You've heard Chris and Elizabeth Cantwell on past episodes solo but recently, I was thrilled to be joined by this dynamic duo together for a hilarious & thoughtful conversation about one of their favorite movie stars. The co-creator and showrunner of one of my favorite television series Halt and Catch Fire ( which he joined me to discuss in season 2), Chris Cantwell is an incredibly talented & prolific writer working on the TV projects Devil in Silver & Max Headroom , & also writ...
May 06, 2023•1 hr 23 min•Season 4Ep. 15
One of our very first guests, this week, I was so pleased to welcome Kristen Lopez back to the podcast. Currently working as the Film Editor of The Wrap, Kristen, who is also the creator of the classic film podcast Ticklish Business, has worked as an entertainment journalist for more than fifteen years. And this year, she's published her very first book in conjunction with TCM dedicated to literary adaptations. Focused on 52 different feature films and the works that inspired them, this cheerily...
May 02, 2023•47 min•Season 4Ep. 14
A talented film critic, photographer, & podcaster based in England, Leslie Byron Pitt has written for Set the Tape & Empire Magazine, & has also been published on Vodzilla, Film Stories, & Little White Lies online. Additionally featured on Inside Cinema for the BBCi Player, when he isn't writing, doing expressive photography, or creating new pieces for print, Leslie can be found on the erotic thriller podcast Fatal Attractions. A returning guest from early in Season 2, when we di...
Apr 26, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Season 4Ep. 13
In the middle of the pandemic, I was invited by my friends at The B-Side Podcast - past guests Conor O'Donnell & Dan Mecca - to play with them as part of Team The Film Stage vs. Team Letterboxd on a Cinephile Game Night. I had so much fun playing that game & making new friends that night that I couldn't wait to start throwing my own virtual game nights with a close group of crime writer & film writer pals, & it's become a near-monthly thing that we've done since the summer of 202...
Apr 20, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 12
A very talented, versatile, and witty performer with more than 150 credit listings on IMDb, as an actor, today's guest James Urbaniak has brought to life such memorable characters as Dr. Venture on Adult Swim's The Venture Brothers , the scene-stealing Arthur (who was my favorite character) on Hulu's Difficult People , and Grant on Comedy Central's Review . Additionally, he's also a podcaster in his own right and the creator of the scripted shows Getting On With James Urbaniak , A Night Called T...
Apr 13, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Returning to the podcast this week, we have a woman who needs no introduction and one whose voice is or should be - especially if you're a cinephile - her own introduction. A film writer I remember reading as far back as her days at "Cinematical" and "The Village Voice," as well as the author of "Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes' Hollywood," and books on George Lucas, Al Pacino, and Meryl Streep, the wonderful Karina Longworth is the historian and podcaster behind the acclaimed...
Apr 07, 2023•48 min•Season 4Ep. 10
This week, I was the luckiest host because shortly after both Rob Belushi and Jordan Harper dropped into Phoenix separately this year, I was once again able to reunite on the pod with not one but two of my favorite guys. The closest you can get to know what it's like to hang out with Rob and Jordan in real life, I was honored to have them join me for a long, funny, vulnerable, surprisingly philosophical conversation about God, addiction, acting, and the highs and lows of gambling movies, includi...
Apr 01, 2023•1 hr 39 min•Season 4Ep. 9
At the end of classic 007 pictures, the words "James Bond will return" filled the screen. And although there is no actual screen available on Watch With Jen because it isn't a video podcast, James Bond has indeed returned for the second time in our series run so far, following the success of our very popular Roger Moore episode in season two. And once again, my lovely, funny, crackerjack guest Julia Ricci is back. A Film Programming Manager at Heartland Film in Indianapolis, Indiana, which organ...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Joining me this week is Jason Carney, who is not only a colleague and friend but also, the incredibly hard-working Executive Director of the Phoenix Film Festival, which is a fun, filmmaker-friendly nationally acclaimed, impressive event that has run for 23 years. Held at the wonderful Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatre, this year's festival is set to open on Thursday, March 23 with Ray Romano's directorial debut SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS, and will run through Sunday, April 2nd with director Chris McKay's...
Mar 23, 2023•45 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Having recorded several extra episodes in February & March in the lead-up to Season 4, it's a true delight to sprinkle a bunch of these bonus conversations into the new season, both as a surprise & also my sincere way of thanking you for making the podcast more successful than it's ever been before. While eventually, we will ease back into weekly releases, for now, I hope you're enjoying these frequent uploads & finding a lot of great movies to explore. Returning for the first time s...
Mar 19, 2023•52 min•Season 4Ep. 6
A writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, today's guest Duncan Birmingham was an executive producer and screenwriter for IFC's MARON and also served as a co-executive producer and writer on the Starz series BLUNT TALK as well. Additionally, Duncan's short films have premiered at such festivals as Sundance and AFI, and his screenplay SWINGLES, which was bought by Paramount, was also on The Black List. Recently, his lively, irreverent short-story collection THE CULT IN MY GARAGE was published b...
Mar 16, 2023•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 5
This week, I was so happy to welcome back my good friend Rachel Wagner who was my guest for the most downloaded episode of Season 3 devoted to LOL Funny '90s Romcoms. The woman behind not only the website, pod, & YouTube channel Rachel's Reviews as well as The Criterion Project podcast, the Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic also runs the incredibly popular Hallmarkies podcast, & is a veteran interviewer in her own right. Additionally, she has a keen interest in both obscure animation ...
Mar 12, 2023•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 4
As soon as this episode was announced & I began researching it, there was a massive amount of interest from listeners to hear what turned out to be an absolutely hilarious yet still very insightful conversation with author Adrian McKinty. So in that spirit, & because I've recorded a pretty healthy backlog of episodes for the new season so far, I thought I'd upload it early for all of you as a bonus surprise release. This week, I was so pleased to welcome to the podcast one of my crime wr...
Mar 08, 2023•1 hr 27 min•Season 4Ep. 3
An episode that we've been planning since we recorded our first conversation devoted to Martin Scorsese in Season 2, this week, I was so honored to welcome back my favorite crime writer working today to dissect one of her most significant sources of inspiration, the fascinating & controversial writer-director Paul Schrader. Novelist Megan Abbott is the Edgar-winning author of such acclaimed, rich works as GIVE ME YOUR HAND, YOU WILL KNOW ME, THE TURNOUT, DARE ME, QUEENPIN, and more. Her newe...
Mar 04, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Season 4Ep. 2
We are back in 2023 with the first episode of the fourth season of Watch With Jen & it's a nice long, chatty, analytical one that's as surprisingly moving as it is filled with great Hollywood stories. RAVENOUS, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, & MATCHSTICK MEN screenwriter Ted Griffin (who also created FX's TERRIERS & produced THE WOLF OF WALL STREET) returns to the podcast to pay tribute to his old late mentor, the beloved yet still widely unsung writer-director Curtis Hanson. A man who began his ca...
Feb 27, 2023•1 hr 33 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Behold our final episode of not only this 3-part holiday bonus special, but also the final episode of Season 3. For fun last night, I used a calculator to add up the number of installments of Watch With Jen that have been uploaded in the show's history so far & was stunned to discover that this one is number 170! That's A LOT of conversations about film, you guys, & I want to thank you so much for digging it & joining us along the way. I hope you will return for what is shaping up to...
Dec 28, 2022•51 min•Season 3Ep. 48
Welcome to the second of three bonus episodes on films you can now find on physical media. Zeroing in on some of my favorite contemplative foreign & art-house releases, in this 82-minute installment of Watch With Jen, we discuss three films you can now find on Criterion disc, including THE POWER OF THE DOG, DRIVE MY CAR, & THE INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY, as well as MONSIEUR HIRE, which Cohen Films just made available on Blu-ray. An engaging, alternately soulful & funny chat, in a gem o...
Dec 28, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 3Ep. 47
Welcome to the first of three bonus physical media episodes that I'll be releasing this week to celebrate the end of the third season, the end of the year, and above all, to thank you for your support throughout 2022. In this installment, which is devoted to '22 releases, you'll hear film critic Sean Burns and critic/podcaster Blake Howard on TOP GUN: MAVERICK, "New York Times" bestselling author S.A. Cosby on NOPE, & crime writer Nikki Dolson on THE BAD GUYS, DC's LEAGUE OF SUPER-PETS, &...
Dec 28, 2022•2 hr 10 min•Season 3Ep. 46
For the third season finale of Watch With Jen, I was thrilled and proud to welcome back one of my dearest pals and the hardest-working man in pod-business, Mr. Blake Howard. The brains behind the stellar One Heat Minute Productions that launched with an in-depth minute-by-minute investigation and appreciation of Michael Mann's "Heat," he's released numerous pods since, including "All The President's Minutes," "Josie and the Podcats," "Zodiac: Chronicle," and also, the excellent "Increment Vice,"...
Dec 05, 2022•1 hr 19 min•Season 3Ep. 45
This week, I'm so pleased to welcome back to the podcast a very talented, supportive, and funny friend. Currently based in Newark, Delaware, Mitchell Beaupre is not only the Senior Editor at one of my favorite services (via Letterboxd), but they're also the co-host of the Weekend Watchlist and Four Favorites podcasts, which you can find in the stream for The Letterboxd Show. Additionally, a prolific freelance film journalist and stellar interviewer for prestigious outlets such as "The Film Stage...
Nov 30, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Season 3Ep. 44
Watch With Jen started 2022 with an episode featuring fan favorite S.A. Cosby, so as we begin wrapping up our third season, it's only fitting that we bring Shawn back to discuss more movies he loves. As kind and genuine as he is knowledgeable and gifted, the first time I ever chatted with Shawn was one week before he released the book that would become a smash success and put him on the map. The remarkable Blacktop Wasteland won an avalanche of well-deserved praise and awards, including the Anth...
Nov 14, 2022•1 hr 41 min•Season 3Ep. 43
A film critic for publications such as LA Weekly , New York Magazine , Vulture , The New York Times , and formerly, The Village Voice , the brilliant Bilge Ebiri is one of my favorite journalists working today. And recently, he was kind enough to name Watch With Jen one of the best current film podcasts in an article for Vulture . Additionally, a writer-director who's known for the films New Guy , Purse Snatcher , and for assistant directing The Barber of Siberia , Bilge and I had so much fun wi...
Nov 07, 2022•1 hr 53 min•Season 3Ep. 42
Returning to Watch With Jen this week, we have my very talented friend and an official (and very popular) friend of the show. William Boyle is the acclaimed novelist behind such titles as Gravesend , The Lonely Witness , A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself , City of Margins , and Shoot the Moonlight Out . In addition to crafting these wonderfully humanistic Lumet-like character-driven ensemble crime epics, Bill is quite the pop culture buff and one hell of a good movie trivia game player as wel...
Oct 31, 2022•1 hr 51 min•Season 3Ep. 41
This week's guest is a terrific character actor with over thirty years in the industry. A veteran of more than seventy Hollywood movies and hundreds of episodes of television, Donal Logue is the beloved scene-stealer of such films as Sneakers , Blade, and Zodiac , and TV series as Grounded for Life , Sons of Anarchy , Vikings , Gotham , and of course, the great Terriers , which Jed Ayres and I celebrated earlier this year in a full episode. Additionally, the recipient of the Special Jury Prize f...
Oct 24, 2022•1 hr 57 min•Season 3Ep. 40
About a decade ago now, my mom read a WWII-era historical thriller novel called Mr. Churchill's Secretary and became an instant fan of both the main character - Maggie Hope, an intrepid young spy, and codebreaker who rose up to meet the challenges of that time - as well as author Susan Elia MacNeal. In the years that followed, she would eagerly anticipate each new installment and I remember going to track down a few on pub day at Barnes and Noble. A New York Times bestselling novelist of not onl...
Oct 19, 2022•58 min•Season 3Ep. 39
This week, I was so pleased to welcome back a very dear friend to the podcast. A senior film critic who writes the most soulful, insightful, and humanistic pieces at FilmFreakCentral.net, Walter Chaw's bylines have also appeared in LA Weekly , The New York Times , New York Post , The Washington Post , Criterion , New York Magazine , and more. Additionally, the author of a book about the film MIRACLE MILE, Walter's in-depth critical study of Walter Hill is scheduled to be published by Matt Zoller...
Oct 10, 2022•1 hr 1 min•Season 3Ep. 38
Returning to the podcast this week, we have a very talented freelance writer and lecturer specializing in women surrealists and visual culture. Sabina Stent's bylines include Magnum Photos and Crime Reads and she also writes a substack newsletter called Love Letters During a Nightmare. Her next online lecture is for the Morbid Anatomy Museum and is titled Cinematic Surrealism in Los Angeles: Maya Deren and David Lynch. (Tickets are available on the museum's website, which you can also find a lin...
Oct 04, 2022•1 hr 37 min•Season 3Ep. 37
In this highly-requested feature-length episode, dear friends and past guests Jed Ayres, Rob Belushi, and Blake Howard join me to explore the critically acclaimed, award-winning FX Australia series Mr. Inbetween , which ran for three seasons from 2018-2021. Created and written by the show's charismatic lead Scott Ryan, the series finds the actor starring as muscle, debt-collector, hitman, and Underworld-Jack-of-All-Trades for-Hire Ray Shoesmith, whom Ryan's fans will recall was the same characte...
Sep 27, 2022•2 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 36
This week, I'm very excited to bring back one of our warmest & most knowledgeable guests who's become synonymous with fall. In fact, this is her third consecutive fall episode and fifth appearance overall! An accomplished lawyer and a highly readable film critic at her own site MovieMom.com and at RogerEbert.com where she's also an editor, Nell Minow has written over 3,000 movie reviews since the 1990s. Additionally, she's also authored a handful of terrific film books, including 101 Must Se...
Sep 22, 2022•1 hr 4 min•Season 3Ep. 35
Returning to the podcast today, we have a fan favorite in the form of Mr. Jordan Harper. One of my dearest friends, this podcast's very first guest, and my Pandemic Movie Club, and Game Night crew buddy, Jordan is the Edgar award-winning author of She Rides Shotgun , Love & Other Wounds , The Last King of California - releasing in September in the UK - and Everybody Knows , which will be available everywhere in 2023. Additionally, a screenwriter and producer of such shows as The Mentalist , ...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 20 min•Season 3Ep. 34
