Watch With Jen™

This week, we have a very special episode featuring not one but two wonderful guests. First up, we have the return of the talented Los Angeles-based writer and a Senior Vice President at The Black List, Kate Hagen.Having bonded last year over our affection for the career of actor James Spader whom we did two podcast episodes about (one here on Watch With Jen & one on Screen Drafts), Kate joined me once again on this show a few months back for a rich, soulful, wide-ranging conversation with one of our favorite filmmakers - the wondrous Allison Anders.Later that night, we hatched an idea for our next podcast conversation where we looked forward to learning and seeking inspiration from talented women by inviting Allison's wildly gifted daughter Tiffany Anders to come and talk to us and all of you about her stellar career and a trio of her favorite obscure music documentaries as well.A Los Angeles native who was recently selected by Variety as one of the Music Supervisors to Watch in 2022, in addition to her outstanding work in the field on acclaimed TV shows such as Reservation Dogs, You're the Worst, Pen15, The Chair, Sorry for Your Loss, she's been the music supervisor on films such as To the Stars, Rust Creek, The Circle, and The End of the Tour. Having also worked as a musician, journalist, Radio DJ, plus a co-founder/co-head curator of LA's Don't Knock the Rock Film Festival, Tiffany's critically lauded debut album as a singer-songwriter, "Funny Cry Happy Gift" was produced by the legendary PJ Harvey as well.Taking you behind the scenes of her incredible life and career, in this candid, fascinating conversation, Tiffany shares her thoughts on the music business and also introduces and educates us about the obscure music documentaries Scott Walker: 30 Century Man (2006), Bayou Maharajah: The Tragic Genius of James Booker (2013), and Syl Johnson: Any Way The Wind Blows (2015) and their subjects as well.Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music ArchiveLogo: KateGabrielle.comPatreon Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/68064737

Quick-witted, loyal, caring, and so very talented - this week, I was thrilled to welcome one of my best pals and honorary brothers back to the podcast. An actor, former host of the excellent Game Show Network series "Get a Clue," and longtime improv teacher at Second City, plus a writer, producer, entrepreneur, and gifted impressionist who regularly turns my voicemail into the funniest comedy club in the world, Rob Belushi is a man who wears many hats. In the past, you've heard him share his insights as a knowledgeable film lover in his very first episode way back in 2020 and then twice last year as well, first lending his expertise as the host of "Get a Clue" for an episode I did on Game Show Movies, and then later in our season two finale, Rob joined me along with his inspiring, intelligent, and very lovely mother Sandi to tease and interrogate her both about her personal life as well as her passion for her favorite film - Warren Beatty's REDS. A huge fan of the endlessly innovative Steven Soderbergh's work - particularly his exceptionally clever late '90s period, in this very funny, thoughtful, and emotional episode, which clocks in at well over two hours, Rob and I celebrate and study the films OUT OF SIGHT, THE LIMEY, ERIN BROCKOVICH, and TRAFFIC. Whether he's opening up to reveal his own personal experiences with addiction and recovery or appreciating the humanity we see in the decent outsiders and strong female leads trying to connect and do right in these works, it's an eye-opening, passionate conversation that fans of Soderbergh, in particular, will love. Originally Posted on Patreon (6/15/22) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/67815306 Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)

As, thankfully, my recent life/med stress ended early (quick - where's a piece of wood to knock on?), that means our temporary hiatus is ending a week early too! Editing this lively episode yesterday made me laugh multiple times. I figured that right now laughter is something we all could use in this grim world as of late so I wanted to deliver this conversation to you ASAP to hopefully brighten your day. Kind, witty, and wildly gifted, my good friend Nikki Dolson is a prolific crime writer whose work has been published in such well-respected places as Shotgun Honey, Tough, ThugLit, and Bartleby Snopes. The author of what she affectionately calls "a novelish thing" - the book All Things Violent - Nikki has also released a short story collection entitled Love and Other Criminal Behavior. And last fall, one of her outstanding pieces appeared in the prestigious Best American Mystery and Suspense Stories anthology of 2021, edited by Alafair Burke and Steph Cha. A delightful film buff who has excellent taste in movies (and men!), and is also quite the TV reenactor and movie trivia game player, I always have a ball talking to Nikki. And this witty, candid, free-flowing conversation, which covers women in the crime films The Last Seduction, Bound, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Widows, and I'm Your Woman (plus Michael Mann's Thief and Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive) was no exception to that rule. In fact, my favorite thing about this episode is that because Nikki is one of my very best friends, you're getting a different side of both of us than you would in other episodes, and you're hearing us delve into something we're truly, truly passionate about. Enjoy! Originally Posted on Patreon (6/9/22) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/67517337Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music ArchiveLogo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)

Every so often, I receive requests from longtime listeners who miss the way this podcast first began with me recommending and telling solo tales about excellent films you might've missed. And while I'm seriously flattered and thrilled you enjoyed those very humble, low-fi, old school eps, I would just as soon stick to the format of conversations with thoughtful, funny, brilliant, and charismatic friends and colleagues.Still, once in a while, it's important to change things up and venture out of your comfort zone. Since I'm currently going slightly stir crazy while recovering from a small surgery, and completely in love with all seven films I wanted to cover this week, I decided to use the opportunity of our hiatus from traditional episodes to record another chatty, film fact, and anecdote-filled installment for you all. Incredibly nerdy, personal, and very long, my best advice would be to listen to these segments about the films The Clock, For Me and My Gal, The Godfather Trilogy, The Last Waltz, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Ordinary People, and The Untouchables one at a time and take plenty of breaks, because it's a whole lot of Jen, but you do what's right for you!Without further ado, I hope you'll enjoy my film geek rambling, and please stay tuned because I'm working on several new episodes in our regular format which will start dropping when we return from hiatus in the coming weeks. Thank you for your continued support!Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music ArchiveOriginally Posted on Patreon (6/1/22) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/67193104

Returning to the podcast this week, we have a woman who needs no introduction and one whose voice is or should be - especially if you're a cinephile - her own introduction. A film writer I remember reading as far back as her days at "Cinematical" and "The Village Voice," as well as the author of "Seduction: Sex, Lies, and Stardom in Howard Hughes' Hollywood," and books on George Lucas, Al Pacino, and Meryl Streep, the wonderful Karina Longworth is the historian and podcaster behind the acclaimed, addictive, and utterly fascinating series You Must Remember This and the recent show Love is a Crime for "Vanity Fair" as well.Visiting today to tell us all about her titillating new season of You Must Remember This that's devoted to Erotic Cinema of the '80s and '90s when we both came of age, in this fast-paced, fact-filled, funny episode, we take a closer look at the films "American Gigolo," "Nine 1/2 Weeks," "Fatal Attraction," and movie sex in the era.Note: Although not terribly explicit, I've checked the box for content for this episode due to the maturity of our subject matter. The last new episode of the podcast for a few weeks as Watch With Jen goes on a short hiatus, have no fear for the future as more terrific installments will be planned and recorded during this break and the season will soon be resuming in June at full strength. You'll also learn more about whom and what you can expect to hear when we return at the start of this episode.Originally posted on Patreon (5/16/22) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/66500288Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

A favorite among my circle of crime writer friends, this week I was pleased to welcome Dennis Tafoya to the podcast. Author of the novels "Dope Thief," "Wolves of Fairmount Park," and "The Poor Boy's Game," Dennis Tafoya's work has not only been optioned for film and television but his short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, including "Philadelphia Noir" and "Best American Mystery Stories." Joining me to discuss the prolific '90s heyday of inventive crime movies, in this fast-paced hour-long episode, we take a closer look at the movies "Miami Blues," "After Dark, My Sweet," "Shallow Grave," and "Hard Eight."Originally Posted on Patreon (5/8/22) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/66166995Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

This week, I was so honored to welcome back my favorite crime writer working today. Novelist Megan Abbott is the Edgar-winning author of such acclaimed, rich works as "Give Me Your Hand," "You Will Know Me," "The Fever," "Dare Me," "Queenpin," and more. Her latest novel - "The Turnout" - was a "Today Show" Read with Jenna book selection as well as a "New York Times Bestseller" and most recently the winner of "The LA Times" Book Prize for Mystery/Suspense.An impressive film buff who is as delightful as she is intelligent, I had so much fun celebrating Judy Holliday and Martin Scorsese with her last year and am so glad she returned to get the band back together to discuss five of her favorite underrated movies from one of her most beloved filmmakers - Mr. Billy Wilder.In this fast or one could even say "Wilder-paced" episode, you'll hear us explain why the films "The Major and The Minor," "A Foreign Affair," "One, Two, Three," "Love in the Afternoon," and "Kiss Me, Stupid" deserve just as much love as some of the most famous classics from the director of "Some Like it Hot," "Double Indemnity," and "The Apartment."Originally Posted on Patreon on 5/3/22 here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/65951851Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

This week, I happily welcomed Beth Ann Gallagher to the podcast. A very talented film writer and the mother of one of the most photogenic and adorable babies you'll ever see in your life, she is the founder of the classic film blog Spellbound with Beth Ann which has been running since 2008.Last year, we were both honored to contribute essays on film noir to the dazzling Columbia Noir 4 Blu-ray box set from the UK boutique label Indicator and Beth Ann's writing has also appeared in such diverse publications as Turner Classic Movies' Backlot Site, Discover Rio Vista Magazine, and various film festival programs as well. Additionally, a former president of the Sac Town Classic Movie Club, she also co-founded the Luso World Cinema Blogathon, which is a celebration of the Lusitanic people and their impact on cinema.After asking her about both her site and her great Luso blogathon, the recent first-time mom shares her perspective on parenthood in the classic movies Bachelor Mother (1939), Penny Serenade (1941), and Never Too Late (1965) in this breezy free-flowing conversation.Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

This week, I was so pleased to welcome to the podcast a fellow writer and a tennis fan - yes, I had to get that in there - Isaac Butler. Co-author of "The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America," which NPR.Org named one of the best books of 2018, Isaac Butler’s writing has appeared in "New York Magazine," "Slate," "The Guardian," "American Theatre," and other publications. For "Slate," he created and hosted "Lend Me Your Ears," a podcast about Shakespeare and politics and he currently co-hosts "Working," a pod dedicated to the creative process. Additionally, a director whose work has been seen on stages across the country, he is the co-creator of "Real Enemies," a multimedia exploration of conspiracy theories in the American psyche, which was not only named one of the best live events of 2015 by "The New York Times" but has also been adapted into a feature-length film. An MFA graduate in creative nonfiction from the University of Minnesota who teaches theater history and performance at the New School and elsewhere, most recently, he became the author of the richly detailed, utterly fascinating book "The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act," which is what we’re here to talk about today. Joining me to share stories involving the history of The Method as well as its many practitioners, we discuss some of the eye-opening and enlightening discoveries that Isaac made as he wrote his terrific new book. Following that, we take a deeper look at the Method performances of everyone from John Garfield to Jessica Lange that are on display in the films "Four Daughters," "Wild River," "Paris Blues," and "Frances" (1982).Originally Posted on Patreon (4/18/22) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/65296760Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com)Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive

This week, it was a true honor to welcome a very special guest that I recently made the acquaintance of following our episode dedicated to FX's superb 2010 series TERRIERS. He's the first of two individuals related to the show whom you'll hear this season – series star Donal Logue is also forthcoming – but first up we have the show's creator and executive producer, along with the writer and director of two episodes, it's the great Ted Griffin.A terrific screenwriter whose credits include RAVENOUS, OCEAN'S ELEVEN, and MATCHSTICK MEN (which he co-wrote with Nicholas Griffin), additionally, he is the producer of such Oscar-nominated films as UP IN THE AIR and THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, as well as one of my pandemic TV favorites, the Emmy nominated Netflix series PRETEND IT'S A CITY. Working alongside Martin Scorsese on some of the titles mentioned earlier, Ted also wrote two Scorsese-directed advertisements: the CLIO award-winning THE KEY TO RESERVA and STREET OF DREAMS.Joining me to discuss the 1930s and '40s heyday of filmmaker Leo McCarey, who often gets overlooked in conversations that so often focus only on contemporaries like Lubitsch and Capra, in this wide-ranging conversation, we focus on the movies DUCK SOUP, MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, THE AWFUL TRUTH, LOVE AFFAIR, and GOING MY WAY. Also revealing the way that his own family history links up with McCarey's as the grandson of director William A. Seiter as well as his own insights as a filmmaker and shout-outs to his gifted wife Sutton Foster, this episode is a must for classic movie lovers, in particular.Logo: Kate Gabrielle (KateGabrielle.com) Theme Music: Solo Acoustic Guitar by Jason Shaw, Free Music Archive Originally Posted on Patreon (4/9/22) here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/64931833