"I’m keeping him." Steven Spielberg didn’t have a sense that his little, personal alien film was going to blow up like it did when he was making it. Universal Studios saw it as another kids film that likely would only be seen by moms taking their kids to the theatre. But E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial managed to touch pretty much the hearts of everyone who saw it, turning it into the #1 film in the world in short order. So how does this film hold up? Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – to find ...
Jun 15, 2017•1 hr 22 min•Season 6Ep. 50
"We’re gonna show everybody that he’s the fastest horse in the world." Francis Ford Coppola’s successes in the 70s put him in a place where he was able to help a good number of people get projects off the ground. One of those people was his friend from college, Carroll Ballard. Nearly broke, Coppola’s call came just in time and Ballard found himself on board to direct The Black Stallion. Another person was Melissa Mathison, a friend who started working as an assistant on The Godfather, Part II. ...
Jun 08, 2017•1 hr 18 min•Season 6Ep. 49
"Nothing but witches and wizards ahead." Hayao Miyazaki did not attend the Oscars to pick up his Academy Award for Best Animated Film for Spirited Away because he was protesting the Iraq War. When it came time to make his next film, he took his frustration with the war and added a strong anti-war element to Howl’s Moving Castle. Diane Wynne Jones’ original novel, upon which the movie was based, didn’t focus nearly as much on the war but Miyazaki wanted to get his point across. In the end, his fi...
Jun 01, 2017•1 hr•Season 6Ep. 48
"If I hear one little complaint out of you, you’ll be joining your parents in the pigpen!" Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 film Spirited Away shot to the top of the Japanese box office and still holds the spot as the highest grossing film in Japanese history, sinking box office juggernaut Titanic. Perhaps it says a lot that it’s a Japanese story that is so universally appealing and that it’s for all ages. Or that it’s timeless. Regardless of why it’s so popular, it’s great to see Miyazaki as the person wh...
May 25, 2017•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 47
"When you’re going to kill a god, let someone else do the dirty work." Hayao Miyazaki has always had a strong relationship with nature that he’s portrayed in a number of his films, but nowhere has it grown as dark as it did in his 1997 film Princess Mononoke. While an animated film, the level of violence is very high and the themes are much more adult than his previous films, particularly fare like My Neighbor Totoro. And while he hasn’t returned to such dark films since, it’s clear that this wa...
May 18, 2017•1 hr 18 min•Season 6Ep. 46
"Happiness is in your hands." The role of advertising in politics is constantly evolving. From radio to TV to the internet and now to specifically pinpointed Facebook ads and beyond, it’s amazing how complex the system has grown. But watching how advertising affected the Chilean dictatorship of Pinochet and brought about his downfall in the late 80s in Pablo Larraín’s film No, it’s clear that those behind the ads just might understand our decision making process better than we do. And it’s downr...
May 11, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 45
“I can’t apologize. I’m not going to apologize for this. You know what I will do? I will apologize on behalf of Ernest Hemingway because that’s who’s to blame here."The Next Reel’s Speakeasy is an ongoing series of ours in which we invite an industry guest to join us and bring along one of their favorite movies to talk about. In this episode, film composer Harry Gregson-Williams joins us to talk about one of his favorite films, David O. Russell’s 2012 film Silver Linings Playbook.We talk about w...
May 09, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Season 2Ep. 2
"I’ll talk to them. I have a position now." Pablo Larraín was born when Pinochet was already in power but the military coup that brought Pinochet to power always fascinated him, largely because it wasn’t something that was discussed until after the dictatorship ended in 1990. On top of that, Larraín became fascinated by the little people who got wrapped up in big moments in history. One that piqued his curiosity was a man named Mario who happened to be a coroner’s assistant helping in the room d...
May 04, 2017•59 min•Season 6Ep. 44
"Once the film is out of fashion, you think they’ll still follow you? No way." Pablo Larraín didn’t intend to direct three films that took place during the Pinochet dictatorship – it just happening that way. Looking at Tony Manero, the first film in what is dubbed as his ‘unintentional trilogy,’ it’s clear that Larraín is not one to shy away from challenging his audience. But in doing so, is he pushing us away too? Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we kick off our series on Pablo Larraí...
Apr 27, 2017•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 43
"I just knew if I didn’t start driving, I wasn’t gonna see you again." Kelly Reichardt’s most recent film, last year’s Certain Women, is a bit of a departure for her in that it’s a film consisting of three separate stories that are only loosely connected (other than thematically). But in this structure, it’s interesting to see Reichardt at her best as perhaps the stories each end up getting as much time as they really need to be told, at least in our perspective. Unfortunately, it didn’t find it...
Apr 20, 2017•1 hr 15 min•Season 6Ep. 42
"Is he ignorant or is he just plain evil?" The story of the real Meek’s Cutoff is an interesting and tragic tale in the early days of the Oregon Trail. Many pioneers lost their lives as they followed their guide, Stephen Meek, and proceeded to get lost. For her follow-up to Wendy and Lucy, Kelly Reichardt chose to make a film about this historical journey and the people who suffered while on it. But is her minimal filmmaking style effective for a historical drama? Join us – Pete Wright and Andy ...
Apr 13, 2017•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 41
"Don’t be a nuisance. We don’t need that." Kelly Reichardt has been called a minimalist film director, and if you’re comparing her to someone like Michael Bay or Steven Spielberg or the Hughes brothers, that certainly seems to be the case, at least based on her 2008 film Wendy and Lucy. This film doesn’t have a lot of pizazz or a large cinematic sense. What it does have, though, is a character study in which we dig deeply into our protagonist during a difficult few days in her life. In that aspe...
Apr 06, 2017•1 hr 8 min•Season 6Ep. 40
"Stay on the path." Right from the start, it was clear that Albert and Allen Hughes knew how to put films together. Whether paying homage to filmmakers they admire or playing with their own showy techniques, they know how to play with the visual tools they have available. In their post-apocalyptic film The Book of Eli, they make a very compelling film that’s exciting and entertaining while still maintaining the visceral edge they love to employ. But sadly, it’s the last film they worked on toget...
Mar 30, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Season 6Ep. 39
"No man amongst you is fit to judge the mighty art that I have wrought." The Hughes brothers hadn’t really had a big hit by the time they were offered to direct the adaptation of Alan Moore’s and Eddie Campbell’s graphic novel “From Hell,” detailing the characters involved in the ‘Jack the Ripper’ slayings in 1888 London. It offered an opportunity to tell a gritty story that still dealt with the people struggling at the bottom of society, something they’d already proved successful at. But the gr...
Mar 23, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Season 6Ep. 38
"Being a black man in America isn’t easy. The hunt is on and you’re the prey." When 20-year-old twin brothers Albert and Allen Hughes directed their first feature film in 1993, Menace II Society, they immediately showed audiences everywhere that they were storytellers who weren’t afraid to tell risky stories and filmmakers who understood the language of the medium. The film seemed dangerous. It was vicious. Gritty. Brutal. And it was authentic, which perhaps is the greatest testament to what the...
Mar 16, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 37
"The situation in Sweden must be real bad as even lice have begun to emigrate to America." It’s time for our first 2017 Listener’s Choice episode! Pony Prize winner Finn Frode, who’s from Norway but living in Sweden, won and selected a Swedish film with one of his favorite Norwegian actresses – Liv Ullmann. The film he selected is the first half of Jan Troell’s epic tale of immigration – 1971’s The Emigrants . Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we dig into our latest listener’s choice fi...
Mar 09, 2017•1 hr 10 min•Season 6Ep. 36
"There are many things you have not seen." Zhang Yimou has done serious dramas. He’s done big wuxia action films, but he hasn’t had a success in a while and perhaps it should come as no surprise that his newest film is designed to be a big fantasy action blockbuster – a legend about the Great Wall of China and the dragons they people were trying to thwart. While it’s been a success in China and the rest of the world, though, it opened third at the US box office, likely due to its terrible traile...
Mar 02, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 35
"How swift your sword must be." Zhang Yimou had always wanted to direct an action film, and after years of working on the script, he finally had his chance with his ambitious visual feast, 2002’s Hero. Shot all over China starring some of the hottest Chinese stars telling a story about the assassination attempt on the King of Qin several thousand years ago, the film was the most expensive project in China’s history. Luckily, it also became the highest-grossing up to that point. Considering the l...
Feb 23, 2017•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 34
"Light the lanterns at the fourth house!" Despite the bans on some of his earlier films like Ju Dou and Raise the Red Lantern in his home country of China, Zhang Yimou had exploded onto the world stage with these visually sumptuous films and had become a filmmaker worth talking about. Perhaps it was exactly this international presence that kept the Chinese government from suppressing his storytelling further – it gave him the popularity Zhang needed to keep making films. Whether that’s true or n...
Feb 16, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Season 6Ep. 33
"If they knew, they’d kill us." The eighties were a period of turmoil and transition for the Chinese film industry. Other forms of entertainment were more popular and the authorities were concerned that films that had been popular, like martial arts films, were on the out. But a group of Chinese filmmakers, collectively known loosely as the Fifth Generation – with a push from the new Ministry of Radio, Cinema and Television – were about to change all that, helping Chinese cinema break onto the w...
Feb 09, 2017•1 hr 11 min•Season 6Ep. 32
"You helped bring Lili to life, but she was always there." The Danish Girl certainly took a long time getting to the big screen. The script went through dozens of iterations after David Ebershoff’s book was first was optioned. The cast changed numerous times. Directors passed it back and forth. Finally, after fifteen years of floating around, Tom Hooper’s film was released. And while the lead performances were brilliant, the film itself felt a bit flat. And weirdly, this seems to be something we...
Feb 02, 2017•1 hr 4 min•Season 6Ep. 31
"I never even heard of a tranny church lady."Felicity Huffman received many accolades for her incredible performance in TransAmerica , but an Oscar was not one of them. Looking back at the various nominees, it’s clear that Huffman should have won. But that’s how these things go, right? Reese Witherspoon was great in Walk the Line and was the popular favorite, and that’s probably because Johnny Cash had made quite a resurgence and the movie really struck a chord with people. But it doesn’t make i...
Jan 26, 2017•1 hr 13 min•Season 6Ep. 30
"I can spot the fluttering of a beaded lash from three hundred paces." Terence Stamp had played some pretty tough characters in his career – Billy Budd, General Zod – so it was a big surprise to many to see him play a transgender character in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Stamp had his own misgivings about playing the role as it was so different from anything he’d done before. Luckily, he signed on to take it anyway and the result is a beautifully portrayed character. And tha...
Jan 19, 2017•1 hr 24 min•Season 6Ep. 29
"When you think of garbage, think of Akeem!" Eddie Murphy was riding high through the 80s. John Landis, on the other hand, had had a string of flops, not to mention a very difficult Twilight Zone trial. Considering their success together with Trading Places, Murphy thought Landis could use a boost and brought him on to direct his fairy tale film Coming to America. It was the hit Landis needed, and yet another film cementing that Murphy was king of the box office. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy N...
Jan 12, 2017•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 28
"You couldn’t plan a day like this."The Next Reel’s Speakeasy is an ongoing series of ours in which we invite an industry guest to join us and bring along one of their favorite movies to talk about. In this month’s episode, writer, producer, director and former agent Jim Jermanok joins us to talk about one of his favorite movies, Harold Ramis’ 1993 film Groundhog Day. We talk about how this film was received at the time of its release, why this film holds up so well and perhaps why it took peopl...
Jan 10, 2017•1 hr 7 min•Season 2Ep. 1
"You’re not gonna fall for the banana in the tail pipe?" Eddie Murphy proved his big screen comedy prowess with Dan Aykroyd in Trading Places but the studio was still concerned about him helming a movie by himself. Luckily, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer believed in him and ended up convincing Paramount that he could do it, bringing him on board Beverly Hills Cop after Sylvester Stallone stepped out. And the rest is cinematic history – the movie broke records left and right and firmly establi...
Jan 05, 2017•1 hr 21 min•Season 6Ep. 27
"When I was growing up, if we wanted a jacuzzi, we had to fart in the tub." Eddie Murphy may have been a name on “Saturday Night Live” but he wasn’t a film star. Luckily, when John Landis wanted to cast him as Billy Ray Valentine in Trading Places, Murphy had just appeared in 48 Hrs., proving he had the charisma for the big screen. Without that success, Paramount Pictures was unconvinced. But it worked out and young Murphy became box office gold. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we kic...
Dec 29, 2016•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 26
"Agnes, it’s me – Billy!" Bob Clark may be best known for directing his Christmas classic, 1983’s A Christmas Story, but many people don’t know that he got his start in horror like so many other filmmakers, and that one of his first horror films was another Christmas story – Black Christmas. What’s so refreshing about watching this 1974 film is that it’s a slasher film that doesn’t feel as base as so many others that followed suit, but more importantly that it adopted the first person POV shot f...
Dec 22, 2016•1 hr 10 min•Season 6Ep. 25
"Now that you’re so respectable, I think you’re more dangerous than you ever were." It was billed the most anticipated film of the decade, yet Francis Ford Coppola had spent that entire decade turning down requests to make it. It was only his failing finances that finally drove Coppola to accept the job of writing and directing The Godfather, Part III, and for a lot of people, they probably wish he never bothered. But whatever issues they may have had getting it made, it was the casting of a key...
Dec 15, 2016•1 hr 35 min•Season 6Ep. 24
"Such perfectly beautiful coats!"The Next Reel’s Speakeasy is our ongoing series in which we invite an industry guest to join us and bring along one of their favorite movies to talk about. In this month’s episode, we’re honored to have two guests join us to discuss one of their favorite films – it’s the Bancroft Brothers! That’s right, twin brothers Tom and Tony Bancroft, both of whom are animators, are here to chat about Disney’s 1961 classic One Hundred and One Dalmatians. We talk about why th...
Dec 13, 2016•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 12
