Movies In Focus
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A variety of special guests talk film with reviewer and commentator Niall Browne from www.moviesinfocus.com.
52 Episodes
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The Image Of You is the screen adaptation of Adele Parks’ novel of the same name. Directed by Jeff Fisher and adapted by screenwriter Chris Sivertson, the film stars Sasha Pieterse, Parker Young, Néstor Carbonell and Mira Sorvino. It’s something of an outlier - a modern take on the erotic thriller - one with particular nods to masters of the genre like Brian De Palma and Paul Verhoeven.
Director Jeff Fisher joins this episode of the podcast to talk about The Image Of You, how he worked on the film’s visual style and was inspired by De Palma and Verhoeven and what it’s like bringing a best-selling novel to the screen.
The Image Of You will be released In Select Theatres and is Available to Buy on Digital on May 10, 2024.
Adele Parks is a best-selling novelist who has written over 23 books across her 23-year career. Having sold over 4 million UK edition copies of her novels, she was awarded an M.B.E in 2022.
Her 19th novel, The Image Of You has now been adapted for the screen by director Jeff Fisher and screenwriter Chris Sivertson.
Starring Sasha Pieterse, Parker Young, Néstor Carbonell and Mira Sorvino, the film is a modern take on the erotic thriller that features nods to genre masters like Brian De Palma and Paul Verhoeven.
Adele Parks joins this episode of the podcast for an in-depth chat about her writing process, how The Image Of You made it to the screen and what it’s like having someone else bring your book to life. It’s a great conversation - especially if you’re interested in the craft of writing.
The Image Of You released In Select Theatres and is Available to Buy on Digital on May 10, 2024.
Sometimes a movie will come along and subvert expectations - and Francis Galluppi’s brilliant feature film debut, The Last Stop In Yuma County is one of the movies. The set-up is that a travelling salesman is caught up with a pair of bank robbers in a remote diner - we’ve all seen that type of thriller a dozen times before but Galluppi takes things in many surprising directions. The last act is filled with tense kinetic energy and it’s easy to see why Galluppi has been tapped to follow in Sam Raimi’s shoes and direct the next Evil Dead film.
Francis Galluppi, the writer and director of The Last Stop In Yuma County joins this bite-sized episode of the podcast to talk about the film. He goes into detail on writing the fresh and original thriller, its excellent cast and great music.
As its title suggests, Stefon Bristol’s Breathe is a claustrophobic and tense film that will leave you gasping for air. A prescient science fiction piece, Breathe is set in the near future where the earth has a depleted oxygen supply. A small family eke out an existence, but when strangers arrive at their doorstep paranoia seeps into their lives. Are these new arrivals friends or foes?
Bristol’s film comes with a stacked cast - Jennifer Hudson, Milla Jovovich, Quvenzhané Wallis, Common, and Sam Worthington - and they all bring added gravitas to proceedings. Wallis in particular delivers an impressive turn as the film’s central character.
Stefon Bristol joins this episode of the podcast to talk about making Breathe, its powerhouse cast and he also drops some details on his upcoming Indiana Jones-style collaboration with Spike Lee.
Unfairly dismissed in 1998, Paul W.S. Anderson’s Soldier underperformed when it was released, grossing a paltry $14.5 million at the U.S. on a then substantial $60 million budget. In the UK the Kurt Russell starrer became the most expensive film to go straight to DVD/Video.
Danny Stewart's book Soldier: From Script to Screen takes a serious deep dive into the making of Paul W.S. Anderson’s film, covering every aspect of the film's production. However, over the years the reputation of Soldier has grown and what was once seen as a throwaway action pic now resonates as something totally different, offering up parallels to George Stevens' 1953 classic western, Shane.
Danny joins the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about Soldier’s original failure and the growing legacy of the Paul W.S. Anderson science fiction actioner.
It’s usually hyperbole to say that someone does it all, but in the case of Larry Fessenden, it just so happens to be true. An award-winning actor, producer, writer, director and editor - Fessenden is a genre filmmaker with a real skill in delivering works that entertain but also have a fair amount of nuance and sophistication.
Fessenden’s latest film is Blackout, a werewolf horror with a top-notch cast that includes Alex Hurt, Addison Timlin, Marshall Bell and Barbara Crampton amongst its number.
The film is not only a fantastic old-school horror pic, but it also features plenty of added social commentary - and this makes it a cut above other modestly budgeted genre films.
Larry Fessenden joined the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about the Blackout, the inspirations behind the film and his love of werewolf movies.
Based on E.O. Chirovici's novel, The Book of Mirrors, Sleeping Dogs is a twisty and entertaining thriller starring the mighty Russell Crowe. Crowe plays Roy Freeman, a former cop undergoing treatment for Alzheimer's disease who starts to dig into an old case in the hopes of exonerating an innocent man. The type of film that used to be Hollywood’s bread and butter, Sleeping Dogs' impressive cast also includes Karen Gillan and Tommy Flanagan.
Adam Cooper the screenwriter behind films such as Tower Heist, Exodus: Gods And Kings and Assassin’s Creed makes his directorial debut with Sleeping Dogs.
Adam joined the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about making the film, working with Russell Crowe, shooting a U.S. set movie in Australia and much more.
Joe Stephenson's Doctor Jekyll was the first Hammer horror film released since the company was purchased by its new owner - the perfectly named John Gore. An entertaining throwback feature with a modern twist, this new imagining of Robert Louis Stephenson's iconic tale stars Eddie Izzard and Scott Chambers. Izzard is the titular Jekyll, while Chambers plays the young man hired to assist the reclusive doctor.
Izzard's take on Doctor Jekyll is creepy and subtle, but Scott Chambers impresses as the young man who is eager to make his second chance in life work. Chambers is an up-and-coming actor-producer who has produced over 100 low-budget films over the last ten years or so - one of those being the controversial cult success Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.
Scott Chambers joined the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about Doctor Jekyll, the rebirth of Hammer films, the horror genre as well as Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2.
Writer-director Gabriel Abrantes joins this episode of the Movies In Focus podcast to discuss his new film Amelia’s Children
A slow-burning and delicately paced horror with Brigette Lundy-Paine, Carlota Cotta, Anabela Moreira, Alba Baptista, Amelia’s Children sees a New York-based musician discover that he has a long-lost mother and brother in Portugal. Taking a trip with his girlfriend, he visits them in their secluded mansion but finds that his family has a dark and deadly secret.
In this episode of the Movies In Focus podcast, film director Andrew Davis talks about his long and prestigious career. Best known for directing the hugely acclaimed blockbuster The Fugitive with Harrison Ford, Davis’ career has been as eclectic as it has been successful.
From his excellent jazz-fused 1978 debut, Stony Island through to The Package with Gene Hackman and Under Siege with Steven Seagal to A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow and the beloved screen adaptation of Holes, Davis has delivered across nearly all genres.
He has also worked with some of Hollywood’s biggest names with the likes of Kevin Costner, Keanu Reeves, Sigourney Weaver, Jon Voight, Morgan Freeman and Arnold Schwarzenegger being added to the aforementioned roster.
This relaxed and candid discussion covers the length and breadth of Andrew Davis' rich career - it’s well worth a listen.
Find out more about Andrew Davis via his website www.andrewdavisfilms.com
Ruthless is a bone-crunching thriller starring an against-type Dermot Mulroney as a teacher trying to rescue one of his students from a gang of human traffickers. Eschewing preaching for entertainment, Ruthless is an enjoyable, no-frills throwback revenge thriller with a good turn from Mulroney. Best known for his romantic leads, Mulroney sells the badass action and shows an interesting side to his on-screen persona.
In a fun and entertaining episode, the director and co-writer of Ruthless, Art Camacho joined the Movies In Focus podcast. The stuntman-turned-director talked about making the revenge thriller, as well as discussing the practicalities of filming and training for stunt sequences.
Director Phillip Noyce and Morena Baccarin join the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about their new film, Fast Charlie.
Brutal when it needs to be, funny when it wants to be and heartfelt when you least expect it, Fast Charlie is first-class entertainment for grown-ups. Master-craftsman Noyce has built a well-constructed revenge thriller around star Pierce Brosnan and the script delivers plenty of standout moments. Anyone looking for a good old-fashioned thriller will have to search far and wide for one that works better than Fast Charlie.
Having enjoyed the film so much, it was great to talk with its maker and star. Returning guest Phillip Noyce discussed a range of topics - such as the power of positive reviews, it’s what it’s like working with Pierce Brosnan, the intricacies of balancing drama and comedy and we even touched on directing the James Bond franchise.
Morena Baccarin talked about the complexities of building a strong character, the balance of romantic storylines, Deadpool 3 and more.
It’s A Wonderful Knife is an entertaining slasher flick - with a difference. As the title indicates, the film is a riff on Frank Capra’s 1946 Christmas classic, It's A Wonderful Life. Starring Jane Widdop, Joel McHale and Justin Long, the film has heart and laughs wrapped up against the film's bloody kills.
A year after saving her small town from a crazed killer, Jane Widdop’s Winnie is down in the dumps by the way things have turned out. When she wishes she'd never been born, she finds herself in an alternate reality - and that’s when she sees how bad life would be without her - and things are made even worse when the killer is still on the loose.
Tyler MacIntyre, It’s A Wonderful Knife’s director and Michael Kennedy, the film’s writer joined the Movies In Focusp podcast to talk about the trials and tribulations of making this quirky Christmas slasher.
Belfast-based director Dominic O’Neill joins the Movies In Focus podcast to discuss his new comedy horror, Haunted Ulster Live.
A comedy of errors, Haunted Ulster Live uses the famed UK mockumentary Ghostwatch as a stepping-off point. Taking place in a supposedly haunted house, the broadcast is interrupted by things that go bump in the night – as well as the myriad of errors that can take place during any live TV recording. Yes, there are similarities with Ghostwatch, but Haunted Ulster Live is its own thing as a piece of well-honed entertainment. The laughs are well earned and the horror delivers some heft – especially the final moments which reminded me of the John Carpenter classic, Prince Of Darkness, as well as Prano Bailey-Bond’s Censor.
Dominic talks about the origins of his new film, the trials and tribulations of making and releasing a low-budget horror and how television in his native Ulster helped influence this well-honed genre piece.
Writer, film critic and visual artist Jaylan Salah joins this episode of the Movies In Focus podcast.
A woman of many talents, Jaylan is a passionate film lover with a keen insight into multiple genres. Delving deep into what frightens her, Jaylan discusses a selection of thrilling films including Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu and Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook.
Douglas Schulze has been a friend of Movies In Focus since 2009, in the lead-up to the release of his David Carradine starring horror film Dark Fields - or The Rain as it was then called.
Films like Mimesis: Night Of The Living Dead, Mimesis: Nosferatu and his experimental thriller The Dark Below show a director who wants to push the boundaries of low-budget storytelling with interesting and creative concepts.
Douglas has now brought his new horror film, Thorns to FrightFest. A 1980s inspired genre film, Thorns has hints of Alien, The Thing and Hellraiser. A throwback piece, it’s filled with practical effects and plenty of eye-watering moments of gore.
Finally, Douglas Schulze joins the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about Thorns, his career as a low budget director and the highs of lows of independent filmmaking
Belgian filmmaker Daphné Baiwir's King On Screen is an excellent documentary that puts the focus on the many film and television adaptations that have been based on the work of Stephen King. A must-see for King fans, Baiwir looks at these adaptations from the perspective of people who made them - and the film features interviews with the likes of Frank Darabont, Mick Garris, Mike Flanagan, Tom Holland and many more.
Daphné Baiwir joins the Movies In Focus to talk about the acclaimed author and detail how her documentary came together as well as discussing how she managed to score the film's many illustrious talking heads.
On this episode of the Movies In Focus podcast, director Yuval Adler talks about his latest film, Sympathy For The Devilstarring Nicolas Cage and Joel Kinnaman. Carter Smith also joins the show to talk about his latest Blumhouse release, The Passenger.
Sympathy For The Devil is a Las Vegas set modern noir. It features an exceptional turn from Nicolas Cage - a performances which is one of his best in years. Yuval Adler talks about casting the film, taking Cage back to Vegas - the setting for his oscar-winning performance in Leaving Las Vegas and a host of other great details about making his dark thriller.
Later in the podcast Carter Smith talks about his off-beat thriller The Passenger, starring Kyle Gallner and Johnny Berchtold. It’s a film which is reminiscent of the 1980s cult classic Heathers and Smith talks about trying to subvert genre expectations when making his off-beat film.
Writer, producer, director and podcaster Joe Russo joins the Movies In Focus podcast to discuss the current strike by the Writer’s Guild of America. An up and coming genre filmmaker, Russo has written a host of well regarded screenplays with his partner Chris LaMont, as well as directing the thriller, The Au Pair Nightmare. He also produced the horror anthology film, Nightmare Cinema, Peter Farrelly’s The Greatest Beer Run Ever, as well as the fantastic podcast - Post Mortem With Mick Garris.
Russo is a member of the WGA and a very vocal supporter of the current writer’s strike - and his insights into the reasons for it are a real eye opener. The rise of streaming and Artificial Intelligence means that the world of entertainment is changing and artists face a whole new set of challenges both commercially and artistically.
In this fascinating conversation, Joe Russo talks passionately and concisely about these challenges as well as giving surprising details on how Netflix’s mysterious algorithm impacts creative decisions every stage of film production.
Get The Gringo and Rambo: Last Blood director, Adrian Grünberg joins the Movies In Focus podcast to talk about his new film,The Black Demon. The killer shark movie stars Josh Lucas as an oil company employee struggling to protect his family from a megalodon shark after they become stranded on a disused oil rig. An entertaining horror-thriller, The Black Demon plays around with the genre's tropes, as well as adding a little bit of mysticism into the plot.
Films like Get The Gringo (also known as How I Spent My Summer Vacation) and Rambo: Last Blood show that Adrian Grünberg is a very earthbound director and during this episode he talks about how The Black Demon was a change of pace due to its special effects and aquatic location. He also discusses what it's like making a genre film, facing the looming shadow of Jaws during production - and burgundy shirts!
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