Someone Else's Movie

With her hybrid documentary Modern Whore now available on digital and on demand, and screening this Thursday in Toronto at TIFF Lightbox, director Nicole Bazuin takes some time to celebrate the wild creative freedoms of The Great Muppet Caper – the one where Kermit and Fozzie play identical twins, and Miss Piggy rides a motorcycle. Your genial host Norm Wilner is so glad someone finally brought the Muppets to the podcast.

With their charming indie The Travel Companion rolling through its US release, directors and co-writers Travis Wood and Alex Mallis are here to ponder the paradoxes and metaphors of Hong Sang-soo's 2011 drama The Day He Arrives. Your genial host Norm Wilner is really happy he could drop this one right after the Tropical Malady episode, for reasons that will become apparent.

It's a Friday bonus episode! And we're joined by writer-director Bretten Hannam, whose new film At the Place of Ghosts opens across Canada today, for a look at Apitchatpong Weerasethakul's beguiling 2004 breakout Tropical Malady. Your genial host Norm Wilner is sorry about all the table noises, we recorded this one in-person during TIFF.

With his new film Two Pianos now playing in New York and Los Angeles, award-winning French writer-director Arnaud Desplechin is here to discuss a film he loves with his whole heart: Judd Apatow's Funny People, the one where Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen play comedians grappling with life, death and jokes. Your genial host Norm Wilner truly did not see this coming.

With his latest drama Erupcja – starring Charli XCX as a young woman adrift in Warsaw – now playing select North American theaters, indie filmmaker Pete Ohs is here to explore the evocative world of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Evil Does Not Exist, about a very polite collision of cultures in a Japanese mountain village. Your genial host Norm Wilner also thinks this was one of the best films of 2024.

With her award-winning first feature Blue Heron rolling into theatrical release, writer-director Sophy Romvari returns to the podcast to unpack Martha Coolidge's devastating 1975 documentary Not a Pretty Picture, in which Coolidge enlisted a group of actors to re-create her own sexual assault and explored the effect the project has on her cast, and herself. Your genial host Norm Wilner has never seen anything like it.

With the East Coast drama Little Lorraine starting its Canadian theatrical run this Friday, April 17th, actor Auden Thornton is here to discuss Sarah Polley's first feature Away from Her, and unpack the layers of emotion and loss running through it. Your genial host Norm Wilner had to brace himself for this one.

With his goopy, giddy contagion thriller Cold Storage now available on digital and on demand, director Jonny Campbell takes a swing at Mike Hodges' stylish crime classic Get Carter – you know, the one where Michael Caine rampages through the Newcastle underworld. Your genial host Norm Wilner is bloody delighted to have this as our 600th episode. 

Now that his new creeper The Mortuary Assistant is streaming on Shudder, director Jeremiah Kipp ventures into the sinister funeral home of Don Coscarelli's midnight horror classic Phantasm. Your genial host Norm Wilner isn't worried about those silver spheres at all.

With her new drama Maya and Samar now in theaters across Canada, director Anita Doron invites us to fall under the spell of Tsai Ming-Liang's Goodbye, Dragon Inn, about the last screening at a grand old Taipei movie house. Your genial host Norm Wilner takes this one very personally.

It's our 11th anniversary, and critic and author Alexandra Heller-Nicholas – whose 2020 book 1000 Women in Horror is now a documentary, and streaming on Shudder this Friday – is here to discuss Abel Ferrara and Zoe Tamerlis Lund's unforgettable Ms. 45, which rewrote the rules of the rape-revenge thriller. Your genial host Norm Wilner has been looking forward to this one for a while.

The Oscars are tomorrow night, and Montreal filmmaker Alison McAlpine will be there with perfectly a strangeness, which is nominated for Best Documentary Short Film. But first, she wanted to talk about Maren Ade's epic father-daughter dramedy Toni Erdmann. Your genial host Norm Wilner put his false teeth aside for this one.

It's kind of weird that no one's brought George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead onto the show in eleven years, right? Writer, actor and comedian Jon Blair thought so too, so in advance of premiering A Comedy Show at the End of the World at TO Sketchfest on Friday, he's here to really sink his teeth into the zombie picture that changed movies forever. Your genial host Norm Wilner can't wait.

Before her new show One Butthole After Another premieres at TO Sketchfest, Toronto comic Tiyawnda stops in to talk about her fervent love for Jonathan Demme's Oscar-winning horror procedural The Silence of the Lambs, starting with her first, entirely inappropriate experience of it. Your genial host Norm Wilner promises there is not a single Chianti joke in this entire episode.

With her semiautobiographical family study Jimpa rolling through theaters in the US and Canada, writer-director Sophie Hyde is here to plumb the depths of Andrew Haigh's moody masterpiece All of Us Strangers. Your genial host Norm Wilner has been hoping someone would pick this one.

With his new documentary Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It opening in New York on Friday, veteran director Paris Barclay is here to unpack Stanley Kramer's 1967 hot-button love story Guess Who's Coming to Dinner – a picture he knows inside and out. Your genial host Norm Wilner is here to take it in.

Actor and filmmaker Joan Chen has been racking up awards for her performance in Xiaodan He's Montreal, My Beautiful; now that it's opening across Canada on Friday, February 13th, she's here to talk about how much she loves Julian Schnabel's 2007 drama The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. Your genial host Norm Wilner regrets that we only had half an hour for this one.

Writer-director Blake Winston Rice – whose latest short film Disc is playing this week in the Clemont-Ferrand Short Film Festival – is so enraptured by Chloe Zhao's swooning historical drama Hamnet that he had to bring it onto the show. Your genial host Norm Wilner can see how that could happen.

Rising actor Emmanuel Kabongo – who both produces and stars in the new thriller Sway, opening in Toronto on Friday – counts Denzel Washington's Oscar-winning performance in Training Day as one of the formative experiences of his young life, so Antoine Fuqua's 2001 thriller was his first choice for the podcast. Your genial host Norm Wilner can see how that could happen.

With his first dramatic feature The Well opening across Canada on Friday, Oscar- and Emmy-nominated director Hubert Davis is here to talk about Top Gun, the 1986 blockbuster that defined commercial American moviemaking for a decade – and made Tom Cruise a movie star for a lot longer. Your genial host Norm Wilner has never felt the need for speed, but he can see the appeal.

Toronto filmmaker Alan Zweig has his own show these days, and in honor of Tubby being named one of Apple and Amazon's Podcasts of 2025, here's his episode on Peter Yates' masterful 1973 crime drama The Friends of Eddie Coyle, starring Robert Mitchum as a low-level Boston mobster contemplating flipping on his associates to avoid a jail sentence. Jeez, your genial host Norm Wilner sounded so much younger in 2015 …

In memory of the late Rob Reiner, we're revisiting two of his best-beloved films: This week, it's Allana Harkin's 2017 celebration of When Harry Met Sally, the romantic comedy that gave us Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby at their most effortlessly charming – and minted Nora Ephron as a genre-defining screenwriter. Your genial host Norm Wilner had forgotten all about the massive rainstorm halfway through the episode.

To honor the late Rob Reiner, we're revisiting two of his best-beloved films: This week, from early 2022, actor Kristin Booth celebrates the wide-open heart of his magical, impossibly entertaining The Princess Bride. We need this, folks. Your genial host Norm Wilner is really getting tired of the Pit of Despair.

With her latest movie Code 3 on digital and on demand this Friday, December 19th, actor Aimee Carrero is here to celebrate Mike Nichols' (and Elaine May's) 1996 version of The Birdcage, with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay couple trying to trick the conservative parents of their son's fiancee into thinking they're a nice, normal couple – which, of course, they are. Your genial host Norm Wilner wishes Gene Hackman had done more comedies.

With his critically beloved debut drama Eephus now on VOD and streaming on Mubi, writer-director Carson Lund stops in to share his love of Monte Hellman's Two-Lane Blacktop, the existential cross-country race drama with James Taylor, Dennis Wilson and Warren Oates that confounded and enthralled audiences in 1971. Your genial host Norm Wilner is all about the momentum, man.

In 1974, Just Jaeckin's Emmanuelle marked a turning point for adult cinema ... but not every territory welcomed it with open arms. With his new documentary Emmanuelle in Ontario included on Severin Films's brand new Saga Erotica: The Emmanuelle Collection boxed set, journalist and filmmaker Eric Veillette joins your genial host Norm Wilner to discuss the film and its very Canadian controversy.

Documentarian Tasha Hubbard, whose first dramatic feature Meadowlarks opens across Canada this Friday, November 28th, credits Debra Granik's Winter's Bone – the 2010 drama that introduced the world to Jennifer Lawrence as an Ozark teenager trying to save her family from ruin by finding her vanished father – as one of the reasons she became a filmmaker. Your genial host Norm Wilner is here to find out why.

Film critic and author Barry Hertz, whose new book Welcome to the Family unpacks the history of the Fast & Furious movies, is here to talk about Fast Five, the beloved 2011 chapter where director Justin Lin introduced Vin Diesel and Paul Walker to a whole new level of motorized mayhem – and supercharged the franchise. Your genial host Norm Wilner can't really argue with the choice.

Writer-directors Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, whose animated sci-fi comedy Lesbian Space Princess is in theaters now, step up for Raja Gosnell's 2004 live-action sequel Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed – which, your genial host Norm Wilner is surprised to discover, holds up pretty well two decades later. 

Actor Guillaume Marbeck plays Jean-Luc Godard in Richard Linklater's Nouvelle Vague, so he has a unique perspective on Godard's revolutionary first feature Breathless – which, it just so happens, Nouvelle Vague is all about. Your genial host Norm Wilner cannot thank Winnie Wong enough for coming up with this concept.

Writer-director Bryn Chainey, whose eerie debut Rabbit Trap is ideal Halloween viewing, is here to talk about the Jonathan Miller's 1968 BBC adaptation of M.R. James' Whistle and I'll Come to You, which launched a British tradition of televised ghost stories – and still holds a disquieting power. Your genial host Norm Wilner suggests you listen to this episode in a very dark room.

Bryan Fuller created the cult TV shows Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies and Hannibal, among others, and his delirious first feature Dust Bunny plays the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival this Thursday, October 23rd. And he's here to explore Philip Kaufman's brilliant reinterpretation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Your genial host Norm Wilner has been waiting a long time for this one.

With his historical drama Vindication Swim rolling into US theaters this Friday, October 17th, writer-director Elliott Hasler is here to swash some buckles for Gore Verbinski's 2003 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – the movie that made him want to be a filmmaker at the age of four. Really. Your genial host Norm Wilner has done the math on this.

Before he battles his way through the new Deathstalker this Friday, October 10th, action hero Daniel Bernhardt drops in to discuss how the Wachowskis' action epic The Matrix blew his mind when he first saw in in 1999 – and how he ended up acting in at least one of the sequels. Your genial host Norm Wilner can't believe no one's brought this movie onto the podcast before.

Writer-director Jules Koostachin, whose new drama Angela's Shadow premieres on Hollywood Suite today to mark Canada's National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is here to talk about how seeing Adrian Lyne's blockbuster Flashdance as a kid in 1983 inspired her to tell her own stories. Your genial host Norm Wilner broke out the legwarmers for this.

To celebrate the Criterion Collection release of her subversive classic Born in Flames, writer-director Lizzie Borden is here to talk about Chantal Akerman's Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. And yes, Wayne Wang and Lukas Dhont have already discussed Akerman's feminist masterpiece, but Lizzie has a very different approach to the film. Your genial host Norm Wilner suggests you hear her out.

He's on Broadway with his best pal Keanu Reeves in Waiting for Godot and his new movie Adulthood is in theaters today, but somehow actor and filmmaker Alex Winter carved out the time to talk about his abiding love for Los Olvidados, Luis Bunuel's uncompromising 1951 drama about a child living in poverty in Mexico City. Your genial host Norm Wilner can't believe this one came together.

Writer-director Sophy Romvari's first feature Blue Heron has been picking up a lot of momentum on the festival circuit, and in honor of its TIFF screenings this week your genial host Norm Wilner thought you might want to hear her 2018 episode about the interweaving of personal, professional and global concerns in Kirsten Johnson's masterful essay film Cameraperson. 

Before his latest (and possibly weirdest) movie F*ck My Son! makes its world premiere in TIFF's Midnight Madness program on Wednesday, writer-director Todd Rohal wants to discuss George Kuchar's legendary underground short Hold Me While I'm Naked. Your genial host Norm Wilner never thought this one would come up.

With her new movie Nika and Madison making its world premiere at TIFF on Sunday, writer-director Eva Thomas is here to pay tribute to the tender soul and gigantic heart of Barry Jenkins' 2016 Oscar-winner Moonlight. And your genial host Norm Wilner is so glad she did.

Before his first feature Little Lorraine has its world premiere at TIFF this Friday, writer-director Andy Hines stops by to celebrate Jonathan Glazer's 2000 breakout Sexy Beast, still the only motion picture to make Ben Kingsley terrifying. Your genial host Norm Wilner made sure to even out his tan for this one.

Her new documentary Larry (they/them) is streaming free across Canada on CBC Gem, so director and editor Catherine Legault is here to discuss Zachary Heinzerling's prizewinning 2013 doc Cutie and the Boxer, a study of the decades-long marriage of artists Ushio and Noriko Shinohara. Your genial host Norm Wilner is very happy to have gone into writing instead of painting.

Her unsettling first feature Inedia is now available on digital and on demand across Canada, so writer-director Liz Cairns is here to celebrate the fraught drama and boundless compassion of Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Rosetta. Your genial host Norm Wilner regrets to report the Dardennes' key concerns have only grown more relevant a quarter-century later.

With her new drama Sweet Angel Baby opening in select Canadian cities this Friday, August 15th, writer-director Melanie Oates is here to talk about the clarifying heartbreak of Derek Cianfrance's shattering Blue Valentine. Your genial host Norm Wilner thinks Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams both deserved Oscar nominations, for what it's worth.

With his delightful feature debut Sketch opening across the US and Canada tomorrow, writer-director Seth Worley gets geared up by dissecting the sci-fi surprises of Barry Sonnenfeld's box-office champion Men in Black. Your genial host Norm Wilner thinks you should see Sketch with a crowd this weekend, by the way.

With her first feature Foreigner having its world premiere at Montreal's Fantasia festival this week, director Ava Maria Safai is here to talk about Mohammad Rasoulof's recent allegorical Iran drama The Seed of the Sacred Fig. Your genial host Norm Wilner is really excited to be digging into such a rich text.

Having just premiered their first feature Lucid at Montreal's Fantasia festival, filmmakers Ramsey Fendall and Deanna Milligan dive into Daughters of Darkness, Harry Kumel's 1971 cult classic about newlyweds who stumble into the clutches of a very aristocratic lady and her devoted companion. Your genial host Norm Wilner is delighted by the notion that Jeanne Dielman was once Elizabeth Bathory … and may still be.

With his new documentary Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance streaming on NFB.ca and opening in Winnipeg on July 30th, filmmaker Noam Gonick takes a moment to celebrate Uli Edel's 1989 adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr's landmark novel Last Exit to Brooklyn. Your genial host Norm Wilner is always happy to help someone drag a great movie back into the world.

With his timely new thriller 40 Acres now playing in theaters across the US and Canada, writer-director RT Thorne takes a moment to throw some love at Blood Simple, the bravura neo-noir that introduced the world to Joel and Ethan Coen – and to Frances McDormand, and Carter Burwell, and Barry Sonnenfeld. Your genial host Norm Wilner is always happy to dig into a classic, and this is certainly that.

It's Canada Day, so writer-director Nik Sexton – whose new East Coast drama Skeet is heading to the Galway International Film Festival on July 11th – stops in to talk about Incendies, the Oscar-nominated 2010 drama that put Denis Villeneuve on the map. Your genial host Norm Wilner would like you to know he recorded this episode well before Villeneuve landed the Bond gig.

With her splendid first feature Do I Know You from Somewhere? arriving on VOD this Friday, New Brunswick director Arianna Martinez steps up for Gore Verbinski's Gothic creeper A Cure for Wellness – the one with Dane DeHaan and the eels. Your genial host Norm Wilner is willing to hear her out.