The Film That Blew My Mind

Last spring, filmmaker Andrew Ahn (Wedding Banquet, Spa Night, Fire Island) joined Cooper, Tabitha, and a live audience at PAM-CUT Tomorrow Theater in Portland, Oregon for a deep dive into Wong Kar-wai’s masterpiece In the Mood for Love (2000). We explore the film’s meticulous visual language—from Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin’s luminous cinematography to the precision of William Chang’s production and costume design—and how its framing, repetition, and color palette shape the emotional landscape of repressed desire. Andrew reflects on the film’s lasting influence on contemporary cinema, its dialogue with Hong Kong’s cultural memory, and its influence on generations of filmmakers -- including Andrew himself.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live on the shores of the Salish Sea at the Port Townsend Film Festival, this episode features Cooper in conversation with filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke. From Thirteen, to Lords of Dogtown to Twilight, Catherine is known for films that offer an unflinching, naturalistic lens on youth culture. The film that blew her mind? Hal Ashby’s 1971 Harold and Maude, a cult classic that challenges traditional notions of propriety, death, youth, and love.Here Catherine reflects on how the unconventional love story shaped her creative vision, from its bold visual style to its fearless embrace of the offbeat and the taboo. She shares how stories about outsiders, misfits, and rule-breakers inspired her own filmmaking journey. We hear about her background in architecture and set design, how acting classes informed her work as a director, and her experience of co-writing Thirteen with 13-year-old Nikki Reed.Plus, the fan who fainted upon meeting Catherine and what it means to her to see cast members like Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson continue to make their own waves on and off screen.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the heels of our conversation with Chaz Ebert discussing Life Itself, we are sharing this episode from our friends at Filmspotting. As we learned from Chaz, even Roger himself once admitted to getting one review wrong!In this episode, critic and author Matt Singer joins Filmspotting co-hosts Adam Kempenaar and Josh Larsen to consider the enduring impact of Ebert and his longtime partner Gene Siskel, and to dissect five other reviews they may have gotten wrong. Originally dropped in October, 2023, the episode followed publication of Matt’s book, “Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel and Ebert Changed Movies Forever”, a vivid telling of the definitive story of Siskel and Ebert and their iconic show, “At the Movies.” Listen and subscribe to Filmspotting on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is hard to pinpoint when Chaz Ebert first experienced Life Itself, Steve James’s documentary about her late husband and legendary film critic, Roger Ebert. Initially conceived as a multi-year project to capture Roger’s vibrant life and career, the film also documented what would become the final weeks of Roger’s life. Film icons like Werner Herzog, Ava Duvernay, and Martin Scorsese illustrate the ways in which Roger’s work inspired them individually and impacted culture on a broad scale. Tracing Roger’s journey from cub reporter to cultural icon and devoted family man, the film is a testament to his ardently populist sensibility, larger-than-life personality, fierce love of movies, and the vigor with which he met every day even as he endured life with cancer and its effects.In conversation with Cooper and Tabitha, Chaz reveals the one movie review Roger acknowledged he got wrong, her reluctance to continue filming as Roger’s health deteriorated, what it meant to experience the film’s premiere with an audience at Sundance, and how their shared concern for humanity continues to inspire her work today.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From El Capitan in Yosemite to Tham Luang Nang Non cave in northern Thailand and Meru Peak in the Indian Himalayas, Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (her partner in filmmaking and in life) have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide with intimate, non-fiction portrayals of outdoor athletes pushing themselves to extremes. Free Solo, their 2018 film, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Their first scripted project, Nyad, boasts Oscar-nominated performances from Annette Benning and Jodie Foster. The film that blew Chai’s mind? Michael Winterbottom’s 2002 In This World, which blurs the lines of fiction and documentary to convey the story of an Afghani boy’s journey from a Pakistani refugee camp to London. She joins Cooper and Tabitha to explore the finer points of Winterbottom’s film and dives into questions of truth vs fiction, the nuances of working with real-life characters, and how the relationships she cultivates with her participants are essential to her filmmaking craft. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Veteran independent filmmaker Ira Sachs is known for a body of work marked by beauty, nuance, and intimate portrayals of people and their emotional lives. He is driven, he says, by a deep curiosity about freedom and its limits - both in his characters and in filmmaking itself. This is part of the reason why Taxi Zum Klo (Taxi to the Toilet), a radical portrait of personal and sexual freedom, blew his mind. The semi-autobiographical story of writer/director/star Frank Ripploh takes us into his separate lives - devoted school teacher by day and enthusiastic cruiser of Berlin’s gay scene by night. Explicit and bold, it was hailed by the Village Voice as “the first masterpiece about the mainstream of male gay life,” when it premiered in the early 1980’s. We learn how Ira discovered the film, despite the fact that it’s nearly impossible to find today, and how it inspires him to push the boundaries of his own work. Plus, Cooper shares his experience seeing Taxi Zum Klo when it played the New York Film Festival in 1981, and Tabitha dives into questions about the value of art as a provocation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty years ago, one of the most indelible movie characters of recent decades was born when Napoleon Dynamite premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. From Vote for Pedro T-shirts to the pet llama Tina (aka: “Fat Lard”) and a seriously iconic dance number, Napoleon Dynamite has earned a top slot in the pop culture canon of the 21st century. This week, Cooper and Tabitha speak with Jared Hess who, together with his co-writer and wife Jerusha Hess, is the force behind Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre (co-written with Mike White), Masterminds, and more. Jared shares his deep love for Hal Needham’s Rad (1988), a classic ‘80’s teen flick about competitive BMX racing and a bike battle between local kids and the professional riders who come to town. We learn a bit about director Hal Needham, the highest paid stunt double of his time who directed action-packed classics like Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and The Cannonball Run (1981). Plus, how Rad’s soundtrack featuring The Sparks, opening sequence cinematography by Robert Schwartzman, and a curious activity dubbed “ass-sliding” make this a feel-good sports movie for kids of any generation.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Director and legendary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson is known for nonfiction work that is inventive, artful, expressive, and maximal. The same can be said of the film that blew her mind -- Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz. The semi-autobiographical film brings us Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider), a peripatetic creative force working simultaneously to mount a major Broadway production and complete post-production on a feature film, all while maintaining a lifestyle fueled by cigarettes, pills, one-night stands, and Visine, and still finding time for his adoring 12-year old daughter, Michelle.We learn why the iconic film first transfixed Kirsten, and how she continues to be inspired by Fosse’s ingenious use of dance, documentary, theater, music, and more. Cooper shares his personal ties to the film, calling on his days in New York’s theater scene of the 1970s. And Tabitha (a.k.a. Wife of Kirsten) does her level best to maintain her professional distance as the conversation unfolds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From his first viewing at the Angelika as a freshman at NYU, Joan Micklin Silver’s 1988 rom-com Crossing Delancey blew Michael Showalter’s mind. In this episode Michael shares how and why the movie made a lasting mark and how it continues to influence his work today. Adapted by Susan Sandler from her play of the same title, this is the story of Izzy Grossman (Amy Irving), a nice Jewish girl with roots in Manhattan’s Lower East Side but now living uptown with literary-adjacent aspirations. Sam Posner (Peter Reigart) is a purveyor of pickles, with a shop down the street from Izzy’s grandmother’s apartment. We learn how the film’s spot-on portrayal of 1980s city living with characters who exist in coffee shops and bars and bookstores, and apartments, resonated with the life 18-year-old Michael imagined for himself. As he unpacks what makes this a rom-com classic, co-hosts Cooper and Tabitha spark a debate around the off-screen future for Sam and Izzy, and where they might be today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Time traveling hitman, love-struck greeting card writer, notorious whistleblower, and an alien passing as a human boy are just a few of the characters Joseph Gordon-Levitt has brought to life. His extraordinary range as an actor is matched by his taste in films, as evidenced by his choice of Disney’s Encanto as the film that blew his mind. From the way it subverts storytelling traditions to its layered and lyrical songs, Joe shares all the reasons why Encanto is a favorite with his young family and what it has to say about honesty as the greatest superpower of all.Plus, zip-lining as an antidote to grief, Kurt Vonnegut’s dystopian “Harrison Bergeron”, and the role that Sundance has played in Joe’s own life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Comedienne, chanteuse, star, co-writer, and executive producer of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere, and our favorite Manhattan, Kansas native, Bridget Everett shares the beloved classic, The Sound of Music. From watching the story of the von Trapps as the youngest of six kids, to how she sees it through the lens of her life and work today, Bridget dives deep into the timeless resonance of the movie and its music. We learn of her admiration for the naturalistic musicality of the film, and why Dame Julie Andrews is one of her favorite voices of all time.Plus, her love of Barry Manilow, why co-host John Cooper marched down Santa Monica Boulevard in heels, and what Reverend Mother and Ad-Rock have in common. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A guest who needs no introduction, Jon Hamm, dives into the 1988 Italian film, Cinema Paradiso, directed by Guiseppe Tornatore. The film begins when Salvatore di Vita, a superstar filmmaker in Rome, recalls his childhood in a small Sicilian village during the aftermath of World War II. With his father lost at war, young Salvatore forms a deep friendship with Alberto, the projectionist at the local cinema, and falls in love with film. As a teenager growing up in St. Louis, Jon’s moviegoing was primarily driven by his burning desire to escape the house. Nevertheless, Cinema Paradiso captured his imagination and has continued to resonate with him throughout his life. We also learn how Silence of the Lambs left a bloody impression, and the Cub Scout lesson that fuels his stratospheric career.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Iconic filmmaker Gregg Araki brings us into the singular, surreal world of David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me. Universally panned when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 1992, the film has since become a cult classic. Starring Sheryl Lee and Kyle McClachlan, with cameos from David Bowie and Harry Dean Stanton, the film is Lynch’s answer to the question posed by his Twin Peaks television series: Who killed Laura Palmer? Gregg makes the case for the movie as an uncompromising representation of Lynch’s genius, and as being distinct among his films for its emotional resonance. We learn about Gregg’s early influences, from graphic novels to the Sex Pistols and Rainer Fassbinder, and how the commercial bomb of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me intersected with his own first film, The Living End. Plus, how copy machines fueled the early days of American independent film. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.