The B-Side: A Film Stage Podcast

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we return to discuss a living legend with a big, new, ambitious project. Perhaps his most ambitious project yet! Our subject is Kevin Costner, the great American filmmaker whose new film Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 is now available to rent or buy on VOD. Sadly, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 2 has been postponed to a later time in order to allow for a wider audience to discover Chapter 1. Our B-Sides this time around include No Way Out, Revenge, The Upside of Anger, and Let Him Go. Filmmaker Chadd Harbold joins us. His new film Crumb Catcher, directed by Chris Skotchdopole and produced by Harbold, is now in theaters. We discuss Costner’s origin story, his brilliance at self-mythology, his humble egotism, and the incredible run of success from 1987 through 1992. There’s the story of how Costner wanted to direct Revenge but lost out thanks to producer Ray Stark. There’s Madonna’s infamous reaction to Costner’s use of the word “neat” after one of her shows in Madonna: Truth or Dare (“Anybody who says my show is neat has to go.” Also, watch Warren Beatty age in real time). There’s the incredible chemistry between Costner and Diane Lane in Let Him Go (and Man of Steel for that matter). Costner is a relic of another time. He represents an ambition that does not really exist anymore in Hollywood. Celebrated and criticized in equal measure over these past four decades, here is an artist still striving for individuality and greatness. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we talk about the best Chris - Chris Pine of course! Our B-Sides include Small Town Saturday Night, People Like Us, The Finest Hours, Outlaw King, All The Old Knives, and Poolman. It’s a packed episode! And it’s just Conor and Dan, ripping it up like the old days.  A lot of the conversation revolves around how charming Pine is. There’s also discussion of that underwhelming ending of The Finest Hours, what about Small Town Saturday Night resonates with young filmmakers, the brave opening of Outlaw King, the old-fashioned crackle of All The Old Knives (and that incredible restaurant location), and the lackluster direction of People Like Us. Questions are asked such as: Is there anything better than a tired spy? Who is the best Jack Ryan? Why does this Big Daddy clip feature the funniest ADR line in the history of cinema? Additional topics include Jordan and Dan’s fateful trip to see an early screening of Avatar in late 2009, the stark difference (despite career similarities) between Pine and Ryan Reynolds, the incredible show Psych, and this spot-on Bilge Ebiri article about the Argylle release and why it matters. Finally, Conor and Dan try to understand why people hate the very charming, very Los Angeles Poolman so much. Though there should’ve been more pool stuff in Poolman! One correction: Safe House came out 2012, not 2010. Sorry about that! Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about filmmakers! Not the films that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today, as a sort of B-Side to our own recent Bruce Willis B-Side episode, Dan speaks to screenwriter Daniel Waters about Hudson Hawk! And much, much, much more! Daniel and Dan talk about the overnight success of Heathers getting made, the overnight failure of Hudson Hawk, followed by the complicated reaction to Batman Returns. Oh, and what about the three seashells in Demolition Man? They also discuss Renny Harlin and The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, that incredible Sandra Bullock performance, and his underseen directorial efforts (Happy Campers and Sex and Death 101). Questions asked and answered include: what happened to all of the individual style in screenplays? Why does everybody save the cat these days? Is there a reason there have been two different homages to Hudson Hawk in big 2024 blockbusters? Is writing a novel fun after spending three decades writing screenplays? Is Mark Waters’ best film really Freaky Friday? Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we talk about Bruce Willis, one of our great American movie stars. A man with perfect angles and a perfectly imperfect hairline. The man who spoke up for Seagram’s Golden when nobody else would. It’s wet and it’s dry. Play that harmonica, Bruno! Our guest today is the great Jen Johans, host of the Watch With Jen podcast. Our B-Sides include In Country, Mortal Thoughts, Disney’s The Kid, and Richard Donner's final film, 16 Blocks. We discuss Willis’ early career, his propensity to try new things, and the sad and unfair dismissal of Hudson Hawk. We examine how his acting chops evolved throughout a very turbulent ‘90s decade, culminating in an incredible run of success birthed from a controversial, canceled movie called Broadway Brawler. There’s a lot of love for the underrated crime comedy Bandits, that song he did with June Pointer (seek out the album The Return of Bruno and the companion “documentary” if you get a few free minutes today), and the lovely Robert Benton picture Nobody’s Fool. And then there’s that opening car chase in Striking Distance. Incredible work there. Oh, and that cameo in The Player. And finally, in honor of our subject, please go to https://aphasia.org/ and donate if you are so inclined. Here’s to you Bruce, you’re one of one. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we talk about one of the great ones: Martin Scorsese. Who’s better than Marty? Dan, Conor, and guest Jake Kring-Schreifels. Our B-Sides today include Italianamerican, Kundun, Bringing Out the Dead, and Silence. We talk about a lot in this one. How to pronounce Scorsese! How to pronounce Coppola! Catholicism! Buddhism! Making films about religions in your life! This is an episode with lofty ambitions, not unlike most Scorsese pictures! In examining Italianamerican we muse on Marty as documentarian, including the mention of an incredibly-underrated Scorsese documentary that’s hard to find: Public Speaking starring Fran Lebowitz. We reflect on the guardedness of memory by older generations (and how that may reveal itself in this new, Covid-stung generation). We also recount the Muddy Waters - László Kovács story from the set of The Last Waltz, We parse Marty’s constant wrestle with faith in Bringing Out the Dead, and how its gentler, compassionate qualities weave into Kundun and Silence, all of which feature some of the best collaborations in his career. Additional writing from Jake includes his superb oral history of The Wolf of Wall Street (also linking to Fran Hoepfner’s great piece on the same movie on Bright Wall Dark Room), a recent great piece on stunts tied to the release of The Fall Guy, and a lovely interview with the director of Saved! In celebration of its twenty-year anniversary. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. And sometimes if we’re lucky we talk to movie stars about their B-Sides! Today we talk to the great Eric Bana about Eric Bana B-Sides on the occasion of the release of his new film, Force of Nature: The Dry 2, now available in theaters and on VOD. Our B-Sides today include: Lucky You, Romulus, My Father, and The Secret Scripture. Bana discusses why Lucky You maybe didn’t connect with audiences in 2007, how Romulus, My Father is actually quite the A-Side in Australia, and the need to be malleable when working with somebody like director Jim Sheridan. We also talk about Bana’s detective influences for the Aaron Falk character in The Dry films, why Munich was strangely received upon release, and why his performance in Roland Joffé’s The Forgiven (co-starring Forest Whitaker as Desmond Tutu) is one of his favorites in his career. Special shout-out to good friend Mitchell Beaupre’s great interview with Bana earlier this year, which is referenced quite a bit here. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we speak to Nancy Savoca, the great filmmaker whose sophomore feature Dogfight is now available via Criterion. The digitally-restored, director-approved Blu-Ray includes new commentary from Savoca and producer Richard Guay, a new interview with Savoca and actor Lili Taylor conducted by filmmaker Mary Harron, and a great essay by film critic Christina Newland, among other features. We speak with Savoca about Missing Movies, her mentors John Sayles and Maggie Renzi, her first film True Love, directing singular performers like River Phoenix and Lili Taylor, and the HBO creativity boom of the mid-to-late ‘90s (including Carl Franklin’s Laurel Avenue and Cher and Savoca’s If These Walls Could Talk), and lesser-seen gems of Savoca’s that she hopes viewers will be able to see soon (including Dirt from the early 2000s an the recently restored and released Household Saints from 1993). Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we talk about the movie star. The person who if you looked up “movie star” in the dictionary there would be a picture of him. Robert Redford!  Today we talk the esteemed career of the quintessential movie star. Our B-Sides include: The Hot Rock, The Great Waldo Pepper, Havana, and The Last Castle. Our guest today is Blake Howard, podcast producer, host, and really good guy. Check out One Heat Minute Productions for everything new and relevant in Blake’s world.  We discuss a million things, from why The Hot Rock is so hard to find, to the airplane stunts in The Great Waldo Pepper, to why Havana doesn’t work. There’s an investigation into the politics of The Last Castle, a brief celebration of Lena Olin, and a quick rave for Jordan Harper’s searing short story “My Savage Year.” Additional topics include that upcoming City of Hope release, why Peter Yates is “slow vibes central,” why great screenwriter William Goldman knew why The Great Waldo Pepper underwhelmed at the box office (from his book Adventures in the Screen Trade), and how exactly the A-Side The Natural literally looks like nostalgia. Finally, we mention why Raul Julia didn’t take a credit on Havana, we reference that superb Scott Frank New Yorker profile, proclaim ourselves defenders of Hollywood Homicide, and discuss the end of Redford’s career. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we talk to an independent film legend. Some have called him the “East Coast Roger Corman,” though that’s short-changing Larry Fessenden a bit. Though his production company Glass Eye Pix has been around since the mid-80s, Fessenden made a name for himself with the mid-90s indie horror classic Habit, in which he wrote, directed, and starred as an alcoholic New Yorker who starts dating a vampire. Or so he thinks. Fessenden’s new movie Blackout - available digitally April 12th - connects to both Habit and his 2019 film Depraved. We talk about this with Fessenden, as well as his love for the classic Universal Monster Films, the evolving challenges of funding and producing independent cinema, and his work with Kelly Reichardt and Martin Scorsese over the years. Additional B-Sides include The Last Winter, Wendigo, and Beneath. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we have a conversation about what it means to be underappreciated. Not underrated necessarily. But underappreciated. And boy is Don Cheadle underappreciated. The Oscar-nominated actor has been elevating films in supporting roles since the late ‘80s. Our guest today is Mitchell Beaupre, senior editor at Letterboxd. Our B-Sides today include: The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Traitor, The Guard, and No Sudden Move. There is also a brief-but-worthwhile tangent on the Scott Caan-directed (!) indie The Dog Problem. Also the Sundance darling Manic from the early 2000s. We discuss Cheadle’s incredible ability to listen as an actor. There may not be a better active listener working today. We offer some context into legend Steve Martin (who has a story credit on Traitor) and all of the different things he’s done over his illustrious career (and how BIG he was in the ‘70s). There’s also the under-usage of Cheadle in The Assassination of Richard Nixon, that half-baked Bourne Identity-inspired score in Traitor, the unfortunate lack of chemistry between Brendan Gleeson and Cheadle in The Guard, and how No Sudden Move is basically perfect and the culmination of so much of what makes Don Cheadle great. And finally, we definitely mention those hysterical Captain Planet bits and how exactly they shot No Sudden Move to get that extreme anamorphic look that makes out the main aesthetic of the film. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today, however, we talk about Oscar movies (!), or better yet, movies that remind us of Oscar movies! Conor and I welcome back the lovely Joe Reid & Chris Feil of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. In today’s episode, we each choose a movie that reminds us of a current Best Picture Oscar nominee. The movies include Born to be Blue, The Ant Bully, The Ritz, and Frankenstein Created Woman. We also take a good few minutes to dish on legend Barbra Streisand’s incredible autobiography My Name Is Barbra. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we chat about the action heroine: Sigourney Weaver! But what were the films she made in between Alien and Aliens? Other than A-sides The Year of Living Dangerously and Ghostbusters, there was Eyewitness, Deal of the Century, One Woman or Two (a French film!), and Half Moon Street. Our guest is the incomparable Joe Reid, co-host of the essential podcast This Had Oscar Buzz. Be sure to check them out as Oscar season races to an exciting conclusion over the next few weeks.  Topics in this episode include: When exactly did the horse stables in midtown Manhattan shut down? What exactly was an early ‘80s film set like with both WIlliam Hurt and James Woods on it? Where exactly is Half Moon Street and what is the movie trying to say? Did anybody involved in the making of Deal of the Century like it at any point? And how old do you suppose Dr. Ruth (co-star of One Woman or Two) is? Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we chat about one of our best artists: Jodie Foster! Our B-Sides are Bugsy Malone, Catchfire (Backtrack), Nim’s Island, and The Beaver. Our esteemed guest (returning!) today is Katie Clark Gray of Uncompromised Creative. Keep an eye out for the upcoming Once Again (for the very first time) this year. Topics here include: Jodie in the original Freaky Friday, John Turturro walking away with Catchfire, the turbulent making of Catchfire, Dennis Hopper’s recollection of the turbulent making of Catchfire in this Charlie Rose episode, Jodie on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and Jodie’s incredibly successful 1990s run. Other subjects touched on are the Black List fame of The Beaver screenplay and the controversy around getting it made, the hoopla of The Accused, and Disney movie comparisons to Nim’s Island. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we’re honored to chat with iconic director John Sayles, whose essential crime epic Lone Star is now available from The Criterion Collection in both 4K UHD + Blu-ray. Our B-Sides today include Limbo, Amigo, and Go For Sisters. We also discuss Sayles’ parallel careers as a screenwriter and a novelist. He talks about the work he did on the Toshirô Mifune/Scott Glenn actioner The Challenge (director John Frankenheimer asking him to write new draft over a weekend before an impending strike); he discusses what he learned working for Roger Corman early in his career; which genre he’s still itching to direct; his love of the recent Godzilla Minus One; and the slew of scripts that never got made. Other Sayles movies to seek out (really it’s all of them) include: The Secret of Roan Inish, Passion Fish, Eight Men Out, City of Hope, The Brother from Another Planet, Return of the Secaucus 7, and Men with Guns. Other mentions include the 1939 Philippine–American War film The Real Glory, La fine della notte from 1989 (the first Italian film with sync sound, which Sayles acted in!), and his recent novel Jamie MacGillivray. There’s also his wonderful 2020 fracking novel Yellow Earth. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here - today - we talk about movie EDITORS! Not the movies they edited that were legendary but the less legendary ones in between. Today we speak with the great editor Darrin Navarro (the recent, incredible The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial) about the lauded editor Sam O’Steen, who worked on such masterpieces as The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, and Chinatown. The O’Steen-edited films we cover today are: The Day of the Dolphin, Straight Time, Nadine, and A Dry White Season. Navarro talks about the editing process with William Friedkin (and how it changed a bit with The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial), how knowing when not to cut is as important as knowing when to cut when editing a film (“when you can tell a story with a shot, you don’t need a cut”), O’Steen’s essential book Cut to the Chase: Forty-Five Years of Editing America's Favourite Movies (written with his wife Bobbie O’Steen), and what a gem of a film Nadine is. Highlights include marveling at Dustin Hoffman’s incredible ‘70s output, that moment in the ‘80s in which movies were built around movie star Kim Basinger, the underwater photography in The Day of the Dolphin, and the crazy filmography of Robert Benton. Additional references include James Garner’s amazing autobiography The Garner Files, Peter Biskind’s juicy Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, Dustin Hoffman replacing himself as director on the set of Straight Time, Brando in A Dry White Season, and Navarro’s appearance on the “Art of the Cut” podcast discussing The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial. There’s also this incredibly interesting, in-depth video from Bobbie O’Steen: Sight, Sound & Story: Live - "Inside the Cutting Room of Sam O'Steen". Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. We discuss everyone's favorite method man: Daniel Day-Lewis. Our B-Sides are 1988’s Stars and Bars, Eversmile, New Jersey (1989), Jim Sheridan's The Boxer, and Rebecca Miller's The Ballad of Jack and Rose. Returning guest Fiona Underhill joins us to discuss the myth-making around the actor, his process, as well as a few hot takes on whether some of his most lauded credits are properly rated. Naturally, we also discuss his peak ‘90s hotness (it’s a tie between, Mohicans and The Crucible, by the way), and his influence, for better or worse, on a younger generation of actors. The scope of our B-Sides unlock a few lesser-seen tools in Day-Lewis’ belt, from the farcical to the oddball. These are modes he doesn’t necessarily seem comfortable in as a younger star, but that serve as practice for when he deconstructs his own serious image with his career peak in Phantom Thread. We can all be glad he gave us Reynolds Woodcock before retiring. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Ep. 129 – In Conversation with: Andrew Davis by The Film Stage

Welcome to The B-Side from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today, we talk to a great film writer about a great film sub-genre! Brian Raftery! Vietnam War Movie B-Sides! Brian (author of the wonderful Best. Movie. Year. Ever. How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen) released a wonderful podcast mini-series for The Ringer called Do We Get to Win This Time? this past summer. It examines the evolution of the American Vietnam War movie through the decades. Raftery speaks with everybody for this thing, from Oliver Stone to Dale Dye. Our B-Sides today are: Hearts and Minds, The Little Girl of Hanoi, and Hamburger Hill. We cover plenty more, dissecting movies made by both American and Vietnamese filmmakers. From when we first became aware of Vietnam as a war, to our favorite Vietnam war films, to highlighting additional underrated B-Sides in this sub-genre. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. Enjoy!

Welcome to The B-Side from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today, we talk to a music supervisor! And one of the great music supervisors! Randall Poster! We discuss his new film Priscilla, how working with Sofia Coppola compares to working with someone like Wes Anderson, and - most importantly - how they chose what music would be in the movie. There’s also talk of Poster’s early career. There’s the film he co-wrote (A Matter of Degrees) in 1990 and the early indies he made with Christine Vachon (including Office Killer). There’s also Maid in Manhattan, directed by past guest Wayne Wang. Finally, Poster worked on the criminally-underrated indie Diggers, which you should watch. This is a fun, special episode about the kind of crew member who rarely get the credit they deserve. Poster is at the top of his craft, with premier work in theaters now (Priscilla and also Killers of the Flower Moon). Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. Enjoy!

Welcome to The B-Side from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Happy Halloween! This year we discuss a legend: Roger Corman! As is tradition, our dear friend Gavin Mevius, talented editor and co-host of the incredible The Mixed Reviews Podcast. Be sure to listen to their podcast and support them on Patreon if you see fit! Today we tackle three B-Sides: Not of This Earth, The Intruder, and Frankenstein Unbound. We discuss Corman’s influence on New Hollywood and his enduring influence to this day, his indelible eye for talent both in front of (actors like Nicholson and De Niro got their starts in Corman films) and behind (Jonathan Demme, James Cameron, Peter Bogdanovich), and the directing career that could’ve been had The Intruder been a hit. There’s talk of the other Mary Shelley-adjacent film adaptations of the late '80s/early ‘90s (Gothic, Haunted Summer, Rowing with the Wind), how great Raul Julia was, that Kenneth Branagh Frankenstein movie, and Camel Spiders. Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. Enjoy!