Named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Innovators for the Next New Wave,” Suzan-Lori Parks is the first African American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Topdog/Underdog. She joins to discuss her long and illustrious career as a playwright, musician, and novelist.

Best of Design Matters: Suzan-Lori Parks

CELLULOID DREAMS THE MOVIE SHOW -- 3/6/25

THIS WEEK'S SHOW:  Two new to blu & one from the vault!

SEPTEMBER 5 recounts the Munich massacre: the terrorist attack which occurred during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Germany from the perspective of the ABC Sports crew and their coverage of the events as they were unfolding in real-time. Co-writer-director Tim Fehlbaum & actor John Magaro talk about their powerful docudrama.

Set in London, Mike Leigh's drama HARD TRUTHS follows the plight of a severely-depressed, hyper-sensitive middle-aged woman named Pansy and her relationship with her family: her perpetually-jovial sister Chantelle and her exasperated husband and son. We sit down with lead actor Marianne Jean-Baptiste and one of the best performances of 2024!  

From 2004:  Bumbling "user-friendly" candidate Dicky Pilager is in the midst of a Colorado gubernatorial campaign when-- surprise!-- a corpse turns up while filming an environmental political ad. A journalist-turned-detective does some digging and reveals complex connections to layers of corruption and family entanglements. Iconic indie writer/director John Sayles tells us about his comedy-drama SILVER CITY.  

Then, ALL-NEW "Screen Scene" movie reviews including ﻿LAST BREATH; ﻿RIFF RAFF; ﻿THE RULE OF JENNY PEN; ﻿RED ONE [4K][Warner Home Video] and DOCUMENTARY NOW: THE COMPLETE SERIES [Mill Creek Entertainment].

* * * * * * * *
This week's featured soundtrack: LAST BREATH (music by Paul Leonard-Morgan) [Filmtrax Ltd]


JOHN MAGARO + MARIANNE JEAN-BAPTISTE + JOHN SAYLES + ALL NEW MOVIE REVIEWS (3-6-25) CELLULOID DREAMS

"Hell Of A Summer" had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Festival in the Midnight Madness section, where it received positive reviews for its homage to slasher films, the mixture of comedy and horror, and performances from its young cast of up and coming actors. Directors, writers, producers, stars, and friends Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk, along with star Fred Hechinger, were all kind enough to spend some time speaking with me about their work on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which will open in theaters from NEON on Friday, April 4th. 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

Interviews With "Hell Of A Summer" Directors/Writers/Stars Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk & Star Fred Hechinger

Robert Hatch has over thirty years experience as a director/producer/writer of dramatic films, documentaries, and television series, and his films have received over three hundred awards and honors from film festivals in the U.S. and internationally.

He stated that he is always on the lookout for new material to turn into movies.

323. Robert Hatch: How Does a Writer Go About Getting A Book Made Into a Movie

CELLULOID DREAMS  THE MOVIE SHOW -- 4/3/25

THIS WEEK'S SHOW:  Murder and retro kung fu!

While revisiting his hometown in France to attend his former boss's funeral and staying with the widow, a man finds himself responsible for a murder, which he tries to conceal with the help of the village priest, who will provide him with an alibi... for a price. The thriller/mystery/dark comedy MISIRICORDIA is on discussion this week, with its writer/director Alain Guiraudie.

From 2019:  DOLEMITE IS MY NAME tells the story of Rudy Ray Moore: comic, rap artist and one of the stars of the 1970s cinema phenomenon known as Blaxploitation, via his iconic badass pimp Dolemite. The film's costume designer Ruth E. Carter [BLACK PANTHER] speaks on the obligation to be faithful to a period, balancing studio and indie work and what it's like to fit a star.  

Then, "Screen Scene" movie reviews including ﻿HOLLAND [Amazon Prime]; ﻿﻿A WORKING MAN; THE WOMAN IN THE YARD; DEATH OF A UNICORN; THANK YOU VERY MUCH; ﻿MISERICORDIA; ﻿FREAKY TALES; A NICE INDIAN BOY; ﻿﻿THE ENCAMPMENTS; ﻿BEING MARIA; ﻿DEEP BLUE SEA Limited Edition [4K][Arrow Video] and DOG MAN [Universal Home Entertainment].

* * * * * * * *
This week's classic featured soundtrack: THUNDERBALL (music by John Barry) [Capitol Records]


ALAIN GUIRAUDIE (MISERICORDIA) + RUTH E. CARTER + NEW REVIEWS (4-3-25) CELLULOID DREAMS THE MOVIE SHOW

"Dune: Prophecy" focuses on the early beginnings of the Bene Gesserit — a formidable order wielding immense social, religious, and political influence over Frank Herbert's "Dune" universe. The sci-fi series serves as a prequel to Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two," set roughly 10,000 years before the events of those films. Showrunner, writer, and executive producer, Alison Schapker, was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about her work on the first season, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the series, which is now available to stream on HBO Max. 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

Interview With "Dune: Prophecy" Showrunner Alison Schapker

"April" had its world premiere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, where it received positive reviews and won the Special Jury Prize. Filmmaker Déa Kulumbegashvili ("Beginning") takes us into rural Georgia as we follow an obstetrician who aids patients seeking abortions despite legal prohibition and must defend her values and actions when she is accused of negligence and subject to investigation. Kulumbegashvili was kind enough to spend some time speaking 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 will be released in theaters by Metrograph Pictures on April 24th. 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

Interview With "April" Filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili

CELLULOID DREAMS THE MOVIE SHOW -- 5/15/25

THIS WEEK'S SHOW: Scares, romance and drama! We got it all!

A teenager moves with her father to the quiet town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, hoping for a fresh start. Instead, she discovers a fractured community that has fallen on hard times, and amidst boiling tensions, a sinister, grinning figure emerges from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. Teen rebellion meets killer clown vengeance in CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD is an adaptation of the YA novel by Adam Cesare, who joins us along with director/co-screenwriter Eli Craig (TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL).

In JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE, a hopelessly clumsy yet charming young woman who works in the legendary Shakespeare & Co. bookshop in Paris and desperately single, dreams of being a successful writer, and of experiencing love akin to a Jane Austen novel. We chat with writer/ director Laura Piani about her creative process, the feminist questions at the heart of the story, and why sometimes the best way to honor a literary icon is to challenge her. 

From 2018:  Inspired by movies, four young men attempted a heist that was at once audacious and unusual. AMERICAN ANIMALS is the equally-original cinematic hybrid of narrative and documentary that tells this wildly-true story. We pop back into the archive for our chat with writer/director Bart Layton (THE IMPOSTER), which has never been rebroadcast!  

"Screen Scene" movie reviews return next week!

* * * * * * * *
This week's classic featured soundtrack: A PATCH OF BLUE (music by Jerry Goldsmith) [Intrada Records]

CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD & JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE (CELLULOID DREAMS THE MOVIE SHOW) 5-15-25

CELLULOID DREAMS THE MOVIE SHOW -- 5/22/25

THIS WEEK'S SHOW: Two relevant chats from 2015!

An acclaimed philosophy professor joins a small college, intriguing students but revealing a morbid outlook on life. Despite becoming involved with another teacher and a precocious student, it's only after he commits an existential act that he begins to see the world as a more positive place. Ten years ago, we sat down with Parker Posey-- the "queen of the Indies" in the '90s and currently seen in THE WHITE LOTUS-- to talk about Woody Allen's murder comedy IRRATIONAL MAN.  

In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was an Academy Award-winning screenwriter, and also a member of the Communist party. In the face of the Communist witch hunts in the 1940s and 1950s, he was arrested for his views, becoming one of the blacklisted writers dubbed the "Hollywood 10" and ultimately emerging as a true American patriot in his efforts to defend the First Amendment and by extension, freedom of speech. We joined up with director Jay Roach (the AUSTIN POWERS series) TRUMBO.  

Then, ALL-NEW "Screen Scene" movie reviews including ﻿MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING; ﻿CAUGHT BY THE TIDES; FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES; ﻿﻿DEAF PRESIDENT NOW! [Apple TV+]; ﻿JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE; ﻿﻿THE THREE MUSKETEERS/THE FOUR MUSKETEERS [4K][Criterion Collection Blu-ray]; CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD [4K][Disney Home Video]; MICKEY 17 [4K][Warner Home Entertainment]; ﻿DUNE: PROPHECY [4K][Warner Home Entertainment] and ﻿BLACK BAG [Universal Home Entertainment].

* * * * * * * *
This week's classic featured soundtrack: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (music by John Williams) [BMG Classics]


PARKER POSEY + JAY ROACH (2015 Archive) + ALL NEW MOVIE REVIEWS (CELLULOID DREAMS THE MOVIE SHOW) 5-22-25

"Dope Thief" is a new American crime drama television miniseries created by Peter Craig, based on the 2009 novel by Dennis Tafoya. It premiered on Apple TV+ on March 14th and has received positive reviews for its performances from Brian Tyree Henry & Wanger Moura, writing from Craig, and a gritty look at the drug trade along the Eastern seaboard. Craig was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his work and experience making the series, which you can listen to or watch below. Please be sure to check out the show, which is now available to stream on Apple TV+. 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

Interview With "Dope Thief" Showrunner, Director, Writer & Executive Producer Peter Craig

A podcast by NextBestPicture.com that reviews the latest film releases and discusses various topics within the world of film and the awards race.

Providing writing and illustrating tips and advice from Contest Judges, Winners and industry professionals for writers and artists, along with needed inspiration to keep on going! Based on the world-famous Writers of the Future Contest created in 1983 by L. Ron Hubbard.

Design Matters by Debbie Millman features interviews with designers, artists and cultural leaders, including Lawrence Weiner, Barbara Kruger, Malcolm Gladwell, Eric Kandel, Stefan Sagmeister, John Maeda, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, Michael Arad, Milton Glaser, Massimo Vignelli, Paula Scher, Steven Heller, Jonah Lehrer, among others.

In 2011, Design Matters received the People’s Design Award from the prestigious Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards.

Subscribe to Design Matters for free on iTunes, where new episodes are uploaded weekly: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/design-matters-debbie-millman/id328074695

New tracks tagged #screenwriter