Supporting Characters

James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 54: Nellie Killian

Bill speaks to film programmer Nellie Killian about her pursuits in film, from attending Orson Welles and Fritz Lang retrospectives as a child to co-founding the Migrating Forms Film Festival and teaching film courses at the Pratt Institute. They discuss her career in programming, from her work with venues like Brooklyn Academy Of Music to such recent efforts as the acclaimed TELL ME: WOMEN FILMMAKERS, WOMEN’S STORIES, now streaming on The Criterion Channel. Topics include: The Cinema Worker Solidarity Fund, experimental films, the New York Underground Film Festival, producing live subtitles for 35mm Andrzej Zulawski movie screenings, virtual cinema rentals, the publicity work of Michael Lieberman and Ryan Werner, the impact of COVID-19 on New York film culture and moderating Q&As while injured.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 53: Ashlee Blackwell

Bill speaks to writer, producer/screenwriter and professor Ashlee Blackwell about her various endeavors, from organizing events like Philly Loves Women In Horror and developing the Graveyard Shift Sisters website to teaching film at St. Joseph’s University and co-writing, co-producing and appearing in the documentary HORROR NOIRE: A HISTORY OF BLACK HORROR. Topics include: James Bond III, the value in narrowing one’s focus, R. Shanea Williams, THE EXORCIST, Dr. Robin R. Means Coleman, unwinding to stand-up comedy and having one’s feminist sensibilities awakened by A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 52: E. Purchell

Bill speaks to film historian, preservationist and filmmaker E. Purchell about their various endeavors, from programming and creating pre-screening short films for the Florida Avalon microcinema to the development of ASK ANY BUDDY, their Artforum 'Best of 2018' Instagram feed and acclaimed collage film companion. Topics include: Gregg Araki, Man Parrish, the Don’t Look In The Closet podcast, the film programming of Jazmyne Moreno, Everything Is Terrible!, Dark Entries Records, Instagram and Vimeo restrictions, Tom DeSimone and the contradictory qualities of adult films.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 51: Emma Westwood

Bill speaks to author, broadcaster and film historian Emma Westwood about her many creative endeavors, from co-founding film societies and writing freelance criticism to hosting Triple R’s Plato’s Cave and developing her recent monograph on David Cronenberg’s THE FLY. Topics include: Fatal Visions, Lee Gambin, the differing approaches of American and Australian film schools in the early 1990s, ALIEN, John Frankenheimer, Bert Deling's DALMAS, writing about standup comedy, HOUSEBOAT HORROR, the research process for audio commentary tracks, Raymond Stross, why children relate to monsters and why “write what you know” is bad advice.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 50: Josh Olson

Bill speaks to writer/director, Trailers From Hell guru and podcaster Josh Olson about his many endeavors, from writing screenplays like the Oscar-nominated A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE and the audio drama BRONZEVILLE to co-hosting shows like The Movies That Made Me and The West Wing Thing. Topics include: Harlan Ellison, Werner Herzog and the German New Wave, NIGHT WATCH, Randy Frakes, landing professional opportunities through mistaken identity, MAD Magazine, Anthony Bourdain, screening UNFORGIVEN for David Cronenberg, The Cinefamily and whether or not people still approach him to read their scripts.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 49: Mike “McBeardo” McPadden

Bill speaks to author, screenwriter and fanzine publisher Mike “McBeardo” McPadden about his various endeavors, from creating the fanzine Happyland in 1991 to developing books like HEAVY METAL MOVIES and TEEN MOVIE HELL. Topics include: Rick Sullivan’s Gore Gazette, approaching 1980s teen sex comedies in the #MeToo era, writing as Selwyn Harris for Screw and Hustler, Danny Peary, 1990s fanzine culture, authoring screenplays for Gregory Dark films like THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES 5 and ANIMAL INSTINCTS III, John Hughes, Troma Entertainment, LEMORA: A CHILD’S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL, Gilbert Gottfried, Mr. Skin, catching ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at age 10 with hippie relatives and writing about Jenna Jameson’s mashed potatoes recipe for Esquire.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 48: Kent Jones

Bill speaks to writer, filmmaker, and New York Film Festival director Kent Jones. They discuss his path from writing film reviews as a teenager to directing the new film DIANE. Topics include: William Wyler, collaborating with Martin Scorsese on documentaries like MY VOYAGE TO ITALY and A LETTER TO ELIA, programming at venues like Film Forum and Film Society Of Lincoln Center, moderating Q & As, Jean-Luc Godard, Netflix, John Ford, Elia Kazan, Manny Farber, ZODIAC, New Video, Monte Hellman and the importance of costume designers.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 47: Chris O'Neill

Bill talks to filmmaker and film programmer Chris O’Neill. They discuss his experiences in film culture, from childhood movie rental rituals to directing short films, working in distribution and programming for theatres like Kino Cinema and Triskel Christchurch. Topics include Irish cinema, tape trading, STRAW DOGS, Brad Stevens, the changes William Friedkin made to CRUISING and the impact of parenthood on work/life balance.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 46: Manuela Lazic

Bill talks to film critic Manuela Lazic. They discuss her experiences in film culture, from reading Cahiers du Cinema with her sister in middle school to writing for publications like Little White Lies, The Ringer, Vague Visages, RogerEbert.com and Birth.Movies.Death. Topics include: Erotic thrillers, influential teachers, Christopher Nolan, writing about performance, podcasts, BLOW UP, drawing Freudian inspiration from Sasha Alexander's performance on NCIS, positivity and branding on social media.

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James Laczkowski James Laczkowski

Episode 45: Sergio Mims

Bill talks to film programmer and historian Sergio Mims about some of his many pursuits in film culture, from working on the set of films like PENITENTIARY to co-founding the website Shadow And Act and festivals like Blacklight and Black Harvest Film Festival. Other topics include: influential books, classical music, tips for conducting celebrity interviews, J. Lee Thompson, the L.A. Rebellion film movement, Films And Filming, working in radio and having the good sense to turn down work on a film with a title like THE BABYSITTER MURDERS.

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