Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

This is the third episode of what we are calling The Final Frame. Here we will dissect the final film of a great, well-respected filmmaker, wrapped in the context of said filmmaker’s entire career. Our subject today: the recently departed Peter Bogdanovich. His final film: She’s Funny That Way, starring Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Kathryn Hahn, Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Aniston, Will Forte, Austin Pendleton, George Morfogen, Richard Lewis, and Cybill Shepherd. But wait! That’s only half-true! Before the half-hearted release of She’s Funny That Way, there was another version of the film. Its title? Squirrels to the Nuts. This is the cut that Bogdanovich wanted the world to see. Until the studio made him change it. And our guest, James Kenney, is the man who saved Squirrels to the Nuts. He recounts the tale in a great piece on his wonderful website.

We discuss Bogdanovich’s entire filmography. How he broke in under the umbrella of Roger Corman; his impossible three-film run of The Last Picture Show, What’s Up Doc?, and Paper Moon; the professional downfall that preceded a tragic personal downfall; his pseudo-comeback with Mask, quickly followed by a career making movies for TV. And then, after all of that, The Cat’s Meow, a Tom Petty documentary, and this complicated final film.

Kenney speaks eloquently about Bogdanovich’s gentle aesthetic, and we marvel at Squirrels being his first self-generated work since They All Laughed. There’s much time spent discussing the marked differences between the two versions, and not nearly enough time marveling at the performance Bogdanovich got out of Cher in Mask. The same goes for Kenney’s defense of the much-maligned Illegally Yours!

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 92 – The Final Frame: Peter Bogdanovich's Squirrels to the Nuts (feat. James Kenney)

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

And today we talk about Handsome Hawke himself - Ethan Hawke! The multi-hyphenate has made a career out of B-Sides, and today we choose four: Great Expectations, Snow Falling on Cedars, Tape, and Predestination. Dan and Conor are lucky to have the great Luke Hicks along for the ride.

We discuss the early films of Hawke, the hotness of “Shark Hunter Hawke” in Great Expectations, his movie star run in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, and his diverse pivot into character work up to and including the present.

There’s also talk of Hawke’s directorial career, some debate over is the deliberate pace of Snow Falling on Cedars actually works, and this in-depth piece on Predestination.

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 93 – Ethan Hawke (feat. Luke Hicks)

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today, we dive into the career of the stunning and stunningly talented Penélope Cruz. The indelible actress broke on to the scene in 1992 with Jamón Jamón, followed a few years later by her first 
collaboration with Pedro Almodóvar in Live Flesh. Soon enough, Cruz was in Hollywood pictures like Blow and The Hi-Lo Country.

Our B-Sides include: Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Chromophobia, Twice Born, and this year’s The 355. Joining us today is returning guest Katharine Clark Gray of Uncompromised Creative. Gray is a writer for the Wait What network, and was part of the team recently awarded two Webby Awards for the episode “President Barack Obama: When the moment chooses you, part 1.” 

We discuss the early, predictable type-casting of Cruz in Hollywood, the unfortunate failure of some of those earlier studio pictures (All The Pretty Horses in particular), her enduring range as a performer, and the hope to see her in more comedies (Official Competition coming soon!)

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 98 – Penélope Cruz (feat. Katharine Clark Gray)

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

And this is our one-hundredth episode! We thank you so much for listening these past four years and hope you keep listening for the next four and beyond.

Today, Dan and Conor get ambitious. For each and every B-Side subject (actors and filmmakers alike)we list an additional B-Side of theirs we have yet to cover. Our attempt to keep each recommendation under 60 seconds was always futile, but we tried our best.

So listener, get ready for 99 movie recommendations as soon as you hit play.
What a ride it’s been. And we’ve only just begun.
For more from The B-Side, you can find every actor/director and the films discussed in one place here.

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher. Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor.

Ep. 100 – 100th Episode Celebration

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today, we go back to where it all started: Tom Cruise! This time we explore the three of the four movies he made in between Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and Mission: Impossible - Rouge Nation. The films are Rock of Ages, Jack Reacher, and Oblivion.

To do this, we bring on filmmaker and Gerard Butler enthusiast Ritchie Filippi to discuss these three kinda-sorta B-Sides. Filippi worked on Rock of Ages himself - in the role of travel coordinator - and tells us a couple of tales from the set. Also be sure to check out his film The Eve, now streaming on Roku and Vudu!

We dive into Cruise’s voice in the rock musical, his stoic tenor in the crime thriller, and his sci-fi stiltedness in the sci-fi almost-epic. Additionally, we marvel at how far director Joseph Kosinski has come from the days of Tron: Legacy, we admire how Jack Reacher has aged, and we get nostalgic about those songs from the ‘80s.

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 101 – Tom Cruise: Part II (feat. Ritchie Filippi)

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today is part three of our Tom Cruise B-Side investigation. In this episode we dig into what is perhaps the nadir of his career: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, The Mummy, and American Made. Just after Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and right before Mission: Impossible - Fallout, here is our never-ending movie star returning to a character that perhaps never suited him, trying his hand at building a franchise from old IP once more, and going for something more ambitious.

Our guest today is Cory Everett, the creator of both Cinephile: A Card Game and all things 'Lil Cinephile. His new set of books My First Movie, Volume 1 “is a trilogy of beautifully-crafted board books that will take readers of all ages on a colorful journey through cinema history.”

Cory joins us with a plea to the universe: Tom Cruise please call Martin Scorsese and ask him for his Paul Newman in The Color Of Money role. Conor and I argue that that role is what is in Top Gun: Maverick. We debate whether or not Cruise fits into these three films and whether or not he will ever decide to let himself fully age on screen.

If you’re reading this as this episode drops, be sure to say hi to Conor and Cory IN PERSON as part of the Cinephile Game Nights for the New York Film Festival.
Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 102 – Tom Cruise: Part III (feat. Cory Everett)

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars and directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today we get a little nasty. We get a little creepy. We dig into the works of Brian De Palma! Conor and I are joined by filmmaker and returning guest Chadd Harbold, whose new film Private Property is now available on Hulu! We also examine the film Private Property from 1960, which Harbold’s 2022 film reimagines, along with the new film’s De Palma-esque inspirations.

The B-Sides discussed are: Phantom of the Paradise, Casualties of War, Femme Fatale, and The Black Dahlia. We also take lengthy pit-stops at The Fury and Mission to Mars.

Harbold explains why Femme Fatale is De Palma’s best film, why the old, great directors need to higher young DPs when shooting digital, which actors know what they’re doing in The Black Dahlia, and which actors do NOT. There’s references to this Slant Magazine article as well as De Palma, the superb documentary from Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow (now streaming on Showtime). Finally, we must mention the intensive retrospective of De Palma The Film Stage took on in 2016.

Oh, and we talk about the greatness of that Mission to Mars by Ennio Morricone.

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 103 – Brian De Palma (feat. Chadd Harbold)

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between.

Today we get to talk to the immensely-talented Mark Pellington, the filmmaker behind hits like Arlington Road and The Mothman Prophecies, some of the best music videos ever made, some of the weirdest, coolest stuff ever on MTV, and a slew of other interesting, powerful pieces of work.

He’s re-cut (and really remade) his directorial debut Going All The Way, starring Jeremy Davies and Ben Affleck, adapted from the Dan Wakefield novel of the same name. Going All The Way: The Director’s Edit is currently screening at Brain Dead Studios & Laemmle Glendale in Los Angeles, and will open on Dec. 16th at Quad Cinema in New York with rollout to follow. Visit this link for more info.

We discuss everything with Pellington, from his remaking his first feature to his own B-Sides Henry Poole Is Here and I Melt With You. There’s talk of his extremely personal short doc Fathers Daze, his Quibi show Survive and the upcoming feature film version. Pellington tells us why he still likes to discover movies on cable, why he’d like to re-cut Henry Poole Is Here if given the chance, and why there is so much flat cinematography & aesthetic sameness in the streaming age. Finally, he tells us a bit about his hopefully-upcoming Magnum Opus Memory Epic Clang. Fingers crossed on the making of that film!

This is one of our most in-depth conversations with a filmmaker so far, and we encourage you to listen good and seek out all that Pellington’s done.

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 105 – In Conversation with: Mark Pellington

Welcome to a new episode of The Film Stage Show! Ahead of the Oscars, Brian Roan and Robyn Bahr share their favorite films of 2023 and more best-of-the-year picks.

Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. For a limited time, all new Patreon supporters will receive a free Blu-ray/DVD. After becoming a contributor, e-mail podcast@thefilmstage.com for an up-to-date list of available films.

The Film Stage Show is supported by MUBI, a curated streaming service showcasing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, MUBI premieres a new film. Whether it's a timeless classic, a cult favorite, or an acclaimed masterpiece — it’s guaranteed to be either a movie you’ve been dying to see or one you’ve never heard of before and there will always be something new to discover. Try it for free for 30 days at mubi.com/filmstage.

Ep. 531 – Top 10 Films of 2023

Welcome to The B-Side, a podcast from The Film Stage. Here we explore movies featuring established stars that flopped at the box office, have been forgotten by time, or remain hidden gems. These aren’t the films that made them famous or kept them famous. These are the other ones. So strap in and listen close as we dive into the big swings and big misses from some of the most well-known names in the business.

In the latest episode, Dan Mecca is joined by podcast producer Conor O’Donnell and Nate Washburn, a New York City-based actor and writer who is also the host of “The Classic Hollywood Movie You Should Know,” an online series that explores a variety of, well, classic Hollywood movies you should know. We discuss the B-Sides of Humphrey Bogart, the hard-edged star of Casablanca and The Treasure of Sierra Madre.

The films discussed here include Dead Reckoning, Dark Passage, Deadline U.S.A., and Beat The Devil. Also discussed is Bogie’s famous marriage to the far-younger starlet Lauren Bacall, the couple’s conflicted political involvement in the Hollywood Blacklist and plenty more.

Enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher!

Ep. 20 – Humphrey Bogart (feat. Nate Washburn)

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between.

Today we don our phoenix tattoos, we get honest with ourselves, we blaze our very own comeback trail talking Ben Affleck! With his drama The Way Back in theaters, we discuss four past B-Sides you may have missed: 1999’s Sandy Bullock-meets-Ben rom-com Forces of Nature, 2000’s Gwyneth-meets-Ben high-concept romance Bounce, 2002’s Sam Jackson-meets-Ben thriller Changing Lanes and, last-but-least, 2006’s Ben-Plays-Superman noir Hollywoodland. In between these B-sides exists the movie star’s career nadir, including Gigli, Paycheck and Surviving Christmas (which we already discussed in our holiday episode). Conor and Dan are joined by Marie Bardi (@mariebardi), New York-based producer and avowed Ben Affleck fan. 

We talk about the phrase “strip dancing” and if anybody actually says it, we debate the trajectory of Ben’s likeability and acknowledge how many of the roles he’s taken over the years reflect the real-life hurdles in his life.

Be sure to give us a follow on Twitter and Facebook at @TFSBSide. Also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. We are also now on Spotify and Stitcher. Enjoy!

Ep. 531 – Top 10 Films of 2023

The Film Stage Show

Related tracks