Tag: podcasting them softly

Mel Gibson is the Absolute Best Choice to Direct SUICIDE SQUAD 2

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Editorial

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The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Mel Gibson is in early talks with Warner Brothers to direct SUICIDE SQUAD 2.  While this may seem like a bizarre and odd choice to a lot of people, it makes perfect sense and is a rather brilliant move if Gibson ends up taking the job.  Gibson is hot off of HACKSAW RIDGE which yielded him a Best Director nomination, as well as a bounty of other nominations.  Warners is very happy with Gibson.

Considering how anti-PC the first SS film was, and considering Gibson’s off color past, this is an epic decision by Warners.  Gibson is one of the very best visual and world building filmmakers working today, and considering the foreshadowed darker tone of the upcoming DC films post JUSTICE LEAGUE, I think it is fair to say that if Gibson does, in fact, direct the film, it most certainly would be rated R.

32nd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Festivals, Film Review, Interviews, Podcast, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

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4161418625791602350-account_id1We’re very excited to publish our 32nd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival podcast.  This year, Frank was able to get red carpet interviews with Executive Director of the festival, Roger Durling, film historian Leonard Maltin, Naomie Harris of MOONLIGHT, Stephen McKinnley Henderson of FENCES, David Crosby who wrote and performed an original song for LITTLE PINK HOUSE, filmmaker Derek Wayne Johnson who premiered his film, JOHN G. ALVIDSEN: KING OF THE UNDERDOGS at SBIFF, Aaron Taylor-Johnson of NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, and filmmaker Damien Chazelle who wrote and directed LA LA LAND.  On the latter half of the podcast, Frank is joined with Devin Godzicki who took photographs and attended panels with Frank at this year’s SBIFF.  They discuss a film they saw, SEPTEMBER 12th, and end the conversation with a brief chat about LA LA LAND.

 

Episode 36 John Moore’s I.T. with Special Guest William Wisher

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Podcast

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William Wisher with Pierce Brosnan on the set of I.T.

Join Frank with returning guest William Wisher, to talk about his latest film, I.T. which stars Pierce Brosnan in his finest post-Bond role!  The film was directed by Bill’s friend and collaborator John Moore, and Bill co-wrote and executive produced the feature.  In the chat, they discuss the digital age, cyber security, how 9/11 has not only affected cinema, but the world in general, and the evaporation of privacy.  Bill also details his wonderful working relationship with Pierce Brosnan and his production partner, the late Beau St. Clair and what it was like working in Ireland.  I.T. is currently available to stream on Netflix, or for purchase on Amazon.com and other outlets.

 

Episode 34: MICHAEL MANN’S THE INSIDER with Special Guest MATTHEW SAND

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Interviews, Podcast

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mattsand_mingasson_025Join Nick and Frank with returning guest, screenwriter Matthew Sand (DEEP WATER HORIZON), to discuss Michael Mann’s THE INSIDER as well as the process between writing fiction and non fiction.  We also discuss at length the genre of topical films, and how beholden the writer should be to the truth, and how much creative freedom the writer and film should take.

PTS PRESENTS EDITOR’S SUITE HUGHES WINBORNE POWERCAST

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Interviews, Podcast

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image1Podcasting Them Softly is honored to present a discussion with feature film editor Hughes Winborne! Some of his credits include the Marvel blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, The Help, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Great Debaters, and Sling Blade. He won the Academy Award for his editing work on the 2005 film Crash, and this winter, his latest project, Fences, re-teams him with director and star Denzel Washington — the film looks absolutely fantastic and we can’t wait to see it. We hope you enjoy this informative and entertaining chat where we found out more about Hughes‘ process, his experiences, and some his inspirations. Enjoy!

STAR WARS POWERCAST EPISODE III

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Podcast, Star Wars

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ATTENTION SPOILERS.  SPOILERS.  SPOILERS.  Frank and Tim FINALLY did another STAR WARS podcast.  This time we speak about the new standalone film, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY.  We dive in deep about the emotional impact, the cinematic influences, and where Disney takes the STAR WARS brand from here!

 

Tom Ford’s NOCTURNAL ANIMALS – A Review by Frank Mengarelli

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Film Review

Tom Ford is a cinematic anomaly. With little traditional filmmaking experience he’s taken cinema by storm and with his most recent directorial and screenwriting effort, NOCTURNAL ANIMALS, Ford has created an immaculate and haunting masterpiece.

The film is a magnificent web of truths, the lies we tell ourselves, the selfishness we guise in our actions, and a love that was so fierce and passionate that when it ends the only comparable feeling is death.

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It’s deep, complex, and heavy. Ford does anything but hold our hand, but he does an incredible job guiding us through a narrative that is so thick and murky, one slight mistake or hiccup would make the film an incoherent mess.

The performances are all stellar. Amy Adams gives a purposefully reserved turn that keeps her at arm’s length for anyone she interacts with, occasionally allowing vulnerability to slip through the cracks, allowing us a peak at her inherent toxicity.

Jake Gyllenhaal embarks on yet another revelation of a performance, blending into the picture in a way that is impossible to see any other actor in. Michael Shannon gives the best performance of his career as a character who if a lesser actor took on the role, it would be a one note character that would not serve as big a purpose.

Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey does an unbelievable job, helping construct a visual narrative that is as beautifully sweeping as it is terrifyingly haunting. It’s his best, and most important work to date. Ford re-teams with composer Abel Korezeniowski, who creates an atmosphere so dark and dreamy, the visual imagery is that much more impactful.

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Production design by Shane Valentino and costumes by Arianne Phillips further create two simpatico worlds of high excess and dusty noir, that is unlike any other film ever made. The films aesthetics are flawless, without a single blemish or crack that supports the already taut and visceral narrative Ford carefully takes us through.

Ford’s audacity knows no bounds, and cinema needs more films like this. His previous film, A SINGLE MAN hit all the cinematic marks, making it one of the best debut directorial efforts of all time, it’s so good that it was impossible for Ford to ever outdo himself. NOCTURNAL ANIMALS blows A SINGLE MAN out of the water. It’s not even close. It’s a film that’s brute nature and frightening themes delivers a cathartic ending that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Whatever Ford does after this is almost irrelevant, he has already become a cinematic titan on his own accord, and we should all be in awe.

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PTS Presents Writer’s Workshop with Jeremy Pikser

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Podcast

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pikserPodcasting Them Softly is thrilled to present a chat with special guest Jeremy Pikser. Jeremy is the Oscar nominated co-writer of Warren Beatty’s hilarious and more relevant than ever political satire Bulworth. He also served as a creative consultant and did uncredited writing work on Beatty’s epic drama Reds. Other screenwriting credits include War Inc. and The Lemon Sisters with multiple new projects in the pipeline. Jeremy teaches graduate screenwriting at Johns Hopkins University, and before that, was a screenwriting teacher at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He’s serves as Vice President of Writers Guild of America East, and he’s also a regular adviser at the Sundance Film Festival’s Screenwriter’s Lab. A lifelong political activist and graduate of Oberlin College, Jeremy was one of the original organizers of the Not in Our Name Statement of Conscience, which opposed the US-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, while he’s written posts for The Huffington Post, The Guardian and CounterPunch. We hope you enjoy this fantastic discussion about films and politics!

PTS Presents EDITOR’S SUITE with MICK AUDSLEY

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Podcast

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audsleyPodcasting Them Softly is thrilled to present a chat with veteran film editor Mick Audsley! His latest feature, which he co-edited with Jeremiah O’Driscoll, is the Robert Zemeckis-directed WWII action-romance Allied, which hits theaters this weekend! He’s worked numerous times with filmmaker Stephen Frears, with credits that include The Hit, My Beautiful Laundrette, Prick Up Your Ears, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, Dangerous Liasons, The Grifters, Hero, The Van, High Fidelity, Dirty Pretty Things, Tamara Drewe, Lay the Favorite, and Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight.  He’s also collaborated with director Mike Newell on Love in the Time of Cholera, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mona Lisa Smile, and Prince of Persia. He’s teamed up with director Neil Jordan on We’re No Angels and Interview with the Vampire, and has crafted multiple films with director Terry Gilliam, including the sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys, The Zero Theorem, and the Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus. He also cut last year’s superb mountain climbing disaster film Everest, which was shot by cinematographer and friend of Podcasting Them Softly Salvatore Totino. And we also learned about Sprocket Rocket Soho, an online networking organization for filmmakers, actors, and craftspeople, which he co-founded with his wife as a way of keeping open communication between various artists. Check out the site at Sprocket Rocket Soho   We hope you enjoy this fabulous hour of passion and cinema love!

PTS Presents Writer’s Workshop with Eric Heisserer

by Frank Mengarelli, posted in Film Review, Interviews, Podcast

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unnamed-1Podcasting Them Softly is beyond thrilled to present a chat with screenwriter Eric Heisserer, whose new science fiction film, Arrival, hits theaters this weekend! Riding a wave of stellar reviews and showcasing the directorial talents of Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario, the upcoming Blade Runner 2049), Arrival has all the makings of an instant genre classic, and we were honored to be invited to take part in the official media junket for the first time. We’d like to extend an extra special thanks to the publicity departments of Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures, Lauren Woods at PMKBNC, and Eric himself for making this happen! Hope you enjoy this fast but informative discussion about one of our most anticipated films of the year!