Chris and Lizzie speak with the incredible, Emmy-winning Casting Director, Wendy O'Brien (Abbott Elementary, Dave, It's Always Sunny, Wyrm). Enjoy a conversation about how this role is different from what you might think, how it has changed in a post-Covid world, what it's like to work with Chris, and much more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Mar 10, 2025•41 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Marilyn Monroe can’t remember her lines, Jack Lemmon can’t walk in heels, and Billy Wilder is slipping sleeping pills up his tuchus. ‘Some Like It Hot’ is a groundbreaking comedy that nearly broke writer/director Billy Wilder. Join Chris and Lizzie as they break down Billy Wilder’s struggles with Marilyn, and Marilyn’s relationships with her overbearing husband and acting coach, and find out why Tony Curtis allegedly called her Hitler. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Californ...
Mar 03, 2025•2 hr 34 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Three decades of development hell, a dozen drafts and one very embattled director. This week, Chris and Lizzie explore the tumultuous journey of Malcolm X, Spike Lee’s unusual path to the directing chair, and how the public battle over the civil rights leader’s story nearly eclipsed the story itself. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 17, 2025•2 hr 36 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast This week it’s Francis Ford Coppola vs Bob Evans vs everyone. Join Chris and Lizzie for part 2 as they break down the truly insane rivalries behind 1972’s The Godfather. Find out why Coppola’s team briefly turned against him, how James Caan might have beaten up a costar on screen, and why this movie has one of the most dangerous stunts we’ve ever covered. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 03, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast It’s a movie about the mafia… but they couldn’t say the word mafia… because the actual mafia threatened the entire production if they didn’t remove it. This week Chris and Lizzie dive into Francis Ford Coppola’s groundbreaking 1972 film, The Godfather. Find out why Coppola and Al Pacino both almost got fired, how Robert DeNiro almost made it into part 1, and why Paramount didn’t even want to make the movie. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 13 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast For over a decade, Tom Cruise was Hollywood's most bankable star, ruling Tinseltown with a million-dollar grin and a carefully crafted image. But when ditching his publicist led to couch-jumping antics, Scientology scandals, and box office bombs, La La Land’s Top Gun found himself in a tailspin that even Ethan Hunt couldn't escape. On each episode of Wondery’s podcast The Big Flop, comedians join host Misha Brown to chronicle one of the biggest pop-culture fails of all time and try to answer the...
Jan 09, 2025•7 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast What happens when Tom Cruise’s unstoppable force meets Stanley Kubrick’s immovable object? Tune in as Lizzie & Chris uncover the secrets of the reclusive auteur’s thirteenth and final film, a production so difficult it (likely) ended a marriage, dispatched its director and may have sent not one, but two Kubrick collaborators deeper into the embrace of a truly secretive society. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-s...
Jan 06, 2025•2 hr 45 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast Storyboard artist Warren Drummond (Shaft, A Beautiful Mind, Nightcrawler, Rise of the Planet of the Apes) has worked with some of the greatest filmmakers of our time, from John Singleton to Denzel Washington and Ron Howard. In this Below the Line interview, Warren illuminates the world of storyboarding, his journey into film, the transition from analog to digital, and more. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-i...
Dec 23, 2024•39 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast How did a tennis pro, a theater nerd, and a TV actor redefine the action genre? Because they had nothing left to lose. This week, Chris and Lizzie dive deep into 1988’s quintessential Christmas film: from Bruce’s receding hairline and an unfinished script to Rickman’s inability to hold a gun and Joel Silver’s desire to just blow shit up, this production had more problems than a McClane marriage. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/pr...
Dec 16, 2024•1 hr 26 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast More Gremlins, more problems! But that didn’t stop Joe Dante and Steven Spielberg from adding an endless stream of critters to the deranged 1984 Christmas classic. Busted puppets caused massive delays and pushed creature master Chris Walas to his limits, but it could’ve been worse - they could’ve used… live monkeys?! Find out why parents were furious about the film, how it helped change the MPAA rating system forever, and why Tom Hanks isn’t in it. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy...
Dec 09, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast Blue screens! Tennis balls! Directions from George Lucas! What are three things that make an actor’s job harder? Chris and Lizzie conclude their Menace coverage with a crunch at ILM, the public shaming of Jar Jar Binks and why George may have lost a lot more than $50 million in his divorce. Plus, how no one saw it coming… except for Weird Al. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Dec 02, 2024•2 hr 32 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast Jedi! Lightsabers! Taxes? This week, Chris tests Lizzie’s midi-chlorians (and patience) with George Lucas’ polarizing return to Star Wars. Was Lucas a victim of his own success, or were we all victims of his divorce? Plus, how Michael Jackson and Denzel Washington were nearly canon, and more! CORRECTIONS: *Doctor Dolittle was release in 1967, not 1976, as Chris mistakenly stated. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sel...
Nov 25, 2024•1 hr 25 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast How did the 4th (or maybe 5th) version of ‘A Star is Born’ take almost 20 years to make… and why did it almost star Russell Crowe and Beyoncé?! This week Lizzie and Chris break down Bradley Cooper’s 2018 directorial debut, and discover why Lady Gaga was initially a tough sell. Find out how everyone from Jamie Foxx to Metallica had a hand in this Oscar nominated film’s journey to the screen. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/p...
Nov 11, 2024•1 hr 24 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast The only thing worse than being a character in a Sam Raimi movie? Acting in one. This week, Chris and Lizzie unearth the grueling, injury-laden production of The Evil Dead. Discover the importance of such amenities as running water, toilets, and electricity; and the pain of removing fake blood with hot coffee. Plus, how Raimi couldn’t have done it without a veritable village, including a couple of Coens, a King of horror, and a septuagenarian sales agent. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/...
Oct 28, 2024•2 hr 42 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast 
