Topics covered include: Deep collaboration, early drafts of Mother Mary , being quick to discard dialogue, finding inspiration in the Faroe Islands, Anne's fear of making the easy choice, the qualities of being a Texas gentleman, the touchstone records that the cast listened to on set from Ke$ha to St. Vincent, Anne’s intensive pre-production process, David offering a special live reading from the Mother Mary script, dance as a monologue, feeling truly transformed as a person after completing th...
May 19, 2026•26 min
Topics covered include: Kane's parents keeping him off the internet until age eight, pirating way too much software, the origin of the Backrooms, the purgatories we build for ourselves, meeting your heroes after early virality, building 30,000 sq. ft. of sets on a soundstage, Kane accidentally calling his film a "product" and immediately wanting to flee to the woods, shotlisting an entire feature in Blender, renting out a Vancouver theater to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey during prep, James Wan's ...
May 06, 2026•1 hr 2 min
Topics covered include: NPR podcast voice, evangelical upbringings, Beef creator Lee Sung Jin's incredible observations of things that are both really painful and really funny, little mullets, Ali's love of Ex Machina , parallel play, the impressive amount of bodily fluids in Beef , Oscar first meeting Carey Mulligan on set of Drive , getting to play really bad people, going down a YouTube rabbit hole to learn how people respond to psychedelic toad venom, the intricacies of staging a masturbatio...
Apr 15, 2026•27 min
Topics covered include: Aidan first becoming aware of Charli, early demos of “I Love It,” Scandi accents, the whelks at Caroline Polachek’s birthday, silliness as high art, imposing structure, growing up on Tumblr, voyeurism, Aidan’s work with Timothée on the Marty Supreme campaign, a general sense of FOMO, teapot necklaces, Aidan’s mom’s notes on the “Guess” music video, not wanting to present yourself as an entrepreneur, embracing embarrassment, Charli’s early tracks like “Dinosaur Sex” and “I...
Feb 12, 2026•54 min
Topics covered include: Voice memos as audio documentaries, the difficulty of keeping things small, Sean seeing Marty Supreme three times in theaters, maximalist territory, swimming in bigger lakes, moviemaking as time travel, Jack Fisk set stories, directors’ knee health, Jennifer Venditti’s wildly original casting process, feeling afraid of the script, Sean perfectly timing his edible intake at the Oscars, Darius Khondji as the “Prince of Darkness,” hunting down period accurate Cinemascope len...
Jan 13, 2026•53 min
Topics covered include: Car rides to and from set, Emily’s special nickname for Dwayne Johnson, performing with a camera inches from your face, delicately handling playing a real person, Wonderbras, The Rock as the most patient man on Earth, not being concerned with being likable, Mary Bronstein’s intimate rehearsal process, audiences inherent distrust of a woman misbehaving, Emily reconnecting Dwayne and Benny on set of Oppenheimer , wanting to feel terror when choosing projects, and being hype...
Dec 11, 2025•45 min
Topics covered include: Getting comfortable in the chaos, moments of brevity, John writing his directorial debut on set of Eternity , double-fisting at TIFF, attending Interlochen at the exact same time, training in opera, Da’Vine’s stint as a camp counselor for child prodigies, ill-informed southern accents for The Laramie Project , witnessing the greatness of Audra McDonald in Gypsy , a shared love of Company , John’s huge plans for Da’Vine’s career, vocal tics, Da’Vine losing her voice on Bro...
Nov 25, 2025•36 min
Topics covered include: Martini celebrations, hydration regimens, learning the true meaning of the word ‘release,’ feeling visible but not seen, the special privacy of making a debut film, bringing your whole humanity to the words on a page, sharing an editor with Terrence Malick, being moved by how little you know, the Mother/Sister/Daughter theory, the subtle differences between Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans and Dakota Johnson, alleviating grief by thinking about The Next Thing, desperately needin...
Jul 23, 2025•54 min
Topics covered include: Steven Soderbergh’s greatest commentary tracks, the first Mission Impossible as a perfect film, writing movies for actors not executives, Ari telling Bill the idea for Eddington outside of an Italian restaurant, Bill laughing at the sound of Toni Collette’s head falling off in Hereditary , being intuitive and impulsive, David Lynch as a great spiritual teacher, using genre film as a shield, Ari’s deep research process in New Mexico before making Eddington , the genius com...
Jul 10, 2025•56 min
Topics covered include: True artists, Kyle meeting David Lynch for the first time on the Universal lot, getting Invisalign for the bit, Benito's world getting rocked by Blue Velvet in high school, saliva overproduction, going blonde, Overcompensating' s origin story on the New York standup circuit, finding the laughter and heart in coming out, new perspectives in watching your old work, Kardashian skits with stakes, college as an epicenter of comedy and heartbreak, pledging Beta, Kyle's first jo...
Jun 11, 2025•48 min
Topics covered include: Success giving you brain damage, Andy’s lifelong love of Jackass as a “silly, honest, and ancient” art, squirming to hide the truth, Turkish hair transplants, the influence of The King of Comedy on Friendship , the psychedelic experience of seeing your movie with a crowd, knowing enough to know that you’re wrong, wall-to-wall c*cks in Jackass Forever , beating fear spirals, and why it's absolutely essential to see Friendship in a movie theater....
May 14, 2025•1 hr 1 min
Topics covered include: Jane Goodall as Isaiah’s lifelong Patron Saint, a very cheap edition of Tarzan of the Apes that changed a young Jane’s entire world, supportive mothers, The Legend of Ochi as a critique of anthropocentrism, Jane’s first experience watching one of the famed Gombe chimps David Greybeard use a tool for the first time, stewardship versus dominion, controversy around Jane’s first National Geographic cover, using empathy in the scientific method, the importance of anecdotes, in...
Apr 23, 2025•40 min
Topics covered include: Charles connecting with his dad through his role in Warfare , total immersion, knowing your castmates' meal requests by heart (Noah Centineo: 3 burger patties), sage advice from Alex Garland to “never say yes to anything before you read it,” pinch me moments, impersonating Will's American accent, Charles working with fellow Garland alum Cailee Spaeny on the newest season of Beef, feeling out of continuity with your own life, playing many rounds of Mafia after hours, wild ...
Apr 09, 2025•40 min
Topics covered include: Halina learning about ASMR, Pedro’s obsession with travel and sleep schedules, watching The Social Network for the 600th time, anticipating your fears, a discomfort with nesting, Pedro feeling torn open after seeing Babygirl, doorways to vulnerability, refusing to be a moralist, real intimacy as the most frightening thing, traumatic early viewings of Watership Down, wanting to be a miracle child, Pedro lying about starring in Twin Peaks as a kid, unconventional artist par...
Feb 06, 2025•49 min
Topics covered include: The strength and fragility of László Toth, chunky old tape recorders, Adrien’s Hungarian grandfather, heavy accents, giant dictionaries, descending from immigrants, the photography of André Kertész, 3-4 hours of prosthetics for Queer , the transformative experience of making The Darjeeling Limited , emotional truths paired with broad f*cking comedy, walking all over India barefoot, digital and analog instruments, loving gear too much, and Jason telling his 10 year-old she...
Jan 14, 2025•1 hr 4 min
Topics covered include: Spotting a five month old baby at a screening of Heretic , hitting a wall of cries when filming horror, being film bros, craving lightness, jinxing projects, being a superstitious child, watching a DVD of Bergman's Seventh Seal at age 11, Sophie's (still active) shoegaze Tumblr, having a twin with superior taste, meeting your idols, going to “the evil place” aka Silver Lake Erewhon, Lizzie Grant era Lana, Chloe's dream double feature of Heretic and First Reformed , Mormon...
Nov 22, 2024•48 min
Topics covered include: Harris’s longing to be 40, finding security in insecurity, eternal things, having an allergic response to fame, unsolicited wisdom from Tom Cruise, giving bite-sized chunks of yourself, murky waters, I Heart Huckabees healing a broken heart, wounded bits, embracing scary material, matching Florence’s courage in We Live in Time , soothing the nervous system, avoiding cliché, interrogating performance and desire in Babygirl , Andrew’s memories of shooting the iconic laptop ...
Oct 25, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Topics covered include: Sebastian’s early childhood in Romania, being a reformed introvert, obstacles as a good thing, past lives as Law & Order day players, a certain tenderness that runs thru Sing Sing , the risk and reward in playing real people, Colman being “knocked out by” A Different Man , motherly advice to “get some moisturizer,” living like a monk while filming, 9pm bedtimes, the pains of early 2000s pilot season, a shared stint at an NYC catering company, and dreams of DJ-ing....
Sep 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Topics covered include: The script as a spell to perform, sneaking around your parents house, career ending movie ideas, the inaugural podcast compliment break, work and savoring as the only true constants, riding the Spook-A-Rama under the influence at Coney Island, the G word, so many boring people, finding equilibrium after a film, Jane’s favorite now defunct Epcot ride that featured Bill Nye and Ellen Degeneres, listening to Elliott Smith on set of I Saw the TV Glow , being a Weird Little Cr...
May 23, 2024•47 min
Topics covered include: Wrinkly passports, being unable to operate any form of transportation, the Kim’s Video of 90s El Salvador, changelings, teenage obsessions with Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette , scholarships for congeniality, night terrors, Julio’s short stint handing out chocolate samples at Fairway supermarkets, never-aired SNL sketches, the true joy of filming Problemista , gravitating towards green, favorite childhood toys, and questioning whether chaos is essential for good art....
Mar 06, 2024•59 min
Topics covered include: seeing your first movie at the neighborhood theater, the pressures of live performance, the animal that is the audience, parallels between directing and motherhood, abandoning the miracle, autobiographical filmmaking, feeling like broccoli, the Pacific Ocean as the villain in Past Lives , Harry Styles fan-fiction, writing on planes, revisiting The Artist’s Way , avoiding the sophomore slump, Francis Ford Coppola’s directing advice, a shared love of Barry Lyndon and Miyaza...
Feb 08, 2024•1 hr 11 min
Topics covered include: Nathan and Patti acting together off-Broadway in the mid-80s, herbal inspiration, learning on the job, sense memory, the brutality of Julliard, putting in the work, the dumbing down of America, witty alcoholics, the Alogonquin Round Table, Nathan falling in love with Dicks: The Musical , becoming A24 repertoire players, feeding ham to puppets, adoring Megan Thee Stallion, Patti’s deep hatred of ABBA, Broadway as a shopping mall, art as an essential human right, getting du...
Oct 18, 2023•40 min
Topics covered include: The Sopranos cast being sore losers at their first Emmy Awards, hyperbolic reviews, the extremes of Hollywood, getting recognized in Best Buy, only eating Subway sandwiches the entire time Steven shot Burning in Korea, long lost aunts, Michael experiencing an emotional pasta sauce on his first trip to Rome at 25, sprezzatura , the parallels between Christopher Moltisanti and Danny Cho, searching for meaning, breaking generational patterns, playing unlikeable characters wi...
Aug 15, 2023•46 min
Topics covered include: Nicole Holofcener’s genius, the vulnerability of writing a book, June brides, parenting adult children, Julia and J.’s mutual love of YHMF/Succession co-stars Jeannie Berlin and Arian Moayed, Gerri’s best moments that didn’t make the final cut of Succession S4, alternate endings, baby men, J.’s internalized bias against celebrities, not being able to log in to Uber, hyphenated last names, the potential for a Veep/Succession mashup, wanting to ride exquisite trains, learni...
Jul 06, 2023•44 min
Topics covered include: struggling to take a compliment, the pressure of the clock, unorthodox techniques for playing a character in physical pain, worst days on set, resisting comfort, Ari’s snappy attitude, Joaquin fainting mid-take with Patti Lupone, the experience of brutal humiliation, old school SFX makeup tricks, crying in front of the crew while filming Midsommar, doing weird shit in attics, and getting each other through moments when you don’t know what the f-ck to do....
Apr 19, 2023•1 hr 1 min
Topics covered include: the magic of practical effects, living out of a suitcase, calculated risks, mapping the multiverse on a blackboard, Everything Everywhere and The Whale ’s themes of forgiveness, films that open hearts, fighting to be original, total collaboration, lessons from Brendan’s favorite movie of all time Ratatouille , moving a literal mountain in China to get the perfect shot for The Mummy 3, working with Jet Li’s fight crew, pain as a smoke alarm, leaving stunt work to the profe...
Feb 28, 2023•44 min
Topics covered include: Mecca, the art of walking a fine line, Ramy’s inner Arab negotiator, hot-button issues, mercy, relatable characters in unrelatable worlds, miracles of filmmaking, how Ramy beat Mahershala at one-on-one basketball, fractured attention, pimple management, comfort zones, Mahershala’s dream of directing, the urgency of the daily lunch order on set, killing vampires in Atlanta, and the Sheikh-Ramy fight scene we need to see in Season 4.
Feb 09, 2023•51 min
Topics covered include: COVID scheduling nightmares, wasp problems, being the youngest person in a room, the gift of time, playing characters desperate for connection, the trope of the angsty teen, feeling the pressure, shedding child actor habits, imposter syndrome, the Stranger Things school trailer, failing at Lent, the frat origins of Vineyard Vines, and the importance of nurturing a rich inner life.
Dec 22, 2022•46 min
Topics covered include: rolling your Rs, the incomparable satisfaction of cursing in Italian, eggplant parmigiana, puppet theater, loving a strong director, going towards the vision, the freedom of abstraction, meeting David Lynch for the first time at dinner with Helen Mirren, Isabella’s master’s degree in animal behavior and conservation, taming Abel Ferrara, working with Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet (and Willem almost getting cast as Frank Booth), stumpy-tooth dentures, uniform dressing, and ...
Jul 20, 2022•52 min
Topics covered include: The Cheesecake Factory’s experimental tasting kitchen, navigating the technical logistics of the Butt Plug Fight Scene, child stunt doubles, Everything Everywhere as the greatest case for optimism, fantasies of bringing Swiss Army Man 2 to Broadway, Kwan’s mom’s meatballs, overblown headlines, Radcliffe’s karaoke track of choice (“The Real Slim Shady”), the Equus poster in his parents' bathroom, growing up on set of Harry Potter surrounded by legends, hating school but lo...
Jun 30, 2022•1 hr 1 min
