In episode 34, Johnny talks to director, editor, writer and podcaster Doug Dillaman. Doug’s second feature film GUT INSTINCT is currently infecting New Zealand cinemas, fresh from its world premiere at the Terror-Fi film festival.  GUT INSTINCT is a post-apocalyptic science-fiction film about an alien microbe that invades earth, presented as a public information film, and consisting entirely of archival footage from across the decades. It’s something that should be experienced in a cinema,...

In episode 33, Johnny talks to New Zealand genre-movie fan and podcaster Steve Skeet, one third of the ⁠Ludicrously Specific⁠ podcast. You may remember one of Skeet’s co-hosts Darren Waugh visited My Movie DNA all the way back in episode 18. Johnny's chat with Skeets covers a hush-hush talk about the Hollywood Avondale’s 24-Hour Movie Marathon - now in its 25th year - which they both attended recently, they discuss the lasting impact of directors like John Carpenter, James Cameron and George...

In episode 32, Johnny talks to New Zealand composer and acoustician Reuben Jelleyman.
 Reuben popped up on Johnny's radar a couple of months back at a screening of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner at the Hollywood Avondale, and before the film, Reuben provided a musical performance up on stage that just blew everyone away.  Not surprisingly their chat covers Reuben's rendition of selections from the iconic Vangelis soundtrack score, they discuss the New Zealand International Film Festival, which...

In episode 31, Johnny talks to New Zealand director Michael Duignan.
 Michael’s debut feature - The Paragon - premiered last year at the New Zealand International Film Festival, and blew audiences away.  Made for a budget of just $25,000 NZD - the dictionary definition of making something ‘off the smell of an oily rag’ - The Paragon is a sci-fi-comedy that punches well above its weight. You can see the film in theatres in five American cities - L.A., New York, Austin, Chicago and Portland -...

In episode 30, Johnny talks to Academy Award-winning art director and production designer Grant Major.
 Described by Vanity Fair as ‘the architect of New Zealand’s greatest cinematic achievements’, Grant has an impressive body of work. 
 His work in the early 1990s on Jane Campion’s An Angel At My Table led him to work with Peter Jackson on Heavenly Creatures. He remained in the Peter Jackson fold on The Frighteners, followed by the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and King Kong. He also worked on...

In episode 29, Johnny talks to Dave Wain, one of the last bastions of the video rental industry. Dave runs Snips Movies, one of the UK’s last video stores. The shop, situated in the Wirral near Liverpool, boasts an impressive selection of over 15,000 movies, all available to rent for the great price of 3 for £5. The depth of the range available is eye-watering and is just the tonic against the dull, predictable and limited selections available on the popular streaming services. Johnny's...

In episode 28, Johnny talks to Stevee Taylor, a fellow Kiwi cinephile and a member of the Letterboxd crew here in New Zealand. A couple of years ago, Stevee interviewed Johnny as part of her Masters thesis exploring how movie-watching had changed during the COVID pandemic, and it felt like the right time to return the favour and get Stevee on the show. Johnny's talk with Stevee covers Luca Guadagnino's Challengers and its banging soundtrack score, they discuss the cinema of the 1930s,...

In episode 27, Johnny talks to Michele Kaufman, one half of the team behind Enjoy The Ride Records. Michele works alongside label founder Ross Shotland at Enjoy The Ride in Long Island, New York. The label specialises in releases in a variety of genres and formats - movie soundtracks, TV soundtracks, video game soundtracks, and stand-up comedy, all on Vinyl, CD, cassettes, Blu-Ray, and a range of other associated merch.  Johnny's talk with Michele covers Ron Howard, Sofia Coppola, Robin...

In episode 26, Johnny talks to Mutant Records co-founder Mo Shafeek. Mo started Mutant Records earlier this year with fellow founding members of Mondo’s poster and vinyl divisions. They really are the hot new label in town, and it’s been great to see them hit the ground running with some big name releases already.  Johnny's talk with Mo covers the Wachowskis, Josie & The Pussycats, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ awesome music to Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers. They talk about Mo’s...

In episode 25, Johnny talks to music A&R man Martyn James. Martyn works for Universal Music in London and is one of the lucky few who gets to dig into the vaults of bands and solo artists to find things to put out on reissues and box sets.  He was also part of the team that put together the Oasis documentary Supersonic back in 2016, directed by Mat Whitecross.   Johnny's talk with Martyn covers Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve and Hans Zimmer, they talk about how you can get into...

In episode 24, Johnny talks to music supervisor Ron Payne. Ron started his Hollywood career as a Production Assistant for John Hughes in 1984.  He went on to be a set P.A. on Weird Science, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and Pretty In Pink, and then a music supervisor / music co-ordinator on Some Kind Of Wonderful, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, She’s Having A Baby, The Great Outdoors, Uncle Buck and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, and a post-production supervisor on Home...

In episode 23, Johnny talks to returning My Movie DNA alumnus Daíbhid MacCann.  In what is becoming an annual tradition, this episode is Johnny and Daíbhid's round-up of the Academy Awards nominees for films released in 2023. They go through the major categories to declare what they think will win, but also what they think should win, on the night. Their talk covers boogying out of a window to 50 Cent’s P.I.M.P., blowing Einstein’s hat off his head, and they discuss what might have won this...

In episode 22, Johnny talks to music supervisor, movie producer and music manager Tarquin Gotch. Tarquin’s career saw him rise to Head of A&R at Arista Records in the 1980s - overseeing acts like The Thompson Twins, Simple Minds, The Stray Cats, and The Beat. He then moved to Warners, transitioning Prince, Madonna and many other American acts into the UK. Moving into music management he oversaw The Beat, Stephen Duffy, The Dream Academy, Hugh Harris, General Public, XTC, Roger McGuinn...

Following East Auckland DJ Phil Taylor's appearance on ⁠episode 19 of My Movie DNA⁠, Phil returned the favour and invited Johnny to be a guest on his She'll Be Right radio show on ⁠East FM⁠ in late November 2023.  This was a four-hour show, full of soundtrack picks, good chat, and Johnny even tackles a couple of songs on the guitar.  Thanks to Phil Taylor for the invitation and many thanks to station manager Michael Rowse for supplying the recordings. Thanks also to James Van As who wrote...

Following East Auckland DJ Phil Taylor's appearance on episode 19 of My Movie DNA, Phil returned the favour and invited Johnny to be a guest on his She'll Be Right radio show on East FM in late November 2023. This was a four-hour show, full of soundtrack picks, good chat, and Johnny even tackles a couple of songs on the guitar. Thanks to Phil Taylor for the invitation and many thanks to station manager Michael Rowse for supplying the recordings. Thanks also to James Van As who wrote and...

In episode 21, Johnny talks to arthouse cinema programmer Gorjan Markovski.  Gorjan can be found curating Auckland's Academy Cinema, a subterranean theatre that caters for arthouse / festival movies and retro / classic screenings.  Johnny's talk with Goran covers Tarantino, Polanski and Godard, the absence of Kiera Knightley in movies made in the last decade, and they discuss whether it’s appropriate to shush Quentin Tarantino if he’s talking at a screening in the cinema he owns… This...

In episode 20, Johnny talks to London rapper Jelani Blackman.⁠  An accomplished vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Jelani has just released his fantastic debut album The Heart Of It. This comes after a busy few years in the industry that saw him collaborating with - among others - Damon Albarn and Gorillaz, and with producers Fred Again and Brian Eno.  Johnny's talk with Jelani covers Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese, Christian Bale and Leonardo DiCaprio, and they discuss...

In episode 19, Johnny talks to Phil Taylor, East Auckland Radio DJ, quizmaster, journalist and all-round community champion.⁠ You can find Phil - or PJ - presenting the She’ll Be Right show on Saturday afternoons on East FM, broadcast locally in Auckland, but also online and on I Heart Radio.  They talk about comedy from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton all the way up to John Candy and Bill Murray, and because Phil’s a big music guy, the discussion also covers what feels like every music...

In episode 18, Johnny talks to Darren Waugh, a fellow Auckland film nerd, and co-host of the labyrinthine movie podcast Ludicrously Specific.⁠ Darren has been co-hosting Ludicrously Specific since 2020 alongside his friends Doug Dillaman and Steve Skeet.  I urge you to check it out if you like falling down cinematic rabbit holes, and hearing about films with ludicrously specific connections.  Our discussion covers the Coen Brothers, John Frankenheimer, and Guillermo del Toro.  There’s also...

In episode 17, Johnny talks to Jasher and Mykah Drake, hosts of the world’s leading Godzilla podcast, Podzilla. Brothers Jasher and Mykah love all things Godzilla, and their enthusiasm for monster movies and all of cinema in general, is infectious. We cover Edgar Wright, John Carpenter, and the current state of the MCU and blockbusters in 2023 - and we're left to wonder whether Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone should be digitally recast as some of the potatoes in Ridley Scott's The Martian....

In episode 16, Johnny talks to Stuart Buchanan, an award-winning artist born and raised in Glasgow.  Today, Stuart lives in Catterline, an old fishing village in the North East of Scotland, where he paints from his studio overlooking the North Sea.  Stuart’s work is quite well known in the British art scene, so a quick Google search will show you some great examples of his style - lots of peaceful, solitary figures standing in serene and bewitching landscapes. Go and have a look! This...

In episode 15, Johnny talks to Ross Williams, director and founder of The Daily Jaws.  If you’re a big Jaws fan, you might already follow one of the Daily Jaws social media accounts, where Ross and his colleague Dean Newman provide daily updates to their loyal fan base of hundreds of thousands of Jaws heads.  This conversation was recorded online in early July 2023.  We talk about Alien and Aliens, the holy trinity of Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and David Fincher, and not surprisingly...

In episode 14, Johnny talks to New Zealand filmmaker Fraser Grut. Fraser has just completed work as a director on 'Hot Potato', an upcoming film about Australian supergroup the Wiggles, which will be releasing on Amazon later in the year.  And over on Fraser’s Instagram you can find all the latest instalments of his 10,000 Dreams project - something that is almost too crazy to even imagine (but Fraser is absolutely killing it). This conversation was recorded online in early July 2023.  We...

In episode 13, Johnny talks to British stand-up comedian, writer and filmmaker Matthew Highton. Matt is the first My Movie DNA recommendation from a previous guest, after the fantastic Bec Hill mentioned him back in episode 8. Johnny then discovered he and Matt share the same hometown of Oldham in the North West of England, so he was the perfect person to trade war stories with and talk about movies. The BBC Archive video from Oldham in 1976 we discuss can be found on YouTube here. This...