PODCAST · tv
Shoot This Now
by Tim Molloy
We talk about true stories that we think should be made into TV shows or movies. First we talk about why they belong on-screen -- then we talk about how we'd like to see them on-air: Who should direct, who should write, who should star. We dig up lesser-known people whose stories deserve to be told, forgotten moments in history, and fresh angles on very familiar memories. Your hosts, Tim and Deirdre, are married writers who only recommend stories that we would personally want to see. Join us and follow us at @ShootThisNowPod. Thanks! We love you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
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The Anti-'Citizen Kane': How Art Beal Built Nitt Witt Ridge, a House Made of Trash in the Shadow of Hearst Castle
Fifteen miles south of Hearst Castle, home of "Citizen Kane" inspiration William Randolph Hearst, is perhaps a more impressive dwelling: Nitt Witt Ridge, the house that former garbageman Art Beale constructed by hand from cast-off beer cans, shells, and other cast-off materials. Beal, who once…
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The Story of Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," and Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing," 30 Years Later (feat. Dart Adams)
In 1989, Public Enemy broke up -- just after recording their signature song, "Fight the Power," and just before it became the musical centerpiece of Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing." The reason for their breakup, and the story of their reunion, is the subject of our latest episode. Our special...
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Sacheen Littlefeather Speaks: When Marlon Brando and John Wayne Fought for the Soul of the 1973 Oscars
Marlon Brando didn't attend the 1973 Oscars, but he did enlist Native American actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather to reject his Oscar for The Godfather. This week, we talk about why Littlefeather's speech was an iconic moment for Native Americans in Hollywood and nationwide, and why it…
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Meet Nakano Takeko, Female Samurai
Nakano Takeko was a 21-year-old martial arts instructor who came to lead a battalion of women against the Emperor of Japan's Imperial Army, 150 years ago. On this week's episode of "Shoot This Now," we talk about how her story could be "The Last Samurai," minus Tom Cruise, with a huge influx of...
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Starlite
Maurice Ward was a British hairdresser and amateur inventor who was inspired by a horrific plane disaster to invent a material that could withstand fire, nukes, and perhaps even the sun. His invention, which his granddaughter named "Starlite," drew the attention of Boeing, NASA, and the British...
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BONUS: Listen to 'Inside Star Wars' Revisit Day 1 of Shooting 'Episode IV: A New Hope
It was March 22, 1976 -- the first day of shooting "Star Wars." As Mark Ramsey's new "Inside Star Wars" reimagines that day in the Tunisian desert, it included hours of falling droids, an unlikely cameo by Jesus Christ, and lots of doubt from Sir Alec Guinness. Ramsey, who also created "Inside...
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Carrie Fisher Didn't Want to Be an Actor. She Became an Icon (Featuring Inside Star Wars' Mark Ramsey)
This week, Mark Ramsey joins us to preview "Inside Star Wars," which debuts Wednesday, May 29 and which you should subscribe to right here. But he also tells the Carrie Fisher story, a tale of a nervous 19-year-old who doesn't know she's about to star in the biggest movie in the world. Carrie...
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When Santa Cruz Had Two Serial Killers
There aren't enough content warnings in the world for the story of Ed Kemper and Herbert Mullin, two serial killers who simultaneously stalked Santa Cruz in 1972 and 1973. Kemper posed as a wanna-be cop and Good Samaritan to lure hitchhikers into his car and do horrific things to his victims....
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His Parents Destroyed His Porn, So He Sued Them
You may have read news stories - or heard jokes - about the Indiana man who sued his parents this month for destroying his massive collection of porn. But his backstory is more complex and nuanced then the headlines and punchlines suggest. It's a complicated family drama we think is worthy of the...
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When the Irish Were Starving, the Choctaw Tried to Feed Them
The Irish famine killed a million people of Ireland, and scattered the islands hungry people across the world. It received a woefully inadequate response from the British Crown -- yet somehow drew the attention of the Choctaw, a Native American people thousands of miles away. We think the story...
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The Twins Who Tricked the 1984 Olympics
In the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Puerto Rico’s Madeline de Jesus was injured in the long jump, and found herself unable to run in the 4×400-meter relay. Fortunately she had a secret weapon: Her identical twin sister, Margaret, who took her place in a qualifying heat. The college...
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It's Weird That Michael Jackson's 2005 Trial Hasn't Gotten the 'People v. OJ Simpson' Treatment
It's fitting that Michael Jackson's 2005 trial ended with a woman releasing white doves -- one for each count on which he was acquitted. Doves are a traditional part of many magic shows, and Jackson's trial was his greatest trick of all. On every episode of "Shoot This Now," we talk about true...
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Angela James' Life Story is the Black Lesbian Hockey Movie America Needs
Born in Toronto to a black father and white mother, Angela James went from defending herself from bullies in the projects to becoming one of the first women ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. She was also the first openly gay athlete to be inducted into a major sports Hall of Fame, and…
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A 27-Year-Old Is Suing His Parents Because He Didn't Consent to Be Born (feat. Trey Williams)
Six months ago, Raphael Samuel informed his mother over breakfast that he planned to sue his parents for bringing him into existence without his consent. His story should be a movie, obviously. Every week on "Shoot This Now," we talk about stories that should be made into TV shows or movies. This...
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Let's Talk Halston With "Halston" Filmmakers Frédéric Tcheng and Roland Ballester
Frédéric Tcheng's Sundance doc "Halston" is about an Iowa boy turned fashion icon who went from making hats for Jackie Kennedy to ruling Studio 54 to making clothes for J.C. Penney. No one in fashion had a wilder, more intoxicating ride. This week, Tcheng and producer Roland Ballester take us...
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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Move Over, Fyre Festival: Woodstock '99 Was the Worst Festival Ever
If the "Fyre" and "Fyre Fraud" documentaries made you think the Fyre Festival was the worst music-fest ever, may we introduce you to the nightmare that was Woodstock '99. Characterized by sexual assaults, rioting, and actual fires, Woodstock '99 celebrated an era when Korn and Limp Bizkit ruled...
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Texas Delight: Meet the Man Who Made Millions Telling People They Could Lose Weight in Their Sleep
Harry Siskind is a photographer-turned-entrepreneur who made a lot of promises about his weight-loss company, Body Solutions -- including that it could help you lose weight as you slept. Maybe he made too many promises. Countless radio ads and more than $100 million later, the Texas high roller...
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How Tekashi 6ix9ine Became a Human Meme (feat. New York Times Reporters Joe Coscarelli and Ali Watkins)
Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, aka Daniel Hernandez, Tekashi 69 and just 6ix9ine, is what The New York Times' Joe Coscarelli and Ali Watkins call a "human meme." This week, we talk about his journey from a nice kid in a bodega to a wildly successful rapper now facing RICO charges. Will his bid for...
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'Surviving Y2K' Host Dan Taberski on the Real Raiders of the Lost Ark, Richard Simmons and What He's Doing Next
In the beautiful "Surviving Y2K" podcast, Dan Taberski talks about how a few incredibly compelling people prepared for what they thought would be Armageddon. And how his own life changed dramatically. It would make a GREAT movie. He also talks about "Missing Richard Simmons" -- and drops some…
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How C. Delores Tucker Became the Most Hated Woman in Hip-Hop
In the 1960s, '70s and '80s, C. Delores Tucker was best known as a politician, feminist, and Civil Rights activist who was friends with Rosa Parks and marched with Martin Luther King. But by the 90s, she was arguably the most hated woman in hip-hop, who would be called out by Tupac, KRS-One,...
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We Pitched Emily Ratajkowski and Aaron Paul a Couple Movie Ideas
This week, we pitched Emily Ratajkowski and Aaron Paul two ideas for stories we think should be movies: one about Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, and one about Maud Gonne, the Irish revolutionary who also happened to be William Butler Yeats' muse. They liked one of them. We also asked...
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We Need a Movie About Harry Eastlack, the Man With Two Skeletons
Harry Eastlack was only a child when he broke a bone that wouldn't heal. Instead, his skeleton began to grow abnormally, his bones doubling over one another, until he suffocated from his own bones. But with his final, heroic act, he did something to try to save anyone else from suffering as he…
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Karen Gillan on a Witch Story, Avengers 4 Secrecy and 'The Party's Just Beginning'
This week we talk with Karen Gillan (star of "Jumanji," "Guardians of the Galaxy" and the new "Avengers" films) about her debut as a writer-director, the comedy-drama "The Party's Just Beginning." She also shares two fantastic ideas for stories that should be movies... one of which involves a...
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'Watergate' Director Charles Ferguson on 'How We Learned to Stop an Out-of-Control President'
This week: Oscar-winning director Charles Ferguson talks about his film "Watergate, or How We Learned to Stop an Out-of-Control President." We talk about why John McCain wanted to talk with him, all those Trump-Nixon parallels people keep making, and which young congresswoman deserves a movie of...
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Tom Arnold Talks Trump Tapes and Mark Burnett
This week, Tom Arnold joins us to talk about Viceland's "The Hunt for the Trump Tapes." And we pitch him on why his producer's trip to her home country, in search of a "golden showers" tape that has never been proven to exist, would be a great movie. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for…
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Jeff Bridges Talks 'Bad Time at the El Royale,' 'Starman,' and Saving the World One Change at a Time
This week, Jeff Bridges (!) joins us to talk about his new films "Living in the Future's Past" and "Bad Times at the El Royale" -- and about "Crazyheart," "Starman," and why birds fly in formation. Also about why you should drink through a straw made of pasta or licorice. And we try to convince…
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'Slow Burn' Host Leon Neyfakh on Linda Tripp's Sandwiches... and President Gore
"Slow Burn" host Leon Neyfakh tells us how he made the Clinton-Lewnisky scandal feel fresh, found common ground with Linda Tripp, and the possibility of a "Slow Burn" TV show. We also imagine what the world would be like if Clinton had stepped down after the Lewinsky situation and handed off to...
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How a 30-Year-Old's Eviction By His Parents Turned Into an Attack on Millennials
In May, a 30-year-old man named Michael Rotondo got evicted – by his parents. They took him to court as he pleaded for more time. In some corners, his story turned into a referendum on millennials -- feeding into a stereotype about a generation of entitled freeloaders. But what if it's actual a...
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His Teenage Parents Put Him Up for Adoption. Decades Later, He Reunited Them
This week, we talk about a New York Times wedding story that needs to be a movie: The story of a man, put up for adoption by high school sweethearts, who reunited them after nearly 40 years... and even officiated their wedding. Read Natalie Shutler's beautiful story:...
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'Better Call Saul' Boss Peter Gould Almost Made a Clinton-Lewinsky Movie With Puppets
This week we're joined by Peter Gould, one of our favorite writers. The co-creator of "Better Call Saul" talks about a project he almost made with HBO years before he joined the "Breaking Bad" writer's room. If you're enjoying Season 2 of "Slow Burn," we're pretty sure you'll love his idea to...
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Payne Lindsey Talks "Up and Vanished" Season 2 and "Atlanta Monster"
Every week we talk about stories that should be made into movies. This week, Up and Vanished and Atlanta Monster host Payne Lindsey explains why Up and Vanished Season 2 is so cinematic - and why you can't solve solve Kristal Anne Reisinger's disappearance by Googling. If you like this episode,...
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We're Suckers for Special Guest Paul Scheer's Movie Pitch About Con Woman Bertha Heyman
Paul Scheer ("The League," "How Did This Get Made," "Unspooled," "The Disaster Artist") shares his amazing idea for a movie: The story of 19th century female con artist Bertha Heyman. Every week we pitch ideas that should be made into movies or TV shows. This week, we are awed and shamed at how...
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Let's Talk About Jobriath, the Openly Gay '70s Rocker Who Inspired Morrissey and Def Leppard
Jobriath was a '70s glam-rocker who, like David Bowie, Elton John and Freddie Mercury, sang songs about space. But unlike any of them, he was openly gay in the 1970s - long before the people of earth were ready to welcome him with open arms. This week we talk about his spiky piano music, his...
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In 1969, Native Americans Took Over Alcatraz - and Held It for 19 Months
in 1969, Native American activists took over Alcatraz and held the island for nineteen months. Though the famous former prison was known worldwide, they argued that they had "discovered it" - just as Europeans had "discovered" America. It was one of the wittiest protests in history, designed to...
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'Supertrain': NBC's 1979 Trainwreck of a Show - With The Industry's Dan Delgado
In 1979, NBC spent millions to produce a series that was supposed to save it from last place. Instead, it produced "Supertrain," a disaster of a drama that mixed railroads and disco. It baffled viewers, broke a TV icon's toe, and died a painful death. Our guest is Dan Delgado, host of the awesome...
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The Nazi Titanic: The Most Expensive Propaganda Film in History
In 1943, Nazi Germany made the world's most expensive propaganda film: "Titanic." The story of the Nazi Titanic ends even more tragically than the story of the real Titanic. We relied on Robert P. Watson's book "The Nazi Titanic," and this excellent article by The Times of Israel:...
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Gaslit Nation's Andrea Chalupa Tells Us About Ira Aldridge, the Black Shakespearean Who Tore Down Racism
Thirty-three people are honored with plaques at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, but only one of them, Ira Aldridge, is an African-American. At a time when the United States still held black people in slavery, Aldridge's performances across Europe helped shatter the myth…
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Theme From Atlanta Monster (Bonus)
Because of our past episodes about the "Atlanta Monster" podcast, we've been given this opportunity to share with you the first track from the upcoming "Atlanta Monster" soundtrack. This track, "Theme From Atlanta Monster," comes from Makeup and Vanity Set (Matthew Steven Pusti). The...
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'The King' Director Eugene Jarecki: America Is in the Fat Elvis Stage
Eugene Jarecki's Elvis Presley documentary "The King" argues that America in its Fat Elvis stage. He tells us why Chuck D of "mother--- him and John Wayne" fame was the film's key interview. We also talk about why Elvis' manager, Colonel Tom Parker, needs a movie - and so do The Prisonaires, the...
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The Making of Steven Spielberg, With 'Inside Jaws' Host Mark Ramsey
"Inside Jaws" isn't just the story of the first summer blockbuster - it's also the story of how Steven Spielberg found his voice and his courage. "Inside Jaws" host talks to us about Jaws, recreating shark attacks using only sound, and how Spielberg represents the creator in all of us. Listen to…
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The Bruce Lee Story With "Bruce Lee: A Life" Author Matthew Polly
We need a proper Bruce Lee biopic, one that addresses his profound influence on race relations and celebrity. This episode, "Bruce Lee: A Life" author Matthew Polly talks about Lee's influence on Quentin Tarantino, the Wu-Tang Clan, and all of us. (And why Chuck Norris hates talking about him.)…
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Who is Teal Swan? The Gateway's Jennings Brown and Jessica Glazer on the Mysterious YouTube Guru
Teal Swan is an internet guru who finds followers largely online. She presents herself as a healer, but critics say she is playing with fire and has dangerous ideas about treating people who may be suicidal. She's the subject of Gizmodo's excellent The Gateway podcast. We're joined by host…
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The Bank-Heist Bromance That Gave 'Stockholm Syndrome' Its Name
In 1973, a robber who looked like Bill Skarsgard took hostages in a Swedish bank. He demanded money, a fast car, and the release of a "pop gangster" prison buddy who looked like Armie Hammer. The Swedish government delivered. Reunited within the bank, the criminals quickly won over their captives...
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The "Dear David" Victory-Lap Episode (feat. Beatrice Verhoeven)
In February, we talked about why "Dear David," BuzzFeed writer Adam Ellis' internet ghost story, should be a movie. This week, we found out it's going to happen. Special guest Beatrice Verhoeven joins us to talk about why she knew "Dear David" should be a movie, and how she exclusively broke the...
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Anna Delvey, the 'It' Girl Who Duped New York
Neff Davis met Anna Delvey when Anna gave her $100 for a restaurant recommendation. Anna soon drew Neff into a moneyed game of trying to conquer New York City. Imagine if the Great Gatsby passed the Bechdel test. Jessica Pressler's New York Magazine story about their relationship is a sensation,...
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Prison Angel: Sister Antonia's Story Is 'Troop Beverly Hills' Meets 'Dead Man Walking'
Antonia Brenner wasn't the most likely woman to become a nun, much less a nun who moved into a Tijuana prison: Born into a wealthy family in Beverly Hills, she was a twice-divorced mother of seven when she chose to live in Tijuana's notorious La Mesa to care for its forgotten inmates. In 1994…
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Call Me By Your Name (With Demons): Aleister Crowley's Sex Magic
Every week on "Shoot This Now" we talk about a different story that should be a movie. This week: That time "wickedest man in the world" Aleister Crowley and poet Victor Benjamin Neuburg to bring a demon into the world using "sex magick" We learned about this incident from Dan Cummins' wonderful...
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Atlanta Monster's Payne Lindsey and Donald Albright Talk About Talking With Wayne Williams (Bonus Episode)
In this special bonus episode, we talk to "Atlanta Monster" host and co-creator Payne Lindsey and co-creator Donald Albright about the odds of an "Atlanta Monster" TV show, the frustrations of talking to Wayne Williams, and whether Williams' musical group, "Gemini," ever had a chance. "He lied to...
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Gwyneth Paltrow Meets Drunk Christopher Walken
In this, our name-droppingest episode ever, we discuss Gwyneth Paltrow and Blythe Danner's Goop Podcast discussion of the time 19-year-old Gwyneth shared a stage with a drunken Christopher Walken. Then, Tim recounts another embarrassing tale of ingenue meets drunkard at an "SNL" cast party, which...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
We talk about true stories that we think should be made into TV shows or movies. First we talk about why they belong on-screen -- then we talk about how we'd like to see them on-air: Who should direct, who should write, who should star. We dig up lesser-known people whose stories deserve to be told, forgotten moments in history, and fresh angles on very familiar memories.
Your hosts, Tim and Deirdre, are married writers who only recommend stories that we would personally want to see. Join us and follow us at @ShootThisNowPod. Thanks!
We love you.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Tim Molloy
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Shoot This Now have?
Shoot This Now currently has 69 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Shoot This Now about?
We talk about true stories that we think should be made into TV shows or movies. First we talk about why they belong on-screen -- then we talk about how we'd like to see them on-air: Who should direct, who should write, who should star. We dig up lesser-known people whose stories deserve to be...
How often does Shoot This Now release new episodes?
Shoot This Now has 69 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Shoot This Now?
You can listen to Shoot This Now on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Shoot This Now?
Shoot This Now is created and hosted by Tim Molloy.
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