Watch With Jen™

We don't cover TV very often on Watch With Jen so you know that when my guests & I dedicate an entire episode to a television series, it's something we wholeheartedly recommend you seek out. (In fact, THE AMERICANS, COLUMBO, TERRIERS, HALT & CATCH FIRE, MR. INBETWEEN, & SUCCESSION are among the few exceptions to this film-centric show in over 200 podcast installments.) As the opposite...

One of my most soulful & philosophical guests, my good friend, Vulture TV critic Roxana Hadadi returns to Watch With Jen to discuss character actor Edward Norton's career. Paying particular attention to his '90s & early aught heyday, in this thoughtful conversation, we discuss his films & performances in PRIMAL FEAR, AMERICAN HISTORY X, FIGHT CLUB, 25TH HOUR, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, & m...

This week, I was delighted to be joined by two New York Times best-selling novelists who happen to live right here in Arizona & both of whom I met through Barbara Peters' wonderful world-famous independent Poisoned Pen Bookshop in Scottsdale. Jenn McKinlay is the award-winning bestselling author of several mystery & romance series & her work has been translated into multiple languages...

Welcome to the second physical media episode of season five. Inundated by first-rate releases on disc over the last several months, this casual installment primarily consists of my takes on the stack of films you see in the cover photo, but I wanted to break up the rhythm of this one by inviting friends like Sean Burns & Blake Howard to help me cover a trio of titles as well. Additionally, Sea...

This month, I was pleased to welcome back Dan Mecca & Conor O'Donnell, two friends & the hosts of The Film Stage's excellent podcast The B-Side, which covers movie stars in a fascinating way, by focusing not on the films that made or kept them famous but on the ones that actors made in between. Equally skilled at coming up with highly original show themes for their guest appearances here,...

It's the season five return of my good friend & longtime Watch With Jen fan-favorite guest, cinephile, Hardboiled Wonderland blogger, & author Jed Ayres. This time, Jed & I journey into stealthy mid-twentieth-century international spy terrain via four noir war films from the masterful British director Carol Reed. Kicking things off with the incredible classic THE THIRD MAN, we then joi...

This week, I'm honored to be joined by not one but two brilliant screenwriters, Larry Karaszewski & Daniel Waters. Larry Karaszewski & his writing/directing/producing partner Scott Alexander are best known for writing unusual true stories such as the films ED WOOD, THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT, MAN ON THE MOON, AUTO FOCUS, BIG EYES, DOLEMITE IS MY NAME, & the hit television miniseries TH...

This week, my good friend William Boyle returned to the podcast to discuss a terrific character actress we both love. Celebrating Edie Falco beyond her tour de force performance as Carmela Soprano on THE SOPRANOS, in this fast-paced conversation, we offer an overview of her work in early indies like LAWS OF GRAVITY, THE UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, & TRUST, her darling turn in JUDY BERLIN, & the fi...

This week, I was thrilled to welcome a longtime Twitter mutual who's a huge cinephile with outstanding taste, a veritable encyclopedia of Film Noir, & an author as well. Christa Faust writes crime novels, comics, & tie-ins. She worked in the Times Square peep booths, as a professional dominatrix, & in the adult film industry, both behind & in front of the cameras. Her forthcoming H...

It's a pleasure to welcome one of my longtime Twitter faves to the podcast. Katie Stebbins is a knowledgeable cinephile, academic librarian, & the author of truly creative film zines. For the uninitiated, that's "zines" as in magazines or literary journal-styled books filled with collages & writing on films within a given calendar year. Described as a personal, passionate, & unique way...

After our brief midsummer break, we're back with an episode featuring two outstanding new guests, Natalie Jenner & Sarah Kozloff. Natalie Jenner is the internationally bestselling author of THE JANE AUSTEN SOCIETY & BLOOMSBURY GIRLS which have been translated into more than 20 languages worldwide. A former lawyer, career coach, & independent bookstore owner who lives in Oakville, Ontar...

It's always a pleasure to bring on another podcaster & even more so when they're from my home state of Minnesota! That's right, gang, this week, you'll hear Minnesotan accents at full power as I'm joined by Clay Keller, who's the engaging & knowledgeable co-creator & co-host of the sensational Screen Drafts podcast. In this joyous, in-depth, classic film-centric episode devoted to one...

The only thing better than talking to one Sean is when you add a second Shawn to the mix. Returning to the podcast this week, I'm thrilled to share this recent wonderfully rollicking, quick-witted, story, & insight-filled conversation I had with two of my dearest friends: the veteran Boston-based WBUR film critic Sean Burns & the award-winning internationally bestselling novelist S.A. Cosb...

It's always a blast to chat about movies with a friend & the best thing about having a podcast is that I get to share these fun conversations with all of you. Returning to the podcast this week, we have the gifted crime writer Nikki Dolson who's covered everything from heist movies to westerns with me on Watch With Jen in the past. In this funny, feisty, & fast-paced hour, we celebrate the...

As a Phoenix-based cinephile & bibliophile, it was a joy & honor to bring on another local film & literature lover in the form of my brilliant friend Patrick Millikin of Scottsdale's world-famous Poisoned Pen Bookstore. Deciding to give listeners an in-depth exploration of a classic noir novel & its adaptations, in this rich, fascinating, & admittedly spoiler-filled conversatio...

This week, I'm very excited to bring back the great Nell Minow to the podcast. An accomplished lawyer & a highly readable film critic at her site MovieMom.com & RogerEbert.com , where she's also an editor, Nell Minow has written over 3,000 movie reviews since the 1990s. She's also authored several terrific film books, including 101 Must See Movie Moments & The Movie Mom's Guide to Fami...

As promised, Watch With Jen is back with your second brand-new time-sensitive episode of the week! And my goodness, it's a stellar conversation that writers, book lovers, WWII history buffs, & fans of awesome heroines will love. Returning to the podcast today, we have the terrific Susan Elia MacNeal. The NY Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope mystery series and the standalone MOTHER, D...

We're back from our short spring hiatus this week with a very special conversation featuring my friend & occasional co-host, the wonderful Senior Vice President of The Black List, Kate Hagen. Joining us today are two of our favorite women & returning guests, the fabulous writer-director, cinephile, & retired professor Allison Anders, & her incredibly in-demand music supervisor daug...

Welcome to our first Physical Media episode of 2024. Joining me today, we have a terrific quartet of movie minds discussing a handful of titles newly released on disc, including novelist Alison Gaylin on TO DIE FOR, podcaster-critic Blake Howard on CONTAGION, filmmaker Chris McKay on THE SHOOTIST & THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE, & podcaster-critic Rachel Wagner on FOOTLOOSE (1984). Addi...

In this ambitious research-filled exploration of one of Italian cinema's most fascinating & influential figures, Canadian actor-writer-podcaster Robert Bellissimo returns to the podcast to discuss the singularly daring maestro Luchino Visconti. An aristocratic count turned Socialist who fought the Nazis as a member of the Italian Resistance & was sentenced to death before fate & history intervened...

This week, I'm delighted to be joined once again by my good friend Kate Hagen, who is the Senior Vice President of The Black List. Returning to the show for another conversation with some of our favorite independent filmmaking heroes, in the past, we've spoken to such greats as writer-director Allison Anders and actors turned producers Amy Robinson & Griffin Dunne. Today, we're honored to be chatt...

Welcome to the finale of our podcast miniseries devoted to celebrating the 1988 contemporary classic, action buddy comedy MIDNIGHT RUN, written by George Gallo & directed by Martin Brest. Produced & hosted by Blake Howard & Jen Johans of One Heat Minute Productions & Watch With Jen, respectively, over the past 12 weeks, you've heard us explore the film we first bonded over when we...

Twisty, engaging, & filled with colorful performances, the Soviet paranoia of the Cold War '80s fueled the plotlines of so many first-rate films that New York Times bestselling author Ace Atkins & I vividly remember from the Reagan/Bush era. And with the next two books that Atkins is set to release revolving around spies &/or the '80s, it's the perfect time to revisit a quartet of spy-...

Welcome to our podcast miniseries devoted to celebrating the 1988 contemporary classic, action buddy comedy MIDNIGHT RUN, written by George Gallo & directed by Martin Brest. Produced & hosted by Blake Howard & Jen Johans of One Heat Minute Productions & Watch With Jen, respectively, each week, we’ll explore the film we first bonded over when we became friends in 2019 by surfing thr...

Earlier in the year, I was thrilled to meet longtime Twitter acquaintance Duane Swierczynski when he arrived in Scottsdale on his book tour for his terrific new crime novel CALIFORNIA BEAR. Co-hosting an event with Patrick Milliken at the beloved local bookstore Poisoned Pen, we spent an hour chatting with the Philadelphia native about his life, work, new novel, & love for his adopted state of...