Podcasts about Sundance Film Festival

"The Invite" is a 2026 American comedy film directed by Olivia Wilde and written by Will McCormack and Rashida Jones. It is an English-language remake of the Spanish film "The People Upstairs" by Cesc Gay. It stars Wilde alongside Seth Rogen as a deteriorating couple who invite their enigmatic neighbors, played by Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton, to a dinner party that spirals into unexpected places. The film premiered at the Eccles Theater as a part of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics for its direction, screenplay, and performances. Wilde was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is scheduled for a limited theatrical release in the United States on June 26th from A24, followed by a nationwide expansion on July 10th. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fashion legend Isaac Mizrahi has spent decades making the world brighter- literally. As a colorful designer, performer, host, author, and cultural icon, the creative has always favored playfulness. But before the runways, Broadway stages, and standing ovations, he was a kid who often felt like an outsider. This week on The Art of Kindness, Isaac joins Robert Peterpaul for a funny, moving, and surprisingly vulnerable conversation about bullying, belonging, creativity, therapy, Broadway legends, and the people whose kindness changed his life. Plus: Broadway, fashion, Patti LuPone, New York City, compliments, eyebrows, and why nobody is paying nearly as much attention to your appearance as you think they are. This positive podcast covers: Why kindness starts with noticing people who feel unseen The teacher who changed Isaac's life forever Lessons from Broadway legends like Gwen Verdon and Liza Minnelli Why therapy matters and what he's learned from it Broadway backstage culture and kindness The truth about fashion rules, self-expression, and authenticity, plus more ISAAC MIZRAHI has spent more than 35 years at the intersection of entertainment, media, and fashion, earning acclaim as a performer, host, writer, designer, producer, and cultural commentator. Performing with his acclaimed jazz band, Isaac brings his signature blend of music, storytelling, and comedy to concert stages across the country. His annual multi-week residency at New York City's legendary Café Carlyle consistently sells out, and in 2022 he made his Broadway debut as Amos Hart in Chicago. The New York Times hailed him as “a founding father of a genre that fuses performance art, music and stand-up comedy.” In 2025, the cult-classic documentary Unzipped—which Mizrahi co-created and stars in—celebrated its 30th anniversary with a screening at the Sundance Film Festival. He hosted the Emmy Award-winning The Isaac Mizrahi Show for seven seasons, served as a judge on all seven seasons of Project Runway All Stars, and continues to appear across television, film, and digital media. Beyond the stage and screen, Mizrahi has directed productions for the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, designed costumes for the Metropolitan Opera, and annually directs and narrates Peter and the Wolf, a production he originally created for New York City's Guggenheim Museum. A celebrated force in fashion, Mizrahi currently serves as Creative Director at Large for Target. Through his company, IM Entertainment, he develops original projects for television, theater, publishing, and live entertainment. He is also the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir I.M. For more information, visit HelloIsaac.com. Got kindness tips or stories? Please email us: ⁠⁠artofkindnesspodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠ Follow Isaac: ⁠⁠@IMISAACMIZRAHI Follow us: ⁠⁠@artofkindnesspod⁠⁠ / ⁠⁠@robpeterpaul⁠⁠ Support the show! (⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/theaok⁠⁠) Music: "Awake" by Ricky Alvarez & "Sunshine" by Lemon Music Studio. Additional music licensed through Soundstripe. Code: MZU7IMLYX3T5WFFI We are supported by the Broadway Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once dismissed as dangerous and unworthy, Australian horror is now a global box-office phenomenon. Geordie Gray is here to explore the terrifying new film Leviticus - a Sundance hit that captures the dread of regional isolation - and trace the evolution of the genre from the controversial Wake in Fright to modern ‘elevated’ horror movies like The Babadook and Talk to Me. Read more about this story at theaustralian.com.au and see the video by subscribing to our YouTube channel. Australian horror was once banned – now it’s booming Backrooms: Inside the film that began as a meme The Babadook breathes new life into horror genre When a young Indigenous couple brings home their baby, things take a sinister turn This episode of The Front is presented by Claire Harvey, produced by Kristen Amiet and edited by Lia Tsamoglou. Our team includes Tiffany Dimmack, Joshua Burton and Jasper Leak, who also composed our music. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Leviticus" is a 2026 Australian supernatural horror film written and directed by Adrian Chiarella, and stars Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie, Nicholas Hope, Zamira Newman, and Mia Wasikowska (who is also an executive producer on the film). It follows two gay teenagers who become tormented by a violent supernatural entity, summoned by their homophobic religious community, that takes the form of the person they desire most – each other. The film premiered in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews for its concept, performances, atmosphere, and nuance in crafting a queer horror film with emotional resonance. Chiarella was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will be released in theaters on June 19th from NEON. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Movie of the Year: 2006BrickThe Brick podcast episode of Movie of the Year arrives just in time to appreciate one of 2006's most audacious genre experiments. Ryan, Mike, and Greg are joined by Pete Wright of TruStory FM to dig into Rian Johnson's neo-noir debut, a film that transplants the hard-boiled world of Dashiell Hammett into the hallways and parking lots of a Southern California high school. Few films from this era take a bigger swing, and fewer still land it this cleanly.About Brick (2006)Brick is a neo-noir mystery thriller written, edited, and directed by Rian Johnson in his feature directorial debut. The film opened in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006, distributed by Focus Features. It stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan Frye, a teenage loner who pushes his way into the criminal underworld of his high school to investigate the disappearance -- and eventual murder -- of his ex-girlfriend Emily, played by Emilie de Ravin. The supporting cast includes Lukas Haas as the drug kingpin known only as the Pin, Nora Zehetner as the duplicitous Laura, Noah Fleiss as the enforcer Tug, and Richard Roundtree as a vice principal navigating the chaos from the margins.Johnson wrote the first draft in 1997 immediately after graduating from USC School of Cinematic Arts. He spent the next seven years trying to get it made, with every financier asking him to set it in college instead of high school. He ultimately raised approximately $450,000 from friends and family, shot the film in 20 days, and spent three months rehearsing with the cast beforehand. The score -- inventive and deeply atmospheric -- was composed by Johnson's cousin Nathan Johnson using traditional instruments alongside improvised ones including filing cabinets, kitchen utensils, and tack pianos, all recorded on an Apple PowerBook.The film drew on hardboiled classics, particularly the novels of Dashiell Hammett, and won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned three stars from Roger Ebert, who called it a rich source of dialogue and behavior. You can read Ebert's full review at RogerEbert.com. Brick has since become a cult classic and a clear blueprint for Johnson's later work on Knives Out.Find the full cast and crew listing at Brick on IMDb.Guest Panelist: Pete WrightPete Wright is a podcaster, author, educator, and co-founder of TruStory FM, a podcast production network he has built over more than three decades in media. He has logged thousands of episodes across more than three dozen shows covering film, ADHD, creative process, brand storytelling, and the craft of audio production. His work spans journalism, corporate communications, and graduate-level teaching, where he spent fifteen years working with students on storytelling and media production.Among his best-known projects is The Next Reel Film Podcast, a deep-dive film discussion series that serves as his primary film-critical home. He also co-hosts Taking Control: The ADHD Podcast alongside Nikki Kinzer, an award-winning show with over a million annual downloads and 29 seasons of episodes since its 2010 launch. In 2024, Pete and Nikki co-authored Unapologetically ADHD: A Step-by-Step Framework for Everyday Planning on Your Terms, a practical guide grown directly from the podcast's community and themes. His debut science fiction novella, Lattice, was published in 2026. Pete's most recent podcast venture is Headstone, a personal series about legacy, memory, and the stories we leave behind. He is based in Portland, Oregon. This Brick podcast episode marks his first appearance on Movie of the Year.Brick Podcast Discussion: Noir in High SchoolThe central creative gamble of Brick is not simply that it applies film noir conventions to a high school setting. More precisely, it applies them without irony. Johnson made a deliberate choice to play every scene completely straight, and the cast follows his lead without a single wink at the camera. Consequently, the absurdity of the premise becomes the engine of the film's tension rather than its release valve.This Brick podcast opens with a foundational question: does the noir-in-high-school conceit actually work? The genre's grammar depends heavily on power asymmetry, corruption, and the lone investigator operating outside institutional structures. High school provides all three. Brendan's relationship with the vice principal mirrors the classic detective's uneasy truce with law enforcement. The Pin's basement headquarters functions as the smoky back room. The femme fatale and the enforcer play their archetypal roles without adjustment.Johnson drew specifically on the novels of Dashiell Hammett -- particularly the Continental Op stories -- and encouraged his cast to read Hammett rather than watch noir films. He wanted the stylistic choices to come from the source material, not from imitation of existing screen adaptations. That decision gives Brick a distinctive texture. Moreover, the dialogue mixes actual period noir slang with invented high school vernacular in a way that creates its own self-consistent world. As Roger Ebert noted, the story never fully clarifies itself while it unfolds, but it delivers a rich supply of behavior and incident along the way.Genre Bending: What the Brick 2006 Film Is Actually DoingBrick belongs to a specific 2006 moment when genre recombination was operating at a high creative pitch. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang had landed the previous year playing similar games with noir self-awareness. Sin City had arrived with a maximalist visual approach to the same source material. Brick chose a third path: minimal budget, straight-faced commitment, and an insistence that the formal constraints of the genre could do meaningful emotional work if you simply trusted them.The genre-bending discussion on this Brick podcast examines how Johnson uses the noir framework not as homage but as architecture. The structure of a hardboiled mystery -- the inciting mystery, the series of contacts, the betrayal, the revelation -- maps onto adolescent social hierarchies with surprising precision. Furthermore, the paranoia endemic to the genre translates naturally into the heightened social surveillance of high school life, where everyone watches everyone and information is currency.The Spaghetti Western and Anime InfluencesJohnson has cited Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop as visual influences alongside the noir literary tradition. That combination matters, because it explains why Brick never feels purely retro. The film's rhythm and its relationship to violence carry a different energy than classic noir. Notably, Johnson used shoes as a design element for each character, treating footwear as an immediate visual shorthand for who each person is. It's a small detail that reflects how thoroughly he thought through every layer of the film's visual language.Additionally, the score by Nathan Johnson uses invented instruments -- wine-o-phones, tack pianos, kitchen utensils -- to create an atmosphere that nods to classic noir without reproducing it. The result is a film that works as genre exercise, coming-of-age story, and tone poem simultaneously.The Treatment of Women in BrickNoir has always had a complicated relationship with its female characters, and Brick inherits that complication without fully interrogating it. Emily exists primarily as a body -- a mystery to be solved, a loss to be avenged. She drives the entire plot but occupies very little of the film's actual screen time. Laura is more present, but her function remains rooted in the femme fatale archetype: beautiful, manipulative, ultimately revealed as the architect of the tragedy.The Brick podcast addresses this directly. Does Johnson's decision to play the genre completely straight mean he also reproduces its blind spots uncritically? The case for the defense is that Brick is a formal exercise, and the female characters serve genre functions that the film deliberately signals as such. The case against is that signaling an archetype and interrogating it are different things, and Brick largely declines to do the latter.Moreover, the pregnancy subplot -- Emily is pregnant with Tug's child, a revelation that triggers her murder -- adds a layer of consequence to the female characters' bodies that the film handles with notable brevity. It functions as a plot mechanism more than a human reality. The discussion examines how this choice shapes the film's emotional center, which ultimately rests entirely with Brendan's grief and not with Emily's life or Laura's survival.Nevertheless, Nora Zehetner's performance as Laura earns genuine complexity within the constraints the script gives her. The hosts explore whether that performance transcends the archetype or simply executes it with exceptional skill.Rushmore: 2006 It BoysThe Taste Buds carve out space in this episode for a Rushmore segment dedicated to the It Boys of 2006 -- the young male actors whose stars were ascending in that specific cultural moment. Brick arrives at a fascinating point in Joseph Gordon-Levitt's career trajectory, before Inception and The Dark Knight Rises made him a mainstream anchor, when he was still operating in the cult-film

Matt and Jordan review HBO’s Sundance acquisition Miss You Love You. And while Jordan finds it to be a handsome, moving, and well-acted "filmed play", Matt finds too modest and predictable. For Rec Seg, Matt revisits the grueling, ice-cold dread of corporate culture with a 2019 workplace thriller, while Jordan counters with a classic 1982 Sidney Lumet thriller packed with more twists, turns -- and smooches! Finally, Jordan takes the reins as Dungeon Master for a game called On a Wing and a Prayer. Chapters / Timecodes (Timecodes/chapters may not be precise with ads.) Intro (00:00:00–00:7:27) Miss You Love You (00:7:28–00:26:54) Rec Seg!: (00:26:55–00:43:49) Personalized Recs (00:43:50–01:04:34) Game: On a Wing and a Prayer (01:04:35–01:23:04) Wrap-Up & Credits (01:23:05–01:35:02) Show Notes Now Streaming on Bazooga - A Filmspotting: SVU Archive https://letterboxd.com/samvanhallgren/list/now-streaming-on-bazooga-a-filmspotting-svu/ Matt's appearances on our sister podcast, The Next Picture Show, discussing Shogun Assassin and The Mandalorian and Grogu. https://www.filmspotting.net/nextpictureshow Pre-Order Matt's book "Funny Business: The Old-School Wedding Crashers and Knocked-Up Virgins Who Changed Comedy Forever" (Coming October 6th): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790241/funny-business-by-matt-singer/ Feedback: Email us at feedback@filmspottingSVU.com Follow Matt on Blue Sky: @mattsinger.bsky.social Follow Jordan on Blue Sky: @jhoffman.bsky.social Follow the Show: https://www.instagram.com/superpulse/ https://www.facebook.com/FilmspottingSvuSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Harper Steele talks about transitioning and the differences in how she experiences the world as a woman and how the world experiences her.  The differences in parenting, writing, and comedy. Trying to fight off who she really was for years. Her fears of being judged.  How finding her true self saved her life. How road trips are different. How being macho was an odd priority before. How that reflected her comedy. How a teacher started her writing. How the movie “Will & Harper” has affected other transpeople and how she has been mostly accepted by the world and completely accepted by her friends. Her love of thrift stores and vinyl records.  And our mutual love of The Eurovision Song Contest.  Bio: Harper Steele is a comedy writer who launched her career in 1995 at the renowned show "Saturday Night Live." For over thirteen years, she served the show in various capacities, eventually ascending to the position of head writer for four years. This period of her career was marked with a notable achievement, with Steele earning a Primetime Emmy Award in 2002. Following this, her creativity found a new platform at Funny or Die, where she assumed the role of creative director. Steele's writing prowess was not limited to television, as she contributed to the scripts of several films, including "Casa de mi padre," "The Ladies Man," and "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga." Alongside her writing career, she also served as an executive producer of HBO's "Funny or Die Presents." Her multifaceted career in comedy writing and production was depicted in the 2024 Netflix documentary "Will & Harper," which also explored Steele's gender transition and its impact on her friendship with longtime friend and collaborator Will Ferrell. The documentary "Will & Harper" received critical acclaim, premiering at the 40th Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 and earning a nomination for a People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Steele's comedic and political viewpoints, often referred to as "purple-haired woke," advocate for humor as a catalyst for positive change. Such viewpoints have earned her accolades within her industry circles, with Jimmy Fallon describing Steele as "one of the funniest people I think I've ever met in my lifetime."  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Filmmaker Billy Luther talks with Sandy about his coming-of-age film, ‘Frybread Face and Me,' which was executive-produced by Taika Waititi and distributed by Ava DuVernay's company, Array, on Netflix.Written and directed by Billy, ‘Frybread Face and Me' was selected for SXSW 2023's Narrative Spotlight and TIFF 2023's Discovery and New Wave Selects. Billy's feature documentary, Miss Navajo, premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS' Independent Lens that same year.Billy has also served as a writer and director on the hit AMC series Dark Winds, adapting Tony Hillerman's novels featuring Navajo tribal police investigations.You can watch ‘Frybread Face and Me,” ‘Miss Navajo,' and all of Billy's films for free on his website here: https://billyluther.comIf you have Netflix, go watch ‘Frybread Face and Me' right now!  Pick up the remote, click the link.  Do.  The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.Executive Producer Kristin OvernCreator/Executive Producer Sandy AdomaitisProducer Terry SampsonMusic by Ethan Stoller

Knock Down the House is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Rachel Lears.[1] It revolves around the 2018 congressional primary campaigns of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Amy Vilela, Cori Bush and Paula Jean Swearengin, four progressive Democrats endorsed by Justice Democrats and Brand New Congress who ran in that year's midterm elections.[2][3] The film had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019.[4][5] It was released on May 1, 2019, by Netflix[6] and received acclaim from critics.SynopsisThe film follows four female Democrats who decided to run for Congress in the 2018 United States elections: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Amy Vilela of Nevada, Cori Bush of Missouri, and Paula Jean Swearengin of West Virginia. The film charts their campaigns in their respective Democratic primaries. The four candidates each run grassroots campaigns against long-time incumbents.[7] Vilela, Bush, and Swearengin lost their primary elections, but Ocasio-Cortez won her primary and went on to win the general election.However, two years later in 2020, during the next Congressional election cycle, Bush went on to win her primary and the general election in Missouri's 1st congressional district. Swearengin was the Democratic nominee for West Virginia's Senate race, where she lost to the incumbent by over 40 points. Four years later in 2024, Bush also lost renomination.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-opperman-report--1198501/support.

Movie of the Year: 2006Slither The Slither Podcast Brings Body Horror to the 2006 BracketThe Slither podcast episode unleashes the first true horror movie on our Movie of the Year 2006 bracket. After opening the season with Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, the Taste Buds trade metafiction for meteorites. Consequently, things get slimy fast. Ryan, Mike, and Greg welcome producer and festival programmer Drea Clark to dig into James Gunn's gleefully gross directorial debut. Together, the panel asks whether a movie full of alien slugs deserves a deep run in the bracket. Above all, they ask whether Slither has more on its mind than exploding deer and tentacled husbands.About the FilmSlither is a 2006 science fiction horror comedy written and directed by James Gunn. A meteorite crashes outside the small town of Wheelsy, South Carolina, carrying an alien parasite. The parasite infects wealthy local Grant Grant, played with squirming brilliance by Michael Rooker. Soon, Grant transforms into a tentacled monster, and slug-like creatures spread through the town. Meanwhile, police chief Bill Pardy (Nathan Fillion) and Grant's wife Starla (Elizabeth Banks) try to stop the invasion.Universal released the film on March 31, 2006. Notably, it flopped at the box office, grossing under $13 million against a $15 million budget. However, critics largely embraced it. Roger Ebert praised its Troma-loving spirit in his RogerEbert.com review, and the film became a cult favorite on home video. In addition, it launched the directing career that eventually gave us Guardians of the Galaxy and the new DC Universe.Guest Panelist: Drea ClarkThis week the Taste Buds welcome Drea Clark, a true film industry polymath. Drea co-hosts Maximum Film! on the Maximum Fun network, the long-running movie podcast she shares with film critic Alonso Duralde. Furthermore, her credentials behind the scenes run deep. She has served on the Sundance Film Festival programming team, led narrative feature programming at Slamdance for over a decade, spent ten years with the LA Film Festival, and curated Geena Davis's Bentonville Film Festival. As a producer, her features include The Last Time You Had Fun, Lake Los Angeles, and No Light and No Land Anywhere, the latter executive produced by Miranda July. In short, few guests are better equipped to judge a scrappy genre debut from a first time director.James Gunn as a First-Time FilmmakerBefore Slither, James Gunn was a writer with a strange resume. He cut his teeth at Troma on Tromeo and Juliet, then wrote the live action Scooby-Doo movies and the 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake. Consequently, Slither arrived as his first chance to direct his own material. The panel debates what the film reveals about Gunn as a filmmaker. Specifically, they trace the DNA that later shows up in Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and Superman. The needle drops, the found family of misfits, and the sincere heart under the gross-out gags all start here. Moreover, Drea brings a programmer's eye to the question of how debut features signal a career to come.Sex and Violence on the Slither 2006 PodcastSlither earns its R rating with enthusiasm. The Taste Buds tackle how the film weaponizes both sex and violence, often in the same scene. Grant's infection plays like a grotesque infidelity story, and the alien's reproductive plans push body horror into genuinely uncomfortable territory. However, the violence stays cartoonish enough to keep the comedy alive. The panel asks where Gunn draws that line, and whether the bathtub scene, the barn scene, and that infamous bursting body still shock today. Ultimately, the conversation lands on a bigger question. Does the film use its excess for a purpose, or is the excess the point?Is Slither an Allegory?Every great monster movie smuggles in a meaning, or so the theory goes. Therefore, the panel puts Slither on the couch. Is the film an allegory for toxic marriage, with Grant's transformation literalizing a controlling husband? Is it about small town conformity, as a hive mind absorbs an entire community? By contrast, maybe Gunn simply loves slugs and explosions, and the search for subtext misses the joke. Drea, Ryan, Mike, and Greg each stake out a position. Nevertheless, the debate keeps circling back to Starla, whose arc gives the film its surprising emotional weight.TriviaNo Movie of the Year episode is complete without Trivia. This week's round digs into Slither's production and its B-movie family tree. Expect questions about the practical effects, the casting, and the film's connections to Troma legend Lloyd Kaufman, who cameos in the movie. Additionally, the segment tests whether the panel can untangle Slither from the movies it lovingly rips off, including Night of the Creeps and Shivers. Play along and see if you can outscore the Taste Buds.Dream Blunt RotationNew season, new games. In Dream Blunt Rotation, the panel assembles the ultimate smoke circle from the world of Slither. Which characters make the cut, and which get left outside the garage? Mayor Jack MacReady seems like a chaotic invite, while Bill Pardy might be the chillest hang in Wheelsy. Meanwhile, the conversation drifts toward the cast and crew themselves. Listen to find out who earns a spot in the rotation and whose vibes get vetoed.Awards and RecommendationsThe episode closes with Awards and Recommendations, the segment where the Taste Buds hand out honors to the film's cast, crew, and creatures. Nominees this week range from Michael Rooker's fearless physical performance to the effects team behind the slugs. As a result, expect passionate cases and at least one baffling pick. The winners stay a surprise, so you will have to listen for the results. Afterward, the panel shares recommendations for what to watch next if Slither leaves you hungry for more horror comedy.Why Slither Still MattersTwenty years later, Slither looks like a turning point hiding in plain sight. It kept practical creature effects alive at a moment when Hollywood was abandoning them. Furthermore, it proved that horror comedy could carry real emotion, a balance Gunn has chased ever since. The film's box office failure also tells a story about 2006 itself, a year when audiences ignored a future superstar director. In practice, the Slither podcast episode asks the question this whole season exists to answer. Does cult status and influence make a movie a contender for the best film of 2006? Listen and judge for yourself.Related Episodes from Movie of the Year: 2006Movie of the Year: 2006 — Intro, Part 1Movies of 2006: The Bracket RevealTristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull StoryAll Movie of the Year episodesFAQ: Slither Podcast and FilmWhat is this episode of the Slither podcast about?Ryan, Mike, and Greg debate whether James Gunn's Slither deserves to advance in the Movie of the Year 2006 bracket. Guest panelist Drea Clark joins to discuss Gunn's debut, the film's sex and violence, and its possible allegories.What is Slither (2006) about?An alien parasite crash-lands near the small town of Wheelsy, South Carolina, and infects a wealthy local named Grant Grant. He mutates into a tentacled monster while slug-like creatures take over the town. A police chief and Grant's wife fight to stop the invasion.Who directed Slither?James Gunn wrote and directed Slither as his feature directorial debut. He later directed the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and now co-runs DC Studios.Who stars in Slither?The cast includes Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker, Gregg Henry, and Tania Saulnier, with a small role for Jenna Fischer. Full credits are on IMDb.More Questions from the Slither 2006 PodcastWas Slither a box office success?No. The film grossed under $13 million against a $15 million budget. However, strong reviews and home video sales turned it into a cult classic.Is Slither a remake?No, but it wears its influences proudly. Gunn openly drew on Night of the Creeps, Shivers, The Blob, and the Troma catalog, where he started his career.Who is the guest on this episode?Drea Clark, producer, festival programmer, and co-host of the Maximum Film! podcast on Maximum Fun.Why does Slither still matter?It launched James Gunn's directing career, championed practical effects, and perfected the horror comedy tone that countless films have imitated since. The Slither podcast episode makes the full case.

Legends Ryan Marker (The American Cinematheque) and Drea Clark (Maximum Film, Film Independent Spirit Awards, Bentonville Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival) meet at the Draft Table for a competitive / collaborative ranking of the films of award-winning documentarian STEVE JAMES! Also joining us at the table is Screen Drafts Booster Joy Novak, representing the Official Sponsor of this episode, The Film and Media Archive at the Libraries at WashU in St. Louis, Missouri, permanent home of the Kartemquin Films Collection. Visit https:/ https://library.washu.edu/news/kartemquin-sixtieth/ for information about screenings, events, and exhibits highlighting the past 60 years of groundbreaking documentaries produced by Kartemquin, including a free screening of Steve James' iconic film Hoop Dreams on June 28th at the Hi-Pointe Theatre!

Bridgerton is the gift that keeps on giving. With each new season of the show, we're introduced to more wildly talented rising stars, many of whom have now used their Bridgerton fame as a launchpad for building extensive filmographies, and one of the first to do it was Phoebe Dynevor. The moment Bridgerton kicked off its run on Netflix in December 2020, Dynevor became a household name. When her time on the show came to a close in 2022, she pivoted to feature filmmaking and since, has dished out quite a few winners across a variety of genres.In 2023, Fair Play debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and ultimately helped Dynevor secure a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination. Soon after that came Anniversary, which features Dynevor in the midst of a stellar ensemble that includes Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Zoey Deutch, Dylan O'Brien and more. Now, not only does she have a shark movie, Thrash, hitting Netflix, but she's also got a number of highly anticipated projects on the horizon, including the Beach Read film adaption and the M. Night Shyamalan and Nicholas Sparks collaboration, Remain.ith Thrash now available to stream on Netflix and hype building for Dynevor's upcoming films and shows, she took the time to visit the Collider Ladies Night studio to discuss how she's whipped up such a diverse resume, and how she hopes to expand it even further in the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melanie Loren is a multi-faceted performing artist with a diverse body of work and many credits as an actor and singer. Notably, she played a supporting role in The Shitheads, a film starring Dave Franco and O'Shea Jackson, Jr., which premiered recently at Sundance Film Festival. She also portrayed the fearless “Unattainable Sister” in Undercover Brother 2, a sequel to the popular, original film and has appeared in a number of television series, including Chicago Fire, Sprung and The Chi, among others. Additionally, Melanie has performed at theaters across the country in crowd-pleasing productions like Little Shop of Horrors,The Color Purple, and Dreamgirls. Also, she is the proud co-creator and co-host of the Dipped With Sweet and Hot podcast.

The debut feature film of Cypriot filmmaker Myrsini Aristidou, titled Hold Me, is coming to this year's Sydney Film Festival, having already won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival. The film will be screened on June 6 and 7 as part of the Festival's official program. - Η πρώτη μεγάλου μήκους ταινία της Κύπριας δημιουργού Μυρσίνη Αριστείδου με τίτλο «Κράτα με» έρχεται στο φετινό Φεστιβάλ Κινηματογράφου του Σύδνεϋ, έχοντας ήδη κατακτήσει το Βραβείο Κοινού στην κατηγορία World Cinema Dramatic του Sundance Film Festival. Η ταινία θα προβληθεί στις 6 και 7 Ιουνίου, στο πλαίσιο του επίσημου προγράμματος του Φεστιβάλ.

Want to support Andrew's new film? Visit https://turmoilinthetoybox.com/✖️✖️✖️Support this Podcast: Patreon.com/PreacherBoys✖️✖️✖️About the Guest:Andrew Bowser recently debuted his 4th feature film at Sundance Film Festival 2023, ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS, in which Andrew wore many hats as star, director, writer, producer, editor as well as spearheading a successful Kickstarter campaign to secure their first round of financing. Prior to that project he worked full-time for Legendary Digital Networks (formerly Nerdist), where he helmed several of the company's most viewed videos, and directed the bulk of their narrative branded content. He has also worked with Funny Or Die, G4, and companies such as Chrysler, Toyota, Twix, Warner Bros, Blumhouse, and more. Andrew's YouTube channel supports 250K+ subscribers, and his Tik Tok fanbase is 1M +. ✖️✖️✖️CONNECT WITH THE SHOW:preacherboyspodcast.comhttps://www.youtube.com/@PreacherBoyshttps://www.facebook.com/preacherboysdoc/https://twitter.com/preacherboysdochttps://www.instagram.com/preacherboyspodhttps://www.tiktok.com/@preacherboyspodTo connect with a community that shares the Preacher Boys Podcast's mission to expose abuse in the IFB, join the OFFICIAL Preacher Boys Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1403898676438188/✖️✖️✖️The content presented in this video is for informational and educational purposes only. All individuals and entities discussed are presumed innocent until proven guilty through due legal process. The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers.✖️✖️✖️Music by Lou Ridley — “Bible Belt” | Used with permission under license.This episode is sponsored by/brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/PreacherBoys and get on your way to being your best self.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preacher-boys-podcast/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We're kicking off Pride 2026 with a look at Todd Haynes's 1991 feature debut, Poison - one of the defining films of the New Queer Cinema movement! Join in as we discuss Haynes's early career, the way the movie's subject and structure challenge convention, and the rise of the Sundance Film Festival. Plus: Why did this movie cause trouble for the National Endowment for the Arts? Which of the three stories is the most unbelievable? And an explanation of why you should give Haynes's Dark Waters a second chance. Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe! Next week: My Own Private Idaho (1991)-----------------------------------------------------Key sources and links for this episode:Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance, and the Rise of Independent Film by Peter Biskind (2004)"New Queer Cinema" by B. Ruby Rich (Sight & Sound)"On the Margins: Todd Haynes's Poison" (Criterion)"Todd Haynes's Poison" (Art Forum)"The Todd Haynes Poison Controversy Explained" (SlashFilm)"Todd Haynes Rewrites the Hollywood Playbook" (New Yorker)"Transcendent Transgression: Looking Back at Todd Haynes's Poison" (Sundance)Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (YouTube)Cloud Atlas extended trailer (YouTube)"Serial Killer Documentary Takes Horrible Turn" by Cole Escola (YouTube)"Investigation into Bishop Bransfield finds Harassment, Gross Misuse of Funds" (National Catholic Reporter)

Our next guest is one of the most distinctive voices in independent film and television scoring today. He cut his teeth bringing over 15 films to the Sundance Film Festival, went on to score critical favorites for HBO, Netflix, and the indie world, and most recently delivered a brilliantly offbeat score for A24's Friendship starring Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. I'm so excited to be chatting with him today.And the composer is... Keegan DeWitt. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert meets Belfast-born Kathryn Ferguson is an Emmy and BAFTA nominated, BIFA and IFTA winning director whose innovative and boundary-pushing documentary work has screened globally. We explore art as activism and how film has the power to reveal, and more widely share, untold stories. Kathryn studied at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, and in 2022 was awarded the inaugural BFI & Chanel Award for Creative Audacity. In 2018, Kathryn's short documentary Taking the Waters premiered at Sheffield Doc Fest, and was long-listed for a BAFTA. Then, in 2021, Kathryn worked with Passion Pictures on the short Space to Be for The Guardian's acclaimed documentary series. After a decade of short-form work centred on identity, gender politics, and community, Kathryn recently completed her debut feature documentary Nothing Compares - which takes as its subject Sinéad O'Connor's artistry and activism. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2022 then toured the international festival circuit, where it picked up multiple awards, before hitting cinemas in October 2022. It has received over thirty award nominations internationally, including Emmy, Critics Choice, IDA, and PGA Awards, and was awarded winner of Best Feature Documentary at BIFA 2022 and IFTA 2023. Nothing Compares is now available to watch on Showtime and Sky. Her second feature, Bogart: Life Comes in Flashes (Universal), was released in US cinemas in 2024. In 2024 she also co-founded Tara Films with producer Eleanor Emptage; their latest, Blue Road - The Edna O'Brien Story, premiered at TIFF 2024, and the company is currently developing a slate of non-fiction and drama projects. Alongside her film work, Ferguson has directed campaigns for Nike, Selfridges, Amnesty International, and Air France, and collaborated with artists such as Lady Gaga and Neneh Cherry. Nostalgie, Kathryn's first drama short starring Aiden Gillen, about a faded 80's pop star, has recently been nominated for a BAFTA and won Best Short Film at the IFTAs 2026. The film is available to watch on Channel 4. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Excellent coaching helps people understand themselves, feel their emotions, recognize patterns, and create meaningful change in their lives. But how do coaches communicate the depth of their work in a way that actually reaches people? What does it really mean to be seen and heard beyond simply posting content or recording videos?In this episode, I'm talking with Emmy Award-winning video producer Matt Kjar about video storytelling, ethical marketing, and how to tell better stories. Matt has worked in television and video production for more than 20 years, including reality television, documentaries, commercials, and Olympic coverage. After he discovered coaching and experienced its impact firsthand, he began using video storytelling to help coaches build trust and create a deeper connection with the people they serve.Matt's understanding of the technical side of storytelling and how coaches create transformation changes everything when it comes to marketing for coaches. He knows that the most effective storytelling isn't just about polished marketing, but staying aligned with your values and being confident while sharing your message.Video storytelling can be a powerful bridge between coaches and the people seeking their support, helping coaches communicate not just what they do, but who they are. Let's dive in!What you'll learn:Why video storytelling goes far beyond camera quality or microphone levelsHow ethical marketing and the intention behind your content matter so muchWhy coaches have to learn to see and trust themselves before showing up for othersHow to access the ability to be seen and heard on deeper and deeper levelsHow storytelling helps coaches connect with the people who need their work mostYou can read the full show notes here.About Matt KjarMatt Kjar helps coaches and entrepreneurs make videos that change business and lives. He began his video and film production journey in front of the camera, as a child actor. He soon realized that the ones who really make the magic happen are behind the camera, so he decided to focus on making magic. He's had the opportunity to interview A-list celebrities during the Sundance Film Festival, work internationally with the Olympics through 11 Games (He just got back from Italy), and has 2 Emmys from a story focused docu-follow series. Matt is most passionate about helping people change their lives which lead him to become a certified Life Coach. He wants to help you (as Steve Job's said) put a ding in the universe. 3 fun facts about Matt: He is the 7th of 8 children. He was his high school mascot “Wally the Wildcat,” and could do a roundoff-back-flip with the massive mascot head. He and his wife sold everything they owned and traveled around the US with their four children for a year.Website: mattkjar.comInstagram: instagram.com/l.matthewkjarFacebook: facebook.com/l.matthewkjar4-part Storytelling Guide: mattkjar.comConnect with Molly ClaireGet the book: She Rises: Insights and Wisdom from the Women of The Masterful Coach CollectiveMolly's Website: MollyClaire.ComMaster Coach Training Application OpenHave a question or thoughts about the podcast? Don't hesitate to contact Molly at:Instagram | Molly Claire Coaching IGmolly@mollyclaire.comFacebookMolly's book: The Happy Mom Mindset: mollyclaire.com/book Free resources:Learn the 4 fundamentals of Lasting ChangePlease help Molly reach even more like-minded individuals! Simply post a review of the podcast on your favorite platform (or two). It is so appreciated.Are you a leader, coach, or business owner who wants to inspire, influence, and cultivate lasting change in yourself or others? Unlock your full potential as a leader and coach with the 4 fundamentals of lasting change coach training program.

Cristobal MarYan is a Mexican composer of an eclectic variety of music. From contemporary classical to music for film, TV, and theatre. He has been composer-in-residence for the Orchestra of the Americas. His works have been performed in New York, Moscow, Finland, Canada, Abu Dhabi, Sri Lanka, and Panama. His music has been played by Yo-Yo Ma and by the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. He scored "Son of Monarchs," a Sundance Film Festival prize winner, “Two Lakes” by Amazon Prime, and TV Ads for Chevrolet and Nissan among others.  My featured song is “The Gift”. Spotify link. —----------------------------------------------------------- The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries! Click here for All Episodes  Click here for Guest List  Click here for Guest Groupings  Click here for Guest Testimonials Click here to Subscribe  Click here to receive our Email Updates Click here to Rate and Review the podcast —---------------------------------------- CONNECT WITH CRISTOBAL:www.crismaryan.com —---------------------------------------- ROBERT'S NEWEST RELEASE:“MI CACHIMBER ALL STARS” is the new, expanded version of Robert's single, “Mi Cachimber”, which he wrote for his father. Featuring Camila Cortina on Rhodes and Xito Lovell on trombone in addition to Benny Benack III and Dave Smith on flugelhorn, and Project Grand Slam's rhythm section. CLICK HERE FOR OFFICIAL VIDEO CLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS —-------------------------------------- ROBERT'S RECENT RELEASE: “MA PETITE FLEUR STRING QUARTET” is Robert's latest release. It transforms his jazz ballad into a lush classical string quartet piece. Praised by a host of classical music stars. CLICK HERE FOR YOUTUBE LINK CLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS —---------------------------------------- Audio production: Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films   Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast: Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com   Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music: Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com    

 In this episode of The Table Podcast, Darrell Bock sits down with Neil Coulter, Brian Chan, and Windrider's Ryann Heim to reflect on the final Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT and its upcoming move to Boulder, CO. Join the conversation as we explore standout indie films from Sundance 2026 and discuss how the intersection of theology and film can turn movies into powerful machines for empathy, love, and cultural engagement.  Time Stamps:   00:00  Introduction   02:42  The Last Sundance in Park City   08:22  The Value of the Sundance Experience   13:39  Standout Films: Birdie   19:12  Standout Films: If I Go, Will They Miss Me?   20:32  Standout Films: Queen of Chess   24:37  Standout Films: Birds of War & One in a Million   26:42  The Impact on Seminary Students   36:15  Movies as Empathy Machines   49:02  Final Encouragement  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 193 Lydia Dean Pilcher - Producer / Director In this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with producer and director Lydia Dean Pilcher (A CALL TO SPY, QUEEN OF KATWE, THE DARJEELING LIMITED). From producing plays in her parents' garage to making feature films and documentaries seen around the world, Lydia has always been drawn to the power of stories. Throughout our conversation, we discuss the lifelong impact of growing up in the United States during the Vietnam War era, her varied work as a producer and director, and how she developed her skills working in the New York film scene. Lydia also reflects on her longtime collaboration with director Mira Nair, and we learn how Lydia helped produce many of Mira's films such as MISSISSIPPI MASALA and THE RELUCTANT FUNDAMENTALIST. She later helps clear up the differences between the numerous producer credits, and she reflects on how the business of producing and financing films has changed how she does her job nowadays. Plus, Lydia reveals which mountain she slept on while attending the inaugural edition of the Sundance Film Festival and which previous guest of the podcast spent nine weeks of nights working in the prop department of Martin Scorsese's AFTER HOURS. If you enjoyed listening to Lydia, then you'll love listening to her husband (and production designer) Mark Friedberg (Season 2, Episode 160). - This episode is sponsored by Aputure 

Ray Maiello is an award-winning film producer and former Netflix and Paramount Pictures executive. He founded Moontower Productions to champion independent voices and produce bold films. In just three years, Ray has produced five films, including My Dead Friend Zoe, winner of the 2024 SXSW Audience Award and Chasing Summer, which is premiering at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.Other recent projects include "Are We Good?" starring Marc Maron and documentary films Jean-Michel Basquiat and The Trial of Alec Baldwin. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and based in Venice, California, Maiello's producing career builds on an earlier chapter in music, where he founded Moontower Entertainment to develop artists from New York's indie rock scene, including Wheatus, whose global hit "Teenage Dirtbag" topped one billion streams on Spotify.

The Sundance Film Festival relocates to Boulder January 21-31, 2027. What will it be like? Who is welcome? Will there be enough popcorn? At this year's CU Conference on World Affairs, Colorado Matters previewed Sundance and discussed its year-round mission, in front of a live audience. Our guests are director Lulu Wang ("The Farewell"), producer and Sundance Institute trustee Gigi Pritzker, and CU-Boulder student filmmaker Kate Yezzi. 

Tyler and David discusses the movies screening at this year's Sundance Film Festival as well as David Mackenzie's Relay.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On May 1st, 2026, the Gavilan College Library in Gilroy hosted a sold-out evening celebrating legendary playwright and filmmaker Luis Valdez. His documentary American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez had just won the Audience Award for U.S. Documentary at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The event was presented in collaboration with the Gavilan College Foundation, the Watsonville Film Festival, and the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival. In this episode, you'll hear conversations recorded live that night. I sat down with Luis Valdez and his wife Lupe Valdez, and spoke with a group of people whose work is deeply rooted in this region's education, arts, and civic life: Mattie Scariot, Festival Director of the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival; Dr. Pedro Avila, President of Gavilan College; Elvira Robinson, attorney and former Gavilan trustee whose decades of advocacy have shaped this college and this county; and Diane Ortiz, co-founder and CEO of Youth Alliance, a nonprofit she has built from a grassroots Hollister organization into a lifeline for thousands of young people and families across the South Valley. We talked about Chicano storytelling, what Luis Valdez's legacy means for communities like ours, and why a room full of South Valley neighbors showing up on a Friday night to celebrate one of their own matters.

Black on Black Cinema breaks down Love, Brooklyn (2025), Rachael Abigail Holder's directorial debut that premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Starring André Holland, Nicole Beharie, DeWanda Wise, and Roy Wood Jr., this indie romantic drama follows writer Roger as he navigates complicated relationships with his ex Casey (an art gallery owner) and current lover Nicole (a newly-single mother) against Brooklyn's rapidly changing landscape.Executive produced by Steven Soderbergh, Love, Brooklyn delivers intelligent Black characters working through love, loss, career, and friendship without falling into stereotypes—no one raps, dies, or gets incarcerated. Director Holder created a story with "no villains," just good people navigating modern relationships.Black on Black Cinema is a long-running podcast featuring in-depth Black movie reviews and frank conversations that matter to the Black community. We review Black films across every genre — from Black horror and Black sci-fi to indie dramas, comedies, and blockbuster action. Covering filmmakers like Spike Lee, Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, Ava DuVernay, and more. Hosted by Jay, Micah, Terrence, and T'ara. Featured on RogerEbert.com. A TNP Studios production. New episodes weekly on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and all major platforms. For more TNP Studios content, check out The Nerdpocalypse (movie & TV news), Look Forward (progressive politics), and Dense Pixels (video game news).

"Omaha" is a 2025 American drama film directed by Cole Webley (making his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Robert Machoian ("The Killing Of Two Lovers" and "The Integrity Of Joseph Chambers"). The film stars John Magaro as a father who takes his two children on a cross-country trip after a family tragedy. It had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival as an entry in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category, where it received positive reviews for Webley's direction and Magaro's lead performance. Webley and Machoian were both kind enough to spend some time talking with us about their work and experiences making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in NY, will open in LA on May 1st, and expand nationwide on May 8th from Greenwich Entertainment. You can also check out our in-depth interview with John Magaro here. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are film festivals, awards, and industry platforms still supporting indie creators—or just reinforcing the system they claim to disrupt?In this episode, I break down a growing frustration many independent artists are experiencing: the gap between mission statements and reality. From the Webby Awards to major festivals like Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, there's an increasing trend of spotlighting projects that already have backing from major players like Netflix, Disney, and Apple TV+—leaving true indie creators behind.I share personal experiences from submitting The Arbiters to a major animation festival, only to see opportunities meant for emerging talent go to established studios like Disney and Netflix.We also explore: Why blockbuster films like Top Gun: Maverick (starring Tom Cruise) appear at indie-focused festivals How “discoverability” has shifted into marketing strategy The hidden cost (time + money) indie creators pay to participate And what artists can actually do about itThis isn't about blaming creatives—it's about calling out systemic misalignment and advocating for change through thoughtful, constructive dialogue.If you're an indie creator navigating this space, this conversation is for you.

"Omaha" is a 2025 American drama film directed by Cole Webley and written by Robert Machoian. The film stars John Magaro as a father who takes his two children on a cross-country trip after a family tragedy. The independent film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, where it received positive reviews for Magaro's performance. Magaro was kind enough to be our second fully produced in-studio interview and spent a while talking with us about his career (including "Past Lives," "Not Fade Away," "The Bride!" "My Soul To Take," "First Cow," "Unbroken," "September 5," and more), experience making the film, his views on acting, the industry, and more, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Greenwich Entertainment. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's episode, I talk to filmmaker Josh Margolin. Originally from Los Angeles, Josh always aimed his life in the direction of acting and filmmaking. He majored in theater, did improv, including performing in "One Night Stand: An Improvised Musical", which toured all over including an Edinburgh Fringe run, but since he was a kid, filmmaking seemed to be the thing. While Josh has written a number of shorts, webseries and a feature-length horror-comedy, his first film as writer and director, Thelma, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and it is easily one of the best films of 2024! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow me on Twitter. Check out my free philosophy Substack where I write essays every couple months here and my old casiopop band's lost album here! And the comedy podcast I do with my wife Naomi Couples Therapy can be found here! Theme song by the fantastic Savoir Adore! Second theme by the brilliant Mike Pace! Closing theme by the delightful Gregory Brothers! Podcast art by the inimitable Beano Gee!  

This episode, Kalid and Joe are joined by director, actor, writer, producer, comedian, and visual artist, Andre Hyland, to chat about the 1990 cult classic Temors, from director Ron Underwood. Follow Andre on Instagram here!​​*Thank you to Jim Hall for the music! Check out more of his music⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and if you like what you hear, please consider donating to support his work⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!*Thank you to Jim Tandberg for the Frankenstein's Podcast artwork!*Shoutout to our Patreon Producer(s), Luke Johnson, Andy Groth, Jake Kohl & Joe Mischo!⁠⁠⁠Support us on Patreon!⁠Featured Guest:Andre Hyland is a multi hyphenate director, actor, writer, producer, comedian, and visual artist.Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a graduate of The college of DAAP at the University of Cincinnati, Andre is a four-time Sundance Film Festival writer/director. His Sundance films include the Eric Andre produced 2022 Indie Episodic offering Culture Beat. Paste Magazine called their pilot “The Best Six Minutes of Sundance 2022”. His other Sundance films include his feature film debut, THE 4TH, which has streamed on Peacock, Showtime, and others. Hyland also wrote, directed and starred in the critically acclaimed, Bob Odenkirk produced, short film Funnel which Rolling Stone named one of the “12 Must-See Sundance Successes”. His TV work behind the camera includes directing season 2 of Tru TV's Jon Glaser Loves Gear, and co-head writing Adult Swim's Mostly For Millennials. He's directed and written for numerous projects at FOX, Comedy Central, FuelTV, Funny or Die, and MTV.As an actor Hyland can currently be seen on the new Ethan Hawke led FX/HULU series The Lowdown.  Can also see Andre on the recent Peacock comedy series LAID with Stephanie Hsu and Zosia Mamet.  In 2024 he was nominated for SAG's "Best Comedic Ensemble" for his work on HBO's Barry. Prior to that he was a series regular alongside Kate Beckinsale on the Paramount+ series Guilty Party. He also starred in the A24 Daniel Scheinert directed feature film, The Death of Dick Long.In the 00s, Hyland's fine artwork was mainly seen on the streets via graffiti and street art under the name Buddy Lembek which lead to his work being included in exhibitions at the London Institute of Contemporary Art, MASS MoCA, and Publico's Good World in association with Cincinnati CAC's Beautiful Losers. His work has also been featured in publications such as  Graffiti World and Scribble Magazine.References:Kate Hutton: 'That Earthquake Lady' - AdvocateSubterranean Terror — Tremors - Monster LegacyTask (HBO)Bad Man (Amazon Prime)Star Trek: Deviations - Threads of Destiny by Stephanie WilliamsDTF St. Louis (HBO)The Town (podcast) with Matthew BelloniNirvana the Band the Show the MoviePatriot (Amazon Prime)Mermaid

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Nggak cuma ngobrolin di balik layarnya film #ParaPerasuk, di episode kali ini kita bakal ngebedah tentang trauma, personal obsession, dan kebahagiaan bareng Wregas Bhanuteja & Iman Usman. Dengerin sampai tuntas biar lo makin dalem paham soal film Para Perasuk yang berhasil masuk di Sundance Film Festival.Episode ini ada bahas spoiler dikit, cek timestamp di bawah biar lo tahu obrolan mana yang ada spoiler-nya:00:00 Opening03:12 Wregas Bikin Film Para Perasuk Karena Iri Sama Adik12:10 Film Ke-2 Yang Masuk Nominasi Utama di Sundance Film Festival20:15 Simbol di Para Perasuk : Kenapa Roh Binatangnya Aneh-Aneh?26:18 Cara Wregas World Building : Cukup 45 Menit Sehari33:47 Film Buat Festival atau Film Buat Komersial42:48 [SPOILER ALERT] Cerita Hidup Wregas & Film Para Perasuk52:43 [SPOILER ALERT] Roh Lintah, Kesakitan, dan Kebahagiaan

"Bunnylovr" is a 2025 American drama film written, directed by, and starring Katarina Zhu. The film follows a Chinese-American cam girl who navigates a toxic client relationship while reconnecting with her dying father. Alongside Zhu, Rachel Sennott, Austin Amelio, Perry Yung, and Jack Kilmer star in supporting roles. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is Zhu's directorial debut, showcasing a talent both in front of and behind the camera that is worth watching for in the future. Zhu was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Utopia. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We don't typically do a ton of retro reviews on this show, but we have a fun one this episode! Join us for an in-depth discussion of Steven Soderbergh's debut feature film “sex, lies, and videotape”. The aforementioned film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival, and this year marks the 35th anniversary of Sundance, so we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to bring back our ongoing draft project! Tune in to the episode for the details on how the draft works, but we had a blast with this one. Hope you enjoy it as well. Cheers! 0:00 – Introductions 23:50 – “sex, lies, and videotape” Retro Review 1:15:40 - Sundance Film Festival Draft

What if the rules you've been following in business aren't helping you grow—but quietly holding you back? In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, Kyle Gray sits down with Paige Arnof-Fenn, founder of the global branding and marketing firm Mavens & Moguls, to explore how breaking the "right" rules can unlock clearer messaging, stronger brands, and work that actually feels meaningful again. Paige shares her unconventional journey from Wall Street financial analyst to Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola brand marketer to startup leader—and ultimately entrepreneur—revealing how each chapter shaped her philosophy around branding, market research, and ethical growth. Together, Kyle and Paige dive into why so many companies struggle to stand out, the dangers of relying on "feel-good feedback" instead of real market insight, and how storytelling, scrappy marketing, and values-based decision-making can transform both businesses and lives. This conversation is a must-listen for founders, marketers, and leaders who want to grow faster without losing their soul. On This Episode 00:53 From Wall Street to entrepreneurship: Paige's unconventional career journey 02:37 Why Paige never fit neatly into corporate rules—and why entrepreneurship changed everything 05:44  Who Mavens & Moguls serves best: startups, mid-market firms, and Fortune 500 gaps 07:52  The real challenges of pre-revenue and venture-backed startups 08:59  Why market research matters more than opinions (and how to do it quickly and cheaply) 12:05  What makes Paige's approach different: treating client budgets like it's her own money 15:27  Powerful success stories: Sundance Film Festival, Hurricane Katrina, and storytelling under pressure 22:12  A defining early-client moment: choosing values over revenue 27:32  Playing the long game: building a business you actually want to wake up to 30:09  Kyle reflects Paige's story and the deeper mission behind her work 33:43  Paige's closing advice: why authentic stories beat buzzwords, AI noise, and "sea-of-sameness" marketing

"The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist" is a 2026 American documentary film directed by Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell. It is produced by the Academy Award-winning teams behind "Everything Everywhere All at Once" (Daniel Kwan and Jonathan Wang) and "Navalny" (Shane Boris and Diane Becker). The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews for the questions it asked (and answered) about the threat or uses for good in the world about AI, Roher's personal journey of becoming a father while developing the documentary, its editing, and handcrafted animation and artwork made by humans. Roher was kind enough to be our first fully produced in-studio interview and spent a good forty minutes talking with us about his work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is opening in theaters on March 27th from Focus Features. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're told this is about bad guys, nuclear threats, and national security. History—and this moment—tell a different story. In this You're Not Gonna Believe This Bullshit episode, Amanda traces America's regime change playbook—then sits down with investigative journalist, co-founder of Drop Site News, Jeremy Scahill to break down what's really driving the current wars in Iran and Gaza. - Trump launching strikes on Iran amid disputed “nuclear threat” claims - The coordination of war decisions with Netanyahu—and why that matters - Kushner's role in Gaza reconstruction plans that look a lot like real estate development - “Negotiations” with Iran happening alongside military escalation - The long history of regime change—and who actually benefits If it feels chaotic, it's not. It's a pattern. About Jeremy:  Jeremy Scahill is co-founder of Drop Site News. He was previously a Senior Correspondent and Editor-at-Large at The Intercept and is one of the three founding editors of The Intercept. He is an investigative reporter, war correspondent, and author of the international best-selling books “Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield” and “Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.” He has reported from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, the former Yugoslavia, and elsewhere across the globe. Scahill has served as the national security correspondent for The Nation and “Democracy Now!”. He continues to host the podcast Intercepted. Scahill's work has sparked several congressional investigations and won some of journalism's highest honors. He was twice awarded the prestigious George Polk Award, in 1998 for foreign reporting and in 2008 for “Blackwater.” Scahill is a producer and writer of the award-winning film “Dirty Wars,” which premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. Follow We Can Do Hard Things on:  Instagram — ⁠https://www.instagram.com/wecandohardthings⁠ TikTok — ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wecandohardthingsshow⁠

"Dead Lover" is a 2025 Canadian comedy film directed, co-written, produced by, and starring Grace Glowicki, co-writer Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, and Lowen Morrow. Inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 novel "Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus," it follows a woman's attempt to resurrect her deceased lover. The film debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight category, where it received positive reviews for Glowicki's direction, performance, writing, as well as the makeup, production design, sound, and lighting. Glowicki was kind enough to spend some time talking with us about her work and experience making the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from Cartuna and Dweck Productions. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[REBROADCAST FROM January 21, 2026] The documentary "Queen of Chess" puts the spotlight on Judit Polgár, a Hungarian child chess prodigy who sought to become a champion in a game dominated by men. Judit Polgár and director Rory Kennedy join to discuss the documentary, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival and will be available to stream soon on Netflix. Photo courtesy of Netflix

Re-recording mixer Martyn Zub discusses the new film from Padraic McKinley, The Weight (2026), the story of a battle-scarred veteran in The Great Depression who's hired to help smuggle a fortune in gold across 100 miles of impenetrable wilderness. The film stars Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe and had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-projection-booth-podcast--5513239/support.Become a supporter of The Projection Booth at http://www.patreon.com/projectionbooth 

Is Park City headed for its next bust era after the Sundance Film Festival's move to Boulder, Colorado? Host Ali Vallarta asks Park City Mayor Ryan Dickey what's next for the mountain town. Get more from City Cast Salt Lake when you become a City Cast Salt Lake Neighbor. You'll enjoy perks like ad-free listening, invitations to members only events and more. Join now at membership.citycast.fm.  Subscribe to our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: (801) 203-0137 Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Canyon View Credit Union Wake the Great Salt Lake Salt Lake Sewciety

"Undertone" is a Canadian horror film written and directed by Ian Tuason, in his directorial debut. The film stars Nina Kiri as Evy, a woman who hosts a paranormal podcast with her friend Justin (Adam DiMarco), where she is the skeptic to his believer. After Evy moves back home to become the caregiver to her dying mother (Michèle Duquet), she and Justin are sent recordings by a married couple (Keana Lyn Bastidas and Jeff Yung) experiencing paranormal noises in their home, drawing Evy into fear and paranoia. Evy and her mother are the only characters to be shown on-screen in the film. All other characters are heard as off-screen voices, thus conveying the film's horror through its sound design. The film had its world premiere at Fantasia Fest on July 27th, 2025, and later screened in the Midnight section of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it received positive reviews from critics, with praise for Tuason's directing, atmosphere, and Kiri's performance. Tuason was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his work on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now playing in theaters from A24. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Megan Falley takes over the mic to interview Glennon, Abby, and Sara Bareilles about Come See Me In the Good Light—their Oscar-nominated documentary honoring poet Andrea Gibson and the last year Meg and Andrea spent together. They each share why they said yes to the project, how the film changed the way they understand love, grief, and being fully alive, and why this isn't a story about death—it's a story about living more vibrantly right now. Come See Me in the Good Light  premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Festival Favorite Award, and has since been named one of the National Board of Review's Top 5 Documentaries of the year, earning major honors including nominations at the Satellite Awards and Film Independent Spirit Awards. Now nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary — to be presented Sunday, March 15 — Come See Me in the Good Light can be streamed on Apple TV. For more episodes with our friends, Andrea, Meg, and Sara, check out:  The Bravest Conversation We've Had: Andrea Gibson Megan Falley Knows What Love Is An Unforgettable Double Date with Andrea Gibson & Megan Falley Let Our Sundance-Winning Film Remind You What Love Is with Megan Falley Watch OUR 1ST FILM – Come See Me in the Good Light: Meg Falley (& Andrea Gibson) Sara Bareilles: How to Remember Yourself Follow We Can Do Hard Things on:  Instagram — ⁠https://www.instagram.com/wecandohardthings⁠ TikTok — ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@wecandohardthingsshow⁠

Joanna Coles speaks with Rep. Maxwell Frost about the hate crime assault he was a victim of at the Sundance Film Festival—and why he says it's part of a much darker national pattern tied to political rhetoric, emboldened extremists, and a collapse of accountability in Washington. Rep. Frost describes how GOP lawmakers acquiesce to Trump and remain silent out of terror of primaries, retaliation, or being singled out by the president. He argues that this spinelessness has real-world consequences, linking escalating political violence, authoritarian instincts, and a system increasingly warped by greed and profiteering. As Frost warns that democracy itself is under threat, the question lingers: will Republicans ever find the backbone to stand up to Trump—and what happens if they don't? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We watched a ton of movies and we're recommending some of the best things we saw at this year's Sundance Film Festival. This includes a thrilling adventure starring Ethan Hawke, a quiet romance with Chris Pine, and quite possibly the best documentary we'll see all year.For a complete list of the movies we loved at Sundance, Pop Culture Happy Hour on LetterboxdLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

SPRING TOUR TICKETS > barstoolsports.com/events/bestshowonearthtour. Weekend recaps (00:00-23:47). Harry Styles releases new single ‘Aperture' (24:40-33:20). Donna Kelce & Andrea Swift spotted together at the Sundance Film Festival (33:21-40:15). Brooks Nader denies rumors she's dating Ben Affleck (40:16-44:49). ‘The Traitors' S4 E6 recap (45:55-57:17). Weekly Watch Report: Tell Me Lies, The Beauty, The Pitt + more! (58:09-1:18:45). CITO LINKS > barstool.link/chicks-in-the-office.You can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Prime Members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. For more, visit barstool.link/chicks-in-the-office