One Perfect Pod

We're happy to present a special sneak preview of the new podcast Inside Jaws. Inside Jaws takes you on an immersive journey through the making of 1975’s pulse-pounding hit film Jaws, the first-ever summer blockbuster. Subscribe to Inside Jaws on Apple Podcasts today or hear all 7 episodes, ad-free at wondery.com/plus

Given the stakes involved with any Star Wars movie, it's not surprising that conversation regarding Solo: A Star Wars Story seemed to skip right over the movie itself and immediately spark debates about its quality and box office numbers. The tumultuous production history and prolonged casting process for the next Han Solo certainly put audiences on the defense, but is Solo: A Star Wars Story a franchise-killing dud or a cult classic in the making?

Despite a strong, strong run by Avengers: Infinity War, it seemed inevitable that Deadpool 2 would jump to the top of the box office in its opening weekend. This was, after all, a sequel to one of the most surprising summer hits of the last few years. But success brings with it higher expectations, and nobody was really sure if Deadpool 2 could maintain the momentum of its predecessor, least of all our podcast stars.

There are big movies, there are big movies, and then there is Avengers: Infinity War, the culmination of nearly ten years of Marvel continuity and superhero stories. This week on After the Credits, Matthew Monagle and film-critic-slash-film-editor Amon Warmann discuss the biggest movie in a franchise of big movies. Did our favorites make it out alive? You'll have to listen to find out.

It takes a perfect confluence of events for Hollywood to release a Steven Spielberg movie that most people are only kinda excited to see, but that's exactly the case with Ready Player One. In this week's episode of the After the Credits podcast, Matthew Monagle and Cinapse co-founder Ed Travis break down Spielberg's latest special effects extravaganza. Does Spielberg still have that ever-magical it?

This week on After the Credits, Matthew and guest Karen Han talk culture criticism and the greatness of Ava DuVernay.

Think you've got what it takes to talk Alex Garland and hard sci-fi? Then step into the Shimmer with freelance film critic Kristen Lopez! This week on After the Credits, Matthew and Kristen talk about Alex Garland's oft-discussed Kubrickian nightmare, Annihilation. Does the movie live up to the books? Will audiences ever learn to fully appreciate Jennifer Jason Leigh? And why, exactly, is Gina Rodriguez's side-cut the solution to world peace?

It's the movie we've all been waiting for: this week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by freelance journalist Monica Castillo to talk Black Panther, Marvel, and the importance of Hollywood representation. Does Black Panther live up to the heaps of praise being set upon it? Which of the new additions to the Marvel Universe is the best? And why is the answer to that previous question obviously Letitia Wright's Shuri? Because it is.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Mashable author Angie Han to discuss Fifty Shades Freed, the third and final installment of the Fifty Shades trilogy. Will Anastasia and Christian get their happily ever after? Will jealousy and possessiveness tear the two of them apart? Hell, will they have even the most rudimentary pre-marriage conversations about children and last names? SPOILER ALERT: the answers are yes, no, and no, respectively.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by freelance film critic Alisha Grauso to discuss Maze Runner: The Death Cure, the third and final installment of the Maze Runner trilogy. And while we don't want to spoil everything that happens, let's just say that between the first and second parts of this week's episode, the Maze Runner fanbase added one new member.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Female Film Critics host Diana Drumm to discuss Den of Thieves and all things Gerard Butler. We know the movie is pure cheese, but it is at least classy cheese, like a block of finely aged manchego, or garbage cheese, like those gross yellow balls covered in crackers you find at the grocery store? Guess you'll have to listen to find out.

Hello From Sundance: Cage, Crime, and Awkward Road Trips by Film School Rejects

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Vanity Fair critic Emma Stefansky to discuss Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the direction of the new Star Wars trilogy as a whole. Also, hear Matthew and Emma's bold predictions for the new movie; they both turned out to be wrong, but you have to admit, the logic behind them was sound! Don't forget to subscribe and review our show on Apple Podcasts!

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Film School Rejects critic William Dass to discuss The Shape of Water and Guillermo del Toro's body of work as a whole. Learn why our two critics love them some Michael Stuhlbarg and describe the film as not-unlike Pushing Daisies in the Upside Down. Follow host Matthew Monagle (@labsplice) and guest William Dass (@WBDass) on Twitter, and don’t forget to subscribe to One Perfect Pod wherever you get your podcasts (AND leave us a rating or review!).

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Film School Rejects critic Rob Hunter to discuss The Room and the ethos of watching bad movies.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by /Film critic Karen Han - officially one-half of Film Twitter's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice fan club - to discuss Justice League and the future of the DC Extended Universe.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Paste critic Kyle Turner to discuss Murder on the Orient Express and all things Agatha Christie.

With Matthew on vacation, Neil Miller sits in the hosts chair and is joined by High and Outside's Theo Broxson to talk about Taika Waititi's electric superhero extravaganza, Thor: Ragnarok.

This week, Matthew welcomes Diana Drumm, critic and creator of the @FemaleCritics Twitter community, to talk about Gerard Butler in space! Also known as Geostorm, a film about a future in which someone does something very sci-fi about climate change. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter (@OnePerfectPod) and support our sponsor, VideoBlocks. Need easy to use stock video? Go to videoblocks.com/rejects to download all the stock video your heart desires.

Evan Dickson's Totem is the first feature length screenplay he's seen produced, and he's brought three pages of the screenplay with him for us to analyze on the show. The horror film about a widower bringing a new girlfriend to live with him and his 17- and 8-year-old daughters in a home with a vengeful spirit hits Cinemax on Halloween night. We chat with him about writing a fresh installment from a well-worn genre [0:00 - 25:35] and then do a surprisingly competent dramatic reading of three pages from the screenplay [27:00 - 48:00] before dissecting what the scene is supposed to achieve and how it does it.

After the Credits makes its triumphant return as host Matthew Monagle is joined by critic Rob Hunter to discuss the new Jackie Chan movie, The Foreigner. Don't forget to support our sponsor, VideoBlocks. Download all the stock video footage your heart desires for $149/year. Start today at videoblocks.com/rejects.

Let's say you had to face off against one of horrors famous baddies. Would you rather wake up in one of Jigsaw's convoluted traps? Fall asleep to find Freddy's ugly mug staring you down? Unwrap a Christmas gift only to find Annabelle in the box? In other words, which horror villain would be the easiest to survive? Or the most fun to go up against? Scott and Geoff go over your perspectives about defining the horror genre and pick which villain they'd fight [0:00 - 31:45], and conduct a little commerce [31:45 - 35:45]. They also answer your screenwriting questions about why it's so hard to finish a screenplay [35:45 - 40:20] and about the viability of trading a blossoming career in the Austin creative scene for a spot at the bottom of a big food chain in Atlanta [40:20 - 52:00].

In part two of our special report from Fantastic Fest 2017, Neil chats with After the Credits host Matthew Monagle about Brawl in Cell Block 99, The Line, Wheelman, and more. Don't forget to support this month's sponsor, VideoBlocks. Go to videoblocks.com/rejects to get all the stock video your heart desires for only $149/year.

How do you define the horror genre? What counts? Geoff and Scott attempt to nail down the lines around the films that try to terrify [0:00 - 32:00]. They also appreciate some commerce [32:00 - 38:00] and answer your screenwriting questions about on-the-nose writing and knowing when to get out of a scene [38:00 - 65:00].

IndieWire's Film Editor Kate Erbland joins Scott to share her reporting on the sexual assault allegations against Aint It Cool founder Harry Knowles. They also consider Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League's responses to the revelation that he'd brought Devin Faraci back onto the payroll only a few weeks after the Birth Movies Death editor-in-chief stepped down following allegations against him last year, as well as more stories of protectionism instead of punishment for assailants at the Drafthouse. As several groups came together to talk during Fantastic Fest (see here, here, and here for a start) and online, the biggest questions circle around how the Drafthouse can make real changes in order to value a safe environment for women, how the film critic community can work to actively bring women's voices into the ranks, and whether we can keep an eye on accountability once the initial outrage has died down.

All this week, the One Perfect Pod team has been in Austin, TX at Fantastic Fest watching strange and wonderful genre films. In a series of special reports, Neil talks to the team about the best, worst, and weirdest of the fest. Up first: Chief Critic Rob Hunter.

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Akela Cooper joins Scott and Geoff for a conversation about going from rural Missouri to the writers' rooms of several hit shows [start - 13:45]. Then, answers to your questions about nurturing an undeveloped idea [13:45 - 20:00]; how you know a story idea is worth pursuing [20:00 - 24:25]; how much change your characters have to go through [24:25 - 29:40]; if you should tailor your writing to the 20-something assistants reading for their bosses [29:40 - 35:40]; how to make dialogue pop [35:40 - 41:05]; and if you should worry about being able to write one genre for TV and another for film [41:05 - 50:00].

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by IndieWire critic Jamie Righetti to discuss Annabelle: Creation and the cinematic universe of James Wan's The Conjuring. Does the film's talented cast and handful of creative scares make up for some of its half-baked horror tropes? It depends on who you ask!

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Scott and Geoff cover the basics of screenwriting by answering the most frequently asked questions. Deep breath. An intro note on methodology and where to learn formatting [0:00 - 4:15] A way to rethink the questions you're asking [4:15 - 9:10] "Do I have to move to LA?" [9:10 - 11:28] "How do I get an agent/manager?" [11:28 - 18:10] "Where do I find scripts?" [18:10 - 20:45] "What screenwriting books are the 'right' ones?" [20:45 - 24:00] "How do I pitch?" [24:00 - 25:50] "Should I go to film school?" [25:50 - 31:05] "I just finished my first script. What do I do now?" [31:05 - 37:45] "How do I get an actor/actress to read my script?" [37:45 - 44:35] "How do I get a job as a TV writer's assistant?" [44:35 - 50:05] "How did you get your start?" [50:05 - 54:55] "How do you come up with your ideas?" [54:55 - 59:10] "What are agents/managers/producers looking for?" [59:10 - 61:05] "What genre should I write?" [61:05 - 61:10] "How do you impress a reader?" [61:10 - 63:15] "How do you expose yourself personally in your writing?" [63:15 - 68:45] Closing thoughts [68:45 - 73:30]

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Birth.Movies.Death author Scott Wampler to discuss The Dark Tower and Stephen King's magnum opus of a book series. Scott also shares his recollections of #19HoursInBangor, an incredible publicity tour of King's hometown that included a sit-down with the man himself!

Perry and Geoff explore the pure madness of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, shot guerilla style by Thomas Mauch.

Matthew welcomes Birth.Movies.Death's Jacob Knight to talk about how expectations match with reality for Atomic Blonde, the spiritual cousin of John Wick, starring Charlize Theron.

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Scott and Geoff ponder a piece at GQ that outlines the new paths to stardom available to young actors who may have to redefine fame [0:00 - 21:25]. They also chat with Nerdist's resident Overwatch fanatic Dan Casey to learn what massive Comic-Con stuff thrilled him and what missed the mark[21:25 - 48:25]. Then, a little game of Who's Wrong to close things out[48:25 - 50:00].

Note: The producer of this episode would like to apologize in advance for some audio quality issues. He messed up Matthew's mic settings, especially for the first segment. It won't happen again. Matthew sits down with FSR chief Neil Miller to watch and discuss Luc Besson's fever dream, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Is it the second coming of The Fifth Element, or more like Jupiter Ascending? You'll have to listen and find out.

To honor the passing of a legend, Perry and Geoff look at the seminal work of George A. Romero, 1978's Dawn of the Dead, shot by Michael Gornick.

This week from the Alan Smithee Memorial Studio, Scott and Geoff offer some insights to aspiring screenwriters and directors about how to use film festival line-ups as a research tool [0:00 - 20:25], then puzzle over why studios can't take the obvious lesson from successful movies [20:25 - 32:00]. We close out with game we like to call Who's Right: Christopher Nolan vs. Netflix.

This week, Perry and Geoff talk about the perfect shots of John Wick, from directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, and cinematographer Jonathan Sela.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Cinapse co-founder and critic Ed Travis to discuss War for the Planet of the Apes.

Perry and Geoff are taken to the sunken place for a discussion about Jordan Peele's thriller 'Get Out,' shot by Toby Oliver.

Nerdist's Scott Beggs joins Matthew to discuss Spider-Man: Homecoming, the first fusion offering between Sony and Marvel Studios, and Robert Downey Jr.'s singing career.

This week on After the Credits, Matthew is joined by Flavorwire film critic Jason Bailey to discuss Despicable Me 3.

Perry and Geoff come out of the sewer and into the streets of Gotham to explore Tim Burton's 'Batman Returns,' as shot by Stefan Czapsky.

Matthew welcomes FSR publisher Neil Miller on to defend the honor of Michael Bay and the existence of the Transformers franchise. Also, they somehow survive 'The Last Knight.'

Perry and Geoff discuss and select their favorite shots from Dario Argento's Suspiria, shot by Luciano Tovoli.

Matthew welcomes back Rob Hunter to discuss the bachelorette party gone wrong comedy 'Rough Night.'

For this week's review, Matthew welcomes critic Valerie Complex on the show to talk about the Tom Cruise monster remake, The Mummy.

Perry and Geoff have reconvened to wax poetic about the work of DP Ernest Dickerson on Spike Lee's iconic film, Do The Right Thing.

Perry and Geoff explore the perfect shots of Sam Mendes' Road to Perdition, shot by the great Conrad L. Hall.

Matthew Monagle and MoviePilot editor Alisha Grauso talk Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, before and after seeing it.

In our minds, we’ve gone to Indiana. On this week's Shot by Shot, Geoff and Perry dig into Douglas Slocombe's work for Steven Spielberg on the iconic adventure, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Matthew Monagle has a story to tell about Baywatch. Subscribe to One Perfect Pod wherever you get your podcasts and don't forget to leave us a rating and review. It helps others discover our channel. As always, follow @OnePerfectShot on Twitter for all the latest happenings in the world of film.