Writers on Film

On the eve of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey, I talk to author of Christopher Nolan: The Iconic Filmmaker and his Work. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Scott Feinberg is a veteran reporter of The Hollywood Reporter and hosts the Awards Chatter podcast. His work can be found here.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Norwegian film director Truls Krane Meby and John-Kristian Dalseth, programmer for the Tromsø International Film Festival (TIFF) and manager of the Verdensteatret Cinemateket join John Bleasdale to talk about the 40th Cinema Ritrovato Festival in Bologna. John Bleasdale's second novel Connery A Novel is available to buy at Plumeria. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Published to coincide with the 35th anniversary of Michael Lehmann's 1991 infamous "turkey shoot", The Unmaking of Hudson Hawk is an in-depth look at the history and legacy of the film that brought Bruce Willis's career crashing to Earth, from the germ of the idea in 1980s New York to the recent revisionist views of the film by critics and commentators. Featuring interviews with co-creator/composer Robert Kraft, director Michael Lehmann, screenwriters Daniel Waters, Steven de Souza, Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn and many members of the cast and crew, the book is for everyone who looked at Hudson Hawk and wondered what the hell happened. With an introduction by film critic Walter Chaw. Connery A Novel is also available. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Laura Horak is Professor of Film Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and founder of the award-winning Transgender Media Portal. She is author of Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema. Trans Cinema Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds is an exciting introduction to cinema by the trans creators who are innovating filmmaking to imagine a more inclusive world. Order Here.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ed Zwick made his film debut with the comedy About Last Night (1986), followed by Glory (1989), Legends of the Fall (1994), Courage Under Fire (1996), The Siege (1998), The Last Samurai (2003), Blood Diamond (2006), and Defiance (2008). His later films include Love & Other Drugs (2010), Pawn Sacrifice (2014), and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016). He is also the co-creator of the ABC family drama series thirtysomething and Once and Again. John Bleasdale's novel Connery is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Christina Jeurling Birro speaks to John Bleasdale about the 79th Cannes Film Festival and competition entry, Fjord, directed by Christian Mungiu. John Bleasdale's new novel Connery is released by Plumeria.co.uk and is available HERE.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Thomas Schultz speaks to John Bleasdale about the 79th Cannes Film Festival and competition entry, Minotaur, directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. John Bleasdale's new novel Connery is released by Plumeria.co.uk and is available HERE. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nicolas Bell (Eye On Cinema) and Ed Potton (The Times) join John Bleasdale to talk about the 79th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival. Read John Bleasdale's Connery, HERE.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ian Christie FBA is a British film scholar whose work on Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Martin Scorsese and the development of cinema has made him one of the most respected film writers today. He is a regular contributor to Sight & Sound magazine and a frequent broadcaster as well as being the Professor of Film and Media History at Birkbeck, University of London. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the first episode of a new mini-series, Dr. Brian Baker joins me to discuss the adaptations of J.G. Ballard on film, including Empire of the Sun, Crash and High Rise along with some lesser known films. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nicholas Bell and John Bleasdale discuss Salvatore Giuliano (Francesco Rosi, 1962). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Robert Kolker and David Wyatt provide readers with a history of auteur theory, from its initial origins in France in the late 1940s as an outgrowth of the cinematic theories of the French film critics and theorists André Bazin and Alexandre Astruc, to the canonizing work of American film critic Andrew Sarris in the 1960s. Available HERE. Connery A Novel by John Bleasdale can be bought EXCLUSIVELY from Plumeria. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

John Rain is the host of the cult podcast Smersh Pod and the author of Thunder Book, SuperBook and Explodobook. Smersh Book is available here. Connery A Novel is available here.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of the greatest films never finished. One of Hollywood’s most dangerous alliances. One enduring legend. In the late 1920s, at the height of silent cinema’s reckless glamour, three formidable figures set out to make an impossible film. Gloria Swanson, the era’s most dazzling star. Erich von Stroheim, cinema’s most obsessive and uncompromising auteur. And Joseph P. Kennedy, a ruthless financier with ambitions far beyond Hollywood. The result was Queen Kelly — a production so extravagant, scandalous, and volatile that it collapsed before completion, leaving behind fragments, myths, and a curse that would haunt everyone involved. Buy your copy HERE. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Although Alfred Hitchcock was notoriously dismissive of actors, Victoria Lowe (University of Manchester) and Adrian Garvey have edited a collection of essays which argues that acting played a key element of his work. Films discussed include Notorious, Stage Fright and Strangers on a Train. The book provides detailed analysis of some exceptional performances by major stars – from Ivor Novello to Tippi Hedren – and considers performance as a theme across Hitchcock’s oeuvre. I talk to Adrian and Victoria about their work and Hitchcock more generally. The Book is available Here. Connery: A Novel by John Bleasdale is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Filmmakers Thinking begins from a simple premise: that we do not take the ongoing reflections of filmmakers about their medium, their art and their craft, seriously enough. Every day, everywhere, filmmakers are asked to talk mainly about themselves and their own works. Yet their vocation springs from a deep engagement with the history and possibilities of cinema as a whole. Going beyond the usual, oft-cited sources, Filmmakers Thinking delves into a vast archive of writings (public and private), interviews, talks, and anecdotes to discover what filmmakers think about how to create cinema – and what cinema is, or could be. Buy your copy here. Connery A Novel by John Bleasdale is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Stephen Volk is a Welsh screenwriter, who wrote the screenplays for numerous horror films, including Ken Russell's Gothic (1986), The Kiss (1988), and William Friedkin's The Guardian (1990). In 1992, Volk wrote the teleplay for the BBC pseudo-documentary Ghostwatch. Other screenwriting credits include Octane (2003) and The Awakening (2011). Stephen Volk's website can be visited here. Buy John Bleasdale's Connery here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Irish actor and writer Gabriel Byrne talks about writing his memoir Walking with Ghosts, available here. Buy John Bleasdale's Connery here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

DANIEL KRAUS is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. His latest novel, Angel Down, was a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2025. His novel Whalefall won the Alex Award, was a Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist, and was named a Best Book of 2023 by NPR, The New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more. With Guillermo del Toro, he cowrote The Shape of Water, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Buy Here Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

“Most dyed-in-the-wool film buffs nurture their own private lists of movie directors they feel have been underappreciated, neglected, and/or underrated,” Joe Dante writes in this book’s Foreword. “But very few of us are moved to write an entire book about them.” Beyond mere appreciation, however, author Daniel Kremer presents a philosophy and a guiding principle for venerating the undervalued or forgotten. Buy the book here. Buy John Bleasdale's Connery here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The World of Black Film is an entertaining, informed, and thought-provoking survey of important and influential Black films from around the globe. Available here. The recommended book is African Cinema: Politics & Culture by Manthia Diawara. Meanwhile my novel Connery is available here.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As a film critic and disabled person, Kristen Lopez speaks with particular authority on how disability is represented-and too often misrepresented-in movies. Popcorn Disabilities is her impassioned but nonetheless fun and engaging survey of how Hollywood has dealt with disability over the last century. Buy Kristen's book Here. Connery: a Novel by John Bleasdale is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Featuring nearly 400 original interviews with close friends, family members, and colleagues, The Life of Singleton is the definitive account of prolific filmmaker John Singleton’s life and times. Get it here. Also Connery: a Novel by John Bleasdale is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For over 50 years, Martin Scorsese has been one of cinema’s most celebrated directors. From a Catholic kid in Manhattan to a legendary filmmaker, he’s shaped Hollywood with masterpieces such as Taxi Driver, Goodfellas and The Irishman. But what makes a Scorsese film unique? His stories explore power, morality, and human nature, blending raw emotion with intellectual depth. Whether reinventing noir, musicals or crime dramas, his work captures the pulse of America and the Italian-American experience. This book dives into all 26 of his films, breaking down his signature themes, iconic collaborations with Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio, and his place in film history. A true movie fanatic and preservationist, Scorsese continues to push boundaries – proving that cinema isn’t just entertainment, it’s an art form. Buy Ian's book Here. My new novel CONNERY is also available for pre-order HERE. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Ever since the dawn of the sound era, Hollywood and friends have made a series of elaborate feature films about the lives of the great artists: the cast of colorful characters includes Fredric March as Cellini, Charles Laughton as Rembrandt, George Sanders as Gauguin, José Ferrer as Toulouse-Lautrec, Kirk Douglas as Van Gogh, Charlton Heston as Michelangelo, Mel Ferrer as El Greco—and, more recently, Jeffrey Wright as Jean-Michel Basquiat Derek Jacobi as Francis Bacon, Ed Harris as Jackson Pollock, Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo, and many others. The book can be bought here. John Bleasdale's novel CONNERY can be pre-ordered HERE. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Icons of Cinema: Greta Gerwig explores the career of one of the world's most celebrated movie directors and is available here. john Bleasdale's novel Connery is available for pre-order here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Here are links to the books we talk about Hurricane Billy: https://www.amazon.com/Hurricane-Billy-Stormy-William-Friedkin/dp/B0G13YSCVB/ref=sr_1_1?s=books Mosby Confidential: https://www.amazon.com/Moseby-Confidential-Arthur-Penns-Neo-Noir/dp/0986377082/ref=sr_1_1?s=books William Friedkin (Thomas Clagett): https://www.amazon.com/William-Friedkin-Aberration-Obsession-Reality-ebook/dp/B0F2S9WMVH/ref=sr_1_3?s=books Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Reflecting on Nicolas Roeg’s seminal film, Justin John Doherty's new book DON’T LOOK NOW AND THEN features hundreds of previously unpublished photographs and documents, offering a fresh glimpse into the making of a masterpiece. The ultimate love letter to “Don’t Look Now”, with contributions from those who made it and those who it changed forever. Buy your copy here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tom Shone author of The Greengrass Papers talks about his best films of 2025 and biggest disappointment as well as his unique insight into the new Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg films which await us in 2026. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I talk about 2025. The books, the films, the festivals and the guests. I talk about writing Darkness Visible The Cinema of Jonathan Glazer and look forward to the publication of Connery the Novel as well as the writing of Connery the Biography. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

I speak to Michelle E. Moore who along with Brian Brems has edited the first  collected volume of work on cult film director and icon John Waters, which offers a comprehensive study of his work as an important filmmaker and cultural force. Includes chapters covering important themes in Waters’s work, stylistic tendencies, his relationship to the art world, and interviews reflecting on the impact of Waters’s films on his collaborators and audience. Also features a new retrospective interview with Waters in which he reflects on his career and films. The book is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

How are David Lynch's films as much in dialogue with literary and musical traditions as they are cinematic ones? By interrogating this question, David Lynch's American Dreamscape broadens the interpretive horizons of Lynch's filmography, calling for a new approach to Lynch's films that goes beyond cinema and visual art to explore how Lynch's work engages with literary and musical works that have shaped the American imagination. As much as Lynch stands as a singular artistic voice, his work arises from and taps into the cultural zeitgeist in a way that illuminates not only his approach to creativity but also the way works interact with each other in an age of mass media. From children's literature to teen tragedy ballads, Nathanael West and Cormac McCarthy to folk music and mixtapes, David Lynch's American Dreamscape investigates the cultural frequencies Lynch's films tune into and positions Lynch's work as a conduit for American popular culture, a medium or channel through which the subconscious of American life finds its way into full view. The book expands upon this approach by discussing how artists such as David Foster Wallace and Lana Del Rey graft Lynch's affiliative, cinematic sensibility onto their own projects. Reading their work as intertextual engagements with Lynch's films further illustrates the versatile interactions among creators and audiences to generate more works, readers, and readings. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Joseph McBride has been a veteran critic, a teacher, the screenwriter of (among others) Rock n Roll High School. He's acted for Orson Welles and campaigned for John F Kennedy. A fearsome intellect and a great film scholar, this is a mammoth episode for a legendary man. His new memoir/interview book with Danny Peary I Loved Movies But... is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

YouTuber Thomas Flight has amassed over 1 Million subscribers to his YouTube Channel and offers in depth visual essays on everything cinematic. He is also a documentary filmmaker and writes for many publications including his own Substack Seeing Through Film is available here. His YouTube channel is here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The western in all its forms is the subject of Jem Duducu's new fascinating book. Even while the frontiers of the Wild West were being fought over, its myth was being forged. Sometimes this was in the form of incredibly popular pulp novels, on others the likes of the hugely successful Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show that even toured Europe and delighted monarchs. By the turn of the 20th Century, just as the era was being consigned to history, motion pictures began telling these stories in a new medium. Some of the early films were supervised by the very legends of the old west the movie was about. The era of the western was born. Some of the most important films of the 20th century were westerns. Many of Hollywood’s brightest stars regularly played cowboys and for decades, the simple western was a guaranteed way to make money and fill a movie theatre. Like every art form, over the years the western evolved. At times it was as wholesome as apple pie. There were times when it redefined cinema in terms of scope and storytelling. In other decades it created great anxiety about levels of violence and moral nihilism. The genre has been used to entertain, reveal the plight of indigenous peoples, explore racism, sexism and even homophobia. There have been westerns that have been analogies for the perils of McCarthyism. A few have been heaped with awards and critical acclaim, others were reviled by critics (and sometimes even their own studio) only to go on and be massive box office successes. Lines, images and scores from westerns have seeped into pop culture. Today the western no longer dominates cinemas as it once did but they are still hugely popular. Once again they have evolved with the times, becoming hit video games or massively popular shows on TV or streaming services. Buy here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Top author and friend of the podcast Tom Shone returns to talk about his new book The Greengrass Papers which gets up close and personal with one of the most influential film directors of our time Paul Greengrass. From The Murder of Stephen Lawrence through the Bourne films and Captain Phillips to his latest The Last Bus, we go through it all. The book is available here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Arthur Penn's neo-noir thriller Night Moves, starring the late Gene Hackman, Alan Sharp's novel based on his original screenplay – out of print since its first publication in 1975 – is presented here in a stunning new paperback edition, with exclusive cover art by the legendary Tony Stella, an introduction by Matthew Asprey Gear (author of Moseby Confidential) and an afterword by David Manderson (author of The Anti-hero's Journey: the Work and Life of Alan Sharp). Out of print for 50 years, this special edition is strictly limited to 1,000 copies, and exclusively available from Plumeria here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Another chance to hear the episode on the Kraszna- Krausz Moving Image Book Award Winning Screen Deep by Ellen E Jones. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today I talk to Ellen E Jones the winner of the Kraszna- Krausz  Moving Image Book Awards 2025. The event at the Barbican to celebrate Ellen's win is on 27 October - https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2025/event/imitation-of-life-12-with-introduction-reception Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Though it was not to acquire its definitive name and identity until the following year, the Giornate del Cinema Muto can date its first edition to 9 to 11 September 1982. Jay Weissberg is the current director of the festival. I spoke with James Harrison from South West Silents. And musician, dramatist and expert Neil Brand.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Get the book here. The definitive, in-depth look inside the making of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window—the all-time classic of voyeurism, paranoia, and murder that became one of Hollywood’s greatest achievements and turned generations of viewers into “a race of Peeping Toms.” . . .Before the internet and social media offered voyeuristic glimpses into the lives of others, the acclaimed Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, exposed the dangers and delights of looking—and knowing—too much in his 1954 masterpiece Rear Window. Widely hailed as one of the greatest films ever made, it stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly at the top of their game but, in an unusual gamble, is shot entirely from within a Greenwich Village apartment . . .Using this limited point of view, Hitchcock forces his audience to participate in his protagonist’s voyeuristic impulses and darkest obsessions—a bold move in the era of the Hollywood Blacklist and restrictive Hays Code. But the gamble paid off, and Rear Window became a timeless classic.This eye-opening book goes straight to the source of Rear Window’s genius by mining the original papers of Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart, and Thelma Ritter, revealing little-known facts behind the Why taking the role of Lisa Fremont was one of the toughest decisions Grace Kelly ever made; How Hitchcock intertwined suspense and romance with inspiration from Ingrid Bergman; How he used a topless scene to distract the censors from other scenes to which they may have objected; and how Hitchcock crafted the film’s unforgettable villain, Lars Thorwald, by modeling him on a producer he loathed—the infamous David O. Selznick. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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I talk with Tom Shone about Terrence Malick's first film Badlands (1973), a true crime drama that introduces a new talent and vision to seventies cinema and the world. You can buy the biography of Terrence Malick hereThe music is Camille Saint Saens - The Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium and is performed bypianos: Neil and Nancy O'Doan and orchestra: Seattle Youth Symphony, conducted by Vilem Sokol. It is reproduced via the following license. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Julia Seabaugh is a writer who has covered the comedy scene for years. She has written A Tight Twenty and Ringside at Roast Battle and has produced a new documentary on Marc Maron, of WTF Podcast fame called "Are We Good?" Find out more about her work here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Buy Caroline's book here. The Blurb: From the single ladies of Beyoncé and Taylor Swift songs to Phoebe Waller-Bridge's irreverent television series Fleabag (2016–2019) to as far back as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations, the stereotype of the damaged single woman has long pervaded music, books, television, and Hollywood movies. Spinster tropes, witch burnings, and nineteenth-century diagnoses of hysteria have reflected and continue to inform the stories told about society's singletons, most notoriously in the original bunny boiler, Fatal Attraction (1987), and popularized in Single White Female (1992) and Promising Young Woman (2020). In Single & Psycho, author Caroline Young explores how broader social trends such as the antifeminist backlash of the 1980s, contemporary debates about tradwives and childless cat ladies, and the absence of single women of color on-screen shape the way women are (mis)perceived and (mis)treated. Young weaves the history of a stereotype with her own fight against stigma as a single woman as well as her struggles with infertility, infusing incisive analysis with personal experience in this approachable, savvy exposé of one of mainstream media's most enduring clichés. Single & Psycho: How Pop Culture Created the Unstable Single Woman is a dynamic addition to the ongoing dialogue surrounding the #MeToo movement and societal expectations of women. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Buy the book here: Explore behind the scenes of the greatest monster movies ever made! What makes a great movie monster? Academy Award-winning make-up effects artist Howard Berger and acclaimed journalist Marshall Julius have spoken to dozens of film industry legends to find out. A celebration of monsters, monster movies and monster movie makers, Making Monsters delivers an illuminating, entertaining and accessible oral history of the genre, gathering an enviable array of A-list talent from make-up and digital effects legends (Tom Savini, Phil Tippett) to directors (John Carpenter, Ti West), actors (Simon Pegg, Barbara Crampton), composers (Michael Giacchino) and writers (Russell T Davies). Packed with hundreds of images, from film stills to personal, behind-the-scenes pictures from dozens of interview subjects - many never before published - Making Monsters is a treasure trove of monstrous creations, and the stories behind them, that is sure to make fans jump, scream and howl with delight. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

For generations, Ed Wood has been known as “the worst director of all time.” This sympathetic critical study repositions the director of Plan 9 from Outer Space as a maverick independent whose work challenges the boundary between “bad” and “good.” The subject of a Tim Burton biopic, Will Sloan reappraises Wood as a more interesting and disruptive figure. You can buy his book here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One of my favourite film critics Bilge Ebiri from Vulture joins me to talk about Olivier Assayas' The Wizard of the Kremlin, Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite, and Kaouther ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nicholas Bell from IONCINEMA joins me to run down the films we've watched so far at the 82nd Venice Film Festival. We talk La Grazia, Frankenstein, After the Hunt, Bugonia, No Other Choice and The Smashing Machine. We probably talk about even more in this bumper Lido fuelled edition. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.