Switchblade Sisters

We are joined this week by the lovely Mary Holland. She is an actor and writer, who can most recently be seen in Happiest Season, a film that she co-wrote with director Clea DuVall. Mary’s on the show to talk about a movie that is nothing like Happiest Season at all, and that would be David Fincher’s mystery-thriller, The Game. Mary is an admitted fan of “games and escape rooms,” so it makes sense she gravitates towards this film. She and April go in-depth on the writing of Mary’s latest feature. She talks about how the script naturally changes when the film is cast, and how Mary Steenburgen breathed a different life into her role than was originally written. Mary also talks about her acting craft, the difficulty of shooting movies out of order, and the exhausting process of shooting “table scenes.” And lastly, she discusses the emotional “revelation scene” in Happiest Season, and how Kristen Stewart, Mackenzie Davis, and everyone involved had to really gear themselves up for shooting it.You can see Happiest Season on Hulu now.Please check out storyblocks.com/SWITCHBLADEAlso, please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen The Game – it’s fun!With April Wolfe and Mary Holland.

This week we are joined by the amazing author and producer Mallory O’Meara. Some may know her as one of the hosts of the Maximum Fun podcast Reading Glasses. But she is here today to talk about 2020’s sea shanty bonanza, Blow the Man Down. She and April get into the nitty-gritty of the creative process and discuss why some projects take longer to correctly finish. Mallory also talks about what brought her to writing her book The Lady from the Black Lagoon about Milicent Patrick, “the only woman in history to create one of Hollywood’s classic movie monsters.” Mallory also hammers home that women are not just joining the cultural conversation after #MeToo, but have always been there, contributing to history.Listen to Reading Glasses and check out Mallory’s book The Lady from the Black LagoonPlease check out storyblocks.com/SWITCHBLADEAlso, please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Blow the Man Down – it’s great!With April Wolfe and Mallory O’Meara.

We are joined by the multi-hyphenate, uber-talented writer, actor, director, producer Sujata Day. You may know her best from her role as Sarah on Insecure. But she also recently wrote, directed, and starred in her debut feature Definition Please, about a former spelling bee champion who must reconcile with her family and her past. She joins Katie Walsh to discuss Brian De Palma’s severely underrated Sisters. Katie and Sujata gush over the “bonkers” quality of the film. But Sujata goes further and points to De Palma’s use of split-screens and imaginative filmmaking techniques that directly inspired her work. Sujata also discusses scrappy filmmaking (she shot her film in two weeks), utilizing Indian music, and having complete creative control over low-budget projects.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Sisters – it’s great!With Katie Walsh and Sujata Day.

This week we are joined by the incredibly talented director Natasha Kermani to talk about Kathryn Bigelow’s undersung classic, Strange Days. Katie Walsh takes over hosting duties to speak to Natasha about the disturbing prescience of this film and Bigelow’s oeuvre in general. They also chat about Natasha’s latest film, the Brea Grant penned slasher satire, Lucky. Natasha discusses creating a “Final Woman,” as opposed to the typical “Final Girl.” She elaborates on working with action and fight choreography and how she always tries to ground it in service of the story. Natasha also elaborates on the creation of the killer’s mask in Lucky, and how she wanted it to look subtle as if there were no mask at all.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Strange Days – it’s great…but hard to track down.With Katie Walsh and Natasha Kermani.

This week we are joined by a very special guest; writer, producer, and educator Tananarive Due. For those who don’t know, Tananarive recently produced the groundbreaking documentary Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror. She’s also an award-winning author of several books. And she teaches Black Horror and Afrofuturism at UCLA. This week she joins April to discuss Jordan Peele’s Us. Tananarive begins the discussion by revealing her connections to Peele, which includes several interviews with the filmmaker and writing the introduction on the Black Horror aesthetic for the annotated screenplay of Get Out. As the discussion continues, she and April thoughtfully dissect several aspects of the film. Tananarive compares her isolation of being a Black woman in a white environment to Jordan Peele’s isolation that inspired both Get Out and Us. She also examines the personalities of predators, and how they are so similar to us. And she talks about the political statement made when a director casts a dark-skinned Black woman in the leading role of a Hollywood film.You can watch Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror streaming now.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Us – c’mon, you gotta.With April Wolfe and Tananarive Due.

Writer and director Tara Miele joins host Katie Walsh this week to discuss 1990’s massive hit, Ghost. Tara explains the connection between this film and her latest movie, Wander Darkly, and how both explore the space between life and death. She goes on to tell the story about the horrific car accident she and her husband were in that inspired her movie. Tara talks about the casting of Diego Luna and how she was influenced by his reaction to the Mexico City earthquake. She also elaborates on the importance of casting people of color in lead roles. And, at the end of the interview, Katie, Tara, and possibly the listener, gain an appreciation for the earnestness of Ghost and films of its ilk.You can watch Wander Darkly on VOD now.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Ghost – c’mon, you gotta.With Katie Walsh and Tara Miele.

Katie Walsh returns to take over hosting duties this week, and she is joined by the truly talented filmmaker, Channing Godfrey Peoples. The movie that Channing has chosen to discuss is Pedro Almodóvar’s classic, Volver. Channing elaborates on the relationship between Almodóvar’s film and her latest, Miss Juneteenth. She explains how both movies are about the struggles of women and the work that women do in order to survive. Channing also chats about the writing of her film, how it was written in a Texan dialect, and how there are specific differences between the way people talk in Fort Worth and Houston. And lastly, Channing covers the importance of naming her film Miss Juneteenth.You can watch Miss Juneteenth on VOD now.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Volver – c’mon, you gotta.With Katie Walsh and Channing Godfrey Peoples.

This week’s episode is truly one of our most powerful…and, of course, the film being discussed is Jackass: The Movie. April is joined by cinematographer and director Kirsten Johnson, recording from her closet in New York City. Kirsten has so many poignant and beautiful observations about pain, the body, life, and death. And she somehow connects it all back to Jackass and her latest film Dick Johnson Is Dead. In her latest film, Kirsten explores mortality and the impending death of her ailing father by staging him in a series of comical fake death scenes. Throughout the course of the episode, discussing this film allows April to open up about the recent passing of her own grandfather who raised her. This episode is funny, touching, heartening, life-affirming, and incredibly gripping. Share it with a loved one.You can watch Dick Johnson Is Dead on Netflix now.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen Jackass: The Movie – c’mon, you gotta.With April Wolfe and Kirsten Johnson.Please you promo code: Switchblade at kittypooclub.com for 20% off

This week we are joined by the phenomenal writer and director Zeina Durra. She’s on the program to discuss Michelangelo Antonioni’s The Passenger. Zeina elaborates on how this film influenced her latest movie Luxor. She goes on to discuss the production of her most recent movie, shooting in Egypt, and how cigarette breaks almost sabotaged her production schedule. Zeina also chats about her research in making the film, interviewing nurses on the Jordanian/ Syrian border and hearing the horrific, literal “Sophie’s Choice” situations that women face in the region. Lastly, she talks about showing The Passenger to her children and how Disney has destroyed their movie palettes.Luxor is available on Digital and On Demand December 4th.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinIf you haven’t seen The Passenger – you should!With April Wolfe and Zeina Durra.Please you promo code: Switchblade at kittypooclub.com for 20% off.

This week we are joined by the celebrated writer and director Alice Winocour. She calls in from Paris to talk about David Cronenberg’s A History of Violence. Alice and April dissect the film and admire Cronenberg’s craft of layering intricate depth on top of a simple story idea. Alice points out the “69-ing” sex scene in particular and explains how it inspires her to create images that she has never seen before. She also discusses how being a mother influenced her latest space drama, Proxima. And lastly, Alice talks about working with Eva Green, and how Eva claims to be from another planet.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinYou can watch Proxima on VOD now.If you haven’t seen A History of Violence – you should!With April Wolfe and Alice Winocour.Please you promo code: Switchblade at kittypooclub.com for 20% off.

This week we are joined by the fabulous actor Celeste O’Connor to dissect Boots Riley’s new classic, Sorry to Bother You. Celeste and April discuss the risks that Tessa Thompson took by doing this particular movie, and how Celeste felt they were taking a similar risk in accepting the role of Nyla in Freaky. Celeste also covers larger topics like expanding beyond stereotypical Black representation in film, and how they are so tired of being offered “slave roles.” Celeste elaborates on this point and has a lot to say about telling stories about Black people that don’t just cover their own personal trauma. Plus, Celeste talks about their time making Freaky, hitting (and hurting) another actor in the head with a prop frying pan, and the joy of working with Vince Vaughn.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinYou can watch Freaky in select theaters now.If you haven’t seen Sorry to Bother You – you should!With April Wolfe and Celeste O’Connor.Please you promo code: Switchblade at kittypooclub.com for 20% off.

We have the wonderful filmmaker Terrie Samundra on the show this week. She’s the co-writer and director of Netflix’s new horror Kaali Khuhi. And she’s here to discuss and analyze 2016’s zombie classic, Train to Busan. She and April gush about all the things they love about this movie, down to the fascinating zombie choreography. They then move on to discuss Terrie’s career and the expectations that go along with being an Indian filmmaker. Terrie talks about how she is so tired of the fact that every movie shot in India uses an orange and yellow filter. Plus, Terrie also reveals that in Los Angeles everyone assumes she’s going to make movies about identity and the immigrant experience, which is why she finds genre filmmaking so freeing.Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinYou can watch Kaali Khuhi on Netflix now.If you haven’t seen Train to Busan – it’s good!With April Wolfe and Terrie Samundra.Please you promo code: Switchblade at kittypooclub.com for 20% off.

It’s the perfect week to call upon the collected power of a coven. This is why we are delighted to have as a guest, the director of The Craft: Legacy, Zoe Lister-Jones. She’s on the show to talk about a new classic, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook. Zoe discusses making her first “genre” film and grounding the film in emotional truth. She even reveals that she drew inspiration for the script from being raised by her single mother and having to interact with the men that her mother brought home. Zoe also talks about her terror of “Men’s Rights Activists” and how that influenced The Craft: Legacy. She elaborates on how her experience as an actor has helped her directing career and admits that, as an actor, we “can be difficult.” Plus, Zoe hammers home the importance of earning the trust of every person working on set or else, as she states, “you’re fucked.”Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinYou can watch The Craft: Legacy on VOD now.If you haven’t seen The Babadook – c’mon!With April Wolfe and Zoe Lister-Jones.

We are joined by a truly thoughtful and talented writer, Olivia Dufault. You may know her work from writing on the shows Legion and Preacher. But she also has a new movie out called The True Adventures of Wolfboy, about a young “Wolfboy” who is on the lam in search of his estranged mother. Olivia is on the show this week to talk about a similarly fantastical film, The City of Lost Children. She and April dive deep into the human elements of the movie, as well as the freedom that comes with working in genre cinema. Olivia also talks about the relationship between writing the script and actually realizing the crazy things the writer wrote. And she reveals the importance of strange-looking actors and reclaiming the word “freak.”Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinYou can watch The True Adventures of Wolfboy on VOD now.If you haven’t seen The City of Lost Children – it’s wonderful!With Olivia Dufault and Olivia Dufault.

This week we have an emerging artist who has created a truly unique and original debut film. We have writer, director, and actor Grace Glowicki, whose debut feature Tito can now be seen on Amazon Prime. She’s calling into the show from Canada to discuss John Carpenter’s The Fog. Grace and April dissect the creativity and ingenuity that went into the creation of Carpenter’s film. And Grace relays the struggles that she had with Tito. Grace reveals that the movie was really shaped in post and that the original monsters were removed from the film entirely. She goes on to discuss other innovative solutions that occurred on set, like making a barf machine out of a beer bong. And she also speaks to fighting the urge to be a “total dictator” when it comes to creative control, and how it’s best to only be “partially a dictator.”Please consider financially supporting our show by becoming a Maximum Fun member at Maximumfun.org/joinYou can watch Tito on Amazon Prime now.If you haven’t seen The Fog – it’s fun!With April Wolfe and Grace Glowicki.