Because We Love Making Movies

For the final episode of Season 2, I talk to ZACH KUPERSTEIN. He’s a brilliant cinematographer who helped create the instant horror classic, BARBARIAN (which I spoke to Zach and the writer/director of Barbarian in episode 1 of this season). But long before BARBARIAN, Zach had already created an amazing body of work. He shot the fantastic horror film, THE VIGIL, the wonderfully disturbing black and white movie, THE EYES OF MY MOTHER, and the painfully funny bromance gone wrong called THE CLIMB. These films are all different genres, styles, and stories…but what they do have in common, is how the imagery tells a story and makes you laugh, cry, and scream. Zach is a chameleon in the best sense of the word, and his work proves, that you can’t put him in a box of any kind. It’s a great talk about how he became a cinematographer, his process, and how he’s always looking for something he’s never seen before. Please listen, enjoy, and share! Link in Bio! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, I speak with Monika Gossman. An incredible actor who I first became of aware of after seeing her wonderful performance in David Fincher’s MANK. We discuss her collaboration with Fincher, as well as her incredible work alongside Gary Oldman. We talk about how actors are storytellers and filmmakers, how she discovered her calling as an artist, and how she feeds her soul as an artist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, I talk to LYNDA ARMTRONG.She’s a Hair & Makeup Artist & Designer. Her credits range from the original BATMAN & LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS — to the more modern classics like STRANGER THINGS & ATLANTA. Most recently, she worked with Actress Joey King and a very talented cast of actors and filmmakers to create Hulu’s THE PRINCESS. It’s a great talk about how she found her way as an artist and filmmaker, how she learned from masters who gave her chances along the way, and how a life in film is really about never giving up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, I sit down with a film producer who has helped make some truly legendary films with a legendary filmmaker. Fred Fuchs worked with Francis Ford Coppola on films like THE GODFATHER 3, BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA…as well as Sofia Coppola’s directorial debut, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES. Somebody once said, that a producer is an enabler of art, and Fred is no exception. It’s a great conversation about what a producer does, and how circuitous and unpredictable a life in the arts can be. Please listen, enjoy, and share! Link in Bio! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, I’m talking with cinematographer Adam McDaid, and production designer Joshua Petersen. Together these two helped create the world of the new Freeform 1/2 hour comedy, EVERYTHING’S TRASH created by Phoebe Robinson. Most people don’t realize, these artists are the right and left hand of a director or a showrunner. While creators imagine a world in their head, a production designer builds it, and the cinematographer films it. They make art exist in the most concrete way. At its best, the cinematographer & production designer are working in total harmony to develop a color palette, textures, lighting, and all of the details that make something that is inherently artificial, totally real. This is a great talk about filmmaking and process, and how every artist has a different way into their art. Please listen, enjoy, and share! Link in Bio! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’ve got not one, but two guests: Composer Ben Lovett & Film Editor David Marks. They were part of the team that brought us the fantastic new horror film, THE NIGHT HOUSE. It stars Rebecca Hall in an unforgettable performance reminiscent of Julie Christie in DON’T LOOK NOW. Movies are sight and sound…music and imagery spliced together to tell a story…and without the crafts of music and editing…well, we really wouldn’t the movies. It's a great conversation about how a composer and an editor collaborate not just with a director, but with each other. We talk about how both of these artists found their way into filmmaking, and what inspires them to keep creating. It’s a great talk! Please listen, enjoy, and share! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I talk with Meghan Kasperlik. She’s a Costume Designer whose worked in film in TV but she is best known for her work on the Home Box Office Channel, better known as HBO. She designed the dystopian nightmare of FAHERNHEIT 451 (for which she received her first Emmy Nomination). Damon Lindlelof’s astonishing remix of the WATCHMEN. And most recently, the critical and cultural juggernaut MARE OF EAST TOWN (for which she received her second Emmy nomination). I had a blast talking to Meghan about her craft and filmmaking, and her very special relationship with actors like Kate Winslet and Jeanne Smart. Because a Costume Designer doesn't just create worlds out of whole cloth, but also characters. It’s a great talk! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I’m talking to Ellen Arden. She’s a makeup artist who helped create the completely original world of Marvel’s WEREWOLF BY NIGHT. Just when we think we’ve seen it all — a movie comes along that takes an old form and re-shapes it in such a different way that it’s suddenly thrilling/really exciting…in this instance, I’m talking about WEREWOLF BY NIGHT. It’s a crazy experiment by Marvel Studios, and the directorial debut of composer Michael Giacchino. Gael Garcia Bernal stars along with a flawless cast of actors. It’s both beautiful homage to the black & white Universal monster movies of old, and a genre mashup. The result is an action-horror film that feels like AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON meets THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Ellen who created a murderer’s row of faces for this film. Because in this rogue’s gallery, all of our character’s faces and war paint are how we meet them, and ultimately how we understand them. She’s a master makeup artist whose other credits include: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.3, HAWKEYE, FEAR STREET, & OZARK. It’s a great talk! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today is a special one. He’s absolutely one of the most unsung heroes in the world of films and filmmaking, and particularly in this age when movies being shot and projected on film is a rarity. Benjamin Tucker is a film projectionist. But he also happens to be the Chief Projectionist at the American Cinematheque in Los Angeles…and is responsible for projecting some of the most memorable and important films and creating an experience that is truly the definition of movie magic. It’s a fascinating talk that delves into the purest passions of why we love movies, and why seeing them projected in a theater with an audience can be a religious experience… Church is session, no heretics allowed! It’s a great talk! Please listen, enjoy, and share! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today is Tamara Deverell. She’s a Production Designer for film & television, and a longtime collaborator of the visionary Guillermo Del Toro. We get into her work on the beautifully dark NIGHTMARE ALLEY, andher long relationship with Guillermo which goes all the way back to MIMIC. This is a great talk about production design, dreaming and building the world of a film alongside its director, and how art in all its shapes informs Tamara’s life and work. It’s a great talk! Please listen, enjoy, and share! Link in Bio! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices