Director's Club

Do you love physical media and movies? Then you should be following all-things Ryan. I am truly honored to be joined by returning guest and physical media community superhero Ryan Verrill. We discuss the many projects he has in the works while mainly focusing on his latest distribution company, Antenna Releasing. During the 2nd half of the conversation, we also discuss some of his favorite films of 2025! Per their website, Antenna Releasing is "always looking for exciting new voices in film to champion" and Ryan (along with his two hard-working compadres) are definitely making things happen already with their incredible new endeavor! Thank you so much to Ryan for talking with me on our lunch break and sharing with me all the good news at a time when we need it the most. Follow Ryan here, there, everywhere! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-disc-connected/id1615134944 https://www.youtube.com/c/DiscConnectedMedia https://www.patreon.com/cw/DiscConnected https://letterboxd.com/disc_connected https://www.antennareleasing.com

What the hell is Bloodbeat?? From one-and-done French filmmaker Fabrice-Ange Zaphiratos, filmed in Wisconsin. A young woman travels to rural Wisconsin to meet her boyfriend's family, but she becomes possessed by the spirit of a Japanese samurai who goes on killing spree anytime she becomes aroused. You read that synopsis correctly which is precisely why I decided to concoct a special holiday bonus episode featuring friends Matt Greene & Jesse Oliver for an experimental episode on a truly bizarre holiday horror film that has become a favorite. You can still watch the movie after listening to us describe it in detail because you won't believe your eyes. It is available to find in its entirety on YouTube; I recommend blind buying the Vinegar Syndrome Blu-Ray linked below. For this deep dive rabbit hole, I edited together excerpts of Matt & Jesse describing it along with excerpts from other podcasts/YouTube videos sprinkled throughout. Clips from the film and director! There is a lot of synth music, robot voices, an edited/compressed version of me talking about this one-of-a-kind movie. Happy holidays and see you in 2026 for the year-in-review favorites of 2025 episode soon! More interesting info: https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/blood-beat Buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Beat-Blu-ray-DVD-Combo/dp/B075427Q6Q

Side note: In the midst of the migration from Substack to Ghost, this episode got lost in the shuffle somehow so it's back in the feed now. Apologies for the confusion / repost. There may be bugs but hopefully few and far between. Thanks again for the support, all! Returning guest, Chicago film critic, and regular contributor to the Movie Madness podcast is back for a long overdue third appearance. His most memorable one being well over a decade ago when he took the pro-side on the infamous Brian De Palma episode. None other than the talented and hilarious Peter Sobczynski volunteered to discuss the (mostly) underrated works of satirist Michael Ritchie (no relation to Guy) who had a career with high highs and low lows. We talk mainly about three of his most under-appreciated films and skim through the majority of his filmography (despite the return to the old format change). Thank you so much Peter for coming back and stay tuned next month for another episode of B-Side Me and another returning Chicago film critic and podcaster as well to discuss another legendary comedy director! 00:00 - 13:06 - Introduction with Peter (awards season is coming) 13:07 - 45:49 - Prime Cut + Early Ritchie 45:50 - 01:16:50 - The Island! 01:16:51 - 01:47:21 - Other Ritchie Titles 01:47:22 - 01:58:02 - The Positively True Adventures… 01:58:03 - 02:09:54 - Top 3 Ritchie Films / OutroFollow Peter! Read Peter at RogerEbert.com Subscribe to Peter’s Substack

In addition to the monthly movie talk regarding directors (for Director’s Club), I am happy to present the latest episode of the music version of that same format! Only this time - all about bands/musicians that we think are worth discussing. Along w/co-host Sharon Gissy, we both can’t wait for you to listen to us nerd out about music each month (we missed October but that’s okay, it was a very busy month). Without further ado, here is the 2nd episode of B-Side Me. The format is simple: each of us pick an A-side to discuss (a more popular well-known song) and then we choose a B-side (a song that’s more obscure) that we think you should listen to ASAP. Add our choices to playlists, listen to us talk about another art form we both adore just as much as film! Thank you so much to Sharon for joining me on this nerdy podcasting journey and can’t wait for episode 3 in December (next year - we will also have guests on too).

Returning guest, writer, librarian, Instagram superstar and host of the Not Scared Podcast, the great Chloe Waryan, returns for her yearly visit to talk about a horror filmmaker! This time it’s all about the beloved Mike Flanagan. Do we love him as much as the rest of the horror community? You’ll have to listen to find out not just our thoughts, but former co-host and horror enthusiast Patrick Ripoll makes a cameo as well. Thank you so much Chloe for coming back and stay tuned for a new episode of B-Side Me later in the month too! 00:00 - 03:29 - Intro 03:30 -10:27 - Recent Horror Films Chloe Recommends 10:28 - 52:40 - Let’s Talk Flanagan, Oculus 52:41 - 01:28:57 - Doctor Sleep, Shush/Hush, Chuck, etc. 01:28:58 - 01:36:26 - Patrick’s Thoughts 01:36:27 - 01:56:02 - Favorite Flanagan Films / Outro Follow Chloe! Substack/Not Scared PodcastLetterboxdChloe's Not Scared Director's Club is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thanks for reading Director's Club! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit directorsclub.substack.com/subscribe

In addition to the monthly movie talk regarding directors (for Director’s Club), I am happy to present the debut episode of the music version of that same format! Only this time - all about bands/musicians/songwriters that we think are worth discussing. Alongside co-host Sharon Gissy, we both can’t wait for you to listen to us nerd out about music each month with the first episode of B-Side Me. The format is simple: each of us pick an A-side to discuss (a more popular well-known song) and then we choose a B-side (a song that’s more obscure) that we think you should listen to ASAP. Add our choices to playlists, listen to us talk about another art form we both adore just as much as film! Thank you so much to Sharon for joining me on this nerdy podcasting journey and can’t wait for more episodes (featuring guests in the future as well). Stay tuned to the very end for a special rendition of one of the songs discussed, performed by yours truly! Director's Club is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

For this excursion into something besides movies, I would recruit friend and Austin-based journalist Dan Solomon to go back 20 years to talk about a year in music - an art form that I love every bit much as film. For this retrospective, my guests and I curate a new list of ten favorite records from that year, playing snippets of certain songs and discussing our feelings about music in general. As of 2021, I decided to include my dear friend Jason Simpson, also a pop culture writer, to join us in this endeavor. I've been going back 30 years to talk about the year in film with Collin Souter and Erik Childress, so I asked Jason and Dan to do the same with records. A full archive will be available soon. Hopefully everyone enjoys this discussion about our favorite records from a weird year for music. It was such a blast sharing memories with dear friends from high school as well as getting to hear a lot of incredible music from the late 90s. Thank you so much for listening and much gratitude to Dan & Jay for their insights, opinions and a 30-year friendship. Also be sure to check out this obscure Canadian band (my number 10 pick): https://www.discogs.com/master/1523139-Thrush-Hermit-Clayton-Park Listen to me talk about my favorite album of 1999 on this podcast here:https://podbay.fm/p/the-great-albums/e/1496635200 All Yearly Music Retrospectives (feat. Jason & Dan) 1992199319941995199619971998199920002001 Coming in Fall of 2025 - B-Side Me - a spin-off show about music/bands! Director's Club is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit directorsclub.substack.com/subscribe