Writers on Film

John Bleasdale talks to Tom Shone, author of Blockbuster, The Nolan Variations and Martin Scorsese a Retrospective. Marvel, Dune, No Time to Die and Last Duel discussed as the Blockbusters Strike Back. There are SPOILERS. Here's the blurb from the book : It's a typical summer Friday night and the smell of popcorn is in the air. Throngs of fans jam into air-conditioned multiplexes to escape for two...

John Bleasdale talks to Mark Searby, author of Al Pacino The Movies Behind the Man. His recommended book is Lawrence Grobel's biography of Al Pacino. Here's a blurb from the book: Al Pacino: The Movies Behind The Man is the ultimate insider’s guide to the filmography of the legendary Hollywood actor. Consistently recognised as one of the greatest actors of all time, Al Pacino has a huge legacy wit...

John Bleasdale talks to author Jason Bailey about his new book, described below. You can also hear his podcast at this link. In  Fun City Cinema: New York and the Movies That Made It , author Jason Bailey digs through New York’s last century via one quintessential New York film of each decade: The Jazz Singer , King Kong , The Naked City , Sweet Smell of Success , Midnight Cowboy , Taxi Driver , W...

Amy Raphael has written for all the UK broadsheets and myriad magazines, including  The Face ,  Esquire  and the  Radio Times . Her first book,  Never Mind the Bollocks: Women Rewrite Rock  was published in 1995 and an updated version,  A Seat at the Table: Women on the Frontline of Music , was published in 2019.  A Game of Two Halves: Famous Football Fans Meet Their Heroes , with forewords by bot...

John Bleasdale talks to Lynne Sachs, the Memphis born, Brooklyn based filmmaker on the eve of a season of her works being streamed on the Criterion Channel . Since the 1980s, Sachs has created cinematic works that defy genre through the use of hybrid forms and collaboration, incorporating elements of the essay film, collage, performance, documentary and poetry. Her films explore the intricate rela...

L.A. native Sam Wasson studied Film at Wesleyan University and at the USC School of Cinematic Arts before publishing his first book,  A Splurch in the Kisser: The Movies of Blake Edwards , which film critic Andrew Sarris deemed “the critical resurrection of Blake Edwards." In 2010, Wasson's Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman   became a Ne...

John Bleasdale talks to Paul Duncan author and editor of The James Bond Archives : The ultimate companion to all things 007, covering the making of every single movie in the James Bond franchise, from Dr. No to No Time To Die. With more than 1,007 images and an oral history featuring 150 members of cast and crew, this comprehensively updated XXL edition will delight fans of the most successful and...

John Bleasdale talks to Ian Nathan, one of the UK’s best known film writers. A former editor and executive editor of Empire magazine, is the author of Alien Vault, the worldwide best-selling history of Ridley Scott’s masterpiece, Quentin Tarantino: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work, a gorgeous study of the acclaimed director; studies of The Coen Brothers, Tim Burton, the adaptations of Stephen Kin...

John Bleasdale talks to Wendy Mitchell, journalist, author and editor. Wendy is a contributing editor for Screen International. She has been a staff writer and editor at Entertainment Weekly, IndieWire, and Rolling Stone and has written for The Guardian, Variety, Time Out New York, Glamour, and Billboard. She consults for the San Sebastian and Zurich film festivals. She is also the author of Citiz...

CORRECTION: Rob mentioned some 80s film essays on Channel Four by Lindsay Anderson and Alan Clarke – it was actually Alan Parker. (His correction) Rob Young's new book continues his exploration of British culture, delving into TV and cinema. Growing up in the 1970s, Rob Young's main storyteller was the wooden box with the glass window in the corner of the family living room, otherwise known as the...

John Bleasdale talks to Ed Potton of The Times and freelance journalist and Manson/Tarantino expert Damon Wise about Quentin Tarantino's first novel: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. They discuss the film and its relationship to the book and Damon fills us in about the Manson conspiracy theories and how Bruce Lee was once suspected. We also address some of the issues of generational change in Hollyw...

I talk to Matthew about Night Moves and the Scottish screenplay writer Alan Sharp, as well as Orson Welles and especially his recently reconstructed film The Other Side of the Wind. You can find Matthew's work here:  www.matthewaspreygear.com   Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for...

John Bleasdale talks to Paul Duncan about his writing. From his first efforts to his amazing Taschen books, he describes his encounters with famous filmmakers such as Michael Mann and George Lucas and his work on the Ingmar Bergman Archives. His recommended book is John Boorman's Money into Light. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted by S...

I talk to Pamela Hutchinson about her BFI book Pandora's Box and we talk silent cinema generally, its newness and originality. Pamela's blog is available here . Her book is available here . Her recommended book is here . Thanks again to Elliot Atkins for the music and Ali Harwood for the artwork and enthusiasm. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...

Jay Glennie talks about his making of books, his relationship with Robert de Niro and the way he set up his own publishing house. To get his books click on this link. Get bonus content on Patreon Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The last few years Mexican film-makers winning the Best Director Oscars 5 times, and Best Picture 4 times: Alfonso Cuaron with  Gravity  and  Roma. Alejandro Inarritu with  Birdman  and  The Revenant Guillermo del Toro with  The Shape of Water We talk the revised edition of  The Faber Book of Mexican Cinema   brings this astounding story up to date, as well as profiling the next generation, waitin...

Empire writer and author Helen O'Hara talks about her career as a writer, Hollywood and its treatment of women both in front of and behind the camera, and as audience members. We discuss the Me Too movement and Enough is Enough and Helen recommends Bob McCabe's Dreams and Nightmares: Terry Gilliam, The Brothers Grimm, & Other Cautionary Tales of Hollywood and The Writer's Tale by Benjamin Cook...

Martin Scorsese’s  Goodfellas  hit cinemas thirty years ago like a shot to the back of the head. Starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and an amazing Ray Liotta, the film climbed the crime ladder of hits wrong by wrong, now standing toe to toe with  The Godfather  and  The Sopranos . New York journalist and film critic Glenn Kenny has written the definitive book on the film –   Made Men: The Story of...

There’s no getting around it. The comedies the 1980s were some of the best films Hollywood produced in that weird decade. The likes of John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy morphed from SCTV and SNL and spread throughout the filmic world with blockbusting comedies. It’s a wild and fascinating story, told by Nick de Semlyen in his book:  Wild...

I talk to Tom Shone, whose books include Blockbuster: How the Jaws and Jedi Generation Turned Hollywood into a Boom-town, Martin Scorsese: A Retrospective, and most recently The Nolan Variations: The Movies, Mysteries, and Marvels of Christopher Nolan. Tom was the film critic for the Sunday Times from 1994-9. He has written for many different publications including The New Yorker, The New York Tim...