The A24 Podcast

Topics covered include: seeing your first movie at the neighborhood theater, the pressures of live performance, the animal that is the audience, parallels between directing and motherhood, abandoning the miracle, autobiographical filmmaking, feeling like broccoli, the Pacific Ocean as the villain in Past Lives, Harry Styles fan-fiction, writing on planes, revisiting The Artist’s Way, avoiding the sophomore slump, Francis Ford Coppola’s directing advice, a shared love of Barry Lyndon and Miyazaki, taking the audience to Mars, and what genre they would like to explore next (sci-fi, westerns, horror!)

Topics covered include: Nathan and Patti acting together off-Broadway in the mid-80s, herbal inspiration, learning on the job, sense memory, the brutality of Julliard, putting in the work, the dumbing down of America, witty alcoholics, the Alogonquin Round Table, Nathan falling in love with Dicks: The Musical, becoming A24 repertoire players, feeding ham to puppets, adoring Megan Thee Stallion, Patti’s deep hatred of ABBA, Broadway as a shopping mall, art as an essential human right, getting dual-citizenship ‘just in case,’ and Patti’s bootlegger grandmother.

Topics covered include: The Sopranos cast being sore losers at their first Emmy Awards, hyperbolic reviews, the extremes of Hollywood, getting recognized in Best Buy, only eating Subway sandwiches the entire time Steven shot Burning in Korea, long lost aunts, Michael experiencing an emotional pasta sauce on his first trip to Rome at 25, sprezzatura, the parallels between Christopher Moltisanti and Danny Cho, searching for meaning, breaking generational patterns, playing unlikeable characters with a profound sense of vulnerability, the realities of road rage, and Italian Korean fusion food.

Topics covered include: Nicole Holofcener’s genius, the vulnerability of writing a book, June brides, parenting adult children, Julia and J.’s mutual love of YHMF/Succession co-stars Jeannie Berlin and Arian Moayed, Gerri’s best moments that didn’t make the final cut of Succession S4, alternate endings, baby men, J.’s internalized bias against celebrities, not being able to log in to Uber, hyphenated last names, the potential for a Veep/Succession mashup, wanting to ride exquisite trains, learning Antonin Scalia was a Veep fan, keeping cherished pieces from Selina Meyer’s wardrobe, wishing she could re-do Elaine's signature hair, and slow-reading The Years of Lyndon B. Johnson.

Topics covered include: struggling to take a compliment, the pressure of the clock, unorthodox techniques for playing a character in physical pain, worst days on set, resisting comfort, Ari’s snappy attitude, Joaquin fainting mid-take with Patti Lupone, the experience of brutal humiliation, old school SFX makeup tricks, crying in front of the crew while filming Midsommar, doing weird shit in attics, and getting each other through moments when you don’t know what the f-ck to do.

Topics covered include: the magic of practical effects, living out of a suitcase, calculated risks, mapping the multiverse on a blackboard, Everything Everywhere and The Whale’s themes of forgiveness, films that open hearts, fighting to be original, total collaboration, lessons from Brendan’s favorite movie of all time Ratatouille, moving a literal mountain in China to get the perfect shot for The Mummy 3, working with Jet Li’s fight crew, pain as a smoke alarm, leaving stunt work to the professionals, awards season as a full-time job, giving the people what they want, going towards the danger, hyper-critical Chinese moms, the buoyant enthusiasm of the EEAAO cast, plus a brief cameo from Brendan’s dog PeeWee.

Topics covered include: Mecca, the art of walking a fine line, Ramy’s inner Arab negotiator, hot-button issues, mercy, relatable characters in unrelatable worlds, miracles of filmmaking, how Ramy beat Mahershala at one-on-one basketball, fractured attention, pimple management, comfort zones, Mahershala’s dream of directing, the urgency of the daily lunch order on set, killing vampires in Atlanta, and the Sheikh-Ramy fight scene we need to see in Season 4.

Topics covered include: COVID scheduling nightmares, wasp problems, being the youngest person in a room, the gift of time, playing characters desperate for connection, the trope of the angsty teen, feeling the pressure, shedding child actor habits, imposter syndrome, the Stranger Things school trailer, failing at Lent, the frat origins of Vineyard Vines, and the importance of nurturing a rich inner life.

Topics covered include: rolling your Rs, the incomparable satisfaction of cursing in Italian, eggplant parmigiana, puppet theater, loving a strong director, going towards the vision, the freedom of abstraction, meeting David Lynch for the first time at dinner with Helen Mirren, Isabella’s master’s degree in animal behavior and conservation, taming Abel Ferrara, working with Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet (and Willem almost getting cast as Frank Booth), stumpy-tooth dentures, uniform dressing, and the true meaning of elegance.

Topics covered include: The Cheesecake Factory’s experimental tasting kitchen, navigating the technical logistics of the Butt Plug Fight Scene, child stunt doubles, Everything Everywhere as the greatest case for optimism, fantasies of bringing Swiss Army Man 2 to Broadway, Kwan’s mom’s meatballs, overblown headlines, Radcliffe’s karaoke track of choice (“The Real Slim Shady”), the Equus poster in his parents' bathroom, growing up on set of Harry Potter surrounded by legends, hating school but loving learning, hyper-specific personal email addresses, the influence of anime, the history of birds being witnesses in murder trials, and nominal predestination.

Topics covered include: being cavity-prone, Joe Rogan’s effect on the podcast industry, the distinction between porn and pornos, turbo output, cheaper vanities, nostalgia for Netflix’s DVD subscription model, experiencing a viral hit in 2010, licensing a song from the most litigious band in history (The Eagles) for Marcel the Shell, levels of emergency, living true beauty, parenthood, aging, and the potential for a PubLIZity reboot where Liz G. has fillers.

Topics covered include: Pocky versus Pepero, Kogonada buying Crying In H Mart for everyone he knows, the aesthetics of Ozu, the burden of representation, climbing the corporate ladder, knowing when to walk away, the nourishing process of making After Yang, Wong Kar-Wai and Agnes Varda’s influence, poeticizing kitchen sink reality, choosing joy, surrogate families, Colin Farrell's innate humanity, and 'belonging' as another way of ‘longing to be.’

Topics covered include: escaping to Joshua Tree, the heartbreaking experience of being an Oakland sports fan, pre-Giuliani New York lawlessness, running a small business in Fort Greene Park, whether your DNA is safe with 23andMe, Internet bullshit, fake energy, losing friends to COVID conspiracies, the transactional nature of Los Angeles, Angus’s favorite movie (Holes), the judgment of vegans, shooting on deadstock Kodak film for Euphoria S2, parallels between Fezco and Mikey Saber, getting thrown into the deep end, and how to cope with being famous when you’re just a normal dude from The Bay.

Topics covered include: exquisite faces, rich inner worlds, being a Prada girl, dressing like a magician, nostalgia for Rookie magazine, the Jules special episode of Euphoria as trans girl canon, astrological turbulence, Scorpio eyes, metabolizing your emotions through art, peacing out on popular culture, the music of Arca and Sophie, Lorde being a First Reformed stan, and tracking orcas in Antarctica.

Topics covered include: the thrill and terror of acting without a script, the meta nature of The Souvenir movies, Joanna Hogg as genius puppet master, the return of real film, Paul’s “chill and kind” rugby-playing brother, Irish gatekeeping, drama school memories, slowly developing a bad back, being patient with yourself, getting off social media, the courage to be disliked, and Tilda's fish pie.