankin on Bond. Get this and a lot more at https://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth Thanks for a wonderful year! Become a s...

Another month of requests continues with one from Kyler Fey who joins Kat Ellinger and Mike to discuss Guilio Questi’s Arcana (1972). Released four years after the one-two punch of Django Kill, if you Live Shoot! And Death Laid an Egg, Questi goes from a Western and a Giallo of sorts to the supernatural in a story about a mother and son psychic duo who may or may not be quacks. Become a supporter...

We continue a month of requests with one from listener Jordan Nash,1985's Walking the Edge. Written by Curt Allen and directed by Norman Meisel, the film stars Nancy Kwan, as Christine Holloway, a woman whose son and husband are slaughtered by Joe Spinell as Brusstar and his gang of goons. She’s rescued by a cuckolded taxi driver who’s in dutch to the mob, Jason Walk, played by Robert Forster. Rah...

On this special episode, Mike talks to documentary filmmaker Jeanie Finlay about her latest work, Your Fat Friend (2023) which spotlights Aubrey Gordon, a blogger, author, and podcaster. Find out more at https://www.yrfatfriendfilm.com/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://w...

Mike talks with helicopter stunt pilot Fred North about his long career performing gravity-defying moves for scores of films from around the world. We discuss his work and his riveting autobiography, Flying Sideways: The Story of the World’s Most Famous Stunt Pilot , which is available via his website https://www.fred-north.com/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/...

Beth Accomando and Cullen Gallagher join Mike to discuss another Patreon request, Sonatine. Released in 1993, the film stars Takeshi Kitano as Murakawa, an aging gangster with no real sense of purpose. He’s sent to Okinawa on yakuza business where things don’t go as well as they should. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . Bec...

Actor David Keith (An Officer and a Gentleman, White of the Eye) joins Mike to discuss his latest role in the Mick Davis movie Walden (2023). For more information visit https://waldenmovie.com/ Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth 

Author David Manderson joins Mike to discuss Manderson's book, The Anti-hero's Journey: The Work and Life of Alan Sharp (part of the Studies in the History and Culture of Scotland series). Sharp was a novelist and screenwriter responsible for Night Moves, Rob Roy, Damnation Alley, and more. Buy David's book at https://amzn.to/47NqQlR Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/pod...

Ryan Luis Rodriguez and Chris Stachiw join Mike to look at the Conscience (or Sovist) from 1968. Directed by Vladimir Denisenko, the film is set in a small village during the German occupation of Ukraine. When one of the German officers is slain, his fellow soldiers demand that the partisan responsible be turned over, lest the entire village be wiped off the earth. The film was banned and didn't s...

Spencer Parsons and Rahne Alexander join Mike to discuss Václav Vorlícek's How to Drown Dr. Mracek, the Lawyer (1975). Co-written by Projection Booth favorite Milos Macourek, the film stars Jaromír Hanzlík as the titular Dr. Mracek, a lawyer who is unwittingly trying to displace a group of water sprites from their homes. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-proj...

Samm Deighan and Spencer Parsons join Mike to look at the 1976 Hungarian film from Zoltan Fabri, The Fifth Seal. Set in WWII, the film is a deceptively simple story of five men who meet and drink in an urban watering hole. One of them proposes a bit of a thought experiment which colors the world of his companions and eventually manifests in real life thanks to the fascists, the Arrow Cross Party,...

Agatha Luz and Andrew Nette join Mike on a special episode to discuss Michael Schultz's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), a story of the dangers of fame set to the music of the music of The Beatles. The film stars the Brothers Gibb and Peter Frampton as innocents from Heartland, USA who get wooed by record producer B.D. (Donald Pleasence) and set against villains Mean Mr. Mustard and t...

Mike talked with Robert Richardson (ASC) about his career including his work with Oliver Stone, Martin Scorsese and Ben Affleck. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth 

Jessica Shires joins Mike White and Heather Drain to discuss her Patreon request: Jess Franco’s 1973 film A Virgin Among the Living Dead. It’s the story of Christina ("Christina von Blanc"), a young woman who is summoned to her family’s mansion after the suicide of her father. There we meet her odd family. The film plays out somewhere between a dream and a nightmare following its own pace and logi...

Jedidiah Ayres and Andrew Nette join Mike to look at Jeremy Kagan 's The Big Fix. Released in 1978, the film stars Richard Dreyfuss as Moses Wine, a radical in the '60s who’s now a down-on-his-luck detective who gets put on a case that takes him back to his old stomping grounds. Author of the Moses Wine books (and so much more), Roger L. Simon joins us to discuss writing the film while Kagan talks...

Jedidiah Ayres and John Walker join Mike to look at Michael Mann's moody supernatural film The Keep. Released in 1983, the film is a real who’s who of actors including Jürgen Prochnow as a German captain, Gabriel Byrne as a Nazi SS Major, Ian McKellan as a disabled scholar, and Scott Glenn as an ancient being on the side of light. All of them eventually make their way to the titular Keep deep in t...

Mike talks with special effects coordinator Brandon K. McLaughlin about his career from being on set on The Rocketeer to his work on There Will Be Blood to his latest work on Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/p...

On this episode Emily Intravia and Chris Cummins join Mike to discuss the 2001 film from writer / directors Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan, Josie & The Pussycats. It’s the story of the Pussycats -- Josie, Valerie, and Melody -- a rockin’ girl group from Riverdale, and how they become entangled in a dastardly plot cooked up by the record industry to exploit teens for their limited but plentifu...

Mike talks with writer/director L.E. Staiman and writer Cheston Mizel about their pandemic comedy Love Virtually. It's a story about how the world, and relationships, were falling apart. The film is now available via your favorite digital rental/purchase platforms. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . Become a supporter of The...

Philip Marinello and Spencer Parsons join Mike to look at Sam Fuller’s 1964 film The Naked Kiss. The film stars Constance Towers as Kelly, a call girl who turns over a new leaf by becoming the best darned nurse a small town hospital that specializes in the care of special needs kids has ever seen. She’s torn between two men, the sheriff who thinks she’s trash and needs to be run out of town to a n...

Mike speaks with author Steve Matteo about his latest book, Act Naturally: The Beatles On Film, which examines the handful of films starring the fab four along with what shaped them. Buy the book at https://amzn.to/3SaylOE Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com...

Rob St. Mary joins Mike to look at the 1992 Belgian film Man Bites Dog. Directed by Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, and Benoît Poelvoorde, the film is a mockumentary about a serial killer, Ben, played by co-director Benoit, who’s being followed around by a camera crew who capture some of his more outrageous adventures but also his thoughts about life, beer, and more. Become a supporter of this podcast...

Friend of the show AJ Black returns to talk with Mike about his latest book, Lost Federations: The Unofficial Unmade History of Star Trek. Tony goes deep into Trek lore to look at unmade projects, alternate histories, and forgotten stories. Order your copy today at https://amzn.to/3QuKsVA Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth--5513239/support . B...

Ian Brownell and Tim Luz join Mike to kick off spooktacular coverage with Erie C. Kenton’s 1932 adaptation of H.G. Wells’s 1896 book, The Island of Doctor Moreau. Here it’s called Island of Lost Souls and stars Charles Laughton as Moreau, a mad scientist who works to bend the will of nature to suit his needs. He works to create a race of human/animal hybrids on his mysterious island which is distu...