About this episode

The episode features a discussion with Adam McKay about the film Seconds and its themes of identity and paranoia.

On this episode, the Cold War Cinema crew is joined by director, writer, and producer Adam McKay to discuss John Frankenheimer's paranoid, psychological thriller Seconds (1966). McKay has written and directed many celebrated feature films such as Anchorman (2004), Talladega Nights (2006), Step Brothers (2008), The Big Short (2015), Vice (2018), Don't Look Up (2021), and numerous others. Prior to this, McKay was a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade in the early 1990s, and head writer for Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2001. In 2019, McKay founded Hyperobject Industries, and has served as the executive producer of HBO's Succession (2019–2023), Game Theory with Bomani Jones (2022–2023), and, most recently, The Chair Company (2025) starring Tim Robinson. Synopsis of the film: Middle-aged banker Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) feels trapped in a life that has calcified into routine and regret. When he receives a phone call from an old friend who he thought was long dead, and a shadowy organization known simply as "the Company" offers him the ultimate second chance, he fakes his death, and undergoes radical surgery to assume a new identity. Reborn as artist Tony Wilson…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jason Christian, Anthony Ballas, Paul T. Klein

Guest: Adam McKay

Topics covered

• psychological thriller
• film analysis
• Cold War
• identity
• paranoia
• interview

Keywords

• Seconds
• John Frankenheimer
• Adam McKay
• psychological thriller
• Cold War Cinema
• film analysis
• identity
• paranoia

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Upright Citizens Brigade, Saturday Night Live, Hyperobject Industries, HBO

Books & works: Seconds, Succession, Game Theory with Bomani Jones, The Chair Company, Anchorman, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, The Big Short, Vice, Don't Look Up

Places: Malibu

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• Bonus: New German Cinema and the Red Army Faction w/ guest Ryan Ruby · April 27, 2026 · 1h 54m
• Bonus: Interview w/ Dr. Alice Lovejoy · March 24, 2026 · 1h 16m
• S2 Ep. 11: Letter Never Sent (1959, Mikhail Kalatozov) · February 12, 2026 · 1h 37m
• S2 Ep. 10: The Searchers (1956, John Ford) w/ guest Aspen Ballas · January 15, 2026 · 1h 44m
• S2 Ep. 9: Ballad of a Soldier (1959, Grigory Chukhray) · December 26, 2025 · 1h 35m
• BONUS: Tribute to Peter Watkins (1935–2025) · November 19, 2025 · 1h 52m

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