As if 2 hours plus for PTA Part II wasn't enough, you are about to get even more content all about my favorite filmmaker. This time I interview author/writer extraordinaire Ethan Warren about his recently released book, The Cinema of Paul Thomas Anderson: American Apocrypha that I highly recommend. We talked for 40 mins about what inspired him to write it, along with thoughts on PTA in general. Soon after that, you'll get to hear more conversation from my former co-host Patrick Ripoll....

Way back in 2012 before THE MASTER had come out, for Episode 35, my former co-host Patrick and I enlisted Steve Prokopy to talk about my favorite director of all time. There were some disagreements here and there but it was a memorable discussion back then. Now that PTA has released four fascinating movies since the last time we recorded, it’s about time I recruit one of the people responsible for turning me into a movie freak: Mr. Nick Digilio of The Nick D Podcast. We catch up with Nick,...

One of my favorite films of the year so far is Alex Heller's THE YEAR BETWEEN, now available on VOD. The reason for that is detailed further in my review during the first ten minutes but after that, stay tuned for guest correspondent (and Mental Filmness film festival founder) Sharon Gissy as she speaks with the writer/director and star of this excellent, insightful look at Bipolar disorder and so much more. It'll be playing on March 30th at the Music Box Theatre so I encourage you to come...

We found… a way. You may be wondering why there hasn’t been an official new episode for a while? Well, I’ve been spending the past six weeks binging on movies from 1993 for an annual tradition that has taken place for the past 8 years! Yes it’s that time folks. The yearly retrospectives continue as we travel back 30 years to rewatch, reconsider and share favorites along with many memories too! Join me on this 6-hour plus journey alongside Chicago critics Erik Childress and Collin Souter. ...

Hosts Bill Ackerman and Jim Laczkowski were asked to talk with two filmmakers about their latest work - both of which has received awards consideration and acclaim. First up, Jim speaks with Lukas Dhont about his coming-of-age tale CLOSE which is opening on February 3rd here in Chicago. Then, Bill had the opportunity to interview Mia Hansen-Løve about her latest drama ONE FINE MORNING. Incredibly grateful to both directors for taking the time to talk with us. 00:00 - 02:39 - Intro 02:40 -...

It's the most wonderful time of the beginning of the year! The title of this episode says it all and I'm so grateful to my two guests for joining me for this epic reflection on the film year that was 2022! Now I'll be going back to 1993 for February's retrospective episode so until then enjoy 6 hours of nerding out. Also please be sure to check out the two new podcasts soon to be added to the Now Playing Network! Thank you so much for listening to a yearly tradition that is always a complete...

Guest host Bill Ackerman invites author, film historian and Twitch Of The Death Nerve co-host Samm Deighan to discuss the work of Ken Russell, the visionary talent who directed groundbreaking profiles of artists for the BBC before attaining international acclaim and notoriety through bold, often controversial films like WOMEN IN LOVE, THE MUSIC LOVERS, THE DEVILS, THE BOY FRIEND, MAHLER, TOMMY and ALTERED STATES.  00:00 - 21:49 - Introduction 21:50 - 38:51 - Monitor, ELGAR and the early...

Mindframes hosts Michael Cockerill and Dave Canfield join me for this special tribute to honor our dear friend Sergio Mims. Several years ago, I did an episode on one of his favorite directors, Michael Curtiz. Of course you are encouraged to listen to that. But I asked Mike & Dave to join me to revisit two titles in particular from Curtiz as well as recommend several others as a way of honoring the memory of Sergio. Perhaps one of these films is an all-time classic called CASABLANCA? In...

Normally something like this would be a bonus episode, but this is a special exception. As Erik wrote: Sergio Mims, our noted film scholar and friend, was well on his way to becoming “King Commentary” with all his official contributions to Blu-rays for Kino, Vinegar Syndrome and others. During the pandemic at the peak of lockdown, Collin Souter of Christmas Movies Actually, suggested that our good friend record one for Disney’s controversial 1940 film, Song of the South. Sergio did not...

There's something strange... in your podcast feed... but don't call me. I have no idea how it got there. Perhaps the devil? Maybe an alternate version of me came here from a different universe and placed it here? Regardless, I think a few years back I strung together some scary songs and weird sounds but I added a little bit extra to accompany it. Better live up to the title of being "craaaazy!" Can you make it thru these 40 minutes? If you want the real deal from Patrick this year for your...

A special bonus episode is here to highlight one of the many excellent offerings from the Mental Filmness Film Festival. Hopefully the title alone is enough to get you intrigued to check out the title I’m focusing on for this conversation. Philip Józef Brubaker is my guest today and a multi-talented one at that. He has created and edited comedic shorts, experimental films, video essays, documentaries and more! His 2009 documentary BRUSHES WITH LIFE: ART, ARTISTS AND MENTAL ILLNESS won...

What an episode in so many ways that it’s hard to know where to begin in even writing an introduction. The first ten minutes are mostly about me remembering a friend and film critic near and dear to many of us along with promoting and supporting an upcoming film festival as well. I hope you won’t skip over the beginning since it would mean a lot if you listened to the tribute about someone very important to my life and to the lives of many. There will be more words and a separate write-up on...

Guest host Bill Ackerman invites writer Gianna D’Emilio to discuss the work of Mia Hansen-Løve, the acclaimed writer/director of films like THINGS TO COME, BERGMAN ISLAND, EDEN and GOODBYE, FIRST LOVE. In anticipation of her latest effort, ONE FINE MORNING, they take a close look at her first seven features. Read “Girlhood, Postfeminism and Contemporary Female Art-House Authorship: The “Nameless Trilogies” of Sofia Coppola and Mia Hansen-Løve” by Fiona Handyside ...

Oh hello there! This is my way of reviewing new releases once in a while and provide them here for you - monologue-style. This time I'm providing some reviews for early September including something very special: a bonus interview with the writer/director of one of the new films I’m reviewing. Neil LaBute has been making interesting features for well over 20 years and his latest is a creepy little Gothic horror film called House Of Darkness (opening on September 9th). Listen to him talk about...

Guest host Bill Ackerman invites film/culture writer Heather Drain and writer/programmer Justine Smith to discuss the films of Stephen Sayadian (aka Rinse Dream), the singular talent behind films like NIGHTDREAMS, CAFÉ FLESH and DR. CALIGARI. As an added bonus, Bill also includes a new interview with writer/historian/film preservationist Daniel Bird, who produced the 2021 4K restoration of DR. CALIGARI and is presently working on an upcoming restoration of CAFÉ FLESH. 00:00 - 1:59:00 -...

As you'll hear during the introduction, David Lynch is an important filmmaker to me for a variety of reasons. Mary Sweeney collaborated with him for about 15 years as an editor, producer and writer. Talking with her was an absolute joy. Mary is truly an accomplished, multi-talented human being in so many ways. I was honored to spend 30 minutes with her over the phone to talk about her experiences working with Lynch and also to promote the upcoming 4K Restoration of LOST HIGHWAY, which is...

One of my favorite cinephiles on the planet joins me today to talk about a director they were thrilled to discuss. Film writer and podcaster extraordinare Mitchell Beaupre is a regular at Filmspotting Trivia which is where our paths first crossed and I have been following their work ever since. We get to know a little more about Mitchell during the intro but mainly sing the praises of most (if not all) of the work of James Gray starting with his debut leading all the way up to AD ASTRA. For...

Michael Glover Smith loves movies so much, it was inevitable that he would go on to make some of his own. Not only that, he writes about movies, teaches film classes, and has even written a book on Chicago film history. I had the immense pleasure of finally catching up with MERCURY IN RETROGRADE and shared my reaction to a casting choice during our interview here, but the bulk of the conversation surrounds his latest film, the empathic family dramedy RELATIVE.  A great ensemble of talent...

So you might remember him as Arnie from CHRISTINE and that's where I first became aware of the terrific talent of one writer/director/actor extraordinaire Keith Gordon. He's been on Director's Club a half dozen times which is truly an honor and a pleasure. We continue a yearly tradition where we check in and take the opportunity to nerd out about the cinema of years past. We go back to talk about a particular decade in film citing some under-seen titles that may have been underappreciated at...

Bonus episodes will be ending soon! We'll be back to our regularly scheduled program in a matter of days for sure. Instead of making this a Patreon exclusive, I decided to share this with everyone since it is a special one. Once again, I’m joined by Chicago film critic Erik Childress of the Movie Madness podcast as well as co-host of The Friendship Dilemma to record a full-length feature commentary track of yet another film from 1984. The first one we did together was for another film my dad...

Tis the season for more bonus content but soon enough Bill Ackerman will be bringing us an official director-centric episode soon. For this excursion into something besides movies, I once hosted called Voices & Visions and I would recruit friend and Austin-based journalist Dan Solomon to go back 20 years to talk about a year in music - an art form that I love every bit much as film. For this retrospective, my guests and I curate a new list of ten favorite records from that year, playing...

For those who don't know, my favorite way to exercise has always been swimming. I'm slowly getting back into it as a regular part of my daily routine. Not only that, Frank Perry's THE SWIMMER is becoming an all-time favorite of mine with every viewing and I wanted to talk to a true film historian about it. Sergio Mims returns to the show for another bonus discussion on this fascinating Burt Lancaster picture from 1968 that audiences were probably not ready for at the time. As always, I...

Jay Cheel is a writer/director/editor as well as a co-host of the podcast responsible for turning me into a podcaster, Film Junk. I thought why not talk with him right after dropping Episode 200 about his excellent Shudder series, Cursed Films which recently put out its second season that I highly encourage you to see. Always great to talk with such a talented, articulate filmmaker like Jay. His series, Cursed Films II covers new titles. The show explores the myths and legends behind some of...

Episode 200 is here (technically this is the 300th episode if you include bonus episodes). Of course, I had to invite my original co-host and dear friend Patrick Ripoll back to the show since it all began with him and I talking about Cameron Crowe in front of microphones back in January 2011. This serves as not only a celebration of the podcast but as an early birthday treat. So why not talk about two of my favorite directors over the course of two entire films they’ve made. I was never...

One of my very favorite people on the planet joins me to talk about a director that was covered a decade ago but deserves revisiting especially in light of his more recent work. The wonderful Sharon Gissy, creator of the Mental Filmness Film Festival returns to the show to talk all about groundbreaking director Todd Haynes. I know many years ago on the show I brought attention to his masterpiece SAFE but wanted to revisit it now given the times we live in and to hear Sharon’s thoughts...